October 1875
Cannon, George Q. "The Pleasure of Serving God—Importance of the Gathering—Necessity of Obedience to the Priesthood." Journal of Discourses. Volume 18. October 6, 1875: pg. 82-88.
Cannon, George Q. "Self Preservation—United Order—Individual Stewardships—Home Manufactures." Journal of Discourses. Volume 18. October 8, 1875: pg. 103-108. Pratt, Orson. "On the Dedication of the New Tabernacle." Journal of Discourses. Volume 18. October 9, 1875: pg. 131-132. Richards, Franklin D. "Discourse." The Deseret News, January 5, 1876: pg. 772. Smith, Joseph F. "God Preserves His People—Internal Foes the More Dangerous—Redemption of the Dead—The Priesthood." Journal of Discourses. Volume 18. October 6, 1875: pg. 89-94. Smith, Joseph F. "What the Lord Requires of His Saints." Journal of Discourses. Volume 18. October 10, 1875: pg. 133-135. Taylor, John. "The Purposes of God—Duties and Responsibilities of the Saints." Journal of Discourses. Volume 18. October 10, 1875: pg. 136-143. The Deseret News. "Semi-Annual Conference." October 13, 1875: pg. 580-581, 584-585, 592. Wells, Daniel H. "The Blessing of Life for Evermore—The Lord Commanded the United States Government to Purchase Freedom for Their Slaves—Reformation Necessary that the Saints May Progress Faster—Salvation Comes By Faithfulness and Endurance in Christ." Journal of Discourses. Volume 18. October 7, 1875: pg. 95-102. Woodruff, Wilford. "The Resurrection—Laying the Cornerstone of the Temple in Jackson County—Mission of the Twelve Apostles—Baptism of Nearly Six Hundred of the “United Brethren”—The Saints Hold the Keys of Salvation for All Israel—Judgments Await the Wicked—Folly of the Fashions." Journal of Discourses. Volume 18. October 8, 1875: pg. 122-130. Young, Brigham. "Remarks." The Deseret News, October 27, 1875: pg. 619. Semi-Annual Conference. Wednesday, Oct. 6, 10 a.m. President Brigham Young Elder Charles C. Rich Elder Joseph F. Smith God Preserves His People—Internal Foes the More Dangerous Thursday, Oct. 6, 2 p.m. Elder Francis M. Lyman Elder R. V. Morris Elder John Squires Elder George Q. Cannon The Pleasure of Serving God—Importance of the Gathering—Necessity of Obedience to the Priesthood President Brigham Young Thursday, Oct. 7, 10 a.m. President D. H. Wells The Blessing of Life for Evermore President Brigham Young Thursday, Oct. 7th, 2 p.m. Elder Robert T. Burton Elder John Henry Smith Elder M. H. Hardy Bishop Henry Hughes Elder B. H. Watts Prest. Brigham Young Friday, Oct. 8, 10 a.m. Prest. Brigham Young read by George Q. Cannon Elder Wilford Woodruff The Resurrection—Laying the Cornerstone of the Temple in Jackson County Friday, Oct. 8, 2 p.m. Elder Brigham Young [Jr.] President Brigham Young Saturday, 10 a. m., Oct. 9 Dedicatory Prayer Elder Orson Hyde Elder Orson Pratt On the Dedication of the New Tabernacle Elder George Q. Cannon Self Preservation—United Order—Individual Stewardships—Home Manufactures Saturday, Oct. 9, 2 p.m. Sustaining of the General Authorities President Joseph Young Mission Calls President Brigham Young Announcement Priesthood Meeting, Saturday, Oct. 9, 7 p.m. George Q. Cannon John Taylor Wilford Woodruff President D. H. Wells Sunday, 10 a. m., Oct 10 Elder Lorenzo Snow Elder Franklin D. Richards Discourse Elder Joseph F. Smith What the Lord Requires of His Saints Sunday, Oct. 10th, 2 p.m. Elder John Taylor The Purposes of God—Duties and Responsibilities of the Saints Mission Calls President Brigham Young Remarks Announcement |
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Semi-Annual Conference
FIRST DAY.
Wednesday, Oct. 6, 10 a.m.
The Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened this morning, in the New Tabernacle, October 6th, 1875, at 10 o’clock.
Present on the stand.--Of the First Presidency.—Prest. B. Young.
Of the Twelve Apostles.--John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Pratt, sen., Geo. Q. Cannon, C. C. Rich, Brigham Young, Jr., Joseph F. Smith.
Patriarch.--John Smith.
Of the first Seven Presidents of Seventies--Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, John Van Cott, and Horace S. Eldredge.
Of the Presidency of the High Priests’ Quorum.--Elias Smith and Elias Morris.
Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion.--Geo. B. Wallace, W. H. Folsom, and John T. Caine.
Of the Presidency of the Bishopric.--Edward Hunter, and Leonard W. Hardy.
Besides the above authorities, there was a large representation of bishops and other leading men from all parts of the Territory.
Conference was called to order by Prest. B. Young.
The Choir sang—My God, the spring of all my joys, The life of my delights.
Prayer by Prest. Joseph Young.
The Choir sung—Praise ye the Lord, my heart shall join, In work so pleasant, so divine.
FIRST DAY.
Wednesday, Oct. 6, 10 a.m.
The Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened this morning, in the New Tabernacle, October 6th, 1875, at 10 o’clock.
Present on the stand.--Of the First Presidency.—Prest. B. Young.
Of the Twelve Apostles.--John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Pratt, sen., Geo. Q. Cannon, C. C. Rich, Brigham Young, Jr., Joseph F. Smith.
Patriarch.--John Smith.
Of the first Seven Presidents of Seventies--Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, John Van Cott, and Horace S. Eldredge.
Of the Presidency of the High Priests’ Quorum.--Elias Smith and Elias Morris.
Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion.--Geo. B. Wallace, W. H. Folsom, and John T. Caine.
Of the Presidency of the Bishopric.--Edward Hunter, and Leonard W. Hardy.
Besides the above authorities, there was a large representation of bishops and other leading men from all parts of the Territory.
Conference was called to order by Prest. B. Young.
The Choir sang—My God, the spring of all my joys, The life of my delights.
Prayer by Prest. Joseph Young.
The Choir sung—Praise ye the Lord, my heart shall join, In work so pleasant, so divine.
President B. Young.
We purpose at this Conference to dedicate this Tabernacle; the dedication prayer will be read on Saturday morning. We shall occupy the time throughout this Conference in talking to the Latter-day Saints, giving them such instructions and advice as we have for them, trusting that each and every heart may possess a due portion of the Spirit of God, so that the Saints may be strengthened, and that the truth may be taught in simplicity and may commend itself to those who are as yet unacquainted with it.
As far as my experience has gone and as far as I have learned, I consider that we, as Latter-day Saints, treat our callings lightly, do not appreciate them as we should; their importance does not sink into our hearts. If the eyes of the people were open to see things as they are and to understand what the Lord is doing, what he requires of his Saints, and the blessings that await and will attend the labors of those who are faithful in the discharge of their duties; if the people could understand these things, or, I will rather say, if the people would put themselves in a condition to understand them, for this is their privilege, and they can, by their faithfulness, understand the things of God, they would act very differently. Many search after the things of eternity and the wisdom of God and godliness by their earthly wisdom and knowledge; but no one can find out God by the wisdom that they get here in this world. They may have all the understanding that books can give, and they may read the history of the creations and the sustaining of those creations, and the object of the earth and the peopling of it; but without the Spirit of the Lord, they do not understand it, it is like a mere matter of history of a country which they never saw, and they have but little or any conception of it. So it is with the things of God, and I hope and trust that our hearts will be right, so that we may receive the teachings of the elders and be able to profit thereby, and treasure up truth in our hearts, that, when our conference comes to a close, we can go from this place better prepared to fill the missions that God has appointed and called us to than we were before we came here.
We purpose at this Conference to dedicate this Tabernacle; the dedication prayer will be read on Saturday morning. We shall occupy the time throughout this Conference in talking to the Latter-day Saints, giving them such instructions and advice as we have for them, trusting that each and every heart may possess a due portion of the Spirit of God, so that the Saints may be strengthened, and that the truth may be taught in simplicity and may commend itself to those who are as yet unacquainted with it.
As far as my experience has gone and as far as I have learned, I consider that we, as Latter-day Saints, treat our callings lightly, do not appreciate them as we should; their importance does not sink into our hearts. If the eyes of the people were open to see things as they are and to understand what the Lord is doing, what he requires of his Saints, and the blessings that await and will attend the labors of those who are faithful in the discharge of their duties; if the people could understand these things, or, I will rather say, if the people would put themselves in a condition to understand them, for this is their privilege, and they can, by their faithfulness, understand the things of God, they would act very differently. Many search after the things of eternity and the wisdom of God and godliness by their earthly wisdom and knowledge; but no one can find out God by the wisdom that they get here in this world. They may have all the understanding that books can give, and they may read the history of the creations and the sustaining of those creations, and the object of the earth and the peopling of it; but without the Spirit of the Lord, they do not understand it, it is like a mere matter of history of a country which they never saw, and they have but little or any conception of it. So it is with the things of God, and I hope and trust that our hearts will be right, so that we may receive the teachings of the elders and be able to profit thereby, and treasure up truth in our hearts, that, when our conference comes to a close, we can go from this place better prepared to fill the missions that God has appointed and called us to than we were before we came here.
Elder C. C. Rich
felt pleased for the privilege of speaking on the principles of salvation, for nothing should be of so much importance to us as the subject of salvation. We were preparing for the coming of the Son of Man, when peace should reign on the earth, and the Saints were raising a posterity to assist in the great work preparatory to that event. God had revealed great and glorious principles in the age of the world in which we lived. This was a great privilege, and to carry them out in our lives should be a constant source of joy and satisfaction. If we loved the truth, we should live it; we should not partake of that which was evil. Herein was our trial, but we should try to overcome. Good and evil were before us all the time, and it behooved us to resist the evil; when we resisted and had an eye to the glory of God, we were doing what we ought to do as his servants. We were proud to say that we were the Saints of the Most High. God himself must be the dictator as to how his kingdom should be built up. This he had done from the beginning to the present time, and if we were willing as a people to be dictated by him through his servants, it would be unto us as a labor of love. Wherein we had come short of this in the past, we were now called upon to repent and do better. If we indulged in the thought that we were abundantly able to guide our own affairs, we should be woefully mistaken and fall short of the blessings we set out to obtain. He rejoiced in coming to Conference, for it was here where the duties and requirements of the Saints were made known. The blessings of the gospel were offered to us free, without money and without price, and unless we embraced them on the terms proposed, we should be left without excuse, and the fault would be our own. He hoped to live long enough to receive every principle, and practically carry them out in his life, that God intended to reveal for our salvation.
felt pleased for the privilege of speaking on the principles of salvation, for nothing should be of so much importance to us as the subject of salvation. We were preparing for the coming of the Son of Man, when peace should reign on the earth, and the Saints were raising a posterity to assist in the great work preparatory to that event. God had revealed great and glorious principles in the age of the world in which we lived. This was a great privilege, and to carry them out in our lives should be a constant source of joy and satisfaction. If we loved the truth, we should live it; we should not partake of that which was evil. Herein was our trial, but we should try to overcome. Good and evil were before us all the time, and it behooved us to resist the evil; when we resisted and had an eye to the glory of God, we were doing what we ought to do as his servants. We were proud to say that we were the Saints of the Most High. God himself must be the dictator as to how his kingdom should be built up. This he had done from the beginning to the present time, and if we were willing as a people to be dictated by him through his servants, it would be unto us as a labor of love. Wherein we had come short of this in the past, we were now called upon to repent and do better. If we indulged in the thought that we were abundantly able to guide our own affairs, we should be woefully mistaken and fall short of the blessings we set out to obtain. He rejoiced in coming to Conference, for it was here where the duties and requirements of the Saints were made known. The blessings of the gospel were offered to us free, without money and without price, and unless we embraced them on the terms proposed, we should be left without excuse, and the fault would be our own. He hoped to live long enough to receive every principle, and practically carry them out in his life, that God intended to reveal for our salvation.
Elder Joseph F. Smith
said it was a source of pleasure for him to respond to the call from the servants of God, whether in speaking or otherwise. He referred with thankfulness to the many deliverances that God had wrought out for us, as a people, from the machinations of our enemies. He could now discern the hand of God that was over us as conspicuously as at any previous time. He had revealed his will through a holy angel, and sent forth messengers to proclaim his gospel to the nations and warn them of the judgments that were to be poured out among the nations of the earth.
He then rehearsed the dealings of God towards us as a people, in preserving and rescuing us from the hands of the wicked and the ungodly. The hate of the wicked and their desire to persecute the Saints was as great to-day as it ever existed in any age of the world. He did not fear, however, an open and avowed enemy, as the lurking, deceptive, and apostate spirit in our own ranks, the weaknesses and imperfections of our own nature, that were calculated to lead us astray from the truth, were far more to be dreaded than the outside enemy. Unless we were living in the line of our duties, and enjoying the Spirit of God, we were altogether incapacitated to receive and appreciate the instructions of the servants of God, no matter with how much power those instructions might be enforced. We had received the truth, we had embraced the gospel, and received the Holy Ghost, but if we turned away and denied the light that we once enjoyed, there was no forgiveness in this life or the life to come. This was a doctrine taught by the Saviour himself. The antediluvians, who rejected the testimony of Noah and others who on account of their wickedness were destroyed by the flood, after suffering in the spirit in prison for many ages, until the law of God was satisfied, Jesus, after he was crucified, went and preached to, and unfolded to them the plan of salvation, that they might have an opportunity of embracing the gospel and receiving an exaltation. This doctrine, though not understood in the world, was clearly taught in the Bible.
After a few words of earnest exhortation to the Elders of Israel, he concluded by reference to one, who had recently left us, but whose example would live for ever, meaning Pres. Geo. A. Smith.
said it was a source of pleasure for him to respond to the call from the servants of God, whether in speaking or otherwise. He referred with thankfulness to the many deliverances that God had wrought out for us, as a people, from the machinations of our enemies. He could now discern the hand of God that was over us as conspicuously as at any previous time. He had revealed his will through a holy angel, and sent forth messengers to proclaim his gospel to the nations and warn them of the judgments that were to be poured out among the nations of the earth.
He then rehearsed the dealings of God towards us as a people, in preserving and rescuing us from the hands of the wicked and the ungodly. The hate of the wicked and their desire to persecute the Saints was as great to-day as it ever existed in any age of the world. He did not fear, however, an open and avowed enemy, as the lurking, deceptive, and apostate spirit in our own ranks, the weaknesses and imperfections of our own nature, that were calculated to lead us astray from the truth, were far more to be dreaded than the outside enemy. Unless we were living in the line of our duties, and enjoying the Spirit of God, we were altogether incapacitated to receive and appreciate the instructions of the servants of God, no matter with how much power those instructions might be enforced. We had received the truth, we had embraced the gospel, and received the Holy Ghost, but if we turned away and denied the light that we once enjoyed, there was no forgiveness in this life or the life to come. This was a doctrine taught by the Saviour himself. The antediluvians, who rejected the testimony of Noah and others who on account of their wickedness were destroyed by the flood, after suffering in the spirit in prison for many ages, until the law of God was satisfied, Jesus, after he was crucified, went and preached to, and unfolded to them the plan of salvation, that they might have an opportunity of embracing the gospel and receiving an exaltation. This doctrine, though not understood in the world, was clearly taught in the Bible.
After a few words of earnest exhortation to the Elders of Israel, he concluded by reference to one, who had recently left us, but whose example would live for ever, meaning Pres. Geo. A. Smith.
God Preserves His People—Internal Foes the More Dangerous—Redemption of the Dead—The Priesthood
Discourse by Elder Joseph F. Smith, delivered at the Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church or Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 1875.
Reported by David W. Evans.
It is always a source of pleasure to me to meet with my brethren and sisters in the Gospel covenant. I rejoice exceedingly in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that I have the privilege of being numbered with the Saints of latter days. I am thankful for the blessings that we enjoy as a people in these valleys. I feel grateful for the many evidences we have experienced of God's mercy and protection. I am thankful that I have been able to see his hand in our deliverance from the powers and machinations of our enemies, from the earliest period of our existence as a people; and I am thankful that I am able to see the hand of the Lord over us at present as conspicuously and as clearly as at any former period of our history.
We read in the revelations that have come to us through the Prophets, both ancient and modern, concerning the purposes of the Lord in the latter days, and the restoration of the Gospel to the earth by a holy angel, that it is to be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people under the whole heavens, that every son and daughter of Adam shall have the privilege of hearing it, embracing it, partaking of its blessings, and of being saved by its power. We read that the Lord is going to do this work, and that he is going to cut it short in righteousness; that it is his design to gather out the honest in heart—those who are willing to hearken to his counsels and obey his laws. It is his design to gather all such out from the nations of the earth, that he may make of them a people worthy of his name and his blessings, and prepare them to meet him when he shall come to make up his jewels; when he shall come to take vengeance upon the wicked and ungodly, who know not God, and who keep not his commandments upon the earth.
The hand of the Lord has been visible in the gathering together of this people for the last twenty-eight years; yes, for the last forty-five years, and no more so in that than in everything connected with the labors of his servants, their counsels unto, and their guidance of, the people by the inspiration of the Almighty that was in them from the very beginning. At no time in the history of this Church has the hand of the Lord been withdrawn from this people, his power shortened, or his eye slept, but his eye has been upon us, his hand has been over us, and his providences have been in our favor. Circumstances have been overruled for good, the hand of the enemy has been turned away paralyzed, the efforts of the wicked to destroy us have resulted in our good and in their own discomfiture. The greater the efforts on the part of our enemies to destroy us, the greater the growth of the Church and kingdom of God, and the closer has our union been, the better have we been able to see the hand of the Lord over us, and the inspiration of the Almighty in the counsels of his servants, and the more have we been inclined to respect and abide by the counsels given. The very fact that the spirit of bitterness in the hearts of the wicked toward us at the present time is as virulent as it ever was, and is every way similar to that manifested against the former-day Saints, against the Savior when he was upon the earth, and against his disciples, or the people of God in any former age of the world, is an unmistakable evidence that the Lord God Almighty is with us today as much as he ever was since the organization of the Church, or as much as he ever was with any people he ever acknowledged as his since the world began. I do not believe there ever was a people who were guided by revelation, or acknowledged of the Lord as his people, that were not hated and persecuted by the wicked and the corrupt, and perhaps no people were ever more persecuted than this people would be, if it were in the power of the enemy today to persecute us, as it was in the power of Nero and the Romans to persecute the Saints in their day. There never was a time when it was more fixed and determined in the heart of the wicked to fight against, and destroy the kingdom from the earth, than now, and their failure will be due only to the impossibility of the task they have undertaken. And this is an evidence to everyone that possesses the least spark of the light of the Holy Spirit—and should be to all mankind—that the kingdom of God is established, that his Priesthood is here, that the Saints, or many of them, are magnifying their calling and honoring the Priesthood, and also the Lord, both with their lives and with their substance, which are his.
For my part I do not fear the influence of our enemies from without, as I fear that of those from within. An open and avowed enemy, whom we may see and meet in an open field, is far less to be feared than a lurking, deceitful, treacherous enemy hidden within us, such as are many of the weaknesses of our fallen human nature, which are too often allowed to go unchecked, beclouding our minds, leading away our affections from God and his truth, until they sap the very foundations of our faith, and debase us beyond the possibility or hope of redemption either in this world or that to come. These are the enemies that we all have to battle with, they are the greatest that we have to contend with in the world, and the most difficult to conquer. They are the fruits of ignorance, generally arising out of unrebuked sin and evil in our own hearts. The labor that is upon us, is to subdue our passions, conquer our inward foes, and see that our hearts are right in the sight of the Lord, that there is nothing calculated to grieve his Spirit and lead us away from the path of duty.
Those only who possess the light of the Spirit of God and the faith of the Gospel, which can only be possessed through faithfulness and obedience to the requirements of heaven, can discern and know the voice of the true Shepherd when they hear it. We need not expect to be able to discern the right from the wrong, the truth from error, and light from darkness, unless our eye is single, and we have declared ourselves for God and his work. If we are divided in our thoughts, affections, and interests, like the rest of the world, we need not expect to comprehend the will of the Lord when made known to us, no matter how powerfully or directly it may come. It will be all the same to us unless we are in a position to receive the light and the truth when it is offered unto us.
What shall we do if we have neglected our prayers? Let us begin to pray. If we have neglected any other duty, let us seek unto the Lord for his Spirit, that we may know wherein we have erred and lost our opportunities, or let them pass by us unimproved. Let us seek unto the Lord in humility, determined to forsake everything that would be an obstruction to our receiving the intelligence and the light that we need, and an answer to our prayers, that we may approach him confident that his ears will be open to our petitions, that his heart will be turned unto us in mercy, that our sins may be forgiven, our minds enlightened by the influence and power of God, that we may comprehend our duty and have a disposition to perform it, not to postpone it, not to set it aside, nor to say in our hearts, “We must serve the world or the devil a little longer; we are not yet prepared to serve the Lord fully, to give up our evil habits, to lay aside this and that folly, and walk straightforward in the path of duty; we must sow a few more wild oats before we can fully make up our minds and determine upon serving the Lord and doing his will upon earth as it should be done, and as we know how to do it, if we but yield obedience to the light that has come into the world.” But when we see what is necessary to be done, it becomes our duty, and we should go to with all our might and do it, no matter what our desires may be to the contrary. Whatever comes from the Priesthood by inspiration we should be willing to receive as the counsel of the Almighty, which we must of necessity obey and execute in order that we may be accepted of him.
This is a lesson that we, as God's people, should cheerfully learn. Do you think, my brethren and sisters, that we can climb up some other way, or enter in at some other door? Do you think that we can take the things of God and bring them to our standard, or square the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by our rule? Do you think that we would ever succeed in an effort to dictate to the Almighty the terms of our salvation? If we think so we are mistaken, deceived; we cannot do it. The purposes of the Almighty are unchanged and unchangeable, his laws endure, and he is the same yesterday, today and forever. His purposes will ripen and be consummated, and his designs be completed. Therefore, if we do not conform to his will, obey his laws and yield to his requirements in this world, we will be consigned to “the prison house,” where we will remain until we pay the debt to the uttermost farthing. This is a Scriptural, a reasonable, and a true doctrine; for it is a doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Saints understand it, but there may be some here who do not, and for their benefit, as well as to refresh the memories of those who may not have reflected for a little season upon this principle, I will refer to it as briefly expressed in the third and fourth chapters of the first Epistle of Peter. There you will see that Jesus himself preached the Gospel to the spirits in prison, “which some time were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” This may seem strange to some, that Jesus should go to preach the Gospel unto the wicked, rebellious antediluvians; whose bodies had been destroyed in the flood because they rejected the testimony of Noah, who had been sent to rebuke their iniquities and warn them of destruction decreed against them if they did not repent, nevertheless it is true. From this Scripture we not only learn the condition of those who are cut off in their sins because of their wickedness in rebelling against the laws of God and rejecting his servants, but such of them as have not sinned against the Holy Ghost, however wicked they may have been in this world—save committing that unpardonable sin—will have the privilege of hearing the Gospel in the spirit world; “for,” as the Apostle says, “for this cause was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead.” “Yes,” says one, “dead in sin, but not dead as to the flesh.” But the Apostle does not say so, but to the contrary, for the dead here referred to had perished in the flesh and the Apostle continues—“That they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit;” that is, out of the body until the resurrection from the dead. But first they must remain in hell—the “prison house,” until they have paid the penalty of their sins in the flesh, even to the “uttermost farthing.” “But,” says one, “is this possible?” The people in Europe, where we have been preaching, were struck with wonder and astonishment when we mentioned this doctrine, and say they, “We had supposed that, ‘as the tree fell so it should lie,’ and that ‘there was no salvation in the grave.’” Neither is there any salvation in the grave, and “as the tree falls, so it lies,” but this is pertaining to the flesh. Does the spirit lie with the body? Is the spirit confined in the grave? No. As the body falls, so it will lie until the resurrection; there is no salvation in the grave, but in Christ, who is the “light of life,” and the spirit soars beyond the grave; it does not slumber in the dust, but is wafted to the place prepared for it in the spirit world, to receive its reward or punishment, having passed the first judgment of God, there to await his mercy, and the resurrection from the dead and the final judgment of the great last day.
Thus we see those wicked, unrepentant antediluvians who even had the privilege of hearing the Gospel in the flesh, as preached by Noah, and who rejected the message of that servant of God, were actually visited in the “prison house” by the Savior himself, and heard the Gospel from his own mouth after he was “put to death in the flesh.” Their prison was opened, and liberty was proclaimed unto them in their captivity, in fulfillment of the prediction of the Prophet Isaiah, as you might read in his 61st chapter, that they may come forth, when they shall have fulfilled the decree of judgment upon them in the prison, or hell, to do the first works necessary unto salvation, which they refused to do in the beginning.
Here will come in the principles of baptism for the dead, and of proxy and heirship, as revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith, that they may receive a salvation and an exaltation, I will not say a fullness of blessing and glory, but a reward according to their merits and the righteousness and mercy of God, even as it will be with you and with me. But there is this difference between us and the antediluvians—they rejected the Gospel, consequently they received not the truth nor the testimony of Jesus Christ; therefore they did not sin against a fullness of light, while we have received the fullness of the Gospel; are admitted to the testimony of Jesus Christ, and a knowledge of the living and true God, whose will it is also our privilege to know, that we may do it. Now if we sin, we sin against light and knowledge, and peradventure we may become guilty of the blood of Jesus Christ, for which sin there is no forgiveness, neither in this world nor in the world to come. Jesus himself declares (Matt. 12, 31), that “all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” This is not a new doctrine that has just been revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith, or President Brigham Young, but it is the doctrine of Jesus, a part and portion of that Gospel which is the power of God unto salvation or unto damnation. For whosoever will believe, repent, and be baptized for the remission of sins shall be saved, and he that believes not and is not baptized shall be damned. And he that believes, is baptized and receives the light and testimony of Jesus Christ, and walks well for a season, receiving the fullness of the blessings of the Gospel in this world, and afterwards turns wholly unto sin, violating his covenants, he will be among those whom the Gospel can never reach in the spirit world; all such go beyond its saving power, they will taste the second death, and be banished from the presence of God eternally.
I feel well in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that it is true, and I never like to have an opportunity pass me without bearing my testimony to it. I, therefore, bear my testimony to you, that God has restored the Gospel, that Joseph Smith was and is a true Prophet, and that President Young is his rightful successor.
I have been surprised before now at hearing remarks from the disaffected and apostates against the Priesthood, as if there was something terrible concealed beneath that term. What constitutes the Priesthood? A legal and direct commission from God to man. And who are clothed with its authority and power? President Young? Yes. But is he the only man who holds the Priesthood? No. Nor are his counselors and the Twelve, the only ones who hold it, but the High Priests, the Seventies, the Elders, Priests, Teachers, and Deacons, all hold a portion of the Holy Priesthood. There is scarcely a member of the Church who is not numbered in the ranks of those clothed upon by this power; certainly it is so with every man who has received blessings in the house of the Lord, inasmuch as he has continued faithful, and of such is the Church composed, for the unfaithful cut themselves off in a measure both from the Church and from the power and privileges of the Priesthood, and are not to be relied upon. Therefore, when the Priesthood—or those holding it—are ridiculed, reviled, or persecuted, the blow is aimed, and the evil is designed, against the whole Church and not individuals, although as our enemies single out individuals as targets on whom to vent their wrath and spleen. A blow openly aimed at President Young, is secretly destined against the whole people constituting the Church over which he presides; any attempt to proscribe or destroy him or his brethren as individuals, because of their influence or position among the people, is so far indirectly an attempt to proscribe and destroy the whole community of which they are but members, and every member of the community should, and so far as guided by a proper sense of justice and right, most assuredly does, consider himself or herself personally assailed and aggrieved by any such attempts. How contemptible in the eyes of this whole people, therefore, must they be who rail against the Priesthood, and at the same time make themselves so conspicuously loud in their professions of friendship to the masses. They leave the covering of their designs too thin to conceal their hypocrisy and their determined bitterness and enmity against the people and the work of God.
A deacon in the Church should exercise the authority of that calling in the Priesthood, and honor that position as sincerely and faithfully as a high Priest or an Apostle should his calling, feeling that he bears a portion of the responsibility of the kingdom of God in the world, in common with all his brethren. Every man should feel in his heart the necessity of doing his part in the great latter-day work. All should seek to be instrumental in rolling it forth. More especially is it the duty of everyone who possesses any portion of the authority of the Holy Priesthood to magnify and honor that calling, and nowhere can we begin to do so to better advantage than right here, within ourselves, and when we have cleansed the inside of the platter, cleansed our own hearts, by correcting our own lives, fixed our minds upon doing our whole duty towards God, and man, we will be prepared to wield an influence for good in the family circle, in society, and in all the walks of life.
We should seek to do, and to be, good. It is true that Jesus says there is none good but one, that is God; we must accept this in the fullest sense of the word, but there are other degrees of goodness, so that we may be good, righteous, and even perfect in our spheres, as God is good, righteous, or perfect in his exalted and glorious sphere. These excellent qualities of mind and soul should govern our lives in the midst of our families and neighbors, among our brethren of the household of faith, and in all our intercourse with mankind, that we may win souls from error, ignorance, folly and crime, to God and his Christ, and help them to stand until they become strong in the faith, and thus become saviors of men upon Mount Zion, worthy of the name of our God.
May the Lord bless you and all Israel, and especially his aged servant who stands at our head, and his associates in counsel, the loved face of one of whom, on looking round, I find gone from our midst, but his lifelong example still lives with us, and will live forever. Amen.
The Conference was adjourned till 2 o’clock.
The Choir sang an anthem—Open Thou Mine Eyes.
Benediction by Bishop L. D. Young.
Discourse by Elder Joseph F. Smith, delivered at the Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church or Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 1875.
Reported by David W. Evans.
It is always a source of pleasure to me to meet with my brethren and sisters in the Gospel covenant. I rejoice exceedingly in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that I have the privilege of being numbered with the Saints of latter days. I am thankful for the blessings that we enjoy as a people in these valleys. I feel grateful for the many evidences we have experienced of God's mercy and protection. I am thankful that I have been able to see his hand in our deliverance from the powers and machinations of our enemies, from the earliest period of our existence as a people; and I am thankful that I am able to see the hand of the Lord over us at present as conspicuously and as clearly as at any former period of our history.
We read in the revelations that have come to us through the Prophets, both ancient and modern, concerning the purposes of the Lord in the latter days, and the restoration of the Gospel to the earth by a holy angel, that it is to be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people under the whole heavens, that every son and daughter of Adam shall have the privilege of hearing it, embracing it, partaking of its blessings, and of being saved by its power. We read that the Lord is going to do this work, and that he is going to cut it short in righteousness; that it is his design to gather out the honest in heart—those who are willing to hearken to his counsels and obey his laws. It is his design to gather all such out from the nations of the earth, that he may make of them a people worthy of his name and his blessings, and prepare them to meet him when he shall come to make up his jewels; when he shall come to take vengeance upon the wicked and ungodly, who know not God, and who keep not his commandments upon the earth.
The hand of the Lord has been visible in the gathering together of this people for the last twenty-eight years; yes, for the last forty-five years, and no more so in that than in everything connected with the labors of his servants, their counsels unto, and their guidance of, the people by the inspiration of the Almighty that was in them from the very beginning. At no time in the history of this Church has the hand of the Lord been withdrawn from this people, his power shortened, or his eye slept, but his eye has been upon us, his hand has been over us, and his providences have been in our favor. Circumstances have been overruled for good, the hand of the enemy has been turned away paralyzed, the efforts of the wicked to destroy us have resulted in our good and in their own discomfiture. The greater the efforts on the part of our enemies to destroy us, the greater the growth of the Church and kingdom of God, and the closer has our union been, the better have we been able to see the hand of the Lord over us, and the inspiration of the Almighty in the counsels of his servants, and the more have we been inclined to respect and abide by the counsels given. The very fact that the spirit of bitterness in the hearts of the wicked toward us at the present time is as virulent as it ever was, and is every way similar to that manifested against the former-day Saints, against the Savior when he was upon the earth, and against his disciples, or the people of God in any former age of the world, is an unmistakable evidence that the Lord God Almighty is with us today as much as he ever was since the organization of the Church, or as much as he ever was with any people he ever acknowledged as his since the world began. I do not believe there ever was a people who were guided by revelation, or acknowledged of the Lord as his people, that were not hated and persecuted by the wicked and the corrupt, and perhaps no people were ever more persecuted than this people would be, if it were in the power of the enemy today to persecute us, as it was in the power of Nero and the Romans to persecute the Saints in their day. There never was a time when it was more fixed and determined in the heart of the wicked to fight against, and destroy the kingdom from the earth, than now, and their failure will be due only to the impossibility of the task they have undertaken. And this is an evidence to everyone that possesses the least spark of the light of the Holy Spirit—and should be to all mankind—that the kingdom of God is established, that his Priesthood is here, that the Saints, or many of them, are magnifying their calling and honoring the Priesthood, and also the Lord, both with their lives and with their substance, which are his.
For my part I do not fear the influence of our enemies from without, as I fear that of those from within. An open and avowed enemy, whom we may see and meet in an open field, is far less to be feared than a lurking, deceitful, treacherous enemy hidden within us, such as are many of the weaknesses of our fallen human nature, which are too often allowed to go unchecked, beclouding our minds, leading away our affections from God and his truth, until they sap the very foundations of our faith, and debase us beyond the possibility or hope of redemption either in this world or that to come. These are the enemies that we all have to battle with, they are the greatest that we have to contend with in the world, and the most difficult to conquer. They are the fruits of ignorance, generally arising out of unrebuked sin and evil in our own hearts. The labor that is upon us, is to subdue our passions, conquer our inward foes, and see that our hearts are right in the sight of the Lord, that there is nothing calculated to grieve his Spirit and lead us away from the path of duty.
Those only who possess the light of the Spirit of God and the faith of the Gospel, which can only be possessed through faithfulness and obedience to the requirements of heaven, can discern and know the voice of the true Shepherd when they hear it. We need not expect to be able to discern the right from the wrong, the truth from error, and light from darkness, unless our eye is single, and we have declared ourselves for God and his work. If we are divided in our thoughts, affections, and interests, like the rest of the world, we need not expect to comprehend the will of the Lord when made known to us, no matter how powerfully or directly it may come. It will be all the same to us unless we are in a position to receive the light and the truth when it is offered unto us.
What shall we do if we have neglected our prayers? Let us begin to pray. If we have neglected any other duty, let us seek unto the Lord for his Spirit, that we may know wherein we have erred and lost our opportunities, or let them pass by us unimproved. Let us seek unto the Lord in humility, determined to forsake everything that would be an obstruction to our receiving the intelligence and the light that we need, and an answer to our prayers, that we may approach him confident that his ears will be open to our petitions, that his heart will be turned unto us in mercy, that our sins may be forgiven, our minds enlightened by the influence and power of God, that we may comprehend our duty and have a disposition to perform it, not to postpone it, not to set it aside, nor to say in our hearts, “We must serve the world or the devil a little longer; we are not yet prepared to serve the Lord fully, to give up our evil habits, to lay aside this and that folly, and walk straightforward in the path of duty; we must sow a few more wild oats before we can fully make up our minds and determine upon serving the Lord and doing his will upon earth as it should be done, and as we know how to do it, if we but yield obedience to the light that has come into the world.” But when we see what is necessary to be done, it becomes our duty, and we should go to with all our might and do it, no matter what our desires may be to the contrary. Whatever comes from the Priesthood by inspiration we should be willing to receive as the counsel of the Almighty, which we must of necessity obey and execute in order that we may be accepted of him.
This is a lesson that we, as God's people, should cheerfully learn. Do you think, my brethren and sisters, that we can climb up some other way, or enter in at some other door? Do you think that we can take the things of God and bring them to our standard, or square the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by our rule? Do you think that we would ever succeed in an effort to dictate to the Almighty the terms of our salvation? If we think so we are mistaken, deceived; we cannot do it. The purposes of the Almighty are unchanged and unchangeable, his laws endure, and he is the same yesterday, today and forever. His purposes will ripen and be consummated, and his designs be completed. Therefore, if we do not conform to his will, obey his laws and yield to his requirements in this world, we will be consigned to “the prison house,” where we will remain until we pay the debt to the uttermost farthing. This is a Scriptural, a reasonable, and a true doctrine; for it is a doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Saints understand it, but there may be some here who do not, and for their benefit, as well as to refresh the memories of those who may not have reflected for a little season upon this principle, I will refer to it as briefly expressed in the third and fourth chapters of the first Epistle of Peter. There you will see that Jesus himself preached the Gospel to the spirits in prison, “which some time were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” This may seem strange to some, that Jesus should go to preach the Gospel unto the wicked, rebellious antediluvians; whose bodies had been destroyed in the flood because they rejected the testimony of Noah, who had been sent to rebuke their iniquities and warn them of destruction decreed against them if they did not repent, nevertheless it is true. From this Scripture we not only learn the condition of those who are cut off in their sins because of their wickedness in rebelling against the laws of God and rejecting his servants, but such of them as have not sinned against the Holy Ghost, however wicked they may have been in this world—save committing that unpardonable sin—will have the privilege of hearing the Gospel in the spirit world; “for,” as the Apostle says, “for this cause was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead.” “Yes,” says one, “dead in sin, but not dead as to the flesh.” But the Apostle does not say so, but to the contrary, for the dead here referred to had perished in the flesh and the Apostle continues—“That they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit;” that is, out of the body until the resurrection from the dead. But first they must remain in hell—the “prison house,” until they have paid the penalty of their sins in the flesh, even to the “uttermost farthing.” “But,” says one, “is this possible?” The people in Europe, where we have been preaching, were struck with wonder and astonishment when we mentioned this doctrine, and say they, “We had supposed that, ‘as the tree fell so it should lie,’ and that ‘there was no salvation in the grave.’” Neither is there any salvation in the grave, and “as the tree falls, so it lies,” but this is pertaining to the flesh. Does the spirit lie with the body? Is the spirit confined in the grave? No. As the body falls, so it will lie until the resurrection; there is no salvation in the grave, but in Christ, who is the “light of life,” and the spirit soars beyond the grave; it does not slumber in the dust, but is wafted to the place prepared for it in the spirit world, to receive its reward or punishment, having passed the first judgment of God, there to await his mercy, and the resurrection from the dead and the final judgment of the great last day.
Thus we see those wicked, unrepentant antediluvians who even had the privilege of hearing the Gospel in the flesh, as preached by Noah, and who rejected the message of that servant of God, were actually visited in the “prison house” by the Savior himself, and heard the Gospel from his own mouth after he was “put to death in the flesh.” Their prison was opened, and liberty was proclaimed unto them in their captivity, in fulfillment of the prediction of the Prophet Isaiah, as you might read in his 61st chapter, that they may come forth, when they shall have fulfilled the decree of judgment upon them in the prison, or hell, to do the first works necessary unto salvation, which they refused to do in the beginning.
Here will come in the principles of baptism for the dead, and of proxy and heirship, as revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith, that they may receive a salvation and an exaltation, I will not say a fullness of blessing and glory, but a reward according to their merits and the righteousness and mercy of God, even as it will be with you and with me. But there is this difference between us and the antediluvians—they rejected the Gospel, consequently they received not the truth nor the testimony of Jesus Christ; therefore they did not sin against a fullness of light, while we have received the fullness of the Gospel; are admitted to the testimony of Jesus Christ, and a knowledge of the living and true God, whose will it is also our privilege to know, that we may do it. Now if we sin, we sin against light and knowledge, and peradventure we may become guilty of the blood of Jesus Christ, for which sin there is no forgiveness, neither in this world nor in the world to come. Jesus himself declares (Matt. 12, 31), that “all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” This is not a new doctrine that has just been revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith, or President Brigham Young, but it is the doctrine of Jesus, a part and portion of that Gospel which is the power of God unto salvation or unto damnation. For whosoever will believe, repent, and be baptized for the remission of sins shall be saved, and he that believes not and is not baptized shall be damned. And he that believes, is baptized and receives the light and testimony of Jesus Christ, and walks well for a season, receiving the fullness of the blessings of the Gospel in this world, and afterwards turns wholly unto sin, violating his covenants, he will be among those whom the Gospel can never reach in the spirit world; all such go beyond its saving power, they will taste the second death, and be banished from the presence of God eternally.
I feel well in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that it is true, and I never like to have an opportunity pass me without bearing my testimony to it. I, therefore, bear my testimony to you, that God has restored the Gospel, that Joseph Smith was and is a true Prophet, and that President Young is his rightful successor.
I have been surprised before now at hearing remarks from the disaffected and apostates against the Priesthood, as if there was something terrible concealed beneath that term. What constitutes the Priesthood? A legal and direct commission from God to man. And who are clothed with its authority and power? President Young? Yes. But is he the only man who holds the Priesthood? No. Nor are his counselors and the Twelve, the only ones who hold it, but the High Priests, the Seventies, the Elders, Priests, Teachers, and Deacons, all hold a portion of the Holy Priesthood. There is scarcely a member of the Church who is not numbered in the ranks of those clothed upon by this power; certainly it is so with every man who has received blessings in the house of the Lord, inasmuch as he has continued faithful, and of such is the Church composed, for the unfaithful cut themselves off in a measure both from the Church and from the power and privileges of the Priesthood, and are not to be relied upon. Therefore, when the Priesthood—or those holding it—are ridiculed, reviled, or persecuted, the blow is aimed, and the evil is designed, against the whole Church and not individuals, although as our enemies single out individuals as targets on whom to vent their wrath and spleen. A blow openly aimed at President Young, is secretly destined against the whole people constituting the Church over which he presides; any attempt to proscribe or destroy him or his brethren as individuals, because of their influence or position among the people, is so far indirectly an attempt to proscribe and destroy the whole community of which they are but members, and every member of the community should, and so far as guided by a proper sense of justice and right, most assuredly does, consider himself or herself personally assailed and aggrieved by any such attempts. How contemptible in the eyes of this whole people, therefore, must they be who rail against the Priesthood, and at the same time make themselves so conspicuously loud in their professions of friendship to the masses. They leave the covering of their designs too thin to conceal their hypocrisy and their determined bitterness and enmity against the people and the work of God.
A deacon in the Church should exercise the authority of that calling in the Priesthood, and honor that position as sincerely and faithfully as a high Priest or an Apostle should his calling, feeling that he bears a portion of the responsibility of the kingdom of God in the world, in common with all his brethren. Every man should feel in his heart the necessity of doing his part in the great latter-day work. All should seek to be instrumental in rolling it forth. More especially is it the duty of everyone who possesses any portion of the authority of the Holy Priesthood to magnify and honor that calling, and nowhere can we begin to do so to better advantage than right here, within ourselves, and when we have cleansed the inside of the platter, cleansed our own hearts, by correcting our own lives, fixed our minds upon doing our whole duty towards God, and man, we will be prepared to wield an influence for good in the family circle, in society, and in all the walks of life.
We should seek to do, and to be, good. It is true that Jesus says there is none good but one, that is God; we must accept this in the fullest sense of the word, but there are other degrees of goodness, so that we may be good, righteous, and even perfect in our spheres, as God is good, righteous, or perfect in his exalted and glorious sphere. These excellent qualities of mind and soul should govern our lives in the midst of our families and neighbors, among our brethren of the household of faith, and in all our intercourse with mankind, that we may win souls from error, ignorance, folly and crime, to God and his Christ, and help them to stand until they become strong in the faith, and thus become saviors of men upon Mount Zion, worthy of the name of our God.
May the Lord bless you and all Israel, and especially his aged servant who stands at our head, and his associates in counsel, the loved face of one of whom, on looking round, I find gone from our midst, but his lifelong example still lives with us, and will live forever. Amen.
The Conference was adjourned till 2 o’clock.
The Choir sang an anthem—Open Thou Mine Eyes.
Benediction by Bishop L. D. Young.
Thursday, Oct. 6, 2 p.m.
The Choir sang—Great God, attend while Zion sings The joy that from thy presence springs.
Prayer by Elder Brigham Young.
The choir sang—All hail, the glorious day By prophets long foretold.
The Choir sang—Great God, attend while Zion sings The joy that from thy presence springs.
Prayer by Elder Brigham Young.
The choir sang—All hail, the glorious day By prophets long foretold.
Elder F. M. Lyman
loved the country and the people who lived here, for this was the place where God would have us to be. God had bestowed his priesthood upon his servants for the purpose of preaching and proclaiming the gospel to the people, and this gospel had not only to be taught, but to be practiced and lived up to in our lives. We had partaken of the fruits of the gospel and we could not deny it. Theory alone would not do, but we must practice it. We must learn to love the kingdom of God, more than all things else. We must love it more than our lives, our property, our appetite and all things else. Then we should take pleasure in building up the kingdom of God acceptably. We must make it an individual work, and it required every man to become what he ought to be. Then union would grow and increase in our midst. We need not fear any outside influences. Our only fear was from our own selves, in not keeping the commandments of God. We must be honest, sober, and attend to every other duty, so that we could work out our own salvation. It was not enough for the twelve apostles to live their religion. They were only working out their own salvation. He felt more particularly anxious to save himself, for that was the most important business he had to attend to. This, therefore, was an individual work, and if each one would begin to reform himself the work of reformation would be general.
He then bore testimony to Joseph Smith being a prophet of God, and President Brigham Young his lawful successor, &c.
loved the country and the people who lived here, for this was the place where God would have us to be. God had bestowed his priesthood upon his servants for the purpose of preaching and proclaiming the gospel to the people, and this gospel had not only to be taught, but to be practiced and lived up to in our lives. We had partaken of the fruits of the gospel and we could not deny it. Theory alone would not do, but we must practice it. We must learn to love the kingdom of God, more than all things else. We must love it more than our lives, our property, our appetite and all things else. Then we should take pleasure in building up the kingdom of God acceptably. We must make it an individual work, and it required every man to become what he ought to be. Then union would grow and increase in our midst. We need not fear any outside influences. Our only fear was from our own selves, in not keeping the commandments of God. We must be honest, sober, and attend to every other duty, so that we could work out our own salvation. It was not enough for the twelve apostles to live their religion. They were only working out their own salvation. He felt more particularly anxious to save himself, for that was the most important business he had to attend to. This, therefore, was an individual work, and if each one would begin to reform himself the work of reformation would be general.
He then bore testimony to Joseph Smith being a prophet of God, and President Brigham Young his lawful successor, &c.
Elder R. V. Morris
had been absent on a mission to England nearly two years, during which time he had labored mostly in the midland counties. He had baptized nearly thirty persons during his stay there. Some of them were here to-day, and he hoped they would live their religion, and endeavor to become acquainted with God and his ways.
He believed there was ample room for the faithful labors of the Elders of Israel in that country. In many places where he had visited, of several thousand inhabitants, the gospel had not been preached for ten years.
He returned here yesterday with a company of emigrants from the old countries, and he hoped they would not expect to find perfection in Zion, for every Elder had his own weaknesses here, as in other countries, but if we sought for the Spirit of God to guide us, and were true and faithful in our duties, there was no danger of our going astray. It did not matter what kind of labor, or in what country we might be sent to, if we enjoyed the spirit of our calling we should be happy, and enabled to do good.
had been absent on a mission to England nearly two years, during which time he had labored mostly in the midland counties. He had baptized nearly thirty persons during his stay there. Some of them were here to-day, and he hoped they would live their religion, and endeavor to become acquainted with God and his ways.
He believed there was ample room for the faithful labors of the Elders of Israel in that country. In many places where he had visited, of several thousand inhabitants, the gospel had not been preached for ten years.
He returned here yesterday with a company of emigrants from the old countries, and he hoped they would not expect to find perfection in Zion, for every Elder had his own weaknesses here, as in other countries, but if we sought for the Spirit of God to guide us, and were true and faithful in our duties, there was no danger of our going astray. It did not matter what kind of labor, or in what country we might be sent to, if we enjoyed the spirit of our calling we should be happy, and enabled to do good.
Elder John Squires
felt truly thankful to have the privilege of again returning to his home and friends in these valleys of the mountains. He also felt thankful to his brethren and to his Heavenly Father for sending him on a mission. He had been made happy many times while away from here, by realizing the hand of God being continually over him. He desired to continue to be an humble instrument in the hands of God in devoting the residue of his days to the building up of the kingdom of God, and to be a blessing to his family and friends.
He exhorted the Saints to be one in all things, for it was the work of God, and to lay aside selfishness and do what we could to build up the kingdom of God.
felt truly thankful to have the privilege of again returning to his home and friends in these valleys of the mountains. He also felt thankful to his brethren and to his Heavenly Father for sending him on a mission. He had been made happy many times while away from here, by realizing the hand of God being continually over him. He desired to continue to be an humble instrument in the hands of God in devoting the residue of his days to the building up of the kingdom of God, and to be a blessing to his family and friends.
He exhorted the Saints to be one in all things, for it was the work of God, and to lay aside selfishness and do what we could to build up the kingdom of God.
Elder George Q. Cannon
said it was very interesting to listen to the testimony of the Elders who had just returned from their missions. It was easy to judge of their usefulness abroad by the spirit they made manifest on their return. There was no labor under the sun that was at all comparable with that of the labor of an Elder in Israel, while preaching the gospel without purse or scrip. If faithful to God and his priesthood, there was a joy and satisfaction attending him that the world knew nothing about. Even should he meet with persecution and perchance be cast into prison, it did not diminish his joy. This feeling was also experienced by all those who have made a covenant with God, and lived according to the requirements of the gospel.
He then portrayed the gradual straying into by forbidden paths, which, if indulged in, would inevitably result in total apostasy. No man could stand in the church if he were a hypocrite, or indulged in iniquity, for his sins would sooner or later find him out, hence the necessity for pruning the church occasionally, by cutting off the dead branches. The adversary seemed to have brought to bear against this people every conceivable bait that was possible to lead the people astray, but none of which was half so much to be dreaded, as the dullness and stupidity and darkness that had settled down upon the Elders of Israel. He then spoke of the rapid development of Utah Territory. What it was to-day was due to the industry and labor of the Saints, accompanied by the blessing of God. If God had not raised up Joseph Smith, no such office would have been created as the Governor of Utah. The object we had in settling these valleys was to secure lasting homes for ourselves, and also lay a foundation for the homes of others who might come here from every nation under heaven.
After speaking of the attempts frequently made upon us by our enemies, to deprive us of our rights and constitutional liberties, he said our position therefore was one of preservation and defence, not of aggression. We must plainly see the necessity of looking well after our own interest by carrying out a self-sustaining policy, though many, through their selfishness, had thrown every obstacle in the way to prevent a union of interests among the Saints. There was only one way for us to insure the blessing of God upon us, and that was for us to be willing to do whatever the servants of God might dictate to us, let it be what it might. God had led his servant Brigham for many years, and he would continue to do so, and if we would follow his counsels we would prosper.
said it was very interesting to listen to the testimony of the Elders who had just returned from their missions. It was easy to judge of their usefulness abroad by the spirit they made manifest on their return. There was no labor under the sun that was at all comparable with that of the labor of an Elder in Israel, while preaching the gospel without purse or scrip. If faithful to God and his priesthood, there was a joy and satisfaction attending him that the world knew nothing about. Even should he meet with persecution and perchance be cast into prison, it did not diminish his joy. This feeling was also experienced by all those who have made a covenant with God, and lived according to the requirements of the gospel.
He then portrayed the gradual straying into by forbidden paths, which, if indulged in, would inevitably result in total apostasy. No man could stand in the church if he were a hypocrite, or indulged in iniquity, for his sins would sooner or later find him out, hence the necessity for pruning the church occasionally, by cutting off the dead branches. The adversary seemed to have brought to bear against this people every conceivable bait that was possible to lead the people astray, but none of which was half so much to be dreaded, as the dullness and stupidity and darkness that had settled down upon the Elders of Israel. He then spoke of the rapid development of Utah Territory. What it was to-day was due to the industry and labor of the Saints, accompanied by the blessing of God. If God had not raised up Joseph Smith, no such office would have been created as the Governor of Utah. The object we had in settling these valleys was to secure lasting homes for ourselves, and also lay a foundation for the homes of others who might come here from every nation under heaven.
After speaking of the attempts frequently made upon us by our enemies, to deprive us of our rights and constitutional liberties, he said our position therefore was one of preservation and defence, not of aggression. We must plainly see the necessity of looking well after our own interest by carrying out a self-sustaining policy, though many, through their selfishness, had thrown every obstacle in the way to prevent a union of interests among the Saints. There was only one way for us to insure the blessing of God upon us, and that was for us to be willing to do whatever the servants of God might dictate to us, let it be what it might. God had led his servant Brigham for many years, and he would continue to do so, and if we would follow his counsels we would prosper.
The Pleasure of Serving God—Importance of the Gathering—Necessity of Obedience to the Priesthood
Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered at the Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Wednesday Afternoon, October 6, 1875.
Reported by David W. Evans.
It is exceedingly interesting to me, as I have no doubt it is to all Latter-day Saints, to hear the Elders who have been on missions bear a faithful testimony, on their return, to the truth of the work in which they have been engaged. It is a tolerably easy matter to tell, in listening to them speaking, whether they have been faithful or not in magnifying their Priesthood and calling, for a man who does not magnify his Priesthood, and who is not faithful in the discharge of the duties entrusted to him, generally manifests it by the spirit which he possesses and with which he speaks. And so, also, when men have been faithful and have striven to magnify their calling, a spirit and influence attend them that bear testimony of their faithfulness. No man can go out, ordained by those who have the authority, in faith and in humility to preach the principles of the everlasting Gospel, however peculiar and difficult the circumstances may be that surround him, however great the trials and the persecutions that he may have to contend with, without receiving an unction from the Holy One, that will bear testimony to him that the work in which he is engaged is of God, and that he has been called of God to declare the principles of life and salvation unto the people among whom his lot may be cast. There is this peculiarity and influence about this work, there is the demonstration of the Holy Ghost, which descends with convincing and overwhelming power upon all those who place themselves in a position to receive it; and there is no labor under the sun, I care not what it may be, or how pleasant the circumstances that surround him, at all comparable with the labor of an Elder in this Church, who endeavors, in humility and meekness, to magnify his calling; there is no joy which a human soul is capable of comprehending, that approaches the delight and the satisfaction which laboring in the ministry of the Son of God confers upon him who does so in faithfulness. He may be destitute, he may be without purse and scrip, as our Elders travel, he may be in the midst of enemies, he may be haled to prison, and treated with contumely, and have all manner of evil heaped upon him; but if he is faithful to God, if he is faithful to his Priesthood, and magnifies it to the extent of his ability, there is a power, an influence, and a joy resting upon and accompanying him, and filling him from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, that are incomprehensible to those who have not experienced them; and for such a man to doubt that God is with him, and that the work he is engaged in is the work of God, would be as difficult as to doubt that the sun's rays ever beam upon him, or that there is no warmth or light connected with them; in fact, such a man could as easily doubt his own existence, and the testimony of every sense that he possesses, as to doubt the testimony of God which rests down upon him.
And these blessings are not confined to those who go forth as missionaries, but they extend themselves to all who enter into covenant with God, take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, and resolve in their hearts to repent of their sins, and to tread humbly and meekly in the path which the Savior has marked out for all to walk in. They receive also, according to the measure of their responsibilities, and the position which they occupy, the same gifts and blessings, and the same joy fills their hearts that does the hearts of the faithful Elders.
When I listen to the Elders, as we have today, speaking their experience, and relating that which they have met with, and the joy they have had, it has seemed to me that, if any of the Elders, or if all the Elders, could comprehend this and enter into the spirit of it, they would say that they would devote themselves with all they possess, with every feeling of their heart, with every power of their mind, with all the strength and the ability which God has given them, to the rolling forth of his work upon the face of the earth. But the difficulty with us as individuals is, that we are like the man of whom the Apostle James speaks: we look in the glass, we see ourselves, our features are distinct to us, everything is plain to us, we see the mirrored resemblance of ourselves in the glass that we look upon, but we turn away, and we speedily forget what manner of men we are. And so it is with many who are in this Church. They have experienced joy, they have had testimonies from God, they have had the power and the gifts of God resting upon them; but after a little while, coming in contact with the world, and the spirit of the world, they forget these things, the remembrance of them fades away from their minds and other things appear more desirable to them. This is the difficulty that the servants of God have to contend with in their ministering among men. It would appear, looking at matters naturally, that if men and women had tasted the word of God, had received revelation from God, had knowledge poured into their souls concerning this being the work of God, they would always be faithful to the truth; but it is not so, and this is evidence of the great power which the adversary exercises over the hearts of the children of men. Men may behold the heavens opened and see Jesus, they may see visions, and have revelations given to them, and yet if they do not live as they should do, and cherish the Spirit of God in their hearts, all this knowledge, and these revelations and wonderful manifestations fail to keep them in the Church, to preserve them from the power of the adversary, and to deliver them from the snares that he spreads for the feet of all the children of God. And in our own experience, we can comprehend very easily how the Church of God, in ancient days, fell away from the truth, wandered into darkness, and lost the knowledge of God and the ordinances which he had established in his Church for the salvation of his people. How long would it be, were it not for the teachings, warnings and reproofs of those who are set to preside over them, before many of the Latter-day Saints, and probably a majority of them would stray into by and forbidden paths, and forget the knowledge that they once had and the blessings they once enjoyed? And yet I am thankful that people cannot stay in this Church and practice unrighteousness. I am thankful that God allows those who do not keep his commandments to fall away, so that his Church may be cleansed, and, in this respect, this Church is different from any other that is upon the earth. A man may practice iniquity and do wrong in other churches, and he may cover it up for years, and nobody, or probably but a few—himself, his God, and a few others—be aware of this wrong, and he may pass along and nobody ever imagine that there is anything wrong with him. But it is not so in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—no man can stand in this Church, or retain the Spirit of God and continue in a course of hypocrisy for any length of time. God will tear away the covering of lies and expose the wrong; he will leave the transgressor to himself, and the strength that he formerly had, which enabled him to stand and maintain his associations with the people of God, will be taken away from him, and he will be left to go down to destruction unless he repents. It is true that the Lord has said that the tares shall grow with the wheat until harvest, but it is not said that tares will not be plucked up from time to time, for if it were not so they would overpower and choke out the wheat. The sifting or weeding process has been going on from the commencement of this Church until the present time; hence it is that the leaders of this Church are stirred up in their feelings from time to time to call upon the people to repent. They understand clearly that unless there is a godly life and conversation corresponding with our profession, this people would soon fall into darkness and error, and stray from the path of righteousness.
Our enemies are not mistaken in some of their ideas respecting us, that is, respecting the power that can be brought to bear to destroy us. They seem to be well aware of the fact that, if we only conform to their customs, fashions, ideas and practices, we would soon fall away and cease, as a people, to preserve our identity. They understand this, and hence the efforts which have been made of late. It has seemed as though the adversary has been exerting every power and bringing every influence within his reach to destroy us; and the most lamentable feature—the one that has given me most concern connected with it—has been the apparent blindness of our people respecting these designs; it has seemed as though we could not see and understand their nature, and we have to a certain extent yielded ourselves willing captives and dupes to the plots that have been undertaken in our midst to destroy us. The fact that God predicted, through the mouth of his servant Daniel, and through others, that this kingdom should stand forever, has seemingly lulled a great many to sleep and caused them to think that we are perfectly safe, and that no danger can overtake us; and the fact also that we have remained in these mountains, now, for twenty-eight years without mobs, and that so many of the people who have grown up and have come here and never knew anything about them, who have joined the Church since the days of mobocracy, these causes combined have had the effect to cause a great many to be very supine, and to imagine, apparently, that we could not be disturbed, or that our safety could not be endangered by anything that might be done against us. Hence, when the servant of God has called upon us, and given us counsel upon many points, we have not seemed to understand the benefit of the counsel.
We are here in these mountains, Latter-day Saints. We have made this country, notwithstanding all that may be said to the contrary, all that it is today. Why, the very officials of this Territory today may thank God that he raised up Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, because if he had not done so there would have been no governors, judges or other federal officials of Utah Territory; there would, in fact, have been no Territory of Utah if it had not been for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Men may say what they please, but, every thinking man in this country must admit that our settlement of this country has forwarded settlement in the adjacent Territories and States for more than a quarter of a century. We have demonstrated one great fact—that men can live here, that fruit, corn and wheat, and all the cereals which belong to this latitude can be raised here by a judicious application of water, combined with industry and perseverance. We have demonstrated this; it is no longer a problem as to what this country can produce, hence you now hear of agriculture in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado and Nevada; but it is a very great query whether this would have been the case for another generation, at least, had it not been for the Latter-day Saints. What could have induced men to come here if they had not been prompted by the feeling that started us out? We had no place to go to excepting this. We wanted the meanest and most undesirable part of the continent, so that our enemies would not rob us of it, as soon as we had improved it; and when we came here we hoped we had reached a place where we could live, at least for a time, undisturbed, until we could increase and raise a generation who would be firm in the faith, and be so numerous that they could carry on the work whose foundations their fathers had laid. We came here in that spirit and with that view. Not to exclude other men from the land that we had settled; but to create homes, and a place to which men and women of every nation could come, and where they could worship God unmolested, as we desired to worship him. We cared not what their creed might be, or whether they were Jews, Pagans, Muslims, or Christians. We asked no man who came here to believe as we believed, and we had no disposition to deny them the rights that we enjoyed because they did not believe as we believed. It was in that spirit that the foundation stones of this superstructure of government in Utah Territory were laid. It was that here, not only Latter-day Saints, but, as I have said, men of every creed and clime might come and worship God unmolested by their neighbors.
But there were others who did not feel as we felt, and they were determined to curtail us of our privileges, and now for years there has been a studied and unrelenting effort to destroy the work that we have done, and to strip us of all the advantages we have gained by coming here; to wrest from us by any means that could be used, however despicable and illegal, the power that God has given us, and to which we are entitled under the laws and constitution of our country. There has been no concealment of these designs, no attempt made to gloss them over; they have been avowed, plainly and publicly, to all the land and to all the Latter-day Saints throughout these mountains, that if they could get the power to strip us of our rights they would do it without any hesitation or compunctions of conscience.
Now, my brethren and sisters, let me ask you, this being the case, what is our plain and bounden duty? It is to preserve ourselves, not only for our own sakes, not only for the sake of our children, but for the sake of humanity everywhere, and for the sake of civil and religious liberty, upon this land which God has given to us. Many will pass away after a little, and here are children, and here are mankind, many of whom, in witnessing the bold stand we have taken, are anxious to see us preserve ourselves and to see civil and religious liberty maintained by us on this land. And we owe it to them, as well as to posterity, that, by every means in our power; we do preserve ourselves and our liberties intact. If we do not, we are recreant to our high trust, and to the high calling which we have received from our Almighty Father. In doing this, must we intrude upon others? Is there any necessity for this? No; our policy is not aggressive; the true policy of the Latter-day Saints is a preservative and defensive policy; to preserve and defend ourselves when we are attacked; not to be aggressive, not to intrude upon others' rights, but to preserve our own rights. Every man and woman belonging to this community should therefore keep constantly in mind that this is the policy for which we should labor, and not consult individual interests; not say—“I can make one dollar or two dollars by stepping aside from the policy that has been marked out.” Many so-called Latter-day Saints have done this. We have people among us who, if we may judge by their actions, would sell every liberty that God has given unto us for a few dollars, and yet they call themselves Latter-day Saints. When counsel has been given by President Brigham Young—than whom a wiser counselor does not live upon the face of the earth—instead of accepting that counsel and looking at it in its true light, in its elevated light, there have been persons who have looked at it from their picayunish standpoint. They have asked—“How is that counsel going to affect my individual interests?” And many have said by their actions: “Now is my chance to make money; while the bulk of the people are obeying counsel, it will be to my advantage to disobey it. I can make money by so doing.” And they have actually taken advantage of the obedience of the people to make money by their disobedience, and yet have called themselves Latter-day Saints! Is not this the case? Do you not know it to be the case? And that spirit has been spreading and diffusing itself among this people, the example of one encouraging another, until too many have indulged in and given way to it, to the injury of the cause of God. And hence the leaders of this Church have been so deeply impressed, of late, to go forth and call upon this people to repent and turn from their folly and listen to God's voice through his inspired servant, lest He should send calamities upon them; for it is plain to be seen, as Brother Squires said, except we are one we are not Christ's, we are not God's, and that union is the only principle upon which we can be preserved. We have not strength, we have not numbers, we have not wealth, but we have union when we choose to avail ourselves of it, and with union there is strength, especially when God has promised his blessings.
Now, can you not see, you Latter-day Saints, how unwise it is for us to disobey counsel, when that counsel is given for the benefit of the whole people? This man says—“I can gain some advantage by disobeying that counsel;” this woman says—“I can gain some advantage by going contrary to that counsel,” not caring anything as to what the results may be, so that their little ends can be served to some trifling extent, and being blind to the fact that we must preserve ourselves by looking after our own interests, and taking care of the great work which God has entrusted to us. Why, it took all the eloquence of President Young for years to cause this people to see that it was not to their interest to sustain their enemies, foster their enemies, feed their enemies, take all their wealth and give it to their enemies, and those enemies plotting all the time against their liberties and their lives, and avowing it publicly and undisguisedly. Do you not remember, before cooperation was started, how long and loud the President of this Church and his counselors, and other men, had to plead with the people to get them to see this plain matter of self-preserving policy? They could not see it, that is, a great many could not see; and when cooperation was suggested they could not see that, and there are a great many who cannot see it now, and who are opposed to it in their hearts, and they are opposed to everything that will bring this people closer together, and make them more one, and they fight it, and they do not know the spirit that prompts them. It is the same today respecting the United Order; many seem to be blind, they cannot understand what it is that blinds them; but it is miserable selfishness; they become so eager after money that their judgment is beclouded. If we were united, we could control things in this country to an extent you have no conception of, and we could become rich, if riches were the desire of our hearts, there is nothing to prevent us; if we will be guided by the counsel of God's servants, we can have all the riches that heart can desire. But our miserable, shortsighted selfishness, that miserable, contracted, narrow policy that is not of God, blinds our eyes and darkens our understandings, and prevents us from seeing the true policy of building up the Zion of God on the earth, and preserving the liberty which God has given unto us.
God requires one thing of the people called Latter-day Saints, and if they will receive and obey that, everything else will follow, and that is—to obey the counsel of God's servants. If you will do that, everything else will follow in the train. And why should we not do so?
Have we not a leader whom God has blessed as he has no other man of whom we have any knowledge at present on the earth? Look at what has been done! See how God has prospered him and those who have received his counsel! Whenever he has told us to do anything, as a people, and we have done it, God has blessed us in its performance; and whenever the people, or a portion of them, have disobeyed his counsel, they have not been prospered. They have invariably lost the spirit and gone into darkness. Do you not know this? Has not the experience of the past thirty-one years confirmed this to us? How was it with us when we crossed the plains and when we came here? Did any of you know whither you were coming? I know the people did not know, but they followed his lead, believing that God led and inspired him, and that God would lead him to a place where we could locate. And look at what we see throughout these valleys today! Where is there anything like it on the face of the earth? A people gathered from every nation, speaking almost every tongue, brought up in the midst of every creed, and with every kind of habit, and yet homogeneous and dwelling together in union and love, without litigation and strife! Where can you see anything on the face of the earth that compares with it? Is it any wonder that we have faith in God and in his servant? I tell you that if there is any condemnation resting upon these Latter-day Saints, it is because of their unbelief and hardness of heart in not listening to his counsel.
Now let us be taught; let us profit by the experience of the past, and not allow ourselves to be deluded by the adversary, and by any, even if they should call themselves our friends. But no man who weakens or tries to weaken that counsel which has led us all the time, is a friend to this people.
May God bless you, my brethren and sisters, fill you with his Holy Spirit, rend the veil of darkness that beclouds our minds, darkens our eyes, and prevents our seeing the truth, and the true policy of the kingdom, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered at the Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Wednesday Afternoon, October 6, 1875.
Reported by David W. Evans.
It is exceedingly interesting to me, as I have no doubt it is to all Latter-day Saints, to hear the Elders who have been on missions bear a faithful testimony, on their return, to the truth of the work in which they have been engaged. It is a tolerably easy matter to tell, in listening to them speaking, whether they have been faithful or not in magnifying their Priesthood and calling, for a man who does not magnify his Priesthood, and who is not faithful in the discharge of the duties entrusted to him, generally manifests it by the spirit which he possesses and with which he speaks. And so, also, when men have been faithful and have striven to magnify their calling, a spirit and influence attend them that bear testimony of their faithfulness. No man can go out, ordained by those who have the authority, in faith and in humility to preach the principles of the everlasting Gospel, however peculiar and difficult the circumstances may be that surround him, however great the trials and the persecutions that he may have to contend with, without receiving an unction from the Holy One, that will bear testimony to him that the work in which he is engaged is of God, and that he has been called of God to declare the principles of life and salvation unto the people among whom his lot may be cast. There is this peculiarity and influence about this work, there is the demonstration of the Holy Ghost, which descends with convincing and overwhelming power upon all those who place themselves in a position to receive it; and there is no labor under the sun, I care not what it may be, or how pleasant the circumstances that surround him, at all comparable with the labor of an Elder in this Church, who endeavors, in humility and meekness, to magnify his calling; there is no joy which a human soul is capable of comprehending, that approaches the delight and the satisfaction which laboring in the ministry of the Son of God confers upon him who does so in faithfulness. He may be destitute, he may be without purse and scrip, as our Elders travel, he may be in the midst of enemies, he may be haled to prison, and treated with contumely, and have all manner of evil heaped upon him; but if he is faithful to God, if he is faithful to his Priesthood, and magnifies it to the extent of his ability, there is a power, an influence, and a joy resting upon and accompanying him, and filling him from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, that are incomprehensible to those who have not experienced them; and for such a man to doubt that God is with him, and that the work he is engaged in is the work of God, would be as difficult as to doubt that the sun's rays ever beam upon him, or that there is no warmth or light connected with them; in fact, such a man could as easily doubt his own existence, and the testimony of every sense that he possesses, as to doubt the testimony of God which rests down upon him.
And these blessings are not confined to those who go forth as missionaries, but they extend themselves to all who enter into covenant with God, take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, and resolve in their hearts to repent of their sins, and to tread humbly and meekly in the path which the Savior has marked out for all to walk in. They receive also, according to the measure of their responsibilities, and the position which they occupy, the same gifts and blessings, and the same joy fills their hearts that does the hearts of the faithful Elders.
When I listen to the Elders, as we have today, speaking their experience, and relating that which they have met with, and the joy they have had, it has seemed to me that, if any of the Elders, or if all the Elders, could comprehend this and enter into the spirit of it, they would say that they would devote themselves with all they possess, with every feeling of their heart, with every power of their mind, with all the strength and the ability which God has given them, to the rolling forth of his work upon the face of the earth. But the difficulty with us as individuals is, that we are like the man of whom the Apostle James speaks: we look in the glass, we see ourselves, our features are distinct to us, everything is plain to us, we see the mirrored resemblance of ourselves in the glass that we look upon, but we turn away, and we speedily forget what manner of men we are. And so it is with many who are in this Church. They have experienced joy, they have had testimonies from God, they have had the power and the gifts of God resting upon them; but after a little while, coming in contact with the world, and the spirit of the world, they forget these things, the remembrance of them fades away from their minds and other things appear more desirable to them. This is the difficulty that the servants of God have to contend with in their ministering among men. It would appear, looking at matters naturally, that if men and women had tasted the word of God, had received revelation from God, had knowledge poured into their souls concerning this being the work of God, they would always be faithful to the truth; but it is not so, and this is evidence of the great power which the adversary exercises over the hearts of the children of men. Men may behold the heavens opened and see Jesus, they may see visions, and have revelations given to them, and yet if they do not live as they should do, and cherish the Spirit of God in their hearts, all this knowledge, and these revelations and wonderful manifestations fail to keep them in the Church, to preserve them from the power of the adversary, and to deliver them from the snares that he spreads for the feet of all the children of God. And in our own experience, we can comprehend very easily how the Church of God, in ancient days, fell away from the truth, wandered into darkness, and lost the knowledge of God and the ordinances which he had established in his Church for the salvation of his people. How long would it be, were it not for the teachings, warnings and reproofs of those who are set to preside over them, before many of the Latter-day Saints, and probably a majority of them would stray into by and forbidden paths, and forget the knowledge that they once had and the blessings they once enjoyed? And yet I am thankful that people cannot stay in this Church and practice unrighteousness. I am thankful that God allows those who do not keep his commandments to fall away, so that his Church may be cleansed, and, in this respect, this Church is different from any other that is upon the earth. A man may practice iniquity and do wrong in other churches, and he may cover it up for years, and nobody, or probably but a few—himself, his God, and a few others—be aware of this wrong, and he may pass along and nobody ever imagine that there is anything wrong with him. But it is not so in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—no man can stand in this Church, or retain the Spirit of God and continue in a course of hypocrisy for any length of time. God will tear away the covering of lies and expose the wrong; he will leave the transgressor to himself, and the strength that he formerly had, which enabled him to stand and maintain his associations with the people of God, will be taken away from him, and he will be left to go down to destruction unless he repents. It is true that the Lord has said that the tares shall grow with the wheat until harvest, but it is not said that tares will not be plucked up from time to time, for if it were not so they would overpower and choke out the wheat. The sifting or weeding process has been going on from the commencement of this Church until the present time; hence it is that the leaders of this Church are stirred up in their feelings from time to time to call upon the people to repent. They understand clearly that unless there is a godly life and conversation corresponding with our profession, this people would soon fall into darkness and error, and stray from the path of righteousness.
Our enemies are not mistaken in some of their ideas respecting us, that is, respecting the power that can be brought to bear to destroy us. They seem to be well aware of the fact that, if we only conform to their customs, fashions, ideas and practices, we would soon fall away and cease, as a people, to preserve our identity. They understand this, and hence the efforts which have been made of late. It has seemed as though the adversary has been exerting every power and bringing every influence within his reach to destroy us; and the most lamentable feature—the one that has given me most concern connected with it—has been the apparent blindness of our people respecting these designs; it has seemed as though we could not see and understand their nature, and we have to a certain extent yielded ourselves willing captives and dupes to the plots that have been undertaken in our midst to destroy us. The fact that God predicted, through the mouth of his servant Daniel, and through others, that this kingdom should stand forever, has seemingly lulled a great many to sleep and caused them to think that we are perfectly safe, and that no danger can overtake us; and the fact also that we have remained in these mountains, now, for twenty-eight years without mobs, and that so many of the people who have grown up and have come here and never knew anything about them, who have joined the Church since the days of mobocracy, these causes combined have had the effect to cause a great many to be very supine, and to imagine, apparently, that we could not be disturbed, or that our safety could not be endangered by anything that might be done against us. Hence, when the servant of God has called upon us, and given us counsel upon many points, we have not seemed to understand the benefit of the counsel.
We are here in these mountains, Latter-day Saints. We have made this country, notwithstanding all that may be said to the contrary, all that it is today. Why, the very officials of this Territory today may thank God that he raised up Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, because if he had not done so there would have been no governors, judges or other federal officials of Utah Territory; there would, in fact, have been no Territory of Utah if it had not been for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Men may say what they please, but, every thinking man in this country must admit that our settlement of this country has forwarded settlement in the adjacent Territories and States for more than a quarter of a century. We have demonstrated one great fact—that men can live here, that fruit, corn and wheat, and all the cereals which belong to this latitude can be raised here by a judicious application of water, combined with industry and perseverance. We have demonstrated this; it is no longer a problem as to what this country can produce, hence you now hear of agriculture in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado and Nevada; but it is a very great query whether this would have been the case for another generation, at least, had it not been for the Latter-day Saints. What could have induced men to come here if they had not been prompted by the feeling that started us out? We had no place to go to excepting this. We wanted the meanest and most undesirable part of the continent, so that our enemies would not rob us of it, as soon as we had improved it; and when we came here we hoped we had reached a place where we could live, at least for a time, undisturbed, until we could increase and raise a generation who would be firm in the faith, and be so numerous that they could carry on the work whose foundations their fathers had laid. We came here in that spirit and with that view. Not to exclude other men from the land that we had settled; but to create homes, and a place to which men and women of every nation could come, and where they could worship God unmolested, as we desired to worship him. We cared not what their creed might be, or whether they were Jews, Pagans, Muslims, or Christians. We asked no man who came here to believe as we believed, and we had no disposition to deny them the rights that we enjoyed because they did not believe as we believed. It was in that spirit that the foundation stones of this superstructure of government in Utah Territory were laid. It was that here, not only Latter-day Saints, but, as I have said, men of every creed and clime might come and worship God unmolested by their neighbors.
But there were others who did not feel as we felt, and they were determined to curtail us of our privileges, and now for years there has been a studied and unrelenting effort to destroy the work that we have done, and to strip us of all the advantages we have gained by coming here; to wrest from us by any means that could be used, however despicable and illegal, the power that God has given us, and to which we are entitled under the laws and constitution of our country. There has been no concealment of these designs, no attempt made to gloss them over; they have been avowed, plainly and publicly, to all the land and to all the Latter-day Saints throughout these mountains, that if they could get the power to strip us of our rights they would do it without any hesitation or compunctions of conscience.
Now, my brethren and sisters, let me ask you, this being the case, what is our plain and bounden duty? It is to preserve ourselves, not only for our own sakes, not only for the sake of our children, but for the sake of humanity everywhere, and for the sake of civil and religious liberty, upon this land which God has given to us. Many will pass away after a little, and here are children, and here are mankind, many of whom, in witnessing the bold stand we have taken, are anxious to see us preserve ourselves and to see civil and religious liberty maintained by us on this land. And we owe it to them, as well as to posterity, that, by every means in our power; we do preserve ourselves and our liberties intact. If we do not, we are recreant to our high trust, and to the high calling which we have received from our Almighty Father. In doing this, must we intrude upon others? Is there any necessity for this? No; our policy is not aggressive; the true policy of the Latter-day Saints is a preservative and defensive policy; to preserve and defend ourselves when we are attacked; not to be aggressive, not to intrude upon others' rights, but to preserve our own rights. Every man and woman belonging to this community should therefore keep constantly in mind that this is the policy for which we should labor, and not consult individual interests; not say—“I can make one dollar or two dollars by stepping aside from the policy that has been marked out.” Many so-called Latter-day Saints have done this. We have people among us who, if we may judge by their actions, would sell every liberty that God has given unto us for a few dollars, and yet they call themselves Latter-day Saints. When counsel has been given by President Brigham Young—than whom a wiser counselor does not live upon the face of the earth—instead of accepting that counsel and looking at it in its true light, in its elevated light, there have been persons who have looked at it from their picayunish standpoint. They have asked—“How is that counsel going to affect my individual interests?” And many have said by their actions: “Now is my chance to make money; while the bulk of the people are obeying counsel, it will be to my advantage to disobey it. I can make money by so doing.” And they have actually taken advantage of the obedience of the people to make money by their disobedience, and yet have called themselves Latter-day Saints! Is not this the case? Do you not know it to be the case? And that spirit has been spreading and diffusing itself among this people, the example of one encouraging another, until too many have indulged in and given way to it, to the injury of the cause of God. And hence the leaders of this Church have been so deeply impressed, of late, to go forth and call upon this people to repent and turn from their folly and listen to God's voice through his inspired servant, lest He should send calamities upon them; for it is plain to be seen, as Brother Squires said, except we are one we are not Christ's, we are not God's, and that union is the only principle upon which we can be preserved. We have not strength, we have not numbers, we have not wealth, but we have union when we choose to avail ourselves of it, and with union there is strength, especially when God has promised his blessings.
Now, can you not see, you Latter-day Saints, how unwise it is for us to disobey counsel, when that counsel is given for the benefit of the whole people? This man says—“I can gain some advantage by disobeying that counsel;” this woman says—“I can gain some advantage by going contrary to that counsel,” not caring anything as to what the results may be, so that their little ends can be served to some trifling extent, and being blind to the fact that we must preserve ourselves by looking after our own interests, and taking care of the great work which God has entrusted to us. Why, it took all the eloquence of President Young for years to cause this people to see that it was not to their interest to sustain their enemies, foster their enemies, feed their enemies, take all their wealth and give it to their enemies, and those enemies plotting all the time against their liberties and their lives, and avowing it publicly and undisguisedly. Do you not remember, before cooperation was started, how long and loud the President of this Church and his counselors, and other men, had to plead with the people to get them to see this plain matter of self-preserving policy? They could not see it, that is, a great many could not see; and when cooperation was suggested they could not see that, and there are a great many who cannot see it now, and who are opposed to it in their hearts, and they are opposed to everything that will bring this people closer together, and make them more one, and they fight it, and they do not know the spirit that prompts them. It is the same today respecting the United Order; many seem to be blind, they cannot understand what it is that blinds them; but it is miserable selfishness; they become so eager after money that their judgment is beclouded. If we were united, we could control things in this country to an extent you have no conception of, and we could become rich, if riches were the desire of our hearts, there is nothing to prevent us; if we will be guided by the counsel of God's servants, we can have all the riches that heart can desire. But our miserable, shortsighted selfishness, that miserable, contracted, narrow policy that is not of God, blinds our eyes and darkens our understandings, and prevents us from seeing the true policy of building up the Zion of God on the earth, and preserving the liberty which God has given unto us.
God requires one thing of the people called Latter-day Saints, and if they will receive and obey that, everything else will follow, and that is—to obey the counsel of God's servants. If you will do that, everything else will follow in the train. And why should we not do so?
Have we not a leader whom God has blessed as he has no other man of whom we have any knowledge at present on the earth? Look at what has been done! See how God has prospered him and those who have received his counsel! Whenever he has told us to do anything, as a people, and we have done it, God has blessed us in its performance; and whenever the people, or a portion of them, have disobeyed his counsel, they have not been prospered. They have invariably lost the spirit and gone into darkness. Do you not know this? Has not the experience of the past thirty-one years confirmed this to us? How was it with us when we crossed the plains and when we came here? Did any of you know whither you were coming? I know the people did not know, but they followed his lead, believing that God led and inspired him, and that God would lead him to a place where we could locate. And look at what we see throughout these valleys today! Where is there anything like it on the face of the earth? A people gathered from every nation, speaking almost every tongue, brought up in the midst of every creed, and with every kind of habit, and yet homogeneous and dwelling together in union and love, without litigation and strife! Where can you see anything on the face of the earth that compares with it? Is it any wonder that we have faith in God and in his servant? I tell you that if there is any condemnation resting upon these Latter-day Saints, it is because of their unbelief and hardness of heart in not listening to his counsel.
Now let us be taught; let us profit by the experience of the past, and not allow ourselves to be deluded by the adversary, and by any, even if they should call themselves our friends. But no man who weakens or tries to weaken that counsel which has led us all the time, is a friend to this people.
May God bless you, my brethren and sisters, fill you with his Holy Spirit, rend the veil of darkness that beclouds our minds, darkens our eyes, and prevents our seeing the truth, and the true policy of the kingdom, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
President B. Young
made a few remarks.
The Conference was adjourned till 10 o’clock to-morrow morning.
The choir sang an anthem—“Rejoice in the Lord.”
Benediction by Elder W. Woodruff.
made a few remarks.
The Conference was adjourned till 10 o’clock to-morrow morning.
The choir sang an anthem—“Rejoice in the Lord.”
Benediction by Elder W. Woodruff.
SECOND DAY.
Thursday, Oct. 7, 10 a.m.
The following additional authorities were also present this morning--
Of the First Presidency.—D. H. Wells.
Of the Twelve.—Orson Hyde, Erastus Snow, Lorenzo Snow and Franklin D. Richards.
The choir sang—Come, all ye Saints who dwell on earth, Your cheerful voices raise.
Prayer by Elder Orson Pratt.
The choir sang—Mortals, awake, with angels join, And chant the solemn lay.
Thursday, Oct. 7, 10 a.m.
The following additional authorities were also present this morning--
Of the First Presidency.—D. H. Wells.
Of the Twelve.—Orson Hyde, Erastus Snow, Lorenzo Snow and Franklin D. Richards.
The choir sang—Come, all ye Saints who dwell on earth, Your cheerful voices raise.
Prayer by Elder Orson Pratt.
The choir sang—Mortals, awake, with angels join, And chant the solemn lay.
President D. H. Wells
made a comparison between the past and present condition and number of the Saints and the country they inhabit. The Lord made no mistake when he commenced this work. There were but very few at the start, and now the Saints number a great many thousands, occupying hundreds of settlements. The Temple of the Lord in St. George was progressing very favorably. It seemed to have sprung into existence with great rapidity. The Saints of God are increasing and multiplying very fast, and we should stand shoulder to shoulder for the rule of peace and righteousness. All we had to do was to render obedience to the voice of the Lord. The word of the Lord some time ago to the United States through Joseph Smith the Prophet was for them to abolish slavery, and their owners to receive compensation for them out of the U. S. treasury. This would not have cost the government near so much as the war, and would have saved the shedding of rivers of blood. The word of the Lord always came through the channel of the Holy Priesthood. It was the duty and privilege of all presiding men in this kingdom to have the mind and will of God pertaining to those over whom they presided. God had spoken from the heavens, and sent his servants to warn the people to flee from the wrath to come. We, as a people, had got the faith of the holy gospel, and yet many of us had gone astray, and were now called upon to reform our lives, repent of all our past errors and sins, be rebaptized for the remission of them, and get a renewal of the Holy Ghost. Wherein we had injured our neighbors, we should make restitution, and remove every obstacle out of the way, so that we could partake of the Sacrament worthily. Unless our repentance were true and genuine, we should never offer ourselves for rebaptism, for it would be solemn mockery before God, and would sink us deeper under condemnation. We could not stand still in this work. We must either go backward or progress. We had to be united and resist the encroachments of the enemy. It was a gratifying fact, of which he wished to bear testimony, that the majority of this people were for God and his Kingdom. A constant stream of revelation was continually flowing, and had been for many years past, and it was for us to observe it as it came along, so that we might not be left behind. We must not swerve to the right hand nor to the left, but pursue a straight and onward course, that we might finally be saved in the kingdom of God. We must not trifle with the covenants we had made with the Lord, but be united as the heart of one man.
made a comparison between the past and present condition and number of the Saints and the country they inhabit. The Lord made no mistake when he commenced this work. There were but very few at the start, and now the Saints number a great many thousands, occupying hundreds of settlements. The Temple of the Lord in St. George was progressing very favorably. It seemed to have sprung into existence with great rapidity. The Saints of God are increasing and multiplying very fast, and we should stand shoulder to shoulder for the rule of peace and righteousness. All we had to do was to render obedience to the voice of the Lord. The word of the Lord some time ago to the United States through Joseph Smith the Prophet was for them to abolish slavery, and their owners to receive compensation for them out of the U. S. treasury. This would not have cost the government near so much as the war, and would have saved the shedding of rivers of blood. The word of the Lord always came through the channel of the Holy Priesthood. It was the duty and privilege of all presiding men in this kingdom to have the mind and will of God pertaining to those over whom they presided. God had spoken from the heavens, and sent his servants to warn the people to flee from the wrath to come. We, as a people, had got the faith of the holy gospel, and yet many of us had gone astray, and were now called upon to reform our lives, repent of all our past errors and sins, be rebaptized for the remission of them, and get a renewal of the Holy Ghost. Wherein we had injured our neighbors, we should make restitution, and remove every obstacle out of the way, so that we could partake of the Sacrament worthily. Unless our repentance were true and genuine, we should never offer ourselves for rebaptism, for it would be solemn mockery before God, and would sink us deeper under condemnation. We could not stand still in this work. We must either go backward or progress. We had to be united and resist the encroachments of the enemy. It was a gratifying fact, of which he wished to bear testimony, that the majority of this people were for God and his Kingdom. A constant stream of revelation was continually flowing, and had been for many years past, and it was for us to observe it as it came along, so that we might not be left behind. We must not swerve to the right hand nor to the left, but pursue a straight and onward course, that we might finally be saved in the kingdom of God. We must not trifle with the covenants we had made with the Lord, but be united as the heart of one man.
The Blessing of Life for Evermore—The Lord Commanded the United States Government to Purchase Freedom for Their Slaves—Reformation Necessary that the Saints May Progress Faster—Salvation Comes By Faithfulness and Endurance in Christ
Discourse by President Daniel H. Wells, delivered at the Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Thursday Morning, Oct. 7, 1875.
Reported by David W. Evans.
It affords me pleasure to meet once more with the Saints in General Conference assembled, where we may pledge ourselves again, and bear our testimony, and raise our warning voices to the world in regard to the great work that the Lord is accomplishing in the earth through the instrumentality of his children who have enlisted under King Emanuel's banner, and are willing to unite with him in accomplishing his purposes on the earth. His kingdom is being established here in the valleys of the mountains. Settlements are being formed, towns and villages are springing up, and people, who have made a covenant with God, are reclaiming the earth from the thralldom of sin and iniquity in which it has so long been held in bondage; and instead of being in a little city or town in Illinois, where we were not permitted to dwell, we are here in the valleys of the mountains, possessing from one hundred and fifty to two hundred towns, villages and settlements. The Lord has thus strengthened the stakes, enlarged the borders, and lengthened the cords of Zion, and he has reclaimed from the dominion of the wicked the amount of the earth's surface that is now occupied by his Saints, at least, so long as they hold it for him and his kingdom, and themselves for his work. The world belongs to the Lord, and he has the right to govern and control it, and he is going to do so. We are preparing the way for his kingdom and coming, for he certainly designs to come here just as soon as the people are prepared to receive him, and perhaps sooner than some will be willing to receive him. I have sometimes thought, that if he were now at the gate, we should feel we would rather he would wait awhile until we could fix up matters before he was introduced. The way is preparing, however, and I feel to rejoice this morning that I can bear my testimony to the increase of the numbers of the Saints of God, and to the increase of faith and good works among them.
The dominion of the Lord is extending upon the earth, a little here and a little there, sometimes, perhaps, going a little too far, and dodging back a little for a time, and then springing forward again, and so going on, on every side. The Lord has made no mistake, he understands what he is doing a great deal better than some of us do, and I apprehend that a great many people are bringing about the Lord's purposes unwittingly. Perhaps they would not do as well in this respect as they are now doing if they understood, to the fullest extent, the result of the course they are taking. But really the Lord is at work with a great many people, some of whom see the kingdom, and some do not; and he has even said that he will cause the wrath of the wicked and ungodly to praise him, and the remainder of their wrath he will restrain. This is true, and has been illustrated in the history of this people. When they were driven from Nauvoo, the disposition of their enemies was to destroy every vestige of the authority of the holy Priesthood from the face of the earth; and that disposition still exists in the hearts of a great many people, and if they had the power they would carry it out. Well, the Lord, in the early days of the Church, suffered enough of this disposition to be gratified to cause the exodus of his people from Missouri and Illinois, and they were finally kicked right into the middle of the floor, into these valleys of the mountains; and when the purposes of the Lord were so far subserved by the wrath of the wicked, he restrained them, and his people have been blessed and prospered, and the earth has been made to bring forth its strength for their sustenance, and we see prosperity on every hand in the dwelling places of the Saints. A country has been put into their possession, where the Lord can strengthen their feet, and he is doing so, whether we understand it or not. Many will doubtless make shipwreck of their faith, and will be led away by the allurements of sin into by and forbidden paths; yet the kingdom will not be taken from this people and given to another, but a people will come forth from among us who will be zealous of good works, willing to do the bidding of the Lord, who will be taught in his ways, and who will walk in his paths. We, if we are willing, may be humble instruments in the hands of God, in bringing to pass his great and glorious kingdom.
We have a Temple pretty near ready to go into in St. George. It is progressing very favorably, and is a magnificent structure, and in a short time we shall be able to enter it, and receive blessings for time and eternity, for ourselves and our dead. Let me say to the Latter-day Saints, that the blessings of the Lord, even life for evermore, are commanded here in these valleys of the mountains. I will read a few words from the Psalmist—“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard: even Aaron's beard, that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.” Anciently, this blessing was commanded in the mountains of Zion on the eastern hemisphere, but in our day the Lord has revealed himself, and has spoken from the heavens to his servant on the western continent. Where the authority of the holy Priesthood is, dwells the blessing of the Lord, and there has he commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
We are united in our faith, in our works, and in our feelings and interests; and in every capacity that is possible the Latter-day Saints should stand shoulder to shoulder, presenting before the Lord and before the world an unbroken phalanx to resist the powers and insinuations of the enemy and the approaches of evil in every direction. The people here are increasing and multiplying, they are disposed, as a general thing, to do as the Lord wants them to do; but wickedness will creep in. We must purify our hearts. The Lord says—“Son, give me thy heart.” We must give our hearts to the Lord our God, then he can accept of us. Many are called but few are chosen. We are all called to be co-helpers with the Lord in establishing his purposes in the earth, in sustaining holy and righteous principles, and the institutions of high heaven which the Lord has revealed, and the organizations which he has introduced in the midst of the earth. We are called upon to sustain them, and to bear them off triumphantly, to lay a foundation for the rule of truth, peace, and righteousness in the earth, and to prepare the way for the ushering in of that great and glorious kingdom of peace that will stand forever and ever. This is the work of the Latter-day Saints, and the Lord will perform it through the instrumentality of those who are willing and obedient in the day of his power. We can have lot and part herein if we have a mind to; so may all the children of earth; all they have to do is to render obedience to the voice of the Lord, and the whole world ought to be glad of the opportunity to do that. The Lord invites us to come, he is anxious and desirous that we should come to him and learn of him. He says—“Take upon you my yoke, for it is easy, and my burden, for it is light; come, partake of the waters of life freely.” “Turn from your evils, for why will ye die, O house of Israel.” The Lord is talking to the people, and sending forth his warning voice to the nations of the wicked and ungodly, and as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man; the righteous were saved and the wicked were destroyed then, so they will be in these latter days, for the hour of God's judgment is come, and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ, and they will be given to his Saints.
Who would not be a Saint? Why a great many people reject the word of the Lord and have no respect for it whatever, and too many of those who profess to be Latter-day Saints are in the same condition. It is not a great while since the word of the Lord came through Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Lord, to this nation, to free their slaves, and for the Government to pay for them out of the treasury of the United States. Would the people receive the word of the Lord through his servant? No, they would not. What was the result? Why a fratricidal civil war in which thousands of millions of dollars were spent, devastation was spread over the land and rivers of blood were shed, and all this might have been avoided and the slaves liberated by peaceful means at not more than one-tenth of the expense, if they would have hearkened to the word of the Lord. Everybody can see now that that would have been the best course to take, but nobody could see it and nobody would receive it when it was given. Do not let us be afraid of the word of the Lord. He never did and he never will reveal a principle to the children of men, but what, if it be carried out, will prove to their greatest interest and advantage. I merely mention this to illustrate a subject which is quite familiar to the Saints, but which the world do not know so much about.
Now, we are here in obedience to a great command, a command given by the Almighty to his Saints to gather out from Babylon, lest they be partakers of her sins and receive of her plagues. But if we are going to partake of her sins in Zion, and to nourish and cherish the wicked and ungodly, what better shall we be for gathering? Shall we escape her plagues by so doing? No, there is no promise to that effect, but if we practice the sins and iniquities of Babylon here in Zion, we may expect to receive of her plagues and to be destroyed. We have duties to perform here, which devolve upon us as Saints of the Most High. The Book of Doctrine and Covenants informs us that things will be revealed, in this the dispensation of the fullness of times, that have been kept hidden from before the foundation of the world. Should we be surprised, then, when a new principle is manifested among us from the Lord through the channel of the holy Priesthood? Do we realize that this is the channel through which the mind and will of God our Father is made known unto us? Here is the Bible, of what is it composed? Of a compilation of things made known to the children of men in former ages through the instrumentality of the holy Priesthood. The word of the Lord to the people has always come through that channel, and it always will. It is the same authority that exists in the heavens, by which the Gods themselves are governed, and by which they control all things; and it is among the privileges of every man and every woman to approach the Lord through this channel, and learn his mind and will concerning them. And through this same channel a Bishop may learn the mind of the Lord about his ward, the president of a quorum about his quorum, and the President of the whole Church the mind and will of the Lord concerning the people; and so through all the quorums and organizations of the Church, from first to last, all may approach the Lord through the channel of the holy Priesthood, and learn his mind and will concerning them. It is the privilege of the father and mother of a family to obtain the mind and will of the Lord, to enable them to guide their children in the ways of eternal life. This is no child's play, or fable. The Lord has spoken from the heavens, and we bear testimony thereof to all the nations of the earth. Listen, then, to his voice! It comes to all, it comes to the Latter-day Saints through the channel of the Priesthood located here in the valleys of the mountains. Hear it, all ye nations of the earth! Come up here, and learn the mind and will of the Lord. Take warning, that you may escape his wrath when his judgments shall be poured out, because they will be just as sure as they were in the days of Noah. This is the work of the Lord, and we bear testimony of these things continually in your ears. You, of course, do as you please about receiving or believing our testimony; that makes no difference in regard to the truth of the matter. It is God's truth, and it is extending and will continue to do so until it prevails and triumphs over every obstacle.
The Latter-day Saints have a work to do, not only in proclaiming the Gospel and warning the people, but to build up Zion right here upon the earth. Not afar off in some far distant sphere, but here, where the Lord has planted their feet, in the valleys of the mountains. And we must be united and must operate together, as far as in our power lies, to bring to pass the purposes of the Almighty, because righteousness, and peace and harmony must dwell in the kingdom. A house divided against itself cannot stand. Is a reformation needed amongst the Saints? Yes, it is needed with us all. We must reform and continue to reform. We have inherited lies from, and are full of the traditions of, the fathers. We have all imbibed errors in our infant years, and the enemy is on the alert, ready to enter in and to lead into by and forbidden paths the footsteps of the young, that he may cause them to make shipwreck of their faith and go away from the truth, the eternal truth of heaven. The world is waging a warfare against this little handful of people in the valleys of the mountains. Why? Because we have got the truth, the true faith of the holy Gospel; we have the authority of the holy Priesthood that has come down from heaven. They are anxious to destroy this authority and the servants of the Lord who bear it, and they are anxious to uproot and destroy us as a people. Then, in order to defend ourselves, let us go to with our mights, unite as the heart of one man, and stand shoulder to shoulder in building up the kingdom of God upon the earth. If we have lost our faith in the work, why, of course, we can't be expected to do anything more towards building it up; but if we are assured in our own minds that this is the truth, that “Mormonism” so-called, is the everlasting Gospel, that it has been revealed by direct revelation from the Lord in these last days, and that we are really his people, let us go to and reform our lives. There is need of it, we have been slack, negligent and dilatory, and peradventure we have done a great many things we ought not to have done; perhaps we have been guilty of sins of omission as well as sins of commission, and we need to repent, and to go down into the waters of baptism inasmuch as we have the privilege, and have our sins washed away, and have hands laid upon us for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and rise in newness of life, with a firm determination that henceforth we will divest ourselves of those evils, that we will keep the Lord's day holy, attend to our meetings, partake of the Sacrament, and that we will be more diligent in regard to the words of the Lord that have been given to us, and that are given to us continually, for the stream flows unceasingly through the channel of the Priesthood to the people. Let us listen to the voice and the whisperings of the Spirit, and if there be an obstacle in the way let us remove it. If we have hard feelings one towards another, envyings, strifes, or anything that is calculated to mar our peace and happiness, let us go and make that right, and then come and partake of the emblems of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, through whose sufferings and death an atonement has been worked out for our salvation. Every Latter-day Saint needs the inspiring, refreshing influence of the Spirit of God to flow to him continually. Reflect a moment, and remember that when the plants in our gardens and fields are withering under the scorching sun, how carefully we go along the water sects, clear out every obstacle and turn in the water, so that it may reach and revive every plant, that they may all live and grow. So should the Latter-day Saints remove every obstacle that lies in their way to the reception and flow of the Spirit of the Lord to them. If you have aught against your neighbor or friend, go and make that right; if you have done any wicked thing, broken any of the commandments of the Lord, repent and be baptized for the remission of these sins, and turn away from them. No man can get a greater evidence of the Lord's having forgiven him his sins, than the knowledge that he has actually turned away from them, and that he is living in obedience to the principles of the holy Gospel. Every man and every woman knows this for himself or herself, and if they have, then may they know that the Lord has forgiven them their sins, and not without. A person may commit iniquity and think he can hide it up; but let me say to such a person that you know it, and that is one too many, and the Lord knows it, and that is two too many, and out of the mouth of two or three witnesses every word will be established, and you will give this evidence against yourself sooner or later. And all who have committed sin or transgression of any kind must repent of it and be baptized for the remission thereof; and unless they repent sincerely, with a repentance that needs not to be repented of, they had better not go near the waters of baptism, for it will be a solemn mockery before high heaven. I say that if you intend to keep straight along in your own indifferent way all the time, stay away, never offer yourselves for baptism, for that would be a mockery and would only add to your condemnation, instead of being a benefit to you.
I might enumerate what evils we are guilty of, but I do not wish to confess the sins of the people, I have enough of my own. But let us examine ourselves individually, and repent of that wherein we have done amiss in the sight of the Lord. How indifferent we have been about his word from time to time when it has been given to us! The servants of the Lord have proclaimed his will unto us year after year, and I sometimes think that we are preached to too much; but yet when a principle is revealed from the Lord, the people are very reluctant to take hold of it, which shows that we need to be instructed in regard to our duties as Saints of God, that we may be so in very deed. Latter-day Saints must progress, they cannot stand still; and if they do not progress in the faith of the holy Gospel, and in the things of God, they are progressing in the other direction, and they will finally come to a point when the counsel of their minds will be darkened, and they will be unable to see the kingdom.
This cause is great and glorious, and it is worthy of our utmost endeavors and attention, and all that we have and are, or can be. It is worthy of all the means we can control, and of all the talents and ability that pertain to us in this life, for in it lie our best interests, for by embracing and living according to the faith of the holy Gospel, we shall be exalted in the scale of human existence, and it is impossible to be otherwise. If we embrace principles of vice and go in the ways of wickedness and wicked men, we are on the way to death and destruction.
There are some amongst us, perhaps, who, in their feelings, have given way to a spirit of faultfinding with those who are over them, it may be with their Bishop, or with the President. If they persist in this course, it will not be long before they give expression to their feelings to some friend who is of like mind, and who sympathizes with them, and it will not be a great while, if such persons do not turn a short corner and repent, before they make shipwreck of their faith, and they will go to the devil at last. How many of us have seen those who have stood firm in the faith a great while, and through whom the Lord has made manifest his goodness and deliverances from time to time, in the laying on of hands and healing the sick, and yet they have let the devil cheat them out of their salvation at last, by causing them to commit some kind of iniquity, peradventure adultery, and you know that the Book of Doctrine and Covenants says that whosoever will do that will deny the faith anyhow, unless they repent. If any have been guilty of any of these evils, it is important, if they want salvation, that they repent, and do them no more forever.
We read in this book, the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, how people may attain to the different degrees of glory, telestial, terrestrial, and celestial, and we are told that it is by observing the laws which pertain to these several kingdoms. There is no other way that I know of. If we ever expect a celestial glory, we must observe the laws of the kingdom where that glory exists; and so with any other degree of glory. Well, then, as Latter-day Saints, we see that we have enough to do. We have to be united that we may resist the encroachments of the enemy, that we may be prospered and blessed in the earth, and work to better advantage than we have been doing heretofore, and cooperate with each other and with the Lord in building up his kingdom upon the earth. If we can see that kingdom, let us go to and man the ship Zion.
I feel to bear my testimony to this great work of the last days, and also in behalf of the people, that the predominating influence among them is, in my opinion, for God. I am gratified exceedingly to be able to make this statement, and to bear this testimony. Still we have need to repent, that we may progress faster, that we may accomplish a great work during the day, for the night cometh when no man can work. It is incumbent upon each and every one of us to do all that in our power lies, and not neglect our opportunity, for when once passed it has passed forever. It is for us then to work for the Lord and his cause and kingdom with all our might, mind, and strength, and to sustain the principles and institutions of high heaven that he has organized among his people, and so be prepared to receive that which may come; for we may expect, if we have the living oracles among us, which we have, and I bear testimony to it, that other new principles will keep coming along as fast as the people are prepared to receive them, and a great deal faster than a great many are prepared. I bear my testimony that there is a constant stream of revelation concerning us here, and that the mind and will of God is being poured out upon us continually. It has not been slackened one particle, but it is right here with us today. The Bible is a compilation of the revelations of God which have been given in various ages, and it is good. But the living oracles are for us. We are not called upon to build and enter into an ark, like Noah was; the ark of safety that we have to build is different from what it was in his day. But as Noah had to be guided in laying the foundation and rearing the superstructure of his ark by revelation from the God of heaven, so have we in these latter days; and by the revelations of heaven, through the channel of the holy Priesthood, we have to be continually taught in the ways of the Lord, that we may walk in his paths. It is not for every man to go after his own foolish notion, and the phantom of his own brain; the kingdom can never be built up if everyone walks in the path he marks out for himself. It is God's kingdom, and it is ours also, inasmuch as we will make our ways correspond with his, and take a course to be reckoned among his jewels when he makes up those upon whom he will confer eternal riches.
This earthly probation is a day of trial. We have to pass through tests and ordeals, and have to prove ourselves worthy to be numbered among that great company who will stand as saviors upon Mount Zion, with the very impress of Deity upon them—the name of God written upon their foreheads. “These are they,” says the Apostle, “who come up through much tribulation.” The Lord will have a tried people, those who have proven their integrity before high heaven, and none others will be counted worthy to receive and inherit the eternal riches. He that endures faithful to the end, the same will be saved; but the word endure is there, we have to endure all things. He that is faithful over a few things, will be made ruler over many; but the word faithful is there. We can't go indifferently along all the days of our lives, and fly the track the very moment an obstacle is presented before us, or a difficulty looms up in the way; we must overcome that difficulty, and rise above that obstacle, and not swerve to the right hand or to the left. So shall we prove our integrity before heaven, and, by enduring to the end, we shall be saved in God's kingdom; and having been faithful over a few things, we shall receive others, and be made rulers over many things. You thus see that salvation today is gained upon the same principle as that upon which it was gained in the days of the Savior and his Apostles.
I feel to thank the Lord for his blessings, and that I can see his handiwork in the midst of the people. I can see the increase of his power and his dominion in the earth, for rest assured it is increasing on every side, and in the hearts of the people, and we wish it to increase more rapidly there for their own sakes, for your sake, for my sake, and it is for our advantage individually. The Lord and one good man, we are told, are a great majority, so it does not matter so much to him how many there are on his side; the principal thing is for those who profess to be his followers and servants to be faithful and true in keeping the covenants they have made with him, and not be everlastingly breaking the same, and thereby forfeiting the rights and blessings they might otherwise enjoy. We can't be blessed, we cannot stand, we cannot be made rulers over many things, we cannot receive inheritances, kingdoms, thrones, principalities, powers, dominions, exaltations in the celestial kingdoms, unless we are faithful in all things, if need be unto death; and if we fail in this we shall most assuredly be clipped of our glory.
Let us, then, my brethren and sisters, live so that we may at least have a reasonable hope of attaining to these great blessings which are the gift of God. That we may do so and preserve ourselves in integrity before high heaven, and be united together as the heart and voice of one man, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Discourse by President Daniel H. Wells, delivered at the Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Thursday Morning, Oct. 7, 1875.
Reported by David W. Evans.
It affords me pleasure to meet once more with the Saints in General Conference assembled, where we may pledge ourselves again, and bear our testimony, and raise our warning voices to the world in regard to the great work that the Lord is accomplishing in the earth through the instrumentality of his children who have enlisted under King Emanuel's banner, and are willing to unite with him in accomplishing his purposes on the earth. His kingdom is being established here in the valleys of the mountains. Settlements are being formed, towns and villages are springing up, and people, who have made a covenant with God, are reclaiming the earth from the thralldom of sin and iniquity in which it has so long been held in bondage; and instead of being in a little city or town in Illinois, where we were not permitted to dwell, we are here in the valleys of the mountains, possessing from one hundred and fifty to two hundred towns, villages and settlements. The Lord has thus strengthened the stakes, enlarged the borders, and lengthened the cords of Zion, and he has reclaimed from the dominion of the wicked the amount of the earth's surface that is now occupied by his Saints, at least, so long as they hold it for him and his kingdom, and themselves for his work. The world belongs to the Lord, and he has the right to govern and control it, and he is going to do so. We are preparing the way for his kingdom and coming, for he certainly designs to come here just as soon as the people are prepared to receive him, and perhaps sooner than some will be willing to receive him. I have sometimes thought, that if he were now at the gate, we should feel we would rather he would wait awhile until we could fix up matters before he was introduced. The way is preparing, however, and I feel to rejoice this morning that I can bear my testimony to the increase of the numbers of the Saints of God, and to the increase of faith and good works among them.
The dominion of the Lord is extending upon the earth, a little here and a little there, sometimes, perhaps, going a little too far, and dodging back a little for a time, and then springing forward again, and so going on, on every side. The Lord has made no mistake, he understands what he is doing a great deal better than some of us do, and I apprehend that a great many people are bringing about the Lord's purposes unwittingly. Perhaps they would not do as well in this respect as they are now doing if they understood, to the fullest extent, the result of the course they are taking. But really the Lord is at work with a great many people, some of whom see the kingdom, and some do not; and he has even said that he will cause the wrath of the wicked and ungodly to praise him, and the remainder of their wrath he will restrain. This is true, and has been illustrated in the history of this people. When they were driven from Nauvoo, the disposition of their enemies was to destroy every vestige of the authority of the holy Priesthood from the face of the earth; and that disposition still exists in the hearts of a great many people, and if they had the power they would carry it out. Well, the Lord, in the early days of the Church, suffered enough of this disposition to be gratified to cause the exodus of his people from Missouri and Illinois, and they were finally kicked right into the middle of the floor, into these valleys of the mountains; and when the purposes of the Lord were so far subserved by the wrath of the wicked, he restrained them, and his people have been blessed and prospered, and the earth has been made to bring forth its strength for their sustenance, and we see prosperity on every hand in the dwelling places of the Saints. A country has been put into their possession, where the Lord can strengthen their feet, and he is doing so, whether we understand it or not. Many will doubtless make shipwreck of their faith, and will be led away by the allurements of sin into by and forbidden paths; yet the kingdom will not be taken from this people and given to another, but a people will come forth from among us who will be zealous of good works, willing to do the bidding of the Lord, who will be taught in his ways, and who will walk in his paths. We, if we are willing, may be humble instruments in the hands of God, in bringing to pass his great and glorious kingdom.
We have a Temple pretty near ready to go into in St. George. It is progressing very favorably, and is a magnificent structure, and in a short time we shall be able to enter it, and receive blessings for time and eternity, for ourselves and our dead. Let me say to the Latter-day Saints, that the blessings of the Lord, even life for evermore, are commanded here in these valleys of the mountains. I will read a few words from the Psalmist—“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard: even Aaron's beard, that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.” Anciently, this blessing was commanded in the mountains of Zion on the eastern hemisphere, but in our day the Lord has revealed himself, and has spoken from the heavens to his servant on the western continent. Where the authority of the holy Priesthood is, dwells the blessing of the Lord, and there has he commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
We are united in our faith, in our works, and in our feelings and interests; and in every capacity that is possible the Latter-day Saints should stand shoulder to shoulder, presenting before the Lord and before the world an unbroken phalanx to resist the powers and insinuations of the enemy and the approaches of evil in every direction. The people here are increasing and multiplying, they are disposed, as a general thing, to do as the Lord wants them to do; but wickedness will creep in. We must purify our hearts. The Lord says—“Son, give me thy heart.” We must give our hearts to the Lord our God, then he can accept of us. Many are called but few are chosen. We are all called to be co-helpers with the Lord in establishing his purposes in the earth, in sustaining holy and righteous principles, and the institutions of high heaven which the Lord has revealed, and the organizations which he has introduced in the midst of the earth. We are called upon to sustain them, and to bear them off triumphantly, to lay a foundation for the rule of truth, peace, and righteousness in the earth, and to prepare the way for the ushering in of that great and glorious kingdom of peace that will stand forever and ever. This is the work of the Latter-day Saints, and the Lord will perform it through the instrumentality of those who are willing and obedient in the day of his power. We can have lot and part herein if we have a mind to; so may all the children of earth; all they have to do is to render obedience to the voice of the Lord, and the whole world ought to be glad of the opportunity to do that. The Lord invites us to come, he is anxious and desirous that we should come to him and learn of him. He says—“Take upon you my yoke, for it is easy, and my burden, for it is light; come, partake of the waters of life freely.” “Turn from your evils, for why will ye die, O house of Israel.” The Lord is talking to the people, and sending forth his warning voice to the nations of the wicked and ungodly, and as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man; the righteous were saved and the wicked were destroyed then, so they will be in these latter days, for the hour of God's judgment is come, and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ, and they will be given to his Saints.
Who would not be a Saint? Why a great many people reject the word of the Lord and have no respect for it whatever, and too many of those who profess to be Latter-day Saints are in the same condition. It is not a great while since the word of the Lord came through Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Lord, to this nation, to free their slaves, and for the Government to pay for them out of the treasury of the United States. Would the people receive the word of the Lord through his servant? No, they would not. What was the result? Why a fratricidal civil war in which thousands of millions of dollars were spent, devastation was spread over the land and rivers of blood were shed, and all this might have been avoided and the slaves liberated by peaceful means at not more than one-tenth of the expense, if they would have hearkened to the word of the Lord. Everybody can see now that that would have been the best course to take, but nobody could see it and nobody would receive it when it was given. Do not let us be afraid of the word of the Lord. He never did and he never will reveal a principle to the children of men, but what, if it be carried out, will prove to their greatest interest and advantage. I merely mention this to illustrate a subject which is quite familiar to the Saints, but which the world do not know so much about.
Now, we are here in obedience to a great command, a command given by the Almighty to his Saints to gather out from Babylon, lest they be partakers of her sins and receive of her plagues. But if we are going to partake of her sins in Zion, and to nourish and cherish the wicked and ungodly, what better shall we be for gathering? Shall we escape her plagues by so doing? No, there is no promise to that effect, but if we practice the sins and iniquities of Babylon here in Zion, we may expect to receive of her plagues and to be destroyed. We have duties to perform here, which devolve upon us as Saints of the Most High. The Book of Doctrine and Covenants informs us that things will be revealed, in this the dispensation of the fullness of times, that have been kept hidden from before the foundation of the world. Should we be surprised, then, when a new principle is manifested among us from the Lord through the channel of the holy Priesthood? Do we realize that this is the channel through which the mind and will of God our Father is made known unto us? Here is the Bible, of what is it composed? Of a compilation of things made known to the children of men in former ages through the instrumentality of the holy Priesthood. The word of the Lord to the people has always come through that channel, and it always will. It is the same authority that exists in the heavens, by which the Gods themselves are governed, and by which they control all things; and it is among the privileges of every man and every woman to approach the Lord through this channel, and learn his mind and will concerning them. And through this same channel a Bishop may learn the mind of the Lord about his ward, the president of a quorum about his quorum, and the President of the whole Church the mind and will of the Lord concerning the people; and so through all the quorums and organizations of the Church, from first to last, all may approach the Lord through the channel of the holy Priesthood, and learn his mind and will concerning them. It is the privilege of the father and mother of a family to obtain the mind and will of the Lord, to enable them to guide their children in the ways of eternal life. This is no child's play, or fable. The Lord has spoken from the heavens, and we bear testimony thereof to all the nations of the earth. Listen, then, to his voice! It comes to all, it comes to the Latter-day Saints through the channel of the Priesthood located here in the valleys of the mountains. Hear it, all ye nations of the earth! Come up here, and learn the mind and will of the Lord. Take warning, that you may escape his wrath when his judgments shall be poured out, because they will be just as sure as they were in the days of Noah. This is the work of the Lord, and we bear testimony of these things continually in your ears. You, of course, do as you please about receiving or believing our testimony; that makes no difference in regard to the truth of the matter. It is God's truth, and it is extending and will continue to do so until it prevails and triumphs over every obstacle.
The Latter-day Saints have a work to do, not only in proclaiming the Gospel and warning the people, but to build up Zion right here upon the earth. Not afar off in some far distant sphere, but here, where the Lord has planted their feet, in the valleys of the mountains. And we must be united and must operate together, as far as in our power lies, to bring to pass the purposes of the Almighty, because righteousness, and peace and harmony must dwell in the kingdom. A house divided against itself cannot stand. Is a reformation needed amongst the Saints? Yes, it is needed with us all. We must reform and continue to reform. We have inherited lies from, and are full of the traditions of, the fathers. We have all imbibed errors in our infant years, and the enemy is on the alert, ready to enter in and to lead into by and forbidden paths the footsteps of the young, that he may cause them to make shipwreck of their faith and go away from the truth, the eternal truth of heaven. The world is waging a warfare against this little handful of people in the valleys of the mountains. Why? Because we have got the truth, the true faith of the holy Gospel; we have the authority of the holy Priesthood that has come down from heaven. They are anxious to destroy this authority and the servants of the Lord who bear it, and they are anxious to uproot and destroy us as a people. Then, in order to defend ourselves, let us go to with our mights, unite as the heart of one man, and stand shoulder to shoulder in building up the kingdom of God upon the earth. If we have lost our faith in the work, why, of course, we can't be expected to do anything more towards building it up; but if we are assured in our own minds that this is the truth, that “Mormonism” so-called, is the everlasting Gospel, that it has been revealed by direct revelation from the Lord in these last days, and that we are really his people, let us go to and reform our lives. There is need of it, we have been slack, negligent and dilatory, and peradventure we have done a great many things we ought not to have done; perhaps we have been guilty of sins of omission as well as sins of commission, and we need to repent, and to go down into the waters of baptism inasmuch as we have the privilege, and have our sins washed away, and have hands laid upon us for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and rise in newness of life, with a firm determination that henceforth we will divest ourselves of those evils, that we will keep the Lord's day holy, attend to our meetings, partake of the Sacrament, and that we will be more diligent in regard to the words of the Lord that have been given to us, and that are given to us continually, for the stream flows unceasingly through the channel of the Priesthood to the people. Let us listen to the voice and the whisperings of the Spirit, and if there be an obstacle in the way let us remove it. If we have hard feelings one towards another, envyings, strifes, or anything that is calculated to mar our peace and happiness, let us go and make that right, and then come and partake of the emblems of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, through whose sufferings and death an atonement has been worked out for our salvation. Every Latter-day Saint needs the inspiring, refreshing influence of the Spirit of God to flow to him continually. Reflect a moment, and remember that when the plants in our gardens and fields are withering under the scorching sun, how carefully we go along the water sects, clear out every obstacle and turn in the water, so that it may reach and revive every plant, that they may all live and grow. So should the Latter-day Saints remove every obstacle that lies in their way to the reception and flow of the Spirit of the Lord to them. If you have aught against your neighbor or friend, go and make that right; if you have done any wicked thing, broken any of the commandments of the Lord, repent and be baptized for the remission of these sins, and turn away from them. No man can get a greater evidence of the Lord's having forgiven him his sins, than the knowledge that he has actually turned away from them, and that he is living in obedience to the principles of the holy Gospel. Every man and every woman knows this for himself or herself, and if they have, then may they know that the Lord has forgiven them their sins, and not without. A person may commit iniquity and think he can hide it up; but let me say to such a person that you know it, and that is one too many, and the Lord knows it, and that is two too many, and out of the mouth of two or three witnesses every word will be established, and you will give this evidence against yourself sooner or later. And all who have committed sin or transgression of any kind must repent of it and be baptized for the remission thereof; and unless they repent sincerely, with a repentance that needs not to be repented of, they had better not go near the waters of baptism, for it will be a solemn mockery before high heaven. I say that if you intend to keep straight along in your own indifferent way all the time, stay away, never offer yourselves for baptism, for that would be a mockery and would only add to your condemnation, instead of being a benefit to you.
I might enumerate what evils we are guilty of, but I do not wish to confess the sins of the people, I have enough of my own. But let us examine ourselves individually, and repent of that wherein we have done amiss in the sight of the Lord. How indifferent we have been about his word from time to time when it has been given to us! The servants of the Lord have proclaimed his will unto us year after year, and I sometimes think that we are preached to too much; but yet when a principle is revealed from the Lord, the people are very reluctant to take hold of it, which shows that we need to be instructed in regard to our duties as Saints of God, that we may be so in very deed. Latter-day Saints must progress, they cannot stand still; and if they do not progress in the faith of the holy Gospel, and in the things of God, they are progressing in the other direction, and they will finally come to a point when the counsel of their minds will be darkened, and they will be unable to see the kingdom.
This cause is great and glorious, and it is worthy of our utmost endeavors and attention, and all that we have and are, or can be. It is worthy of all the means we can control, and of all the talents and ability that pertain to us in this life, for in it lie our best interests, for by embracing and living according to the faith of the holy Gospel, we shall be exalted in the scale of human existence, and it is impossible to be otherwise. If we embrace principles of vice and go in the ways of wickedness and wicked men, we are on the way to death and destruction.
There are some amongst us, perhaps, who, in their feelings, have given way to a spirit of faultfinding with those who are over them, it may be with their Bishop, or with the President. If they persist in this course, it will not be long before they give expression to their feelings to some friend who is of like mind, and who sympathizes with them, and it will not be a great while, if such persons do not turn a short corner and repent, before they make shipwreck of their faith, and they will go to the devil at last. How many of us have seen those who have stood firm in the faith a great while, and through whom the Lord has made manifest his goodness and deliverances from time to time, in the laying on of hands and healing the sick, and yet they have let the devil cheat them out of their salvation at last, by causing them to commit some kind of iniquity, peradventure adultery, and you know that the Book of Doctrine and Covenants says that whosoever will do that will deny the faith anyhow, unless they repent. If any have been guilty of any of these evils, it is important, if they want salvation, that they repent, and do them no more forever.
We read in this book, the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, how people may attain to the different degrees of glory, telestial, terrestrial, and celestial, and we are told that it is by observing the laws which pertain to these several kingdoms. There is no other way that I know of. If we ever expect a celestial glory, we must observe the laws of the kingdom where that glory exists; and so with any other degree of glory. Well, then, as Latter-day Saints, we see that we have enough to do. We have to be united that we may resist the encroachments of the enemy, that we may be prospered and blessed in the earth, and work to better advantage than we have been doing heretofore, and cooperate with each other and with the Lord in building up his kingdom upon the earth. If we can see that kingdom, let us go to and man the ship Zion.
I feel to bear my testimony to this great work of the last days, and also in behalf of the people, that the predominating influence among them is, in my opinion, for God. I am gratified exceedingly to be able to make this statement, and to bear this testimony. Still we have need to repent, that we may progress faster, that we may accomplish a great work during the day, for the night cometh when no man can work. It is incumbent upon each and every one of us to do all that in our power lies, and not neglect our opportunity, for when once passed it has passed forever. It is for us then to work for the Lord and his cause and kingdom with all our might, mind, and strength, and to sustain the principles and institutions of high heaven that he has organized among his people, and so be prepared to receive that which may come; for we may expect, if we have the living oracles among us, which we have, and I bear testimony to it, that other new principles will keep coming along as fast as the people are prepared to receive them, and a great deal faster than a great many are prepared. I bear my testimony that there is a constant stream of revelation concerning us here, and that the mind and will of God is being poured out upon us continually. It has not been slackened one particle, but it is right here with us today. The Bible is a compilation of the revelations of God which have been given in various ages, and it is good. But the living oracles are for us. We are not called upon to build and enter into an ark, like Noah was; the ark of safety that we have to build is different from what it was in his day. But as Noah had to be guided in laying the foundation and rearing the superstructure of his ark by revelation from the God of heaven, so have we in these latter days; and by the revelations of heaven, through the channel of the holy Priesthood, we have to be continually taught in the ways of the Lord, that we may walk in his paths. It is not for every man to go after his own foolish notion, and the phantom of his own brain; the kingdom can never be built up if everyone walks in the path he marks out for himself. It is God's kingdom, and it is ours also, inasmuch as we will make our ways correspond with his, and take a course to be reckoned among his jewels when he makes up those upon whom he will confer eternal riches.
This earthly probation is a day of trial. We have to pass through tests and ordeals, and have to prove ourselves worthy to be numbered among that great company who will stand as saviors upon Mount Zion, with the very impress of Deity upon them—the name of God written upon their foreheads. “These are they,” says the Apostle, “who come up through much tribulation.” The Lord will have a tried people, those who have proven their integrity before high heaven, and none others will be counted worthy to receive and inherit the eternal riches. He that endures faithful to the end, the same will be saved; but the word endure is there, we have to endure all things. He that is faithful over a few things, will be made ruler over many; but the word faithful is there. We can't go indifferently along all the days of our lives, and fly the track the very moment an obstacle is presented before us, or a difficulty looms up in the way; we must overcome that difficulty, and rise above that obstacle, and not swerve to the right hand or to the left. So shall we prove our integrity before heaven, and, by enduring to the end, we shall be saved in God's kingdom; and having been faithful over a few things, we shall receive others, and be made rulers over many things. You thus see that salvation today is gained upon the same principle as that upon which it was gained in the days of the Savior and his Apostles.
I feel to thank the Lord for his blessings, and that I can see his handiwork in the midst of the people. I can see the increase of his power and his dominion in the earth, for rest assured it is increasing on every side, and in the hearts of the people, and we wish it to increase more rapidly there for their own sakes, for your sake, for my sake, and it is for our advantage individually. The Lord and one good man, we are told, are a great majority, so it does not matter so much to him how many there are on his side; the principal thing is for those who profess to be his followers and servants to be faithful and true in keeping the covenants they have made with him, and not be everlastingly breaking the same, and thereby forfeiting the rights and blessings they might otherwise enjoy. We can't be blessed, we cannot stand, we cannot be made rulers over many things, we cannot receive inheritances, kingdoms, thrones, principalities, powers, dominions, exaltations in the celestial kingdoms, unless we are faithful in all things, if need be unto death; and if we fail in this we shall most assuredly be clipped of our glory.
Let us, then, my brethren and sisters, live so that we may at least have a reasonable hope of attaining to these great blessings which are the gift of God. That we may do so and preserve ourselves in integrity before high heaven, and be united together as the heart and voice of one man, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
President B. Young
addressed the congregation for half an hour and at the close gave “A Word to Employers,” as follows--
Let your men come to Conference. I have always said to my men, and I have a great many around me, “Don’t you let any business keep you from these meetings.” Carpenters, joiners, masons, and every other trade, merchants among the rest, take your turn, and at meeting time in the morning, part of you come here, and then in the afternoon change, and try and attend these meetings. And those who are building houses and making roads, or working in the canyons, you can leave your work and attend Conference, and it is our counsel that you do so.
Conference was adjourned till 2 o’clock p.m.
The choir sang an anthem—“I will praise Thee.”
Benediction by Elder Orson Hyde.
addressed the congregation for half an hour and at the close gave “A Word to Employers,” as follows--
Let your men come to Conference. I have always said to my men, and I have a great many around me, “Don’t you let any business keep you from these meetings.” Carpenters, joiners, masons, and every other trade, merchants among the rest, take your turn, and at meeting time in the morning, part of you come here, and then in the afternoon change, and try and attend these meetings. And those who are building houses and making roads, or working in the canyons, you can leave your work and attend Conference, and it is our counsel that you do so.
Conference was adjourned till 2 o’clock p.m.
The choir sang an anthem—“I will praise Thee.”
Benediction by Elder Orson Hyde.
SECOND DAY.
Thursday, Oct. 7th, 2 p.m.
The choir sang—Praise ye the Lord, ‘tis good to raise Your hearts and voices in his praise.
Prayer by Elder Lorenzo Snow.
The choir sang—With joy we own thy servants, Lord, Thy ministers below.
Thursday, Oct. 7th, 2 p.m.
The choir sang—Praise ye the Lord, ‘tis good to raise Your hearts and voices in his praise.
Prayer by Elder Lorenzo Snow.
The choir sang—With joy we own thy servants, Lord, Thy ministers below.
Elder Robert Burton
said since his return from a foreign mission he had mingled with and spoke to a great many Latter-day Saints, from Idaho in the north to St. George in the south. We, who had the privilege of receiving the great and glorious principles of salvation, should be willing, under all and every circumstance, to make all things else secondary. Until God through his servant Joseph revealed the plan of life, we were, one and all, both priest and people, entirely ignorant of the Gospel. When we first received this message, we embraced it cheerfully, and the war commenced, for we were mostly cast out by our friends, who turned their backs upon us. Every other religion could be enjoyed without molestation, but the moment we embraced the great truths of God, our Father in heaven, the war commenced, and, no matter how unimpeachable our characters, our names were cast out as evil. This result was by no means remarkable, for it had been so in all ages when God had inspired servants upon the earth to carry out his great plan. When the Saints of God began to be slack in their duties and to neglect the things of the kingdom, the Lord had a way to wake them up. He was feeling after us by the preached word, through his servants, and calling upon us to prepare for the coming of the Son of Man.
He spoke of our happy experience when we first embraced the gospel, and how devoted we were to the cause we had espoused. But, from the present condition of things, he sometimes thought we had forgotten the great object we at first started out to obtain. In material progress he was willing to admit we had made striking advancement, but, underlying all this, was the moral status, which fell far short of what it ought to be. We should catachise ourselves, and wherein we found ourselves deficient, we should reform our lives.
He then spoke of the time and circumstances connected with the death of the Prophet Joseph, and bore testimony to hearing the voice of the good shepherd, when Prest. Young spoke from the stand with the voice of Joseph, who had been previously killed.
Union was one of the most conspicuous elements that must exist among the Saints, in the last days. How long would it be before we entered into that united order of things that would cement us together as one people. For this purpose, we were brought here, and for this purpose, had the Lord tempered the elements and caused the barren and waste places to become fruitful. But many of us had become disobedient and selfish and careless, and the servants of God had called upon us to repent and reform, renew our covenants by rebaptism and continue faithful to the requirements of heaven to the end.
said since his return from a foreign mission he had mingled with and spoke to a great many Latter-day Saints, from Idaho in the north to St. George in the south. We, who had the privilege of receiving the great and glorious principles of salvation, should be willing, under all and every circumstance, to make all things else secondary. Until God through his servant Joseph revealed the plan of life, we were, one and all, both priest and people, entirely ignorant of the Gospel. When we first received this message, we embraced it cheerfully, and the war commenced, for we were mostly cast out by our friends, who turned their backs upon us. Every other religion could be enjoyed without molestation, but the moment we embraced the great truths of God, our Father in heaven, the war commenced, and, no matter how unimpeachable our characters, our names were cast out as evil. This result was by no means remarkable, for it had been so in all ages when God had inspired servants upon the earth to carry out his great plan. When the Saints of God began to be slack in their duties and to neglect the things of the kingdom, the Lord had a way to wake them up. He was feeling after us by the preached word, through his servants, and calling upon us to prepare for the coming of the Son of Man.
He spoke of our happy experience when we first embraced the gospel, and how devoted we were to the cause we had espoused. But, from the present condition of things, he sometimes thought we had forgotten the great object we at first started out to obtain. In material progress he was willing to admit we had made striking advancement, but, underlying all this, was the moral status, which fell far short of what it ought to be. We should catachise ourselves, and wherein we found ourselves deficient, we should reform our lives.
He then spoke of the time and circumstances connected with the death of the Prophet Joseph, and bore testimony to hearing the voice of the good shepherd, when Prest. Young spoke from the stand with the voice of Joseph, who had been previously killed.
Union was one of the most conspicuous elements that must exist among the Saints, in the last days. How long would it be before we entered into that united order of things that would cement us together as one people. For this purpose, we were brought here, and for this purpose, had the Lord tempered the elements and caused the barren and waste places to become fruitful. But many of us had become disobedient and selfish and careless, and the servants of God had called upon us to repent and reform, renew our covenants by rebaptism and continue faithful to the requirements of heaven to the end.
Elder John Henry Smith
was pleased to hear the servants of God trying to wake up the sluggards from their lethargy. There was much to do in this kingdom, and many of our aged brethren were fast passing away, but he felt himself to do all he could to hold up their hands, and though many of our young people were taking a wrong course, taking a downward road, he proposed by the help of God to go onward and endeavor to do honor to the parentage that gave him birth. The men who stood at our head had got the priesthood and were able to build up the Kingdom of God. He knew them to be men of God. He called on all present, and especially the young men and women, to honor their religion. He proposed to go steadily along under the guidance of the servants of God, whether to go on a mission, to work in the field, in the canyon, or anywhere else, if God would help him. He had enjoyed himself much on his short mission. It was no sacrifice for him to preach or do anything else in the Kingdom of God.
was pleased to hear the servants of God trying to wake up the sluggards from their lethargy. There was much to do in this kingdom, and many of our aged brethren were fast passing away, but he felt himself to do all he could to hold up their hands, and though many of our young people were taking a wrong course, taking a downward road, he proposed by the help of God to go onward and endeavor to do honor to the parentage that gave him birth. The men who stood at our head had got the priesthood and were able to build up the Kingdom of God. He knew them to be men of God. He called on all present, and especially the young men and women, to honor their religion. He proposed to go steadily along under the guidance of the servants of God, whether to go on a mission, to work in the field, in the canyon, or anywhere else, if God would help him. He had enjoyed himself much on his short mission. It was no sacrifice for him to preach or do anything else in the Kingdom of God.
Elder M. H. Hardy
gave a brief account of a short mission to England. He rejoiced in his labors. On his way home, he had visited his native State, New England, traced back the line of his father’s house for two hundred years, distributed tracts, &c., while in that neighborhood, and baptized three persons. He returned home, and resumed his duties in the school room. He knew he was engaged in the work of God.
gave a brief account of a short mission to England. He rejoiced in his labors. On his way home, he had visited his native State, New England, traced back the line of his father’s house for two hundred years, distributed tracts, &c., while in that neighborhood, and baptized three persons. He returned home, and resumed his duties in the school room. He knew he was engaged in the work of God.
Bishop Henry Hughes
had recently returned from a mission to Wales. He felt thankful to return home again. He appreciated it more than ever. If many others were to go away for a season, he thought it would be less trouble to unite the people than at the present. He knew that this was the Kingdom of God, and he had no other desire in his heart than to spend and be spent in the service of God.
had recently returned from a mission to Wales. He felt thankful to return home again. He appreciated it more than ever. If many others were to go away for a season, he thought it would be less trouble to unite the people than at the present. He knew that this was the Kingdom of God, and he had no other desire in his heart than to spend and be spent in the service of God.
Elder B. H. Watts
thought this was the choicest spot on the face of the earth. He had been in the Church for over thirty years, and during that time had always known that the gospel of Jesus Christ was that gospel the angel spoke of as related by John, and was the power of God unto salvation.
thought this was the choicest spot on the face of the earth. He had been in the Church for over thirty years, and during that time had always known that the gospel of Jesus Christ was that gospel the angel spoke of as related by John, and was the power of God unto salvation.
Prest. B. Young
made a few remarks.
Meeting was adjourned till tomorrow morning at 10 o’clock.
The choir sang an anthem—O be joyful in the Lord.
Benediction by Elder Brigham Young.
made a few remarks.
Meeting was adjourned till tomorrow morning at 10 o’clock.
The choir sang an anthem—O be joyful in the Lord.
Benediction by Elder Brigham Young.
THIRD DAY.
Friday, Oct. 8, 10 a.m.
The choir sang—An angel from on high, The long, long silence broke.
Prayer by Elder John Taylor.
The choir sang—Sweet is the work, my God, my King, To praise thy name, give thanks and sing.
Friday, Oct. 8, 10 a.m.
The choir sang—An angel from on high, The long, long silence broke.
Prayer by Elder John Taylor.
The choir sang—Sweet is the work, my God, my King, To praise thy name, give thanks and sing.
Prest. Brigham Young said he had prepared a short discourse on the subject of the resurrection, which he had called upon Elder Geo. Q. Cannon to read.
Elder Geo. Q. Cannon then read the following discourse--
I wish to present to the Latter-day Saints the doctrine of the resurrection in its true light. To satisfy the philosophy of my own mind in regard to this doctrine I shall be under the necessity of commencing with the works of God as we find them in the beginning, or rather the beginning of the history we have of the earth. We admit the history that Moses gives of the creation or organization of this earth, as stated in his writings, to be correct. The philosophy of my mind, with all the experience I have gained by observation and knowledge of facts, tells me that there is nothing made, formed or fashioned without a Being to make, form or fashion the same. Then my own reasoning teaches me that myself as a mechanic, with all others upon this earth, and those also who dwell in the heavens, when we commence any work of mechanism have an object in the same. God had an object in view when he framed this earth and placed vegetation and all creatures upon it, and man was brought here for the high object of an increase of wisdom, knowledge, understanding, glory and honor—each and every person, creature or thing in its own order and time, that all may harmonize together and receive this glory and honor. The particles that compose the earth were brought together for a certain purpose by its great Author. This purpose was, and still is, to bring this earth and all things upon it into a higher state of glory and intelligence. In the beginning there were laws given by which all nature was to be governed or controlled. It is true that man transgresses these laws, and would change them if he had the power to do so. But there are laws which he cannot disturb, and which operate regardless of man’s actions. Among these is the law which pertains to the resurrection of the body of man and also to the resurrection of the earth; for this earth has to undergo a great change, or, in other words, has to be resurrected.
Abel, the martyr, was the first man of whose death we have any account. He brought his offering to the Lord and was accepted. This proves that he was a righteous man, and by his righteousness he so far sanctified the particles of this earth that comprised the component parts of his body that they became entitled to a glorious resurrection, which he undoubtedly obtained when Jesus arose. If Abel had been eaten by dogs or lions, the component parts of his body never could have gone to compose the component parts of any other bodies. Why? Because the laws which govern the elements would not permit this to be done.
The question may be asked, Do not the particles that compose man’s body, when returned to mother earth, go to make or compose other bodies? No, they do not. Some philosophers have asserted that the human body changes every seven or ten years. This is not correct; for it never changes; that is, the substances of which it is composed do not pass off and other particles of matter come and take their place. Neither can the particles which have comprised the bodies of men become parts of the bodies of other men, or of beasts, fowls, fish, insects or vegetables. They are governed by a divine law, and though they may pass from the knowledge of the scientific world, that divine law still holds and governs and controls them. Man’s body may be buried in the ocean, it may be eaten by while beasts, or it may be burned to ashes, and they be scattered to the four winds, yet the particles of which it is composed will not be incorporated into any form of vegetable or animal life, to become a component part of their structure. Are they gross, tangible, and, in their organized capacity, subject to decay and change? Yes, and if buried in the earth, they undergo decomposition and return to mother earth; but it is no matter how minute the particles are, they are watched over and will be preserved until the resurrection, and at the sound of the trumpet of God every particle of our physical structures necessary to make our tabernacles perfect will be assembled, to be rejoined with the spirit, every man in his order. Not one particle will be lost.
I have a few questions to ask the philosophical world, those especially who are well skilled in chemistry: Is this earth, the air and the water composed of life, or do they or any portion of them, consist of inanimate matter, or of that that has no life in itself? Another question: If the earth, air and water are composed of life, is there any intelligence in this life? The philosopher may take his own time to answer these questions, and when he has satisfied himself he may ask himself again: Are those particles of matter life; if so, are they in possession of intelligence according to the grade of their organization? As far as we are concerned we suggest the idea that there is an eternity of life, an eternity of organization, and an eternity of intelligence from the highest to the lowest grade, every creature in its order from the Gods to the animalcule. Bear in mind, you who are believers in the resurrection or in the works of God, that man has sought out many inventions and has striven hard to learn the mysteries of God and godliness by his worldly wisdom, yet there are many things which science with all its tests cannot find out. Matter may be divided into an infinitude of atoms until they pass beyond the power of the microscope to discover them, and the most skillful chemist who dwells upon the earth knows not whither they go. My position is, and which I declare to the Latter-day Saints, it is beyond the power of man, without revelation from God, with all his science to know whether these bodies go into other creatures to form the component parts of their bodies, or whether they merely pass into the already organized body to resuscitate it and contribute to its sustenance. I declare to the Latter-day Saints, and to all living upon the earth who have intelligence to understand, that the particles that comprise the component parts of our bodies will never enter into other bodies to form the elements of their bodies; but these very identical particles that now compose our bodies will be resurrected and come together by the power of the trump of God and will be re-united to form the body—excepting the blood, which will not be necessary to our existence in an immortal state—and then be prepared to receive the spirit, preparatory to their exaltation.
Query: Would not the particles that compose the body of our Savior, according to their intelligence, oppose the idea of becoming a part of any other body but his?
Again: Would not the Saints, who are faithful in magnifying the priesthood of the Son of God, object to the particles which now compose their bodies, and which they have sanctified through obedience to that priesthood, entering into and forming parts of other bodies than their own – bodies which their spirits had not possessed and of which they knew nothing in this life?
Although some may think that the substances of which our bodies are composed are borrowed for our use during this mortal existence, it is not so, neither will they be thrown off at death never to be restored; and though in the resurrection, the bodies of the righteous will be raised immortal and free from all corruption they will be none the less tangible or perceptible to the touch of those who are permitted to handle them. The question may be asked: Will the bodies of those who do not observe the laws of God, and which are not sanctified by obedience to them, come forth in the resurrection? Undoubtedly they will; but not at the same time nor to the same glory that they do who observe the laws of God.
The earth, also abideth the law and filleth the measure of its creation, and though it shall die, it shall be resurrected in glory, a sanctified creation, suitable for the residence of celestial beings. The elements will be burned and purified, and be renewed; but not one atom of the earth’s organism will be lost; for that which is governed by law shall be preserved by law. And for every thing which our God has created, He has prescribed laws. There is nothing so minute as to escape his notice, there is no creation so immense as to transcend the bounds of his power; all are alike subject to the operation of his decrees. He called matter from chaos and created the earth, and the heavens are studded with planets, the glorious workmanship of his hands. He has hung those mighty orbs in space, and their courses are fixed. And by the exercise of his power the original elements which have formed the bodies of men will be brought forth in the resurrection—bone to bone, sinew to sinew, flesh to flesh, not one hair shall be lost—and all this in obedience to law, that the substances which have formed the tabernacles of men, or of beasts, or of fowls, or of fish, shall not be intermingled or lost; but shall all be restored to their own places though they may have been swallowed up in the depths of the sea or been scattered to the four winds of heaven.
To illustrate these facts connected with the resurrection of the body, we will quote from the revelations which the Lord has given to his children:
THE TESTIMONY OF EZEKIEL.
The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, low, they were very dry.
And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O, Lord God, thou knowest.
Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, Son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves.
And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.—Ezek. xxxvii, 1-14.
THE TESTIMONY OF JOB.
For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.—Job xix, 25, 26, 27.
THE TESTIMONY OF DANIEL.
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt.—Daniel xii, 2.
THE TESTIMONY OF LUKE.
Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.—Luke xx, 37.
And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see: for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.
And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.
And he took it, and did eat before them.—Luke xxiv, 36-43.
THE TESTIMONY OF JOHN.
But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
The other disciples therefore said unto him, we have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. John xx, 24-27.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice.
And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done, evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.—John v, 25, 28 and 29.
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.—Revelation xx, 6, 13.
THE TESTIMONY OF MATTHEW.
And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.—Mat. xxvii, 52, 53.
THE TESTIMONY OF PAUL.
For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.—Philippians iii, 20, 21.
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.—Romans viii, 11.
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. Romans vi, 4, 5.
For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.—1 Cor. xv, 16-23, 35-39, 42-44.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.—1Thess. iv, 14-16.
THE TESTIMONY OF ABINADI.
And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death, that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection. But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ: he is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death. Even this mortal shall put on immortality, and this corruption shall put on incorruption, and shall be brought to stand before the bar of God, to be judged of him according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.—Book of Mosiah, chap. viii, par. 9.
THE TESTIMONY OF JACOB.
For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord; wherefore it must needs be an infinite atonement; save it should be an infinite atonement, this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man, must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.
O the wisdom of God! his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more, our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.
And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave. And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.
O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh; save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect.—2nd Book of Nephi, chap. vi, pars. 2, 5.
THE TESTIMONY OF AMULEK.
For behold, the day cometh that all shall rise from the dead and stand before God, and be judged according to their works. Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death: and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death; the spirit and the body shall be re-united again in its perfect form: both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt. Now this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but all things shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body.—Book of Alma, chap. viii, par. 10.
THE TESTIMONY OF ALMA.
But this much I say, that there is a space between death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul in happiness or in misery, until the time which is appointed of God that the dead shall come forth, and be re-united, both soul and body, and be brought to stand before God, and be judged according to their works: yea, this bringeth about the restoration of those things of which have been spoken by the mouths of the prophets. The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost, but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame.—Book of Alma, chap. xix, par. 7.
THE TESTIMONY OF SAMUEL.
For behold, he [Jesus] surely must die, that salvation may come; yea, it behoveth him, and becometh expedient that he dieth, to bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the presence of the Lord; yea, behold this death bringeth to pass the resurrection, and redeemeth all mankind from the first death.—Book of Helaman, chap. v, par. 6.
THE WORDS OF JESUS.
And it came to pass that he [Jesus] said unto Nephi, bring forth the record which ye have kept. And when Nephi had brought forth the records, and laid them before him, he cast his eyes upon them and said, verily I say unto you, I commanded my servant Samuel, the Lamanite, that he should testify unto this people, that at the day that the Father should glorify his name in me, that there were many saints who should arise from the dead, and should appear unto many, and should minister unto them. And he said unto them, were it not so? And his disciples answered him and said, yea, Lord, Samuel did prophesy according to thy words, and they were all fulfilled. And Jesus said unto them, how be it that ye have not written this thing, that many saints did arise and appear unto many, and did minister unto them? And it came to pass that Nephi remembered that this thing had not been written. And it came to pass that Jesus commanded that it should be written; therefore it was written according as he commanded.—Book of Nephi, chap. x, par. 3.
THE TESTIMONY OF MORONI.
And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awoke by the power of God, when the trump shall sound: and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death.—Book of Mormon, chap. iv, par. 6.
WORDS OF JESUS IN BOOK OF DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS.
Now, verily I say unto you, that through the redemption which is made for you is brought to pass the resurrection from the dead. And the spirit and the body is the soul of man. And the resurrection from the dead is the redemption of the soul; and the redemption of the soul is through him who quickeneth all things, in whose bosom it is decreed that the poor and the meek of the earth shall inherit it. Therefore it must needs be sanctified from all unrighteousness, that it may be prepared for the celestial glory; for after it hath filled the measure of its creation, it shall be crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father; that bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever; for, for this intent was it made and created, and for this intent are they sanctified.
And again, verily I say unto you, the earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom for it filleth the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the law. Wherefore it shall be sanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shall die, it shall be quickened again, and shall abide the power by which it is quickened and the righteous shall inherit it; for notwithstanding they die, they also shall rise again a spiritual body; they who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the same body which was a natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your glory shall be that glory by which your bodies are quickened.
And there shall be silence in heaven for the space of half an hour and immediately after shall the curtain of heaven be unfolded, as a scroll is unfolded after it is rolled up, and the face of the Lord shall be unveiled; and the Saints that are upon the earth, who are alive, shall be quickened, and be caught up to meet him. And they who have slept in their graves shall come forth; for their graves shall be opened, and they also shall be caught up to meet him in the midst of the pillar of heaven: they are Christ’s, the firstfruits: they who shall descend with him first and they who are on the earth and in their graves, who are first caught up to meet him: and all this by the voice of the sounding of the trump of the angel of God.—Sec. vii, pars. 4, 6 and 27.
For a trump shall sound both long and loud, even as upon Mount Sinai, and all the earth shall quake, and they shall come forth, yea, even the dead which died in me, to receive a crown of righteousness, and to be clothed upon, even as I am, to be with me, that we may be one.
And the end shall come, and the heaven and the earth shall be consumed and pass away, and there shall be a new heaven and a new earth, for all old things shall pass away, and all things shall become new, even the heaven and the earth, and all the fulness thereof, both men and beasts, the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea; and not one hair neither mote, shall be lost, for it is the workmanship of mine hand.
But, behold, verily I say unto you, before the earth shall pass away, Michael, mine archangel, shall sound his trump, and then shall all the dead awake, for their graves shall be opened, and they shall come forth; yea, even all.—Sec. x, pars. 3, 6 and 7.
For the day cometh that the Lord shall utter his voice out of heaven; the heavens shall shake and the earth shall tremble and the trump of God shall sound both long and loud, and shall say to the sleeping nations, Ye saints arise and live; ye sinners stay and sleep until I shall call again.—Sec. xiv, par. 5.
But before the arm of the Lord shall fall, an angel shall sound his trump, and the saints that have slept shall come forth to meet me in the cloud; wherefore if ye have slept in peace, blessed are you, for as you now behold me and know that I am, even so shall ye come unto me and your souls shall live, and your redemption shall be perfected, and the saints shall come forth from the four quarters of the earth.—Sec. xv, par. 7.
Yea, and blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth, when the Lord shall come, and old things shall pass away, and all things become new, they shall rise from the dead and shall not die after, and shall receive an inheritance before the Lord, in the holy city, and he that liveth when the Lord shall come, and has kept the faith, blessed is he; nevertheless it is appointed to him to die at the age of man; wherefore children shall grow up until they become old, old men shall dies; but they shall not sleep in the dust, but they shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye; wherefore for this cause preached the apostles unto the world the resurrection of the dead.—Sec. xx, par. 13.
EXTRACT FROM A REVELATION TO THE PROPHET JOSEPH.
And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying, Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.
EXTRACT FROM THE PROPHECY OF ENOCH.
And righteousness will I send down out of heaven: and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of my Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men.
THE TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH SMITH.
As concerning the resurrection, I will merely say that all men will come forth from the grave as they lie down, whether old or young; there will not be “added one cubit to their stature,” neither taken from it; all will be raised by the power of God, having spirit in their bodies and not blood.--March 20, 1842; History of Joseph Smith.
There are two kinds of beings in heaven, viz.: angels, who are resurrected personages, having bodies of flesh and bones. For instance, Jesus said, “Handle me and see for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have.” 2nd. The spirits of just men made perfect—they who are not resurrected, but inherit the same glory. When a messenger comes, saying he has a message from God, offer him your hand, and request him to shake hands with you. If he be an angel, he will do so, and you will feel his hand. If he be the spirit of a just man made perfect, he will come in his glory; for that is the only way he can appear. Ask him to shake hands with you, but he will not move, because it is contrary to the order of heaven for a just man to deceive; but he will still deliver his message. If it be the Devil as an angel of light, when you ask him to shake hands, he will offer you his hand, and you will not feel anything: you may therefore detect him. These are three grand keys whereby you may know whether any administration is from God.--Thursday, February 9, 1843; History of Joseph Smith.
Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection; and if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come. There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundation of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated; and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.
The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also: but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of spirit. Where it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us. A man may receive the Holy Ghost and it may descend upon him and not tarry with him.--Sunday, April 2, 1843; History of Joseph Smith.
To a remark of Elder O. Pratt’s that a man’s body changes every seven years, Prest. Joseph Smith replied: There is no fundamental principle belonging to a human system that ever goes into another in this world or in the world to come: I care not what the theories of men are. We have the testimony that God will raise us up, and he has the power to do it. If any one supposes that any part of our bodies, that is, the fundamental parts thereof, ever goes into another body, he is mistaken.--Friday, April 7, 1843; History of Joseph Smith.
Speaking of eternal duration of matter, I said—There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes. We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified, we shall see that it is all matter.--Wednesday, May 17, 1843; History of Joseph Smith.
As the Father hath power in himself, so hath the Son power in himself, to lay down his life and take it again, so he has a body of his own. The Son doeth what he hath seen the Father do; then the Father hath some day laid down his life and taken it again; so he has a body of his own, each one will be in his own body; and yet the sectarian world believe the body of the Son is stuffed into the Father’s
Gods have an ascendancy over the angels, who are ministering servants. In the resurrection, some are raised to be angels; others are raised to become Gods.--Sunday, June 11, 1843; History of Joseph Smith.
Elder Geo. Q. Cannon then read the following discourse--
I wish to present to the Latter-day Saints the doctrine of the resurrection in its true light. To satisfy the philosophy of my own mind in regard to this doctrine I shall be under the necessity of commencing with the works of God as we find them in the beginning, or rather the beginning of the history we have of the earth. We admit the history that Moses gives of the creation or organization of this earth, as stated in his writings, to be correct. The philosophy of my mind, with all the experience I have gained by observation and knowledge of facts, tells me that there is nothing made, formed or fashioned without a Being to make, form or fashion the same. Then my own reasoning teaches me that myself as a mechanic, with all others upon this earth, and those also who dwell in the heavens, when we commence any work of mechanism have an object in the same. God had an object in view when he framed this earth and placed vegetation and all creatures upon it, and man was brought here for the high object of an increase of wisdom, knowledge, understanding, glory and honor—each and every person, creature or thing in its own order and time, that all may harmonize together and receive this glory and honor. The particles that compose the earth were brought together for a certain purpose by its great Author. This purpose was, and still is, to bring this earth and all things upon it into a higher state of glory and intelligence. In the beginning there were laws given by which all nature was to be governed or controlled. It is true that man transgresses these laws, and would change them if he had the power to do so. But there are laws which he cannot disturb, and which operate regardless of man’s actions. Among these is the law which pertains to the resurrection of the body of man and also to the resurrection of the earth; for this earth has to undergo a great change, or, in other words, has to be resurrected.
Abel, the martyr, was the first man of whose death we have any account. He brought his offering to the Lord and was accepted. This proves that he was a righteous man, and by his righteousness he so far sanctified the particles of this earth that comprised the component parts of his body that they became entitled to a glorious resurrection, which he undoubtedly obtained when Jesus arose. If Abel had been eaten by dogs or lions, the component parts of his body never could have gone to compose the component parts of any other bodies. Why? Because the laws which govern the elements would not permit this to be done.
The question may be asked, Do not the particles that compose man’s body, when returned to mother earth, go to make or compose other bodies? No, they do not. Some philosophers have asserted that the human body changes every seven or ten years. This is not correct; for it never changes; that is, the substances of which it is composed do not pass off and other particles of matter come and take their place. Neither can the particles which have comprised the bodies of men become parts of the bodies of other men, or of beasts, fowls, fish, insects or vegetables. They are governed by a divine law, and though they may pass from the knowledge of the scientific world, that divine law still holds and governs and controls them. Man’s body may be buried in the ocean, it may be eaten by while beasts, or it may be burned to ashes, and they be scattered to the four winds, yet the particles of which it is composed will not be incorporated into any form of vegetable or animal life, to become a component part of their structure. Are they gross, tangible, and, in their organized capacity, subject to decay and change? Yes, and if buried in the earth, they undergo decomposition and return to mother earth; but it is no matter how minute the particles are, they are watched over and will be preserved until the resurrection, and at the sound of the trumpet of God every particle of our physical structures necessary to make our tabernacles perfect will be assembled, to be rejoined with the spirit, every man in his order. Not one particle will be lost.
I have a few questions to ask the philosophical world, those especially who are well skilled in chemistry: Is this earth, the air and the water composed of life, or do they or any portion of them, consist of inanimate matter, or of that that has no life in itself? Another question: If the earth, air and water are composed of life, is there any intelligence in this life? The philosopher may take his own time to answer these questions, and when he has satisfied himself he may ask himself again: Are those particles of matter life; if so, are they in possession of intelligence according to the grade of their organization? As far as we are concerned we suggest the idea that there is an eternity of life, an eternity of organization, and an eternity of intelligence from the highest to the lowest grade, every creature in its order from the Gods to the animalcule. Bear in mind, you who are believers in the resurrection or in the works of God, that man has sought out many inventions and has striven hard to learn the mysteries of God and godliness by his worldly wisdom, yet there are many things which science with all its tests cannot find out. Matter may be divided into an infinitude of atoms until they pass beyond the power of the microscope to discover them, and the most skillful chemist who dwells upon the earth knows not whither they go. My position is, and which I declare to the Latter-day Saints, it is beyond the power of man, without revelation from God, with all his science to know whether these bodies go into other creatures to form the component parts of their bodies, or whether they merely pass into the already organized body to resuscitate it and contribute to its sustenance. I declare to the Latter-day Saints, and to all living upon the earth who have intelligence to understand, that the particles that comprise the component parts of our bodies will never enter into other bodies to form the elements of their bodies; but these very identical particles that now compose our bodies will be resurrected and come together by the power of the trump of God and will be re-united to form the body—excepting the blood, which will not be necessary to our existence in an immortal state—and then be prepared to receive the spirit, preparatory to their exaltation.
Query: Would not the particles that compose the body of our Savior, according to their intelligence, oppose the idea of becoming a part of any other body but his?
Again: Would not the Saints, who are faithful in magnifying the priesthood of the Son of God, object to the particles which now compose their bodies, and which they have sanctified through obedience to that priesthood, entering into and forming parts of other bodies than their own – bodies which their spirits had not possessed and of which they knew nothing in this life?
Although some may think that the substances of which our bodies are composed are borrowed for our use during this mortal existence, it is not so, neither will they be thrown off at death never to be restored; and though in the resurrection, the bodies of the righteous will be raised immortal and free from all corruption they will be none the less tangible or perceptible to the touch of those who are permitted to handle them. The question may be asked: Will the bodies of those who do not observe the laws of God, and which are not sanctified by obedience to them, come forth in the resurrection? Undoubtedly they will; but not at the same time nor to the same glory that they do who observe the laws of God.
The earth, also abideth the law and filleth the measure of its creation, and though it shall die, it shall be resurrected in glory, a sanctified creation, suitable for the residence of celestial beings. The elements will be burned and purified, and be renewed; but not one atom of the earth’s organism will be lost; for that which is governed by law shall be preserved by law. And for every thing which our God has created, He has prescribed laws. There is nothing so minute as to escape his notice, there is no creation so immense as to transcend the bounds of his power; all are alike subject to the operation of his decrees. He called matter from chaos and created the earth, and the heavens are studded with planets, the glorious workmanship of his hands. He has hung those mighty orbs in space, and their courses are fixed. And by the exercise of his power the original elements which have formed the bodies of men will be brought forth in the resurrection—bone to bone, sinew to sinew, flesh to flesh, not one hair shall be lost—and all this in obedience to law, that the substances which have formed the tabernacles of men, or of beasts, or of fowls, or of fish, shall not be intermingled or lost; but shall all be restored to their own places though they may have been swallowed up in the depths of the sea or been scattered to the four winds of heaven.
To illustrate these facts connected with the resurrection of the body, we will quote from the revelations which the Lord has given to his children:
THE TESTIMONY OF EZEKIEL.
The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, low, they were very dry.
And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O, Lord God, thou knowest.
Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, Son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves.
And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.—Ezek. xxxvii, 1-14.
THE TESTIMONY OF JOB.
For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.—Job xix, 25, 26, 27.
THE TESTIMONY OF DANIEL.
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt.—Daniel xii, 2.
THE TESTIMONY OF LUKE.
Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.—Luke xx, 37.
And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see: for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.
And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.
And he took it, and did eat before them.—Luke xxiv, 36-43.
THE TESTIMONY OF JOHN.
But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
The other disciples therefore said unto him, we have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. John xx, 24-27.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice.
And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done, evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.—John v, 25, 28 and 29.
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.—Revelation xx, 6, 13.
THE TESTIMONY OF MATTHEW.
And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.—Mat. xxvii, 52, 53.
THE TESTIMONY OF PAUL.
For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.—Philippians iii, 20, 21.
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.—Romans viii, 11.
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. Romans vi, 4, 5.
For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.—1 Cor. xv, 16-23, 35-39, 42-44.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.—1Thess. iv, 14-16.
THE TESTIMONY OF ABINADI.
And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death, that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection. But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ: he is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death. Even this mortal shall put on immortality, and this corruption shall put on incorruption, and shall be brought to stand before the bar of God, to be judged of him according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.—Book of Mosiah, chap. viii, par. 9.
THE TESTIMONY OF JACOB.
For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord; wherefore it must needs be an infinite atonement; save it should be an infinite atonement, this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man, must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.
O the wisdom of God! his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more, our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.
And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave. And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.
O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh; save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect.—2nd Book of Nephi, chap. vi, pars. 2, 5.
THE TESTIMONY OF AMULEK.
For behold, the day cometh that all shall rise from the dead and stand before God, and be judged according to their works. Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death: and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death; the spirit and the body shall be re-united again in its perfect form: both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt. Now this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but all things shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body.—Book of Alma, chap. viii, par. 10.
THE TESTIMONY OF ALMA.
But this much I say, that there is a space between death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul in happiness or in misery, until the time which is appointed of God that the dead shall come forth, and be re-united, both soul and body, and be brought to stand before God, and be judged according to their works: yea, this bringeth about the restoration of those things of which have been spoken by the mouths of the prophets. The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost, but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame.—Book of Alma, chap. xix, par. 7.
THE TESTIMONY OF SAMUEL.
For behold, he [Jesus] surely must die, that salvation may come; yea, it behoveth him, and becometh expedient that he dieth, to bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the presence of the Lord; yea, behold this death bringeth to pass the resurrection, and redeemeth all mankind from the first death.—Book of Helaman, chap. v, par. 6.
THE WORDS OF JESUS.
And it came to pass that he [Jesus] said unto Nephi, bring forth the record which ye have kept. And when Nephi had brought forth the records, and laid them before him, he cast his eyes upon them and said, verily I say unto you, I commanded my servant Samuel, the Lamanite, that he should testify unto this people, that at the day that the Father should glorify his name in me, that there were many saints who should arise from the dead, and should appear unto many, and should minister unto them. And he said unto them, were it not so? And his disciples answered him and said, yea, Lord, Samuel did prophesy according to thy words, and they were all fulfilled. And Jesus said unto them, how be it that ye have not written this thing, that many saints did arise and appear unto many, and did minister unto them? And it came to pass that Nephi remembered that this thing had not been written. And it came to pass that Jesus commanded that it should be written; therefore it was written according as he commanded.—Book of Nephi, chap. x, par. 3.
THE TESTIMONY OF MORONI.
And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awoke by the power of God, when the trump shall sound: and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death.—Book of Mormon, chap. iv, par. 6.
WORDS OF JESUS IN BOOK OF DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS.
Now, verily I say unto you, that through the redemption which is made for you is brought to pass the resurrection from the dead. And the spirit and the body is the soul of man. And the resurrection from the dead is the redemption of the soul; and the redemption of the soul is through him who quickeneth all things, in whose bosom it is decreed that the poor and the meek of the earth shall inherit it. Therefore it must needs be sanctified from all unrighteousness, that it may be prepared for the celestial glory; for after it hath filled the measure of its creation, it shall be crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father; that bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever; for, for this intent was it made and created, and for this intent are they sanctified.
And again, verily I say unto you, the earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom for it filleth the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the law. Wherefore it shall be sanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shall die, it shall be quickened again, and shall abide the power by which it is quickened and the righteous shall inherit it; for notwithstanding they die, they also shall rise again a spiritual body; they who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the same body which was a natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your glory shall be that glory by which your bodies are quickened.
And there shall be silence in heaven for the space of half an hour and immediately after shall the curtain of heaven be unfolded, as a scroll is unfolded after it is rolled up, and the face of the Lord shall be unveiled; and the Saints that are upon the earth, who are alive, shall be quickened, and be caught up to meet him. And they who have slept in their graves shall come forth; for their graves shall be opened, and they also shall be caught up to meet him in the midst of the pillar of heaven: they are Christ’s, the firstfruits: they who shall descend with him first and they who are on the earth and in their graves, who are first caught up to meet him: and all this by the voice of the sounding of the trump of the angel of God.—Sec. vii, pars. 4, 6 and 27.
For a trump shall sound both long and loud, even as upon Mount Sinai, and all the earth shall quake, and they shall come forth, yea, even the dead which died in me, to receive a crown of righteousness, and to be clothed upon, even as I am, to be with me, that we may be one.
And the end shall come, and the heaven and the earth shall be consumed and pass away, and there shall be a new heaven and a new earth, for all old things shall pass away, and all things shall become new, even the heaven and the earth, and all the fulness thereof, both men and beasts, the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea; and not one hair neither mote, shall be lost, for it is the workmanship of mine hand.
But, behold, verily I say unto you, before the earth shall pass away, Michael, mine archangel, shall sound his trump, and then shall all the dead awake, for their graves shall be opened, and they shall come forth; yea, even all.—Sec. x, pars. 3, 6 and 7.
For the day cometh that the Lord shall utter his voice out of heaven; the heavens shall shake and the earth shall tremble and the trump of God shall sound both long and loud, and shall say to the sleeping nations, Ye saints arise and live; ye sinners stay and sleep until I shall call again.—Sec. xiv, par. 5.
But before the arm of the Lord shall fall, an angel shall sound his trump, and the saints that have slept shall come forth to meet me in the cloud; wherefore if ye have slept in peace, blessed are you, for as you now behold me and know that I am, even so shall ye come unto me and your souls shall live, and your redemption shall be perfected, and the saints shall come forth from the four quarters of the earth.—Sec. xv, par. 7.
Yea, and blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth, when the Lord shall come, and old things shall pass away, and all things become new, they shall rise from the dead and shall not die after, and shall receive an inheritance before the Lord, in the holy city, and he that liveth when the Lord shall come, and has kept the faith, blessed is he; nevertheless it is appointed to him to die at the age of man; wherefore children shall grow up until they become old, old men shall dies; but they shall not sleep in the dust, but they shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye; wherefore for this cause preached the apostles unto the world the resurrection of the dead.—Sec. xx, par. 13.
EXTRACT FROM A REVELATION TO THE PROPHET JOSEPH.
And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying, Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.
EXTRACT FROM THE PROPHECY OF ENOCH.
And righteousness will I send down out of heaven: and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of my Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men.
THE TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH SMITH.
As concerning the resurrection, I will merely say that all men will come forth from the grave as they lie down, whether old or young; there will not be “added one cubit to their stature,” neither taken from it; all will be raised by the power of God, having spirit in their bodies and not blood.--March 20, 1842; History of Joseph Smith.
There are two kinds of beings in heaven, viz.: angels, who are resurrected personages, having bodies of flesh and bones. For instance, Jesus said, “Handle me and see for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have.” 2nd. The spirits of just men made perfect—they who are not resurrected, but inherit the same glory. When a messenger comes, saying he has a message from God, offer him your hand, and request him to shake hands with you. If he be an angel, he will do so, and you will feel his hand. If he be the spirit of a just man made perfect, he will come in his glory; for that is the only way he can appear. Ask him to shake hands with you, but he will not move, because it is contrary to the order of heaven for a just man to deceive; but he will still deliver his message. If it be the Devil as an angel of light, when you ask him to shake hands, he will offer you his hand, and you will not feel anything: you may therefore detect him. These are three grand keys whereby you may know whether any administration is from God.--Thursday, February 9, 1843; History of Joseph Smith.
Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection; and if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come. There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundation of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated; and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.
The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also: but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of spirit. Where it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us. A man may receive the Holy Ghost and it may descend upon him and not tarry with him.--Sunday, April 2, 1843; History of Joseph Smith.
To a remark of Elder O. Pratt’s that a man’s body changes every seven years, Prest. Joseph Smith replied: There is no fundamental principle belonging to a human system that ever goes into another in this world or in the world to come: I care not what the theories of men are. We have the testimony that God will raise us up, and he has the power to do it. If any one supposes that any part of our bodies, that is, the fundamental parts thereof, ever goes into another body, he is mistaken.--Friday, April 7, 1843; History of Joseph Smith.
Speaking of eternal duration of matter, I said—There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes. We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified, we shall see that it is all matter.--Wednesday, May 17, 1843; History of Joseph Smith.
As the Father hath power in himself, so hath the Son power in himself, to lay down his life and take it again, so he has a body of his own. The Son doeth what he hath seen the Father do; then the Father hath some day laid down his life and taken it again; so he has a body of his own, each one will be in his own body; and yet the sectarian world believe the body of the Son is stuffed into the Father’s
Gods have an ascendancy over the angels, who are ministering servants. In the resurrection, some are raised to be angels; others are raised to become Gods.--Sunday, June 11, 1843; History of Joseph Smith.
Elder Wilford Woodruff
said this doctrine of the resurrection of the dead was most glorious. It was most comforting to his mind to know that in the resurrection of the dead, this body in which he had ministered in the gospel would be raised to be inhabited by his spirit through eternity.
He gave an account of the fulfilling of the revelation regarding the laying of the corner stone of the temple at Far West, by the Twelve Apostles, of the mission of that quorum to England, the sickness that each one was afflicted with, and the miraculous power of God in healing them. They traveled without purse or scrip, and accomplished a mighty work in that land. He felt delighted to listen to the sons of our veterans yesterday in bearing the faithful testimony to the truth, and who had the fire and spirit of their fathers. The word of the Lord was, arise and let your light shine. But we had all slumbered and slept, and the word of the Lord through the lawgiver to this people was now to repent and trim our lamps, that we might be prepared to meet the Bridegroom. It was time for the thousands of Seventies to arise, and, with the Twelve and other quorums, take some of the responsibilities off the shoulders of President Young, who was far advanced in years. Again, the word of the Lord was, Lay up your bread, and if we did not observe it, we should see sorrow. The Lord had called us to hold an everlasting priesthood, and we seemed to know it not, and the salvation of the house of Israel was in our hands. The ten tribes would presently come forth from the north countries, and mountains of ice would flow down at their presence. It was high time for the Elders of Israel to wake up, for great things were at our doors. The earth was fast ripening in sin and wickedness, and preparing for that destruction which awaited them according to the prophecies of the servants of God. We did not fear men, but we should fear God and keep his commandments. He exhorted the sisters to govern and control the fashions of Zion, instead of imitating the ridiculous fashions of the daughters of Babylon. All uncomely fashions should be laid aside. He also exhorted them to make their own silk, their own hats, bonnets, etc. Our aim should be high and lofty, in our every day lives. He recommended the young people to unite in marriage, to fulfill the great first law to multiply and replenish the earth. It was our duty to sustain our co-operative institutions. As Elders of Israel we should arise, shake off our sins, and rally round our aged President, who had outlived several of his counsellors, through the mercy and blessings of God.
said this doctrine of the resurrection of the dead was most glorious. It was most comforting to his mind to know that in the resurrection of the dead, this body in which he had ministered in the gospel would be raised to be inhabited by his spirit through eternity.
He gave an account of the fulfilling of the revelation regarding the laying of the corner stone of the temple at Far West, by the Twelve Apostles, of the mission of that quorum to England, the sickness that each one was afflicted with, and the miraculous power of God in healing them. They traveled without purse or scrip, and accomplished a mighty work in that land. He felt delighted to listen to the sons of our veterans yesterday in bearing the faithful testimony to the truth, and who had the fire and spirit of their fathers. The word of the Lord was, arise and let your light shine. But we had all slumbered and slept, and the word of the Lord through the lawgiver to this people was now to repent and trim our lamps, that we might be prepared to meet the Bridegroom. It was time for the thousands of Seventies to arise, and, with the Twelve and other quorums, take some of the responsibilities off the shoulders of President Young, who was far advanced in years. Again, the word of the Lord was, Lay up your bread, and if we did not observe it, we should see sorrow. The Lord had called us to hold an everlasting priesthood, and we seemed to know it not, and the salvation of the house of Israel was in our hands. The ten tribes would presently come forth from the north countries, and mountains of ice would flow down at their presence. It was high time for the Elders of Israel to wake up, for great things were at our doors. The earth was fast ripening in sin and wickedness, and preparing for that destruction which awaited them according to the prophecies of the servants of God. We did not fear men, but we should fear God and keep his commandments. He exhorted the sisters to govern and control the fashions of Zion, instead of imitating the ridiculous fashions of the daughters of Babylon. All uncomely fashions should be laid aside. He also exhorted them to make their own silk, their own hats, bonnets, etc. Our aim should be high and lofty, in our every day lives. He recommended the young people to unite in marriage, to fulfill the great first law to multiply and replenish the earth. It was our duty to sustain our co-operative institutions. As Elders of Israel we should arise, shake off our sins, and rally round our aged President, who had outlived several of his counsellors, through the mercy and blessings of God.
The Resurrection—Laying the Cornerstone of the Temple in Jackson County—Mission of the Twelve Apostles—Baptism of Nearly Six Hundred of the “United Brethren”—The Saints Hold the Keys of Salvation for All Israel—Judgments Await the Wicked—Folly of the Fashions
Discourse by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered at the Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Friday Morning, October 8, 1875.
Reported by David W. Evans.
“Oh Death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the gift of God is eternal life, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” This doctrine of the resurrection of the dead is most glorious. It is comforting, at least to my spirit, to think, that, in the morning of the resurrection, my spirit will have the privilege of dwelling in the very same body that it occupied here. As Elders of Israel we have traveled a great many thousand miles in weariness and fatigue, laboring to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the children of men. I would be very glad to have the same body in the resurrection with which I waded swamps, swam rivers and traveled and labored to build up the kingdom of God here on the earth. I like this, I rejoice in the privilege we enjoy at this Conference, of meeting with so many Latter-day Saints. I feel that we have had a good deal of the Spirit of the Lord with us, and I hope that it may continue until we get through with the Conference.
President Young referred, yesterday, in his remarks, to the experience of some of us in past days. I have reflected a good deal upon these things as well as on the future. I have long been associated with the kingdom of God, and I wish to refer for a moment to what was said yesterday on that subject. The mission then mentioned was one of much interest to the Twelve, if not to the Church. The whole of that mission to England, from the beginning to the end, placed the apostles in such a position that they had to walk by faith from first to last. The Lord gave a revelation, with date, day, month and year, when they were to go up to lay the cornerstone in Caldwell County, Far West, Missouri. When that revelation was given, all was peace and quietude, comparatively, in that land. But when the time came for the Twelve Apostles to fulfill that revelation, the Saints had all been driven out by the exterminating order of Governor Boggs, and it was as much as a man's life was worth, especially one of the Twelve, to be found in that State; and when the day came on which we were commanded by the Lord in that revelation to go up and lay the cornerstone of that Temple, and there take the parting hand with the Saints, to cross the waters to preach the gospel in England, the inhabitants of Missouri had sworn that if all the revelations of “old Joe Smith” were fulfilled, that should not be, because it had a day and date to it.
President Young asked the Twelve who were with him—“What shall we do with regard to the fulfillment of this revelation?” He wanted to know their feelings. Father Smith, the Patriarch, said the Lord would take the will for the deed; others said the Lord could not expect the Twelve Apostles to go up and sacrifice their lives to fulfill that revelation; but the Spirit of the Lord rested upon the twelve, and they said—“The Lord God has spoken, and we will fulfill that revelation and commandment;” and that was the feeling of President Young and of those who were with him. We went through that State, and we laid that cornerstone. George A. Smith and myself were ordained to the Apostleship on that cornerstone upon that day. We returned in safety, and not a dog to move his tongue, and no man shed our blood.
As soon as we got home we prepared ourselves to go on our mission to England, and, as President Young has said, the devil undertook to kill us. I have myself been in Tennessee and Kentucky for two or three years, where, in the Fall, there was not well persons enough to take care of the sick during the ague months, and yet I never had the ague in my life until called to go upon that mission to England. There was not one solitary soul in the Quorum of the Twelve but what the devil undertook to destroy; and, as was said yesterday, when Brother Taylor and myself, the two first of the Quorum ready for the trip, were on hand to start, I was shaking with the ague, and I had it every other day, and on my well day, when I did not have it, my wife had it. I got up and laid my hands upon her and blessed her, and blessed my child, having only one at the time, and I started across the river, and that man who sits behind me today, the President of the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth, paddled me across the Missouri River in a canoe, and that is the way I landed in Nauvoo. I lay down on a side of sole leather by the old post office, and I did not know where to go, and I was not able to stand on my feet, and I lay down there. By and by the Prophet came along and said he—“Brother Woodruff, you are going on your mission?” “Yes,” I said,” but I feel more like a subject for the dissecting room than for a mission.” He reproved me for what I said and told me to get up and go. Brother Taylor, the only member of the Quorum of the Twelve who was well, and I traveled together, and on the way he fell to the ground as though he had been knocked on the head with an axe. Old Father Coulton was carrying us, and Brother Taylor fell twice in that way, taken with the bilious fever, and no man in that Quorum could boast that he went on that mission without feeling the hand of the destroyer, for it was laid upon us all. I had the shaking ague, and lay on my back in a wagon, and was rolled over stumps and stones, until it seemed as if my life would be shaken out of me. I left Brother Taylor behind, by his advice, for said he, “We are both sick, and if you stay you can't do anything here;” so old Father Coulton carried me along in his wagon until I got to Buffalo, N. Y. From there I traveled alone to Farmington, Connecticut, my native place, and I stayed there fifteen days at my father's house, coughing and shaking every day. My father never expected that I should leave my bed, and my stepmother did not expect that I should ever get better. A message came from an uncle of mine, who had just died, and his last words were—“I want you to send for Friend Wilford, I want him to come and preach my funeral sermon.” My father said—“You can't go and preach that sermon, for you can't sit up in your bed.” Said I—“Never mind, get up your horse and wagon;” and he did so and I got into it, and rode over that morning in a chilly wind, and the hour that my ague was coming on I got before a big blazing fire and preached the funeral sermon of my friend, and the ague left me from that day, and I went back and went on my way rejoicing.
In process of time, Brother Taylor came along and he and I crossed the ocean together, and arrived in England, and here I want to make a little statement of my experience in those days concerning circumstances that took place with me. When Brother Brigham left home he told you that all his family had was one barrel of rotten flour. Two hundred cents would have bought every pound of provision I left with my family when I left home. But we left our wives, for we had the commandment of God upon us, and we were either going to obey it, or die trying. That was the spirit of the Elders of Israel; and I blessed my wife and child and left them in the hands of God, and to the tender mercies of our noble Bishops, and those who were acquainted with them know how it was in those days. However, I went on my way, and I want to speak of one little circumstance. I had with me an old cloak which I got in Tennessee when traveling with Brother Smoot over forty years ago. It had once been a dandy cloak, and had on keg buttons, and when new had a good deal of trimming and fancy work about it; but it was then pretty well threadbare and worn out. I wore it in Kirtland and I carried it to England with me; and when I was called by revelation to go to John Benbow's and preach the gospel I wore that cloak. I went there and found over six hundred people, called United Brethren, and among them were eighty-three preachers, and they, as a people, were prepared for the word of the Lord, and I wanted to catch them in the gospel net. Before embracing the doctrine of the United Brethren, Sister Benbow had been what is called a “lady” in England, and she had worn her silks and satins; but after obeying the doctrine of this religious body she cut up and burned and destroyed her silks and satins and wore the plainest calicoes she could get, because she thought that was religion. When I went there to preach she looked at me with this old cloak with the keg buttons on, and the Spirit of the Lord bore testimony to me that religion, so far as she was concerned, had a good deal of tradition about it, and that her faith could be tried by the coat a man wore; and as Paul said, if eating meat offended his brethren, he would never eat any more, so I felt a good deal, and one morning I went out and cut off the buttons from my old cloak, and never had a button on it afterwards. By doing this and some other things, which some perhaps would call foolish, I, through the blessing of God and with the assistance of Brother Young, George A. Smith and Willard Richards, caught the whole flock and baptized every soul except one solitary person into the church and kingdom of God. Many of them are here in this room today, and some of them have passed away. I mention this just to show our position. We traveled without purse and scrip, and we preached without money and without price. Why? Because the God of heaven had called upon us to go forth and warn the world.
Now I want to say again, I have looked around within the last few years and I have thought: Where, Oh where, are the sons of the Prophets, Apostles, and fathers in Zion, preparing in these last days to rise up and bear off this kingdom when we are on the other side of the veil? Sometimes, in thinking on this subject, I have felt that they were very few and far between who had the spirit of their fathers and were prepared to bear off this kingdom. But I thank God that I find it is now something like it was in the days of Elijah. When the Prophet said, referring to the followers of Baal—“They have killed thy Prophets, and pulled down thine altars, and I alone am left,” the Lord said—“Oh no, I have seven thousand men in Israel who have not yet bowed the knee to Baal.” Well, I begin to feel, since I have heard the testimonies of our young brethren at this Conference, that some of the sons of the servants of God are becoming filled with the fire and spirit of the Prophets. We want a good many of them to rise up and bear off this kingdom.
Now I want to say a word or two on another subject. I have heard some of our brethren remark—“If the Twelve Apostles have the word of the Lord, we would like to receive it.” I want to say a few words with regard to the word of the Lord. I think that many of this people are mistaken with regard to the word of the Lord. They sometimes wonder why President Young does not give them the word of the Lord. I have been acquainted with President Young more than forty years. It is over forty years since I traveled a thousand miles with him, Joseph Smith, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Charles C. Rich, and many others perhaps in this congregation, and I never saw a day from that day until the present, but what President Brigham Young, even before the Twelve Apostles were organized, always had the word of the Lord for the people; and instead of thinking there is no word of the Lord, my faith is that there is not an Elder in Israel who has any business to preach, unless he has the word of the Lord to the people. The Twelve Apostles should have the word of the Lord to the people; the High Priesthood should have the word of the Lord to the people; these four thousand Seventies, the messengers of Israel to the nations of the earth, should have the word of the Lord to the people; and every Elder of Israel, when he speaks, should have the word of the Lord, and the whole Church and kingdom of God, men and women, should have, each for himself and herself, the testimony of Jesus Christ, which is the spirit of prophecy. This should be in the possession of every man and woman in the Church, for their own government and guidance, and this has always been the teaching to us of President Brigham Young. And this is backed up by the revelations which the Lord has given in these last days, as you will find if you read the twenty-second section of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. That revelation was given over forty years ago, to Elders Orson Hyde, Luke Johnson, Lyman Johnson and William E. McLellin; and on that occasion the Lord said—“Go forth and preach the Gospel to the people. And when you go forth, you are called to teach the people and not to be taught. And you must teach as you are moved upon by the Holy Ghost, by the power of God, by the Spirit of the Lord; and when you speak as you are moved upon by the Spirit of the Lord, your words are scripture, they are the word of the Lord, they are the mind of the Lord, they are the will of the Lord and the power of God unto salvation unto every one that hears.”
Yes, we have plenty of testimony with regard to these things, and I will say to my brethren that whatever the word of the Lord may be to them I know what the word of the Lord is to me. The word of the Lord to me is, that it is time for Zion to rise and let her light shine; and the testimony of the Spirit of God to me is that this whole kingdom, this great kingdom of Priests, this forty thousand men in these mountains of Israel, who have borne the Priesthood, have thoroughly fulfilled one part of the parable of the ten virgins. What is that? Why, that while the Bridegroom has tarried we have all slumbered and slept; as a Church and kingdom we have slumbered and slept, and the word of the Lord to me is that we have slept long enough; and we have the privilege now of rising and trimming our lamps and putting oil in our vessels. This is the word of the Lord to me.
The word of the Lord to me again, is, that it is time for this whole people, these forty thousand Elders of Israel who dwell in these valleys of the mountains, and I believe that it is the word of the Lord to them, that we listen to the voice of the Lord through the lawgiver, and unite ourselves in temporal things, and that we labor to build up the kingdom of God, and cease to labor to build up ourselves alone, against the interests of the kingdom of God. This is the word of the Lord to me, and I think it is to you.
It is the word of the Lord through the mouth of his servant Brigham, and has been a long time the word of the Lord to me, that as Twelve Apostles, as Seventy Apostles, as High Priests, and as Elders of Israel, it is time that we should rise up and bear the burden that rests upon the shoulders of Brigham Young, who is far advanced in life, and has had the weight and burden of this Church and kingdom upon his shoulders. It is our duty to rise up and bear off this burden, and lift it from our President, and also to cry aloud unto the people to unite themselves together. It is our duty to cease shaking in our shoes for fear the Lord Almighty should give some of his words to govern and control us in our temporal affairs. Who, to use a comparison, expects to have a forty-acre lot alone in the kingdom of God, or in heaven, when we get there? None need expect it, for in that kingdom, in heaven or upon earth, we shall find unity, and the Lord requires at our hands that we unite together, according to the principles of his celestial law.
This is what I consider to be the word of the Lord to us. It is our duty to unite ourselves together, and to sustain the institutions which have been established in these mountains by the revelations of God unto us.
There is another word of the Lord unto me, and which has been like fire shut up in my bones for the last three months; that is, to call upon all the inhabitants of these mountains, as far as I have an opportunity, to go to and lay up their grain, that they may have bread. For the last three months I have not felt as if I could answer my own feelings, unless, at every meeting I have attended, I called upon the farmers to lay up their grain. “Oh, yes,” say some, “Heber C. Kimball cried, ‘Famine, famine’ for years, and it has not come yet.” Well, bless your soul, there is more room for it to come. “Who am I, saith the Lord, that I promise and do not fulfill?” The day will come when if this people do not lay up their bread they will be sorry for it. The Lord has felt after us in days past and gone by the visitations of crickets and grasshoppers time after time, and had it not been for his mercy we should have had famine upon our heads long before this. It is the duty of the farmers in these mountains not to sell their bread, or to throw it away for a song, but to lay it up, or you will find that the day is not a great way off when you will need it. That is the voice of the Lord to me, and it is the way I have felt for a good while, and I believe it is the same to my brethren.
We are living in a very important time, and the Lord has raised up this people to accomplish his purposes; and as some of these revelations convey the idea, they were chosen from before the foundation of the world. The Lord says—“I have called you by my everlasting Priesthood, and your lives have been hid with Christ in God,” and you have not known it. You have been called here and God has put into your hands his cause and kingdom, and the salvation of both Jew and Gentile. This people hold in their hands the salvation of the twelve tribes of Israel. It was not to the oldest son, but to Ephraim, the son of Joseph, that these promises were made. Joseph was the youngest but one of the Twelve Patriarchs, and through his son Ephraim, God has raised you up and has put this power into your hands, and you hold the keys for the salvation of Israel. And the ten tribes of Israel in the north country will come in remembrance before God in due time, and they will smite the rocks and the mountains of ice will flow down before them, and the everlasting hills will tremble at their presence. A highway will be cast up through the midst of the great deep for them to come to Zion, and they will bow down in the midst thereof, and receive the Priesthood at the hands of the inhabitants of Zion.
Then what manner of men ought we to be, we, who have been ordained and called, and had such responsibilities placed upon us by the God of heaven? Our lives have been hid with Christ in God, and we are heirs of the eternal Priesthood, through the lineage of our fathers. Thus saith the Lord through the mouth of the Prophet Joseph Smith, who sealed his testimony with his blood, and his testimony from that hour has been in force upon all the world. Know ye, Latter-day Saints, that the Lord will not disappoint you or this generation with regard to the fulfillment of his promises. No matter whether they have been uttered by his own voice out of the heavens, by the ministration of angels, or by the voice of his servants in the flesh, it is the same; and though the earth pass away, not one jot or tittle of his word will fall unfulfilled. There is no prophecy of Scripture of any private interpretation, but holy men of old spoke as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and their words will be fulfilled to the very letter, and it certainly is time that we prepare ourselves for that which is to come. Great things await this generation—both Zion and Babylon. All these revelations concerning the fall of Babylon will have their fulfillment. Forty-five years ago, in speaking to the Church, the Lord said—“You are clean, but not all and I am not well pleased with any who are not clean, because all flesh is corrupted before my face, and darkness prevails among all the nations of the earth.” This causes silence to reign, and all eternity is pained. The angels of God are waiting to fulfill the great commandment given forty-five years ago, to go forth and reap down the earth because of the wickedness of men. How do you think eternity feels today? Why there is more wickedness, a thousand times over, in the United States now, than when that revelation was given. The whole earth is ripe in iniquity; and these inspired men, these Elders of Israel, have been commanded of the Almighty to go forth and warn the world, that their garments may be clear of the blood of all men.
I tell you that God will not disappoint Zion or Babylon, the heavens or the earth, in regard to the judgments which he has promised in these last days, but every one of them will have its fulfillment upon the heads of the children of men; and when they are fully ripened in iniquity the nations of the earth will be swept away as with the besom of destruction.
What did the Lord say to that meek and humble man, the brother of Jared, thousands of years ago, with regard to the land of America—a chosen land promised by old Father Jacob to his sons? He said that no nation should ever occupy it, unless the people thereof kept his commandments; and if they failed to do that, they should be cut off when they were ripened in iniquity. The Lord has already swept away two mighty nations from this continent, because they have not fulfilled his word, spoken through that humble man. The Lord chooses the weak things of the world, things which are naught to bring to naught things which are, and he will as surely perform his work in this age of the world as he has done in any other. We need not fear man, nor the wrath of man, but fear God, who holds in his hands the destinies of all men.
Before I close my remarks, I want to say a few words to our sisters and daughters in Zion, for I feel that there are some words of the Lord to them. This is a time that the daughters of Zion should hearken to the words of the Prophet of God, who has been set to lead us. I feel that it is time, forty years after they were organized, that the Female Relief Societies should labor with all their might to carry out the object of their organization by the Prophet Joseph Smith. You may ask, “What was the object of that organization?” I will say that in organizing these societies, there were several objects in view, some of which I will refer to before I get through. President Young has been calling upon you, as one branch of the land of Zion, to take hold and help to build it up.
He desires that the sisters here in the land of Zion should govern and control the fashions of Zion. Instead of heaping to yourselves and imitating the fashions that have adorned Babylon, you should have independence enough to form your own; and those which are not comely and comfortable should be laid aside. I, myself, do not think it has been pleasing in the sight of God, to see the manner in which the mothers and daughters in Zion, for years past, have been ready to adorn themselves with every fashion that Babylon has contrived and invented. I need not mention all these things, but I will mention two or three. For instance, how is it with regard to the head dress of the ladies? The Lord has given to women generally a fine head of hair, which, we are told in the Scriptures, is the glory of the woman; and she should let the hair given unto her adorn her head without adding any foreign substance, as is now done, in order to imitate and follow after the fashions of the world. Again, just as quick as the daughters of Babylon extend their crinolines until they cannot move in a space less than six or eight feet wide in a coach, assembly room, or anywhere else, why the daughters of Zion must follow the same uncomely fashion. But a fashion the reverse of this is now adopted, and at the present time the daughters of Babylon wear their elastics so tight that they have not room left for locomotion when walking in the streets; and, of course the daughters of Zion must practice the same. And now, see one of them, dressed in the height of fashion, crossing the street, and a runaway team comes thundering along. What a position she is in! Why the only way she can save her life is to lie down and roll across the street like a saw log.
All these fashions are uncomely and should be laid aside. The daughters of Zion should do better than to trail silks and satins in the mud when walking in the street. The Female Relief Societies should lay hold of and regulate these things, and introduce fashions that are comely and comfortable; it is their duty to do it. Again, you can do a good deal in regard to maintaining the independence of Zion, by going to and carrying out the counsel of President Young in raising your own silk for dresses, bonnets and trimmings, so that your adorning may be the workmanship of your own hands.
I felt as though I wanted to say so much with regard to our sisters in Zion. President Young says, and I know it is the truth, that this is the best people on the face of the earth. But however good we may be, we should aim continually to improve and become better. We have obeyed a different law and Gospel to what other people have obeyed, and we have a different kingdom in view, and our aim should be correspondingly higher before the Lord our God, and we should govern and control ourselves accordingly, and I pray God, my heavenly Father, that his Spirit may rest upon us and enable us to do so.
Another word of the Lord to me is that, it is the duty of these young men here in the land of Zion to take the daughters of Zion to wife, and prepare tabernacles for the spirits of men, which are the children of our Father in heaven. They are waiting for tabernacles, they are ordained to come here, and they ought to be born in the land of Zion instead of Babylon. This is the duty of the young men in Zion; and when the daughters of Zion are asked by the young men to join with them in marriage, instead of asking—“Has this man a fine brick house, a span of fine horses and a fine carriage?” they should ask—“Is he a man of God? Has he the Spirit of God with him? Is he a Latter-day Saint? Does he pray? Has he got the Spirit upon him to qualify him to build up the kingdom?” If he has that, never mind the carriage and brick house, take hold and unite yourselves together according to the law of God. I rejoice to see the population increasing in the land of Zion. Why is it that ninety-nine women out of every hundred over the whole land of Zion, who are of proper age and married, are bringing forth posterity until our children swarm in our streets almost like bees? Because the God of heaven is raising up a royal Priesthood, and a generation to bear off this kingdom in the day when his judgments will come upon the earth.
Let us do our duty; let us cease setting our hearts upon the fashions and things of this world, and laboring to enrich ourselves at the sacrifice of the kingdom of God. We have a cooperative mercantile institution; and it is the duty of these Latter-day Saints to sustain and uphold it; and so with everything else that is in the kingdom, for these are the stepping stones to us to a fullness of the celestial kingdom of God.
I thank God that I live in this day and age of the world, when my ears have heard the sound of the fullness of the Gospel of Christ. I thank God that I have seen the face of Prophets, Apostles, and inspired men. I rejoice in this, and I pray God my heavenly Father that I, and my brethren and sisters, may have power to unite and take hold and build up this kingdom. When we do this, it will not be in the power of earth or hell to take away our rights and privileges; for I tell you that if this people were united according to the law of God, wherein we should become fully justified before the Lord, sinners in Zion would tremble and fearfulness would surprise the hypocrite; the power of God would rest upon Zion, the angels of God would visit the earth, the judgments of God would be poured upon the wicked, the Zion of God would be redeemed, the Temples of God would be reared, the prison doors would be opened and the prisoners in the spirit world would go free, because we would feel the spirit and power of our mission and calling and should fulfill it.
I pray that God will bless this people, and that he will bless President Young, who has already outlived four of his counselors. The Lord says—“I will take whom I will take, and I will preserve whom I will preserve.” All these counselors were younger men than President Young, yet he has outlived them. God has ordained President Young to live, and he has lived so long, and has had the prayers of hundreds and thousands of Saints, which have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth for his preservation; and the Lord has heard and answered these prayers.
Let us, as Elders of Israel, rise up and bear off this kingdom. Let us forsake our evils and wickedness, and repent of our sins, and renew our covenants and keep the commandments of God; that we may lighten the burdens of our President, that his spirit may be cheered, and that the power of God may attend him in his labors for the advancement of Zion upon the earth.
This is my prayer in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Meeting was adjourned till 2 p.m.
The choir sang an anthem—Comfort ye my people.
Benediction by Elder Elias Morris.
Discourse by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered at the Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Friday Morning, October 8, 1875.
Reported by David W. Evans.
“Oh Death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the gift of God is eternal life, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” This doctrine of the resurrection of the dead is most glorious. It is comforting, at least to my spirit, to think, that, in the morning of the resurrection, my spirit will have the privilege of dwelling in the very same body that it occupied here. As Elders of Israel we have traveled a great many thousand miles in weariness and fatigue, laboring to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the children of men. I would be very glad to have the same body in the resurrection with which I waded swamps, swam rivers and traveled and labored to build up the kingdom of God here on the earth. I like this, I rejoice in the privilege we enjoy at this Conference, of meeting with so many Latter-day Saints. I feel that we have had a good deal of the Spirit of the Lord with us, and I hope that it may continue until we get through with the Conference.
President Young referred, yesterday, in his remarks, to the experience of some of us in past days. I have reflected a good deal upon these things as well as on the future. I have long been associated with the kingdom of God, and I wish to refer for a moment to what was said yesterday on that subject. The mission then mentioned was one of much interest to the Twelve, if not to the Church. The whole of that mission to England, from the beginning to the end, placed the apostles in such a position that they had to walk by faith from first to last. The Lord gave a revelation, with date, day, month and year, when they were to go up to lay the cornerstone in Caldwell County, Far West, Missouri. When that revelation was given, all was peace and quietude, comparatively, in that land. But when the time came for the Twelve Apostles to fulfill that revelation, the Saints had all been driven out by the exterminating order of Governor Boggs, and it was as much as a man's life was worth, especially one of the Twelve, to be found in that State; and when the day came on which we were commanded by the Lord in that revelation to go up and lay the cornerstone of that Temple, and there take the parting hand with the Saints, to cross the waters to preach the gospel in England, the inhabitants of Missouri had sworn that if all the revelations of “old Joe Smith” were fulfilled, that should not be, because it had a day and date to it.
President Young asked the Twelve who were with him—“What shall we do with regard to the fulfillment of this revelation?” He wanted to know their feelings. Father Smith, the Patriarch, said the Lord would take the will for the deed; others said the Lord could not expect the Twelve Apostles to go up and sacrifice their lives to fulfill that revelation; but the Spirit of the Lord rested upon the twelve, and they said—“The Lord God has spoken, and we will fulfill that revelation and commandment;” and that was the feeling of President Young and of those who were with him. We went through that State, and we laid that cornerstone. George A. Smith and myself were ordained to the Apostleship on that cornerstone upon that day. We returned in safety, and not a dog to move his tongue, and no man shed our blood.
As soon as we got home we prepared ourselves to go on our mission to England, and, as President Young has said, the devil undertook to kill us. I have myself been in Tennessee and Kentucky for two or three years, where, in the Fall, there was not well persons enough to take care of the sick during the ague months, and yet I never had the ague in my life until called to go upon that mission to England. There was not one solitary soul in the Quorum of the Twelve but what the devil undertook to destroy; and, as was said yesterday, when Brother Taylor and myself, the two first of the Quorum ready for the trip, were on hand to start, I was shaking with the ague, and I had it every other day, and on my well day, when I did not have it, my wife had it. I got up and laid my hands upon her and blessed her, and blessed my child, having only one at the time, and I started across the river, and that man who sits behind me today, the President of the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth, paddled me across the Missouri River in a canoe, and that is the way I landed in Nauvoo. I lay down on a side of sole leather by the old post office, and I did not know where to go, and I was not able to stand on my feet, and I lay down there. By and by the Prophet came along and said he—“Brother Woodruff, you are going on your mission?” “Yes,” I said,” but I feel more like a subject for the dissecting room than for a mission.” He reproved me for what I said and told me to get up and go. Brother Taylor, the only member of the Quorum of the Twelve who was well, and I traveled together, and on the way he fell to the ground as though he had been knocked on the head with an axe. Old Father Coulton was carrying us, and Brother Taylor fell twice in that way, taken with the bilious fever, and no man in that Quorum could boast that he went on that mission without feeling the hand of the destroyer, for it was laid upon us all. I had the shaking ague, and lay on my back in a wagon, and was rolled over stumps and stones, until it seemed as if my life would be shaken out of me. I left Brother Taylor behind, by his advice, for said he, “We are both sick, and if you stay you can't do anything here;” so old Father Coulton carried me along in his wagon until I got to Buffalo, N. Y. From there I traveled alone to Farmington, Connecticut, my native place, and I stayed there fifteen days at my father's house, coughing and shaking every day. My father never expected that I should leave my bed, and my stepmother did not expect that I should ever get better. A message came from an uncle of mine, who had just died, and his last words were—“I want you to send for Friend Wilford, I want him to come and preach my funeral sermon.” My father said—“You can't go and preach that sermon, for you can't sit up in your bed.” Said I—“Never mind, get up your horse and wagon;” and he did so and I got into it, and rode over that morning in a chilly wind, and the hour that my ague was coming on I got before a big blazing fire and preached the funeral sermon of my friend, and the ague left me from that day, and I went back and went on my way rejoicing.
In process of time, Brother Taylor came along and he and I crossed the ocean together, and arrived in England, and here I want to make a little statement of my experience in those days concerning circumstances that took place with me. When Brother Brigham left home he told you that all his family had was one barrel of rotten flour. Two hundred cents would have bought every pound of provision I left with my family when I left home. But we left our wives, for we had the commandment of God upon us, and we were either going to obey it, or die trying. That was the spirit of the Elders of Israel; and I blessed my wife and child and left them in the hands of God, and to the tender mercies of our noble Bishops, and those who were acquainted with them know how it was in those days. However, I went on my way, and I want to speak of one little circumstance. I had with me an old cloak which I got in Tennessee when traveling with Brother Smoot over forty years ago. It had once been a dandy cloak, and had on keg buttons, and when new had a good deal of trimming and fancy work about it; but it was then pretty well threadbare and worn out. I wore it in Kirtland and I carried it to England with me; and when I was called by revelation to go to John Benbow's and preach the gospel I wore that cloak. I went there and found over six hundred people, called United Brethren, and among them were eighty-three preachers, and they, as a people, were prepared for the word of the Lord, and I wanted to catch them in the gospel net. Before embracing the doctrine of the United Brethren, Sister Benbow had been what is called a “lady” in England, and she had worn her silks and satins; but after obeying the doctrine of this religious body she cut up and burned and destroyed her silks and satins and wore the plainest calicoes she could get, because she thought that was religion. When I went there to preach she looked at me with this old cloak with the keg buttons on, and the Spirit of the Lord bore testimony to me that religion, so far as she was concerned, had a good deal of tradition about it, and that her faith could be tried by the coat a man wore; and as Paul said, if eating meat offended his brethren, he would never eat any more, so I felt a good deal, and one morning I went out and cut off the buttons from my old cloak, and never had a button on it afterwards. By doing this and some other things, which some perhaps would call foolish, I, through the blessing of God and with the assistance of Brother Young, George A. Smith and Willard Richards, caught the whole flock and baptized every soul except one solitary person into the church and kingdom of God. Many of them are here in this room today, and some of them have passed away. I mention this just to show our position. We traveled without purse and scrip, and we preached without money and without price. Why? Because the God of heaven had called upon us to go forth and warn the world.
Now I want to say again, I have looked around within the last few years and I have thought: Where, Oh where, are the sons of the Prophets, Apostles, and fathers in Zion, preparing in these last days to rise up and bear off this kingdom when we are on the other side of the veil? Sometimes, in thinking on this subject, I have felt that they were very few and far between who had the spirit of their fathers and were prepared to bear off this kingdom. But I thank God that I find it is now something like it was in the days of Elijah. When the Prophet said, referring to the followers of Baal—“They have killed thy Prophets, and pulled down thine altars, and I alone am left,” the Lord said—“Oh no, I have seven thousand men in Israel who have not yet bowed the knee to Baal.” Well, I begin to feel, since I have heard the testimonies of our young brethren at this Conference, that some of the sons of the servants of God are becoming filled with the fire and spirit of the Prophets. We want a good many of them to rise up and bear off this kingdom.
Now I want to say a word or two on another subject. I have heard some of our brethren remark—“If the Twelve Apostles have the word of the Lord, we would like to receive it.” I want to say a few words with regard to the word of the Lord. I think that many of this people are mistaken with regard to the word of the Lord. They sometimes wonder why President Young does not give them the word of the Lord. I have been acquainted with President Young more than forty years. It is over forty years since I traveled a thousand miles with him, Joseph Smith, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Charles C. Rich, and many others perhaps in this congregation, and I never saw a day from that day until the present, but what President Brigham Young, even before the Twelve Apostles were organized, always had the word of the Lord for the people; and instead of thinking there is no word of the Lord, my faith is that there is not an Elder in Israel who has any business to preach, unless he has the word of the Lord to the people. The Twelve Apostles should have the word of the Lord to the people; the High Priesthood should have the word of the Lord to the people; these four thousand Seventies, the messengers of Israel to the nations of the earth, should have the word of the Lord to the people; and every Elder of Israel, when he speaks, should have the word of the Lord, and the whole Church and kingdom of God, men and women, should have, each for himself and herself, the testimony of Jesus Christ, which is the spirit of prophecy. This should be in the possession of every man and woman in the Church, for their own government and guidance, and this has always been the teaching to us of President Brigham Young. And this is backed up by the revelations which the Lord has given in these last days, as you will find if you read the twenty-second section of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. That revelation was given over forty years ago, to Elders Orson Hyde, Luke Johnson, Lyman Johnson and William E. McLellin; and on that occasion the Lord said—“Go forth and preach the Gospel to the people. And when you go forth, you are called to teach the people and not to be taught. And you must teach as you are moved upon by the Holy Ghost, by the power of God, by the Spirit of the Lord; and when you speak as you are moved upon by the Spirit of the Lord, your words are scripture, they are the word of the Lord, they are the mind of the Lord, they are the will of the Lord and the power of God unto salvation unto every one that hears.”
Yes, we have plenty of testimony with regard to these things, and I will say to my brethren that whatever the word of the Lord may be to them I know what the word of the Lord is to me. The word of the Lord to me is, that it is time for Zion to rise and let her light shine; and the testimony of the Spirit of God to me is that this whole kingdom, this great kingdom of Priests, this forty thousand men in these mountains of Israel, who have borne the Priesthood, have thoroughly fulfilled one part of the parable of the ten virgins. What is that? Why, that while the Bridegroom has tarried we have all slumbered and slept; as a Church and kingdom we have slumbered and slept, and the word of the Lord to me is that we have slept long enough; and we have the privilege now of rising and trimming our lamps and putting oil in our vessels. This is the word of the Lord to me.
The word of the Lord to me again, is, that it is time for this whole people, these forty thousand Elders of Israel who dwell in these valleys of the mountains, and I believe that it is the word of the Lord to them, that we listen to the voice of the Lord through the lawgiver, and unite ourselves in temporal things, and that we labor to build up the kingdom of God, and cease to labor to build up ourselves alone, against the interests of the kingdom of God. This is the word of the Lord to me, and I think it is to you.
It is the word of the Lord through the mouth of his servant Brigham, and has been a long time the word of the Lord to me, that as Twelve Apostles, as Seventy Apostles, as High Priests, and as Elders of Israel, it is time that we should rise up and bear the burden that rests upon the shoulders of Brigham Young, who is far advanced in life, and has had the weight and burden of this Church and kingdom upon his shoulders. It is our duty to rise up and bear off this burden, and lift it from our President, and also to cry aloud unto the people to unite themselves together. It is our duty to cease shaking in our shoes for fear the Lord Almighty should give some of his words to govern and control us in our temporal affairs. Who, to use a comparison, expects to have a forty-acre lot alone in the kingdom of God, or in heaven, when we get there? None need expect it, for in that kingdom, in heaven or upon earth, we shall find unity, and the Lord requires at our hands that we unite together, according to the principles of his celestial law.
This is what I consider to be the word of the Lord to us. It is our duty to unite ourselves together, and to sustain the institutions which have been established in these mountains by the revelations of God unto us.
There is another word of the Lord unto me, and which has been like fire shut up in my bones for the last three months; that is, to call upon all the inhabitants of these mountains, as far as I have an opportunity, to go to and lay up their grain, that they may have bread. For the last three months I have not felt as if I could answer my own feelings, unless, at every meeting I have attended, I called upon the farmers to lay up their grain. “Oh, yes,” say some, “Heber C. Kimball cried, ‘Famine, famine’ for years, and it has not come yet.” Well, bless your soul, there is more room for it to come. “Who am I, saith the Lord, that I promise and do not fulfill?” The day will come when if this people do not lay up their bread they will be sorry for it. The Lord has felt after us in days past and gone by the visitations of crickets and grasshoppers time after time, and had it not been for his mercy we should have had famine upon our heads long before this. It is the duty of the farmers in these mountains not to sell their bread, or to throw it away for a song, but to lay it up, or you will find that the day is not a great way off when you will need it. That is the voice of the Lord to me, and it is the way I have felt for a good while, and I believe it is the same to my brethren.
We are living in a very important time, and the Lord has raised up this people to accomplish his purposes; and as some of these revelations convey the idea, they were chosen from before the foundation of the world. The Lord says—“I have called you by my everlasting Priesthood, and your lives have been hid with Christ in God,” and you have not known it. You have been called here and God has put into your hands his cause and kingdom, and the salvation of both Jew and Gentile. This people hold in their hands the salvation of the twelve tribes of Israel. It was not to the oldest son, but to Ephraim, the son of Joseph, that these promises were made. Joseph was the youngest but one of the Twelve Patriarchs, and through his son Ephraim, God has raised you up and has put this power into your hands, and you hold the keys for the salvation of Israel. And the ten tribes of Israel in the north country will come in remembrance before God in due time, and they will smite the rocks and the mountains of ice will flow down before them, and the everlasting hills will tremble at their presence. A highway will be cast up through the midst of the great deep for them to come to Zion, and they will bow down in the midst thereof, and receive the Priesthood at the hands of the inhabitants of Zion.
Then what manner of men ought we to be, we, who have been ordained and called, and had such responsibilities placed upon us by the God of heaven? Our lives have been hid with Christ in God, and we are heirs of the eternal Priesthood, through the lineage of our fathers. Thus saith the Lord through the mouth of the Prophet Joseph Smith, who sealed his testimony with his blood, and his testimony from that hour has been in force upon all the world. Know ye, Latter-day Saints, that the Lord will not disappoint you or this generation with regard to the fulfillment of his promises. No matter whether they have been uttered by his own voice out of the heavens, by the ministration of angels, or by the voice of his servants in the flesh, it is the same; and though the earth pass away, not one jot or tittle of his word will fall unfulfilled. There is no prophecy of Scripture of any private interpretation, but holy men of old spoke as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and their words will be fulfilled to the very letter, and it certainly is time that we prepare ourselves for that which is to come. Great things await this generation—both Zion and Babylon. All these revelations concerning the fall of Babylon will have their fulfillment. Forty-five years ago, in speaking to the Church, the Lord said—“You are clean, but not all and I am not well pleased with any who are not clean, because all flesh is corrupted before my face, and darkness prevails among all the nations of the earth.” This causes silence to reign, and all eternity is pained. The angels of God are waiting to fulfill the great commandment given forty-five years ago, to go forth and reap down the earth because of the wickedness of men. How do you think eternity feels today? Why there is more wickedness, a thousand times over, in the United States now, than when that revelation was given. The whole earth is ripe in iniquity; and these inspired men, these Elders of Israel, have been commanded of the Almighty to go forth and warn the world, that their garments may be clear of the blood of all men.
I tell you that God will not disappoint Zion or Babylon, the heavens or the earth, in regard to the judgments which he has promised in these last days, but every one of them will have its fulfillment upon the heads of the children of men; and when they are fully ripened in iniquity the nations of the earth will be swept away as with the besom of destruction.
What did the Lord say to that meek and humble man, the brother of Jared, thousands of years ago, with regard to the land of America—a chosen land promised by old Father Jacob to his sons? He said that no nation should ever occupy it, unless the people thereof kept his commandments; and if they failed to do that, they should be cut off when they were ripened in iniquity. The Lord has already swept away two mighty nations from this continent, because they have not fulfilled his word, spoken through that humble man. The Lord chooses the weak things of the world, things which are naught to bring to naught things which are, and he will as surely perform his work in this age of the world as he has done in any other. We need not fear man, nor the wrath of man, but fear God, who holds in his hands the destinies of all men.
Before I close my remarks, I want to say a few words to our sisters and daughters in Zion, for I feel that there are some words of the Lord to them. This is a time that the daughters of Zion should hearken to the words of the Prophet of God, who has been set to lead us. I feel that it is time, forty years after they were organized, that the Female Relief Societies should labor with all their might to carry out the object of their organization by the Prophet Joseph Smith. You may ask, “What was the object of that organization?” I will say that in organizing these societies, there were several objects in view, some of which I will refer to before I get through. President Young has been calling upon you, as one branch of the land of Zion, to take hold and help to build it up.
He desires that the sisters here in the land of Zion should govern and control the fashions of Zion. Instead of heaping to yourselves and imitating the fashions that have adorned Babylon, you should have independence enough to form your own; and those which are not comely and comfortable should be laid aside. I, myself, do not think it has been pleasing in the sight of God, to see the manner in which the mothers and daughters in Zion, for years past, have been ready to adorn themselves with every fashion that Babylon has contrived and invented. I need not mention all these things, but I will mention two or three. For instance, how is it with regard to the head dress of the ladies? The Lord has given to women generally a fine head of hair, which, we are told in the Scriptures, is the glory of the woman; and she should let the hair given unto her adorn her head without adding any foreign substance, as is now done, in order to imitate and follow after the fashions of the world. Again, just as quick as the daughters of Babylon extend their crinolines until they cannot move in a space less than six or eight feet wide in a coach, assembly room, or anywhere else, why the daughters of Zion must follow the same uncomely fashion. But a fashion the reverse of this is now adopted, and at the present time the daughters of Babylon wear their elastics so tight that they have not room left for locomotion when walking in the streets; and, of course the daughters of Zion must practice the same. And now, see one of them, dressed in the height of fashion, crossing the street, and a runaway team comes thundering along. What a position she is in! Why the only way she can save her life is to lie down and roll across the street like a saw log.
All these fashions are uncomely and should be laid aside. The daughters of Zion should do better than to trail silks and satins in the mud when walking in the street. The Female Relief Societies should lay hold of and regulate these things, and introduce fashions that are comely and comfortable; it is their duty to do it. Again, you can do a good deal in regard to maintaining the independence of Zion, by going to and carrying out the counsel of President Young in raising your own silk for dresses, bonnets and trimmings, so that your adorning may be the workmanship of your own hands.
I felt as though I wanted to say so much with regard to our sisters in Zion. President Young says, and I know it is the truth, that this is the best people on the face of the earth. But however good we may be, we should aim continually to improve and become better. We have obeyed a different law and Gospel to what other people have obeyed, and we have a different kingdom in view, and our aim should be correspondingly higher before the Lord our God, and we should govern and control ourselves accordingly, and I pray God, my heavenly Father, that his Spirit may rest upon us and enable us to do so.
Another word of the Lord to me is that, it is the duty of these young men here in the land of Zion to take the daughters of Zion to wife, and prepare tabernacles for the spirits of men, which are the children of our Father in heaven. They are waiting for tabernacles, they are ordained to come here, and they ought to be born in the land of Zion instead of Babylon. This is the duty of the young men in Zion; and when the daughters of Zion are asked by the young men to join with them in marriage, instead of asking—“Has this man a fine brick house, a span of fine horses and a fine carriage?” they should ask—“Is he a man of God? Has he the Spirit of God with him? Is he a Latter-day Saint? Does he pray? Has he got the Spirit upon him to qualify him to build up the kingdom?” If he has that, never mind the carriage and brick house, take hold and unite yourselves together according to the law of God. I rejoice to see the population increasing in the land of Zion. Why is it that ninety-nine women out of every hundred over the whole land of Zion, who are of proper age and married, are bringing forth posterity until our children swarm in our streets almost like bees? Because the God of heaven is raising up a royal Priesthood, and a generation to bear off this kingdom in the day when his judgments will come upon the earth.
Let us do our duty; let us cease setting our hearts upon the fashions and things of this world, and laboring to enrich ourselves at the sacrifice of the kingdom of God. We have a cooperative mercantile institution; and it is the duty of these Latter-day Saints to sustain and uphold it; and so with everything else that is in the kingdom, for these are the stepping stones to us to a fullness of the celestial kingdom of God.
I thank God that I live in this day and age of the world, when my ears have heard the sound of the fullness of the Gospel of Christ. I thank God that I have seen the face of Prophets, Apostles, and inspired men. I rejoice in this, and I pray God my heavenly Father that I, and my brethren and sisters, may have power to unite and take hold and build up this kingdom. When we do this, it will not be in the power of earth or hell to take away our rights and privileges; for I tell you that if this people were united according to the law of God, wherein we should become fully justified before the Lord, sinners in Zion would tremble and fearfulness would surprise the hypocrite; the power of God would rest upon Zion, the angels of God would visit the earth, the judgments of God would be poured upon the wicked, the Zion of God would be redeemed, the Temples of God would be reared, the prison doors would be opened and the prisoners in the spirit world would go free, because we would feel the spirit and power of our mission and calling and should fulfill it.
I pray that God will bless this people, and that he will bless President Young, who has already outlived four of his counselors. The Lord says—“I will take whom I will take, and I will preserve whom I will preserve.” All these counselors were younger men than President Young, yet he has outlived them. God has ordained President Young to live, and he has lived so long, and has had the prayers of hundreds and thousands of Saints, which have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth for his preservation; and the Lord has heard and answered these prayers.
Let us, as Elders of Israel, rise up and bear off this kingdom. Let us forsake our evils and wickedness, and repent of our sins, and renew our covenants and keep the commandments of God; that we may lighten the burdens of our President, that his spirit may be cheered, and that the power of God may attend him in his labors for the advancement of Zion upon the earth.
This is my prayer in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Meeting was adjourned till 2 p.m.
The choir sang an anthem—Comfort ye my people.
Benediction by Elder Elias Morris.
THIRD DAY.
Friday, Oct. 8, 2 p.m.
The choir sang—All you that love Emmanuel’s name, Whose spirits burn with ardent flame.
Prayer by Elder Lorenzo Snow.
The choir sang—When earth in bondage long had lain, And darkness o’er the nations reigned.
Friday, Oct. 8, 2 p.m.
The choir sang—All you that love Emmanuel’s name, Whose spirits burn with ardent flame.
Prayer by Elder Lorenzo Snow.
The choir sang—When earth in bondage long had lain, And darkness o’er the nations reigned.
Elder Brigham Young [Jr.]
said that the position occupied by a preacher on an occasion like the present was a very peculiar one. The testimonies of the Elders who had already spoken were true. The present condition of the Saints, according to the estimation of our best men, was anything but what it ought to be. He felt thankful to God that he had revealed to us as a people the United Order, a gospel principle which came at a very opportune moment. Had the Saints received it as an ark of safety, either in the north or in the south? He was afraid not, yet it was a principle of the gospel as much so as that of baptism. If we could not receive the principle of co-operation, neither were we prepared to receive that of the United Order, for each of them was but as a lesson sent forth for the Latter-day Saints to learn and act upon at the very time they were made known. Those who received the first were fully prepared to receive the second when revealed two years ago.
He then spoke on the subject of tithing, and said that neither himself nor any one else, either man or woman, had ever paid their tithing as it was revealed and understood by him in the Doctrine and Covenants. But however we might fall short of this and many other things, this people were the people of God and he knew it, and God would eventually bring us up to the standard he required us to occupy. There were at least three different ways that the United Order was being tried throughout the Territory. He hoped that ere long a system would be gone into, that all could unite and enter upon in earnest.
He then spoke of co-operation, which he said was about to be started afresh, with the ground and store all belonging to the company. Too large dividends had been paid heretofore, such as no system of business could sustain. We did not propose to pay hereafter more than a living and reasonable dividend. It was also the intention of paying ready cash for our goods, and by being universally sustained, and judiciously managed, it is bound to succeed. In union, on the principles of the gospel, there was strength. Unless we were one, we were not Christ’s. He testified that the words of our leaders were true and faithful, and if we would carry them out, they would prove our salvation. We must combine our means and abilities to build up this kingdom, or we should see sorrow.
He then exhorted the Saints to receive whatever principles were made known by the servants of God, and practically carry them out. This was the only way we could be successfully shielded from our enemies.
said that the position occupied by a preacher on an occasion like the present was a very peculiar one. The testimonies of the Elders who had already spoken were true. The present condition of the Saints, according to the estimation of our best men, was anything but what it ought to be. He felt thankful to God that he had revealed to us as a people the United Order, a gospel principle which came at a very opportune moment. Had the Saints received it as an ark of safety, either in the north or in the south? He was afraid not, yet it was a principle of the gospel as much so as that of baptism. If we could not receive the principle of co-operation, neither were we prepared to receive that of the United Order, for each of them was but as a lesson sent forth for the Latter-day Saints to learn and act upon at the very time they were made known. Those who received the first were fully prepared to receive the second when revealed two years ago.
He then spoke on the subject of tithing, and said that neither himself nor any one else, either man or woman, had ever paid their tithing as it was revealed and understood by him in the Doctrine and Covenants. But however we might fall short of this and many other things, this people were the people of God and he knew it, and God would eventually bring us up to the standard he required us to occupy. There were at least three different ways that the United Order was being tried throughout the Territory. He hoped that ere long a system would be gone into, that all could unite and enter upon in earnest.
He then spoke of co-operation, which he said was about to be started afresh, with the ground and store all belonging to the company. Too large dividends had been paid heretofore, such as no system of business could sustain. We did not propose to pay hereafter more than a living and reasonable dividend. It was also the intention of paying ready cash for our goods, and by being universally sustained, and judiciously managed, it is bound to succeed. In union, on the principles of the gospel, there was strength. Unless we were one, we were not Christ’s. He testified that the words of our leaders were true and faithful, and if we would carry them out, they would prove our salvation. We must combine our means and abilities to build up this kingdom, or we should see sorrow.
He then exhorted the Saints to receive whatever principles were made known by the servants of God, and practically carry them out. This was the only way we could be successfully shielded from our enemies.
President Brigham Young
addressed the congregation.
The Conference was adjourned till to-morrow morning at 10 o’clock.
The choir sang an anthem—The Earth is the Lord’s.
Benediction by Elder Franklin D. Richards.
addressed the congregation.
The Conference was adjourned till to-morrow morning at 10 o’clock.
The choir sang an anthem—The Earth is the Lord’s.
Benediction by Elder Franklin D. Richards.
FOURTH DAY.
Saturday, 10 a. m., Oct. 9.
The choir sang—Great God, indulge my humble claim; Thou art my hope, my joy, my rest.
Prayer by Elder C. C. Rich.
The choir sang—This house we dedicate to thee, Our God, our fathers’ God.
Saturday, 10 a. m., Oct. 9.
The choir sang—Great God, indulge my humble claim; Thou art my hope, my joy, my rest.
Prayer by Elder C. C. Rich.
The choir sang—This house we dedicate to thee, Our God, our fathers’ God.
President B. Young said Elder John Taylor would now offer the dedicatory prayer.
Elder John Taylor then read the dedicatory prayer
Elder John Taylor then read the dedicatory prayer
Elder Orson Hyde
referred to the flood of light and comfort in the prayer that had just been read. We, as a people, were called upon to repent, and it behooved us to submit to the ways of the Lord. When the Holy Ghost melted and subdued the rigid condition of the heart of man, he could then be fashioned into a vessel of honor, fitted for the Master’s use.
referred to the flood of light and comfort in the prayer that had just been read. We, as a people, were called upon to repent, and it behooved us to submit to the ways of the Lord. When the Holy Ghost melted and subdued the rigid condition of the heart of man, he could then be fashioned into a vessel of honor, fitted for the Master’s use.
Elder Orson Pratt
said while listening to the dedication prayer his mind had reflected upon the many dedications previously offered in days of old. Such dedications, offered up by the priesthood of the Son of God, were always attended by the manifestations of the power and goodness of God, whether seen and felt by the naked eye or not. How often we had experienced quiet sensations of joy and gladness, when convened as at present, which language utterly failed us to describe. In the days of Kirtland, in the Temple, many had the visions of eternity unfolded to them, angels were seen, and prophecies were uttered, that had gradually been fulfilling since that time. It was in that temple the people were blessed beyond anything for many generations past. It was in that temple that Joseph, the prophet of the last days, received keys and endowments that pertained to the great latter-day work. God was with his servant, with his everlasting priesthood, and his blessing was resting upon his people, his bowels of compassion were moved towards his people.
said while listening to the dedication prayer his mind had reflected upon the many dedications previously offered in days of old. Such dedications, offered up by the priesthood of the Son of God, were always attended by the manifestations of the power and goodness of God, whether seen and felt by the naked eye or not. How often we had experienced quiet sensations of joy and gladness, when convened as at present, which language utterly failed us to describe. In the days of Kirtland, in the Temple, many had the visions of eternity unfolded to them, angels were seen, and prophecies were uttered, that had gradually been fulfilling since that time. It was in that temple the people were blessed beyond anything for many generations past. It was in that temple that Joseph, the prophet of the last days, received keys and endowments that pertained to the great latter-day work. God was with his servant, with his everlasting priesthood, and his blessing was resting upon his people, his bowels of compassion were moved towards his people.
On the Dedication of the New Tabernacle
Remarks by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered at the Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Saturday Morning, Oct. 9, 1875.
Reported by David W. Evans.
It is with peculiar feelings that I arise on this occasion to speak a few words to this vast assembly. While listening to the sacred words of the prayer that has been offered up this forenoon in the dedication of this large building as a place of worship, and the dedication of the ministry who administer therein, my heart has been full of joy and satisfaction, and, while listening to these glorious words, my mind was led to reflect upon dedications of houses and tabernacles of the Most High in former ages of the world, and also upon the peculiar manifestations oftentimes connected with those dedications.
The Lord our God accepts the dedication, by his servants the Priesthood, of those things which he has ordained and established; and though he may not always manifest that acceptance in a visible manner, so that all the people may see, yet there is a peculiar manifestation that we can feel if we cannot see, which whispers to us that God is manifest in his works, ordinances and institutions, and in his own buildings that are built with an eye single to his glory, and in his name. It is an easy matter for the Great Jehovah to manifest himself, if he pleases so to do, upon a mountain or hill, or in the secret closet; or while we slumber upon our pillows by night, the visions of eternity may be opened to our minds, and we may receive great consolation, joy and peace, through the manifestations given us by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost. But then, the Lord has oftentimes laid out a great work for his people to perform, and when that work is performed by the sons of men with all their hearts and might, and with all the strength, ability and power that God has given them, it is then that he shows forth his approbation from the heavens, and fills them with a peculiar feeling of joy and gladness that it is impossible for language to describe. How often have we felt these peculiar feelings and sensations pervading our minds, when we have assembled on occasions something similar to the present one!
I look back to the first Temple that was built in this generation by command of the Most High, some forty years ago, in the State of Ohio, in Kirtland, according to the pattern which God showed by vision. When that was completed, and the servants of God were called in from the east and west, and north, and south, and entered that sacred edifice, God was there, his angels were there, the Holy Ghost was in the midst of the people, the visions of the Almighty were opened to the minds of the servants of the living God; the veil was taken off from the minds of many; they saw the heavens opened; they beheld the angels of God; they heard the voice of the Lord; and they were filled from the crown of their heads to the soles of their feet with the power and inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and uttered forth prophecies in the midst of that congregation, which have been fulfilling from that day to the present time.
It was in that Temple that the visions of the Almighty were opened to our great Prophet, Seer and Revelator, Joseph Smith, wherein the future was portrayed before him, wherein keys were committed to him in relation to this great Latter-day dispensation, and the power of God was made manifest through the holy Priesthood sent down from heaven. In that Temple, set apart by the servants of God, and dedicated by a prayer that was written by inspiration, the people were blessed as they never had been blessed for generations and generations that were passed and gone. Why? Because that work was of God. God had raised up a mighty Prophet; God had brought to light great and glorious revelations; God had sent down the holy Priesthood from the heavens; the Lord our God had established his kingdom on the earth; he, therefore, gave unto his servants power, wisdom and strength that they might administer among the people and do them good.
Since that time, buildings have been reared to the name of the Most High, and the Priesthood have been called together, and the councils of the Priesthood have been blessed, endowments have been made manifest, and ordinances of endowments, keys of endowments, signs and tokens of endowments, and principles that were calculated to give joy and to impart happiness, for the Lord had commanded, that in the midst of Zion, life for evermore should be poured out upon the fallen sons and daughters of his people.
Now another occasion is afforded us of dedicating a large and commodious Tabernacle, which has been built to the name of the Most High. God is here; God is with his servants, with the quorums of the everlasting Priesthood, and his Spirit is here; and the prayer that has been offered up is accepted by the heavens, and we rejoice and give praise to God who has redeemed us, who sits upon his throne, whose bowels of mercy yearn towards all of his sons and daughters; whose bosom is filled with compassion towards all his people. We praise his name, and though we have not the opportunity of giving expression to the joy and thanksgiving of our hearts, still we feel to say—“Hallelujah to the Lord God Almighty, who sits upon his throne, who reigns forever and ever, for he will bless his Zion, he will extend forth her borders, he will pour out his Spirit upon his ministry, and he will fulfill and accomplish his work unto the uttermost.” Amen.
Remarks by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered at the Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Saturday Morning, Oct. 9, 1875.
Reported by David W. Evans.
It is with peculiar feelings that I arise on this occasion to speak a few words to this vast assembly. While listening to the sacred words of the prayer that has been offered up this forenoon in the dedication of this large building as a place of worship, and the dedication of the ministry who administer therein, my heart has been full of joy and satisfaction, and, while listening to these glorious words, my mind was led to reflect upon dedications of houses and tabernacles of the Most High in former ages of the world, and also upon the peculiar manifestations oftentimes connected with those dedications.
The Lord our God accepts the dedication, by his servants the Priesthood, of those things which he has ordained and established; and though he may not always manifest that acceptance in a visible manner, so that all the people may see, yet there is a peculiar manifestation that we can feel if we cannot see, which whispers to us that God is manifest in his works, ordinances and institutions, and in his own buildings that are built with an eye single to his glory, and in his name. It is an easy matter for the Great Jehovah to manifest himself, if he pleases so to do, upon a mountain or hill, or in the secret closet; or while we slumber upon our pillows by night, the visions of eternity may be opened to our minds, and we may receive great consolation, joy and peace, through the manifestations given us by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost. But then, the Lord has oftentimes laid out a great work for his people to perform, and when that work is performed by the sons of men with all their hearts and might, and with all the strength, ability and power that God has given them, it is then that he shows forth his approbation from the heavens, and fills them with a peculiar feeling of joy and gladness that it is impossible for language to describe. How often have we felt these peculiar feelings and sensations pervading our minds, when we have assembled on occasions something similar to the present one!
I look back to the first Temple that was built in this generation by command of the Most High, some forty years ago, in the State of Ohio, in Kirtland, according to the pattern which God showed by vision. When that was completed, and the servants of God were called in from the east and west, and north, and south, and entered that sacred edifice, God was there, his angels were there, the Holy Ghost was in the midst of the people, the visions of the Almighty were opened to the minds of the servants of the living God; the veil was taken off from the minds of many; they saw the heavens opened; they beheld the angels of God; they heard the voice of the Lord; and they were filled from the crown of their heads to the soles of their feet with the power and inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and uttered forth prophecies in the midst of that congregation, which have been fulfilling from that day to the present time.
It was in that Temple that the visions of the Almighty were opened to our great Prophet, Seer and Revelator, Joseph Smith, wherein the future was portrayed before him, wherein keys were committed to him in relation to this great Latter-day dispensation, and the power of God was made manifest through the holy Priesthood sent down from heaven. In that Temple, set apart by the servants of God, and dedicated by a prayer that was written by inspiration, the people were blessed as they never had been blessed for generations and generations that were passed and gone. Why? Because that work was of God. God had raised up a mighty Prophet; God had brought to light great and glorious revelations; God had sent down the holy Priesthood from the heavens; the Lord our God had established his kingdom on the earth; he, therefore, gave unto his servants power, wisdom and strength that they might administer among the people and do them good.
Since that time, buildings have been reared to the name of the Most High, and the Priesthood have been called together, and the councils of the Priesthood have been blessed, endowments have been made manifest, and ordinances of endowments, keys of endowments, signs and tokens of endowments, and principles that were calculated to give joy and to impart happiness, for the Lord had commanded, that in the midst of Zion, life for evermore should be poured out upon the fallen sons and daughters of his people.
Now another occasion is afforded us of dedicating a large and commodious Tabernacle, which has been built to the name of the Most High. God is here; God is with his servants, with the quorums of the everlasting Priesthood, and his Spirit is here; and the prayer that has been offered up is accepted by the heavens, and we rejoice and give praise to God who has redeemed us, who sits upon his throne, whose bowels of mercy yearn towards all of his sons and daughters; whose bosom is filled with compassion towards all his people. We praise his name, and though we have not the opportunity of giving expression to the joy and thanksgiving of our hearts, still we feel to say—“Hallelujah to the Lord God Almighty, who sits upon his throne, who reigns forever and ever, for he will bless his Zion, he will extend forth her borders, he will pour out his Spirit upon his ministry, and he will fulfill and accomplish his work unto the uttermost.” Amen.
Elder Geo. Q. Cannon
said our Conference thus far had been very interesting to him, and if the many items of instruction imparted were treasured up in our minds and put in practice, they would prove very beneficial in their results. Some duties, however, stood prominent and especially worthy of our attention. One was that of “self-preservation.” God had blessed us with a goodly land. He had made it fertile, and blessed us also with many other favors. The United Order was now preached to us, to amalgamate and unite us together more closely than we had ever been before. Individual stewardships had been suggested as the most feasible way to unite the hearts and interests of the people, and was now urged by President Young and the brethren to be the policy for universal adoption throughout the Territory. We must become a self-sustaining people by introducing and encouraging every branch of industry, and by combining our means we would have all that was necessary to carry on every manufacturing industry that we chose to start. This was one great object of the United Order. He then referred to the suicidal policy which we as a people had been pursuing for years, and which, if persisted in, would always keep us poor and dependent upon foreign people. We ought not to have one idle man or woman in this country. We did not now supply our own wants.
He spoke with pleasure of the 37 branches of industry that had been introduced in Brigham City, and unless outside settlements bestirred themselves and entered into similar arrangements, they would be under the necessity of paying tribute to those at Brigham City, by selling them the hides and other raw materials, and receiving them back in pay when in a manufactured condition.
He then energetically exhorted the congregation to wake up to this all-absorbing subject, that we might become a self-sustaining and prosperous people. France and Germany he mentioned as countries which, by their home industries and skilled labors, had placed their people in a position of wealth and independence—“An idle man’s brains were the Devil’s workshop,” and if our young men were suitably educated in well-directed labor, many would be saved from habits of intemperance and rowdyism.
said our Conference thus far had been very interesting to him, and if the many items of instruction imparted were treasured up in our minds and put in practice, they would prove very beneficial in their results. Some duties, however, stood prominent and especially worthy of our attention. One was that of “self-preservation.” God had blessed us with a goodly land. He had made it fertile, and blessed us also with many other favors. The United Order was now preached to us, to amalgamate and unite us together more closely than we had ever been before. Individual stewardships had been suggested as the most feasible way to unite the hearts and interests of the people, and was now urged by President Young and the brethren to be the policy for universal adoption throughout the Territory. We must become a self-sustaining people by introducing and encouraging every branch of industry, and by combining our means we would have all that was necessary to carry on every manufacturing industry that we chose to start. This was one great object of the United Order. He then referred to the suicidal policy which we as a people had been pursuing for years, and which, if persisted in, would always keep us poor and dependent upon foreign people. We ought not to have one idle man or woman in this country. We did not now supply our own wants.
He spoke with pleasure of the 37 branches of industry that had been introduced in Brigham City, and unless outside settlements bestirred themselves and entered into similar arrangements, they would be under the necessity of paying tribute to those at Brigham City, by selling them the hides and other raw materials, and receiving them back in pay when in a manufactured condition.
He then energetically exhorted the congregation to wake up to this all-absorbing subject, that we might become a self-sustaining and prosperous people. France and Germany he mentioned as countries which, by their home industries and skilled labors, had placed their people in a position of wealth and independence—“An idle man’s brains were the Devil’s workshop,” and if our young men were suitably educated in well-directed labor, many would be saved from habits of intemperance and rowdyism.
Self Preservation—United Order—Individual Stewardships—Home Manufactures
Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered at the Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Saturday Morning, October 8, 1875.
Reported by David W. Evans.
Our Conference, thus far, has been exceedingly interesting to me, and I have no doubt it has been to every one present. We have heard a great many ideas and counsels, and have received instruction which, if treasured up by us and carried into practical effect in our lives, will have a very beneficial result in the midst of this people. There has never been any lack of instruction among the Latter-day Saints. I think it was President Wells who said the other day that he sometimes thought we had too much preaching and teaching. I have no doubt myself that the ease with which we obtain instruction, the abundance of it, and the readiness with which it is imparted have made very important counsels that would, if carried out, have a very beneficial effect upon the entire people, seem cheap and unimportant. There are some duties, however, that have been dwelt upon with considerable plainness in order that they may be kept permanently before the minds of the people. The leading points among these are those which relate to our self-preservation, because if we do not adopt and carry out in our lives principles that will preserve us, the gathering together of the people in these valleys and all the labors that have been expended in our behalf will not amount to much. God has blessed us with a good land; he has multiplied upon us many favors, that, when we came here, some of us, at least, did not expect to enjoy. He has given the land a fertility that we never dreamed of. I say that we never dreamed of, but I will speak for myself, and say that I never thought that this land could have been made so fruitful as it has been. Others, probably, who had had more experience, might have entertained different feelings. I have heard President Young say a great many times that he saw all that has been done, when we first came here he saw what the result would be. But the land was barren, and the fertility that it now possesses, could scarcely then have been expected. God has given unto us this and many other favors, and as a people we should wisely appropriate them for the extension of the principles of truth and righteousness.
I was very much pleased yesterday with the remarks which were made in relation to the principles of the United Order. This is a subject which I have thought of considerably, and it is one which I think ought to appeal very strongly to us. The efforts which are being made to unite us and bring us together, to blend our interests and to amalgamate us and make us one are of the utmost importance to us, and I suppose that a great many of the Latter-day Saints who have come to this Conference have had the desire in their hearts that something might be said in relation to the course that they should adopt in order to become more united. I think I made a statement, about a year ago, that many of the people were far more willing than many of their leaders to enter upon a system having that end in view. I still entertain that same opinion. I believe that the bulk of the Latter-day Saints are anxious to understand what they shall do, and are willing to carry out, when directed, any plan that shall be suggested to them. Several plans have been suggested, but there have been feelings of one kind and another and difficulties interposed to prevent the general carrying out of any plan. However, the President has felt of late, and has thus spoken to those who have been immediately around him and to several others, that it would be well for us to carry out the plan that was spoken of yesterday, and that has been referred to a good many times of late, namely, individual stewardships. There is something about this which appeals strongly to most men's minds. They can see how this can be effected; they can see that under such a system what are called individual rights might be better preserved, and property not be absorbed in a way to cause loss or waste, and yet the great principle be carried out that is aimed at, namely, the uniting of the hearts of the people in one.
We have had meetings here in this city, at which these principles have been laid before a number of the Latter-day Saints, all of whom have seemed to receive the ideas with satisfaction, and have felt that they suited them exactly, and they were willing to do that which was required of them. And I believe that this feeling will be extended throughout all the Territory and throughout all these mountains; for wherever we have gone this summer, laboring among and talking to the people in relation to their economy, and the management of their temporal affairs, we have found a great willingness manifested on the part of the people to do whatever they were counseled to do, and to carry out the principles to the extent of their ability, and I believe that this will be the result.
We, as a people, must change our policy if we become the people which we aim at, and which we believe God designs that we shall be. There is nothing clearer than this to every thinking mind. We can see very plainly that we must be a self-sustaining people, that we must manufacture in our own midst, to the greatest possible extent, that which we consume, that is necessary for our comfort and convenience. Unless we take this course, it is an impossibility that we can become the people that we design to be, and that God in his revelations has predicted we shall be. No people who are dependent upon others can become a great people. A people who are constantly producing for others to manufacture, never can become a great people. If we produce wool, and hides, and grain, and other things from the earth, and send them away to be manufactured, we shall constantly pay tribute to other people, and the object of the United Order is to stop this. We have skill here, for there is probably no community on this continent, of our numbers, which has as many skilled artisans as are to be found here. Men who are familiar with every branch of industry almost that can be named are in these mountains. But we have not capital; yet by combining our means we can obtain all the capital that is necessary; and then, if there can be a public sentiment developed here which will induce the people to sustain these manufactures, the whole question is solved, and we are placed upon a pinnacle of greatness that we never can attain to unless we pursue this policy.
You take a pound of wool, and it costs what? You can buy it here in our market for twenty-five or twenty-six cents. You send that pound of wool to the Eastern States, and let the looms of the East manufacture it, the workmen of the East bestow their labor upon it, and that pound of wool comes back to us manufactured into cloth, and contrast the price of that wool before it is manufactured, with its cost when it is manufactured, and you can form some idea of how much we have to pay the skilled men of other communities. A case was given to us yesterday. A hide was sold to a purchaser who sent it from this Territory. It came back to Cache County, where the brand, still legible on the leather, was recognized as one of their own brands. Now the difference between the price obtained for the hide in its raw state, and the cost of it when manufactured into leather, was the amount that we paid to some manufacturer in the East for changing that raw hide into leather suitable to be worn.
What, then, ought to be our policy? It ought to be to bestow all the skill and labor possible upon everything we produce. Not one pound of wheat ought to go out of this Territory until it has received all the labor possible to be bestowed upon it, or, in other words, until it is made into the finest of flour. This is the true policy for us. To send our wheat away for other men to grind and take a toll off, and then send it back to us manufactured into flour, why it is suicidal! To send our hides away for somebody else to manufacture them into leather, and boots and shoes, when we have tanners, bark, and all the material and skill necessary to do the same lying idly here! Why, it is folly in the highest sense, or in the lowest sense, whichever you please to call it, for us to pursue a course of this kind. And so with everything that we have here. We are probably sending away a million pounds of wool this season. We have not machinery enough to manufacture all our wool, but we can manufacture a great deal, but our machinery will not manufacture all we need to supply our present wants, and a million pounds of wool go east to be manufactured, and we have to pay manufacturers for the cloth made from that wool, and we are thus paying tribute to other communities. And so it is with everything that we use that is manufactured abroad. When you buy a jar of pickles, a gallon of molasses, or canned corn, tomatoes, or fruit, or anything of this kind, you are paying your money to sustain communities afar off, while your own people are suffering for want of labor.
We ought not to have an idle man, woman or child in these valleys. Says one—“But we cannot afford to pay the prices that are asked for home-manufactured goods.” Let me ask, Can we afford to sit idle? Can we afford to do nothing, and to pay money to, and employ others? I say that we cannot; but we are doing it all the time. We are bringing wagons and carriages into this country, when we have abundance of skill here to manufacture them. And the same is true of many other things which we might manufacture and supply our own wants.
Now what is the object of the United Order? It is to enable us to appropriate the means which God has given us to manufacture those things that are necessary for our own sustenance. Let us take the illustration that is afforded us by Brigham City, Brother Lorenzo Snow's place of residence. In that little town, numbering probably three thousand people, they have over thirty branches of manufacture. They have a circulating medium of their own—a little nation, as it were—and the workmen are paid in that medium, and with it they buy what they want of the various articles which they manufacture; and by the combination that has been effected, they are gradually growing to a degree of independence that is unknown almost everywhere else. But the great difficulty there, is, that the masses of the people do not see their own interests, but many of them are as blind there as they are elsewhere, and a few wise men have to take the lead and the responsibility, and to labor and contrive to maintain these branches of manufacture. But what will be the result if this be continued? All the surrounding country, unless the people do the same, will be paying tribute to Brigham City and its manufacturers, and every youth in Brigham City will be learning some branch of skilled handicraft, and the rawhides and everything in its raw state will be brought to Brigham City, and Brigham City will pay in manufactured articles which its artisans have made, and upon which they have a profit; and if that were to go on, Brigham City would, in a little while, own all the surrounding country.
I mention this as an illustration of what can be done, and what we ought to do. We ought not to produce more wheat than we need for our own use, that is, we should not depend upon exporting wheat, we cannot get enough for it, it does not pay us. But we should turn our attention to other articles and to manufactures. There is Bear Lake country, abounding in timber, the men of which live nearly half the year housed up. If they would organize wisely, and combine their capital, skill and labor, they could manufacture everything out of wood that we need in this country, and they have the best of timber there to do it with. But instead of that, their time is spent during the winter in feeding their cattle and doing such chores as are needed around their places; and during the remaining five months they are worked exceedingly hard. This is impolitic and unwise, and if persisted in, would be called bad management.
These are the lessons that have been taught us all the day long. It is not a new thing, but is something as old as our residence in these mountains. I have heard such instructions as these from my boyhood, when we first came here. But we have been slow to hear and carry out these practical lessons of wisdom that have been delivered to us by the servants of God, and have been, to some extent, reluctant, fearful and suspicious that, if we did these things, somebody would be a little more benefited than we. Now it is time for a reformation. I do not wonder at the Lord calling upon his servants to ask the people to go and be baptized, and rebaptized into a different spirit, a spirit to obey the counsel that is given. All of you have proved by your experience the wisdom of this counsel. We know that we have a man leading us who has more wisdom in managing the affairs of a community than any man on the American Continent or anywhere else that we know anything of. He has proved this; it is no boast, it is a fact that is recognized by thousands outside of this Territory. Those who are unprejudiced in other parts of the nation see the results of the policy that has been urged upon the people of this Territory; and if that policy were carried out, we would soon become an independent people, we would soon be full of wealth and means, and instead of seeing men walking around with their hands in their pockets, because of not having work, there would not be an idle man in the Territory. For any portion of our people to be idle is wrong, and there is something radically wrong about a system that admits of or has a tendency to keep a portion of the community in idleness. There is no necessity for such a state of things, and we are to blame if it exists here. If every man and woman worked, and every child worked as soon as it is capable, after having received the necessary schooling, you would soon see the difference there would be in this country in our means and appliances. It is skill, and that skill well applied, that contributes to the greatness of a nation. Look at France, today. France was burdened by an enormous debt, laid upon her by Germany, and which Germany hoped would cripple her for years. But France, with her wonderful industrial resources, has a stream of wealth flowing into her today from all the nations because of her taste and skill. By these means, she has paid her debt, and Germany is alarmed at the rapidity with which it has been paid. To what is it due? It is due to French skill, to their workmen of taste and ability, and when people elsewhere want fabrics of the greatest elegance, they send to France for them. A lady in fashionable society in Washington, or in leading eastern cities generally, does not consider herself dressed in the leading style, unless her dresses, as well as the materials of which they are made, are manufactured in France. The highest fashion demands that her dress shall be made in Paris. And look at Geneva, it is another of the workshops of the world. You travel through Switzerland, and you will find that in her secluded valleys the people, in their little cabins, manufacture the finest kind of watches and clocks, and other articles that are valuable and rare, which are sold to all the nations round, and the skill of her people has made Switzerland a comparatively rich country.
We have skill here, and we have materials here that we should utilize, instead of letting them go to waste. I have heard parties say, and it is true, that there is more waste in Utah Territory than in any country they had ever seen in their lives. I have heard men of experience say this, and I believe it. We have got so much that we waste that which God has given unto us, instead of using it for the purpose for which it was designed.
Now, my brethren and sisters, you who have come to this Conference, do try and put into operation the teachings that you hear. It is no use talking unless we go to work. To say after Conference—“Oh, what a good Conference we have had,” “What excellent teachings we had!” and then forget all about them, and do nothing practical connected with them, would be folly in the extreme. When you get a principle try and carry it out, try and make it practical in your lives. Endeavor, in your communities, to organize branches of labor. Let the Bishops and the men who have wisdom provide means of employment for every man and every woman in their settlements and wards, and let their brains be exercised, as President Young's has been, for the good of the whole. We should use the power which God has given us in these directions in endeavoring to lift ourselves up from our abject condition, and not think—“I must have five dollars or four dollars for a day's work;” but go to work if you cannot get as much as that. We should all be employed in doing something every day. We should train our boys and girls to work; the best education that we can give them is to give them skill and teach them habits of industry, not forgetting, of course, the principles of our religion, without which they cannot be truly great. You know the old saying—“An idle man's brain is the devil's workshop;” and it is so. If you want a good people, a people who can be easily managed, a temperate people and a sensible people, have an industrious people. But have an idle people and they become intemperate, and I believe that many of our young men, because they have no opportunities to develop their energies, take to drinking, chewing tobacco, and rowdyism, whereas, if labor were provided for them, and their energies were rightly directed, they would be useful members of society and be ornaments to their father's houses and to their friends. Youth is full of energy, and wise rulers will utilize, husband and direct it for the good of the whole, and not let it be expended on foolish objects or in a wasteful manner. This is one of the difficulties with us. We have plenty of energy? Our young men are full of it, and our land is full of young men. Their energies should be rightly directed, and they be trained to be useful men in society; and the girls should be trained to be useful women in society.
That God may bless us in our Conference, and help us to treasure up the counsels that we hear, and to carry them out practically, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The meeting was adjourned till 2 o’clock p. m.
The choir sang an anthem—“Jerusalem, my glorious home.”
Benediction by Elder Erastus Snow.
Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered at the Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Saturday Morning, October 8, 1875.
Reported by David W. Evans.
Our Conference, thus far, has been exceedingly interesting to me, and I have no doubt it has been to every one present. We have heard a great many ideas and counsels, and have received instruction which, if treasured up by us and carried into practical effect in our lives, will have a very beneficial result in the midst of this people. There has never been any lack of instruction among the Latter-day Saints. I think it was President Wells who said the other day that he sometimes thought we had too much preaching and teaching. I have no doubt myself that the ease with which we obtain instruction, the abundance of it, and the readiness with which it is imparted have made very important counsels that would, if carried out, have a very beneficial effect upon the entire people, seem cheap and unimportant. There are some duties, however, that have been dwelt upon with considerable plainness in order that they may be kept permanently before the minds of the people. The leading points among these are those which relate to our self-preservation, because if we do not adopt and carry out in our lives principles that will preserve us, the gathering together of the people in these valleys and all the labors that have been expended in our behalf will not amount to much. God has blessed us with a good land; he has multiplied upon us many favors, that, when we came here, some of us, at least, did not expect to enjoy. He has given the land a fertility that we never dreamed of. I say that we never dreamed of, but I will speak for myself, and say that I never thought that this land could have been made so fruitful as it has been. Others, probably, who had had more experience, might have entertained different feelings. I have heard President Young say a great many times that he saw all that has been done, when we first came here he saw what the result would be. But the land was barren, and the fertility that it now possesses, could scarcely then have been expected. God has given unto us this and many other favors, and as a people we should wisely appropriate them for the extension of the principles of truth and righteousness.
I was very much pleased yesterday with the remarks which were made in relation to the principles of the United Order. This is a subject which I have thought of considerably, and it is one which I think ought to appeal very strongly to us. The efforts which are being made to unite us and bring us together, to blend our interests and to amalgamate us and make us one are of the utmost importance to us, and I suppose that a great many of the Latter-day Saints who have come to this Conference have had the desire in their hearts that something might be said in relation to the course that they should adopt in order to become more united. I think I made a statement, about a year ago, that many of the people were far more willing than many of their leaders to enter upon a system having that end in view. I still entertain that same opinion. I believe that the bulk of the Latter-day Saints are anxious to understand what they shall do, and are willing to carry out, when directed, any plan that shall be suggested to them. Several plans have been suggested, but there have been feelings of one kind and another and difficulties interposed to prevent the general carrying out of any plan. However, the President has felt of late, and has thus spoken to those who have been immediately around him and to several others, that it would be well for us to carry out the plan that was spoken of yesterday, and that has been referred to a good many times of late, namely, individual stewardships. There is something about this which appeals strongly to most men's minds. They can see how this can be effected; they can see that under such a system what are called individual rights might be better preserved, and property not be absorbed in a way to cause loss or waste, and yet the great principle be carried out that is aimed at, namely, the uniting of the hearts of the people in one.
We have had meetings here in this city, at which these principles have been laid before a number of the Latter-day Saints, all of whom have seemed to receive the ideas with satisfaction, and have felt that they suited them exactly, and they were willing to do that which was required of them. And I believe that this feeling will be extended throughout all the Territory and throughout all these mountains; for wherever we have gone this summer, laboring among and talking to the people in relation to their economy, and the management of their temporal affairs, we have found a great willingness manifested on the part of the people to do whatever they were counseled to do, and to carry out the principles to the extent of their ability, and I believe that this will be the result.
We, as a people, must change our policy if we become the people which we aim at, and which we believe God designs that we shall be. There is nothing clearer than this to every thinking mind. We can see very plainly that we must be a self-sustaining people, that we must manufacture in our own midst, to the greatest possible extent, that which we consume, that is necessary for our comfort and convenience. Unless we take this course, it is an impossibility that we can become the people that we design to be, and that God in his revelations has predicted we shall be. No people who are dependent upon others can become a great people. A people who are constantly producing for others to manufacture, never can become a great people. If we produce wool, and hides, and grain, and other things from the earth, and send them away to be manufactured, we shall constantly pay tribute to other people, and the object of the United Order is to stop this. We have skill here, for there is probably no community on this continent, of our numbers, which has as many skilled artisans as are to be found here. Men who are familiar with every branch of industry almost that can be named are in these mountains. But we have not capital; yet by combining our means we can obtain all the capital that is necessary; and then, if there can be a public sentiment developed here which will induce the people to sustain these manufactures, the whole question is solved, and we are placed upon a pinnacle of greatness that we never can attain to unless we pursue this policy.
You take a pound of wool, and it costs what? You can buy it here in our market for twenty-five or twenty-six cents. You send that pound of wool to the Eastern States, and let the looms of the East manufacture it, the workmen of the East bestow their labor upon it, and that pound of wool comes back to us manufactured into cloth, and contrast the price of that wool before it is manufactured, with its cost when it is manufactured, and you can form some idea of how much we have to pay the skilled men of other communities. A case was given to us yesterday. A hide was sold to a purchaser who sent it from this Territory. It came back to Cache County, where the brand, still legible on the leather, was recognized as one of their own brands. Now the difference between the price obtained for the hide in its raw state, and the cost of it when manufactured into leather, was the amount that we paid to some manufacturer in the East for changing that raw hide into leather suitable to be worn.
What, then, ought to be our policy? It ought to be to bestow all the skill and labor possible upon everything we produce. Not one pound of wheat ought to go out of this Territory until it has received all the labor possible to be bestowed upon it, or, in other words, until it is made into the finest of flour. This is the true policy for us. To send our wheat away for other men to grind and take a toll off, and then send it back to us manufactured into flour, why it is suicidal! To send our hides away for somebody else to manufacture them into leather, and boots and shoes, when we have tanners, bark, and all the material and skill necessary to do the same lying idly here! Why, it is folly in the highest sense, or in the lowest sense, whichever you please to call it, for us to pursue a course of this kind. And so with everything that we have here. We are probably sending away a million pounds of wool this season. We have not machinery enough to manufacture all our wool, but we can manufacture a great deal, but our machinery will not manufacture all we need to supply our present wants, and a million pounds of wool go east to be manufactured, and we have to pay manufacturers for the cloth made from that wool, and we are thus paying tribute to other communities. And so it is with everything that we use that is manufactured abroad. When you buy a jar of pickles, a gallon of molasses, or canned corn, tomatoes, or fruit, or anything of this kind, you are paying your money to sustain communities afar off, while your own people are suffering for want of labor.
We ought not to have an idle man, woman or child in these valleys. Says one—“But we cannot afford to pay the prices that are asked for home-manufactured goods.” Let me ask, Can we afford to sit idle? Can we afford to do nothing, and to pay money to, and employ others? I say that we cannot; but we are doing it all the time. We are bringing wagons and carriages into this country, when we have abundance of skill here to manufacture them. And the same is true of many other things which we might manufacture and supply our own wants.
Now what is the object of the United Order? It is to enable us to appropriate the means which God has given us to manufacture those things that are necessary for our own sustenance. Let us take the illustration that is afforded us by Brigham City, Brother Lorenzo Snow's place of residence. In that little town, numbering probably three thousand people, they have over thirty branches of manufacture. They have a circulating medium of their own—a little nation, as it were—and the workmen are paid in that medium, and with it they buy what they want of the various articles which they manufacture; and by the combination that has been effected, they are gradually growing to a degree of independence that is unknown almost everywhere else. But the great difficulty there, is, that the masses of the people do not see their own interests, but many of them are as blind there as they are elsewhere, and a few wise men have to take the lead and the responsibility, and to labor and contrive to maintain these branches of manufacture. But what will be the result if this be continued? All the surrounding country, unless the people do the same, will be paying tribute to Brigham City and its manufacturers, and every youth in Brigham City will be learning some branch of skilled handicraft, and the rawhides and everything in its raw state will be brought to Brigham City, and Brigham City will pay in manufactured articles which its artisans have made, and upon which they have a profit; and if that were to go on, Brigham City would, in a little while, own all the surrounding country.
I mention this as an illustration of what can be done, and what we ought to do. We ought not to produce more wheat than we need for our own use, that is, we should not depend upon exporting wheat, we cannot get enough for it, it does not pay us. But we should turn our attention to other articles and to manufactures. There is Bear Lake country, abounding in timber, the men of which live nearly half the year housed up. If they would organize wisely, and combine their capital, skill and labor, they could manufacture everything out of wood that we need in this country, and they have the best of timber there to do it with. But instead of that, their time is spent during the winter in feeding their cattle and doing such chores as are needed around their places; and during the remaining five months they are worked exceedingly hard. This is impolitic and unwise, and if persisted in, would be called bad management.
These are the lessons that have been taught us all the day long. It is not a new thing, but is something as old as our residence in these mountains. I have heard such instructions as these from my boyhood, when we first came here. But we have been slow to hear and carry out these practical lessons of wisdom that have been delivered to us by the servants of God, and have been, to some extent, reluctant, fearful and suspicious that, if we did these things, somebody would be a little more benefited than we. Now it is time for a reformation. I do not wonder at the Lord calling upon his servants to ask the people to go and be baptized, and rebaptized into a different spirit, a spirit to obey the counsel that is given. All of you have proved by your experience the wisdom of this counsel. We know that we have a man leading us who has more wisdom in managing the affairs of a community than any man on the American Continent or anywhere else that we know anything of. He has proved this; it is no boast, it is a fact that is recognized by thousands outside of this Territory. Those who are unprejudiced in other parts of the nation see the results of the policy that has been urged upon the people of this Territory; and if that policy were carried out, we would soon become an independent people, we would soon be full of wealth and means, and instead of seeing men walking around with their hands in their pockets, because of not having work, there would not be an idle man in the Territory. For any portion of our people to be idle is wrong, and there is something radically wrong about a system that admits of or has a tendency to keep a portion of the community in idleness. There is no necessity for such a state of things, and we are to blame if it exists here. If every man and woman worked, and every child worked as soon as it is capable, after having received the necessary schooling, you would soon see the difference there would be in this country in our means and appliances. It is skill, and that skill well applied, that contributes to the greatness of a nation. Look at France, today. France was burdened by an enormous debt, laid upon her by Germany, and which Germany hoped would cripple her for years. But France, with her wonderful industrial resources, has a stream of wealth flowing into her today from all the nations because of her taste and skill. By these means, she has paid her debt, and Germany is alarmed at the rapidity with which it has been paid. To what is it due? It is due to French skill, to their workmen of taste and ability, and when people elsewhere want fabrics of the greatest elegance, they send to France for them. A lady in fashionable society in Washington, or in leading eastern cities generally, does not consider herself dressed in the leading style, unless her dresses, as well as the materials of which they are made, are manufactured in France. The highest fashion demands that her dress shall be made in Paris. And look at Geneva, it is another of the workshops of the world. You travel through Switzerland, and you will find that in her secluded valleys the people, in their little cabins, manufacture the finest kind of watches and clocks, and other articles that are valuable and rare, which are sold to all the nations round, and the skill of her people has made Switzerland a comparatively rich country.
We have skill here, and we have materials here that we should utilize, instead of letting them go to waste. I have heard parties say, and it is true, that there is more waste in Utah Territory than in any country they had ever seen in their lives. I have heard men of experience say this, and I believe it. We have got so much that we waste that which God has given unto us, instead of using it for the purpose for which it was designed.
Now, my brethren and sisters, you who have come to this Conference, do try and put into operation the teachings that you hear. It is no use talking unless we go to work. To say after Conference—“Oh, what a good Conference we have had,” “What excellent teachings we had!” and then forget all about them, and do nothing practical connected with them, would be folly in the extreme. When you get a principle try and carry it out, try and make it practical in your lives. Endeavor, in your communities, to organize branches of labor. Let the Bishops and the men who have wisdom provide means of employment for every man and every woman in their settlements and wards, and let their brains be exercised, as President Young's has been, for the good of the whole. We should use the power which God has given us in these directions in endeavoring to lift ourselves up from our abject condition, and not think—“I must have five dollars or four dollars for a day's work;” but go to work if you cannot get as much as that. We should all be employed in doing something every day. We should train our boys and girls to work; the best education that we can give them is to give them skill and teach them habits of industry, not forgetting, of course, the principles of our religion, without which they cannot be truly great. You know the old saying—“An idle man's brain is the devil's workshop;” and it is so. If you want a good people, a people who can be easily managed, a temperate people and a sensible people, have an industrious people. But have an idle people and they become intemperate, and I believe that many of our young men, because they have no opportunities to develop their energies, take to drinking, chewing tobacco, and rowdyism, whereas, if labor were provided for them, and their energies were rightly directed, they would be useful members of society and be ornaments to their father's houses and to their friends. Youth is full of energy, and wise rulers will utilize, husband and direct it for the good of the whole, and not let it be expended on foolish objects or in a wasteful manner. This is one of the difficulties with us. We have plenty of energy? Our young men are full of it, and our land is full of young men. Their energies should be rightly directed, and they be trained to be useful men in society; and the girls should be trained to be useful women in society.
That God may bless us in our Conference, and help us to treasure up the counsels that we hear, and to carry them out practically, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The meeting was adjourned till 2 o’clock p. m.
The choir sang an anthem—“Jerusalem, my glorious home.”
Benediction by Elder Erastus Snow.
FOURTH DAY.
Saturday, Oct. 9, 2 p.m.
The choir sang—Hark! the song of jubilee, Loud as mighty thunders roar.
Prayer by Bishop E. D. Woolley.
The choir sang—Great is the Lord, ‘tis good to praise, His high and holy name.
Saturday, Oct. 9, 2 p.m.
The choir sang—Hark! the song of jubilee, Loud as mighty thunders roar.
Prayer by Bishop E. D. Woolley.
The choir sang—Great is the Lord, ‘tis good to praise, His high and holy name.
Elder George Q. Cannon submitted the general authorities of the church to the Conference, who were unanimously sustained, as follows:
Brigham Young, Prophet, Seer and Revelator, and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in all the world.
Daniel H. Wells, counsellor to President Brigham Young.
Lorenzo Snow, Brigham Young, Jr., Albert Carrington, John W. Young, and George Q. Cannon, Assistant Counsellors to President Brigham Young.
John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Sen., Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., Joseph F. Smith and Albert Carrington, members of the Quorum of the Twelve.
John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.
George B. Wallace, President of this stake of Zion, and William H. Folsom and John T. Caine his counsellors.
William Eddington, Thomas E. Jeremy, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Attwood, Dimick B. Huntington, Theodore McKean, Hosea Stout, Milando Pratt, J. R. Winder, Geo. J. Taylor, Henry Dinwoody, Millen Attwood, A. M. Cannon, Joseph Horne, Andrew W. Winburg and George Nebeker, members of the High Council.
Elias Smith, President of the High Priests’ Quorum, and Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris, his counsellors.
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.
E. W. Davis, President of the Elders’ Quorum, and W. W. Taylor and Junius F. Wells his counsellors.
Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Robert T. Burton, his counsellors.
Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priest’s Quorum; Wm. McLachlin and James Latham, his counsellors.
Adam Spiers, President of the Teachers’ Quorum, Martin Lenzi and Henry I. Doremus, his counsellors.
James Leach, President of the Deacons’ Quorum; John H. Pickness and Thos. C. Jones, his counsellors.
Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Albert Carrington, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to gather the poor.
Truman O. Angell, Architect of the Church.
Orson Pratt, Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.
George Goddard was sustained as Clerk of the Conference.
Brigham Young, Prophet, Seer and Revelator, and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in all the world.
Daniel H. Wells, counsellor to President Brigham Young.
Lorenzo Snow, Brigham Young, Jr., Albert Carrington, John W. Young, and George Q. Cannon, Assistant Counsellors to President Brigham Young.
John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Sen., Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., Joseph F. Smith and Albert Carrington, members of the Quorum of the Twelve.
John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.
George B. Wallace, President of this stake of Zion, and William H. Folsom and John T. Caine his counsellors.
William Eddington, Thomas E. Jeremy, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Attwood, Dimick B. Huntington, Theodore McKean, Hosea Stout, Milando Pratt, J. R. Winder, Geo. J. Taylor, Henry Dinwoody, Millen Attwood, A. M. Cannon, Joseph Horne, Andrew W. Winburg and George Nebeker, members of the High Council.
Elias Smith, President of the High Priests’ Quorum, and Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris, his counsellors.
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.
E. W. Davis, President of the Elders’ Quorum, and W. W. Taylor and Junius F. Wells his counsellors.
Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Robert T. Burton, his counsellors.
Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priest’s Quorum; Wm. McLachlin and James Latham, his counsellors.
Adam Spiers, President of the Teachers’ Quorum, Martin Lenzi and Henry I. Doremus, his counsellors.
James Leach, President of the Deacons’ Quorum; John H. Pickness and Thos. C. Jones, his counsellors.
Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Albert Carrington, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to gather the poor.
Truman O. Angell, Architect of the Church.
Orson Pratt, Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.
George Goddard was sustained as Clerk of the Conference.
President Joseph Young
made a few remarks on the general principles of the gospel, and particularly recommended the brethren to take care of their breadstuffs. Many would remember the good counsels and instructions received during this conference, ponder over them and put them in practice.
He also exhorted parents to govern their families in kindness; children did not need harsh treatment. He spoke against the infliction of corporeal punishment. There was no necessity for it. What parent could refuse anything in reason to a child who took pleasure in doing his parents’ will? So it was with the Almighty towards his children. If we would only keep his commandments, he would withhold no good thing from us. We had got to come down to the bed rock of economy as a people. Every boy and girl in our midst ought to be engaged in some kind of business.
made a few remarks on the general principles of the gospel, and particularly recommended the brethren to take care of their breadstuffs. Many would remember the good counsels and instructions received during this conference, ponder over them and put them in practice.
He also exhorted parents to govern their families in kindness; children did not need harsh treatment. He spoke against the infliction of corporeal punishment. There was no necessity for it. What parent could refuse anything in reason to a child who took pleasure in doing his parents’ will? So it was with the Almighty towards his children. If we would only keep his commandments, he would withhold no good thing from us. We had got to come down to the bed rock of economy as a people. Every boy and girl in our midst ought to be engaged in some kind of business.
Elder Geo. Q. Cannon read the following names of persons called to be missionaries, the appointments being unanimously sustained by the conference:
Junius F. Wells, Salt Lake City
Rulon Wells, “ “
William W. Taylor, “ “
Hyrum W. Taylor, “ “
J. R. Winder, Jun., “ “
Lorum Pratt, “ “
Lorus Pratt, “ “
Joseph Standing, “ “
John Taylor Rich, “ “
Ed Hoagland, “ “
Isaac Groo, “ “
Mark Croxall, “ “
Hamilton G. Park, “ “
Geo. Teasdale, “ “
Jos. F. Simmons, “ “
Douglas Swan, “ “
James Sharp, “ “
Charles Burton, “ “
Moroni H. McAllister, “ “
John D. H. McAllister, “ “
E. W. East, “ “
Feramorz Little, “ “
William J. Box, “ “
Theodore McKean, “ “
J. C. Sandberg, “ “
Eric Larson, “ “
E. F. Branting, “ “
Wm. McLachlan, “ “
Jesse Fox, “ “
Martin Lenzie, “ “
John Nasters, “ “
James S. Brown, “ “
George White, “ “
Mathoni Pratt, “ “
David M. Stuart, Ogden
D. H. Peery, “
Walter Thomson, “
Hans Jorgenson, Huntsville
Oliver G. Snow, Brigham City
Lorenzo Snow, Jun, “
B. F. Cummings, Jun., “
Eli Pierce, Brigham City
Willis Booth, “
John Jones, “
Alvin Nichols, Jr., “
Clinton Brownson, North Willow Creek
Samuel McIntyre, Tintic
Daniel Roson, Harrisville
John Thompson, Riverdale
John Dorins, Fort Ephram
John A. Anderson, “
Hans Funk, Richmond
Ernest Tietjen, Santaquin
Ben Jonson, Bear River City
Morton Mortensen, Scipio
Seth Tanner, Payson
Niels Boberg, Draperville
Thos. E. Murphy, Richville, Morgan co.
Daniel W. Jones
A. W. Ivins
Ammon M. Tenny
Willey C. Jones
James L. Stewart
Heleman Pratt
Robert H. Smith
Luther C. Burnham, Cache co.
Israel J. Clark, “
Cyrus Clark, “
David P. Rainey, “
W. B. Hendricks, “
John D. Holladay, Utah Co.
Isaac Bullock, “ “
John W. Deal, “ “
J. Morgan, “ “
Horace Alexander, “ “
Lyman L. Woods, Springville
Joseph M. Thomas, Spanish Fork
Thomas Harris, Provo
Wm. Smoot, Jun., “
A. O. Smoot, Jun., “
David Cluff, “
Isaiah M. Coombs, Payson
Wm. M. Evans, Nephi
Knud Brown, “
Homer Call, Willard City
B. P. Walffenstyn, Price City
J. D. Alphin, Pine Valley
W. P. Sargeant, Pine Valley
James W. Boy, Virgen City
Thos. A. Wheeler, South Cottonwood.
Henry Florence, Porterville
Shadrack Empey, Lehi
Albert D. Thurber, Richfield
Sven Nilson, Tooele
Samuel F. Lee, Tooele City
David W. Caldwell, Rush Valley
Thomas Callister, Fillmore
Platte Lyman, “
W. Paxman, American Fork
Hans Thunneson, Gunnison
Rasmus Neilson, Mantua
Erastus W. Snow, St. George
Miles P. Romney, St. George
C. N. Smith, Rockville
Dixon H. Greer, Waldsburg
Junius F. Wells, Salt Lake City
Rulon Wells, “ “
William W. Taylor, “ “
Hyrum W. Taylor, “ “
J. R. Winder, Jun., “ “
Lorum Pratt, “ “
Lorus Pratt, “ “
Joseph Standing, “ “
John Taylor Rich, “ “
Ed Hoagland, “ “
Isaac Groo, “ “
Mark Croxall, “ “
Hamilton G. Park, “ “
Geo. Teasdale, “ “
Jos. F. Simmons, “ “
Douglas Swan, “ “
James Sharp, “ “
Charles Burton, “ “
Moroni H. McAllister, “ “
John D. H. McAllister, “ “
E. W. East, “ “
Feramorz Little, “ “
William J. Box, “ “
Theodore McKean, “ “
J. C. Sandberg, “ “
Eric Larson, “ “
E. F. Branting, “ “
Wm. McLachlan, “ “
Jesse Fox, “ “
Martin Lenzie, “ “
John Nasters, “ “
James S. Brown, “ “
George White, “ “
Mathoni Pratt, “ “
David M. Stuart, Ogden
D. H. Peery, “
Walter Thomson, “
Hans Jorgenson, Huntsville
Oliver G. Snow, Brigham City
Lorenzo Snow, Jun, “
B. F. Cummings, Jun., “
Eli Pierce, Brigham City
Willis Booth, “
John Jones, “
Alvin Nichols, Jr., “
Clinton Brownson, North Willow Creek
Samuel McIntyre, Tintic
Daniel Roson, Harrisville
John Thompson, Riverdale
John Dorins, Fort Ephram
John A. Anderson, “
Hans Funk, Richmond
Ernest Tietjen, Santaquin
Ben Jonson, Bear River City
Morton Mortensen, Scipio
Seth Tanner, Payson
Niels Boberg, Draperville
Thos. E. Murphy, Richville, Morgan co.
Daniel W. Jones
A. W. Ivins
Ammon M. Tenny
Willey C. Jones
James L. Stewart
Heleman Pratt
Robert H. Smith
Luther C. Burnham, Cache co.
Israel J. Clark, “
Cyrus Clark, “
David P. Rainey, “
W. B. Hendricks, “
John D. Holladay, Utah Co.
Isaac Bullock, “ “
John W. Deal, “ “
J. Morgan, “ “
Horace Alexander, “ “
Lyman L. Woods, Springville
Joseph M. Thomas, Spanish Fork
Thomas Harris, Provo
Wm. Smoot, Jun., “
A. O. Smoot, Jun., “
David Cluff, “
Isaiah M. Coombs, Payson
Wm. M. Evans, Nephi
Knud Brown, “
Homer Call, Willard City
B. P. Walffenstyn, Price City
J. D. Alphin, Pine Valley
W. P. Sargeant, Pine Valley
James W. Boy, Virgen City
Thos. A. Wheeler, South Cottonwood.
Henry Florence, Porterville
Shadrack Empey, Lehi
Albert D. Thurber, Richfield
Sven Nilson, Tooele
Samuel F. Lee, Tooele City
David W. Caldwell, Rush Valley
Thomas Callister, Fillmore
Platte Lyman, “
W. Paxman, American Fork
Hans Thunneson, Gunnison
Rasmus Neilson, Mantua
Erastus W. Snow, St. George
Miles P. Romney, St. George
C. N. Smith, Rockville
Dixon H. Greer, Waldsburg
President B. Young
addressed the congregation.
addressed the congregation.
Elder Geo. Q. Cannon
announced that a meeting of the priesthood would be held this evening at 7 o’clock in the old Tabernacle.
The Conference was adjourned till to-morrow morning at 10 o’clock.
The choir sang an anthem—How beautiful are thy towers.
Benediction by Elder Orson Hyde.
announced that a meeting of the priesthood would be held this evening at 7 o’clock in the old Tabernacle.
The Conference was adjourned till to-morrow morning at 10 o’clock.
The choir sang an anthem—How beautiful are thy towers.
Benediction by Elder Orson Hyde.
Saturday, Oct. 9, 7 p.m.
A meeting of the Priesthood was held in the Old Tabernacle, President D. H. Wells presiding. The audience was addressed by Elders Geo. Q. Cannon, John Taylor, W. Woodruff and President D. H. Wells, in an earnest and instructive manner.
A meeting of the Priesthood was held in the Old Tabernacle, President D. H. Wells presiding. The audience was addressed by Elders Geo. Q. Cannon, John Taylor, W. Woodruff and President D. H. Wells, in an earnest and instructive manner.
FIFTH DAY.
Sunday, 10 a. m., Oct 10.
The choir sang—The time is nigh, that happy time, That great, expected, blessed day.
Prayer by Elder Erastus Snow.
The choir sang—With all my powers of heart and tongue I’ll praise my Maker in my song.
Sunday, 10 a. m., Oct 10.
The choir sang—The time is nigh, that happy time, That great, expected, blessed day.
Prayer by Elder Erastus Snow.
The choir sang—With all my powers of heart and tongue I’ll praise my Maker in my song.
Elder Lorenzo Snow
asked how many of us were living up to the light and privileges bestowed upon us in the gospel which the servants of God had delivered unto us. The Saints could bear witness that the gifts of the gospel were enjoyed in their midst when they yielded obedience to the ordinances of the gospel, and still continued in proportion to the faith and obedience of the Saints. No church where these gifts of the Holy Ghost were not enjoyed had any claim to be the church of Jesus Christ. The system of salvation which we had received was devised in eternity, and whenever introduced among the children of men was always accompanied with the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost, having prophets, apostles, evangelists, &c., to lead and guide the people. He then referred to the high destiny of those who magnified both priesthoods. We were born in the image of God and were therefore susceptible of receiving line upon line and precept upon precept, until we were prepared to enjoy a fullness of glory. He hoped the Saints would receive the United Order, and go to and establish industries, holy towns and settlements, that not only a people but the earth also might be prepared for the coming of the Son of Man.
asked how many of us were living up to the light and privileges bestowed upon us in the gospel which the servants of God had delivered unto us. The Saints could bear witness that the gifts of the gospel were enjoyed in their midst when they yielded obedience to the ordinances of the gospel, and still continued in proportion to the faith and obedience of the Saints. No church where these gifts of the Holy Ghost were not enjoyed had any claim to be the church of Jesus Christ. The system of salvation which we had received was devised in eternity, and whenever introduced among the children of men was always accompanied with the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost, having prophets, apostles, evangelists, &c., to lead and guide the people. He then referred to the high destiny of those who magnified both priesthoods. We were born in the image of God and were therefore susceptible of receiving line upon line and precept upon precept, until we were prepared to enjoy a fullness of glory. He hoped the Saints would receive the United Order, and go to and establish industries, holy towns and settlements, that not only a people but the earth also might be prepared for the coming of the Son of Man.
Elder F. D. Richards
spoke of the immense good that would result to the people if the instructions of this conference were carried out, also of the danger of riches, which generally tended to harden the hearts of those who possessed them, and render them less pliable in the hands of the priesthood. He referred to the great labors of the early apostles of this dispensation, who went forth in poverty and labored in the vineyard, and whose labors were so abundantly blessed of the Lord in their ministry, that thousands now here received the Gospel through them. The few who had been made rich in the midst of this people should certainly be willing to devote their means in that way that would render them benefactors to the community by finding employment for them.
He then spoke on the subject of the United Order, showing that the principle of union was eternal and had existed in different ages of the world.
He also dwelt on the principle of obedience, and the terrible consequences of disobedience.
He also advocated the rigid observance of the Sabbath day.
spoke of the immense good that would result to the people if the instructions of this conference were carried out, also of the danger of riches, which generally tended to harden the hearts of those who possessed them, and render them less pliable in the hands of the priesthood. He referred to the great labors of the early apostles of this dispensation, who went forth in poverty and labored in the vineyard, and whose labors were so abundantly blessed of the Lord in their ministry, that thousands now here received the Gospel through them. The few who had been made rich in the midst of this people should certainly be willing to devote their means in that way that would render them benefactors to the community by finding employment for them.
He then spoke on the subject of the United Order, showing that the principle of union was eternal and had existed in different ages of the world.
He also dwelt on the principle of obedience, and the terrible consequences of disobedience.
He also advocated the rigid observance of the Sabbath day.
Discourse
by Elder Franklin D. Richards,
delivered at the Forty-sixth Semi-annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, Oct. 11th 1875.
Reported by David W. Evans.
We are blessed at this Conference with a very large amount of teaching and instruction of a most interesting and important character, which, if accepted and adopted as the rule of our conduct, will prove of great benefit to us individually, and of vast benefit to us collectively. But it is with many of these instructions as the Savior once said to some who came to him and inquired about a certain matter. Said he—“If you will receive it, this is the Elias which was to come.” So it is with these precious instructions—if we will receive them, they will be to us as a people of great assistance in enabling us to wake up from the slumbers which many of us have indulged in, and to engage in a degree of usefulness that will make our lives profitable unto us and others.
The work of the Lord, ever progressing, ever advancing, brings us, from time to time, new and peculiar features, of faith and doctrine, and rules of life and conduct, for our consideration. And this is one reason why the gospel presents such a continued growing and increasing attachment and fascination to the Latter-day Saints—an interest which no other people feel, because they do not have professions of faith which increase, bring their adherents and devotees nearer to the knowledge of God, or to the perfection of practice in their faith; and hence our minds are continually fed with something different and varied, yet a constituent part of the great whole, that leads the people forward, increasing from faith to faith and from knowledge to knowledge, and, if living to that knowledge, to an increased ability to carry it out acceptably to God, and profitably to the interests of his kingdom.
There are some of our brethren who seem to think and feel and take it rather hard, the way that the word of the Lord and the counsel of his servants come forth unto them. I refer to our brethren who have made to themselves wealth and accumulated the means and comforts of life by trading and dealing in the midst of God’s people. It seems to be now as it was in days past. The Savior himself understood the most intricate workings of the human heart, and comprehended the most insidious devices of the adversary of souls, and also the ways and means by which he, like a roaring lion, sought whom he could consume and destroy. The Saviour said, in his day—“How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!” Now why is it so very difficult? We see and hear, in our own day, that it is hard, difficult, for a portion of our brethren to conform themselves to that mode of life that will enable them to secure to themselves blessings in the Kingdom of God. How is it, I ask myself, and why? And when I reflect upon the answer it comes in this wise—Have not they who find it thus difficult to conform to the requirements of heaven through the priesthood accumulated their wealth from God’s people? Yes. And have we not heard, during this Conference, from the mouth of President Young, Elder Woodruff and others, of the deep sufferings in which the elders went forth in the beginning and gathered up the people from the four quarters of the earth? And do we not know that this people, which constitute the inhabitants of Utah, have been gathered here by the labors of the Presidency, the Twelve Apostles, and the elders whom they have chosen to assist them? Certainly we do. The building up of the Territory of Utah is the fruit of the labors of the priesthood of the Son of God; and the people that have come here, and who compose the population of this Territory are they who have obeyed the gospel at the risk and frequently at the loss of all temporal blessings which their employers or their rulers could divest them of on their accepting its holy principles. A great many have been brought here by the charity and aid of their abler brethren and sisters, who, like themselves, once were poor and destitute, but who, after, reaching here, gathered around them the comforts of life, and, by their donations, aided in bringing multitudes hither, who, but for the assistance thus rendered, must have been in Babylon to-day.
Now, seeing that some of our brethren have amassed to themselves riches by trading and dealing with this vast multitude of people gathered by the labors of the priesthood, is it any more than right and proper that God and his people should ask of them to use their means so as most effectually to bless His people and bring to pass His purposes? Not as some would have it—that the means thus acquired should be sown broadcast or thrown away among the people, not at all; but let the owners of this wealth acknowledge the hand of God in enabling them to accumulate it, and now let it make of them benefactors in the midst of the people, by taking to themselves the same spirit that President Young has poured forth during this conference, and, with him, seek to bless the house of Israel. And let the people, from this day on, add to this means their prayers and blessings for you, and let yourselves and your substance be hallowed and consecrated to the service of God and his people, that what you have thus accumulated may exalt you in the midst of the Saints and give them to see that, by this, you will do them the greater service and administer more abundant good unto them. By so doing you can identify yourselves with God’s people, and yourselves and all that He has given can be made useful to the greatest extent in advancing the Redeemer’s Kingdom, while the prayers and blessings of a host and the blessings of the priesthood can yet be bestowed upon you, and you can be an exception to that saying—“How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!”
But if, on the other hand, this wealth so acquired, is held for the purpose of gratifying a vain pride, and to accumulate a further abundance of this world’s goods, that they may be consumed upon the lusts of those who possess them, their interest must be separate from those of God’s people and they cannot be saved with them. There are men of wealth among us whom I deeply respect, and I desire, if possible, that they and all they are and have should be saved in the Kingdom of God. But I ask you all, as men of understanding and brains, you who have been able to make this money, if you use this means for some foreign, outside purpose, and not for the interests of God’s kingdom, or for the advancement of his people, how can you go with them into the inheritance of the Saints of light and be blessed with all the blessings that are to be bestowed upon the poor and meek of the earth? The subject comes naturally to that point, and I ask my brethren who have wealth to consider their position. Is not this a day favorable to you? You can use the means which you possess, if you will be directed therein, so that they will prove as beneficial to you, your households, your children and your friends and elevate you to the rank of benefactors to your race, as the like wealth does in the hands of President Young. He proposes to employ his means so as to bless Israel. He and all they who walk in the truth propose that they and all they have shall be employed in the way that God shall direct through his servants, to advance the interests of this great, good and best people on the earth, who have gathered from many nations to these valleys of the mountains to find the favor of heaven. This is all I care particularly to say upon this subject at this time.
We are called upon now, in a most propitious time, to labor in the vineyard in the kingdom of God; and we seem at times to get into a condition of slumber, to become dull and unconcerned, and as if we felt in our hearts—“Let the Presidency and the Twelve attend to these things, we will jog along and attend to our own affairs.” The time has come, brethren and sisters, when we ought to put away this spirit and this feeling. The family of God has become very numerous upon the earth and their circumstances varied; while there are thousands and tens of thousands of the seed of Abraham and Jacob that have not yet heard the truth, who are slumbering in darkness among the nations, and have got to be wakened and roused to it, it is time for every man, every woman, and every child who has come to years of understanding, who contemplate the purposes of God as they are growing upon the earth, to turn their regards and considerations to the welfare of the household of faith. It can not any longer be limited to “me and my wife, my son John and his wife, we four and no more.” We have to awaken to those interests that have their general effect among us as a people. The principle of union which is being taught at present among the house of Israel, and which is termed by many of the United Order, is a something which to the world looks perfectly strange and anomalous they do not know that it ever had anything to do with the religion and gospel of Jesus Christ. That is simply because they do not know anything about it, just as it is about all the rest of the principles of the gospel. Authors of history, living contemporaneously with ourselves, have written that it was by the principle of a federated union among the churches after the crucifixion of the Saviour that gave his people the astonishing power which they held for two or three centuries in the earth. One of these authors write that when the Saviour was crucified, instead of the work being broken up and his adherents scattered, they immediately went to work and united in stronger bonds of union, and, in their organizations, they associated themselves on a principle of communism in all their branches. This author also informs us that they then confederated together and became very powerful, and he gives them credit, for being the determining power, that placed an emperor upon the throne of Rome. This is the opinion of the author I refer to, as to the influence and power that prevailed in that order which existed among the early Christians after the death of the Saviour. All people who are going to exercise influence for the benefit of themselves or the human family at large, must learn how to unite, consolidate and employ the principle of power in order that they may accomplish great and mighty objects and ends.
You doubtless recollect reading of the ten persecutions of the Christians. It is said regarding the seventh persecution. In the days of the Emperor Severus in Rome, that there was a great opposition got up before this persecution was inaugurated towards the Christians. They and the pagans were at terrible opposition and blood was shed as a consequence of it. At this time, when there appeared to be great difficulty and danger in the empire, there arose a certain learned man by the name of Tertullian, and he delivered a very powerful oration before the magistrates of Rome in defence of Christianity. The emperor, himself was also present on the occasion. And this learned man told the emperor and the magistrates, that the Christians formed a very important part of his constituency, and he could not afford to ignore their presence and power in the land. Said he—“these Christians are united among themselves, and”—using this precise language—“There is but one thing that Christians have not in common, and that one thing is their wives.” This fact was enunciated by him as late as the year A. D. two hundred, when he was defending, before the emperor, the rights of a people who were being persecuted, oppressed and put to death because of their religion. And this modern author says that, as late as the year 305, the Christians by the exercise of this united power of their communism combined and put an emperor on the throne, meaning the Emperor Constantine.
I merely allude to this to let you know that this was something that the Christians believed in anciently, and that this is a part of what we read in that sacred book, The Acts of the Apostles, where it says they had all things in common, and no man called aught that he had his own. It was a principle of the gospel, a principle of godliness, a principle of power emanating from him who holds in his hands all power, and who will, at his pleasure, exercise it until he brings the kingdoms of this world under the dominion of and subject to the kingdom of our God.
Well then, inasmuch as these principles existed among the Saints and were known and practised anciently; inasmuch as they are eternal, and were principles of might and strength in the hands of God’s people in the early days of the Christian Church, shall we slumber and always limit our narrow ideas to ourselves and our families, and the few that are around us? Or shall we waken up to the interests of the whole, and let those who had long been trodden down and have not had advantages and benefits sufficient to provide for themselves and to accumulate houses and homes, come to a knowledge and understanding of principles by which they may enjoy what we enjoy and all partake of the blessings of God together?
There is a principle connected with this and with all the other doctrines of the kingdom of God, which, if we may call it so more than any other, is a cardinal principle of the church and kingdom, and that is the principle of obedience. It is just that which is absolutely necessary to enable us to organize, and, as a people, to go forward and accomplish what God would have us do. We have got to come to an understanding of the importance of obedience; that is, the importance of obeying God and his servants whom he appoints to dispense his will and word to us. There is no ignoring the fact that there has been a very great departure latterly from the extent to which this principle was entertained among the Saints a few years ago, in this Territory, before we so abounded in the vices of the world that have been imported into our midst, before we had so much of the blandishments of civilization brought unto us. There was a time here, when if any one wanted to engage in any important matter he scarcely felt willing to do so without first enquiring of the Lord, through his servant Brigham, whether it would be consistent with the interest of the kingdom; but latterly it has come to that, that some even think it an obtrusion upon them that the word of the Lord should be tendered them, or that the counsels of the church should be urged upon the minds of the people as something necessary and needful to be obeyed. Why is this degeneracy? Why this recession from that point of obedience and unanimity in beautiful conformity to the will of God? It is because one and another have some will, wish, arrangement and purpose of their own which may not be consistent with the church and kingdom of God, and which they wish to carry out regardless of its interests, and without caring whether it be the will of God, or whether would be befitting, wise or practicable. And it has come to pass that many have grown cold.
How was it among God’s people in days of old? Let us look for a moment at the terrible consequences which followed a single act of disobedience in the days of Israel, committed by one of her rulers, when the kings of Israel considered it their highest and holiest privilege to have a prophet of God at hand to tell them the will of the Lord. When they wanted, for instance, to go forth to battle, they would not go until they had inquired of the man of God whether they would prosper or whether they would not. In fact, it was the gift and blessing of God to all Israel, in all their days of propensity, that there was a man of God there who could declare his will unto them. On one occasion the Prophet Samuel said to King Saul—“Go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.” By the by, people did not go to war then for every trifling occasion, just to extend their dominion, &c., but they went to war to carry out the counsels of heaven. When any people were sufficiently wicked, and had filled up the cup of their iniquity, then did the Lord tell whomsoever he would to go forth and execute his judgments upon them. What was Saul ordered to do with Agag and his people. Was he told to kill a few of the wickedest and to bring home the best? Not at all. He was told to go out against them and to slay men, women and children; he was to make clean work of it. And furthermore, the prophet told the king that he was also to slay the flocks and the herds as well as the people, for they were all polluted in the sight of the Lord. The king went his way, and what did he do? Why he killed off the people and a portion of their flocks and herds, but he brought home some of the choicest of the latter, and also king Agag alive. And when the man of God met him and asked him if he had done as the Lord commanded him he replied, “Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and I have brought King Agag, and I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.” Then said the prophet—“What is this I hear, the lowing of cattle and the bleating of sheep?” Saul answered—“They saved these and brought them home for an offering to the Lord.” This looked very nice, but what was the result of this departure from the word of the Lord? Why, the prophet hewed Agag, the king of the Amalekites, in pieces before the Lord, and because of this disobedience the kingdom of Israel was rent from Saul, he was dethroned and the kingdom was given to a neighbor of his who was better than he.
Oh Israel, you men in high places and Saints of the living God everywhere, take notice that “obedience is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams, for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” This principle of obedience must be cultivated in our hearts until it occupies our whole souls, until we, all we are, and all that we can command shall be subject to God and to the counsels of his servants, that we may be used and employed in advancing the interests of our Redeemer’s kingdom. I hold this to be one of the higher laws of the holy priesthood, that we learn to bring ourselves into perfect subjection and obedience to the law and will of God; and not only this, but we must hand this down to our children. The Lord said concerning Abraham—“I know him, I have found him out, he will do my will and he will command his children after him.” I exhort my brethren and sisters to take this doctrine and principle to their hearts, that we seek to know what the mind and will of God is and then, above all things, that we do it, lest our blessings and powers depart from us as Saul’s did from him.
We live in times that are peculiarly interesting indeed, when we consider and reflect upon God’s providences and blessings to us. Yet we are forgetful and weak, and in many ways fail to realize our obligations and indebtedness to Him, and our many shortcomings in keeping His commandments. We have, many of us, under the various changing circumstances surrounding us in these valleys—working in the canyons and at every sort of thing—done that which we ought not to have done, and which has been displeasing in the sight of God. It is a standing fact that many have come to think that Sunday is a day of very little importance, not even of sufficient consequence to get up to the Tabernacle to meetings; and yet the Lord requires his people to come together on the Sunday and partake of the Sacrament, that they may witness unto him that they always remember the sufferings of his Son, that they are willing to take upon them his name and to keep his commandments, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Some of the people get very careless about these things. They feel tired with their week’s toil, and they become so regardless of the things of God that they omit their prayers, and continually neglect the everyday simple duties required of them as the children of God, and without attending to which they cannot retain that Holy Spirit so necessary to aid them in the performance of life’s duties acceptably to their Creator. But God, in his providence, again grants us a time of repentance and remission of sins, and now is a truly blessed time for many to consider their ways and turn to the Lord. They who have offended their brethren, before going down into the waters of baptism, should obtain each other’s forgiveness, kindly fellowship and love, in order that the blessing of God may be upon them; “for if you forgive not those who have trespassed against you, how shall your Father in heaven forgive you your trespasses?” Again, when our Saviour was teaching his disciples how to pray, he told them to say—“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” And I could not but notice in the Dedication Prayer, yesterday morning, that it was asked of God, in the same wisdom, to forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. It should be the aim of all to obtain the forgiveness and fellowship of each other, that we may renew that confidence, love and blessing which we felt when we came first into the waters of baptism, and which we need to have continually with us so as to have a conscience void of offence towards God and all men, but especially towards the people of God. Let us forgive and love each other, let us bless and be blessed of each other and of God our Father, and let us go on helping to build up his kingdom and his Zion on the earth, and the wicked may take heed as best they can. The great day is coming when they will stand afar off and howl, weep and mourn for the miseries that will be upon them; they will not even have power to come up among the people of God to harass, annoy, distress and perplex them.
We would to God that all men would learn that he has set up his kingdom, that his servants are building it up in the name of Israel’s God, and that we expect it to fill the whole earth. Ladies and gentlemen who are unbelieving, where will you be on that occasion? If you will be with it and have its blessing, and the favor of God to be upon you, repent of your sins and of your ignorance and folly inasmuch as you have entertained doctrines that are inconsistent and vain. We realize that our fathers have inherited lies and vanity and things wherein is no profit, but we have escaped from their false traditions, and rejoice in the knowledge of the truth. But how is it with you? What do you believe concerning God? You believe that he is a being without body, parts or passions; that is, in other words, you believe that God is nothing, for no being can exist without these attributes, either in heaven, earth, or hell. Then again, where are you going? Where would you have the Lord reign and his people glorified?
“Beyond the bounds of time and space,
Look forward to that heavenly place,
The Saints’ secure abode.”
There is no such place in existence, and not one of you will ever live long enough to find such a place. Then turn from the folly of such things, turn to the living God, who has made you in his own image, and who has given us to understand in his revelations that he possesses the same general attributes with which he has endowed us. I say, come to the living God, and understand your relationship to him, and take hold and help him to benefit and bless the poor of mankind, and have your blessings and inheritances and be numbered with us.
Feeling thankful for this opportunity I will now close my remarks, praying that the blessings of this Conference may enrich and strengthen every faithful soul, that the path of duty may be plainer and that they may have more strength and energy to walk in it, and be enabled to discharge every known obligation and responsibility to God with an eye single to his glory, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
by Elder Franklin D. Richards,
delivered at the Forty-sixth Semi-annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, Oct. 11th 1875.
Reported by David W. Evans.
We are blessed at this Conference with a very large amount of teaching and instruction of a most interesting and important character, which, if accepted and adopted as the rule of our conduct, will prove of great benefit to us individually, and of vast benefit to us collectively. But it is with many of these instructions as the Savior once said to some who came to him and inquired about a certain matter. Said he—“If you will receive it, this is the Elias which was to come.” So it is with these precious instructions—if we will receive them, they will be to us as a people of great assistance in enabling us to wake up from the slumbers which many of us have indulged in, and to engage in a degree of usefulness that will make our lives profitable unto us and others.
The work of the Lord, ever progressing, ever advancing, brings us, from time to time, new and peculiar features, of faith and doctrine, and rules of life and conduct, for our consideration. And this is one reason why the gospel presents such a continued growing and increasing attachment and fascination to the Latter-day Saints—an interest which no other people feel, because they do not have professions of faith which increase, bring their adherents and devotees nearer to the knowledge of God, or to the perfection of practice in their faith; and hence our minds are continually fed with something different and varied, yet a constituent part of the great whole, that leads the people forward, increasing from faith to faith and from knowledge to knowledge, and, if living to that knowledge, to an increased ability to carry it out acceptably to God, and profitably to the interests of his kingdom.
There are some of our brethren who seem to think and feel and take it rather hard, the way that the word of the Lord and the counsel of his servants come forth unto them. I refer to our brethren who have made to themselves wealth and accumulated the means and comforts of life by trading and dealing in the midst of God’s people. It seems to be now as it was in days past. The Savior himself understood the most intricate workings of the human heart, and comprehended the most insidious devices of the adversary of souls, and also the ways and means by which he, like a roaring lion, sought whom he could consume and destroy. The Saviour said, in his day—“How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!” Now why is it so very difficult? We see and hear, in our own day, that it is hard, difficult, for a portion of our brethren to conform themselves to that mode of life that will enable them to secure to themselves blessings in the Kingdom of God. How is it, I ask myself, and why? And when I reflect upon the answer it comes in this wise—Have not they who find it thus difficult to conform to the requirements of heaven through the priesthood accumulated their wealth from God’s people? Yes. And have we not heard, during this Conference, from the mouth of President Young, Elder Woodruff and others, of the deep sufferings in which the elders went forth in the beginning and gathered up the people from the four quarters of the earth? And do we not know that this people, which constitute the inhabitants of Utah, have been gathered here by the labors of the Presidency, the Twelve Apostles, and the elders whom they have chosen to assist them? Certainly we do. The building up of the Territory of Utah is the fruit of the labors of the priesthood of the Son of God; and the people that have come here, and who compose the population of this Territory are they who have obeyed the gospel at the risk and frequently at the loss of all temporal blessings which their employers or their rulers could divest them of on their accepting its holy principles. A great many have been brought here by the charity and aid of their abler brethren and sisters, who, like themselves, once were poor and destitute, but who, after, reaching here, gathered around them the comforts of life, and, by their donations, aided in bringing multitudes hither, who, but for the assistance thus rendered, must have been in Babylon to-day.
Now, seeing that some of our brethren have amassed to themselves riches by trading and dealing with this vast multitude of people gathered by the labors of the priesthood, is it any more than right and proper that God and his people should ask of them to use their means so as most effectually to bless His people and bring to pass His purposes? Not as some would have it—that the means thus acquired should be sown broadcast or thrown away among the people, not at all; but let the owners of this wealth acknowledge the hand of God in enabling them to accumulate it, and now let it make of them benefactors in the midst of the people, by taking to themselves the same spirit that President Young has poured forth during this conference, and, with him, seek to bless the house of Israel. And let the people, from this day on, add to this means their prayers and blessings for you, and let yourselves and your substance be hallowed and consecrated to the service of God and his people, that what you have thus accumulated may exalt you in the midst of the Saints and give them to see that, by this, you will do them the greater service and administer more abundant good unto them. By so doing you can identify yourselves with God’s people, and yourselves and all that He has given can be made useful to the greatest extent in advancing the Redeemer’s Kingdom, while the prayers and blessings of a host and the blessings of the priesthood can yet be bestowed upon you, and you can be an exception to that saying—“How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!”
But if, on the other hand, this wealth so acquired, is held for the purpose of gratifying a vain pride, and to accumulate a further abundance of this world’s goods, that they may be consumed upon the lusts of those who possess them, their interest must be separate from those of God’s people and they cannot be saved with them. There are men of wealth among us whom I deeply respect, and I desire, if possible, that they and all they are and have should be saved in the Kingdom of God. But I ask you all, as men of understanding and brains, you who have been able to make this money, if you use this means for some foreign, outside purpose, and not for the interests of God’s kingdom, or for the advancement of his people, how can you go with them into the inheritance of the Saints of light and be blessed with all the blessings that are to be bestowed upon the poor and meek of the earth? The subject comes naturally to that point, and I ask my brethren who have wealth to consider their position. Is not this a day favorable to you? You can use the means which you possess, if you will be directed therein, so that they will prove as beneficial to you, your households, your children and your friends and elevate you to the rank of benefactors to your race, as the like wealth does in the hands of President Young. He proposes to employ his means so as to bless Israel. He and all they who walk in the truth propose that they and all they have shall be employed in the way that God shall direct through his servants, to advance the interests of this great, good and best people on the earth, who have gathered from many nations to these valleys of the mountains to find the favor of heaven. This is all I care particularly to say upon this subject at this time.
We are called upon now, in a most propitious time, to labor in the vineyard in the kingdom of God; and we seem at times to get into a condition of slumber, to become dull and unconcerned, and as if we felt in our hearts—“Let the Presidency and the Twelve attend to these things, we will jog along and attend to our own affairs.” The time has come, brethren and sisters, when we ought to put away this spirit and this feeling. The family of God has become very numerous upon the earth and their circumstances varied; while there are thousands and tens of thousands of the seed of Abraham and Jacob that have not yet heard the truth, who are slumbering in darkness among the nations, and have got to be wakened and roused to it, it is time for every man, every woman, and every child who has come to years of understanding, who contemplate the purposes of God as they are growing upon the earth, to turn their regards and considerations to the welfare of the household of faith. It can not any longer be limited to “me and my wife, my son John and his wife, we four and no more.” We have to awaken to those interests that have their general effect among us as a people. The principle of union which is being taught at present among the house of Israel, and which is termed by many of the United Order, is a something which to the world looks perfectly strange and anomalous they do not know that it ever had anything to do with the religion and gospel of Jesus Christ. That is simply because they do not know anything about it, just as it is about all the rest of the principles of the gospel. Authors of history, living contemporaneously with ourselves, have written that it was by the principle of a federated union among the churches after the crucifixion of the Saviour that gave his people the astonishing power which they held for two or three centuries in the earth. One of these authors write that when the Saviour was crucified, instead of the work being broken up and his adherents scattered, they immediately went to work and united in stronger bonds of union, and, in their organizations, they associated themselves on a principle of communism in all their branches. This author also informs us that they then confederated together and became very powerful, and he gives them credit, for being the determining power, that placed an emperor upon the throne of Rome. This is the opinion of the author I refer to, as to the influence and power that prevailed in that order which existed among the early Christians after the death of the Saviour. All people who are going to exercise influence for the benefit of themselves or the human family at large, must learn how to unite, consolidate and employ the principle of power in order that they may accomplish great and mighty objects and ends.
You doubtless recollect reading of the ten persecutions of the Christians. It is said regarding the seventh persecution. In the days of the Emperor Severus in Rome, that there was a great opposition got up before this persecution was inaugurated towards the Christians. They and the pagans were at terrible opposition and blood was shed as a consequence of it. At this time, when there appeared to be great difficulty and danger in the empire, there arose a certain learned man by the name of Tertullian, and he delivered a very powerful oration before the magistrates of Rome in defence of Christianity. The emperor, himself was also present on the occasion. And this learned man told the emperor and the magistrates, that the Christians formed a very important part of his constituency, and he could not afford to ignore their presence and power in the land. Said he—“these Christians are united among themselves, and”—using this precise language—“There is but one thing that Christians have not in common, and that one thing is their wives.” This fact was enunciated by him as late as the year A. D. two hundred, when he was defending, before the emperor, the rights of a people who were being persecuted, oppressed and put to death because of their religion. And this modern author says that, as late as the year 305, the Christians by the exercise of this united power of their communism combined and put an emperor on the throne, meaning the Emperor Constantine.
I merely allude to this to let you know that this was something that the Christians believed in anciently, and that this is a part of what we read in that sacred book, The Acts of the Apostles, where it says they had all things in common, and no man called aught that he had his own. It was a principle of the gospel, a principle of godliness, a principle of power emanating from him who holds in his hands all power, and who will, at his pleasure, exercise it until he brings the kingdoms of this world under the dominion of and subject to the kingdom of our God.
Well then, inasmuch as these principles existed among the Saints and were known and practised anciently; inasmuch as they are eternal, and were principles of might and strength in the hands of God’s people in the early days of the Christian Church, shall we slumber and always limit our narrow ideas to ourselves and our families, and the few that are around us? Or shall we waken up to the interests of the whole, and let those who had long been trodden down and have not had advantages and benefits sufficient to provide for themselves and to accumulate houses and homes, come to a knowledge and understanding of principles by which they may enjoy what we enjoy and all partake of the blessings of God together?
There is a principle connected with this and with all the other doctrines of the kingdom of God, which, if we may call it so more than any other, is a cardinal principle of the church and kingdom, and that is the principle of obedience. It is just that which is absolutely necessary to enable us to organize, and, as a people, to go forward and accomplish what God would have us do. We have got to come to an understanding of the importance of obedience; that is, the importance of obeying God and his servants whom he appoints to dispense his will and word to us. There is no ignoring the fact that there has been a very great departure latterly from the extent to which this principle was entertained among the Saints a few years ago, in this Territory, before we so abounded in the vices of the world that have been imported into our midst, before we had so much of the blandishments of civilization brought unto us. There was a time here, when if any one wanted to engage in any important matter he scarcely felt willing to do so without first enquiring of the Lord, through his servant Brigham, whether it would be consistent with the interest of the kingdom; but latterly it has come to that, that some even think it an obtrusion upon them that the word of the Lord should be tendered them, or that the counsels of the church should be urged upon the minds of the people as something necessary and needful to be obeyed. Why is this degeneracy? Why this recession from that point of obedience and unanimity in beautiful conformity to the will of God? It is because one and another have some will, wish, arrangement and purpose of their own which may not be consistent with the church and kingdom of God, and which they wish to carry out regardless of its interests, and without caring whether it be the will of God, or whether would be befitting, wise or practicable. And it has come to pass that many have grown cold.
How was it among God’s people in days of old? Let us look for a moment at the terrible consequences which followed a single act of disobedience in the days of Israel, committed by one of her rulers, when the kings of Israel considered it their highest and holiest privilege to have a prophet of God at hand to tell them the will of the Lord. When they wanted, for instance, to go forth to battle, they would not go until they had inquired of the man of God whether they would prosper or whether they would not. In fact, it was the gift and blessing of God to all Israel, in all their days of propensity, that there was a man of God there who could declare his will unto them. On one occasion the Prophet Samuel said to King Saul—“Go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.” By the by, people did not go to war then for every trifling occasion, just to extend their dominion, &c., but they went to war to carry out the counsels of heaven. When any people were sufficiently wicked, and had filled up the cup of their iniquity, then did the Lord tell whomsoever he would to go forth and execute his judgments upon them. What was Saul ordered to do with Agag and his people. Was he told to kill a few of the wickedest and to bring home the best? Not at all. He was told to go out against them and to slay men, women and children; he was to make clean work of it. And furthermore, the prophet told the king that he was also to slay the flocks and the herds as well as the people, for they were all polluted in the sight of the Lord. The king went his way, and what did he do? Why he killed off the people and a portion of their flocks and herds, but he brought home some of the choicest of the latter, and also king Agag alive. And when the man of God met him and asked him if he had done as the Lord commanded him he replied, “Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and I have brought King Agag, and I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.” Then said the prophet—“What is this I hear, the lowing of cattle and the bleating of sheep?” Saul answered—“They saved these and brought them home for an offering to the Lord.” This looked very nice, but what was the result of this departure from the word of the Lord? Why, the prophet hewed Agag, the king of the Amalekites, in pieces before the Lord, and because of this disobedience the kingdom of Israel was rent from Saul, he was dethroned and the kingdom was given to a neighbor of his who was better than he.
Oh Israel, you men in high places and Saints of the living God everywhere, take notice that “obedience is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams, for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” This principle of obedience must be cultivated in our hearts until it occupies our whole souls, until we, all we are, and all that we can command shall be subject to God and to the counsels of his servants, that we may be used and employed in advancing the interests of our Redeemer’s kingdom. I hold this to be one of the higher laws of the holy priesthood, that we learn to bring ourselves into perfect subjection and obedience to the law and will of God; and not only this, but we must hand this down to our children. The Lord said concerning Abraham—“I know him, I have found him out, he will do my will and he will command his children after him.” I exhort my brethren and sisters to take this doctrine and principle to their hearts, that we seek to know what the mind and will of God is and then, above all things, that we do it, lest our blessings and powers depart from us as Saul’s did from him.
We live in times that are peculiarly interesting indeed, when we consider and reflect upon God’s providences and blessings to us. Yet we are forgetful and weak, and in many ways fail to realize our obligations and indebtedness to Him, and our many shortcomings in keeping His commandments. We have, many of us, under the various changing circumstances surrounding us in these valleys—working in the canyons and at every sort of thing—done that which we ought not to have done, and which has been displeasing in the sight of God. It is a standing fact that many have come to think that Sunday is a day of very little importance, not even of sufficient consequence to get up to the Tabernacle to meetings; and yet the Lord requires his people to come together on the Sunday and partake of the Sacrament, that they may witness unto him that they always remember the sufferings of his Son, that they are willing to take upon them his name and to keep his commandments, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Some of the people get very careless about these things. They feel tired with their week’s toil, and they become so regardless of the things of God that they omit their prayers, and continually neglect the everyday simple duties required of them as the children of God, and without attending to which they cannot retain that Holy Spirit so necessary to aid them in the performance of life’s duties acceptably to their Creator. But God, in his providence, again grants us a time of repentance and remission of sins, and now is a truly blessed time for many to consider their ways and turn to the Lord. They who have offended their brethren, before going down into the waters of baptism, should obtain each other’s forgiveness, kindly fellowship and love, in order that the blessing of God may be upon them; “for if you forgive not those who have trespassed against you, how shall your Father in heaven forgive you your trespasses?” Again, when our Saviour was teaching his disciples how to pray, he told them to say—“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” And I could not but notice in the Dedication Prayer, yesterday morning, that it was asked of God, in the same wisdom, to forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. It should be the aim of all to obtain the forgiveness and fellowship of each other, that we may renew that confidence, love and blessing which we felt when we came first into the waters of baptism, and which we need to have continually with us so as to have a conscience void of offence towards God and all men, but especially towards the people of God. Let us forgive and love each other, let us bless and be blessed of each other and of God our Father, and let us go on helping to build up his kingdom and his Zion on the earth, and the wicked may take heed as best they can. The great day is coming when they will stand afar off and howl, weep and mourn for the miseries that will be upon them; they will not even have power to come up among the people of God to harass, annoy, distress and perplex them.
We would to God that all men would learn that he has set up his kingdom, that his servants are building it up in the name of Israel’s God, and that we expect it to fill the whole earth. Ladies and gentlemen who are unbelieving, where will you be on that occasion? If you will be with it and have its blessing, and the favor of God to be upon you, repent of your sins and of your ignorance and folly inasmuch as you have entertained doctrines that are inconsistent and vain. We realize that our fathers have inherited lies and vanity and things wherein is no profit, but we have escaped from their false traditions, and rejoice in the knowledge of the truth. But how is it with you? What do you believe concerning God? You believe that he is a being without body, parts or passions; that is, in other words, you believe that God is nothing, for no being can exist without these attributes, either in heaven, earth, or hell. Then again, where are you going? Where would you have the Lord reign and his people glorified?
“Beyond the bounds of time and space,
Look forward to that heavenly place,
The Saints’ secure abode.”
There is no such place in existence, and not one of you will ever live long enough to find such a place. Then turn from the folly of such things, turn to the living God, who has made you in his own image, and who has given us to understand in his revelations that he possesses the same general attributes with which he has endowed us. I say, come to the living God, and understand your relationship to him, and take hold and help him to benefit and bless the poor of mankind, and have your blessings and inheritances and be numbered with us.
Feeling thankful for this opportunity I will now close my remarks, praying that the blessings of this Conference may enrich and strengthen every faithful soul, that the path of duty may be plainer and that they may have more strength and energy to walk in it, and be enabled to discharge every known obligation and responsibility to God with an eye single to his glory, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Joseph F. Smith
said the instructions delivered to us during this conference, if carried out, would make a people the greatest, holiest and best that ever lived upon the earth; those given on temporal matters, if carried out, would make us independent of any other people.
said the instructions delivered to us during this conference, if carried out, would make a people the greatest, holiest and best that ever lived upon the earth; those given on temporal matters, if carried out, would make us independent of any other people.
What the Lord Requires of His Saints
Discourse by Elder Joseph F. Smith, delivered at the Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, on Sunday Morning, Oct. 10, 1875.
Reported by David W. Evans.
I have been very much interested and instructed during our Conference, and in rising at this time—a few moments only remaining before the close of our forenoon meeting—I feel that I can only bear my testimony to, and express my conviction of, the truths that we have had delivered unto us during our meetings from the first day of our Conference. We have had instructions here upon spiritual and upon temporal matters sufficient, if they were carried out, to make this people the best, purest, noblest, and greatest people that inhabit the world. The instructions that have been given unto us in regard to temporal matters, and in regard to bringing us to a union of faith and works, are calculated in their nature, if adopted and carried out in the practices of the Latter-day Saints, to make them the most independent people that live upon the face of the earth, depending indeed only upon the Lord our God, the giver of every good and perfect gift. I can see, as clearly as it is possible for me to see the light of the sun, that if the instructions that were given here yesterday, and the day before, in relation to uniting ourselves together in temporal affairs, were carried out by the people, we would soon no longer be beholden to the world, and it would be said of us, that we were dependent upon no power upon the earth but the power of God. It is very different, however, with us at present, for now we are very dependent, notwithstanding the vast amount of blessings that the Lord has poured out upon us—blessings of the soil, of the labors of our hands, of the elements that surround us. He has given us an abundance of everything our hearts can desire in righteousness, insomuch, as it was remarked yesterday, that we have become almost recreant to these blessings; we squander and waste them, run over them, trample them under our feet as it were, and regard them as of very little importance, or worthless. The Lord truly has blessed his people; he has poured out his Spirit upon us, opened our way, delivered us from our enemies, blessed and enriched the soil, tempered the elements, and made them favorable to us, turned away cursings, and given us blessings on every hand, and has prospered us in the earth. But we have been careless, and in a measure blind to the presence and value of the blessings that have been poured out upon us so abundantly, and have failed to recognize, as we should at all times, the hand of God therein. We have also come far short of appreciating our brethren the Prophets, who have borne the burden in the heat of the day; who have stood boldly and fearlessly, filled with wisdom and intelligence from above, to give us counsel, and to guide and direct us in the channels of prosperity, peace, and happiness.
Will we come to a knowledge of the truth? Will we learn to appreciate the blessings that we enjoy, and to realize from whence they come? Will we begin to follow more faithfully the counsels that are given to us by the servants of the Lord, and come together in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, that we may become perfect men in Christ Jesus, even to the fullness of the measure of his stature?
There is a circumstance recorded in the Scriptures, that has been brought forcibly to my mind while listening to the remarks of the Elders who have spoken to us during Conference. A young man came to Jesus and asked what good thing he should do that he might have eternal life. Jesus said unto him—“Keep the commandments.” The young man asked which of them. Then Jesus enumerated to him some of the commandments that he was to keep—he should not murder, nor commit adultery, nor steal, nor bear false witness, but he should honor his father and mother, and love his neighbor as himself, &c. Said the young man—“All these I have kept from my youth up, what lack I yet?” Jesus said—“If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me.” And we are told that he turned away sorrowful, because he had great possessions. He would not hearken to, or obey the law of God in this matter. Not that Jesus required of the young man to go and sell all that he possessed and give it away; that is not the principle involved. The great principle involved is that which the Elders of Israel are endeavoring to enforce upon the minds of the Latter-day Saints today. When the young man turned away in sorrow, Jesus said to his disciples—“How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!”
Is this because the rich man is rich? No. May not the rich man, who has the light of God in his heart, who possesses the principle and spirit of truth, and who understands the principle of God's government and law in the world, enter into the kingdom of heaven as easily, and be as acceptable there as the poor man may? Precisely. God is not a respecter of persons. The rich man may enter into the kingdom of heaven as freely as the poor, if he will bring his heart and affections into subjection to the law of God and to the principle of truth; if he will place his affections upon God, his heart upon the truth, and his soul upon the accomplishment of God's purposes, and not fix his affections and his hopes upon the things of the world. Here is the difficulty, and this was the difficulty with the young man. He had great possessions, and he preferred to rely upon his wealth rather than forsake all and follow Christ. If he had possessed the spirit of truth in his heart to have known the will of God, and to have loved the Lord with all his heart and his neighbor as himself, he would have said to the Lord—“Yea, Lord, I will do as you require, I will go and sell all that I have and give it to the poor.” If he had had it in his heart to do this, that alone might have been sufficient, and the demand would probably have stopped there, for undoubtedly the Lord did not deem it essential for him to go and give his riches away, or to sell his possessions and give the proceeds away, in order that he might be perfect, for that, in a measure, would have been improvident. Yet, if it had required all this to test him and to prove him, to see whether he loved the Lord with all his heart, mind, and strength, and his neighbor as himself, then he ought to have been willing to do it, and if he had been, he would have lacked nothing, and would have received the gift of eternal life, which is the greatest gift of God, and which can be received on no other principle than the one mentioned by Jesus to the young man. If you will read the sixth lecture on faith in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants you will learn that no man can obtain the gift of eternal life unless he is willing to sacrifice all earthly things in order to obtain it. We cannot do this so long as our affections are fixed upon the world.
It is true that we are in a measure of the earth, earthly; we belong to the world. Our affections and our souls are here; our treasures are here, and where the treasure is there the heart is. But if we will lay up our treasures in heaven; if we will wean our affections from the things of this world, and say to the Lord our God—“Father, not my will but thine be done,” then may the will of God be done on earth as it is done in heaven, and the kingdom of God in its power and glory will be established upon the earth. Sin and Satan will be bound and banished from the earth, and not until we attain to this condition of mind and faith will this be done.
Then let the Saints unite; let them hearken to the voices of the servants of God that are sounded in their ears; let them hearken to their counsels and give heed to the truth; let them seek their own salvation, for, so far as I am concerned, I am so selfish that I am seeking after my salvation, and I know that I can find it only in obedience to the laws of God, in keeping the commandments, in performing works of righteousness, following in the footsteps of our file leader, Jesus, the exemplar and the head of all. He is the way of life, he is the light of the world, he is the door by which we must enter in order that we may have a place with him in the celestial kingdom of God.
May God grant that we may see and comprehend the whole truth, and be submissive to the requirements of the Gospel and obedient to the Priesthood of God upon the earth in all things, that we may obtain eternal life, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The conference was adjourned till 2 o’clock.
The choir sang an anthem—O praise the Lord.
Benediction by Elder Brigham Young.
Discourse by Elder Joseph F. Smith, delivered at the Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, on Sunday Morning, Oct. 10, 1875.
Reported by David W. Evans.
I have been very much interested and instructed during our Conference, and in rising at this time—a few moments only remaining before the close of our forenoon meeting—I feel that I can only bear my testimony to, and express my conviction of, the truths that we have had delivered unto us during our meetings from the first day of our Conference. We have had instructions here upon spiritual and upon temporal matters sufficient, if they were carried out, to make this people the best, purest, noblest, and greatest people that inhabit the world. The instructions that have been given unto us in regard to temporal matters, and in regard to bringing us to a union of faith and works, are calculated in their nature, if adopted and carried out in the practices of the Latter-day Saints, to make them the most independent people that live upon the face of the earth, depending indeed only upon the Lord our God, the giver of every good and perfect gift. I can see, as clearly as it is possible for me to see the light of the sun, that if the instructions that were given here yesterday, and the day before, in relation to uniting ourselves together in temporal affairs, were carried out by the people, we would soon no longer be beholden to the world, and it would be said of us, that we were dependent upon no power upon the earth but the power of God. It is very different, however, with us at present, for now we are very dependent, notwithstanding the vast amount of blessings that the Lord has poured out upon us—blessings of the soil, of the labors of our hands, of the elements that surround us. He has given us an abundance of everything our hearts can desire in righteousness, insomuch, as it was remarked yesterday, that we have become almost recreant to these blessings; we squander and waste them, run over them, trample them under our feet as it were, and regard them as of very little importance, or worthless. The Lord truly has blessed his people; he has poured out his Spirit upon us, opened our way, delivered us from our enemies, blessed and enriched the soil, tempered the elements, and made them favorable to us, turned away cursings, and given us blessings on every hand, and has prospered us in the earth. But we have been careless, and in a measure blind to the presence and value of the blessings that have been poured out upon us so abundantly, and have failed to recognize, as we should at all times, the hand of God therein. We have also come far short of appreciating our brethren the Prophets, who have borne the burden in the heat of the day; who have stood boldly and fearlessly, filled with wisdom and intelligence from above, to give us counsel, and to guide and direct us in the channels of prosperity, peace, and happiness.
Will we come to a knowledge of the truth? Will we learn to appreciate the blessings that we enjoy, and to realize from whence they come? Will we begin to follow more faithfully the counsels that are given to us by the servants of the Lord, and come together in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, that we may become perfect men in Christ Jesus, even to the fullness of the measure of his stature?
There is a circumstance recorded in the Scriptures, that has been brought forcibly to my mind while listening to the remarks of the Elders who have spoken to us during Conference. A young man came to Jesus and asked what good thing he should do that he might have eternal life. Jesus said unto him—“Keep the commandments.” The young man asked which of them. Then Jesus enumerated to him some of the commandments that he was to keep—he should not murder, nor commit adultery, nor steal, nor bear false witness, but he should honor his father and mother, and love his neighbor as himself, &c. Said the young man—“All these I have kept from my youth up, what lack I yet?” Jesus said—“If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me.” And we are told that he turned away sorrowful, because he had great possessions. He would not hearken to, or obey the law of God in this matter. Not that Jesus required of the young man to go and sell all that he possessed and give it away; that is not the principle involved. The great principle involved is that which the Elders of Israel are endeavoring to enforce upon the minds of the Latter-day Saints today. When the young man turned away in sorrow, Jesus said to his disciples—“How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!”
Is this because the rich man is rich? No. May not the rich man, who has the light of God in his heart, who possesses the principle and spirit of truth, and who understands the principle of God's government and law in the world, enter into the kingdom of heaven as easily, and be as acceptable there as the poor man may? Precisely. God is not a respecter of persons. The rich man may enter into the kingdom of heaven as freely as the poor, if he will bring his heart and affections into subjection to the law of God and to the principle of truth; if he will place his affections upon God, his heart upon the truth, and his soul upon the accomplishment of God's purposes, and not fix his affections and his hopes upon the things of the world. Here is the difficulty, and this was the difficulty with the young man. He had great possessions, and he preferred to rely upon his wealth rather than forsake all and follow Christ. If he had possessed the spirit of truth in his heart to have known the will of God, and to have loved the Lord with all his heart and his neighbor as himself, he would have said to the Lord—“Yea, Lord, I will do as you require, I will go and sell all that I have and give it to the poor.” If he had had it in his heart to do this, that alone might have been sufficient, and the demand would probably have stopped there, for undoubtedly the Lord did not deem it essential for him to go and give his riches away, or to sell his possessions and give the proceeds away, in order that he might be perfect, for that, in a measure, would have been improvident. Yet, if it had required all this to test him and to prove him, to see whether he loved the Lord with all his heart, mind, and strength, and his neighbor as himself, then he ought to have been willing to do it, and if he had been, he would have lacked nothing, and would have received the gift of eternal life, which is the greatest gift of God, and which can be received on no other principle than the one mentioned by Jesus to the young man. If you will read the sixth lecture on faith in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants you will learn that no man can obtain the gift of eternal life unless he is willing to sacrifice all earthly things in order to obtain it. We cannot do this so long as our affections are fixed upon the world.
It is true that we are in a measure of the earth, earthly; we belong to the world. Our affections and our souls are here; our treasures are here, and where the treasure is there the heart is. But if we will lay up our treasures in heaven; if we will wean our affections from the things of this world, and say to the Lord our God—“Father, not my will but thine be done,” then may the will of God be done on earth as it is done in heaven, and the kingdom of God in its power and glory will be established upon the earth. Sin and Satan will be bound and banished from the earth, and not until we attain to this condition of mind and faith will this be done.
Then let the Saints unite; let them hearken to the voices of the servants of God that are sounded in their ears; let them hearken to their counsels and give heed to the truth; let them seek their own salvation, for, so far as I am concerned, I am so selfish that I am seeking after my salvation, and I know that I can find it only in obedience to the laws of God, in keeping the commandments, in performing works of righteousness, following in the footsteps of our file leader, Jesus, the exemplar and the head of all. He is the way of life, he is the light of the world, he is the door by which we must enter in order that we may have a place with him in the celestial kingdom of God.
May God grant that we may see and comprehend the whole truth, and be submissive to the requirements of the Gospel and obedient to the Priesthood of God upon the earth in all things, that we may obtain eternal life, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The conference was adjourned till 2 o’clock.
The choir sang an anthem—O praise the Lord.
Benediction by Elder Brigham Young.
FIFTH DAY.
Sunday, Oct. 10th, 2 p.m.
The choir sang—Happy the man who finds the grace, The blessings of God’s chosen race.
Prayer by Elder W. Woodruff.
The choir sang—O Lord of Hosts, we now invoke Thy Spirit most divine.
While the Sacrament was being administered
Sunday, Oct. 10th, 2 p.m.
The choir sang—Happy the man who finds the grace, The blessings of God’s chosen race.
Prayer by Elder W. Woodruff.
The choir sang—O Lord of Hosts, we now invoke Thy Spirit most divine.
While the Sacrament was being administered
Elder John Taylor
addressed the congregation. He said the principles we had received emanated from God—all good Saints firmly believed that. In order to introduce certain principles in which all were interested that dwelt on the face of the earth, angels were sent to Joseph Smith, and after imparting to him much information pertaining to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he received the Holy Priesthood from the holy angels, obeyed the ordinances of the Gospel, and was inspired to bring forth those principles that the Elders had been sent forth to preach to the nations, calling upon the people to repent and obey the Gospel, and receive the Holy Ghost. God had a people spread over the face of the earth, many of whom had been gathered, for when the Elders of the church, who had received the Holy Priesthood, were sent forth, the people knew the voice of the true shepherds, and obeyed it. Many of the ancient prophets appeared to and revealed the keys of their priesthood to Joseph Smith, to introduce the dispensation of the fulness of times, that God’s people might be gathered in one. All the officers in the church and kingdom of God were entirely unknown by the religious world, until God revealed them through Joseph Smith. God could not build up his kingdom without an organization of willing subjects, yielding themselves to his government. Angels could communicate with such a people, and God could accomplish his purposes. Our marital relations were not confined to time, but were eternal in all their relationships, indissoluble, and would endure forever in this light. We so regarded them, and should never give them up. This was an earthly as well as a heavenly government, for this work never could have been accomplished thus far, unaided by the power and wisdom of God. He strongly denounced the evils in the community, especially those of Sabbath breaking, lying and swearing. This was a burning shame in the midst of the people, and would bring forth its terrible results among the offspring of those who indulged in them.
He exhorted to cease lying and every other sin, and keep the commandments of God, and Zion would soon arise and shine and the glory of God would rise upon her.
addressed the congregation. He said the principles we had received emanated from God—all good Saints firmly believed that. In order to introduce certain principles in which all were interested that dwelt on the face of the earth, angels were sent to Joseph Smith, and after imparting to him much information pertaining to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he received the Holy Priesthood from the holy angels, obeyed the ordinances of the Gospel, and was inspired to bring forth those principles that the Elders had been sent forth to preach to the nations, calling upon the people to repent and obey the Gospel, and receive the Holy Ghost. God had a people spread over the face of the earth, many of whom had been gathered, for when the Elders of the church, who had received the Holy Priesthood, were sent forth, the people knew the voice of the true shepherds, and obeyed it. Many of the ancient prophets appeared to and revealed the keys of their priesthood to Joseph Smith, to introduce the dispensation of the fulness of times, that God’s people might be gathered in one. All the officers in the church and kingdom of God were entirely unknown by the religious world, until God revealed them through Joseph Smith. God could not build up his kingdom without an organization of willing subjects, yielding themselves to his government. Angels could communicate with such a people, and God could accomplish his purposes. Our marital relations were not confined to time, but were eternal in all their relationships, indissoluble, and would endure forever in this light. We so regarded them, and should never give them up. This was an earthly as well as a heavenly government, for this work never could have been accomplished thus far, unaided by the power and wisdom of God. He strongly denounced the evils in the community, especially those of Sabbath breaking, lying and swearing. This was a burning shame in the midst of the people, and would bring forth its terrible results among the offspring of those who indulged in them.
He exhorted to cease lying and every other sin, and keep the commandments of God, and Zion would soon arise and shine and the glory of God would rise upon her.
The Purposes of God—Duties and Responsibilities of the Saints
Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered at the Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, October 10, 1875.
Reported by David W. Evans.
It is extremely difficult to speak to a congregation so large as this, and I therefore request that as good order as possible may be maintained, because it is almost impossible for the human voice to encompass so large a congregation as the one assembled here today.
We all of us have an object in assembling together as we have done on this conference occasion. I speak now to Latter-day Saints, as it is to them I purpose to address my remarks this afternoon. We do not always understand the influences by which we are operated upon; but nevertheless there are certain principles at work in this generation which move upon the minds of the human family, and which lead them to reflect and study more or less, according to the circumstances surrounding them and the positions they occupy. We, the Latter-day Saints, stand in a different relationship to the Almighty from any other people that exist on the face of the earth. The principles that we have received emanated not from man, nor from the wisdom, intelligence or philosophy of man; we believe that they proceeded from God. That is our universal belief; it is the faith of every good Latter-day Saint. None of us, previous to the Lord manifesting his will, knew anything about the laws of God. We did not know anything about God; we were not acquainted with anybody who could give us information in relation to him, and we are indebted to revelation from him for all the intelligence that we have that is true in regard to ourselves, the world in which we live, the people who have lived before us, and those who will live after us; also in regard to God the Father, and Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant. We had certain vague, indistinct ideas about these things before, but we had nothing real, tangible or reliable. Nor is it out of any consideration, particularly, to ourselves personally, that these things are made manifest. God has certain purposes to accomplish, pertaining to the world in which we live, in which the interests and happiness of the human family are concerned, to those who live in the world today, to those who have lived in other ages and dispensations, back to the time of Adam, and also forward, to the latest generation of time, to the last man who shall be born upon earth. The ancient Patriarchs and Prophets, men of God who basked in the light of revelation, and comprehended the mind of Jehovah, and who held the everlasting Priesthood and enjoyed the Gospel as we enjoy it; all these together with God our heavenly Father and all the angelic hosts, are interested in the work that the Father has commenced in these last days; and hence a revelation was made unto Joseph Smith. Holy angels of God appeared to him and communicated to him the mind and will of Jehovah, as a chosen messenger to introduce the dispensation of the fullness of times, wherein all heaven and all that have ever dwelt on the earth are concerned and interested. He did not reveal himself, particularly, because of Joseph Smith, individually, nor because of any other individual man, nor for the peculiar interest, emolument or aggrandizement of any set of men; but for the purpose of introducing certain principles that it was necessary that the world of mankind should be made acquainted with; in fact, it was for the purpose of introducing what we call the Church and kingdom of God on the earth, in which all who have ever lived or who ever will live upon this globe are interested.
The Gospel that we talk of, although it may be a personal thing, yet at the same time is as high as the heavens, wide as the universe and deep as hell. It permeates through all time, and extends to all people, both living and dead. We talk sometimes about the Church of God, and why? We talk about the kingdom of God, and why? Because, before there could be a kingdom of God, there must be a Church of God, and hence the first principles of the Gospel were needed to be preached to all nations, as they were formerly when the Lord Jesus Christ and others made their appearance on the earth. And why so? Because of the impossibility of introducing the law of God among a people who would not be subject to and be guided by the spirit of revelation. Hence the world have generally made great mistakes upon these points. They have started various projects to try to unite and cement the people together without God; but they could not do it. Fourierism, Communism—another branch of the same thing—and many other principles of the same kind have been introduced to try and cement the human family together. And then we have had peace societies, based upon the same principles; but all these things have failed, and they will fail, because, however philanthropic, humanitarian, benevolent, or cosmopolitan our ideas, it is impossible to produce a true and correct union without the Spirit of the living God, and that Spirit can only be imparted through the ordinances of the Gospel; and hence Jesus told his disciples to go and preach the Gospel to every creature, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and said he—“Lo, I am with you always, even to the end.” It was by this cementing, uniting spirit, that true sympathetic, fraternal relations could be introduced and enjoyed.
When John was on the Isle of Patmos he had a remarkable vision pertaining to many things, and said he—“I saw a mighty angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation and kindred and people and tongue, crying with a loud voice—'Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him who made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.'”
Joseph Smith had this communication made to him, together with the light of the Gospel, and had conferred upon him the keys of the holy Priesthood, with power to administer therein and to ordain others to the same ministry. And he, himself, was baptized as Jesus was baptized, and he baptized others, and they others, and they then laid their hands upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and they received it. And then, by the inspiration of the Almighty, they were directed to gather together, which they have done. And how many of you who are hearing me today hardly knew the reason why you gathered together? But you had a feeling, a burning desire in your hearts to mingle with the Saints of God. The Scriptures say—“I will take them one of a city and two of a family and bring them to Zion; and I will give them pastors after my own heart, that shall feed them with knowledge and with understanding.”
In accordance with these principles the Elders of Israel went forth, as you have heard here during this Conference, not in their own name, nor in their own strength, nor by their own wisdom; but in the name and strength and power of Jehovah, and as his chosen messengers to administer life and salvation to a fallen world. And God went with them, and his holy angels accompanied them; and the Spirit and power of God were with them; and the words that they spake they spake not of themselves but as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost. And God worked with them and the truth came to your hearts and you received it and rejoiced therein. God had a people scattered abroad among the nations of the earth, and his Priesthood were instrumental in his hands in gathering that people together; and in these days as in days of old, Jesus said—“My sheep hear my voice, and know it and follow me, and a stranger will they not follow, because they know not the voice of a stranger.”
Here then, God was desirous of introducing his kingdom upon the earth, and he had in the first place, to organize his Church, to organize the people that he had scattered among the nations and to bring them together, that there might be one fold and one shepherd, and one Lord, one faith and one baptism, and one God, who should be in all and through all, and by which all should be governed. To facilitate this object he organized his holy Priesthood as it existed in the heavens, and he gave a pattern of these things, just as much as he did in the days of Moses, only more so. God said to Moses—“See that thou make all things according to the pattern that I showed thee in the mount.” God said to Joseph—“See that thou organize this Church according to the pattern that I have showed thee.” And he placed in his Church Presidents, Apostles, Patriarchs, Seventies, High Priests, Bishops, Priests, Teachers, Deacons, Bishops' Councils and High Councils, and other organizations which God had developed and given to his Priesthood; and hence, when the angel came which is mentioned by John on Patmos, he restored the Gospel as it existed with Adam, and with Enoch, and with Seth, and with Methuselah, and with Noah and Melchizedek, and with Abraham, with the Prophets, and with the Apostles and Jesus, whether on the Continent of Asia, on this continent, or anywhere else; and this people who possess this Priesthood and the authority from God to administer therein, when they get behind the veil they will enter again into the office of their calling and will be united with their several Priesthoods there, for the Priesthood on this and on the other side of the veil are parts of the same eternal system; and hence with a people like this in possession of the Priesthood, and enjoying the revelations of heaven, God could communicate and, through them, could reveal his will to the human family, but not to a people who would not listen to his laws and obey his precepts.
This Priesthood was held by John the revelator, by Peter, by Moroni, one of the Prophets of God on this continent. Nephi, another of the servants of God on this continent, had the Gospel with its keys and powers revealed unto him. We know that these things were so, and we do not profess to argue them, for we all know it. We read that Moses and Elias appeared to Jesus and his disciples on the mount, and Jesus was transfigured before them. Who were Moses and Elias? They were Prophets of the living God who held the Gospel and the Priesthood in former days, and they were sent to administer to Jesus and to Peter, James and John on the mount.
We also learn that when John was upon the Isle of Patmos, the visions of heaven were unfolded to his view, and a great and mighty angel stood before him and showed to him many great and important things pertaining to the future; and John fell down to worship him. But said he—“Hold! Do not worship me.” “Why? Who are you?” “I am one of thy fellowservants the Prophets, who kept the testimony of Jesus and the word of God. Do not worship me, I am one of those who held the Priesthood in time and now I am administering in eternity, and have come forth as a messenger of the Lord to thee.”
It was precisely in this way that Joseph Smith was administered unto, and by the same kind of messengers, who held the same kind of authority; and they came to introduce and usher in the dispensation of the fullness of times, that all things that are in Christ might be gathered together in one, whether they be things in the earth or things in the heavens. This was done that God's people might be gathered in one, that God's word might be gathered in one, that's God's Priesthood might be gathered in one, and that all in Christ on earth might be united by indissoluble ties with the Priesthood that exists in heaven, that they all might operate together for the accomplishment of the purposes of God on the earth. Hence it is said that “we without them cannot be made perfect, and that they without us cannot be made perfect;” a perfect union between heaven and earth was needed. Under such circumstances what did we do? What could we do? What intelligence were we in possession of, in and of ourselves? Who among us knew the first principles of the doctrine of Christ? Not a man living understood them correctly, and we are indebted to God for our intelligence in relation to these things. Who knew anything about the organization of the Church of God? Nobody. Was there any such thing in existence on the face of the earth? You might have searched for it, but it would have been in vain, it could not have been found. There were the systems, creeds and notions of men, but nobody to say, “Thus saith the Lord.” No prophecy, no inspiration, no manifestations of the power of God. Who knew anything about the necessity of Presidents or Apostles? Nobody. Who knew what an Apostle was? Nobody. Who knew what a High Priest or a Seventy was? Nobody. Who knew what an Elder was in the true acceptation of the term? Nobody; neither was there anybody who knew anything about the office of a Bishop, Priest, Teacher or Deacon, or about the functions of a High Council or a Bishop's Council, or any of the ordinances of the Church of God. Who knew anything about the relation of man to man or of man to woman? Nobody. Who knew anything about the relationship that exists between man and God? Nobody. Who knew anything about the eternities that are to come? Nobody. It was God who revealed these things. Joseph Smith did not know them, neither did Brigham Young, the Apostles, nor anybody else until God revealed them, and we are indebted to him for all the light, knowledge and intelligence that we possess in regard to the heavens and the earth, in regard to the God who made us and the mode of worshiping him acceptably.
Now then, we are here; we have these various organizations. The Twelve, for instance, have various duties and responsibilities devolving upon them under the direction of the First Presidency. Then there are the Seventies, who are to be special messengers to the nations of the earth, to go forth in the name of Israel's God, clothed upon with his power to administer life and salvation, and to teach the people the principles of truth under the direction of the Twelve, whose duty it is also to administer these principles, and see that this Gospel is sent to all peoples; and hence the necessity that is felt by them and by the First Presidency in relation to carrying these things out.
And let me say a little farther on a subject that I before referred to, that is, that God could not build up a kingdom on the earth unless he had a Church, and a people who had submitted to his law and were willing to submit to it; and with an organization of such a people, gathered from among the nations of the earth under the direction of a man inspired of God, the mouthpiece of Jehovah to his people; I say that, with such an organization, there is a chance for the Lord God to be revealed, there is an opportunity for the laws of life to be made manifest, there is a chance for God to introduce the principles of heaven upon the earth and for the will of God to be done upon earth as it is done in heaven. God could never establish his kingdom upon the earth unless he had a people who would submit themselves to his laws and government; but with such a people he could communicate, to such a people the heavens could be opened; to such a people the angels of God could administer; and among them the will of God could be done upon earth as it is done in heaven, and among no others, and that is why we are here. Says the Prophet—“I will take them one of a city and two of a family and bring them to Zion.” What will you do with them? “I will give them pastors after my own heart, that shall feed them with knowledge and understanding;” that they may be acquainted with each other and with their various duties and responsibilities; that they may be instructed in the laws of the holy priesthood, and be prepared, eventually, to join their quorums in the celestial kingdom of God, and that the people may be instructed in the laws of life. Hence our marriage ceremonies, relationships and covenants are among the principles of the Gospel, and they are eternal; they existed with God in eternity, and will exist throughout all the eternities that are to come. God has shown us, in regard to our marital relations, that our wives are to be sealed to us for time and eternity. By what authority? By the authority of that holy Priesthood that administers on the earth and in heaven, and of which Jesus said that whatever they should bind on earth should be bound in heaven, and whatsoever they should loose on earth should be loosed in heaven; and these relationships that exist among us here are calculated to be consummated there, and men and women who understand their true position expect to enjoy each other's society and association there, as much as they do in their own homes here, just the same. And though they may sleep in the dust, yet, by the power of the resurrection, which you have heard of at this Conference, when the trump shall sound and the dead in Christ shall rise, they will burst the barriers of the tomb and come forth, each and all claiming their proper mates—those with whom they were associated on the earth—through eternity. This is the way we regard our marriage covenants, no matter what other people say about it, this is our business, and we shall do it and keep on doing forever and ever while God lets us live, because it is the word of God to us, and in spite of all the powers of earth and hell we shall never give way in regard to our marriage principles, for they are eternal; and so with regard to every other principle of the Gospel. This is why we have come together to help to build up the kingdom and government of God upon the earth. An earthly government if you please, and a heavenly government if you please. But no man nor set of men are capable of introducing principles of this kind unless God is with them and stands by them; and the first Elders of this Church never could have done what they did without the power of God being with them and accompanying them, and God's mercy being extended to them. And they could not today.
Men have strange ideas about the Mormons. Why? Because unless they are born of water they cannot see the kingdom of God; that is what Jesus said, and that is why people fail to understand us. But we, who have been baptized and enlightened by the Spirit of God, can see his kingdom. We know it, we comprehend it in part, but only in part. What is the result of all this Priesthood—the First Presidency, the Twelve, the Seventies, the High Priests, Elders, Bishops, Priests, Teachers and Deacons? All of them profess to be under the direction of the Almighty, and if they are not, they are living hypocrites before God and holy angels; for these are the covenants they have entered into, and these are the ordinations they have received.
We see something strange in connection with us as a people—the world follows us, and too many of us follow after the world. Can the world give you the light that you have received, and the Gospel and the hopes of heaven you have received, and the Priesthood you have received? And will you barter these things for a mess of pottage, and wallow in the filth, corruption, iniquity, and evils which abound in the world? What have we come here for? To worship God and to keep his commandments. And how is it with many of us? We forget, in many instances, our high calling's glorious hope, and we give way to follies, foibles, weakness, and iniquity, and we are governed more or less by covetousness, drunkenness, Sabbath breaking, and evils of various kinds. I sometimes see Elders of Israel bringing in loads of wood and loads of hay on the Sabbath day. Why, it is a burning shame in the eyes of God, holy angels, and all other intelligent beings. If such men had lived under the law of ancient Israel, they would have been put to death. Do you know that? Go and read it in your Bibles. What do you think about a lying Elder, a swearing High Priest, a Sabbath-breaking Seventy, and a covetous Saint? The souls of such men ought to be inspired with the light of revelation, and they ought to be living witnesses, epistles known and read of all men! Do you think you can live your religion, have the Spirit of God and obtain eternal life, and follow after these things? I tell you nay. It was said of olden time—“Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world; for if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” That is as true today as it was eighteen hundred years ago. It is proper that we, as Elders of Israel, and as heads of families, should reflect upon these things, for in many instances we are setting examples before our children that will tend to plunge them to perdition. Is this what we are gathered here for? I tell you nay, we are gathered here to serve God and keep his commandments, and to build up his Zion upon the earth.
After praying for years that God would inspire his servant Brigham with the Spirit of revelation, that he might be able to lead forth Israel in the path in which they should go, he tells us to be one, as Jesus told his disciples; he tells us to enter into a united order, that God has revealed it, that we are to be one in spiritual things, and one in temporal things, to be united together in all principles, as the Saints of God have been wherever they have existed. But our Elders can't see it, and many of our Bishop's can't see it, and many High Priests and Seventies can't see it. Why? Because the Bridegroom has tarried, and we have all slumbered and slept, and in many instances we have sinned against God, and our lamps have gone out, that is the matter, and we have lost the light, and intelligence, and revelation, and quickening influence of the living God. If we were living our religion and keeping the commandments of God, we should feel and act differently; we should then know of the doctrine. Jesus said—“If any man does my will he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself.”
What is the matter, you High Priests, you Seventies, you Bishops and others? You are not doing the will of God, and you do not know of the doctrine, that is the matter; and yet we are living in the blaze of Gospel day, surrounded by Prophets, Apostles, Patriarchs, and men of God. Is it not time that we humbled ourselves? Is it not time that we repented of our sins? Is it not time that we forsook our iniquities? Is it not time that we went back to the first principles, and began to consider our ways, and to walk in the light of truth? That is the way that I understand it, and hence the necessity of the Elders of Israel, the President of the Church, of the Twelve, and of all men who are inspired by the light of truth and the light of revelation, to stir up the members of the Church generally to good works. They see Israel wandering away after strange gods, forsaking the fountain of living water, and “hewing out to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water;” and hence the necessity of Apostles and Prophets for the perfecting of the Saints and the work of the ministry, and the edifying of the body of Christ. How is it among many of our quorums? Perfectly dead, dumb, and lifeless, without the light, and life, and power of the living God among them; and Elders of Israel, clothed upon with the Holy Priesthood, expect when they get through, to associate with the Gods in the eternal worlds. How is it? It is time for us to reflect and to think upon our situation, and to consider our ways and be wise. What do you want to do? Do you want to get up some excitement? No, we want to bring you back to the first principles of the Gospel of Christ. Do you want us to be baptized? Not particularly, unless, as stated by President Young, you repent of your sins and your iniquities and your lying, and your deceiving and your Sabbath breaking, and your covetousness and your hypocrisy, and repent of your speaking against the anointed of God; not unless you are willing to be governed by the Holy Priesthood in all things pertaining to this world and the next, pertaining to time and eternity. If you can't do this, don't be baptized; it will be better for you not to be.
Well, are all in this condition? No, no, there are more than “seven thousand who have not yet bowed the knee to Baal;” there are more than seven thousand who are seeking to do right, to live their religion, and to keep the commandments of God. I say, then, repent of your iniquities, do your first works, live your religion, keep the commandments of God; let every man do right and depart from evil. If any man has sinned against his brother, let him make it right honestly, and squarely, and truly, and not hypocritically; and let us do everything with honesty of heart, and seek to God, and humble ourselves before him, and live our religion, and God will pour blessings upon us that we shall not find room to contain. His Zion will rise and shine, and the glory of God will rest upon her, the principles of truth will spread on the right hand and on the left, and the mercy of God will be extended unto his people.
May God help us to fear him and keep his commandments, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered at the Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, October 10, 1875.
Reported by David W. Evans.
It is extremely difficult to speak to a congregation so large as this, and I therefore request that as good order as possible may be maintained, because it is almost impossible for the human voice to encompass so large a congregation as the one assembled here today.
We all of us have an object in assembling together as we have done on this conference occasion. I speak now to Latter-day Saints, as it is to them I purpose to address my remarks this afternoon. We do not always understand the influences by which we are operated upon; but nevertheless there are certain principles at work in this generation which move upon the minds of the human family, and which lead them to reflect and study more or less, according to the circumstances surrounding them and the positions they occupy. We, the Latter-day Saints, stand in a different relationship to the Almighty from any other people that exist on the face of the earth. The principles that we have received emanated not from man, nor from the wisdom, intelligence or philosophy of man; we believe that they proceeded from God. That is our universal belief; it is the faith of every good Latter-day Saint. None of us, previous to the Lord manifesting his will, knew anything about the laws of God. We did not know anything about God; we were not acquainted with anybody who could give us information in relation to him, and we are indebted to revelation from him for all the intelligence that we have that is true in regard to ourselves, the world in which we live, the people who have lived before us, and those who will live after us; also in regard to God the Father, and Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant. We had certain vague, indistinct ideas about these things before, but we had nothing real, tangible or reliable. Nor is it out of any consideration, particularly, to ourselves personally, that these things are made manifest. God has certain purposes to accomplish, pertaining to the world in which we live, in which the interests and happiness of the human family are concerned, to those who live in the world today, to those who have lived in other ages and dispensations, back to the time of Adam, and also forward, to the latest generation of time, to the last man who shall be born upon earth. The ancient Patriarchs and Prophets, men of God who basked in the light of revelation, and comprehended the mind of Jehovah, and who held the everlasting Priesthood and enjoyed the Gospel as we enjoy it; all these together with God our heavenly Father and all the angelic hosts, are interested in the work that the Father has commenced in these last days; and hence a revelation was made unto Joseph Smith. Holy angels of God appeared to him and communicated to him the mind and will of Jehovah, as a chosen messenger to introduce the dispensation of the fullness of times, wherein all heaven and all that have ever dwelt on the earth are concerned and interested. He did not reveal himself, particularly, because of Joseph Smith, individually, nor because of any other individual man, nor for the peculiar interest, emolument or aggrandizement of any set of men; but for the purpose of introducing certain principles that it was necessary that the world of mankind should be made acquainted with; in fact, it was for the purpose of introducing what we call the Church and kingdom of God on the earth, in which all who have ever lived or who ever will live upon this globe are interested.
The Gospel that we talk of, although it may be a personal thing, yet at the same time is as high as the heavens, wide as the universe and deep as hell. It permeates through all time, and extends to all people, both living and dead. We talk sometimes about the Church of God, and why? We talk about the kingdom of God, and why? Because, before there could be a kingdom of God, there must be a Church of God, and hence the first principles of the Gospel were needed to be preached to all nations, as they were formerly when the Lord Jesus Christ and others made their appearance on the earth. And why so? Because of the impossibility of introducing the law of God among a people who would not be subject to and be guided by the spirit of revelation. Hence the world have generally made great mistakes upon these points. They have started various projects to try to unite and cement the people together without God; but they could not do it. Fourierism, Communism—another branch of the same thing—and many other principles of the same kind have been introduced to try and cement the human family together. And then we have had peace societies, based upon the same principles; but all these things have failed, and they will fail, because, however philanthropic, humanitarian, benevolent, or cosmopolitan our ideas, it is impossible to produce a true and correct union without the Spirit of the living God, and that Spirit can only be imparted through the ordinances of the Gospel; and hence Jesus told his disciples to go and preach the Gospel to every creature, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and said he—“Lo, I am with you always, even to the end.” It was by this cementing, uniting spirit, that true sympathetic, fraternal relations could be introduced and enjoyed.
When John was on the Isle of Patmos he had a remarkable vision pertaining to many things, and said he—“I saw a mighty angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation and kindred and people and tongue, crying with a loud voice—'Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him who made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.'”
Joseph Smith had this communication made to him, together with the light of the Gospel, and had conferred upon him the keys of the holy Priesthood, with power to administer therein and to ordain others to the same ministry. And he, himself, was baptized as Jesus was baptized, and he baptized others, and they others, and they then laid their hands upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and they received it. And then, by the inspiration of the Almighty, they were directed to gather together, which they have done. And how many of you who are hearing me today hardly knew the reason why you gathered together? But you had a feeling, a burning desire in your hearts to mingle with the Saints of God. The Scriptures say—“I will take them one of a city and two of a family and bring them to Zion; and I will give them pastors after my own heart, that shall feed them with knowledge and with understanding.”
In accordance with these principles the Elders of Israel went forth, as you have heard here during this Conference, not in their own name, nor in their own strength, nor by their own wisdom; but in the name and strength and power of Jehovah, and as his chosen messengers to administer life and salvation to a fallen world. And God went with them, and his holy angels accompanied them; and the Spirit and power of God were with them; and the words that they spake they spake not of themselves but as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost. And God worked with them and the truth came to your hearts and you received it and rejoiced therein. God had a people scattered abroad among the nations of the earth, and his Priesthood were instrumental in his hands in gathering that people together; and in these days as in days of old, Jesus said—“My sheep hear my voice, and know it and follow me, and a stranger will they not follow, because they know not the voice of a stranger.”
Here then, God was desirous of introducing his kingdom upon the earth, and he had in the first place, to organize his Church, to organize the people that he had scattered among the nations and to bring them together, that there might be one fold and one shepherd, and one Lord, one faith and one baptism, and one God, who should be in all and through all, and by which all should be governed. To facilitate this object he organized his holy Priesthood as it existed in the heavens, and he gave a pattern of these things, just as much as he did in the days of Moses, only more so. God said to Moses—“See that thou make all things according to the pattern that I showed thee in the mount.” God said to Joseph—“See that thou organize this Church according to the pattern that I have showed thee.” And he placed in his Church Presidents, Apostles, Patriarchs, Seventies, High Priests, Bishops, Priests, Teachers, Deacons, Bishops' Councils and High Councils, and other organizations which God had developed and given to his Priesthood; and hence, when the angel came which is mentioned by John on Patmos, he restored the Gospel as it existed with Adam, and with Enoch, and with Seth, and with Methuselah, and with Noah and Melchizedek, and with Abraham, with the Prophets, and with the Apostles and Jesus, whether on the Continent of Asia, on this continent, or anywhere else; and this people who possess this Priesthood and the authority from God to administer therein, when they get behind the veil they will enter again into the office of their calling and will be united with their several Priesthoods there, for the Priesthood on this and on the other side of the veil are parts of the same eternal system; and hence with a people like this in possession of the Priesthood, and enjoying the revelations of heaven, God could communicate and, through them, could reveal his will to the human family, but not to a people who would not listen to his laws and obey his precepts.
This Priesthood was held by John the revelator, by Peter, by Moroni, one of the Prophets of God on this continent. Nephi, another of the servants of God on this continent, had the Gospel with its keys and powers revealed unto him. We know that these things were so, and we do not profess to argue them, for we all know it. We read that Moses and Elias appeared to Jesus and his disciples on the mount, and Jesus was transfigured before them. Who were Moses and Elias? They were Prophets of the living God who held the Gospel and the Priesthood in former days, and they were sent to administer to Jesus and to Peter, James and John on the mount.
We also learn that when John was upon the Isle of Patmos, the visions of heaven were unfolded to his view, and a great and mighty angel stood before him and showed to him many great and important things pertaining to the future; and John fell down to worship him. But said he—“Hold! Do not worship me.” “Why? Who are you?” “I am one of thy fellowservants the Prophets, who kept the testimony of Jesus and the word of God. Do not worship me, I am one of those who held the Priesthood in time and now I am administering in eternity, and have come forth as a messenger of the Lord to thee.”
It was precisely in this way that Joseph Smith was administered unto, and by the same kind of messengers, who held the same kind of authority; and they came to introduce and usher in the dispensation of the fullness of times, that all things that are in Christ might be gathered together in one, whether they be things in the earth or things in the heavens. This was done that God's people might be gathered in one, that God's word might be gathered in one, that's God's Priesthood might be gathered in one, and that all in Christ on earth might be united by indissoluble ties with the Priesthood that exists in heaven, that they all might operate together for the accomplishment of the purposes of God on the earth. Hence it is said that “we without them cannot be made perfect, and that they without us cannot be made perfect;” a perfect union between heaven and earth was needed. Under such circumstances what did we do? What could we do? What intelligence were we in possession of, in and of ourselves? Who among us knew the first principles of the doctrine of Christ? Not a man living understood them correctly, and we are indebted to God for our intelligence in relation to these things. Who knew anything about the organization of the Church of God? Nobody. Was there any such thing in existence on the face of the earth? You might have searched for it, but it would have been in vain, it could not have been found. There were the systems, creeds and notions of men, but nobody to say, “Thus saith the Lord.” No prophecy, no inspiration, no manifestations of the power of God. Who knew anything about the necessity of Presidents or Apostles? Nobody. Who knew what an Apostle was? Nobody. Who knew what a High Priest or a Seventy was? Nobody. Who knew what an Elder was in the true acceptation of the term? Nobody; neither was there anybody who knew anything about the office of a Bishop, Priest, Teacher or Deacon, or about the functions of a High Council or a Bishop's Council, or any of the ordinances of the Church of God. Who knew anything about the relation of man to man or of man to woman? Nobody. Who knew anything about the relationship that exists between man and God? Nobody. Who knew anything about the eternities that are to come? Nobody. It was God who revealed these things. Joseph Smith did not know them, neither did Brigham Young, the Apostles, nor anybody else until God revealed them, and we are indebted to him for all the light, knowledge and intelligence that we possess in regard to the heavens and the earth, in regard to the God who made us and the mode of worshiping him acceptably.
Now then, we are here; we have these various organizations. The Twelve, for instance, have various duties and responsibilities devolving upon them under the direction of the First Presidency. Then there are the Seventies, who are to be special messengers to the nations of the earth, to go forth in the name of Israel's God, clothed upon with his power to administer life and salvation, and to teach the people the principles of truth under the direction of the Twelve, whose duty it is also to administer these principles, and see that this Gospel is sent to all peoples; and hence the necessity that is felt by them and by the First Presidency in relation to carrying these things out.
And let me say a little farther on a subject that I before referred to, that is, that God could not build up a kingdom on the earth unless he had a Church, and a people who had submitted to his law and were willing to submit to it; and with an organization of such a people, gathered from among the nations of the earth under the direction of a man inspired of God, the mouthpiece of Jehovah to his people; I say that, with such an organization, there is a chance for the Lord God to be revealed, there is an opportunity for the laws of life to be made manifest, there is a chance for God to introduce the principles of heaven upon the earth and for the will of God to be done upon earth as it is done in heaven. God could never establish his kingdom upon the earth unless he had a people who would submit themselves to his laws and government; but with such a people he could communicate, to such a people the heavens could be opened; to such a people the angels of God could administer; and among them the will of God could be done upon earth as it is done in heaven, and among no others, and that is why we are here. Says the Prophet—“I will take them one of a city and two of a family and bring them to Zion.” What will you do with them? “I will give them pastors after my own heart, that shall feed them with knowledge and understanding;” that they may be acquainted with each other and with their various duties and responsibilities; that they may be instructed in the laws of the holy priesthood, and be prepared, eventually, to join their quorums in the celestial kingdom of God, and that the people may be instructed in the laws of life. Hence our marriage ceremonies, relationships and covenants are among the principles of the Gospel, and they are eternal; they existed with God in eternity, and will exist throughout all the eternities that are to come. God has shown us, in regard to our marital relations, that our wives are to be sealed to us for time and eternity. By what authority? By the authority of that holy Priesthood that administers on the earth and in heaven, and of which Jesus said that whatever they should bind on earth should be bound in heaven, and whatsoever they should loose on earth should be loosed in heaven; and these relationships that exist among us here are calculated to be consummated there, and men and women who understand their true position expect to enjoy each other's society and association there, as much as they do in their own homes here, just the same. And though they may sleep in the dust, yet, by the power of the resurrection, which you have heard of at this Conference, when the trump shall sound and the dead in Christ shall rise, they will burst the barriers of the tomb and come forth, each and all claiming their proper mates—those with whom they were associated on the earth—through eternity. This is the way we regard our marriage covenants, no matter what other people say about it, this is our business, and we shall do it and keep on doing forever and ever while God lets us live, because it is the word of God to us, and in spite of all the powers of earth and hell we shall never give way in regard to our marriage principles, for they are eternal; and so with regard to every other principle of the Gospel. This is why we have come together to help to build up the kingdom and government of God upon the earth. An earthly government if you please, and a heavenly government if you please. But no man nor set of men are capable of introducing principles of this kind unless God is with them and stands by them; and the first Elders of this Church never could have done what they did without the power of God being with them and accompanying them, and God's mercy being extended to them. And they could not today.
Men have strange ideas about the Mormons. Why? Because unless they are born of water they cannot see the kingdom of God; that is what Jesus said, and that is why people fail to understand us. But we, who have been baptized and enlightened by the Spirit of God, can see his kingdom. We know it, we comprehend it in part, but only in part. What is the result of all this Priesthood—the First Presidency, the Twelve, the Seventies, the High Priests, Elders, Bishops, Priests, Teachers and Deacons? All of them profess to be under the direction of the Almighty, and if they are not, they are living hypocrites before God and holy angels; for these are the covenants they have entered into, and these are the ordinations they have received.
We see something strange in connection with us as a people—the world follows us, and too many of us follow after the world. Can the world give you the light that you have received, and the Gospel and the hopes of heaven you have received, and the Priesthood you have received? And will you barter these things for a mess of pottage, and wallow in the filth, corruption, iniquity, and evils which abound in the world? What have we come here for? To worship God and to keep his commandments. And how is it with many of us? We forget, in many instances, our high calling's glorious hope, and we give way to follies, foibles, weakness, and iniquity, and we are governed more or less by covetousness, drunkenness, Sabbath breaking, and evils of various kinds. I sometimes see Elders of Israel bringing in loads of wood and loads of hay on the Sabbath day. Why, it is a burning shame in the eyes of God, holy angels, and all other intelligent beings. If such men had lived under the law of ancient Israel, they would have been put to death. Do you know that? Go and read it in your Bibles. What do you think about a lying Elder, a swearing High Priest, a Sabbath-breaking Seventy, and a covetous Saint? The souls of such men ought to be inspired with the light of revelation, and they ought to be living witnesses, epistles known and read of all men! Do you think you can live your religion, have the Spirit of God and obtain eternal life, and follow after these things? I tell you nay. It was said of olden time—“Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world; for if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” That is as true today as it was eighteen hundred years ago. It is proper that we, as Elders of Israel, and as heads of families, should reflect upon these things, for in many instances we are setting examples before our children that will tend to plunge them to perdition. Is this what we are gathered here for? I tell you nay, we are gathered here to serve God and keep his commandments, and to build up his Zion upon the earth.
After praying for years that God would inspire his servant Brigham with the Spirit of revelation, that he might be able to lead forth Israel in the path in which they should go, he tells us to be one, as Jesus told his disciples; he tells us to enter into a united order, that God has revealed it, that we are to be one in spiritual things, and one in temporal things, to be united together in all principles, as the Saints of God have been wherever they have existed. But our Elders can't see it, and many of our Bishop's can't see it, and many High Priests and Seventies can't see it. Why? Because the Bridegroom has tarried, and we have all slumbered and slept, and in many instances we have sinned against God, and our lamps have gone out, that is the matter, and we have lost the light, and intelligence, and revelation, and quickening influence of the living God. If we were living our religion and keeping the commandments of God, we should feel and act differently; we should then know of the doctrine. Jesus said—“If any man does my will he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself.”
What is the matter, you High Priests, you Seventies, you Bishops and others? You are not doing the will of God, and you do not know of the doctrine, that is the matter; and yet we are living in the blaze of Gospel day, surrounded by Prophets, Apostles, Patriarchs, and men of God. Is it not time that we humbled ourselves? Is it not time that we repented of our sins? Is it not time that we forsook our iniquities? Is it not time that we went back to the first principles, and began to consider our ways, and to walk in the light of truth? That is the way that I understand it, and hence the necessity of the Elders of Israel, the President of the Church, of the Twelve, and of all men who are inspired by the light of truth and the light of revelation, to stir up the members of the Church generally to good works. They see Israel wandering away after strange gods, forsaking the fountain of living water, and “hewing out to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water;” and hence the necessity of Apostles and Prophets for the perfecting of the Saints and the work of the ministry, and the edifying of the body of Christ. How is it among many of our quorums? Perfectly dead, dumb, and lifeless, without the light, and life, and power of the living God among them; and Elders of Israel, clothed upon with the Holy Priesthood, expect when they get through, to associate with the Gods in the eternal worlds. How is it? It is time for us to reflect and to think upon our situation, and to consider our ways and be wise. What do you want to do? Do you want to get up some excitement? No, we want to bring you back to the first principles of the Gospel of Christ. Do you want us to be baptized? Not particularly, unless, as stated by President Young, you repent of your sins and your iniquities and your lying, and your deceiving and your Sabbath breaking, and your covetousness and your hypocrisy, and repent of your speaking against the anointed of God; not unless you are willing to be governed by the Holy Priesthood in all things pertaining to this world and the next, pertaining to time and eternity. If you can't do this, don't be baptized; it will be better for you not to be.
Well, are all in this condition? No, no, there are more than “seven thousand who have not yet bowed the knee to Baal;” there are more than seven thousand who are seeking to do right, to live their religion, and to keep the commandments of God. I say, then, repent of your iniquities, do your first works, live your religion, keep the commandments of God; let every man do right and depart from evil. If any man has sinned against his brother, let him make it right honestly, and squarely, and truly, and not hypocritically; and let us do everything with honesty of heart, and seek to God, and humble ourselves before him, and live our religion, and God will pour blessings upon us that we shall not find room to contain. His Zion will rise and shine, and the glory of God will rest upon her, the principles of truth will spread on the right hand and on the left, and the mercy of God will be extended unto his people.
May God help us to fear him and keep his commandments, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Geo. Q. Cannon read the following names of Elders called to go on missions--
Sander Sanderson, Gunnison
Louis Anderson, Fountain Green
Rees Llewellyn, “
James Woodard, “
John N. Larson, Moroni
David Evans, Jr., Lehi
B. F. Taylor,
Elmer Taylor, Levan
Wm. Boyes, Jr, South Cottonwood
Richard Howe, “ “
Charles Foote, Nephi
John S. Hawkins, “
James Wrathall, Grantsville
Wm. M. Rydalch, “
Charles Stromberg, “
Swantz Neilson, “
Orvil Child, Ogden and Weber
Robert Holroid, “ “
Jas. M. Brown, “ “
Asa Garner, “ “
Wm. T. Baker, “ “
Alburn Allen, “ “
Wm. McGregor, “ “
George Marsh, Willard
Jno. Hubbard, “
Matthew Dalton, “
Isaac Zundel, Plymouth
Garret Woveston, “
Wm. Davis, Hooper City
Chas. Knudson, Brigham City
Alexander Hunsaker, “
Andrew S. Gibbons, Glendale
William H. Gibbons, “
Thales H. Haskell, Pinto
Ira Hatch, Kanab
Warren M. Johnson, Lee’s Ferry
John Parry, Jr., Cedar City
David Bullock, “
John C. Duncan, “
Samuel Leigh, “
Joseph G. Young
John Young, Jun, Kamas
John B. Milner, Provo
Sander Sanderson, Gunnison
Louis Anderson, Fountain Green
Rees Llewellyn, “
James Woodard, “
John N. Larson, Moroni
David Evans, Jr., Lehi
B. F. Taylor,
Elmer Taylor, Levan
Wm. Boyes, Jr, South Cottonwood
Richard Howe, “ “
Charles Foote, Nephi
John S. Hawkins, “
James Wrathall, Grantsville
Wm. M. Rydalch, “
Charles Stromberg, “
Swantz Neilson, “
Orvil Child, Ogden and Weber
Robert Holroid, “ “
Jas. M. Brown, “ “
Asa Garner, “ “
Wm. T. Baker, “ “
Alburn Allen, “ “
Wm. McGregor, “ “
George Marsh, Willard
Jno. Hubbard, “
Matthew Dalton, “
Isaac Zundel, Plymouth
Garret Woveston, “
Wm. Davis, Hooper City
Chas. Knudson, Brigham City
Alexander Hunsaker, “
Andrew S. Gibbons, Glendale
William H. Gibbons, “
Thales H. Haskell, Pinto
Ira Hatch, Kanab
Warren M. Johnson, Lee’s Ferry
John Parry, Jr., Cedar City
David Bullock, “
John C. Duncan, “
Samuel Leigh, “
Joseph G. Young
John Young, Jun, Kamas
John B. Milner, Provo
President B. Young
addressed the Conference. He then adjourned the Conference until the 6th of April, 1876, at 10 o’clock a.m., in the New Tabernacle.
Remarks
By Prest. Brigham Young
A few words to the Conference. We have been here now five days, and I feel as though I had hardly commenced to say to the Saints what I wish to. Still I have said a good many things, but we want teaching just like children, and to be directed in everything; and we could wish and we do pray God, our Father in heaven, in the name of his son Jesus Christ, to give to the Latter-day Saints willing hearts to be taught, and a firm determination to obey; and we do pray to the Latter-day Saints to yield themselves obedient to the Spirit of God. When we do this, we shall be one; but as long as we permit selfishness in our hearts, we shall be divided, we shall have individual and self-interest. But when we are actuated by the Spirit of the Lord our interest in general, it is for the whole people, it is for the kingdom of God upon the earth, it is to sanctify the people, to prepare for redeeming the nations of the earth, to assist, all that is in our power, our Saviour, our elder brother, who calls upon us to do our part; he has fulfilled his part, so far as the sacrifice is concerned, and he is still laboring, still toiling, still directing, to prepare the inhabitants of the earth that he may come and receive them, that he may come and reign in their midst, and that all may be redeemed who will receive the gospel, and who would have received it had they had an opportunity while living in the flesh, that all may be judged according to men in the flesh.
Now we pray you be reconciled to God; and the word of the Lord is, directly, to those who call themselves Latter-day Saints: Son or daughter, give me thy heart. Let us give our hearts and our affections to God our Father. Plead for his Spirit to guide us, and we will be one. A great deal wants to be said to the people with regard to those principles the observance of which would enable them to lead useful lives, lives for the advancement of the kingdom of God, spreading the gospel, and for performing the labor that is committed to us.
I want to say a few words upon that peculiar subject or doctrine about which so much is said, I mean celestial marriage. I want to tell the whole world that the Saints of God are under the necessity of doing just what they are doing in this capacity, in order to carry out the mind and will of God. Now I will tell you the reasons why, and I want you to carry them to the ends of the earth. When the earth was framed, made, and brought forth and man placed in the Garden of Eden, the earth was placed at his disposal, and man, not woman, is the King, lord and governor of the earth; and if men, since the fall, had done right, had kept the commandments of God, women would have been willing to go with them and be Saints; and at the present time there are thousands and millions of females who will receive the gospel whose husbands, fathers, and brothers will reject it, and it crowds the necessity of taking more wives than one upon the elders of Israel; for if they were not to do so, a great many women never could attain to the same exaltation hereafter; they would not have the glory of propagating their species and filling worlds and being associated with the Gods. But to prevent them being thus cut off hereafter, the Elders of Israel, who are obedient to the priesthood, are under the necessity of taking those that present themselves and who wish to be sealed to men. Now, O ye inhabitants of the earth, repent of your sins, become sons of God by adoption, by entering the Kingdom of God upon the earth, keep his commandments, glorify his name, sanctify yourselves before the Lord, and every one of you take a wife to save us this care and share with us in this blessing. We are willing any day for this; we do not want to deprive other men of their glory and their rights, but we are under the necessity of taking them, for it is the commandment of the Lord to us. Shall the daughters of Eve be placed in a position that they shall be deprived of the highest degree of exaltation hereafter? No, no, this is contrary to the law of heaven, to the will of God and the plan of salvation and exaltation, consequently this doctrine is introduced among the children of men, and it must be carried out and obeyed, and who shall hinder it, for the Lord Almighty has commanded it, and who says it shall not be so? This doctrine must be fulfilled, and the people must be saved who will be saved. The nations of the earth that have slept without the gospel must have an opportunity of receiving it, and they will be preached to, they have been preached to, and they are being preached to at the present time by just men made perfect, who have gone into the spirit world and are preaching to them, and if they will receive the gospel the living must officiate for them and bring them up, that they may have salvation, be numbered with the sanctified and be received into the presence of the Father and of the Son, every man in his order, and according to that which he is willing to receive and obey, for all is governed by law which must be sustained by law, and that that obeys the law will be justified by the law. I want you to hear, O ye Latter-day Saints, and all ye inhabitants of the earth who believe in Christ, you to whom this doctrine is committed, if ye reject it, ye will be damned, saith the Lord your God. And you, daughters of Israel, though your husbands may not do right in many things, and you may see that they do not walk as Saints, never contend against this doctrine, never speak against it, never have a feeling against it; and O ye of little faith, wives and children, if your fathers or husbands do not do right, have faith and ask God to remove them out of the way, and not stay to afflict you. I say, instead of contending and quarrelling and finding fault with them, and throwing every obstacle in their way, seek unto the Lord our God until you have faith that they will be removed out of your way. This is the course for you and me; we must live so that we do those things which are required of us. This is demanded at our hands. We must not neglect the great plan of salvation, but we must seek unto the Lord until we become united enough to make us mighty, strong and powerful, that Zion may present her glory in the eyes of all living, enter therein, officiate for the living and the dead, send the elders to the uttermost parts of the earth, for this gospel must be preached to all people before the end can come, this very gospel that we preach, as it has been told here this afternoon.
This is the only people on the earth that hold the priesthood of the Son of God and the keys thereof. What manner of men and women ought we to be? Trifle with God? Trifle with his holy commandments? Trifle with his ordinances? Trifle with his laws? No, be obedient to the laws, honor every precept that the Lord has given us by which we would live, and every ordinance; live by them, and sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, that we may become one. And if the question is asked, are we willing to hear and obey and give all that we have for the Kingdom? Yes, and your humble servant is as willing as any man or woman in this Kingdom, no man can be more willing than he is. Come and let us be one, and let us go to work and build up the Kingdom, and establish the Zion of God, no more to be removed. And if we obey the commandments of God we need have no fears of what earth and hell can do. Be kind, do good to all, and be sure to be humble, so that you will have that heart of repentance to forgive, a heart of charity and long-suffering one towards another, and toward those who persecute and hate you, for in many instances they are now as they were in the days when Jesus and Stephen were put to death, and we may say as they said—“Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” Let us have the mind that was in Christ.
Now we are about to close our Conference, and adjourn until the 6th of next April, at ten o’clock in the morning, in this place. And I feel to say, God bless you, you who have sat patiently to hear the speakers, God bless you. And I bless the brethren who have spoken in the name of the Lord; and I bless the different quorums in the church; and I feel to bless those who have made music for us, and the Saints, and the strangers all the earth over who are willing to live for, receive and appreciate the blessings of the Lord, for a multitude of the inhabitants of the earth are pure and honest in their hearts, and they want the truth. And I pray continually that the way may be opened, that they may have the opportunity of receiving the gospel and being gathered out. And I say, Bless you, my brethren and sisters, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
addressed the Conference. He then adjourned the Conference until the 6th of April, 1876, at 10 o’clock a.m., in the New Tabernacle.
Remarks
By Prest. Brigham Young
A few words to the Conference. We have been here now five days, and I feel as though I had hardly commenced to say to the Saints what I wish to. Still I have said a good many things, but we want teaching just like children, and to be directed in everything; and we could wish and we do pray God, our Father in heaven, in the name of his son Jesus Christ, to give to the Latter-day Saints willing hearts to be taught, and a firm determination to obey; and we do pray to the Latter-day Saints to yield themselves obedient to the Spirit of God. When we do this, we shall be one; but as long as we permit selfishness in our hearts, we shall be divided, we shall have individual and self-interest. But when we are actuated by the Spirit of the Lord our interest in general, it is for the whole people, it is for the kingdom of God upon the earth, it is to sanctify the people, to prepare for redeeming the nations of the earth, to assist, all that is in our power, our Saviour, our elder brother, who calls upon us to do our part; he has fulfilled his part, so far as the sacrifice is concerned, and he is still laboring, still toiling, still directing, to prepare the inhabitants of the earth that he may come and receive them, that he may come and reign in their midst, and that all may be redeemed who will receive the gospel, and who would have received it had they had an opportunity while living in the flesh, that all may be judged according to men in the flesh.
Now we pray you be reconciled to God; and the word of the Lord is, directly, to those who call themselves Latter-day Saints: Son or daughter, give me thy heart. Let us give our hearts and our affections to God our Father. Plead for his Spirit to guide us, and we will be one. A great deal wants to be said to the people with regard to those principles the observance of which would enable them to lead useful lives, lives for the advancement of the kingdom of God, spreading the gospel, and for performing the labor that is committed to us.
I want to say a few words upon that peculiar subject or doctrine about which so much is said, I mean celestial marriage. I want to tell the whole world that the Saints of God are under the necessity of doing just what they are doing in this capacity, in order to carry out the mind and will of God. Now I will tell you the reasons why, and I want you to carry them to the ends of the earth. When the earth was framed, made, and brought forth and man placed in the Garden of Eden, the earth was placed at his disposal, and man, not woman, is the King, lord and governor of the earth; and if men, since the fall, had done right, had kept the commandments of God, women would have been willing to go with them and be Saints; and at the present time there are thousands and millions of females who will receive the gospel whose husbands, fathers, and brothers will reject it, and it crowds the necessity of taking more wives than one upon the elders of Israel; for if they were not to do so, a great many women never could attain to the same exaltation hereafter; they would not have the glory of propagating their species and filling worlds and being associated with the Gods. But to prevent them being thus cut off hereafter, the Elders of Israel, who are obedient to the priesthood, are under the necessity of taking those that present themselves and who wish to be sealed to men. Now, O ye inhabitants of the earth, repent of your sins, become sons of God by adoption, by entering the Kingdom of God upon the earth, keep his commandments, glorify his name, sanctify yourselves before the Lord, and every one of you take a wife to save us this care and share with us in this blessing. We are willing any day for this; we do not want to deprive other men of their glory and their rights, but we are under the necessity of taking them, for it is the commandment of the Lord to us. Shall the daughters of Eve be placed in a position that they shall be deprived of the highest degree of exaltation hereafter? No, no, this is contrary to the law of heaven, to the will of God and the plan of salvation and exaltation, consequently this doctrine is introduced among the children of men, and it must be carried out and obeyed, and who shall hinder it, for the Lord Almighty has commanded it, and who says it shall not be so? This doctrine must be fulfilled, and the people must be saved who will be saved. The nations of the earth that have slept without the gospel must have an opportunity of receiving it, and they will be preached to, they have been preached to, and they are being preached to at the present time by just men made perfect, who have gone into the spirit world and are preaching to them, and if they will receive the gospel the living must officiate for them and bring them up, that they may have salvation, be numbered with the sanctified and be received into the presence of the Father and of the Son, every man in his order, and according to that which he is willing to receive and obey, for all is governed by law which must be sustained by law, and that that obeys the law will be justified by the law. I want you to hear, O ye Latter-day Saints, and all ye inhabitants of the earth who believe in Christ, you to whom this doctrine is committed, if ye reject it, ye will be damned, saith the Lord your God. And you, daughters of Israel, though your husbands may not do right in many things, and you may see that they do not walk as Saints, never contend against this doctrine, never speak against it, never have a feeling against it; and O ye of little faith, wives and children, if your fathers or husbands do not do right, have faith and ask God to remove them out of the way, and not stay to afflict you. I say, instead of contending and quarrelling and finding fault with them, and throwing every obstacle in their way, seek unto the Lord our God until you have faith that they will be removed out of your way. This is the course for you and me; we must live so that we do those things which are required of us. This is demanded at our hands. We must not neglect the great plan of salvation, but we must seek unto the Lord until we become united enough to make us mighty, strong and powerful, that Zion may present her glory in the eyes of all living, enter therein, officiate for the living and the dead, send the elders to the uttermost parts of the earth, for this gospel must be preached to all people before the end can come, this very gospel that we preach, as it has been told here this afternoon.
This is the only people on the earth that hold the priesthood of the Son of God and the keys thereof. What manner of men and women ought we to be? Trifle with God? Trifle with his holy commandments? Trifle with his ordinances? Trifle with his laws? No, be obedient to the laws, honor every precept that the Lord has given us by which we would live, and every ordinance; live by them, and sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, that we may become one. And if the question is asked, are we willing to hear and obey and give all that we have for the Kingdom? Yes, and your humble servant is as willing as any man or woman in this Kingdom, no man can be more willing than he is. Come and let us be one, and let us go to work and build up the Kingdom, and establish the Zion of God, no more to be removed. And if we obey the commandments of God we need have no fears of what earth and hell can do. Be kind, do good to all, and be sure to be humble, so that you will have that heart of repentance to forgive, a heart of charity and long-suffering one towards another, and toward those who persecute and hate you, for in many instances they are now as they were in the days when Jesus and Stephen were put to death, and we may say as they said—“Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” Let us have the mind that was in Christ.
Now we are about to close our Conference, and adjourn until the 6th of next April, at ten o’clock in the morning, in this place. And I feel to say, God bless you, you who have sat patiently to hear the speakers, God bless you. And I bless the brethren who have spoken in the name of the Lord; and I bless the different quorums in the church; and I feel to bless those who have made music for us, and the Saints, and the strangers all the earth over who are willing to live for, receive and appreciate the blessings of the Lord, for a multitude of the inhabitants of the earth are pure and honest in their hearts, and they want the truth. And I pray continually that the way may be opened, that they may have the opportunity of receiving the gospel and being gathered out. And I say, Bless you, my brethren and sisters, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Geo. Q. Cannon
announced that the High Priests who desired to be re-baptized, would meet at the Endowment House at 8 o’clock on Thursday next. He then read the rules of the United Order.
The choir sang an anthem—Comfort ye my people.
Benediction by Elder Erastus Snow.
Geo. Goddard,
Clerk of Conference
THE CONFERENCE.
The Conference, which closed on Sunday afternoon, was an unusually lengthy one, extending to five days. There was a large attendance all the week, which was increased to very large on Saturday and Sunday, there being no sitting room to spare in the body of the Tabernacle on Sunday afternoon and very little in the galleries. There was an excellent spirit in the Conference, and good instruction flowed copiously from the lips of the various speakers, who were more than ordinarily spirited in their remarks. The weather was superb, being uncommonly fine and quite warm every day of the conference. A finer time for Conference could hardly be, and one equally fine seldom occurs.
announced that the High Priests who desired to be re-baptized, would meet at the Endowment House at 8 o’clock on Thursday next. He then read the rules of the United Order.
The choir sang an anthem—Comfort ye my people.
Benediction by Elder Erastus Snow.
Geo. Goddard,
Clerk of Conference
THE CONFERENCE.
The Conference, which closed on Sunday afternoon, was an unusually lengthy one, extending to five days. There was a large attendance all the week, which was increased to very large on Saturday and Sunday, there being no sitting room to spare in the body of the Tabernacle on Sunday afternoon and very little in the galleries. There was an excellent spirit in the Conference, and good instruction flowed copiously from the lips of the various speakers, who were more than ordinarily spirited in their remarks. The weather was superb, being uncommonly fine and quite warm every day of the conference. A finer time for Conference could hardly be, and one equally fine seldom occurs.