April 1878
Cannon, George Q. "Ideas Held By the Latter-day Saints Winning Their Way—Territorial Prosperity—“Mormonism” Not Favored of the Government—Latter-Day Saints to Save the Government—Good Counsel on Many Points." Journal of Discourses. Volume 20. April 7, 1878: pg. 1-8.
Pratt, Orson. "Parable of the Vineyard—The Gradual Organization of the Church—Duties of Officers—Union in All Matters Advantageous and Inevitable—Political and Religious Growth." Journal of Discourses. Volume 19. April 7, 1878: pg. 330-334. Taylor, John. "No Man Can Direct the Kingdom of God—The Gospel Did not Originate With Joseph Smith or Brigham Young—The Saints Operating With God and the Angels—The Grand Organization of the Church—Other Institutions of Zion." Journal of Discourses. Volume 19. April 8, 1878: pg. 300-311. The Deseret News. "Forty-Eighth Annual Conference." April 10, 1878: pg. 148-149. Woodruff, Wilford. "The Blessings Realized By the Saints—Men Die, But Their Works Remain—a Day of Infidelity—the Coming Glory of Zion—Temple Building Again—Blessing at St. George." Journal of Discourses. Volume 19. April 6, 1878: pg. 295-300. Forty-Eighth Annual Conference Elder Wilford Woodruff The Blessings Realized By the Saints—Men Die, But Their Works Remain Elder Lorenzo Snow Elder Brigham Young, Jr. April 6th 2 p. m. Elder Franklin D. Richards Elder Erastus Snow Sunday, April 7th, 10 a.m. Elder Orson Pratt Parable of the Vineyard—The Gradual Organization of the Church Elder George Q. Cannon Territorial Prosperity--"Mormonism" Not Favored of the Government SUNDAY AFTERNOON, 2 p.m. President John Taylor No Man Can Direct the Kingdom of God MONDAY MORNING, April 8th Elder Joseph F. Smith Comment on Reports Afternoon, 2 p.m. Mission Calls Statistical Report Elder Geo. Q. Cannon Sustaining of the General Authorities Auditing Report |
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Forty-Eighth Annual Conference
In accordance with an adjournment made at the last semi-annual Conference, held in this Tabernacle, the Forty-Eighth General Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened at the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, this 6th day of April, 1878 at 10 a.m. President John Taylor presiding.
Present on the stand:
Of the Twelve Apostles—John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young [Jr.], Joseph F. Smith.
Counselors to the Twelve—John W. Young and D. H. Wells.
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 Salt Lake Stake of Zion—Angus M. Cannon, David O. Calder and Joseph E. Taylor.
Of the Presidency of the High Priests’ Quorum of this Stake of Zion—Elias Morris and Edward Snelgrove.
Of the Presidency of the Bishopric of the Church—Edward Hunter and L. W. Hardy.
The weather being unusually fine, there was a large representation from every Stake of Zion throughout the Territory.
Conference was called to order by President John Taylor.
The choir sang, Earth with her ten thousand flowers, Air with all its beams and showers.
Prayer by Elder Orson Pratt.
The choir sang, Softly beams the sacred dawning Of the great Millennial morn.
In accordance with an adjournment made at the last semi-annual Conference, held in this Tabernacle, the Forty-Eighth General Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened at the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, this 6th day of April, 1878 at 10 a.m. President John Taylor presiding.
Present on the stand:
Of the Twelve Apostles—John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young [Jr.], Joseph F. Smith.
Counselors to the Twelve—John W. Young and D. H. Wells.
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 Salt Lake Stake of Zion—Angus M. Cannon, David O. Calder and Joseph E. Taylor.
Of the Presidency of the High Priests’ Quorum of this Stake of Zion—Elias Morris and Edward Snelgrove.
Of the Presidency of the Bishopric of the Church—Edward Hunter and L. W. Hardy.
The weather being unusually fine, there was a large representation from every Stake of Zion throughout the Territory.
Conference was called to order by President John Taylor.
The choir sang, Earth with her ten thousand flowers, Air with all its beams and showers.
Prayer by Elder Orson Pratt.
The choir sang, Softly beams the sacred dawning Of the great Millennial morn.
Elder Wilford Woodruff
said the fact that we have a Zion, a church, a kingdom, and a gospel, should fill our hearts with thankfulness and gratitude that we are connected with such blessings, privileges and responsibilities in connection therewith. Reflecting back for nearly half a century, he was sensibly reminded of the few that now remain of the number who took an active and prominent part in laying the foundation of this great latter-day work. This church and kingdom was first organized through the ministration of holy angels from heaven, and had been governed since that time by revelation from God. The stick of Ephraim, which is the Book of Mormon, and the stick of Judah, which is the Bible, are standing testimonies to this generation of the truth of the work of God in these last days. The prophecies in each of these books, either have been, or will be, literally fulfilled to the very letter, notwithstanding the prevalence of the unbelief that so universally exists among this generation.
He then urged on the Latter-day Saints as a community to attend faithfully to the building of temples, that the ordinances of the gospel may be performed for those who are dead. God requires this at the hands of this people, and He will abundantly sustain and bless them in their efforts. Spoke of the inestimable blessings that God vouchsafed to the thousands and tens of thousands of Latter-day Saints when they first embraced the gospel in their own native lands, hence they are a people who have faith in God and will accomplish the great work entrusted to their care. And if we can only obtain eternal life we shall secure the greatest gift that God can bestow on his children. He closed by blessing the whole congregation, and giving a short sketch of his recent visit to St. George and his labor in the Temple.
said the fact that we have a Zion, a church, a kingdom, and a gospel, should fill our hearts with thankfulness and gratitude that we are connected with such blessings, privileges and responsibilities in connection therewith. Reflecting back for nearly half a century, he was sensibly reminded of the few that now remain of the number who took an active and prominent part in laying the foundation of this great latter-day work. This church and kingdom was first organized through the ministration of holy angels from heaven, and had been governed since that time by revelation from God. The stick of Ephraim, which is the Book of Mormon, and the stick of Judah, which is the Bible, are standing testimonies to this generation of the truth of the work of God in these last days. The prophecies in each of these books, either have been, or will be, literally fulfilled to the very letter, notwithstanding the prevalence of the unbelief that so universally exists among this generation.
He then urged on the Latter-day Saints as a community to attend faithfully to the building of temples, that the ordinances of the gospel may be performed for those who are dead. God requires this at the hands of this people, and He will abundantly sustain and bless them in their efforts. Spoke of the inestimable blessings that God vouchsafed to the thousands and tens of thousands of Latter-day Saints when they first embraced the gospel in their own native lands, hence they are a people who have faith in God and will accomplish the great work entrusted to their care. And if we can only obtain eternal life we shall secure the greatest gift that God can bestow on his children. He closed by blessing the whole congregation, and giving a short sketch of his recent visit to St. George and his labor in the Temple.
The Blessings Realized By the Saints—Men Die, But Their Works Remain—a Day of Infidelity—the Coming Glory of Zion—Temple Building Again—Blessing at St. George
Discourse by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered at the Annual Conference, Saturday Morning, April 6, 1878.
Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.
The very fact that we have a people, that we have a Zion, that we have a kingdom, that we have a Church and a Priesthood which is connected with the heavens, and which has power to move the heavens, and that we know that the heavens are communicating with us, directing the performance of this great latter-day work in which the Latter-day Saints are engaged, this very fact alone should fill our hearts with humility before the Lord our God, and it should continually remind us in our reflections and feelings of the responsibility we are under both to Him and to one another, and also of our dependence upon him for all the blessings we enjoy of a spiritual as well as a temporal nature.
The prayer offered up by Brother Pratt filled my mind with reflections of the past. Almost half a century has expired since the Prophet of God organized this Church upon the earth; but he and most of the men who labored prominently with him, in laying the foundation of this Church, are not with us today, their voices are hushed in death, they have finished their earthly work, having labored a series of years, and are now the other side of the veil. There are but two of the first Quorum of the Twelve with us in the flesh, and only two of the second Quorum. And this speaks in loud and forcible language, at least it does to me, that what we have to do in the interest of the great cause of salvation, we should perform it faithfully and diligently, making the very best use of the few remaining days we have yet to labor in the flesh.
While I refer to the absence of our brethren whose works remain and whose memories are cherished, I am fully conscious this morning that we who are left are not laboring alone, nor particularly for our own benefit, in a temporal point of view; but I realize that we are called and ordained of God to labor with him and the heavenly hosts, in the accomplishment of his purposes, the bringing forth and establishing of his Zion and Kingdom in the earth, and all that has been designed to be consummated in this the dispensation of the fullness of times. I also sense that when I and my brethren who still remain shall pass away, we shall go as others have done—we shall not take this world or any part of it with us. When Joseph Smith died, Nauvoo remained, he did not take it with him; when President Brigham Young died, Salt Lake City still remained, and when we join them we shall leave behind us the things of time, even as Jesus did himself who was the founder of the earth. This truth itself should incite the Latter-day Saints to reflection, it should indelibly impress upon our memories, the fact that we are working for something far greater, in real worth, than dollars and cents, houses and lands, and this world's goods. We have been gathered here in our present condition by the commandment and by the inspiration of the Lord, to continue the work that others commenced, and like them we must improve the time in doing what is required of us, working faithfully for God and his Kingdom while the day lasts.
I know, you know, and all Israel knows who have received the fullness of the everlasting Gospel in this last dispensation of God to man, that this is the work of God and not of man; we understand this perfectly. This Church and Kingdom has been organized by the administration of angels from God. The organization of this Church has been governed and controlled by revelation and upon no other principle, and what has already been accomplished since our existence, as a church, reveals the handiwork of God, for no man could have done what has been done unless God were with him. I rejoice to have the privilege of meeting with so many of my brethren and sisters, and that I have the privilege of bearing testimony to the divinity of this latter-day work, and of the principles of salvation revealed from God to man. The scene I behold this morning, and that which I behold in traveling through the extent of this Territory, speaks to me in very loud language that it is in fulfillment of the designs of God, and the revelations of Jesus Christ, which are recorded not only in the Bible, or on the stick of Judah, but also in the Book of Mormon, or stick of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim, as well as in the New Testament, and those revelations of modern date as those of ancient time, have been sealed with the blood of him who brought them forth, and this testimony therefore is in force to all the world. The Lord is not trifling with this generation, neither is he trifling with the Saints or with the world of mankind. During the last 48 years the Gospel has been preached to this generation, and this work will continue preaching to the Gentiles, until the Lord directs otherwise. The harvest is ripe, and he, the Lord, said, through the Prophet Joseph, he that would thrust in the sickle and reap was called of God. And some have continued to labor faithfully almost from the organization of this Church to the present time—almost half a century. I think it a great blessing and privilege to stand in the midst of the people of God in this age of the world to preach the Gospel of Jesus, and to labor to build up Zion, in obedience to his commandments, and to carry out his purposes in the day and age in which I live. We, as a whole people, should certainly exercise our faith in God and in the revelations, more especially those that immediately refer to our present condition; no matter where they are found, in any of the records of divine truth. The Lord has said unto us, through Joseph Smith, that it matters not whether he speaks unto the children of men by his own voice or by the ministrations of angels, or whether by the voice of his servants, that it is all the same, it is his word, his mind and his will to those to whomsoever it comes; and that although the heavens and the earth pass away, not one jot or tittle of his word shall remain unfulfilled.
I am a believer in this revelation and also in the records which are left for us to pursue, the inspired words of ancient as well as modern Prophets; and I also believe that they will have their fulfillment in the due time of the Lord, and that no power on earth can prevent it. and I do not believe there has been a revelation given from God to man, from the days of father Adam to this hour, but what has had its fulfillment, or will have, as fast as time will admit; and we are every day of our lives making history, and we are also fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah and many other ancient men of God, who were permitted in vision to see our day.
I know we live in a day of infidelity; I know that darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the minds of the people; I know that the Lord is angry with the wicked, and withholding his Spirit from the inhabitants of the earth; I know that light has come into the world, and that men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. But as a servant of the living God I will say that, notwithstanding all the unbelief of this wicked generation—the Christian, the Jewish and the pagan world, together with the combined efforts of the devil and wicked men, the fulfillment of the purposes of God in their times and seasons cannot be frustrated. These volumes of revelation are written on the pages of divine truth as in letters of fire, and they will have their fulfillment whether men believe or disbelieve, for they are the words of God.
It is a great work, an almighty work; it is a work different from that of any dispensation which God has given to man. When I look upon these Latter-day Saints I cannot help contemplating our calling and the labor required at our hands, and, when I am reminded of the account that we have all got to give before the judgment seat of God for the use we make of our own time and talents, and the gifts of God and the holy Priesthood, and the work of our God which has been committed to us, I feel to ask, What manner of men ought we to be. Our souls should be open to the building up of this Kingdom of God, and we should continue with increased diligence to rear towards heaven these Temples of our God, the foundation of which we have laid and commenced to build upon, so that all Israel who dwell here may enter into them and attend to the ordinances of the house of God. And I again say to the Latter-day Saints, this work the God of Israel requires at your hands. This requirement is not confined to the Twelve, the President of Stakes and the Bishops, but it is binding upon every man who has entered into covenant with the Lord our God, and I trust that one and all will willingly share this responsibility, and not for a moment permit this work to drag or appear laborious to perform.
I thank the Lord my God that my ears have been saluted with the sound of the Gospel, and that I have had the privilege of reading the revelations of God to us, and I know that, as an individual, I am held responsible for my duty to Him. We have a harvest to reap both sides of the veil. We have already done considerable work on this side, by way of preaching the Gospel to the nations of the earth, as commanded to do by God. Well do I remember the early experience of the first Elders of the Church, how we traveled afoot for thousands of miles, without purse or scrip, with valise in hand, and many times having to beg our bread, from door to door, in order to impart to the people a knowledge of the Gospel. Our garments are clear from the blood of this generation, and the testimony of these Elders will yet rise in judgment against this generation to condemn them. Notwithstanding the unbelief of the Christian world, and notwithstanding the warfare that may be waged against God and his Christ, Zion will be redeemed and his kingdom will be established never more to be thrown down. He holds the nations in his own hands, and he also has his Saints in his holy keeping, and he will continue to guide and direct and sustain his people, until they consummate all unto which they have been ordained.
Look at these valleys! When we came here in 1847, they were barren and desolate, without the least sign or mark of civilization. Today our Territory is filled with villages, towns and orchards, and the land is brought under a good state of cultivation, inhabited by a civilized race. Who are they? Sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty; they are a people that have been, as corn sifted in a sieve, among the Gentile nations, and called out by the proclamation of the everlasting Gospel. The Lord chose a boy from the humble walks of life, and endowed him with intelligence and power to commence this great work, and also to send forth others throughout this and to other nations bearing the message of life, and this people opened their hearts to receive it, and were baptized in water for remission of sins, and received the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost. They have been born of the Spirit, and they have seen the kingdom of God, and they have received ordination in order to enter into it. And when they enter into it, they have the spirit of it, and this makes the difference between the Latter-day Saints and the former-day Saints. No man can see the kingdom of God unless he is born of the Spirit; and this is wherein these Latter-day Saints have faith in God, and observe the signs of the times, and trust in him by this principle. Their prayers have ascended in the ears of the Lord of Sabbaoth, asking for things which they stood in need of; and he has answered our prayers and he has continued to sustain us until the present time. I ask, my brethren and sisters, will the Lord withhold now his hand, will he now close the heavens, withdrawing the power by which we have been upheld? No, he will not; his hand will continue over us if we be true to him and the laws he has given unto us. He has decreed before the foundation of this world, before the fall of man, that in the dispensation of the fulness of times, he would gather unto himself all things, both things which are in heaven and things on the earth. He is doing it, although the world generally does not know it.
Now, brethren and sisters, I do not wish myself to occupy all your time this morning, but I want to say to you that our position, our calling, our religion embrace the noble work of God, both temporal and spiritual, which rests upon us. We have to go forth with our hands and build up Zion. Zion will be built up; Zion will be redeemed, and she will arise and shine and put on her beautiful garments; she will break from off her neck her yoke, and she will be clothed with the glory of our God. Zion has been sold for naught; she will be redeemed without money; she will arise in her beauty and glory, as the Prophets of God have seen her; she will extend her borders and strengthen her stakes, and the God of heaven will comfort her, inasmuch as we will unite together to carry out his purposes.
I see nothing to tempt me or you to turn aside from the work given us to do. The Prophets have predicted that every weapon that is formed against Zion shall be broken, and this is in accordance with the revelations of God to us. He will continue this work and direct its onward course, but he expects us to continue to reclaim the waste places, and to continue to build Temples and also to impart of our substance. And I wish all Israel to understand that when we impart of our substance to build Temples that we do not do it to benefit the Lord at all, he had his endowments a long time before we were born, and also passed through his probation. We are his children, he wishes to exalt us back to his presence, and he knows very well we are obliged to walk in the same path and receive the same ordinances in order to inherit the same glory that surrounds him. And when we erect Temples in which to perform ordinances for the living and the dead, we do it to benefit our own blessed selves. I want salvation, I wish to inherit eternal life, I wish to get back to the presence of God from whence I came, when I have finished my probation in the flesh. And I believe that I desire nothing in this respect but what you also wish. Then I know that it requires my diligence and my constant labor and study, the little time I have to spend in the flesh, to do all I can to build up Zion and to establish the Church and the kingdom of God upon the earth. If we can only obtain eternal lives we shall attain to the greatest of God's gifts to man. Our Savior, our Heavenly Father, the angel Gabriel, Peter, James and John, Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, are not coming back to build our Temples for us, they are not coming to settle new country and open up new roads, plant out our trees, build up and beautify this land, this is our part of the work, and we have got it to do, working while we live, and when we go away we shall move on exactly as others have done, leaving our houses, our gardens, our flocks and herds, and all our earthly interests behind us. And when we go to the spirit world and our eyes are opened on eternal lives, we shall all marvel at the way in which our lives have been spent. There is a veil over all the earth, it is ordained of God that it should be so, and the fact of it being so will prove all of his children whether we will abide in his covenant even unto death or not. And those who are not willing to abide in their covenant unto the end for the building up of the kingdom of God, are not worthy of a place with God and with the Savior and those who have sealed their testimony with their blood.
I pray the Lord to bless you and all those who may attend this Conference, and also the brethren who may address you; and trust that our prayers may continually ascend into the ears of the Lord on behalf of Zion and her speedy redemption.
I will say before closing, that I have just returned from St. George, where I have been laboring in the Temple. The work of God continues there; as a general thing we have as much labor as the Temple is capable of sustaining. The spirit of the work does not lag. And I can safely add that just as quick as the people get the Temple done at this place, the way will be opened before them, they will feel the responsibility of attending to the work so essentially necessary to be done on behalf of those who have lived and passed away without having had the privilege of receiving the blessings of the Gospel; and as their time and attention will be occupied in this direction will they perceive the importance as well as the magnitude of the work. There are many today who stand in need of this assistance, and as I have often said, so say I again to this body of Latter-day Saints, that this labor devolves upon us, and God requires it at our hands. The Prophet Joseph may turn the keys in the spirit world, and he and those engaged with him may preach to the spirits in prison, but they cannot baptize them nor confirm them, nor administer offices of the endowment. Some person or persons dwelling in the flesh must attend to this part of the work for them; for it takes just as much to save a dead man who never received the Gospel as a living man. And all those who have passed away without the Gospel have the right to expect somebody in the flesh to perform this work for them, Amen.
Discourse by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered at the Annual Conference, Saturday Morning, April 6, 1878.
Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.
The very fact that we have a people, that we have a Zion, that we have a kingdom, that we have a Church and a Priesthood which is connected with the heavens, and which has power to move the heavens, and that we know that the heavens are communicating with us, directing the performance of this great latter-day work in which the Latter-day Saints are engaged, this very fact alone should fill our hearts with humility before the Lord our God, and it should continually remind us in our reflections and feelings of the responsibility we are under both to Him and to one another, and also of our dependence upon him for all the blessings we enjoy of a spiritual as well as a temporal nature.
The prayer offered up by Brother Pratt filled my mind with reflections of the past. Almost half a century has expired since the Prophet of God organized this Church upon the earth; but he and most of the men who labored prominently with him, in laying the foundation of this Church, are not with us today, their voices are hushed in death, they have finished their earthly work, having labored a series of years, and are now the other side of the veil. There are but two of the first Quorum of the Twelve with us in the flesh, and only two of the second Quorum. And this speaks in loud and forcible language, at least it does to me, that what we have to do in the interest of the great cause of salvation, we should perform it faithfully and diligently, making the very best use of the few remaining days we have yet to labor in the flesh.
While I refer to the absence of our brethren whose works remain and whose memories are cherished, I am fully conscious this morning that we who are left are not laboring alone, nor particularly for our own benefit, in a temporal point of view; but I realize that we are called and ordained of God to labor with him and the heavenly hosts, in the accomplishment of his purposes, the bringing forth and establishing of his Zion and Kingdom in the earth, and all that has been designed to be consummated in this the dispensation of the fullness of times. I also sense that when I and my brethren who still remain shall pass away, we shall go as others have done—we shall not take this world or any part of it with us. When Joseph Smith died, Nauvoo remained, he did not take it with him; when President Brigham Young died, Salt Lake City still remained, and when we join them we shall leave behind us the things of time, even as Jesus did himself who was the founder of the earth. This truth itself should incite the Latter-day Saints to reflection, it should indelibly impress upon our memories, the fact that we are working for something far greater, in real worth, than dollars and cents, houses and lands, and this world's goods. We have been gathered here in our present condition by the commandment and by the inspiration of the Lord, to continue the work that others commenced, and like them we must improve the time in doing what is required of us, working faithfully for God and his Kingdom while the day lasts.
I know, you know, and all Israel knows who have received the fullness of the everlasting Gospel in this last dispensation of God to man, that this is the work of God and not of man; we understand this perfectly. This Church and Kingdom has been organized by the administration of angels from God. The organization of this Church has been governed and controlled by revelation and upon no other principle, and what has already been accomplished since our existence, as a church, reveals the handiwork of God, for no man could have done what has been done unless God were with him. I rejoice to have the privilege of meeting with so many of my brethren and sisters, and that I have the privilege of bearing testimony to the divinity of this latter-day work, and of the principles of salvation revealed from God to man. The scene I behold this morning, and that which I behold in traveling through the extent of this Territory, speaks to me in very loud language that it is in fulfillment of the designs of God, and the revelations of Jesus Christ, which are recorded not only in the Bible, or on the stick of Judah, but also in the Book of Mormon, or stick of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim, as well as in the New Testament, and those revelations of modern date as those of ancient time, have been sealed with the blood of him who brought them forth, and this testimony therefore is in force to all the world. The Lord is not trifling with this generation, neither is he trifling with the Saints or with the world of mankind. During the last 48 years the Gospel has been preached to this generation, and this work will continue preaching to the Gentiles, until the Lord directs otherwise. The harvest is ripe, and he, the Lord, said, through the Prophet Joseph, he that would thrust in the sickle and reap was called of God. And some have continued to labor faithfully almost from the organization of this Church to the present time—almost half a century. I think it a great blessing and privilege to stand in the midst of the people of God in this age of the world to preach the Gospel of Jesus, and to labor to build up Zion, in obedience to his commandments, and to carry out his purposes in the day and age in which I live. We, as a whole people, should certainly exercise our faith in God and in the revelations, more especially those that immediately refer to our present condition; no matter where they are found, in any of the records of divine truth. The Lord has said unto us, through Joseph Smith, that it matters not whether he speaks unto the children of men by his own voice or by the ministrations of angels, or whether by the voice of his servants, that it is all the same, it is his word, his mind and his will to those to whomsoever it comes; and that although the heavens and the earth pass away, not one jot or tittle of his word shall remain unfulfilled.
I am a believer in this revelation and also in the records which are left for us to pursue, the inspired words of ancient as well as modern Prophets; and I also believe that they will have their fulfillment in the due time of the Lord, and that no power on earth can prevent it. and I do not believe there has been a revelation given from God to man, from the days of father Adam to this hour, but what has had its fulfillment, or will have, as fast as time will admit; and we are every day of our lives making history, and we are also fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah and many other ancient men of God, who were permitted in vision to see our day.
I know we live in a day of infidelity; I know that darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the minds of the people; I know that the Lord is angry with the wicked, and withholding his Spirit from the inhabitants of the earth; I know that light has come into the world, and that men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. But as a servant of the living God I will say that, notwithstanding all the unbelief of this wicked generation—the Christian, the Jewish and the pagan world, together with the combined efforts of the devil and wicked men, the fulfillment of the purposes of God in their times and seasons cannot be frustrated. These volumes of revelation are written on the pages of divine truth as in letters of fire, and they will have their fulfillment whether men believe or disbelieve, for they are the words of God.
It is a great work, an almighty work; it is a work different from that of any dispensation which God has given to man. When I look upon these Latter-day Saints I cannot help contemplating our calling and the labor required at our hands, and, when I am reminded of the account that we have all got to give before the judgment seat of God for the use we make of our own time and talents, and the gifts of God and the holy Priesthood, and the work of our God which has been committed to us, I feel to ask, What manner of men ought we to be. Our souls should be open to the building up of this Kingdom of God, and we should continue with increased diligence to rear towards heaven these Temples of our God, the foundation of which we have laid and commenced to build upon, so that all Israel who dwell here may enter into them and attend to the ordinances of the house of God. And I again say to the Latter-day Saints, this work the God of Israel requires at your hands. This requirement is not confined to the Twelve, the President of Stakes and the Bishops, but it is binding upon every man who has entered into covenant with the Lord our God, and I trust that one and all will willingly share this responsibility, and not for a moment permit this work to drag or appear laborious to perform.
I thank the Lord my God that my ears have been saluted with the sound of the Gospel, and that I have had the privilege of reading the revelations of God to us, and I know that, as an individual, I am held responsible for my duty to Him. We have a harvest to reap both sides of the veil. We have already done considerable work on this side, by way of preaching the Gospel to the nations of the earth, as commanded to do by God. Well do I remember the early experience of the first Elders of the Church, how we traveled afoot for thousands of miles, without purse or scrip, with valise in hand, and many times having to beg our bread, from door to door, in order to impart to the people a knowledge of the Gospel. Our garments are clear from the blood of this generation, and the testimony of these Elders will yet rise in judgment against this generation to condemn them. Notwithstanding the unbelief of the Christian world, and notwithstanding the warfare that may be waged against God and his Christ, Zion will be redeemed and his kingdom will be established never more to be thrown down. He holds the nations in his own hands, and he also has his Saints in his holy keeping, and he will continue to guide and direct and sustain his people, until they consummate all unto which they have been ordained.
Look at these valleys! When we came here in 1847, they were barren and desolate, without the least sign or mark of civilization. Today our Territory is filled with villages, towns and orchards, and the land is brought under a good state of cultivation, inhabited by a civilized race. Who are they? Sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty; they are a people that have been, as corn sifted in a sieve, among the Gentile nations, and called out by the proclamation of the everlasting Gospel. The Lord chose a boy from the humble walks of life, and endowed him with intelligence and power to commence this great work, and also to send forth others throughout this and to other nations bearing the message of life, and this people opened their hearts to receive it, and were baptized in water for remission of sins, and received the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost. They have been born of the Spirit, and they have seen the kingdom of God, and they have received ordination in order to enter into it. And when they enter into it, they have the spirit of it, and this makes the difference between the Latter-day Saints and the former-day Saints. No man can see the kingdom of God unless he is born of the Spirit; and this is wherein these Latter-day Saints have faith in God, and observe the signs of the times, and trust in him by this principle. Their prayers have ascended in the ears of the Lord of Sabbaoth, asking for things which they stood in need of; and he has answered our prayers and he has continued to sustain us until the present time. I ask, my brethren and sisters, will the Lord withhold now his hand, will he now close the heavens, withdrawing the power by which we have been upheld? No, he will not; his hand will continue over us if we be true to him and the laws he has given unto us. He has decreed before the foundation of this world, before the fall of man, that in the dispensation of the fulness of times, he would gather unto himself all things, both things which are in heaven and things on the earth. He is doing it, although the world generally does not know it.
Now, brethren and sisters, I do not wish myself to occupy all your time this morning, but I want to say to you that our position, our calling, our religion embrace the noble work of God, both temporal and spiritual, which rests upon us. We have to go forth with our hands and build up Zion. Zion will be built up; Zion will be redeemed, and she will arise and shine and put on her beautiful garments; she will break from off her neck her yoke, and she will be clothed with the glory of our God. Zion has been sold for naught; she will be redeemed without money; she will arise in her beauty and glory, as the Prophets of God have seen her; she will extend her borders and strengthen her stakes, and the God of heaven will comfort her, inasmuch as we will unite together to carry out his purposes.
I see nothing to tempt me or you to turn aside from the work given us to do. The Prophets have predicted that every weapon that is formed against Zion shall be broken, and this is in accordance with the revelations of God to us. He will continue this work and direct its onward course, but he expects us to continue to reclaim the waste places, and to continue to build Temples and also to impart of our substance. And I wish all Israel to understand that when we impart of our substance to build Temples that we do not do it to benefit the Lord at all, he had his endowments a long time before we were born, and also passed through his probation. We are his children, he wishes to exalt us back to his presence, and he knows very well we are obliged to walk in the same path and receive the same ordinances in order to inherit the same glory that surrounds him. And when we erect Temples in which to perform ordinances for the living and the dead, we do it to benefit our own blessed selves. I want salvation, I wish to inherit eternal life, I wish to get back to the presence of God from whence I came, when I have finished my probation in the flesh. And I believe that I desire nothing in this respect but what you also wish. Then I know that it requires my diligence and my constant labor and study, the little time I have to spend in the flesh, to do all I can to build up Zion and to establish the Church and the kingdom of God upon the earth. If we can only obtain eternal lives we shall attain to the greatest of God's gifts to man. Our Savior, our Heavenly Father, the angel Gabriel, Peter, James and John, Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, are not coming back to build our Temples for us, they are not coming to settle new country and open up new roads, plant out our trees, build up and beautify this land, this is our part of the work, and we have got it to do, working while we live, and when we go away we shall move on exactly as others have done, leaving our houses, our gardens, our flocks and herds, and all our earthly interests behind us. And when we go to the spirit world and our eyes are opened on eternal lives, we shall all marvel at the way in which our lives have been spent. There is a veil over all the earth, it is ordained of God that it should be so, and the fact of it being so will prove all of his children whether we will abide in his covenant even unto death or not. And those who are not willing to abide in their covenant unto the end for the building up of the kingdom of God, are not worthy of a place with God and with the Savior and those who have sealed their testimony with their blood.
I pray the Lord to bless you and all those who may attend this Conference, and also the brethren who may address you; and trust that our prayers may continually ascend into the ears of the Lord on behalf of Zion and her speedy redemption.
I will say before closing, that I have just returned from St. George, where I have been laboring in the Temple. The work of God continues there; as a general thing we have as much labor as the Temple is capable of sustaining. The spirit of the work does not lag. And I can safely add that just as quick as the people get the Temple done at this place, the way will be opened before them, they will feel the responsibility of attending to the work so essentially necessary to be done on behalf of those who have lived and passed away without having had the privilege of receiving the blessings of the Gospel; and as their time and attention will be occupied in this direction will they perceive the importance as well as the magnitude of the work. There are many today who stand in need of this assistance, and as I have often said, so say I again to this body of Latter-day Saints, that this labor devolves upon us, and God requires it at our hands. The Prophet Joseph may turn the keys in the spirit world, and he and those engaged with him may preach to the spirits in prison, but they cannot baptize them nor confirm them, nor administer offices of the endowment. Some person or persons dwelling in the flesh must attend to this part of the work for them; for it takes just as much to save a dead man who never received the Gospel as a living man. And all those who have passed away without the Gospel have the right to expect somebody in the flesh to perform this work for them, Amen.
Elder Lorenzo Snow
next addressed the conference. We are dependent for information upon the Holy Ghost. We may be a little neglectful in availing ourselves of the privileges within our reach when we thus meet together. The gospel opens up to our minds a great and glorious future of exaltations to those who are faithful and abide the conditions, and perform the works necessary under the spirit of revelation, which can only be acquired by a life of purity and devotion to the things of God. A knowledge of God and his Son Jesus Christ is salvation. And the labor imposed upon us by the gospel is of a two fold nature—temporal and spiritual. Such is the character of this dispensation, and the blending of the two together embraces every duty that constitutes the life of a Latter-day Saint. These labors should be characterized by union, according to the revelations of heaven, so that our efforts may be in accordance with the mind and will of God.
No greater joy can be had by the Latter-day Saints, than by acting upon the principles of the United Order, as revealed in the Doctrine and Covenants, and under the guidance of the servants of God who have been appointed under our recent organization, who if they are humble and filled with the Holy Ghost will labor for the good of the people. If the Latter-day Saints ever become a greater and more mighty people than the rest of the nations of the earth, it will not be on account of superior numbers, but on account of our superior principles, and purity of life made manifest day by day. No men occupying a prominence among the Saints can enjoy the confidence and esteem of those over whom they preside, unless their self-sacrificing and unselfish spirit is made manifest for the good of the people. Many are now needed in the various settlements of the Saints, to lead out in the interests of the people, to open up and establish home industries, build school houses, meeting houses, &c. There is a stream of constant enjoyment in laboring for the interest of others, and accomplishing the great work that God has placed upon us.
next addressed the conference. We are dependent for information upon the Holy Ghost. We may be a little neglectful in availing ourselves of the privileges within our reach when we thus meet together. The gospel opens up to our minds a great and glorious future of exaltations to those who are faithful and abide the conditions, and perform the works necessary under the spirit of revelation, which can only be acquired by a life of purity and devotion to the things of God. A knowledge of God and his Son Jesus Christ is salvation. And the labor imposed upon us by the gospel is of a two fold nature—temporal and spiritual. Such is the character of this dispensation, and the blending of the two together embraces every duty that constitutes the life of a Latter-day Saint. These labors should be characterized by union, according to the revelations of heaven, so that our efforts may be in accordance with the mind and will of God.
No greater joy can be had by the Latter-day Saints, than by acting upon the principles of the United Order, as revealed in the Doctrine and Covenants, and under the guidance of the servants of God who have been appointed under our recent organization, who if they are humble and filled with the Holy Ghost will labor for the good of the people. If the Latter-day Saints ever become a greater and more mighty people than the rest of the nations of the earth, it will not be on account of superior numbers, but on account of our superior principles, and purity of life made manifest day by day. No men occupying a prominence among the Saints can enjoy the confidence and esteem of those over whom they preside, unless their self-sacrificing and unselfish spirit is made manifest for the good of the people. Many are now needed in the various settlements of the Saints, to lead out in the interests of the people, to open up and establish home industries, build school houses, meeting houses, &c. There is a stream of constant enjoyment in laboring for the interest of others, and accomplishing the great work that God has placed upon us.
Elder B. Young [Jr.]
bore testimony to the truth. He was satisfied that God was blessing this people notwithstanding our weaknesses. He regretted that infidelity was existing among some of our youth, and wished that a greater bond of union was in our midst. He deprecated the principle of aggrandisement, to the injury of the people. After a few brief and energetic remarks of a practical application, he prayed that God would bless the Saints during this Conference.
The choir sang the anthem—Resound his Praise.
Conference adjourned till two o’clock.
Benediction by Counselor D. H. Wells.
bore testimony to the truth. He was satisfied that God was blessing this people notwithstanding our weaknesses. He regretted that infidelity was existing among some of our youth, and wished that a greater bond of union was in our midst. He deprecated the principle of aggrandisement, to the injury of the people. After a few brief and energetic remarks of a practical application, he prayed that God would bless the Saints during this Conference.
The choir sang the anthem—Resound his Praise.
Conference adjourned till two o’clock.
Benediction by Counselor D. H. Wells.
April 6th 2 p. m.
The choir sang, Come all ye saints who dwell on earth Your cheerful voices raise.
Prayer by Elder George Q. Cannon.
The choir sang, Hark, listen to the trumpeters, They sound to volunteers.
The choir sang, Come all ye saints who dwell on earth Your cheerful voices raise.
Prayer by Elder George Q. Cannon.
The choir sang, Hark, listen to the trumpeters, They sound to volunteers.
Elder Franklin D. Richards
said he shared in joy and gratitude with all true hearted saints for the common blessings that surrounded us to-day. We are not afflicted with the sound of war in our midst or on our border, neither are we afflicted with a scantiness of daily bread, as in some parts of the earth; none of our people have died from want of the common necessaries of life.
He then traced the benefits that thousands in the Territory had realized through our Perpetual Emigration Fund, and those who have been most faithful in paying up their indebtedness to the fund, and the most prompt in paying their tithing, have been among the most blest and prospered of the whole community. In regard to the laws of the land, there are no people on the face of the earth who can and do more sacredly observe the laws of our country than the Latter-day Saints; and no person could point out a single infraction until the Congress of the United States passed a law, making penal the observance of a commandment which God had given to His people; hence we were driven to decide whom we should obey, God or man, and we most unequivocally preferred to obey God rather than man, and leave the issue in His hands. Notwithstanding the observance of this law, it has cost some of the best blood on the earth. We are still determined to make God our friend, and trust Him in the future as we have in the past.
He then spoke of the trouble and calamities that hang over this nation unless they repent of their sins and political chicanery, and seek after the favor and blessing of God by doing right and sustaining correct principles and practices.
Spoke of the goodly proportion of our population that consisted of children, being one-third at least of our entire people. How important, therefore, it is that they should be taught in their early days to fear God and keep His commandments, that they may be able to resist the evil influences which they will have sooner or later to contend with. Union was next dwelt upon, as one of the vital principles of our holy religion, and which should be thoroughly inculcated in the minds of the young.
He was pleased to find from yesterday’s meeting that a brighter feeling was made manifest towards our Co-operative Institution. While many large concerns had been broken up through the pressure of the times, this institution had retained its existence, and announced yesterday a dividend of 2 ½ per cent. He trusted that every one’s confidence towards that institution would increase, and the whole people sustain the same, that it may continue to be a power and blessing in our midst.
said he shared in joy and gratitude with all true hearted saints for the common blessings that surrounded us to-day. We are not afflicted with the sound of war in our midst or on our border, neither are we afflicted with a scantiness of daily bread, as in some parts of the earth; none of our people have died from want of the common necessaries of life.
He then traced the benefits that thousands in the Territory had realized through our Perpetual Emigration Fund, and those who have been most faithful in paying up their indebtedness to the fund, and the most prompt in paying their tithing, have been among the most blest and prospered of the whole community. In regard to the laws of the land, there are no people on the face of the earth who can and do more sacredly observe the laws of our country than the Latter-day Saints; and no person could point out a single infraction until the Congress of the United States passed a law, making penal the observance of a commandment which God had given to His people; hence we were driven to decide whom we should obey, God or man, and we most unequivocally preferred to obey God rather than man, and leave the issue in His hands. Notwithstanding the observance of this law, it has cost some of the best blood on the earth. We are still determined to make God our friend, and trust Him in the future as we have in the past.
He then spoke of the trouble and calamities that hang over this nation unless they repent of their sins and political chicanery, and seek after the favor and blessing of God by doing right and sustaining correct principles and practices.
Spoke of the goodly proportion of our population that consisted of children, being one-third at least of our entire people. How important, therefore, it is that they should be taught in their early days to fear God and keep His commandments, that they may be able to resist the evil influences which they will have sooner or later to contend with. Union was next dwelt upon, as one of the vital principles of our holy religion, and which should be thoroughly inculcated in the minds of the young.
He was pleased to find from yesterday’s meeting that a brighter feeling was made manifest towards our Co-operative Institution. While many large concerns had been broken up through the pressure of the times, this institution had retained its existence, and announced yesterday a dividend of 2 ½ per cent. He trusted that every one’s confidence towards that institution would increase, and the whole people sustain the same, that it may continue to be a power and blessing in our midst.
Elder Erastus Snow
next addressed the congregation. Of all people that dwell on the face of the earth, none are under greater obligations to God than the Latter-day Saints. We have representatives here from nearly every nation under heaven, and we see the various races in this Territory mingling together with their various phases and characteristics. It is not a new gospel or new Christianity that God has revealed, but a fuller development of what existed before. The Christian people of Europe and America have so widely strayed from the simple principles of Christianity as taught in the primitive age, that as a consequence, infidelity stalks through the land. They have lost the keys of power, and it became necessary that God should again reveal those keys in these the latter days. The idea of God having neither body, parts nor passions was without either reason or Scripture to sustain it. Godliness is not mystery, except to the ignorant; all is simple and easy to comprehend to the mind that is enlightened by the spirit of God. All things are governed by law and are comparatively simple when understood. The crude ores in the mountains, after being manipulated by the science of chemistry, are converted into useful articles of daily life. Our spirits are the express image of our tabernacles, and, united together, the Scriptures inform us, are the ex-duties of our religion, that we may become a kingdom of priests, and entitled to all the blessings and glories that belong to the Holy Priesthood. Our course is onward; let us take courage, and do right, and when the reign of righteousness sets in, whatever glory and happiness we may expect we shall enjoy, if we only continue to faithfully keep the commandments of God.
The choir sang an anthem, Sing unto God.
Conference was adjourned until 10 o’clock Sunday morning.
Benediction by Elder C. C. Rich.
next addressed the congregation. Of all people that dwell on the face of the earth, none are under greater obligations to God than the Latter-day Saints. We have representatives here from nearly every nation under heaven, and we see the various races in this Territory mingling together with their various phases and characteristics. It is not a new gospel or new Christianity that God has revealed, but a fuller development of what existed before. The Christian people of Europe and America have so widely strayed from the simple principles of Christianity as taught in the primitive age, that as a consequence, infidelity stalks through the land. They have lost the keys of power, and it became necessary that God should again reveal those keys in these the latter days. The idea of God having neither body, parts nor passions was without either reason or Scripture to sustain it. Godliness is not mystery, except to the ignorant; all is simple and easy to comprehend to the mind that is enlightened by the spirit of God. All things are governed by law and are comparatively simple when understood. The crude ores in the mountains, after being manipulated by the science of chemistry, are converted into useful articles of daily life. Our spirits are the express image of our tabernacles, and, united together, the Scriptures inform us, are the ex-duties of our religion, that we may become a kingdom of priests, and entitled to all the blessings and glories that belong to the Holy Priesthood. Our course is onward; let us take courage, and do right, and when the reign of righteousness sets in, whatever glory and happiness we may expect we shall enjoy, if we only continue to faithfully keep the commandments of God.
The choir sang an anthem, Sing unto God.
Conference was adjourned until 10 o’clock Sunday morning.
Benediction by Elder C. C. Rich.
SECOND DAY.
Sunday, April 7th, 10 a.m.
Conference was called to order by President John Taylor.
The choir sang: The rising sun has chased the night, And brought again the cheerful light.
Prayer by Elder Brigham Young [Jr.].
The choir sang: To Him who made the world, The sun, the moon, the stars.
Sunday, April 7th, 10 a.m.
Conference was called to order by President John Taylor.
The choir sang: The rising sun has chased the night, And brought again the cheerful light.
Prayer by Elder Brigham Young [Jr.].
The choir sang: To Him who made the world, The sun, the moon, the stars.
Elder Orson Pratt
read an extract from the Book of Mormon on the subject of “pruning the vineyard for the last time.” The servant spoken of in that parable was the great prophet and seer of these last days, Joseph Smith. The words of the parable were the words of an ancient prophet who lived on this continent. Forty-eight years ago, yesterday, the church of Christ was organized with six members, and since that period, God has revealed from time to time, a more perfect organization, as the number of its members increased and the necessities of their condition required. Apostles, High Priests, Seventies, Bishops, &c., were ordained to regulate the temporal and spiritual affairs of the church, that no division of feeling or sentiment should exist, but that union should characterize the whole body politic.
He then defined the duties of the different orders of priesthood, and the responsibilities that attach to their particular position.
This more perfect organization as it now exists, is to fill the purposes and designs of the Almighty, and to bring the Church into one compact body, where union in every sense of the word may abound in the midst of the Saints of the Most High. The union among the people of God in these mountains, as contemplated by our present organization, infringes on no law, and could not consistently be found fault with by any of the inhabitants of this continent. There is no subject, whether of a spiritual, political, or any other nature, in which union of interest and purpose will not prove a great blessing among the people. That is what we are aiming after. He wished the whole world to understand our true position, for we are striving to become one in politics as well as in religion, having the good of the whole people in view, and using no other means but what is strictly constitutional.
read an extract from the Book of Mormon on the subject of “pruning the vineyard for the last time.” The servant spoken of in that parable was the great prophet and seer of these last days, Joseph Smith. The words of the parable were the words of an ancient prophet who lived on this continent. Forty-eight years ago, yesterday, the church of Christ was organized with six members, and since that period, God has revealed from time to time, a more perfect organization, as the number of its members increased and the necessities of their condition required. Apostles, High Priests, Seventies, Bishops, &c., were ordained to regulate the temporal and spiritual affairs of the church, that no division of feeling or sentiment should exist, but that union should characterize the whole body politic.
He then defined the duties of the different orders of priesthood, and the responsibilities that attach to their particular position.
This more perfect organization as it now exists, is to fill the purposes and designs of the Almighty, and to bring the Church into one compact body, where union in every sense of the word may abound in the midst of the Saints of the Most High. The union among the people of God in these mountains, as contemplated by our present organization, infringes on no law, and could not consistently be found fault with by any of the inhabitants of this continent. There is no subject, whether of a spiritual, political, or any other nature, in which union of interest and purpose will not prove a great blessing among the people. That is what we are aiming after. He wished the whole world to understand our true position, for we are striving to become one in politics as well as in religion, having the good of the whole people in view, and using no other means but what is strictly constitutional.
Parable of the Vineyard—The Gradual Organization of the Church—Duties of Officers—Union in All Matters Advantageous and Inevitable—Political and Religious Growth
Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered at the Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, April 7, 1878.
Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.
I will call the attention of this large assembly to the latter part of a very important and extensive parable, recorded in the Book of Mormon.
The speaker read from the Book of Mormon, commencing at the 128th page.
I have read these words of the ancient prophet, to whom it seemed good unto the Lord to reveal his purposes and designs in regard to the inhabitants of this earth, by means of the trees of the vineyard, calling the house of Israel, the literal descendants of Israel, the natural trees of his vineyard; and the other nations, whom we term Gentiles, as the wild branches of the wild olive tree.
I have read only a small portion of the latter part of this extensive parable, that part which more particularly relates to the great work which we, as Latter-day Saints, are now performing in the earth.
Forty-eight years ago, yesterday, after this Book had been printed making known this great parable to the people, the Church arose, consisting of only six individuals. From that time until the present, as the Church has grown and extended its borders, the Lord through his servants, has been organizing his Priesthood. We speak of the Church being organized on the 6th day of April 1830, and of it consisting then of only six members. No one could expect that with that very small number there could be a very perfect organization. But so far as there were individuals introduced into the Church, on the day of its organization, the Lord gave a revelation concerning their duty. And after the Church had extended forth its borders, and a few hundred individuals were gathered unto it, in the year that it was organized, a still further organization took place; and it was but a few years until the Church stood forth in a more perfect organization than it had on the day of its foundation. Twelve men were called to be Apostles according to a certain prediction given some ten months before the organization of the Church. About this same period of time the first seventy elders were chosen, which perfected the organization still more. And also in those early days the High Priesthood, after the order of Melchizedek, was made manifest more fully and men were ordained to that order of priesthood. In those early days also the Lesser Priesthood, or the priesthood after the order of Aaron was made manifest more perfectly in the eyes of the people, bishops were called and their duties defined, requiring them to manage, in conjunction with the higher authorities, the temporal concerns of the Church. This organization continued to increase and grow, and become more and more perfect, until finally, temples were built to the name of the Lord, when the duties of these various councils of priesthood were, in a greater degree, made manifest before the people. The teachings were many that were imparted in those days, and a union began to exist among the Saints of God, such as had not been known among the inhabitants of the earth for many long generations.
After the completion of the Temple at Kirtland, and this more perfect organization had been established, the Saints of God began to increase and multiply to that extent that the Lord saw proper to place them in a country and land by themselves, where they could have a chance to enlarge their borders, to lengthen the cords of their habitation, to break forth on the left and on the right, and where there might be a majority in the land, and where they might have the privilege of serving the Lord their God, according to the dictates of their conscience.
Thus you see, our Heavenly Father has been at work among this people, and with this people, for almost one half of a century, bringing together, gathering the branches of the wild olive tree from the distant nations of the earth and grafting them in and making them, as it were, one body, on this great western hemisphere.
You may ask, what great purpose the Lord has in thus organizing his people, year after year. The answer is, to accomplish a very important object, namely to make them like unto one body, that there may be a most perfect union from the highest officer in the Church down to the lowest member; that there may be no disunion, no division of feeling or sentiment in regard to doctrine or ordinances or in any of the principles pertaining to the Gospel of the Son of God; and that there may be no division in our political ideas and sentiments, but that a perfect oneness may exist in the heart of every male and female, from the gray-headed old man down to the little child, that one feeling and one spirit may pervade the whole body, that they may be equal and bring forth the natural fruit again. That is the object; that is the reason why you behold the organization such as now exists throughout all these mountain regions. When has the Church, from its commencement exhibited what we now behold in all parts of our land—stakes of Zion having jurisdiction over every branch in the Church in these mountains, and over every family and every individual. And every one of these stakes has its presiding officer with his two counselors; and is also composed of numbers of wards over which bishops, with their counselors are appointed to preside.
What is the duty of the presiding officers of these stakes? To see that all things under their watchcare are conducted according to the order of God, to look to the spiritual concerns first, that pertain to their stake, and to see that the high priests, the seventies, the elders, the priests, the teachers, and the deacons are all doing their respective duties, according to the requirements of the Most High; and then they act as the presiding authority and power over the bishops that may be in the several wards of their stakes, seeing also that they are in the performance of their duty, in relation to temporal matters. And then all the other authorities under these presiding officers of stakes are to see that those, under their immediate watchcare, are performing their duties, according to the laws of heaven which have been revealed for our guidance.
When all things are in proper working order, and when every bishop is living his religion, and has the spirit of his bishopric resting upon him, and he fully understands the nature of his duties, everything in regard to temporal affairs will move like clockwork, and there will be no running down, as it were, of the clock, no deranging of the machinery, but every part will fulfil that which is required of it in relation to its particular calling, and all these various quorums of priesthood will strive to stir up the people to a oneness in regard to spiritual things; thus we keep spiritual and temporal things running parallel to each other, connected more or less together. So that the whole church becomes like unto one body, they become equal. “And the root, and the top thereof is equal.” Indicating, when these things are carried out strictly, that the branches will not have power to overrun and grow beyond the strength of the root; neither would the roots have power to outgrow the branches. The husbandmen trimmed up the trees of the vineyard, and they pruned them; or in other words, the servants of the Lord teach the people, and instruct them, so that they may become one in all things. What! become one in our views in regard to politics? Why not? One may say, If you undertake to carry out such views of union in regard to political affairs, you will all vote the same ticket; there will be no division nor disunion throughout all the Church organization, and would not such a state of things be antagonistic to the genius of our American government? Wherein, I would ask, would it be contrary? Is there any principle connected with our government that would forbid us, as a people, becoming so united? Does the constitution of our country in any one particular prohibit American citizens from uniting and casting a solid vote in favor of any eligible candidate who may be regularly nominated, say for the position of President of the United States? I know of no such restriction; there is none.
Supposing, then, that all the states of this union at the next general election, should, without one dissenting voice, conclude in their own minds to vote for one and the same individual, making him our president, what part or portion of the Constitution of our country would be violated by such a united effort? None whatever; because it is the privilege of the people to unite or divide as they may choose, there being no compulsion one way or the other.
Which is calculated to produce the greatest good, union throughout all the states, concentrated not only upon the president, but upon the governors, and all of our political officers, or disunion and party strife. Everybody would certainly agree with me in saying that union in such matters would be the best calculated to promote the interest and common good of our government and people; that to be without a single dissenting voice in our election affairs from Maine to Texas, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, all concentrating themselves upon the officers they want, and then vote for them unanimously would be carrying out the form of the American government in its perfection. But our fathers, who framed that Great instrument of nationality—that instrument by which all classes of people are protected in their rights—provided for disunion, if the people should feel disposed to introduce it. Showing that they were permitted to dissent and vote for as many candidates as they may choose to nominate.
But in the Church of the living God, according to the oneness required by the Lord of heaven, we should act unitedly in all things. Some may have an idea that if we are only united about some of the spiritual things of the kingdom that is all the union needed among us. I do not know of any one principle, or subject, connected with the building up and advancement of the kingdom of God upon the earth, upon which we have a right to be disunited. The law of God is of such a nature, when complied with strictly, as to unite us not only in the first principles of the Gospel—faith, repentance and baptism, and confirmation, and upon doctrine and spiritual things generally, but also in regard to the cultivation of the earth, the raising of flocks and herds, manufacturing, and all kinds of mechanical business, and also with regard to our political affairs and everything with which we have to do here in this temporal probation. There are some great political parties very much united, and how diligently they strive to make themselves still more united. The Republican and Democratic parties vie with each other in their efforts to elicit the sympathy of a majority of the people, in order to become the dominant party. Hence the great number of political agents, that go forth throughout the country stump-speeching, as well as other means that are resorted to for this purpose. Is there anything in the Constitution of our country prohibiting them from striving to bring about disunion? No, not in the least. Neither is there anything written that would forbid the Methodists, the Baptists, the Presbyterians, or any other religious society throughout the confines of this great republic, from striving with all their might to vote with one heart and one mind, both in regard to their political and their church affairs.
That is what we are striving to do. We are laboring in faith and with much assurance, that the day will dawn upon Israel, when this people will attain to a perfect oneness, so much so that not a dissenting voice will be heard or raised, in regard to things religious or secular, from one end of the Territory to the other.
This union exists in the eternal worlds. If you should dwell there for the period of ten millions of ages, you would see no dissension among those who dwell in yonder celestial worlds. If the affairs of a celestial world were divided into different departments, calling one political and another religious, and so on, you would find the whole body, both religious and political, vote for the same ticket, if I may be allowed the expression; they would be agreed, of one heart and one mind. This oneness among the people of God must be attained in this world, in order that His purposes may be brought about, respecting man and the earth on which he lives.
How much reason have we to rejoice that our fathers, a little over a century ago, began to consider the importance of being free and untrammeled in regard to their religious ideas and opinions; and that by having their feelings so deeply impressed upon their minds, they were enabled to get out that great instrument of liberty which guarantees to this great nation today civil, political and religious rights.
Our enemies would try to frighten us, by representing before the Congress of the United States there is a union among those Latter-day Saints, and that all vote one way. Supposing we admit this to be true, ought not Congress to rejoice exceedingly to think that there is one portion of the people under the flag of this great and glorious republic, that have strength of mind sufficient to be united on politics. I presume the Republican party of our government, that has some hundreds of thousands united with them, rejoice exceedingly to think that they have as much union among them as they have; and it is their constant labor and study to use and devise every means in their power to maintain and, if possible, increase this union. And so we intend to use every lawful (not unlawful) means in our power to keep the people united upon one platform, religiously and politically, and also in every other position in which we may be placed.
Remember the parable I have read in your hearing, which was printed in the Book of Mormon, before we had on existence as a Church. The servants labored in the vineyard with their mights. What for? To prune up the trees, to graft them into their proper place, that they may bring forth that fruit which was most precious to the Lord from the beginning and the fruit become like unto one body. And the roots and the top thereof were equal. And the blessings of the Most High began to be made manifest upon the fruits of the vineyard, and they began to grow and extend themselves, their branches spreading upon the face of the whole earth. What will be the final result of all this? I will answer in the words of Daniel the prophet: “I beheld until the kingdom, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven was given unto the Saints of the Most High.” And what became of the other kingdoms, empires, republics and governments, generally instituted by men? I will again answer you in the words of the same prophet: “They became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them.” Amen.
Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered at the Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, April 7, 1878.
Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.
I will call the attention of this large assembly to the latter part of a very important and extensive parable, recorded in the Book of Mormon.
The speaker read from the Book of Mormon, commencing at the 128th page.
I have read these words of the ancient prophet, to whom it seemed good unto the Lord to reveal his purposes and designs in regard to the inhabitants of this earth, by means of the trees of the vineyard, calling the house of Israel, the literal descendants of Israel, the natural trees of his vineyard; and the other nations, whom we term Gentiles, as the wild branches of the wild olive tree.
I have read only a small portion of the latter part of this extensive parable, that part which more particularly relates to the great work which we, as Latter-day Saints, are now performing in the earth.
Forty-eight years ago, yesterday, after this Book had been printed making known this great parable to the people, the Church arose, consisting of only six individuals. From that time until the present, as the Church has grown and extended its borders, the Lord through his servants, has been organizing his Priesthood. We speak of the Church being organized on the 6th day of April 1830, and of it consisting then of only six members. No one could expect that with that very small number there could be a very perfect organization. But so far as there were individuals introduced into the Church, on the day of its organization, the Lord gave a revelation concerning their duty. And after the Church had extended forth its borders, and a few hundred individuals were gathered unto it, in the year that it was organized, a still further organization took place; and it was but a few years until the Church stood forth in a more perfect organization than it had on the day of its foundation. Twelve men were called to be Apostles according to a certain prediction given some ten months before the organization of the Church. About this same period of time the first seventy elders were chosen, which perfected the organization still more. And also in those early days the High Priesthood, after the order of Melchizedek, was made manifest more fully and men were ordained to that order of priesthood. In those early days also the Lesser Priesthood, or the priesthood after the order of Aaron was made manifest more perfectly in the eyes of the people, bishops were called and their duties defined, requiring them to manage, in conjunction with the higher authorities, the temporal concerns of the Church. This organization continued to increase and grow, and become more and more perfect, until finally, temples were built to the name of the Lord, when the duties of these various councils of priesthood were, in a greater degree, made manifest before the people. The teachings were many that were imparted in those days, and a union began to exist among the Saints of God, such as had not been known among the inhabitants of the earth for many long generations.
After the completion of the Temple at Kirtland, and this more perfect organization had been established, the Saints of God began to increase and multiply to that extent that the Lord saw proper to place them in a country and land by themselves, where they could have a chance to enlarge their borders, to lengthen the cords of their habitation, to break forth on the left and on the right, and where there might be a majority in the land, and where they might have the privilege of serving the Lord their God, according to the dictates of their conscience.
Thus you see, our Heavenly Father has been at work among this people, and with this people, for almost one half of a century, bringing together, gathering the branches of the wild olive tree from the distant nations of the earth and grafting them in and making them, as it were, one body, on this great western hemisphere.
You may ask, what great purpose the Lord has in thus organizing his people, year after year. The answer is, to accomplish a very important object, namely to make them like unto one body, that there may be a most perfect union from the highest officer in the Church down to the lowest member; that there may be no disunion, no division of feeling or sentiment in regard to doctrine or ordinances or in any of the principles pertaining to the Gospel of the Son of God; and that there may be no division in our political ideas and sentiments, but that a perfect oneness may exist in the heart of every male and female, from the gray-headed old man down to the little child, that one feeling and one spirit may pervade the whole body, that they may be equal and bring forth the natural fruit again. That is the object; that is the reason why you behold the organization such as now exists throughout all these mountain regions. When has the Church, from its commencement exhibited what we now behold in all parts of our land—stakes of Zion having jurisdiction over every branch in the Church in these mountains, and over every family and every individual. And every one of these stakes has its presiding officer with his two counselors; and is also composed of numbers of wards over which bishops, with their counselors are appointed to preside.
What is the duty of the presiding officers of these stakes? To see that all things under their watchcare are conducted according to the order of God, to look to the spiritual concerns first, that pertain to their stake, and to see that the high priests, the seventies, the elders, the priests, the teachers, and the deacons are all doing their respective duties, according to the requirements of the Most High; and then they act as the presiding authority and power over the bishops that may be in the several wards of their stakes, seeing also that they are in the performance of their duty, in relation to temporal matters. And then all the other authorities under these presiding officers of stakes are to see that those, under their immediate watchcare, are performing their duties, according to the laws of heaven which have been revealed for our guidance.
When all things are in proper working order, and when every bishop is living his religion, and has the spirit of his bishopric resting upon him, and he fully understands the nature of his duties, everything in regard to temporal affairs will move like clockwork, and there will be no running down, as it were, of the clock, no deranging of the machinery, but every part will fulfil that which is required of it in relation to its particular calling, and all these various quorums of priesthood will strive to stir up the people to a oneness in regard to spiritual things; thus we keep spiritual and temporal things running parallel to each other, connected more or less together. So that the whole church becomes like unto one body, they become equal. “And the root, and the top thereof is equal.” Indicating, when these things are carried out strictly, that the branches will not have power to overrun and grow beyond the strength of the root; neither would the roots have power to outgrow the branches. The husbandmen trimmed up the trees of the vineyard, and they pruned them; or in other words, the servants of the Lord teach the people, and instruct them, so that they may become one in all things. What! become one in our views in regard to politics? Why not? One may say, If you undertake to carry out such views of union in regard to political affairs, you will all vote the same ticket; there will be no division nor disunion throughout all the Church organization, and would not such a state of things be antagonistic to the genius of our American government? Wherein, I would ask, would it be contrary? Is there any principle connected with our government that would forbid us, as a people, becoming so united? Does the constitution of our country in any one particular prohibit American citizens from uniting and casting a solid vote in favor of any eligible candidate who may be regularly nominated, say for the position of President of the United States? I know of no such restriction; there is none.
Supposing, then, that all the states of this union at the next general election, should, without one dissenting voice, conclude in their own minds to vote for one and the same individual, making him our president, what part or portion of the Constitution of our country would be violated by such a united effort? None whatever; because it is the privilege of the people to unite or divide as they may choose, there being no compulsion one way or the other.
Which is calculated to produce the greatest good, union throughout all the states, concentrated not only upon the president, but upon the governors, and all of our political officers, or disunion and party strife. Everybody would certainly agree with me in saying that union in such matters would be the best calculated to promote the interest and common good of our government and people; that to be without a single dissenting voice in our election affairs from Maine to Texas, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, all concentrating themselves upon the officers they want, and then vote for them unanimously would be carrying out the form of the American government in its perfection. But our fathers, who framed that Great instrument of nationality—that instrument by which all classes of people are protected in their rights—provided for disunion, if the people should feel disposed to introduce it. Showing that they were permitted to dissent and vote for as many candidates as they may choose to nominate.
But in the Church of the living God, according to the oneness required by the Lord of heaven, we should act unitedly in all things. Some may have an idea that if we are only united about some of the spiritual things of the kingdom that is all the union needed among us. I do not know of any one principle, or subject, connected with the building up and advancement of the kingdom of God upon the earth, upon which we have a right to be disunited. The law of God is of such a nature, when complied with strictly, as to unite us not only in the first principles of the Gospel—faith, repentance and baptism, and confirmation, and upon doctrine and spiritual things generally, but also in regard to the cultivation of the earth, the raising of flocks and herds, manufacturing, and all kinds of mechanical business, and also with regard to our political affairs and everything with which we have to do here in this temporal probation. There are some great political parties very much united, and how diligently they strive to make themselves still more united. The Republican and Democratic parties vie with each other in their efforts to elicit the sympathy of a majority of the people, in order to become the dominant party. Hence the great number of political agents, that go forth throughout the country stump-speeching, as well as other means that are resorted to for this purpose. Is there anything in the Constitution of our country prohibiting them from striving to bring about disunion? No, not in the least. Neither is there anything written that would forbid the Methodists, the Baptists, the Presbyterians, or any other religious society throughout the confines of this great republic, from striving with all their might to vote with one heart and one mind, both in regard to their political and their church affairs.
That is what we are striving to do. We are laboring in faith and with much assurance, that the day will dawn upon Israel, when this people will attain to a perfect oneness, so much so that not a dissenting voice will be heard or raised, in regard to things religious or secular, from one end of the Territory to the other.
This union exists in the eternal worlds. If you should dwell there for the period of ten millions of ages, you would see no dissension among those who dwell in yonder celestial worlds. If the affairs of a celestial world were divided into different departments, calling one political and another religious, and so on, you would find the whole body, both religious and political, vote for the same ticket, if I may be allowed the expression; they would be agreed, of one heart and one mind. This oneness among the people of God must be attained in this world, in order that His purposes may be brought about, respecting man and the earth on which he lives.
How much reason have we to rejoice that our fathers, a little over a century ago, began to consider the importance of being free and untrammeled in regard to their religious ideas and opinions; and that by having their feelings so deeply impressed upon their minds, they were enabled to get out that great instrument of liberty which guarantees to this great nation today civil, political and religious rights.
Our enemies would try to frighten us, by representing before the Congress of the United States there is a union among those Latter-day Saints, and that all vote one way. Supposing we admit this to be true, ought not Congress to rejoice exceedingly to think that there is one portion of the people under the flag of this great and glorious republic, that have strength of mind sufficient to be united on politics. I presume the Republican party of our government, that has some hundreds of thousands united with them, rejoice exceedingly to think that they have as much union among them as they have; and it is their constant labor and study to use and devise every means in their power to maintain and, if possible, increase this union. And so we intend to use every lawful (not unlawful) means in our power to keep the people united upon one platform, religiously and politically, and also in every other position in which we may be placed.
Remember the parable I have read in your hearing, which was printed in the Book of Mormon, before we had on existence as a Church. The servants labored in the vineyard with their mights. What for? To prune up the trees, to graft them into their proper place, that they may bring forth that fruit which was most precious to the Lord from the beginning and the fruit become like unto one body. And the roots and the top thereof were equal. And the blessings of the Most High began to be made manifest upon the fruits of the vineyard, and they began to grow and extend themselves, their branches spreading upon the face of the whole earth. What will be the final result of all this? I will answer in the words of Daniel the prophet: “I beheld until the kingdom, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven was given unto the Saints of the Most High.” And what became of the other kingdoms, empires, republics and governments, generally instituted by men? I will again answer you in the words of the same prophet: “They became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them.” Amen.
Elder George Q. Cannon
said until a few days ago he had no idea of being present on this interesting occasion, but having important business to attend to here he was thankful that one week from last Friday he was enabled to make arrangements, so as to secure leave of absence, and to spend a few days with his brethren in these valleys. We were living in a very important epoch; there was an immense amount of labor to be performed. Responsibilities were thickening around us. And every moment of our time seemed to demand action at our hands. Though small in numbers, we had made a deep impression on the religious, political and scientific world, and he attributed that fact to the power of God that accompanied the career of this people. Each individual wields an influence for good or evil. It is universally conceded that this Territory stands preeminent for its good government, its sobriety, its morals, and freedom from heavy indebtedness. With these and many other advantages that exist in this Territory, with a population of over fifteen thousand more than the congressional requirement for a State, yet we cannot enjoy the privilege of being admitted into the Union of States. Why? He knew of no other reason than from the fact that we are polygamous in our faith, though its practice was not extensive.
Here is a vast community who in numbers and every other qualification are entitled to a State government, yet are denied that privilege, because a mere moiety of the people practice polygamy. It seemed that the nation is determined to give this principle a world wide importance. The time will come, however, when the rights of this people will be not only respected but enjoyed, the dawn of political and religious liberty is already to be seen on the distant horizon; the many wrongs that have been inflicted upon this people, both before and since we came into this Territory, have had a tendency to educate us in the practice of forbearance and toleration, and prepare us more fully to appreciate the true principles of liberty, and the rights of political freedom when it comes, which it most assuredly will, and to extend its benefits to others. He had been trained to regard the constitution as a heaven-born instrument which it was the destiny of the Latter-day Saints to defend when it should be in danger of destruction. He then gave some excellent council to the bishops, to be interested in finding employment for every one in their respective wards, also to encourage our young men to marry at a suitable age, and to look after the proper education of our youth. He continued, in a powerful appeal, to urge the importance of having our children thoroughly educated in every domestic and useful employment that will eminently qualify them for any position that they may be called to fill in after life.
said until a few days ago he had no idea of being present on this interesting occasion, but having important business to attend to here he was thankful that one week from last Friday he was enabled to make arrangements, so as to secure leave of absence, and to spend a few days with his brethren in these valleys. We were living in a very important epoch; there was an immense amount of labor to be performed. Responsibilities were thickening around us. And every moment of our time seemed to demand action at our hands. Though small in numbers, we had made a deep impression on the religious, political and scientific world, and he attributed that fact to the power of God that accompanied the career of this people. Each individual wields an influence for good or evil. It is universally conceded that this Territory stands preeminent for its good government, its sobriety, its morals, and freedom from heavy indebtedness. With these and many other advantages that exist in this Territory, with a population of over fifteen thousand more than the congressional requirement for a State, yet we cannot enjoy the privilege of being admitted into the Union of States. Why? He knew of no other reason than from the fact that we are polygamous in our faith, though its practice was not extensive.
Here is a vast community who in numbers and every other qualification are entitled to a State government, yet are denied that privilege, because a mere moiety of the people practice polygamy. It seemed that the nation is determined to give this principle a world wide importance. The time will come, however, when the rights of this people will be not only respected but enjoyed, the dawn of political and religious liberty is already to be seen on the distant horizon; the many wrongs that have been inflicted upon this people, both before and since we came into this Territory, have had a tendency to educate us in the practice of forbearance and toleration, and prepare us more fully to appreciate the true principles of liberty, and the rights of political freedom when it comes, which it most assuredly will, and to extend its benefits to others. He had been trained to regard the constitution as a heaven-born instrument which it was the destiny of the Latter-day Saints to defend when it should be in danger of destruction. He then gave some excellent council to the bishops, to be interested in finding employment for every one in their respective wards, also to encourage our young men to marry at a suitable age, and to look after the proper education of our youth. He continued, in a powerful appeal, to urge the importance of having our children thoroughly educated in every domestic and useful employment that will eminently qualify them for any position that they may be called to fill in after life.
Ideas Held By the Latter-day Saints Winning Their Way—Territorial Prosperity—“Mormonism” Not Favored of the Government—Latter-Day Saints to Save the Government—Good Counsel on Many Points
Discourse by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon, delivered at the Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning April 7, 1878.
Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.
It is somewhat unexpected to myself that I have the opportunity, this morning, of appearing in your midst. Important business demanded my return to this city for a short time; but in consequence of certain responsibilities devolving upon me at Washington, it seemed imprudent for me to leave and come here. A week ago last Friday morning I scarcely thought it possible that I could get away; but during the day I was favored in making such arrangements that I felt I could leave with safety, for a few days at least. And I immediately started for this city by way of Philadelphia.
I am glad to have the opportunity of meeting with so many of my brethren and sisters, of beholding your faces, of listening to the instructions which have been given, and in sharing in the spirit that has been and will be poured out upon us. It is a great relief to one who has been absent for any length of time, mingling with the world, to have the opportunity of associating with you, my brethren and sisters; at least I esteem it as such. I never turn my face homewards without experiencing joy and gladness at the thought of once more being reunited with you.
I never in my life have had a deeper interest in the welfare, in the prosperity and in the advancement of the cause with which we are identified, than at the present time. This feeling has rested with great weight upon my mind; I feel we are living in a most important era of time. I feel that the mission assigned unto us is one that we, at the present time, scarcely begin to comprehend. The most important results that are to flow from it have scarcely begun to dawn upon our minds. At least personally this is my feeling. When I contemplate the immensity of the field of labor that lies before us, the evils and wrongs that have to be corrected, as I believe, through the agency of this people, as also the reforms that have to be effected and to be carried out successfully, it seems to me that as the days roll around, I begrudge the passing hours; I feel as though the days are entirely too short, and that I should like to live for a millennium to help those with whom I am associated to bring to pass the great, the important, the soul-saving as well as body-redeeming plans that are to be carried out in order to bring to pass the designs of Providence in relation to man and the earth.
Already the Latter-day Saints can see that the leaven that has been planted by the Gospel has been doing a gradual work in effecting important changes. It may be thought of a people confined to these mountains, numbering no more than we do, that our influence must be necessarily very limited, and that we can accomplish but very little. But the ideas that have been propagated by the Latter-day Saints, though they have not converted as many to our faith as they should have done, have had a most wonderful influence upon the religious, the philosophic and the scientific world. Ideas that men now believe in and receive readily, Joseph Smith was persecuted and denounced for proclaiming. And while there are millions who do not believe that he was a Prophet of God, or that the principles he taught were revealed from God, there is no mistaking the fact that his teachings, that the truths he advanced, and the ideas which he disseminated, have had a wonderful effect upon the human mind throughout Christendom. If those of you who have had experience in the world, who have arrived at middle age, will let your minds revert to the time when you first heard these principles, and will compare the condition of human thought at that time with the condition of human thought today, I doubt not you will agree with me in saying that, although men and women have not become Latter-day Saints, nor have the mass of mankind received the religious truths in their entirety, as they were taught by Joseph, and as they have been taught by those who succeeded him, yet there has been a very visible and a marked advancement by men and women all over the world wherever the Elders of this Church have traveled. So that it is not in the baptism of people, it is not in the gathering of the people together alone that we are accomplishing great results; but it is in teaching the world the principles that God has revealed to us, and gradually indoctrinating the mind of mankind, to some extent at least, uplifting them from the prejudices and the darkness and the ignorance in which they have been enshrouded to a higher plane, to breathe a purer and a freer spirit of inquiry in religious and scientific thought. Much, however, remains to be done, and it devolves upon us, as a people, to discharge our duty, each one of us, as though the entire responsibility devolved upon us. And herein, probably, there is as much fault to be found with us as upon any other point—a non-recognition by the Latter-day Saints of the fact that God holds us, each one of us, individually responsible; for there is assigned unto every man and every woman an individual labor which he and she must perform. For myself, I know that the influence of one man rightly exercised is potent for good; or, if improperly exercised, for evil, upon his fellow man. Each man's life, each man's conversation, each man's deportment and walk before his fellow man, wields an influence that he most probably does not begin to comprehend, or understand. And if we all understood this, and acted accordingly, living up to the light and knowledge we possess, just think of the influence that we, as a united body, could wield among the inhabitants of our land, and in fact among the inhabitants of the whole earth.
I look upon our position, politically, as one that is most important, far more important than that of any other community with which I am acquainted. Today it is conceded upon all sides, and the fact is not disputed by intelligent persons, that the Latter-day Saints, or, to speak more properly, the people of Utah Territory, occupy a position superior to that of any other Territory within the confines of the Union. This is conceded. And for temperance, for frugality, for economy, for good government and for submission to the law (if I may except that relating to plural marriage, which is in violation of the constitution, and which was passed as a blow at our religion), for the honest administration of financial and governmental affairs, for the preservation of good order and the maintenance of peace, and for the promotion of education; on all of these points, it is conceded if we are not superior, at least we are the equals, of any other people of our Republic. While the eastern states are burdened with debt and groaning under local taxation, with failures of no mean magnitude occurring continually, and men not knowing what to do to redeem themselves from their financial difficulties, Utah Territory occupies, it may truly be said, the unique position of being out of debt: no Territorial debt to speak of, no county debts. Notwithstanding the innumerable temptations that have existed, and that our officers might have succumbed to, we are, I am happy to say, free from debt, and also the most lightly taxed community now within the confines of the government. When I mentioned these facts to President Hayes, he remarked: “Your position is certainly an enviable and unique one.” This is conceded upon all hands. In our own neighboring territories, take, for instance, Wyoming, the people of which are justly proud of their position, because they have comparatively little debt; yet their taxes are 2 1/2 higher than ours; and so with all our neighboring territories. Our percentage of illiteracy is lower than that of any of the territories, and also than many of the states; not but that the illiteracy of Utah ought to be lower still, for there is room for great improvement in matters of education. We have 1200 miles of telegraph line owned in this Territory; we have upwards of 300 miles of local railroad, not counting the Union and Central Pacific railroads. This is the condition of this Territory. If we take the statement of the last Federal census respecting our population, and apply the ratio of increase during the previous decade—that is the increase from 1860 to 1870—to the last eight years, it will be seen that Utah has a population of at least 150,000. But our ratio of increase has been greater during the last eight years than the previous ten. The States are divided into Congressional districts, at the present time, with a population numbering about 135,000; that is to say, a district having a population of that number is entitled to a member of Congress. In this Territory our population is in excess of that number. No Territory has ever applied for admission into the Union with so many advantages as ours. In 1789 the Federal Constitution was adopted, and we became a consolidated Republic. This was 89 years ago. We have lived in this country upwards of one-third of that time. It might be thought, then, that with such a lengthened experience and advantages, with such capacity for self-government, with such a developed and lightly taxed Territory, with such good order and freedom from debt, that Utah would be welcomed into the union of states. Why are we not? Because we are “Mormons.” That embodies the whole reason. If we were split up into factions, if we were fighting, party against party, if drinking saloons and houses of ill fame were through all our settlements, and if we were heavily in debt, not having even the requisite population, and were not “Mormons,” we would be admitted into the union of states. What is the reason assigned for it? “We do not want to countenance polygamy. If we admit Utah, we sanction, to a certain extent, polygamy.” This is the reason assigned. Suppose, for instance, that one man of every ten among these “Mormons” is a polygamist, are there any more than that? If there are I do not know it. I have never taken the census, but in the range of my personal acquaintance, as I have scanned them I think that there are not one-tenth of the men in this Territory who have attained their majority who are polygamists. And we will say there are 150,000 people in the Territory, how many of them are men? If we apply the same rule of ascertaining this that we do to other communities—and it will not apply to ours because our children are in excess; but as it is, we will apply the same rule and divide 150,000 by five; how many does it leave? Thirty thousand. We will say there are thirty thousand men in Utah Territory who have attained their majority, and one-tenth of this number are polygamists, What do we have left? Three thousand men. And for three thousand men the Congress of the United States say that the bulk of the people shall not have their political rights. Does it not seem as though by the action of Congress in this respect, that they are uplifting a doctrine comparatively obscure, when you take into consideration the forty millions of people that live under the flag of the United States—and giving it national importance? This is one of the most extraordinary instances of fatuity that I ever recollect reading of in any history; yet such a thing is done, and this is the only reason that can be truthfully and correctly assigned for the refusal, on the part of the nation, of admitting Utah as a State. In spite of all we can say and do, there seems to be a determination to give this doctrine of plural marriage a national and a worldwide importance, like everything else connected with this people. It has been advertised and talked of as though it might be the practice of twenty millions of people, instead of that of three or four thousand men.
Now, I say that we have to teach the world a lesson in this direction. A people patiently pursuing their course, without murmuring, without rebelling, without rising in riotings, when receiving a denial of their legitimate and constitutional rights. Such a spectacle as this is worthy of admiration, especially when it is understood that not an officer within the confines of our Territory can hold an office of Federal appointment, if it be known that he is a “Mormon,” or scarcely if it be known that he is even favorable to the “Mormons.” As soon as the office of Postmaster becomes worth holding, the Mormon Postmaster, who may have held it when it did not pay him for his labor, is turned out and somebody else is put in. The Marshal, the Secretary, the Governor, and Judges and all of the Federal officials were appointed during the last administration from those who were known to have no sympathy with the “Mormons.” It was as much as our present Governor could recently do to retain his position, because he was accused of favoring the “Mormons,” because it was believed that he favored a people he was sent to govern. This is most extraordinary when you think of it; but the most surprising thing connected with it is, that the people thus imposed upon should bear it with the forbearance and equanimity that the Latter-day Saints manifest, under these circumstances.
You remember our last Governor. He started out thinking he had been sent here to govern this Territory and the people of the Territory as his fellow citizens. He was disposed not to know the difference between a Mormon and a non-Mormon; he was disposed to travel through the Territory and mingle with the people, attend their public gatherings, and talk to them, as he would were he in any other place. This he did, and it was brought against him as a crime, as a reason why he should not continue to hold office. And an important official no less a person then the Assistant Secretary of the Interior, was sent to find out whether these things were really true. And this officer of the government, a gentlemen, who is acknowledged to be efficient, and who had served three terms in Congress with credit to himself and his constituency; and who is looked upon as a man of national reputation, and who, in his private life, is considered most exemplary, for no other reason than that he was mingling with the “Mormon” people, treating them as his fellow citizens, was removed from office.
I allude to these things not to find fault particularly, not to embitter your feelings because of treatment you have received, this is not my motive; but to call to your attention the fact that among other things we have to teach this nation and show to the whole world is that, although largely in the majority in this Territory, we have learned the great and most important lesson that a citizen can and should learn, namely, that of obedience. I am glad that this is the case. I am glad to know that the Latter-day Saints are setting an example to their fellow citizens all through the union in this respect. Will this continue? Shall we continue to live as we are living today—denied rights to which we are entitled? We shall, doubtless, for a time, until, in the Providence of the Almighty, we shall be enabled to assume the position that rightfully belongs to us, and receive those rights to which we are fully entitled. The time will come, and it is not far distant—although we may occasionally get tired waiting, and may ask ourselves, how long will it be delayed—but let me say to you that the signs of the times portend for us a much greater degree of liberty than we possess today, or even than we have dared to anticipate. And as I have said often—for I have never failed to declare it—that the Latter-day Saints or “Mormons” as we are called, expect it to be their destiny to uphold constitutional liberty on this continent, and to preserve our government and the forms thereof from overthrow and destruction. I have been taught from my boyhood that this was to be the destiny of the Latter-day Saints, and this people have been trained in the same belief, and we train our children to look forward to it, and to cherish the love of civil and religious liberty in their hearts, toleration for all men of every creed, of every nation, of every language and of every color, that all the sons and daughters of Adam, without exception, who dwell upon this broad land, may enjoy the inestimable blessing of liberty, and that it will be our favored and honored destiny, in the course of human events, unlikely as it may appear today to be the case, to preserve constitutional liberty in this land, which God has said shall be a land of liberty to all those who are righteous who dwell thereon. I have said, and I firmly believe, that the day will most assuredly come when the people of these mountains will become a great factor in the settlement of differences, in the preservation of human rights in the future, in the great contests which seem ready to burst upon us at any moment. You contemplate the condition of the East today! The elements of destruction are widespread in society, and instead of being smothered and allayed, they are more or less fostered and harbored, and are fast maturing; and when certain contingencies arise, they are likely to burst forth, and that, too, to the death and misery of many souls. Think of the feeling that existed thirteen months ago, when it was not known who would be the President of the United States, or whether we would have another President or not. That was a time when the memories of the late war were forced upon the attention of earnest and thoughtful men. They remembered the blood and sacrifices and dreadful horrors of that struggle, and they shrank from the bare thought of their repetition. Had it not been that the great civil war had been so recent, and the recollection of its horrors was so vivid, especially among the Southern people, undoubtedly there would have been a conflict of arms before the President could have been seated in the presidential chair. But men shrank from the dreadful arbitrament of war and they preferred to submit even to what they believed to be wrong, agreeing to a compromise as being better than war.
Our position, as a people, in many respects, is one for which we can be exceedingly thankful. We can congratulate ourselves that we are in these mountains, a land of liberty, a land of freedom. No man, that is a man, can breathe this air and be a slave. When he looks upon those towering mountains, lifting their grand and lofty peaks to heaven, and he breathes the pure air of freedom, and his lungs expand with it, he feels as though he never could bow to slavery, nor his children after him. There is a race springing up in these mountains whose influence and power, sooner or later, must be felt in shaping the future of this nation. There need be no fear about this. Let us pursue the course marked out for us, submitting, if necessary, to wrong, but never failing to protest and contend, nevertheless against it; let our continued protest go forth, that we understand our rights, and that we are disposed to maintain them, as far as we can without violence. Let us continue to pursue our course patiently and unitedly, presenting an unbroken front to the enemy, having no traitors within, no factions, no strifes or bickerings, burying our little piques and feelings, having the one great and grand object to accomplish, namely, the establishment of truth and righteousness upon the earth, that eventually a place and people may be found worthy of Him who will come, and whose right it is to reign. And in pursuing faithfully and diligently the course which God has marked out, you may depend upon it that the day star will arise, and the dawn of that glorious day will be witnessed by all that share and engage in this labor. But how many labors devolve upon us, and how they accumulate and crowd upon us. The labor of lifting up the people and uniting them, furnishing suitable work for the unemployed and for our sons and daughters, that there may be no idleness in our land, that there may be no need of any Union societies to be organized, arraying labor against capital. How necessary it is that we should listen to the words of wisdom and instruction which have been given, counseling us to so organize ourselves and arrange our temporal affairs, that there may not be a single individual throughout our land, who desires to work, go unemployed, but that all may have this blessed privilege, for when men labor they keep out of mischief. You remember the old proverb—“An idle man's brain is the devil's workshop.” We want to banish idleness, how shall we do it? By organizing, and every President of Stake and every Bishop making it the study and object of his life to furnish employment to every man under his immediate presidency who may desire it. And thus we will preserve ourselves, and our sons will find employment at home, instead of scattering abroad, going hither and thither: and our daughters, too, will then find husbands who will be in a position to maintain them honorably and properly, and thus marriage be promoted in the land. Our boys, when they arrive at years of maturity and can take earn of a wife, should get married, and there should not be a lot of young men growing up in our midst who ought to be, but are not married. While I do not make the remark to apply to individual cases, I am firmly of the opinion that a large number of unmarried men, over the age of twenty-four years, is a dangerous element in any community, and an element upon which society should look with a jealous eye. For every man knowing himself, knows how his fellow man is constituted; and if men do not marry, they are too apt to do something worse. Then, brethren, encourage our young men to marry, and see that they are furnished employment, so that they can marry.
And then there is the education of our children. O, that we could bestow upon them, in every sense of the word, a proper education, so that they might become the peers of any people. Our children are noted for their brightness of intellect. Teachers say, who come from the east and the west, they never saw children receive knowledge with more ease than the children of these mountains do. We should take all the pains in our power to educate our children, furnishing them the best facilities, that our daughters and sons may be educated and accomplished. And at the same time teach them to labor. I tell my daughters that I want them to learn to wash, and sew, and cook, and become the best of housewives; and that I do not care then how much else they may know about music and other accomplishments, that they may be fitted to mingle with and feel at home in the best society. Girls as well as boys ought to be so trained as to confer dignity upon labor; and the idea, prevalent among some people, that because girls are accomplished they are spoiled and unfitted for labor, or to do housework, ought to be frowned down.
Let us think of these things after we separate and go to our homes; and let us endeavor to carry in our breasts the spirit of this Conference, and diffuse the same among the people not present. And let us so live that the desire may continually well up in our hearts, not how can we aggrandize ourselves, but how can we enrich this community, how can we benefit and bless this people, how can we elevate them and make these multitudes of children growing up in our midst more useful, so that they can be ornaments to society?
I pray the Lord to bless us and preserve us in the truth, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The choir sang an anthem, The Lord will comfort Zion.
Benediction by President Joseph Young.
Discourse by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon, delivered at the Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning April 7, 1878.
Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.
It is somewhat unexpected to myself that I have the opportunity, this morning, of appearing in your midst. Important business demanded my return to this city for a short time; but in consequence of certain responsibilities devolving upon me at Washington, it seemed imprudent for me to leave and come here. A week ago last Friday morning I scarcely thought it possible that I could get away; but during the day I was favored in making such arrangements that I felt I could leave with safety, for a few days at least. And I immediately started for this city by way of Philadelphia.
I am glad to have the opportunity of meeting with so many of my brethren and sisters, of beholding your faces, of listening to the instructions which have been given, and in sharing in the spirit that has been and will be poured out upon us. It is a great relief to one who has been absent for any length of time, mingling with the world, to have the opportunity of associating with you, my brethren and sisters; at least I esteem it as such. I never turn my face homewards without experiencing joy and gladness at the thought of once more being reunited with you.
I never in my life have had a deeper interest in the welfare, in the prosperity and in the advancement of the cause with which we are identified, than at the present time. This feeling has rested with great weight upon my mind; I feel we are living in a most important era of time. I feel that the mission assigned unto us is one that we, at the present time, scarcely begin to comprehend. The most important results that are to flow from it have scarcely begun to dawn upon our minds. At least personally this is my feeling. When I contemplate the immensity of the field of labor that lies before us, the evils and wrongs that have to be corrected, as I believe, through the agency of this people, as also the reforms that have to be effected and to be carried out successfully, it seems to me that as the days roll around, I begrudge the passing hours; I feel as though the days are entirely too short, and that I should like to live for a millennium to help those with whom I am associated to bring to pass the great, the important, the soul-saving as well as body-redeeming plans that are to be carried out in order to bring to pass the designs of Providence in relation to man and the earth.
Already the Latter-day Saints can see that the leaven that has been planted by the Gospel has been doing a gradual work in effecting important changes. It may be thought of a people confined to these mountains, numbering no more than we do, that our influence must be necessarily very limited, and that we can accomplish but very little. But the ideas that have been propagated by the Latter-day Saints, though they have not converted as many to our faith as they should have done, have had a most wonderful influence upon the religious, the philosophic and the scientific world. Ideas that men now believe in and receive readily, Joseph Smith was persecuted and denounced for proclaiming. And while there are millions who do not believe that he was a Prophet of God, or that the principles he taught were revealed from God, there is no mistaking the fact that his teachings, that the truths he advanced, and the ideas which he disseminated, have had a wonderful effect upon the human mind throughout Christendom. If those of you who have had experience in the world, who have arrived at middle age, will let your minds revert to the time when you first heard these principles, and will compare the condition of human thought at that time with the condition of human thought today, I doubt not you will agree with me in saying that, although men and women have not become Latter-day Saints, nor have the mass of mankind received the religious truths in their entirety, as they were taught by Joseph, and as they have been taught by those who succeeded him, yet there has been a very visible and a marked advancement by men and women all over the world wherever the Elders of this Church have traveled. So that it is not in the baptism of people, it is not in the gathering of the people together alone that we are accomplishing great results; but it is in teaching the world the principles that God has revealed to us, and gradually indoctrinating the mind of mankind, to some extent at least, uplifting them from the prejudices and the darkness and the ignorance in which they have been enshrouded to a higher plane, to breathe a purer and a freer spirit of inquiry in religious and scientific thought. Much, however, remains to be done, and it devolves upon us, as a people, to discharge our duty, each one of us, as though the entire responsibility devolved upon us. And herein, probably, there is as much fault to be found with us as upon any other point—a non-recognition by the Latter-day Saints of the fact that God holds us, each one of us, individually responsible; for there is assigned unto every man and every woman an individual labor which he and she must perform. For myself, I know that the influence of one man rightly exercised is potent for good; or, if improperly exercised, for evil, upon his fellow man. Each man's life, each man's conversation, each man's deportment and walk before his fellow man, wields an influence that he most probably does not begin to comprehend, or understand. And if we all understood this, and acted accordingly, living up to the light and knowledge we possess, just think of the influence that we, as a united body, could wield among the inhabitants of our land, and in fact among the inhabitants of the whole earth.
I look upon our position, politically, as one that is most important, far more important than that of any other community with which I am acquainted. Today it is conceded upon all sides, and the fact is not disputed by intelligent persons, that the Latter-day Saints, or, to speak more properly, the people of Utah Territory, occupy a position superior to that of any other Territory within the confines of the Union. This is conceded. And for temperance, for frugality, for economy, for good government and for submission to the law (if I may except that relating to plural marriage, which is in violation of the constitution, and which was passed as a blow at our religion), for the honest administration of financial and governmental affairs, for the preservation of good order and the maintenance of peace, and for the promotion of education; on all of these points, it is conceded if we are not superior, at least we are the equals, of any other people of our Republic. While the eastern states are burdened with debt and groaning under local taxation, with failures of no mean magnitude occurring continually, and men not knowing what to do to redeem themselves from their financial difficulties, Utah Territory occupies, it may truly be said, the unique position of being out of debt: no Territorial debt to speak of, no county debts. Notwithstanding the innumerable temptations that have existed, and that our officers might have succumbed to, we are, I am happy to say, free from debt, and also the most lightly taxed community now within the confines of the government. When I mentioned these facts to President Hayes, he remarked: “Your position is certainly an enviable and unique one.” This is conceded upon all hands. In our own neighboring territories, take, for instance, Wyoming, the people of which are justly proud of their position, because they have comparatively little debt; yet their taxes are 2 1/2 higher than ours; and so with all our neighboring territories. Our percentage of illiteracy is lower than that of any of the territories, and also than many of the states; not but that the illiteracy of Utah ought to be lower still, for there is room for great improvement in matters of education. We have 1200 miles of telegraph line owned in this Territory; we have upwards of 300 miles of local railroad, not counting the Union and Central Pacific railroads. This is the condition of this Territory. If we take the statement of the last Federal census respecting our population, and apply the ratio of increase during the previous decade—that is the increase from 1860 to 1870—to the last eight years, it will be seen that Utah has a population of at least 150,000. But our ratio of increase has been greater during the last eight years than the previous ten. The States are divided into Congressional districts, at the present time, with a population numbering about 135,000; that is to say, a district having a population of that number is entitled to a member of Congress. In this Territory our population is in excess of that number. No Territory has ever applied for admission into the Union with so many advantages as ours. In 1789 the Federal Constitution was adopted, and we became a consolidated Republic. This was 89 years ago. We have lived in this country upwards of one-third of that time. It might be thought, then, that with such a lengthened experience and advantages, with such capacity for self-government, with such a developed and lightly taxed Territory, with such good order and freedom from debt, that Utah would be welcomed into the union of states. Why are we not? Because we are “Mormons.” That embodies the whole reason. If we were split up into factions, if we were fighting, party against party, if drinking saloons and houses of ill fame were through all our settlements, and if we were heavily in debt, not having even the requisite population, and were not “Mormons,” we would be admitted into the union of states. What is the reason assigned for it? “We do not want to countenance polygamy. If we admit Utah, we sanction, to a certain extent, polygamy.” This is the reason assigned. Suppose, for instance, that one man of every ten among these “Mormons” is a polygamist, are there any more than that? If there are I do not know it. I have never taken the census, but in the range of my personal acquaintance, as I have scanned them I think that there are not one-tenth of the men in this Territory who have attained their majority who are polygamists. And we will say there are 150,000 people in the Territory, how many of them are men? If we apply the same rule of ascertaining this that we do to other communities—and it will not apply to ours because our children are in excess; but as it is, we will apply the same rule and divide 150,000 by five; how many does it leave? Thirty thousand. We will say there are thirty thousand men in Utah Territory who have attained their majority, and one-tenth of this number are polygamists, What do we have left? Three thousand men. And for three thousand men the Congress of the United States say that the bulk of the people shall not have their political rights. Does it not seem as though by the action of Congress in this respect, that they are uplifting a doctrine comparatively obscure, when you take into consideration the forty millions of people that live under the flag of the United States—and giving it national importance? This is one of the most extraordinary instances of fatuity that I ever recollect reading of in any history; yet such a thing is done, and this is the only reason that can be truthfully and correctly assigned for the refusal, on the part of the nation, of admitting Utah as a State. In spite of all we can say and do, there seems to be a determination to give this doctrine of plural marriage a national and a worldwide importance, like everything else connected with this people. It has been advertised and talked of as though it might be the practice of twenty millions of people, instead of that of three or four thousand men.
Now, I say that we have to teach the world a lesson in this direction. A people patiently pursuing their course, without murmuring, without rebelling, without rising in riotings, when receiving a denial of their legitimate and constitutional rights. Such a spectacle as this is worthy of admiration, especially when it is understood that not an officer within the confines of our Territory can hold an office of Federal appointment, if it be known that he is a “Mormon,” or scarcely if it be known that he is even favorable to the “Mormons.” As soon as the office of Postmaster becomes worth holding, the Mormon Postmaster, who may have held it when it did not pay him for his labor, is turned out and somebody else is put in. The Marshal, the Secretary, the Governor, and Judges and all of the Federal officials were appointed during the last administration from those who were known to have no sympathy with the “Mormons.” It was as much as our present Governor could recently do to retain his position, because he was accused of favoring the “Mormons,” because it was believed that he favored a people he was sent to govern. This is most extraordinary when you think of it; but the most surprising thing connected with it is, that the people thus imposed upon should bear it with the forbearance and equanimity that the Latter-day Saints manifest, under these circumstances.
You remember our last Governor. He started out thinking he had been sent here to govern this Territory and the people of the Territory as his fellow citizens. He was disposed not to know the difference between a Mormon and a non-Mormon; he was disposed to travel through the Territory and mingle with the people, attend their public gatherings, and talk to them, as he would were he in any other place. This he did, and it was brought against him as a crime, as a reason why he should not continue to hold office. And an important official no less a person then the Assistant Secretary of the Interior, was sent to find out whether these things were really true. And this officer of the government, a gentlemen, who is acknowledged to be efficient, and who had served three terms in Congress with credit to himself and his constituency; and who is looked upon as a man of national reputation, and who, in his private life, is considered most exemplary, for no other reason than that he was mingling with the “Mormon” people, treating them as his fellow citizens, was removed from office.
I allude to these things not to find fault particularly, not to embitter your feelings because of treatment you have received, this is not my motive; but to call to your attention the fact that among other things we have to teach this nation and show to the whole world is that, although largely in the majority in this Territory, we have learned the great and most important lesson that a citizen can and should learn, namely, that of obedience. I am glad that this is the case. I am glad to know that the Latter-day Saints are setting an example to their fellow citizens all through the union in this respect. Will this continue? Shall we continue to live as we are living today—denied rights to which we are entitled? We shall, doubtless, for a time, until, in the Providence of the Almighty, we shall be enabled to assume the position that rightfully belongs to us, and receive those rights to which we are fully entitled. The time will come, and it is not far distant—although we may occasionally get tired waiting, and may ask ourselves, how long will it be delayed—but let me say to you that the signs of the times portend for us a much greater degree of liberty than we possess today, or even than we have dared to anticipate. And as I have said often—for I have never failed to declare it—that the Latter-day Saints or “Mormons” as we are called, expect it to be their destiny to uphold constitutional liberty on this continent, and to preserve our government and the forms thereof from overthrow and destruction. I have been taught from my boyhood that this was to be the destiny of the Latter-day Saints, and this people have been trained in the same belief, and we train our children to look forward to it, and to cherish the love of civil and religious liberty in their hearts, toleration for all men of every creed, of every nation, of every language and of every color, that all the sons and daughters of Adam, without exception, who dwell upon this broad land, may enjoy the inestimable blessing of liberty, and that it will be our favored and honored destiny, in the course of human events, unlikely as it may appear today to be the case, to preserve constitutional liberty in this land, which God has said shall be a land of liberty to all those who are righteous who dwell thereon. I have said, and I firmly believe, that the day will most assuredly come when the people of these mountains will become a great factor in the settlement of differences, in the preservation of human rights in the future, in the great contests which seem ready to burst upon us at any moment. You contemplate the condition of the East today! The elements of destruction are widespread in society, and instead of being smothered and allayed, they are more or less fostered and harbored, and are fast maturing; and when certain contingencies arise, they are likely to burst forth, and that, too, to the death and misery of many souls. Think of the feeling that existed thirteen months ago, when it was not known who would be the President of the United States, or whether we would have another President or not. That was a time when the memories of the late war were forced upon the attention of earnest and thoughtful men. They remembered the blood and sacrifices and dreadful horrors of that struggle, and they shrank from the bare thought of their repetition. Had it not been that the great civil war had been so recent, and the recollection of its horrors was so vivid, especially among the Southern people, undoubtedly there would have been a conflict of arms before the President could have been seated in the presidential chair. But men shrank from the dreadful arbitrament of war and they preferred to submit even to what they believed to be wrong, agreeing to a compromise as being better than war.
Our position, as a people, in many respects, is one for which we can be exceedingly thankful. We can congratulate ourselves that we are in these mountains, a land of liberty, a land of freedom. No man, that is a man, can breathe this air and be a slave. When he looks upon those towering mountains, lifting their grand and lofty peaks to heaven, and he breathes the pure air of freedom, and his lungs expand with it, he feels as though he never could bow to slavery, nor his children after him. There is a race springing up in these mountains whose influence and power, sooner or later, must be felt in shaping the future of this nation. There need be no fear about this. Let us pursue the course marked out for us, submitting, if necessary, to wrong, but never failing to protest and contend, nevertheless against it; let our continued protest go forth, that we understand our rights, and that we are disposed to maintain them, as far as we can without violence. Let us continue to pursue our course patiently and unitedly, presenting an unbroken front to the enemy, having no traitors within, no factions, no strifes or bickerings, burying our little piques and feelings, having the one great and grand object to accomplish, namely, the establishment of truth and righteousness upon the earth, that eventually a place and people may be found worthy of Him who will come, and whose right it is to reign. And in pursuing faithfully and diligently the course which God has marked out, you may depend upon it that the day star will arise, and the dawn of that glorious day will be witnessed by all that share and engage in this labor. But how many labors devolve upon us, and how they accumulate and crowd upon us. The labor of lifting up the people and uniting them, furnishing suitable work for the unemployed and for our sons and daughters, that there may be no idleness in our land, that there may be no need of any Union societies to be organized, arraying labor against capital. How necessary it is that we should listen to the words of wisdom and instruction which have been given, counseling us to so organize ourselves and arrange our temporal affairs, that there may not be a single individual throughout our land, who desires to work, go unemployed, but that all may have this blessed privilege, for when men labor they keep out of mischief. You remember the old proverb—“An idle man's brain is the devil's workshop.” We want to banish idleness, how shall we do it? By organizing, and every President of Stake and every Bishop making it the study and object of his life to furnish employment to every man under his immediate presidency who may desire it. And thus we will preserve ourselves, and our sons will find employment at home, instead of scattering abroad, going hither and thither: and our daughters, too, will then find husbands who will be in a position to maintain them honorably and properly, and thus marriage be promoted in the land. Our boys, when they arrive at years of maturity and can take earn of a wife, should get married, and there should not be a lot of young men growing up in our midst who ought to be, but are not married. While I do not make the remark to apply to individual cases, I am firmly of the opinion that a large number of unmarried men, over the age of twenty-four years, is a dangerous element in any community, and an element upon which society should look with a jealous eye. For every man knowing himself, knows how his fellow man is constituted; and if men do not marry, they are too apt to do something worse. Then, brethren, encourage our young men to marry, and see that they are furnished employment, so that they can marry.
And then there is the education of our children. O, that we could bestow upon them, in every sense of the word, a proper education, so that they might become the peers of any people. Our children are noted for their brightness of intellect. Teachers say, who come from the east and the west, they never saw children receive knowledge with more ease than the children of these mountains do. We should take all the pains in our power to educate our children, furnishing them the best facilities, that our daughters and sons may be educated and accomplished. And at the same time teach them to labor. I tell my daughters that I want them to learn to wash, and sew, and cook, and become the best of housewives; and that I do not care then how much else they may know about music and other accomplishments, that they may be fitted to mingle with and feel at home in the best society. Girls as well as boys ought to be so trained as to confer dignity upon labor; and the idea, prevalent among some people, that because girls are accomplished they are spoiled and unfitted for labor, or to do housework, ought to be frowned down.
Let us think of these things after we separate and go to our homes; and let us endeavor to carry in our breasts the spirit of this Conference, and diffuse the same among the people not present. And let us so live that the desire may continually well up in our hearts, not how can we aggrandize ourselves, but how can we enrich this community, how can we benefit and bless this people, how can we elevate them and make these multitudes of children growing up in our midst more useful, so that they can be ornaments to society?
I pray the Lord to bless us and preserve us in the truth, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The choir sang an anthem, The Lord will comfort Zion.
Benediction by President Joseph Young.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON, 2 p.m.
The choir sang, Though deepening trials throng your way, Press on, press on, ye saints on God.
Prayer by Elder Franklin D. Richards.
The choir sang, Again we meet around the board Of Jesus, our redeeming Lord.
The sacrament of the Lord’s supper was administered.
The choir sang, Though deepening trials throng your way, Press on, press on, ye saints on God.
Prayer by Elder Franklin D. Richards.
The choir sang, Again we meet around the board Of Jesus, our redeeming Lord.
The sacrament of the Lord’s supper was administered.
President John Taylor
addressed the Conference. He was gratified to witness the union that existed among the people in regard to the great principles of eternal truth, for therein consisted our strength, and it is in God that we live, and move and have our being. If we ever attain to eternal life, it will be through the loving kindness of our Heavenly Father, and the merits and sacrifices of his son Jesus Christ our Savior. The God whom we worship is the Father of all the spirits of men that dwell upon the face of the earth, and he controls the destinies of the whole human family. The Lord has in these last days, and for the interests of humanity, revealed His mind and will, and pointed out the way by which we may secure eternal happiness in the celestial kingdom of our God. He has restored again the everlasting Gospel, with all its gifts, power and glory. He has selected his servants, and sent them forth as messengers to the nations of the earth. He has brought us here in accordance with certain eternal principles, which existed in the heavens before the world was. The work we are engaged in is not the work of man, it did not originate with man, but has been prophesied about by all the holy prophets since the creation of the world. It is the dispensation of the fulness of times. Any knowledge that we have received about God has emanated from God through the ministration of holy angels and by Himself and His son Jesus Christ, for the purpose of benefitting and blessing the human family. It was not to Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, or the Twelve Apostles that we are indebted for the mind and will of God, except as his ministers. God instructed His servants to go to the world to teach mankind the way of salvation, and not to be taught by them, for they had gone astray from God and His ways. We have been gathered together in these valleys that there might be a people who would listen to the word and will of God and become Saviors upon Mount Zion. If we rightly understood and appreciated our position before God, we should see things very differently to what we now do. We are not here to seek after our own interests and emoluments, but to learn of the laws of life, and teach the people the way of salvation. God is one, those who dwell in his presence are one, and we as a people ought to be one—one in faith, one in practice, one with God, one with the holy angels, one in time and one in all eternity. To secure that oneness, baptism was introduced, that we might all partake of one baptism and enjoy the selfsame spirit, that the Saints might be brought into union with the Almighty, and their united prayers ascend into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. The nations of the earth have their representatives and messengers, with power and authority to act in their behalf; but Joseph Smith was God’s chosen minister authorized to establish on earth the Church and Kingdom of God. He also selected others by revelation, in the express image of God. The mystery with some is how a personage of tabernacle can control the heavenly bodies and hold the planets as it were in balance, and how and by what power he can be everywhere present. This seems to have been the main cause of such erroneous views as are entertained by the Christian world in relation to God, whom they recognize as being only a spirit. The speaker showed the Scripture doctrine of the Deity, which is made still plainer by the revelations of God in the present dispensation. He then spoke of the importance of the Latter-day Saints attending to the practical, such as Apostles, High Priests, Bishops, and all other necessary authorities to regulate the affairs of the Church. The present organization through the various stakes of Zion is a pattern of what exists in heaven, and was revealed by the Lord to his servants. Our ordinances for the dead are only a part of the same great plan of salvation which we have embraced. It was of the utmost importance, therefore, that we who hold the holy priesthood, should be honorable representatives of God upon the earth. The time will come when every obstacle will be removed, and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ; union must be our watchword, whatever tends to divide and produce division comes from an evil source, but whatever tends to unite and bind together and elevate comes from God. Our feelings towards the world should be those of kindness, benevolence and good will; this people will grow and increase, and the time will come when calamity and strife and bloodshed will be amongst the nations of the earth, and also upon this nation; this we cannot help, but the sayings of the prophets must be fulfilled. The duty of the Apostleship was to build up and guard and protect the interests of Zion, not to build up themselves with filthy lucre and seek after self aggrandizement. He then defined the duties of High Priests. This quorum was a kind of normal school to prepare them for presiding positions in the various Stakes of Zion. Many more Stakes have yet to be organized, and he hoped the brethren would qualify themselves to fill responsibilities they would soon be required to assume. He next spoke of the field of labor now opening up in the vineyard of the Lord for the Seventies. He called upon the Presidents of Seventies to teach the members of their respective quorums their duties. He next addressed himself to the Elders and Presidents of Stakes, giving each their special instructions, to look well after the poor, and find employment for the people. He made a stirring appeal to the whole people in behalf of the Perpetual Emigration Fund. No man is justified in building up himself to the neglect of his honest indebtedness to the Fund. The building of Temples was an important labor. Reports of the progress of the three Temples now being constructed would probably be given before the Conference was closed.
The payment of tithing was next referred to. He felt to give credit to the Saints for responding so nobly to the building of Temples and other laudable undertakings. If all paid their tithing, there would be sufficient means for all these works. While these requirements continued to exist, he trusted that none would be oppressed, but encouraged to continue to do the best they can. The subject of education was also touched upon and advocated. The Mutual Improvement Societies of both sexes gave him much satisfaction. He commended the Relief Societies also, the first of which was organized by the Prophet Joseph Smith, he himself being present on that occasion. “May God bless you sisters, for your labors of love and benevolence are great, and you are doing a noble work.” He concluded by invoking the blessing of God upon the whole congregation.
addressed the Conference. He was gratified to witness the union that existed among the people in regard to the great principles of eternal truth, for therein consisted our strength, and it is in God that we live, and move and have our being. If we ever attain to eternal life, it will be through the loving kindness of our Heavenly Father, and the merits and sacrifices of his son Jesus Christ our Savior. The God whom we worship is the Father of all the spirits of men that dwell upon the face of the earth, and he controls the destinies of the whole human family. The Lord has in these last days, and for the interests of humanity, revealed His mind and will, and pointed out the way by which we may secure eternal happiness in the celestial kingdom of our God. He has restored again the everlasting Gospel, with all its gifts, power and glory. He has selected his servants, and sent them forth as messengers to the nations of the earth. He has brought us here in accordance with certain eternal principles, which existed in the heavens before the world was. The work we are engaged in is not the work of man, it did not originate with man, but has been prophesied about by all the holy prophets since the creation of the world. It is the dispensation of the fulness of times. Any knowledge that we have received about God has emanated from God through the ministration of holy angels and by Himself and His son Jesus Christ, for the purpose of benefitting and blessing the human family. It was not to Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, or the Twelve Apostles that we are indebted for the mind and will of God, except as his ministers. God instructed His servants to go to the world to teach mankind the way of salvation, and not to be taught by them, for they had gone astray from God and His ways. We have been gathered together in these valleys that there might be a people who would listen to the word and will of God and become Saviors upon Mount Zion. If we rightly understood and appreciated our position before God, we should see things very differently to what we now do. We are not here to seek after our own interests and emoluments, but to learn of the laws of life, and teach the people the way of salvation. God is one, those who dwell in his presence are one, and we as a people ought to be one—one in faith, one in practice, one with God, one with the holy angels, one in time and one in all eternity. To secure that oneness, baptism was introduced, that we might all partake of one baptism and enjoy the selfsame spirit, that the Saints might be brought into union with the Almighty, and their united prayers ascend into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. The nations of the earth have their representatives and messengers, with power and authority to act in their behalf; but Joseph Smith was God’s chosen minister authorized to establish on earth the Church and Kingdom of God. He also selected others by revelation, in the express image of God. The mystery with some is how a personage of tabernacle can control the heavenly bodies and hold the planets as it were in balance, and how and by what power he can be everywhere present. This seems to have been the main cause of such erroneous views as are entertained by the Christian world in relation to God, whom they recognize as being only a spirit. The speaker showed the Scripture doctrine of the Deity, which is made still plainer by the revelations of God in the present dispensation. He then spoke of the importance of the Latter-day Saints attending to the practical, such as Apostles, High Priests, Bishops, and all other necessary authorities to regulate the affairs of the Church. The present organization through the various stakes of Zion is a pattern of what exists in heaven, and was revealed by the Lord to his servants. Our ordinances for the dead are only a part of the same great plan of salvation which we have embraced. It was of the utmost importance, therefore, that we who hold the holy priesthood, should be honorable representatives of God upon the earth. The time will come when every obstacle will be removed, and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ; union must be our watchword, whatever tends to divide and produce division comes from an evil source, but whatever tends to unite and bind together and elevate comes from God. Our feelings towards the world should be those of kindness, benevolence and good will; this people will grow and increase, and the time will come when calamity and strife and bloodshed will be amongst the nations of the earth, and also upon this nation; this we cannot help, but the sayings of the prophets must be fulfilled. The duty of the Apostleship was to build up and guard and protect the interests of Zion, not to build up themselves with filthy lucre and seek after self aggrandizement. He then defined the duties of High Priests. This quorum was a kind of normal school to prepare them for presiding positions in the various Stakes of Zion. Many more Stakes have yet to be organized, and he hoped the brethren would qualify themselves to fill responsibilities they would soon be required to assume. He next spoke of the field of labor now opening up in the vineyard of the Lord for the Seventies. He called upon the Presidents of Seventies to teach the members of their respective quorums their duties. He next addressed himself to the Elders and Presidents of Stakes, giving each their special instructions, to look well after the poor, and find employment for the people. He made a stirring appeal to the whole people in behalf of the Perpetual Emigration Fund. No man is justified in building up himself to the neglect of his honest indebtedness to the Fund. The building of Temples was an important labor. Reports of the progress of the three Temples now being constructed would probably be given before the Conference was closed.
The payment of tithing was next referred to. He felt to give credit to the Saints for responding so nobly to the building of Temples and other laudable undertakings. If all paid their tithing, there would be sufficient means for all these works. While these requirements continued to exist, he trusted that none would be oppressed, but encouraged to continue to do the best they can. The subject of education was also touched upon and advocated. The Mutual Improvement Societies of both sexes gave him much satisfaction. He commended the Relief Societies also, the first of which was organized by the Prophet Joseph Smith, he himself being present on that occasion. “May God bless you sisters, for your labors of love and benevolence are great, and you are doing a noble work.” He concluded by invoking the blessing of God upon the whole congregation.
No Man Can Direct the Kingdom of God—The Gospel Did not Originate With Joseph Smith or Brigham Young—The Saints Operating With God and the Angels—The Grand Organization of the Church—Other Institutions of Zion
Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered at the Conference, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, April 8th, 1878.
Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.
I shall feel very much obliged, while I attempt to address you; if you will keep as quiet as possible; because it is quite a labor to speak to so large a congregation, and unless quiet and order is preserved, it is impossible for all the people to hear.
I have been very much interested and edified in listening to the remarks made by the brethren since we have assembled together in this Conference. And I have been very much pleased in witnessing the union and general feeling of interest manifested among the people to attend these meetings. It is evidence to me that the people feel interested in these great and eternal principles developed through our holy religion, and that they have a desire to yield obedience to the law of God and to keep his commandments. And in that alone is our safety, our happiness, our posterity, and our exaltation, as a people; for we derive every blessing we enjoy, whether of a temporal or of a spiritual nature from our heavenly Father; and without him we can do or perform no good work, for in him “we live and move and have our being,” and from him, and through him we receive all blessings pertaining to this life, and we shall hereafter, if we possess eternal lives, inherit them and obtain them through the goodness, mercy and long-suffering of God our Eternal Father, through the merits and redemption of Jesus Christ our Savior.
It is not in man to direct, to manage and control affairs of the Kingdom of God. No man ever did possess that power, nor will he, unaided by the power of the Almighty. All nations and all peoples are more or less under his direction and control, although many of them do not know it. He raises up one nation, and puts down another, he debases the proud and exalts the humble at his pleasure, and he pursues that course among all the peoples and nations of the earth, as seemeth best unto him; and all nations and all peoples are his offspring and he is the God and Father of the spirits of all flesh, and feels an interest in the welfare of all the human family. He has been in the ages that are past, and he is in the present age doing all that he can to promote the happiness and well-being of the human family. This does not always appear to men of superficial minds, the dealings of God with man are not always comprehended. But he nevertheless does control the destinies of all peoples; and if in many instances it does not seem for their present benefit, yet as mankind are eternal beings, having to do with eternity as well as time, when the secrets of all hearts shall be developed and the actions of gods shall be made known and fully comprehended in the future destinies of the races of men, it will be found that the Judge of all the earth has done right.
The Lord has in these last days, for his own special purpose, and also in the interest of humanity, revealed himself from the heavens, made manifest his will to man, sent his holy angels to communicate and reveal unto us his children certain principles as they exist in the bosom of God, and he has pointed out the way whereby we may secure our happiness and an eternal exaltation in the celestial Kingdom of God. He has been pleased to restore again the everlasting Gospel in all its fullness, with all its riches, and blessings, and power, and glory. He has organized his Church and Kingdom upon the earth; he has chosen men as he did in former times to be the bearers of his message of life and salvation to the nations of the earth. He has, through these instruments, instructed us, and gathered us together, as we are found here today, from the different nations where the Gospel reached us. He has brought us here according to certain eternal principles which he had in his mind before the world was, and according to certain councils that existed in the heavens among the gods, who have been operating upon and with the human family from the commencement to the present, and will until the winding up scene.
The work that we are engaged in is not the work of man, it did not originate with man, it was not found out by him. It is the work that has been prophesied of by all the holy prophets that have lived on this continent, on the continent of Asia, and in the various portions of the earth. As the Apostle Paul describes it, it is “the dispensation of the fulness of times spoken of by all the holy prophets since the world was.” And anything that we may have received—any light, any intelligence, any knowledge of the things of God, have emanated and proceeded from him. He saw and comprehended the fitting time for this work to commence; he prepared the way by once more opening the heavens, by revealing himself and his Son Jesus, and by afterwards sending holy angels to communicate his will and his purposes and designs to the human family. It therefore did not originate with us, nor with any sect or party or people, for nobody, not even Joseph Smith, or Brigham Young, or any of the Twelve Apostles knew anything about the great principles that were stored up in the mind of God. It was the mind and will and revelations of God, made known to the human family, in the first place to Joseph Smith, and through him to others. And when the Elders of this Church went forth to the nations of the earth, as bearers of the gospel message, if they had gone upon their own responsibility they could have accomplished nothing. But having been chosen and set apart of the Lord, they went forth as his messengers, without purse or scrip, trusting in Him. And he opened up their way and prepared their path, as he said beforehand that he would. “Behold,” said he, “I send you forth to the nations of the earth, and my Spirit shall go with you, and my angels shall prepare the way for you.” I send you forth not to be taught, but to teach, not to be instructed by the world of mankind or the intelligence of the world, but by the wisdom and intelligence and power and spirit which I shall give you, and it is through and by this influence that we have been gathered together. And why are we gathered? These Elders could not have gathered you unless God had been with them; they could not have influenced you to come here unless the Spirit and power of their mission had been with them. But the Lord said in former years through his prophets, “I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion. And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.” And through the operation and influence of the Spirit of the living God, manifested through the priesthood, God's ministers on the earth, you have been brought together as you are today. But why should we be thus gathered together? That there may be a body of people found to whom God can communicate his will, that there might be a people who should be prepared to listen to the word and will and voice of God: that there might be a people gathered together from the different nations who, under the influence of that spirit, should become saviors upon Mount Zion; that they might, under the inspiration of the Almighty, and through the power of the Holy Priesthood which they should receive, go forth to those nations and proclaim to the people the principles of life, that they might indeed become the saviors of men. And if we could fully comprehend our position, we should see things very differently from what we now do. If we could comprehend our relationship to God, to each other, to his church upon the earth, and also the greatness and magnitude of the work in which we are engaged, and the responsibilities that devolve upon us as Elders in Israel, as Saints of the Most High God, we should see things in a very different light from what we now do. We are not here, as they say in the Church of England, to “follow the devices and desires of our own hearts;” we are not here to pursue our own individual interests and emoluments, we are not here merely to attend to our own secular affairs, but to learn the laws of life, and then teach the people the way of salvation. There was an old saying among ancient Israel: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt worship the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and him only shalt thou worship.” And Jesus, in after time, added a little more to this: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” God is one, and they who dwell with him are one. Those who will inherit the celestial kingdom will be one when they get there; and we, as a people, ought to be one—one in faith, one in principle, one in practice, one in our interests, one in our associations, with each other and in our families, one with God, one with the holy angels, one in time, and one in eternity.
To bring about a union of this kind, the principle of baptism has been introduced that we all might be baptized into one baptism, by the laying on of hands, and through the various orders of his Priesthood, we all partake of the same spirit; and being brought into union and communion with God, that we all might feel after God, that the tens of thousands, and hundreds of thousands might be brought into connection with the Almighty, whose prayers could ascend into the ears of the Lord of Sabbaoth. And for the accomplishment of this purpose, he selected Joseph Smith to be the first Apostle in his Church: he was called “not by the will of man,” nor by the power of man, nor by the intelligence of man, but by God who revealed himself unto this young man, as also the Savior, committing unto him a mission to perform to the inhabitants of this earth. He was endowed with power and authority which was given him for that purpose, that he might be the legitimate representative of God upon the earth. He also taught him how to organize his Church, and put him in communication with many of the ancient Prophets who have long since passed away, who also communicated with him, and revealed unto him further the plan and design of the Almighty in relation to this earth, and the salvation of all who would listen to the principles of truth.
The nations of the earth have their representatives, their ministers, their plenipotentiaries, empowered and sent forth by the recognized authority of the several nations. He was the representative of God, his credentials came from God, and his mission extended not to one nation only, but to all nations; and he was authorized to establish and organize what was termed the Church and Kingdom of God upon the earth. And every step that he took, every principle that he inculcated, and every doctrine that he taught, came from God by the revelations of God to him, and through him to the people. He selected others by revelation—Apostles, High Priests, Seventies, Bishops, Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons, also High Councils, and Bishops' Councils, and Patriarchs, and all the various authorities and organizations of this Church. Joseph Smith neither knew how to select men, whom to select, nor what their offices should be until it was communicated by the Lord. And yet we find that these principles revealed to him, agree with those that existed in former ages whenever God had a Church or people on the earth. And hence the ushering in of the Gospel simply means the revelation of the will of God to man; it simply means the placing of mankind in communication with the Lord that he may not be governed by his own follies or notions or theories, but by the will and word of God. And the examples that you heard referred to here, of our Stakes, with their Presidencies, together with the Bishops and their Council, etc., is a part of the system of heaven, as it exists in the eternal worlds; and the Priesthood that we hold is the everlasting Priesthood, and it administers in time, and it will administer in eternity; and a knowledge of the works that we are now engaged in, in regard to the building of Temples and administering therein, all came from God, and are a part of the eternal system. Who knew about them until God revealed it? Nobody. Who knows how to administer acceptably in these Temples without revelation? Nobody but those to whom it has been communicated, it came from God. And our preaching to the living, and our administering for the dead are all of them parts and parcels of the same concern. The fact is, we are in a state of probation; we have enlisted under the banner of the Almighty; we have dedicated ourselves to him for time and for eternity, and he expects it at our hands that we be true to the trust conferred upon us, that we be faithful to our obligations and fulfil them, that we honor our God, that we magnify our callings and Priesthood, and that we stand forth among the people and before the nations, as the representatives of God upon the earth. We have a similar view to that of the Apostle Paul, who said when addressing himself to the Corinthians: “Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” We have enlisted in a work, have engaged in a warfare that will last while time shall be, and if we live our religion, and keep his commandments, the principles that we are in possession of will bear us off triumphant over death, hell and the grave, and land us among the just, among the celestial host that dwell with our Father in heaven. We really have no time to attend to those trivial affairs, that some people seem to think ought to occupy so much of our time. I wish now, while we are together to talk upon some general principles associated with the Priesthood which has been conferred upon us.
It was said of ancient Israel, if they had kept the commandments, that he would have made out of them a kingdom of Priests. We are literally a kingdom of Priests today. Our business is not to follow our own will, our own desires and plans, but to seek to know and to do the will of God, to carry out these principles which he has revealed, and in this is our happiness and exaltation in time, and will be throughout the eternities that are to come.
We ought to be operating with God, and with the holy angels; we ought to be feeling after them, we ought to be operating with the ancient Priesthood that have lived before—the Patriarchs, the Prophets, the Apostles, and all those men of God who have lived and died in the faith who act with God our heavenly Father, and with Jesus the Mediator of the new Covenant. We ought to be operating with them in establishing righteousness throughout the earth, not nominally, but really; we ought to be laboring in conjunction with them in saving the living, not to make it a hardship and a trouble and a toil; something that we can hardly endure to go through; but on the contrary, feeling it an honor to be associated with the interests of God and bearers of the message of life and salvation, and also seeking for wisdom, and intelligence, and power, and revelation from God to carry out his will and designs, and to accomplish his purposes upon the earth.
Will his purposes be accomplished? They will. Will the Gospel grow, spread and increase? I tell you, in the name of Israel's God, it will. Will the time come when every fictitious thing will be removed, when light and truth shall prevail, and when the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ? I tell you it will, and God will hasten it in his time. And this priesthood and this people are to be the instruments, in the hands of God, in connection with the priesthood who have gone before, who are now operating in their sphere, as we are in ours. The Lord hath so ordained, says the Apostle, “that they (referring to the dead), without us should not be made perfect;” neither can we without them be made perfect. There needs to be a welding and uniting together, that in all of our doings as God's servants and representatives, we may be influenced and directed from above, being united with the Gods in heaven we may become one in all things upon the earth, and afterwards one in the heavens. And says the Lord, “If ye are not one, ye are not mine.” Everything that tends to divide the people, as you heard this morning, proceeds from beneath, and those that are engaged in it are the emissaries of the devil; for as he is the father of lies, so he is the father of division, strife and discord. But union, peace, love, harmony, fellowship, brotherhood and everything honorable, noble and exalting, proceeds from God; these are the principles that we ought to seek after and to disseminate as far as we can everywhere and among all peoples. And then when we have done that work, turn our attention to the building of temples and minister in them for the dead, that we may operate with the fathers in the interest of their posterity, helping them to perform that for their posterity which they were not able to do.
And in regard to the world, what ought our feelings to be towards them? A feeling of generosity, a feeling of kindness, a feeling of sympathy, with our hearts full of charity, long-suffering and benevolence, as God our Father has, for he makes his sun to rise on the evil as well as the good; he sends his rain on the unjust as well as the just. And while we abjure the evils, the corruptions, the fraud and iniquity, the lasciviousness and the lyings and abominations that exist in the world, whenever we see an honorable principle, a desire to do right, whenever we see an opening to promote the happiness of any of these people, or to reclaim the wanderer, it is our duty to do it, as saviors on Mount Zion.
Will they have trouble? Yes. Will there be tribulation? Yes. Will nation be arrayed against nation? Yes. Will thrones be cast down and empires destroyed? Yes. Will there be war, and carnage, and bloodshed? Yes. But these things are with the people and with God. It is not for us; we have a mission to perform, and that is to preach the Gospel and introduce correct principles, to unfold the laws of God as men are prepared to receive them, to build up his Zion upon the earth, and to prepare a people for the time when the bursting heavens will reveal the Son of God, “and when every creature on the earth and under the earth will be heard to say, blessing and glory, and honor, and power, and might, and majesty, and dominion be ascribed to him that sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever.”
Will this people grow and increase? Yes. And the time will come—it is not now, we are not prepared for it—when calamity and trouble and bloodshed, confusion and strife will spread among all the nations of the earth. The time will come, and is not far distant, when those who will not take up the sword to fight against their neighbors, will have to flee to Zion for safety. That was true some time ago, and it is nearer its fulfillment by a great many years than at the time it was first uttered.
What are we here for? To build up or aggrandize ourselves? No, but to build up the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth, and to spread the light of truth among the nations. That is our duty, and also to pray for the revelations of God, that the Spirit and power of God may rest upon us, that we may comprehend correct principles and understand the laws of life, to guide and guard and protect the ship Zion from among the rocks and shoals and troubles that will sooner or later overcome this nation, and other nations, and prepare ourselves for the events that are to come. We ought to be men of honor, of honesty, of integrity, having our eyes single to the glory of God. That is the duty of these Apostles, and not to act with a view for their own aggrandizement, and for the obtainment of filthy lucre, or anything else pertaining to this world. We brought nothing into this world, we can take nothing out. It is for us to operate for God and in the interests of his Church and kingdom.
And what of these other brethren, the High Priests? They have a mission to perform, and that is to make themselves acquainted with the laws, doctrines, ordinances and government of the Church of God upon the earth, that they may be prepared, when called upon, to fulfil the duties and responsibilities devolving upon them. I will here read part of a revelation which indicates the nature of these duties. “And again I give unto you, Don C. Smith, to be a President over a Quorum of High Priests, which ordinance is instituted for the purpose of qualifying those who shall be appointed standing Presidents over the different stakes scattered abroad.” Hear it, O ye High Priests! This is the prominent duty devolving upon you. The position you occupy is a sort of a normal school, if you please, to prepare those who are in it and are taught in it, that when they shall be called to hold official places in the various stakes of Zion, they may be prepared to magnify them. How was it when we were engaged organizing these stakes, were these brethren prepared? No, many of them were not by any means. One was engaged on his farm, another was tied up in his merchandising, another had bought five yoke of oxen and had to prove them, and another had married a wife and he could not come. And we, therefore, had to go outside of the High Priests, whose legitimate business it was to occupy these positions, and call other men and ordain them High Priests, and set them apart to preside in these stakes, as Presidents and Bishops and Councilors, having to take them from among the Seventies' and Elder's Quorums, because the High Priests were not prepared to magnify their legitimate calling; whereas, if they had been doing their duty, living their religion, and meeting together in prayer, and examining the doctrine of Christ, instead of being engaged almost exclusively in many of these other matters, they would have been prepared to step forward and magnify their calling. There are many other stakes to be organized. Prepare yourselves, you High Priests, for the duties and responsibilities that may devolve upon you, that the Church of God may be strengthened in all its parts, and every man in his place, all prepared to magnify their calling.
Then, again, there are Seventies; I think there are some seventy-six quorums of seventies. Does their duty consist merely in making their own plans and calculations, such as to go on a farm and live there all their lifetime, attending to their own individual affairs, or pursue any other avocation without considering the obligations they are under by virtue of their Priesthood, and calling? I tell you nay. We have something else to do. I read in the revelation touching this matter, when the seventies were ordained, “they were to ordain more seventies until there should be seven times seventy, if the labor in the vineyard required it.” They were to do this “if the labor in the vineyard required it.” In whose vineyard? Their orchards and farms? I do not read it so. Does this refer to their merchandising? It does not so read. In looking after their own affairs or emoluments? That is not what I read; but for the labor of the vineyard. Whose vineyard, then? The vineyard of the Lord. But it seems that a great many of the Seventies have no more idea of going into the vineyard of the Lord, than if they held no such Priesthood or calling; they do not seem to comprehend their duties, nor their responsibilities. Hear it, O ye Seventies! You are called and set apart by the Priesthood, to act under the direction of the Twelve, to go forth as His messengers to the nations of the earth. Do you believe it? This is your calling. Prepare yourselves for it. I do not want Elders coming to me, as some have been doing, after having been called upon missions saying, I pray thee have me excused. And I call upon the first President of the Seventies to instruct the various Presidents of Seventies, and they in turn the members of their several quorums, in regard to their duties; and to live themselves so that the spirit of the living God may rest down upon them, that they may indeed be qualified to teach their brethren what their duties are, that they may prepare themselves to magnify them. Instead, therefore, of everyone seeking his own individual gain from his own quarter, let every man feel that he is a servant of the living God, a messenger to the nations of the earth, and that when the Lord calls upon him, through the proper authority, to do a certain work, he must obey, and that readily and willingly! These are the duties and responsibilities that devolve upon you, my brethren of the Seventies.
And it is the duty of the Elders also to magnify their callings; to feel after God and to seek instruction from Him, and to magnify their calling and Priesthood at home or abroad, being governed by the Holy Priesthood, in regard to their duties, that they may be acceptable to the Lord, and magnify their callings with all diligence and fidelity, and then it is the duty of the Presidents of Stakes to look after the interest and welfare of their own people under their Presidency, not in a formal manner, but as interested in their welfare, having a lively desire to benefit and build them up, both spiritually and temporally, and perfect them in righteousness, purging out when necessary the ungodly, lifting up and exalting the poor, and blessing and benefiting everybody according to the principles of righteousness and truth, guarding their virtue and their honor, and see that men are honorable, that they regard their word of more value than their bond, that all people may rely on them; men who, in the language of the Prophet, will swerve to their own hurt and change not, and who will do that which is right and equitable before God. It is their duty, and the duty of the Bishops and also that of the High Priests and Seventies and Elders operating with them to look after the poor and see that they are provided for. Do not let us have anybody crying for bread, or suffering for the want of employment. Let us furnish employment for all, divide up our farms and plan and devise liberally that all who need work, and want to be employed, may find labor. And I now call upon the Presidents of Stakes throughout Zion to give this matter their serious and earnest attention. We have land in abundance, water in abundance, and means in abundance; let us utilize them for the common weal. Talk about financiering! Financier for the poor, for the working man, who requires labor and is willing to do it, and act in the interest of the community, for the welfare of Zion, and in the building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth. This is your calling; it is not to build up yourselves, but to build up the Church and kingdom of God; and see that there is no cause for complaining in all your villages and cities and neighborhoods. Let us take hold together for the accomplishment of this object, and pray God to give us wisdom to carry it out, and he will pour upon us blessings that there will not be room enough to contain.
Again, we have what is called a Perpetual Emigration Fund. I wish to draw the attention, not only of the Presidents of Stakes but of the Bishops of the various wards, and of the whole people, to the responsibilities that devolve upon us in relation to this matter. We seem to be dwindling down in some of these matters, and I am sorry to say that there is a great lack of that integrity and interest that we would like to see manifested among our brethren. There are those here who have assisted with their means to the amount of upwards of a million dollars, which is unpaid by those who received the benefit of it. It was the calculation that this means should be used to bring those of our brethren to this land, who needed and were worthy of this assistance, and when you who were thus assisted were in distant lands praying and wishing to be gathered to Zion, this help came to you and you were brought here; and instead of paying this your honest debt, you go to work and build up yourselves, without meeting your obligations, what is the result? Those of your brethren who still remain, who are just as worthy as you to be gathered to Zion, are left to cry for assistance. I am daily in receipt of letters from different parts of the earth, asking to be thus assisted pleading: “we want to gather with the Saints, can't you help us?” Yes, we can if you who owe the Fund will pay your honest debts, we can then meet all these requirements. And I call upon the Presidents of Stakes and upon the Bishops to look after these things, and see that these obligations are met, that the poor from abroad may not cry in vain; but that we may help them, and then they return the amount advanced to them to assist others, and thus keep the work rolling in the same direction. And if this duty is not performed, how can we expect the blessing of God to rest upon us?
We are engaged quite extensively in the erection of Temples. We are building one here, and also one in Cache Valley, and another in Sanpete, and if we had time, and it was considered advisable, we could read the report read setting forth the receipts and disbursements of these places; and I presume we shall, before the Conference adjourns. Suffice it to say, with all our backwardness in some other things, there are a great many of the Latter-day Saints who are doing all they can in every laudable enterprise. I presume at the present time there is not less than 500 men engaged in rearing the walls of these Temples. And men are taking hold of it with energy, doing all they can in many instances, but not in all by a great deal.
Then in regard to our Tithing operations, Bishop Hunter informs me that many of the people are very negligent in regard to this matter. Now, I would say in behalf of the people, that perhaps there may be a partial excuse for some of these things. We have had a very stringent time for a number of years past, a financial crisis has prevailed in the eastern States for some years now, and almost every paper reports the failure of mercantile and business institutions—of the failure of one firm after another; and we have been subject, more or less, to these depressions. The fact also must be considered that great exertions have been made in the building of the St. George Temple, and also the three Temples now under way, which have already exhausted considerable means furnished chiefly by the people residing in those Temple districts. I must give the people credit for their zeal and energy in this direction, which we must all acknowledge is very commendable and praiseworthy. And, perhaps, in the performance of this labor many have done the best they could, and possibly circumstances have so overruled that they find themselves hardly able to meet their Tithing, for as a rule it is those who take delight in observing the law of Tithing that subscribe to these other calls. We do not wish to crowd or press upon the people; but rather let us take things easily and deliberately, seeking always to break off the yoke of him that is bound, letting the oppressor go free. And let our sympathies be extended towards the widow and the orphan; and while we are building Temples, paying our Tithes and offerings, and doing the best we can before God and man, we will let that go for the present, and when we get into more favorable circumstances we will do better. At any rate, we will keep doing with a long pull and a strong pull, and a pull altogether, as one in the interests of all Israel. But we must not forget our duties to the Lord.
I would say in this connection that there are three of the Twelve appointed to superintend the erection of these edifices in these outside districts, and then there are those residing here attending to home affairs. And we are seeking to act in concert and do the very best we can. Some people have an idea that these Temples ought to be built from the proceeds of the Tithing; I do not object to it in the least, providing you will only pay your Tithing. But we cannot build Temples with something that exists only in name. You deal honestly with the Lord, handing over in due season that which belongs to his storehouse, and then we will show you whether we cannot build Temples, as well as do everything else that may be required with it. In the mean time, we have got to do the best we can in these matters; and as we are personally interested in these things, as well as our brethren, the departed deed who have gone before us, and who depend upon this being done, we feel a strong desire to carry out these projects; and this feeling, I am happy to say, exists throughout all Israel.
We want also to be alive in the cause of education. We are commanded of the Lord to obtain knowledge, both by study and by faith, seeking it out of the best books. And it becomes us to teach our children, and afford them instruction in every branch of education calculated to promote their welfare, leaving those false acquirements which tend to infidelity, and to lead away the mind and affection from the things of God. We want to compile the intelligence and literacy of this people in book form, as well as in teaching and preaching; adopting all the good and useful books we can obtain; and what we need and cannot obtain, make them. And instead of doing as many of the world do, take the works of God, to try to prove that there in no God; we want to prove by God's works that he does exist, that he lives and rules and holds us, as it were, in the hollow of his hand. For it is very unfair for man to take the works of God to try to prove that there is no God. But then it is only the fool that has said in his heart, there is no God. I would like to talk upon this subject if time would permit.
I am pleased to see the exertions made by the young men's and young women's mutual improvement associations, to benefit and bless the rising generation of our people. And I am also pleased to witness the degree of intelligence and studiousness manifested by our young people; it is creditable and praiseworthy. We want to lead them on and encourage them in the study of correct principles, so that when the responsibility of bearing off the Church and Kingdom of God shall pass from us to them, they may be prepared for it, and carry on the work to a glorious and triumphant consummation. And that we may stand in regard to education and literacy, the sciences, the arts and intelligence of every kind, as high above the nations of the earth, as we do today in regard to religious matters.
And before closing I would refer briefly to the ladies' relief society. We are told that, “the man is not without the woman, nor the woman without the man in the Lord.” She is spoken of as a helpmeet to her husband. I remember the organization of the first Relief Society in Nauvoo, by the Prophet Joseph Smith; today we find them spreading all over the land, and the benefits of their labors are widely realized. Our sisters are doing a noble and commendable work in writing and publishing, in visiting the sick and needy, and ministering to their wants, and showing kindness and benevolence towards the suffering and distressed, and also advocating principles that are honorable and praiseworthy before God and man, calculated to elevate and bless their sex. And I say to the sisters, God bless you in your labors of love, and in your enterprise, continue to press forward in your good work, and the Lord will bless you and your posterity after you; for you are mothers in Israel who are raising up kings and priests unto the Most High God. See that your children are taught aright, and that they grow up in virtue and purity before the Lord. Teach them good principles, never mind so much about the fashions; but let economy, industry, charity, kindness and virtue be early impressed upon their minds, and try to love your sons and daughters, and to lead them in the paths of life. I should like to speak of our Sunday Schools and other institutions, but time will not permit. I have talked long enough. God bless you, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The choir sang an anthem Arise for thy light is come.
Conference was adjourned until to-morrow (Monday) at 10 a.m.
Benediction by Elder George Q. Cannon.
Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered at the Conference, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, April 8th, 1878.
Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.
I shall feel very much obliged, while I attempt to address you; if you will keep as quiet as possible; because it is quite a labor to speak to so large a congregation, and unless quiet and order is preserved, it is impossible for all the people to hear.
I have been very much interested and edified in listening to the remarks made by the brethren since we have assembled together in this Conference. And I have been very much pleased in witnessing the union and general feeling of interest manifested among the people to attend these meetings. It is evidence to me that the people feel interested in these great and eternal principles developed through our holy religion, and that they have a desire to yield obedience to the law of God and to keep his commandments. And in that alone is our safety, our happiness, our posterity, and our exaltation, as a people; for we derive every blessing we enjoy, whether of a temporal or of a spiritual nature from our heavenly Father; and without him we can do or perform no good work, for in him “we live and move and have our being,” and from him, and through him we receive all blessings pertaining to this life, and we shall hereafter, if we possess eternal lives, inherit them and obtain them through the goodness, mercy and long-suffering of God our Eternal Father, through the merits and redemption of Jesus Christ our Savior.
It is not in man to direct, to manage and control affairs of the Kingdom of God. No man ever did possess that power, nor will he, unaided by the power of the Almighty. All nations and all peoples are more or less under his direction and control, although many of them do not know it. He raises up one nation, and puts down another, he debases the proud and exalts the humble at his pleasure, and he pursues that course among all the peoples and nations of the earth, as seemeth best unto him; and all nations and all peoples are his offspring and he is the God and Father of the spirits of all flesh, and feels an interest in the welfare of all the human family. He has been in the ages that are past, and he is in the present age doing all that he can to promote the happiness and well-being of the human family. This does not always appear to men of superficial minds, the dealings of God with man are not always comprehended. But he nevertheless does control the destinies of all peoples; and if in many instances it does not seem for their present benefit, yet as mankind are eternal beings, having to do with eternity as well as time, when the secrets of all hearts shall be developed and the actions of gods shall be made known and fully comprehended in the future destinies of the races of men, it will be found that the Judge of all the earth has done right.
The Lord has in these last days, for his own special purpose, and also in the interest of humanity, revealed himself from the heavens, made manifest his will to man, sent his holy angels to communicate and reveal unto us his children certain principles as they exist in the bosom of God, and he has pointed out the way whereby we may secure our happiness and an eternal exaltation in the celestial Kingdom of God. He has been pleased to restore again the everlasting Gospel in all its fullness, with all its riches, and blessings, and power, and glory. He has organized his Church and Kingdom upon the earth; he has chosen men as he did in former times to be the bearers of his message of life and salvation to the nations of the earth. He has, through these instruments, instructed us, and gathered us together, as we are found here today, from the different nations where the Gospel reached us. He has brought us here according to certain eternal principles which he had in his mind before the world was, and according to certain councils that existed in the heavens among the gods, who have been operating upon and with the human family from the commencement to the present, and will until the winding up scene.
The work that we are engaged in is not the work of man, it did not originate with man, it was not found out by him. It is the work that has been prophesied of by all the holy prophets that have lived on this continent, on the continent of Asia, and in the various portions of the earth. As the Apostle Paul describes it, it is “the dispensation of the fulness of times spoken of by all the holy prophets since the world was.” And anything that we may have received—any light, any intelligence, any knowledge of the things of God, have emanated and proceeded from him. He saw and comprehended the fitting time for this work to commence; he prepared the way by once more opening the heavens, by revealing himself and his Son Jesus, and by afterwards sending holy angels to communicate his will and his purposes and designs to the human family. It therefore did not originate with us, nor with any sect or party or people, for nobody, not even Joseph Smith, or Brigham Young, or any of the Twelve Apostles knew anything about the great principles that were stored up in the mind of God. It was the mind and will and revelations of God, made known to the human family, in the first place to Joseph Smith, and through him to others. And when the Elders of this Church went forth to the nations of the earth, as bearers of the gospel message, if they had gone upon their own responsibility they could have accomplished nothing. But having been chosen and set apart of the Lord, they went forth as his messengers, without purse or scrip, trusting in Him. And he opened up their way and prepared their path, as he said beforehand that he would. “Behold,” said he, “I send you forth to the nations of the earth, and my Spirit shall go with you, and my angels shall prepare the way for you.” I send you forth not to be taught, but to teach, not to be instructed by the world of mankind or the intelligence of the world, but by the wisdom and intelligence and power and spirit which I shall give you, and it is through and by this influence that we have been gathered together. And why are we gathered? These Elders could not have gathered you unless God had been with them; they could not have influenced you to come here unless the Spirit and power of their mission had been with them. But the Lord said in former years through his prophets, “I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion. And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.” And through the operation and influence of the Spirit of the living God, manifested through the priesthood, God's ministers on the earth, you have been brought together as you are today. But why should we be thus gathered together? That there may be a body of people found to whom God can communicate his will, that there might be a people who should be prepared to listen to the word and will and voice of God: that there might be a people gathered together from the different nations who, under the influence of that spirit, should become saviors upon Mount Zion; that they might, under the inspiration of the Almighty, and through the power of the Holy Priesthood which they should receive, go forth to those nations and proclaim to the people the principles of life, that they might indeed become the saviors of men. And if we could fully comprehend our position, we should see things very differently from what we now do. If we could comprehend our relationship to God, to each other, to his church upon the earth, and also the greatness and magnitude of the work in which we are engaged, and the responsibilities that devolve upon us as Elders in Israel, as Saints of the Most High God, we should see things in a very different light from what we now do. We are not here, as they say in the Church of England, to “follow the devices and desires of our own hearts;” we are not here to pursue our own individual interests and emoluments, we are not here merely to attend to our own secular affairs, but to learn the laws of life, and then teach the people the way of salvation. There was an old saying among ancient Israel: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt worship the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and him only shalt thou worship.” And Jesus, in after time, added a little more to this: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” God is one, and they who dwell with him are one. Those who will inherit the celestial kingdom will be one when they get there; and we, as a people, ought to be one—one in faith, one in principle, one in practice, one in our interests, one in our associations, with each other and in our families, one with God, one with the holy angels, one in time, and one in eternity.
To bring about a union of this kind, the principle of baptism has been introduced that we all might be baptized into one baptism, by the laying on of hands, and through the various orders of his Priesthood, we all partake of the same spirit; and being brought into union and communion with God, that we all might feel after God, that the tens of thousands, and hundreds of thousands might be brought into connection with the Almighty, whose prayers could ascend into the ears of the Lord of Sabbaoth. And for the accomplishment of this purpose, he selected Joseph Smith to be the first Apostle in his Church: he was called “not by the will of man,” nor by the power of man, nor by the intelligence of man, but by God who revealed himself unto this young man, as also the Savior, committing unto him a mission to perform to the inhabitants of this earth. He was endowed with power and authority which was given him for that purpose, that he might be the legitimate representative of God upon the earth. He also taught him how to organize his Church, and put him in communication with many of the ancient Prophets who have long since passed away, who also communicated with him, and revealed unto him further the plan and design of the Almighty in relation to this earth, and the salvation of all who would listen to the principles of truth.
The nations of the earth have their representatives, their ministers, their plenipotentiaries, empowered and sent forth by the recognized authority of the several nations. He was the representative of God, his credentials came from God, and his mission extended not to one nation only, but to all nations; and he was authorized to establish and organize what was termed the Church and Kingdom of God upon the earth. And every step that he took, every principle that he inculcated, and every doctrine that he taught, came from God by the revelations of God to him, and through him to the people. He selected others by revelation—Apostles, High Priests, Seventies, Bishops, Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons, also High Councils, and Bishops' Councils, and Patriarchs, and all the various authorities and organizations of this Church. Joseph Smith neither knew how to select men, whom to select, nor what their offices should be until it was communicated by the Lord. And yet we find that these principles revealed to him, agree with those that existed in former ages whenever God had a Church or people on the earth. And hence the ushering in of the Gospel simply means the revelation of the will of God to man; it simply means the placing of mankind in communication with the Lord that he may not be governed by his own follies or notions or theories, but by the will and word of God. And the examples that you heard referred to here, of our Stakes, with their Presidencies, together with the Bishops and their Council, etc., is a part of the system of heaven, as it exists in the eternal worlds; and the Priesthood that we hold is the everlasting Priesthood, and it administers in time, and it will administer in eternity; and a knowledge of the works that we are now engaged in, in regard to the building of Temples and administering therein, all came from God, and are a part of the eternal system. Who knew about them until God revealed it? Nobody. Who knows how to administer acceptably in these Temples without revelation? Nobody but those to whom it has been communicated, it came from God. And our preaching to the living, and our administering for the dead are all of them parts and parcels of the same concern. The fact is, we are in a state of probation; we have enlisted under the banner of the Almighty; we have dedicated ourselves to him for time and for eternity, and he expects it at our hands that we be true to the trust conferred upon us, that we be faithful to our obligations and fulfil them, that we honor our God, that we magnify our callings and Priesthood, and that we stand forth among the people and before the nations, as the representatives of God upon the earth. We have a similar view to that of the Apostle Paul, who said when addressing himself to the Corinthians: “Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” We have enlisted in a work, have engaged in a warfare that will last while time shall be, and if we live our religion, and keep his commandments, the principles that we are in possession of will bear us off triumphant over death, hell and the grave, and land us among the just, among the celestial host that dwell with our Father in heaven. We really have no time to attend to those trivial affairs, that some people seem to think ought to occupy so much of our time. I wish now, while we are together to talk upon some general principles associated with the Priesthood which has been conferred upon us.
It was said of ancient Israel, if they had kept the commandments, that he would have made out of them a kingdom of Priests. We are literally a kingdom of Priests today. Our business is not to follow our own will, our own desires and plans, but to seek to know and to do the will of God, to carry out these principles which he has revealed, and in this is our happiness and exaltation in time, and will be throughout the eternities that are to come.
We ought to be operating with God, and with the holy angels; we ought to be feeling after them, we ought to be operating with the ancient Priesthood that have lived before—the Patriarchs, the Prophets, the Apostles, and all those men of God who have lived and died in the faith who act with God our heavenly Father, and with Jesus the Mediator of the new Covenant. We ought to be operating with them in establishing righteousness throughout the earth, not nominally, but really; we ought to be laboring in conjunction with them in saving the living, not to make it a hardship and a trouble and a toil; something that we can hardly endure to go through; but on the contrary, feeling it an honor to be associated with the interests of God and bearers of the message of life and salvation, and also seeking for wisdom, and intelligence, and power, and revelation from God to carry out his will and designs, and to accomplish his purposes upon the earth.
Will his purposes be accomplished? They will. Will the Gospel grow, spread and increase? I tell you, in the name of Israel's God, it will. Will the time come when every fictitious thing will be removed, when light and truth shall prevail, and when the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ? I tell you it will, and God will hasten it in his time. And this priesthood and this people are to be the instruments, in the hands of God, in connection with the priesthood who have gone before, who are now operating in their sphere, as we are in ours. The Lord hath so ordained, says the Apostle, “that they (referring to the dead), without us should not be made perfect;” neither can we without them be made perfect. There needs to be a welding and uniting together, that in all of our doings as God's servants and representatives, we may be influenced and directed from above, being united with the Gods in heaven we may become one in all things upon the earth, and afterwards one in the heavens. And says the Lord, “If ye are not one, ye are not mine.” Everything that tends to divide the people, as you heard this morning, proceeds from beneath, and those that are engaged in it are the emissaries of the devil; for as he is the father of lies, so he is the father of division, strife and discord. But union, peace, love, harmony, fellowship, brotherhood and everything honorable, noble and exalting, proceeds from God; these are the principles that we ought to seek after and to disseminate as far as we can everywhere and among all peoples. And then when we have done that work, turn our attention to the building of temples and minister in them for the dead, that we may operate with the fathers in the interest of their posterity, helping them to perform that for their posterity which they were not able to do.
And in regard to the world, what ought our feelings to be towards them? A feeling of generosity, a feeling of kindness, a feeling of sympathy, with our hearts full of charity, long-suffering and benevolence, as God our Father has, for he makes his sun to rise on the evil as well as the good; he sends his rain on the unjust as well as the just. And while we abjure the evils, the corruptions, the fraud and iniquity, the lasciviousness and the lyings and abominations that exist in the world, whenever we see an honorable principle, a desire to do right, whenever we see an opening to promote the happiness of any of these people, or to reclaim the wanderer, it is our duty to do it, as saviors on Mount Zion.
Will they have trouble? Yes. Will there be tribulation? Yes. Will nation be arrayed against nation? Yes. Will thrones be cast down and empires destroyed? Yes. Will there be war, and carnage, and bloodshed? Yes. But these things are with the people and with God. It is not for us; we have a mission to perform, and that is to preach the Gospel and introduce correct principles, to unfold the laws of God as men are prepared to receive them, to build up his Zion upon the earth, and to prepare a people for the time when the bursting heavens will reveal the Son of God, “and when every creature on the earth and under the earth will be heard to say, blessing and glory, and honor, and power, and might, and majesty, and dominion be ascribed to him that sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever.”
Will this people grow and increase? Yes. And the time will come—it is not now, we are not prepared for it—when calamity and trouble and bloodshed, confusion and strife will spread among all the nations of the earth. The time will come, and is not far distant, when those who will not take up the sword to fight against their neighbors, will have to flee to Zion for safety. That was true some time ago, and it is nearer its fulfillment by a great many years than at the time it was first uttered.
What are we here for? To build up or aggrandize ourselves? No, but to build up the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth, and to spread the light of truth among the nations. That is our duty, and also to pray for the revelations of God, that the Spirit and power of God may rest upon us, that we may comprehend correct principles and understand the laws of life, to guide and guard and protect the ship Zion from among the rocks and shoals and troubles that will sooner or later overcome this nation, and other nations, and prepare ourselves for the events that are to come. We ought to be men of honor, of honesty, of integrity, having our eyes single to the glory of God. That is the duty of these Apostles, and not to act with a view for their own aggrandizement, and for the obtainment of filthy lucre, or anything else pertaining to this world. We brought nothing into this world, we can take nothing out. It is for us to operate for God and in the interests of his Church and kingdom.
And what of these other brethren, the High Priests? They have a mission to perform, and that is to make themselves acquainted with the laws, doctrines, ordinances and government of the Church of God upon the earth, that they may be prepared, when called upon, to fulfil the duties and responsibilities devolving upon them. I will here read part of a revelation which indicates the nature of these duties. “And again I give unto you, Don C. Smith, to be a President over a Quorum of High Priests, which ordinance is instituted for the purpose of qualifying those who shall be appointed standing Presidents over the different stakes scattered abroad.” Hear it, O ye High Priests! This is the prominent duty devolving upon you. The position you occupy is a sort of a normal school, if you please, to prepare those who are in it and are taught in it, that when they shall be called to hold official places in the various stakes of Zion, they may be prepared to magnify them. How was it when we were engaged organizing these stakes, were these brethren prepared? No, many of them were not by any means. One was engaged on his farm, another was tied up in his merchandising, another had bought five yoke of oxen and had to prove them, and another had married a wife and he could not come. And we, therefore, had to go outside of the High Priests, whose legitimate business it was to occupy these positions, and call other men and ordain them High Priests, and set them apart to preside in these stakes, as Presidents and Bishops and Councilors, having to take them from among the Seventies' and Elder's Quorums, because the High Priests were not prepared to magnify their legitimate calling; whereas, if they had been doing their duty, living their religion, and meeting together in prayer, and examining the doctrine of Christ, instead of being engaged almost exclusively in many of these other matters, they would have been prepared to step forward and magnify their calling. There are many other stakes to be organized. Prepare yourselves, you High Priests, for the duties and responsibilities that may devolve upon you, that the Church of God may be strengthened in all its parts, and every man in his place, all prepared to magnify their calling.
Then, again, there are Seventies; I think there are some seventy-six quorums of seventies. Does their duty consist merely in making their own plans and calculations, such as to go on a farm and live there all their lifetime, attending to their own individual affairs, or pursue any other avocation without considering the obligations they are under by virtue of their Priesthood, and calling? I tell you nay. We have something else to do. I read in the revelation touching this matter, when the seventies were ordained, “they were to ordain more seventies until there should be seven times seventy, if the labor in the vineyard required it.” They were to do this “if the labor in the vineyard required it.” In whose vineyard? Their orchards and farms? I do not read it so. Does this refer to their merchandising? It does not so read. In looking after their own affairs or emoluments? That is not what I read; but for the labor of the vineyard. Whose vineyard, then? The vineyard of the Lord. But it seems that a great many of the Seventies have no more idea of going into the vineyard of the Lord, than if they held no such Priesthood or calling; they do not seem to comprehend their duties, nor their responsibilities. Hear it, O ye Seventies! You are called and set apart by the Priesthood, to act under the direction of the Twelve, to go forth as His messengers to the nations of the earth. Do you believe it? This is your calling. Prepare yourselves for it. I do not want Elders coming to me, as some have been doing, after having been called upon missions saying, I pray thee have me excused. And I call upon the first President of the Seventies to instruct the various Presidents of Seventies, and they in turn the members of their several quorums, in regard to their duties; and to live themselves so that the spirit of the living God may rest down upon them, that they may indeed be qualified to teach their brethren what their duties are, that they may prepare themselves to magnify them. Instead, therefore, of everyone seeking his own individual gain from his own quarter, let every man feel that he is a servant of the living God, a messenger to the nations of the earth, and that when the Lord calls upon him, through the proper authority, to do a certain work, he must obey, and that readily and willingly! These are the duties and responsibilities that devolve upon you, my brethren of the Seventies.
And it is the duty of the Elders also to magnify their callings; to feel after God and to seek instruction from Him, and to magnify their calling and Priesthood at home or abroad, being governed by the Holy Priesthood, in regard to their duties, that they may be acceptable to the Lord, and magnify their callings with all diligence and fidelity, and then it is the duty of the Presidents of Stakes to look after the interest and welfare of their own people under their Presidency, not in a formal manner, but as interested in their welfare, having a lively desire to benefit and build them up, both spiritually and temporally, and perfect them in righteousness, purging out when necessary the ungodly, lifting up and exalting the poor, and blessing and benefiting everybody according to the principles of righteousness and truth, guarding their virtue and their honor, and see that men are honorable, that they regard their word of more value than their bond, that all people may rely on them; men who, in the language of the Prophet, will swerve to their own hurt and change not, and who will do that which is right and equitable before God. It is their duty, and the duty of the Bishops and also that of the High Priests and Seventies and Elders operating with them to look after the poor and see that they are provided for. Do not let us have anybody crying for bread, or suffering for the want of employment. Let us furnish employment for all, divide up our farms and plan and devise liberally that all who need work, and want to be employed, may find labor. And I now call upon the Presidents of Stakes throughout Zion to give this matter their serious and earnest attention. We have land in abundance, water in abundance, and means in abundance; let us utilize them for the common weal. Talk about financiering! Financier for the poor, for the working man, who requires labor and is willing to do it, and act in the interest of the community, for the welfare of Zion, and in the building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth. This is your calling; it is not to build up yourselves, but to build up the Church and kingdom of God; and see that there is no cause for complaining in all your villages and cities and neighborhoods. Let us take hold together for the accomplishment of this object, and pray God to give us wisdom to carry it out, and he will pour upon us blessings that there will not be room enough to contain.
Again, we have what is called a Perpetual Emigration Fund. I wish to draw the attention, not only of the Presidents of Stakes but of the Bishops of the various wards, and of the whole people, to the responsibilities that devolve upon us in relation to this matter. We seem to be dwindling down in some of these matters, and I am sorry to say that there is a great lack of that integrity and interest that we would like to see manifested among our brethren. There are those here who have assisted with their means to the amount of upwards of a million dollars, which is unpaid by those who received the benefit of it. It was the calculation that this means should be used to bring those of our brethren to this land, who needed and were worthy of this assistance, and when you who were thus assisted were in distant lands praying and wishing to be gathered to Zion, this help came to you and you were brought here; and instead of paying this your honest debt, you go to work and build up yourselves, without meeting your obligations, what is the result? Those of your brethren who still remain, who are just as worthy as you to be gathered to Zion, are left to cry for assistance. I am daily in receipt of letters from different parts of the earth, asking to be thus assisted pleading: “we want to gather with the Saints, can't you help us?” Yes, we can if you who owe the Fund will pay your honest debts, we can then meet all these requirements. And I call upon the Presidents of Stakes and upon the Bishops to look after these things, and see that these obligations are met, that the poor from abroad may not cry in vain; but that we may help them, and then they return the amount advanced to them to assist others, and thus keep the work rolling in the same direction. And if this duty is not performed, how can we expect the blessing of God to rest upon us?
We are engaged quite extensively in the erection of Temples. We are building one here, and also one in Cache Valley, and another in Sanpete, and if we had time, and it was considered advisable, we could read the report read setting forth the receipts and disbursements of these places; and I presume we shall, before the Conference adjourns. Suffice it to say, with all our backwardness in some other things, there are a great many of the Latter-day Saints who are doing all they can in every laudable enterprise. I presume at the present time there is not less than 500 men engaged in rearing the walls of these Temples. And men are taking hold of it with energy, doing all they can in many instances, but not in all by a great deal.
Then in regard to our Tithing operations, Bishop Hunter informs me that many of the people are very negligent in regard to this matter. Now, I would say in behalf of the people, that perhaps there may be a partial excuse for some of these things. We have had a very stringent time for a number of years past, a financial crisis has prevailed in the eastern States for some years now, and almost every paper reports the failure of mercantile and business institutions—of the failure of one firm after another; and we have been subject, more or less, to these depressions. The fact also must be considered that great exertions have been made in the building of the St. George Temple, and also the three Temples now under way, which have already exhausted considerable means furnished chiefly by the people residing in those Temple districts. I must give the people credit for their zeal and energy in this direction, which we must all acknowledge is very commendable and praiseworthy. And, perhaps, in the performance of this labor many have done the best they could, and possibly circumstances have so overruled that they find themselves hardly able to meet their Tithing, for as a rule it is those who take delight in observing the law of Tithing that subscribe to these other calls. We do not wish to crowd or press upon the people; but rather let us take things easily and deliberately, seeking always to break off the yoke of him that is bound, letting the oppressor go free. And let our sympathies be extended towards the widow and the orphan; and while we are building Temples, paying our Tithes and offerings, and doing the best we can before God and man, we will let that go for the present, and when we get into more favorable circumstances we will do better. At any rate, we will keep doing with a long pull and a strong pull, and a pull altogether, as one in the interests of all Israel. But we must not forget our duties to the Lord.
I would say in this connection that there are three of the Twelve appointed to superintend the erection of these edifices in these outside districts, and then there are those residing here attending to home affairs. And we are seeking to act in concert and do the very best we can. Some people have an idea that these Temples ought to be built from the proceeds of the Tithing; I do not object to it in the least, providing you will only pay your Tithing. But we cannot build Temples with something that exists only in name. You deal honestly with the Lord, handing over in due season that which belongs to his storehouse, and then we will show you whether we cannot build Temples, as well as do everything else that may be required with it. In the mean time, we have got to do the best we can in these matters; and as we are personally interested in these things, as well as our brethren, the departed deed who have gone before us, and who depend upon this being done, we feel a strong desire to carry out these projects; and this feeling, I am happy to say, exists throughout all Israel.
We want also to be alive in the cause of education. We are commanded of the Lord to obtain knowledge, both by study and by faith, seeking it out of the best books. And it becomes us to teach our children, and afford them instruction in every branch of education calculated to promote their welfare, leaving those false acquirements which tend to infidelity, and to lead away the mind and affection from the things of God. We want to compile the intelligence and literacy of this people in book form, as well as in teaching and preaching; adopting all the good and useful books we can obtain; and what we need and cannot obtain, make them. And instead of doing as many of the world do, take the works of God, to try to prove that there in no God; we want to prove by God's works that he does exist, that he lives and rules and holds us, as it were, in the hollow of his hand. For it is very unfair for man to take the works of God to try to prove that there is no God. But then it is only the fool that has said in his heart, there is no God. I would like to talk upon this subject if time would permit.
I am pleased to see the exertions made by the young men's and young women's mutual improvement associations, to benefit and bless the rising generation of our people. And I am also pleased to witness the degree of intelligence and studiousness manifested by our young people; it is creditable and praiseworthy. We want to lead them on and encourage them in the study of correct principles, so that when the responsibility of bearing off the Church and Kingdom of God shall pass from us to them, they may be prepared for it, and carry on the work to a glorious and triumphant consummation. And that we may stand in regard to education and literacy, the sciences, the arts and intelligence of every kind, as high above the nations of the earth, as we do today in regard to religious matters.
And before closing I would refer briefly to the ladies' relief society. We are told that, “the man is not without the woman, nor the woman without the man in the Lord.” She is spoken of as a helpmeet to her husband. I remember the organization of the first Relief Society in Nauvoo, by the Prophet Joseph Smith; today we find them spreading all over the land, and the benefits of their labors are widely realized. Our sisters are doing a noble and commendable work in writing and publishing, in visiting the sick and needy, and ministering to their wants, and showing kindness and benevolence towards the suffering and distressed, and also advocating principles that are honorable and praiseworthy before God and man, calculated to elevate and bless their sex. And I say to the sisters, God bless you in your labors of love, and in your enterprise, continue to press forward in your good work, and the Lord will bless you and your posterity after you; for you are mothers in Israel who are raising up kings and priests unto the Most High God. See that your children are taught aright, and that they grow up in virtue and purity before the Lord. Teach them good principles, never mind so much about the fashions; but let economy, industry, charity, kindness and virtue be early impressed upon their minds, and try to love your sons and daughters, and to lead them in the paths of life. I should like to speak of our Sunday Schools and other institutions, but time will not permit. I have talked long enough. God bless you, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The choir sang an anthem Arise for thy light is come.
Conference was adjourned until to-morrow (Monday) at 10 a.m.
Benediction by Elder George Q. Cannon.
THIRD DAY.
MONDAY MORNING, April 8th.
Conference was called to order by President John Taylor.
The choir sang, We’re not ashamed to own our Lord, And worship him on earth.
Prayer by Elder Lorenzo Snow.
The choir sang, With joy we own thy servants, Lord, Thy ministers below.
MONDAY MORNING, April 8th.
Conference was called to order by President John Taylor.
The choir sang, We’re not ashamed to own our Lord, And worship him on earth.
Prayer by Elder Lorenzo Snow.
The choir sang, With joy we own thy servants, Lord, Thy ministers below.
Elder Joseph F. Smith
said it was manifest to him that God was with us as a people, notwithstanding our many shortcomings. He felt that in the things of God, he was but a child, and if the Lord would exercise forbearance towards him, while he continues to try and learn more and do better in the future than in the past, he had no doubt that the same forbearance would be exercised towards the whole people of God. We have got to learn more about the will of God, and then do it, and not indulge in the thought that we can serve God acceptably, and yet carry out our own whims and desires. But few have fully learned the mind and will of God as it is made known to us through Jesus Christ, to the extent to have our own will entirely subjugated to the will of the Father. When such a lesson is learned it will be easy to get along with what we call temporal things.
We are engaged in the salvation of the dead as well as the living. It is our duty also to prepare employment for our people. It is important that whatever means God may see fit to place in the hands of any of the Saints should be wisely disbursed in the building up of the kingdom of God, not to make them proud and lifted up in their feelings and spirit, so as to create class distinctions. The poor who are aged and infirm should not be neglected, neither should those who draw their support from the church be kept in idleness, but should manifest a disposition to do whatever they can towards their maintenance, that the idler may not eat the bread of the industrious. These things should be looked well into, and employment found for the old and the young according to their capacity.
The gospel of Jesus Christ has as much to do with temporal as with spiritual things; it tends to make good parents, dutiful children; it teaches honesty and every other good principle, and tends also to more eminently qualify those who have embraced it, to become better mechanics and increase their ability in every condition of life. It teaches us the principle of stewardship, and to regard everything that God has placed in our possession as belonging in reality to him, and that we are only to act as his stewards, and to use them for his honor and glory.
A general exhibit of the tithing received during the year 1877, with the various local disbursements connected therewith was then read to the conference by Elder David McKenzie. Also an exhibit of the cash received and disbursed by the Trustee in Trustee for the six months ending April 6, 1878.
said it was manifest to him that God was with us as a people, notwithstanding our many shortcomings. He felt that in the things of God, he was but a child, and if the Lord would exercise forbearance towards him, while he continues to try and learn more and do better in the future than in the past, he had no doubt that the same forbearance would be exercised towards the whole people of God. We have got to learn more about the will of God, and then do it, and not indulge in the thought that we can serve God acceptably, and yet carry out our own whims and desires. But few have fully learned the mind and will of God as it is made known to us through Jesus Christ, to the extent to have our own will entirely subjugated to the will of the Father. When such a lesson is learned it will be easy to get along with what we call temporal things.
We are engaged in the salvation of the dead as well as the living. It is our duty also to prepare employment for our people. It is important that whatever means God may see fit to place in the hands of any of the Saints should be wisely disbursed in the building up of the kingdom of God, not to make them proud and lifted up in their feelings and spirit, so as to create class distinctions. The poor who are aged and infirm should not be neglected, neither should those who draw their support from the church be kept in idleness, but should manifest a disposition to do whatever they can towards their maintenance, that the idler may not eat the bread of the industrious. These things should be looked well into, and employment found for the old and the young according to their capacity.
The gospel of Jesus Christ has as much to do with temporal as with spiritual things; it tends to make good parents, dutiful children; it teaches honesty and every other good principle, and tends also to more eminently qualify those who have embraced it, to become better mechanics and increase their ability in every condition of life. It teaches us the principle of stewardship, and to regard everything that God has placed in our possession as belonging in reality to him, and that we are only to act as his stewards, and to use them for his honor and glory.
A general exhibit of the tithing received during the year 1877, with the various local disbursements connected therewith was then read to the conference by Elder David McKenzie. Also an exhibit of the cash received and disbursed by the Trustee in Trustee for the six months ending April 6, 1878.
Elder George Q. Cannon
then made a few explanatory remarks on the disparity that appeared between some of the Stake reports, and then inquired if the annual exhibit of tithing as well as the one-half yearly cash reports were acceptable to the Conference.
Bishop Sharp then moved that both reports be accepted, which was seconded and sustained by a unanimous vote of the Conference.
The choir sang the anthem: O Lord, most merciful.
Conference adjourned till 2 p.m.
Benediction by Elder W. Woodruff.
then made a few explanatory remarks on the disparity that appeared between some of the Stake reports, and then inquired if the annual exhibit of tithing as well as the one-half yearly cash reports were acceptable to the Conference.
Bishop Sharp then moved that both reports be accepted, which was seconded and sustained by a unanimous vote of the Conference.
The choir sang the anthem: O Lord, most merciful.
Conference adjourned till 2 p.m.
Benediction by Elder W. Woodruff.
Afternoon, 2 p.m.
The choir sang, Hark the song of jubilee, Loud as mighty thunders roar.
Prayer by Elder D. H. Wells.
Choir sang, Come we that love the Lord, And let our joys be known.
The choir sang, Hark the song of jubilee, Loud as mighty thunders roar.
Prayer by Elder D. H. Wells.
Choir sang, Come we that love the Lord, And let our joys be known.
The following missionaries were then presented to the Conference and unanimously sustained:
For England.
Geo. Openshaw, Salt Lake City
Henry Walsh, “ “
M. B. Wheelwright, Ogden
Wm. Bramhall, Springville
John Maycock, “
Joseph Hyde, Cache
Sas. L. Bunting, Kanab
Isaac Smith, Brigham City
Louis Bunce, Pettyville
John L. Blythe, Salt Lake City,
(Scotland)
J. B. Elder, Salt Lake City
J. O. Young, “
John G. Jones, Provo
J. R. Twelves, “
Thos. Child, “
G. R. Emery, Salt Lake City
(Wales)
W. G. Sanders, Ogden
O. H. Berg, Provo
Swiss and German Mission.
Gottleib Enz, Richfield
Fred'k G. Froerer, Eden
Andrew Hepler, Sevier Co.
Fred’k Formaster, St George
Malad Indian Farm.
John S. Jones, Box Elder Co.
Moroni Ward, “
Alexander Hunsacker, Box Elder County.
United States.
Jesse O. Ballenger of Arizona
John G. Midgley, Salt Lake City, Iowa and Nebraska
B. F. Cummings, Jun., Salt Lake City, New England
B. F. Cummings, Sen., Salt Lake City, Southern States
Cyrus H. Wheelock, Weber Co., Wisconsin
Wm. Stevenson, Echo, Nova Scotia
Anthony W. Bissey, Manti, Maine
To Ashley’s Fork.
Jos. H. Black, of Parley’s Park
Alma J. Johnston, “
David Johnston “
John R. Poole, Ogden
To Arizona.
Wm. Nelson, Jun., Provo
Richard M. Bleak, St. George
Wm. J. Hunt, “
Alma Hunt, “
Ole Jensen, Oak Creek
Stephen Wilson, Harrisville
To Australia.
Fred J. May, Salt Lake City
Thos. A. Shreeve, Salt Lake City
To labor among their fellow countrymen in Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois and other States:
Anders Haakansen, Vernon
Peter Jensen, S. Cottonwood
Gustav Thommason, Logan
Christopher Winge, Hyrum
Anders Peterson, Salt Lake
Neils Rasmussen, “
Neils Peter Larsen Veiby, Pleasant Grove
Andrew Eglund, Spanish Fork
Mads Yorgenson Provo,
H. C. Heisel, Pleasant Grove
John Larsen, Logan
Neils Neilson, American Fork
Paul A. Poulsen, West Jordon
Names of missionaries called since last Conference who are now in their fields of labor:
N. C. Flygare, Ogden, Scandinavia
Hyrum H. Clark, Farmington, Tennessee
Ed Stevenson, Salt Lake City, Tennessee
J. J. M. Butler, Ogden, United States
John Morgan, S. L. City Southern States
Andrew L. Johnson, S. L. City, Southern States
David Williams, S. L. City, Southern States
H. W. Barnett, Payson, Southern States
M. F. Cowley, S. L. City, Southern States
Thomas Weeks,
Ara W. Sabin, Tooele City, Southern States
Joseph Standing, Box Elder, Southern States.
J. Z. Stewart, Draperville, Colorado.
Erastus B. Snow, St. George, New Mexico.
Meliton G. Trejo, Richfield, Arizona.
James Allen, Kentucky.
Delonnay Dietrich (priest), Ohio.
John G. Thayn, Salt Lake, U S, Canada and England.
For England.
Geo. Openshaw, Salt Lake City
Henry Walsh, “ “
M. B. Wheelwright, Ogden
Wm. Bramhall, Springville
John Maycock, “
Joseph Hyde, Cache
Sas. L. Bunting, Kanab
Isaac Smith, Brigham City
Louis Bunce, Pettyville
John L. Blythe, Salt Lake City,
(Scotland)
J. B. Elder, Salt Lake City
J. O. Young, “
John G. Jones, Provo
J. R. Twelves, “
Thos. Child, “
G. R. Emery, Salt Lake City
(Wales)
W. G. Sanders, Ogden
O. H. Berg, Provo
Swiss and German Mission.
Gottleib Enz, Richfield
Fred'k G. Froerer, Eden
Andrew Hepler, Sevier Co.
Fred’k Formaster, St George
Malad Indian Farm.
John S. Jones, Box Elder Co.
Moroni Ward, “
Alexander Hunsacker, Box Elder County.
United States.
Jesse O. Ballenger of Arizona
John G. Midgley, Salt Lake City, Iowa and Nebraska
B. F. Cummings, Jun., Salt Lake City, New England
B. F. Cummings, Sen., Salt Lake City, Southern States
Cyrus H. Wheelock, Weber Co., Wisconsin
Wm. Stevenson, Echo, Nova Scotia
Anthony W. Bissey, Manti, Maine
To Ashley’s Fork.
Jos. H. Black, of Parley’s Park
Alma J. Johnston, “
David Johnston “
John R. Poole, Ogden
To Arizona.
Wm. Nelson, Jun., Provo
Richard M. Bleak, St. George
Wm. J. Hunt, “
Alma Hunt, “
Ole Jensen, Oak Creek
Stephen Wilson, Harrisville
To Australia.
Fred J. May, Salt Lake City
Thos. A. Shreeve, Salt Lake City
To labor among their fellow countrymen in Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois and other States:
Anders Haakansen, Vernon
Peter Jensen, S. Cottonwood
Gustav Thommason, Logan
Christopher Winge, Hyrum
Anders Peterson, Salt Lake
Neils Rasmussen, “
Neils Peter Larsen Veiby, Pleasant Grove
Andrew Eglund, Spanish Fork
Mads Yorgenson Provo,
H. C. Heisel, Pleasant Grove
John Larsen, Logan
Neils Neilson, American Fork
Paul A. Poulsen, West Jordon
Names of missionaries called since last Conference who are now in their fields of labor:
N. C. Flygare, Ogden, Scandinavia
Hyrum H. Clark, Farmington, Tennessee
Ed Stevenson, Salt Lake City, Tennessee
J. J. M. Butler, Ogden, United States
John Morgan, S. L. City Southern States
Andrew L. Johnson, S. L. City, Southern States
David Williams, S. L. City, Southern States
H. W. Barnett, Payson, Southern States
M. F. Cowley, S. L. City, Southern States
Thomas Weeks,
Ara W. Sabin, Tooele City, Southern States
Joseph Standing, Box Elder, Southern States.
J. Z. Stewart, Draperville, Colorado.
Erastus B. Snow, St. George, New Mexico.
Meliton G. Trejo, Richfield, Arizona.
James Allen, Kentucky.
Delonnay Dietrich (priest), Ohio.
John G. Thayn, Salt Lake, U S, Canada and England.
Elder David McKenzie
then read full statistical reports from the various Stakes of the Territory, also from Logan and Manti Temples. Logan Temple had expended in materials, labor and cash, $55,000; and the Manti Temple, in labor, donations, teams and material, $62,000. Then followed an exhibit of the business of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund.
then read full statistical reports from the various Stakes of the Territory, also from Logan and Manti Temples. Logan Temple had expended in materials, labor and cash, $55,000; and the Manti Temple, in labor, donations, teams and material, $62,000. Then followed an exhibit of the business of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund.
Elder Geo. Q. Cannon
announced that Z. C. M. I. had declared a dividend of 2 ½ per cent. to the stockholders, which could be drawn immediately in merchandize, or in cash, on the first of May. He strongly urged the necessity of sustaining this and all other home institutions.
announced that Z. C. M. I. had declared a dividend of 2 ½ per cent. to the stockholders, which could be drawn immediately in merchandize, or in cash, on the first of May. He strongly urged the necessity of sustaining this and all other home institutions.
President John Taylor
said it was the duty of the Saints engaged in mercantile business to sustain this, and all other home industries. All the Saints should encourage each other in our efforts to become a self-sustaining community.
The general authorities of the church were then presented before the Conference, and unanimously sustained, as follows:
John Taylor as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, as one of the Twelve Apostles, and of the Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
As members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles – Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young [Jr.], Joseph F. Smith and Albert Carrington.
Counselors to the Twelve Apostles—John W. Young, D. H. Wells.
The Twelve Apostles as the presiding quorum and authority of the Church, and with their Counselors as Prophets, Seers and Revelators.
Patriarch of the Church—John Smith.
As the first seven Presidents of Seventies: Joseph Young, Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott.
The Presiding Bishop of the Church – Edward Hunter, with Leonard W. Hardy and Robert T. Burton as his Counselors.
John Taylor as Trustee-in-Trust of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with the Twelve Apostles, their two Counselors and Edward Hunter as his Counselors.
Albert Carrington as President of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund for the gathering of the poor, and the following as his assistants: F. D. Richards, F. M. Lyman, H. S. Eldredge, Joseph F. Smith, John W. Young, Angus M. Cannon, Moses Thatcher, William Jennings, John R. Winder, Henry Dinwoodey, Robt T Burton, A. O. Smoot and H. B. Clawson.
Orson Pratt as Historian and general Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff his assistant.
Truman O. Angel as General Architect of the Church, and T. O. Angel, Jun., and W. H. Folsom, his assistants.
As Auditing Committee – W. Woodruff, E. Snow, J. F. Smith
George Goddard as Clerk of the General Conference.
said it was the duty of the Saints engaged in mercantile business to sustain this, and all other home industries. All the Saints should encourage each other in our efforts to become a self-sustaining community.
The general authorities of the church were then presented before the Conference, and unanimously sustained, as follows:
John Taylor as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, as one of the Twelve Apostles, and of the Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
As members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles – Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young [Jr.], Joseph F. Smith and Albert Carrington.
Counselors to the Twelve Apostles—John W. Young, D. H. Wells.
The Twelve Apostles as the presiding quorum and authority of the Church, and with their Counselors as Prophets, Seers and Revelators.
Patriarch of the Church—John Smith.
As the first seven Presidents of Seventies: Joseph Young, Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott.
The Presiding Bishop of the Church – Edward Hunter, with Leonard W. Hardy and Robert T. Burton as his Counselors.
John Taylor as Trustee-in-Trust of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with the Twelve Apostles, their two Counselors and Edward Hunter as his Counselors.
Albert Carrington as President of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund for the gathering of the poor, and the following as his assistants: F. D. Richards, F. M. Lyman, H. S. Eldredge, Joseph F. Smith, John W. Young, Angus M. Cannon, Moses Thatcher, William Jennings, John R. Winder, Henry Dinwoodey, Robt T Burton, A. O. Smoot and H. B. Clawson.
Orson Pratt as Historian and general Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff his assistant.
Truman O. Angel as General Architect of the Church, and T. O. Angel, Jun., and W. H. Folsom, his assistants.
As Auditing Committee – W. Woodruff, E. Snow, J. F. Smith
George Goddard as Clerk of the General Conference.
President John Taylor
stated that the auditing committee had been engaged in looking after the interests of the Church, and with a view of facilitating their labors and bringing them to a speedy and successful termination, he nominated Franklin D. Richards to assist them, who was unanimously sustained.
A very interesting report was then read from the Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Society. Number of Associations 146, number of members, 6,829.
A Territorial Sabbath School report was read, which gave the number of schools 263; total number of teachers 3,929; total number of pupils 30,037; Bible and Testament classes 963; number of books in library 15,143.
The above shows an increase for the last two years of 101 schools, 535 teachers, 9,576 scholars, 1,102 library books, 242 Bible and Testament classes.
The choir sang the anthem, Gloria.
Conference was adjourned until October 6th, in this Tabernacle.
Benediction by Elder Erastus Snow.
Thus ended a very largely attended and interesting Conference, the weather was fine, and though many came from the extreme limits of the Territory, yet all felt abundantly satisfied and well paid for their visit.
Geo. Goddard,
Clerk of Conference.
stated that the auditing committee had been engaged in looking after the interests of the Church, and with a view of facilitating their labors and bringing them to a speedy and successful termination, he nominated Franklin D. Richards to assist them, who was unanimously sustained.
A very interesting report was then read from the Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Society. Number of Associations 146, number of members, 6,829.
A Territorial Sabbath School report was read, which gave the number of schools 263; total number of teachers 3,929; total number of pupils 30,037; Bible and Testament classes 963; number of books in library 15,143.
The above shows an increase for the last two years of 101 schools, 535 teachers, 9,576 scholars, 1,102 library books, 242 Bible and Testament classes.
The choir sang the anthem, Gloria.
Conference was adjourned until October 6th, in this Tabernacle.
Benediction by Elder Erastus Snow.
Thus ended a very largely attended and interesting Conference, the weather was fine, and though many came from the extreme limits of the Territory, yet all felt abundantly satisfied and well paid for their visit.
Geo. Goddard,
Clerk of Conference.