Journal of Discourses Volume 22
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22
Journal of Discourses,
Volume 22
1
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered at the General Conference, Salt Lake City,
Tuesday Afternoon, October 7th, 1879
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
(Continued from page 376, vol. XXI.)
OPPOSITION TO THE WORK OF GOD, ETC.
2
And what then? Why, we have been told about the Gentiles
introducing into our midst what is termed the social evil; and we
find some of our youth, and older ones too, contaminating
themselves with it, thereby breaking their covenants and
forsaking their God, and disgracing themselves before God, angels
and all good men. Such men are a disgrace to any community, much
less to a community professing, as we do, to be Saints. Are such
persons Saints? No, they are not. Can we fellowship them? No, we
cannot. God requires it of us before we talk of cleansing the
outside of the platter, to see that the inside is clean, to place
ourselves right upon the record. Do we do it? Well, sometimes--I
was going to say, "hardly ever." Sometimes we do it, but in a
great many instances we do not do it. What is the matter? Good
men have mean sons, and the sons must not be handled. Why so?
God, you will remember, had a host of sons in heaven who did not
do right, and they were cast out, even a third part of His entire
family. That is the way I read it. Again, there are some sons who
are good men, who have disreputable fathers, who have departed
from correct principles, but out of respect to the fathers in the
one instance and the sons in the other, we allow evil way to go
unchecked. Well, you Presidents and you Bishops and you Priests
and Teachers may do that if you please, but their blood will be
upon your heads, not upon mine. And we call upon you to honor
your calling and Priesthood and purge from your midst corruption
of every kind. And we call upon the Presidents of Stakes and
their Counselors, upon the Bishops and their Counselors, and upon
the Priests, Teachers and Deacons, to magnify their offices, and
not to be partakers of other men's sins. For as sure as I live
and as God lives, if you do God will require it at your hands.
And therefore, I call upon Presidents and men in authority, where
men do not magnify their calling to remove them from their
positions of responsibility and replace them by men who will; and
let us have correct principles and the order of God carried out
in Zion.
2
Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers and Evangelists were placed
in the Church of old for what? "For the perfecting of the Saints,
for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of
Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure
of the stature of the fulness of Christ." It is so to-day. My
brethren who have spoken have told you plainly of many evils that
exist in our midst; but we can scarcely perceive them, many of
us. Sometimes it is very difficult to discern between a Saint and
a sinner, between one who professes to fear God and one who does
not. It is for us to straighten out these matters; and you men in
authority will be held responsible, and the Twelve will be held
responsible, and I hold you responsible, and God will hold you
responsible for your acts. The great difficulty with us is that
we are too fond of catering to the world, and too much of the
world has crept into our hearts? the spirit of covetousness and
greed, and--what shall I say?--dishonesty has spread itself like
a plague throughout the length and breadth of the whole world in
every direction, and we have drunk more or less into that spirit.
Like a plague it has pervaded all grades of society; and instead
of being governed by those high, noble, and honorable principles
that dwell in the bosom of God, we are after the filthy lucre
which is spoken of as being the root of all evil; and instead of
setting our affections upon God, we set our affections upon the
world, its follies and vanities. Come ye out from the midst of
her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord; and honor
your Priesthood and calling, and show and prove to the world, to
angels and to God that you are on the side of truth and right, of
honesty, purity and integrity, and that you are for God and His
Kingdom, let other people do as they will.
3
We sometimes talk of the affairs that are taking place around us.
There is now a little commotion that interested parties are
getting up about the "Mormons" for the purpose of forwarding
their political operations. Bless your soul, we knew about that
long, long ago, and also knew what it would be for. It is about
the same with these parties as it was with the editor I have read
of; the printer asked for "copy," it was handed to him, but it
was not enough, he wanted more. The editor told him that he had
not time to prepare any more then, but to pitch into the
"Mormons." That was a kind of standing matter they kept on hand.
The move that is being made now is simply a political scheme, out
of which to make political capital. It was started by interested
demagogues for that purpose, in order that they might have the
honor of putting down "Mormonism," and sailing into power on the
current of incensed public opinion. Now they can have all the
honor they can get on that score; and I guess it will be the same
as Stephen A. Douglas and others have attained to by pursuing
that course, and I think no more.
3
We are here to serve God and keep His commandments; and if we
will purge ourselves from our iniquities, live our religion and
keep the commandments of God, there is no power on this side of
hell nor on the other, that can harm us, for God will be on our
side to protect us in the position we occupy.
4
There is one thing I wish to speak to you about that you are well
acquainted with. We had a little commotion gotten up about some
of our money matters associated with the heirs of the late
President Young, and it has been talked about generally. We
thought we had made a settlement with them at one time, which we
did, and the executors of the estate took their releases which
exonerated them from all blame, and they avowed themselves
satisfied with the settlements made. But then, some men's word
and some men's signatures do not amount to much. What next? Why,
some of our very pure and high-minded lawyers are not above
entering into such things because of a little monetary
inducements. It would not be proper to say they were anything but
pure, high-minded and honorable men, for it is understood that
all lawyers are, is it not? Well, we knew we had treated them
very liberally before; and so did you. We knew we had given them
all we ought to give them, and more too. But we felt to be
generous to the heirs of President Young; and we did what we
could to promote their welfare. Still these things came out. No
matter. Bonds and writings and signatures and releases amount to
nothing with some people. So they started in, and we have had a
legal fight about it. Some of the Apostles have had to be
confined in the penitentiary; and it was a pretty narrow squeeze
with me. [Laughter.] But then I have been in such places before,
and was shot at while there and hit, and therefore it would have
been nothing new, and I was not much concerned about it. When
they wanted to get hold of some of your means and property which
I held in trust, and which they had no right to, I told them No,
they could not have it. "Well," said they, "you will have to go
to jail." "Well," said I, "jail it is then. Some folks go off to
rusticate at Soda Springs and other places; I think I will go and
rusticate in the penitentiary." But they would not have me.
[Laughter.] They took Brother Cannon, Brother Brigham and Brother
Carrington; I suppose they considered them worthier men, and that
I had better stay out. There are all kinds of curious things
started up; and among other things that have grown out of this
contest is what is termed a cross suit; and because of this
movement some people think we are going to law. I will tell you
how much. We were merely attempting to put the complaining heirs
in the same position as they had put us; thinking that by doing
so they might be led to reflect that there were other people in
the world besides themselves, and that other people might be
placed in jeopardy besides some of our brethren. "But," say you,
"was it not contrary to a law of the Church to go to law with
your brethren?" We did not exactly do it; we merely started in. I
will tell you what we would have done if this settlement had not
been made. We would have called upon all those who were good and
honorable of President Young's family--and I am happy to say that
with very few exceptions they are of that class and are desirous
to carry out and fulfil their obligations, and stand by the
covenants they have entered into--we were going to call upon them
to turn over to our side, and then we were going to cut the
others off the Church, and then go to law with them and sue for
their property as they had for ours. That is all. I thought I
would explain this because it is not generally understood by the
people. It is really one of those things called a legal fiction,
which had to arise to meet certain technicalities of the law, in
order that the proper releases might be given, releases that
would stand, and also a decree from the court to settle these
difficulties.
4
This compromise was talked of, but it could not be reached very
readily, for some of them wanted a little more money, and the
lawyers wanted a little, and of course such honorable gentlemen
should have it. Well, the compromise was at last effected. We
thought it better to furnish them a little means than to have
these unpleasant things going on month after month, and perhaps
year after year; and we could see that we would have to be very
smart indeed to prevent some of these men of honor from running
away with the balance of it. That being done, we have done all we
could to try to promote peace in our midst. We have taken the
best of counsel, and have acted in this matter according to the
very best of our judgment.
4
And now about the money involved. It is a large amount? Yes, some
seventy-five thousand dollars paid by the Trustee-in-Trust in
behalf of the Church, beside a further amount paid by the
administrators. That would be just a dollar apiece from 75,000
people. It is quite a little sum; but then, did you ever know of
people giving a bone to a dog? And after you had done so, you did
not think you had lost much, did you? We thought it better to
take that course than to be mixed up any longer with such
miserable doings; and we agreed to do it. And I would like to
know whether you approve of this act or not. You who do, please
signify it by holding up your right hands. [A forest of hands was
raised; and a unanimous vote declared.]
4
Well, some have asked what we were going to do with these
complaining heirs. I think we will have to deal with them
according to the laws of the Church. Are you going to bring their
case before the Conference? No, I think not; there are the proper
officers in the Church to attend to such things, and we say to
them, go, and do your duty. We are very sorry that they should
have placed themselves in that position; and we are very sorry
that a great many other people should, and we are very sorry that
a great many of these evils referred to should exist in Israel.
But they do; and what shall we do about it? Go to work and
cleanse the inside of the platter, and then we can go before our
God in good faith, and stand approved of him, and rejoice in the
fulness of the blessings of the gospel of peace.
4
There are some other things I would like to touch upon, but as
the time has already expired, and as there will be a Priesthood
meeting to-night in this tabernacle, to which the young and the
old of both sexes are invited, I will defer speaking further
until then.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / John
Taylor, January 9th, 1881
John Taylor, January 9th, 1881
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City,
Sunday Afternoon, January 9th, 1881.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
TITHING AND OTHER MATTERS--CORRECT VIEWS NECESSARY.
5
I made some remarks yesterday afternoon, in answer to certain
questions which have been put to me in relation to the principle
of Tithing, and I thought this morning that I would make a few
additional remarks on the same subject, and perhaps touch upon
some other matters.
5
I read over yesterday certain questions which have been asked me
pertaining to this matter; and I thought I would take the liberty
of answering these questions to this Conference. Perhaps there
may be some here to-day who were not here yesterday, and there
may be some here to-day who do not read the Doctrine and
Covenants, and who are not acquainted with some of the principles
relating to this subject. Therefore I will read again that which
was read yesterday afternoon, which will be found on the 418th
page of the Doctrine and Covenants, new edition. There may be
some who have not this edition, and I will say therefore that the
same revelation will be found in section 107 of the old edition.
5
"Revelation given at Far West Missouri, July 8th, 1838, in answer
to the question, O Lord, show unto thy servants how much thou
requirest of the properties of the people for Tithing?
5
"Verily, thus saith the Lord, I require all their surplus
property to be put into the hands of the Bishop of my Church of
Zion, for the building of mine house, and for the laying the
foundation of Zion and for the Priesthood, and for the debts of
the Presidency of my Church; and this shall be the beginning of
the Tithing of my people; and after that, those who have thus
been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually,
and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy
priesthood, saith the Lord.
5
"Verily I say unto you, it shall come to pass that all those who
gather unto the land of Zion shall be tithed of their surplus
properties, and shall observe this law, or they shall not be
found worthy to abide among you.
6
"And I say unto you, if my people observe not this law, to keep
it holy, and by this law sanctify the land of Zion unto me, that
my statutes and my judgments may be kept thereon, that it may be
most holy, behold, verily I say unto you it shall not be a land
of Zion unto you; and this shall be an example unto all the
Stakes of Zion. Even so. Amen."
6
The scriptures say that we shall receive line upon line and
precept upon precept; and therefore it is necessary sometimes, to
carry out these ideas in order that, where a people have been
misinformed or have not judged or heard correctly, they may be
put right in relation to all general leading principles. A
feeling has more or less prevailed among the people that Tithing
is a matter to be decided on exclusively by the individual paying
it, and that if he pays it, all right; if he does not pay his
Tithing, it is not quite so right, but it makes not so much
difference. A good Saint perhaps, may be honorable and upright
and honest in dealing; may be a tolerable good neighbor; he may
be zealous to a certain extent, according to his ideas and
notions in regard to the propagation of the word of truth; he may
be active and energetic in many things, but if he does right in
the main, Tithing is a matter of very little importance; it is
only a temporary idea, it does not concern us much, it is only
meant to meet the financial affairs associated with the
Church--and that is a matter of very little importance.
6
Now it is proper that we should be correctly informed in relation
to these matters, and as I stated yesterday, there is a great
diversity of opinion existing among men, and even men in
authority in the Church, say, bishops and probably Presidents of
Stakes and others, in relation to the principle of Tithing. Now,
it is proper that we should have a correct view and a proper
understanding of this principle. We are here to carry out the
purposes and designs of God, and as I understand it we have been
gathered together according to certain revelations which have
been given for the establishment of His Church upon the earth,
and that we, as a people, profess to be the Lord's people, and
under His guidance and direction. Each one, if he is living his
religion, is supposed to have the spirit of light, of truth and
intelligence within himself, the spirit of revelation, the Holy
Ghost given unto him by the laying on of hands which, if he
follows in all its guidings and dictates will lead him into all
truth. Each man and each woman is placed in the position that
they can draw nigh unto God through Jesus Christ: to have the
light and intelligence of the Spirit of God imparted unto them;
but because of the weakness of man, because of our many
infirmities, and because of the powers of darkness and of the
many influences that have been at work from the commencement of
the world until the present time seeking to destroy, to uproot
and to overturn the principles of eternal truth, and to lead men
into error, darkness, confusion, and death, and because it is the
way and order of God, He has ordained a holy Priesthood for the
guidance, for the direction, and for the instruction of His
people.
7
We are told that in ancient days God placed "in the Church first
Apostles, secondly Prophets, thirdly Teachers;" and again, "He
gave some Apostles, and some Prophets, and some Evangelists, and
some Pastors and Teachers." For what? "For the perfecting of the
Saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the
body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith and of
the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the
measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we
henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried
about by every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men and
cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but
speaking the truth in love, may grow up unto him in all things,
which is the head, even Christ." That was the teaching of one of
the old Apostles. Furthermore, the Lord has instituted in the
Church in these last days the same Priesthood that formerly
existed, and for the same purpose. We have, say, a First
Presidency; then we have the Twelve; then we have High Priests;
then we have Seventies; then we have High Councils, and Bishops
and their Counselors; then we have Presidents of Stakes, each
Stake in its form a compact body, with a President and his two
Counselors, and Bishops operating in their place and presiding
over their various Wards, and the High Councils operating in
their place, with the Priests, Teachers, and Deacons operating in
theirs, all working and operating together. Then we have Relief
Societies, and Mutual Improvement Societies, and our Sunday
Schools, and Primary Associations, and all the various
organizations and institutions which are organized for the
instruction of the rising generation, male and female. Thus we
have the various officers in the Church performing their several
duties with honor, integrity and truthfulness before God, looking
after the interest, the welfare and the happiness of those that
are associated with and that are under their jurisdiction. Then
these various Stakes, in their organizations, with their
Presidents, are subject to the presiding authorities, and the
Presidents thereof have to render an account to the Presidency of
the Church; and the Presidency of the Church ought to be able at
all times to render an account to their Heavenly Father.
8
This is an order, as I understand it, that is introduced by the
Almighty, and by Him alone. It is not of man, nor did it proceed
from man, neither can it progress nor be perfected by man without
the direction of the Almighty. In fact, with all these helps,
with all these organizations, with all these principles, owing to
the weakness and infirmities of man, we find it difficult to
preserve in purity those sacred institutions that God has given
unto us, and we continually need the greatest care, humility,
self-denial, perseverance, watchfulness and reliance upon God. We
talk sometimes about free will; is that a correct principle? Yes;
and it is a principle that has always existed, and proceeded from
God, our Heavenly Father. When God revealed Himself to Joseph
Smith it was optional whether he obeyed His counsel or not; I
suppose, however, looking at things as they exist, and as they
are in truth, God understood that he would do it, he having been
selected for that purpose a long, long time ago; and that the
Lord knew that he would adhere to those principles and would
carry out the designs of Heaven as they should be communicated
unto and required of him. We received the Gospel; was any one
forced to obey it? Was there any coercion in any possible way
manifested toward us? Not that I know of. Was Oliver Cowdery, who
was the second Elder in the Church, obliged to receive this
Gospel? No, he was not. Was Hyrum Smith obliged to receive it?
No, he was not. Were any of the witnesses to the Book of
Mormon--the Whitmers and others? No. And after they did identify
themselves with this Church, were they compelled to stay in it?
No. Have any of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve, the
Seventies, the High Priests, or the members of the High Councils,
or the Presidents of the Seventies, or any class of men in this
Church, been compelled to occupy the position to which they have
been called? I do not know of any, do you? I know there was no
coercion used with me further than the force of truth
recommending itself to my mind, neither was there with you
further than the power of truth operating upon your minds. And
after you received the Gospel were you compelled to leave your
homes to come here? No, you were not. In fact, it was your desire
to come here, and you could not be kept back from coming, because
you were impelled by the spirit which the Latter-day Gospel
inspires to come to the land of Zion. If this is called
compulsion, it is not the compulsion of man, but the operation of
the Spirit of God, which you received through obedience to the
Gospel.
9
We may here ask, in acting under the dominion or control of the
Priesthood are any of you forced to do anything you do not want
to? If you think you are in any possible way, I absolve you from
it to-day, every one of you. These are my ideas about the rights
of men. It is "all free grace and all free will, as the poet has
it. We have not been coerced to come into the Church, we are not
coerced to remain in it. But we have taken upon ourselves a
profession of faith in God, and as Latter-day Saints we believe
that God has spoken, that the heavens have been opened, that the
everlasting Gospel has been restored to man, and we believe that
God has organized His church by revelation, through his servant,
Joseph Smith, in the form that we now have it. This is our faith.
We cannot help that faith. I cannot help my faith, neither can
you help yours. There was from the first, scriptural evidence
adduced and a certain kind of reasoning used to enlighten our
minds. We believed, after hearing the preaching of the Gospel,
that it was our duty to be baptized in the name of Jesus for the
remission of our sins, and to have hands laid upon our heads for
the reception of the Holy Ghost. And when we received that Holy
Ghost, which takes of the things of God, it showed them unto us;
and then we were placed upon another footing from what we were
before; and that Spirit has enlightened our minds in regard to
those things of which I have spoken, as well as in regard to many
others. If God has revealed unto us certain things can we help
our faith in them, and can we help knowing this to be the Church
and Kingdom of God? No. Can I? No. Can you? No. What would men
have to do to deprive me of this faith? They would have to cut
off my head, or in some other way to kill me; and then they could
not change my faith, that would be impossible. If a man knows a
thing, he knows it, and he cannot un-know it. There is one way
whereby we can un-know these things, and that is by giving way to
evil influences, to the powers of darkness, and by departing from
the light of God; and then the light within us becomes darkness,
and then "how great is that darkness." But when you talk about
controlling a man's faith, it cannot be done; and I would say to
people who are bent upon having me change my faith, all you have
to do is cut off my head, and even that would not do it, because
I would still be myself entertaining the same faith in the next
world. And therefore, all that men could do toward accomplishing
this object would be to destroy the body, but that principle
which God has implanted in our hearts it would be impossible to
destroy; hence says Jesus, "And fear not them which kill the
body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him
which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
9
Now, speaking again of the organization which I have referred to,
connected with it are laws which are calculated to lead us on
from strength to strength, from knowledge to knowledge, and from
intelligence to intelligence, until we shall all see as we are
seen and know as we are known. And hence God has given for this
purpose the various offices that exist in the Church and Kingdom
of God. I would further ask, What is this Priesthood given us
for? That we may be enabled to build up the Zion of our God. What
for? To put down wrong and corruption, lasciviousness, lying,
thieving, dishonesty and covetousness, with every kind of evil,
and also to encourage faith, meekness, charity, purity, brotherly
kindness, truthfulness, integrity, honesty, and everything that
is calculated to exalt and ennoble mankind, that we may be the
true and proper representatives of God our Father here upon the
earth, that we may learn to know His will and do it; that His
will may be done on earth as in heaven. And hence, Zion is spoken
of as being the pure in heart.
9
When the disciples of our Lord asked Him to teach them how to
pray, what did he say? "When you pray say, "Our Father, which art
in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come: Thy will be
done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily
bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And
lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine
is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."
Besides other things they were taught to pray that God's kingdom
might come. Why? That the earth might be delivered from
oppression, cruelty, tyranny, from corruptions, infamy,
licentiousness, debauchery, and all the evils that afflict
humanity, and which have been introduced by the powers of
darkness for the overthrow and destruction of the human family.
Jesus stands forth as the great propitiator between God and man.
He came here as the representative of His heavenly Father, He is
our great High Priest, and he lives to intercede for us before
the throne of God, who is also our Father, Jesus being our elder
brother.
10
Now, then, God has gathered us together for a purpose, and that
purpose is to build up Zion and to establish His kingdom on the
earth and He could not do it in any other way that I know of than
the way in which He is doing it; He may however have some other
way, but if he has I am not acquainted with it. It is sufficient
for us to know that He has chosen this way. Very well. We are
taking hold and are doing a great many good things. I feel very
much interested in the labors which are being performed. My heart
is drawn out in many instances to many peoples and organizations
that are engaged in trying to teach the people the ways of life.
When I see the Twelve thus engaged, traveling about from place to
place teaching the pure principles of the Gospel of peace, I feel
like saying in my heart, God bless you, and God sustain you; and
all Israel ought to have the same feeling. Then when I see our
missionaries doing the same thing not only in our midst but
elsewhere, seeking to promote the benefit of men, to introduce
correct principles and to expose error, and to lead men to the
truth and to gather them to Zion, I feel to say, God bless you in
all your operations, and may the Spirit and blessing and power of
God be with you; and all Israel ought to sustain such men who are
engaged in such beneficial labors. Then when I see our Sunday
Schools in operation, with our young men and women, and in many
instances the aged men and aged women taking an interest in our
youth and trying to train up the rising generation in the paths
of life, I say to all such, God bless you and may His peace and
blessing be upon all who are interested in the welfare of Israel.
And again when I see our young men and young women associating
themselves together for mutual instruction and edification,
learning to comprehend correct principles and educating
themselves to become efficient laborers in the work, the great,
the important, the eternal word of God which He has committed to
us--when I see our young men and women engaged in that way, I say
to such, God bless you, and may the peace and the blessing of God
be with you. And when I see our juveniles who are organized as
Primary Associations, brought together and taught to sing the
praises of God, and to comprehend the principles of the
Gospel--and in many instances their parents scarcely sense the
responsibility God placed upon them when He placed these precious
jewels in their care, making them the fathers and mothers of
lives--when I see our brethren and sisters engaged in teaching
these children to lisp the praises of God, and to honor and obey
their parents and to do that which is right, I say God bless
them. And when I see our Bishops engaged in doing the will of
God, and exerting themselves to promote the welfare of His people
over whom they preside; and seeking counsel from God and other
sources, and doing all they can to build up Zion unselfishly,
with pure hearts and clean hands, I say, God bless you and may
the spirit and power of your office rest upon you, that you may
magnify it and honor your God. And when I see the Seventies and
Elders go among the nations of the earth, as many have done
before, trying to benefit mankind, trying to snatch them from the
fearful calamity that is near at hand, but people do not know it,
when I see men going forth to accomplish the purposes of God and
gather out His elect, I say to such, God bless you; and I feel
desirous and hopeful that these men may be able to present the
eternal truths of heaven in such a way that the honest in heart
may see and admire them, and participate in the blessings
resulting from obedience thereto.
11
We are here, then, to build up Zion. We have a temple going up
here, and we have others in course of erection in other places.
Now, while we have no disrespect for the world, no disrespect for
the nations in which we live, or for the authorities thereof, if
they act wisely, well; if they do not act wisely it is not so
well. No matter about that; we can trust them in the hands of
God. We are the friends of all men, and are the friends of this
nation; we are the friends and supporters of the Constitution of
this nation, we are the friends of right, of freedom and of good
administration and good men everywhere, and that on the principle
of which I spoke a while ago--on the principle of freedom,
liberty, believe, and let believe, worship, and let others
worship, worship as you please according to the dictates of
conscience, and let others do the same. It is for us to be
governed by correct principles, and as far as it lies in our
power to extend to all men this right, and then maintain, on
correct principles, our own rights, the rights of others and the
rights of God. These are my feelings in relation to this matter.
But the world do not comprehend our principles; they cannot. But
we can afford to teach them the Gospel even if we are abused for
doing it; we can deal justly with them, and then suffer their
abuse. No matter. We can do all this and a good deal more, and
also advocate the rights of men, look after our own interest of
the community we are associated with, and sustain all just laws
and correct principles. And then we can leave those men who
violate correct principles in the hands of God. But they cannot
comprehend these things, they do not possess that spirit which
alone enables men to fulfil those principles, which are given by
the Almighty for the benefit of the human family. We do
understand them, I mean, those who are faithful to their
profession, as Latter-day Saints; but some of us possess the
spirit by which they are actuated, and I am sorry when I see it.
But as a people we are not of the spirit of the world; we are
here not to pattern after the follies of the world, but to build
up Zion, the Church and Kingdom of God upon the earth; and God
has given unto us a portion of His Spirit, that we may seek after
Him, and seek to carry out His will, and He will continue to
enlighten our mind, and we shall grow and increase, and our path
will be as that of the just, growing brighter and brighter unto
the perfect day. Do the world understand anything of the religion
we have received? No. It is nothing new to say this; this was
understood long, long ago.
11
"The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God:
for they are foolishness unto him, neither indeed can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned;" and when they do
not possess the spirit of truth, the Comforter, the Holy Ghost,
by which alone they are understood, how can they comprehend them?
Well, having said so much, let me come back to the question of
Tithing.
11
The people were anxious at the time the revelation was given in
Far West, to know what the Lord required as a Tithing from His
Saints. I was there at the time; it was in 1838--quite a little
time to look back to. Some time, however, before this revelation
was given, God had revealed the principle of the United Order,
which as you know, the people could not abide; and when we come
to think about it, it could hardly be expected that they could do
so, they having been in the Church but a short time, taken out of
the world, with all the prejudices and weaknesses that you and I
have. But the time will come when we will obey these things as
they are given by the revelations of God, and it will not be a
hardship either; it will be a pleasure to those who are under the
influence of the Lord. But like all other things, it will be
"free will and free grace."
12
Now, then, we come to this. Here is a command given; who to? Not
to outsiders, not to men of the world, not to people who do not
believe in God nor in His laws; but it is given directly to us
who profess to have faith in Him, in His laws, and in His
priesthood. The question then is, what is our duty, as we have
not obeyed the other law? I will remark here, incidentally, that
when this law of Tithing was given, a great many people were
gathering up to Far West and to that district of country, as we
are to this country; but it would apply more to our early
settlements than at the present time. This people thus gathering
to Far West, were told that it was required of them to give their
surplus property--I will read it.
12
"I require all their surplus property to be put into the hands of
the Bishop of my Church of Zion, for the building of mine house,
and for the laying the foundation of Zion, and for the
Priesthood, and for the debts of the Presidency of my Church; and
this shall be the beginning of the Tithing of my people." What
then? "And those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of
all their interest annually, and this shall be a standing law
unto them forever, for my holy Priesthood, saith the Lord."
12
Now, here is a people, of whom we form a part, who met together
to ask the Prophet of the Lord to inquire for them the will of
the Lord concerning this matter of Tithing; and He gives it in
these words:
12
"And this shall be a standing law unto them forever."
12
I will ask, has the Lord ever annulled this? No. Then it stands
in full force to-day to this people. Then again:
12
"Verily I say unto you, it shall come to pass, that all those who
gather unto the land of Zion shall be tithed of their surplus
properties, and shall observe this law, or they shall not be
found worthy to abide among you."
12
That is very plain talk. Is there any compulsion about it? No;
but if they do not do it they shall not be considered worthy to
abide among you. What are we to make of it? As I said yesterday,
I did not make it; President Young did not make it, neither did
Joseph Smith make it; but by the request of the people he asked
the Lord what His will was, and this was the answer; and this was
given in 1838. And does it not seem strange that we do not
comprehend it? I think it does sometimes. Here we have had the
Doctrine and Covenants in our hands, which contain this
revelation, since the year 1838; that is nearly forty-two years
ago. We have had forty-two years to study this doctrine, and it
is as plain as you can make it, and yet it would seem that we
cannot understand it. Do we want to understand the laws of God?
If we do, and will read these things under the influence of that
spirit which I have referred to, I think that we will understand
our duties without much trouble.
13
Now then, if Zion--we were talking about building up Zion--I am
not going to enter into the whys and wherefores of these things,
but will say it is a test to the people of God, or for us who
profess to be, that we may know whether people will observe a
certain specific law given by the Almighty or not, and thus have
a proof of their fidelity and obedience. Now, if we abide this,
all is well and good; if not, it is written, "They shall not be
found worthy to abide among you." What will you do with them? I
often think that there are a great many people who are not worthy
to abide among us; don't you? And then if God were to put
judgment to the line, and righteousness to the plummet, most of
us would be in a very poor fix. I will tell you what I think
should be done, and that is why I am treating upon this subject
to-day. I think the people ought to be instructed in these
things, and then if they do not live up to them you will not then
be held responsible to the authorities that preside over you. The
Lord tells us that they shall not be worthy of a place among us.
Do we want to alter that? Not one iota. Would I wish to be harsh
to men that are ignorant? No, I would not; I would bear with
them, and teach them and instruct them. And if I were a Bishop I
should instruct my Teachers to do it; and then by and by, after
they were fully informed, and had every opportunity to become
acquainted with things, we might take final action in relation to
their standing. I would not wish to enforce that law at present,
until men were thoroughly informed. For instance, the case I
referred to yesterday. There were two men; one paid $100 in
tithing, the other paid $25 in tithing. Both of them owned about
the same amount of property; but the first paid his tithing, the
other did not. The second, however, paid some $75 in donations;
but he did not pay his tithing, he only paid a quarter of it.
That now may have arisen from ignorance with regard to the law.
The last paid out as much money as the first; and he may have
been wrongly taught. Some of the Bishops do not understand these
things, and yet we have had this doctrine given unto us for
forty-two years. Has a man a right to turn and change things as
he pleases? I have not, and I do not believe any other man has.
And if any Bishop or a President of a Stake or anybody else tells
you that you can do as you please about the disposition you make
of the means you pay, as long as you pay a certain amount, or you
may pay it on Tithing or not, as you please, I tell you that he
teaches false doctrine. But should we be hard with such people?
No. If they have been under influences of this nature and been
wrongly taught, I will say, as a certain party said to me who had
been doing these things, "I will switch off and pay my Tithing
according to the law." You, Bishops and Presidents of Stakes,
switch off and get the people to do things right. There is no
commandment about donations, but there is about Tithing; and I am
not at liberty to change this, neither any other man.
15
I will follow this subject a little further. We are talking about
building up Zion. Here is where the thing applies itself with
great force to me as well as to you, when you comprehend it as it
exists and see it by the light of the Spirit of Truth. For it is
written: "And I say unto you, if my people observe not this law,
to keep it holy, and by this law sanctify the land of Zion unto
me, that my statutes and my judgments may be kept thereon, that
it may be most holy, behold, verily I say unto you, it shall not
be a land of Zion unto you." Well, we are talking about building
up the land of Zion, which is one of the things we are here for.
And God has said that if we do not obey this law, it shall not be
a land of Zion unto us. Does this apply to us? I will read a
little further: "And this shall be an ensample unto all the
Stakes of Zion. Now, I speak these things for your information. I
will go a little farther upon the subject. A person wrote me a
letter, stating that a young man had applied to a certain Bishop
for a recommend to get married. He asked him if he had paid his
Tithing. He answered, No. "Well," said the Bishop, "We are
instructed not to give recommends to those who do not pay their
Tithing." "But," said the young man, my father I suppose paid my
Tithing for me." If this was so, that would be very proper,
especially in farming districts, where the grown sons assist in
cultivating the farm, and the daughters, perhaps, assist in
making the butter and cheese, etc. When the Tithing on the whole
is paid, that is all straight enough, because what is made is the
proceeds of the united labor of the family, and the family are
all, of course, represented until they come to age. And then
what? Why then comes another state of things. "Have you paid your
Tithing since you left your father?" the young man was asked. No.
Why? I have been careless and indifferent and I have not done
what was right. Well, if you haven't paid your Tithing, and you
seem to have forgotten God, why is it that you want to get
married according to the laws of God? Why not get married in some
other way, seeing that you observe not the laws of God? Well, in
the first place, my father and mother wish me to be married
according to the laws of God; and then my intended wife's father
and mother want us to be married in that way; and again, the girl
has told me that she will not have me unless we get married in
that way. I will here remark, I think this very sensible and
creditable on the part of the young lady; I think she acted very
wisely, and I wish all our young sisters felt the same, and they
ought to on a matter of such importance to them. Says the young
man further: "I have a desire to keep the laws of God, for I was
born in the Church, and I have grown up with such feelings, but I
was not man enough to practice them. But if you give me the
recommend I will try and do it in the future." But the question
is, under these circumstances, should the recommend be given? I
could not do it, unless there was some visible manifestation on
his part to mend his ways and to make up the thing he had been
deficient in. "Why," it may be asked, "Is it not better to have
our sons married in the right way and be kind to them, than to
see them go elsewhere to be married." As I said yesterday, as I
say to-day, if it were a son of mine I could not give him the
recommend; and other men's sons under the same circumstances are
no better than mine. It is principle we are to be governed by. I
am not here, you are not here to carry out our own designs, and
feelings, and purposes. Why, Jesus himself did not come to do
that. According to His own words, He came not to do his own will,
but the will of his Father who sent Him. And we are here not to
do our own will, but the will of the Father who also sent us, and
who has called us to our holy and exalted calling. And what shall
be done? Unless this young man could convince me, if I were a
Bishop, that he was sincere in his heart and made some
satisfactory attempt at fulfilling this law, I would not give him
a recommend. What? Would Elders of Israel take men into the House
of God, would you, because God has revealed some of the greatest
blessings that can be conferred upon humanity, blessings which
thousands and tens of thousands of good men sang about and prayed
about and longed to receive, but who died without enjoying them,
should we take a man, a man whom this Book says, shall not be
worthy to abide amongst you, should we, I say, take him through
the House of the Lord and confer and seal upon him blessings and
lives eternal, and thrones and principalities and powers and
dominions, and introduce him into the society of the highest
intelligences that exist in the eternal worlds? I forbid you to
do it in the name of the Lord. We cannot do it, we are not at
liberty to do it, neither are we at liberty to use our judgment
in regard to it either. If we bear with men in their weakness and
infirmity and are obliged to carry a lot of men like so many
automatons, the time will come and it must come when they will be
shut out, they will not be found worthy to abide among you; they
are not worthy now. But we have to bear with them until they are
better informed; but until then they must do the best they can,
for they cannot go into the House of the Lord, they cannot be
sealed up to eternal lives, they cannot have part in the
blessings which God has conferred upon us until they bring forth
fruits meet for repentance.
15
I will take it in another point of view. We pay our Tithing and
we pay Temple donations, we attend to the duties of the House of
the Lord; we go forth and proclaim the Gospel of peace to the
nations of the earth; we convert people, under the blessing of
God, and they come to a knowledge of the principles of the
Gospel, and we continue our labors to build up Zion; looking at
it in this light, would it be just, after we have laid out our
means, would it be in accordance with the principles of equity to
grant this privilege to such men, a privilege which we have
earned and, in a certain sense, paid for? It is generally the
case that they are the first to rush forward and want certain
blessings without earning them. Jesus said in His day that the
"kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by
force." These are some of that class who crowd in where they are
not worthy to tread. These temporal matters they assume are of
very little importance, they are of very little importance
judging from the way that many of us labor; but they are of very
great importance when weighed in the balances of truth, the
principles of eternal life which God has revealed are of the
utmost importance to the Saints, both to the living and the dead,
to the myriads of men that have lived and that may live, these
things are of vast importance.
16
I thought I would talk a little upon this subject this morning. I
will now offer a few remarks upon another subject. We talk
sometimes about justice; and I have noticed the spirit manifested
among us sometimes, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth."
This is something that really does not belong to us. We are full
of infirmities. We pray to the Father to forgive our trespasses
as we forgive them that trespass against us. How often do we sin
against God? Many times, and ask His forgiveness. How often
should I forgive my brother? I hear people say, "here is such and
such a man, he has wronged me, and I cannot forgive him." Then
you have not the true spirit of the Gospel. "But he has acted so
meanly towards me, he has injured my reputation, and he sought to
do it." Bless your soul, he cannot injure your reputation if it
is good; on the contrary, by taking a correct course, according
to the spirit of the Gospel, he that has traduced you will
respect you and will be the sufferer, not you. It is our duty to
forgive our brother seven times, yes, seventy times seven, when
he turns to you and seeks your forgiveness; and we should forgive
men in our hearts whether they ask our forgiveness or not. And
what about our enemies? What shall we do with them? Offer them
peace and forgive them the first time. And what then? Go again
the second time and forgive them? Yes, if they ask forgiveness.
And the third time? Yes; but the fourth time the Lord says thine
enemy is in thine hand, do with him as seemeth thee good. You
have then fulfilled the law; and even then, if you are merciful,
it is said it shall be accounted to you for righteousness. This
is the law of the Gospel.
16
I am desirous to see the people observe this law of Tithing,
because it is a plain and direct command to us. Not that I care
anything personally whether people pay their Tithing or not, and
I do not think the Lord cares much himself. The gold and the
silver are His, and so are the cattle upon a thousand hills; and
to Him belongs power to command all things. And what we do
possess of this world's goods is given unto us to make a wise use
of, because we cannot take them with us when we shall be called
hence. It is for us, as Saints of the Most High, to be honest and
upright and take a correct course, to be full of integrity and
maintain correct principles everywhere and at all times. If our
enemies cannot afford to treat us aright, we can afford to treat
them aright. But we will not barter away our rights, but leave
ourselves in the hands of God, and seek to Him for His guidance;
and if we keep His commandments, God's blessing will rest upon
us. Therefore, in regard to this, it is not a matter of pecuniary
interest that prompts me to speak to you; it is a test of faith
which God has given unto us, and which affects us all and that
for some reason known to God. But speaking of ourselves, it is
positively stated, as before referred to, that those who do not
observe this law shall not be considered worthy to abide among
us; and further, that this shall be a standing law unto all the
Stakes of Zion. Again, the Lord says: "If my people observe not
this law, etc., it shall not be a land of Zion unto them."
16
We have to build up Zion, and make it the praise of the whole
earth; but to do this acceptably to God, we must be governed by
the principles of purity and honesty; truthfulness and integrity
and all the sterling virtues which God has pointed out for man to
be governed by. And when the Saints arrive at this state of
perfection, thus fulfilling this scripture with regard to the
greatness and splendor of Zion, God will make His people not only
the richest of all people in spiritual things, but also in
temporal things.
16
God bless you, in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / John
Nicholson, February 6, 1881
John Nicholson, February 6, 1881
DISCOURSE ON THE BOOK OF MORMON,
BY ELDER JOHN NICHOLSON,
Delivered in the Salt Lake Assembly Hall,
Sunday Afternoon, February 6th, 1881.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
THE CHURCH OF CHRIST ORGANIZED ANCIENTLY ON THIS
CONTINENT--PROPHECY
FULFILLED AND FULFILLING--PREPARATORY WORK FOR THE GATHERING OF
ALL ISRAEL COMMENCED--PRESENT CONDITION OF THE NATIONS
FORETOLD--EXHORTATION TO RIGHTEOUSNESS AND THE AVOIDANCE OF
HYPOCRISY AND IDOLATRY.
17
Having been called from the midst of the congregation to address
this assemblage this afternoon, I feel my inability personally to
do justice in the performance of this duty, unless I am aided by
the spirit of the living God. I earnestly solicit that you will
exercise faith for me while I shall occupy this position, that I
may be able to speak through the influence of that power, and
truthfully present the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
which the Latter-day Saints have embraced in their faith and
practice, so far as they understand them.
18
There are a great many subjects connected with the plan of
redemption that are of interest to all who are seeking for
salvation in the kingdom of God. The field is so wide, in fact,
that there is sometimes great difficulty in selecting the class
of matter best suited to the circumstances that immediately
surround us. There is, however, one phase of this work that I
think is specially interesting in connection with it. I hold in
my hand a volume which is known for good or evil throughout the
entire civilized world--the Book of Mormon. The Latter-day Saints
claim that this book is a record of peoples that dwelt anciently
on the face of this continent, and that it was brought forth in
this generation, through the instrumentality of a great Prophet,
namely: Joseph Smith. This book has not been generally received
in this light; in other words, it has been, so far as the great
bulk of the world is concerned, repudiated as not properly
authenticated, not what it claims to be. In my travels in the
world, however, I have found very few people who could give an
intelligent reason for the repudiative stand they have taken in
reference to this record. I have asked a great many of them--and
I presume that numbers of the Elders besides myself have done the
same thing--whether they had perused this book and endeavored to
make themselves acquainted with its contents, and also to make
themselves familiar with the evidences in favor of its
authenticity. In the majority of instances these have never as
much as seen a Book of Mormon. Now, it appears to me that this is
not a proper position to be taken in regard to any subject by an
intelligent person. If a matter is worthy of consideration at all
it should be intelligently investigated. This is the only method
by which we can arrive at correct conclusions in reference to
religion or any other subject.
18
We claim this book is a record or history of the ancient
inhabitants of America, the remnants of whom are now scattered on
various portions of this continent. Numbers of them surround us
in these valleys, and are known as the aborigines of America. It
is unnecessary for me to more than allude to the fact that there
did exist, in the ages of the past, peoples on this land who had
arrived at an advanced stage of civilization, and who cultivated
the arts and sciences. The ruins of vast cities, among which are
the remains of great structures, giving ample evidence of this
fact. This testimony is presented before the world and is being
constantly produced for the consideration of the reading public.
Then there was a people anciently upon this continent who were in
a condition of advancement; this is universally acknowledged, I
believe, by those who have considered this question. When Jesus
came to offer himself up as an atonement to satisfy the law that
had been broken by mankind, and to organize his Church in the
land of Palestine, he did so organize what he called his Church.
It was composed, so far as its officers are concerned, of men who
were inspired of God, and who were directly authorized and
commissioned by Him to act in His name and to administer the
principles of life and salvation wherever they went. What was the
nature of their commission? He said to His ancient Apostles whom
He commissioned: "Go ye into the world and preach the Gospel to
every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;
and he that believeth not shall be damned." The Apostles,
according to the power that was given to them, and according to
the nature of the commission with which they were thus entrusted,
went into the various parts of the world and made this
proclamation, calling upon all men everywhere to repent of their
sins, to obey the everlasting Gospel that they might be saved in
the Kingdom of God, to come into the true fold of Christ. Nobly
did they perform the great work that was entrusted to them. But,
so far as we are aware, they did not extend their labors to this
part of the world; for the peoples who dwelt on the eastern
hemisphere were ignorant of the existence of this continent. Yet
the Lord Jesus Christ said to His Apostles: "Go ye therefore and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." Now, seeing there was a people
here on this continent, surely they were entitled to the benefits
of the Gospel of the Redeemer as well as those who lived on other
parts of the earth. We find that so far as the Book of Mormon is
concerned, an explanation is given in regard to how the people
who lived on this portion of our globe were visited and
administered to in the things of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, even
as those ministrations were manifested in other parts of the
world.
19
Sometimes we allude to the Scriptures and select passages to
substantiate those things that are written in the Book of Mormon.
I will now draw the attention of the congregation to a passage
that we consider has reference to this subject, which is found in
the 10th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John, the 15th
and 16th verses: "As the Father knoweth me"--these are the words
of the Savior--"even so know I the Father; and I lay down my life
for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this
fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and
there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." What is the necessary
conclusion to be arrived at from this remark of the Savior? It is
very plain and simple. There were other sheep who were not of the
fold at Jerusalem, and it was necessary that they also should
hear the voice of the Savior and be brought into the fold of
Christ, that there might be one fold and one shepherd.
20
The Book of Mormon, from page 501 to 540, gives an account of the
fulfilment of this inspired utterance of the Redeemer. It tells
how, after he was crucified in the flesh, at Jerusalem, and
showed himself to many of his disciples, He, in fulfilment of
this assertion, that he had "other sheep," that he must visit
them, and that they also must hear his voice and be brought into
the fold, visited the ancients on this land and established His
fold amongst them. He performed that work on this continent,
among the people of whom the Book of Mormon is a history or
record. What is the fold of Christ? It is the Church of Christ.
What is the Church of Christ? It is an organized body, at the
head of which stands Apostles, and Prophets. That was the Church
of the Redeemer in ancient times, it was the Church established
by himself in Palestine, and it always will be the Church as long
as there is a true Church of Christ--not a revelationless,
uninspired, dead formula, "having a form of godliness but denying
the power thereof," but an organization wherein there is
authority to act in the name of him whose Church it is. Men are
reasonable upon most subjects, it appears to me, excepting when
it comes to matters of religion. A great many people seem to be
willing that any thing should do for them in the shape of
religion, so long as it does not give them much trouble. But
there is nothing by which humanity can be sanctified unless it be
the truth; and no church can offer salvation except it be the
true Church of Christ, for in it alone is the power of God unto
salvation. It is a strange thing that people can read the record
of the New Testament, of the sayings of the Apostles, the
description of the organization of the Church as it existed in
its primitive completeness and power, and then be prepared to
accept of a church of a different description entirely. This is a
day when revelation is denied, when Prophets and Apostles are
stated to be no longer needed. This is the position of the whole
of so-called Christendom. But what do the Scriptures say these
inspired teachers were given for? Paul says they were given "for
the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of
Christ,"--and if we say that such officers are no longer needed,
then we must also assume the position that the ministerial work
can be safely abolished and that the body of Christ which is the
Church, requires no more edification; for this was the means
established by Jesus Christ for its edification and instruction.
Another purpose for which these inspired teachers were given was
that we might be all brought to a unity of the faith, and yet it
is stated that those officers who were placed in the Church for
that purpose are no longer needed. If that assertion were
correct, unity would be unnecessary in the Church, or else the
Church has arrived at that condition of unity, when the means for
bringing about that result is entirely unnecessary and can be
dispensed with. But no person can claim this latter position.
Those who call themselves the Church of Christ cannot
consistently assume this position; for if there is a subject upon
which men and women are divided in their views and practices, and
engender towards each other feelings of bitter animosity, it is
religion, and that also which is claimed to be the religion of
the meek and lowly Jesus Christ, who came to fill the hearts of
His disciples with peace. This was His motto, this was the
proclamation that ushered in his birth, "Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men." We claim
that it requires the same today to save men and women as it did
in ancient times.
21
But, to return to the Book of Mormon. Portions of Scriptures can
be cited, to substantiate, or tend to substantiate at least, the
validity or authenticity of this book. But there are other
evidences that are more potent in their character, in my
estimation and these evidences are contained within the book
itself; it speaks for itself. Its teachings are in the strictest
harmony with those of the Scriptures of eternal truth; its
morality is faultless; its religion will bear the closest
scrutiny in comparison with the instructions of Jesus himself and
the Apostles, as contained within the lids of the Bible, the
record that is accepted by Christendom as the history of the
early Church. But there is internal evidence of the Book of
Mormon being what we claim it to be, and to have been brought
forth by the power of the living God. What is the character of
this evidence? It is prophetic in its nature. I will draw the
attention of the congregation to one passage that occurs to my
mind, which will be found on page 122 of the latest edition. It
gives the words of the Prophet Nephi: "And now I would prophecy
somewhat more concerning the Jews and the Gentiles. For after the
book of which I have spoken shall come forth"--that is the coming
forth of this book--"and be written unto the Gentiles and sealed
up again unto the Lord, there shall be many which shall believe
the words which are written; and they shall carry them forth to
the remnant of our seed. And then shall the remnant of our seed
know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that
they are descendants of the Jews. And the Gospel of Jesus Christ
shall be declared among them; wherefore they shall be restored
unto the knowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of
Jesus Christ, which was had among their fathers. And then shall
they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them
from the hand of God; and their scales of darkness shall begin to
fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away
among them save they shall be a white and delightsome people. And
it shall come to pass that the Jews which are scattered, also
shall begin to believe in Christ; and they shall begin to gather
in upon the face of the land; and as many as shall believe in
Christ, shall also become a delightsome people. And it shall come
to pass that the Lord God shall commence his work among all
nations, kindreds, tongues and people, to bring about the
restoration of his people upon the earth." A portion of this
prediction has received a literal fulfilment, while the remainder
is in process of verification. The tens of thousands of
Latter-day Saints render the prophecy that many shall "believe
the words of the book" an accomplished fact. The inspired
utterance purports to have been spoken over two thousand years
ago. The unbeliever may repudiate the claim regarding the ancient
character of the record, and assume that it originated with
Joseph Smith. But this would not much improve the position of the
skeptic, for as the Book of Mormon was published before the
Church was organized, Joseph Smith had no ordinary means of
knowing that many would believe in the divine authenticity of the
book.
21
There have been many, I believe, even among the Latter-day
Saints, who, under the circumstances of the past, have found it
all that their faith could grasp to believe some of the words
which I have just read in your hearing--those relating to the
Lamanites. Nearly from the organization of this Church, and for
many years subsequently, missionaries, Elders of this Church,
were sent among the remnants of the ancient people of this
continent, the aborigines, to endeavor to bring them to a
knowledge of their fathers. It appeared, however, as if the
efforts in that direction were fruitless--that these people had
fallen so low in the scale of being, so depraved that it seemed
next to impossible for the rays of truth to penetrate their
minds. It appeared as if we might as well despair of
accomplishing anything so far as they were concerned. But this is
an inspired record, and these words which I have read to you this
afternoon were the inspired utterances of a great Prophet, which
must come to pass in the last days, in connection with the great
latter-day dispensation. They have commenced to be fulfilled, not
by the power of man, but by the power of the living God.
23
About seven years ago there was a movement among some of the
tribes of the people to whom I allude. They came forth and made
statements to the effect that the Great Spirit had directed them
to come to the Elders of this Church and be baptized for the
remission of their sins. There is an Elder in this congregation,
Brother George H. Hill, who sits in the gallery, who has, as well
as others, been instrumental in doing much in this direction. As
many as 300 of these people at one time solicited of him the
administration of this ordinance. Was it the influence and power
of man that accomplished this? No, it was not; it was the
influence and power of the living God, who, according to the Book
of Mormon, made a promise to the fathers of these people that he
would visit the remnants of their posterity and restore them to a
knowledge of their progenitors. This covenant was made with the
fathers at the solicitation of the latter, who knew by the spirit
of prophecy that their descendants would become dark and
benighted, through the influence of apostasy and wickedness. It
is true that comparatively few of that people have received the
truth and forsaken their idle habits and evil practices, and are
endeavoring to live as peaceable and respectable citizens; but
the work of reclamation has commenced. It has a small beginning,
but this is the case with nearly all great results. But there is
an element of growth in this work, and it will increase and
expand until it shall take many of this portion of the House of
Israel within the Gospel fold, and they shall accomplish the
great work that is predicted of them in connection with this last
dispensation of the fullness of times.
23
There is another thing in connection with this great work
beginning amongst the aborigines--a work that was to be
contemporaneous with its inauguration. It is predicted in the
Book of Mormon that when the Lord should remember the portion of
Israel on this continent, and they should begin to believe the
words of this book, at that time, contemporaneous with that
event, the Father would commence to prepare the way among all
nations for the gathering of the house of Israel from the four
quarters of the earth to the lands which he had promised to their
fathers for an everlasting inheritance, to them and their
children for ever. This was the sign given by the Savior when he
preached to the ancient inhabitants of this continent, and I will
show that this was the case, so far as the Book of Mormon records
the prediction. On page 527 are these words: "And when these
things come to pass, that thy seed shall begin to know these
things, it shall be a sign unto them, that they may know that the
work of the Father hath already commenced unto the fulfilling of
the covenant which he hath made unto the people who are of the
house of Israel." And again, on page 529: "And then shall the
work of the Father commence at that day, even when this Gospel
shall be preached among the remnant of this people. Verily, I say
unto you, at that day shall the work of the Father commence among
all the dispersed of my people; yea, even the tribes that have
lost, which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem. Yea, the
work shall commence among all the dispersed of my people, with
the Father, to prepare the way whereby they may call on the
Father in my name. Yea, and then shall the work commence, with
the Father, among all nations, in preparing the way whereby his
people may be gathered home to the land of their inheritance. And
they shall go out from all nations."
23
Here is a statement that is made in connection with this work;
here is a prediction that when the Lamanites should commence to
believe in the words of this book, the Father was to commence to
gather the whole house of Israel and to prepare a way amongst all
nations. Is this the case? If this be an inspired utterance, then
the Lord is preparing the way, and has been ever since this sign
became a fact--for the gathering of the Jews and the other
branches of the whole house of Israel. Has this been so?
23
I draw the attention of the congregation to recent events in the
political world, which point in that direction. Shortly after
this work commenced among the remnants of Israel on this
continent, there was warfare between Russia and Turkey, which
culminated in what is known as the famous Berlin Treaty, in the
production of which Lord Beaconsfield, himself a Jew, was the
leading spirit. There are clauses in that treaty that are
favorable to the accomplishment of the work to which I
allude--the gathering of the house of Israel from the nations of
the earth to the lands that were promised to their fathers, to
them and to their children for ever. Political freedom,
comparatively speaking, was, by that instrument, granted to the
Jews contiguous to Palestine--in Romania and other principalities
of the East. A short time subsequent to the formation and
ratification of the treaty, Great Britain assumed a protectorate
over that part of the world in which is Palestine, and the Jews
have rights now accorded to them that they have not enjoyed for
many generations. But one of the greatest evidences of all is the
fact that the Jews themselves are beginning to awaken upon this
subject and are operating with a view to the colonization of
ancient Palestine by the house of Israel. A Mr. Oliphant, not
long since, applied to the Sultan of Turkey for the privilege of
purchasing portions of Palestine for this very purpose, and
organizations are being affected in various parts of the world
with no other object in view than the one to which I am now
alluding. There is another thing that I believe will aid this
work of influencing the ancient people of God to go to their own
land, and that is the circumstances by which they are being
surrounded in some of the countries of Europe. They are being
persecuted in Germany and Russia, and the condition of Europe is
becoming so disturbed and so broken up, and business matters are
becoming so uncertain, that I expect these circumstances will
lead the Jews to consider the question of establishing a Hebrew
nationality before long; for we are living in the very day when
God will fulfil the promises he made to Israel. Let the people
hear it, for it has been uttered by the voice of inspiration,
ancient and modern, and the words of the Lord, through his
servants, will not fall to the ground, but will be fulfilled to
the very letter.
24
Why, my brethren and sisters, are we not more familiar with the
contents of this book? No Latter-day Saint can intelligently
comprehend the signs of the times unless he is informed in regard
to the teachings of this record. In the early rise of the Church
the Lord manifested his displeasure with the Saints because they
did not pay sufficient attention to the revelations contained in
the Book of Mormon, and that book itself promises and the
revelations through the Prophet Joseph promise, that, in the due
time of the Lord, when the people are sufficiently advanced to
receive them, other records of momentous importance shall be
brought forth for the consideration of the Saints; but I do not
think we will receive anything additional to what we have already
obtained in this form until we have manifested a suitable
appreciation of that which has already been given to us. This
record and the revelations of Jesus Christ generally have been
given for the perusal of the people, that they may reflect upon
them, upon the principles that they make manifest, upon the law
of God, that the law may be written in their hearts, and that
they may be men and women of understanding. It must be pleasing,
however, to every person who is interested in this great work, to
see that there is a fresh impetus in this direction. The Saints
are giving more attention to what God has revealed for our
acceptance and which is contained in the records which have been
given to this Church. I believe this spirit will increase,
because when the minds of the people are bent in that direction,
their appetites for the things of God are increased and they
desire more, which shall accordingly be given them.
25
How clearly is the condition of the nations of the earth to-day
depicted in this book! It is stated, near to the quotation which
I first made, that in these latter days God would create a great
division among the people, that the wicked would destroy the
wicked. There is a question on a subject that is clearly
described in this record, that is drawing the attention of the
ablest minds of the age. It is an influence that is shaking the
governments and nations of the earth from centre to
circumference--I refer now to the "secret societies" that are
filling the heads of governments with fear, that commit all kinds
of diabolical depredations among the nations, and that are even
threatening their very existence. These societies, which are
inspired by a desire to throw off every kind of legal restraint,
exist, in some form or another, in almost every nation under
heaven, and especially in those nations claiming to be civilized.
Perhaps this is what is meant by the great division among the
people. This subject was brought up before the mind of Moroni,
the last man in whose custody the plates from which this record
was translated were, and who was so highly privileged as to hide
them up in the hill Cumorah, where they were found by the Prophet
Joseph Smith, in this age, being directed to obtain them by the
angel of the Lord. It was a habit with Moroni, while making the
closing portion of this record, to discourse upon the subject
matter, to speak with the peoples of the earth who would live in
this day in which you and I are living as if he spoke to them
face to face, as one man speaks with another, and warn them of
the evils that would exist among them and the destruction that
would fall upon their heads. He also called upon them, by the
voice of prophecy, to repent of their sins and accept of the plan
of redemption, that they might be saved in the kingdom of the
Father. Perhaps it would be interesting to you, considering the
nature of the times in which we live, to draw your attention to
what he (Moroni) says about this very condition to which he
pointed by the spirit of prophecy, a condition that was to exist
in the day in which we live. You will find it on page 588. He is
now addressing the Gentiles who would be living when this book
would be brought forth, and the work of the Father commenced.
Hear his words: "And whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret
combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread out
over the nation, behold, they shall be destroyed, for the Lord
will not suffer that the blood of his Saints, which shall be shed
by them, shall always cry unto him from the ground for vengeance
upon them, and yet he avenge them not. Wherefore, O ye Gentiles,
it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you,
that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that
these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built
up to get power and gain, and the work, yea, even the work of
destruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of
the Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and
destruction, if ye shall suffer these things to be. Wherefore the
Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among
you, that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation,
because of this secret combination which shall be among you, or
woe be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain;
for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon
those who build it up. For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth
it up, seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations and
countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people,
for it is built up by the devil who is the father of all lies;
even that same liar who beguiled our first parents; yea, even
that same liar who hath caused man to commit a murder from the
beginning; who hath hardened the hearts of men, that they have
murdered the Prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out from
the beginning." Now here is a prophecy. There is no ambiguity in
reference to these words. This Prophet is speaking as if he were
speaking face to face with those who would be living in this day,
and he tells them to beware of these things, and we witness the
fulfilment of his words, for such things are among the nations of
the earth to-day, and are spreading everywhere and causing
anxiety and fear to take hold of the hearts of the people.
25
These predictions and many others that are receiving a literal
verification, establish the inspiration and genuineness of this
record, which was brought forth by the instrumentality of Joseph
Smith to this generation. It is an inspired record, and contains
within itself the evidences of its authenticity. Men have but to
give this subject an unprejudiced investigation, considering it
upon its merits to come to that conclusion. Although people may
not be willing to admit that it is of divine origin, that it is
an inspired record, they surely cannot, at least, set aside the
facts which it enunciates.
26
Let us, then, who belong to this great Church--the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--prize that which God has given
to us for our instruction and edification, and let us not treat
them as things that are of no moment. We live in a great day, the
greatest of all ages, the greatest of all dispensations. It is a
great privilege to be associated with so noble a work as that
with which we are connected, and I believe that the time will
soon come when this Church will go forth clear, purified by the
agencies which God will bring to bear upon it for that purpose. I
expect to see the time come when the hypocrite in Zion shall
tremble, being afraid because of the power of God that shall be
in the midst of the people who will be living as they should
live. I expect to see the day when there shall be less worshiping
of the god of this world, which wins the hearts of many people
from the worship of the true and living God. There is a sin which
God has denounced in every age; it is the sin of idolatry. In
ancient times, when people were less cultured than they are now,
they bowed themselves down before blocks of wood and stone, and
golden calves, and worshiped at such shrines, prostrating the
powers that God had given them before that which was dumb and
unintelligent. But there are different forms of idolatry.
Whatever a person uses his powers most to accomplish is that
which he worships. If a man has given him exclusively in pursuing
the object of self-aggrandizement--the building up of self, to
all intents and purposes that individual is an idolater before
the shrine of mammon. God is a jealous God, and He wills not that
any of His people should have any other God than Him. Let the
poor and the meek be lifted up in their hearts and rejoice before
God, for He hath them in remembrance, and let those who truckle
to position and to wealth beware, for the Lord will not suffer it
long. Let the hand of fellowship be extended to him who is cast
down, that he may be comforted. Surround him with a halo of love
and friendship, and let him know that he is not forgotten, and
the Lord will remember those who act this brotherly part. I am
reminded sometimes of the weakness of humanity, when called to
the scenes of death which sometimes visit us. We are called to
the funeral of some man, some Elder in Israel, or some sister or
friend who has departed this life; and, O, how we love to dwell
upon their good qualities, to speak of their goodness and to cast
the vail of undiscerning charity over their faults. We should not
wait until our brethren and sisters are seized with the chill
hand of death, and their bodies are about to be laid in the cold
tomb, to recognize the good points in their characters. We should
manifest a little of that appreciation while we are surrounded by
them. This course would be much more consistent. Let us cultivate
the spirit of the living God, which leads to righteousness. Every
sentiment of our hearts that leads to good is planted there by
the living God, and that which leads to evil is placed there by
the adversary of our souls. There are but two sources, one of
light and one of darkness. The Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God, is
given to us to cultivate in our hearts as a well of water
springing up to everlasting life. It can be so cultivated in a
human being that it can be listened to as a voice of a familiar
friend, in every time of difficulty and trial. Its voice is known
and distinguished as a voice of friendship, for that spirit is
the friend of every Saint who cultivates its acquaintance. It is
a searcher, a deep searcher, of the motives by which men and
women are inspired. If we merely have an outward semblance of
righteousness and our motives within are not of the godlike
character they should be, that spirit will depart from us,
leaving us in greater darkness than before we possessed the Holy
Spirit. This Church is a brotherhood or it is nothing. It is a
unity; it is the highest phase of communism and individualism
combined. It cultivates man to perfection as a social and
individual being. It meets the legitimate wants and aspirations
of every class of humanity.
27
I pray that the power of God may increase in the midst of the
people from the head to the feet, throughout the whole of the
body religious, and that we may be successful in uprooting evils
that are manifested in our midst as a community or as
individuals. God has revealed the laws and principles for the
purification of His Church. They are contained in His statute
books--in the Book of Mormon, in the Doctrine and Covenants,
containing the revelations of Jesus Christ, and in this Bible.
The Lord tells us we are to deal with all things according to the
laws of His Church. We know what these things are; they are
contained in these books to which I refer. Then I say that the
law of God and the power of God will ultimately correct every
evil existing in the Church of Christ, for it must ultimately
become pure, and those who will not purify themselves will,
sooner or later, be cast off from the body-religious, as not of
that kind of material to be used in the building up of the
glorious kingdom of our Heavenly Father.
27
I pray that we may be continually awake to the signs of the times
in which we live; that we may see the importance of every one
attending to his and her duties, according to the sphere in which
each moves; and that we may be on the alert, avoiding everything
that is evil, is my desire, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / Orson
Pratt, October 10th, 1880
Orson Pratt, October 10th, 1880
DISCOURSE BY ELDER ORSON PRATT,
Delivered at the General Conference, Salt Lake City,
Sunday Morning, October 10th, 1880.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
THE DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE HOLY PRIESTHOOD, ETC.
27
I have been asked by President Taylor to address the congregation
this morning on a particular subject, in which we are all
interested, namely, the divine authority of the Priesthood,
divine callings, ordinances, etc.
27
We have in this Church several thousand male members who hold
authority and power which they say is from heaven. If it be from
heaven, as we testify, and have testified ever since the rise of
the Church, then the Lord our God has manifested his power, and
in His mercy has once more bestowed authority upon the children
of men to administer His holy ordinances, and to occupy the
positions to which we have severally been called. On the other
hand, if the views of the world are correct--they do not consider
us to have any authority--we are then on the same ground and
platform with the rest of the religious world, there is no
authority upon the earth. One or the other is true.
27
There never was a principle more clearly proven than that the
inhabitants of the earth are destitute of all divine authority,
among all religious denominations, whether Pagan, Mohammedan or
so-called Christian; the authority cannot be found throughout all
the various denominations that have existed through the long
period of time called the dark ages, until the Lord, in His
mercy, has organized His Church again on the earth and bestowed
that authority, and if He has not, there are no persons upon this
whole earth that have any authority from the heavens; and
therefore we are just as well off as the balance of them.
28
We are not indebted to man for the various authorities in
this Church; this is our testimony. Man did not commence this
work, man is not the originator of this work, neither is he the
origin of the authority by which we administer. The Lord did not
see proper to organize the authority of this Church all at once
in all the various councils and authorities that, from time to
time, have been ordained among this people; it was a gradual
work. Authority was bestowed before there was any Church. First
(not the authority of the Priesthood) but the authority to bring
forth the plates of the Book of Mormon, and to translate them by
the Urim and Thummim, by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. This
was the first authority conferred upon the one whom the Lord
chose to commence this great work. The authority of the
Priesthood was not conferred upon him at that time, but He
revealed unto him concerning the everlasting Gospel contained in
the ancient records kept by the Nephites, or Israelites, upon
this great Western Continent.
29
Joseph Smith, when he translated these records by the aid of the
Urim and Thummim, had not yet received any Priesthood, so far as
his temporal existence was concerned. But now, do not
misunderstand me in regard to this position. He did hold the
Priesthood before he came here upon the earth. I remarked that
Joseph, so far as any ordination here in the flesh was concerned,
held no Priesthood at the time that he brought forth the plates
of the Book of Mormon and translated them; but he did hold the
Priesthood, which was conferred upon him in the councils of
eternity, before this world was formed. You will find this
recorded in a sermon delivered by the Prophet Joseph, showing
that not only he, but also all of the faithful that have received
the Priesthood here in this life, were ordained before the
foundation of the world. Consequently, they had the ordination;
that ordination was after the order of Him who is from all
eternity to all eternity, an everlasting Priesthood, without
father, without mother, without beginning, without end; having
been handed down from all eternity. That Priesthood was conferred
upon Joseph Smith before he came here; he was among those that
are spoken of in "The Pearl of Great Price," whom the ancient
Prophets saw in heaven. Moses saw them, and Abraham saw them,
namely, the spirits that existed before the world was made; and
they saw that among that vast number of spirits there were some
choice ones, some that were noble in the sight of God, probably
because of their integrity and steadfastness in upholding truth;
among those noble ones were those whom the Lord chose before the
foundation of the world to come forth upon the earth in their
second estate, and to hold authority and power in the various
dispensations, and to administer the plan of salvation to the
human family. Abraham was among that number. The High Priests
that lived from the days of Adam down to the flood were among
that number, who were then chosen and then ordained, according to
the fore-knowledge of God. It is recorded in the Book of Alma
regarding the Priesthood, that the ordinances of the Priesthood
and the calling to the Priesthood were without beginning or end.
There may be a beginning to the person who is called, but that
Priesthood existed before that person was called, and there was
no beginning to the calling, no beginning to the ordinances of
the Priesthood, no beginning to the Priesthood itself, being
handed down from all eternity, being in existence in all of the
worlds that were worthy of having the Priesthood and authority
from God. The reason for my making this observation is to clear
up one point which may perhaps trouble the minds of some of the
Latter-day Saints.
29
You have read in the revelation given on the 22d day of
September, 1832, that without the Priesthood and the ordinances
thereof, the power of godliness is not manifested unto men in the
flesh. You have also read in that same revelation, that without
the ordinances of that Priesthood and the power thereof to
administer to the children of men no man could see the face of
God the Father and live. When you read this plain saying your
minds may have reverted back to the days when there was no
Priesthood so far as ordination was concerned, on this earth, I
mean the ordination that took place here. You find a little boy,
Joseph Smith, calling upon the name of the Lord, in the spring of
the year 1820 before he was not yet fifteen years of age; and the
result of his calling upon the name of the Lord was that a pillar
of fire appeared in the heavens above him, and it continued to
descend and grow brighter and brighter, until it reached the top
of the trees that were growing around about where he was praying;
and so great was the glory of this light that this lad, this
youth, this boy, seemed to feel almost fearful lest the trees
themselves would be consumed by it. But it continued to descend
until it rested upon this lad and immediately his mind was caught
away from the surrounding objects, was swallowed up in a heavenly
vision, in which he saw two glorious personages, one was the
Father, the other was the Son.
29
"No man without the Priesthood, can behold the face of the Father
and live."
29
Now, this has troubled the minds of some of the Latter-day
Saints. "How is it, (say they) that Joseph lived, after having
seen the face of the Father, after having heard the words of His
mouth, after the Father had said unto him, 'He is my beloved Son,
hear ye him.'"
30
If you had thought upon this other subject, namely, that Joseph
had been already ordained before this world was made,--to what
Priesthood? To the Priesthood after the Order of an Endless Life,
a Priesthood that is everlasting, a Priesthood handed down, that
had no beginning, a Priesthood after the holiest Order of God, a
Priesthood that was after the Order of His Only Begotten Son. If
you had only reflected that that same Priesthood had been
conferred upon him in the councils of the holy ones before the
world was made, and that he was ordained to come forth in this
dispensation of the fulness of times to hold the keys of
authority and power of that high and holy Priesthood,--that he
was ordained to come forth and perform the work that God intended
to accomplish in the latter times, then the mystery would have
been cleared up to your minds. He was not without the Priesthood
in reality; but was a man chosen, a man ordained, a man appointed
from before the foundation of this world, to come forth in the
fulness of times to introduce the last dispensation among the
children of men; to come in order to organize that kingdom that
was predicted by the ancient Prophets, that should stand for
ever; to come to fulfil the great and glorious work of
preparation for the coming of the Son of God to reign in
righteousness upon the earth; he could see the face of God the
Father and live. But after having received this heavenly vision,
after having brought forth the Book of Mormon, and translated it,
(the Lord having prepared a way by which the book could be
printed,) and having received the command of the Almighty to
organize the Church, and having received the Priesthood
re-confirmed upon him by Peter, James and John and prior to that
having received the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood, on the 15th
day of May, 1829,--having all these preparations here in the
flesh as well as having been preordained to this mission, he was
prepared to begin the work that should be everlasting, or in
other words, the establishment of the kingdom of God that should
never again be taken away from the earth.
30
The Apostleship being conferred--the Aaronic Priesthood having
been previously conferred--all the powers of the Priesthood
rested upon this man, and he had the right to the authority to
administer, not only in the introductory principles of the Gospel
of the Son of God, by which people might be born into the
kingdom, but also had the authority and the power from the
heavens to administer in all the sacred ordinances of this
kingdom, at least so far as the building up of the Church was
concerned, and of officiating in the various offices of the
Priesthood. After having conferred this authority and power, the
Lord was prepared to give little by little, one portion or degree
of Priesthood after another, until by and by, in accordance with
the revelation given in June, 1829, He called twelve men to be
Apostles, some three or four years after the revelation was
given, when it was predicted that such should be the case. What
did we know about the callings and duties of this council of the
Twelve? Nothing, only as God revealed it through His servant
Joseph.
30
After this Apostleship was given, some were faithful therein,
others were not; some lost the authority of the Priesthood,
others retained it, and the blessings of God were upon those that
were faithful in their calling, while the curse of an offended
God followed those who abused this sacred trust, and their
Priesthood was taken from them and conferred upon others that
were worthy of it. The Lord also, about the same time that He
called the Twelve Apostles, was prepared to call Seventies to
minister under the direction of the Twelve; and many were
ordained to this Apostleship, and they were men who had proven
themselves faithful before the Lord: and others were perhaps
ordained who had not been fully proven, and therefore the
opportunity was afforded them, acting upon the agency they had in
common with all men, of proving themselves before God. Some of
them were faithful, others were unfaithful; those that were
unfaithful apostatized eventually and left the Church, while
those that were faithful continued in their office and calling
until many of them passed down to the tomb; and having magnified
the good office and calling that had been conferred upon them,
they will claim, in the eternal worlds the blessings appertaining
to their several offices.
31
And what did we know about these Seventies and their particular
calling? Were there specified duties assigned to that body of men
anciently, whose call by the Savior is recorded in the New
Testament? No, we were ignorant. The Prophet himself, the Twelve
and all that had been called, knew nothing in relation to the
duties of these Seventies until the Lord revealed what they were,
and at the same time He pointed out the duties of the Presidency
of the Seventies, both the duties of the seven men constituting
the Presidency of all the Seventies, and also those of the seven
men that were to preside over each Council of the Seventies. The
Lord made manifest these things not all at once, but from time to
time, as the people progressed and were counted worthy in His
sight to receive further knowledge upon these things. You may
ask, why it was that the Lord did not give the whole pattern at
once, why He did not unfold everything all in a moment? It was
because we were as little children then, and indeed I am of the
opinion that many of us are little children still--and we could
not bear all things at once; therefore He revealed unto us enough
from time to time to set our minds reflecting; He revealed
sufficient to cause us to be stirred up in our minds to pray unto
Him; and when we prayed unto Him about any of the duties of the
Priesthood, then He would reveal it. But He would be sought unto
by His people before He would reveal a fulness of knowledge upon
these important subjects. This seeking unto the Lord to obtain
little by little, and precept by precept in the knowledge of the
things of God, is just the way a wise parent would instruct his
own sons. Our parents would not tell us all about the various
branches of education when we were two or three, or four years
old; but they taught us as children, giving us line upon line
until we could understand more fully those things that pertained
to a good education. So the Lord dealt with His people, as a
wise, judicious, kind-hearted parent, imparting just according to
the faith of the Latter-day Saints, and according to His own mind
and will, and good pleasure.
32
By and by, after the Church was organized and there being no
Bishops the Lord saw that it was necessary to introduce some kind
of a plan in relation to the property of His people in the State
of New York. What did the Lord say to us under those
circumstances, when we were not fully organized? Said He to the
Church in the State of New York, in the General Conference,
through the mouth of His servant Joseph, in a revelation given on
the 2d day January, 1831, He said, Let my Church in this land
flee out from the State of New York; let them go westward to the
land of Kirtland, and join my people in the State of Ohio; let
them do this immediately, lest their enemies come upon them, etc.
The Lord understood what was in the hearts of the enemies of His
people; He understood what they were doing in their secret
councils, in their secret chambers to bring to pass the
destruction of the Latter-day Saints that were in the States of
New York and Pennsylvania. How shall this work be done? No Bishop
to take charge of the properties. The Lord said, Let certain men
among you in the State of New York be appointed to take charge of
the properties of my people, that which you cannot dispose of or
sell in time to flee out; let them have charge of it to sell it
in after times for the benefit of the Church. Here, then, was a
revelation appointing certain men without ordination, without the
Bishopric, to handle properties, to do that which Bishops were
afterwards required to perform. Now, here is a lesson for us.
Because the Lord does one thing in the year 1831, and points out
certain men according to the circumstances in which people are
placed, that is no evidence that He will always continue the same
order. The Lord deals with the children of men according to
circumstances, and afterwards varies from that plan according to
His own good will and pleasure. When these men had fulfilled
their duties in relation to the properties of the Saints, and the
Saints had gathered out from New York and Pennsylvania to the
land of Kirtland, then it became necessary for a regular Bishop
to be called and ordained, also his Counselors. Did the Lord
point out that these Bishops should be taken from the High
Priesthood? No.
32
"And again, I have called my servant Edward Partridge and give a
commandment, that he should be appointed by the voice of the
Church, and ordained a Bishop unto the Church." And with regard
to choosing his Counselors, the Lord said they should be selected
from the Elders of his Church. Why did He say Elders? Because the
High Priests at that time had not been ordained; that is, they
had not been ordained under that name. Although the Apostleship
had been conferred upon Joseph and Oliver, even they were called
Elders; the word High Priest was not known among them to be
understood and comprehended until a long time after Bishops were
called; and that is the reason why the Lord said to Bishop
Partridge, "select from the Elders of my Church." "But," says one
who has read the Doctrine and Covenants, "you will find in the
revelation given on the 6th of April, 1830, something about
Bishops, High Priests, etc."
32
[The speaker was here stopped that an important notice might be
given out.]
33
I was saying that at the time that Bishop Partridge was called
and ordained a Bishop, on the 4th of February, 1831, that at that
time there were no High Priests, they were not known under that
name, but were known under the name of the Apostleship, etc., and
hence Elders were specified to be called as Counselors. I was
also saying that in the revelation given on the 6th day of April,
1830, there was nothing said about High Priests at the time the
revelation was given; neither about Bishops. But you will find
two paragraphs in that revelation which mention them, which
paragraphs were placed there several years after the revelation
was given, which the Lord had a perfect right to do; and if it
were necessary we might quote examples from Scripture to show
that the Lord adds to any revelation when He sees proper, in
order to make it more fully understood. For instance, you
recollect that Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah a lengthy
revelation regarding the king of Israel and the house of Israel.
And that when the revelation was given to the king of Israel and
after he "had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the
penknife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until
all the roll was consumed." Did the Lord give it over again? Yes,
"and," says the Scripture, "there were added besides unto them
many like words," not in the former revelation. If the Lord took
that method in the days of Jeremiah, was there anything
inconsistent in the Prophet Joseph, in years afterwards, adding
the words, "Bishops and High Priests," in order that the people
might more full understand? My motive in mentioning these things
is that the people may understand the ways of the Lord. His ways
are not as the ways of man, neither are His thoughts limited by
our limited thoughts or conceptions. But He does as He pleases.
33
By and by the time came when the Lord saw proper to make manifest
something in relation to the name and the authority and the power
of this High Priesthood; showing us that it was after the order
of His Only Begotten Son, that it holds the keys to power, etc.,
on the earth.
33
Well, after the first Bishop had been chosen, and two Elders
selected by him to operate with him, his duties began to be more
fully made manifest. I shall not have time on this occasion to
point out the various duties that were assigned to Bishop Edward
Partridge, in the land of Zion, in Jackson County, Missouri, and
other duties devolving upon him while he yet remained at
Kirtland. Perhaps it might be well enough, however, to just
briefly touch upon his duties, that were more fully made manifest
when he was required to go out from Kirtland about a day's
journey to the southeast, and organize the Colesville branch in
the town of Thompson. The Lord told him how to organize the
people, and that there was a man in the Church whose name was
Leman Copley, who had a large tract of land, and he covenanted
before God that if the Colesville Branch would go upon his land,
they might have their inheritances, etc., and that they might
enter into the Order of God, as should be pointed out by the
voice of the Prophet. And when the Prophet Joseph went out to
Thompson and undertook to organize the Branch according to this
promise and covenant that was made, Bishop Partridge was there,
and he had it pointed out to him how he should deal with that
particular organization, that they should all be made equal, and
should receive their stewardships, and should consecrate all of
their property into the hands of the Bishop; and that was made a
sample for all other churches throughout the Lord's vineyard. You
may judge whether we have kept it or not. And his duties were
also made manifest in the latter part of the summer of 1831. And
many of the first Elders were commanded to go west of Kirtland
about one thousand miles; and the promise was that the land which
the Lord intended to give to His people should be made known, and
it should be told them where the city should be built. In the
months of July and August of that year, the Lord pointed out more
fully the duties of Bishop Partridge in regard to dividing the
land, that is, the land that had been purchased by the Church,
dividing it out among the various families of the Saints. The
first families, with the exception of some that had been baptized
in that land, were faithful ones among the Colesville branch, one
of the earliest organizations of the Church. They were commanded
to flee from the town of Thompson, because this rich man had
broken his covenant. They went up to Jackson County, and Bishop
Partridge was commanded to divide off to them inheritances by the
law of consecration.
34
Here then was a Bishop whose duties were made known and
specified, and which were very different in their nature in many
respects from our Ward Bishops. Can you not see the difference
between these duties assigned to Edward Partridge, and the duties
assigned to the several Ward Bishops of our Church? So far as the
Ward Bishops' duties go, they coincide perfectly with the duties
that were assigned to this general Bishop. But there were a great
many things required of him that are not required of Ward
Bishops; quite different in their duties and in their callings.
34
In December, 1831, the Lord saw proper again to give another
Bishop, his name was Newel K. Whitney. Was he merely a Bishop of
a Ward, whose jurisdiction was limited to a little spot of ground
that might be termed a place for the residence of a Ward Bishop?
No; he was another general Bishop. Bishop Partridge having
general jurisdiction in Jackson County, and in the regions round
about; while the duties of Newel K. Whitney extended to the State
of Ohio and the States of Pennsylvania and New York, and
throughout all the Eastern countries, wherever the Church of God
was organized.
34
Here were two Bishops, then, one having jurisdiction in the West,
a thousand miles from the other; the other having jurisdiction in
the East. Their duties were pointed out, but neither of them was
a Presiding Bishop. But what were they? As was clearly shown by
President Taylor at the Priesthood meeting on last evening, they
were general Bishops. By and by, after the Church of God was
driven from the State of Missouri, it became necessary to have a
Presiding Bishop; and the Lord gave a revelation, saying:
34
"Let my servant Vinson Knight, and my servant Shadrick Roundy,
and my servant Samuel H. Smith, be appointed as Presidents over
the Bishopric of my Church."
34
Here, then, is the first intimation that we have of a Presiding
Bishop. Neither Bishop Partridge nor Newel K. Whitney at that
time was a presiding Bishop, but each one held distinct
jurisdiction, presiding in a distinct locality, neither presiding
over the other. But when Vinson Knight, in years afterwards, was
called, it was his duty to preside over all of the Bishops that
were then appointed. Was there any general Bishop after the death
of Bishop Partridge? Yes:
34
"Let my servant, George Miller, receive the Bishopric which was
conferred upon Edward Partridge, to receive the consecrations of
my people," etc.
34
He was ordained to the same calling, and called to the same
Bishopric; not to the Presiding Bishopric, but to the same
Bishopric conferred upon Edward Partridge, to receive the
consecrations of the Lord's Church, to administer to the poor and
needy, etc. Here, then, were two distinct orders of Bishops, so
far as their duties, jurisdiction and responsibilities were
concerned, but as Bishops they held the same calling as others.
By and by, in the process of time, as the Church increased and
multiplied upon the earth, it became necessary that there should
be local Bishops; hence arose Bishops over this town and over
that town, not general Bishops, but Ward Bishops, the same as you
have throughout your respective Stakes.
35
Now the duties of these three distinct callings of those that are
termed Bishops are very different, so far as their duties are
concerned. The jurisdiction of a Ward Bishop does not go beyond
his Ward, unless he be particularly called to do so. He must be
selected, must be appointed, and must be sent to some other place
in order to have jurisdiction outside of his Ward in the capacity
of a Bishop. The office of the Presiding Bishop still continues,
but for some reason we have not at the present time, so far as I
am aware, any traveling or general Bishop like Bishop Ed.
Partridge, and like Bishop Newel K. Whitney, who afterwards did
become a Presiding Bishop. A traveling Bishop in his jurisdiction
would not be limited to a Ward; it would be his duty if so called
and appointed to travel through the various Stakes of Zion to
exhort the people to do their duty, to look after the temporal
interests of the Church, to humble the rich and the proud and
lift up the low and the meek of the earth.
35
There is another class of Bishops. We find in every Stake of Zion
what is termed a Bishop's Agent. Does he hold the Bishopric? He
should have that office conferred upon him. Why? Because it is
duty to administer in temporal things. Does his jurisdiction
extend beyond that of a Ward Bishop? It does. Why? By
appointment, by selection, by being sent by the Presidency of the
High Priesthood after the order of Melchizedek to administer in
the special duties of his office in any or in all the Stakes of
Zion, as the case may be according to the nature of his
appointment, and by the authority of the Presiding Bishop. There
are a great many things to be taken into consideration when we
strive to understand the Book of Covenants according to the
revelations that are therein given. Because God confined His
servants to certain duties in the early rise of this Church, that
is no proof or evidence that He will always work in the same
channel. He will enlarge the borders of this kingdom; He will
stretch forth the curtains of Zion; He will lengthen her cords
and strengthen her Stakes and will multiply them not only
throughout this mountain Territory, but throughout the United
States, this land of Joseph: and they will be called the Stakes
of the great City of Zion.
35
Let me here take the liberty to say to this congregation that the
City of Zion when it is built in Jackson County, will not be
called a Stake. We can find no mention in all the revelations
that God has given, that the City of Zion is to be the Centre
Stake of Zion; the Lord never called it a Stake in any revelation
that has been given. It is to be the head quarters, it is to be
the place where the Son of Man will come and dwell, where He will
have a Temple, in which Temple there will be a throne prepared
where Jesus will dwell in the midst of His people; it will be the
great central city, and the outward branches will be called
Stakes wherever they shall be organized as such.
36
We cannot suppose, as I was saying, that when the Lord shall thus
enlarge the borders of Zion and multiply her Stakes, that He will
be obliged to confine Himself to those circumstances and that
condition of things that existed when we were a little handful of
people. We are swelling out, we are becoming numerous upon the
face of the land; and the day will come when Isaiah's prophecy,
as contained in the 60th chapter, will be literally fulfilled,
that is, a little one shall not only become a thousand, but the
small one a strong nation. Are we then to be governed in all
respects by those limited things that we were governed by in our
childhood? Will there be no change of circumstances? Yes, as
there is in the growth of grain, we have first the blade, then
the ear, then the full corn in the ear, but these will all be in
accordance with the development made by the progress of the
kingdom as is explained in the blade, the ear and the full corn
in the ear, and let me here prophesy on the strength of the
revelations that were given through the Prophet Joseph, and
through all the ancient Prophets, that the time will come when
the Lord our God will so manifest His power that every soul upon
the face of this great Western Continent that will not believe
the Book of Mormon, that will not repent of his sins, that will
not turn away from his iniquities, and that will not hearken to
the voice of His son that it will be with such a one as Moses
said, he shall be cut off from among the people. Do you believe
it? It will be the case. And when that day comes that the Lord
shall cut off such people, when the day comes that he will fulfil
the revelations of Isaiah, as well as many other revelations that
have been given, Zion will have to go forth in her strength and
power, and the inhabitants of the nations that are afar off will
say, "Surely, Zion is the city of our God, for the Lord is there,
and His glory is there, and the power and the might of His terror
is there,"--terror to the wicked, terror to those who commit sin:
and many people will say, "Come, let us be subject to her laws."
That will be after the Lord has broken up the nations, after He
has destroyed and wasted them away, so far as the wicked portions
are concerned. Those who are left will gladly acknowledge Zion,
will acknowledge God and His people, and will acknowledge the
laws that will be literally sent forth from Zion to the nations
of the earth. Must we then be limited in all respects as we were
limited in the early rise of the Church? No. New circumstances
require new power, new knowledge, new additions, new strength and
new Quorums; not to do away with the old, but additional in their
nature. Men will hold authority and power to carry forth the laws
of Zion to the remnants of this nation, and to foreign
nations--ministers or plenipotentiaries, if you please, to use a
political term, will go forth to the nations of the earth with
the laws of God. Now, this is a prophecy of my own, but it is a
prophecy according to that which is written, according to that
which God gave to His ancient and His modern Prophets.
36
I find that I shall not be able to continue my remarks as they
present themselves to my mind, for there are numerous branches
pertaining to this subject of the Priesthood, besides that of the
Bishopric, and blessings pertaining to the two Priesthoods, upon
which it would be very pleasing to my mind to dwell, that is, if
I had the time and the strength of body to do so.
38
I would say, however, that in regard to the organization of the
First Presidency, it was done soon after the rise of the Church.
The Lord exhibited to us, by revelation, the order of things as
it existed in former days, away back in the dispensation before
the flood--the dispensation of the antediluvian Patriarchs and
their order of government; and also the dispensation of the
Patriarchs after the flood and their order of government, and
which I dwelt upon some two or three days since. I say that in
relation to these matters much might be said, and much might be
said in regard to our privileges, the privileges of those holding
these two Priesthoods. And much might be said of the First
Presidency, which quorum presides over all the Church of God; and
much might be said in relation to the duties of the Twelve, not
only as a traveling High Council, but in regard to the setting in
order of the various offices in Zion. We might talk a great deal
about that. We, as the Twelve, have been fulfilling both of these
duties, traveling abroad and sending abroad, and also setting in
order the councils of the Priesthood in the midst of Zion, as the
revelation required of us. In so doing, we have acted for a short
time as a Presiding Council in the midst of the Church of God. We
did so upon the death of the Prophet Joseph. The Spirit of God
wrought upon his servants, that during our administration for
some three or four years after the death of Brother Joseph, the
First Presidency was not organized. Did the Council of the Twelve
forget it? No. Did they ignore it? No; they all the time had
their minds fixed upon the revelation which God had given showing
that the Council of the First Presidency was the supreme Council
and authority in the Church, and that the Twelve could not act in
that supreme authority and power only as the First Presidency was
made vacant. This Quorum was reorganized some three or four years
after the death of the Prophet, and it continued organized until
the year 1877, and upon the death of President Young, who was the
President in the First Presidency, it then fell again upon the
Twelve as formerly, and they have continued some three years and
upwards occupying that position. Have they done right? Yes; they
have done as they were required to do during the time being. And
now, after having performed their duties, they still keep in mind
the necessity of this First Quorum of all Quorums of the Church
again being filled up, so that the revelations of God may be
honored and we fulfil their requirements. Hence, the Council of
the Apostles has taken into consideration this subject, and the
question in our minds was, Have we sufficiently, as the Quorum of
the Twelve Apostles, magnified our office and calling, in setting
in order the Church of the living God, in organizing the various
Councils, or is there something lacking? Every time we thought
upon the subject we saw that one Council, the most important of
all, was still vacant. Could we ignore it? No. We therefore
considered the propriety of organizing it at the present
Conference; and Brother John Taylor, by the voice of his
brethren, the Twelve, being the person holding the legal right to
that office, as the President of the Twelve Apostles, was
selected to occupy the position of the President of the whole
Church. And he, according to the right and authority given to
him, suggested his own Counselors. They were sanctioned by the
Twelve Apostles; hence, the First Presidency again, so far as the
Council of the Twelve is concerned, has been re-organized. We
have fulfilled our duties, then, in relation to that revelation
which says, it is given unto the Twelve apostles to set in order
all those offices that are named in that revelation, we, I say,
have done it. And we have laid the subject before the Priesthood
of all the various Quorums, as they were assembled in general
council on last evening, and they with us have had the privilege
of sanctioning this action, that that quorum be filled up and be
complete. It now remains with the body of the people to give
their sanction, males and females, as well as the Priesthood. And
in order that this may be done according to the pattern which God
has given through His servant Joseph, the Priesthood will be
organized this afternoon in their respective Quorums, and this
subject will be brought before them to be voted upon by each
Quorum separately; and then the whole congregation will be called
upon to sanction the same.
38
I would state that this change made a vacancy of three in the
Quorum of the Apostles, and persons have been selected to fill
this vacancy thus made; or, rather, two persons have been
selected from among the High Priesthood to partially fill that
vacancy in the Council of the Apostles. The third one has not yet
been chosen to completely fill the vacancy in the Apostles'
Quorum; we, however, may be prepared to act on that to-day, and
we may not.
38
Having said so much, in a very scattered manner, in regard to the
Priesthood, and the dealings of God with us from time to time, I
would state to my brethren and sisters, to the Latter-day Saints,
I rejoice that the time has again come when our Quorums in the
Church of God will be completed as given in the Doctrine and
Covenants. I feel to rejoice in seeing this order carried out.
There never has been a time, from the commencement of the history
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when the
organization has been so complete as during the last two or three
years. I trust that His great purposes will be carried out and
fulfilled, until Zion shall become, as it is written in the Book
of Mormon, in the parable of the vineyard, shall become one body
and its branches shall be equal. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / John
Taylor, October 10th, 1880
John Taylor, October 10th, 1880
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered in the General Conference, Salt Lake City,
Sunday Afternoon, October 10th, 1880.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs)
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE FIRST PRESIDENCY, ETC.
39
I will make a few remarks while the Sacrament is being
administered. It is gratifying to me to be able to state that now
all the various organizations of the Church are provided for. For
some time the Twelve have been operating in the capacity of a
First Presidency, and it was very proper that they should have
acted in that capacity. As you heard Brother Pratt state this
morning, in referring to this subject, this was the course
adopted at the time when the Prophet Joseph Smith left us. The
Twelve then stepped forward into the position of the First
Presidency, and operated for about three years in that capacity.
And when President Young left us it was thought proper that the
same course should be pursued. The Twelve, I believe, have in
this respect magnified their calling and taken a course that is
approved by the Lord, and I think also by the brethren, judging
from the vote given here to-day.
39
Had it not been our duty to have the Church organized fully and
completely in all its departments, I should have much preferred
to have continued with the brethren of the Twelve, speaking of it
merely as a matter of personal feeling. But there are questions
arising in regard to these matters that are not for us to say how
they shall be, or what course shall be pursued. When God has
given us an order and has appointed an organization in his
Church, with the various quorums of Priesthood as presented to us
by revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith, I do not think
that either the First Presidency, the Twelve, the High Priests,
the Seventies, the Bishops, or anybody else, have a right to
change or alter that plan which the Lord has introduced and
established. And as you heard Brother Pratt state this morning,
one duty devolving upon the Twelve is to see that the churches
are organized correctly. And I think they are now thus organized
throughout the land of Zion. The Churches generally are organized
with Presidents of Stakes and their Counselors, with High
Councils, with Bishops and their Counselors, and with the Lesser
Priesthood, according to the order that is given us.
39
Then we have the High Priests, Seventies and Elders occupying
their places according to their Priesthood, position and standing
in the Church. And the First Presidency seemed to be the only
quorum that was deficient. And it is impossible for men
acquainted with the order of the Holy Priesthood to ignore this
quorum, as it is one of the principal councils of the Church.
While the Twelve stand as a bulwark ready to protect, defend and
maintain, to step forward and carry out the order of God's
Kingdom in times of necessity, such as the above referred to, yet
when everything is adjusted and matters assume their normal
condition, then it is proper that the Quorum of the First
Presidency, as well as all other quorums, should occupy the place
assigned it by the Almighty.
40
These were the suggestions of the Spirit of the Lord to me. I
expressed my feelings to the Twelve, who coincided with me, and,
indeed, several of them had had the same feelings as those with
which I was actuated. It is not with us, or ought not to be, a
matter of place, position, or honor, although it is a great honor
to be a servant of God; it is a great honor to hold the
Priesthood of God; but while it is an honor to be God's servants,
holding His Priesthood, it is not honorable for any man or any
set of men to seek for position in the Holy Priesthood. Jesus
said, Ye have not called me, but I have called you. And as I said
before, had I consulted my own personal feelings, I would have
said, things are going on very pleasantly, smoothly and
agreeably; and I have a number of good associates whom I respect
and esteem, as my brethren, and I rejoice in their counsels. Let
things remain as they are. But it is not for me to say, it is not
for you to say, what we would individually prefer, but it is for
us holding the Holy Priesthood; to see that all the organizations
of that Priesthood are preserved intact, and that everything in
the Church and kingdom of God is organized according to the plan
which he has revealed; therefore we have taken the course which
you have been called upon to sanction by your votes to-day.
40
I would further remark that I have examined very carefully for
some time past some of those principles you heard read over in
the Priesthood meeting, and which were referred to in part, by
Brother Pratt, this morning. And there are other principles
associated with the Priesthood that we wish and hope to have
thoroughly defined; so that every man will know his true position
and the nature of the calling and responsibility and Priesthood
with which he is endowed. It is very proper and very important
that we should comprehend these things; every man in his place,
and every woman in her place; but I more particularly refer to
the Holy Priesthood, that every man may feel and realize the
duties and responsibilities which rest upon him.
40
It is gratifying to me, and it is no doubt satisfactory to you,
to see the unanimity and oneness of feeling and the united
sentiment which have been manifested in our votes. Those votes
being taken first in their quorum capacity, each quorum having
voted affirmatively, then by the vote of the Presidents of the
several quorums united, and afterwards by the vote of the quorums
and people combined, men and women, among the many thousands
assembled who have participated in this vote, having a full and
free opportunity, uncontrolled by any influence other than the
Spirit of God, to express their wishes and desires, there has not
been, from all that we could discover, one dissenting vote.
40
You could not find the same unanimity anywhere upon the earth.
Union is a principle that exists in the heavens, and so far as we
manifest this feeling in all sincerity, so far do we exhibit our
faith in God, in His Priesthood, and in His law as revealed to
us. For our religion, our Priesthood and all the blessings and
ordinances that we possess were not given us by any man or any
combination of men; it was the Lord who revealed all of these
things or we could not have been in possession of them. We have
had an example here to-day of the unanimity which characterizes
those possessed of the Spirit of the Gospel, and it ought to be a
pattern for us in all of our affairs.
41
And now let me refer with pride to my brethren of the Twelve
here, which I do by saying that while they as a quorum held the
right by the vote of the people to act in the capacity of the
First Presidency, yet when they found, as Brother Pratt expressed
it this morning, that they had performed their work, they were
willing to withdraw from that Presidency, and put it in the
position that God had directed, and fall back into the place that
they have always held, as the Twelve Apostles of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I say it is with pride that I
refer to this action and the feeling that prompted it. I very
much question whether you could find the same personal exhibition
of disinterested motives and self-abnegation, and the like
readiness to renounce place and position in deference to
principle, among the same number of men in any other place. They
saw the necessity of this action; a motion was made in that
Council; and the vote was unanimously adopted that the First
Presidency be re-organized, and afterwards the brethren to fill
this quorum were selected. The next step was to present the
matter to the Church, and it was laid before the Priesthood at a
meeting, when there were present a representation of all the
important authorities of the Church in the different Stakes in
Zion. After having done that, lest some difficulty might exist
some where, it was thought proper to pursue the course taken
to-day--that each organization of the Priesthood, embracing all
the quorums, should be seated in a quorum capacity by themselves,
and separately have the opportunity of voting freely and fully
without control of any kind, and of expressing their feelings,
and finally, that the whole congregation should have the same
opportunity. This is emphatically the voice of God, and the voice
of the people; and this is the order that the Lord has instituted
in Zion, as it was in former times among Israel. God gave his
commandments; they were delivered by His Prophet to the people
and submitted to them, and all Israel said, Amen. You have all
done this by your votes; which vote, so far as we can learn, has
been without a dissenting voice either among the separate
quorums, or in the vote of the combined quorums and people. Now,
continue to be united in everything as you are in this thing, and
God will stand by you from this time henceforth and for ever. And
any man who opposes principles of this kind is an enemy of God,
an enemy of the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth, an
enemy to the people of God, and an enemy to the freedom and
rights of man. The Lord has selected a Priesthood that He might
among all Israel make known His mind and will through them, and
that they might be His representatives upon the earth. And while
He does this He does not wish men to be coerced or forced to do
things contrary to their will. But where the Spirit of God is,
there is union, harmony and liberty, and where it is not there is
strife, confusion and bondage. Let us then seek to be one, honor
our God, honor our religion, and keep the commandments of God,
and seek to know his will, and then to do it.
41
I do not know but that I have spoken as long as I ought to. God
bless you; God bless the Twelve; and God bless the Presidents of
the Stakes and their associates, and the Seventies and the High
Priests, and the Elders, and the Bishops, and the Lesser
Priesthood. And God bless the Relief Societies, and the Young
People's Mutual Improvement Associations, and all who love and
fear God and keep his commandments. And may God bless the Sunday
Schools and the Primary Associations and the educational
interests, and all interested in the welfare of Zion, as well as
the good and virtuous, the honorable and high-minded everywhere,
who are seeking to promote purity, holiness, and virtue on the
earth. And God bless our singers and all who make music for us;
and may the peace and blessing of God rest upon all Israel. And
when you go to your homes, carry out the principles you have
voted for, and God will bless you and your generations after you;
and you shall be blessed in time, and through all eternity. And I
bless you by virtue of the holy Priesthood, in the name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / Joseph
F. Smith, February 6, 1881
Joseph F. Smith, February 6, 1881
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH,
Delivered at Logan, February 6, 1881
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
THE PERSECUTIONS OF THE ANCIENT SAINTS--THE ORGANIZATION
OF THE CHURCH IN OUR DAY--NECESSITY OF OBEDIENCE
TO THE LAWS OF THE GOSPEL, ETC.
F. Smith
I desire an interest in the faith and prayers of my brethren and
sisters who are present, that I may be able to speak under the
influence of the good spirit, such things as will be encouraging
to the faith of the Saints.
F. Smith
I rejoice always in the truth of the Gospel with which I have
become acquainted; and although there may be many things with
which I am unacquainted, yet that portion of the plan of
salvation which I do understand is sufficient to convince me
beyond the possibility of a doubt, that we are engaged in the
great latter-day work of God Almighty, which is for the salvation
of the human family, the establishment of the kingdom upon the
earth preparatory to the coming of the Son of God in power and
great glory, to take possession of the kingdom and of the world;
to take the reins of government in His own hands, to judge and
rule with righteousness, and with equity reprove for the meek of
the earth, to the honor and glory of God, to the salvation and
deliverance of His people, the downfall of Babylon, the
destruction of the wicked and the overthrow of all man-made
systems and organizations that are in conflict with the
requirements of heaven and the laws of God. There is, to my mind,
nothing lacking in proof or evidence of these facts, which have
plainly been set forth in the Bible, in the Book of Mormon, and
also in the revelations through the Prophet Joseph Smith; which
last named are recorded in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. I
am perfectly satisfied, as much so as I am that I breathe the
breath of life, that these truths pertaining to the last
dispensation and the great latter-day work have been revealed to
us from God, and that we are in possession of truth, eternal
truth that can never be uprooted or destroyed. It is true that we
are but a handful of people in comparison to the vast multitude
that are in the world, indeed we are few in comparison to the
population of our own nation; for while we, as a community,
number a few thousands, the nation numbers nearly half as many
millions; and our nation is only a small portion of the human
family. But yet it is not presumptuous, nor is it unreasonable or
inconsistent, notwithstanding the paucity of our numbers, our
supposed lack of intelligence pertaining to scientific matters,
and our poverty as compared with the wealth of the world, for us
to claim that we have received revelation from God, that the
Almighty has spoken to the children of men with His own voice and
by the voice of angels and ministering spirits, or personages
whom He has sent to reveal His will to man. For it is in this way
that God has ever revealed Himself to the nations of the earth.
He calls a Prophet now and a Prophet hereafter, and He reveals
himself to His servants the Prophets, and He makes known His will
unto them, and it becomes their duty to proclaim the law and the
will of the Almighty to the inhabitants of the earth, and to call
others to the ministry, sending them forth that they may proclaim
the Gospel to their neighbors and associates; and so the work of
God has to work its way, spread and increase among the children
of men, like the leaven, referred to by the Savior, that is
placed in the measure of meal that works until the whole lump is
leavened. So God has done in all ages of the world when He has
undertaken to renew His covenant with the people; He has called
certain men (who doubtless had been foreordained to come forth in
certain ages to do a certain work) through whom He has made known
to the nations and peoples of the earth His mind and will. When
Jesus came to the earth He scarcely found faith among mankind;
only John the Baptist holding a commission from God to minister
in the first ordinances of the Gospel; John having been called
and appointed of God and ordained by a holy angel to that
ministry and Priesthood. A few that had listened to his testimony
and teachings, and had been baptized by his baptism, with him,
constituted all who were acknowledged of God upon the earth at
the time of the coming of the Savior. And Jesus called unto Him
twelve disciples, ordained them, commissioned them and sent them
forth to preach the Gospel; but they sojourned with him for three
years during his own ministry to receive instruction, to be
taught of Him, to learn the ways of the Lord from the Great Head,
that they might be qualified to go forth at the expiration of
that time being witnesses of God, witnesses of the divine mission
of their Lord and Master, and prepared to proclaim the Gospel to
the inhabitants of the earth. After Jesus was crucified of man,
he went in the spirit to the spirits that were in prison, who had
been disobedient "when the long suffering of God waited in the
days of Noah," that by his coming the Gospel might be taught unto
them, their prison doors be opened, and liberty be proclaimed
unto them, even the liberty of the Gospel, that they might live,
through obedience to its requirements, according to God in the
Spirit; and when the ordinances of the Gospel necessary for the
redemption of the dead had been performed for and in their behalf
upon the earth, that they might be judged according to man in the
flesh. When Jesus had done this He again took up the body of
flesh and bones which had been hung upon the cross, and pierced
unto death and laid away in the tomb; that body which had passed
through the portal of death and the ordeal of the grave, he again
brought forth from death unto life. Thus he conquered death and
gained the victory over the grave and brought about the
resurrection from the dead through the power of the Gospel and
the holy Priesthood. Shortly after he visited His disciples, when
He breathed upon them, saying unto them, "Receive ye the Holy
Ghost." He also commissioned them to go forth to preach the
Gospel to every creature. Then He departed from them, and they
went forth and testified of Jesus Christ, and proclaimed the
Gospel to the world, with power and with the demonstration of the
Spirit of God. These chosen disciples of Christ suffered
ignominious deaths from the first to the last, with the single
exception of the Apostle John, who we are informed, was preserved
from the power of his enemies, from their attempts to destroy his
life, for a wise purpose of God, to fulfil the promise of the
Savior unto him; and yet notwithstanding this promise, it is
believed by the Christian world that he died a natural death
after wicked man had attempted several times in vain to destroy
his life. Notwithstanding, the disciples of Jesus, excepting John
the Revelator, suffered ignominious deaths, they sowed the seed
of the Gospel among, and conferred the Priesthood upon men, which
remained for several generations upon the earth, but the time
came when Paganism was engrafted into Christianity, and at last
Christianity was converted into Paganism rather than converting
the Pagans. And subsequently the Priesthood was taken from among
men, this authority was re-called into the heavens, and the world
was left without the Priesthood--without the power of
God--without the Church and Kingdom of God. There were tens of
thousands that hearkened to the teachings of the disciples and
yielded obedience to the Gospel; and they suffered persecution
such as the people of God in this generation have never begun to
suffer. Some of the Latter-day Saints who were associated with
this Church in its early history, and suffered the persecutions
in Ohio, in Missouri and Illinois, thought that their persecution
was very great, even greater than that of any other people. But
this is not so, for this people have never begun to endure the
persecution that was inflicted upon the former day Saints, those
who received the testimony of the Apostles. People in former days
believed that they were doing God service to burn those Saints to
death, to whip and to spear them to death, to drag them until
they were torn to pieces and otherwise to torture and destroy
them, and, indeed, in some instances they sewed up the believers
in cloths and in sacks, which they covered with pitch or tar and
then set on fire to light the streets of imperial Rome! In
ancient days it was considered lawful to perpetrate these
barbarities upon those who professed to believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ. They were driven from place to place; they were hunted
down as wild beasts, and otherwise suffered persecution such as
this people have never begun to suffer, and as I earnestly hope
and pray they never will be subjected to.
F. Smith
But it was under such circumstances the Gospel was proclaimed
among the people. In this way were the believers in Christ
treated, being esteemed as worthless, refuse, unfit to live, and
worthy only of the most cruel and ignominious deaths. The same
feelings existed, and do to-day exist, in the hearts of some
people toward the Latter-day Saints. But the Lord Almighty has
prepared the way for the coming forth of the kingdom of God in
this dispensation by establishing the republican government of
the United States; a government affording the widest liberty and
the greatest freedom to man that has ever been known to exist
among men, outside of those governed by the direct communication
of heaven. It was part of the design of the Almighty when He
influenced our fathers to leave the old world and come to this
continent; He had a hand in the establishment of this government;
He inspired the framers of the Constitution and the fathers of
this nation to contend for their liberties; and He did this upon
natural principles, that the way might be prepared, and that it
might be possible for Him to establish His kingdom upon the
earth, no more to be thrown down. And when the way was prepared
and the time fully come for the restoration of the Gospel, God
revealed Himself to Joseph Smith, giving to him certain promises
concerning the coming forth of the Gospel and the establishment
of His kingdom in the last days. And subsequently God sent
messengers to him and ordained him to the Priesthood, or
conferred on him the rights, powers, keys and authority of the
holy Priesthood, to act as His representative in establishing the
Gospel of the kingdom once more among men, and for the last time,
also to restore the Priesthood to earth, that man might again
officiate in the name and authority of God, for the salvation of
the living and the dead. He had to call one man to this office,
who afterwards, as Jesus did, called and set apart twelve others,
together with Seventies, High Priests, Elders, Bishops, Priests,
Teachers and Deacons, for the work of the ministry, and for the
edifying of the body of Christ, that all may come to the unity of
the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to the fulness of
the measure of the stature of Christ Jesus; that we might come to
a oneness in the knowledge of the truth, that the world might be
leavened with the leaven of truth, that all mankind might have
the privilege of hearing the Gospel and of being gathered into
the fold and family of Christ.
F. Smith
In the space of about fifty years, I suppose, we have gathered
from first to last into the fold of this church, some three or
four hundred thousand people. It may seem to some that this would
indicate that we have made very slow progress in half a century;
having succeeded in gathering into this Church only between three
and four hundred thousand people; and that to-day we do not
number more than 150,000 to 200,000 members all told, in good
standing; that is, taking all that can be called Saints in
America, in Europe, in Australia, and upon the islands of the
sea; wherever this Gospel is preached, or people acknowledge
membership in this Church, all told, perhaps, we do not number
more than 200,000 members in good standing. It may seem that we
are making haste slowly; that we are not progressing very
rapidly. It might seem to some of us that we ought to have
accomplished a great deal more in the fifty years past since the
organization of this church. I confess that I believe with all my
heart, that as a people we might have made far greater progress
in the accomplishment of the purposes and will of God than we
have, if we had only done as we should. In my humble opinion, and
I express it as my firm conviction and belief, the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints might have numbered to-day many
times more than it does, if those who have embraced the Gospel
had remained true and all had been as faithful as they should
have been. The progress of the work of God does and will depend
greatly upon the righteousness of the people, the faithfulness of
the Priesthood in keeping His commandments, honoring His laws,
and laboring for the accomplishment of the purposes of God upon
the earth, instead of self-aggrandizement. I will venture, as my
opinion, that the Latter-day Saints through their follies, their
neglect of proper example, their carelessness respecting their
duties, not to mention greater sins, and the evil resulting
therefrom, have prevented the conversion of as many people as
have been converted unto God. There are to-day perhaps nearly as
many that have apostatized as are now in good standing in the
Church; many of whom were honest but have been deceived and led
away from the truth, many others, I admit, have turned away
because of their own sins. Others again have left the Church
because they were unable to distinguish between the actions of
their foolish brethren and the principles of eternal truth, and
in that way have allowed themselves to go into darkness and turn
away from the Kingdom. In almost every place you go, where the
Gospel is being preached, you may find scores and scores of
people that once belonged to the Church, how are they to-day? Are
they members of this Church? No; they are apostates, in darkness,
knowing not the truth, for the light they had is gone out and
darkness has taken the place thereof, and they are now under the
power of darkness or Satan and cannot help themselves.
F. Smith
And again, there are many people who have come among us, who, if
they had found that perfection in the conduct and character of
Latter-day Saints which they expected to find among those
professing to be Saints, if they had found more of the fruits of
righteousness in the midst of this people, and less of their
follies and weaknesses, they would no doubt have been constrained
to yield obedience to the Gospel; whereas they only became
hardened in seeing the weakness and imperfection of many
so-called Latter-day Saints, concluding that they, judging them
by their acts, are not much better than other professing
Christians. And in this way many that might have been brought to
a knowledge of the truth, have been discouraged, disappointed and
deceived, because they failed to discover or feel as they might
and should have done, if all the fruits of the Gospel had
abounded as they should, that power of the Priesthood and
efficacy of the Gospel which should be exhibited in the midst of
the people of God.
F. Smith
Now, am I finding fault with the Latter day Saints? If I should
find fault with you of course I would be finding fault with
myself. I acknowledge that I have not lived up to the standard as
I should have done. I have not possessed that power, that
inspiration, that knowledge of truth, that close communion with
God and with the Holy Ghost, that I might or ought to have done.
Therefore if there is blame attached to the Church I am willing
to acknowledge and share my proportion of that blame.
Nevertheless, what I say in regard to this matter I believe to be
the truth. I will give you, if you wish, and I think I had better
do so, one or two simple and undeniable proofs of my assertion.
Excuse me if I refer to things which may be considered quite
common; I am not here to teach you new doctrine, I am endeavoring
to teach you truths, which we have been taught for the last fifty
years.
F. Smith
I will refer you to the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, to
that simple principle called the Word of Wisdom. How many of this
congregation have kept this law? and how many do keep it to-day?
It would perhaps not astonish you very much were I to say that
there were members of the Church of forty years standing and
upwards, who take their tea, coffee, tobacco, etc., just as
though God had not some forty-eight years ago, revealed the Word
of Wisdom. I can point out men and women that have been in this
Church some twenty-five or thirty years, that are no nearer
keeping the commandments of God, in this respect, than they were
twenty-five or thirty years ago, and some of them not so near. If
I were pressed on this point I could call the names of some
individuals in proof of what I say. We have not lived up to the
privileges nor kept the laws of God as given unto us. What is the
result? Is it not that when we preach these principles we preach
them in word only and not in the demonstration of the power of
God? Certainly not in the demonstration and power of example, but
with the words of our lips which proceed not from the heart. And
that is not all. In the Book of Mormon it is recorded that Christ
commanded the people to call upon God in His name, morning and
evening with their families. Similar instruction is given in the
Doctrine and Covenants, and the same principle is inculcated in
the Bible. God has said that He will be sought after by His
people; and Jesus said that we must knock in order that the door
might be opened unto us; and that we should seek in order to
find, and ask in order to receive. And, yet, how many heads of
families in the Church fail to meet with their families to call
upon God in family prayer? How many Saints neglect this duty? It
is a duty, it is the word of the Lord to the Saints, that they
should meet with their families morning and evening, and call
upon God in His name. This principle is part of the Gospel, it
was taught by the Savior on the eastern, and also on the western,
continent: and, simple as it may appear, it is absolutely
necessary that the Latter-day Saints should come together in the
family capacity, and kneeling around the family altar, call upon
God for his blessings morning and evening. And they need not
confine themselves to morning and evening prayer, for it is their
privilege to enter into their closets and call upon Him in
secret, that He might reward them openly.
F. Smith
Again, it is written that God is angry with those who will not
acknowledge His hand in all things. How many of the Latter-day
Saints whom God has blessed with riches of this world, with
houses, lands, flocks, herds, gold and silver, have forgotten to
acknowledge His hand in the bestowal of the wealth they possess,
and have been blinded by the gifts conferred upon them, and in
that blindness have forgotten the Giver? Having an abundance, the
rich are too apt to feel that they do not have to kneel down and
ask God to give them houses and daily bread, for they have
palaces and wealth. They say, we have these things; we have no
need to ask for them, nor to thank God for them, for they are
ours; we have gained them by our own industry and ability. Thus
God is left out of the question. But God has said, "I love them
that love me, and those that seek me early shall find me;"
therefore He will be inquired of by His people, and He requires
that they shall acknowledge Him in all things; yet we often
forget to acknowledge him in His greatest mercies. When the blow
of an enemy that has been aimed at our destruction is warded off
by the wise counsel perhaps of the holy Priesthood, we say, "We
outwitted them; we did it, we circumscribed the cunning and craft
of our enemy: we did this, and we did that, and we did the other
thing;" it is great I with some of us, and God is not
acknowledged by such at all. There is too much of this spirit
amongst us, I am sorry to say.
F. Smith
God requires one-tenth of our increase to be put into his
storehouse; and this is given as a standing law to all of the
Stakes of Zion. And has said that unless all observe this law to
keep it holy and by this law sanctify the land of Zion unto Him,
etc., that this land shall not be a land of Zion unto us. And
yet, how many of us have neglected to observe this law? We
profess to believe it, but how many have neglected to obey it in
full? If the Savior were to come to-day, who will judge us not
after the sight of the eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of
the ears, but with righteousness, and with equity and by the
knowledge of eternal truth, and the balance of eternal justice,
how many would he find who really have paid one-tenth of their
increase in compliance with this law? There are some people that
do it, but when you take out these that do keep this law
according to the strict letter and spirit of it, you will find
that in comparison to the whole they are few. The people pay a
portion of their tithing. President Young frequently charged the
people with not paying one tenth of their tithings. I presume
that was an extreme view. I believe the people are doing better
than that, now at least; but at the same time I believe that a
very large proportion of us pay only a portion of the tenth of
that which God puts into our hands.
F. Smith
Now, why do I refer to these things? I leave it to you--to
conscientious men and women--it would not become me to say that
Brother Jones or Brother Smith, or any other individual is the
person that is delinquent in his duty; but it behooves me to
speak on the principle in general terms, and I think I am very
near the truth in relation to this matter. I will leave that for
you, however, to say in your hearts, whether you pay an honest
tithing before God, or whether you pay a portion of your tithing.
God knows; we cannot deceive Him. Why do we now comply fully with
this law? Simply because we lack wisdom, faith, understanding,
and confidence in the promises of God. If we felt the fire of the
Holy Spirit in our hearts; if we were conscientious in all our
acts before God, this people would be raised to a higher plane;
faith would be increased, good works would abound, and others,
seeing our good works, would be led to glorify our Father in
heaven. I will read a few instructions that were given to the
ancient Saints. They are not new, therefore, they are very old
instructions. They are applicable, however, to us, although
spoken to the former-day Saints, for the key by which the
blessings are obtained is given to us. "Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for their's is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they
that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth." The meek shall inherit the
earth. Shall the proud and the haughty and those that are lifted
up in the vanity of their hearts? No, God has said that they
shall be burned as stubble; that the day that is coming shall
burn them up; that neither root nor branch of them shall be left,
but they shall become as ashes beneath the feet of the righteous.
But "blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth." Then
as meekness is one of the requisite qualities of a Latter-day
Saint, a Christian, a member of the Church of God upon the earth,
except we are meek and lowly, we shall not receive the promised
blessing. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness, for they shall be filled." "Blessed are the
merciful for they shall obtain mercy." Shall they that are not
merciful obtain mercy? No. Why? Because it is said elsewhere that
the measure which we meet out shall be measured back to us again.
And when it is measured back unto us it will be shaken down and
pressed together, heaped up and running over. If we act, for
instance, in regard to the law of tithing as I have mentioned, we
shall be judged accordingly, and receive according to our works.
If we forgive them that trespass against us, it shall be measured
back unto us in mercy, etc. "Blessed are the pure in heart for
they shall see God." Shall the corrupt see Him? No. Shall they be
counted worthy to stand in His presence, and be called "blessed?"
Certainly not. "Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be
called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted
for righteousness sake; for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and
shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in
heaven: for so persecuted they the Prophets which were before
you. Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his
savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for
nothing but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Ye are the light of the world." Who? The peacemakers, the pure in
heart, the meek, those that hunger and thirst after
righteousness, the good, the honorable, the Godlike. "Ye are the
salt of the earth, but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith
shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be
cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men." "A city that is
set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and
put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light
unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before
men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father
which is in heaven."
F. Smith
That I understand to be the duty of a Latter-day Saint, "Let your
light shine" that men shall see your good works. And if God has
given a commandment, prove to the world that you believe it, by
keeping it so that men, seeing your good works, may glorify your
Father in heaven. If God has said that tobacco and strong drinks
are not good for us, let us hearken to this warning and not
defile our tabernacles by indulging in things that are injurious
to our systems; and thus respect the word of God ourselves, and
show a good example to others. When we can show to the world that
we are saved from the sins of the world, they will see our good
works and be constrained to glorify our Father in heaven. But
when strangers come among us and witness drunkenness, hear
profanity, see that some of us are dishonest and cheat each
other, that so far some of us are no better than the people of
Babylon; "the Pharisees and Sadducees" of the present age, at the
same time professing to be the children of God; they justly say,
"These people are hypocrites, they profess one thing and do
another; they profess to be the children of God, but they are the
children of the devil." In other words, if we bring not forth the
fruits of the Gospel, it will be set down as a natural and
philosophic conclusion that we either do not have the Gospel, or
if we do, we do not live it. For "a bitter fountain cannot send
forth sweet water," nor vice versa. And if, therefore, we are
redeemed from sin through the atoning blood of the
Savior--redeemed from the world--we will have power to establish
the Kingdom of God upon the earth. There will be no swearing, no
whoredom, there will be no crimes of infanticide or foeticide. No
such sins will be known among us, our children will be born in
honorable wedlock under the ordinances of the holy Priesthood,
and not illegitimate, to be denied the privileges of the
congregations of Israel, until perhaps the tenth generation
according to ancient law. But to-day, I am sorry to say it, some
of these evils exist; we see them cropping out here and there
once in a while. Yet, while this is the case, I say--and I say it
without fear of successful contradiction--that the Latter-day
Saints are the best people that I know of upon the face of the
earth; a greater proportion of them are honest, honorable and
virtuous, according to the light they possess and the ability
they have, than the same proportion of the rest of mankind. But
let us be more faithful and spread the kingdom and gather the
people of God, and possess the land which He has given unto us,
even the Zion of God--this land of Joseph.
F. Smith
May God help us to do so, is my prayer in the name of Jesus,
Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / John
Taylor, June 27, 1880
John Taylor, June 27, 1880
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
Sunday Afternoon, June 27, 1880.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
OPINIONS OF THE WORLD, ETC.
51
I am pleased to have the opportunity of listening to our brethren
who have just returned. It is always interesting to hear from
those who have been absent, with whom we have been acquainted for
years. It is pleasing to listen to their views and ideas
pertaining to us as a people, as contrasted with those of others.
In regard to the opinions of men, I would say, however, although
we are desirous of pursuing a proper and correct course--it is to
us a matter of very little moment what their opinions may be
concerning us. The truths of God in every age of the world have
been opposed by a certain class of men. That they should be so at
the present time is nothing remarkable or strange. And
furthermore our trust is not in man but in the Lord. It is to Him
that we are indebted for any light, any truth, any intelligence
that has been communicated to us. We have not received our
religion, the doctrines that we profess, the ordinances that we
administer in, nor any knowledge that we have of God, or the
things of God, from the world, neither from its divines, its
scientists, its philosophers, nor from any class of men in
existence. We have received them not of man, nor by man, but
through the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
consequently we are dependent upon Him for our guidance and
direction; and while we wish to treat all men with respect, all
authorities and all men holding positions under government, at
the same time we feel that our strength, our power, our might,
and our sustenance does not exist with them, but the Lord, and
that we are dependent upon Him alone.
51
In speaking of our Priesthood, we knew nothing about it till God
revealed it. In speaking of our doctrines we knew nothing about
them till God revealed them. And furthermore, in speaking of the
ordinances we administer in, whether for the living or the dead,
we knew nothing about them till God revealed them; nor did the
world, nor do they to-day. Concerning our temples, what do the
world know about them? Nothing. If they had them built to-day for
them they do not know how to administer in them, nor what they
are for. The world generally is in darkness. God has revealed the
Gospel to enlighten the world, and He has sent us forth not to be
taught of the world, but to be their teachers and to show them
the paths of light and life, and for this purpose He has
organized His Church, His kingdom and His Priesthood; for this
purpose He has stretched out His hand to protect us in the
valleys of the mountains.
52
In regard to the position in which we are situated here, what
have the world had to do with it? What have those people had to
do with it that are so very much interested in our welfare as
Brother Cannon has remarked? If they think they can benefit the
world, it is very wise that they should go and try as we have
done, show the same zeal, interest and welfare for mankind that
we have done, travel the thousands and hundreds of thousands of
miles without purse or scrip for the benefit of mankind that we
have done, and then we will believe them a little quicker. But
there are a great many men who think it much easier to tear down
than to build up; much easier to oppose good principles than it
is to establish and maintain them. All this, however, makes very
little difference to us. We care very little about such things.
We are engaged in a work in which God has set his hand, and we
shall continue to do it, and another thing, there are no persons
on this side of heaven or hell that can prevent it. They have
tried and they will try, but will be frustrated, for God has set
his hand to accomplish a certain work, and that work will be
done, and by the help of the Lord, we will try and help Him to do
it. The main thing we have to attend to is ourselves, to our
morals, to our religion, to the training of our children, to the
cultivation of our lots, to making our homes pleasant and
agreeable, to promoting the welfare of the human family, that is,
all that will permit us to do so. Whom do we interfere with? Whom
do we calumniate? Whose religious rights are interfered with by
us? They have their churches here. They are not molested; I hope
not; I do not hear of it; I hope they are not, for our opinion is
that we ought to treat all men aright, believing that matters of
religion are matters of conscience. Our opinion is that we ought
to treat our government aright, and be loyal, patriotic, just,
honorable and law-abiding, honoring all good principles,
sustaining all honorable men, and thus endeavor to promote peace,
union, and happiness among mankind. Our motto is, "Glory to God
in the highest, and on earth peace and good will toward men." If
people do not offer us that, we cannot help it. It is because
they do not know any better. In the meantime, however, we will
pursue the even tenor of our way. Let us be virtuous, honest,
true and faithful. Let us treat one another aright, and God will
bless us. We will serve the Lord and obey his laws, and Zion will
roll forth, the kingdom of God will progress and no power can
stop it. The things that have been spoken of by the Prophets will
all be fulfilled. The knowledge of God will grow and increase,
while the wicked will be rooted out, until "the kingdoms of this
world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ; and
he shall reign forever and ever," when liars, hypocrites,
deceivers and corrupt men will be destroyed and swept away as
with a besom of destruction.
52
May God help us to be faithful and true to our trust, that we may
be saved in His kingdom, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / George
Q. Cannon, June 27, 1880
George Q. Cannon, June 27, 1880
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT GEO. Q. CANNON,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
Sunday Afternoon, June 27, 1880.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
THE ORIGINATORS OF REPORTS AGAINST THE SAINTS--FEELINGS
OF THE PEOPLE IN THE EAST, ETC.
53
If I were to consult my natural feelings to-day, it would afford
me much greater pleasure to sit still and listen and look at the
faces of this congregation than attempt to speak. But this,
doubtless, would be a disappointment to very many, and might not
be understood. Therefore, I arise this afternoon to make a few
remarks--such as may suggest themselves to me--to my brethren and
sisters who are present. I shall not attempt to describe to you
the emotions, the feelings which I have in being once more
re-united with you, for you have heard them expressed by others
so frequently, and also by myself, and many of you have
experienced them yourselves, that I am relieved from the
necessity of re-stating them in your hearing. I may say, however,
that I am exceedingly thankful for the opportunity of returning
once more to our home and finding circumstances and surroundings
so favorable to the people of these valleys as they are at the
present time, and also that I can, to a certain extent, return as
the bearer of good tidings; that I can speak favorably concerning
our present and our future prospects; that is, so far as my
information extends.
53
When I left here last November, it seemed to me that the elements
were charged with threatenings to us as a people and to our
liberties. I have had some experience, of several years'
duration, in public affairs; that is, political affairs, and have
had occasion to notice the signs of the times; but I can say now
that at no time did affairs appear more threatening to us than
they did when I went to Washington the latter end of last
November, or beginning of December. You probably can recollect
the circumstances which existed at that time.
55
The greatest enemies we have had to contend with for many years
have been those who should, from their intimacy with us, from
their knowledge of our labors, from their familiarity with our
proceedings, have been our friends--those who reside in our
midst. It has been the case for several years that all the
excitement, all the ill-feeling, all the manifestations of hatred
which have come to the surface or been exhibited outside of the
Territory of Utah concerning the people called Latter-day Saints,
or "Mormons," have had their origin in this Territory, and have
been stirred up by those who reside here. There has not been in
Congress, there has not been throughout the country on the part
of the public press, or on the part of public men generally, much
of a disposition to take or to adopt harsh measures against the
people of these mountains. But there have been those residing in
this Territory who have seemed to be uneasy lest we should be
treated too kindly, or be viewed too favorably by those who are
outside of the Territory, and there has been apparently a great
dread on the part of a few individuals, lest there should be a
disposition manifested by Congress and by those in authority to
recognize us as fellowcitizens, and to extend to us those rights
and privileges to which we are entitled--I mean our rights to
become a State, to be admitted into the Union, to receive
recognition, the recognition of our numbers, of the good
government of this Territory that has been maintained for
thirty-three years; of the peace which has prevailed and the
developments which have been made, all of which have entitled us
to recognition and to admission into the Union as one of the
States, and because this fear has seemed to exist in the minds of
some individuals, they have done all in their power to
misrepresent the people of this Territory, that is, the majority
of the people, circulating all manner of falsehoods, representing
the people as disloyal, as not being fit to be entrusted with the
full powers of citizenship; they have endeavored to create the
impression throughout the Union that if the Territory of Utah
should be admitted as a State, it would be impossible for any
person but a "Mormon" to live within its confines; that property
would be unsafe, that life would be in jeopardy; that there would
be an unbearable condition of affairs here; the "Mormon"
Priesthood, as they say, would have such extraordinary power, and
wield it so despotically and so much in the interest of their own
people and to build up their hierarchy, that it would be
impossible for any person of independent views, who did not act
with them, to reside in this Territory in peace. These views have
been so industriously circulated that a great many people have
almost thought that this would be the case. However, I may say in
relation to this that these statements do not receive the
credence they once did. It is not a new thing for these
misrepresentations to be circulated; they have been harped upon
for many years. There is one thing, however, that has helped to
show their falsity, and that is this great railroad that has been
constructed across the continent, which has facilitated
intercourse with the world, which has enabled hundreds and
thousands of the people of the East and West to visit our
Territory and see for themselves. This has been one of the best
means of educating the public mind correctly in relation to Utah
and its people that I know of; it has done more to dissipate this
cloud of misrepresentation that has overshadowed us for so long a
period than anything else I know of. It is more difficult at the
present time, in consequence of this, that is, this speedy means
of intercourse, to circulate those falsehoods and have them
receive credence than in past years. I am thankful that this is
the case, I have done all in my power to urge public men to visit
Utah. I have said to them, Come; Come to Utah, come to Salt Lake.
If you are going to California, don't miss visiting Salt Lake
City. I have known that the effects of such visits have been
beneficial to the parties who make them, as they tend to
enlighten their views concerning us, beneficial to us, as they
are the means of informing intelligent men and removing a vast
amount of prejudice which exists regarding this people. And I
have this to say, that I do not know to-day a public man in
either branch of Congress, who has visited Utah Territory, who is
not--that is, so far as the rights of the people are
concerned--the friend of Utah. This is saying a great deal, it is
a broad statement, but I make it without scarcely hinting at
qualification, for it is true. During this past session--and it
has been the case for several sessions--measures have been
introduced by men who apparently have a monomania concerning
"Mormons" and "Mormonism." Measures have been introduced by
persons of this kind, who have been anxious, apparently, to make
that a hobby, hoping, I have thought, that they would gain favor
with their constituents by doing this. When such measures have
been introduced, and I have needed assistance respecting them,
the men to whom I have gone in the Senate and in the House, have
been men who have been in Utah Territory, have come down by the
railroad to Salt Lake City, and have seen the city and the
people. They have not been converted to "Mormonism." They have
not gone away believing that it is right for a man to have more
wives than one. That does not follow as a consequence of their
visit. But they have seen a people who--notwithstanding that they
may consider them mistaken in some of their religious views and
practices--are honest, industrious, persevering and orderly, and
who behave themselves as good citizens should, and their
sympathies have been aroused in behalf of the people, the more so
because of the previous misrepresentations which have been made
respecting them. They have been so thoroughly undeceived by their
visit, that it has had a reactionary effect in many instances
upon them, because of the statements that had been made to them
previous to coming here. Therefore, you can see that I am
warranted in saying as I do so frequently to my friends in
Washington, Come; come West; and if you do come West, be sure and
stop at Salt Lake City. It is not such a country as California.
We have not so many attractions in Utah as you will find in
California, but your trip will be incomplete without you visit
Utah, and see Salt Lake City and its surroundings.
56
Of course, there are those who are ready to attribute all sorts
of bad motives to those who come here and who are disposed to be
favorable after their visit. I have stated this to officers.
There have been a number of gentlemen appointed to offices here
with whom I was on very familiar terms in Washington. We could
visit, we could meet together, we could associate together, and
nobody would wonder at it or attribute any bad motives to either
party. But I have said to these gentlemen when they have been
appointed to office in Utah Territory--Now, I shall continue to
be familiar with you as I am here if you wish it, but let me say
to you that as soon as you get inside of the limits of our
Territory, if you and I are very familiar, somebody will raise
the story that the "Mormons" have bought you, that they have got
you in their hands, and it would hurt your influence. Is not this
a strange condition of affairs, that in a Territory of the United
States citizens cannot associate together without a lot of
miserable creatures here raising the story that there must be
some corrupt motive in this association? And they have endeavored
in this way to deter public men from doing their duty when they
have come here. I remember one friend who came here, and in
riding around he was seen in the presence of President Young. He
came here as one of a committee going further West, and he was
opposed in the public press here, till he became so indignant
that he got copies of all the papers and mailed them to President
Grant, to show him the assaults made upon public men, when they
come to Utah, by a certain class who are here.
56
We have these things to contend with; we shall probably have them
to contend with. We have lived through them so far, and we shall
continue to prosper and live through them in the future. I have
no doubt about that. I merely refer to these things to show the
character of the opposition that is manifested towards us, and
towards those who are friendly to us. But, as I have said, there
is a better understanding gaining ground everywhere respecting
this people called Latter-day Saints, and I expect it will
continue to be the case, until we are known and understood in our
true light; and it is a remarkable fact that those who have
fought against us, and sought in the manner to which I have made
allusion to heap all kinds of obloquy upon us, have not succeeded
at that business, they have not succeeded, it has not paid them.
They may have thought while doing this that it would injure us;
but it has not injured us, it has advertised us, it has made us
more widely known. There are public men whom I have met in my
life who would rather have evil spoken about them than not be
noticed at all. They would rather have newspapers attack them and
tell that which is not true concerning them than to maintain
silence about them and their movements. In this way we have
certainly had the benefit of advertising now for a great many
years, and people have known us either for good or for evil in a
great many quarters of the earth where, if it had not been for
this publicity, we might not have been known. It has been of
great advantage to our missionaries in foreign lands. For
instance, I have been very much pleased to hear by letter and
otherwise through our missionaries in Europe, concerning the
effect of secretary Evarts' circular which he sent abroad
respecting emigration to Utah Territory. I do not suppose that he
would have given that circular the publicity he did, or even
written it at all, if he had been conscious at the time that it
would have been so good an advertising power for the "Mormon"
missionaries as it has proved. I am told that a great many
journalists and public men of various kinds have had their
attention drawn to us and to our doctrines, and to this
organization in these mountains, in consequence of that circular,
who probably would not otherwise have known anything about us. So
that, as we have been taught, all things work together for good
to all the people who serve the Lord. Everything is overruled for
good. We have been told this afternoon, by Elder Cummings,
respecting the wonderful organization that sprang up immediately
upon the death of the Prophet, in New England. It had only been a
very short time before this that the doctrine we believe in--the
vicarious submission of the people to the ordinances of life and
salvation had been taught.
57
Well, in all these things we behold the hand of God, and in
witnessing His hand acknowledge it. It is the great strength--as
I have, I think, told you very frequently--of the Latter-day
Saints. We believe in God. We believe in Him as He is. We believe
that He is a Being who hears and answers prayer, and who protects
and blesses those who put their trust in Him. If I did not have
that faith, you would not find me going to Washington as your
representative. I would not go there for all that could be piled
up as an inducement. But I go there, not strong in my own
strength, but strong in the strength of that God whom we worship,
and whom we know controls all the affairs and all the destinies
of the children of men to suit His own purpose and to bring to
pass His own designs. I know further, that the prayers of this
people here, and of the thousands of others who live throughout
all these mountains, which ascend every night and morning unto
the God of Sabbaoth, from the humble habitations and from the
humble hearts of the people, are heard of God, and are answered,
according to the faith and good desires of the people who offer
them. What else is there that could have sustained or preserved
us, or could have delivered us as we have been so wonderfully
delivered up to the present period? Is there any other power that
could have done it? I am satisfied that there is no power beneath
the heavens--no power of man, no combination of men, no wisdom or
shrewdness or cunning of men, could have effected such great
deliverances as have been wrought out for this people called
Latter-day Saints; nothing of this kind could have been brought
to pass but by the power of God. He who created the heavens and
the earth, and who placed man upon the earth, and who sent His
son Jesus in the meridian of time to die for man, the Redeemer
and the Savior of man--no power but His could have brought about
that which we witness and preserved to us that liberty which we
now enjoy and for which as a people we should feel so thankful.
Take the entire history of this people from the inception of the
Church, its first organization, until to-day; you trace it from
its beginning at Fayette, Seneca County, in the State of New
York, and through its travels, through the journeyings, the
mobbings, drivings, and persecutions to which the people have
been subjected: you trace it through until this day of grace,
June 27th, 1880, the anniversary of the death of the Prophet
Joseph, and his brother Hyrum, and if a man can do so and not
acknowledge that there is a God in heaven that overrules the
affairs of the children of men, then he is in a worse condition
than I can conceive it possible for a thinking man, who has ever
had any of the light of truth in his heart to be in.
58
Let others then do as they please concerning these matters. Let
others say that there is no God, that the universe is governed by
unalterable laws, that there are no special interpositions of
Providence among the children of men, that God governs the
universe, governs the earth and the inhabitants of the earth by
great unalterable laws, that there is no variation in these laws,
that God does not operate to deliver men except they do it by
their own wisdom and by their own management, that every man
reaps the fruit of that which he does, and that his fate is
unalterably fixed, and a great many have that idea--let others, I
say, think as they please concerning these matters; but let us,
as a people, cling to the old faith, to the old doctrine that has
come down to us through the Bible, that God is, that He is to-day
as much as He ever was, and put our trust in Him. Let us train up
our children to the faith that He is a God who hears and answers
prayer, so that they will have faith in Him, that in times of
trial, in times of difficulty, when they are encircled by danger
and it would seem as though there were no possible way of escape
from the danger with which they are threatened, they can humble
themselves and call upon God with a faith that cannot be
overcome, to deliver them and to give unto them those blessings
which they need. It is the greatest comfort that a human being
can have to be in close communion with his Father in heaven or
her Father in heaven. If children grow up with that sort of
faith, you will find many of the things Elder Cummings has
alluded to, such as the healing of the sick, and the works that
were done in ancient days by that same sort of faith, will be
done, as they are done, in our households and in our communities.
58
I have given expression to a few of my feelings. I am thankful to
find you in such favorable circumstances. I say to you, live the
doctrines that you profess. Be Latter-day Saints, not in name,
but in word and deed. Be an example in your lives. Live the
religion you profess. Be meek, be gentle, be kind. If others
revile you, revile not again. How easy it is to revile back when
a man calls you something that is vile and low; how natural it is
to say something equally sarcastic, equally severe, in return.
Let us study to control our tongues in our households. Let no
father give utterance to any word that he would blush to have any
person of the world hear. Let no mother do such a thing. Let
every child be taught to respect and reverence not only their
parents, but old age. Let us endeavor to raise up a generation
that will respect age. One of the great and growing evils that
exists to-day in our land is the disrespect that is manifested by
the young to age. Let us train our children to be respectful and
to honor the gray hairs of the aged, to honor their parents that
the great promise that was made in olden times may be bestowed
upon them, namely: that their days may be long in the land.
58
I pray God, my brethren and sisters, to bless you and let the
peace of heaven descend upon and abide with you in your homes and
in your habitations, which I ask in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / George
G. Bywater, January 30th, 1881
George G. Bywater, January 30th, 1881
DISCOURSE BY ELDER GEORGE G. BYWATER,
Delivered in the Assembly Hall Salt Lake City,
Sunday Afternoon, January 30th, 1881.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
THE PECULIARITIES OF THE PEOPLE OF UTAH, ETC.
59
The appearance of the congregation before me awakens within my
mind a number of pleasurable reflections. There is one unerring
method of determining the value of all subjects, of all objects,
of all matters pertaining to the interests of our common
humanity; and that method is the rule by which the results are
attained, and the determination of the character of those
results, whether they be good or whether they be evil. And this
method moreover is not only applicable in determining the various
secular conditions and circumstances of mankind, but it is
equally unerring in determining the higher phases and conditions
of the life of man. It reaches upward into the realms of mind and
invades, if you please, or spreads itself over the entire field
of human thought, embracing not only our secular but our
spiritual interests.
60
When Jesus of Nazareth, the Savior of mankind, was on the earth
sojourning for a few brief years with the children of men, he
gave expression to this most beautiful and highly philosophic
rule: "For every tree is known by its fruit. For of thorns men do
not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. By
their fruits ye shall know them." It is the contemplation of the
elementary principles embodied in this rule that has awakened
within my mind the reflections I have referred to, while gazing
upon this congregation seated in this beautiful place of worship.
It is true that the spectacle presented before our minds when
contemplating the surroundings of the people of the Latter-day
Saints--the comforts of life they are enjoying, and the material
blessings that they have become possessed of--does not alone
determine the divine character of the spiritual philosophy, the
system of principles and doctrine which constitute their faith.
For when we travel the world, and extend our observances over the
great centres of what is called the civilized world of mankind,
we can behold on every hand stupendous edifices gorgeously
denominated cathedrals' draped in the most costly tapestry and
finished in the most elaborate manner, bespeaking a high
cultivation of art and a development of science in its most
advanced stages, with every means improvised to render the object
and purpose of those structures efficient to the ends designed.
And a reference to these representations of man's industry and
skill, and to the exhibition of that wisdom, which is at once the
standard of the intellectual growth and advancement of the race
and age in which they were brought forth, enables us to judge
comparatively of the growth of wisdom, and the growth of
intelligence which has become the heritage of our race, and which
we inherit through the very mysterious and complex nature of our
spiritual and physical constitutions. But that which imparts
greater value to the physical labors of the Latter-day Saints,
producing the unmistakable phenomena presented here to-day and in
other places throughout the Territory of Utah, and wherever the
Latter-day Saints are assembled together in their more scattered
conditions of life, following the varied pursuits thereof, in
developing the various branches of labor which have been
developed in society, and which society demands the performance
of, is the uninviting character and crude quality of their
surroundings on one hand, and the indomitable energy awakened by
inspiration of their faith on the other hand, elucidating to a
demonstration their faith to be the gift of God, and that their
works, so far as they are the products of that faith, to be the
works of righteousness. Therefore we lay claim to considerations
of an equal character, to considerations of equal merit, to the
respect and gracious judgments that are awarded to the builders
of the various centres of civilization, and that are conferred
upon those active agents and instrumentalities by which they have
been established among men.
60
But that which actuates my mind my brethren and sisters, and more
especially on the present occasion, is the peculiar character and
constitution of the faith we have espoused; and upon this
subject, as I have been invited by my brethren to address you for
a short time, I respectfully ask your attention.
61
What is it, I would ask, that constitutes the peculiarities that
distinguish the people of Utah from the rest of the world of
mankind, from the divisions of human society variously
denominated Christian--Christian Presbyterians, Christian
Episcopalians, and the Christians of the various denominational
titles by which they respectively desire to be recognized as
distinct and separate societies? I ask, what is it that marks so
peculiarly the distinction between the Latter-day Saints and the
rest of their fellow-creatures? We claim them to be our
fellow-creatures, whether they are willing to claim us as their
fellow-creatures or not. We know we have proceeded from the same
boundless, the same limitless, the same immutable source of life
from which they sprang as also our forefathers, and indeed all
the generations of the children of men, back to the border lines
of ethnological territory and earliest dawn of human history.
This distinction of which we speak may be stated in a very few
words, however unacceptable that statement may be to those of our
friends, or those who ought to be our friends, who differ from
us. It is in this--that in the profession of Christianity we have
accepted it as a whole; we have not regarded fractional
Christianity, sectional Christianity, modern Christianity, as the
embodiment of those principles and teachings which the great
Founder of our faith came into this world incarnate to reveal,
and which He left as a heavenly legacy to the children of
men--children of the great common Father, with whom we, with Him,
once existed, He being the first begotten of the Father, full of
grace and truth, the first born of many brethren. And we chose to
accept Christianity in its complete and entire constitution;
uninoculated by the precepts and doctrines of men, pure from
heaven, unfolding to our understandings the incomparable plan of
human redemption. We have accepted the Christian revelation as
proclaimed by angels and inspired Prophets and Apostles and
Evangelists of every degree. To us it is a modern revelation, and
we accept it with all the obligations which it has imposed upon
us as conditions of salvation; with all its constituted and
organized officers; with all its divinely instituted ordinances,
and with all its pure and heaven-born principles that it
embodies. The truth and elements which go to make up that system
of worship, that system of faith, that system of belief, or, in
other words, that system of divine knowledge, possess in their
nature every virtue requisite, and every element of worth, and
every force and principle of energy that can reach man--man in
his entirety, man as a whole, not some particular phase of his
nature, as they are not designed to develop one particular
characteristic of his being. The teachers of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ are not evolutionists who choose to develop one particular
characteristic to the extreme, and to suppress others to an
abnormal condition, thereby producing results the most derogatory
and pernicious in their government over the constitution of the
being. We have embraced the Gospel which has been revealed for
the express purpose of meeting man's every want, and of
furnishing an intellectual regime and mental discipline adequate
to the unfoldment of every attribute and quality of man. In this
constitutes the essential difference, the distinctive
discriminative features between the Latter-day Saints and the
rest of the so-called Christian world. It is upon this ground
that our friends differ from us; that our fellow-men wage war
against us. They, however, would tell you, no. They would say it
is because we have institutions and practices that are
antagonistic to the moral ethics of the age; that we support
practices and lend our defense to doctrines that are repugnant to
the moral sense of Christianity, to the enlightened races of
mankind; that they do not at all oppose us on the ground that we
believe in the Bible, that we accept the doctrines of the Lord
Jesus Christ--because we believe in prophecy and revelation--but
that we have come in contact with would-be customs and usages,
with the popular interpretation of moral principles and moral
conduct; and that, therefore, we have rendered ourselves
obnoxious to the Christian world. And that, therefore, because we
are in the minority, forsooth, it would be in good grace for us
to abandon that which the majority so strenuously oppose and so
persistently reject. And they claim that we must do it.
62
Now, my friends, I have stated in a very brief manner the
feelings of the Christian world. I do not speak of any other
phase of society, because the rest of the world of mankind are
not in pursuit of divine knowledge; they are not searching for
those principles which bring life and immortality to light; they
are generally committed to the science of money-making; they have
exerted and brought into play all the energies of their being to
develop trade and commerce, and to engage in developing all of
the secular interests of the world, not only of one nation, but
so broad and expansive have become their ideas, that they have
become purely international in their scope of utility; they have
crossed the expanse of oceans and penetrated the continents, and
taken into consideration the welfare of other races as well as of
that of their own, financially, secularly. But the Christian
world oppose us upon the ground of our being offensive to them
because of our institutions. Now, my friends, brethren and
sisters, it is a consolation to us when we read the pages of
prophecy; when we open the sacred volume and pore over its
historical pages and take a retrospective glance into the history
of the past, and learn that similar charges were brought against
the Founder of our faith, against Jesus of Nazareth, and also
against His Apostles and Prophets and the Patriarchs; and that it
is with the unbeliever in revelation, and with those who are
influenced by proscribed principles and spirit of any age in
which they lived to oppose progress, to oppose development in any
direction.
62
There is one great difficulty in the way of progress and that is
invested interests, not less so in religion than in the avenues
of commerce and trade. Whenever there have been any great
principles brought forth in the mechanical world, in any
department of mechanism from the agricultural through all the
ramifications of society, they have rarely escaped opposition.
And, indeed, this obstruction in the way of progress, is not
confined to mechanical pursuits. There is a spirit with large
capitalists and men who have invested deeply and extensively
their capital in the manufacture of any commodity, produced for
the world's market, which arrays itself against growth and
progress made in any direction excepting only where it will
especially benefit them. There is opposition; their invested
interests stand in the way of progress; and it is not only in
temporal affairs, but also in religion, in theology. One great
reason why the doctrines of the Latter-day Saints are opposed by
the so-called Christians, is, because they place at a discount
their fractional faith, their fractional currency of belief, so
to speak, and they do not wish to have their faith discounted;
they do not wish to be placed in the unenviable light as to be
regarded as only professing a fragmentary Christianity. And in
this they only manifest the same envious traits that have marked
the history of our race in all the great phases and stages of
progress which the world has made.
63
I must here, my friends, make one remark in relation to the
spirit of persecution that is in the world, and which, by the
way, is a very anomalous phenomenon, very much so indeed.
Christianity, in its fundamental principles, has running through
it a broad vein of charity; and that spirit of mercy and love
permeates every avenue of it, and thrills with sensitive
pulsations through every brain, heart and vein of its unfeigned
believers. There is no duty to be performed, no services rendered
which the doctrine of the Christian revelations requires of its
devotees, of its acceptors, but that enjoins the administration
of mercy and forbearance, and long suffering, and gentleness, and
tenderness, and meekness, and brotherly kindness, and all those
excellencies and virtues which grace the character of an
exemplary Christian. And I may here say, and I do so with
feelings of shame and regret, that the bitterest persecutions
that have ever been waged upon the world's battle fields have
been waged by men who have professed the doctrines of the meek
and lowly Jesus. Yes, the most overwhelming torrents of human
blood that have ever stained the world with its gory hue, have
been let out by the violent hands of those who professed to
administer in the sacred things of God, who professed to be
inspired by the spirit of the Divine Master. And of all classes
of men and women that I have ever met or that I have any
knowledge of, theological and religious fanatics have been the
most unreasonable, the most unapproachable, the worst of infidels
to the Christian cause. This is a broad statement to make; it is,
notwithstanding, made with due consideration. It has not been
hurriedly pronounced, for I have given this matter some thought,
some study and some little observation. And I am convinced my
friends, that the ignorance and superstition that have produced
the direst evils, the knowledge of which has been recorded upon
the pages of history, have not been the legitimate outgrowth of
the principles of Christianity, but of Christianity falsely
so-called; they have been the product of unenlightened ideas,
they have been the result of misguided zeal, that was not
according to knowledge; and they have been too frequently
manifested in directions and among communities where better
results and more genteel and gracious things were expected to
predominate.
63
Now, the history of the Latter-day Saints is one that has been
before the world for a number of years in many of its phases, not
probably in all its bearings, not in all its features; but there
are many salient points in our history that indicate, and that
most unmistakably, to the impartial student of history, that the
hostile attitude assumed by theological demagogues and their
partizan adherents towards the Latter-day Saints is very similar
to the conduct of the world towards the former-day Saints, and
stands in offensive comparison with their parade of Christian
benevolence and religious toleration. In this particular, history
repeats itself. The revelations of truth have ever awakened the
spirit of persecution in misbelievers. And our Lord Jesus Christ
assigned a very acceptable reason why this is so. He says that
"men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are
evil." Now, upon this point I do not wish to be understood by my
brief quotation of this text that I consider mankind
incorrigible, that the race is hopelessly sunken in depravity and
sin. No, my brethren, I have more faith in the potency of the
plan of redemption, and more faith in the remaining stamina and
integrity of human nature itself, than to give up the hope that
God will fail to fulfil His purposes in the creation of man. On
the contrary, I believe that He will develop His heavenly designs
in the God-like combination of the attributes and qualities that
constitute man a moral and spiritual being. I have faith that man
will yet stand forth erect in the likeness of his Maker, in whose
image he was first created. Man will then be filled with the
glory of God, which is intelligence and truth; his divine origin
will then be self-evident; and the truth of what the historian
Moses has said of the genesis of man, will receive the concurrent
sanction of science and religion.
64
We have received this Gospel from its first principles, through
the varied stages of progress which it has made, and which has
been made since its restoration in the dispensation in which we
live, until to-day. And here we must confess that the verity of
the Savior's words have been most fully established, that the
truth comes not to us in its fulness; comes not to us in its
complete and entire character; but it comes to us as a beautiful
little bud upon a choice and tender plant that blooms; it comes
to us as a growing protuberance on the top of a stem; it comes to
us presenting the appearance of something more to follow; it
swells: it enlarges; the leaves that modestly and beautifully
cover up the internal structure of that bud begin to open and
expand through the vitalizing energies of the sun, whose
radiating rays impart warmth and life and vigor to the growing
plant. And it grows stronger and higher; it branches, and
spreads, and opens more and more until the blossom is spread open
to full view, and kisses the sunbeams as they descend through the
vestibule of Nature's laboratory into the sanctum sanctorum, if
you please, where the formative principles and co-ordinating laws
reside. The plant has passed through many stages of unfoldment
from its germinal origin to its maturity--its maximum attainment.
It has spent its energies in self-development and in elaborating
provisions for a new existence. The environments change. The
winter of its life has come. It passes into a season of rest, to
be again called into new life and enlarged activity when spring
time comes again. This exemplifies the great law of growth and
progress in universal nature, not only in the "lily of the
valley," but in the realm of universal nature where God presides.
64
Now the Gospel has come to us something after the fashion
presented in this little figure. It was not given to us in its
entirety; it came to us line upon line, precept upon precept,
here a little and there a little. We are, moreover, informed in
holy writ, that Jesus, who was the likeness of the Father and the
express image of His person, in whom dwelt the fulness of the
Godhead bodily, that He did not receive of that fulness at first,
but received grace for grace; He increased, He grew in knowledge
and in favor with God and man; and He is the great prototype, the
great exemplifier of our faith. And so has been the growth and
faith of the Latter-day Saints.
64
When we received this faith, we received it in the simplicity of
our hearts. We received it as a message from God, not
comprehending it in its entirety any more than the child when he
is conducted to school and placed in a primary class to receive
his first lesson, is capable of understanding all at once the
several courses of study and the various branches of knowledge
which he has the capacity to acquire. No, my friends, he learns
little by little; he learns first to distinguish between the
various forms of the characters to which are attached specific
and distinct sounds, and by which they are to be known. He learns
to attach the proper value to each and all as they stand in
relation to one another in the alphabet; and after mastering
that, learns to arrange and re-arrange and change and modify the
relationship of those characters, producing various results
according to the principles of orthography and orthoepy. Thus he
acquires a knowledge of the language he speaks. So with every
other branch of knowledge in like manner, the study of theology
being no exception to the rule.
65
So far as our history is concerned; so far as the opposition
which we have met in propagating this message of mercy, and of
heralding forth to the world the glorious news and "glad tidings
of great joy," which shall be unto all people, namely, the plan
of redemption, we anticipate opposition; it is nothing new; it is
nothing marvelous when we understand human nature. Not at all. We
sometimes speak unadvisedly; we sometimes marvel at things which
happen, but of which, upon more deliberate reflection, we would
not, because there is nothing strange in this. We see rivalry in
all things, in all the various phases of society; we see
competition and rivalry in the present crude and undeveloped
state of human intellectuality, in the present--if I may be
allowed the expression--immoral state of society; and I maintain
that society is in an immoral state when the good of all is not
contemplated, when the greatest good to the greatest number is
not the dominant principles, is not the inspiring motive, is not
the moving and propelling incentive urging men forward in the
various concerns of life. I say again, that unless there is a
motive which pervades all our actions, taking into contemplation
the good of the whole and not of a part, society so conditioned
is not, in a proper sense, in a moral condition. The condition of
society contemplated in the Gospel embraces this expressed
injunction, that we should help to bear each other's burdens;
that we should do unto others as we would have others do unto us.
And requires, moreover, that whatever other gifts, whatever other
qualities, whatever other characteristics may be distinguished in
our conduct toward our fellow-men, or whatever other features may
disappear and subside in the rolling tides of the ages in the
developing of our nature, assimilating it more and more in the
image of God, that there are certain attributes that will never
fail, namely, faith, hope, and charity. These will forever abide.
66
And when I consider these facts as inseparably connected with the
system of salvation left by Jesus our elder brother, our Lord and
Savior, what are we to think of the attitude of the Christian
world toward us. How very uncharitable they are! How very unlike
the Savior in His conduct, in the judicial murder of the
crucifixion upon a Roman cross--"Father, forgive them for they
know not what they do." Do our Christian friends feel so towards
us? Do they who think we are deluded; that we are beguiled by
false conceptions of righteousness, that we have been decoyed by
some impure motives to the maintenance of institutions that are
damning in their character upon man, do they exercise this
forgiveness towards us? No, my friends. But as there is a kind of
Christianity referred to in the Scriptures, whose propagandists
appear in sheep's clothing, garbed with all the sanctity of
innocent lambs, but within are ravening wolves, we are confined
to the Savior's rule of judging men and things--"By their fruits
ye shall know them." But it is our duty to emulate the examples
given us by Him in whom was no guile. When Jesus came into the
world, did He seek to exterminate everybody? Or His followers,
poor fishermen, Did they seek to destroy and institute
persecution against those who differed from them in opinion? No.
Have the Latter-day Saints exhibited this spirit towards the
world? No, they have not; and we modestly and friendly challenge
the universal world to cite us to any feature or trait that may
be found in any chapter of our history wherein we have sought to
wage war against man or woman because they did not believe as we
did; to coerce them to the acceptance of our faith; to drag them
into prison or drive them with the sword because we could not
make disciples of them. No, my friends, such a disposition even
is contrary to the genius of our faith. We have invited
respectfully, the most competent expounders of the doctrines of
the various sects when they have chanced to come among us, to
enunciate their views from our pulpits and in our lecture rooms,
to our own congregations. We have never closed our door against
them, although we have been so very exclusive; although we are so
peculiar a people, and so arbitrary in our priestly rule as
charged by our liberal accusers. But when our missionary Elders
have gone forth to the world, it has been a very rare thing,
indeed, to meet with such a favor; and when such an opportunity
has been proffered, we have known how to prize it. When ministers
have opened the doors of their meeting houses or churches,
offering us the use of the same to preach to their assemblies, we
have acknowledged most respectfully the receipt of such favors.
Who do you think is the more charitable? Where are we to draw the
line of demarkation between the charity of the "Mormons" and that
of other dissenting Christian churches, and their feelings and
sentiments towards us? It would not be a difficult thing to draw
this line; but I forbear this afternoon.
66
I will simply say, it affords me pleasure to realize that God has
thus far presided over our destinies; that we have been held, as
it were, in the hollow of His hand. We have been a handful of
people with the prejudices of an unbelieving generation running
high tide against us. We have been looked upon as unworthy a
passing notice. But a change has come over the vision of their
minds. Now everybody is giving us notice. God has permitted us to
gather strength, and that, too, in the face of the bitterest
persecution and the fiercest opposition which we have had to
contend with, and that which God has designed to develop and
establish in the earth will triumph all the more by being thus
opposed. The more the effects of resistance are brought to bear
against it, like the shaking of the forest tree, very frequently
promotes its growth: it disturbs its roots; it loosens the soil
around it and it commences to put forth fresh energy, increasing
in strength and size; and like the mustard tree, the more it is
kicked the farther the seed is scattered.
67
Now this is the view I take of the results of opposition which we
have had; and we have excellent precedents for believing this,
not only in the day and age in which we live, but all past
history contributes to the support of this belief and its supply
of material is ample for the argument. Now, this is not only the
case with reference to the truth itself, but it is a principle
inherent in nature that sometimes a bad cause is also fostered by
the opposition it meets with. So that those of our friends
whether here or elsewhere who suppose that opposing the truth
will produce an arrest of its growth, and extinguish the life it
contains, the vitality embodied in it, are simply poor readers of
human history, are simply ignorant of the facts of history, and
are ignorant of the various phases of human nature, as that human
nature has been developed in the varied schemes that have sprung
into life during the centuries past and gone. But when we take
these indestructible principles that outlive the ages; when we
take a truth that is universally so, one that is a truism in its
nature, and when we take our association of those truths together
and constitute a system, and then undertake to wage war against
that system, my friends, it is a very costly experiment; it is a
losing game. For "truth though trampled to the earth will rise
again." You cannot destroy that which cannot die. You cannot put
life out of that which is life itself. You cannot extinguish the
power that is limitless in its resources. You cannot do it.
67
Now, I do not purpose occupying your time but a few moments
longer. I have directed your thoughts over quite a breadth of
ground in quite a rambling manner. I have not felt disposed to
take a subject and direct your thoughts specially to it; for I am
aware when subjects are spoken of, and questions are sprung, the
mind involuntarily follows out and conducts itself through a
series of reasons and deductions until it arrives at legitimate
conclusions, satisfying itself or otherwise as the case may be;
but I have brought up a number of questions showing the general
character of the work in which we are engaged. I am convinced
that God has directed our destiny, and that His hand is still
over us for good; and that we are the happy recipients of many
proofs of his divine favor. He has withheld from us the
chastening rod of our enemies; He has dispelled the clouds which
have gathered around us in sable thickness, and has shed forth
the light of heaven upon us, which has caused our hearts to
rejoice in the God of our salvation. We have received the
doctrines of Jesus Christ: faith in Him; repentance of sins, and
baptism for the remission of sins; and we have essayed and
covenanted to live a new life in Christ Jesus; to seek to do good
to all men, and evil to none; and like Daniel of old, to be
faithful to the statues and to the decrees and behests of
Jehovah, the decrees of man against us notwithstanding; we having
come to the conclusion in our own minds that God and a few good
men form an overwhelming majority. And we shall see and yet learn
that truth will triumph and prevail. But it may be--and we have
promises moreover to that effect--that clouds of darkness will
gather; that threatening storms will rise; that the impending
dangers will be so imminent as to cause the countenance of some
to pale and their knees to tremble and their faith to falter.
But, then, the darkest hour is before the dawn of day. So shall
we find that God, when He shall have been fully convinced of our
integrity, having proven us as gold is purified through fire,
will abide by the results of obedience to His covenants; that we
shall come off more than conquerors through Him who loves us,
even Jesus Christ our Savior.
67
May His Spirit and His grace sustain us in the discharge of every
duty, in the developing of every divine institution and in
maintaining every correct principle, and in promoting peace and
righteousness upon the earth, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus
Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 /
Charles W. Penrose, January 30, 1881
Charles W. Penrose, January 30, 1881
DISCOURSE BY ELDER CHAS. W. PENROSE,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
Sunday Afternoon, January 30, 1881.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
THE SPIRIT OF REVELATION AND ITS OPERATIONS.
68
I have listened attentively to the remarks made to us by Brother
Bywater, this afternoon. He has presented to us a great many
things that are true and profitable for us to reflect upon. I
always take pleasure in listening to my brethren when they say
something. I take pleasure in reflecting upon the ideas which
they present and in carrying them to their legitimate conclusion.
When we hear a truth presented to us by the Spirit of the Lord,
it is of this nature, that we are not only instructed in that
particular truth for the time being, but it leads us to reflect
upon truths that grow out of or are connected with it. One truth
seems to lead to the contemplation of other principles, and they
to others, until the great field of truth is open to our view,
and we see that we know but very little, but that there will be
an opportunity afforded us to advance and learn that of which we
are now ignorant.
69
Brother Bywater has to some extent this afternoon drawn the line
of distinction between the faith of the Latter-day Saints and the
creeds of the various denominations, expressing himself to the
effect that whereas each of them take in but a part of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ as declared in the Scriptures, in their creeds,
the Latter-day Saints embody in their faith the whole of it; that
whereas the different Christian denominations are founded upon
some few peculiar ideas and tenets, the faith of the Latter-day
Saints is based upon a broader foundation--that we take in the
whole of the Gospel, the whole of the revealed will of God to
man. This is correct so far as it goes. But the faith of the
Latter-day Saints is not comprehended alone in that which God has
revealed and is placed on record. The creed of the Latter-day
Saints is not comprised by a certain number of tenets; we are not
limited to a certain number of articles of faith; we are not
confined to the things which are laid down in the book called the
Bible, which all the professing Christians of the times declare
they believe. We are not bound up by the Old Testament, nor the
New Testament, nor by both combined. We have received certain
principles that can be found within the lids of the Bible. A
great many of our principles can be found existing among the
various Christian denominations. One sect believes in some things
which we believe in; other sects believe in other things in which
we believe. But there are principles connected with our faith
which go over and beyond and above all that which is comprehended
in the Christian world, and all that which is contained within
the lids of the Bible. And yet at the same time there is nothing
in our faith, there is nothing in our creed which contradicts
that which is in the Bible. There is no principle in our faith
which contradicts anything that can be demonstrated by known
truth. Truth always harmonizes with itself. And when a person
grows in the knowledge of the truth and advances to higher
principles, he does not receive anything that contradicts any
truth he had previously learned, for truth is never discordant
with itself. Truth is eternal; truth, as we have been told this
afternoon is indestructible and never contradicts itself.
69
The great distinction, as I view it, bringing it down to a small
point, existing between the people called Latter-day Saints and
all other bodies of professing Christians is this: That our creed
is founded upon doctrines and principles and a spirit which have
come from heaven in our own times. The doctrines of our faith,
most of them, can be found laid down in great plainness in the
books of the Bible and were revealed aforetime. Yet we have not
received our training, our ideas concerning them, from the Bible.
They have come to us from heaven direct. Every doctrine and
principle of our faith has been sent down to us in our own times.
These doctrines have come by present revelation. Now in that
there is a marked difference between us and the rest of the
people who profess to believe in the Christian religion. The
various sects of modern times draw their creed--or profess to do
so, from the Bible; they take it from the written books; they do
not profess to have received any direct communication from the
heavens. Take all these various sects of modern times and examine
into their different creeds and the foundation of their belief in
them, and you will find that it rests upon the hypothesis of the
divinity of the Old and New Testaments. They trace their
doctrines--or profess to do so--to these books, and they believe
in the various doctrines which exist among them, because they
consider that they can find them in these books. The book is the
foundation. The Bible the written word, the dead letter, is the
foundation of all their creeds. Perhaps the Roman Catholic
Church, as it is commonly called, is the only exception in that
respect. But even the Roman Catholic Church, who look to the Pope
as the great earthly head of the Church, do not believe in
present revelation, they did not obtain their creeds through
direct communication with the heavens. Although the Pope
professes to be the direct descendant of St. Peter, he does not
even profess to have that great gift which made Peter a veritable
Apostle--that is, the gift of revelation. Peter received
communication from on high; so did his brethren of the
Apostleship. This was the real source of their light, this was
the real power by which they instructed the people. They were
filled with the Holy Ghost, the spirit of revelation; they were
in communication with the great unseen Head of the Church, Jesus,
who was crucified, and had departed from their midst.
70
But all the various sects that compose modern Christendom more or
less repudiate the idea of present revelation. They do not
believe that in these times man can commune with his Maker. They
believe, to use one of their favorite expressions, that 'the
awful voice of prophecy is closed forever; that the canon of
scripture is full;' and they believe that when John the Apostle
wrote the book of Revelation, that was the last sacred record
committed to man.
70
Now you see there is a great difference between the whole
Christian world and the Latter-day Saints. Whereas we also
believe in the Bible; whereas we also believe that God inspired
holy men of old and that they wrote as well as spoke by the Holy
Ghost: while we believe in the merits of Jesus, the mediator of
the New Covenant, believe in his atonement, believe in the work
he wrought out for the salvation of mankind; and believe in the
teachings of his inspired Apostles, yet we do not found our faith
upon that which is recorded in the sacred book called the Bible.
But our faith is founded upon communications received in our own
times, in the nineteenth century by living Prophets and living
Apostles--by men who to-day hold that authority which the men
held who wrote the things contained in that book. In that, then,
is a great distinction between us and all the rest of the
Christian world.
70
And there is another distinction, as I remarked just now; that
whereas these various Christian sects are confined within certain
narrow limits of faith, tied up within a certain number of
articles or principles, our faith is not tied up by any number of
tenets. The revelations which have been given to us at the
present time do not constitute the whole of our creed. True, they
constitute our creed so far as we have advanced today, but we
stand ready to receive still further communication from the same
source; the way is still open for us to receive still further
light, further principles, further admonitions, further counsels,
and further plans for the rolling forth of the great work of God
on the face of the earth. So that our creed--although it is true
it can be likened to the blossoming of that flower which Brother
Bywater has so beautifully pictured before us, but which will
fade and fall away--is to me more like the tree of life, which
shall never perish, whose leaves are for the healing of the
nations, whose fruit bears the flavors and the juices of
immortality, whose leaves never crumble or decay, whose roots are
grounded in eternal soil, and that shall never wither and never
die. This everlasting Gospel which we have received is the tree
of life that shall flourish forever. And the same power which has
revealed faith, repentance, baptism, and the laying on of hands,
and the holy Priesthood, and has made known unto us the plan for
the redemption of the living and the dead, and has inspired us to
our works up to the present time, is still ready to communicate
line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a
little, that we may be ready for every emergency, prepared for
every event in the work of our God as it rolls forward on the
earth. And when we, as individuals, depart behind the vail, we
shall find the same opportunities there. We shall not lose the
power to receive revelation. Our Priesthood will go with us. We
will continue to grow in the knowledge of correct principles.
That same Holy Spirit which has revealed a few things to us on
the earth, and stamped the truth of them upon our hearts, will
continue to open unto us the great things of the boundless
universe; for it is the spirit of truth, and it will guide into
all truth.
71
This is the condition that the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints is in, and in that respect it stands distinct
from all other bodies of so-called Christians now extant upon the
face of the earth. But in this respect it is exactly the same as
the old Church we read about in the Bible.
71
The beginning of this great latter-day work was when the Father
and the Son revealed themselves to the Prophet Joseph Smith. God
spake from heaven. God opened up the communication that had been
lost for centuries. Ages had rolled along and there was no voice
from above. But the Lord spake to Joseph saying, "This is my
beloved son, hear him." The Lord, the Great God, the Eternal
Father, who spake in ancient times by the Prophets; and in the
meridian of time by His Only Begotten Son, has spoken in this age
for the world and has pointed to His Son as His mouthpiece as
standing between him and the inhabitants of the earth, and this
work in which you and I are engaged, is under the immediate
direction of that holy being, our Elder Brother Jesus Christ,
whom we are commanded to hear. We are not to go after the vain
traditions of sects, nor the vagaries of men; we are to "hear
him." God has said so. Every doctrine and every principle that
has been revealed to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints has come from the Father through the Son, and by
messengers who have been sent to this world by the Son, and by
the power of the Holy Spirit, which bears witness of the Father
and the Son. It is as it was in that revelation given to St. John
on Patmos. Read the first two verses of the first chapter of the
book of Revelations: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God
gave unto Him, to show unto His servants things which must
shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel
unto His servant John." That is the order. God, our Father, is
the author of all things here upon this earth. He is the
developer or revelator of truth to us. He is the author of our
existence and of our faith; it all comes from Him; but it comes
through Jesus Christ; He stands between us and the Father, and
although all things are of the Father, they come by and through
Jesus Christ, the mediator. He sends others as the Father sent
Him. These come and minister to those on the earth. And the Holy
Ghost that proceeds from the Father, that fills all the immensity
of space, that is in all things and through all things and round
about all things, and is "the law by which all things are
governed;" that beareth witness of the truth to all people who
abide by the truth, will quicken them and bring them into
communion with the Father and the Son. And therein lies the
beauty of our faith.
72
Now, this communication that I am speaking of is not confined
alone to those that are called to the Priesthood of the Church;
it is not confined to three or twelve or seventy, or any given
number of men, or to all the men; it belongs to the whole Church,
male and female. It is the spirit of revelation, the spirit of
Jesus, which is the spirit of prophecy. This spirit quickens the
whole body. And here again is a distinction between us and the
rest of the world. We can not only receive the Holy Spirit to
gladden our hearts, to cheer our souls, to comfort us, to make
plain what is written in the books, but also as a present
revelator. Just as the light that comes from the sun streams down
to gladden our eyes and make plain the physical objects of
creation, so the light that comes down from the sun of
righteousness is universally diffused in the Church, that every
man and every woman and every child of proper years who has
obeyed the ordinances of the Gospel, may receive of that
spiritual light and revelation, each and all in their own place
and for their own purposes as they need.
72
When I speak of this spirit of revelation, I wish to be clearly
understood. As I have said, each one in his own place is entitled
to the manifestations of the spirit. But the President of the
Church, who is sustained by the voice of the Church and by Divine
appointment, stands as the revelator to the Church. If there is
anything to reveal for the guidance of the Church as an organized
body, or for the comfort and edification of the Church, it will
come through the head. That is clearly laid down in the
revelations God has given us, that we might never be deceived by
the revelations of this person or that person who might claim to
have received a Divine message. In the rise of the Church the
Lord said if He had anything to communicate to the Church as a
body, He would reveal it through his servant Joseph. "None else,"
said the Lord, "shall be appointed unto this gift except it be
through him, for if it be taken from him, he shall not have power
except to appoint another in his stead; and this shall be a law
unto you, that ye receive not the revelation of any that shall
come among you, and this I give unto you that you may not be
deceived, that you may know they are not of me." But, says one,
supposing the head does not obey the ordinances; supposing he
transgresses; suppose he turns aside and is unfit to receive the
revelations of God for the Church--why, then, the Lord says
another shall be appointed in his stead. Thus we have an order by
which we may not deceived. When we get any revelation from God to
this Church, it will come through the head of the Church. Yet
when a man is called to preside over a portion of God's Church he
may obtain, by the power of the Holy Ghost, a knowledge of his
duties, a knowledge of the wants of the people under his care,
and thus be able to counsel them under circumstances in that
particular sphere. So in a family. A man who has a family, and
who has been ordained to the Priesthood, can have the light of
God to guide him in the interests of his family, that he may know
how to rule and conduct all things properly in that household;
but it is not his duty to dictate to the Ward or to the Stake in
which he resides; that belongs to the constituted authorities;
but in his own affairs he may obtain the revelation that he
needs, and so in regard to principle and doctrine for his own
benefit. A man or a woman in this Church is not tied down to
written tenets of faith, but has no right to teach or attempt to
expound that which God Almighty has not given through the head,
although all have the right to receive light and knowledge for
themselves. And I know the way is open. I know the Lord is ready
to hear the prayer of every member of the Church. I know He will
hearken and hear and speak to their souls that which they need in
due season.
73
There is this difficulty sometimes in this Church, however, and
the same difficulty existed in former times. If a person should
happen to grow a little in the knowledge of the truth, and get
something which others may not have received, he may become
puffed up in the vanity of his heart, and think he should be
exalted into a high position. For instance the Lord gives gifts
to the Church--the gift of tongues, the gift of prophecy, the
gift of healing, the gift of being healed, the gift of
discernment of spirits, and a great many other gifts according to
the faith, desires, and capacities of the Saints. A person may
get a gift and rejoice very much in that gift, but just as soon
as he becomes desirous of displaying it, and wishes to be
considered great among men because of it, just at that moment he
is in danger of being led by a false and delusive spirit, led out
of the strait and narrow path that leads to lives eternal. All
these gifts properly used are for the benefit of the Church.
Above all, every member should enjoy the spirit of revelation.
Were it not for this spirit of revelation we would not be any
different from other churches, this Church would be dead without
this divine light, which indeed is the life thereof.
73
Now, my brethren and sisters, seeing this is a day of revelation,
seeing we stand in this position before the Lord, seeing the Lord
is nigh to us, that he can hear our prayers, and that he will
answer them, what kind of people ought we to be? Why, we should
be a people ready and anxious to receive every word he may reveal
through the authorities of His Church whom he has appointed to
lead, guide and instruct us. People make a great deal of fuss
about the "Mormons." They say we are led by men. They think we
are bound up in chains of bondage, compelled to do this, that or
the other. Why we are of all people in the world most free!
Sometimes I think we have almost too much freedom. We have
embraced the gospel of liberty, and seeing that God has placed at
its head men to make known how we are to act, we should be ready
and anxious to receive the word of life; and when we pray for God
to sustain the authorities of the Church in their respective
positions, we should be ready and willing to sustain them
ourselves, and receive the word of God revealed through them for
our guidance. And if we were willing to put into actual practice
the things that God has revealed in the Book of Doctrine and
Covenants--a book which contains some of the revelations given in
our time--I know the Lord would reveal more. Just as soon as we
are ready to carry out what has already been revealed, the
heavens are ready to reveal more. We have only received a little
of that which is designed to be made known in the latter days.
God is ready to reveal in this great dispensation all things that
were revealed in former times, and many things that have been hid
from the foundation of the world. Well, let us live up to that
which we have received, let us reduce it to daily practice, and
if we have been doing things that are wrong and contrary to the
will of God, let us make up our minds that we will do so no more,
that we will live the lives of Latter-day Saints, doing our duty,
filling the sphere we are called upon to occupy, and we shall
have joy in our labors, God will be near to us, He will be unto
us a Father and a Friend, and we will have all the time a
testimony of this work.
74
I bear my testimony this afternoon before this congregation--and
I am willing to do so before all the world, if my voice could
reach to the ends of the earth--that I know God lives, that Jesus
of Nazareth, who died on Calvary's Mount, is His son; that He has
revealed Himself in our time; that the Holy Ghost, the spirit of
revelation, has spoken to my soul, bearing witness to me of the
truth of this work, and I rejoice that I am a Latter-day Saint.
74
I pray God to bless us as a worshipping congregation to-day; that
He will seal upon our hearts the spirit that shall help us to be
truthful and righteous and pure, and that we may always be
actuated by the spirit of revelation, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / Henry
W. Naisbitt, February 20th, 1881
Henry W. Naisbitt, February 20th, 1881
DISCOURSE BY ELDER HENRY W. NAISBITT,
Delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City,
Sunday Afternoon, February 20th, 1881.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
THE ADVANCEMENT OF GOD'S PEOPLE UNDER THE INFLUENCES
OF THE GOSPEL, ETC.
74
It is related in the history of the Lord Jesus Christ, that upon
a certain occasion (after some of His marvelous works,) He was
followed by a great number of people; and upon noticing that this
continued, He called His disciples and said:--
74
"I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with
me now three days, and have nothing to eat; and I will not send
them away fasting, lest they faint by the way. And his disciples
said unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the
wilderness as to fill so great a multitude? And Jesus saith unto
them, how many loaves have ye? And they said, seven, and a few
little fishes. And he commanded them to sit down on the ground.
And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks and
brake them, and gave to his disciples, and his disciples to the
multitude, and they did all eat and were filled; and they took up
of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full, although
they that did eat were four thousand men besides women and
children."
75
In looking upon a congregation like the present, I think that
every Elder in Israel must feel that from the few small loaves
and fishes which he may have accumulated in his experience, he is
unable to feed and supply the necessities of the multitude before
him. But while he occupies the position, he realizes that the
infinite resources of the Holy Spirit are within general reach,
and that this can be supplied and so administered as to bring
home the little food that may be presented; and that by the
processes of its multiplication, every man and every woman, and
all the youth who are assembled, may have their "portion of meat
in due season," they may go away satisfied and refreshed and
fitted for the duties of life, and their minds may be so expanded
as to realize that through the inspiration of the spirit there is
more left than appeared at the beginning. If this result depended
upon a man's native intelligence, if it were to come alone from
the narrow field of his own experience, in my opinion it would be
presumptuous in one to expect to be able to do much good. But the
Elder who stands before the congregations of Israel, realizes
that he is but the instrument, that he is but the medium, and
that he needs to be taught as well as to be the medium for
teaching; that he needs to be fed, as well as to be the
instrument of feeding others; that his character and capacity are
pretty much like the majority of those who are in communion with
the same Church; that if he is to grow, to increase, to acquire
strength, to become filled with intelligence, that he must reach
beyond the confines of man's thought; that he must get beyond the
boundaries of man's experience, that he must draw his supplies
from resources which are greater than those that man controls;
and that it is only from this outreaching that he will be able to
satisfy the wellings of the spirit within him which desires to
comprehend and to accumulate and to enjoy all truth.
75
The many agencies which are at work among the Latter-day Saints,
to bring to pass the purposes of the Almighty, are more or less
understood by all. I think that there are none of us scarcely,
who would claim the title of "Master of Arts." We are all, I
think, satisfied to be acknowledged (and to feel it an honor and
a privilege to be acknowledged) as students or pupils in the
great school of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have all
comprehended the depths of our ignorance; we have all realized
that the training which has been necessary for us, the lessons
which have been given unto us had to be adapted to our capacity
and to our condition; no matter how high our spirits might soar
in anticipations of the present or the future that spreads before
us--when we have come to ourselves; when we have really felt our
insignificance, when we have realized how easily we are
influenced by temptations that are opposed to our best interest;
when we realize how easily we are diverted by the fashions and
frivolities of life; when we realize how we are cast down by
opposition, and how the efforts of our enemies seem measurably to
test our faith--I say, when we realize that these are the
feelings of the masses of the people, we then comprehend that we
need to be buoyed up and sustained by a power that is vastly
higher and greater than ourselves.
76
We are a good deal in the condition of our boys when they go to
school. They come in contact with those who are far in advance of
themselves; in their simple primary lessons they realize what an
immense gulf there is between them and their preceptor. And when
in our ignorance we realize how far we are behind many of those
who have grown gray with experience, who have been passive to the
reception of the spirit of revelation, who have been able to
grasp a large amount of truth, and to comprehend the bearings
which one truth had upon its neighbor truth, (all together
jointly working out that process which is called and constitutes
education in the life of a Saint), we have had our ambition
stirred, our feelings wrought up, our minds illuminated by the
influences of this same spirit of inspiration. Sometimes this has
been in reading the productions of the old Prophets, sometimes in
listening to the champions of the Gospel in our day, sometimes in
sitting beneath the combined influences of the hosts of
thoughtful men and women among the congregations of the Saints.
Probably we might illustrate, for a moment or two, how the
changes we look for are likely to be brought to pass, and the
ways have been presented to us from time to time. And if the
illustration is drawn from homely things, I hope that it will
bring home to the good Saints and to this audience the truth
sought to be established.
76
Many of the inhabitants of this Territory are
agriculturists--tilling the soil of these mountain valleys.
Looking at it naturally, it would not seem to be so highly
productive, or to yield the vast advantages which spring from
tillage, that subsequent experience seems to confirm. But here is
a man engaged in this occupation who has had a measure of
experience, and who knows, at all events, the rudimentary
principles which pertain to his occupation.
76
In the beautiful months of summer he walks into his field. He
remembers his labor there, how he took pride in the preparation
of that field for the harvest which he desired. It was well
ploughed; it was well harrowed; it was well seeded; and as the
spring rains descended it became clothed in a garment of lustrous
green. As the weeks pass by it advances towards a higher form,
even towards maturity, until with the warmth of the increasing
sun, and partly as the product of the good cultivation which it
has had, it glows in this sunshine of the summer with the promise
of an abundant harvest.
76
The farmer, realizing the destiny of the grain, was disposed to
question it, after the manner of the fables we read in the days
of our childhood. He goes into this field of grain as the passing
cloud flits over it; as the wind sweeps across its face he
notices how it bends with its weight and wealth of grain, he
admires its beauty and he says, "What a magnificent field of
wheat is here." And addressing himself to it he suggests:
76
"How would you like to be presented to the king?"
76
The wheat is growing up in the dark soil of the earth, having no
idea of its purpose or future; but the question being asked, it
lifts itself in pride, it rejoices in the prospect that is
suggested, and finally says:
76
"Yes, I would like to be presented to the king."
77
But by and by, as it colors to ripeness, the laborers come, and
with the reaping machines or sickle they go to work in this
beautiful field of grain, and before it knows where it is,
instead of waving in the sun and enjoying the elements
surrounding it, it finds itself lying prone upon the earth. And
as it lies thus prostrate, the question naturally arises, "How is
the promise of my master going to be fulfilled? How am I to reach
the destiny to which he alluded?" While it is pondering over the
situation, more laborers come along, and they take it and bind it
into bundles; and the wheat wonders to itself whether the
bundling process is a step towards its destiny. By and by another
set of hands comes, and the bundled wheat is set on ends, in
(what they call in the part of the nation from which I came) the
form of "stooks." After the stooks have been formed, a cap-sheaf
is put on them, to protect the grain from the changes of the
weather. It stands a while in this condition, undergoing the
mellowing process; but after standing sufficiently in this form,
another gang of laborers come along, and thrusting their steel
forks into the sheaves, pitch them on to wagons and haul them
away to the barnyard, where they are put into a stack. Here it
remains probably for a time, undergoing another process, passing
another stage, which fits it better for its final use. But it
does not remain very long before it is moved again; this time it
passes through the threshing machine. It goes through the
beaters, and is subject to the fan, and is thus separated from
the straw and chaff. It is then put into sacks and tied up at the
mouth, and after a while it is hauled away to the mill, and there
it is put into the smutter, and cleansed from foul seed, smut,
&c.; then passing between the upper and nether millstones, it is
ground almost to powder; from thence it must perforce pass
through the bolt, and finally comes out fine, or very fine flour,
according to the quality of the wheat, or the design of the
miller. But notwithstanding the many changes it has undergone,
its end is not yet; it is not yet in a condition to realize the
fulfilment of the promise. The flour is now taken home to the
good housewife, who puts a little of it into a pan, and then
pours hot or cold water upon it, and adds the elements which
cause fermentation; and then it assumes another condition. It
begins to think again, "Surely my destiny is now about to be
fulfilled." But the good wife takes it, and works it, and kneads
it into loaves, and finally opens the oven door and thrusts it as
it were into the furnace. By this time it thinks that its end has
come; it is now about to be consumed. After it has undergone this
baking process for a while, it comes forth from the oven a
beautiful, brown, pleasant, well-flavored loaf, in which
condition it is fit to be presented to the highest authority in
the land.
78
Now, to return again. Here is the human family unconscious of
their origin, unconscious of their destiny. But the Elders of
this Church go forth and tell mankind that they are the children
of their common Father; that they had their origin in the eternal
worlds; that there lies before them a grand and sublime destiny;
and they say, inasmuch as this is so, how would you like again to
be presented to your Father--to the King? How would you like to
return to His presence, and to enjoy His smiles. How would you
like to be brought back again to the surroundings you once
enjoyed? And as the stirring impulses of these warm thoughts rush
through the hearts of the listeners in the midst of the nations
of the earth, their minds begin to expand and their hearts begin
to swell with the newfound dignity thus spread before them, and
in the promise of the future; but by and by there is a change in
their condition; in the pride of their hearts, under the
inspiration of those men who thus taught and counseled them, they
thought they were going to be somebody. But other contingencies
of life were upon them. The sickle is at their roots; adverse
circumstances come along, and withal they are perhaps laid low
upon a bed of sickness; and when they least expect it they are
called to pass through the valley of humiliation. And under these
circumstances they inquire, Is this the way through which I am to
pass into the presence of the King? The Elders who first prompted
them to these ennobling thoughts have now induced them to take
another step in this preparatory process. They repent of their
sins; they go down into the waters of baptism and become members
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and they are
now bound in bundles, or, as they are called, "branches;" and
when they are tied up in this fashion there is a cap-sheaf put
over them in the authority of a presiding officer of the branch.
I know that occasionally there are those in the lower sheaves who
are disposed to find fault with the position they occupy. They
say, we are just as good wheat as you can find on the cap sheaf;
we are just as valuable, we possess just as much intelligence;
but while this is the case, and they may rebel, yet they finally
realize that there is an order in the organization with which
they are identified, and the increase of the spirit of
intelligence tells them that the same destiny, the same grand
future awaits the wheat in the sheaves that stand upon the
ground, as it does the wheat which crowns the pile.
78
But a new impulse begins to work in their hearts, and the agents
came along and gathered them up to the railroad and to the
steamboat. "From the east and the west, and the north and the
south," they are taken away in a body and placed in the form of,
or in the stackyard--this is the gathering place in Zion. They
are with the body of the Church, in a larger form, than they were
in the little branches in the old world. And after they have been
in the stack a while, they begin to look around and to ponder
upon the changes which they meet from time to time; they find
themselves in the midst of new conditions; that they are
surrounded with new combinations of circumstances, subject to new
influences. Soon they discover that they have reached the
threshing-floor of the Almighty, and as they pass through the
cylinders (as it were), through the trials and friction which
belong to the gathering place of the Saints, as their defects and
surplusage become apparent, there may be groanings in spirit, but
the conclusion is reached that they need to lay off the straw of
old tradition, the chaff of early training, the influences and
powers which molded them in the past, and to make themselves
satisfied with every process pertaining to the present and the
future.
78
By and by they come forth from the threshing machine measurably
divested of extraneous and comparatively useless characteristics;
but no sooner have they got through than change is on them again;
they find themselves in the mill, and between the upper and
nether millstones at that--between the friction of their enemies
and the direction of the authorities of the Church of Christ,
they are almost ground to powder, in order that they may know
themselves, that they may be the better prepared for the future.
79
After a while a man is called upon a mission. He goes out to
colonize the desert, or he is sent to the nations of the earth,
and here comes the kneading process. The call may be to a hot or
a cold country, to a pleasant place or a disagreeable one, but he
all the time realizes that his character is changing, that it is
being molded into a higher form, becoming more and more willing,
yet also becoming solidified and established. And after having
been thus kneaded and watered until in thought and inspiration,
he begins to ferment, he is again molded into still another form
and thrust into the oven, that it may consume that which is evil,
that he may throw off those gases that are unnecessary for his
future, and having passed through this process, he comes forth
purified, as it were by fire, and fitted for the Master's
presence.
79
I presume that all the Latter-day Saints are more or less
acquainted with these trials through which they have passed--with
the influences that have been at work upon them until they have
yielded obedience to the Gospel. You that are from the old world,
or from the new, will realize the feelings of joy and of gladness
with which you received the Gospel. You will comprehend how, for
the moment your judgment was carried captive by the power of the
Spirit of God; how you realized the grandeur and the adaptability
of the Gospel to your condition, and how much you enjoyed
association with those who were of a like spirit with your
selves. You took satisfaction in their society. If you saw a man
or a woman who belonged to the same branch, you used to rush to
give him or her the morning or the evening greeting, as the case
might be. In the midst of your daily avocations you looked
forward to the meeting in the evening, or you looked forward to
the meeting on the Sabbath. But after you had been but a little
while in the Church, you began to realize that every one did not
look at the Gospel as you looked at it. There were those who
began to think that you were foolish, enthusiastic, deceived; who
began to show you that they had no interest in that which you had
accepted. They treated you with indifference, looked upon you
with contempt, and you soon found your only satisfaction was in
the association of your brethren and sisters; you were drawn,
even forced, into their society. The bitterest opponents you
found were in the religious world. The old Sabbath school
teacher, the old class leader, the old superintendent, the old
minister, became enemies to you. While professedly anxious for
your welfare, they considered you were in error, they feigned
sorrow for your delusion, they hoped for your deliverance. And if
you lived in a small village or in a small town, it became almost
an impossibility for you to secure employment. The opportunities
of living were measurably denied you. Hence you found more
abiding solace in the Gospel, and you began to comprehend the
advantages of gathering. You began to realize that there was
something of an intelligent character in connection with it; that
by gathering you would escape from this contempt and from this
opposition; that you would be in the midst of those who were of
like faith with yourself. By and by you had the chance of leaving
your native land; but the trials and difficulties which you had
to meet on the way to "the valleys of the mountains" were very
hard, and such as you were not accustomed to in your native land.
You were placed under new conditions, subject to new trials. You
felt yourself surrounded by new temptations, and you began to
comprehend that you had within you features of character that
were comparatively unknown before. You felt the inconvenience of
traveling on the plains, as we used to do in olden times, with
eight, ten, or a dozen in a wagon.
80
After a time you landed in Zion, and you soon began to realize
that here was another state, or condition. I recollect my own
experience when I first settled in this city. I came from the
active ministry in the old country. No one knew me here, and no
one seemed to care to know me. I occupied no position; nobody
bade me welcome; I was a stranger in the midst of a strange land.
I began to feel a little blue. I had to wonder within myself
whether gathering had made any difference in my feelings or
faith, and it was only upon reflection I discovered that from a
life of comparative activity I had been brought into a condition
where I was comparatively dormant; my faculties were unexercised,
and instead of being sought unto, had to seek counsel from those
who presided over the Ward. Conditions were reversed,
circumstances were changed, and it was only reflection that led
me to comprehend this fact. After I had been here a little while,
I had to look for something to do. I was not sure that I would
find the employment to which I had been accustomed. I had been
used to standing behind a counter and attending to business of
that kind in the old world, but when I came to Salt Lake City
there was hardly a counter in it. I could find no occupation of
that character. I therefore went to work as a carpenter, in order
to sustain myself and family, and become a useful member of
society. This was a new experience. It brought with it its
trials. When Saturday night came I was not sure as to the kind of
wages I would receive. I would likely be paid in something; it
might be in something I had made myself--the product of my own
hands; it might be in something I did not want. These were the
old days of "barter and swap" in the midst of Israel. When we
wanted a candle we had to melt a piece of fat in a saucer, stick
a piece of rag in the centre, and by this means light ourselves
to labor, or to bed. When we want a fire we had to get a little
wood--there was no coal--and go to work and chop it, and instead
of a fireplace, we had to make the fire on the hearth, in
stooping to which my wife would almost break her back in
attending to the necessities of domestic life. These were in
their way trials. They gave us new thoughts, new feelings, they
brought momentarily strange conclusions; we began to inquire
whether the Zion we had reached was worthy of the ideas we had
cherished in regard to it. We met with many trials. If we had to
trade in any way, we came in contact with those who were disposed
to take advantage. We were "green" in our way, so to speak; we
were not acquainted with this order of thing, and there was more
or less friction until we became used to the ways and methods
which belong to a new country. The old land is the product of
thousands of years in the history of the past; this was a new
land, it was but of yesterday, and had all the newness that
pertained to infancy. Yet I must say that even at that time,
after a little acquaintance, social life was very warm. People
used to visit each other with great freedom. There was no vast
amount of style; there was nobody able "to put it on." When we
visited we were satisfied to enjoy our molasses and bread and
squash pie, and with these we thought we feasted almost upon the
food that the Gods were wont to eat, or upon angels' food. We
enjoyed these things, until by and by we began to increase in
means and to build up our homes.
81
When we look back upon these primitive times, we see how little
really the human family can get along with. How many things we
hunger after, desire to have, and spend our lives in obtaining,
yet how easily we can get along without them. I think that one of
the greatest losses I experienced in this Territory was that of
intellectual enjoyment. I had come from Mechanics' Institutes,
Lyceums and Athenaeums, which offered opportunities of amusement
and intellectual growth. But you know how it was here in those
early times. The newspapers have been telling us lately that we
were occasionally two or three months without a mail, while
newspapers and books were few and far between. We had left even
our Stars and Journals and pamphlets on the plains; we had thrown
them out of our trunks--and I do not know but some had to leave
their trunks also--and we were thrown more decidedly upon our own
resources, and we had each to seek more earnestly the inspiration
of the Almighty to give us intelligence. But even in these
adverse conditions our minds became enlarged, we continued to
grow, and had feasts of fat things in the tabernacle, and in the
Ward, Quorum and other meetings of the Saints. The spirit of
inspiration rested upon those who spoke to us, and our minds
expanded to the truths of the Gospel, and the future of the grand
system with which we had become identified.
81
Gradually the Gentile world came into our midst in considerable
numbers; as they kept increasing they tried many methods to
divert our attention. They pointed out to us the mines in the
everlasting hills; they brought along the fashions that belong to
Babylon; they tried to work upon our feelings; they called upon
our sons and daughters to throw off the bondage (as they called
it) which had been placed upon them by the Priesthood. But when
we pondered upon these things, we realize how little they
understand our position, how little they understand our
condition, how little they understand the thoughts we have in
regard to the future, how little they comprehend the foundations
of our faith, even while they pray, beg, beseech and coax us to
recant, how little they know of the power of the spirit and of
the result of the experience we have passed through in the school
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, they continue in
this direction, and we have to meet it. We must comprehend the
rivalry--if I may so express myself--the ever-present opposition
which exists between the powers of intelligence and the powers of
ignorance.
81
Well, we continued to live in Zion. Our families continued to
increase. People gathered in from the nations of the earth. They
spread out on the right hand and on the left, built up cities and
redeemed the waste places. The power and authority of the
Priesthood has been conferred upon the rising generation. Hosts
of them are going forth as missionaries in the midst of the
nations of the earth. They go with power and force, and when they
return they acknowledge that the process through which they have
passed has agreed with them. It has given them strength,
increased their faith, and enlarged their thoughts.
82
And so Zion continues to grow. Her population increases in
intelligence; they are becoming more and more fitted and adapted
for the society of "the Church of the First Born and the spirits
of just men made perfect." They are men and women who are looking
forward to the time when, through their faithfulness and
integrity, they shall be admitted into the celestial kingdom and
presented to the King. Their "eyes shall see the King in his
beauty, and the land that is now afar off;" there they shall
rejoice in His presence, and feel amply repaid for all trial,
when they have triumphed and overcome.
82
I pray for and am assured that God, by His Spirit, will continue
to work with the Latter-day Saints; that they will continue to be
passive to its admonitions and more active to obey; that they
will seek and learn, by "line upon line and precept upon
precept," and that while they follow this goodly advice, while
they are edified by the ideas which are thrown out before them,
while they enjoy the songs and the anthems which are rendered by
the choir, I hope they will be strengthened in their faith, and
carry home with them the influence and the power of the food they
have received here, and that thus there will be more life in the
midst of Israel. I hope that even to-day, from the few words
thrown out, that they will be spiritually strengthened, and so
know that there are positive elements of growth to be obtained by
attendance at the sanctuary of the Lord.
82
That we may continue to enjoy the life which has been given to
us, and that we may finally "become men and women in and through
the Gospel," is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 /
Charles W. Penrose, May 1st, 1880
Charles W. Penrose, May 1st, 1880
DISCOURSE BY ELDER CHAS. W. PENROSE,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
Sunday Afternoon, May 1st, 1880.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
PARTAKING OF THE LORD'S SUPPER, ETC.
82
We have met this afternoon, my brethren and sisters and friends,
to worship God the Eternal Father, in the name of His Son Jesus
Christ, I trust under the influence of His Holy Spirit, and I
pray that that Spirit may rest upon this entire congregation, and
that I may be enlightened by its influence so as to be able to
say something this afternoon which will edify and instruct the
congregation. Having been called upon to speak to you I hope I
shall have your attention and the benefit of your faith and your
prayers, so that such subjects may be presented to my mind as
will be profitable for us to ponder upon this occasion.
83
We are partaking of the emblems of the body and blood of Jesus
Christ, the Redeemer of the world. We do this in remembrance of
him, in remembrance of the atonement which he wrought for us and
for all mankind who will listen to his voice and obey his
commandments, and also to direct our thoughts to another great
event in connection with the history of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, which is yet to take place. We take this sacrament this
afternoon not only in remembrance of the past but to direct our
minds to the future. We partake of it to witness that we believe
in the atonement wrought out by the Lord Jesus on the Mount of
Calvary, and also that we expect his reappearance on the earth.
We expect that he will come again, not the next time as the babe
of Bethlehem, not the next time to be despised and rejected of
men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, but as the Lord
of life and glory, as the King of Israel to sit upon the throne
of his father David, to rule from the rivers to the ends of the
earth; not to be brought unto the subjection of men, but to have
all things made subject to him; not to bear his cross up the side
of Calvary, but to come as a monarch, as a ruler of men, as the
rightful Lord and King of this earth upon which we live. In
partaking of these emblems this afternoon, then, our minds are
carried back to the past, and carried forward to the future, and
when we hold a piece of bread, blessed by the servants of God, in
our hands, we take it in token and witness to God that we believe
in him of whom this piece of bread is a representative. This
bread is to us a representation of the body of Christ broken for
us. When we drink of the cup we do so in remembrance of his blood
and as a witness to God and to each other, that we believe in
Jesus Christ. Not only that, but we also bear testimony before
the heavens and one another, that we are willing to take upon us
the name of Jesus Christ, and remember him, and keep the
commandments which he has given unto us. So that in our public
assemblies on Sunday afternoon--or the Sabbath day if you please
to call it so--we come together to renew our covenants, to make
manifest before God and one another our feelings and desires in
relation to these matters, to witness to the heavens and the
earth that we are called to be Saints, that we have come out of
the world, that we have separated ourselves from that which is
evil, and dedicated and consecrated ourselves to the service of
God, to carry out his purposes on the earth, to be guided by his
Spirit, to be prompted by the same motives that actuated our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ, when he was a man among men, to renew
our covenants before God, that we will serve him in all things,
and that we will prefer the truth as it is in Christ Jesus, that
we will prefer the Kingdom of God as He has set it up on the
earth in the latter days above all other things; that we will
place in our estimation first the Kingdom of God and his
righteousness with the hope and belief that if we do this all
other things shall be added unto us as we need them.
84
This, then, is a solemn occasion, and although we have the
privilege of meeting as we do this afternoon every Lord's Day,
yet it is none the less sacred, and should be none the less
solemn to us, and we should endeavor on this occasion to call in
our scattered thoughts, to refrain from thinking upon the things
of this world, our cares, our business, the affairs that belong
outside of the Tabernacle, and concentrate our thoughts and our
feelings and our desires towards God, and the things of God, so
that his Spirit may brood over us, and that we may be refreshed
thereby; that we may be spiritually nourished and fed; that when
we leave our meeting place, we may go away strengthened and
prepared to battle with the ills of life and with the evils of
this world. I sometimes think that if we were deprived for a
little season of the privilege of meeting together, and partaking
of those sacred emblems, we would attach more importance to our
meetings and to the ordinances of the Lord's House. If we were
deprived of the privilege of listening to the voice of the
servants of God instructing us in our duties for a time, perhaps
we would value their teachings more than we do. The absence of
the music this afternoon from our large organ puts me in mind of
this. I am sorry we cannot have music from the organ to-day. I
like to hear the tones which come from that fine instrument, an
organ built by the handiwork of the people of God, of this
community, when played upon by a good musician. Perhaps if we are
deprived of the use of that organ for a little while we will
value it the more after the repairs are completed. So it is with
our public gatherings; so it is with the various means of grace
which are so abundantly bestowed upon us as the children of God.
God has been very merciful to us in affording us so many
privileges of instruction. All the time there is a voice saying,
'this is the way, walk ye in it.' There is no need for any man or
any woman among the Latter-day Saints to go astray for the lack
of instruction. We have our public meetings in our settlements on
the Sabbath day, where the people come together to worship the
Father in the name of the Son, where they can receive the
outpourings of the Spirit in a collective capacity, as a
congregation. We have our Sunday Schools to which we can send our
little children that they may be taught in the way of life, and
in the paths of holiness and virtue before the Lord. We have our
Ward Meetings on Sunday evenings, where we can meet together in a
ward capacity, and bear our testimony to the truth, or receive
instructions from our Bishops and from the missionaries, who may
visit us from time to time. And during the week we have many
opportunities of assembling together, to hear the word of life,
to talk to one another of the things of God, and be instructed in
our various duties, both temporal and spiritual. Then we have the
great privilege given us of God, that all the time we may draw
near unto the throne of grace and receive for ourselves,
individually as well as collectively, the power of the Holy
Spirit to enlighten us in regard to the purposes of God, to
strengthen us against sin, to enable us to cultivate the good
that is in us, and grow up unto him who is our living head in all
things, even the Lord Jesus.
86
This is the greatest boon that could be conferred upon mortals
while dwelling in the flesh, the gift of the Holy Ghost, the
Comforter, the spirit of truth, which reveals unto men the things
of the Father and of the Son, which is a spiritual light to the
inward being, which is the same to the spiritual nature of man as
the light that streams from the sun is to the physical nature of
man. As we are able to see the various physical objects of
creation by the light of the sun, or as we call it, natural
light, so by the aid of this spiritual light we can discern the
things of God, and they can be made just as plain to our
spiritual eyesight by the power of the Holy Spirit, as the things
of the earth are made plain to our natural eyes by the power of
the natural light that comes from the sun, or any artificial
means which we may use or discover. The light which comes from
God to enlighten the mind of man, to some degree is universally
diffused like the light of the glorious sun. It is the true light
that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. There is no
person born into this world who breathes the breath of life, but
who at the same time receives a portion of this divine spirit,
this divine illumination. This blessing is not confined to people
who are called "Christian," it is not confined to any particular
branch of the human family. All people who live and move and have
a being on the face of the earth are enlightened measurably, by
this Spirit of truth which comes from God. It is the light and
the life of the world at the same time. Just as we read in the
first chapter of the Gospel according to St. John. Speaking in
regard to Jesus, who is there called the word, we read: "In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God; and the Word
was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were
made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
In him was life, and the life was the light of men." * * * "That
was the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the
world." This is that spirit of intelligence spoken of in the Book
of Job. We read there that "There is a spirit in man, and the
inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding." If we
have any understanding at all, any intelligence at all, any
natural intelligence born with us into the world, it is the gift
of God. He that created the heavens and the earth, the seas and
the fountains of water; He that made the sun and his light
thereof--He lighteth every man that cometh into the world. This
is the same spirit which is called the Comforter, although it
does not operate in the same degree as that spirit which is
called the gift of the Holy Ghost, which we read about in the New
Testament, in the promises of Jesus Christ to his disciples and
to those who would keep his commandments; but all people born
into the world receive a portion of divine light, and if they
would grow up under the influence of that light and be actuated
and guided by its whisperings all through their earthly career,
it would lead them gradually up to the fountain of light, to "the
Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of
turning;" it would lead gradually to God, so that they could
commune with God while they remain in the flesh; they would grow
up nearer and nearer to Him, for they would choose the good and
refuse the evil; they would take into their nature that which
would lead them towards God, and they would repel from them that
which would lead downward, they would discern the strait and
narrow path that leadeth unto life, and they would avoid the
broad road which leadeth unto destruction, in which so many of
the human family have walked from the beginning. It is because
the people that dwell on the earth do not listen to the "still
small voice" of that natural light which is born with them into
the world, that they do not receive the things of God. It is
because they love that which savors of darkness and of evil that
they do not comprehend the things of God as they are in him, and
that they are shut out from that communication which all people
might have if they would walk in the right way.
86
We are placed here in a world of opposites. Just as it was
symbolized in the Garden of Eden with regard to the tree of life
and the tree of death, or the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil. So it is here. All through the ages that are past, God has
placed before his children good on the one hand and evil on the
other, and it is the privilege of all men to choose the good or
the evil, which they please. Their agency is free. God will force
no man to heaven; he will allow no man to be forced to hell. We
are placed here where there is a mixture of good and evil, of
light and darkness, of truth and error, of sorrow and joy, of
bitter and sweet, of life and death; life spiritual and death
spiritual, and also life and death natural. Why are we placed
here in a world of death, in a world of opposites? That we may be
tested; that we may be tried, and that we may manifest to God and
angels and the heavenly hosts, and to one another what we are fit
for in the world to which we are hastening. We are all hastening
to another sphere, and we shall all be judged for the deeds we
have done while we have dwelt in this sphere. All will be judged
according to their acts and opportunities, according to the light
that they have received or the light that they might have
received if it had pleased them to open their eyes to it, and
everyone in the due time of the Lord will be placed where he or
she is fit to be. We will find our own level. Just as water finds
its natural level. The time will come when every spirit will find
its own level. We will all gravitate some day into the place
where we belong, and that place will be determined by our
condition, according to the opportunities we have had, and
according to the manner we have availed ourselves of them, either
in cultivating the good and rejecting the evil, or in rejecting
the good and cultivating the evil. We are all responsible
individuals. Every person who arrives at the years of
accountability becomes a responsible being. He is responsible to
the Being who created him, to God who is the Father of his
spiritual nature; for although we are all living under various
circumstances here upon the earth, although mankind is made up of
different races, yet, so far as our spiritual nature, the real
individual, is concerned, we are the sons and daughters of God,
who is the Father of the spirits of all men, and he that "hath
determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their
habitation," has sent us his sons and daughters to dwell upon the
earth in earthly bodies, some of us in one part of the world and
some in another, but we are all the children of one Father, and
therefore we are all brethren and sisters. And the time will come
when our Father, who has sent us here for an experience, for a
schooling, for an education, that we might understand the things
that pertain to this lower sphere and grapple with evil and
overcome it, will judge us with a righteous judgment, and we will
all go to the place which we have fitted ourselves for by our
earthly acts.
87
Now, the Lord, in the beginning of our temporal existence on the
earth, placed within us this spirit of life and light, and if we
would be actuated by that spirit and walk in the path that leads
to the Father's presence, we would get so near to him that we
would learn of him personally. But all have gone astray, and when
we take up the history of mankind and view it in the various ages
and among the various races of men, we find that they have all
been prone to do evil; that the great bulk of the human family,
at any rate have loved darkness rather than light; that they have
loved error rather than truth, and that they have been led by the
Evil One rather than by the spirit which comes from the Father.
When Jesus Christ came upon the earth, he told the people that if
he had not come among them, they would not have had sin, but now
that he had come among them they had no cloak for their sin. Why?
"Because," said the Savior, "light is come into the world, and
men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds were
evil." And as Christ came in the meridian of time to reveal the
Father to the children of men, so far as they could understand
him, so at different times during the world's history God has
sent holy men, inspired of the Holy Ghost, men authorized of him
to declare his word to the people that they might have life, that
they might, if they pleased, choose the light and walk therein,
or choose the darkness and walk therein.
88
But how has it been with those holy men? Have the people of the
world generally received them? Have they welcomed them and their
testimony? Have they hailed with joy the messengers from the Holy
One, bringing light and truth and glad tidings of great joy? No.
We find when we come to investigate the matter, that in all ages
of the world the Prophets of God have been rejected of men.
Jesus, the Son of God, had to say to the people in his day,
"which of the Prophets have not your fathers slain?" and He told
the people of his day that upon them would come "all the
righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous
Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom they
slew between the temple and the altar. Verily, I say unto you,
all these things shall come upon this generation." Why? Because
they had the testimony of those previous Prophets, they had the
testimony of those holy men who had come in former ages, and they
could see, by reading the history of the past, how wickedly
mankind had rejected the servants of God, and yet, when the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came right into their own midst
they rejected him, and in rejecting him they also rejected the
Prophets which were before him, who predicted his coming, and the
blood of all was to come upon that generation. This is how it has
been in all ages of the world, the Prophets have been rejected.
If a man came who flattered the people who spoke the enticing
words of man's wisdom, or according to the learning and science
of the age in which he came, they would receive him with open
arms, they would welcome him to their hearts, they would receive
his teaching, they would feast and applaud him, they would clothe
and feed him and make him rich. But if a man came with the word
of the Lord, with authority from the Holy One, to minister in the
name of the Most High, they would reject him and put him to
death. Take up the Bible and read the history of the old
Prophets. What was their fate? Why, just as Paul tells us in his
epistle to the Hebrews. They were stoned, sawn asunder, beheaded,
persecuted, counted as not fit to live save it was in dungeons
and caves of the earth: they were afflicted, tormented and
rejected.
89
Some people who live in these times say, perhaps, "Oh, but if we
had lived in those days we would have received the servants of
God, we would have hearkened to the voice of the Prophets, we
would have rejoiced to hear the words of men sent of God, men
holding authority from the Most High, men who could communicate
with the heavens, we would have looked upon them as deliverers
from our doubts, from our darkness, from our divisions, from our
strife, from our lack of knowledge." Would you? Are you sure of
that? If you had lived upon the earth in the days when Jesus
Christ came, how would you have told that Jesus was really the
Christ? How would you have found it out? The people to whom he
came rejected him. There was no special mark set upon Him by
which mankind could discern that He was the Christ. There was
only one way by which it could be found out whether Jesus was the
Christ or not. And what was the way? Why, by revelation from God,
and if you and I had lived in those times and did not believe in
revelation from God, how should we have found out that Jesus, of
Nazareth, was the Christ? We read that the disciples on one
occasion were asked by Jesus Christ, "Whom do men say that I the
Son of Man am? And they said, some say that thou art John the
Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, of one of the
Prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am. And
Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ,--the Son of
the Living God." Now, how did Peter find that out, when those
wise men, those Pharisees, those doctors, those lawyers, the
expounders of the Mosaic law, the men that were looked up to by
the Jews as lights of learning, men who had studied the holy
Scriptures and made the teaching of them a profession, men who
prayed long prayers on the corners of the street and had passages
of scripture sewed upon the hem of their garments--how was it
that Peter found out that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the
Living God, and the rest of the people could not find out? "And
Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon
Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but
my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee, that thou art
Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church; and the gates
of hell shall not prevail against it." What rock? "Peter,"
somebody will say. The name of Peter--Cephas, signifies a stone,
and people think that Christ built his church upon Peter. Well,
if he did, he built it on a poor foundation; for it was only a
little while after this, in accordance with the prediction of
Jesus, that Peter was put under a severe trial which caused him
to deny the Lord that bought him. The people declared that Peter
was along with those who were with Jesus, and he denied the
accusation and swore that he never knew him. Well, it was upon
this rock of revelation that the Lord would build his Church. It
was by revelation that Peter knew that Jesus was the Christ. No
man can find out that Jesus is the Christ except by that same
spirit; no man can know that he is the Lord but by the Holy
Ghost. Now, there may be a great many people say that Jesus is
the Christ. How do you know? "Well," I believe it. Why? Because I
have been brought up a Christian, and therefore I believe it. But
do you know that Jesus is the Christ? No, you cannot know unless
you get a revelation from God to that effect. You may believe
that Jesus is the Christ, you may have been trained up in that
belief, but you cannot know it unless God shall reveal it to you.
It is only by the power of the Holy Ghost, that this knowledge
can come to the children of men, neither can knowledge come to
any one concerning the things of God, except by the same spirit.
91
Now this gift of the Holy Ghost, as I before remarked, is the
greatest boon that can be conferred upon mortal men, because by
it they can discern and comprehend the things of God, and without
it they cannot. They may reflect upon them, ponder upon them,
speculate about them; they may come to certain conclusions in
their own minds by reason and logic, but they cannot obtain a
knowledge of these things unless it is by the power and gift of
the Holy Ghost, which is a spirit of revelation. How can this
gift be obtained? It can only be obtained in the way that the
Father has pointed out. The way is plain and simple, but there is
only one way. The Lord does not confer his gifts just as people
please. The God who governs the universe has a way of his own. He
does not ask us how we want seed time and harvest regulated, or
how the earth shall revolve upon its axis, or how it shall move
around the sun. He does not ask us when we want warm weather, or
cold weather, nor when we want the rain or snow to descend, or
the clouds to move away and leave the sun to shine forth in all
its splendour. He governs the universe by fixed laws that cannot
be turned out of their way by the whims of men. And so it is in
the spiritual universe. Earthly things are a pattern of heavenly
things, and as there are laws that govern the physical things, so
there are also fixed laws which govern spiritual things. There is
a way by which this gift of the Holy Ghost as a spirit of
revelation to make manifest the things of the Father and of the
Son, and make them plain to mortal men in the flesh can be
obtained. What is it? It is pointed out very clearly in the
Scriptures, but strange to say the great bulk of the people who
profess to believe in the Scriptures, do not take that way when
it is made plain to their understanding. In the first place,
according to the Scriptures, men must believe in God. They cannot
come to him without they believe in him. Faith must be quickened
in the human heart, and all people have power to believe. When a
servant of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, preaches the word of
life, those who are desirous of the truth will be stirred up into
faith by the power of his testimony and his preaching, and the
authority of the Priesthood he bears. That natural light that
comes into the world will be awakened. For light cleaveth unto
light, and truth cleaveth unto truth; and as the light of the sun
when it streams over the mountain tops wakens up the latent light
in the earth, and as the warm rays pouring down waken up its
latent warmth, so the testimony of the servant of God, by the
power of the Holy Ghost, and the authority which he holds wakens
up the natural spirit of intelligence born in every man and
woman, and the testimony he bears will find an echo in their
hearts, the truth he presents will be made plain to their
understanding, and they will see as he sees. He bears testimony
that God lives. Why? Because he knows. He knows it by communion
with him through the power and gift and light of the Holy Ghost,
and as he bears testimony to the people that God lives, and that
he is sent with a message from him, they begin to believe. But if
men believe in God, they must also believe in Jesus Christ as the
Savior of the world, as the Redeemer of man; they must believe he
is the Son of God, because all men come to God by Jesus Christ.
His name is the key word of salvation. By him we have access to
the Father, and we cannot come to the Father but by the Son. The
servant of God also bears testimony that he knows that Jesus who
died on Calvary is the Son of God and the Redeemer of the world,
and that he is sent as a witness of this, to bear his testimony
concerning these things. Then, having exercised faith in God and
in Jesus Christ, a natural desire springs up to obey the
commandments of God and of Jesus Christ. Those who believe see
that they have transgressed, that they have sinned, and come
short of the glory of God, and desire to put away their sin and
cease to do evil. This is repentance. What is the next principle?
Faith first. All things must spring from faith, for without faith
it is impossible to please God. Faith is the first principle,
repentance comes next. I do not mean a mourning, a weeping; I do
not mean throwing one's self into paroxysms of grief and anxiety
of heart; I mean a fixed determination, by the help of God, to
cease to do what is wrong and try to do what is right. That is
the next principle. The next is to get remission of past sins.
"Why," some will say, "if a man repents is he not forgiven?" Not
at all. A man may contract a heavy debt at a store, but his being
sorry for having contracted the debt would not pay off the old
score. Faith and repentance, then, are the first and second
principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the first and second
steps towards the attaining of that great boon, the Holy Ghost,
the Comforter. What is the next step? To be buried in the water
in the likeness of Jesus Christ's death by a man holding
authority from God to administer that ordinance, and to be raised
up from the water by that person in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. This ordinance is for the
remission of sins--not that water cleanses the man spiritually,
not that the water washes away any sins the man may have
committed. The blood of Christ alone cleanseth from all sin. That
blood was shed for all humanity, but humanity will only obtain
the full benefits flowing therefrom by obedience to the fixed
laws that relate to the matter and pertain to salvation. We must
obey the commandments of the Lord to obtain the blessings of the
Lord. "Not every one that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter
into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my
Father, who is in heaven." Jesus Christ set the pattern. He went
down into the river Jordan; he was baptised of John; he was
raised up from the water, and then the Father testified that he
was well pleased with him. The Holy Ghost descended in the sign
of a dove, and the Father spoke from the heavens saying that he
was well pleased. Now, here are the Holy Trinity all bearing
witness to this ordinance--the Son in the water, the Holy Ghost
descending, and the Father in the heavens uttering his voice
saying, "This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Christ set us an example that we should follow in his steps. The
man that baptized Jesus Christ had a right to baptize him, he had
authority from God, and if he had not that authority the baptism
would have been void, just like the baptisms in the so-called
Christian world to-day. Any man pretending to be an official who
is not a bona fide official, cannot perform a valid official act,
all his acts are void, and any man who baptizes another--even if
he uses the form, the formula, all exactly right according to the
pattern--if he has not authority from the Father, and the Son and
the Holy Ghost to baptize, the baptism he performs is nothing but
a bath. Why should he use the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost? Does he not imply that he has authority
from the Trinity? And if he has not authority from the Trinity,
then the baptism is without effect; it is as though it never was.
Christ was baptized by John, a man called of God, a Prophet of
God, a man holding authority to baptize. Jesus Christ also
received His authority from God. We read that He "glorified not
Himself to be made an High Priest, but He that saith unto Him,
Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten Thee. * * Thou art a
priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." Christ received
his Priesthood from the Father. Christ bestowed that same
authority upon his Apostles, saying to them, "As my Father hath
sent me, even so send I you." Now here is the pattern: Those who
believe and repent must be taken down into the water and be
buried from their old lives, must put off the old man with his
deeds, must be buried in the likeness of Christ's burial and
raised up again in the likeness of Christ's resurrection. Then,
when they come forth from the water, if they have believed,
repented, and been baptized by a man sent of God to
baptize--then, "though their sins be as scarlet, they shall be as
white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as
wool." They are cleansed, they come forth to a new birth, they
are born of the water, and every time they partake of the holy
sacrament they witness to God that they will continue in his
ways, and walk in his paths, that they have put on Christ, and
that they will remember him to keep his commandments in all
things. Now when people are thus properly cleansed, and purified
and made white, like unto newborn babes on entering into the
world, without blemish or spot, then their tabernacles are fit to
receive the Holy Ghost. How does it come? Like the remission of
sins, it comes according to fixed laws; it comes through the
laying on of hands of men appointed by the Almighty to
administer. They lay their hands upon the baptized believer and
they confirm upon him the Holy Ghost? Can a man confer the gift
of the Holy Ghost? No; man is but the minister; the Holy Ghost
comes from God; but this is the plan set and fixed in the economy
of the heavens whereby people dwelling upon the earth shall
receive this gift. Faith, repentance and baptism, then the gift
of the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of hands.
93
Now, if you will take up the New Testament, you will find that
this is the plan the Apostles followed in every instance wherever
they went to preach the word of the Lord. They called upon people
to believe in Jesus whom the Jews crucified, and to be baptized
for a remission of their sins, then have hands laid upon them for
the reception of the Holy Ghost. They had authority to baptize,
but they did not always have authority to confer the gift of the
Holy Ghost. Philip went down to Samaria and preached the word of
the Lord, and a great many were baptized, but they did not
receive the Holy Ghost, although they believed in Jesus and were
baptized. They could not receive that gift until some one came
down from Jerusalem, having authority, but when Peter and John
came down and laid their hands upon them, then the Holy Ghost
fell upon them. When people received this holy Spirit in olden
times, what were its effects upon them? We read here in the New
Testament that people had an inward witness that they were
accepted of God. That was the blessing of every man and woman in
the Church enjoyed in olden times. It was no longer a matter of
speculation; they had the Comforter, the holy Ghost, the Spirit
of the Lord, which revealed the things of the Father and Son to
them, and they could say like Peter, "Thou art the Christ the Son
of the living God." "God has revealed it to me, and I know it. I
am no longer in doubt. My faith has grown to knowledge. I know
that thou livest, I know that Christ is thy Son, and I know that
I am on the path which leads to thy presence." What else? All
those who received this spirit received the same spirit. They
were no longer Sectaries, Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes,
Herodians, or of any other sect; they were "all baptized by one
spirit into one body, whether Jew or Gentile, bond or free," and
they had "one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one hope of their
calling." Hence you see one of its effects was to make all see
eye to eye. They were no longer divided in their opinions in
regard to these matters, but were united, seeing alike and
understanding alike. Now, some will say it is impossible for
people of differently constructed minds to see and know alike.
Why? If they will only reflect a little, they will see that this
is not the case. How many people will dispute that five times
four make twenty? Is there anybody that disputes that? In that
case all people understand alike. And so in regard to any of the
principles of mathematics when understood. Now, if we can agree
in regard to these things, why not in regard to spiritual things?
If we are all influenced by the same spirit, why should we not
see eye to eye? There is a day to come when "the earth shall be
full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea,
and when no one shall need say to his neighbor, 'Know ye the
Lord,' for all shall know him from the least to the greatest."
All shall see and comprehend alike, being baptized by one spirit
and having the glorious boon of the holy Ghost, the Comforter,
which reveals the things of God, and makes them plain to the
human mind. The gifts of the spirit are enumerated by St. Paul,
in the 12th chapter of Corinthians. "To one," he says, "is given
the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge; to another
faith; to another the gifts of healing; to another the working of
miracles," etc.--different gifts to different persons, all by the
same spirit. What else? "Why," says the Apostle Paul, "the fruit
of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." These are some of the
fruits of the spirit, and according to the amount of the
outpouring of that spirit upon the different individuals, so will
be their possession of these various gifts internally and
externally. If a man having the holy Ghost prays that he might
have the gift of tongues, and sets his heart upon it, he will get
it. What! In this age of the world? Why, certainly, if the holy
Ghost has not changed.
93
"Oh," says one, "I do not believe in any such thing. There is no
revelation now-a-days. There is no administration of angels; that
is all visionary, all nonsense. There is no prophesying
now-a-days by the gift of the holy Ghost; there is no communion
with the Eternal Father now. Jesus Christ has been shut out from
the gaze of men for centuries, and they will not see his face
again? Why do people talk in that way? Because the holy Ghost has
ceased to work among the children of men. Hundreds of sects and
thousands of preachers, but no holy Ghost. Hosts of men claiming
to be sent, but not one of them with authority from the Almighty.
Trained to be preachers, paid to be preachers, desiring to be
preachers, but no communion with the heavens, and therefore no
authority from God. In fact they have repudiated the very idea of
such a thing, and a man who declares that he has communion with
the heavens and authority from God simply gets laughed at, and
the cry is "Away with him, he is an imposter, let him be put to
death," just as they did in the days of Jesus and in the days of
the old Prophets.
94
Now in our own time, in the generation in which we live, a young
man came forth bearing testimony that he had had a vision in
which he beheld the Father and the Son; and the Lord told him
that the world had gone astray and that the time was near at hand
when the Gospel should be restored in all its fullness, attended
by all its ancient power, gifts and blessings. Afterwards he
testified that divine beings had come down from on high and
ordained him to the authority which they held when they were men
in the flesh. He testified that John the Baptist, the same who
baptised Jesus, came and ordained him to the same Priesthood that
he held, and sent him as a forerunner to prepare a people before
the second coming of the Redeemer. Afterwards he testified that
Peter, James and John, who held the keys of the Apostleship in
early times, came and ordained him to the same Apostleship which
they held, and sent him forth to administer in the same way that
they were authorized to administer when they were in the flesh.
What was the consequence? All the world was turned against him,
and particularly men professing to be ministers of the Gospel.
"All such things," they said, "are done away with, do not listen
to him, he is a vile imposter." But in spite of this he bore his
testimony, and people who had been looking for the restoration of
the everlasting Gospel received his ministry. His words
penetrated their hearts; they repented, were baptized, and had
hands laid upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost. But did
they get the Holy Ghost? So they say. They testified to having
received the various gifts--the gift of tongues, the
interpretation of tongues, prophecy, etc.; the lame were made to
walk; the ears of the deaf were unstopped; the eyes of the blind
were opened. They say, "I know that Jesus is the Christ; I know
that Peter's testimony is true, and I know that this man, who is
cast out as an impostor, is a Prophet of God; the Holy Ghost so
testifies to me. I am not dependent upon his testimony. God, my
Father, has revealed this to me, and I know it." The work went
on. Men were ordained with the same authority and went to the
different nations, and wherever they went the same effects
followed--Jew or Gentile, bond or free, Scandinavian or German,
Italian or French, English, Scotch, Welsh or Irish, all received
this testimony; were baptized into the same spirit, and received
the same gifts. This is why we are here dwelling together in
these mountain valleys. We have all received the same Gospel, the
same testimony. Our testimony to all the world is we know that
God lives; we know that Jesus is the Son of God; we know that the
atonement was wrought out for us and all the world who will
receive it; we know that we have received a remission of our
sins; we know that the Lord has brought us up out of the miry
clay and placed our feet upon a rock and put a new song in our
mouths of everlasting praise to God and the Lamb. We are all
looking forward to the second coming of Jesus, and the time is
not far distant when he shall come and reign from pole to pole
and from shore to shore. He will come to take vengeance on those
that know not God, and obey not the Gospel; to cleanse the earth
as with the besom of destruction, and to subdue all things to
himself.
94
Well, what did they do with this young man who bore this
testimony that the Gospel in all its ancient purity and power had
been restored to the earth? What did they do with him? They
hunted him from place to place, from city to city, persecuting
him on the right hand and on the left. So-called ministers of the
Gospel preached all manner of falsehoods against him. They
stirred up the populace against him, and time and time again he
was taken by wicked hands and cast into prison. Some forty-nine
times he was accused of various crimes, but no conviction could
be had. At last they got him into Carthage jail. A guard was
placed around the prison to make his friends believe that he was
safe, and just as soon as this idea was established, the mob with
their faces blackened burst into the prison and slew the Prophet
and his brother Hyrum, who died for the truth and for the
testimony of Jesus, the last words the Prophet was heard to say
were, "O Lord, my God."
95
Joseph Smith, a Prophet of God, was rejected of men like unto the
ancient Prophets. He came to a wicked and perverse generation. He
came to a people who had turned away from God and followed after
the ways of men. He came to a people who worshiped God with their
lips, while their hearts were far from him. He came to a people
who loved darkness rather than light, and therefore they did the
deeds of others who were in the same position in previous
ages--they slew the Prophet of God. His blood stains the soil of
Illinois, and of the United States, his blood smokes up to God
with the blood of Abel, and with the blood of all the martyrs,
and will be laid at the door of a wicked and corrupt generation;
for although all did not imbrue their hands in his blood, yet
they consented to the deed and were ready to say, "served him
right, we are glad he is out of the way." The same spirit is
manifested toward our leaders to-day. The world would like to see
them slaughtered too. What harm did Joseph Smith ever do the
world. He bore testimony of these things to those who professed
to believe in this book (the Bible) and who hug it to their
bosoms and sing:
95
Holy Bible, book divine,
95
Precious treasure thou art mine,"
And they rejected the very truths contained in that book, that
this man, a Prophet of the Lord, proclaimed by the power of the
Holy Ghost.
95
We Latter-day Saints have gathered from all parts of the world to
these valleys of the mountains, occupying a country north, south,
east and west, for about 500 miles. Christ said that one of the
signs of his coming would be that "this Gospel of the kingdom
shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all
nations; and then shall the end come." This Gospel is being
preached as a witness unto all nations and the end is
approaching. What else did he say in connection with this? "And
he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and
they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from
one end of heaven to the other." Isaiah saw them coming "as a
cloud and as the doves to their windows;" and through him the
Lord has said, "I will say to the north, give up, and to the
south keep not back: bring my sons from afar, and my daughters
from the ends of the earth." We have come from the nations of the
earth to the tops of the mountains to erect a house to the God of
Jacob, that we may learn of his ways and walk in his paths. God
once more speaks to men on the earth; Jesus Christ has revealed
himself, and the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, the spirit of truth,
makes manifest the things of the Father and of the Son. "The Lord
shall suddenly come to his temple," and we partake of this
sacrament to keep us in remembrance of this and to prepare
ourselves, for the day is near at hand.
96
I bear my testimony to you, my brethren, sisters and friends, in
all sincerity and soberness, before God and the angels, the
heavens and the earth, that I know this work is true. I am not
dependent upon another person for this knowledge. I know for
myself I have received this Gospel in my heart; I have obeyed its
ordinances; I have received of its spirit: I know that God lives.
I know that this work will roll on. I know that the Gospel will
be preached to every creature. I know that the honest and
truth-loving, who dare meet the frowns of men, who dare face
popular opinion, will come out from the sects and parties of the
earth and from the different nations and countries, and be
baptized into this Church and receive the Holy Ghost, and thus be
drawn near to God, and prepared for the advent of the Lord. They
will come from all parts of the earth. This work will roll on. No
government, or kingdom, or power, or president, or ruler, or
monarch, can stop its progress. It is not the work of man. It is
the work of the great God. People marvel how it is this people
can be brought together in hundreds and thousands, and be so
united. They think they are under the influence of some scheming
men and that we are in a state of bondage. It is all nonsense and
folly. The power that binds us together is the power of the Holy
Ghost, the power of the Comforter, the power of the spirit of
revelation. This power is in our hearts. The union that binds us
together is brought about by the same power that binds together
the waters of the great sea. This sea of humanity, composed of
people of all nations, has been acted upon by the power and gift
of the Holy Ghost. That is where our unity comes in; it is our
obedience to law and to truth, not to man. People very much
mistake the character of the Latter-day Saints, if they think we
are a lot of serfs. We have come out from amongst the various
nations against the opposition of our friends and kindred and
stood up for the right. We have crossed the great deep and
traversed the broad plains for our religion. When I crossed the
ocean, it took thirty days to accomplish the voyage, and thirteen
weeks to cross the plains. I am the only one of my family who
received the Gospel. I came here because I knew it was true and
that I might learn more of the ways of God. I came to throw in my
lot with the people of God for life or for death, for time and
for eternity, with all my powers bodily, mental, physical and
spiritual. In giving my testimony I merely speak the testimony of
hundreds and thousands that inhabit these mountain valleys.
96
Well, now we are here, what do we intend to do? We will find out
the law of God as fast as we can and by the help of God we will
live it. We will try to carry this Gospel to the uttermost parts
of the earth, east, west, north, and south. We are willing to go
any number of miles to any nation, bearing our own expenses
generally. What for? To preach this Gospel, and bear testimony
that God has spoken from the heavens. But some may say, "You are
a very bad people. You marry many wives and are raising up a host
of children." Well, we are no worse than the father of the
faithful, Abraham, the friend of God, and if you do not like men
who have more wives than one, I am very much afraid that when you
get to the gates of the holy city, the New Jerusalem, on which
will be inscribed the names of twelve men who were the sons of
four women by one man--and if you should pass through the gates
into the celestial city, and find Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the
kingdom of God, with their wives and children as the beginning of
their everlasting glory and dominion, that you will say, "I want
to go somewhere else: let me get out of this city, it is
inhabited by polygamists."
97
Before I sit down let me say, my friends that those in this
community who have married more wives than one have done so from
pure motives. But some people cannot comprehend that. This
generation is so corrupt and licentious that some cannot
understand how a man can marry one wife from pure motives. Now if
you can understand the feelings and motives with which a virtuous
man marries the wife of his youth, "for better or worse," then
you can comprehend the motives of the Latter-day Saints when they
marry more wives, for the same promptings that actuated them in
the first place, actuate them in the next. God Almighty has given
us a revelation concerning this matter. We marry our wives under
divine direction and divine sanction, and under the same holy
Priesthood which has power to administer baptism for the
remission of sins and the laying on of hands for the gift of the
holy Ghost, and "whatsoever it shall bind on earth shall be bound
in heaven: and whatsoever it shall loose on earth shall be loosed
in heaven." I have no time, however, to dwell on this subject,
but I will just say that our marriage is celestial marriage for
time and all eternity--like that with which Adam was married to
Eve in the Garden of Eden when they were immortal beings, and
when there was no one to unite them but God. Christ died also for
them and though they were divided by death they will come forth
and be united again as glorious resurrected beings. As our hymn
says:
97
Come to me; here are Adam and Eve at the head,
f a multitude quickened and raised from the dead;
ere are worlds that have been, and the worlds yet to be;
ere's eternity--endless: Amen. Come to me."
97
After that pattern are we married for time and all eternity, and
we expect when we come up in the resurrection of the just, if we
have been worthy, to receive our wives to our bosoms, and our
children to the family circle; that they will be the beginning of
our exaltation and glory; that then the blessing of Abraham
pronounced upon us shall be fulfilled, and of our increase there
shall be no end. The Lord will multiply our seed as the stars of
the heaven and as the sand which is upon the sea shore. And when
we enter this holy order of marriage, whether it be with one or
two, or more wives, we marry in this order and in the fear of
God, and under the direction of his spirit and for holy purposes,
and not for the gratification of lust, and those that say we do
are either very much mistaken or they wilfully lie. There are
people who are constantly and persistently lying about us, but of
them I do not wish to speak for fear that I should get angry, and
I feel too happy to reflect upon them. I rejoice in knowing that
my sins have been washed away by the blood of Christ, through
obedience to his commandments. I rejoice in knowing that the Holy
Ghost is in my heart and guides my footsteps; that I can call
upon God and receive an answer to my prayers; and that I know he
loves to hear and answer the prayers of his servants. I bear this
testimony to you this afternoon, and as a servant of the Lord I
say to all who have not obeyed the Gospel, in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ, and by authority of the holy Priesthood,
repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the
gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your
children, and to all who are afar off, even as many as the Lord
our God shall call, and if you reject this testimony and
commandment and love darkness rather than light, you must give an
account therefore in the great day of judgment.
97
May God bless this congregation, and fill his Saints with his
holy Spirit continually, that we may roll on the glorious work of
God, and that we may live for the truth, and if necessary die in
its defense. May peace and blessing be multiplied upon you,
through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / George
Q. Cannon, July 25, 1880
George Q. Cannon, July 25, 1880
DISCOURSE BY APOSTLE GEORGE Q. CANNON,
Delivered in the 14th Ward Meeting House,
Sunday Evening, July 25, 1880.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
OFFICE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT--EQUALITY PRODUCED BY THE
GOSPEL--THE EVIL OF CLASS DISTINCTIONS--DANGER OF
WORLDLY-MINDEDNESS--RICHES ALONE NOT PRODUCTIVE OF TRUE
HAPPINESS--A CONTRITE HEART NECESSARY--SHOULD BE AN INCREASE OF
SPIRITUAL GIFTS--WORD OF WISDOM--THE RETURN TO JACKSON COUNTY.
98
While I was sitting here to-day, a portion of the record of Alma
suggested itself to my mind, which I will read, as found recorded
in the 4th chapter of the Book of Alma--(new edition).
98
[The speaker then read the greater portion of the 4th chap.]
Continuing he said:
98
I should not attempt to get on my feet to speak to you my own
thoughts, or my own feelings, or that which my own spirit would
suggest. I have had sufficient experience in my life to know that
for a man to impart profitable instruction unto his fellow
creatures in the capacity of a teacher of the things of God, he
must have the aid of the Spirit of God. Without that he cannot
impart that which will be of permanent profit to any one. I know
it is the privilege of a people situated as we are to know the
mind and will of the Lord concerning us, and also when we come
into an assemblage of this character to receive the instruction
which is adapted to the circumstances of each particular
individual, and that is the office of the spirit. I cannot tell
your feelings, I do not know your hearts. There may be secret
sorrows, there may be griefs, there may be doubts, there may be
many things that oppress you in your feelings, of which I am
entirely ignorant. But the Spirit knoweth the things of God. God
knoweth our hearts and his all-piercing eye can penetrate the
in-most recesses of our hearts, and every thought, every secret
is known to him, and he can, through the aid of his holy Spirit,
impart to each one that portion of strength, of comfort, of light
which each soul may need to strengthen it on its onward journey
in the path which God our Father has marked out for us to pursue,
and unless a meeting of this kind is attended, with these
effects, to me it is exceedingly unsatisfactory. When I go as a
listener, I desire to go to meeting to be fed, to go away from
the meeting with a feeling that I have received that which will
be a benefit to me in my life, in the acts of my life, and so
also if I speak.
101
The position of the Latter-day Saints in this respect is
different from that of every other people which I know of on the
face of the earth. We profess to serve God. We profess to have
received from him blessings as the result of our obedience to his
commandments. We profess to live by every word that proceedeth
from the mouth of God, and we believe that this is a time when
God speaks in various ways to his children, manifesting his mind
and will to them, and that it is not with us as with other people
who are dependent upon that which is written, dependent upon the
Bible for the food and nutriment necessary to strengthen them. We
depend upon the revelations of God to us. In this respect our
position is different from that of every other people which I am
acquainted with, and of course, this being our position, it is of
the utmost importance to carry out the principles which we
believe in, that we should live in such a manner as to have the
mind and will of the Lord made manifest to us. How is this mind
and will communicated? By what means is the mind and will of the
Father made manifest unto the children of men? There are various
ways. One is--he has placed in his Church officers whose duty it
is to instruct the Church. Yet this does not relieve the members
of the Church from their responsibility. It is for the members of
the Church also to so live that when they are taught and
counseled, when instruction is given unto them, that they shall
be able to know whether that instruction and counsel be from God
or not. This is the privilege of every individual, and there is
no person, however humble, who is a member of the Church, who
should be destitute of this spirit of which I speak, this light
and this intelligence. God our Eternal Father is the Father of us
all. The relationship which exists between us and him is not
confined to a small portion of the human family, but it is the
same with all of us; every individual who is within the walls of
this house to-night, occupies I may say precisely the same
relationship to our Father in one sense. Not that all have the
same responsibility, not that all are required to perform the
same duties; but all occupy the same position of children, and
our Father in heaven is our father, the Being whom we worship. As
God is the father of us all, we trace our descent from him, our
children trace their descent from him, they are as much his
children as we are his children, and I often think in my
association with my own children that I would just as soon hurt
the feelings of a grown person as I would one of my children. I
think in one respect they are my equal, though I occupy the
relationship of father to them; and so I feel towards all. Now,
the Gospel produces this sense of equality. There could be no
slavery where the Gospel is taught in its fullness and in its
perfection. There could be no distinction where the Gospel is
practised. You read here--or rather I have read for you--in this
record which has come down to us, that when the principles of the
Gospel were practised among the people of this land, they were
equal to a very great extent; but when they began to violate the
principles of the Gospel, their inequality manifested itself.
Some were lifted up in pride, some looked with scorn upon their
poor brethren and sisters. Classifications arose in society which
had their origin not in virtue, not in holiness, not in purity,
not in any superiority arising from intelligence, but because
some were richer than others, some could dress better than
others, some could have better surroundings than others,
doubtless dwelt in finer houses, better furnished, and they were
better clad, and had probably finer and nicer food. Distinctions
of this kind grew up not out of the Gospel, but out of the
violation of the principles of the Gospel. Wherever the Gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ is taught, it produces, as I have said,
this sense of equality, it makes the man who may know and
understand the things of God feel that he is no better than his
fellow man, and the woman who understands the things of God feel
that she is no better than her sister. If this sentiment were
practiced among us, it would produce the results we find that
Alma sought to produce among the people, and which he did produce
by the preaching of the word, as recorded in the subsequent
verses to those which I read. He went forth preaching the word as
he found it the most effectual means, as described by the
historian, of checking the evils that were growing among the
people. It would be so among us in a while if it were not for the
preaching of the word of God, and with the preaching of the word,
with all the faith, all the zeal, and all the power which our
leaders are capable of exercising, it needs it all to repress
these inclinations and these tendencies. There is something in
the human heart of that character that when human beings are
prospering they are apt to be lifted up in pride and to forget
the cause or the source of their prosperity; they are apt to
forget God, who is the fountain of all their blessings, and to
give glory to themselves. It requires a constant preaching of the
word of God, a constant pleading with the people, a constant
outpouring of the Spirit of God upon the people to bring them to
a true sense of their real condition. With all the experience the
Latter-day Saints have had, who is there among us that cannot
perceive this tendency? Why, it is constantly bringing itself
into notice. It becomes in some instances quite offensive,
because those who are humble feel the effects of it. Those who
are poor, needy and destitute, not gifted with ability to
accumulate the things of this world, feel it, and very frequently
their hearts are grieved because of it. There is this tendency we
have to contend with as a people and as individuals, and it is
something we should constantly bear in mind, that God has sent us
here and given us a mission on the earth, not to accumulate
riches, not to become worldly-minded, not to pile up the things
of this world which are perishable, to the injury of ourselves or
to our detriment in our progress in the things of the kingdom of
God. Is it right that we should take care of ourselves as a
people and as individuals? Certainly. Is it right that we should
be prudent, that we should take care of those gifts and blessings
which God has given unto us, that we should husband our
resources, that we should be economical, and not extravagant?
Certainly; this is right, this is proper, we should be culpable
if we were not so. But with this there is also something else
required, and that is, to keep constantly in view that the
management and care of these things is not the object that God
had in sending us here, that is not the object of our probation.
God has shown unto this people repeatedly--and there is scarcely
an individual member of the Church who has not had experience in
it--that he can give and he can take away. I have in my mind now
many instances where men of wealth --comparatively wealthy at
least--have joined this Church, and it seemed as though there was
a succession of events after they joined the Church, to deprive
them of all they had, to test their faith apparently, but to show
them that God did not give men means for the purpose of placing
their affections upon them, and then, after they were stripped,
he has, in many instances, begun to bless them again, and allowed
them to have means in greater abundance than ever they had
before. He has done so with this people. We have been stripped of
our property, reduced to the last extremity for food and for
other necessary comforts, and yet God has multiplied upon us
these blessings when he has sent us food, and we have had
abundance. But the happiness of a people does not consist in the
abundance of worldly things, that is, the abundance of food or of
raiment, or of houses, carriages, horses, and costly apparel. It
is true that if we are relieved from the pressure of want, if we
have the wherewith to supply our necessities, we feel better, we
feel a relief that we do not feel when ground down by poverty.
But happiness is not entirely dependent upon these circumstances,
as doubtless many of my brethren and sisters have proved. I have
proved it myself to my entire satisfaction. I have been in
reduced circumstances; been on missions when I did not know where
to get a mouthful to eat; turned away by the people who dare not
entertain me because of the anger that was kindled against us. I
could stand by and weep, being a boy and away from all my
friends. But I, nevertheless, was happy. I never enjoyed myself
in my life as I did then. I know that happiness does not consist
in the possession of worldly things. Still it is a great relief
when people can have the means necessary for the support of
themselves and families. If they possess these things and the
Spirit of God with them, they are blessed. But the Lord requires
of us different things in this day to what he did in ancient
days. I often think of it.
103
There is a great deal of inequality among us as a people, not so
great as described by the writer in the book of Alma, but still
there is a great deal of inequality among us, a great deal of
pride and more disunion than there should be. This people are not
united as they should be. There are many things existing among us
that should be uprooted and not have an existence in our midst.
And what is the reason that these things exist? The reason is to
be found in our neglect of the principles we have espoused. The
Lord requires all his people in these days to bring unto him a
sacrifice. In olden times, before the coming of the Lord Jesus,
we read in the Bible that the people brought their offering of
oxen, of sheep, of fowls of various kinds. These were burnt
offerings, they were sacrifices, the blood of animals flowed, and
the sins of the people apparently were remitted by their
obedience to these requirements. But the Lord has said respecting
us, that the offering he requires at our hands is a broken heart
and a contrite spirit. Let me ask you--and in asking you--I ask
myself--do you, when you go unto the Lord, bring this offering,
or do you go to God without asking him in this spirit in this
manner? If you go to the Lord with a broken heart and a contrite
spirit, he will show to you all your faults, and all your
weaknesses, he will bring plainly before you wherein you have
come short in doing his will, and when you see yourself in the
light of that spirit instead of being filled with pride, you will
feel to abase yourselves and bring yourselves down in the very
dust of humility; your own unworthiness will be so plain before
you, that if pride should come into your heart at any time, you
will almost be shocked at it, and you will feel to put it away
from you. It is in this way that we as Latter-day Saints should
live. There is enough taught to us in the Bible, in the Book of
Mormon, in the Doctrine and Covenants, and by our leaders from
time to time, to guide us into the presence of God Our Heavenly
Father. We should be the most humble people on the face of the
earth. Why? Because God in communicating to us the knowledge of
our weakness and faults, will give us humility. We should be the
most thankful people upon the earth. Why? Because owing to the
abundance of God's goodness and mercy to us, and realizing it as
we should do, it will fill us with a thankfulness that words
could not express; our hearts would overflow with extreme
gratitude to the Lord our God for the blessings that we enjoy.
Under these circumstances should there be any murmuring? Not any.
Should we find fault with our condition and our circumstances?
Certainly not, if we are living the religion which God has
revealed to us. Should there be any quarrelling or fault-finding?
No; because where the Spirit of God exists there is no
disposition of this character. There is a manifestation to suffer
wrong rather than to do wrong; not to revile, not to prosecute,
not to assail back when we are assailed. If a brother comes up to
me, he is in a bad temper, he says something that is annoying,
and I lose my temper and reply in the same spirit, do I do right?
Certainly not. However much the provocation may be, it is not my
duty as a Latter-day Saint, as a professed follower of Jesus
Christ, to indulge in any such feeling or expression. Well, but
one may ask, have we to submit to abuse? Yes, that is one of the
requirements of the Gospel, that you shall submit to abuse. Have
we to submit to wrong? Yes, if somebody attempts to wrong you, it
is your duty as professed followers of Jesus Christ to submit to
that. Supposing I am struck, must I submit to a blow? Yes, I
must, or else I am not carrying out the principles of my
religion. Well, but suppose a person tells falsehoods concerning
me, assails me and reviles me, must I submit to this? Yes. Why?
Because the requirements of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
are that we should do so, that we should not quarrel, that we
should suffer evil and wrong and pray for the person who does
these things to us. This is a hard lesson I know. Some men would
think their children cowards unless they would fight when they
were struck. They teach their children to strike back when
struck, to resent attacks upon them. Then, again, if one man
calls another a liar, the first thing we know the man is knocked
down, and as a result of training he would be considered unmanly
if he did not resent the insult in this way. I am very glad,
however, that a change has taken place in this respect. There
must be changes of this kind among us. If a man forgets himself
so far as to call his brother a liar, or any other offensive
name, there should be enough of the Spirit of God and the spirit
of patience and the spirit of self-respect left in the brother to
bear the insult without resenting in the same spirit. Would this
make us pusillanimous? Would this make us a people devoid of
spirit? Certainly not; there is plenty of room for the exercising
of all the spirit we have in life without exercising it in that
manner, without expending it in senseless quarrels. If we have
this spirit to which I have alluded, this meek, humble, broken
and contrite spirit, will it not produce union? Yes, it will, it
will produce union and love, and I wish to say to all who are
here to-night, that it is the duty of every man and woman in this
Church to live at peace with him and herself, and then to live at
peace with everybody else, husbands with wives, wives with
husbands, parents with children, children with parents, brothers
with sisters and sisters with brothers; this is the duty that God
requires at our hands. I am speaking now of something which is
not an abstract theory, that cannot be carried out; I am speaking
of that which can be carried out, which every one of us can carry
out, and of results which can be accomplished in the midst of
this people.
103
The feeling has grown upon me, and is growing upon me every day,
that as a people we do not live up to our privileges. We do not
have the knowledge of the things of God that we should have.
There is not that amount of revelation enjoyed by us which there
should be. Is there revelation? Yes, I know that and can testify
of it. Are there gifts, are there blessings enjoyed by the
people? Yes, I am convinced of it. Are there manifestations of
the goodness and the power of God among this people? I am
satisfied that there are manifestations of this kind. The sick
are healed. The mind and will of the Lord is communicated to the
people, but it is not to that extent that it should be
considering our circumstances, and considering the length of time
the church has been organized. Who is there that is not conscious
of this. Ask yourselves, each of you, "Have I the knowledge of
the things of God that I should have? Does the Spirit of God bear
testimony to me and warn me and teach me as it should do?" Let
each one ask himself and herself this question. Now, if we live
as we should, there is no event of any importance that could
occur but we would have some intimation respecting it; we would
be prepared for it, we would be prepared for every public event
that affected us, every private event, everything of this
character that could occur to us that would affect us in the
least degree would be known by us at the very time. The Spirit of
God with its monitions would say to us, "If you pursue that path
there is danger, you may lose your life, you may meet with some
accident." Mothers would have the teachings of the spirit
respecting their children, and how to take care of them, and
fathers also respecting their families. I am not talking about
something which is entirely beyond our reach and is impossible
for us to receive. I am speaking of something which is within the
reach of all of us to a greater or less extent. Some are gifted
in one direction and some in another. But all who belong to this
Church and have taken the course which God has pointed out, and
have humbled themselves in obedience to the commandments of God,
and endeavored to carry out these commandments, have this promise
made unto them, that they will be taught of the Lord.
104
If there is one desire that I have as an individual greater than
another, it is that I may so live as to have the blessing, and
next that you, this Church, this people, may so live as to have
the same. I would not have those gifts unless somebody else had
them, for I have learned in my life that when one man is blessed
more than his fellows, temptation comes in, pride comes in, and
the adversary is apt to suggest to him that he is so much better
than his fellowmen. Therefore, if I wanted to have any great
gifts from the Lord, I never have felt--and I do not think I ever
shall, I certainly will not with my present state of feeling--to
have these myself, I would like somebody else to have them also.
I would not want to be the richest man in the community; I would
not want to be the most gifted, the most prominent or the most
honored in any respect. I would want others to share in these
blessings. Then I would have less fear concerning the effect of
them upon myself. When I am blessed I want to see the Latter-day
Saints blessed, I want to see the people of God receive the gifts
of God, and enjoy them so that we shall all grow, increase and
develop together.
105
I noticed when I was very young in the Church, that men who were
greatly gifted of the Lord and had many manifestations, were the
men who apostatized; with the exception of the Prophet Joseph
Smith, nearly every one was overthrown. I suppose the reason of
it was that they were lifted up in pride and allowed the
adversary to take advantage of them. I would like well enough to
see these gifts and blessings multiplied among us and upon us,
that as a people we should have dreams and visions and
manifestations of the Spirit; but there is one thing that we have
all got to be very careful about, and that is this: I have seen
Elders in my experience that when they got their own spirit moved
very much they imagined that it was the Spirit of God, and it was
difficult in some instances to tell the difference between the
suggestions of their own spirit and the voice of the spirit of
God. This is a gift of itself, to be able to distinguish that
which suggests itself to our own hearts and that which comes from
God. And we are misled sometimes by our own feeling, because of
our inability to distinguish between the voice of the Spirit of
God and the suggestions of our own spirit. There is a still,
small voice in the heart of every human being. There is an
influence comes with every son and daughter of Adam that is born
into the world. What! Outside of the Latter-day Saints?
Certainly, I told you in the beginning that we are all the
children of God. There is an influence born with every person
that to a certain extent is a spirit of revelation. Hence you
will frequently find it the case--probably some of you adults
have experienced it, when you joined the Church, that this
influence told you what proved to be true. Brother Woodruff,
here, I have heard him tell, in his experience, how he was led
before he joined the church by this influence, how it operated
upon his mind until it was brought in contact with the truth. I
have heard a number of others relate the same thing, and if they
received the truth this influence increased with them, but if
they rejected the truth, if they refused to receive the testimony
of the servants of God, the light that was in them became
darkness, and as the Savior said, how great is that darkness! I
proclaim it as a truth, that when a man or a woman enters into
this Church and is baptized, repents of his or her sins, humbles
himself and herself in the depth of humility before the Lord,
determined with His help to forsake their sins, to put them away
from them, I say, when a man or a woman comes to the Lord in that
spirit and lives so that the Holy Ghost will rest upon them, that
there will be no event of any importance from that time forward
but what they will have some intimation respecting it, some
premonition, and they will walk in the light, some to a greater
extent than others, because some are more gifted than others,
some live in such a manner as to have this developed within them
to a greater extent. But if they continue to cultivate this
spirit, to live in the light of it, it will become a principle of
unfailing revelation to them.
105
Is this your privilege? Certainly it is. It is also the privilege
of children, boys and girls, young men and young women,
middle-aged and aged to enjoy this. It is not confined to any one
in particular, to any sex, to any particular position in life,
but it is extended to all. It is the design of God that it should
be so. But it is dim within us because of the generations of
unbelief and wickedness of heart which have existed. We have
inherited a great amount of unbelief from our fathers; it has
come down to us. The heavens have been as brass over the heads of
the people, and there has been a spirit of unbelief which has
excluded the revelations of Jesus and the manifestations of the
Spirit of God.
105
Fifty years ago this Church was organized. There are men and
women who have been fifty years in the Church, some who have been
forty years, a great many thirty years, a still greater number
twenty years. Is it not time, then, after all we have heard, and
all we know concerning these things, that some of this unbelief
should disappear and more of that love be exhibited which draws
us nearer to God and places us in closer communion with Him? Is
it not time that this should be the case with our children? Why,
it seems to me so, and I have no doubt it is so. And yet there is
much room for improvement in these things.
107
There is one thing above all others which strikes me with
astonishment when I think about it among our people. A great many
years ago, the Lord gave what is called the "Word of Wisdom" to
us as a people. It is a thing I very rarely allude to. I never
drank tea or coffee in my life, I never drank liquor, I never
used tobacco, and I have endeavored to keep the Word of Wisdom.
It is no credit to me, my parents instilled it into me. I never
allude to it in public speaking. I never allude to it in my
family. I have set the example and allowed them to follow it, and
they have done so, most of them. But when I think about it, when
I see our people, after what God has said upon this subject,
after the plain manner in which he has spoken to us and told us
what would be the result of the observance of certain laws,
deliberately day after day flying in the face of the counsel
which God has given unto us in that Word of Wisdom, I get
exceedingly amazed and I wonder how it is that God bears with us.
It is a grievous thing to trifle with that promise, and with the
many promises which are connected with that promise and with the
many promises which are connected with the Word of Wisdom. We see
young men learning to drink liquor, to smoke and chew tobacco,
and acquiring this habit and the other habit which is expressly
forbidden, or at least that counsel is given respecting, which
ought to be more binding because it comes with an appeal to
us--it appeals to our sense of right that a commandment does not,
because a commandment comes with strict injunctions which leaves
no alternative but to obey; but this is a word of counsel by a
kind father, and He tells us that if we will observe it, we shall
have health, the destroyer shall not have power over us, nor over
our families, and that we shall have treasures of knowledge and
wisdom given to us. Supposing here are a good many young men that
belong to this Church, some of whom are very eager for
knowledge--reading books, studying, going to the University,
imagining that is the most direct and easy way to obtain it, and
at the same time these same young men, members of the Church,
drinking their tea and coffee and smoking their cigarettes. Does
it not seem like a great inconsistency for men and women to do
these things? I proclaim to you Latter-day Saints, that the Word
of Wisdom is the word of God, that those who obey it will receive
every blessing which is promised in the revelation, that they
will have health, and that they will have power and blessings
which they cannot conceive of until they try it. It is a simple
thing, yet it shows how neglectful we are as a people. I believe
the time is not far distant when we shall have to be very
different from what we are in these respects. I will tell you
what I have sometimes thought: that the Lord is going to deal
with us as he did with the Israelites. They hardened their hearts
against the Lord, became careless and disobedient, and finally
the Lord, in His wrath, decreed that none of them, with the
exception of Caleb and Joshua, should enter the promised land.
The words that are used are very expressive. Their carcasses were
to fall in the wilderness, all over a certain age. But the Lord
spared the little ones. He raised up a new generation and led
them to the promised land. We have the same promise that some
will be left to go back to the promised land, and I feel
satisfied it will be fulfilled. But would it not be better for us
all to exercise faith and do right, that we might all receive the
fulfilment of this promise? Certainly. There were times in our
lives when we felt that we would do anything for the sake of the
spirit we had received. Is there any person in this Church, in
this room to-night who has not seen the time in his or her
life--if they had any experience--when they would sacrifice
anything to be in possession of the Spirit of God. Every one who
has joined this Church of any age and experience knows this to be
the case. There is a sweetness to be experienced in receiving the
Spirit of God, that is preferable to everything else in life.
Every one should be in possession of this spirit. If you do not
have it, let me say to you, do not rest till you get it. I do not
believe in the sectarian style of doing things, neither do you;
but there are some things exceedingly necessary for all to do
whether they belong to this church or not, and that is to look at
their lives and examine and see wherein they have come short, and
repent and humble themselves before the Lord, and get a renewal
of His Holy Spirit. Of course people who do not belong to this
Church are not likely to take this course; yet in the sectarian
world they feel the necessity of revival. As a people we should
live day by day so as to have the spirit of God resting upon us.
109
I have great pleasure in testifying to you of my own experience
in these matters. I have been away now for some eight or ten
years, more than half of my time from the Church; alone, so to
speak; I have not had the advantages of other Elders, because
they are visiting among the various branches. I therefore can
appreciate these things which I perhaps would not appreciate if I
had been constantly in the society of the Saints. I sometimes
regret this; I feel that I have not the advantages my brethren
have; but I have no doubt the Lord makes up for it in other ways.
I have proved to my entire satisfaction, that God is willing to
reveal Himself to His servants under all circumstances, to make
his mind and will plain to them, and I have had to live in that
way while I have been gone. Circumstances have sometimes been of
such a nature that I could not see what to do by my own wisdom;
but I have never yet--and I do not say this from vanity at all, I
say it to encourage you; I do not say it because I consider
myself blessed above you, but I say it because it is your
privilege and because I would like to stir you up to faith that
you may receive those blessings of God--I say there never has
been a moment when I have been absent, but what I have had shown
to me what to do, what steps to take, what to say and what not to
say. It gives me great joy to bear testimony to these things; and
if there is one thing that I feel more thankful for than another,
it is that God has restored His Church, and that I have the
privilege of being a member of it. When Brother Erastus Snow was
speaking to-day, and when Brother Woodruff was speaking
yesterday, I could scarcely control myself. You heard how the
Lord led the brethren across these plains, and how when President
Young saw the valley, he said to Brother Woodruff, and afterwards
to the brethren of the camp: "Here is the place." Was there any
doubt in his mind? No; the Lord had revealed the place to him, he
knew it for himself. I remember on one occasion telling President
Young, the first year we were here--I was then quite a boy--that
if we could only get bread and water I should feel satisfied if
we could only have peace. Well, we had peace. We were not
harassed; indeed a more peaceful time than we had when we came
into these valleys never was enjoyed by any people on the face of
the earth. President Young knew what the Lord would do. The Lord
had revealed it to him, and described many things which have not
yet occurred. Is not this precious?--to have the word of the
Lord, to know we are led by the inspiration of the Almighty. It
is one of the greatest blessings that a people can enjoy. Ever
since the Church was organized, we have been led by revelation.
And who has been misled by it? People have always prospered who
have listened to the voice of the Shepherd. It was so in the days
of Joseph, it was so in the days of President Young, it is so
to-day under President Taylor, and it will be so to the end. The
Lord has stretched forth his hand to accomplish his purposes, and
it will not be withdrawn until all is fulfilled. We shall not be
destitute of the voice of revelation. We may do a great many
things contrary to the mind and will of God, for which he will
chastise us and scourge us, if necessary; but he will not
withdraw His Priesthood from us, and his voice will not cease to
be heard; it will be given unto those of his servants who live
for it, and they will know the mind and will of God for this
people. Persecution may go on. People may say we have not the
gifts; but the Lord will not leave us; he has not left us; he
will make of this people a great nation; and there is no power
upon the face of the earth that can arrest the progress of
"Mormonism," as it is called by the world, but which is the
Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It will grow, increase and
spread abroad as the Prophet Daniel saw it, until it fills the
whole earth. Some of you may get discouraged and say the Lord
delayeth His coming, and begin to get weak in faith because of
drunkenness and gambling in our midst, and say Zion is not going
to be redeemed because our enemies have got such power. But will
that prevent the redemption of Zion? No. The Lord is bringing us
through these circumstances. There was a time when we were driven
by mobs, and our faith was tried in various ways. It is necessary
that there should still be trials to test the faith of this
people. There are no mobs now, we do not have our houses burnt
down now, or our cattle shot down. But shall we be without
trials? No. Why? Because it is necessary--at least I accept it as
necessary in the providence of God--that there should be liquor
saloons, etc., so that Latter-day Saints who make so many
professions can, if they want to drink beer and get drunk, or go
in and play billiards and gamble, or go to other places that are
worse--can do so. "But," says one, "I thought in coming to Zion I
was coming to a place of purity where none of these things
existed." If that had been the case how would you have been
tried? It is necessary you should be tried for a while in order
to develop your strength. We have to be brought in contact with
the world, and we have to show the world that there is something
connected with our religion which is enduring. Yet all these
things have been a source of strength to us. Why, says one, how
can that be? Well, now, I am in a position to know the feeling
towards us. Our enemies have been trying to get legislation
against us. But some say, "what is the use of legislating against
the Mormons? If you will only let them alone, it will come all
right. The Catholics, the Episcopalians, the Methodists, the
Baptists, the infidels, have their meeting houses, school houses,
and newspapers, and have brothels, gambling houses, drinking
saloons, and milliner's shops, and you cannot imagine what a
great work these things are doing among the Mormons! The young
people are growing up and they do not want more wives than one.
Why, it is as much as they can do to keep one. The girls want
fine millinery, fine dresses, fine furniture. What is the use of
resorting to unjust legislation when these things are going on?
When they get rid of their polygamy they will be a good people."
I have sometimes thought that in the providence of God he suffers
such things. At the same time it is operating upon our own
people. Our young men are led on to smoke, to drink, and to do
wrong. At the same time, trials are necessary; we must be tested,
and when we emerge from these trials we will feel better and
stronger. Has the Lord forgotten Zion? Can a mother forget her
nursing child? Can you mothers forget your nursing babies? When
you do, which is not very likely, then the Lord may forget Zion.
His eye is upon Zion. His hand is over this people. His hand has
overruled all things for the good of this people and their
salvation. Will Zion be redeemed? Yes. Will you be redeemed? That
is for you to say. Will I be redeemed? That is for me to say. We
need have no fear about the welfare of this work; we need not
tremble and think there is danger. Congress may pass laws,
attempts may be made to overthrow this work; but we need have no
fears: Zion will be redeemed. Many will fall by the wayside, many
will lose their faith, many will be led away by false and
seducing spirits; but there will be those who will be saved and
exalted, and all of us who are here to-night have this privilege
if we will accept of it; we can be saved each of us and crowned
with glory in the presence of God and the Lamb. There is no
provision to exclude us; we are not predestined for damnation; we
are predestined to be saved if we will accept of the salvation
offered. Therefore, in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ, if we
are not saved we cannot look up and charge God with having done
anything to prevent us, we will have no one to blame but
ourselves, and that will be our hell.
109
I pray the Lord in the name of Jesus Christ, that we may all be
saved and exalted in the celestial kingdom. Let us live our
religion, this precious and holy religion, and let me say to you
that if you have not had the happiness of it lately, get the
happiness that it produces, and you will not exchange it for
anything else in the world. It ought to be a pearl of great price
to all of us, and we ought to cherish it more than we do our
lives. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 /
Erastus Snow, August 7th, 1880
Erastus Snow, August 7th, 1880
DISCOURSE BY ELDER ERASTUS SNOW,
Delivered at Paris, Bear Lake,
Saturday Afternoon, August 7th, 1880.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
HIS LATE TRAVELS THROUGH THE SOUTH, ETC.
110
President Taylor referred in his remarks this morning to myself
as coming from the far South, and as traveling extensively
through the country; and I feel led in my feelings to make some
remarks on the south country, and also the north, and perhaps on
some other portions of the country through which I have traveled.
110
Two years ago this summer I visited the greater portion of the
Territory of Arizona; that is, I, with others, passed through the
north-western portions of the Territory, along near the eastern
boundaries, southward to the extreme south-eastern portions of
the Territory, returning through Tucson; crossed the desert to
the Gila, then crossed Salt River and up through the Tonta Basin
and over the Nookhoon to the Little Colorado, and obtained a very
general understanding of the country and the condition and
facilities of the Territory; and also the western portions of New
Mexico. Last summer I also visited the south part of Colorado; I
passed along the line of railroads from Ogden to Cheyenne, thence
passing south through Colorado, on the east side of the mountains
to Denver, and thence to Pueblo on the Arkansas; thence southeast
to the Rio Grande Del Norte, and down that stream to the New
Mexico line. It is in contemplation that myself and a few other
brethren will visit, during the coming fall, the southeastern
counties of this Territory--those new counties, Emery and San
Juan, which have been recently organized, and the lower valleys
on Grand River, and from Grand River to the San Juan and its
tributaries, and the settlements which our people are forming
upon those streams, and probably we shall extend our travels
further into New Mexico, and visit our new settlements on the
head waters of the Little Colorado, and the tributaries of the
Gila, along the borders of New Mexico and Arizona.
110
The chief object of our visits is to learn the facilities of the
country, and to look after the flock of Christ, and also to hunt
after any that might have strayed away, and when found to try to
gather them to some fold, where we can place some shepherd over
them who will endeavor to feed them with the bread of life, and
keep them from being entirely lost, or torn by wolves. We shall
visit the new settlements as fast as practicable, and the older
ones also, to labor among the people according to our calling, to
teach the people their duty, and to organize them as shall be
necessary, and to set in order all things necessary for their
development and growth, and to maintain the union and fellowship
of the Saints, and respect for the Gospel and the order and
government of His Church and Kingdom.
110
There seems to be a necessity for the Latter-day Saints to gather
together, and then to scatter a little, and so on; in other
words, something after the fashion of the bees: they go out of
the hive empty and return with their legs and wings laden with
honey and bee bread. Now, if all can do this, we shall continue
to thrive in the hive of Deseret; but if, on the other hand, we
scatter and waste and destroy the good we have, we had better
remain in the hive until we shall have learned our duty better.
112
There is a tendency with some to want to get away from the
restraint of the Priesthood and the earnest teachings and
admonitions of the Gospel and the wholesome government that is
maintained among the Saints, in order to enjoy greater liberties,
not greater liberties to serve the Lord, for there is nobody in
anywise restricted. Some are desirous of greater liberties than
they think they enjoy among us in occupying the country and
getting possession of the land and accumulating stock, and desire
a greater range. Now, this feeling ought not to take possession
of us too much, because if we indulge it too much we are liable
to become darkened in our mind measurably, and lose the spirit of
the Gospel. But when we are called and sent out to labor, either
to preach the Gospel in foreign countries or to gather the poor
from distant lands, or sent to locate in any distant place with a
view of helping to establish towns and villages and settlements,
and building up and organizing and helping to maintain good order
and wholesome government, and to extend the spirit of the
Gospel--when we are called upon to assist in establishing these
new settlements, it is right that we should respond; it is as
legitimate labor as any other branch of labor in building the
Church and Kingdom of God upon the earth. But we ought to guard
against a restless spirit of changing locality merely for its own
sake, and moving to and fro in search of something better. This
restless feeling is not good, nor will it tend as a rule to
happiness and permanent good and prosperity to those who possess
it. We are not all alike. Some become attached to whatever place
they call their home; wherever they labor and build up a home
they gather around them the comforts of life, and feel settled in
that place, and attached to their surroundings; while others seem
hard to settle down and make any place seem like home for any
length of time. To me this spirit has always appeared strange, so
contrary to my nature and disposition. Notwithstanding, as has
been remarked, I travel among the people as much as, or more than
any of my brethren of the Apostles of late years--perhaps for the
last twenty years--still my home has been in St. George. Having
had the care of the churches in the southern part of the
Territory, to a great extent, I have been obliged to travel a
great deal; but this has been from a sense of duty, and not
because I have felt tired of home and wanted to move about from
place to place. And I may add, that in all my travels, the
thought of seeking a new or better place for myself or family has
never entered my heart, no matter how many good places I may
find; it is for others and not myself; it is to search out places
where we can plant colonies of Latter-day Saints, where the sons
and daughters of the Saints who are growing up in the older
settlements, and who desire soon to spread out where they can
make homes and form new settlements, where we can plant nurseries
of Latter-day Saints. But it is not, as I said, to seek locations
for myself or for my own family, only such portions of them as
ought to go out and begin to operate for themselves, and make
themselves homes. I am not one of that shifting sort of men. The
lot that was assigned to me in Salt Lake City at the time the
pioneers entered Salt Lake Valley, I retained until I was sent to
St. George, and then transferred it back to Pres. Young from whom
I received it. I have never felt to change since I located in St.
George; and if I had been located upon a barren rock, I would
have packed soil enough to make a beautiful home of it. And, by
the way, I believe the home I have made has cost me as much labor
as if I had hauled the earth on to it. I have had to manufacture
a great deal of what is now there; and so I may say it has been
so with the greater part of our town and "Dixie" County.
Naturally to look at it, it was a very forbidding country when we
first settled there. We were not allured to that region by the
green fields, the fine extensive meadows such as you have here.
The grass which we see upon the surrounding hills, inviting the
flocks and herds to eat, and the flowing crystal streams of pure
water which make music, sweet and enchanting to the heart, as
they wend their way through your valleys to the lake beyond, is
in marked contrast to the natural facilities of our southern
home. Why, if I were to tell you half the truth, the most of you
would never want to go south to live; but we are not in the habit
of picturing the unpleasant features of the country, but rather
of speaking the best we can about it, feeling that we have need
to do it. And there are some who have had faith enough and
stamina enough in them to speak well of the country, and nothing
short of faith and Mormon grit could do it; while we were doing
this we did not forget to ask the blessing of God upon the land,
and I need hardly say that it has been through His blessing that
we have been prospered and enabled to make beautiful homes out of
the once forbidding, sterile wastes.
113
We were sent there to raise cotton when our nation was thrown
into anarchy through a civil war, and when it had become a
question with all Israel, "Shirts or no shirts?" It was shirts we
were after; we went to make cotton farms, and it was anything
else but an inviting cotton region. As I have said, no extensive
fields made the eye glad, but everything looked as though the
whole country had been thrown together in an irregular broken
manner. The water had to be raised from the low channels in which
it flowed, in quicksand bottoms by means of long and expensive
canals, in order to get it upon the bench lands. But now through
the blessing of the Lord, and hard knocks, we have a very fine
city, inhabited by a pretty good people. I will say, however,
that the country is not so very much changed from what it was
when we went there, excepting in a few places where the people
have made inviting homes; but the homes which have been made are
the more precious because of the labor it has cost to make them;
and they are prized more highly on that account than they
otherwise would be. You may ask me, if I am beating up for
volunteers for that country? No, not at all; and yet the southern
people would welcome most heartily any of the brethren and
sisters from Bear Lake or any other section of the country who
may feel desirous of locating among us, to share with us the
rocks and sands and the cactus and lizards. I say, we shall
welcome them most heartily; and then while they would have to
take their share, and maybe more, of this natural product of our
southern climate, they would also share with those who labor for
their kindred and friends and their own exaltation, in the Temple
which our Father has graciously and in His indescribable
providence located among us, and permitted us to build, with the
help of the Saints generally throughout the Territory. We feel
that there is a wise providence overruling this. It is in such a
country that the wicked have no desire for what they see around.
They have passed through it, and as a general thing are satisfied
not to come back again, there being nothing to induce them to do
so. And this being the case St. George is a peaceful home of the
Saints, and as a rule a very good spirit prevails there.
Sometimes a little too much of the spirit of wine because the
grape is a staple article among us, and foolish persons sometimes
indulge too freely in the wine which is manufactured from that
fruit. And it is one of the labors that we have upon us, to teach
the people how to use the things which God gives us in a proper
way and not abuse them, to control their appetites, and not allow
wine to bring evil into the community. And we feel in this labor
that we have succeeded to a goodly degree, there being much less
of this kind of indulgence practised among the people now than
there has been since we settled and improved the country.
113
Now, touching the climate and soil and general facilities of the
country through which I have traveled in Arizona, and along the
borders of New Mexico, when compared with this region of country,
it is a desert; that is, the facilities for agricultural purposes
are far less than in Utah, and you know pretty well what they are
in Utah. It is more of a grazing region. There is a lack of
mountain streams, for the hills are generally low; they do not
tower up in the clouds, and are not capped with snow as they are
in this northern country. The main range of the Rocky Mountains
falls off about the time you reach the New Mexican line, and the
hills then become lower, and the streams are not so numerous. The
facilities most attractive to my mind are along the continental
divide, in the eastern portion of Arizona and the western portion
of New Mexico. The northeastern portion of Arizona is watered by
the Little Colorado and its tributaries, and the farming region
is on the head waters of this stream, but it is not extensive;
there are, however, facilities for small settlements, and
extensive ranges for sheep and cattle. The garden of Arizona, so
far as agricultural facilities are concerned, is on Salt River,
after it emerges from the mountains and where our people are
locating, at Mesa City and Jonesville. The country along Salt
River is being occupied by people from various parts of the
world, who are not of us. These two settlements of our people are
doing very well, so I understand, and there are facilities for
many more in the same region. The climate is warm; the summer is
long, scarcely any winter at all, and scarcely any frosts. But in
that immediate vicinity there is not range for stock; that is,
there is not very extensive growth of grass. The range is mostly
in the hills, in the northeastern and southeastern parts of the
Territory, on the headwaters of the Gila and its tributaries, the
San Pedro and Black and White rivers; and also are many
facilities for small agricultural settlements. The climate
generally is milder than this, and consequently more pleasant.
The eastern and northern portions are temperate, neither very hot
nor very cold. In the southern portion, as I have said, the
summer is long and warm; it is decidedly a hot and a dry country.
114
The country I visited last summer, further to the east and
northeast, the upper valleys, or valleys on the Rio Grand del
Norte, which are in Southern Colorado, and run into New Mexico,
is a fine agricultural and grazing country. Fine mountain streams
come out of the foot hills to the broad valleys and open plains.
This region affords facilities for flourishing settlements, as
well as for flocks and herds; and the climate is as cool as that
of Bear Lake and the other elevated valleys of Utah, and if not
so severe winters as in Cache and Bear Lake valleys, at least
something approaching them. There are facilities for many fine,
flourishing settlements in that region of the country; and we are
establishing some colonies in that, consisting mostly of
emigrants from the Southern States, with a few from Utah, to
counsel and instruct them in the art of irrigating the soil and
establishing settlements after the order of Zion. We find
ourselves under the necessity of sending a few more to that
region, and a few others to different localities, to assist in
establishing and maintaining our new settlements.
114
But now, I return to this lovely valley of Bear Lake--lovely
indeed it has seemed to me whenever I have visited it; but it
must be remembered that I have never visited it only when it was
covered with green. Still, I understand that the country is
covered for many months in the year with the white mantle, and
for this reason many of you complain of the long winters. But if
it were not for the hard, cold winters and the melted snows, you
would not have these beautiful meadows and green hills; you
certainly have to thank the snows for this blessing. But I have
no doubt you will say, that you could do with a little less snow
and a little shorter winters, and take a little less grain and
meadow. Well, I think I would do so too. If I had the choosing of
climates, I should not choose that in which I should have to cut
hay three months in the summer, and be six or eight months
feeding it out in the winter. I think with you I could get along
with a little less snow, if I had to sacrifice a little of the
rich meadow, and at the same time, correspondingly less
mosquitoes and flies. And talking about flies, you cannot begin
to show flies like we can in St. George and they are not this
common horse fly, they are the pesky house fly that is ever ready
to contend with you for your meal.
115
Now, if I lived in Bear Lake valley, I believe I should look upon
it as a very choice place to make any home; and if once I settled
down, I should not think of moving away, or speaking of it as a
very bad country to live in. I have made it a rule never to
forsake old friends in order to take up with new ones; or to lay
aside an old wife for the sake of getting a new one. The same
rule would apply to my living in this northern country; once I
settled down I should not think of moving away unless duty called
me, and in that case of course I should drop everything and go
without a whimper. I see on this stand an old friend in Brother
John Nebeker, who moved down to our "Dixie" country, and after
living there some time, returned to Bear Lake. I do not know how
he feels about it, whether or not he is ready to make his home
with us again in St. George. [Bro. Nebeker: Not yet, Bro. Snow.
Laughter.] I would say to you who are doing well, let well enough
alone, go on and stick to what you have got. I think I can see a
chance to make some beautiful places where you have not more than
half done it. It is now some fourteen years since I was here;
some of you will remember it was when President Young came here,
accompanied by General Chetlain and others. I took in the
situation at that time; I mapped it out in my mind, and I have
retained a pretty good understanding of the region of country. It
may not become me to suggest to you who have had fifteen or
twenty years' experience here, but it strikes me that your faith
has not been fully developed; I am inclined to think that you can
do something besides raising calves, hay, wheat, oats and
potatoes, and making butter and cheese--and here let me not
forget to give you the credit of filling up the country with
young men and women, which is a noticeable feature of the growth
and wealth of the people. You have a big country here; so much,
in fact, that you hardly know what to do with it. You try to
enrich it all, and you skim it over, but you may depend that you
have facilities here for a much heavier population than you have
got; and upon the whole it is a healthy region. There may be some
diseases peculiar to this cold region, and some feel, and that
truly, that a warmer climate might tend to lengthen out their
days, as well as add to their bodily comfort. I believe there is
no objection on the part of anybody that such persons should try
a warmer climate as may feel inclined to do it. There is no
disposition to chain or fasten anybody to this country who may
feel that they crave, and their health and comfort require a
warmer climate. If there be such, I can assure them I have
traveled through many other regions where there are facilities
for making nice, comfortable, happy homes, and where the climate
is milder; in fact, a person may suit himself with almost any
climate he may choose between here and the Mexican line--in
Southern Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. But as I remarked in the
beginning, we ought to study contentment, and not indulge in a
restless spirit, for change for its own sake, without having a
good and sufficient reason, or without having some duty assigned
to us where we may labor with better advantage to accomplish
greater good in the building up of Zion, or in extending our
borders and establishing and maintaining righteousness in the
earth; and wherever our lot is cast, whether it be in Cache
Valley, or Bear Lake Valley, whether in a warm or a cold climate,
or whether in a hot climate, we should as much as possible try to
content ourselves and adapt ourselves to the surrounding
circumstances, always doing the most good we can.
116
Respecting the relative conveniences of St. George, for instance,
and the surroundings of that country, as compared with this
northern country, I have this to say, and I speak sincerely as I
view it, and verily believe it, that in our efforts to subdue the
country, and having to contend with difficulties and hardships,
in order to plant our settlements there, making our roads and
getting building material, and controlling the waters and the
quicksands, and in having to meet and overcome obstacles which
are peculiar to that country, we have worn out a great many good
people, a great many good men have succumbed under the hardships
we have had to endure; and I was counting up the number of
families in the little city of St. George, whose husband and
father had passed away under these circumstances, and I found
that there were no less than between thirty and forty widows
there, besides quite a number who have left and returned North,
having buried their husbands down there. This is not the result
of any contagion, or violent sickness, or any special disease,
for we have had none; we have no prevailing disease, and it is
not naturally an unhealthy country by any means. There is here
and there a locality where they, having neglected common sanitary
rules, have perhaps suffered from chills and fever, or ague.
Diseases of this kind, which are incident to hot climates, have
been experienced where they have allowed water to stand in pools.
In St. George, however, we have been troubled with it. Washington
and Santa Clara have, but it has arisen from defective sanitary
measures. Naturally, I think our Southern country is quite as
healthy as the general average of places in Utah. And when I
speak of the number of men who have worn themselves out in
helping to subdue the barrenness of the land, I might have said
they have been mostly hale, hearty men, who went there in their
prime, that wore themselves out with constant work in making
homes for themselves and families. They have fallen a prey to
exposure and labor both summer and winter, and to poor fare. But
after saying this, I am happy to say also, that I think we have
passed the crisis in this respect. We have learned wisdom by the
things we have suffered: the comforts of life are being increased
around us, and we are making up our minds now not to kill
ourselves trying to live as fast as we have done in times past.
116
Now, I have said on different occasions, which it is as well for
the youth of our large towns, our railroad towns and cities,
where emigrants are dropped by the shipload, and where there is a
redundancy of labor and surplus workmen, who are seeking for
something to do and cannot find it, and are idling away their
time and are waiting for something to turn up, and waiting for
some easy chair, some clerkship, some place to make a living
without working much--and I may say this class of people are
abounding among us, and they receive an unfavorable education,
and are contracting habits which are not good; I have said, and
do say, that it is better for such to enter into swarms and form
material for new colonies, to help to establish new places, and
make new roads to the timber, get out farms, build mills, and
subdue the elements, as their fathers did when they first settled
this country. But in saying this to the surplus population of our
older towns and railroad centres, we do not wish to apply it to
these regions, where you have an abundance of room, needing, in
fact, a much heavier population. I am persuaded that the people
of this valley will be healthier, happier, and will enjoy more
facilities and comforts when their population is treble to what
it is to-day. Three times the population you now have can handle
the facilities which you do much easier than the present
population can handle them, and to better advantage and to better
profit to all. And you will have better roads, and better farms,
and better houses, and better mills, and better schools, your
cities will be much better built up and improved, and your
property more valuable, and everything will conduce to your
comfort and growth, than under existing circumstances.
117
I was favorably struck with Garden City as I passed through it; I
was favorably impressed with St. Charles as I passed through it.
These are beautiful locations. I was particularly pleased with
one thing I saw in Garden City, which was the long canal from
Swan Creek. In this cold climate, where the seasons are short, it
is important in irrigating, that the water should run slow and as
long as possible before it is put on to the land, in order that
it might get warmed, because it has a much more salutary effect
on young crops than where it is cold and chilly direct from the
canon; and I am persuaded that a good deal of your small grain is
injured this way. Brother Thatcher took it upon himself to speak
a little upon this practical question, and you will pardon me for
doing the same. Though you farmers may think you know more than I
do about it, you will all agree with me in this, that any
suggestion I may make will not harm you, as you can do as you
please about adopting it. But I know the difference between the
effect of cold and warm water in agriculture in making things to
grow; when you wish to rush the growth of your plants or crops in
warm weather, the one is far preferable to the other. And if you
wish to raise fruits and plants which are delicate and tender, of
course you can get on to your warm, gravelly soil, and there put
on your manure; and if you can use warm water, and have the
benefit of the canon breezes to prevent frost, you can raise a
great deal of fruit. You now raise a great deal of small fruit,
such as strawberries, raspberries, currants and gooseberries; and
what is there to hinder you raising plums and many varieties of
choice apples, such as we cannot grow in St. George? That country
is really too hot for growing apples. I raise apples, but they
are not as good as the same variety raised in Salt Lake City. I
am persuaded that this Northern region could beat us on apples,
but we could beat you on pears and peaches, apricots and some
other fruits. I should advise you to keep trying, and if your
trees kill down once in a while, keep replacing them, and make
the land as warm as possible, and put on the water warm, but not
when the plants can stand it without; and then, do not leave it
on late in the fall, thus keeping the plant growing late in the
season, for when this is done the first severe frost that comes
generally takes them off. I will leave this subject to Brother
John Nebeker, who is abundantly able to continue it, and who, by
doing so, might greatly benefit the people of this Northern
country.
118
I would like to offer a little advice to your board of trade. You
have one I suppose? (A voice: Yes, sir) of course, in giving you
my reflections in this as in other matters you are at liberty to
please yourself about accepting it. You are here in a
comparatively solid position, you can have things about your own
way, that is, if you choose to be united. You are not mixed up as
they are in Salt Lake City and in Ogden, you can control the
trade of this whole region of country, not only in marketing your
own produce but in the buying of your merchandise, wagons,
carriages, machinery, and everything you have to import which you
could get from first hands and at first cost and thereby save to
yourselves the profits now made by middle-men. And in marketing
your produce you can do likewise, but then you would have to
control the business among yourselves, and give it your hearty
support, and be resolved that you will operate together. Now, you
are enriching men every year by your trade, and you are doing it
by being divided, every man being for himself undertaking to
market his own produce and to buy his own plows, rakes, mowers
and reapers, and hauling his own produce to market and then doing
the largest part of his trading with stores in which he is not
interested, and his own co-operative store doing but a small
languishing business. The great bulk of the business of this
Territory is handled by outsiders at a distance from your
settlements both as to importations and as to marketing your
produce. You haul to market your butter and eggs, and the
merchants dictate to you the price which they will pay, and you
cannot help yourselves. In this way they grow rich on the
profits, while you remain poor comparatively speaking, that is,
you do not enjoy the benefits of your own labor and produce to
the extent you might, if you were properly united. Your board of
trade and co-operative stores throughout the county ought to work
together and enter upon a system to handle your own produce in
bulk; and then in buying wagons and agricultural machinery, etc.;
instead of every man buying a single wagon or farming implement,
this organization would deal direct with the manufacturers by the
car-load, at manufacturers' prices, having them shipped to
Evanston, the nearest point, instead of Salt Lake. I think the
same also in relation to your stock. I understand you were making
some efforts in this direction--the handling of your stock and
marketing it. Every step you take in this direction will tend to
consolidate the interests of the people and increase your common
comforts, and will at the same time have the tendency to keep at
arms' length Jews and Gentiles, who may be hunting chances to
pick up what little money you have to spare, or to make what
money they can out of you. The more you concentrate your business
relations and the greater degree of confidence you beg one for
another, thereby having and increasing a desire to build each
other up, the less you will be troubled with sharpers who thrust
themselves into your towns and neighborhoods wherever there is
evidence of the existence of money. I feel that this is our duty
as a people, to adopt this co-operative manner of doing our
business, in order to protect ourselves against the spirit of
greed, and our children to a great degree from the contaminating
influences that Gentiles, as a general thing, carry with them
wherever they have located among our people. We have been taught
for years to sustain Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution:
and our local merchants should buy of them. But in all
probability, if you were combined in this valley in your business
relations, instead of every little store in every settlement in
this valley being obliged to send to Salt Lake or Ogden for
supplies of merchandise, it would be a matter of necessity to
have a centre here such as they have in Ogden and Logan, only on
a smaller scale, in which you might do your wholesale business
direct, and so arrange it that the parent co-op will ship to you
most of the articles you need direct, which you need only go to
the city to "sort up," instead of going for all of your supplies.
I think this would naturally come to be the result of a thorough
union and combination of labor and interests in this valley; and
I think too, that your isolated position eminently fits you for
building up such home trade.
118
I am pleased to learn of the goodly degree of fellowship which
prevails in your settlements, and that there are but little
apostasy and opposing influences to contend with. You have been
highly favored of the Lord in that which you have enjoyed, from
the early settlement of this valley, the presence and counsels
and labors of President Charles C. Rich, whom I regard as one of
the wisest and most prudent counselors in Israel, a father indeed
in the midst of his people; and the blessing of God has attended
his ministrations among you, as is evidenced in the condition of
the people generally.
119
My heart feels to bless the people, and to invoke the blessing of
the Lord upon the land and upon the elements, that they may be
made to conduce to your happiness and comfort; and that while you
reap the fruits of the Father's mercy and goodness, your hearts
may be ever found to acknowledge Him as our benefactor and
friend, and to appreciate His blessings. I trust that President
Taylor and the brethren who are with you may be able to impart
such words of counsel and consolation as your circumstances
require; and that soon you will have in your midst again.
President Budge,--that is, if we succeed in getting our mind upon
the right man to take his place. He has been doing an excellent
work in Europe, and we do not want to release him until we can
replace him with a suitable man.
119
Your local Priesthood in your several wards and settlements, I
doubt not, are earnestly seeking to learn their duty and to
qualify themselves to magnify their callings; and if the people
give them their faith and prayers and confidence and support, you
will steadily advance in good works, in faith and wisdom; and I
trust you will improve also in your educational interests. I
suspect what is common in our new settlements, that you may seem
behind in this respect, or at least you are not as far advanced
in the condition of your schools as is desirable; and for the
reason that there are more or less of the people who are so much
absorbed in the cares of life, in making themselves homes, in
order to be able to withstand the rigors of the climate, that
they cannot bestow the attention and care to the training of
their children which they ought to. I suppose they are willing to
build schoolhouses, however, because they serve a triple purpose;
first, for dancing; second, for school purposes; and third, for
religious worship. Perhaps I ought to reverse it, but you can if
you choose. People are willing to help to build school-houses for
triple purposes. And when they have done this, they think that
the Trustees should find teachers for them to teach their
children who are not large enough to work; and these are often
sent to school to be kept out of the way.
120
Now brethren and sisters, I do not mean, in making these remarks,
to charge any of you harshly; and it may be I do not give you the
credit which you are entitled to. I only speak what I find to be
quite common in our new settlements throughout the country where
I travel, and I feel the necessity of appealing to the good sense
of the fathers and mothers; and to say to the Bishops and the
Elders and Trustees particularly--and here let me say, that our
Trustees should be chosen from our most energetic men--men who
will fill the office, who will give it their most earnest
consideration, who will seek to make everything comfortable
around the schoolroom, men who will take an interest in the
welfare of the children, and who will look to the wants and
encouragement of the teachers, and who will also see that good
and suitable books are provided, especially the Bible and Book of
Mormon. Now, do not be afraid to see the good books which God has
given unto us in the hands of your school children; do not be
afraid of the teacher who will open school by prayer, and who
will encourage faith in God, and morality, and everything that
makes people good citizens. And I beseech the people generally to
encourage the combined efforts of the County Superintendent and
the Trustees and school-teachers in establishing good schools in
your midst; and that you will also sustain all the other good
institutions, such as the Relief Society, the Mutual Improvement
Associations, and your Sabbath Schools, and also those who act as
Superintendents and Teachers in the Sabbath School. And do not,
my brethren and sisters, consider it a little calling to act as a
Sunday School Teacher; for when faithfully acting in this
capacity you are sowing seeds in the minds of the youth which
must sooner or later produce the natural fruit; and thus prepare
men and women to carry on the work which their fathers have
begun, and in which some of them have worn themselves out.
120
That God may bless the people of these valleys, and that their
children may grow up to perpetuate their names with honor to
themselves and glory to God is my earnest prayer, in the name of
Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / George
Q. Cannon, October 31, 1880
George Q. Cannon, October 31, 1880
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT GEORGE Q. CANNON
Delivered at Tooele City, On Sunday, October 31, 1880.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TRUE CHURCH OF CHRIST AND THE
CHURCHES OF THE WORLD--THE LOVE AND THE UNION BEGOTTEN
BY THE HOLY SPIRIT--THE GLORY OF THE LATTER-DAY WORK BELONGS TO
GOD
ALONE--GREATNESS OF CELESTIAL GLORY--SAINTS PROVED BY
TRIAL--CELESTIAL
MARRIAGE--COMPLETE SUBMISSION TO GOD'S WILL NECESSARY--BUILDING
OF
TEMPLES--SALVATION OF THE DEAD.
121
We profess as a people, to be led by revelation, and I hope our
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / John
Taylor, June 27, 1881
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered at Hooperville, Monday, June 27, 1881.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
THE PRIVILEGES OF THE SAINTS, ETC.
The Saints' Mission is One of Peace, Etc. 139
I have been interested in the remarks made by Brother Cannon,
who has addressed us, because I am personally well conversant
with most of the events to which he has referred. I also
coincide with him in his feelings as regards the position we
ought to occupy in this Territory as an integral part of the
United States, in relation to the melancholy event which has
so recently transpired in the nation; for all right feeling
people must execrate a crime like that attempted on the life
of the President. It is usual with many people when they think
they have received an injury to hope and wish that the like
calamity
may rest upon those who are their opponents, or by whom they have
received, or supposed they have received, certain slights or
injuries; and it is very difficult for such people to comprehend
the principle that actuates, or ought to actuate, all
high-minded,
honorable men, especially those who profess to be influenced by
that Gospel which was introduced by our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ.
Our motives as Latter-day Saints should be very different indeed
from those which many are actuated by, who do not believe in
the principles enunciated in the Gospel of the Son of God. Our
mission to the world is a mission of peace. Our proclamation
is the same as that which was made by the angels of mercy who
heralded the advent of the Son of God; it is: “Peace on earth,
and good will toward men.” We have never entertained any other
feeling or principle than this; nor do we desire to cherish
any unhallowed feelings in our bosoms either to individuals or
the nation.
Reference has been made by Bro.
140 Journal of Discourses
Cannon in his remarks to the feeling and animus which exist among
many calling themselves Christians, in their conventions, etc., in
their endeavors to stir up a spirit of persecution and opposition
to us. Let them take their course; let them follow the influence
by which they are governed. We cannot afford to entertain a spirit
of that kind, nor do we desire to cherish a spirit of
retaliation.
If Jesus, when upon the earth, could patiently endure the scoffs,
sneers and reproaches of men which were so indiscriminately heaped
upon Him; if we are in possession of the principles which were
enunciated by Him, we can afford also to cherish the same noble
and
magnanimous feelings which dwelt in His bosom. I know of no other
principle than this associated with the Gospel of the Son of God,
whether in this age or any other age. Jesus came here according
to
the foreordained plan and purpose of God, pertaining to the human
family, as the Only Begotten of the Father full of grace and
truth.
He came to offer himself a sacrifice, the just for the unjust; to
meet the requirements of a broken law, which the human family
were
incapable of meeting, to rescue them from the ruins of the fall,
to deliver them from the power of death to which all peoples had
been subjected by the transgression of a law, and He Himself took
the initiatory in this matter, and offered himself, the Son of
God,
as competent propitiation for the sins of the world. And when He
was
opposed, rejected, cast out, spat upon and maligned; and again,
when
He was crucified, in His last remark He used the words which have
already been referred to, “Father, forgive them; for they know
not
what they do.” He taught that it was written in the law in
olden times,
that there should be “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth;” but says He, “I say unto you, That ye resist not evil
* * Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them
that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and
persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which
is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on
the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”
These were principles worthy of a God; these were feelings which
if cherished by the human family, would elevate them from that
low, groveling position in which they are laboring, would place
them on a more elevated platform, would bring them into communion
with their Heavenly Father, and prepare them for an association
with the Gods in the eternal worlds.
In reference to this late melancholy affair which has occurred, I
feel in my heart a strong sympathy for President Garfield. People
may think this strange. Why, say they, did he not make some
remarks which are calculated to injure you as a people? Yes. But
he, like the rest of us is a fallible being. We are all fallible,
and it is not every man who can resist the pressure which is
brought to bear upon him, and the influence by which he may be
surrounded. Even Pilate, who was inspired by strong principles of
justice, found it difficult to resist the popular clamor against
Jesus; he felt a disposition to deliver the Savior from the
position in which he was placed by his enemies, and asked the
people, What harm has this man done? Nothing. Only the people
continued to cry out, “Crucify him, crucify him;” and in
answer to their demands he delivered Jesus into their hands,
saying, however, “I
The Saints' Mission is One of Peace, Etc. 141
wash my hands of his blood.” He had not the firmness to resist
the cries of the population but yielded to their unreasonable
demands.
But to return. In speaking of these matters, I have reasons
personally, myself, to have very vindictive feelings if I would
entertain them, in regard to misrule and mob violence, for under
the pledge of the governor of Illinois, made to me and to Dr.
Bernhisel, (who is here presented) Joseph and Hyrum Smith were
guaranteed protection, and the governor pledged us his faith and
that of the State therefore. But these two innocent victims were
slain in cold blood, and the very guards whom the governor
ostensibly placed for their protection, assisted in the murder,
whilst I, myself, who was not there as a prisoner, received four
balls at the time of their massacre. Under these infamous
circumstances it would be very natural for a man to entertain
vindictive feelings. But do I have feelings of revenge in my
heart concerning these men? No. Did any of you ever hear me give
utterance to feelings of that kind? I think not. I do not wish to
be governed by such influences. Those who perpetrate such acts
have enough to answer for without any maledictions from me. I do
not cherish feelings of that kind. I consider that all these
things are governed by an all-wise and inscrutable Providence, by
a God who rules and regulates, manages and directs the affairs of
the human family. I saw Joseph and Hyrum Smith mortally wounded
by men with blackened faces, and, as I have said, I was severely
wounded—quite as severely as President Garfield is. Do I feel
enmity towards these men? No, their case is not an enviable one.
There is a Being who knows the acts
of the human family and is acquainted with their affairs, who
will judge all men and all nations according to their deserts. Do
I know this? I do know it. The Gospel reveals many things to us
which others are unacquainted with. I knew of those terrible
events which were coming upon this nation previous to the
breaking out of our great fratricidal war, just as well as I now
know that they transpired, and I have spoken of them to many.
What of that? Do I not know that a nation like that in which we
live, a nation which is blessed with, the freest, the most
enlightened and magnificent government in the world today, with
privileges which would exalt people to heaven if lived up to—do
I not know that if they do not live up to them, but violate them
and trample them under their feet, and discard the sacred
principles of liberty by which we ought to be governed—do I not
know that their punishment will be commensurate with the
enlightenment which they possess? I do. And I know—I cannot
help but know—that there are a great many more afflictions yet
awaiting this nation. But would I put forth my hand to help bring
them on? God forbid! And you, you Latter-day Saints, would you
exercise your influence to the accomplishment of an object of
that kind? God forbid! But we cannot help but know these things.
But our foreknowledge of these matters does not make us the
agents in bringing them to pass. We are told that the wicked will
slay the wicked. We are told in sacred writ, “that vengeance is
mine, saith the Lord, and I will repay.” And in speaking of
ourselves we need not be under any apprehensions pertaining to
the acts of men, for the Lord has said, “It is my business to
take care of my
142 Journal of Discourses
saints;” but it is our business to be Saints. And to be worthy
of that character it is our duty to live by the principles of
virtue, truth, integrity, holiness, purity, and honor, that we
may at all times secure the favor of Almighty God; that His
blessings may be with us and dwell in our bosoms; that the peace
of God may abide in our habitations; that our fields, our flocks,
and our herds may be blessed of the Lord; and that we, as a
people, may be under His divine protection. Fear him and keep his
commandments, and if we do this we need know no other fear either
on this side of heaven or of hell, for God has pledged himself to
take care of his people and to sustain and deliver them from the
hands of their enemies, Therefore we may feel easy, and we can
always afford to treat all men right. What! Would you treat your
enemies well? Why, yes. If they were hungry I would feed them; if
they were thirsty I would give them drink; if they were naked I
would clothe them; but I would not be governed by their
principles, nor influenced by the feelings which animate their
bosoms. I would try and imitate and cherish the same truths that
dwell in the bosom of God, who makes his sun to rise on the evil
and on the good, and the rain to fall on the just and on the
unjust. Then, having done that, I would leave them in the hands
of God, and let him direct his affairs according to the counsels
of his own will.
I am sorry to see this murderous influence prevailing throughout
the world, and perhaps this may be a fitting occasion to refer to
some of these matters. The manifestations of turbulence and
uneasiness which prevail among the nations of the earth are truly
lamentable. Well,
have I anything to do with them? Nothing; but I cannot help but
know that they exist. These feelings which tend to do away with
all right, rule, and government, and correct principles are not
from God, or many of them are not. This feeling of communism and
nihilism, aimed at the overthrow of rulers and men in position
and authority, arises from a spirit of diabolism, which is
contrary to every principle of the Gospel of the Son of God. But
then do not the Scripture say that these things shall occur? Yes.
Do not the scriptures say that men shall grow worse and worse,
deceiving and being deceived? Yes. Do not the scriptures tell us
that thrones shall be cast down and empires destroyed and the
rule and government of the earth be trodden under foot? Yes. But
I cannot help but sympathize with those who suffer from their
influences; while these afflictions are the result of wickedness
and corruption, yet we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that
those who engage in these pernicious practices are exceedingly
low, brutal, wicked and degraded. I would say “my soul come not
thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor, be not
thou united.”
I have traveled abroad myself, quite extensively among the
nations of the earth. Did I ever interfere with them? No, not in
the least particular. Did I see things that were wrong? Yes, but
it was not for me to right them. That was not my mission. I had
no command of the kind. My mission was to preach the Gospel of
salvation to the nations of the earth, and I have traveled
hundreds of thousands of miles to do this, without purse or
scrip, trusting in God. And so have many of my friends traveled.
We did not hurt anybody, did we? For
The Saints' Mission is One of Peace, Etc. 143
instance, now, right in our own city, we have Methodists,
Presbyterians, Baptists, Catholics, Episcopalians, and all kinds
of isms. Do we interfere with them? We do not. Would you
interrupt them in their worship? I know of no such thing, good
Latter-day Saints will not do it. Would I malign or persecute
them? No, I would not. If we told the truth about some of them it
would be quite bad enough without stating falsehoods, and if
other men cannot afford to treat us aright, we can afford to
treat them properly and to give the fullest and broadest liberty
to all who come within our reach; liberty to do right, not
liberty to oppress, not liberty to trample upon correct
principles, not liberty to rob men of their property or religion.
Men who would do this are villains which we want nothing to do
with; but all honorable men, all men who do right and maintain
the laws and the Constitution of the United States, we are their
friends and will sustain them to the last. These are my thoughts
in relation to that matter.
In connection with President Garfield, have we any feelings of
enmity? No; I have none. I feel truly to sympathize with him in
his affliction, but I feel more profoundly moved that deeds of
this description can occur in a free, liberal and enlightened
government like this. We might expect such things in some of the
European nations where the principles of nihilism exist to so
great an extent, and where there seems a disposition to subvert
all rule and government and place the people and nations in the
hands of irresponsible mobs, and of low, brutal, murderous men,
without any regard to the principles of law, order, justice,
equity and righteousness. I could account for some of
these things taking place there. It is really astonishing to see
what efforts are being made to accomplish the overthrow of rule
and government in Russia, Austria, Germany, Spain, England,
Italy, France, Turkey, etc. These things are beginning to spread
among and permeate the nations of the earth. Do we expect them?
Yes. These secret combinations were spoken of by Joseph Smith,
years and years ago. I have heard him time and time again tell
about them, and he stated that when these things began to take
place the liberties of this nation would begin to be bartered
away. We see many signs of weakness which we lament, and we would
to God that our rulers would be men of righteousness, and that
those who aspire to position would be guided by honorable
feelings—to maintain inviolate the Constitution and operate in
the interest, happiness, well-being, and protection of the whole
community. But we see signs of weakness and vacillation. We see a
policy being introduced to listen to the clamor of mobs and of
unprincipled men who know not of what they speak, nor whereof
they affirm, and when men begin to tear away with impunity one
plank after another from our Constitution, by and by we shall
find that we are struggling with the wreck and ruin of the system
which the forefathers of this nation sought to establish in the
interests of humanity. But it is for us still to sustain these
glorious principles of liberty bequeathed by the founders of this
nation, still to rally round the flag of the Union, still to
maintain all correct principles, granting the utmost extent of
liberty to all people of all grades and of all nations. If other
people see fit to violate these sacred principles, we must uphold
them in their en-
144 Journal of Discourses
tirety, in their purity, and be patriotic and law-abiding and act
honorably toward our nation and to its rulers. It is truly
deplorable to see our President, the President of this great and
mighty nation, one of the greatest rulers in the world stricken
down by an assassin. Yet these things we have to mourn over. But
in all cases it is for us to be true to our God and to our
religion, to obey the laws of God, cleaving to correct
principles, letting purity, virtue, honor, truth and integrity
characterize all our acts, that we may be the blessed of the Lord.
I pray God to bless you, and that we may be led in the paths of
light;
and I pray God to bless all honorable men everywhere, and to
bless our President and our rulers who rule in righteousness, and
that wherein any of them are doing wrong, that they may be led in
the right path, and that we may be led to pursue that course at
all times that shall secure the approbation of God, the
approbation of our own conscience and the esteem and respect of
all honorable men everywhere. Regarding the notions of others, we
care nothing; our trust is in God; and we will try and observe
His laws and keep His commandments. May God help us to do so in
the name of Jesus. Amen.
aints Have Cause to Rejoice—Their Labors and Future
Discourse by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered at the General
Conference, Sunday Morning, April 3, 1881.
Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.
Wilford Woodruff
144 Journal of Discourses
I think that all of us as Latter-day Saints should have our
hearts filled with gratitude and thanksgiving to God our Heavenly
Father for his mercies and blessings which we enjoy this day. It
is certainly a source of much pleasure to me to have the
privilege of meeting with so many of the Latter-day Saints, and
with so many bearing the Holy Priesthood in this dispensation of
God to man. I cannot but re-
joice when I reflect upon the history of this people, and
contemplate the dealings of God with us, how that He has
protected us and sustained us and delivered us and made us a
community in the land, and that too under adversity and
opposition.
In tracing the history of the Prophets and Apostles of old, as
well as those of our day, we find that there have been some very
peculiar manifestations of the trust and con-
The Saints Have Cause to Rejoice, Etc. 145
fidence in God which they have exercised. Consider, for instance,
the position of the Three Hebrews. They could afford to trust
themselves in the hands of God; they could afford to meet
whatever punishment or affliction or persecution which might be
heaped upon them in consequence of their obeying the law of God.
But they could not afford to bow down and worship the image which
Nebuchadnezzar had caused to be set up, because it was contrary
to the commandments of God. The history of the result of their
refusing to obey the royal edict, commanding all Babylon to fall
down and worship it, we are familiar with; also with the similar
circumstance in which the Prophet Daniel figured. In any and
every age of the world when God has called or commanded a man or
a people to perform a certain work, they through determination
and perseverance, and faith in him, have been enabled to
accomplish it; and I do not know of a single instance wherein
anything ennobling or exalting has been gained when his command
has been shunned or willfully disobeyed. I will here mention the
case of Jonah, which presents itself to my mind, when the Lord
sent him to deliver a message to Ninevah. The requirement was a
little too much for Jonah, and he thought he would try to avoid
it; but after he had spent three days and nights in the belly of
a whale, he thought, no doubt, that if ever he got to land he
would unhesitatingly obey the commandments of the Lord. The
result we know. We take our Savior, and also the Apostles who
followed him; we read the history of what they suffered and
passed through. All of the Apostles suffered death (excepting
one, whom they could not destroy), including the Son of God
himself, in order to seal their testimony with their blood; while
the Savior had to suffer upon the cross, to fill the mission
which he had been preordained to perform; which, by the way, is a
very strange ensample to man, to see the Son of God, the Only
Begotten of the Father on the earth, the Firstborn in the spirit
world, a person of His high exaltation and glory, condescending
to come forth to be born in a stable and cradled in a manger; and
after he grew up, how he traveled about in adversity and
suffering, never shrinking from any duty imposed upon him—it
should certainly be a good ensample to all of his followers. And
the Apostles themselves, because of their integrity to the truths
of the Gospel which they had received through their Master, the
Savior, they like him, suffered death, and thus sealed their
testimony with their blood. They could perform no more than he
could towards turning the hearts of the people to the truth; but
they determined to risk whatever suffering, trouble or
tribulation they were called to pass through for the word of God,
and the testimony of Jesus, that they might receive eternal life.
I bring this home to ourselves. I bring it home to the Latter-day
Saints; I bring it home to our day and generation. Many of us
have been acquainted with our Prophet and Patriarch, Joseph and
Hyrum Smith. We know their lives; we know the suffering and
trouble they passed through. These men are true and faithful unto
death. They could afford to do it; but they could not afford to
deny the faith; they could not afford to shrink from the
important message which God had given unto them, of establishing
this Church and kingdom upon the earth, but they could afford to
be
146 Journal of Discourses
true and faithful to the last moments of their lives, in
advocating and defending the principles of the Gospel of the Son
of God. I wish to say to our leading men, the Presidency of this
Church, the Twelve Apostles, the Presidents of Stakes and their
Counselors, the Bishops, the Seventies, the High Priests and
Elders, and to all men bearing the Holy Priesthood, as well as to
all who have entered into covenant with God, that we can, as
individuals and as a people, afford to maintain our integrity in
this our day and generation, regardless of consequences. We can
afford to be true and faithful to God; we can afford to carry out
every principle and commandment which God has given unto us; we
can afford to do this, as much so as Prophets and Apostles and
people of God of other dispensations and generations. And I would
say to all Israel, there is not one soul of us who can afford to
compromise one of the revelations or one of the commandments
which God has committed to our charge. No man can afford to do
this who is called of God to build up this Kingdom. We can
afford, however, to meet the consequences, whatever they may be.
And I would say to all present this day, that we should have, and
that we have as much comfort, as much hope and as much cause to
trust in God, and have received as much encouragement, by the
overruling hand of Almighty God in our behalf, to go on
magnifying our calling and to be true and faithful to every
commandment which God has given unto us, as the people of any
other generation had in their day; and for one I can say, “It
is the kingdom of God or nothing for me and I am willing to risk
the consequences. I know that I cannot afford to disobey any com-
mandment which God has given to me, because there is no man who
holds the Priesthood, and possessing the inspiration and the
gifts of God and the light of truth, but would be ashamed both in
the flesh and in the spirit world to meet his God, and to be
obliged to acknowledge that he did not obey His commandments. And
I will here say that whenever we do our duty, whenever we keep
the commandments which have been made known to us, we will see
the fulfillment of the promises which God has made to us with
regard to this day, age and dispensation. There is no promise
which God has made to us but what will be fulfilled to the very
letter. I read these—the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the
Doctrine and Covenants, and I regard them as eternal truths. I
cannot find any revelations given from the days of Moses down to
the days of Joseph Smith, nor from the days of Joseph to our day,
by men who have spoken as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost,
but what has been fulfilled to the very letter, as far as time
would admit of. Though the heavens and the earth pass away, not
one jot or tittle which will fall unfulfilled. When I read these
solemn, these eternal declarations made through the mouth of
Joseph Smith, my heart swells with gratitude and praise to God,
my heavenly Father. I consider that the Doctrine and Covenants,
our Testament, contains a code of the most solemn, the most
Godlike proclamations ever made to the human family. I will refer
to the “Vision” alone, as a revelation which gives more
light, more truth, and more principle than any revelation
contained in any other book we ever read. It makes plain to our
understanding our present
The Saints Have Cause to Rejoice, Etc. 147
condition, where we came from, why we are here, and where we are
going to. Any man may know through that revelation what his part
and condition will be. For all men know what laws they keep, and
the laws which men keep here will determine their position
hereafter; they will be preserved by those laws and receive the
blessings which belong to them.
I say again, the Latter-day Saints have every encouragement;
their pathway is plain and inviting before them. And the nearer
we adhere to the commandments of God, the more confident we shall
become that God is our friend and that He is watching over us,
and that his Son Jesus is our advocate, with the Father, that he
is in the midst of this people, and that he will contend for the
rights of his Saints, and will ward off every weapon which is
formed against Zion. So far at least we have been sustained; the
arm of Jehovah has been made bare in our behalf ever since we
have been in these valleys, and all Israel whose eyes are open to
see, and whose minds can comprehend the dealings of God with his
people, know it. We have been sustained by the power of God from
the beginning to this day, and nothing short of the power of God
could have saved us and brought us through; and nothing but the
power of God can preserve us, and nothing but his wisdom can
pilot us safe to the high destiny which awaits us. Perhaps I may
be permitted to say, we met with a good deal of persecution and
oppression and suffering before we came to these valleys, and
still the hand of oppression is stretched out against us, and the
public mind everywhere within the pale of Christendom is more or
less set on our destruction, and that because a
certain Biblical principle—the patriarchal order of marriage is
practiced by us. When Earl Rosborough was visiting this city, he
inquired of President Taylor what excuse the State of Missouri
had in driving ten thousand of this people beyond their borders
into the State of Illinois; and what excuse the people of this
nation had who took part in, and those who countenanced the
persecution which we have endured, for persecuting us before the
principle of patriarchal marriage was practiced by the Latter-day
Saints. President Taylor replied, it was because we believed in
revelation, because we believed in Prophets and Apostles, and
because we believed in the ancient, the apostolic, the
everlasting Gospel, with all its gifts and blessings. Then, said
Earl Rosborough, “it would make no difference, as far as your
being at variance with the Christian world is concerned, whether
you practice plural marriage or not, unless you renounce all
other principles you hold to that caused your persecution
heretofore; you would be persecuted still.” I say the same
today. The nation cares no more about our practicing the order of
plural marriage than any other principle of the Gospel; it would
make no difference with us today. Were we to compromise this
principle by saying, we will renounce it, we would then have to
renounce our belief in revelation from God, and our belief in the
necessity of Prophets and Apostles, and the principle of the
gathering, and then to do away with the idea and practice of
building Temples in which to administer ordinances for the
exaltation of the living and the redemption of the dead; and at
last we would have to renounce our Church organization, and mix
up and mingle with the world, and
148 Journal of Discourses
become part of them. Can we afford to do this? I tell you no, we
cannot; but we can afford to keep the commandments of God. And I
will here say, that we have been sustained by the hand of Jehovah
in a marvelous and miraculous manner ever since we came to these
valleys and proclaimed to the world our belief in the revelation
of celestial or plural marriage; and I will say further, and in
the name of Jesus Christ our Savior and Elder Brother, we shall
be sustained from this time until he comes in the clouds of
heaven, inasmuch as we shrink not from the performance of our
duties. We have somebody to deal with besides man. The God of
heaven holds our destiny; he holds the destiny of our nation and
of all the nations, and he controls them. Therefore, I say to the
Latter-day Saints, let us be faithful; let us keep the
commandments; let us not renounce a single principle or command
which God has given to us. Let us keep the word of wisdom. Let us
pay our tithes and offerings. Let us obey the celestial law of
God, that we may have our wives and children with us in the
morning of the first resurrection; that we may come forth clothed
with glory, immortality and eternal lives, with our wives and
children bound to us in the family organization in the celestial
world, to dwell with us throughout the endless ages of eternity,
together with all the sons and daughters of Adam who shall have
kept the commandments of God.
I pray that we may be able to do our duty in this world. I pray
that we may not fear man who can only kill the body, but fear God
who hath power to cast both body and soul into hell. I feel to
say that there is no people under heaven who have so much cause
to rejoice and
to be grateful as the Latter-day Saints. There is no other people
since the foundation of the world called to perform the work
which you, Latter-day Saints, are called to perform. The God of
heaven has given you the kingdom, the great and last kingdom, the
only kingdom which has ever been set up on this earth to remain
until the coming of the Son of Man. Although in its infancy, this
work has a great and a mighty future; and as I have often said,
the eyes of all the hosts of heaven are over us; the eyes of God
Himself, and the eyes of all the Prophets and Apostles who have
ever lived in the flesh are watching this people. They know that
they are not neither can they be made perfect without you; and
they fully understand that we cannot be made perfect without
them. They understand the greatness, the extent, the power and
the glory of this dispensation.
When I contemplate the fact that the few men and women dwelling
in these mountain valleys have had committed to them this great
and mighty work, I feel that of all people under heaven we ought
to be the most grateful to our God; and that we ought to remember
to keep our covenants, and humble ourselves before him, and labor
with all our hearts to discharge faithfully the responsibilities
which devolve upon us, and the duties which are required at our
hands. For we can afford to do anything which God requires of us;
but none of us can afford to do wrong. It would cost far more
than this world with all its wealth is worth for the Latter-day
Saints to do wrong and come under the disfavor of Almighty God.
Our prayers, one and all, should be that of David's—“Keep
back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let
The Saints Have Cause to Rejoice, Etc. 149
them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I
shall be innocent from the great transgression.”
I pray God to bless this assembly of His people; and to bless the
Presidency of the Church, the Apostles and all bearing the holy
Priesthood, together with all who have entered
into covenant with him. My earnest prayer is that the blessings
of our God may be over us in time, that when we get through and
shall pass behind the veil, we shall have done all that was
required of us, and be prepared to dwell with the sanctified and
the just made perfect through the blood of the Lamb. Amen.
149
The Gospel—The “Perfect Law of Liberty,” Etc.
Discourse by Elder Erastus Snow, delivered at the General
Conference, Monday Afternoon, April 4, 1881.
Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.
Erastus Snow
The Gospel—The “Perfect Law of Liberty,” Etc.
149
I desire to be heard, not that I am ambitious of speaking, but if
I speak I desire that my strength shall not be unnecessarily
taxed.
One of the ancient expounders of the Christian religion said,
that the Gospel was the perfect law of liberty. I believe it; and
if I take a text at all, that is my text.
The Gospel as understood and expounded by the Savior and his
ancient Apostles, is a perfect law of liberty. Everything
pertaining to the spirit of the Gospel, as taught and expounded
and practiced by the Savior and His disciples, tended to liberty.
All the revelations which God ever gave to man from the beginning
of the world tended to liberty. The government which our heavenly
Father has exercised, or
attempted to exercise over His children on the earth or in the
heavens, has not in the least tended to restrain or abridge them
in their liberty, but rather to enlarge it, to extend it, to
insure, to preserve and maintain it. The Gospel of Christ, and
all of the revelations of God to man have sought to mark the line
of distinction between liberty and license, between correct
principles of government and anarchy or oppression and slavery.
Oppression and slavery are the result of sin and wickedness,
violations of the principles of the everlasting Gospel either by
the rulers or ruled or both, and generally both. True freedom of
mind and body and true liberty, even the enjoyment of human
rights is founded and maintained, and rests
150 Journal of Discourses
upon human integrity and virtue and the observance of those
principles of truth on which all true happiness and true freedom
is founded. Sin was never righteousness, nor can be; license was
never liberty nor can be; misery was never happiness, nor can be;
and yet because of the blindness and ignorance of some people,
they never appear to be happy only when they are perfectly
miserable. And there are some people too who think they are
always in slavery and bondage unless they are trying to get
themselves into trouble; and they think there is no true liberty
only in acting like the devil. The Nihilists of Russia, the
Socialists of France and their sympathizers in America, including
the “Liberals” of Utah, are panting for liberty; they are
restive under the restraint of order and law; they are opposed to
government, and like the French Socialists and Communists, they
would destroy Jehovah himself and behead the king and burn up
Parliament and assassinate every representative of power and
government; and when they had reduced the country and themselves
to anarchy, they would look upon their condition as the acme of
freedom and human liberty. The world today is drifting in this
direction, including our own liberal America.
If we take a retrospective view of the dealings of God with his
people whom he recognized, and who acknowledged his laws, and
among whom he raised up Prophets, and with whom he established
his covenants, we will find that they have been the freest of all
peoples which have existed on the earth. The students of the
Bible and the Book of Mormon know this to be the case. They know
that the first king who ruled over ancient Israel, was chosen at
their own earnest solicitations,
when they began to apostatize from God, and to despise His
counsels. They know that Samuel the Seer, who judged them in
righteousness, and who taught them faithfully the ways of the
Lord, earnestly remonstrated with them when they clamored for a
king to go out and in before them and lead them to battle, that
they might be as other nations who were around them. Samuel
foretold the results—that such a course tended to bondage; that
they were but forging the links of the chain that would bind them
and deprive them of freedom. He labored long and arduously to
dissuade them from it; but they would not listen to him. And yet
they were not willing to consent for anybody else to make them a
king but that same Samuel; and when he had prayed to the Lord,
the Lord told him to “hearken to the voice of the people in all
that they say unto thee; for they have not rejected thee but they
have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.” Samuel
did as the Lord commanded him, and Israel was ruled over by a
king of their own choosing. But the heavens were displeased with
them for so doing, and you who are conversant with Bible history
are familiar with the troubles and sorrows which befell Israel in
consequence of this departure from the ways of God. And those who
read the Book of Mormon find the same spirit breathed throughout
that book. The people, in the days when they were willing to
listen to the voice of Prophets and inspired men, were the freest
and best of all people; but when they began to apostatize and
harden their hearts against the words of the Lord and the counsel
imparted to them by His servants, they began to drift with sin
and oppression and bond-
The Gospel—The “Perfect Law of Liberty,” Etc.
151
age. Anarchy—shall I say, is the worst of all governments? No:
Anarchy is the absence of all government; it is the antipodes of
order; it is the acme of confusion; it is the result of unbridled
license, the antipodes of true liberty. The Apostle Paul says
truly: “For there is no power but of God: the powers that be
are ordained of God.” At first this is a startling statement.
Even the monopoly of the one-man-power as in Russia, or the
monopoly of the aristocracy as in other parts of Europe, or the
imbecility and sometimes stupidity of a republic like our own, is
far better than no government at all. And for this reason, says
the Apostle Paul, “The powers are ordained of God,” not that
they are always the best forms of government for the people, or
that they afford liberty and freedom to mankind, but that any and
all forms of government are better than none at all, having a
tendency as they do to restrain the passions of human nature and
to curb them, and to establish and maintain order to a greater or
less degree. One monopoly is better than many; and the oppression
of a king is tolerable, but the oppression of a mob, where every
man is a law to himself and his own right arm, is his power to
enforce his own will, is the worst form of government. The
efforts of extremists clamoring for human freedom are all tending
in this direction; and those who clamor for human rights are, as
a general thing, the first to trample them under foot—I mean
those who are the most loud-mouthed; their ideas of freedom are
all on their tongue; they conceive of no freedom only when they
wield the sword, or dictate terms to others. The Gospel of the
Son of God extends to the world
that perfect law of liberty. Founded on truth, and a proper
appreciation of those principles which tend to the largest
possible happiness to humanity, it restrains mankind, not in the
enjoyment of freedom and liberty, but from efforts to deprive
their fellows of it. In other words, the power which God has
sought to exercise, and which he has recommended and sanctioned,
is only to seize the arm which is raised to fell his fellow, and
to stop the loud tongue of the raging maniac, which would destroy
the peace of his fellow man, and who would seek to build himself
up on the ruin of others. There is no system of government ever
instituted among men which is so well calculated to give and
maintain human freedom, and at the same time to restrain the
vices and excesses of fallen humanity, as the government of the
Gospel sought to be established by the Savior and His Apostles.
We heard quoted this forenoon the words of God spoken through the
Prophet Joseph, and which are and always will be in force among
this people, to the effect that the powers of the Priesthood are
inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and cannot be
exercised in any degree of unrighteousness; that the power of
that man departs from him when he attempts in the least degree to
exercise an unrighteous dominion over his fellow man—or any
power or dominion except that power of truth and of persuasion
founded upon it.
The teachings of the Savior in relation to the settling of
difficulties arising among brethren in the Church of Christ,
through visiting them and talking frankly one with another,
explaining and expounding to each other until they come to an
understanding of all troubles which
152 Journal of Discourses
may arise among members of the Church; and in cases of
disagreement invoking the aid and council of visiting priests and
teachers to act in the premises as peacemakers, as helps to the
parties to arrive at a proper understanding, constitute the best
method of settling and adjusting the differences of mankind which
has ever been instituted; agreeing with the experience of Bishop
Hunter, who has often said, that no cases of difficulty are so
thoroughly and effectually settled as those which are disposed of
in this way. This is the chief labor of the visiting Priesthood
among the people of God. And yet the enemies of this people prate
a great deal about the oppression of the Priesthood. There is no
pope or bishop, priest or clergyman or ecclesiastic belonging to
any sect on the earth, so far as my knowledge extends, which is
so approachable as the President and Apostles and Priests and
Bishops and Elders of this Church, whose hearts and ears are open
to everybody to hear what everybody has to say, and to give it
due weight in all patience and long-suffering, to enlighten and
teach them correct principles, so that they may act honestly with
each other and secure each other the greatest possible amount of
liberty, freedom and happiness. The same may be said of the
domestic relations in the family circle—I will not say with
wicked men, with men who are naturally tyrannical, having the
spirit of tyranny and oppression born in them; but I will say
that free men and women who are imbued with the spirit of the
everlasting Gospel, who are living in polygamy, that they
manifest a greater degree of parental affection and of conjugal
love, and evince greater earnest desire to promote peace and
happiness
and comfort and liberty and freedom to each member of their
families, than at least the great majority of the families of the
Christian world. And as I have often said—and I am as well
acquainted with polygamous families in Utah, as perhaps, any
other man, in consequence of my traveling constantly among the
people and mingling with them—that, as a rule, the polygamous
families of Utah are the best regulated families in the land, and
they enjoy the greatest degree of happiness and freedom, unity,
fellowship and love and reverence for correct principles. Our
would-be regenerators would feign try and make us believe that
unless we all go to the polls and vote their ticket we are slaves
to the Priesthood; that because we chose to vote for our friends,
we are doing the bidding of the Priesthood. Yes, and so we are.
The Priesthood has always taught us that we would be fools,
indeed, to vote for our enemies, for those who would rob and
plunder us, for those who would not only rob us financially, but
would steal from us the common rights of citizenship were it in
their power to do so. And, yet, forsooth, because we vote for our
friends, for men in whom we have confidence, they say we are
priestridden, etc. And what does it all mean? “Why, we want you
Mormons to vote for us that we may get our arm into the public
treasury, for we are too lazy to work.” All who are acquainted
with the administration of affairs in Utah, know that the affairs
of government, both territorial and county, and also municipal,
are the most economically administered of any other Territory or
State in the Union; that there is not one delinquent or case of
embezzlement to where there are ten in any other Territory or
State. And yet our
The Gospel—The “Perfect Law of Liberty,” Etc.
153
would-be regenerators are exceedingly angry because we will not
vote for men to misrepresent us and our interests at the seat of
government; because we do not squeak when they squeak, because we
do not sneeze when they take snuff. This they call liberty! And
there are perhaps some of our own people who are so far befogged
that they run with this class of men; they read their twaddle so
much and they become so much beclouded that they think it is
necessary, in order to show their manhood, to vote for their
enemies because, if they do not vote for their enemies they will
be put down as “Mormon slaves;” and this would be too much
for them, they could not stand so much.
Now, thinking men understand the object of all this cry. It is
prompted by the same spirit which we see manifested by the
extremists almost throughout the civilized world. It is true
there is a great deal of oppression in the world, and these men
see it and they wish to improve things, but do not know how; and
instead of commencing to rectify what is wrong in their own
hearts and in their own families, and then extend their influence
for good to those immediately around them, instead of using moral
suasion and showing a good example, they turn to and undertake to
serve God like the devil, trying to right things the wrong way by
casting down everything in the form of order and government,
producing anarchy and ruin instead. Like the idiot who, because
he himself was houseless, having to sleep on the doorstep of some
rich man, put the torch to the rich man's palace and destroyed
it. Fools can demolish and destroy; it requires wise men to build.
I said of the ancient people of God; I say of the Latter-day
Saints,
there is no people capable of appreciating true liberty and of
understanding the principles on which it is founded, and who know
so well how to maintain them; because we have found it in the
Gospel which we have received. And every man who has received the
spirit of the Gospel, and whose heart is warmed with the love of
it, is preparing his heart and is using his influence to educate
the people to understand the true principles of human freedom,
and the means by which they can be maintained. And I say, as
President Cannon has said, referring to what the Prophet Joseph
Smith told us, that the time would come when the extremists of
the land, who are undermining the fabric of freedom, and little
by little breaking under foot the guarantees of human liberty
which have been raised up by our heavenly Father, through the
instrumentality of wise men whom he raised up to establish the
institutions of our country; these extremists of the land are
gradually undermining those safeguards of human liberty, and
plotting to carry out their nefarious designs in their
endeavoring to oppress the people of God, and to destroy the
institutions of heaven out of the earth. The time will come when
the voice of such men will be heard in the land, like the roaring
of a tornado, so that the still small voice speaking from the
heavens cannot be heard; and the voice of the loudmouth, plotting
destruction to human liberty and freedom will be heard all over
the land, and everybody raise up and say, it is the voice of God;
and they will be willing to stand and look on and see the Saints
butchered and Prophets martyred, and our institutions wrested
from us and wasted away. But when that time arrives, the Lord
will come forth
154 Journal of Discourses
from his hiding place and “vex the nations;” he will raise
his arm, and it shall not be turned back, and he will stay the
hand raised against his people to destroy them and their
institutions.
The Gospel has been the means of gathering us out from among the
nations, and has made us a free and happy people, an able and
united commonwealth; and the Lord is using us to establish its
principles in these mountains, that throughout these valleys may
be formed a nucleus around which honorable men and women may
gather, men who will be capable of appreciating the blessings of
liberty and of helping to extend them to others. And all
presidents and senators and judges, and all men in official
authority who shall lend themselves and their influence to
trample upon the common rights of man, those rights which God has
bestowed upon us and which are our common heritage, and who shall
be found warring against God and his institutions, when the cap
of their iniquity shall be full, the Lord Almighty will cause
them to disappear from the public gaze, he will let them sink
into oblivion and disgrace.
Those who suppose they can secure happiness in doing wickedly are
grievously mistaken. And if they seek to oppress their neighbor
by appropriating to themselves his hard earnings without
rendering him a just equivalent, they will find every time they
do it, they are but weaving together withes for their own backs,
preparing punishment for themselves, and bringing themselves into
bondage—the bondage of sin. For all judgments and punishments
which the law of the Lord has ordained and appointed unto man
are designed to correct their errors and sins. And where they are
corrected and they learn better, then He is ready to stretch
forth His hand to save and exalt them. The Gospel is ever ready
to step in to assist repentant man when he has become sensible
that he needs help to be redeemed, and he realizes that he has
not the power to redeem himself. Then repentance unto life is
granted to him; but it never can come until his judgment is
convinced, until his mind is enlightened and his eyes are opened
to see himself, and to comprehend his true position. And whether
he be in this world or the world to come, he must place himself
in a condition to be saved before redemption can come unto him;
and it is only by the light of truth and of true and correct
principles which can bring happiness and liberty and freedom, and
with it a disposition to extend that liberty to all around, and
to maintain it and protect each other in its enjoyment; and not
with a spirit of vengeance upon the erring, and oppression upon
the ignorant, but only with a disposition to seize and hold the
hand which is raised to smite his fellow and stop in his wayward
course the individual who would override his fellow. And all men
should be protected in this freedom to go so far and no further.
May the Lord help us to live and walk in the light, and think for
ourselves, and act like sensible people, paying heedless regard
to the blatant foolish lunatics who are attracting the attention
of the world. They, however, have their day, after the manner of
the old adage—Every dog has his day; and when it is past he
will cease to bark and bite.
154
Divisions of Modern Christendom—Effects of Sectarian
Proselytism, Etc.
Discourse by Elder C. W. Penrose, delivered in the Tabernacle,
Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, July 17, 1881.
Reported by John Irvine.
Charles W. Penrose
Divisions of Modern Christendom, Etc. 155
Being called upon this afternoon, to address this congregation, I
arise to do so, trusting that the Spirit of God will rest upon me
to enlighten my mind and suggest such thoughts to me as may be
profitable to the congregation assembled, and I desire that my
brethren and sisters will sustain and support me by their
attention and their faith, and prayers, that I may be inspired to
speak the truth, and that all who listen may have the same spirit
resting upon them, that they may be able to see and understand
the things presented.
There are a great many people assembled today in different parts
of the world to worship God according to the various forms which
prevail in what is called Christendom. All those people who
profess to be Christians, believe that there is a God, and that
Jesus of Nazareth who died on Calvary, was the Son of God. They
also believe that the book called the Bible, contains the
revealed will of God to man. But although they all profess to
believe in the same book, in the same God, and in the same
Savior, yet they have different forms of worship, different
tenets of faith, and they are traveling in different roads, with
the
expectation of arriving at the same place at the end of their
journey. The differences which exist in the world in regard to
religion are very deplorable. If mankind were actuated by the
same spirit in their worship of God, they would worship in one
way, they would walk in the path of truth, and would not be
tossed to and fro and carried about by different winds of
doctrine. The fact that people are divided in their belief in
regard to religious principles, is proof that the same spirit
does not rest upon them; they are guided by different influences,
therefore are led in different paths. There is to be a time,
according to the Scriptures, when the people who believe in God,
will all be brought into such a condition that they will “see
eye to eye.” There is to be a time when all people living upon
the earth “shall know God, from the least even to the
greatest,” and there will be no need to contend about doctrine
or principle, but all will understand alike, for “the earth
shall be full of the knowledge of God, as the waters fill the
great deep.” How is this great change to be brought about? At
the present time people who profess to believe in God have a
great many different ideas concerning
156 Journal of Discourses
Him. They have a great many different opinions in regard to the
being who is called His Son, they have a great many different
ideas of the Gospel as taught by His Son, and these contentions
do not decrease, on the contrary they increase. New sects are
springing up, churches are increasing in the earth, but the
children of men are becoming more and more varied in their
opinions in regard to religion. If things continue in the present
way, how long will it take till all the inhabitants of the earth
are brought to a knowledge of the truth? How long will it take to
bring them all to the unity of the faith, and to the knowledge of
the Son of God? We are told in the Scriptures, that one of the
objects of the preaching of the Gospel was that people might be
brought to “the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the
Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature
of the fulness of Christ.” It appears to me that if things
continue in their present condition, instead of the inhabitants
of the earth being brought to a unity of the faith and to the
knowledge of God, division and contention will increase. When
missionaries are sent from Christian nations to heathen nations,
they do not establish any unity of faith among those to whom they
are sent. On the contrary, they introduce division. For instance,
a number of missionaries go among the Mahomedans, and if they
convert a portion of them to the different faiths which those
missionaries teach, they are turned away from the union, such as
it is, of their old creed to the divisions of modern Christendom.
If the Baptist missionary should convert a certain number of
Mahomedans to his creed, the Baptist church would be established
among them; and if the Meth-
odists introduced their creed and obtained converts, there would
be the Methodist faith and the Baptist faith among them; and so
with the Episcopalians, the Presbyterians and the various isms
which are prevalent in Christendom. If all these sects were
introduced into a Mahomedan country, then instead of the people
being brought to greater unity of the faith, division would be
established in their midst, they would be split up into sects
just like modern Christendom is today. And yet if the Bible is
true, the time is to come when all shall know God from the least
to the greatest, and when all shall bow the knee and confess that
Jesus is the Lord to the glory of God the Father. Unless
something is introduced into the world of a different nature and
character to the various sects which now exist in Christendom,
these results can never be brought about.
If the Gospel which Jesus Christ introduced into the world, and
which His Apostles were sent forth to preach, were restored again
to the earth, and the people were brought to the understanding of
that Gospel, then they would come into this condition, because
this was one of the characteristics of the Gospel, one of its
great effects upon the people when it was introduced into the
world 1,800 years and more ago. When the Apostles whom Jesus
Christ sent forth went to preach the Gospel in the country in
which they were born, Palestine, they found people professing
different creeds, but when these people came to receive the
Gospel which the Apostles taught, they were all brought to the
unity of the faith. If Peter went out and preached in one part of
the world, say to the Jews, and Paul, “the Apostle of the
Gentiles,” went out among the Gentile nations and
Divisions of Modern Christendom, Etc. 157
preached to them, the converts made by Peter, and the converts
made by Paul, believed exactly alike, no matter where they were
born, no matter what creed they had previously professed; and
when James went out, or any of the rest of the Apostles, and made
converts, all came to the same belief as the converts of Peter
and the converts of Paul. Indeed the Apostle Paul says, “For by
one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jew
or Gentile, whether we be bond or free; and have all been made to
drink into one Spirit”—“We have,” said he,” “one
Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one hope of our calling.”
This was the effect of the acceptance of the Gospel in the days
of the ancient Apostles. And upon the principle that the same
cause will always produce the same effect under the same
circumstances, if that Gospel were to be preached in this day of
the world the people who obeyed it would be brought into the same
condition, no matter what their creeds were. When they received
the Gospel of Jesus Christ they would be brought to a unity of
the faith, they would receive one doctrine, they would receive
one spirit, they would have one Lord, one baptism, one faith and
one hope of their calling, they would be started on the same
road, they would worship the same God in the same way, under the
influence of the same spirit.
Well, what is the matter in what is called the Christian world?
The difficulty is that the people of the earth have departed from
the plan of salvation which was taught by Jesus Christ and His
Apostles, and the opinions of men have been introduced instead of
the word of God. Men have stepped forth from the ranks to be
preachers and teachers of the people, and have introduced
their own notions, and churches have been built up and
established upon those notions. In the olden times the Apostles
of Jesus Christ did not feel that they had any right to go out
and preach their views about doctrine, their ideas about
salvation, but they went out as ambassadors of the Lord Jesus
Christ having authority from Him to preach the Gospel which He
delivered to them and no other, and the Apostle Paul went so far
as to say, “Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any
other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you,
let him be accursed.” And John, the beloved and loving
disciple, who talked so much about love and charity, says,
“Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of
Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ,
he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you,
and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house,
neither bid him God speed. For he that biddeth him God speed is
partaker of his evil deeds.” The servants of God who have been
called at various times from the beginning to preach the word of
the Lord to the inhabitants of the earth have always come with
the word of the Lord; not their own ideas, not with their
peculiar notions about doctrine, but they came to bring a message
from the Almighty, and they delivered it with authority. Every
word they spoke under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit was the
word of God to the people, and was binding upon them, for those
men were the representatives of God upon the earth, so far as
their teachings were concerned. “Holy men of God spake as they
were moved upon by the Holy Ghost,” and that which they said
under the influence of that
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spirit, was the Word of God to the people to whom it came. But
for hundreds of years the people of the earth have been taught
the doctrines of men. They have been “teaching for doctrines
the commandments of men,” just as we read in the Scriptures
they would do; and in consequence of this the people have become
divided, sects have multiplied, division has increased, and the
people, instead of obeying the voice of the Lord and walking in
His ways, have the teachings of men and have walked in the ways
of men, and therefore they have departed from the Almighty. We
say sometimes that God has departed from the world. That is not
exactly the case; the world have gone away from God; “they have
heaped to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they have
turned away their ears from the truth, and have turned unto
fables,” as the ancient Apostles said they would. This, in a
few plain words, is the condition of the Christian world today.
Notwithstanding this, however, there are a great many people
among those various sects and religions who are sincere in their
worship. Their desires are good, and a great many of them think
they are walking in the way of life. But as the wise man Solomon
says, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the
end thereof is death.” There is and can be but one way, one
true way into the presence of God. “Strait is the gate, and
narrow is the path, which leadeth unto life, and few there be
that find it,” said Jesus, while “Broad is the road, that
leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.”
There is but one way, and, “He that entereth not by the door
into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a
thief and
a robber.” There being but one road to eternal life, he that
walks not in that road is on another, but there is but one road
to take him into the presence of God to receive the glory of His
Father's kingdom. Now, this may sound in some people's ears very
uncharitable. People say the Latter-day Saints are uncharitable,
because they aver that there is only one way to heaven. You never
hear a man called uncharitable when he says there is only one way
in mathematics. If five times five are twenty-five, anyone who
differs from that is acknowledged to be wrong, but when we talk
about religious affairs there seems to be an idea in the world
that people can believe what they please about religion, and it
is all right. Now, this seems to me very inconsistent. Truth
cannot be bent or turned aside. Truth cannot be turned into
error; there is no compromise between truth and error. If a
principle is true in one age of the world, it is just as much so
in another; and the notions and sincerity of the people will not
alter that truth in the slightest degree. Jesus came to show the
way of salvation. He sent His Apostles to teach one way, one
plan, and as the Apostle Paul said, if anybody preaches any other
he will be accursed.
But supposing we look into the nature and character of this plan
of salvation, this way that Jesus laid down. I will refer you to
the 3rd chapter of the Gospel according to St. John, and the 5th
verse. The words I am about to read are the words of Jesus
Christ. Now if you please to say that Christ was uncharitable,
you may. I will not say so. Jesus is the great Divine Master.
Those who do not profess to believe that He was the immaculate
Divisions of Modern Christendom, Etc. 159
Son of God, believe He was a great inspired Teacher, and what He
said was the word of life to the inhabitants of the earth.
Nicodemus came to Jesus by night to enquire about the way of
life. And “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I
say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God.” Nicodemus did not quite understand what was
meant by being “born again,” whereupon Jesus further
explained, saying, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a
man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God.” This was the declaration of the Lord Jesus
Christ. There is no compromise about it, no two ways about it.
Here is the one way laid down by the Lord: No man can enter into
the kingdom of God, except he has been born of the water and of
the Spirit. How are we to understand this Scripture? We are to
understand it, I suppose, just exactly as it was laid down. Jesus
was making himself plain to Nicodemus. He told him that except a
man was born again he could not see the kingdom of God, and when
Nicodemus inquired how this could be, He further explained, that
except a man was born of the water and of the Spirit, he could
not enter into the kingdom of God.
We are told in the Scriptures that Jesus was not only the
Teacher, but He was the Great Exemplar. Jesus “left us an
example, that we should follow in his steps.” If this be the
case, Jesus must have been born of the water and of the spirit,
and if we can find out how He was so born, then we can find out
how we must be born of the water and of the spirit. We are told
here in the New Testament; that when Jesus Christ was about
thirty years of age (he conformed to the laws and customs of
the Jews among whom He resided) before he went on his ministry,
he went to John, the forerunner, and asked to be baptized, but we
read that John, who knew the character of Christ's mission, said,
“I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And
Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus
it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the
water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the
Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And
lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I
am well pleased.” Here is a pattern set by Jesus Christ, for
mankind to follow. He knew it was necessary for every one to be
born of water and of the spirit, and He went to John, a man who
had authority from God to baptize, and was immersed by him, or
baptized by him—the words are of similar meaning—and the
Spirit descended and the Father witnessed that He was well
pleased with this act.
Now, you will find, if you will read the Scriptures, that when
Jesus Christ sent His disciples to all the world, he told them to
“preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be
damned.” Again, he says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” If we read the book called The
Acts of the Apostles, we find that these instructions were
carried out to the very letter. In that great sermon preached by
Peter, on the day of Pentecost, when so many were brought to
obedience to the truth, when asked by the
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people, “What shall we do?” Peter said unto them, “Repent,
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost.” First, the birth of the water, then the birth of the
Holy Ghost. This was the example of Christ, and this was how the
Apostles taught it.
If you follow the Apostles in all their travels and
teachings—so far as the history is given to us in the book
called the Acts of the Apostles, and so far as laid down in the
epistles which they wrote to the churches—you will find that
this was the preparatory Gospel, the Gospel of the kingdom.
First, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” What shall we do
when we do believe? “Repent, and be baptized every one of you
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” And you will find
further that after the people were baptized, the Apostles laid
their hands upon them, and by the administration of that
ordinance the Holy Ghost came upon them. And this was uniform. It
was not one Gospel in one country and another in another; it was
the same Gospel for all. Neither were there a number of baptisms
for different people in different parts, but one Lord, one faith,
one baptism; not “pouring” in one part of the world and
“sprinkling” in another, and the “sign of the cross” for
another. No, it was one baptism, being buried in water after the
likeness of Christ's death, and being raised up out of the water
in the likeness of His resurrection; brought forth from the womb
of the water into the element of air in the likeness of the
natural birth, all done in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost, by men holding
divine authority. No man had a right to administer these
ordinances as he pleased or according to some fancy within his
own mind. A man must be appointed to the ministry by the voice of
God through the living oracles, or his ministrations are void and
of non-effect. When people were baptized in this way they were
prepared to receive the birth of the spirit, and when the
Apostles' hands were laid upon them they received the Holy Ghost,
they were born of the spirit, and the effects were as I remarked
at the beginning, no matter what they previously believed or
disbelieved, they were all brought to the unity of the faith.
They believed alike, they had similar impressions, the same
spirit rested upon them, they were brethren and sisters, they
were no longer divided in feeling, but all were inspired by the
same influence, and desired to labor for the same object and
purpose. We find also that this spirit developed certain gifts
among the people, some that were internal, not perceptible to the
natural eye, except as they influenced the acts of men; while
others were external. For instance, we read that the fruits of
the spirit are these: “Love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance, brotherly love
and charity;” these were the effects of the Holy Ghost in the
human heart in former times. Now, if the same spirit rests upon
the people today, it will bring forth the same fruits. “Every
tree is known by its fruit.” There were other gifts given by
this spirit, which we read of in the First Epistle of Paul to the
Corinthians and 12th Chapter. He says, “To one is given by the
Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by
the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another
the
Divisions of Modern Christendom, Etc. 161
gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of
miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits;
to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation
of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame
Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will.” These were
the fruits of the spirit in the days of the Apostles. Now, if
this same spirit is given to people today, through obedience to
the Gospel, it will bring forth the same fruits. The gift of
tongues will be enjoyed; the gifts of interpretation, of healing,
prophecy, discerning of spirits, etc., and people will be united
together in spirit and be filled with love, joy, peace, patience
and charity, and be baptized by one spirit into one body.
Now, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—to which
most of the people of this congregation belong—has been
established by direct communication from heaven in our own times,
and the reason for the establishment of this Gospel again by
revelation from heaven is this: The world has departed from the
ancient Gospel, an outline of which I have been giving to you
this afternoon; people have turned away from it, and taken to the
vagaries of men. The world has heaped to itself teachers. Men
have been hired by the people to preach doctrines which would
suit the people. Hence division has been in the world in place of
union; discord and contention have sprung up instead of peace,
joy and brotherly love, which are the fruits of the Gospel. But
God Almighty has restored this Gospel in the day and age in which
we live, because, according to the Scriptures it must be
“preached to all the world as a witness, and then shall the end
come.” The true Gos-
pel, the Gospel of the birth of the water and of the spirit,
without which man cannot enter the kingdom of heaven, must be
preached to all nations. God has restored that Gospel by direct
communication from the heavens. It is the only way in which it
could be restored. It cannot be evolved from the mind of man. It
must come from God or it is not the work of God. If Jesus Christ
has nothing to do with a church personally, it cannot be the
Church of Christ. It may be a Methodist church, an Episcopalian,
Presbyterian or a Quaker church, or it may be a church bearing
any other name that men have put upon it; but if it is the Church
of Jesus Christ, He will be in communication with it. Well, the
Lord has restored this Gospel by revelation from heaven. With it
he has also restored the same authority held by the ancient
Apostles. Angels have come down to the earth that they might
restore this Priesthood. Peter, James and John have come as
ministering angels and restored the ancient Apostleship, in which
is authority to preach the Gospel, to baptize for the remission
of sins, to lay on hands for the imparting of the Holy Ghost, to
organize the Church of God, and set all things in order; that
authority has been restored to the earth, and by that authority
the Gospel must be preached to all the world as a witness, before
the end shall come.
The world marvels how it is that people can be brought together
from so many different nations and countries, and all settle down
under one form of faith. People have an idea that there are
certain persons here holding great influence over the minds of
men; that they have gathered people together by that influence,
and now hold them here in
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bondage. There could not be greater freedom anywhere upon the
face of the earth than is enjoyed right here in Utah, by the
people called Latter-day Saints. But what has drawn them here?
What makes them willing to go through any trial or any sacrifice
for their faith? It is just simply this: They heard the Gospel,
received it in their hearts, and they have been born of water and
of the spirit, the Holy Ghost, the Comforter. The spirit by which
the Prophets wrote and spoke; the spirit by which Jesus Christ
brought forth the living word of God; the spirit by which the
ancient Apostles were inspired is here on earth, and dwells in
the hearts of the Latter-day Saints. They have been baptized by
one spirit into one body, and all the gifts of the spirit
anciently enjoyed are the fruits of the spirit today, and each
man and each woman for himself and for herself, has received a
divine witness direct from the Almighty to their own souls that
God has commenced the great work of the latter days, which is to
establish His government on the earth bring all mankind to the
unity of the faith, and prepare the world for the coming of Him
whose right it is to reign. It is the power of the Spirit of
Almighty God which rests upon the Latter-day Saints. It is that
which has drawn them here, to leave their homes and friends and
come up here to these mountains, where they can learn more of the
ways of God, and walk more closely in His paths, where they learn
further of this Gospel and of those glorious ordinances which
pertain to the salvation of mankind.
But the question which may be asked here is: “If there is only
one way of salvation and you have received that, and all the rest
of man-
kind are in the dark and not walking in the ways of life, what is
to become of them, and what is to become of the masses of the
human race that never heard this Gospel?” Will you tell me what
is to become of the heathen that have died, who never heard of
Christianity in any shape? For there is but one name given under
heaven by which men can be saved. What is to become of the
myriads that have passed into the spirit world without even
having heard the name of Jesus Christ? What is to become of all
the Jews—numbers of good men and good women amongst them—what
is to become of the millions of Jews who have passed away into
the spirit world from every land—and some of them in a great
hurry too, driven by the hands of “Christians”—who have
never obeyed any Gospel at all? Now, the word of Jesus Christ
must stand good. Even if I could not comprehend the decree, if
there was no ray of light to make it plain to my mind, yet if I
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ I must believe that saying that
there is only one way into the sheepfold, that no man can get
into the kingdom of God, who has not been born of the water and
of the Spirit, and until it is made plain to my mind I must hold
on to it by faith, if I cannot comprehend it by my reason. But
thanks be to God, this has been made clear to our minds, not
because we are wise and learned in the Scriptures, but because
God Almighty has been pleased to make it known. That is the only
way we have come to an understanding on this point. All the
doctrines we have in our Church are scriptural, but they have not
been taken from the Scriptures, they have come direct from the
Almighty by revelation in our time. The Prophet
Divisions of Modern Christendom, Etc. 163
Joseph Smith, previous to his death, obtained from the Almighty a
knowledge in regard to the condition of the dead. He was shown
the condition they would occupy in the eternities which are to
come. In one great vision it was revealed to him that there are
three degrees of glory, the celestial, terrestrial, and
telestial: that those who enter into the celestial kingdom are
they who obeyed the laws of the celestial kingdom; that those who
enter into the terrestrial kingdom are they who did not obey the
celestial law but obeyed a lesser degree of law and therefore
were only prepared to receive a lesser degree of glory; and that
those who enter into the lowest degree of glory are those who are
cast down for their sins and who must pay the penalty of the
same, but all, except the sons of perdition, eventually will come
out of their suffering and enter into a condition for which they
are qualified. But over and above this the Prophet Joseph Smith
saw that the Gospel of the Kingdom could be preached not only to
people in the flesh, but to people out of the flesh; that when
people depart this life they retain their identity; that they can
be informed; that they can receive and reject; and he was also
shown that the time must come when all shall hear the Gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ, because by that they shall be judged. The
Apostle Peter says: “For this cause was the gospel preached
also to them which are dead, that they might be judged according
to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”
Every one must hear the Gospel and be judged by it: It would not
be just to judge any one by that Gospel if they never heard it.
“But,” says some one, “that is a new idea altogether. The
idea in the Christian world is that there are two conditions to
which the spirits of men go after death, namely, to heaven or to
hell.” That is the common idea, I know; but according to the
doctrine which Joseph Smith taught, and which he learned by
revelation from heaven, the time is to come when everybody will
hear the Gospel of the Son of God, every one will have the chance
to bow the knee to King Emmanuel, and to do it understandingly.
Now, when we come to look into the Scriptures, we find that Jesus
Christ on a certain occasion read in the Jewish Synagogue a
passage out of the Book of Isaiah. You will find it in the 61st
chapter of Isaiah. What is it? “The spirit of the Lord God is
upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings
to the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to
proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison
to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the
Lord.” This was a part of the mission of Christ. He was not
only sent to preach good tidings to the meek, but it seems he had
a mission to some that were in captivity. I will read a verse or
two upon the same subject from the 42nd chapter of the Book of
Isaiah: “I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will
hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant
of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind
eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that
sit in darkness out of the prison house.” In the 49th chapter
of Isaiah, we find some remarks of the same kind: “That thou
mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in
darkness, Shew yourselves” I ask, were these predic-
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tions which it is generally admitted were uttered concerning
Jesus Christ, fulfilled? Let us see. Jesus Christ was taken by
wicked hands, hung upon the cross and crucified. He prayed for
his enemies before he departed; he prayed that God would forgive
them, because they knew not what they did, and then “bowed his
head and gave up the ghost.” Where did the ghost or spirit of
Christ go to after it left the body? The body was taken down and
placed away in the tomb; but where was Jesus? Was he lying in
that tomb, embalmed? Oh, no, that was merely the helpless body.
His spirit had gone. Where had it gone to? Says one, “it went
to heaven, of course.” Stay a moment. Three days after this we
find this same Jesus, whose body was placed away in the tomb,
walking in the garden, “and for fear of him the keepers did
shake, and became as dead men.” Jesus, while walking in the
garden, met Mary; and Mary, supposing him to be the gardener,
asked where they had laid Jesus. Making himself known to her, she
sprang towards him. Whereupon he said to her, “Touch me not;
for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren,
and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and
to my God, and your God.” Now, there were three days between
the placing of Christ's body in the tomb and the raising of it.
Where was Jesus, the real Jesus, the living Jesus, while his body
was lying in the tomb? Who can tell us? We read in the third
chapter of the first epistle of Peter, 18th to the 20th verses:
“Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the
unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the
flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he
went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were
disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the
days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that
is, eight souls were saved by water.” Where was he? Where did
he go? “Put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit,
he went and preached unto the spirits in prison.” That is where
Christ was between the time of his death and his resurrection,
preaching deliverance to the captives, the opening of the prison
to them who were bound. But some may ask, How do you know what he
preached to them? The answer will be found in the 4th chapter of
the same epistle, and the 6th verse, namely, “For for this
cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that
they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live
according to God in the spirit.” From this it appears that
Jesus Christ went and preached the Gospel to the dead. What for
“That they might be judged according to men in the flesh;”
for it would not be fair to judge them by that Gospel if they
never had the opportunity of hearing it. Here is Jesus, stretched
out upon the cross, praying for his enemies; he bows his head and
gives up the Ghost; his spirit departs from his body; he goes to
Paradise. That is where the thief went who repented on the cross.
“Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom;” he
cried. And Jesus said unto him, “Verily I say unto thee, Today
shalt thou be with me in paradise.” Was that in the presence of
the Father, in heaven, in glory? Oh, no. It was in the place for
departed spirits, some of them disobedient spirits; a portion of
it the place in which the rich man found himself who is
Divisions of Modern Christendom, Etc. 165
spoken of in the parable of Lazarus. Christ went to the spirit
world and the thief went with him. It was a place where the
wicked pay “the uttermost farthing” for their sins in the
flesh. There Jesus went. No longer trammeled by the laws which
govern the earth, no longer subject to the bonds of the flesh.
This is the place that David speaks of when he says, “Lift up
your heads, O ye gates; and be lift up, ye everlasting doors; and
the King of glory shall come in.” Jesus is not now the babe of
Bethlehem, he is not now the despised of men, he is not now
bearing the sins of men upon the cross, but he is Jesus the
mighty, Jesus the conqueror. Jesus the Son of God, Jesus the
Prince, Jesus the pure, who knew no sin, and over whom death had
no claim. He entered the abode of the doomed. He proclaimed
deliverance to the captives. He preached the Gospel to the dead.
He opened the prison house and “led captivity captive.” He
then came back to where his body lay in the tomb. The guards fell
back as though they were dead men, when the angels with the keys
of the resurrection appeared at the door of the sepulchre. The
great stone was rolled away and the risen Christ came forth in
his might. He grasped the keys of hell when he entered the dark
regions of Hades. He grasped the keys of death when he came back
triumphant and arose on high to receive “all power both on the
earth and in the heavens.”
Now this may be a different view to that which has been
entertained for hundreds of years, but it is the eternal truth of
God, and as it was with the disobedient in the days of Noah, so
it will be with those of the latter days. It will be as we are
told in the 24th chapter of Isaiah,
where the Prophet in speaking of the last times says: “And it
shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the
host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the
earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, as
prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the
prison, and after many days shall they be visited.”
Jesus Christ when He was upon the earth, made use of this
remarkable language: “He that believeth on me, the works that I
do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do;
because I go unto my Father.” It appears from this that those
who really believe in Jesus, those who are really his disciples,
shall follow in His footsteps, do the works that he performed,
follow in the same path which he trod, that by and by they may
come up to the same glory. So we learn from the revelations of
God, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, that when the servants of
God depart from this stage of action they follow the footsteps of
the illustrious captain of our salvation, they preach deliverance
to the captives, they publish the Gospel of peace in the regions
of the departed. Hosts of the Jews, hosts of the heathen, and
hosts of the Christians have died to wake up and find themselves
in the spirit world, and not in the glory they expected, because
the time to receive the glory and the reward is not till after
the judgment. And they will be offered in the spirit those
essential truths which they could not learn while in the flesh.
Is not this comforting to our hearts? It is to mine. I had
thought over this many a time before I understood this principle,
and when this light came to me it filled me with gladness: That
all people
166 Journal of Discourses
whoever dwelt on the earth will have the privilege of hearing the
Gospel of Christ; that God is not so narrow as sectarian
preachers would make him; that he does not regard a few of his
creatures only, but that “His tender mercies are over all his
works,” and that all shall have an opportunity of receiving or
rejecting the means of salvation, and will stand or fall thereby.
Now, there is another question that will come up, that I must say
a word or two about to make this doctrine plain. When people who
depart from the earth without hearing the Gospel, go into the
spirit world, and by and by a man of God comes preaching the word
of God, and they are willing to receive it, can they be born of
water and of the spirit? Is baptism an ordinance that can be
attended to in the spirit world? I thought, says one, that water
was an element or compound of elements, belonging to the earth.
Well, according to the revelations of this great Prophet, Joseph
Smith—one of the greatest Prophets that ever breathed the
breath of life, excepting, of course, the Lord Jesus
Christ—those who receive the Gospel in the spirit world can
have the necessary earthly ordinances attended to for them by
proxy, that is, the living can be baptized for the dead. This
will startle some people. Some good Christians will feel shocked
at the idea. But stop; do not be in a hurry. Did you ever think
of the principle of one dying for another? Did not Jesus suffer
for all on the principle of a vicarious atonement? On this
principle of proxy rests the whole scheme of human redemption.
Without that principle of proxy, every one must pay the penalty
of blood and death, for the wages of sin is death, and “all
have sinned, and come short of
the glory of God,” and “without the shedding of blood, there
is no remission of sin.” Christ died for you and for me and for
all mankind, on condition that they would receive His Gospel. He
died, “the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to
God.” He who knew no sin died for those that had sinned. Here,
then, is the principle of proxy in the vicarious death of Jesus
Christ, as was typified in the ordinances and sacrifices that
were given in the law of carnal commandments.
But is this a scriptural doctrine? It is. In the 15th chapter of
I Corinthians, 29th verse, we find Paul asks a peculiar question.
He is talking about the resurrection of the dead. The people in
those days did not understand much about that subject. He asks,
“What shall they do which are baptized for the dead? If the
dead rise not at all, why are they then baptized for the dead?”
From this it would seem that in the early Christian church, the
living were baptized for the dead. From this we can understand
what Paul meant when, in writing to the Hebrews concerning their
departed ancestors, he said, “God having provided some better
thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.”
That is the condition of a great many of our forefathers, they
cannot be made perfect without us. There is no redemption for the
living or the dead except by the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. Not
the Gospel of Wesley, Calvin, Luther, or of any man, but the
Gospel of Jesus Christ in its purity, as it comes down from Him
for the salvation of the human family. Without obedience to that
Gospel, neither the living nor the dead can be saved.
I take great pleasure in bearing my testimony that I know the true
Divisions of Modern Christendom, Etc. 167
Gospel has been restored to the earth. I know that the
Apostleship has been sent down from heaven to the earth again,
and that the power as well as the name of it is here. Men have
received authority from the heavens to administer in all the
ordinances of God's house. This is the one Gospel, the true
Gospel of faith, repentance and baptism for the remission of
sins, and the reception of the Holy Ghost, through the laying on
of hands, with the cultivation of all that is good, and the
overcoming of everything which is evil. This is the Gospel of the
kingdom. It will be preached to all the world as a witness that
the end is near. There is no power which can stay the progress of
this work. It is for this our missionaries go abroad in the
world. Some people have an idea that they are simply emigration
agents to gather out people to Utah. It is not so. They go abroad
to preach the Gospel of Christ among the nations of the earth. It
must be proclaimed to every nation, kindred, tongue and people:
to professors of religion and non-professors, to preachers and
their congregations, to pastors and their flocks, to the king
upon his throne and to the peasant in his cottage, to the
presidents of republics, and in fact to all peoples on the face
of the earth. All must hear the warning voice: Repent of your
sins, O ye inhabitants of the earth! Turn away from your
corruptions where with you have defiled yourselves and the earth
on which you dwell, or woe unto you, for I the Lord God will
cleanse the earth as with the besom of destruction. Repent,
before judgment shall overtake you. Repent and be baptized every
one of you, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and you shall be
cleansed from sin, and a new heart
shall be put into you. You shall be born of the water and be made
new creatures in Christ Jesus. You shall be born of the Spirit,
the Holy Ghost shall be given unto you as a gift from God, which
shall be a light to your feet and a lamp to your path, by which
you can be brought into communion with the Father and the Son and
the heavenly hosts, by which light and intelligence can be
flashed from the celestial kingdom to your souls, and by which
you may know you are accepted of God! This Gospel must be
preached to all the world by the servants of God. And wherever
their testimony has been received—in England, Scotland, Wales,
Ireland, France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, the Islands of
the sea, throughout the United States, South America, Africa, and
the East Indies, those who have obeyed it have all been baptized
into the same body and worship the same God in the same way, and
they all want to come here, the great gathering place of the
Saints. There is no need to coax them to come: the great
difficulty is to find money to bring them here when they want to
gather. In this they are fulfilling the words of Isaiah and
Malachi: “And it shall come to pass,” says the Prophet
Isaiah, “in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's
house shall be established in the tops of the mountains, and
shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow into
it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up
to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob;
and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths:
for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord
from Jerusalem.” Those who receive the Gospel come in here
“as the doves to their windows.”
168 Journal of Discourses
From the east and from the west, from the north and from the
south, God is gathering His elect from the four quarters of the
earth. This is one of the signs of the second coming of the Son
of Man. We are building this Temple—I do not allude to the
Tabernacle in which we are now assembled, although the Prophet
Isaiah speaks also of a Tabernacle, a shadow from the heat and a
covert from storm and from rain—but I allude to the Temple on
another part of this block; we have others also at St. George,
Logan and Sanpete. What are they for? Why, that the living may go
into the House of God, according to the pattern received from on
high, and attend to the ordinances for the dead. Joseph Smith and
Hyrum Smith were slain for the word of God and the testimony of
Jesus, and are following in the footsteps of their Divine Master.
They have gone into the spirit world and preached deliverance to
the captives, and we are building these Temples to the name of
God, in the tops of the mountains, that the dead may be fully
redeemed.
I have merely touched upon this subject, and my time will not
allow me to go further. But I wish to bear my testimony to this
congregation that the Lord has restored this Gospel I have spoken
about. The power of it is here, the ancient gifts are here, and I
know it, and hundreds and thousands that are occupying these
valleys know it. That is why we are Latter-day Saints; that
is why we are willing to be cast out and despised of men: that is
why we cleave to our faith: and I tell you this work will roll
on, no matter what may happen or what opposition is set up
against it, for this is God's work. The kings of the earth and
the legislature of nations may counsel together, they may lay
their plans and fulminate their decrees, but they cannot stop
this work in which we are engaged. It will roll on, not because
we are so wise or so great—for God has called the weak things
of the earth to confound the mighty—but because it is the work
of God. No power can hinder this work in the least degree; every
weapon that is raised against it will fall to the ground. The
Gospel will be preached, Israel will be gathered, and all nations
and peoples shall be subdued, until every knee shall bow and
every tongue confess that Jesus is the Lord to the glory of God
the Father. And the mansions of the dead, and the halls of the
spirit world, and every part of the universe will resound with
the Gospel of peace, preached by the servants of God, until all
shall hear and obey, and when the work is done, Jesus Christ will
go before the Father and present to Him this finished work, that
God may be all in all.
May the Lord help us to be obedient, to labor in His cause as we
are called to work, that we may find our way back to the presence
of our Father, and receive the crown and reward of the faithful,
even so. Amen.
168
bject of Assembling Together—The Sacrament, Etc.
Discourse by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered in the Tabernacle,
Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, June 12, 1881.
Reported by John Irvine.
Wilford Woodruff
The Object of Assembling Together, Etc. 169
We have assembled ourselves as Latter-day Saints for the purpose
of worshipping God, of listening to instructions, and
administering one of the ordinances of the house of God—the
sacrament. I look upon the sacrament as an ordinance of great
importance to us; in fact, from the days of Adam down to the days
of Jesus Christ, there were sacrifices offered; not only by Adam
but by his posterity, by Moses and the house of Israel, and all
the generations of people who were led by the Lord—sacrifices
were offered as a type of the great sacrifice to be made by the
Messiah. They offered the blood of bulls, rams and doves as a
type of the great and last sacrifice and death of the Messiah,
whose blood was shed for the redemption of the world. Prior to
the death of the Savior, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was
administered to His disciples, and they were informed that they
were to partake of the bread as an emblem of the broken body of
the Lord, and of the wine—or whatever is made use of as a
substitute—in token of the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I feel disposed here to make a remark and say, that if I were the
emperor of the world and had control of every human being that
breathes the breath of life on earth, I would give to every man,
woman and child the right to worship God according to the
dictates of their own conscience, and when I say this I speak the
sentiments of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, the Presidency of this
Church, the Twelve Apostles, and all the Elders of Israel. This
is the sentiment of all the Latter-day Saints. What! Would you
grant the Methodists this privilege? Certainly. And the Baptists?
Yes, certainly. And the Catholics, the Shakers, the Quakers? Yes,
and everybody else under heaven. I would grant to all people the
right to enjoy their religion without molestation. I would even
extend this privilege to the Latter-day Saints; I would give them
the privilege of believing in the Bible and the organization of
the Church according to the ancient pattern with Apostles and
Prophets, Christ Jesus being the chief corner stone. Why would
you do this? I would do it because God himself does it. The God
of heaven grants to all his children, every sect and party of
whatever name and denomination under the whole heavens, their
agency and the right to worship God according to the dictates of
their own conscience. The Lord
170 Journal of Discourses
forces no man to heaven. He places before him life and death,
light and darkness, truth and error, and having before him all
these principles, he is at liberty to worship God and believe
what he chooses. He alone is responsible to God for his actions.
Now, when I read the history of the world in days which are past,
when I note the illiberal spirit which was manifested, and the
blood which has been shed upon the earth—for the earth has been
deluged with blood, under what is termed holy wars, under the
garb of holy religion—I look upon it as the most ungodly and
unrighteous thing that was ever committed upon the earth. I look
upon what is taking place today in the same way. I marvel
sometimes when I see the spirit of our nation and the feelings of
the sects of today toward Utah and the Latter-day Saints. Have we
ever stood in the path of any man, sect or people with regard to
their religion? No, we have not. We have been willing at all
times that men should preach their doctrines and believe them,
unmolested by us, and I would say, to express my own feelings,
that if a man believed he had to climb a cottonwood tree three
times a day, for salvation, I would never hinder him. No, this
liberty, this freedom, especially under the American Government
of all nations under heaven, ought to become universal. No man or
set of men should attempt to hinder their neighbors from enjoying
their religion. And while I say this, and while we grant all men
this fight and privilege, as we have done here in this city, this
Tabernacle and various other buildings having been opened to the
clergymen of the day, we have been perfectly willing, after we
have heard all they have had to say, to accept any truth they
might have that we are not in possession
of. If there is a man in this world who has one truth which I
have not got, I am willing to exchange all the errors I have got
for that truth. But we as a people claim the same right we grant
to others. We claim the right to worship God unmolested by our
fellow men. The laws of God, the decrees of God, the oracles of
God, as well as laws of our country and the constitution of our
government grant this right to the human family—yes, even to
the “Mormons,” as we are called, to the Latter-day Saints as
well as every other class.
Then, why this tremendous furor among the sects of the day with
regard to these “Mormons” and their religion? The trouble is
the world do not know anything about our religion, they do not
know what we believe in, and if anybody forms an idea from what
they hear abroad, they hear anything but the truth. I have been
amused sometimes—I have of late—in reading the speeches
delivered by gentlemen—clergymen at that—who profess to have
lived in Utah, and to understand this people. One gentleman who
professes to be acquainted here delivered a speech in Rochester,
before a missionary society, in which he stated that “there
were in Utah 620,486 young persons in the Mormon district, and it
was the youthful element that missionaries were working on.”
Well, now, how does this gentleman make out 620,486 young people
out of 140,000? I do not know by what process of mathematics, or
by what rule he arrives at this question. That gentleman knew
just as well when he made that assertion that it was false as I
know. Our population is only about 140,000. Mr. Conyer, who had
lived here some six years, stated “that there were 40,000
scholars in the mission, and he wanted assistance to
The Object of Assembling Together, Etc. 171
furnish his enlarged school.” Well, now you take 40,000
scholars out of the total population of 140,000, and I do not
think you will have many for the Mormons. But all this is as near
true as anything you get abroad, and I really wish that
gentlemen, clergymen and everybody else who attempts to report
Utah would tell the truth. That is all we ask of any persons who
visit us. But it seems impossible for anybody to speak of Utah
and the Latter-day Saints—“Mormons” as they are
termed—with any degree of truth; but I wish they would, it
would be better for them, better for us, and they would be under
less condemnation.
Now, what are the principles in which the Latter-day Saints
believe? What is the dreadful crime which we have been guilty of
for the last fifty years? Why, the Lord has raised up a
Prophet—Joseph Smith. He sent an angel from heaven in
fulfillment of the revelations of St. John. And that angel
delivered the Gospel to Joseph Smith; delivered unto him power
and knowledge to obtain the Book of Mormon, a record containing
the history of the ancient inhabitants of this continent who
dwelt here hundreds and thousands of years ago. He translated it
into the English language. Does the Book of Mormon contain a
different Gospel to that contained in the Bible? It does not. It
gives a history of the people who dwelt upon this continent
anciently, tells where they came from and how they came here,
tells of the dealings of God with them, and the establishment of
the Church of Christ among them. They were visited by Jesus after
his resurrection. Hence he said, “Other sheep I have, which are
not of this fold: them also I must bring and they shall hear my
voice; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.”
He also told the Nephites when he established His church among
them, that he had other sheep. They were the ten tribes of
Israel. The Book of Mormon is a history of the dealings of God
with that people; the Bible is a history of the dealings of God
with Judah and with the Jews and the twelve tribes of Israel: it
contains in fact a short outline of the dealings of God with the
Jaredites and Nephites from the building of the Tower of Babel
down to the days of the Savior and after His resurrection. The
Bible is the Stick of Judah in the hands of Judah, and the Book
of Mormon the Stick of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim. Both books
contain the same gospel. There was never but one gospel and there
never will be any other revealed to the human family. Hence Paul
says: “Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other
gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let
him be accursed.” Now, if Joseph Smith had established any
other gospel on the earth than the gospel which Paul taught, that
Christ and His Apostles taught, and that was taught to Abraham,
Noah, and the antediluvian world, why we would have the curse of
God resting upon us. The great trouble with the so-called
Christian world is that they have spiritualized the Scriptures
until there is not a semblance of the gospel left. I never could
find it. I never could hear a gospel sermon in my life, and I sat
under Dr. Porter and Dr. Hawes and other great divines of the
day. I never could hear a gospel sermon according to the ancient
pattern as was taught by Joseph Smith. Of course all sects have
had some truth. All sects have professed to believe in the blood
of Jesus Christ, more or less; all sects and parties have
172 Journal of Discourses
their various roads to heaven and to hell, but none of them teach
the Gospel according to the pattern laid down in the New
Testament.
It required an angel from heaven “to fly in the midst of
heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that
dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue
and people,” to prepare them for the great judgments of our
God, before the winding-up scene. The angel has come: that Gospel
has been delivered. It was delivered to Joseph Smith. He did not
receive his power from man, but from the revelations of Jesus
Christ. What did that Gospel teach? Why, faith in Jesus Christ.
“Yes, oh yes,” say the Methodist, “we believe in Jesus
Christ.” All right. Then the next principle was repentance of
our sins. “But,” say the sectarian world, “we also believe
in repentance.” Well, what is next? The revivalists who visited
this city, (Messrs. Sankey & Moody) believed in Jesus Christ, and
they said that if a person only came to Christ, he did not
require to be a Methodist, Baptist, Mormon, or anything else.
Prophets and Apostles were not required; all that was required
was to come to Christ. But we say there is something more
required besides believing. A man has to be baptized for the
remission of his sins in order to enter into the kingdom of
heaven. That law of baptism has never been altered. Many believe
in baptism even by immersion, but not particularly for remission
of sins. What next? Having repented of our sins and been baptized
for a remission of them, we must have hands laid upon for the
reception of the Holy Ghost, and when we have received the Holy
Ghost, it will be unto us as a principle of revelation, a
testimony of the Father and of the Son.
Well, what kind of a church are you going to have? Paul, in
speaking of the Corinthians, goes on to represent the Church of
Christ as the body of a man. He shows that every part of the body
must act in unison; the head, the eyes, the ears, the mouth, the
feet, must all work together in order that the body may be
perfect, and that there may be no schism. We are also told that
God set in the Church Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors,
and Teachers, for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of
the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Now we have
had independence of mind enough to believe this doctrine. This is
“Mormonism.” It is faith in Christ, repentance of our sins,
baptism for the remission of our sins, and the reception of the
Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. These are the principles
which we as Latter-day Saints believe in. We do not believe that
God ever had a church on the earth without Apostles and Prophets
in it, without inspiration in it. To do away with any of the
principles of the Gospel would cause a schism in the Church of
Christ. When you cut the head off a man he will die. He may live
if he loses an arm or a leg but if you cut the head off he will
die. Precisely so with the Church of Christ. We believe in the
Bible; we believe in all the prophecies; we believe God meant
just what he said and said just what he meant; we believe that
the prophecies of the scriptures are of no private
interpretation; we believe in the second coming of Christ; we
believe that the judgments of Almighty God will be poured out
upon this generation. All the unbelief of the world will not stay
the fulfillment of the decrees of the Almighty. The unbelief of
the in-
The Object of Assembling Together, Etc. 173
habitants of the antediluvian world in the days of Noah did not
stay the deluge. The unbelief of the inhabitants of Sodom and
Gomorrah did not avert the destruction of these cities. The
unbelief of the Jews did not avert the destruction of Jerusalem.
We look for a literal fulfillment of the decrees of God. We know
as a people that he has set his hand to establish his Church. He
has set his hand to warn all nations. The Holy Priesthood has
been restored, not by the power of man, but by the power of
Almighty God.
As I have said, we believe in the Book of Mormon as containing a
record of the ancient inhabitants of this continent, and a clue
to the ruins which have been discovered in various parts of the
land and for which the world can find no origin. The whole
history of these things, however, is pointed out in the Book of
Mormon, and if the world would only take the trouble to read that
book they would understand these things more perfectly. The
American Indians are a remnant of the ancient inhabitants of this
continent. Their forefathers were an enlightened people. They had
the Gospel among them and the power of God was manifested in
their midst; but when they became wicked and turned away from
God, the judgments of the Almighty fell upon them and they were
overthrown and destroyed by warfares. The Lamanites, now a
downtrodden people, are a remnant of the house of Israel. The
curse of God has followed them as it has done the Jews, though
the Jews have not been darkened in their skin as have the
Lamanites. The fate of the Jews in this respect is a standing
monument to all infidelity. The prediction of Jesus with regard
to them has been liter-
ally fulfilled. He predicted that they should be led away captive
unto all nations, and that Jerusalem should be trodden down of
the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. When
Pilate was ready to release Jesus because he found no fault in
him, the Pharisees and high priests, being filled with prejudice,
would not have it. They cried out “Crucify him, crucify him,
and let his blood be upon us, and our children.” The prediction
of Jesus has been verified, and its fulfillment is before the
world today. The Jews have been trampled under the feet of the
Gentiles for 1,800 years, and they are today being persecuted in
European nations. Why? Because that curse of God rests upon them
and will rest upon them until Shiloh comes, until they are
regathered to Jerusalem and rebuild the city in unbelief. You
cannot convert a Jew. They will never believe in Jesus Christ
until he comes to them in Jerusalem, until these fleeing Jews
take back their gold and silver to Jerusalem and rebuild their
city and temple, and they will do this as the Lord lives. Then
the Gentiles will say, “Come let us go up to Jerusalem; let us
go up and spoil her. The Jews have taken our gold and silver from
the nations of the earth—come let us go up and fight against
Jerusalem.” Then will the prophecies that are before you be
fulfilled, The Gospel was preached first to the Jews and then to
the Gentiles, The Jews rejected the message: the Gentiles
received it, and unto them was given all the gifts and blessings
of the Gospel. But Paul told them to take heed lest they fell
through the same example of unbelief. Yet in time, we Gentiles,
departed from the kingdom of God, and the church went into the
wilderness. There has not
174 Journal of Discourses
been an organization of the church of Christ on the earth from
the days of the ancient Apostles, until the days of Joseph Smith,
who came forth in this great and last dispensation, and who by
inspiration and power from on high again restored the Gospel. The
world do not believe this. We cannot help that. The unbelief of
the world does not make the work of the Lord of non-effect. The
Lord has set his hand to establish his church and kingdom, and
the warning voice is to all men. He has called his servant to
bear record of this to all nations. This is what the Lord is
doing with these despised Mormons. And already the members of
nearly every sect under heaven have embraced this work, though
our numbers are small compared with the Christian world. We
expect this. As it was in the days of Noah and Lot so shall it be
at the coming of the Son of Man. These principles are true. The
world does not know what awaits them no more than they did in the
days of Noah, or in the days of the Jews.
But, why this furor against the Latter-day Saints? Do you know?
“Oh, yes, we do. You are Polygamists. That is what is the
matter.” Well, indeed! Now, let me ask you a question. Were we
polygamists when we were driven from Jackson and Clay Counties?
Why, the worst persecution we have ever had, was before polygamy
was revealed to us, or before we received it. What cause, then,
had the Missourians and others to drive us in the beginning?
“Oh, you believe in revelation, you believe in prophets: we
cannot bear these things, they are all done away with. These
things were only given in the dark ages of the world, but today,
living as we are in the blaze of the glorious Gospel, we do not
need
them; but if you will believe as we do and scatter yourself
abroad among the Methodists, etc., and do as they do, it will be
all right.” Now, gentlemen it is not polygamy. What do you care
about polygamy? What does our nation care about polygamy? What do
the sectarians care about polygamy? Bless your souls, nothing.
But nine percent of these Mormons may be polygamists. Dreadful!
Why, have you no evils in New York? Have you no evils in Boston?
Have you no evils anywhere? Are you all perfect? If so, you are
pretty well off; you are certainly prepared for salvation. But
no, my friends, I will tell you: If we were to give up polygamy
today—if we were to say to our government, “Oh, yes, we will
give up polygamy”—why the next they would say would be, But
look here; you have got to give up something more than that.”
They would tell us, as the Missourians did, that we must quit
believing in prophets, apostles and revelation. The same feeling
exists today as existed then.
We, Latter-day Saints, are called out of the world. We have
received the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord Almighty has raised
up Prophets and Apostles in this our day, and has set his hand to
establish the kingdom that Daniel saw in fulfillment of
revelation and prophecy. We have been gathered out from the
nations of the earth to these valleys of the mountains. Zion is
growing and increasing. This has been the case from the
beginning. There has never been an hour from the organization of
this Church but what our course has been onward and upward. Even
in the midst of mud and water, on the banks of the Missouri
River, where, by an edict of Governor Boggs, some 10,000
The Object of Assembling Together, Etc. 175
were driven—no matter under what circumstances we have been
placed, the hand of God has been over us. The Almighty has set
his hand to gather in the meek of the earth. And after our
testimony, will come the testimony of thunderings and lightnings.
Read the revelations of St. John: see the signs of the times, and
prepare yourselves for that which is to come. We trust in God. We
cannot afford to deny the Lord, we cannot deny his revelations.
We have a code of revelations called the Doctrine and Covenants.
That code given through the mouth of Joseph Smith, contains the
most sublime revelations concerning this generation that were
ever given to the world. Many of these revelations have had their
fulfillment so far as time has permitted. Joseph Smith was a true
Prophet of God. I traveled thousands of miles with him, in fact
the revelation he gave concerning the war which would break out
between the North and South, I wrote that revelation myself as it
was given by the Prophet twenty years before it was fulfilled.
That revelation was published to the world broadcast, and I
merely refer to it because it is a thing that is clear to the
minds of all men. All the revelations in the Book of Doctrine and
Covenants, the Bible, and the Book of Mormon, will have their
fulfillment in the earth.
We are living in an important day. We are living in the most
important dispensation God ever gave to man. There is a great
change awaiting us; there is a great change awaiting Zion, our
Government, and the whole Christian world. The signs of the times
indicate the coming of the Son of Man in power and great glory.
But before His coming the Gospel has got to be preached to all
nations. We have been preaching the Gospel for fifty years, and
by it a few have gathered out from the nations of the earth to
these valleys of the mountains. That is why the world hate us. It
is because the Lord has called us out of the world to establish
the everlasting Gospel. And I want to say to the Latter-day
Saints: Have faith in the revelations of God; have faith in the
promises which have been given. We should be preparing ourselves
for the great events which await us. Darkness covers the earth
and gross darkness the people. The Lord is withdrawing His Spirit
from the nations of the earth, and the power of the devil is
gaining dominion over the children of men. See how crime is
increasing. Fifty years ago when the Book of Mormon was
translated by Joseph Smith, there was not one murder where there
are a thousand today; there was not one whoredom where there are
a thousand today; and so you may go through the whole black
catalogue of crime. “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he
also reap.” “With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured
to you.” Look at the wickedness which is on the increase in the
world, covering the earth like the waters of the great deep. What
will the end be? Death, destruction, whirlwinds, pestilence,
famine and the judgments of God will be poured out upon the
wicked; for the Lord has withheld these judgments until the world
is fully warned. To this end we have been laboring diligently for
fifty years, so far as we have had opportunity. But all these
judgments will come. The seals will be opened; plague will follow
plague; the sun and the moon will be darkened; and the unbelief
of the world will make no difference to all
176 Journal of Discourses
these things coming to pass.
I have a desire with you, as Latter-day Saints, that we may keep
the faith, overcome the world, and magnify our high and holy
callings. We will be held responsible before the Lord for the
light we possess. We should be diligent and faithful in our
labors, for if we turn our backs upon the truth, once having
known it, we will be under far greater condemnation than those
who rejected the truth. What we may be called upon to suffer for
the Gospel's sake is neither here nor there. This nation and
every other nation is in the hands of God. Your destiny is in the
hands of God. Men can go no further than the Lord will permit
them to go. But we should be faithful to God and to our fellow
men, ever ready to do what is required of us.
I pray God our Heavenly Father, that His blessing may be over us;
that the hearts of the people of our nation and other nations may
be open to the light of the Gospel, that they may not pursue the
course the Jews did, for we know what it has
cost them. It will cost this nation or any other nation the same
to shed the blood of the servants of God. Whatever course a
nation pursues in this respect, it will have to foot the bill.
The constitution of our country is one of the best that was ever
given to any government. Our forefathers were inspired of God to
write that instrument. I have a respect for our government, flag
and constitution. I know this nation has been raised up by the
power of God for a certain purpose, and that to establish his
kingdom upon it, and inasmuch as we do our duty the Lord will
sustain us. Those who labor to establish the kingdom of God on
the earth will be blessed, and those who fight against the work
of God, will be held responsible for their actions.
I feel to bear my testimony to the truth of this work. I know
Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and I have a desire that I may
be faithful with the rest of my brethren that I may inherit
eternal life, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
176
18emarks of Brother Woodruff—The Prophets and
Servants of God Rejected in Nearly All Ages, Etc.
Discourse by President George Q. Cannon, delivered in the
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, June 12, 1881.
Reported by John Irvine.
George Q. Cannon
The Remarks of Brother Woodruff, Etc. 177
I have listened with great satisfaction and pleasure to the
remarks which have been made by Brother Woodruff this afternoon,
and I know they are true, and that they will be profitable unto
all those who treasure them up in their hearts and make
application of them in their lives.
While he was speaking, the query ran through my mind respecting
the prophets and men of God who lived in ancient days—was there
ever a prophet of God—a man who had a message from God who was
received by the generation among whom he lived? They had very few
indeed. The Prophet Jonah stands out almost as an exception.
Nineveh did repent when he went to it with the message from God;
but from Noah down one prophet after another was rejected by the
generations unto whom they were sent and unto whom they bore
messages from the Almighty. Even Moses, though successful in
leading out the children of Israel, with difficulty escaped being
stoned to death by his own adherents. And so with every prophet
until the days of the Savior himself. Jesus was persecuted; Jesus
was derided, Jesus was
rejected. Jesus, who came—his coming having been predicted by
the holy prophets and the whole nation being in expectation of
him—was rejected because he did not come according to the
ideas, the preconceived notions of the people—that is of his
own kindred unto whom he was sent.
The world entertain certain ideas concerning truth, they
entertain certain ideas concerning God and concerning His
servants, and when men come to them with something that conflicts
with these ideas they are led to reject them, and it is not until
a man has died, not until in many instances his blood has been
shed, that he is recognized as a Prophet of God. In fact it was
an accusation of the Savior against the Jews that they garnished
the tombs and sepulchres of the Prophets whom they had slain.
They slew them, but after their death their children said, “If
we had lived in their day we would not have slain the prophets,
we would have received their testimony,” while they treated the
Prophets in their midst the same as their fathers had done their
predecessors. But it takes time to bring
178 Journal of Discourses
men to esteem Prophets. It has taken centuries to sanctify the
memory of the Son of God; centuries have rolled on before He was
recognized by the world as the being whom his disciples testified
he was. To his generation he was a vile impostor, and was counted
worthy of the most ignominious death that could be inflicted—to
be crucified between two thieves. Why, they had the most
irrefutable evidence, as they supposed, that He was not the Son
of God. “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?”
“'Why,” said they, “art thou also of Galilee? Search, and
look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.” He was a
Galilean, and therefore, because of his lowly birth and
surroundings, they deemed themselves perfectly justified in
rejecting Him. And as has been quoted today, so confident were
they that He was not the being whom He represented himself to be
that they said, “His blood be on us, and upon our children.”
They felt so secure in calling for his crucifixion, they were
willing to incur all the penalties which might be inflicted upon
themselves and their posterity for the death of a man who, in
their estimation, was so vile an impostor.
In the same way it will take time to make the merits of the
predictions of Joseph Smith recognized. Will they be recognized?
Yes. Joseph Smith has uttered predictions which cannot be
disputed, and that have come to pass. Before his death he
predicted that the Latter-day Saints should become a great people
in the Rocky Mountains. Years before we were compelled to leave
the States, he predicted that the South would rebel, and that the
civil war would break out in South Carolina. That prediction was
in print long years before it was fulfilled. And when
it seemed as though the rebellion would break out in Florida, the
Latter-day Saints never had any doubt as to where the war would
commence. They knew the word of God had been spoken, and that it
would be fulfilled. And it was fulfilled, literally, as also many
other predictions which have been uttered.
But do these things come to man in a way that man will receive
them? No: they come in contact with worldly pride. They invoke
the same opposition which Paul had when he was at Ephesus, when
the silversmiths cried out, “Great is Diana of the
Ephesians.” And they bawled and cried so much in favor of
Diana, that his voice was drowned. So it is today. These things
come in contact with established institutions, with established
crafts; man's craft is in danger, and hence the outcry. There is
a great outcry, and it comes from those whose craft is most in
danger. It has ever been so, and it ever will be so while man
continues under the same influence which now operates upon him.
The organization of this Church does not coincide with men's
minds, it is contrary to their feelings, it comes in contact with
their traditions and their prejudices. “Can any good thing come
out of Nazareth?” It is the same idea. Can any good thing come
from Joseph Smith, an uneducated man? Can any good thing come out
of the “Mormon” people. And the whole world seemingly is in a
turmoil. Every conceivable falsehood is told about this people.
Well, this will continue to be the case; I have no doubt of it in
my mind. We have got this warfare to fight, and every people who
have stood in our position had it before us. Every reformation
which was ever effected among men had to be
The Remarks of Brother Woodruff, Etc. 179
effected in the face of opposition, and frequently the foundation
stones have been laid in the blood of the men who were the
instruments in the hands of God in laying the foundation.
Opposition in this respect is not a new thing. It is as old as
Adam that there should be opposition to contend against. Jesus
predicted it, because he knew it was the history of the past, and
he knew it would be repeated. Thus those who embrace
“Mormonism,” or the Gospel of Christ, may make their
calculations upon it.
But there is this difference between the dispensation in which we
are engaged and other dispensations which have preceded it: we
have the promise of God that His work introduced in this the
dispensation of the fulness of times shall never be overthrown,
so that this dispensation differs in this respect from every
dispensation which has preceded it. There is no stopping this
work. Men may fight it, they may kill those who advocate it, and
use every means in their power against it; but the fiat of
Jehovah has gone forth concerning it, and it will spread and
increase and will gather within its pale every holiest soul
throughout the earth sooner or later, not making war, not
attacking, not assaulting, but by the power of divine truth and
by the spirit that accompanies it, bearing testimony to every
honest soul. And as these troubles increase of which Brother
Woodruff has spoken—for they will increase, in our own land,
too; they have increased, and they will increase—men will
become unsettled in their minds as to what they will do and where
they will seek for protection; for the day will come when stable
government in these United States will be very hard to find. The
ele-
ments are already operating that will produce this instability.
Men will be glad to seek refuge, glad to seek protection, glad to
live in any place where men and women are honest and true, and
where the principles which Brother Woodruff has announced, the
principles of true liberty are maintained, and God grant that
they may be ever maintained.
It has been said that those who have been persecuted will, when
their turn comes, become persecutors. This has been said
concerning us. “Oh,” it has been said, “you are now in the
minority. It is all very well to plead for liberty and contend
for the rights of man. But wait. If you ever get power, you who
have been persecuted will turn round and persecute other
people.” This has been cast against us as bearing out the
history of the past. The Pilgrim Fathers, it is quoted, did this.
After being persecuted themselves, they turned round and
persecuted others—Episcopalians, Quakers, Baptists, etc.—who
did not believe as they did. Well, we have not done this yet. We
did not do it when we had everything our own way in these
mountains, removed a thousand or twelve hundred miles from every
other people. We gave perfect liberty to all, and there never has
been an hour since we first occupied this country when our
tabernacles, boweries, and other places of worship have not been
open to men of every denomination to preach within their walls or
under their shade. Time and time again our children have been
invited to this tabernacle to listen to ministers of different
denominations, that they might know what other people taught;
this has been upon the principle which Brother Woodruff has
stated, that if they have one
180 Journal of Discourses
truth we have not got, we are willing to exchange our errors for
that truth.
I would not give much for a religion which would not stand
contact with the world. It was said once respecting President
Young, that he read the remark that he would not give much for a
religion that could not stand one railroad. I think the same. If
my religion cannot stand all the railroads which can be brought
here, I do not want it for myself nor for my children. It there
is anything superior to that which we believe outside of our
religion, let it come, we will welcome it. We are not wedded to
our religion only so far as it is true. So far as it is true we
are wedded to it, and as such we have espoused it, as such we
maintain it, and as such we hope to die believing in its tenets
and practicing them; but if anyone else has something better let
him come along. We have sacrificed enough for truth to show that
we love it. We have forsaken everything for the truth as we
believe it, and a people who have been willing to have their
houses burned, property destroyed and be driven into a wilderness
as we have been, and to create homes in this desolate land—a
people that has been willing to do this should not shrink from
accepting any truth which may be presented to them, and I do not
believe they will. We have given no evidence of such a tendency
at any time, I have never heard of it, but there has been a
constant willingness to receive the truth.
And this doctrine of plural marriage which is so much talked
about; we have shown our devotion to truth by espousing it. If
its practice had been of the same nature as that which is popular
with the world, there would not have been a word said against us.
It is not be-
cause other people do not do wrong with women that the outcry is
raised against us. It is not for doing wrong with women, it is
for marrying more than one woman, which we could have avoided if
licentiousness had been our object, that we are attacked. When
God revealed that principle to the Latter-day Saints, there were
men who felt as though they would rather go to their graves than
carry out that principle. They were men who had lived all their
days and had been true to the covenants they had made with their
wives, and the thought of marrying more than one woman was as
repulsive as it could be to any men in the world. They shrank
from it. I heard President Young himself say, that as the hearse
passed his house in Nauvoo on the way to the cemetery, he thought
he would like to be the occupant of that hearse and of the coffin
which it contained, when he thought of this doctrine and the
opprobrium that would descend upon him and upon our people, when
it became known that we believed in and practiced plural
marriage. Here is President Taylor, and Brother Woodruff, who has
spoken, and other men of mature years in those days—they know
how it was. They would have shrunk from it if they could, but the
very fact that they have embraced it ought to be sufficient to
show the world that they are devoted to principle, that they have
been willing to lay down their lives, if necessary, to carry out
principle. It would be cheaper, no doubt, to discard plural wives
and follow the ways of the world. Do you think I would have any
persecution if I had a wife here and one or more mistresses in
Washington? Not in the least: there would not be one word said
about my marital
The Remarks of Brother Woodruff, Etc. 181
relations or my domestic affairs; not one word. I know this. How
do I know it? Because there are those who are in that condition.
But because men marry wives and give their names to their
offspring, and are not ashamed of them, and are true to these
wives and do not go outside of the family circle, and believe a
man ought to be killed who does it—because they do this they
are decried and all hell is stirred up. Now, if these things are
wrong we practice them without knowing they are wrong. We believe
them to be true. We believe this principle has been revealed for
the salvation of women. And a man takes a great responsibility
upon himself who enters into this order. Reflect upon this a
moment: A man marries a wife, and he does it—if he does it
properly—with the clear understanding between them beforehand,
that if it be right to take another, according to the tenets of
his religion, he may do so. Well, he takes another wife. What is
the result? He doubles his responsibility, he increases his care.
What man of sense or principle is there that would take these
obligations upon him lightly? Would any man do it for the sake of
gratifying lust? He would be a simpleton and a villain if he did
it. A man in this position, if he feels as he should do, will
feel there is a great responsibility resting upon him in the
taking care of the children of such marriages, in the education
and training of them, and the preserving of them from vice. And
what is there to induce him to shoulder this responsibility
except principle?
We desire to have no margin of unmarried women among us. We do
not want institutions among us which are not of God, and which
propagate death and disease. We
desire every woman to be married, and as there are not more women
than men in Utah, if everyman marries, there will be no plural
marriage, it will cease, and that is the best remedy in the world
for this “Utah Polygamy,” as it is called. Let every man
marry, and there will be no single women of marriageable age. But
as all men will not marry, we have instances of two and more
women who love one man and who choose to live together and live
together virtuously and properly.
“Ah, but,” says one, “there is a law of Congress against
such a thing.” I know that, and I am not advising any man to do
anything that would make him liable to go to the Penitentiary.
But I am talking about principle, about that which we believe and
practice, and that which has impelled us to action in this
matter. I have taken some of my children down to Washington, and
have said to them, “Now, here you see the other side. I want
you to have the opportunity of seeing society, and understanding
something of it outside of our Territory.” I would not hoodwink
a child. I would set before children all which is necessary to
give them light upon this subject, that they may understand it. I
would like every one of my daughters to understand it thoroughly;
and in speaking thus about my own family, I speak about every
girl in this community. I want to see a virtuous community, one
which is free from vices which infest the world. Diseases that
are common elsewhere are unknown in this land, among our people;
and I thank God for it, and I pray that it will continue to be
the case.
Shall we become persecutors in our turn? No. Why? We do not have
the same motives to impel us
182 Journal of Discourses
to such a course that people who persecute have. Persecutors
generally believe that those whom they persecute are doomed to
spend the endless ages of eternity in hell fire, unless they can
be made to repent of their errors. Persecution becomes,
therefore, with them, in many instances, a highly justifiable and
meritorious method of saving souls. This has been the feeling
which has impelled many persecutors in every age—a holy,
burning zeal to snatch souls from perdition. The men who have
been most zealous in hailing men to prison and inflicting
torment, have been as a rule, men zealous and sincere in their
religion. They thought it better to destroy the body than that
the soul should be consigned to hell; they thought it better for
heretics to burn an hour or too on earth than that they should
burn eternally. But the Latter-day Saints have no such views
respecting future punishment? We believe there is an endless
hell. We do not, however, believe that human beings are consigned
to it eternally. The hell may be endless and the punishment
endless, but it does not follow that they who are consigned there
are to remain in it eternally. We believe men will be rewarded
for the deeds done in the body, and we therefore can afford to be
liberal in our views in this respect. As President Woodruff has
said, we would give every man the right to worship God according
to the dictates of his conscience, knowing that he will have to
be responsible for his actions, and that it is none of our
business except to present the truth as we understand it before
him, and if he accepts it, all right, if he rejects it he must
endure the consequence.
As for ourselves we are opposed to being seized by the throat,
because men think we are in error.
And to avoid this we have fled a number of times, leaving
everything, and finally came out here into the wilderness,
thinking we could have peace for a while which we have had. But
this people might as well take wings and fly from the planet as
try to get out of the reach of the world. A prominent man who
called upon me here, said to me upon one occasion: “When I see
this beautiful valley, and see how comfortable you are, I wish
you were out of the United States.” “Why,” said I.
“Because,” said he, “I can foresee what trouble you will
have, and that you will not be allowed to remain in peace; you
will have to leave here, people will not be content to have you
stay.” “Where shall we go?” I enquired. We might go to the
deserts of Sahara, or the most forlorn place on the face of the
earth, and it would only be a little while our industry, our
frugality, our union and those qualities which characterize us,
would draw the world to us. We cannot be hid. If we were to go to
the remotest part of the earth, to Patagonia or anywhere else,
that which we witness here would be repeated. We are like a city
set upon a hill that cannot be hid. Those qualities that
characterize this people, which make us so remarkable, which have
enabled us to make a beautiful place out of the desert, as we
have done in this country, and would do wherever we might
go—those qualities would draw men to us. If we were on an
island we should have ships coming with commerce; upon a
continent we should have railroads and means of communication
such as we have today. He would have been a bold man who would
have ventured to have said—unless he were a Prophet; you know
Prophets take strange liber-
The Remarks of Brother Woodruff, Etc. 183
ties; God gives them liberty to say remarkable things—that in
the space already passed such great changes would have occurred
in this valley, and throughout these valleys, and that this place
would become so important. We hear of railroads coming in here
from every direction, making Salt Lake City their objective
point. We are bound to be lifted up. You cannot conceal us, it is
impossible. We have got to stand contact with the world, and if
our religion will not stand such contact, then it must succumb.
But it will not. It will stand the test, it will pass through the
ordeal purer and better, and men will recognize its beauty. Our
destiny is to be brought in contact with the world.
God has predicted it. We may hide ourselves in a corner, but God
will bring us out to the light, for we have to come in contact
with the world to prove our strength, to prove what is in us, and
to learn many things the knowledge of which we need.
I pray God to bless you my brethren and sisters and friends, to
let His Holy Spirit rest down upon you and preserve you in the
truth. Let us love and cling to the truth with all our hearts,
and it will bear us through. It is that which will endure in time
and throughout eternity; and that God may assist us in
maintaining our integrity and keeping the faith, is my prayer, in
the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
183
The Church Governed By Law, Etc.
Discourse by Elder John Nicholson, delivered in the Tabernacle,
Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, June 26, 1881.
Reported by John Irvine.
The Church Governed By Law, Etc. 183
I have unexpectedly, to myself, been called upon to address this
congregation. While I shall endeavor to do so, I desire that you
shall give me your sympathy and faith, that I may be able to
speak in clearness whatsoever may be put into my mind by the
inspiration of the Holy Ghost, if I shall be so fortunate as to
enjoy a goodly portion
of that influence. I have no special subject on my mind upon
which to speak, and am therefore dependent upon the inspiration
of the moment as the spirit shall give utterance.
It has been the privilege of the servants of God in all ages to
enjoy a portion of His power to direct them in their ministry and
to make plain to their understanding the
184 Journal of Discourses
things that they should speak about when it became their duty to
preach the truth. This congregation is very largely composed of
people who profess the same religious doctrines as those which I
have myself embraced, adhered to and advocate. There are others,
however in the congregation who are unacquainted with the
doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and
who perhaps are more or less anxious to obtain some understanding
of the nature and character of the work which is represented
among and by this people. Heretofore they have been dependent
upon popular report, which has been, in almost every instance,
erroneous upon this subject, for we have been greatly
misrepresented in all the world. There is one particular point
that I wish to direct the minds of this audience to regarding the
work, and in doing so, I wish to point out a popular error which
exists in the understanding of many people in reference to us.
There is a prevailing opinion, based on false representations
regarding the Church which I have the honor to be identified
with, that there exists among the people called Latter-day
Saints, a species of serfdom or bondage, or that one or more men
rule over the people with a high hand—a species of despotism. I
wish to state here that my personal experience in this Church for
half of the time which I have spent in this life, informs my
judgment that such is not the case, that the Latter-day Saints
are a free people, and the system which they have adopted—which
they understand to be of divine origin—is calculated in its
character to make them free. The reason why it makes them free is
because that the greatest bondage which can exist among the human
family is the result of doing that which is wrong, which is
contrary to the laws of God, and to the laws of righteousness,
that should exist between man and man. I do not wish to say that
this Church or this people as a whole are entirely free from
evil. It would be very wrong to assert this, to do so would be
stepping beyond the bounds of truth and consistency, for we are
in a state of imperfection, and where imperfection exists there
necessarily follow departures from the strict line of
righteousness. But there is one feature connected with this
Church that is glorious, and it is this: that so far as the laws
of this Church are concerned, there are none who are exempt from
them, they are applicable to all, from those who hold the highest
positions in this Church to the humblest member therein; all must
subscribe to them. There is, however, an organization—an order
in this Church which we recognize and which we sustain. This
feature extends to this beautiful principle in the Church—which
is the highest form of what might be termed the democratic
principle—that all the main measures pertaining to this work,
in order to be valid in the sight of heaven, and to be in
accordance with the strict law of this Church, must have the
consent of the people before it becomes binding upon the people,
from whatsoever source it may emanate. In order to show you that
this is the case, I will refer the congregation to what we esteem
as the law and the testimony. We have a book here which is called
the Book of Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints, containing the revelations of Jesus Christ
through the Prophet Joseph Smith, who was raised up specially by
the Almighty, according to our
The Church Governed By Law, Etc. 185
faith, to organize the Church of Jesus Christ according to the
will of heaven, by revelation and commandment from the Most High.
In order to show you that that which I have spoken is according
to the law of our Church, I will read a small portion of
instructions which emanated from him whom we esteem a great
Prophet. Talking of the government of the Church and the people
in July, 1830, these instructions came through that medium:
“And all things shall be done by common consent in the church,
by much prayer and faith, for all things you shall receive by
faith.” That is a law of this Church that the affairs of the
Church shall be done by common consent of the body religious, and
therefore there is no despotism here; there is no one-man power
in the sense in which it is accepted regarding us in the world,
because when measures that are deemed for the advancement of this
work are brought up, they have to be received by the people, and
their consent obtained, in order to make them in accordance with
the law which God has revealed for the government of the
organization that He has established in this day. And there
exists among this people a reverence for law, a regard for that
which is legal and proper, that I have not seen exist to the same
extent in any other community with which I have mingled.
There is at the present time a disposition among the people of
the world which is quite remarkable, I might even say that it is
phenomenal in its character. There is a question now existing in
the world which is not confined to one nation alone, nor one
section of the globe; but there is an influence at work which
appears to be fast becoming a question pertaining to this
whole world—I refer to the spirit, and influence and
disposition which are growing everywhere to throw off every
species of restraint. Because of the increase and development of
this power and influence in the hearts of the masses of the
people, some of the governments of Europe are being shaken from
center to circumference, and we not only hear—in consequence of
this feeling which is growing in the minds of the people—we not
only hear of threats to cast down thrones and to destroy the
heads of governments that are existing, but that these things are
actually taking place, and the heads of nations are trembling for
fear because of this existing disposition to break in pieces the
powers that be. I may draw the attention of this congregation to
the fact that the revelations which were brought forward by
Joseph Smith, the Prophet, pointed to this very movement and
stated, in definite terms, that such a condition would exist
among the nations, and that it would bring about the destruction
of those governments in which it was suffered to exist and to
spread. But in place of the Latter-day Saints having a
disposition of this kind, it is the genius of this work, it is
the spirit of this Church, to conform to proper organization, to
recognize laws that are according to human rights, to recognize
that which will benefit mankind. It is true that most of the
governments of Europe are not based on correct principles. The
rulers do not recognize the rights of the people whom they
govern; but at the same time the condition that would be brought
about by these things which I have referred to, this undermining
governments, etc., would bring about a ten-fold worse condition
of things
186 Journal of Discourses
than the despotism even which exists in the old countries,
because it would bring about anarchy and confusion; it would
bring about a condition of things wherein the strong would
oppress the weak even to a greater extent than they do at
present, and surely there is no need for that.
Then, it might be asked, if you Latter-day Saints have so great a
regard for law, for existing regulations to rule and govern
society, why is it that you make exceptions to this rule? Why is
it that there is, at least, one law that you are not willing to
conform to?—referring to the law that was passed in 1862, for
the suppression of our system of marriage. The reason is
this—that we regard the Constitution of our country as sacred,
and the will of our Heavenly Father as supreme. That sacred
instrument—the Constitution of this land—says that a man and
woman in the practice of their religion shall not be interfered
with, that Congress shall have no power to make such interference
as that proposed by the law to which I have made allusion. But it
might be said in regard to this that it is a law nevertheless
because it has passed the Congress of the United States and been
sustained by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Nevertheless—I now speak for myself—I lay it down as a
proposition that any law that infringes upon my religious rights
cannot be a constitutional law, if all the courts in the world
should decide that it is of that character. But it may be
said—and it is said frequently—that our system of
marriage—the same system of marriage that obtained among the
ancients who held direct communication with the Almighty—is not
a part of religion. But I state, so far as I am individually
concerned, that
I hope never to get into the position where any man or class on
the face of this earth shall prescribe to me what shall or shall
not be my religion, for the moment that such a condition is
admitted, then farewell to religious liberty. It becomes as a
sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal, having no basis in reality.
But it is sometimes said that our system of marriage is obnoxious
to the ruling sentiment of the country, and especially to those
whose crafts are in danger, and who are professors of other
religions. Then on the same principle, if we were in the majority
would it be right for us to use coercive means to put down in the
religions of others what might be obnoxious to our system? It is
a poor rule that will not work both ways. But it seems to me
somewhat remarkable that people who are living perhaps thousands
of miles away from this part of the country, should have such
powerful visual organs that they can gaze and see something that
needs correcting among the people called Latter-day Saints, when
there is sufficient perhaps within a radius of half a mile of
their own dwelling places which would require their attention in
correcting for the rest of their lives. But whenever a man
travels in this country or any other, we shall find a large
proportion of the people who are liberal in regard to this
community, and who think that they should not be interfered with
in their institutions, and instead of getting up all this furor
and excitement in reference to what is called the “Mormon
Problem,” the sensible part of the community particularly are
willing that the “Mormons” should be left to the solution of
that problem themselves, and we assert that, with the help of
God, we are able to accomplish that work and
The Church Governed By Law, Etc. 187
show eventually, if not at present, a model community that it
would be good for others in the world to pattern after.
There are a great many ideas in reference to this people, as I
have said, which are erroneous. I have met, in traveling on the
trains people who were utterly surprised to find that the
Latter-day Saints looked like other people. I presume that they
expected to see men walking about with slouch hats and belts
filled with weapons of destruction, so erroneous and so
slanderous have been the reports concerning this people which
have gone abroad about them. There is only a percentage of the
people that were here who are willing, on account of the
deep-seated prejudice that everywhere exists concerning this
people, to speak the truth concerning them. There are men who
have come here who belong to different denominations, without
naming any of the religious bodies with which they were
connected—who have been treated with the utmost courtesy and
respect; perhaps more respect than their characters entitled them
to. They have been allowed to preach their tenets, disseminate
their doctrines among the people here, to build their churches
until you can see them on every hand, not only in this city, but
in other cities of this Territory. For purposes of the deepest
mendacity they have gone abroad and been the chief instruments in
arousing public sentiment against the Latter-day Saints. They
have risen in their religious conventions in the United States,
and told to my positive and certain knowledge, as black and
infamous lies as ever fell from the lips of human beings, and
were thus enabled to ply their vocation in collecting money in
order to save the downtrodden women of
Utah, and to help solve the “Mormon problem.” I say that such
men are unworthy of the title of manhood. They obliterate within
their narrow souls every principle which is worthy or entitled to
respect. I have no respect for them whatever. Although I do not
wish them any harm at all, I have no regard for them, because
they are too limited, too narrow, too devoid of principle; in
fact they can get along with as small an amount of principle as
any class of men that I ever knew of in my life. So far as I am
concerned, I have not reached that condition of perfection which
our Savior taught and practiced. I am imperfect in that
respect—when He says you shall love your enemies. I say that I
do not have any love for characters of that kind, who will go in
the face of facts with which they are acquainted, as well as men
can possibly be acquainted with anything, and willfully and
knowingly misrepresent the characters of this or any other people
on the face of the earth. I would feel the same if these
animadversions and calumnies which are heaped upon this people
were heaped upon any other. There is one individual especially
whom I knew when he was here, at least passingly, who said that
in Provo, a quiet, peaceable settlement in the South, one of the
most peaceable places on the top of this earth, perhaps—at
least it would be if they were all Latter-day Saints who are
there—this individual said that he was under the necessity, in
going to preach in the morning or in the afternoon, or whenever
he had to ascend the stand, of laying a pistol by the side of the
word of God—a falsehood as plain and direct as ever was spoken;
for I have lived in this Territory fifteen years and have never
known the time when it was
188 Journal of Discourses
any more necessary for one of those hirelings who preach for
money and divine for wages and not for the good of the souls of
men, to go on to the stand armed and equipped for defense, any
more than it is for me to do the same thing at this moment, in
this building.
But my brethren, sisters and friends, that is the way false
reports are started regarding this people. And what is the
reason? One reason is, I presume, because of our success.
I told you that the measures adopted by this Church are done by
common consent, as anyone knows who has attended one of our
General Conferences when this huge building is filled in every
part with the Latter-day Saints from the various places that we
have located in this Rocky Mountain region, when we come together
to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience
and according to that which we have accepted as true. When we
come together for that purpose our missionaries are called. They
are not reared in colleges for the purpose. We claim to have in
our midst the same Priesthood and authority which existed in the
ancient Church, and the same power characterizes the
administrations of that Priesthood. Men are called from the plow,
they are called from the carpenter's bench, from the shoemaker's
bench, from the office of the accountant, from the merchant's
store, and from any of the other vocations of life by the
authorities of the Church, and when the selections are made their
names are called out in this conference that the voice of the
people may be given by which to endorse the selections which are
thus made. The people are requested to manifest whether the
selections meet with their wishes or
no, a show of hands is called, a forest of them goes up, and
these men, if they be filled with the faith of this Gospel, are
ready to go to the ends of the earth at such a summons, and
perform their God-given duty in fulfillment of the words of the
Lord and Savior when He said, referring to it as one of the signs
of the last days, “And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be
preached in all the world for a witness and then shall the end
come.” They lay aside their business interests and go forth
without remuneration and perform this labor. Their efforts are
blessed, for they are generally successful, and they return after
as many years as may be assigned them to labor in the nations of
the earth in preaching this Gospel; they come back with their
sheaves with joy and rejoicing, to reunite themselves again with
the main body of this Church.
There is a statement in the Scriptures something like the
following: “To the pure all things are pure.” Now there are
many who attribute the existence of our marital institutions to a
desire on the part of the men who form this Church to minister to
the lower instincts and passions of their natures. I do not say
that in every instance the Church is free from this kind of
crime, for crime I consider it is; but I say that when such is
the case, when a man enters into this holy bond, whether it be in
taking more wives than one, merely for the gratification of his
passions he infringes upon a law of God, of nature and of this
Church, for this Church decides that its members shall be pure in
every respect; therefore those who are governed by impure
instincts, feelings and sentiments are departing from the genius,
the spirit, and the true practice of this Church, whoever they
may be. But this is not the purpose. There
The Church Governed By Law, Etc. 189
are purposes in the mind of Jehovah in regard to this principle,
at least we accept them as such. God has decreed that in this day
He will build up His Kingdom, and we are seeking to build it up,
and as it is said in the Book of Mormon that was brought forth by
the power of God, through the instrumentality of Joseph Smith,
that if the Lord should desire to raise up children to himself,
that He shall command His people, otherwise they shall not
practice the principle of plural marriage. Our Elders go abroad
into the nations; they sound the trumpet of the Gospel both long
and loud. But although they meet with some success, the numbers
that hear their testimony and embrace it are comparatively few,
compared with the great masses, that disregard their message.
This kingdom must have people, and if the people of the world
will not come and join with us and build up the kingdom of God,
we will build it from the internal strength within itself. Let a
person who does not believe in this go through this Territory
from north to south and from east to west, and see the flocks of
beautiful children who are growing up in the midst of this
people, who will aid in bearing off this kingdom.
There is a great cry in reference to the stoppage of the influx
of population to Utah. Attempts have been made to stop the flow
of immigration of Latter-day Saints on the most flimsy pretexts.
I have no fears, however, that anything of that kind will ever
amount to much, because no measure of that kind can, in this
country, obtain without overriding and trampling under foot every
principle of the constitution of our country. But it appears to
me that there is a source of power that is growing up in this
community that is comparatively lost sight of. That is the youth
who are growing up. Many state that the youth of this community
are becoming demoralized. There are some who are demoralized, and
who have departed from the faith which their fathers suffered to
establish and sustain. Some of the latter have suffered death and
others have suffered almost death time and time again, because of
the persecution and opposition with which they have had to
contend in almost every form. But those who suppose that the bulk
of the youth of this community will not sustain this work are
mistaken. The bulk of them will, and a great many of them are,
and I will say today, in behalf of our young men, that, according
to my experience, having been recently on a mission abroad,
generally the most successful among the Elders of this Church,
and the most fearless in the enunciation of the principles and
doctrines of this Gospel, the most laborious and indefatigable
laborers in the cause of truth, have been the boys who have been
born and reared in the Territory of Utah, and in the city in
which we now are. I have great hopes of our young people, and I
am pleased to note within the last few years the great
solicitude, the anxiety which has been manifested in regard to
their welfare, that they should be brought up in the nurture and
admonition of the God of Jacob, to shun the drunkard's path, the
path of the libertine, and every form of pollution and
degradation.
But this brings me back again to an idea that I was about to draw
your attention to, in regard to the idea that men embrace the
principles of plural marriage in order to minister to their baser
passions. I have spent between five and six
190 Journal of Discourses
years exclusively preaching this Gospel in the nations, and I
have been acquainted, in that capacity, with hundreds of Elders.
I have labored and traveled with them in the nations of the
earth, and I know, as well as I know that I stand here, and that
you are listening to the tones of my voice, that they are, as a
rule, as pure as the angels in regard to the matter to which I
now allude. They go abroad for one, two, three or four years, or
as many years as may be necessary, and refrain from every form of
gratification of the kind to which I now refer. I have known of
instances of departures from this rule, and there is a singular
thing connected with this work that I wish here to note. Those
who have been guilty of thus violating the principles of
chastity, and consequently the holy Covenants they have entered
into, there has been a departure from them of the light and power
of the Holy Spirit, and they became wilted like the flower
without moisture which has been blighted by the heat of the sun.
It was visible to every eye that something had happened which was
derogatory to such individuals. It is opposed to the spirit of
this work that men should violate the principles of purity and
chastity, and I know this to be the case. Where such instances
have occurred, what has been the sentiment of this Church? Has it
sustained it? If it has ever been sustained by any person in
authority in this Church, I know not of any instance of that kind.
What is there so very horrible, what has awakened the sentiment
of the world at large that they should become so shocked in their
moral susceptibilities regarding this people? What is there about
this people that appears so enormously
wrong? There is peace, there is regard for each other, there is
respectability, there is a large amount of honesty and
uprightness. What is there to shock the sensibilities of the most
enlightened professor of religion or of anybody else in the world
at large, which is reeking with corruption from center to
circumference. Some people say—“What is going to be done in
regard to this question? “The United States Government are
going to come down on you and crush your institutions or crush
you.” Well, you see, we have got so often crushed in theory,
that we are becoming used to it. We have been crushed,
obliterated, annihilated, until there was not a spot left of a
Latter-day Saint in theory, but the practical part has not yet
come. We have no fears. Some of our friends regard us with
solicitude, they are deeply concerned for our welfare, and they
think surely the end will come this time, whichever time it might
be, but we do not think so. We have great faith in the Almighty.
That is a good quality in any people, is it not? To have faith in
God. I do not know of a people who have more faith in God and the
Scriptures, so that, seeing we are told that without faith it is
impossible to please God, in that respect at least we must to
some extent please our Father in heaven. We have often seen the
clouds that have gathered around us thick, dark and threatening,
at the darkest hour dispelled. Then we have seen the sun of
prosperity shine again in its glory and in its strength, so that
we think every cloud that comes will be dissipated in a similar
way, and that the God of heaven will not forsake a people who put
their trust in Him. We put our trust in Him, and also believe in
doing the best we can our-
The Church Governed By Law, Etc. 191
selves, believing that God helps them the most who help
themselves. But some say—“You will have to give up what is
demanded of you; you will leave to abolish your institutions and
become like unto us.” This is what the world say. Then I say
God forbid that we shall become in some respects like the world
or their institutions. We do not want to become like that, and no
people have a right to coerce us into that condition,
notwithstanding that there is a journal published in this
city—and we have preserved the record of it, published to the
world—advocating what? Purity, instruction and intelligence to
be disseminated among the Latter-day Saints, that their delusion
might be dispelled, and that they might be brought out of the
thralldom in which they are supposed to be involved? No. What are
the measures advocated? The establishment, encouragement and
sustenance in the midst of the Latter-day Saints of gambling
dens, houses of ill fame, drinking saloons, and all those
institutions which are damning in their character, and which drag
poor humanity down to the very depths of degradation! Surely the
words of the Prophet are coming to pass when he said that in the
last days the corrupt in heart would say, “let us go up to Zion
that her sons and daughters may be defiled.” And I now say,
that leave it to the sentiment of the Latter-day Saints, leave it
to the prevailing feeling in the midst of this people, and there
would not exist in the Territory of Utah today, an institution of
the kind which I have named. I have seen the day when houses of
ill fame were not suffered to exist within the confines of this
Territory. But those officials who are sent forth to us by this
mighty government have in
many instances encouraged these evils instead of sustaining the
noble sentiment of the people. They have ignored and set aside
local laws enacted for the suppression of these iniquities. I
say, out on such characters as these, whether they be judges,
whether they be governors, whatever position they hold, as far as
I am individually concerned. I have no hesitation in saying that
I have not the slightest atom of respect for such individuals.
These are the men who would bring into this community the worst
species of despotism that could exist among any people, that is,
to force into and encourage in the midst of a community those
elements which are degrading and corrupt. They have not the
welfare of the people at heart, and I utterly and totally, as an
individual—I am not speaking for others, but for myself—I
despise them from the bottom of my heart and all such characters.
But all those men who sustain righteousness and uphold purity and
equal rights, I say that I feel in my heart to bless them and to
sustain them, and to respect them as every man who takes a course
of that kind should be respected.
“But will you not forego your institutions because of the
amount of pressure which may be brought against you.” I say so
far as I am concerned that I have no concessions to make. I do
not want to be understood as talking for others; but I say we
claim that God has revealed this system, and the only concessions
which can be made so far as our principles are concerned must be
made by their Author, otherwise they are null and void. So far as
religious liberty is concerned, we claim the same as other
people, and, in the language of the celebrated orator who figured
in the early history of this country—Patrick Henry
192 Journal of Discourses
—I hope to be able to say as he said: “Give me liberty or
give me death.” I believe that is the ruling sentiment among
the faithful of this Church, and those who suppose that we are
always going to lay our necks down to be trampled upon and
crushed, and that we shall always be crowded to the wall, I say
that I am of the opinion that they will sometime find out their
mistake.
But we Latter-day Saints have a great deal to learn. Sometimes we
complain of the waywardness of many who have become connected
with us; that they have gone back into the practices of the
world; that they have become backsliders and do not conform to
the principles of this Gospel. Then I say there is a provision in
the law for cases of this kind. To the law and the testimony, for
God has revealed the laws, and they are contained in this book
(Doctrine and Covenants), in the Bible, and in the Book of
Mormon, for the regulation of His Church, and for its
preservation and purity. There is one universal law in regard
to the evildoer in this Church, and it is this, in the language
of the revelation in which it is given, “He who sinneth and
repenteth not shall be cast out.” If that law were applied, the
unpardoned and unrepentant would be shaken off and the Church
purged of its worthless elements.
This, my brethren and sisters, is a great work. God has revealed
it. Then let us cultivate within us that principle of eternal
life which Jesus spoke about when he said to the woman at the
well, that if she had asked him he would have given her to drink
that which would have caused her never to thirst, and would have
been as a well of water springing up to everlasting life, which
is the Spirit of the living God, given to the faithful for their
guidance.
May the Lord bless all the House of Israel, the dispersed of
every tribe, and the righteous, the pure, the holy and the good
in every nation under the whole heavens, is my prayer in the name
of Jesus Christ, Amen.
192
204ithood, Its Organization, Etc.
Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered in The Tabernacle,
Ogden City, Sunday Morning, July 18, 1880.
Reported by James Taylor.
John Taylor
The Priesthood, Its Organization, Etc. 193
I am pleased this morning to have the opportunity of meeting with
the Saints in this place. If you will try to be still, I will
endeavor to lay before you a few principles on the subject,
concerning which your President enquired of me a few days ago. It
seems that there have been, somewhere in this Stake, difficulties
existing between the Bishop of a Ward and certain members of his
Ward. Failing to arrive at an amicable settlement, the parties
appealed, against the Bishop, to the High Council. President
Peery sent a telegram desiring my answer to the
question—“Whether a High Council had authority to try a
Bishop.” I could have answered yes, and I could have answered
no, to that question; but it was a matter that would require some
explanation, and on which the brethren, in many instances, are
not very well informed. I knew it would be almost useless to give
an answer of that kind, without making some little explanation
thereto, because there are some things with which more than one
truth is connected.
If you were to ask me whether I am dressed in woolen clothes or
cotton, I could not give you an answer, in the simple words yes
or no, because part of them are woolen, part of them cotton, and
part of them
linen; and I should need time to explain.
There are many questions pertaining to the Priesthood, which
cannot be answered categorically without further explanation, and
as this is a conference, I wish to make a few remarks concerning
some of them; but I do not propose to enter into all the details
of these matters; there would not be time, nor half time, nor a
quarter time. I simply propose to make a few remarks in regard to
the question which was asked me by your President.
I will here read on this subject a passage which people take up
sometimes, without understanding it, and, consequently, when they
do so, they are apt to make quite a number of mistakes. The
passage to which I will refer you, is the 22nd verse of the 68th
section, in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. After reading it,
you would think you had got the whole answer, but then you might
not have it, although you might think you had.
“And again, no bishop or high priest who shall be set apart for
this ministry shall be tried or condemned for any crime, save it
be before the First Presidency of the church.”
Now, does not that look very plain? It does, when apart from the
context, and if we do not exam-
194 Journal of Discourses
ine the other parts associated therewith. I will further read
some more pertaining to this matter, which will be found in the
Book of Doctrine and Covenants, page 249, section 68.
“Ver. 14. There remain hereafter, in the due time of the Lord,
other bishops to be set apart unto the church, to minister even
according to the first;
“15. Wherefore they shall be high priests who are worthy, and
they shall be appointed by the First Presidency of the
Melchizedek Priesthood, except they be literal descendants of
Aaron.
“16. And if they be literal descendants of Aaron, they have a
legal right to the bishopric, if they are the firstborn among the
sons of Aaron;
“17. For the firstborn holds the right of the presidency over
this priesthood, and the keys or authority of the same.”
Now, I desire to draw your attention to one thing very
distinctly, that you may comprehend—“For the firstborn holds
the right of presidency over this Priesthood.” Over what
Priesthood? The Bishopric. There is a Presidency in that
Priesthood; and this firstborn of the literal descendants of
Aaron would have a legal right to that Presidency. No man has a
legal right to this office, to hold the keys of this Priesthood,
except he be a literal descendant of Aaron, and the firstborn
among his sons. Then, he would have a legal right to it. I could
tell you the reason why, but it would take too long a time; and
these things will be spoken of hereafter more fully. But I wish
to speak of one or two leading principles pertaining to this
subject; and as a High Priest of the Melchizedek Priesthood has
authority to officiate in all the lesser offi-
ces, he may officiate in the office of Bishop, when no literal
descendant of Aaron can be found, and it is stated, “And they
shall be set apart under the hands of the First Presidency of the
Melchizedek Priesthood.” To what authority? To what power? To
what calling? To what Bishopric? To the Presiding Bishopric. This
is what is here referred to:
“Ver. 20. And a literal descendant of Aaron, also, must be
designated by this Presidency, and found worthy, and anointed,
and ordained under the hands of this Presidency, otherwise they
are not legally authorized to officiate in their Priesthood.
“21. But, by virtue of the decree concerning their right of the
priesthood descending from father to son, they may claim their
anointing if at any time they can prove their lineage, or do
ascertain it by revelation from the Lord under the hands of the
above named Presidency.”
Without that the Presiding Bishop could not be set apart, because
there is where the authority is placed.
“22. And again, no bishop or high priest who shall be set apart
for this ministry shall be tried or condemned for any crime, save
it be before the First Presidency of the church;”
In regard to what ministry? Why the Presidency of the Aaronic
Priesthood. That is what is here spoken of.
“23. And inasmuch as he is found guilty before this Presidency,
by testimony which cannot be impeached, he shall be condemned;
“24. And if he repent he shall be forgiven, according to the
covenants and commandments of the church.”
Now, then, I will read you something more on the same subject,
The Priesthood, Its Organization, Etc. 195
which will be found in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, page
383, section 107.
“Verse 1. There are, in the church, two priesthoods, namely,
the Melchizedek and Aaronic, including the Levitical Priesthood.
“2. Why the first is called the Melchizedek Priesthood is
because Melchizedek was such a great High Priest.
“3. Before his day it was called the Holy Priesthood, after the
Order of the Son of God.
“4. But out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme
Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they,
the church, in ancient days, called that priesthood after
Melchizedek, or the Melchizedek Priesthood.
“5. All other authorities or offices in the church are
appendages to this priesthood.
“6. But there are two divisions or grand heads—one is the
Melchizedek Priesthood, and the other is the Aaronic or Levitical
Priesthood.
“7. The office of an elder comes under the priesthood of
Melchizedek.
“8. The Melchizedek Priesthood holds the right of presidency,
and has power and authority over all the offices in the church in
all ages of the world, to administer in spiritual things.”
Now here is a principle developed that I wish to call your
attention to, and that is, that it is the especial prerogative of
the Melchizedek Priesthood, and has been “in all ages of the
world, to administer in spiritual things,” and to have the
right of presidency in those things.
But then, here is another distinction that I wish to call your
attention to, at the same time, which is found in the next verse:
“9. The Presidency of the High
Priesthood, after the order of Melchizedek, have a right to
officiate in all the offices in the Church”—spiritual or
temporal.
But there is a difference between the general authority of the
Melchizedek Priesthood and the one that is designated, which
presides over them all: and that which presides over the whole
has the right to administer in all things. The Aaronic Priesthood
is an appendage unto the Melchizedek Priesthood, and is under its
direction
I mention these things that you Bishops, and you Seventies, and
you High Priests, and you Elders, and you High Councilors, and
you Presidents of Stakes and Councilors, may comprehend the
position of things, as here indicated; and, as was said formerly,
I think it was by Paul, “that you may be able to rightly divide
the word of truth, and give to every man his portion in due
season.” These principles are written here, and are very plain,
if they are understood, but if not understood, then they are
mysterious, and it is required of us to make ourselves acquainted
with the principles inculcated and herein developed. The things
which I have mentioned are plain to the minds of all intelligent
Latter-day Saints, who have studied the Doctrine and Covenants on
these points.
“Verse 10. High priests after the order of the Melchizedek
Priesthood have a right to officiate in their own standing, under
the direction of the presidency, in administering spiritual
things, and also in the office of an elder, priest (of the
Levitical order), teacher, deacon, and member.”
That is the reason why, as soon as they possess this Priesthood
and right, if they are appointed to any particular office in the
Church, they
196 Journal of Discourses
have a right to administer in that office.
I will now speak a little upon the High Priesthood. This High
Priesthood, we are told, has held the right of Presidency in all
ages of the world. But there is a difference between the general
powers of the Priesthood, and the particular office and calling
to which men are set apart; and you, when I tell you, will
understand it very easily. For instance the Presidency of the
Priesthood, or the Presidency of the Church, are High Priests.
The Twelve are High Priests. The Presidents of Stakes and their
Counselors, the High Council of a Stake, and of all the Stakes,
are High Priests. The Bishops are ordained and set apart through
the High Priesthood, and stand in the same capacity; and thus
Bishops and their Counselors are High Priests. Now, these things
you all know. There is nothing mysterious about them.
There is another question associated with this matter. Because a
man is a High Priest, is he an Apostle? No. Because a man is a
High Priest, is he the President of a Stake, or the Counselor to
the President of a Stake? No. Because he is a High Priest, is he
a Bishop? No, not by any means. And so on, in all the various
offices. The High Priesthood holds the authority to administer in
those ordinances, offices, and places, when they are appointed by
the proper authorities, and at no other time; and while they are
sustained also by the people. Now these are the distinctions
which I wish to draw, simply to classify them. And when there is
anything said about a High Priest, you say, “I am High Priest,
and if such a man has authority, I have it!” You have if you
have been appointed to it, or you have not if you have not.
You have it if you are appointed to fill the office, and are
properly called and set apart to that office; but unless you are,
you have not got that office, but still you are a High Priest;
and “High Priests after the order of the Melchizedek Priesthood
have a right to officiate in their own standing under the
direction of the Presidency, in administering spiritual
things;” but they must be under that direction or Presidency.
Now here is where the question comes in. Is it not plain when you
look at it? To me it is very distinct and pointed, and it is to
you who are intelligent and have studied these things. It is not
because a man holds a certain class of Priesthood that he is to
administer in all the offices of that Priesthood. He administers
in them only as he is called and set apart for that purpose.
Hence, as you are organized here, you have a Presidency. They
were presented here for you to vote upon, and after that they
were set apart to administer in that office. But supporting
Brother Peery and his counselors had not been called and set
apart, would they have a right to administer in the office of the
Presidency? No, they would not; and you can all see it when you
reflect upon it.
Now, then, as we have read, a High Priest, after the order of the
Melchizedek Priesthood, has the right to administer under the
direction of the Presidency, in all spiritual things, and also in
the office of an Elder, Priest, Teacher, Deacon, and member. And
in the following verses we read that:
“11. An elder has a right to officiate in his stead when the
high priest is not present.
“12. The high priest and elder are to administer in spiritual
things, agreeable to the covenants and com-
The Priesthood, Its Organization, Etc. 197
mandments of the church; and they have a right to officiate in
all these offices of the church when there are no higher
authorities present.
“13. The second priesthood is called the Priesthood of Aaron,
because it was conferred upon Aaron and his seed, throughout all
their generations.
“14. Why it is called the lesser priesthood is because it is an
appendage to the greater, or the Melchizedek Priesthood, and has
power in administering outward ordinances.
“15. The bishopric is the presidency of this priesthood, and
holds the keys or authority of the same.” We will read a little
further:
“16. No man has a legal right to this office, to hold the keys
of this priesthood, except he be a literal descendant of Aaron.”
That is, he has no legal right; but in regard to certain
conditions pertaining to this right, I do not propose to enter
into an investigation this morning.
“Verse 17. But as a high priest of the Melchizedek Priesthood
has authority to officiate in all the lesser offices, he may
officiate in the office of bishop when no literal descendant of
Aaron can be found, provided he is called and set apart and
ordained unto this power by the hands of the Presidency of the
Melchizedek Priesthood.”
To what power? To hold the keys of this Priesthood, and to
preside over the Aaronic Priesthood.
“Verse 18. The power and authority of the higher, or
Melchizedek Priesthood, is to hold the keys of all the spiritual
blessings of the church—
“19. To have the privilege of receiving the mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven, to have the heavens opened unto them, to
commune with the
general assembly and church of the Firstborn, and to enjoy the
communion and presence of God the Father, and Jesus the mediator
of the new covenant.
“20. The power and authority of the lesser, or Aaronic
Priesthood, is to hold the keys of the ministering of angels, and
to administer in outward ordinances, the letter of the gospel,
the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, agreeable to
the covenants and commandments.
“21. Of necessity there are presidents, or presiding officers
growing out of, or appointed of or from among those who are
ordained to the several offices in these two priesthoods.
“22. Of the Melchizedek Priesthood, three Presiding High
Priests, chosen by the body, appointed and ordained to that
office, and upheld by the confidence, faith, and prayer of the
church, form a quorum of the Presidency of the Church.
“23. The twelve traveling councilors are called to be the
Twelve Apostles, or special witnesses of the name of Christ in
all the world— thus differing from other officers in the church
in the duties of their calling.
“24. And they form a quorum, equal in authority and power to
the three presidents previously mentioned.
“25. The Seventy are also called to preach the gospel, and to
be especial witnesses unto the Gentiles and in all the
world—thus differing from other officers in the church in the
duties of their calling.
“26. And they form a quorum equal in authority to that of the
Twelve special witnesses or Apostles just named.
“27. And every decision made by either of these quorums, must be
198 Journal of Discourses
by the unanimous voice of the same; that is, every member in each
quorum must be agreed to its decisions, in order to make their
decisions of the same power or validity one with the other—
“28. A majority may form a quorum when circumstances render it
impossible to be otherwise—
“29. Unless this is the case, their decisions are not entitled
to the same blessings which the decisions of a quorum of three
presidents were anciently, who were ordained after the order of
Melchizedek, and were righteous and holy men.
“30. The decisions of these quorums, or either of them, are to
be made in all righteousness, in holiness, and lowliness of
heart, meekness and long suffering, and in faith, and virtue, and
knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness
and charity;
“31. Because the promise is, if these things abound in them
they shall not be unfruitful in the knowledge of the Lord.”
Again, we read in the same section, page 389:
“Verse 60. Verily, I say unto you, saith the Lord of Hosts,
there must needs be presiding elders to preside over those who
are of the office of an elder;
“61. And also priests to preside over those who are of the
office of a priest;
“62. And also teachers to preside over those who are of the
office of a teacher, in like manner, and also the deacons—
“63. Wherefore, from deacon to teacher, and from teacher to
priest, and from priest to elder, severally as they are
appointed, according to the covenants and commandments of the
church.
“64. Then comes the High Priesthood, which is the greatest of
all.
“65. Wherefore, it must needs be that one be appointed of the
High Priesthood to preside over the priesthood, and he shall be
called President of the High Priesthood of the Church;
“66. Or, in other words, the Presiding High Priest over the
High Priesthood of the Church.
“67. From the same comes the administering of ordinances and
blessings upon the church, by the laying on of the hands.
“68. Wherefore, the office of a bishop is not equal unto it;
for the office of a bishop is in administering all temporal
things;
“69. Nevertheless a bishop must be chosen from the High
Priesthood, unless he is a literal descendant of Aaron;
“70. For unless he is a literal descendant of Aaron he cannot
hold the keys of that priesthood.”
You see the keys of this Priesthood are specifically mentioned
whenever the Presidency is mentioned; and whenever the rights of
the literal descendants of Aaron are mentioned, it is to hold the
keys of this Priesthood.
“Ver. 71. Nevertheless, a high priest, that is, after the order
of Melchizedek, may be set apart unto the ministering of temporal
things, having a knowledge of them by the Spirit of truth;
“72. And also to be a judge in Israel, to do the business of
the church, to sit in judgment upon transgressors upon testimony
as it shall be laid before him according to the laws, by the
assistance of his counselors, whom he has chosen or will choose
among the elders of the church.
“73. This is the duty of a bishop who is not a literal
descendant of Aaron, but has been ordained to
The Priesthood, Its Organization, Etc. 199
the High Priesthood after the order of Melchizedek.
“74. Thus shall he be a judge, even a common judge among the
inhabitants of Zion, or in a stake of Zion, or in any branch of
the church where he shall be set apart unto this ministry, until
the borders of Zion are enlarged and it becomes necessary to have
other bishops or judges in Zion or elsewhere.
“75. And inasmuch as there are other bishops appointed they
shall act in the same office.
“76. But a literal descendant of Aaron has a legal right to the
presidency of this priesthood, to the keys of this ministry, to
act in the office of bishop independently, without counselors,
except in a case where a President of the High Priesthood, after
the order of Melchizedek is tried, to sit as a judge in Israel.
“77. And the decision of either of these councils, agreeable to
the commandment, which says:
“78. Again, verily, I say unto you, the most important business
of the church, and the most difficult cases of the church,
inasmuch as there is not satisfaction upon the decision of the
bishop or judges, it shall be handed over and carried up unto the
council of the church, before the Presidency of the High
Priesthood.”
“79. And the Presidency of the council of the High Priesthood
shall have power to call other high priests, even twelve, to
assist as counselors; and thus the Presidency of the High
Priesthood and its counselors shall have power to decide upon
testimony according to the laws of the church.”
“80. And after this decision it shall be had in remembrance no
more before the Lord; for this is the highest council of the
church
of God, and a final decision upon controversies in spiritual
matters.”
“81. There is not any person belonging to the church who is
exempt from this council of the church.”
“82. And inasmuch as a President of the High Priesthood shall
transgress, he shall be had in remembrance before the common
council of the church, who shall be assisted by twelve counselors
of the High Priesthood;
“83. And their decision upon his head shall be an end of
controversy concerning him.”
“84. Thus, none shall be exempted from the justice and the laws
of God, that all things may be done in order and in solemnity
before him, according to truth and righteousness.”
I will read you a little more on this subject:
(Doctrine and Covenants, sec. 124, page 431.)
“Ver. 20. And again, verily I say unto you, my servant George
Miller is without guile; he may be trusted because of the
integrity of his heart; and for the love which he has to my
testimony I, the Lord, love him.
“21. I therefore say unto you, I seal upon his head the office
of a bishopric, like unto my servant Edward Partridge, that he
may receive the consecrations of mine house, that he may
administer blessings upon the heads of the poor of my people,
saith the Lord. Let no man despise my servant George, for he
shall honor me.”
I would remark here that Edward Partridge was the first Bishop of
the Church, and that he was appointed at an early day to go to
the land of Zion, and to preside over the Bishopric in that
district of country. He was to purchase lands for the people that
should gather there; he
200 Journal of Discourses
was to receive the consecrations of the people when they should
present themselves to him; he was to divide up the inheritances
for the people, and to sit as a common judge in Israel and hence
he held charge, not as the Bishops do here, over a particular
Ward, but over the whole of that district of country in the land
of Zion. I would remark, again, that Bishop Whitney was chosen
and set apart as a Bishop, to manage the affairs in Kirtland,
Geauga County, Ohio, and not only there, but to preside over all
affairs associated with that Bishopric in all of that country,
and occupied the position of a general Bishop, presiding over a
large district of country, the same as Edward Partridge did in
Zion. But these are not what we call presiding Bishops. In the
same revelation that George Miller was called to occupy the place
of Edward Partridge, and to hold the same kind of Bishopric that
he held, we find that there was a Presiding Bishopric appointed.
“141. And again, I say unto you, I give unto you Vinson Knight,
Samuel H. Smith, and Shadrach Roundy, if he will receive it, to
preside over the bishopric.”
Now, I have briefly laid before you some ideas pertaining to
these matters. I will explain them a little further. I will say
that the Bishopric is a good deal like the High Priesthood in the
position that it occupies. There have been men who, under the
Bishopric, have been appointed to fill various offices in the
Church, and at different times. I have told you, already, the
nature of the office which Bishop Partridge held, the nature of
the office which Bishop Whitney held; and then there were other
men who did not hold the same kind of Bish-
opric that they did. For instance, there was Bishop Alanson
Ripley, whom many of you know, who lived back in Nauvoo; and
other Bishops were appointed in some Stakes that were then
organized. And as it requires the direction of the Presidency of
the Church to regulate these general Bishoprics, such as Brother
Partridge held, and such as Brother Whitney held, and also being
appointed by the Presidency, they have a right to be tried and
have a hearing before them. But that does not apply to all
Bishops, or to all men who may be placed under different
circumstances. For instance, you have here in this Stake of Zion,
quite a number of Bishops. How far does their authority extend?
It extends to the boundary of each of their respective
Bishoprics. No further. You all know that—over their Wards
where they preside, and not over somebody else's, unless they are
appointed to it, which would be another thing. But without some
special appointment, they are simply appointed to preside over
their several Wards, and no one else's. That is the extent of
their authority in the Bishopric. But a person holding a general
Bishopric, the same as Bishop Whitney did, is different. He had
that appointed unto him by revelation, and under the direction of
the Presidency of the Church; and the appointment that Bishop
Partridge held—that was under the direction of the First
Presidency of the Church; and these Bishops would have the right
to be tried by the same power that appointed them and set them
apart. Still, how is it with other Bishops in Stakes; are they
under the same direction? To a certain extent all are under the
direction of the First Presidency; but unless the First
Presidency shall
The Priesthood, Its Organization, Etc. 201
otherwise decide, there is authority held by the Presidency in
those several Stakes, to try those Bishops who are under their
jurisdiction in their Stakes and for the High Council, with the
Presidency of the Stake presiding, to call them before them to
have a hearing, and adjudicate those matters. Thus the presidency
of Stakes occupy the same position to their Stakes as Joseph
Smith did to the Stake in Kirtland, the difference being in this,
that Joseph Smith, while he presided over that Stake in a Stake
capacity, presided also over all Stakes and Churches throughout
the world, while the Presidents of Stakes only preside over their
several Stakes, and their jurisdiction does not extend to any
others. But if the First Presidency should see it necessary to
interfere, and say, in a case of that kind, that the case was of
such a nature as to require another tribunal; they have a right
to dictate, and manage those matters. But if Presidents of Stakes
and their Counselors and the Bishops fulfil their duties, and all
act in harmony with the First Presidency, then everything goes on
smoothly, and all men can be judged according to the principles
laid down here in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants.
And there are some few things pertaining to these matters that I
will now speak about; and as this is a conference, it is as good
a time to talk about these doctrinal matters as we shall have.
There are a great many things mixed up with these subjects.
Suffice it, however, to say, that it requires the Presidency of
the Church to seek after God in all of their administrations.
Then it behooves the Presidents of Stakes and their Counselors to
be feeling after God, and after the First Presidency, and be
in harmony with them, and to feel that there is union and harmony
and the principles of peace and order prevailing everywhere. And
where these things are carried out on correct principles, there
is harmony throughout all Israel. If these things are departed
from, then come disorders, difficulty and hard feeling. Now we
ought not to allow our feeling to have any place in these
matters. No man has a right to use his priesthood to carry on his
own peculiar ideas, or to set himself up as a standard, with the
exception of the First Presidency, and they have no right to do
it unless God be with them, and sustain them, and they are upheld
by the people. And then it is for Presidents of Stakes to follow
after their spirit, and carry that out just as they would follow
after God, and seek for and obtain light and the spirit of
revelation from Him, and thus be prepared to bless the High
Priests, the Bishops, and all men under their charge.
What is the High Priesthood? Why are you organized as a High
Priesthood? Read the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. What does it
say? It says (Sec. 124, verse 134) “Which ordinance is
instituted for the purpose of qualifying those who shall be
appointed standing presidents or servants over different stakes
scattered abroad.” It is a kind of normal school, where they
may be taught lessons in the Presidency, and be prepared to judge
and act in the various places which they may be called to. Do the
Priesthood fulfil their calling? No, they do not. When the Stakes
were being organized, we had to call upon Seventies and Elders,
and all classes of men to hold positions which High Priests
should have held. But there are some who talk about
202 Journal of Discourses
being great big High Priests, who, when they should have been
called upon to be Bishops, or Bishops' Counselors, were found to
be incompetent because they had not prepared themselves to occupy
these offices associated with their calling, and been dabbling
with the world and had been led by its influence, instead of
being wide awake and full of the life and power and revelations
of God. If they had magnified their Priesthood, then God would
have been with them, and they would have been selected, until all
those places would have been filled. Then, how is it in regard to
the Seventies? Just the same. According to your statistical
report, which has been read, you have in this Stake 360
Seventies; and how many of them, if they were called today, are
prepared to go to the nations of the earth to preach the Gospel?
You are not prepared to do it any more than the High Priests were
prepared to magnify their calling. The Twelve are commanded first
to call upon the Seventies, but when they do so they frequently
find they with one consent begin to make excuses. I know it is
so, if you do not. Very well, what then? As there are other
appendages to the Melchizedek Priesthood, the Twelve are obliged
to call upon the Elders, and High Priests, and others, to go and
perform duties which should be performed by the Seventies, but
which they neglect to do. I speak of this, shall I say to your
shame? I do not like to use hard words, they do not do any good.
I would rather say five hundred pleasant things than one harsh
one; but I want to state truths as they exist, so that you can
comprehend. Now, notwithstanding this being the case, the work of
God cannot stand still. The nations must be warned. The
word of God must go forth, or the Twelve would be held
responsible, if these things were not done; and we have to keep
doing it, doing it!
Now, as a sample of the excuses that men make who are called to
go on missions, I will tell you what people tell me. One man
says, “I have been building a house, and have not got the roof
on it.” Another comes, and says, “I have just been entering
some land, and I am afraid I shall be placed in difficulty, if I
go; I pray you have me excused.” And one man said he was so
engaged in merchandising, and he was so much interested in the
people's welfare, that he was afraid they would suffer very
materially in their temporal interests, if he ceased to keep
store that it would not be well to take him away. Another has
bought five yokes of oxen, and is proving them, and prays to be
excused. And another has married a wife and he cannot go. I will
tell you what I once had to say to President Joseph Young. He had
been calling upon a number of people to go forth on missions. He
being the presiding officer over the First Presidents of
Seventies was the party for us to apply to; but in selecting
missionaries they had employed a system of what might be properly
called machine work, as you would go to work and pick out horses
or cattle by their teeth. They had selected them generally
according to age, etc., without inquiring as to their
qualifications, circumstances, etc. Now, we want the spirit and
power attending all of these matters, that we may find out the
true position of things before we can call men. After he had
received a great number of names from the said presidents, there
came in a perfect, stream of excuses to me. They wanted to be
excused; and
The Priesthood, Its Organization, Etc. 203
Joseph himself came to me and said, “how are you getting along
with the Seventies?” I said, “If you don't hurry up and get
the balance in, they will all be gone. You had better hurry
up.” Well, it is rather a lamentable story to tell. Yet, while
we hold this important Priesthood, it is a sorry way of treating
it.
Now, it is for us to look after these things; and they are
beginning to work up into a little order—to do a great deal
better; and men are beginning to realize the importance of their
office and calling, and express a greater desire to magnify it;
thus things are beginning to look a little brighter on that
score, as the Twelve have been attending to these things.
Now, the idea is not that one or a dozen men have to bear off
this kingdom. For what is the Priesthood conferred upon you? Is
it to follow the “devices and desires of your own hearts,” as
I used to hear them say in the Church of England when I was a
boy? Is it to do that? I think not. Or were we enlisted to God
for time and eternity? I think we were; and we want to wake up to
the responsibilities which devolve upon us, and honor our calling
and magnify our Priesthood. There are a great many more things
which I could talk about in this connection, but this may suffice
at present.
We have a variety of institutions. We have the sisters'
societies. I attended a meeting of one of these a short time
before I came here, and set apart Sisters Eliza R. Snow, Zina D.
Young, and Elizabeth Ann Whitney. We set some of these same
sisters apart in Nauvoo, under the direction of the Prophet
Joseph Smith, about forty years ago; and they are doing a good
work, and it is for them and their associates to continue to do
right and pursue a
proper and correct course. We want the Relief Societies and the
Young Mens' Mutual Improvement Societies to take hold with a
hearty good will. I was pleased to hear the remarks which were
made in relation to the course they are pursuing in trying to
keep the Word of Wisdom. Now, I am not very strenuous about
urging any particular point, but that is a good thing for them to
attend to. We must try to live our religion. We are on the eve of
important events. There are troublous times in advance of us and
the world—such times as the world has not taken it into their
hearts to conceive of. And we need to be united and to operate
together in all of our affairs. Be united as one; and, “if you
are not one you are not mine,” saith the Lord. Men who are
influenced by Gentiles, and every corruption that prevails, are
not fit to be the Saints of God. You want to pay your tithing
honestly and squarely, or you will find yourselves outside of the
pale of the Church of the Living God. We have to lay aside our
covetousness and our pride, and our ideas which are wrong, and be
united in our political affairs, in our temporal affairs, under
the direction of the Holy Priesthood, and act as a mighty phalanx
under God, in carrying out His purposes here upon the earth. And
all Israel ought to do the same. And then we have our Cooperative
Institutions, and other useful institutions among us. Well, what
shall we do? Sustain them? Yes; and fulfil our covenants with
them as we expect them to fulfil their covenants with us; and let
us be one and act together upon correct principles. Whoever
violate their contracts before God and the Priesthood have to be
dealt with for that, no matter who they are, nor what
204 Journal of Discourses
position they occupy. We have to act under the direction of the
Almighty. I know it is not popular to serve God, But God has
called us to be one; and he expects us to be one and carry out
his purposes,
and be obedient to the laws of Heaven.
May God bless you, and lead you in the paths of life. In the name
of Jesus. Amen.
204
The Responsibility to Preach the Gospel, Etc.
Discourse by President Wilford Woodruff, delivered in the Salt
Lake Assembly Hall, at the Half Yearly Conference, of the Salt
Lake Stake of Zion, Sunday Afternoon, Jan. 9th, 1881.
Reported by John Irvine.
Wilford Woodruff
204 Journal of Discourses
“Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! For if I do this
thing willingly, I have a righteous reward: but if against my
will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.” These
were the words of the Apostle Paul. Again he said: “But though
we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you
than that which we have preached unto you, let him be
accursed.” And he repeats this. Again he says: “But if our
gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god
of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,
lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image
of God, should shine unto them.” I will say as Paul did, “Woe
be unto me if I preach not the gospel.” I will say the same for
the Apostles, the High Priests, the Seventies, and the Elders, so
far as
they are called to declare the words of life and salvation to
this generation; the judgments of God will rest upon us if we do
not do it. You may ask why. I answer, because a dispensation of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ has never been given to man in ancient
days or in this age, for any other purpose than for the salvation
of the human family. Again, the Lord says (in sec. 1 of the Book
of Doctrine and Covenants): “And the voice of warning shall be
unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have
chosen in these last days. And they shall go forth and none shall
stay them, for I the Lord have commanded them. Behold, this is
mine authority, and the authority of my servants, and my preface
unto the book of my commandments, which I have given them to
publish unto you, O, inhab-
The Responsibility to Preach the Gospel, Etc. 205
itants of the earth. Wherefore, fear and tremble, O ye people,
for what I the Lord have decreed in them shall be fulfilled. * *
Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come
upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph
Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him
commandments; And also gave commandments to others, that they
should proclaim these things unto the world; and all this that it
might be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets.” Again,
the Lord has said, “Behold, now it is called today until the
coming of the Son of Man, and verily it is a day of sacrifice,
and a day for the tithing of my people; for he that is tithed
shall not be burned at his coming. * * and I will not spare any
that remain in Babylon. Wherefore, if ye believe me, ye will
labor while it is called today.” This is the word of the Lord
to the Elders of Israel. And I say the same to the Latter-day
Saints. It is no light thing for any people in any age of the
world to have a dispensation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
committed into their hands, and when a dispensation has been
given, those receiving it are held responsible before high heaven
for the use they make of it.
I feel to back up the testimony given to us this forenoon by
President Taylor. I have had the same feelings resting upon me
for the last years of my life. I realize that our condition, our
position, the responsibility we hold, the relationship we sustain
to God, and the relationship we sustain to this great and last
dispensation—I feel that many of us as Latter-day Saints, hold
too lightly these important trusts committed to our charge. The
angel of God, as declared to St. John, the Revelator,
while upon the Isle of Patmos, had come forth in the last days,
flying through the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel
to preach to them that dwell upon the earth, and to every nation,
kindred, tongue and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God,
and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come. This
Gospel was committed to Joseph Smith, and connected with this
Gospel was the proclamation, “Fear God, and give glory to him;
for the hour of his judgment is come.” This was the position in
which Joseph Smith was placed when he was in the flesh; it was
the position of those that were connected with him, his brother
Hyrum, and others of his father's house, as well as the Twelve
Apostles, the Seventies, and those early Elders of Israel who
were called to make the proclamation of this Gospel to the world.
They were sustained by the power of God. They were called and
commanded to go forth into the world and preach this Gospel to
the inhabitants of the earth, without purse or scrip. This is the
manner we traveled in early days. The early Elders of the Church
were called to pass through a great deal. Joseph Smith himself,
from the hour that he received the records from the hand of
Moroni, and commenced to proclaim the restoration of the Gospel,
to the day of his death, had to suffer tribulation. The whole
world arose against him—priest and people. What was the matter?
Simply that Joseph Smith was like other prophets and apostles. He
brought forth a dispensation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which
came in contact with the traditions of the people—traditions
which have been handed down from generation to generation. He was
the first man since the day the
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Savior was put to death, and the Apostles and the Priesthood
taken home to God—he was the first and only man that ever
attempted to establish the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to
the ancient order of things. But he was sustained in his work. He
knew very well when he undertook to introduce this Gospel that it
would be unpopular, his brethren knew this also; but being called
of God, and a dispensation of the Gospel having been committed to
his hands and the hands of his brethren, the Gospel had to be
preached.
This is our condition today. O ye Elders of Israel who have
received the Holy Priesthood, we have this work laid upon our
shoulders, we have to take hold and build up this kingdom or be
damned. This is our condition; we cannot get away from it; the
ancient Apostles could not; we cannot. It is the greatest
dispensation God ever gave to the human family in any age of the
world, and we are commanded to carry it forward. We cannot afford
to treat lightly this work. We cannot undertake to serve God and
mammon. We cannot undertake to serve the world and fulfil our
missions as Apostles and Elders of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have
got to take one side or the other. And I will also say we cannot
be fruitful in the things of the kingdom of God, except we are
diligent in searching for the things of God. It is our duty to do
so. We have been called by the spirit of revelation, by the voice
of God from Heaven, through the mouth of his prophets, to preach
the Gospel and build up this kingdom. This is the word of the
Lord unto us. The Lord said in the beginning, some fifty years
ago, in the first revelation almost which was given to us, that
the harvest
was ripe, and that whosoever would thrust in his sickle and reap
the same is called of God.
I have given you my views and feelings with regard to these
things. I have my faith, my hope. I believe that God Almighty
reserved a certain class of men to carry on his word. They have
been born into the world in this generation. I believe this was
the case with Joseph Smith. I believe he was ordained to this
work before he tabernacled in the flesh. He was a literal
descendant of Joseph who was sold into Egypt, and the Lord called
him and ordained him. He gave unto him the keys of the kingdom.
He received the record of the stick of Joseph from the hands of
Ephraim, to stand with the Bible, the stick of Judah, in the last
days as a power to gather the twelve tribes of Israel, before the
coming of Shiloh, their King.
We have been under the necessity of carrying this Gospel to the
generation in which we live. The Lord has never sent judgments
upon any generation which we have any knowledge of until he has
raised up prophets and inspired men to warn the inhabitants of
the earth. This is the course the Lord has dealt with all men
from the days of Father Adam to the present time.
I need not stop to tell you that we live in a day of darkness,
wickedness, unbelief, and transgressions of every kind; I need
not tell you this; the heavens know it, the earth knows it, the
devils know it, all men know it who are acquainted with the human
family in the day and age in which we live. The Lord told us
fifty years ago, that “Darkness covereth the earth, and gross
darkness the minds of the people, and all flesh has become
corrupt before my face.” But He has sent forth the warning voice
The Responsibility to Preach the Gospel, Etc. 207
to them. He has called upon all men to repent and obey the Gospel
of Jesus Christ, that they may be counted worthy to escape the
judgments of God.
President Taylor treated this forenoon upon the law of Tithing.
Perhaps the Latter-day Saints do not want to hear much more upon
this subject; but I have felt a long time that we as a people
were somewhat ignorant of that law. We have looked upon it as a
matter of little consequence; we have looked upon it with a great
deal of indifference whether we pay tithing or not. But the
subject was clearly set forth this forenoon by President Taylor.
He has no power to change this law, nor has any other man; and if
we do not obey it, we can lay no claim to the promises made to
those who obey it. These things are very plain and pointed. The
principle of tithing has been a principle of sacrifice in almost
every age of the world; in fact, it was peculiarly so among the
people in ancient days, and among even the heathen nations of the
earth. Now I have thought many times that some of those ancient
kings that were raised up, had in some respects more regard for
the carrying out of some of these principles and laws, than even
the Latter-day Saints have in our day. I will take as an ensample
Cyrus, on account of his temperance. He was one of the kings of
the Medes and Persians. I believe his father was a Persian and
his mother a Mede. To trace the life of Cyrus from his birth to
his death, whether he knew it or not, it looked as though he
lived by inspiration in all his movements. He began with that
temperance and virtue which would sustain any Christian country
or any Christian king. And even when he was sent in his youth to
his grandfather Astyages, the king of the Medes, he showed that
he had been carefully brought up, and he followed his early
training in a great measure throughout his life; while as king or
leader of the Median armies, he conquered nearly the whole
world—in fact I do not know that he ever lost a battle. His
grandfather was living in luxury, and when young Cyrus was sent
to him he offered to serve him as a butler—only he didn't do as
butler's sometimes do—that is, taste the wine before putting it
on the table. Cyrus, when offered wine, said, “I am afraid it
is poison.” “You are afraid it is poison?” “What makes
you think it poison?” “Why, because I have seen it make you
and some of the princes act very strange, you would stagger and
act very curious.” He followed this principle of temperance
during his whole life. Before a battle he offered sacrifices to
the Gods; when he finished a battle and had a victory he did the
same thing. I have been struck in reading his history with the
course he took in this matter. He would never enter into revelry
or debauchery over the nations he had conquered. He taught such
principles until the day of his death. Before he died he told
those by whom he was surrounded, that he did not want his body
put into a gold coffin or a silver coffin; he simply desired his
body to be laid in the dust and covered with the earth. Many of
these principles followed him, and I have thought many of them
were worthy, in many respects, the attention of men who have the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. But the law of tithing was carried out by
all Israel, from the creation of the world down to the present
time—that is, whenever God had a people upon
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the earth they observed the law of tithing. And I believe, as
President Taylor has stated, that it is our duty to pay our
tithes and offerings before the Lord. It is a commandment of the
Lord that we should do this, and I do not feel myself called upon
as a member of this Church and kingdom to require the President
of this Church to attempt to change this order, or attempt to
find fault with him because he does not permit young men who
curse and swear, who do not pay their tithing, etc., to enter the
Lord's house and there have sealed upon their heads the highest
blessings that were ever given to Patriarchs and Prophets, who
have sealed their testimony with their blood. He has told the
Bishops and Presidents of Stakes not to give recommends to young
men or old men, or anybody else, who do not obey the laws of God
in this respect, and I feel to back him up in this matter, for I
know he will be justified before the Lord. If we attempt to
please the world on the one hand and serve the Lord on the other,
we will fall.
I feel to say to my brethren who have received the holy
priesthood: We occupy a position in the world which is of great
importance to us. We have received the teachings of heaven; in
fact, I believe there never was a people since God made the
world, who received more teachings than the Latter-day Saints,
for the last fifty years. The world has rejected the light of
truth, and the fulness of the Gentiles will come in. But it is
our duty to preach the Gospel to them, until the Lord says, “It
is enough.” We must round up our shoulders, and bear off this
kingdom.
The Lord compared the kingdom of heaven to ten virgins; five were
wise and five were foolish; five had
oil in their lamps and five had not. Now the question is, how can
we keep oil in our lamps? By keeping the commandments of God,
remembering our prayers, do as we are told by the revelations of
Jesus Christ, and otherwise assisting in building up Zion. When
we are laboring for the kingdom of God, we will have oil in our
lamps, our light will shine and we will feel the testimony of the
spirit of God. On the other hand, if we set our hearts upon the
things of the world and seek for the honors of men, we shall walk
in the dark and not in the light. If we do not value our
priesthood, and the work of this priesthood, the building up of
the kingdom of God, the rearing of temples, the redeeming of our
dead, and the carrying out of the great work unto which we have
been ordained by the God of Israel—if we do not feel that these
things are more valuable to us than the things of the world, we
will have no oil in our lamps, no light, and we shall fail to be
present at the marriage supper of the Lamb.
I have felt for a good while that we required stirring up with
regard to the law of tithing, and other things. The question is
here: If this is the work of God, and the Lord has given us
commandments, will we be blessed in obeying these commandments?
The Lord holds our destiny in his hands. The earth, the riches of
the earth, the crops, the herds, or flocks, our food and raiment
are all the gifts of God to us.
Of course, we are required to practice what we preach. I believe
in that doctrine. Now, I know for myself, that the presidency of
this Church pay their tithing. As chairman of the Auditing
Committee, I know what their tithing is. The
The Responsibility to Preach the Gospel, Etc. 209
Twelve Apostles pay their tithing. Bishop Hunter and his
Counselors pay their tithing, as well as a great many others in
this Church and Kingdom. I would not preach tithing if I did not
pay it. I consider it my duty to pay my tithing. I consider it is
a law of God to me, and I am no poorer for obeying it. I wish my
brethren and sisters to take this principle to heart. As the
President has said, the Lord does not care anything about our
cattle, our gold and our silver. The law of tithing is a law of
God to us. Obedience is better than sacrifice. We are building
temples to the name of the Lord. What are we building them for?
That we may enter in and redeem our dead. The Lord has had his
endowments a great many years ago. He has ascended to his
thrones, principalities and powers in the eternities. We are his
children. He has given us a law, and he has placed us here on the
earth to obey that law. We are here to fill a probation and
receive an education. I once read a man's view of education—he
was not a Mormon, but a man of the world—who said, “No man is
fully educated unless he can tell where he came from, why he is
here, and where he is going to.” That being the case, I thought
there were few fully educated in the world. No man can tell where
he came from unless it is revealed to him. We have had these
things revealed to us in the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Book of
Doctrine and Covenants. We have thus come to the knowledge that
we had an existence before we came here, and that we had a
probation before we came here. We are now upon our second estate,
and our eternal destiny depends upon the few years we spend in
the flesh. We are placed here that it may be seen which law we
will keep.
Our Heavenly Father has placed before us the laws celestial,
telestial and terrestrial. If any man will obey the celestial
law, he will be preserved by that law; all the glory, power and
exaltation, belonging to that law, will be given to him. What
does the Savior, the Son of God, say to us in our Testament? He
says, in speaking of the Priesthood of Melchizedek, that “they
who receive this Priesthood receiveth me, saith the Lord; for he
that receiveth my servants, receiveth me; and he that receiveth
me, receiveth my Father; and he that, receiveth my Father,
receiveth my Father's kingdom; therefore, all that my Father hath
shall be given unto him; and this is according to the oath and
covenant which belongeth to the Priesthood. Therefore, all those
who receive the priesthood, receive this oath and covenant of my
Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved.” Who in
the name of the Lord can apprehend such language as this? Who can
comprehend that, by obeying the celestial law, all that our
Father has shall be given unto us—exaltations, thrones,
principalities, power, dominion—who can comprehend it?
Nevertheless it is here stated. How few there are on the earth
today, or in any other dispensation, who have been able to abide
the celestial law of God. It brings down the hatred of the whole
generation in which we live. No man can live the celestial law
without bringing upon his head persecution. It cost the Savior
his life; he suffered an ignominious death upon the cross. Joseph
Smith sealed his testimony with his blood, as also have others
connected with this Church and kingdom.
Now, our position is this: We have been chosen out of the world,
210 Journal of Discourses
the world hate us, our nation hates us, indeed the inhabitants of
the earth in a great measure hate us. Of course there are
honorable exceptions. But a great many despise us; a great many
wish our destruction. Why? Because we are trying to abide the
celestial law of God; we are preaching the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, and endeavoring to carry out its principles. Now the
question is, will it pay us to do so? Will it pay us to be
faithful? Will it pay us to pass through whatever trials or
afflictions, or persecutions, or even death itself, for the
kingdom of God, for salvation and eternal life, the greatest of
all gifts which God can bestow on the children of men? I say it
will, and I hope that the Latter-day Saints, that all men in
authority—that we will all be faithful before the Lord, that we
will remember our prayers, labor for the Holy Spirit, labor to
know the mind and will of God, that we may know the path to walk
in, that we may obtain the spirit of the Lord and the
Holy Ghost, and that we may overcome the world and magnify our
calling till we get through this probation. There is a long time
hereafter. Our aim is high. There are a few in this generation
who have attempted to keep the celestial law. I desire to keep
that law, so that when I have finished my probation here, I may
get into the presence of my Heavenly Father, where our Savior is,
where the old patriarchs and prophets are, where Joseph Smith and
his brethren the Apostles and those who have lived faithful until
the day of their death are. That is my desire, and I say I desire
this for myself, I desire the same for my family.
I pray God my Heavenly Father, to let his blessings rest upon us;
I pray that his Holy Spirit may be with us to guide us in the
path we should walk in; I pray that we may magnify our calling
and overcome the world, the flesh and the devil, and inherit
eternal life, for Christ's sake. Amen.
210
211
The Testimony of the Gospel, Etc.
Discourse by Elder Chas. W. Penrose, delivered in the Tabernacle,
Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Aug. 14, 1881.
Reported by John Irvine.
Charles W. Penrose
The Testimony of the Gospel, Etc. 211
One of the many evidences of the truth of the Gospel which we
have embraced is the experience of young brethren, some of them
born in Utah, others who have come here in their childhood and
have grown up in the midst of the people, and who are
occasionally sent out into the world to advocate the Gospel of
Christ. We find that every one of them who is faithful to his
trust, who attends to the duties imposed upon him, and keeps
himself unspotted from the world, returns with a testimony of the
truth in his heart. He is able to say that he knows the work is
true independent of the instruction which he may have received or
the testimony which he may have heard from others, and he is able
to say that he has received this witness from God to his own
soul. Now the testimony of the young brother who has spoken this
afternoon is the testimony of all our brethren who go out in like
manner and return in the same way. And there is another thing
connected with this which corroborates it, and that is if any of
our missionaries go out into the world and become contaminated,
fall into the ways of the world, transgress the commandments of
God, and stain their garments with impurity, they lose that
testimony, and when they return they do not come back full of
confidence and
of zeal, they do not come back with the spirit of union in their
hearts towards the rest of the Church, but they go into the dark,
they become full of faultfinding, they fall away, and finally
make shipwreck of their faith.
It has been truly said this afternoon, that the bond of union
which binds the Latter-day Saints together, is this testimony, or
the spirit by which it comes. We are not bound together by any
cast-iron rules or ceremonies, nor are we held together by the
power of men who preside over us, as is supposed in the world;
but the bond of union which unites us, is the inspiration of the
same spirit. We have obeyed the same Gospel in the same way; we
have been baptized by one spirit into one body, whether we were
previously Catholics or Episcopalians, Methodists or Baptists,
Congregationalists or Quakers, Theists or Infidels—no matter
what our faith or lack of faith may have been before, when we
received this Gospel we all received the same truths in the same
fashion, and being baptized by one baptism, we were prepared to
receive the same spirit, and that spirit resting down upon us
enabled us to see eye to eye.
It is claimed by some people in the world that it is impossible
to make different people see alike; that
212 Journal of Discourses
it is a matter of impossibility to bring all people to the unity
of the faith. It is claimed that as our countenances differ, so
do our dispositions and our minds, that what will convince one
person will not convince another, and therefore that it is
impossible to make a body of people all understand alike, and if
they do act together it must be through some compulsion. Now, I
regard this as a great mistake. I know it is not true by my own
experience and by what I see here among the people called
Latter-day Saints. I know that it is possible for a great number
of men and women to be brought to see things exactly alike. We
may look at this outside of religious matters. If a number of us
take a problem in geometry, as soon as we all understand the
principles which govern it, are we not able to solve the problem
in the same way? Certainly. So with a sum in arithmetic. So in
regard to any branch of exact science. It is supposed, however,
that theology is not a science, cannot be made a science, that it
is a mere matter of opinion, and that as people differ so much in
opinion in other things, they will be bound to differ in their
views in regard to religion. But these ideas are founded on
fallacies. Theology, properly speaking, is not a mere matter of
opinion. What is called religion in the world, I admit, is a
matter of sentiment and opinion, and one man's opinion is just as
good as another—and in some respects, as the Irishman said,
“a great deal better.” One reverend divine's opinion is just
as good as another's, for they differ just as much as the people
do whom they teach. And so the idea prevails that religion is a
mere matter of opinion, and therefore we can expect nothing but
division. But true religion does not come from
man. True religion comes from God, if there is a God. Our young
brother this afternoon, says he knows there is a God. It is no
matter of opinion with him. He knows that God hears and answers
prayer, and you may find thousands of men and women here in Utah,
who are willing to bear the same testimony. They do not hold this
as a matter of faith alone, it has become knowledge to them. They
know that there is a Supreme Being, that He is a personage, that
He hears and answers prayer, and He has demonstrated to their
entire satisfaction not only that he lives, but that the Church
of which they are members is his; that this work in which they
are engaged is his work; that he has established it, that he is
rolling it on, and that he will sustain it and bring it to a
glorious consummation, no matter what earthly power may
intervene. Now, I say if there is a God, and if that God made
this world upon which we live, and if he is our Father, the
Father of our spirits, then he has the right to control the earth
and all the people that live thereon, and it is unreasonable to
think, if there is such a Being who made the earth and formed the
creatures that dwell upon it, and who guides and controls their
destinies, that he will never manifest himself to his creatures.
It is unreasonable to me to think that. We have a book here
called the Bible; we have another book called the Book of Mormon,
and here is another called the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. In
each of these books it is declared that there is a God, and that
he has revealed Himself. The Bible gives a history of some of the
revelations of that Divine Being to people on the eastern
continent, in Palestine particularly. The Book of
The Testimony of the Gospel, Etc. 213
“Mormon” gives an account of some of the revelations of the
same Being to the ancient inhabitants of this continent, the
progenitors of the American Indians, civilized persons from whom
the American Indians have descended, for they were not always the
despised beings they are at present. The Book of Doctrine and
Covenants contains revelations from the same Being, given in the
day and age in which we live. Each of these books corroborates
the others. They run together like three drops of water, or, to
make scriptural reference, like the three measures of meal in the
parable. In each of these books the testimony is given of a God,
and also the fact that he will reveal himself to those who
rightly approach him. If this be true, if the united testimony of
the Bible, the Book of Mormon and Book of Doctrine and Covenants
is true, then it is possible for the inhabitants of the earth to
obtain knowledge from God, and further than that, if these books
are true, knowledge has been sent down from on high, religion has
been sent down from heaven, for the guidance and benefit of
people dwelling on the earth. If these books are true, God, at
different times in the world's history, has called and appointed
men to be His representatives—not to represent his perfection,
because they were only human beings, but to represent certain
truths which he revealed to them for the benefit of their
fellows, and in some instances, for all the people dwelling upon
the widespread earth. If these books are true, Jesus, who died on
Calvary, was the Son of God, and he sent out his Apostles unto
all the world to preach the true religion. Now the religion that
God gave to these men in any age, whether
we find it in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, or the Book of
Doctrine and Covenants is not the religion of man. It did not
spring out of the human heart; it was not framed by men meeting
together in conclave; but it came by revelation from the Supreme
Being. He manifested it to mankind. I know that there are a great
many different things called religion in the world that have come
out of the hearts of men, at least in part if not altogether.
They have taken some of the things written in the Bible, they
have reflected upon them, and then have added a little of their
own opinion concerning these things. They have taken a part of
what God has revealed and added their own notions to it. But true
religion, the religion of God, must come from God. The religion
of Jesus Christ must come from Jesus Christ, and not from man. If
religion comes down from God to man and man receives that
religion and the spirit of it, they will all come to the same
understanding concerning it. Being baptized into one body, they
will comprehend it alike. Having the same light they will “see
eye to eye.” And according to the Scriptures, there is to be a
time when all people shall see alike. “Thy watchmen shall lift
up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they
shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion,” so
says the prophet Isaiah. And there is to be a day when all people
that breathe the breath of life will know God, from the least
unto the greatest. They will be able to bear the testimony our
brother has borne this afternoon, and no one will have need to
say to his neighbor, “Know ye the Lord.” But if religious
affairs go on as now in the world it will take a long time to
accomplish the change, will it not?
214 Journal of Discourses
Well, the Latter-day Saints, as I said just now, are able to bear
this testimony. Why? Because they are better than anybody else?
They make no such assertion; but if they are no better than the
people of the world they have not very much to boast of. I have
traveled a good deal and know the doings of the world, and if the
Latter-day Saints are no better than the majority of the people,
they have nothing particular to boast about. But we do not claim
that we can bear this testimony because of our extra goodness. We
do not say, “Come not near unto us; we are holier than you.”
We have no such disposition or spirit. But having heard the
principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by the Elders
of this Church and reflected upon them, prayed about them and
compared them with the old scriptures, we came to the conclusion
that they were true, because they corresponded in every respect
with the teachings of Christ and his Apostles. And let me say, in
passing, that this cannot be claimed for any religious sect in
the world—we do not call our Church a sect—there is no
religious sect in the world whose creed, ordinances, formula, and
Church government correspond, in every particular with that we
read about in the New Testament. But we find on close comparison
that the doctrines taught by the Elders of this Church correspond
in every respect with the doctrines taught by Jesus and his
Apostles. They made the same promises to us that the ancient
Apostles did. On hearing this we prayed about it; we sought
wisdom from God; we did not turn away from these men because
their names were cast out as evil; but we turned to the Lord. He
heard our prayers and answered them, and stamped the truth of
their testimony upon our hearts. We were baptized, and being
baptized we received the testimony that our sins were remitted;
for we came forth from the liquid grave to a new life, we had
“put off the old man with his deeds” and “put on Christ”
to walk after the pattern of his life. And when the Elders laid
their hands upon us, according to the order of confirmation, that
God established in the Church, the Spirit of the Almighty rested
down upon us, and filled our hearts with sweet satisfaction, and
with the knowledge that we had received the truth, and we were
filled with light, communication was opened up between us and our
Father. We received peace, revelation, knowledge and wisdom,
gifts and powers for our own individual benefit as members of his
Church. The Holy Ghost bore testimony to us that God lived, that
the religion we had received was his religion, and that Spirit,
to those who have been faithful and listened to its whisperings,
has been a continual guide, “a light to their feet and a lamp
to their path,” a continual monitor, an abiding witness, which
brings things past to their remembrance, confirms the things of
the present, shows us things to come, and bears record of the
Father and the Son. It is this that has drawn this people here.
The Latter-day Saints received this Spirit wherever they dwelt on
the face of the earth, when the Gospel came to them. We have come
a great many of us from various parts of Europe, the different
States of America, and from other countries and nations, north
and south—we have all come here and embraced the same faith, we
see many things eye to eye, understand alike and work together,
not because we are forced to do so, as some people im-
The Testimony of the Gospel, Etc. 215
agine, by the craft and cunning of men who understand human
nature, but because we have received the same spirit. Men who
oppose this work—“Mormonism” as they call it—leave this
matter out of consideration altogether. In consequence of this
they can never comprehend this work, they cannot discern the
cause of the union of this people; they cannot account for the
work accomplished by the Latter-day Saints, in spite of all the
opposition and persecution they have had to endure. But the real
cause of our union is the Spirit of the living God, which rests
upon us. That Spirit led us here, and we are here to stay. We are
here to do the work which God designs shall be done. We are
willing to make any sacrifice—if there be such a thing as
sacrifice—because God Almighty has enlightened our minds,
because we know that he lives, that he hears and answers our
prayers and gives us the blessings we ask for when they are good
for us, and withholds them when they are not; for like children
we are apt to ask for razors to cut our fingers with. God answers
our prayers when it is wise to grant the things we desire.
This testimony which we have received is not imaginary, it is not
a phantom, it is a fact, and the same testimony has been
experienced wherever this Gospel has gone. It is claimed that
Joseph Smith was an impostor. We say we know that Joseph Smith
was a prophet of God. The promises he made have been fulfilled.
When the Elders were sent out to proclaim the Gospel, they made
the promise to all who should obey it, that they would receive
the testimony I have been talking about. Could man have bestowed
this testimony? No. But we received it and we know it came from
God, and
as I said before, wherever people have received this Gospel, this
religion that the Lord has something to do with personally—they
receive the same testimony, and when they seek for the gifts of
the Gospel, they obtain them if they ask in faith. I speak now of
the gifts enumerated in the Bible, that were manifested in the
ancient Church. They are now manifested in this Church; for it is
the Church of Christ, and it is established on the same basis
that it rested upon in the first place. In the Church now is the
power of the holy Priesthood, the authority of the Apostleship,
and of all the different offices of the Church, as was the case
in the Church anciently. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints is joined to the Church of the Firstborn behind the veil.
This is not the church of man. The principles we have received
have not sprung from the brains of men. They have been revealed
from God. This Gospel is now being preached as a witness to all
nations before the end shall come. Jesus promised this to his
disciples just before his crucifixion. He gave a number of signs,
“Behold the fig tree, and all the trees. When they now shoot
forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is nigh at
hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know
ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” “And this gospel
of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness
unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” This Gospel of
the kingdom, the Gospel that Christ preached, has been sent down
from heaven in our own time, and is being preached as a witness
to all the world—not preached for hire or proclaimed for money;
for the Elders go out without hope of pecuniary reward, in fact
216 Journal of Discourses
in most instances they pay their own traveling expenses in order
to bear their testimony. And wherever people receive that
testimony they receive this spirit and they know it is true, and
that is the power which bound them together. No human being could
weave such a tie as that which unites the Latter-day Saints. It
is a heavenly union among themselves, and it is a union between
the heavens and the earth. The Saints are gathering from all
nations to the place which the Lord has appointed, and are
building temples to his name for the benefit of the living and
the dead. We have come out of the world, and therefore the world
hate us; we have turned our backs upon our former friends and
kindred, and have formed new relations and new associations. We
have experienced the influence of the Spirit of God, and our
desire is to bear testimony to the truth of this work, which
shall roll on until the kingdoms of this world shall become the
kingdoms of our God and his Christ, and until “every knee shall
bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father.” That is our work, that is what we
are here for. If we are accumulating any earthly wealth here, it
is by the blessing of God that we may the better accomplish his
purposes, that we may help to build up his kingdom on the earth,
that wickedness may be swept from the earth, that he whose right
it is to reign may come and take possession of his kingdom.
Now, my friends, the time at my disposal has nearly expired, but
before sitting down, I desire to bear my testimony, in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ, that I know this is the work of God; I
know that God lives and that he hears and answers the prayers of
the faithful; and I
know this work will prevail. I know that no earthly powers can
retard it. The combined powers of the earth—Presidents, Kings,
Emperors or Governors—cannot stay the progress of this work,
because the great Jehovah hath spoken it. This is the way, walk
ye in it. Avoid evil and choose the good. “Be ye perfect, even
as your Father in heaven is perfect.” I know this work will
roll on, though all the world is against us. We are a little
handful of people compared to the nation of the United States,
but true strength is not in numbers. I do not mean when I make
such a comparison, that all the millions of this nation are
against us; many are opposed because they do not know us, they do
not know our object, they do not know our spirit, they do not
know what manner of men and women we are. They think we are a set
of fanatics. But it is principle that has brought the Latter-day
Saints to dwell in these valleys and we live and labor that out
of this Church may be built up the kingdom that all the prophets
and inspired men of God have seen from the beginning, upon which
the glory of God shall shine, and over which the Lord shall rule.
This work will prevail, no matter what opposition may be brought
to bear against it. If this whole nation should rise up and other
nations should join them, with the object of destroying the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they could not
accomplish it. Our kind Methodist friends are anxious to see
“Mormonism” stamped out; but the more they attack it, the
stronger they will make it, as the more united will be our
people, and the firmer our desires and our determination to roll
on the work of God, and live as He directs. The best policy,
therefore, for the
The Testimony of the Gospel, Etc. 217
Methodists, or any other sect, to pursue, is to let us alone.
However, they cannot let us alone, for there is an
influence—the influence of the evil one—which is antagonistic
to this work, and stirs up the hearts of the wicked against it.
All manner of lies are circulated concerning us, which, however,
only serve to increase our strength. If we were let alone there
might arise internal divisions; but while we are hated and
derided by the world, misrepresented and maligned, by preachers
and editors, and men who profess to be men of God, we shall
become more and more consolidated, for all this only unites us
more together. It is according to human nature that it should do
so, and in all this we can see the providence of God. This will
continue and prevail. I know it just as well
as I know that I am here. The general outline of the work to be
performed in this generation is clearly mapped out in my mind.
And if the Latter-day Saints will keep the commandments of God,
and walk in the path they have commenced to tread, revelation and
knowledge and wisdom will be given to them from on high, the
servants of God at the head will be filled with revelation to
feed the flock of Christ, and this work will roll forth in
strength and power in the earth, until all things which have been
predicted by the Prophets are fulfilled.
May God hasten the day and help us to be faithful, that when His
kingdom is established, we may be worthy of a place therein,
through Jesus Christ. Amen.
217
The Privileges of the Saints, Etc.
Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered at Hooperville,
Monday, June 27, 1881.
Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.
John Taylor
The Privileges of the Saints, Etc. 217
219
It is a very great privilege to be Saints of the most high God,
and it is of much more importance than many of us sometimes
comprehend. It is a great privilege to have God for our father
and friend. And then while we have God for our father and friend,
on the other hand, we ought to be the friends of God. It is said
of Abraham, that he was the friend of God, and we, the Latter-day
Saints, ought to be the friends of God, and to take pleasure and
delight in doing his will; for we are indebted to him for every
blessing which we enjoy, whether pertaining to this earth or to
the heavens, to the life that now is or to the life that is to
come. Many of these truths are not known in the world, for the
simple reason that they have not been taught, nor are there any
people outside of the Priesthood of this Church who are capable
of teaching men the principles of life, the principles of
salvation, the principles of exaltation and eternal lives. And
the reason why they are not capable of teaching them is, because
they do not understand them themselves. And no man can teach
correctly principles which he does not himself comprehend. It was
upon this ground that Jesus in his day said: "If the blind lead
the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." Also quoting the
words of the Apostle: "The things of God knoweth no man, but the
Spirit of God." And if we do not find out, we Latter-day Saints,
how to approach God, as has been referred to by a previous
speaker, and how to call upon him acceptably and to approach him
as our Father, and to feel that we are his children, and to take
pleasure in calling upon him, and to cultivate His Holy Spirit;
if we do not do this, nor comprehend these principles, we have
indeed made slow progress in the things pertaining to the kingdom
of God.
It is a very great privilege to be Saints of the most high God,
and it is of much more importance than many of us sometimes
comprehend. It is a great privilege to have God for our father
and friend. And then while we have God for our father
and friend, on the other hand, we ought to be the friends of God.
It is said of Abraham, that he was the friend of God, and we, the
Latter-day Saints, ought to be the friends of God, and to take
pleasure and delight in doing his will; for we are
218 Journal of Discourses
indebted to him for every blessing which we enjoy, whether
pertaining to this earth or to the heavens, to the life that now
is or to the life that is to come. Many of these truths are not
known in the world, for the simple reason that they have not been
taught, nor are there any people outside of the Priesthood of
this Church who are capable of teaching men the principles of
life, the principles of salvation, the principles of exaltation
and eternal lives. And the reason why they are not capable of
teaching them is, because they do not understand them themselves.
And no man can teach correctly principles which he does not
himself comprehend. It was upon this ground that Jesus in his day
said: “If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the
ditch.” Also quoting the words of the Apostle: “The things of
God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” And if we do not
find out, we Latter-day Saints, how to approach God, as has been
referred to by a previous speaker, and how to call upon him
acceptably and to approach him as our Father, and to feel that we
are his children, and to take pleasure in calling upon him, and
to cultivate His Holy Spirit; if we do not do this, nor
comprehend these principles, we have indeed made slow progress in
the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
God has restored the Gospel for the purpose of bringing life and
immortality to light; and without the knowledge of the Gospel
there is no knowledge of life and immortality; for men cannot
comprehend these principles only as they are made known unto
them, and they cannot be revealed only through the medium of the
Gospel, and through obedience to the laws of salvation associated
therewith. And hence
as the Gospel emanates from God, and as that is the great medium
of salvation, through the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, God
said in former times to his former-day Apostles, and also in
latter days to his latter-day Apostles, “Go ye into all the
world and preach the gospel to every creature.” He sent them
with a message that was fraught with greater blessings than
anything that could be conferred upon mortals. And hence when the
heavens were opened and the Father and Son appeared and revealed
unto Joseph the principles of the Gospel, and when the holy
Priesthood was restored and the Church and kingdom of God
established upon the earth, there were the greatest blessings
bestowed upon this generation which it was possible for man to
receive. If they could comprehend it, it was the greatest
blessing which God could confer upon humanity. Then he sent his
servants forth to proclaim this Gospel to the nations of the
earth, and he is now sending them forth to preach the Gospel of
the Son of God, to deliver the testimony that he has given unto
us. And, speaking for the Priesthood, have we done it? We have,
and we have done it in the name of Israel's God; and he has been
with us and I know it. And with regard to praying, if we had not
known how to pray we should have been in a bad position many a
time, regarding both temporal and spiritual things. But we
learned to call upon him, and he has heard us and has come to our
help in time of need. Is it not a great privilege and blessing to
have a Father of this kind to approach. Let us look at it. Jesus
tried in his day to get the people to comprehend one thing—to
ask and receive. It is a simple thing. Seek and you shall find;
knock and
The Privileges of the Saints, Etc. 219
it shall be opened to you. For he that asketh receiveth, etc. Do
you believe it? If you do, go and try it, and see whether God
lives or not, and you will know for yourselves. It was said in
former times, “We know that God lives.” How do you know?
Because we received the things which we asked at his hands. In
one place the people are told. You receive not because you ask
not; and our Heavenly Father upbraids them for not asking. The
Lord declares, I have plenty; I own all things, the gold and the
silver are mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills are mine.
Now if you are prepared to use them properly, he is prepared to
give them to you. He enquires, If a son ask for bread, would you
give him a stone? The little child when it is hungry, asks its
mother for a piece of bread and butter; the mother would not
think of picking up a stone and handing it to the child; but she
gives the little one something to eat to satisfy its hunger. And
when the child is hungry it will come again and ask for more.
After this kind of reasoning the Savior then said to those around
him, if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more shall your Father in heaven give his Holy
Spirit to them that ask him. Let us try then to have confidence
in God, as our children have confidence in us. They will come to
us and say, Papa, can I have a new hat? Mamma, can I have some
new shoes? Papa, please give me five cents to buy candy. If you
can you like to gratify their little wants. Our Father feels just
the same towards us. But suppose they were to ask you for a
razor? “That would be dangerous,” you would say. “Why,
child, I don't want to give you that.” And then
when you want things of no use to you, and your Father knows that
it would not be good for you—although he does not tell you so,
he does not give them to you because they would be injurious.
There is nothing of more value to me than the principles of
eternal truth; than the principles of eternal lives; eternal
salvation, and eternal exaltations in the kingdom of God; but
then it is for us to comprehend it, for if we do not comprehend
it, no matter how great the truths, they cannot benefit us. We
frequently think a little more of a nice span of horses, or a
nice wagon, or a favorite cow, and such things, than we do of
God's work, as our boys sometimes get attached to a few marbles,
thinking that they are everything, and they do not like to leave
their marbles to obey father or mother; and God finds us about
the same. We get a few dollars, or a farm, and a little stock,
and a few other things; and we cannot afford to neglect these; we
cannot afford to take time to pray, nor to listen to the voice of
Father, we are so busy playing marbles. And occasionally when we
play marbles among the dollars, we try to cheat one another, as
boys sometimes do at marbles, and try to take advantage one of
another. I never like to see boys cheat, and never like to see
men cheat at their kind of marbles. Our feelings and affections
get placed on wrong things. We are here to build up Zion, and to
establish the kingdom of God. The kingdom of what? The kingdom of
God. Then if it is the kingdom of God, it is not the kingdom of
man, originating or belonging to man. It came not of man nor from
man, it came from God, and we are indebted to him for it; and we
are indebted to him for all the
220 Journal of Discourses
light and all the intelligence we have. For the life we have, for
the pure air we breathe, for the use of our bodies and our
reason, for the food and raiment we eat and wear, and in fact,
for everything we have and enjoy, both of a temporal and
spiritual nature. All these things God gave us. We did not have
them; we did not grow them. You may have planted the corn and
plowed it; but I think the Scripture tells us that Paul may plant
and Apollos may water, but it is God that gives the increase. It
is so in our farming or anything else. If we have good crops, it
is through the blessings of the Almighty that we receive them,
and if he did not give them to us, then we should go without. He
could send an army of crickets or grasshoppers, or a great
hailstorm, sweeping away the fruits of our labors, and in that
event, whose would they be? I think it very foolish to quarrel
over marbles; I think it foolishness in men to seek after the
things of this world and place their affections on them. I see
men, and I have seen a great many men in my time, grasping after
the world, and they sometimes will succeed in gathering
considerable together; and when they have gathered it, they would
fold their arms and say, “Soul take thine ease; eat, drink and
be merry, for I have much good laid up in store; I am not
dependent on any man, soul, take thine ease.” That man hears a
little whisper; the finger of God is laid upon him, and this
whisper says, Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of
thee; and then, whose shall these things be that thou possessest?
Who shall have them then! O, I will leave them to my children!
But somebody may cheat them out of it. It is a very difficult
thing for people to
leave things for their children, and have things done just as
they wish, there being so many people to interrupt and grasp
after this world's goods righteously or unrighteously. What a
fool to gather large possessions, and now to only occupy a few
feet of mother earth. And that brain once so busy, is now
slumbering, decaying in the tomb, and worms are reveling within
its chambers. And those limbs that were active and energetic and
full of life, are now helpless and powerless. And what of these
things? I have sometimes, in speaking on matters of this kind,
related my own experience when a boy. I have dreamed, for
instance, of being very rich, but I would say in my dream, I am
afraid I am dreaming; I am afraid when I awake I shall not find
my treasures; but I'll try to hide them and make them secure. In
the morning I would hunt for my treasure, but never could find
it. You will find, every one of you, that, naked you came into
the world, and naked you will return; you can take nothing
pertaining to this world with you, not if you were to possess the
whole earth. If you possess any portion of this earth by right or
title or authority, you will have to get it from God, and you
will have to get it when the earth shall be renewed. Abraham had
great promises of lands, so had Isaac and Jacob. And what did
Abraham have? We are told by Stephen, who lived many generations
after him, that God had promised Abraham that he should have this
land; but nevertheless he gave him no inheritance in it, not so
much as to set his foot on. Notwithstanding the promise of the
Lord to him respecting his possessing that land, he had to buy a
place in which to bury his wife, and in which he himself should
be buried.
The Privileges of the Saints, Etc. 221
And yet, did God's promise fail? No, he will yet possess that
land and his seed with him, and the promise be literally
fulfilled. While it is proper for us to seek after everything
that is right and honorable, on the other hand it is quite as
right and very proper that we should set God before us all the
time and render obedience to his law, so that we may acquire an
eternal inheritance in the kingdom of God. God is now
establishing his kingdom upon the earth. If it is the kingdom of
God, and he is establishing it, he expects us to be subject to
his law, and to be governed by it, and to keep his commandments.
What then shall we do? We will do everything which God requires
at our hands. Have we families? We will try to train them up in
the fear of God. Have we wives? We will treat them as we would
angels of God, and be their protectors and guardians and make
them comfortable and happy. And then, as was remarked, we will
dedicate our houses and lands to God, and ourselves to God, and
our wives and children and everything we have, and feel that we
are the children of God and our offspring with us. Again, if I
was a woman, I would try to treat my husband right and to make a
heaven of my home, and would try to make everything pleasant
around me. You husbands now and then quarrel with your wives, and
you wives quarrel with your husbands, and you wives sometimes
quarrel with one another; I will say cease such folly, and have
another kind of feeling; and treat everybody not as they always
treat us, for that would not always be right; but let us do unto
all men as we would have them do unto us. A man came to Jesus on
one occasion, and asked him, which was
the greatest commandment. The Savior answered him: “Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul,
and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself.” Can we do that? It is sometimes hard work, is it not?
We too frequently feel we would rather put two dollars in our own
pocket than one in our neighbor's, do we not? We would rather
have two or three cows than that our neighbor should have one? Is
not this the kind of feeling? “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself.” The law—some of us talk about law sometimes; we
cannot get enough of it in the Church, therefore we want to go
outside for it. I have known, for instance, men to go to law over
water difficulties, and they would fee the lawyers liberally, and
then, of course, the streams would flow in rich abundance, and
there would be plenty of water for everybody. [Laughter]. I
remember when a little boy, seeing a somewhat curious picture.
Two farmers were quarreling over or disputing the ownership of a
cow; and one had her by the horns, the other had her by the tail.
In order to settle the difficulty they secured the services of
one of these peacemakers of the law, and his love for his fellow
man was so great that while they pulled at either end of the cow,
he sat between them quietly milking her. [Laughter]. In case of
difficulty, for difficulties will arise sometimes, would it not
be better for us to attend to the milking of the cow ourselves;
and go to the Lord for His guidance and manifest feelings of
liberality and kindness towards our fellow men, towards all men?
What, would you do so with Gentiles?
222 Journal of Discourses
Yes; it would be a pity if we could not do that. Why, we are told
that the Lord “maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the
good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Let us
try to be like him. We do not want much association with them; we
do not want to take counsel at their hands; we do not want to be
influenced by them; we do not want them to teach our children
while they are seeking to destroy us and to induce legislation
against us, and are doing everything they can to injure us. We
will say, Father, these are thy children as well as we are; we
ask thee to put a hook in their jaws, so that they cannot go any
further than thou shalt permit them; and the balance of their
conduct we will strive to endure. Make us worthy to be acceptable
in thy sight; and if thou seest fit to let them stir up any
commotion, we will try to bear it, because we believe it will be
overruled for our good and for the advancement of thy cause in
the earth. Would I hurt them? No, if I were to see one of them
hungry, I would feed him; if I were to see them naked, I would
clothe them; but I would not give them my daughters to wife,
neither would I let them teach my children to lead them down to
death. I want those to teach my children and the children of this
people who will lead them in the paths of life. But treat
everybody well, and do what is right to everybody, and cultivate
the spirit of kindness towards all. And when you see somebody's
cattle in somebody's grain, feel sufficient interest in his
welfare to go and drive them out; and try to promote the welfare
of your neighbors and make them feel as comfortable as you can,
and God will bless us, and we will bless one another.
And we will build our Temples; and what will we do with them?
Administer in them. And then we will spread the Gospel to the
nations, and teach our children the principles of intelligence
and set before them good examples. And let every father of a
family feel that he would not want his wife or wives or children
to see him perform an act that he would not have them do; and
thus be prepared to say: Follow me as I follow Christ. Let us
live together in peace and union and cultivate the Spirit of God,
and sustain those who are placed to preside over us. You have a
President of the Stake, pray for him that he may comprehend
correct principles and draw near to God, and bring down his
blessings upon him. Pray for Brother Richards, and pray for us.
Here is Brother Woodruff, a faithful man; so are the balance of
us; so are many of you, good, faithful men. Well, sustain all
honorable people. We need praying for; we are all alike: we are
all of that class of whom the old lady was talking when she said:
“We are all poor, miserable, independent sinners.” We all
need assistance, and we should bear with one another. And while
we are seeking to do right in many instances, let us be kind and
charitable and long-suffering in the Spirit of Christ, which is
the Spirit of the Gospel.
Brethren, God bless you; Sisters, God bless you and God bless
your institutions. Be diligent and faithful in observing the laws
of God, and the peace and blessing of God will be with you. I
pray my heavenly Father to bless this people, and to bless these
lands, and all that pertains to you, that your habitations may be
habitations of peace, that your children may grow up full of
light and truth, and become no-
The Privileges of the Saints, Etc. 223
table men and women in Israel, whose names shall be known among
the honorable of the earth. Zion is onward; let us progress along
with her, and the men who at present affect to despise us because
we are so small, will by and by dread us because of our unity and
power. While the finger may be pointed in scorn at a “Mormon”
today, by and by it will be said that such and such a man was
born in Zion, for we are men and women of integrity and fidelity;
that will be the case
with our posterity, who will rise up and call us blessed. And
they will esteem it the greatest honor that could be conferred
upon them, so far as the honor of this world is concerned, to
have been born in Zion; because we purpose living in such a way,
that while the world generally will grow worse and worse, our
conduct will be of that nature that we shall command the
admiration of honorable men as well as the favor of our Heavenly
Father. God bless you. Amen.
220
God has restored the Gospel for the purpose of bringing life and
immortality to light; and without the knowledge of the Gospel
there is no knowledge of life and immortality; for men cannot
comprehend these principles only as they are made known unto
them, and they cannot be revealed only through the medium of the
Gospel, and through obedience to the laws of salvation associated
therewith. And hence as the Gospel emanates from God, and as that
is the great medium of salvation, through the atonement of the
Lord Jesus Christ, God said in former times to his former-day
Apostles, and also in latter days to his latter-day Apostles, "Go
ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature."
He sent them with a message that was fraught with greater
blessings than anything that could be conferred upon mortals. And
hence when the heavens were opened and the Father and Son
appeared and revealed unto Joseph the principles of the Gospel,
and when the holy Priesthood was restored and the Church and
kingdom of God established upon the earth, there were the
greatest blessings bestowed upon this generation which it was
possible for man to receive. If they could comprehend it, it was
the greatest blessing which God could confer upon humanity. Then
he sent his servants forth to proclaim this Gospel to the nations
of the earth, and he is now sending them forth to preach the
Gospel of the Son of God, to deliver the testimony that he has
given unto us. And, speaking for the Priesthood, have we done it?
We have, and we have done it in the name of Israel's God; and he
has been with us and I know it. And with regard to praying, if we
had not known how to pray we should have been in a bad position
many a time, regarding both temporal and spiritual things. But we
learned to call upon him, and he has heard us and has come to our
help in time of need. Is it not a great privilege and blessing to
have a Father of this kind to approach. Let us look at it. Jesus
tried in his day to get the people to comprehend one thing--to
ask and receive. It is a simple thing. Seek and you shall find;
knock and it shall be opened to you. For he that asketh
receiveth, etc. Do you believe it? If you do, go and try it, and
see whether God lives or not, and you will know for yourselves.
It was said in former times, "We know that God lives." How do you
know? Because we received the things which we asked at his hands.
In one place the people are told, You receive not because you ask
not; and our Heavenly Father upbraids them for not asking. The
Lord declares, I have plenty; I own all things, the gold and the
silver are mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills are mine.
Now if you are prepared to use them properly, he is prepared to
give them to you. He enquires, If a son ask for bread, would you
give him a stone? The little child when it is hungry, asks its
mother for a piece of bread and butter; the mother would not
think of picking up a stone and handing it to the child; but she
gives the little one something to eat to satisfy its hunger. And
when the child is hungry it will come again and ask for more.
After this kind of reasoning the Savior then said to those around
him, if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more shall your Father in heaven give his Holy
Spirit to them that ask him. Let us try then to have confidence
in God, as our children have confidence in us. They will come to
us and say, Papa, can I have a new hat? Mamma, can I have some
new shoes? Papa, please give me five cents to buy candy. If you
can you like to gratify their little wants. Our Father feels just
the same towards us. But suppose they were to ask you for a
razor? "That would be dangerous," you would say. "Why, child, I
don't want to give you that." And then when you want things of no
use to you, and your Father knows that it would not be good for
you--although he does not tell you so, he does not give them to
you because they would be injurious.
221
There is nothing of more value to me than the principles of
eternal truth; than the principles of eternal lives; eternal
salvation, and eternal exaltations in the kingdom of God; but
then it is for us to comprehend it, for if we do not comprehend
it, no matter how great the truths, they cannot benefit us. We
frequently think a little more of a nice span of horses, or a
nice wagon, or a favorite cow, and such things, than we do of
God's work, as our boys sometimes get attached to a few marbles,
thinking that they are everything, and they do not like to leave
their marbles to obey father or mother; and God finds us about
the same. We get a few dollars, or a farm, and a little stock,
and a few other things; and we cannot afford to neglect these; we
cannot afford to take time to pray, nor to listen to the voice of
Father, we are so busy playing marbles. And occasionally when we
play marbles among the dollars, we try to cheat one another, as
boys sometimes do at marbles, and try to take advantage one of
another. I never like to see boys cheat, and never like to see
men cheat at their kind of marbles. Our feelings and affections
get placed on wrong things. We are here to build up Zion, and to
establish the kingdom of God. The kingdom of what? The kingdom of
God. Then if it is the kingdom of God, it is not the kingdom of
man, originating or belonging to man. It came not of man nor from
man, it came from God, and we are indebted to him for it; and we
are indebted to him for all the light and all the intelligence we
have. For the life we have, for the pure air we breathe, for the
use of our bodies and our reason, for the food and raiment we eat
and wear, and in fact, for everything we have and enjoy, both of
a temporal and spiritual nature. All these things God gave us. We
did not have them; we did not grow them. You may have planted the
corn and plowed it; but I think the Scripture tells us that Paul
may plant and Apollos may water, but it is God that gives the
increase. It is so in our farming or anything else. If we have
good crops, it is through the blessings of the Almighty that we
receive them, and if he did not give them to us, then we should
go without. He could send an army of crickets or grasshoppers, or
a great hail-storm, sweeping away the fruits of our labors, and
in that event, whose would they be? I think it very foolish to
quarrel over marbles; I think it foolishness in men to seek after
the things of this world and place their affections on them. I
see men, and I have seen a great many men in my time, grasping
after the world, and they sometimes will succeed in gathering
considerable together; and when they have gathered it, they would
fold their arms and say, "Soul take thine ease; eat, drink and be
merry, for I have much good laid up in store; I am not dependent
on any man, soul, take thine ease." That man hears a little
whisper; the finger of God is laid upon him, and this whisper
says, Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee;
and then, whose shall these things be that thou possessest? Who
shall have them then? O, I will leave them to my children.
222
But somebody may cheat them out of it. It is a very difficult
thing for people to leave things for their children, and have
things done just as they wish, there being so many people to
interrupt and grasp after this world's goods righteously or
unrighteously. What a fool to gather large possessions, and now
to only occupy a few feet of mother earth. And that brain once so
busy, is now slumbering, decaying in the tomb, and worms are
revelling within its chambers. And those limbs that were active
and energetic and full of life, are now helpless and powerless.
And what of these things? I have sometimes, in speaking on
matters of this kind, related my own experience when a boy. I
have dreamed, for instance, of being very rich, but I would say
in my dream, I am afraid I am dreaming; I am afraid when I awake
I shall not find my treasures; but I'll try to hide them and make
them secure. In the morning I would hunt for my treasure, but I
never could find it. You will find, every one of you, that, naked
you came into the world, and naked you will return; you can take
nothing pertaining to this world with you, not if you were to
possess the whole earth. If you possess any portion of this earth
by right or title or authority, you will have to get it from God,
and you will have to get it when the earth shall be renewed.
Abraham had great promises of lands, so had Isaac and Jacob. And
what did Abraham have? We are told by Stephen, who lived many
generations after him, that God had promised Abraham that he
should have this land; but nevertheless he gave him no
inheritance in it, not so much as to set his foot on.
Notwithstanding the promise of the Lord to him respecting his
possessing that land, he had to buy a place in which to bury his
wife, and in which he himself should be buried. And yet, did
God's promise fail? No, he will yet possess that land and his
seed with him, and the promise be literally fulfilled. While it
is proper for us to seek after everything that is right and
honorable, on the other hand it is quite as right and very proper
that we should set God before us all the time and render
obedience to his law, so that we may acquire an eternal
inheritance in the kingdom of God. God is now establishing his
kingdom upon the earth. If it is the kingdom of God, and he is
establishing it, he expects us to be subject to his law, and to
be governed by it, and to keep his commandments.
223
What then shall we do? We will do everything which God requires
at our hands. Have we families? We will try to train them up in
the fear of God. Have we wives? We will treat them as we would
angels of God, and be their protectors and guardians and make
them comfortable and happy. And then, as was remarked, we will
dedicate our houses and lands to God, and ourselves to God, and
our wives and children and everything we have, and feel that we
are the children of God and our offspring with us. Again, if I
was a woman, I would try to treat my husband right and to make a
heaven of my home, and would try to make everything pleasant
around me. You husbands now and then quarrel with your wives, and
you wives quarrel with your husbands, and you wives sometimes
quarrel with each other; I will say cease such folly, and have
another kind of feeling; and treat everybody not as they always
treat us, for that would not always be right; but let us do unto
all men as we would have them do unto us. A man came to Jesus on
one occasion, and asked him, which was the greatest commandment.
The Savior answered him: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This
is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto
it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Can we do that? It
is sometimes hard work, is it not? We too frequently feel we
would rather put two dollars in our own pocket than one in our
neighbor's, do we not? We would rather have two or three cows
than that our neighbor should have one? Is not this the kind of
feeling? "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." The law--some
of us talk about law sometimes; we cannot get enough of it in the
Church, therefore we want to go outside for it. I have known, for
instance, men to go to law over water difficulties, and they
would fee the lawyers liberally, and then, of course, the streams
would flow in rich abundance, and there would be plenty of water
for everybody. [Laughter]. I remember when a little boy, seeing a
somewhat curious picture. Two farmers were quarreling over or
disputing the ownership of a cow; and one had her by the horns,
the other had her by the tail. In order to settle the difficulty
they secured the services of one of these peace-makers of the
law, and his love for his fellowman was so great that while they
pulled at either end of the cow, he sat between them quietly
milking her. [Laughter]. In case of difficulty, for difficulties
will arise sometimes, would it not be better for us to attend to
the milking of the cow ourselves; and go to the Lord for His
guidance and manifest feelings of liberality and kindness towards
our fellow-men, towards all men? What, would you do so with
Gentiles? Yes; it would be a pity if we could not do that. Why,
we are told that the Lord "maketh His sun to rise on the evil and
on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Let
us try to be like him. We do not want much association with them;
we do not want to take counsel at their hands; we do not want to
be influenced by them; we do not want them to teach our children
while they are seeking to destroy us and to induce legislation
against us, and are doing everything they can to injure us. We
will say, Father, these are thy children as well as we are; we
ask thee to put a hook in their jaws, so that they cannot go any
further than thou shalt permit them; and the balance of their
conduct we will strive to endure. Make us worthy to be acceptable
in thy sight; and if thou seest fit to let them stir up any
commotion, we will try to bear it, because we believe it will be
overruled for our good and for the advancement of thy cause in
the earth. Would I hurt them? No, if I were to see one of them
hungry, I would feed him; if I were to see them naked, I would
clothe them; but I would not give them my daughters to wife,
neither would I let them teach my children to lead them down to
death. I want those to teach my children and the children of this
people who will lead them in the paths of life. But treat
everybody well, and do what is right to everybody, and cultivate
the spirit of kindness towards all. And when you see somebody's
cattle in somebody's grain, feel sufficient interest in his
welfare to go and drive them out; and try to promote the welfare
of your neighbors and make them feel as comfortable as you can,
and God will bless us, and we will bless one another.
223
And we will build our Temples; and what will we do with them?
Administer in them. And then we will spread the Gospel to the
nations, and teach our children and the principles of
intelligence and set before them good examples. And let every
father of a family feel that he would not want his wife or wives
or children to see him perform an act that he would not have them
do; and thus be prepared to say: Follow me as I follow Christ.
Let us live together in peace and union, and cultivate the Spirit
of God, and sustain those who are placed to preside over us. You
have a President of the Stake, pray for him that he may
comprehend correct principles and draw near to God, and bring
down his blessings upon him. Pray for Brother Richards, and pray
for us. Here is Brother Woodruff, a faithful man; so are the
balance of us; so are many of you, good, faithful men. Well,
sustain all honorable people. We need praying for; we are all
alike: we are all of that class of whom the old lady was talking
when she said: "We are all poor, miserable, independent sinners."
We all need assistance, and we should bear with one another. And
while we are seeking to do right in many instances, let us be
kind and charitable and long-suffering in the Spirit of Christ,
which is the Spirit of the Gospel.
224
Brethren, God bless you; Sisters, God bless you and God bless
your institutions. Be diligent and faithful in observing the laws
of God, and the peace and blessing of God will be with you. I
pray my heavenly Father to bless this people, and to bless these
lands, and all that pertains to you, that your habitations may be
habitations of peace, that your children may grow up full of
light and truth, and become notable men and women in Israel,
whose names shall be known among the honorable of the earth. Zion
is onward; let us progress along with her, and the men who at
present affect to despise us because we are so small, will by and
by dread us because of our unity and power. While the finger may
be pointed in scorn at a "Mormon" to-day, by and by it will be
said that such and such a man was born in Zion, for we are men
and women of integrity and fidelity; that will be the case with
our posterity, who will rise up and call us blessed. And they
will esteem it the greatest honor that could be conferred upon
them, so far as the honor of this world is concerned, to have
been born in Zion; because we purpose living in such a way, that
while the world generally will grow worse and worse, our conduct
will be of that nature that we shall command the admiration of
honorable men as well as the favor of our Heavenly Father. God
bless you. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / Orson
Pratt, September 18, 1881
Orson Pratt, September 18, 1881
LAST DISCOURSE OF APOSTLE ORSON PRATT,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
September 18, 1881. (Reported by John Irvine.)
THE GREAT PRINCIPLES OF SALVATION, ETC.
225
It has been almost one year since I have been able to stand up
before a congregation to address them, having been severely
afflicted during that period of time. I am now blessed with the
opportunity and privilege of occupying a few minutes, as long as
my health would justify, in speaking a few words to the
congregation. I am just able to stand upon my feet, most of the
time scarcely able to sit up. I believe that the Saints have
exercised their prayers and their faith in my behalf. If they had
not done this, I doubt very much whether I would now be able to
appear before you. Notwithstanding the afflictions of my body and
the long silence that I have kept, so far as public congregations
are concerned, yet I have felt the same enduring love for the
principles of truth and for the people of God in all my
afflictions, that I had in the time of my health. There is
nothing so precious to me as the great principles of salvation.
They have for the last 51 years of my life--it being 51 years
to-morrow since I was baptized--occupied the uppermost place in
my mind. Riches, the honors of this world, etc., have been but a
very small consideration with me, compared with the riches of
eternal salvation, the blessings of the everlasting Gospel, the
new covenant which we have embraced, the great work which the
Lord our God is performing by his mighty hand in the age in which
you and I live. I trust and verily believe that that which has
had so conspicuous a place in my understanding, in my thoughts,
in my meditations, in my mind, will continue to hold the same
position with me so long as the Lord shall permit me to tarry
here in this probation. Fifty-one years ago tomorrow, as I have
said, I entered this Church, the Church then being confined to a
small district of country in the State of New York. The knowledge
of the Gospel, and the doctrines which we have taught, had not
spread forth except within a very small limit of country. What a
contrast between then and the present! To-morrow--if I live till
to-morrow--I shall be 70 years of age, which is said to be the
average old age of man. They are the years appointed to man. So
says one of the inspired writers, and if man, peradventure,
should reach a few years beyond three score and ten, it is said
that it is filled up with afflictions and sorrow and infirmities
of old age. I trust, however, that if I am permitted to tarry
still longer than this appointed time, or rather this period of
time, I trust that my days may not be those of suffering. At any
rate, so far as my mind is concerned, my understanding, that is
at rest, that is at peace. I know what my hopes are. I know the
plan of salvation. I have had the communications of the spirit of
the Lord God, to teach me more or less all the days of my life,
and this has given me great consolation. Hence, if I live past
seventy, I do not expect to have sorrow of mind. I may have
afflictions; I may encounter them; I may not to any great extent.
226
I wish to call your attention for a few moments to a subject
closely connected with those days that I have been speaking
of--the rise of the Church. It will be, next Thursday night, 54
years since the Prophet Joseph Smith, then but a lad, was
permitted by the angel of the Lord to take the gold plates of the
Book of Mormon from the hill Cumorah, as it was called in ancient
times, located in the State of New York. This I consider one of
the most marvelous occurrences which has taken place for the past
eighteen centuries--to be permitted to observe the face of an
holy angel, and then be permitted, in addition to that, to take
out of the ground, in fulfilment of ancient prophecy, a record of
one-half of our globe, giving a history of the peoples and
nations that occupied this great western hemisphere--more
marvelous than anything that has transpired during that long
period. What makes it still more marvelous is, that it is
connected with revelation, with something that comes from heaven,
with divine authority. God permitted this record to be taken from
its place of ancient deposit. He it was that sent the angel to
deliver those records into the hands of this boy. It was God. And
what object did the Lord have in performing this marvelous thing?
It was to establish on this earth that kingdom predicted by the
ancient Prophet Daniel, that should be set up in the last days,
which should stand forever, and should finally become a great
mountain and fill the whole earth. What could be of more
importance? Such an event was predicted to happen, that such a
kingdom should arise, that God should be the authority of it,
that he should lay the foundation of it, that he should set it
up. If we go back to the finding of the records of the Book of
Mormon; if we go back to that eventful day when God sent his
angels to confirm the divinity of that record to three other
persons; if we go back to the time of the organization of this
Church, we find that God has in all these matters spoken himself.
We did not select the day on which this kingdom should be
organized. Joseph Smith, the Prophet, did not select the day, but
God pointed out the very day, the very month, in which this work
should be performed. Hence it is God's work; it was God and not
man that set up this kingdom. Has there been an authority
established in this Church from the day of its organization that
was established by man's authority? Not one. Every authority in
this Church, however high or however low, or whatever the nature
of the callings might be, whatever the duties of the callings,
God has introduced that authority. We have no record, no minutes
in our Church, where there have been Apostles called and ordained
in this kingdom, by man's authority. It is just what we might
expect. Anything else than this would not be ascribed to the
kingdom of God. The kingdom of God could not be set up by man.
Man has no right to select even the day for the organization of
that kingdom. Man has no right to select the least officer of
that kingdom; it must all come from heaven. It was said that such
a kingdom should be set up. It was set. It was set up according
to the mind of God, according to his own mind, not according to
the whims and notions of sectarians, or any theologians, or any
learned man, but according to the mind of the great Jehovah. We
have seen the progress of this kingdom. We have seen what God has
accomplished during the last 51 years. We have seen his hand made
manifest. We have seen the kingdom organized, not to dwell in the
place of its particular organization, and the people be scattered
all over the world like sectarianism, but a kingdom that should
gather together the sons and daughters of God, according to the
predictions of the ancient prophets into one place upon the face
of our globe, to prepare them for the mighty events and
occurrences that should take place when he should accomplish that
work. And how marvelous it is to see the hundreds and hundreds of
vessels that have crossed the ocean, the mighty ocean, in perfect
safety, bringing the Saints of God to their destined haven, to
rejoice in one body, in one place, in one region in the mountains
of Israel, the great back bone of the western hemisphere, if we
may so term it. This is all to fulfil prophecy.
227
But I must not enlarge upon this subject. How happy I feel that I
am once more, after having been brought so low, so near the gates
of death--how happy I feel that I am permitted once more to lift
up my voice before you. I do not know that I can make you all
hear, but I trust that my voice will be strengthened, I trust
that my body will be strengthened, I trust that my mind--if it
has been weakened at all by sickness--may also be strengthened,
and that I yet may have the humble privilege of lifting up my
voice and testifying, before thousands of people in these
mountains, if not abroad among the inhabitants of the earth, of
God's power. It is a day in which he has commenced to perform a
mighty work, and the foundation is already laid and is quite
broad, and he has quite a numerous people through whom he can
work and accomplish his mighty purposes; and although feeble in
body, I do not know but what the Lord may yet strengthen me to
again publish glad tidings of great joy abroad among the nations
of the earth, or perform whatever duties may be assigned unto me
by the general authorities His Church.
227
May God bless the people of Zion--all the Latter-day Saints
scattered throughout all these mountain regions; may he favor us
before many years with a full and complete redemption according
to the promises that are made in His word. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / John
Taylor, June 26, 1881
John Taylor, June 26, 1881
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered at Bountiful, Sunday, A.M., June 26, 1881.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
THE WORSHIP OF GOD, THE SACREDNESS OF THE SABBATH, ETC.
227
We have not come my brethren and sisters to preach great
discourses, but to talk to you in a friendly way about some of
the things in which we are all interested. When I am instructing
others I feel instructed myself, and the advice I give others, in
a general way, fits me also. The best of us are not too good; we
all of us might be better, and do better and enjoy life better,
having more of the Spirit of the Lord in our own homes and in our
own hearts, and do more to promote the welfare of all who come
within our reach and influence. To serve the Lord, is one of the
great objects of our existence; and I appreciate as a great
privilege the opportunity we enjoy of worshiping God on the
Sabbath day. And when we do meet to worship God, I like to see us
worship him with all our hearts. I think it altogether out of
place on such occasions to hear people talk about secular things;
these are times, above all others perhaps, when our feelings and
affections should be drawn out towards God. If we sing praises to
God, let us do it in the proper spirit; if we pray, let every
soul be engaged in prayer, doing it with all our hearts, that
through our union our spirits may be blended in one, that our
prayers and our worship may be available with God, whose Spirit
permeates all things, and is always present in the assemblies of
good and faithful Saints.
228
I will tell you how I feel on a Sabbath morning. I realize this
is a day set apart to worship Almighty God: now I ought to
worship God myself, and I ought to look after my family and
discover whether they are engaged in the same thing or not. For
we are commanded to keep holy the Sabbath day and to rest from
all our labors, as God did when he created the earth upon which
we dwell. He has given us six days to attend to the various
labors and duties of life, and if we pretend to keep the Sabbath,
let us do it acceptably to God our Father, dedicating ourselves
to him at least, for that day, and placing our feelings and
affections upon him. And then, the Elders of Israel, throughout
the broad earth are engaged this day in trying to teach the
principles of salvation, and I feel like praying for them, and
also for our missionaries who are going abroad among the Saints
in this land, as well those who speak, as those who dictate in
the assemblies of the Saints in this land and in all other lands,
that as this is a day set apart for the worship of God, all
Israel everywhere may be under the influence and guidance of the
Spirit of the living God, and that those especially who speak may
be under the divine influence of the Holy Ghost, and present to
the various congregations the words of eternal life. God has
conferred upon us very many great and precious blessings, and I
sometimes think it is difficult for us to appreciate them as we
should.
230
We are here in the land that is emphatically called, the land of
Zion. I think when I hear these words, that they have some
significance. What is meant by Zion, or the people of Zion? As I
understand it, in fact, as the Lord has told us, it means, the
pure in heart. That would hardly apply to all of us, but it would
in part. We would like to be pure in heart, but we can hardly
reach it yet. There are a great many things which we admire in
others, and there are a great many principles which we admire in
the abstract, and there are a great many things which we wish we
could do, but which we do not do. Still we are aiming in a great
measure to do what is right; and if there are any people upon the
earth that are doing this, I believe the Latter-day Saints are
that people. And, yet, we do not do it, do we? If I were to ask
you individually, the answer would generally be, "No, I do not
perform my duties as I should, but I would like to do so, but
sometimes I yield to improper influences, and while I know that
in doing this, I am not performing my duty, yet I realize in some
instances that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." But
I think we are improving, and that is encouraging. We are the
professed people of God, and being so, we ought, at least, to
observe all of the leading principles of the Gospel, not to hear
them only but to do them. We profess to be under the government
of the United States, and being citizens we want to be good
citizens, better than any other citizens, and I believe we are. I
firmly believe that we are more loyal and more patriotic to our
national government than any other citizens belonging to it. That
is my opinion. And I think that we can well afford to observe all
of the principles instituted among men by any proper government,
we can well afford to observe all of the principles instituted
among men by any proper government, we can well afford to observe
all the prominent principles thereof, and I do not know of any
law that as a people, we violate, excepting one, and that has
been made on purpose to make us either break the command of God,
or violate the law of the land. I wish that our legislators would
not make such laws; I wish they would adhere strictly to the
Constitution, and to the spirit and genius of our institutions,
and not depart from them. For while we are desirous of obeying
all of the laws of our country, we cannot violate the law of God.
We say, O Lord, teach me thy will and help me to do it. The law
expects that one man shall not infringe on the rights of another.
That is right; all would agree to that. It expects us to
contribute our proper proportion to maintain the existence and
responsibilities of the government, both in times of internal
trouble and outward aggression. That is proper and we do not wish
to have any other feelings than that. They make laws that men
should be honest; that is all right. If a man steal, he should be
delivered over to the laws of the land. That is part of our
religion as well as part of our politics. Our governors sometimes
act foolishly, but we cannot help that. The office they hold is a
part of our institutions, and because they act illiberally and
dishonestly toward us, shall we condescend to berate them? No; it
would be bad enough to tell the truth about some of them without
resorting to falsehood. We will respect every man in his
position, whether he respects himself or not, and respect all
laws and all proper authority everywhere. What, would you pray
for the Government of the United States? Yes, certainly; and when
it shall depart from correct principles and violate the laws of
God, and incur his displeasure, I shall feel very sorry for it.
Before our late war broke out I knew it, for God had revealed it
to me; and when it did come, the trouble and distress that would
overtake the people I knew of, and my heart wept over them
because of it. But it had to come, and no man could prevent it.
When wrong is committed, or an unwise course is taken, it bears
with its own punishment. And as far as we are concerned, so long
as we keep the commandments and are true to the trust that God
has reposed in us, we need not fear the consequences, for he has
said, it is his business to take care of his Saints. It is our
duty to cultivate and cherish the spirit of the Lord. And what is
the fruit of that Spirit! In former days it was--"love, joy,
peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance." What is the fruit of the spirit of evil? Envy,
malice, hatred, evil-speaking, lying and slandering one another
and towards other people. This was the fruit of evil anciently;
it is so to-day. Principles that were good eighteen hundred years
ago are good to-day. And if men, by taking a wrong course, act
imprudently and seek to injure us, shall we seek to injure them?
No, we will try to do them all the good we can. "But that is not
natural." But then we ought to be changed from nature to grace.
Jesus stated, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, thou shalt
love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love
your enemies, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which
despitefully use you and persecute you," etc. When you have done
all that and met all the requirements of the law, what more can
be asked of you? Nothing. Some say we violate their laws. What
law? The law that was introduced to make as violate the
revelations of heaven; but though men seek to trammel us, yet in
the name of God we will perform all our religious duties and
responsibilities, and let all Israel say amen. [Amen from the
congregation]. And yet, will we be subject to law. Yes. Here is
Brother George Reynolds, who is present, he was subject to the
law. Did he fulfil the law? Yes, he did. Did he meet all its
demands? Yes. And having met them, what more remains? If a law is
made, and because we are conscientious before God, seeking to
fulfil his law unto us, we violate such a law, and we are
deprived of our liberty, by the help of God, his power and grace
being with us to sustain us, we will bear the consequence. What
can be asked then? We think we can fulfil the law of God and the
law of man as near as they will let us; and if they wish to
punish us for keeping the commandments of God, let them do it,
and let them abide the consequence. And when we get through we
will say, you Judge and Jury, who passed upon certain men, we
have met your requirements, we now go to the Lord and say,
Father, we have also met thy requirements; we could not barter
away thy laws; we could not violate thy commandments, but, O God,
we have been true to thee, and we have been true to our national
obligations. And having done our best to promote peace, and
having fulfilled the law of both God and man, we feel that we
shall be justified by the Lord, and by all honorable, highminded,
just and patriotic men. We are not the first who have been put to
the test--Daniel and the three Hebrew children had to pass
through this ordeal, they met the consequences, as we propose
doing. This was under a despotic government, but under our
republican form of government, and with our free institutions,
with a Constitution guaranteeing human liberty and the free
exercise of religious faith, we have a right to expect a
different action. But should this nation persist in violating
their Constitutional guarantees, tear away the bulwarks of
liberty, and trample upon the principles of freedom and human
rights, that are sacred to all men, and by which all men should
be governed, by and by the whole fabric will fall, and who will
sustain it? We will, in the name of Israel's God. Of this the
Prophet Joseph Smith prophesied long, long ago. This is the
position we stand in. And if the Government of the United States
can afford to oppress us, we can afford to suffer and grow
strong.
230
Let us go to the law of God. We are here to build up Zion; and
how ought we to feel? We want to make as good houses as we can.
That is all right provided we come by them honestly. We want to
lay a foundation for our children if we can. That's all right.
but do not let our hearts and affections be placed upon these
things, for there are other things we have to do. We have to pay
our tithes and offerings, as we have been commanded. We have to
build Temples. And that is all right. I was going to say, if we
do that; I need not put the if in, for we are doing it, we are
building three Temples to-day, and I feel to give credit to the
Saints for their liberality and zeal in the work. So far that is
all right.
231
But do we want to speculate out of our brethren and get something
from them to build us up? That is not right. We want to build one
another up as well as ourselves. Do we object to a man making
money and means? O, no; but I should very much dislike to see him
accumulate it from his brethren by taking advantage of their
circumstances. That is not right. We should be governed by the
principles of law and equity. The Scriptures say, speaking of the
Lord, "judgment and justice are the habitation of thy throne."
But "who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly
and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
He that back biteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his
neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. In whose
eyes a vile person is condemned; but he honoreth them that fear
the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He
that putteth not out his money at usury, nor taketh reward
against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be
moved." Let us seek to promote one another's welfare, and feel
that we are brethren, that we are the representatives of God upon
the earth. Our Heavenly Father is desirous to promote the
happiness and welfare of the whole of the human family; and if
we, any of us, hold any Priesthood, it is simply for that same
purpose, and not for our personal aggrandizement, or for our own
honor, or pomp, or position; but we hold it in the interest of
God and for the salvation of the people, that through it we may
promote their happiness, blessing and prosperity, temporal and
spiritual, both here and in the world to come. That is why the
Priesthood is conferred upon us, and if we do not use it in this
way, then there is a malfeasance in office; then we violate our
obligations before God, and render ourselves unworthy of the high
calling that the Lord has conferred upon us. The Priesthood
always was given for the blessing of the human family. People
talk about it as though it was for the special benefit of
individuals. What was said of Abraham? "In thee and in thy
seed"--what? I will confer blessings upon thee. O, that is all
right so far as it goes. But "in thee and in thy seed shall all
the families of the earth be blessed." Let us act in the capacity
of benefactors, and if we are descended of Abraham, let us walk
in his footsteps and make ourselves worthy of the promises, let
us extend our feelings wide as eternity, and seek to bless and
benefit, lift up and ennoble all around us; that we may all
rejoice together and be exalted by the same principles which have
been revealed for the benefit of all men. That is the way I look
at these important matters, and such is the position we all
should occupy.
231
People talk sometimes--they have a particular case to be
adjudicated, and they would like to get hold of a High Councilor
and warp his judgment, and make him dishonor himself and his
calling. Tell such men when they approach you, to desist; that
you are after justice, equity and mercy among men; and then let
everything else go, yielding individual feeling, relations and
all else to justice and equity, and God will sustain you. While
speaking of justice, I do not believe in seizing a man by the
throat and crowding him down; but do justice between man and man
when placed in that position. We do not wish to destroy men, nor
to use any vindictive or oppressive measures. It is said of the
Savior: "The Son of Man is not come to destroy men's lives, but
to save them." That is the way I read these things. And while we
deal justly, let us deal mercifully. While we act in
righteousness, let us do it with judgment. We all need the Spirit
of the Lord; and we all need to humble ourselves before him and
seek for his guidance. Were I a President of a Stake, I would
feel like saying, O God, help me to control and manage things
according to thy will, for I do not want my way or to carry out
my own feelings; I want to do thy will; show it to me, O Lord,
and help me to do it. If I were a Bishop--I do not know what I
would do, but I know what I should do. I should feel like saying,
Father, thou hast committed a number of souls to my care; help me
to look after their temporal interests and also to promote their
spiritual welfare, and see that they are properly instructed in
the laws of life; help me also to teach the teachers that go
among the people, that they may go full of the Holy Spirit to
bless and benefit the people, that with the aid of my brethren I
may be a Savior among them. That is the way I ought to feel and
to do if I were a Bishop; and that is the way you Bishops ought
to feel and to act, and do it humbly with a desire to do good.
And then, if I were a Priest, Teacher, or Deacon, and was going
around as an instructor among the people, I would want to watch
over their welfare. And if I knew of difficulty between two
neighbors, I should try to hunt it out, and seek after the Spirit
of God to guide me, that I might do everything that is right and
be under its influence. And if I was not a Teacher, but was the
head of the family, I would want to teach my family right and
teach them the principles of virtue, holiness, purity, honor and
integrity, that they might be worthy citizens, and that they
might be able to stand before God, that when they and I get
through this world, we might be worthy to meet the elect of God
(those whom he has selected from the nations of the earth), and
the Gods in the eternal world. Therefore, every morning, as head
of my family, I should dedicate myself and my family to God; and
if there be trouble existing between me and anybody else, I would
meet them half-way, yes, I would meet them three-quarters or even
all of the way. I would feel like yielding; I would say, I do not
want to quarrel, I want to be a Saint. I have set out for purity,
virtue, brotherhood, and for obedience to the laws of God on
earth, and for thrones and principalities and dominions in the
eternal worlds, and I will not allow such paltry affairs to
interfere with my prospects. I am for life, eternal lives and
eternal exaltations in the kingdom of God. If we obey the law of
God, and then obey the holy Priesthood over us and respect them,
and, instead of falling out with them, pray for them, it would
not hurt us, would it? We must learn to do good for evil. It is a
most delightful principle. David prayed that his enemies might go
to hell quickly; but Jesus prayed, saying, Father forgive them,
for they know not what they do. I like the sentiment and feeling
of the latter better than that of the former, because it is
calculated to cement people together in their interests and
feelings, in their desires and sympathies. Let us try to make a
heaven on earth. God bless you, and lead you in the paths of
life, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 /
Wilford Woodruff, June 26, 1881
Wilford Woodruff, June 26, 1881
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT WILFORD WOODRUFF,
Delivered at Bountiful, June 26, 1881.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
THE WORK OF THE SAINTS IN THIS GENERATION, ETC.
233
There are a few of us still living in the flesh and able to
mingle with the people, but our orbit or circuit has become so
extended that we are a little like the courts--it takes us a long
time to get around to visit the people.
234
You have had excellent counsel this morning from our brethren.
They have taught us a portion of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
which we should treasure up. We occupy a different position from
any other generation; there has never been a generation since God
made the world that has been called upon to perform the work that
the Latter-day Saints have. Reference has been made to the city
of Enoch. Enoch stayed as long as he could in this world; and
through his labors a people were sanctified who, with himself and
their city were taken away from the earth because of their
righteousness. The people of God in no generation have been able
to dwell upon the earth only so long as they were able to finish
their mission; the wicked living contemporaneously with them have
warred against them and have conquered and overcome them in a
great measure, until many have had to seal their testimony with
their blood. It is our lot to live in the great and last
dispensation that God has given unto man, the dispensation in
which a people is to be prepared to build up the kingdom of God
on the earth, which is to be thrown down or overcome no more
forever. God has called a class of men and women who, with the
exception of a few, have been permitted to live out their days
and die a natural death. It is true that Joseph Smith, who laid
the foundation of this work, and others, have had to seal their
testimony with their blood; and if I were to tell what I think
about it, I would say it was ordained of God that our Prophet and
head should be sacrificed in the manner that he was, as much as
it was ordained of God that Jesus should be sacrificed in the way
that he was; and that for two purposes--in order that his
testimony might remain in force upon all the world from the hour
of his death, to rise up and condemn this generation who reject
the Gospel of salvation. With the exception of a few, it has been
designed, I believe, that the Prophets and Apostles of this
dispensation should not have to seal their testimony with their
blood, but that they should live until they finish their missions
on the earth, bearing their testimony to the truth of the work,
and building up the kingdom of God; and then they will gather up
their feet and sleep with the fathers, surrounded by their
children and friends. This people and these Elders who bear the
Melchizedek Priesthood, through the providence of Almighty God,
will not be called upon to go forth, like David of old, and shed
the blood of their fellow-man in their own defence. There were
many things required of him which will not be required at our
hands; and some things he was not permitted to do, because he was
a man of blood. These are my views with regard to our position.
234
We are called of God. We have been gathered from the distant
nations, and our lives have been hid with Christ in God, but we
have not known it. The Lord has been watching over us from the
hour of our birth. We are of the seed of Ephraim, and of Abraham,
and of Joseph, who was sold into Egypt, and these are the
instruments that God has kept in the spirit world to come forth
in these latter days to take hold of this kingdom and build it
up. These are my sentiments with regard to the Latter-day Saints.
I will repeat what I have often said--there is no power beneath
the heavens that can remove Zion out of her place, or destroy
this Church and kingdom, as long as the people do the will of
God, for he will sustain them, and overrule the acts of their
enemies for their good and for the final triumph of his truth in
the earth. It is now over fifty years since the organization of
this Church and kingdom, and since its birth it has continued to
progress and grow in numbers and in influence and power, and it
will do so until Zion presents herself before the heavens in her
glory, power and dominion, as the old prophets have seen it in
vision. Then, what manner of men and women ought we to be, who
are called to take part in the great latter-day work? We should
be men and women of faith, valiant for the truth as it has been
revealed and committed into our hand. We should be men and women
of integrity to God, and to his holy Priesthood, true to him and
true to one another. We should not permit houses and land, gold
and silver, nor any of this world's goods to draw us aside from
pursuing the great object which God has sent us to perform. Our
aim is high, our destiny is high, and we should never disappoint
our Father, nor the heavenly hosts who are watching over us. We
should not disappoint the millions in the spirit world, who too
are watching over us with an interest and anxiety that have
hardly entered into our hearts to conceive of. These are great
and mighty things which God requires of us. We would not be
worthy of salvation, we would not be worthy of eternal lives in
the kingdom of our God, if anything could turn us away from the
truth or from the love of it. The Lord told Joseph that he would
prove him, whether he would abide in his covenant or not, even
unto death. He did prove him; and although he had the whole world
to contend against, and the treachery of false friends to
withstand, although his whole life was a scene of trouble and
anxiety and care, yet, in all his afflictions, his imprisonments,
the mobbings and ill-treatment he passed through, he was ever
true to his God, and true to his friends.
235
I have had some reflections of the same subject referred to by
Brother Cannon. In going into the house of Brother Call, and
those of the many of the brethren, what do we see? We see good
houses, pleasant homes, and the inmates thereof, enjoying the
necessaries and comforts of life. We have places to rest, we have
places to lay our heads. How different are the circumstances that
surround us to-day in comparison with our situation before we
came to these valleys, and in comparison with the experience of
many of the ancients. Jesus himself, the son of the living God,
had not where to lay his head. The foxes, he said, had holes, and
the birds of the air had nests, but the Son of Man had not a
place to lay his head. He traveled in the midst of poverty all
the way to the cross. We have been in the same condition. We who
have been in this Church since its early days, have known what it
is to be without homes, to travel without purse or scrip, to go
hungry and almost naked, to suffer from cold and fatigue. When we
came here the ground was all that we had to lie upon, and we were
glad and felt to rejoice in our hearts that God had brought us to
a place where we could lie down, if it was upon the ground, in
peace, free from the persecution of our enemies. God has proved
us in days that are past and gone. He has now given us a country
and a home. It has been well said that we should be careful lest
these conveniences and comforts, by which we are now surrounded,
should draw us from the things of God. Remember, my brethren, the
greatest gift that God can bestow upon us is eternal life, and it
is worth more than all the houses and lands or the gold and the
silver upon the earth. For by and by we will go to the grave, and
that puts an end to worldly possessions, as far as our using them
is concerned. The grave finds a home for all flesh, and no man
can take his houses and lands, his gold and silver, or anything
else of a worldly character, with him. We brought none of these
things with us when we came from our previous state. As Bishop
Hunger says, babies are born without shoes and stockings. All the
knowledge that we can accumulate from experience and observation,
and from the revelations of God to man, goes to show that the
riches of this world are fleeting and transitory, while he that
has eternal life abiding in him is rich indeed.
235
We have a great work before us in the redemption of our dead. The
course that we are pursuing is being watched with interest by all
heaven. There are fifty thousand millions of people in the spirit
world who are being preached to by Joseph Smith, and the Apostles
and Elders, his associates, who have passed away. Those persons
may receive their testimony, but they cannot be baptized in the
spirit world, for somebody on the earth must perform this
ordinance for them in the flesh, before they can receive part in
the first resurrection, and be worthy of eternal life. It takes
as much to save a dead man as a living one. The eyes of these
millions of people are watching over these Latter-day Saints.
Have we any time to spend in trying to get rich and in neglecting
our dead? I tell you no.
236
Here is a subject I have thought about. David said, "Let my
enemies go to hell quickly." He got angry, and he did some things
he should not have done. Our Savior acted right the reverse. The
more light and knowledge a man has, the more of the power of God
he enjoys, and the more he is able to comprehend the things of
God. Why did the Savior say, when he was under the agonies of
death, "Father, forgive them?" Because He knew well that,
although they were blind as to what they were doing, they and
their posterity would welter for 1,800 years under the curse of
God, for the deed they were perpetrating. He knew what the result
of the shedding of his blood would be upon the human family, yet
he was sorrowful because he knew that before he should come again
as their Shiloh, the Jewish nation would be trodden under foot of
the Gentiles. The result of their treatment of the Savior of the
world still afflicts them. In many countries they are still
persecuted and deprived of the right of citizenship, and are not
permitted to purchase land and hold it as personal property. The
Savior could foresee their future, and what would befall them and
their race, until he should come again. While he himself
suffered, he could exclaim, knowing all the circumstances,
"Father, forgive them." Brother Taylor feels the same towards
this nation. We should all have the same feeling, and if we enjoy
the Spirit of God, we can overcome that feeling which arises in
the hearts of men to resent a wrong, to return evil for evil.
Joseph went to God, and he opened his mind by vision, in which he
saw the destruction of our nation; he saw that famine and
pestilence and war would lay waste our land, until it became so
terrible that he prayed God to close the vision. Well may we say,
"Father, forgive them." Well may we pray for them, and feel in
our hearts not to envy them, but leave them in the hands of God.
236
There are two spirits with us. I will relate a little
circumstance which took place with me. I brought President Young
sick in my carriage on July 24th, 1847, the first time he set his
eyes upon this valley. In process of time I followed President
Young to the Utah penitentiary, under the edict of a religious
bigot and wicked man, because he felt his dignity was not honored
by President Young. On my way to the place of confinement I
remember what my reflections were. I thought to myself, "Now,
here is President Young, the man, under God, who came here, far
removed from civilization, the pioneer of emigration to the great
West, and found a barren, desolate land, inhabited only by a very
poor lot of Indians and wild animals: to-day it blossoms
comparatively as the rose; and to-day he is a prisoner on his way
to jail." It worked upon my mind considerably. By and by another
spirit said to me, "Be still, and know that I am God, and will
fight the battles of this people; you need not allow yourself to
be troubled about this." The result we all know. That very act
levelled Chief Justice McKean to the ranks of the common citizen
from which he never rose again, and he has since passed away, and
like others, is in the hands of God. Brigham Young will rise in
judgment against him and against all men who have persecuted and
maligned and abused him. That will be the case with all of us--we
shall be called upon to judge this generation. We should as
Saints of God, never allow ourselves to wish the destruction of
those who oppose or persecute us, but leave them in the hands of
our God, to deal with them as he in his justice and mercy may see
fit.
237
With regard to the law of God, it is all right. We can well
afford to keep it and trust in him. I look upon it as really
marvelous, when we bear in mind the ceaseless endeavors to make
themselves notorious at the expense of those who have obeyed that
law. I say, when I look upon the results of all that has been
said and done about it, I regard it as a marvel. If the hand of
God has not been manifested in behalf of this people, I do not
know where to look for it. This kingdom will stand, God will
plead with her strong ones, but Zion will not be moved out of her
place. Quite a remarkable thing has just happened--four cyclones
start from near the same point, each taking a different course,
the results of which are known. God has nothing to do with them,
says the world. But the judgments of God will be poured out, and
the spirit of unbelief will grow in the hearts of the people, and
they will be blind to his power until it is too late.
237
Brethren and sisters, seek after God; call upon him in your
secret places, and do not turn away from righteousness and truth;
there is nothing to be gained by doing that, but everything to
lose.
237
God bless you. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / George
Q. Cannon, April 24, 1881
George Q. Cannon, April 24, 1881
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT GEORGE Q. CANNON,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
Sunday Afternoon, April 24, 1881.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
REVELATION--THE PRIVILEGES OF THE SAINTS, ETC.
239
The principles which have been advanced this afternoon are so
strictly in accord with the principles which were taught by the
servants of God in ancient days, that every one, upon reflection,
must acknowledge that to have a church professing to be the
Church of Christ there must of necessity be in it, if the ancient
principles be adhered to, the spirit of revelation. In the Bible
that has come to us as the record of God's dealings with his
people from the days of Adam our father down to the days of the
last disciples of Jesus Christ: in that record we are told that
every man who professed to be a follower of the Lord, and
especially those who belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ,
enjoyed from the Lord that spirit of revelation. It is difficult
to conceive--if we did not see around us organizations professing
to be his followers and not enjoying His Holy Spirit, or the Holy
Ghost, which communicates his mind and his will unto those who
seek for it. Of course we see around us in Christendom any number
of churches which profess to be the churches of Christ, the
members of which deny present communication from God, who say
that revelation is no longer needed; that the canon of scripture
is full, that all the revelations that God had to give to men he
has given, and that they are embodied in the Old and New
Testament. We have, as I have said, any number of churches which
make this statement, teach these doctrines and train the children
and the grown people in the belief that God had ceased to speak,
that he has ceased to communicate his mind and will unto his
children; that the channel of revelation which was once opened
and by which all who were his true children were
distinguished--that that is forever closed. But, as I have said,
if it were not the existence of these organizations; if it were
not for the fact that these are the teachings that mankind
receive; if we were to read the Book itself, and rely upon its
statements, the natural conclusion
would be that it would be the privilege of every man of every
woman who belonged to the Church of Christ to have communications
from him, for the reason, as I have already stated, that it was
the distinguishing characteristic of the organization known as
the Church of Christ in the Messianic dispensation. It was the
distinguishing characteristic also of the men who were the
servants of God anterior to the days of Jesus. It would be a most
singular idea--if it were not for the existence of those
traditions to which I have referred--that God, our eternal
Father, our Great Creator, should cut off his children from all
communication with him, and leave them to grope in the dark,
wandering hither and thither without any certain means of knowing
his divine mind, of comprehending his divine will concerning
themselves and the affairs of the earth. I can join with Brother
Nicholson, who gave expression to his joy and gratification that
we live in a day when God has once more broken the silence which
has reigned for ages, and has revealed his mind and made known
the plan of salvation in its old plainness and purity to the
inhabitants of the earth. And if there is one thing that causes
my joy to be greater than another, it is the fact that this
knowledge, as he has stated, is not confined to one man, nor to
three men, nor to twelve men, but that it is communicated unto
every humble soul who seeks for it in a spirit which is
acceptable unto God. It is a constant cause of thanksgiving to me
that a people have been gathered together who are relieved, to a
very great extent, from the uncertainty, and from the strifes,
contentions and divisions upon points of doctrine that prevail
throughout Christendom. There is in every human heart a desire to
know something concerning God. I think it is Bancroft who says
that the natural man, the barbarian, believes in God naturally;
but skepticism and unbelief are the attendants of civilization,
of enlightenment so called. There is no man who has not stifled
that portion of the spirit of God which is born in him, who does
not desire to know something concerning God, concerning his
purposes, concerning the plan of salvation, concerning the object
of his creation and of his being placed on the earth, and also
concerning his future destiny. And because this knowledge does
not come in the way in which men would like it to come, because
God does not conform to men's ideas and to men's expectations, a
great many deny the existence of a God, and say that if there be
a God, he certainly would reveal something to those who seek
earnestly to comprehend him. But there is one saying recorded by
an ancient Prophet, that experience proves to be true, even the
experience of those who have known God best, and have been best
acquainted with the plan of salvation. The Lord said that, "as
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than
your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." We cannot
comprehend God; we cannot dictate to him the plan that he shall
pursue in saving his children. Men frequently say, "How easy it
would be for God to reveal himself; how easy it would be for him
to make his mind and will known so indisputably that no one could
cavil about or reject it; how easy it would be for him to open
the heavens and make manifest his glory, and send angels that all
might see." No doubt the Elders of this Church have been
frequently met by the objection--whenever they had testified that
God had established His Church in its ancient power, with its
ancient gifts, restored the everlasting Gospel, and the authority
to administer its ordinances, and that he had done this by the
administration of holy angels,--they have been met by the
objection "Well, if this testimony be true, why did he not send
angels to somebody or to some people whom all would believe, and
concerning whose testimony there could be no doubt, instead of
sending them to an obscure youth, an illiterate boy, in the State
of New York, and withholding from the rest of mankind all
knowledge concerning this wonderful event." Of course this sort
of argument applies to the Savior himself, it applies to the
whole plan of salvation, it applies to every Prophet that ever
lived, and cannot be confined alone to Joseph Smith or to the
Latter-day Saints. With equal force it might apply to those who
lived at the time of the resurrection of the Savior. Why was he
not seen by all the people? Why was the Son of God born in so
obscure a place, born in a stable and cradled in a manger? Why
did he not reveal himself in power? Why did he not convince all
the inhabitants of the earth so irresistibly that they would be
compelled to accept Him as the Son of God. This argument would
apply to other dispensations than that of the Son of God. It
would apply to Noah, to Abraham, to Moses, and to the whole of
the Prophets and Apostles that ever lived. But God, as I have
said, has a way of doing these things that does not comport with
the ideas of men. There is one thing that we as a people should
understand, and that is, that God has purposely drawn a vail
between himself and the inhabitants of the earth to accomplish
his own designs. He has the power--we all admit it, that is, all
who believe in God--to reveal himself in his fulness; he has the
power to open the heavens and show every living being all that
the heavens contain. There is no limit to his power. He controls
the innumerable hosts of heaven. He has but to utter his command
and they obey.
240
Jesus said, on one occasion, "Thinkest thou that I cannot now
pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than
twelve legions of angels?"
But God, as I have said, has purposely drawn a vail over the
inhabitants of the earth. He permitted Adam to fall; he permitted
him to transgress his law, to bring about the fall of the human
race, in order that man might be, for without the fall man would
not have had an existence upon the earth.
"Adam fell," therefore, "that man might be, and men are that they
may have joy." There was a purpose in this. God, through his
foreknowledge, comprehended it all. He knew the end from the
beginning. It was all arranged. The Son of God was foreordained,
to come as a Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world,
to die for man and atone for the original sin, and to bring to
pass the resurrection from the dead, he being the first fruits of
them that slept. God designed that he should come here and be
clothed upon with humanity. He designed we should struggle and
contend here in this probation with a glimmering of knowledge, a
little light. He gave unto us his word. He has commanded us to
seek unto him, and he that seeks shall find, to him that knocks
it shall be opened, and he that asks shall receive. How? Will it
come in such a manner as to convince all the world? No. There
would be no faith if this were the case; there would be no room
for the exercise of faith. God wishes his children to be
developed. And what better position could we be placed in for
development of every kind than in such a school of experience as
that through which we are now passing on the earth? If God were
to reveal himself as many would like, there would be no room for
the exercise of faith, there would be no necessity to struggle.
But there are two great powers on the earth. Here is the power of
God on the right hand, and on the left hand here is the power of
evil, and as the Book of Mormon tells us, "it must needs be that
there is an opposition in all things." We could not enjoy the
sweet if we had never tasted the bitter. There are two principles
at work, and we have to contend with them. Jesus, our Great High
Priest and Elder Brother, when he was upon the earth had to
contend against evil. He was not free from temptation. He was
tempted in all things like unto us, but he differed from us in
being able to overcome temptation, in being sinless through the
power that he had through his sonship. But he set us the example.
He knows through that which he had to contend against the
weakness of human nature. He stands as mediator at the right hand
of the Father, pleading for his brethren and sisters who, like
himself, are subject to the trials, temptations and afflictions
that exist in this mortal life. But because of this shall we say
that God does not speak? Because we do not see his face, shall we
say he does not exist? Because we do not hear his voice, shall we
say he has no voice? Because we do not see his hand or his
arm--that is, that which we call a hand or an arm--shall we say
that he has neither hand nor arm? Certainly not. He will be
sought after and all those who seek him will receive his
blessing. He will give certainty, he will remove doubt and
misapprehension, and give light and enable all such to comprehend
and see as far as necessary that which is good for them; he will
lead them on step by step, until they reach his presence if they
will obey his commandments. They will not have to do this in
darkness or in doubt, they will not have to throw aside or
surrender their judgment, but he will give unto them his mind and
will in such plainness that they will know and comprehend for
themselves, although they may be tempted and tried and afflicted.
242
The proclamation of the Gospel as it has been taught in our day,
has brought peace to thousands and thousands of seeking souls. It
was very remarkable at the time that this Church was organized,
how the spirit of God moved upon a great many people throughout
the United States, in Canada, in Great Britain, Denmark, and in
other countries to which the Elders went, carrying the glad
tidings of the restoration of the ancient Gospel. In many places
members of churches were dissatisfied with the want of power in
the churches to which they belonged, dissatisfied with the
absence of gifts, and they met together and prayed unto God to
reveal himself or to give unto them some knowledge concerning the
old plan of salvation. Here are my two brethren on this stand,
President Taylor and President Woodruff, aged men, who in their
early youth or early manhood were in this condition--President
Taylor in Canada, and President Woodruff in Connecticut, one of
them a Methodist preacher, and the other a member of no
denomination. Both of them for years sought God with all the
earnestness of their souls to make manifest unto them his mind
and will. They were dissatisfied with the existing condition of
affairs. President Taylor with other members of the church to
which he belonged, would gather together to read the Scriptures,
and investigate the principles taught by the Savior and his
Apostles, such as the gifts following believers, but in the
church to which they belonged and other churches around them no
such gifts existed. They were dissatisfied with this condition of
things, being conscious that God was the same then as he had been
1800 years before. They sought for the restoration of these
gifts, and when an Elder came along with the glad tidings that a
church had been organized after the old pattern, and they were
convinced it was true, it filled their souls with gladness, and
President Taylor and a number of others who are now in this city,
or in this Territory, members of this Church, received the
doctrines gladly. At first they doubted its truth. It seemed too
good to be true. And they also felt a good deal like the people
of Judea in olden times when Jesus was on the earth. People asked
them, "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" So they
feel in respect to this Church. People say, "What good can come
from such a source as this is reported to be from." The same with
Brother Woodruff, the same with hundreds of men and women. And I
do not know that it should be limited to hundreds; it may be said
hundreds and thousands had a yearning, anxious desire for
something higher, something nobler, something more certain,
something that was from God. This feeling animated thousands of
hearts in various lands, and the Elders were guided to them, and
when they saw their faces, when they heard their teachings and
humbled themselves in obedience to the commandments of God, they
became profoundly convinced by the testimony of Jesus Christ,
that the Gospel they taught was indeed the ancient Gospel
restored. And from every land where the glad tidings have been
carried by the Elders of this Church have these humble people
crossed continents and oceans, forsaking all because of the
Gospel, glad in their hearts that they had received it; like the
man that had found the pearl of great price, they were ready to
sell all for the purchase of that, so that they could have it in
their possession. They were ready to forsake home, kindred, old
associations; they were ready to sacrifice their good name--for
that had to be sacrificed--all the past repute that they might
have had, everything had to be thrown as it were to the winds.
But they had found the pearl of great price. They had obtained a
testimony from God, and they could endure persecution. Mobs could
not extinguish the love of truth.
242
The burning of houses, the destruction of property, and even the
loss of life itself, could not cause them to abandon the truth.
They cast their lot with the Saints. This feeling of unity has
pervaded this entire people, go where you will. You may go to the
antipodes and find a branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. They may have never seen an Elder from Utah,
and yet when you go into their congregations and meet them, you
find that they believe in the same doctrines, they have precisely
the same spirit and the same faith. Before they heard the truth
they might not have desired and never thought of leaving their
native land, but as soon as they have received the Gospel, you
will find in their bosoms, even if no Elder has ever taught it,
an unquenchable desire to come and associate with the people of
God in the Rocky Mountains, and they are never content until they
can gratify their desire. Go to the north and the south, to the
east and the west, and to the most distant lands, upon the face
of the earth and you will find in their hearts the same feeling,
nothing else will satisfy them. God has spoken, God has touched
their hearts by the power of the Holy Ghost, and it is this that
has sustained us. It is this feeling we should cherish. It is
dearer to us than life itself. It is the spirit of God that
unites heart to heart, that unites man and woman with bonds that
are stronger than death--death cannot break them. Where that
feeling is cherished, persecution may rage with all the
fierceness that is possible, it cannot destroy it. I thank God
from the depths of my heart, when I think of it, that I live in
such a day and that I belong to a church of this kind, that I am
permitted to have a membership in the Church, for go where you
will on the earth you cannot find anything like it. This
brotherhood comes from God. It is a foretaste of that brotherhood
that will exist in the heavens; it is a foretaste of that union
and that love that will prevail there, and without which heaven
would not be heaven. And whence its origin? Where did it
originate? It originated in heaven, and it was communicated
through an humble instrument whom men despised.
243
It is a test of faith to embrace a Gospel taught by a man with
the repute that the world gave to Joseph Smith, with all the
falsehoods that were circulated concerning him. It is a test of
faith to-day to the inhabitants of the earth to receive anything
that has an origin among the "Mormon" people. Why, you might as
well accuse a man of being a leper in some societies as accuse
him of being a "Mormon!" Men will shun coming in contact with
him. To those who know the Latter-day Saints, it is laughable to
see the feeling that is manifested, and there is no greater cause
of wonder in the minds of this class than when they come to Utah
and see the condition of things existing here, it is so different
from everything they have expected. Men and women frequently get
filled with the most outrageous ideas respecting the Latter-day
Saints. They come here expecting to see monsters, as though you
wore horns or were beings of a different species to other people.
Now, as I have said, it takes faith and a love of the truth to
embrace the Gospel under such circumstances. And the devil is
doing all he can, as he always has done, to prejudice men's
minds, to deceive them, to throw dust in their eyes by maligning
the servants of God and the people of God. He did it with the
Savior. Why was it that all Judea did not believe in the Savior?
a holy being whose life was spotless, performing mighty miracles
in the midst of the people. Could they not all have embraced the
Gospel? Was it God's design that they should not embrace it? No.
God gives unto us our agency, and we do not ourselves realize how
great this is.
244
There is no limit to our agency. The power to choose good, the
power to refuse evil, the power to choose evil and refuse good is
given to every human being. We can, if we choose, accept God, we
can, if we choose, reject God. There is no compulsion about Him,
about His Gospel, or about the plan of salvation. If you and I
are saved, we will be saved because we have been obedient, and we
have exercised the power that God has given unto us. There is no
limit to this. We can seek unto Him in humility in the name of
Jesus, and continue faithful to the end; we can walk humbly and
uprightly with all the ability of which we are capable, observing
virtue, chastity, honesty and truthfulness, or we can on the
other hand turn to evil, we can reject everything that is good,
we can be untruthful, we can be unvirtuous, we can be dishonest,
we can practice iniquity. As the Lord said to Cain,
"If thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door." If he would do
right, he would be accepted. The agency was within him; God had
given it to him, and he would not take it from him. We should
cease to be the beings he designs us to be if he did. We are not
automatons to be moved by some master hand or pulled with a
string. God will control our actions, but he will not dictate to
us and compel us. He overrules all things for his glory and for
the accomplishment of his purposes. Your acts and mine, and the
acts of all the inhabitants of the earth are subject to God, who
is the overruling providence over all, and he controls all to
suit his divine purposes through his superior knowledge and
supreme power. But if you get to heaven, as I have said, if you
sing the songs of the redeemed, you will do it, because you
yourselves have chosen that path and have determined, by his aid,
to walk therein all your days; if any are ever numbered with the
damned, if any, ever go into outer darkness and endure the misery
of those who have rejected the truth and violated those laws
which God has given, violated, in other words, the light that was
within them, and which comes from God--if any be there it will be
because they have chosen to walk in the path that leads in that
direction, and Jesus came not to save them unless they seek to
save themselves; it would be contrary to the plan of salvation if
he were to do so. There is divine wisdom, therefore, in our
seeing as little of the divine presence as we do, it is a test of
our faith, and yet those who follow the right course receive the
light that is necessary. I can testify of this to you this day in
all solemnity before the Lord, I know that God is a God of
revelation. I know it for myself. I know that he is a God that
hears and answers prayer. I know that he is a God that heals the
sick when he is approached in faith, and that the mighty works
that were done in ancient days he is as willing that they should
be done to-day if his people will exercise faith. He has not gone
to sleep like old Baal did. You remember Elijah and the Prophets
of Baal. Elijah believed in a God that heard and answered prayer,
but the believers in Baal called upon Baal. They called upon him
throughout the day, but he heard them not, and Elijah mocked them
and said, "Cry aloud for he is a god; either he is talking, or he
is pursuing, or he is on a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth,
and must be awaked." But Elijah's God was not asleep. He had not
gone so far but what he could hear the prayer of his chosen
servant. The God of heaven never sleeps. His ear is open
constantly to the cries that come up unto him; his eye is never
closed; he looks upon all his creations; and though he rules in
the heavens above and regulates the motions of the universe and
controls the planets with which the heavens are emblazoned, there
is none of us so insignificant, small or obscure that he cannot
hear our prayers and our cries. We have proved this time and time
again in the history of this people. His preserving care has been
round about us; he has never forsaken us; and often, when
everything seemed as though destruction was inevitable, and that
there was no path of deliverance, he has calmed the angry
elements, he has opened the path and made it plain, he has caused
the light of his glory to shine upon that path, and it has been
clear to those who have been walking humbly and upright before
him. This people are a standing witness in the midst of all the
nations of the earth that God lives, and that he is the Being the
Scriptures say he is. Think of the plots that have been devised
against us; think of the plans that have been laid for our
destruction; no end to them, and yet this little handful of
people, six in the beginning, have gone on increasing, trusting
in God as their Deliverer. We have been mobbed, tried and
persecuted in various ways, but all these things have had the
effect of cleansing us, they have all had their purpose.
244
I would not give much for this Church to-day if all who had
joined it were members of it--that is, members of it with their
sins and corruptions and inclinations to do wrong. I am thankful
for one thing connected with this work, namely, that every trial
has the effect of cleansing the Church, of keeping it pure, of
taking away from it the dross and leaving the somewhat purer
element. It would not do for the tares to grow up and choke the
wheat. Therefore all these things have served a wise purpose in
the economy of God; and there is this peculiarity about this
Church, it has the power of self-purification, it carries with
it, as it were, the power of self-purification. Let a man or a
woman in this Church do wrong and persist in that wrong, and
sooner or later the Spirit of God will be grieved and they will
lose that spirit and their attachment to the truth, and will fall
away. In this way we have been preserved. The union of the people
to a great extent has been preserved. It is true that those who
have left us are opposed to us; it is true there is opposition
from various sources; but this does not change nor affect the
fact that there are those who do right, nor does it detract from
nor lessen the spirit of God which they have received, the spirit
of union and of love. That spirit burns as brightly to-day in the
midst of faithful people as it ever did.
246
Now there are a good many who look upon this work--and some of
our faithful Saints, too--and get discouraged because they see
iniquity around them, because of evil here in our city, for
instance. There was a time when we were free from these evils,
many of which now abound, and some are fearful that the evil is
overcoming the good. I do not share in these apprehensions. I
think it is our duty to be vigilant, to be watchful, and to be
all the time doing our best to repel every iniquity, to
extinguish as far as we can every temptation, every wrong that is
practised; to use our influence against it, and to do all in our
power to stamp it out. For instance, there is drunkenness and the
sale of spirituous liquors or intoxicating drinks. I think it is
the duty of every Latter-day Saint to help put away such things
and to do all in their power to put down gambling-houses, houses
of ill-fame, and other haunts of vice; to discourage blasphemy,
the use of profane language, dishonesty, taking advantage of our
neighbor, everything of this character. I believe that is our
duty, and every man and woman should exercise himself and herself
to this end; but after having done that and those efforts do not
succeed in preventing or in extirpating them entirely, then what?
Shall we be discouraged? Not in the least. You and I cannot
sustain this work alone; it is no use thinking the burden of the
work is upon us. It is God's work. I have been made to feel this
a good many times when I have been concerned in my mind, being in
a strait, as it were, as though everything was closing around me.
But I have learned by experience that this work is not the work
of man; that the responsibility of carrying it forward and
gaining success and preventing evil does not depend upon me
alone. I of course have my part, but God presides over it, God
has it in his keeping, he is arranging and overruling everything
for its final success and triumph. He will make the wrath of man
to praise him, and the remainder of wrath will he restrain. All,
therefore, that we have to do is to do that which devolves upon
us individually and collectively, and leave the rest to him, and
borrow no trouble. One half of our unhappiness is due to borrowed
trouble, looking forward to something that will never occur. The
Savior gave us a very wise admonition upon this point. Said he,
"Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof." Enjoy to-day, not
improperly, but properly. Take pleasure to-day and let the
threats come. The clouds may be dark here in the west, when the
sun sets, and you may think to-morrow is going to be a stormy
day; but how unwise it would be for us to make ourselves
miserable in anticipation of the storm to-morrow, when we have
the sun shining upon us to-day, when the heavens are glad and all
nature is thankful for the goodness of God. Why should we think
of the storms to-morrow? Let them come, and let us be prepared to
meet them as best we can. Let us put our trust in God, and while
we have peace to-day, let us enjoy the peace. Be happy as you
progress. Enjoy the day as it comes. If adversity comes you will
be prepared to meet it, just as well as if you had been brooding
over it for months or years. The Latter-day Saints should be the
happiest people upon the face of the whole earth. I believe we
are. There is one thing the Lord has done for us. He has removed
that uncertainty and fear that people have respecting the future.
And if we do right, if we keep the commandments of God to the
best of our ability, confessing our sins and repenting of them,
we have no cause to be unhappy. If afflictions come, if death
enters our habitations, shall we bow down our heads and mourn as
though we had no hope? No. Let us accept it as from God,
believing that he controls all things for the good of his people.
And remember this, my brethren and sisters, that God has said
through his Son Jesus Christ, that not one hair of our heads
shall fall to the ground unnoticed. He is watching over us. He
cares for the humblest. Even the very sparrows are the objects of
his care, and we are worth more than many sparrows.
246
I pray God the Eternal Father to bless you, to fill you with His
Holy Spirit. Let it be read in your countenance. God loves a glad
heart and a cheerful countenance. Carry these into your homes.
Husbands: instead of carrying your cares unto your homes to
afflict your family with them, throw them off outside and go in
with a glad face, so that your children may welcome you with
gladness and joy, as they would the presence of the sun after a
storm. Let your wife also receive you with gladness, and if she
has had anxiety and care let your presence comfort her. One of
the most painful things to me, is to see men cross in their
families, carrying into their houses a spirit that incites fear
in the hearts of the mothers and children, and that makes them
feel glad when the man goes out. Why, such a man ought not to
have a wife, he is unworthy of children. Husbands when they go
into their homes ought to carry with them a spirit of peace and
joy, so that all might be cheered by his presence, the children
glad to meet him, glad to have him come, and sorry when he goes
away and the wife, on her part, gladdened by the same spirit.
246
I pray God to bless you, my brethren and sisters, and to fill you
with His Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 /
Francis M. Lyman, October 7, 1881
Francis M. Lyman, October 7, 1881
DISCOURSE BY APOSTLE F. M. LYMAN,
Delivered at the General Conference,
Friday Morning, October 7, 1881. (Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
THE CHARACTER OF GOD'S WORK--TRUE RICHES--OUR RESPONSIBILITIES,
ETC.
246
My brethren and sisters, I am pleased to meet you in this General
Conference, and although it is a great task to undertake to speak
to so large an audience, I am willing to undertake my part if you
will give me your faith and prayers, and the Lord will bless me
with His Spirit.
247
The work that engages our attention is more remarkable than
any work that the Lord has ever commenced upon the earth. The
determination of our Heavenly Father that this work shall stand
forever, that it shall not be taken from the earth nor be given
to another people, is one of its important features. And I
sometimes fear that we do not feel as ambitious, as energetic to
do our part, to bear the responsibility that he designs to come
upon our shoulders, that we are not as careful as we ought to be
in observing his laws and requirements; that we do not appreciate
them and prize them as we ought to. If we did we would not sin;
if we did we would every day of our lives seek to know the mind
and will of the Father; to have His Spirit to be present with us,
prompting and inspiring and urging us forward to the
accomplishment of the purposes of the Lord. We forget the early
love of the Gospel. We are too much swallowed up, perhaps, in the
making of a living, in obtaining the comforts of this life and a
little more of this world's goods. We ought to labor; we ought to
be industrious; we ought to seek to gather from the elements
means that would sustain us, to clothe us, to build our
habitations, and to enable us materially to build up the kingdom
of God. But as the spirit and body are one, and grow together,
sympathizing with each other, the spirit giving life to the body,
without which the body cannot live at all, so it should be with
us in regard to the things of the kingdom. The Spirit of the Lord
should be first, the life, the energy that should propel us to
the performance of our temporal duties. In cultivating the earth,
in buying and selling, in caring for the wealth of the world, our
object should be to supply our necessities, to make ourselves
comfortable, to keep us alive, to keep us in good condition; but
the chief part of our lives should be used in works of
righteousness, of charity, seeking to improve the spiritual
condition of man, to develop the intellectual man, to develop the
moral man, and to gain favor with our heavenly Father; and to lay
up treasures in this life that can be taken hence with us. We are
not ambitious enough to excel in doing good. We are ambitious
enough to excel in obtaining wealth--and yet I do not know that
it ought to be called wealth. Prest. Taylor gave a very nice
explanation of true wealth yesterday. Quoting from the revelation
of God to us which says,
"He that hath eternal life is rich," and applying those words to
our late Brother, Orson Pratt, he said, pointing to his remains,
"There lies the body of a rich man." We all know that Brother
Pratt was not rich in this world's goods, but it can be safely
said of him, that he is rich,--rich in the things of God. What he
has done and accomplished is more than all the wealth of the
world, the gold and the silver, the diamonds and precious stones,
the houses and lands, and the cattle on a thousand hills; for he
has earned the title of a son of God, and he cannot be robbed of
it, having been true to the end and faithful to his latest
breath.
248
Well now, what of worldly wealth, what of houses and lands,
flocks and herds? They bring care and responsibility and trouble,
that is if we have too much of them, and if we do not use them
properly and rightly. If a man is endowed with the Holy Ghost; if
he has first and foremost the kingdom of God and the
righteousness of our heavenly Father, let wealth flow unto him as
it may, he will use it properly; he will remember the poor, he
will pay his tithing, he will give liberally for the building of
Temples, for the supporting of the families of missionaries, and
for the building up of home industries. The more wealth a man
has, the better if he has the Spirit of God to guide him in its
use. The kingdom of God must be built up with means. Money is
necessary in some instances with us to-day. I presume the
Trustee-in-Trust finds money very necessary to supply certain
materials in the building of Temples; and the men working on them
need some money to procure some of the necessaries of life, and
probably, in some instances, the unnecessaries of life. Money is
necessary to supply these demands, and we cannot very well get
along without it, not as well as we could when there was none
here. But it is not necessary that a man should be contaminated
with wealth. If wealth necessarily contaminated and destroyed
life or destroyed man, what should we say of our Father who
dwells in heaven, for His wealth is boundless. The wealth of the
world is only borrowed for a little season. The wealth of our
millionaires does not belong to them in reality, it is not
theirs, not a dollar of it; they are entitled to use and to enjoy
the benefit of it; in other words, they are stewards over it for
the present time. If the wealth they possess were theirs, they
would take it with them; they would not divide it among their
friends, they would take it with them. That is, that amount which
they hold to in this world. They would still cling to it
tenaciously if it were possible to take it with them. Of course,
I except that which they distribute before hand; and I am not
sure but what some would be less generous in the distribution of
that wealth even to their children if they could take it with
them. But they know they cannot do this, hence they divide it as
they see fit before they are released from their stewardship.
These means are necessary. God has made this earth. He put in
every vein of gold and silver and iron and precious metal, etc.
He has given fertility to the earth; and he has done these things
by His own power. And He has a right to say what shall be done
with them. He has a right to say to us, when you cultivate the
earth, "I require you to give me one tenth of all that is
produced, and the nine-tenths you are welcome to use for your own
support, and for the accomplishment of my purposes. But I require
this of you as an acknowledgement that you are using the earth
that belongs to me."
249
Why should the Lord require this? There is a philosophical reason
for it, there is a philosophical reason why He should require us
to have faith in Him, He being the owner of the earth has the
right to direct and control in regard to it, and to all who come
upon it, hence it is necessary that we should have faith in Him.
For He is the foundation of life, the fountain of intelligence,
the fountain of knowledge, of happiness, of joy; and He knows
exactly what is good for us. He knows every particle of
experience that we pass through, that is necessary for us. And
this earth has been brought together and arranged according to
eternal principles, eternal laws, by which other worlds have been
made, and by which other worlds will yet be made, that are behind
us, that will follow this earth. The Lord is well acquainted with
these things; and the revelation of the Gospel is intended to
give unto us knowledge in regard to these eternal laws, that we
may go parallel with them, walk with them and by them, in order
that we may be saved--saved from sin and sorrow, saved from
death, saved from destruction, saved from evil, and be blessed
and rewarded for our fidelity and faithfulness to those laws.
249
In the first place, God requires us to have faith in Him, because
it is not possible to please Him without faith. If we do not have
faith in Him, we will not listen to Him, we will not accept His
word, we will not be led and counselled by Him, hence it is
necessary that this principle should be and abide with the
Latter-day Saints.
249
It is necessary, too, that we repent and turn away from sin, and
work righteousness. I would to the Lord that all Israel had thus
worked up to this day, from the time we embraced the Gospel, that
we had done right from that time until now, that our sins should
all be forgiven us. We cannot have our sins forgiven, and
continue in sin. That would not be rational; it would not be
philosophical. We will find that every requirement that God has
made upon us tends to direct us in the strait and narrow path.
But when I consider the organization of the kingdom of God, the
Priesthood that he has restored to us, crowned with the First
Presidency and the Apostleship, giving to us every quorum in the
Melchizedek and Aaronic Priesthoods, setting all things in order;
and requiring every man and woman to be prayerful morning and
evening, and to remember our secret prayers; to pay our tithing;
to build Temples; to perform missions; to partake of the
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper every Sabbath day--and the various
duties that are required of the several quorums of Priesthood: it
does seem to me that the Lord has been well acquainted with man's
situation and necessities here, to arrange so many safeguards and
provisions, for caring for the people, looking after them, and
feeling after them, directing them, counselling and advising
them, and holding them to the strait and narrow way into which
they have been led by faith. And not only do they need to be
planted in the strait way, but it is necessary that all those
requirements be made upon them, and that they listen to them, and
heed them in order that they may be kept in that way through
life. For there is another power in the world that is working
assiduously and faithfully, by night and day, to destroy the
children of men and defeat the will of God, and to thwart His
plans. And it is the business of that power to destroy man, to
turn him from the service of God to the service of the Evil One.
And hence the necessity of all this carefulness, these detailed
plans and regulations urged in the Gospel of Christ, to keep men
in the strait and narrow path. And with all this, some of Israel
will go over the wall, they cannot be kept in. They will break
out in spite of all the guards and bulwarks thrown around them.
And the Spirit of the Lord which we received when we embraced the
Gospel, and that was intended to be with us always, is grieved
and driven from us because of our want of fidelity and humility,
and because of our carelessness in the observance of the laws of
God.
250
I spoke somewhat in regard to the ambition that Latter-day Saints
should have, which I think has somewhat cooled in the Elders of
Israel. If it was in the obtaining of a good country; if in
colonizing Arizona, for instance, we had found an admirable
country like Illinois, like Ohio and the Mississippi Valley and
the Middle States that are watered by the rains and the dews of
heaven, if we had found a country like that in Arizona or Western
Colorado, or in Southeastern Utah, in Southern Idaho, in Eastern
Nevada or Western Wyoming, broad acres inviting people to come in
and take up large farms, we would be ambitious enough. There are
railroads that are being built in the country; we are ambitious
enough to take contracts and work in their construction. The
Latter-day Saints cannot be charged with being idlers, but on the
contrary, they are working themselves to death, in many
instances. They are not a slothful people, if they were they
never would have been satisfied with this country, and subdued it
as they have. The spirit of the Lord has prompted them to
industry. But it seems to me that our desire to work carries us
to such an extent that we have little time to devote to the
performance of our religious duties. We have not been so prompt
in attending to our prayers, and to our meetings; our time and
attention seem to be absorbed by getting teams and wagons, horses
and lands, and clothing and food for ourselves and families. In
early times we did not take our meals so regularly; food was not
so plentiful, neither was it so easily obtained, consequently we
did not get the variety nor so much of it as we do to-day.
Circumstances have changed; and as the earth answers to the
labors of the husbandman, we put on better clothing, we set our
tables more sumptuously, and our homes are altogether better
furnished. We eat more and drink more; we eat extravagantly and
we drink to excess of things that are proper to be taken, and of
things that are improper and should not be indulged in.
250
This is not right, and the Lord is not pleased with those who do
it.
251
And it is the duty of every one bearing the holy Priesthood, to
make his voice heard against extravagance and evil. But first of
all let him see that he himself is free from that which he would
denounce in others. He should himself observe the law which God
has revealed as to what we should eat and what we should drink.
The Lord knows exactly what men should do and how they should
live in order to obtain happiness, the realization of which is
the object of life. There are a variety of ways in which men seek
happiness, which, however, result in their sorrow. But there is
no sorrow to be found or experienced in keeping the commandments
of God. It is true, we may have to face death, and perhaps meet
it; we may suffer from the loss of property, and have to endure
persecution; but when we suffer such experience by reason of our
rendering service to God, it promotes eternal joy in the soul of
man. Our mission as Elders should be from now on to vie with each
other in doing the works of righteousness, and in living humble
and pure lives. In this we will find wealth and joy, and I desire
to say to you that the Elder, the Priest, Teacher or Deacon--and
the term Elder covers every man bearing the Melchizedek
Priesthood--who neglects these things, will be found sorrowing;
he will be found mourning; that he did not fill his mission--and
every man is on a mission upon whose head the hands of servants
of God have been placed, conferring upon him the holy Priesthood;
all such persons are missionaries. And we should not wait to be
called to the Old Country or elsewhere, or to be set apart as
Home Missionaries, or to be Bishops or Presidents of Stakes, High
Counselors, etc. For I say unto you that every man who has
received any portion of the Priesthood is a missionary; and the
salvation of the world, to a certain extent, rests upon his
shoulders. And the man who neglects his duty will see a day of
sorrow for his neglect.
251
Then, I exhort you, my brethren, as your fellow-laborer, and as a
servant of the Lord, to be diligent in observing to keep the
commandments of God, to magnify the holy Priesthood that the
Lord, through his servants, has placed upon you. We are expected
to be saviors, working in conjunction with our elder brother,
Jesus, and also in conjunction with our deceased friend and
brother, Apostle Orson Pratt, who has gone to continue his labors
in another sphere. When did Brother Pratt allow his mind to be
idle? He exercised it continually in the right direction; he
labored and studied; the bent of his ambition lay in searching
the Scriptures, ancient and modern, and seeking to become
acquainted with the Lord. Hence he became profound in knowledge,
a man possessing the true riches, a servant of the living God,
who has gone to reap his reward--gone from his sorrow, from his
weariness and from his labors in this life, and, as was remarked
yesterday, he will find his quorum, he will find his place
therein, and will abide with the saved, exalted and redeemed and
those who have "fought the good fight and kept the faith." May
this be said of us! But if it is said, it will be because we
labor better in the future than we have done in the past.
251
Let every man look into his own heart! Let every man ask himself
this question: Has this tongue of mine been used to the very best
advantage? Have I spoken words of counsel to my neighbor? Have I
taught my wives, my children, my brothers and my sisters as I
ought? Has my mouth always been willing to give forth counsel to
the world? Have I shrunk from bearing testimony of the truth? If
you have in the past do not do it in the future. This life is not
very long. We are only here for a little while. We are here to
obtain experience. That is the object of our being, and the Lord
has revealed unto us the Gospel, and we should be faithful. When
we look over the world and find it teeming with millions of
people who have not a knowledge of the truth--and many of them
just as honest as we are in their worship, but they know not the
truth, they have not sought after it, and in some instances they
have been so educated and so prejudiced, and have taken error for
truth, until they do not know the truth when they hear it--what a
boon it is to us that God has given us a spirit by which we may
know the truth and not be deceived! What a great gift and boon
this is, and it ought to make us good husbands, good wives, good
parents, good children, good neighbors, good men and women,
laboring for the salvation of the human family.
252
We cannot be Saints without the spirit of the Lord. And as I said
before in regard to these ordinances and requirements, they all
tend in their particular place and time to keep us in the strait
and narrow path. Hence upon the Sabbath we partake of the
sacrament, and thus renew our covenants with the Lord, we
fellowship each other, and we ask the Father to forgive the sins
of the past and desire to have His Spirit to be with us in the
future. This we do every Sabbath day, prayers every morning,
prayers every night, prayers secretly every day of our lives; and
when this is the case with the Latter-day Saints, when they
partake of the sacrament worthily, and do not eat and drink
condemnation to their own souls, there will be less sickness and
less quarrels among us, and the spirit of the Lord will brood
over Zion.
252
I have thought that if we as Elders of Israel would seek to
obtain a knowledge as to why these principles are given to us and
their force and effect upon us, we could then explain them better
to our families than we can to-day. But we have been satisfied by
receiving a portion of the spirit of the Lord. We have not
progressed as we should; we have yielded obedience to the
ordinance of baptism, but we have not gone forward as we ought to
have done. Possibly we have gathered with the Saints into these
valleys, but individually we have settled down more or less to
follow the ways of the world, to the making of means, to the
cultivation of our farms, etc. We send our children to school, it
is true; but there is not that system of education, there is not
that training and teaching of the sons by the mothers that ought
to be. We have grown more or less careless regarding these
things; we have become somewhat wrapped up in the things of the
world.
252
But I tell you that every Elder in Israel ought to feel like
saying,
"Father, use me as thou wilt. Give me power to magnify my calling
and Priesthood, so that when contagious diseases come into the
land I may look unto Thee for help." By observing the Word of
Wisdom, I believe that many of the calamities which come upon us
as families could be averted; not that we would live for ever;
but I do believe that many would be saved unto us that are taken
away because of our want of faith and because we break the laws
which have been revealed unto us. When a man is doing right he
has remarkable courage. You know it is said that sin makes
cowards of us all. Now, the man that would approach the Father
should not be a coward. In approaching the throne of grace, we
should do so with humility, but with frankness, asking in faith,
believing that the Lord will give.
252
Take my exhortation, my brethren and sisters, and observe the
laws of the Lord; become acquainted with them, practise them in
your lives, and let your time be employed from this day
henceforth in observing the laws of God, that we may have His
salvation and blessing in this life and exaltation in the life to
come. May the Lord bless you. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / George
Q. Cannon, September 18, 1881
George Q. Cannon, September 18, 1881
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT GEORGE Q. CANNON
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
Sunday Afternoon, September 18, 1881.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
THE ABUNDANT TESTIMONIES TO THE WORK OF GOD, ETC.
253
The remarks which have been made by Brother Orson Pratt have no
doubt been listened to with great attention and with a feeling of
delight by those who have heard them. It is indeed a very great
pleasure to have him in our midst once more, and especially to
listen to the sound of his voice--to hear the testimony that he
still bears to the work of God. It is probable that to-day
Brother Orson Pratt is the oldest living member of the Church,
and certainly there is no man in the Church who has labored
longer and more diligently and with a greater spirit of
self-sacrifice in proclaiming its principles, in defending it,
and in advocating the cause of God in the midst of the earth. And
no doubt, as he has said, the fervent prayers of the Latter-day
Saints have been offered up without ceasing throughout all our
valleys, and in all our settlements, in every dwelling-place,
unto God the Eternal Father in his behalf, that his life might be
spared, that his health might be again restored to him, that he
might have the privilege of proclaiming the word of the Lord unto
the people. I trust that these prayers will still be offered up,
that faith will be exercised in his behalf, that the desire of
his heart may be granted unto him; for I know that faith will be
exercised in his behalf, that the desire of his heart may be
granted unto him; for I know that there is no desire so strong in
his breast as that which he has expressed--the desire to proclaim
the truth, and to win souls unto Christ, and to help establish
that Zion of which God has laid the foundation. It is indeed
encouraging to listen to the voice of a man who has had his
experience, and to witness the unflinching zeal that he still
possesses for the work of the Lord. I felt as though I did not
want to say one word--if I could have answered my own
feelings--after he had concluded. I would much rather have left
his remarks to be pondered upon by the people, than to have said
one word myself. But as there is time remaining, and we have come
together for the purpose of partaking of the sacrament and
worshiping our God, it is not improper that that time should be
occupied.
255
Brother Pratt has alluded, in brief terms, to the revelations
which God gave unto his servant Joseph Smith, through the Book of
Mormon, or through the plates upon which that record was found.
To-day there is probably no greater stumbling block in the way of
the people regarding this latter-day work than this record.
Everything has been done that could be done to blind the eyes and
darken the understanding of the children of men concerning the
Book of Mormon. Every conceivable falsehood, almost, has been put
into circulation concerning the origin of that work, and the
inhabitants of the earth have been led to believe that it is one
of the greatest impostures that was ever palmed upon mankind. And
the name "Mormon" has been applied, in consequence of this, in
derision to us because of our belief in that work. I have many
times been reminded of the falsehood that was palmed upon the
people by the Pharisees concerning the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. They would not believe that most momentous event in that
generation, though borne testimony to by living witnesses. They
declared that his Apostles, or disciples, had stolen the body,
that he had not been resurrected, and that false belief became
current in that generation and was an accepted theory concerning
the founder of the Christian religion, and the whole world deemed
themselves justified--speaking now in general terms--in rejecting
Jesus as the Messiah, and his disciples as the Apostles of God,
and yet to-day it is the belief of Christendom. A man who doubts
that the Savior was resurrected the third day from death, is
looked upon as unworthy of that holy name, the name of Christian.
So beliefs change and misrepresentation and falsehood fade away
as time passes on and truth is received and accepted; and the day
will yet come--and it is not very far distant, when we speak
about it in comparison with this event to which I have
alluded--when this Book of Mormon and all connected with it will
be received and accepted, that is, all the truth, as the truth of
the living God, for the reason that it is true, and that God
himself is its author. For that reason, and for that reason
alone, the time will come--and as I have said, it is not far
distant, though it may seem very presumptuous to make such a
statement--when this record will be accepted, as the Bible is now
accepted, as a book of divine origin, and that it has been
revealed through the ministrations and agency of holy angels. We
accept the Bible to-day without a question--that is, those of us
who believe in Jesus Christ and in God. There is not a living
witness to substantiate its truth. We accept it because our
fathers and our mothers and our teachers from our earliest days
have taught us that it is true, that it is the word of God, and
among protestants a belief in its sacredness, that I am sorry to
say is fading away in many circles, was general. The Bible was
accepted, after the reformation as infallible; it took the place
of the infallibility of the Pope, and yet, as I have said, there
is not a single living witness whose testimony has come down to
us authenticated respecting its divinity, and in fact it is so
open to attack that there are thousands who deem themselves
justified, because of the insufficiency of the testimony and the
conflict between statements which it contains, in rejecting it as
the word of God. But in the case of the Book of Mormon, three
witnesses, in addition to the man who was chosen of God, to
translate it, testify in the most solemn manner that an holy
angel came and exhibited the plates and testified to them that it
was of God. We have heard those living witnesses bear testimony
to this, and though they became alienated from Joseph Smith
afterwards, though every one of them afterwards left the Church,
because of differences that they had with members of the Church,
and because fellowship was withdrawn from them, in consequence of
acts of rebellion--yet all three men maintained their testimony
unflinchingly--two of them being now dead--when they came back to
the Church as they had done before, and as they did during their
alienation from the Church, that the Book of Mormon was true;
that they had seen an angel, and that that angel had testified to
them that this was the work of God. One of these witnesses is
still living, and though not connected with the Church, he still
bears testimony, and publishes it--we see it frequently in the
newspapers--confirming that which he had written, constantly
bearing testimony unto all with whom he is brought in contact,
and who make inquiry of him concerning this matter. When I was a
boy I heard it stated concerning Oliver Cowdery, that after he
left the Church he practised law, and upon one occasion, in a
court in Ohio, the opposing counsel thought he would say
something that would overwhelm Oliver Cowdery, and in reply to
him in his argument he alluded to him as the man that had
testified and had written that he had beheld an angel of God, and
that angel had shown unto him the plates from which the Book of
Mormon was translated. He supposed, of course, that it would
cover him with confusion, because Oliver Cowdery then made no
profession of being a "Mormon," or a Latter-day Saint; but
instead of being affected by it in this manner, he arose in the
court, and in his reply stated that, whatever his faults and
weaknesses might be, the testimony which he had written, and
which he had given to the world, was literally true.
255
Besides the three witnesses who saw an angel and handled the
plates, there were eight others who testified also in the most
solemn manner that, though not shown the plates by an angel, they
were shown the plates by Joseph Smith; that they hefted the
plates, that they handled them, that they examined them, that
they appeared to be of ancient workmanship, that they saw the
characters upon them, which were curious; and these eight men
have testified to this, making in all twelve witnesses, many of
whom we have known. But if this were the only testimony
concerning this work, I myself would have, I might say,
comparatively slight faith in it. It would have weight, of
course. The testimony of men of character, men who testify
solemnly to any fact, always did have weight with me. I suppose
such testimony has weight with all more or less, according to the
credibility of the witnesses. But there are evidences in this
work itself of its divinity.
257
It is the internal evidence which the Book of Mormon contains
that bears testimony of it. If Joseph Smith's claims as a Prophet
of God had no other foundation than that which this book
furnishes, then there is foundation enough for him to rank as one
of the greatest prophets that has ever lived upon the face of the
earth. There were predictions recorded in this book and published
to the world in the winter of 1829 and 1830, which are being
fulfilled today, and which have been fulfilled, or have been in
process of fulfilment since the day that the work was issued from
the press. There is scarcely a thing connected with the movement
of the Latter-day Saints that has not been foreshadowed in the
Book of Mormon. The way in which the work should be received, the
manner in which it should be treated--I mean this organization,
this Church, the manner in which the world would receive it, the
manner, also, in which they would receive the record--that is the
book--the expressions which they should use concerning it, had
all been described in the greatest plainness before the Church
itself was organized, even to the gathering of the people
together, to which Brother Pratt has alluded as being so
wonderful a work; and it may be said so phenomenal a work in its
character. For the gathering out of this people called Latter-day
Saints from every nation is a phenomenal work; the bringing them
to these mountains; their organization throughout these valleys;
the union, the love and the peace which prevail among them are
all phenomenal in their character. This Book of Mormon, before
there was a Church organized, before it had an existence,
foreshadowed, in great plainness, that a people would be gathered
together from the nations of the earth, and it has also described
to us what their fate would be, how they would be driven and
mobbed, and how they would be compelled to flee into the
wilderness, as we did flee. There is scarcely a thing, as I have
said, connected with this Church, or its history, that has not
been alluded to with greater or less plainness, but especially
the rejection of the Gospel by the nations and the treatment that
those who espoused it would receive. This book was published,
too, at a time when it was the proud boast of every American
citizen, that religious liberty was universal wherever the stars
and stripes waved; when such a thing as religious persecution was
unknown; when every man could worship God without let or
hindrance, according to the dictates of his own conscience; when
such a thing as mobocracy, as driving men and women from their
homes, burning their houses, destroying their property, or
anything connected with these scenes, had never been witnessed in
the Republic. Yet God, through this record, revealed in great
plainness that such would be the case when this Church should be
organized, and this was published, as I have said, before the
Church had an existence upon the earth. It also testified what
the fate of Joseph Smith should be. It alluded to the persecution
that he should receive. It described how he should be treated by
his enemies; these things were set forth and can be found within
the pages of this book, and also many events that have not yet
transpired. Joseph Smith has made predictions, and they are
embodied in this book. I say he has made them, that is, God chose
him as an instrument to bring these predictions to
light--concerning the remnants that are left in the land--the
Indians. Now, it is the general opinion--and it has been the
opinion entertained for many years--that the Indian tribes would
disappear, that they would be wiped out from the face of the
land, that they would disappear as the buffalo have disappeared,
and that it would only take a very short time until they would be
obliterated. If there is any one opinion that is general in our
land among the people in our Republic, this to-day is the general
opinion concerning the Red Man. Of course there may be some who
entertain a different opinion, but they are so few that they can
scarcely be noticed, certainly they cannot be heard. Even those
who advocate and espouse the cause of the red man, and look upon
his race as terribly wronged, see no hope for him in the great
future, but believe that he must disappear before the march of
civilization and the increase of the pale faces. Now, Joseph
Smith has predicted in this Book of Mormon the very opposite of
this, and the world will yet see and know for themselves whether
he is a true Prophet or not concerning this. This Book of Mormon
with its promises is to a very great extent based upon the idea
and the view that there is a future for the red man of this
continent, and that they will at some time become an enlightened
people and be redeemed from their present condition.
257
Now, if Joseph Smith had chosen to have said something as an
impostor that would have suited the people, he would never have
published the promises which this book contains concerning the
red man; he would never have thought of such a thing, because the
whole current of thought, even as early as the days of his
childhood, was in a different direction. But inspired of God he
made these predictions, and they are left on record like the
other predictions to which I have alluded, and they will be
fulfilled just as sure as God has spoken. And it is in
consequence of our entertaining these views that we have been
accused of having undue sympathy with the red man; because we
have believed that they were human beings, that they had souls to
be saved, and have felt to treat them with that kindness which we
think is due to every man that stands in the form of God,
whatever his race or color may be, whether black or red, yellow
or white. Because we have taken this course and entertain these
views, we have been accused thousands of times of having undue
sympathy with the Indians, and sometimes of rendering them aid in
their depredations. In our valleys and throughout our mountains
an Indian has been as safe as he would be in the midst of his
tribe. We have fed them, we have clothed them, we have endeavored
to elevate them, we have treated them kindly. We have thought
that a man who would shed the blood of an Indian would receive as
severe condemnation and punishment therefore, as if he were to
shed the blood of a white man. We have also endeavored to teach
the people this idea, and the consequence is that travel where
our people may, if it be known that they are the people of Utah,
they can travel with a degree of safety that no one else can,
because for these thirty-four years in these mountains we have
pursued this policy--not to aid them in their attacks upon the
whites, but, on the contrary, to persuade them--and, in fact, we
have endeavored by force of arms to prevent them from doing such
things when they have resolved to go upon the warpath. We have
invariably said to them: "You cannot commit a greater crime than
to shed the blood of your fellow-men, whether it be of your own
race or any other race." Our influence has been to maintain
peace, to endeavor to reclaim them from their degraded and
indigent condition, and teach them industrious habits and those
arts which would elevate them from their degradation. The Book of
Mormon has had that influence with us, and, as I have said, there
are promises connected with it which will yet be fulfilled, and
which will establish, even more than it is already established
the truth of what I have said, that Joseph was a man inspired of
God, and that he spoke by the inspiration of the Almighty.
259
I know that it is very fashionable--we have experienced it, we
know about it--to decry everything that is not popular. In every
reformation, who have endeavored to stem the public current, and
to mark out a path different from that trodden by the majority of
mankind, have had the most bitter opposition to contend with.
They have had everything to meet, and in many instances have had
to lay down their lives in testimony of the truth of that which
they were doing. And we are no exception to this rule. Our
pathway has been marked from the beginning with sufferings from
this cause, and we may expect that it will continue to be. We
need not look for anything else. Our religion is an unpopular
one, and we might possess all the virtues of the angels and they
would be obscured by the misrepresentations and the clouds of
calumny that are raised against us. Our virtues are lost sight
of. Our industry and the good qualities which have made this land
so beautiful; those qualities which have been the means in the
hands of God of reclaiming this land from its desert condition,
and peopling it, and making the valleys resound with the hum of
industry, and creating beautiful homes in it, from north to
south, and from east to west; the practice of temperance and
virtue, and the other qualities which characterize this people,
are entirely lost sight of, because in the opinion of the
majority we are heretic. We adhere to a religion that is, as they
believe, or as they assert, an imposture, and because of this
they are ready to do with us as the Jews did with the Savior, and
with those who believe in his divine mission. Nevertheless, this
being the truth, it must prevail. There need not be any doubt in
our minds, I do not believe there is. I do not believe that
150,00 or 200,000 people can be found in any part of the globe
who have the feelings of serenity and calm security, and who have
less apprehension concerning the future than have the Latter-day
Saints who dwell throughout these valleys of the Rocky Mountains.
I do not believe another people can be found who have the
feelings I describe. And when the clouds have been darkest, when
everything appeared to foreshadow the destruction of the people,
when it seemed as though all earth was raised against us, there
has never been a time, even during those dark hours, that there
has been any quailing in the hearts or feelings of the Latter-day
Saints concerning the future. They know that God reigns; that
this is his work, that he has laid the foundation of it, and that
he will preserve and make it triumph in the earth; that he has
sustained every man, woman and child belonging to this church
from the beginning. When mobs have descended upon us like an
avalanche, and when all the evils which they have wrought have
come upon the people, even then there has been no flinching, no
quivering of the hands, no shaking of the knees, no quailing of
the heart, but calmly reposing upon the promises of God, the
people have been sustained, and have gone forward rejoicing that
they were counted worthy to be numbered among the Saints of God.
This has been the feeling, it is today--and notwithstanding that
threats of the most fearful character have been fulminated
against us from time to time, and the press has come out with too
great unanimity for its credit, suggesting every manner of scheme
to exterminate us--notwithstanding all this the Latter-day
Saints, I believe, of all the people upon the face of the earth,
have had more peace in their hearts, have had more peace in their
habitations, have had more confidence and less apprehension
concerning the future than any other people to be found upon the
face of this wide globe, go where you will to find them. And why
is this? "Oh," says one, "it is your fanaticism; you are an
enthusiastic, fanatical race of people. Your leaders are shrewd
men, and the rest of the people are the dupes of your imposture;
you exercise an influence over them, you blind their minds and
they are led by you because you shrewder than they." This is the
common expression of opinion respecting us. It shows how ignorant
mankind are concerning this work. There is not a faithful man,
there is not a faithful woman, who crossed the Mississippi River
when driven from Illinois, but felt and knew that it was right
for us to go into the wilderness and to carve out a new home, far
away from those people who called themselves Christians, but who
belied their profession--who did not feel this as much as
President Young did, or any of the Twelve Apostles. Even the
children themselves had the spirit of it. The whole people
crossed that river and started out into the then Territory of
Iowa, with entire confidence that God would lead them to a good
place; they started with far more confidence than the children of
Israel did under the leadership of Moses. And from that day to
the present the people have had this spirit. Not a settlement has
been formed throughout these mountain regions without the people
themselves who founded it, being fully imbued with the feeling
that they were called of God to come to this land, and it needed
no constraint from President Young or any other man to influence
them to do so. They were ready to act for themselves.
260
Every man and woman who enters into this Church has the right to
know whether this doctrine be of God or not. I would not give a
fig, if we numbered millions, if the people did not know for
themselves that this was the work of God. I would rather have the
six persons who formed the nucleus of the Church on the 6th of
April, 1830, if those six knew for themselves that this was the
work of God; I would feel we were a greater strength in the earth
than six millions who had not this knowledge. And so I say
concerning this people to-day throughout these valleys; if they
only know for themselves that this is the work of God; if they
have received this knowledge by the revelations of God for
themselves individually, then they become a power in the earth,
they are a living force. Murder may be resorted to for the
purpose of destroying them, but as long as one remains there is a
power through which God can work and bring to pass that which He
has said shall be accomplished. The killing of Joseph Smith did
not destroy this work, that was tried; it is not the killing of
those who were associated with him that will do it. The past
expulsions of the people did not injure or destroy the work,
neither would any such attempts, if permitted, do so in the
future. It is a living entity, and it is composed of living
entities, men and women who know for themselves that this is the
work of God, not depending upon Joseph Smith, not depending upon
Brigham Young, not depending upon John Taylor, not depending upon
Orson Pratt, or any other man tabernacled in the flesh, for their
knowledge concerning this work. You might kill all these men off,
if God would permit you, and still the knowledge remains until
you extirpate the whole people; and in this respect it differs
from every other work known among men. I have said it was
phenomenal. It is phenomenal. This people who come from the
nations of the earth--each one comes bearing testimony that he or
she knows it is the work of God. They know that before they leave
their homes, and they come impelled by that living faith, and
they bear testimony to it. Hence it is a power in the earth. It
is God's work. As Brother Orson Pratt has said, God dictated the
day of its organization; God dictated that we should come to
these mountains. There is not a settlement we make without our
seeking to know the mind and will of God concerning it. We do not
send a missionary abroad without asking the mind and will of God
upon the subject. His mind and will is sought for in all things
in holy places, and this Church has been guided from the first
day of its organization until to-day, by that spirit of divine
revelation. Hence the prosperity that has attended us, and the
wonderful results that we witness to-day.
260
God has broken the long silence that has reigned for centuries.
It is not to us alone, but He has spoken to the whole world, if
they will open their ears to hear and their hearts to understand.
God is working mightily to-day among the nations of the earth,
and He is bringing to pass His great purposes, that have been so
long deferred. But who hears His voice? Who seeks to understand
it? Very few indeed. Unbelief is increasing, until even among
those who profess to be ministers of religion you hear the power
of God questioned respecting the affairs of men, and it is a rare
thing to-day to find any man, even a professor of religion, who
believes that God interposes by special providence in behalf of
any of His children upon the earth. It is very rarely you can
find men who have such a belief. They believe that God allows all
things to go on without interference on His part. That, however,
is not the faith of Christ, that is not the teaching of the
Savior, who taught His disciples and all men to go unto the
Father, and ask in His name for that which they needed, and that
the very hairs of their head could not fall to the ground
unnoticed. This is the God the Latter-day Saints believe in and
seek after. They know that He lives. They know by revelation for
themselves, and this constitutes the great difference between
this Church and every other church. We believe in revelation from
God to-day. We believe that He is the same yesterday, to-day and
forever; that He changes not, and that if His mind and will were
revealed unto the inhabitants of the earth 1800 years ago in
answer to prayer, in the same manner they can be obtained to-day.
260
I pray God to bless you, to pour out His Holy Spirit upon you, to
lead and guide you into all truth, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / George
Q. Cannon, May 8th, 1881
George Q. Cannon, May 8th, 1881
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT GEORGE Q. CANNON,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
Sunday Afternoon, May 8th, 1881. (Reported by John Irvine.)
THE BLESSINGS ENJOYED THROUGH POSSESSING THE ANCIENT RECORDS,
ETC.
261
President Cannon having read the whole of the 12th Chapter of the
Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, said: It is a blessed thing
for us who live in this day and age to have records in our midst
which have come down from olden times, and which are recognized,
at least by Christendom, as the Word of God, and as containing
principles of life and salvation. A people who are destitute of
such records are in many respects to be pitied, for they have not
the benefit of the experience and teachings of those who have
preceded them and are deprived of that knowledge concerning the
things of God, which is a great stay unto those who possess it.
It is a great comfort to a person in the midst of trials and of
afflictions, who has a desire to look unto God or some being who
is superior to us, to read the life and the experience of others
who may have been similarly situated in other ages, and to know
from the record that has come down how they felt and acted, and
the deliverances they received through the power of God. In like
manner it is a great blessing and a comfort to those who are
struggling in the midst of the darkness, error, and confusion
which prevail upon the earth, whose souls go out after God, who
desire to know concerning Him, to comprehend the plan of
salvation, to have some understanding concerning the objects of
their creation; and while in this life to have the experience of
others who have preceded them, and also to read that which they
knew concerning God.
262
In this respect the chapter which I have read from this book is
of priceless worth; its value cannot be estimated by anything
that is known among men upon which value is fixed. If we did not
have this book, and it could be given to us with the testimony
that we now have as to its authenticity and its divine origin, I
suppose there are hundreds today in this Tabernacle who, if they
could not get it in any other way, would be willing to give all
that they have in the world to possess a copy of it. The fact
that we have it, the fact that we have always had it, the fact
that our forefathers always had it, at least so far as we know,
has made us to a certain extent careless about it. We do not
value it as we might do if our attention had been newly awakened
to its existence. But in the Latter-day Saints it should always
be a precious treasure. Beyond any people now upon the face of
the earth, they should value it, for the reason that from its
pages, from the doctrines set forth by its writers, the epitome
of the plan of salvation which is there given unto us, we derive
the highest consolation, we obtain the greatest strength. It is,
as it were, a constant fountain sending forth streams of living
life to satisfy the souls of all who peruse its pages. Our
condition is bad enough, it may be said, in some respects with
this in our possession and having this to refer to; but we can
imagine that it would be much worse if we did not have it, if we
could not appeal to our fellow creatures who believe in God, who
believe in Jesus Christ, who believe in the Old and New
Testaments--if we did not have this to appeal to, to prove that
whatever our peculiarities may be, however different our views
from the views of many who profess Christianity, we at least
share in those views with others who were called the people of
God, the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ in days that are
past, and who among all people throughout Christendom are
recognized as the true exponents of the word of God, and the plan
of salvation which He revealed.
263
There was a day in our history when it was considered a crime for
us to believe in revelation from God. I do not know that that day
is entirely past. There was a day in our history when it was
considered very improper for us to believe in Prophets or
Apostles--that is, to believe that they ought to be in the
Church. There was a time when we were indicted by a mob in its
written proclamation for believing in miracles. It was considered
sufficient cause and justification to expel us from our homes
because we believed that God, through His power, could heal the
sick, and perform miracles like unto those that were performed in
ancient days by His servants. How do you think it would have
been, my brethren and sisters, if we had not had the Bible to
refer to? How would it have been with many of those who passed
through those scenes if they had not had the teachings of the
Apostles and the words of the Savior written as we have them in
the Bible to comfort them, to cheer them, and to show them that
it was not a new departure for men to have those ideas and
beliefs? With the Bible in our hands we could test all men who
professed to be followers of Jesus Christ; for God has plainly
said, that He is the same yesterday, to-day and forever; that He
does not change; that He is as near unto His people in these days
as He ever was; that he is as willing to hear their cries, to
answer their petitions, to grant unto them the desires of their
hearts, in our age as He ever was in any preceding age. Now, this
is a doctrine plainly taught in the Bible, and it has been the
cause of immense satisfaction to those who have espoused its
doctrine, it would have been a very trying thing for us in the
days of gloom through which we have passed had we not been
assured in a very reliable way that God would hear and answer our
prayers, for there have been many times when if it had not been
for this assurance and this knowledge, the Latter-day Saints
would have sunk beneath the weight of their afflictions, it is
doubtful if they would have endured them; but by having this
knowledge, by having received a testimony concerning the
willingness of our Father in heaven to answer prayer, and to deal
with us as He dealt with His ancient children, we have been
comforted, we have been sustained, we have been filled with hope
and have been cheered in our onward progress, and this knowledge
to-day is more precious than any knowledge there is upon the face
of the earth; for in the darkness, in the unbelief, in the denial
of God, which is so common at the present time, the man who knows
that God lives, that God hears and answers prayer, the woman who
knows this occupies a very superior position and has great cause
for thanksgiving and praise that such knowledge has been placed
in his or her possession. Now Paul, who wrote this epistle from
which I have read, understood this perfectly. His life, in many
respects, resembles the lives of those who preceded him in the
same career. In many of its features it resembles the lives of
the prophets who lived before the days of the Savior; and the
lives of the servants of God in this day in which we live have a
strong resemblance to that of Paul and his fellow Apostles.
Brother Woodruff has published a little work, called, "Leaves
from my Journal," and in reading that book I have been very
forcibly reminded of the lives of the ancient Apostles, it
resembles them so much. You have doubtless thought, all of you,
about the character of the men whom Jesus chose to be His
Apostles. They were men who were stumbling-blocks to their
generation, for they did not belong to the popular classes. They
were not learned men, they were not rich men--that is in the
worldly sense of the word--they were not dignified men; and Jesus
Himself, the Lord of life and of glory, was a constant
stumbling-block to His generation. His origin was
humble--although he came of a kingly line: his surroundings were
mean and low; his reputed father a carpenter, and doubtless he
himself worked at the business, and the men whom he chose were
fishermen, men of low degree, men of low origin; not scholars,
not men of fine presence so far as worldly advantages were
concerned. But he filled them with the power of God; he gave them
the revelations of heaven; he taught them the plan of salvation;
he sent them forth endowed with power from on high; and they
effected a great revolution in the earth. They laid the
foundation of a system that has accomplished marvelous results,
and through their work the name of Christ has been spread
throughout all the earth.
264
Have you not been frequently struck, my brethren and sisters,
with the peculiar manner in which God called his people and his
servants. It is not many wise, it is not many learned, it is not
many noble who have been called as his servants. He called his
Prophets wherever he could find them, and they were suited to his
purpose. He called his apostles and his disciples in the same
manner. It seemed to be a necessity that the faith of the
generations of men should be tried, that their confidence in God
should be tested, to see whether they would be willing to receive
his truth from any source however humble. It would not be any
trial of a man's faith if some man possessing supreme power, who
wielded wonderful influence, were to declare that what he said
was the word of God unto the people--a man of popular honors, a
man who could control all the people, who could make the system
which he advocated popular and desirable among mankind, what
trial would there be of a people's faith to embrace truth under
such circumstances? But that has not been the course which God
has taken with his people. He could have sent his Son Jesus
Christ among men at a time and under circumstances that would
have made his influence irresistible on the earth and among the
people. He could have given him such power that men would have
been compelled to have received him, but that was not the way in
which the Lord did his work. He never did it in that manner. He
never consulted men's views and their ideas respecting his work.
He chose his instruments and he sent them as he desired under the
circumstances which he deemed best adapted to accomplish his
purposes. Therefore His Son Jesus was born--though as I have said
deriving his descent from the kingly house of David--under
circumstances that did not carry with them great influence. There
was nothing about his birth or his surroundings to convince the
inhabitants of the earth that he was the Son of God. They were
left entirely to know this by the Spirit of God; they were left
to derive this knowledge by seeking for it unto him who could
bestow it upon them, and were not to be actuated by that which is
called the popular voice; and in this way man's agency is tested
to the very utmost. To illustrate the idea that I have on my
mind, suppose that Jesus had been born under circumstances that
mankind would have had to accept him as the Son of God; suppose
his disciples had been under such circumstances and surrounded by
such influences that mankind would have naturally followed them
and accepted their doctrines without hesitation, because it would
have been to their worldly interest to do so, would man's agency
have been tested as it was in the days of the Savior? No, his
agency would not have been tested. He had presented before him
truth and error. Truth was not popular. The espousal of truth was
not of worldly advantage to men at that time. If he therefore
espoused it, it would be because of his love for it, and for the
blessings which would flow from it, and not because there would
be any profit of a worldly character attending its espousal.
There is a reason therefore for God sending many of his
messengers as he has done. It was rarely that they were men who
by their position could control the people and cause them to
follow them naturally aside from the truth. We know how it was
with many of the Prophets. They were unpopular. The truths that
they declared did not add to their popularity, and it was a test
of men and women's love for the truth when these men came among
them, for when they espoused the truth they did it because of the
love of the truth. God has evidently determined that when men and
women embrace the truth, they shall embrace it for the love of
it; that they shall not be converted by man's influence; that
they shall not follow in the train of men because of some
advantage that will accrue to them. Evidently, then, it is the
will of God concerning us, that if we embrace the truth we must
embrace it because we love it, not because of the instrument who
brings it to us. We must be willing to receive it through
whatever channel he may choose. If it be John the Baptist, if it
be any of the disciples of the Savior, if it be Joseph Smith, if
it be Brigham Young, if it be John Taylor, or any other man, no
matter who the man may be, God chooses his own instruments, and
he sends his truth to the earth in a way that he sees fit.
265
The most of those who are of adult years in this audience this
day know how it was before they heard the sound of the Gospel as
preached by the Elders of this Church. They know very well that
nowhere within the range of their acquaintance was there a man
among all the churches, who declared that he had authority from
God to administer the ordinances of life and salvation by direct
revelation from him. The most of you know that the common
expression was that the canon of scripture was full; that there
were no more miracles; that angels would come no more to the
earth; that God would no more bestow the old blessings that were
enjoyed in ancient days, and that he would no more speak unto
men. This was the teaching, and every one was led to expect that
all things would continue as they were, and when men and women
were dissatisfied about this, and they went to their ministers
and asked them about it, they invariably replied that the
blessings pertaining to the days of Jesus and his Apostles were
not for this generation. I was but a child when my parents joined
the Church, but I learned to read very early. Among the first
questions I remember asking my father was in relation to the
Apostles and to the gifts. I asked him if there were no Apostles
now. He told me there were not. I asked him if there were no men
who performed the works that they did. He told me that there were
none, and I have time and time again gone to bed and cried
because I could not live in the days of Apostles, because I could
not see Jesus and know the things which he taught, and which his
Apostles taught. This was my experience in my childhood. I
yearned with all my soul to live in a day when these things were
possible, when God would speak from the heavens, when God would
bestow his power upon men, and when those who were faithful could
receive the gifts and blessings of the Gospel as they did in
ancient days, and I repined in my heart because I did not have
the privilege of living in a day like that. And as I have said,
though but a child when the Gospel came to my father's house, I
rejoiced in it, and I have rejoiced in it from that day to the
present.
265
God has restored the old Gospel, God has rebuilt the old Church.
God has restored the old authority, and with the Gospel have come
the old gifts and manifestations of the spirit, and with the
Church, and with the authority and with the gospel and with the
gifts have come the old persecution, the old hatred, the old
animosity, the same determination to destroy the work of God that
has always been manifested when it had an existence upon the
earth. And how inconsistent it would be to entertain any other
views concerning the Gospel than that which we do. How
inconsistent it would be to believe that the inhabitants of the
earth would be entirely cut off from any further revelation from
God. But, says one--this is what is said when they object to
these things--how is it that we have lived for so many
generations without this knowledge? There is a reason for this.
God does not deprive the earth, nor the inhabitants of the earth
of His knowledge without cause. When the Prophets disappeared
from Israel before the coming of the Savior, there were reasons
for their disappearance. When there was witchcraft, as we are
told, in the days of Saul, and there was a time of famine in the
land for the word of God, there were reasons for this.
267
When communication ceased between heaven and earth in those and
subsequent days, there were good reasons why that should be so.
Communication never ceased when the people were faithful. When
they honored God, when they kept the commandments of God, when
they listened to the voice and admonitions of His Prophets,
communication never ceased under these circumstances. But when
the people turned unto idols, when they followed Baal, when they
hardened their hearts against God, when they persecuted and slew
His Prophets, then in his anger he withdrew from them, his face
was hidden, his voice was no longer heard, there were no longer
visions, there were no longer prophecies in the land,--an
unbroken stillness reigned between the heavens and the earth
until the people again repented, sometimes under the inspiration
of a Prophet, sometimes under some good king raised up and
turning to the Lord. Then again Prophets appeared, predictions
were heard, the voice of revelation, or in other words, the voice
of God through his servants, was heard in the land. And so it was
after the days of the Savior. When he was killed his Apostles
still lived, and they proclaimed the truth, and they would have
continued to do so, to have perpetuated the line of the Apostles,
to have ordained Apostles after Apostles, for, as Paul has said,
God has placed first in the Church, Apostles. The Church of
Christ is not perfect without Apostles. Apostles were as
necessary as Teachers; they were as necessary as Evangelists;
they were as necessary as Pastors. But the wicked would not allow
Apostles to live, for Apostles were men who had revelation,
Apostles were inspired of God; they became, as it were, the
oracles of Jehovah to the inhabitants of the earth. But they were
slain, one after another. The Church was persecuted, the men of
God were destroyed, and of course when this came to pass,
darkness prevailed. There were no means of receiving revelation.
How could God send men unto people who would kill them? He
destroyed the Jewish nation for killing his Son, and he broke in
pieces other nations for killing His Apostles. And thus there
arose a system having the form of godliness, but denying the
power thereof; a system that was popular, a system of religion
that monarchs caused to be taught in their dominions and to their
subjects, and a great change occurred throughout what is called
Christendom. The followers of this religion, instead of being
persecuted and hunted, instead of having to hide in caves and
dens to escape the wrath of the governing powers, those that were
left of them emerged from their hiding places and were elevated
to places of power and honor, and the followers of him who was
called the meek and lowly Jesus, became, in some instances, the
rulers of the land. Thus persecution ceased, and with the
stoppage of persecution there was also a cessation of revelation.
There was no voice from heaven, no angels descended, no men had
visions--that is, I am speaking now in general terms. The Church
was not organized upon its original plan; it departed from it;
and from that time until a little over half a century ago, this
continued to be the case. Have there been reformers? Yes; good
men, men who served God to the best of their ability, Wycliffe,
Luther, Calvin, Wesley, and many others, arose in their
generations, and strove to the best of their ability to turn the
tide and to have men seek after God. But they had not the
authority of the Holy Priesthood; they had not the authority to
rebuild the Church according to the original pattern, and though
they were blessed of God, though they enjoyed his favor, though
his spirit was with them to a very great extent, they did not
have the authority to initiate men and women into the Church, and
through their administration to bestow upon them the gifts that
were enjoyed in ancient days. This was the cause of such a long
period of darkness, of gloom and ignorance that prevailed
concerning God.
268
Now, if a man had gone with his Bible in his hands throughout
Christendom at the time the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints was organized, and inquired of the various churches
respecting their organization and the gifts and blessings that
Paul has described in the chapter I have read as necessary to the
Church of Christ, he would have found no church corresponding to
his description. He compares it to a man's body. He impressed
upon those to whom this epistle was addressed, the necessity of
being a member of the body; that the head could not say to the
feet, "I have no need of thee;" that an Apostle could not say to
the humblest member of the Church that there was no need of that
member or that officer. Neither, on the other hand, could that
officer say, because he was the feet, that there was no need of
the head. All the officers, all the gifts, all the blessings that
were enjoyed in ancient days are as necessary to the perfection
of the body of Christ now as they ever were. The Saints were all
partakers of the same spirit, and when men had that spirit, as
Paul had it in his day, they had these gifts. Not every man the
same gift, by any means; but God gave his gifts through his
spirit according to the wants of the people, according to the
necessities of the Church, and thus they were in every respect a
perfect body. You take out Apostles and you leave the body
imperfect, and you take out Prophets and the body is no longer
perfect. You take out miracles, and helps, prophecies, tongues,
interpretations of tongues, and all these gifts, or any of them,
and you leave the body of Christ, or the Church of Christ
imperfect. Are all Apostles? No. Are all Prophets? No; but every
one ought to have the spirit of prophecy. There is necessity for
Apostles, Prophets, Teachers, and all the gifts in the Church,
and whenever the Church of Christ is organized on the earth it
possesses those blessings. Now, referring to this chapter which I
have read, if a man had gone out sixty years ago among the
Christian sects and denominations in search of the Church of
Christ, according to the ancient pattern, would he have found it?
Was there such a church on the earth? No; there was not. The Lord
sent his angels to Joseph Smith and ordained him to the old
authority, for as there was no man remaining on the earth then
that had that authority, it was necessary that they should come,
otherwise the authority could not have been bestowed. It had gone
back to heaven, therefore the heavens had to be opened, angels
had to descend, even the same men that held it when they were in
the flesh on the earth. They had to lay their hands upon a man
and ordain him as they would have done in the flesh, as they did
in fact while in the flesh upon him who took the place of Judas
Iscariot when he betrayed the Lord and lost his apostleship. They
laid their hands upon Matthias, and he became an Apostle. The
council would not have been complete without this. Matthias
occupied that place by ordination under the hands of his brethren
the Apostles, and in like manner when Joseph Smith and Oliver
Cowdery were ordained Apostles, they received the Apostleship by
the laying on of the hands of the men who had held that authority
in the flesh, and hence you can see the propriety of angels
coming.
269
Now, it is a remarkable fact that Joseph Smith had gifts before
he was ordained. He was a Seer, for he translated before he was
ordained; he was a Prophet, for he predicted a great many things
before he was ordained and before the Church was organized; he
was a revelator, for God gave unto him revelations before the
Church was organized. He therefore, was a Prophet, Seer and
Revelator before he was ordained in the flesh. Did you ever think
of it? Brother Joseph Smith was a Prophet, Seer and Revelator
before he ever received any Priesthood in the flesh. But did he
on that account presume to administer the ordinances of life and
salvation? Did he presume to lead men into the waters of baptism
and baptize him? No, he did not. Why? Because he had not received
that authority. He could act in those other capacities, he could
possess those other gifts, they were born with him. He was
ordained a Prophet, doubtless, before he came here; but that
ordination did not give him the right to immerse men and women in
the waters of baptism, neither did it give him the power to lay
on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. He had to await the
authority from on high. And who came? The man that held the
authority in ancient days, the man who baptized the Son of
God--John the Baptist, who was beheaded by the order of Herod. It
was necessary that someone holding that authority should come
from heaven, there being no one on the earth, and all the
churches then in existence denied such authority, to a very great
extent, at least. At any rate, whether they denied it or not,
they did not possess it. And when he came, he laid his hands upon
Joseph Smith and his companion, Oliver Cowdery, and gave them the
authority, and then, having received the authority, they were
baptized for a remission of their sins. But there still remained
another authority which they did not have. Joseph was not a
presumptuous man. Why, there are thousands of men in this
generation who would say, "if I am a Prophet, Seer and Revelator,
I have authority to do everything else." But he did not do that,
he did not take that view, he waited, as I have said, until the
due time of the Lord, and when the Lord sent his messenger to
ordain him, then he acted. But he did not think, after having
seen an angel, after having been ordained by an angel to the
Aaronic Priesthood, after having received authority to
baptize--he did not presume to lay on hands upon any one for the
reception of the Holy Ghost. As in the other cases he waited, and
in the good time of the Lord, he sent his Apostles, the three
leading Apostles--Peter, James and John, the First Presidency of
the Church, in the days of Jesus after his death; he sent those
who held the keys, he commanded them from heaven to go and
administer unto those two men, to lay hands upon them. And when
they were ordained Apostles, they proceeded then to lay hands
upon each other, the one ordained the other, having received
authority from God to do this. In virtue of this Apostleship they
proceeded to organize the Church under the command of God.
269
And witness, my brethren and sisters, the marvelous results which
have followed the restoration of this angelic and divine power,
witness the marvelous results wherever this Gospel has gone. It
has gone forth accompanied by the convincing power of God. The
humble of the earth have been baptized and they have received a
testimony from God that their sins have been forgiven. What
wonderful power this is! the power to remit sins by the
administration of an holy and divine ordinance. Yet this has been
the case. Humble men have been chosen and ordained of God, and
have gone forth carrying this power with them. They have taken
those who believed into the waters of baptism, immersed them, and
God has witnessed unto those souls that their sins have been
remitted. A wonderful power! And then they have laid their hands
upon them and the Holy Ghost has descended as in ancient days,
and the gifts, blessings and graces of the Gospel have
accompanied the administration of that holy ordinance, and the
hearts of the people have been bound together. Oh, how wonderful
it is when we look at it!--men and women of every nation,
kindred, tongue and people to be bound together as the heart of
one man, under the influence of the power of God, through this
humble agency. Such men start out feeling their dependence on
God. They have no learning to boast of; they have no advantages
to any great extent, yet they have not the disadvantages that
some people have to contend with. I think it is a positive
disadvantage to be as many ministers are. A man is terribly
incumbered who goes through the mill to be prepared to teach the
Gospel. But when a man goes forth putting his trust in God, he
feels that in and of himself he is nothings; that if he brings a
soul to the knowledge of the truth, he knows that it must be by
the power of God. He goes forth trembling and weeping, yet he
bears precious seed. He knows he has the message of life and
salvation, that God has chosen him to deliver that message, and
he goes among the people, bearing his testimony in humility,
calling upon God to bear witness of the truth of what he has
said, calling upon the people to repent and to forsake their sins
and turn to God. It is not his eloquence, it is not his
popularity, it is not his wealth, it is nothing of this kind that
convinces the people, but it is the Spirit of God which rests
upon them. They are filled with joy and peace. They read the
Bible as they never read it before. The scales drop from their
eyes. They see the beauties of the Gospel, and they wonder how it
was they did not see them before. And all this through the
restoration of the Holy Priesthood. The Prophet Joseph Smith,
inspired of God, laid the foundation of a Church that has not the
like of it on the earth. Men wonder at it. They say, "What an
organization you have; how wonderful it is." It is wonderful
because it is Divine, it came from God. Man's wisdom did not
devise it--man's wisdom has not maintained it. Whatever there is
about it, God must have the glory.
270
In conclusion, my brethren and sisters, I say to you, cleave to
the truth, revere this book (the Bible) and the other books that
we have received. These precious records contain the word of God.
We can look back to olden times and see how our brethren and
sisters did, and what God did for them, and how similarly he is
blessing us now. These records are a source of comfort in the
midst of affliction and trial; they are a source of blessing and
joy to every soul who will peruse them and treasure up the truths
therein contained.
270
May the Lord help us to be true to that which he has committed to
us, that after we have fought the good fight, after we have done
all we can do for the salvation of our fellow-creatures and the
spread of truth, we may be received into the mansions of the
blessed, there to dwell eternally with our God, and with those
who have gone before, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / John
Henry Smith, October 8, 1881
John Henry Smith, October 8, 1881
REMARKS BY APOSTLE JOHN H. SMITH Delivered at the General
Conference,
in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Saturday Morning, October 8,
1881.
(Reported by John Irvine.) THE CALLING OF MISSIONARIES--THE
PROPER
TRAINING OF THE YOUNG, ETC.
270
I am pleased to meet with you this morning, and have had much
satisfaction in listening to the teachings and instructions of
our brethren.
271
The duties and responsibilities which are imposed upon us are of
that nature that it is necessary for us to be called together
from time to time to have our memories freshened in regard to the
principles of the Gospel, the order of the Priesthood, and the
duties and responsibilities that are incumbent upon us, as the
servants of the Most High. Our minds are caused to reflect upon
various subjects. My reflections have been directed for some time
in a direction that is different in some measure from what it has
been heretofore, and that is in regard to the selection of
missionaries from among the various Stakes of Zion, to go abroad
and represent the cause and kingdom of God upon the earth, in the
various fields of labor wherein we are enabled at the present
time to introduce the principles of the Gospel. And in looking
round among my brethren for those that it would be proper to send
upon missions, I find, in my judgment, that it is highly
necessary that fathers and mothers is Israel should adopt a more
strict and conscientious course in the instruction of their sons
in regard to the principles of the Gospel. We find in searching
among our brethren, that we are compelled at times to call upon
men who have in some measure--and to a very great extent in some
instances--neglected to fully study and comprehend in their
entirety the principles of the Gospel. They have been faithful in
the discharge of some of their duties, but the cares of life, the
necessity of providing for families, aiding father and mother,
etc., have prevented them receiving that care and attention and
instruction, by those who are placed to watch over them that they
should receive. It is a fact, patent to all of us, that those
children who are called around the fireside at home and
instructed in the principles of the Gospel by father and mother;
that these children, though they may be wayward for a season, as
they grow older, get the principles of the Gospel fixed upon
their minds, a substantial foundation is laid, and as the days of
thoughtlessness pass away, they are prepared to step forward and
perform their part in the advancement of the work of God upon the
earth. I think, therefore, is would be a wise and prudent thing
for every family in Israel, that have sons arrived at the years
of accountability, to teach them, not only when they have grown
to this age, but from childhood up, so that when the time arrives
they may be prepared to go forward in the various fields of
labor, and use their influence in the advancement of the work
which our Father has established. We frequently have to strive,
in some measure, to keep our children around us, inasmuch as they
are engaged in various pursuits, sometimes in various places; yet
it would be the ambition and pride of every man and woman who are
rearing a son in Zion, that he should be a messenger of peace and
salvation to the world.
271
This is one of the subjects that I felt to touch upon in
Conference.
271
I have never been called upon before to look around in the
interests of missionary work, but I have been led to reflect upon
this matter. The noblest work that a son can be engaged in is the
work of carrying the Gospel to the nations of the earth, and to
do this successfully they must have a testimony of the truth
within their own hearts. Every father and mother, as their sons
become of age, should see that they are prepared for the
responsibility and honor of a position of this kind, and thus be
an honor to their parents, who have stood firm to the principles
of the Gospel. In my brief experience in this matter I have had
to approach many young men who have been in some measure wayward,
not wicked; they are willing to go and try, but they feel that
their lives have not been as exemplary as they might have been.
No young man, however lowly his estate may be, is exempt from
this right and privilege--the son of the farmer and the son of
the lumberman, as much as the son of the merchant, the doctor, or
the sons of the Twelve, Presidency of Stakes, Bishops of Wards,
etc.; the same responsibility rests upon all who have espoused
the cause of truth, and who are desirous that our names should
stand in Israel.
272
I would therefore plead with the young men that are within the
sound of my voice this day, that they prepare themselves for this
great work, study the scriptures of truth, cultivate the spirit
of humility, and strive to learn the way of life and be prepared
for the duties and responsibilities of Elders in Israel. This
should be the desire of every young man; and if we, as fathers
and mothers, will attend to our duties, if we will study the
interests of our families, enter into their feelings and
sentiments, and cultivate within their hearts a regard for the
principles of truth, we will find our sons and our daughters grow
up around us honoring the Priesthood of the Son of God, honoring
the Lord and His laws, and striving to do their utmost in
furthering the advancement of His work. It is the duty of every
young man who has received the principles of the Gospel, so that
he may be able to aid in the accomplishment of this great labor.
And in order, my brethren and sisters, that they may have a
proper education for this labor, it is necessary that we begin
with them in childhood; that mother makes it her sacred duty in
the absence of father, or whether he be at home or no, to call
her little ones around her and teach them to pray to their Father
in Heaven for His blessing upon themselves, their friends, their
kindred, and the good and pure everywhere. And where fathers and
mothers begin to thus train their children in early childhood, in
the principles of the Gospel, we will find that in after life
they will take their place in the Church, when the proper time
arrives. Under this influence and teaching they will take their
place in the Young Men's Improvement Associations, and learn to
bear their testimony intelligently, and feel desirous of
responding to every call made upon them. They may feel timid at
the first, as I believe all men do to a greater or less extent;
but the right spirit is within their breasts, and they cannot
shake it off.
273
Now, I am sanguine that there are many who call themselves
Latter-day Saints, who have neglected their duty in this respect,
and many a son is permitted to grow to manhood, whose father has
never asked him to bow with them at the family altar. This is a
serious neglect upon the part of those who have named the name of
Jesus, who have come up to these mountains to be taught in the
ways of the Lord. It is a sad neglect, and those who have done it
in the past should guard against it in the future. We should
attend to the sacred duty of instructing our sons and daughters,
so that when they are called to fill various positions, they will
feel it an honor to respond. This sentiment and feeling should
actuate us at all times. It is not necessary that our children
should be taught to make particularly long prayers. Christ, our
elder Brother, has set us a wise and prudent example in this
respect; He has given us an example worthy of imitation. It is
not for the number of words that we use in approaching our
Father, but it is that we approach Him in earnestness, realizing
that He can bless us; and if we draw near unto Him as we should,
we shall receive a blessing at His hands. I have sometimes
thought that fathers have been unwise in this matter: their
prayers have been too long; so much so that those who may be
taking part in the same get tired and desire to be away from the
family when this duty is to be performed. This should not be so.
The children should be taught to take a pride in this duty, and
made to feel that it is their duty to be in attendance when the
family bow down to return thanks to God for all the mercies and
blessings He has vouchsafed from time to time. If we as parents,
will do our duty in this respect, if we exercise our privileges
as the servants of our Father, we will find a race of men and
women growing up around us who have faith, who will honor their
parents and the cause we desire them to represent; but if we
allow them to grow up without culture and a proper regard for the
ordinances of the Gospel of Christ, we will find that our sons
and our daughters will stray from us and from the principles of
truth. We should look well to this condition of things and see
that we are performing the duties devolving upon us.
273
I trust this is enough from me upon this subject.
273
I desire to speak a few minutes to the young men, for I see there
are quite a number within the sound of my voice. I feel as a
rule, that I am more at liberty to talk and reason with them than
I am with those who are older and more experienced than I am. I
desire to plead with the sons of Zion, that they will select for
their example the best men that can be found in the kingdom. If
there is a man in the Church whose life is unspotted, upon whose
name rests no stain, and who is clear from every evil; pattern
after his virtues; study to possess integrity as he possesses it;
study to be honest as he is honest, just as he is just, and avoid
the shoals, the rocks and evils upon which many men have wrecked
and gone to pieces; for no man that is a thief, a liar, a robber,
an adulterer, can keep the faith of the Gospel. I would warn you,
my young brethren, to look well to your course in life, see that
it is free from sin; for no man can remain in the kingdom of God
long who has the thought of resting upon him that he is guilty of
wickedness. I find in my experience, in looking around me, men
whose growth in the kingdom has ceased, and I find in seeking to
know and understand the cause of this, that they have been guilty
of indiscretions that they cannot face. We should see, therefore,
that our course of life is free from stain, for if we leave the
path of rectitude, we must expect to go down to disgrace and
dishonor; but if we lay our foundation in righteousness, we will
find ourselves in the path of life, and the blessings of Heaven
will be upon us. We will have neither fear nor doubt. It is he
that is guilty of sin that is doubtful and fearful, for he fears
the justice of God.
273
Well, my brethren and sisters, I am pleased to be with you, to
see your faces and to feel your spirit. I feel that Zion is
growing, and that she may continue to grow and spread, until the
purposes of God are accomplished, is my prayer, in the name of
Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / George
Q. Cannon, April 5, 1881
George Q. Cannon, April 5, 1881
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT GEORGE Q. CANNON,
Delivered at the General Conference,
Tuesday Morning, April 5, 1881. (Reported by John Irvine.)
EDUCATION--ITS ADVANTAGES AMONG THE SAINTS, ETC.
274
A great variety of topics have been alluded to during our
Conference; and I trust that the people will be able to remember,
after their return to their homes, the various counsels and
instructions that they have received. Our meeting together in a
conference of this character ought to be exceedingly profitable
to us. Certainly these are occasions of great interest; and I am
sure if the instructions which have been given are carried out by
the people, they will produce a marked improvement in their
lives.
274
There are many subjects which suggest themselves to us upon
occasions like the present. We are placed in such circumstances
that it requires constant teachings, constant counseling to
enable us to accomplish the duties devolving upon us.
274
There is one thing that has impressed itself very much upon my
mind, to which allusion has been made by others since our
Conference commenced, namely, the subject of education.
274
My position for many years has been such as to deeply impress me
with its value and with the importance of our attending strictly
to this matter in our various settlements.
274
There are no people with whom I am acquainted upon the face of
the earth who need and who can find use for education to the
extent that the Latter-day Saints can. The sending out of
missionaries, the building up of settlements, the laying the
foundation of a government in a desert land uninhabited by other
people; the framing of a polity that produces the results that we
have seen produced already in our valleys, and the taking part,
as we naturally will have to do, in all matters affecting the
weal and the independence of our children and others, all these
considerations appeal most powerfully to us as a people, as
fathers and mothers, and as citizens, to do all in our power for
the advancement of the cause of true education in our midst.
Those who are familiar with the people and with what has been
done must feel gratified at the improvement which has already
been made in various directions. There is a rapidly-growing taste
for everything that is elevating. I can remember when a boy, when
we came here, of the feeling of the boys and the young men; to
ride bronco horses, wear big spurs, use the lasso dexterously,
break wild horses, and pursuits of that character, were then
deemed the most desirable accomplishments by man.
276
A great change has taken place. We now have our Mutual
Improvement associations for the young of both sexes; the meeting
of last evening gave evidence of the great improvement there has
been made in this direction, and the crowded condition of the
meeting of the Sunday School superintendents and teachers held
the evening previous to that, was an indication of the interest
that is being taken in these matters by all classes. This means
improvement; this means a growing taste an increasing desire to
advance. You can see it in the children. Books are sought for.
Children take pleasure in reading. The great demand to-day in
this Territory is for libraries. And let me here say, we should
be exceedingly careful in the selection of books that we put in
the hands of our children. And there is one thing that I would
have said last night, had time permitted, to those engaged in
these associations, that is, to teach the children not to accept
that which they read in a book as true, because it is printed;
but to teach them to weigh for themselves, to examine for
themselves, and test for themselves the statements which may be
made upon any and every subject that may be brought to their
attention through the medium of books, whether scientific or
otherwise. The danger in indiscriminate reading on the part of
young people lies in this: their impressions are vivid, and if
what they read be incorrect; if, in point of fact, what they read
is based on unsound premises and be entirely wrong, but it is
presented in an agreeable taking and specious manner, they are
apt to accept it as being true. Now, as we have heard this
morning, God has revealed certain principles which we know to be
true, certain grand cardinal truths which are as finger-boards
pointing the way of life. We should teach them to our children of
the Sabbath School and of the Mutual Improvement Associations,
and endeavor, by the help of God, to implant them in their
hearts, so that they afterwards in their search for knowledge, of
any kind, may be able to bring what they may read to this
standard and test the same thereby. And if our children are
taught thus to read, the danger of infidelity, the danger arising
from superficial reading, and the imbibing of incorrect ideas,
sometimes set forth in a scientific way will be, to a great
extent, obviated; and to my mind great care should be taken in
these things by all teachers, by all parents, by every one, in
fact, who has the care of young people, or the direction of their
studies; and not only this but the same rule applies to every one
whether a child or an adult. Let us endeavor to cultivate this
disposition in our children, to investigate carefully, to weigh
properly the statements which may be presented to them. And in no
place in our territory should there be a child left without
education. A man who suffers his children to grow up in ignorance
and without the benefits of education--that which pertains at
least to a common school education--is guilty of a great wrong.
We should take every pains in our power to instruct our children,
to furnish them every facility for learning. Educators who have
had experience in other places all join in stating, that they
never found a class of pupils more apt, more bright, or who
manifested a special aptitude for knowledge and who acquired it
with greater case than do the children of the Latter-day Saints.
This is the statement of educators repeatedly made to me, a
Chancellor of the University of Deseret; and I believe it. We
have children growing up who are bright--who only need have
ordinary facilities for education to make them cultured men and
women. We had better take the means that others probably would
covet, as mobs have done before, and which is a standing
temptation in the eyes of certain persons, take that means, I
say, and spend it in educating our children with the view of
preparing them to enter upon the great and important duties which
will devolve upon them, than to have it as a standing temptation
to induce somebody to make a raid to get possession of it, or to
keep it, and when we can keep it no longer, to bequeath it to our
children to possibly quarrel over, and cause disturbances and
divisions in our families, and at a time too when our voices are
silent and our influence powerless to remedy the evil. Spend it
wisely upon your children in your lifetime, and when you have
educated them, when you have given them something which they can
keep when they lie down at night, without the slightest danger of
burglars stealing it, they are equipped for the struggle of life.
276
Every child in our community should be educated, not in books
alone, but to sustain himself, or herself, so that in case he or
she be left alone, or otherwise, they will be able, from the
elements around them, inasmuch as they possess the use of their
limbs and faculties, to earn a living and thereby aid somebody
else to live. And it seems to me, that if parents were worth
millions, they should never be content to let their children,
boys and girls, grow up to manhood or to womanhood without
teaching them to earn their own living at some trade or some
manual or skilled labor. I say to my brethren, teach your
children the use of their brains, and when they have learned to
use their brains, teach them the cunning and skill that can be
taught to the right hand of man, by which all that is glorious
which we see around us is produced. A good brain and the skill of
man's right hand can produce wonders. The nations who have thus
developed themselves have made their mark in the history of the
world; and to this characteristic in the nations who are so
fortunate as to possess it may be traced the secret of their
growth and prosperity. There is no reason why we should not be
equal to the most favored in this respect.
277
A remark was made last evening to the effect, that some of our
young men had very little desire to take part in the exercises of
the Improvement Associations, because their early education had
been neglected. If there had been time I would have related for
the benefit of such, a few incidents in the career of a gentleman
with whom I am acquainted; he sat by my side at the last session
of Congress. He is a man about 45 years of age; when he was 29
years of age, he had a wife and one child, and could not read or
write; to-day he is a member of Congress, and a very creditable
representative of his State; he has served also in the
Legislature in his State; and has been speaker in that body. Now
this is a remarkable instance of what a man can do when he
applies himself to learning. There is no man who possesses a
sound mind who need be afraid if he will apply himself, using the
faculties which God has given him, and not sit down with the idea
that he cannot learn. Why a man ought to learn if he should live
to be 150 years of age, learn something every day until he dies;
there is no limit to a man's capacity to learn. And because a
young man is 20 or 21 years old, or even older, and has a wife
and children to sustain, to sit down with the idea that he cannot
learn or that he is past learning because his early education has
been neglected, is folly; there is no propriety in either man or
woman entertaining such ideas. This gentleman of whom I was
speaking, at the age of 29, could not read; he was a farmer and
was suffering from an attack of bronchitis. His physician told
him that if he did not stop work he would gradually sink into the
grave. He knew that if he remained upon his farm he could not
live without working; so he rented it, and with his wife and
child moved down in the city, determined to spend in study the
time he could not employ in work. His wife helped him. He had a
worthy partner--a most excellent woman I should judge, from what
he told me. He commenced his studies, his health improved, but
instead of returning to the farm he kept on for four years, and
secured a good education in that time; he pinched himself, and
both he and his wife struggled, by working all they could and
living economically, to acquire this education. After thus
applying himself for four years he returned to his farm,
completely restored in health. His neighbors thought that as he
had been a good student, he would make a good supervisor, to
which office they elected him without any effort on his part; and
after awhile they elected him a legislator, and returned him
several times, and he served as speaker to that body in the
State, where probably for its population there are as many men of
culture and energy, as can be found anywhere else. And then he
was sent to Congress.
278
It struck me that it was an instance of perseverance and energy
worth remembering for the benefit of its example, and I relate it
so that if there are any young men or young women within the
hearing of my voice who may be similarly situated, they need not
be discouraged because they have not had the advantages of
education in their youth. There ought to be no discouragement
under such circumstances. I hope, however, that we shall do
everything in our power to furnish facilities for our children.
Do not spare means in this direction, my brethren and sisters.
You do not know what future there is before your children. They
are like diamonds. True, they may need polish, in order to bring
out their brilliancy and best qualities; and education of the
right kind will impart this lustre. There are some as bright
intellects in obscure families in this Territory as can be found
elsewhere. God has so distributed his gifts that he has not given
them to any one family. I thank him for that. He is not going to
build up a dynasty in his kingdom. He does not confine his gifts
and blessings to any special class of men. He has distributed
them like he has the air, so that all have them and all share in
them. A man and his wife may be an obscure couple, yet their
children may make the brightest men and women. None of you know
what your children are capable of until you give them proper
opportunities. You should not think that because you have got
through life without much education, that therefore your children
ought to go through in the same manner. Give your children
opportunities, and do not work them to death and thereby stunt
their minds; but give the boys a chance and give the girls a
chance; bearing in mind that they will have more extended
opportunities than you have had for the use of education, and you
ought to train them accordingly. At the same time do not,
sisters, bring up your children in idleness, and encourage them
in the thought that their hands, because they are educated and
have a few accomplishments, are not designed for labor; and so
with the boys, because they get an education that they cannot
hold a plow or handle a shovel, or an axe or other tools. This is
a wrong idea. We must not, in educating our children, degrade
labor, but rather ennoble and dignify it, and make it worthy the
ambition of everybody to work, to toil, to look upon labor as a
blessing from God.
279
I would like to see knowledge spread through our land, in all our
settlements; and while we give the boys and girls every facility
we can, at the same time we should develop, within them the love
of the truth; that is very important, in fact, it is
indispensable with us. I am exceedingly anxious upon this point.
I have felt, I may say, concerned about it for years. I have done
what I could in my limited way to help our children. I resolved
years ago that I would do all in my power for them, and I have
been struggling to do so ever since. I have not been able to do
what I would like to do, but I still hope, and I know others have
felt as I do, and that with our combined exertions and efforts we
will be able to uphold the cause of true education throughout all
our land, and raise the standard so high that, in a few years, we
shall have the best educated children to be found within the
confines of the republic. There is no reason why this should not
be, and yet not depend upon taxes altogether. I, myself, am not
unconditionally in favor of taxation schools under all
circumstances. I have views about that which I have not time to
express now. Let us advance education by individual effort. I
hope we shall never have heavy taxes in this Territory. They
should be kept down to the very lowest amount consistent with the
preservation of good government and the making of the necessary
improvements. Have light taxation and stimulate individual effort
in this direction; and not bring a child into the world and
instil into its mind that because he is born somebody owes him an
education. I think it degrades children to give them such ideas.
Teach them it is their duty to work for themselves. And when a
man has children he should provide for and educate them, and not
think that because he may have a rich neighbor that he should
help give them an education. Such an idea is doing more at the
present time to pauperise the children of our country in their
feelings than almost anything else. They get the idea that they
ought to be educated at the expense of the State; and when they
are educated they then are to be sustained at the expense of the
State. The consequence is the country is filled with men seeking
for office; every new President is almost killed by the clamor
and pressure of men applying for office. I think it a very bad
condition of affairs. I am thankful for one thing. I have been
your delegate now for upwards of eight years, and I have scarcely
had an application from any of my constituents for help to get
office. This relieves me from much that Representatives generally
find very unpleasant. Our people are self-sustaining and taught
how to work and look upon manual, honest labor as dignified and
honorable, and such pursuits as require this as being as noble as
any other.
279
I pray God to bless you and fill you with His Holy Spirit, in the
name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / George
Q. Cannon, October 31, 1881
George Q. Cannon, October 31, 1881
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT GEO. Q. CANNON,
Delivered at Meadow Creed, Millard County,
October 31, 1881. (Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
THE SAINTS TO BE A PECULIAR PEOPLE, ETC.
279
It is very interesting to meet with the Latter-day Saints as we
do in the various settlements throughout these mountains, and to
witness the growth, prosperity and increase of the people--a
state of things which is very evident to those who travel as we
are now doing.
279
It is very important, in fact, of the greatest importance to us
that we keep before us the objects for which we have been
gathered together in these mountains.
279
There is a large number of children growing up to manhood and to
womanhood, to whom the old persecutions and drivings and the old
teachings that the Church had in its early days, are unknown only
as they are related and imparted to them by those who are
familiar with these matters. And in consequence of this many,
unless they should be taught and reminded of these things would
imagine that we are here only as other people come here, and that
the objects of our lives are only the same as theirs. Therefore,
it is of the utmost importance that we should have these things
set before us in such plainness, and be reminded of them so
constantly, that we shall not forget them; and that the rising
generation shall have them impressed upon their minds so that
they will grow up with a knowledge of them.
280
It is very evident that God our Heavenly Father, did not bring us
to these mountains to get rich. If that had been his idea he
might have taken us to a land better adapted for the acquisition
of wealth than ours is. And yet he has promised unto us that we
shall be a rich people, and this promise is being fulfilled, but
we shall not acquire riches, we shall not become a wealthy and
powerful people upon the same basis as other people do. We shall
get rich by keeping the commandments of God; we shall get rich by
building up the kingdom of God. He will wean us from and make us
to see the folly of old traditions which we have inherited from
our fathers; and I think he is doing this very rapidly among us
at the present time, and has been from the beginning. It is
contrary to all the traditions of mankind to do what we are
doing. I will illustrate my idea by pointing out some things that
go to prove that God intends to make us a people dissimilar from
the rest of mankind.
280
In consequence of the departure of our fathers from the truth, we
have inherited lies; and we have fallen into a false method of
living. For instance, you could not get any people besides the
Latter-day Saints to go out and preach the Gospel as we are
doing. All the traditions that belong to the race from which we
spring are in antagonism to such a practice. For men to go out
without purse or scrip is something new in the world in this age.
It requires uncommon faith in God to enable men to do this; faith
in the living God who hears and answers prayers for men to place
themselves upon the tender mercies of the world as bearers of the
Gospel message, which is and always has been unpopular to them,
and in the women to stay at home to take care of their families
during the absence of their husbands, their fathers and sons. But
this faith God has given unto us, and he has taught us that he is
able to supply our wants when we do that which he requires at our
hands.
280
It may be thought that the payment of tithing, in obedience to
the law of God, would be a means of impoverishing all those who
did it; that the giving of a tenth of their means would be a
burdensome tax upon them. God has taught us that this law is
essential to our salvation, and that if we obey it in the spirit
in which it is given, he will bless us in our basket and store,
and increase us in the earth.
280
Now, it is an apparently remarkable fact--but remarkable only
because it comes in contact with our traditions and
prejudices,--that the men who have gone without purse and scrip,
have prospered in it; and it is also a remarkable fact that those
men among us who have been the most punctual in responding to the
calls of God, through his servants, has made upon them, are to
day the men who are the most prospered in the land. Illustrations
of this can be easily found all around us. God, in his dealings
with us, shows that he intends that we shall break away from the
old traditions--for the old traditions would lead us to believe
that the man who paid his tithing would not grow as rich as the
man who did not pay it. But God is proving to us that he has his
own method of building up his kingdom. And he is proving to us
that the men who go out without purse or scrip on missions,
devoting their time to the interest of this work, are the men who
have been most prospered among us.
280
You take the men in your own settlement--for there are men in
most of your settlements who have spent considerable time upon
missions--and you will find, upon examining the results of their
labors, that they have been more prospered, when at home, than
men who have not gone upon missions, so that their absence from
home has not been a loss to them. It is our experience that the
men who have gone upon missions have had their absence made up to
them afterwards by the Lord increasing his blessings upon them
for their faithful labors in the ministry.
281
I speak upon this matter of tithing to show you that God intends
to bring about results favorable to the Latter-day Saints, from a
basis entirely different to that acknowledged and adopted by the
world; and that he can control all things for the good of his
people, if they put their trust in him.
281
It may have been thought that when we were driven from our homes,
and came to these mountains, that those who stayed behind in
those fertile lands would grow rich in comparison with those of
the Saints who came to this wilderness. But what are the facts?
The Latter-day Saints in these mountains have been prospered by
keeping the commandments of God in a manner that those who live
back there know nothing about; and we are richer to-day than the
people from whose midst we were driven. I was greatly surprised,
when on a visit, in company with Brother Brigham Young, Jr., some
eight years ago, to Nauvoo. Upon inquiring respecting the price
of land between Carthage and Nauvoo, we learned that it could be
bought for $20 per acre; while in the vicinity of Salt Lake City,
land sells to-day for $150 per acre, and much of it could not be
bought at that price. This shows the difference there is in our
value and theirs. God has prospered the people who came to these
mountains, to this once desert land, to an extent that our
enemies know nothing about. And to-day, in the places where our
people lived, the present occupants of these lands are mourning
over our lost crops, while our granaries are groaning under the
weight of the grain stored within them.
281
And there are other things very remarkable, which show that God,
in his dealings with us, intends to make us a people different
from any other. I allude now to our system of marriage. It is a
subject of constant remark to me in Washington. Men with whom I
am familiar ask in relation to the large families of our people:
"Why, Mr. Cannon," they have said, "How do you live? It is as
much as I can do to keep one wife and bring up and furnish two or
three children with education and the things they need. And how
you people in Utah can sustain such families as you have and take
care of them and bring them up as they ought to be brought up is
a marvel to me.
281
And of course the curiosity is great of people who came here from
the east, to know with regard to our domestic institutions, as to
the number of our wives and children, and it is a mystery to
them, they cannot understand it. It is a noticeable fact that the
men among our people who have obeyed this commandment of God to
us are the men most prospered in the land. I do not suppose this
would be denied by any one who has traveled throughout our
Territory, that as a rule the men who are the wealthiest and most
influential and the most successful in our community are those
who have obeyed the command of God. It might be supposed,
naturally speaking, that that would be the means of impoverishing
them; that the men who marry wives take upon them burdens that
would crush them and that they would necessarily have to live in
poverty in consequence. But the contrary of this is the case; and
actual experience has proven to us that God is determined to
remove from us the old traditions of the world, and show us that
he is able to build up his kingdom upon a new plan and upon an
entirely different basis from the kingdoms of the world. We can
see this everywhere we go.
282
It is frequently said at the present time in the east--and the
evil, I regret to say, I sometimes imagine is growing in our
midst--a young man says it is as much as he can do to take care
of himself, without attempting to sustain a wife. But a young man
marries a wife, and he sustains himself and his wife too. He
feels as though he would not be able to sustain a wife and child;
but the baby comes, and they are able to get along as well after
as they did before the child came. And thus it seems the way is
provided for a second child and a third. And in times past some
of our young men have taken second wives, and they have got along
as well, and in many instances a little better, than when they
had but one wife. And as the family increases, they have been
able to provide for them all.
282
God is building up a peculiar people, a people of faith, a people
who will do that which he requires of them, although what he may
require of us may be directly opposed to our traditions; and in
doing his bidding in all things, he will show us that he is able
to feed and clothe and take care of us. But I wish to repeat, he
did not bring us here to make us a rich people; that is not the
first consideration. It was to prepare us for the destiny which
awaits us. God is about to perform through His Saints, one of the
mightiest revolutions that has ever been effected in the earth.
He is able to establish his kingdom--a new order of things, an
entirely different rule and power among men.
283
When God inspired the leading men of this nation to seek to
establish a government here that should be independent of all
governments upon the earth, it was the design that men should
enjoy equal rights throughout the land. This is the form of the
constitution; this came to us according to the purposes of God.
But throughout this nation at the present time there is
oppression. And in the eastern cities the evils under which the
old world groans, are increasing; so much so is this the case
that men who travel in Europe can see but little difference when
they come here, between the evils that are fast developing
themselves in the midst of the large cities of the United States.
The government has, to a certain extent been mismanaged. We are
an illustration of this. We have been prosecuted and persecuted;
we have been driven; we have been mobbed, and we have been robbed
and despoiled of our homes and possessions, and all because we
would not worship according to the dictates of other American
citizens; because we chose to worship God according to the
dictates of our own conscience we are in these mountains. We were
driven from lands that belonged to us by the right of purchase
and possession, and were compelled to come into the wilderness to
seek a place where we could live free from mal-administration,
and enjoy the rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution. To-day
we are a standing protest in the midst of the nation against
evils that are growing, and the results of which must, sooner or
later, be felt by others to their sorrow. Freedom and liberty,
virtue, honesty, good government and everything, in fact,
desirable among men must be nourished and cherished and
maintained in our midst. We must be for sustaining these things,
and, as I have said, for establishing a new order of things upon
the earth. For that which God has revealed unto us meets all of
our wants; it supplies every righteous desire of every heart;
there is no right and proper desire of the human heart that any
human being can entertain, that this Gospel does not satisfy. It
is equal to all the circumstances and all the wants and all the
desires of every human being, it having been designed and framed
by Him who created us and who knows our wants. And having such a
religion, we must of necessity be willing to extend the blessings
and benefits of this religion, and of human liberty, to every
person God has raised us up for this purpose, and to establish
these things on the earth, and to perpetuate the reign of
righteousness among the children of men. He has brought us here.
These valleys of the mountains are the best, or, at least, as
well adapted as any land upon the face of the earth for the home
of a free people. It would be something extraordinary if a people
brought up as we are in these mountains should not be a
liberty-loving people; if we should not be a free people. We
could not well be otherwise with such surroundings as we have.
And our children will grow up filled with the love of freedom;
and God designs that this shall be our home, and that we shall
multiply and increase until the time shall come for us to go
back, according to the revelation, to repossess the land from
which we were driven.
283
But we have an immense work to do in these mountains. This is the
foundation of that which is to be. The Lamanites must be brought
into the covenant; they must receive the Gospel from us. We must
be their "nursing fathers and their nursing mothers." This, among
other things, is a labor devolving upon us. We are here for this
purpose; not to become rich ourselves, that when we shall pass
away we may bequeath to our children large possessions for them
to enjoy the good things of this world to spend upon their lusts
and to gratify their carnal desires. God will not give unto us
riches, neither lands nor property, for any such purpose as this;
but it will be for the accomplishment of that which He has
predicted by the mouths of the Holy Prophets. We have Temples to
build; and these buildings will doubtless be, before long, of
easy access to the entire people, and through the sealing
ordinances we shall be welded together and be made one people,
and also be connected with the past generations until we get to
Father Adam. This is the nature of the work to which we are
called. And every boy and girl in our community should be taught
to look forward to it. The idea of our cultivating a little land
and getting our minds concentrated upon little things that
pertain to a livelihood, and think that this is all we are here
for; to come and take upon us a probation merely to eat and drink
like the animals; do you think for a moment, my brethren and
sisters, that this is all we have been sent here to do? There is
something more than this. There is an object to be accomplished
of far greater and higher importance. It is of course intended
that we should use that which God has given unto us, but we
should use it all to right advantage. But this may be said to be
of minor consideration, a matter of small moment compared with
the great work with which we are identified.
284
Every mother should train her children to look forward to the
destiny that God has in store for them, to fit and qualify them
for it. And every boy should be trained in such a manner as to
fit him to move in the first circles of society; and every
advantage of training should be given to every son we have. He
should be made as perfect as it is possible to make him. We
should not be content to make our children like ourselves; that
because we have lived in a certain way that they may do so also.
Our children will occupy positions that we scarcely dream of, if
we will do our duty by them. Our boys and girls should be
cultivated and trained. Give them the best training and the best
education that you can afford; and do not think that you can do
too much for them in this direction. And while you are
cultivating the soil and building houses and making improvements
of different kinds, look forward to the future, and put
yourselves in a position in which you can do far more good than
you are doing at the present time. Great and glorious promises
have been made to us, and we should be reaching out in the proper
direction to realize the benefit of them. Of course this can only
be done by the necessary work of preparation. The Lord has said
that he will make us the noble of the earth, the greatest among
men, the rulers and even saviors of men. This means rule and
dominion; it means control. And still we should be humble and
meek and lowly, and put our trust in God, and look to him as the
source of our strength.
284
Mothers, let me beg of you to bestow all the care and training
that you possibly can upon your daughters. Make them as perfect
as you can; give them every facility within your power to become
women of culture. And, fathers, do the same by your boys. If
there is a man in your settlement who excels in any one thing,
let him teach the rest. If there be among you a good penman, let
him teach others this beautiful art. And if there is a woman that
excels in anything, let the girls be taught in that one thing
until they shall equal or surpass her. If there is a man among
you who is accustomed to society, let him impart lessons to the
boys, and let them imitate him. This is one thing that devolves
upon us, as Latter-day Saints.
284
You are living in a small place, and you are apt to become narrow
in your views. You have a log-house for a meeting-house, and you
seem satisfied with it; and how many of you live in log-houses?
Many of your ditches I see, are wide, and your wives and
daughters have either to jump them or wade through them. It is
time you were building a new and better meeting-house, and then
you will erect better dwelling-houses; and your ditches will be
bridged, and your fences and sidewalks be improved.
284
Do not allow the feeling of indifference to come over you.
Improve your city, make it attractive, so that when people come
into your midst, they will say, "Here is a thrifty, prosperous
people; this people are improving their condition, and they are
seeking to excel." This is a duty that devolves upon you. The
work of improvement connected with this great, growing country
which God has given unto us, which he has placed in our hands, so
to speak, is our work, and we should have pleasure in improving
and beautifying the places of our habitation.
285
Parents, you should see that your boys are taught mechanism. You
need good mechanics. You need masons, you need carpenters, you
need painters and other skilled workmen, and why not let the boys
learn? Everything they learn of a practical nature will be useful
to them some time or other during their lifetime, and workmen in
the building line almost always find employment. In regard to
what I have said about the training of your families, I do not
mean to reflect upon you, for I expect you do what you can in
this direction; at least, I hope so; but I speak of what we ought
to do in regard to our families.
286
Our enemies are continually trying to destroy us, and we as a
people should be banded together in the bonds of the Gospel. I
desired to have said some things at Fillmore, and should have
done so had I had another opportunity. I understand there are a
great many bad influences in this county. You have apostates
among you, and your daughters--at least there have been some
cases where your daughters have married into the families of
apostates and your sons have married the daughters of apostates.
If this is the case, it is a deplorable condition of things. When
Latter-day Saints marry those who are not of their faith, I look
upon it as a great misfortune to those who do so. If those
barriers were to be broken down which ought to exist between us
and the world I should view it as a great calamity. One of the
strictest commands that the Lord gave to Israel in olden times
was that they should not marry with the nations surrounding them;
and this law is equally binding on us, and we should do
everything in our power to maintain it inviolate. For our enemies
are determined to take away from us the control of our affairs.
And such people, part of whom are in Fillmore, and you may have
some down here, if they had their way--or if the measures which
they would vote for could be carried out, you, all of you, would
be reduced to the condition of serfs; you would not even have the
right to vote for a justice of the peace; you would not even have
the right to vote for a constable, nor for a probate judge, nor
selectman, nor for an assessor or collector; they would deprive
you of the right of suffrage, and reduce you to the condition of
slaves, if they could have their way. It is not only once or
twice, but it has been many, many times that bills have been
introduced into Congress containing these features, and leaving
us the bare privilege of paying taxes, while they who live here
and urge this legislation, would have the right to spend them.
Now, I am told that there are people in this county who are
sustained principally by the Latter-day Saints so-called, who use
their influence and their means against us, who are in full
sympathy with the men who make it their study and their business
to destroy us, and who, if they had the power would imprison and
put to death the best men among us. A man calling himself a
Latter-day Saint, who would do that--that would use his means and
his influence, which by the way he is indebted to God for, to
destroy his work, I consider as being terribly ignorant; or if
having good sense, is not worthy of a name and place among the
Latter-day Saints. I feel keenly on this point, because it is a
vital point; and I repeat, that the man who would put his means
into the hand of the enemy, the avowed enemy of this Church, to
destroy his brother is most culpable, and cannot escape the
condemnation of the Lord. The man who is a free man, and who
values his own liberty and that of his neighbors, will do nothing
of the kind; he will jealously guard against aiding such people
even to the amount of one cent. He would say, "I cannot afford to
let my means, or any part of it, go to destroy my own peace or
that of my neighbor, nor to deprive us of our liberty." But there
is a disposition which I have noticed among many of our folks to
break down these barriers and distinctions. They would sustain
men who, directly or indirectly, are pledged to do all they can
against this people, against the liberties and rights of this
people, against our freedom and against our religion. If they
have any influence at all, it is used against us. They would take
control of this Territory from the old settlers and give it to
their deadly enemies. The man who would so far forget himself as
to do such a thing has no part in this work, if he comprehends it
at all, and unless he repents, he will sooner or later lose the
Spirit of God, and go into darkness and apostacy. It matters not
who the man may be, or what his standing may be among the people,
such a course is bound to sever his connection with us. God has
called us to build up Zion. He has called us from the world for
this purpose. He has not called us to be like other people, but
to become a peculiar people unto Himself, a people upon whom he
can pour out His Holy Spirit to enable us to accomplish His
designs. And we should act in accordance with the testimony of
this Spirit, and according to the instructions of his servants
unto us; and if we do this all will be right. But the man who
will use his influence against my brethren is not my friend; I
have no fellowship with him. He may talk very nice and profess
great friendship, but he is not my friend if he is opposed to my
brethren and the work of God; there is no sympathy in common
between us; we do not stand upon the same platform. It seems to
me that this should be understood by all who consider themselves
members of this Church. We must stand together: we must be
united. We must exercise faith in God, and we must do that which
he requires at our hands, or we shall lose that which he has
given unto us. And it would be a sorry day for us if we were to
fall into such a condition that God would let our enemies loose
upon us, to drive us, and get control in these mountains.
286
I pray God to bless you, my brethren and sisters, and fill you
with His Spirit, that your zeal, interest and devotion may
increase in the work of God, and that your understanding may be
enlarged, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / George
Q. Cannon, June 27, 1881
George Q. Cannon, June 27, 1881
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT GEORGE Q. CANNON
Delivered at Hooperville, Monday, June 27, 1881.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
REPORTS CONCERNING THE SAINTS, THEIR PROSPERITY THE
RESULT OF PRAYER AND FAITHFULNESS, ETC.
287
It affords me great pleasure to travel as we are now doing. It is
a number of years since I had the opportunity of thus traveling
in this county, visiting the people in the various settlements,
and witnessing the changes and improvements which have taken
place, which indicate the growth and development of the people.
287
It is only a few years ago that our enemies, in speaking of us,
said, that we were a miserable, decrepit, weakly, dying-out
people. They described us as very poor, miserable-looking
creatures, all bearing the impress of our polygamic practices
upon our faces; and our children as being weakly, with poor
intellect, etc. And this description of us went the rounds of the
press, and was believed in by a great many. And some people were
so credulous that they supposed that as soon as they came into a
"Mormon" city they could easily tell the "Mormon" women by the
sad, depressed expression of the countenances which they wore.
For a few years this idea prevailed, having been voiced by the
press generally; and lecturers, in speaking about us, dwelt upon
this peculiarity. Of late, however, the tone has changed, and
instead of entertaining the idea that we are about to die out,
the feeling concerning us is one of fear, lest we should spread
out and take possession of the surrounding country.
287
It has been the case for many years, in fact, from the beginning,
that our Elders have been proclaiming to the world that we are a
growing people, and predicting that God has a great destiny in
store for the Latter-day Saints; that "the kingdom and dominion,
and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be
given to the people of the Saints of the Most High," etc. And
this and other predictions of a like import were testified to by
the Elders of this Church wherever they went; but the people
generally, who heard our brethren preach such doctrine, were
reluctant to believe it, and did not believe it, in fact. Of
late, however, there has been a great change; people who have all
the time looked upon the
"Mormons" as a lot of fanatics, whose race could not be otherwise
than a short one, already begin to fear that there is some truth
in these predictions.
288
During this last winter I found myself in a rather peculiar
position--a position I had never occupied before--of being under
the necessity of endeavoring to calm the fears of the public
respecting our growth and increase, they had such ideas about it
they were apprehensive lest we were not only going to possess
Utah, but going to take possession of Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, and
cross into Colorado. And I myself was under the necessity of
calming their fears in regard to the growth of the people, and of
saying to them, we were not increasing so fast as to give cause
for any reasonable apprehension. This shows a change that has
taken place in the mind of the public with regard to the
Latter-day Saints. And this morning while sitting under the cool
shade of this bowery looking upon the faces of these children and
young people, I thought that I never saw healthier children. And
every countenance is cheerful; every one bespeaks health and our
young women show that they have been born of healthy parents, and
brought up and trained so as to develop their physical natures; I
am glad to see this; I am thankful that we live in a healthy
country, and that we have the Word of Wisdom given unto us by
revelation from God; and by observing it we are very likely to
have an exceedingly healthy race of people, who will also be
long-lived. I think it a matter of great importance to endeavor
to train ourselves and our children so as to have health, and not
only health but long life on the earth, so that we may accomplish
that which God has given unto us to do. For there is an immense
amount of labor to be performed in connection with this work.
With good health we also have plenty. These fruitful farms; these
teeming orchards; with flocks and herds of cattle, of sheep, of
horses, with the dwellings and every thing else to show how
comfortably situated the Latter-day Saints are. They have honey,
they have butter and milk, and their bins are overflowing, so to
speak, and in many instances actually so, with wheat the finest
that is grown on the earth. And there is nothing to prevent our
becoming physically perfect. But there are great responsibilities
resting upon the parents among the Latter-day Saints; and not
only upon the parents but upon the leading men in our settlements
and cities and stakes.
289
There is one thing that you who reside here--and in fact it may
be said about every settlement in these mountains--that you
should be particularly careful about, and that is, the education
of your children. I hope in your general prosperity you will not
overlook your educational interests. It is of the utmost
importance to us and to our children and to the work of God which
is entrusted to us, that we should give our children every
advantage of education, including the training of them in the
principles of the Gospel; for it is of the first importance that
all should have laid the foundation in their hearts of faith in
God and confidence in the Holy Priesthood, and in the ordinances
of the house of God. This is of the first importance, more
important than anything else; more important even than teaching
them to read and write. Train them in the faith of God and in the
knowledge of God, so far as it can be imparted to them, until
they can find out God for themselves, seeking him in earnestness
in their closets and private places. And when we have laid this
foundation in their hearts, then impart to them skill in
education to read and write perfectly, so that every boy and girl
in our community can read and write his and her tongue perfectly.
Do it so that no one can find fault with it, that it may be ready
for the press, if they should wish to address a communication to
the press, without having to make a single correction. Our
children have the brightest intellects of any I have ever met.
God has given them this blessing; all that they require to
develop themselves is the opportunity, and this they should have.
God has given unto us means. There is no necessity for us to keep
our children out of school, as was the case in early days. I
think it a matter of the greatest importance that parents should
impart to their children these facilities. Place them within
their reach so that the talents of our boys and girls may be
developed, for there is an abundant field for its exercise
throughout our land, and also beyond, and in the countries to
which they are being sent. We are spreading out, and we want men
who are cultured; we want women of culture who can train their
children in the spirit of true education, so that when visitors
come to our land, or our children go to other lands, those who
see them will feel there is a superiority about the Latter-day
Saints that they did not look for. Great pains should be taken in
this direction. Parents, school trustees and educators should
exercise themselves in behalf of education; nothing should be
left undone to give every one, no matter how poor, an opportunity
to obtain it. You know the difference between a well cultivated
field and one that is poorly cultivated. You know the difference
between carefully selected and bred cattle, and cattle that are
allowed to run at large on the range without attention. You know
the difference between fruits that are well selected and cared
for by the hand of the skillful gardener, and those that are
allowed to grow as they please. The lesson that may be drawn from
these plain practical things is applicable in the rearing of
these little ones. You need not think, you parents, because you
have got through life with little or a meagre education, that
your children ought not to expect more than you possessed in
starting life. You do not know anything about the future that
lies before them. The boys and girls of to-day, if they are
prepared for it, will have opportunities of moving in the higher
circles of society; boys will be required to go among the leading
men of the nations; and how embarrassing it would be for them if
they should not be qualified for it. But they should be. Every
day the prospect is widening, the field is opening up before us,
and men of this kind are needed all the time. We need them for
legislators; we need them for Apostles, Presidents, Bishops and
Counselors; we need them for every department of life. They
should be cultivated so that they will be capable of discharging
these duties and filling any position.
290
The Lord has bestowed upon us the temporal blessings which we
have for a wise purpose. We should use them aright and not set
our hearts upon these perishable things. We should hold them as
the gifts of God, subject to his counsel. The man who sets his
heart upon riches cannot serve the God of Israel. No man can
serve two masters, Jesus said. He said it 1800 years ago; it is
true to-day. Whenever you see a man serving Mammon, you may know
he cannot serve God as well. There cannot be a division in these
services; half-hearted service cannot be acceptable to the Lord.
We must serve God with all our hearts, our love and affections
reaching after Him, and the things of this world must be looked
upon by us as secondary considerations. They are good enough in
their place; right enough to be attended to; but subordinate
always to the love of God. That should be the first love, greater
than every other love. A man that loves a wife, a man that loves
a child, a man that loves anything upon the earth more than God,
is not a true Latter-day Saints. He may have a lovely wife, he
may have a lovely child; he may have a rich farm, he may have
stock, elegant residences, horses and carriages, together with an
abundance of wealth to command all the comforts of the earth; but
I tell you, as a servant of God, if he loves these things more
than he loves God, he is not a true Latter-day Saint. He cannot
serve God and mammon together. One love must predominate; it must
be superior to every other love, and that is the love of our
Heavenly Father; the keeping of his commandments and attending to
the ordinances of salvation which he has revealed to us.
290
While Brother Woodruff was speaking about what President Young
had told him in Winter Quarters, respecting the Prophet Joseph's
teachings, with regard to cultivating the spirit of the Lord, a
thing came to my mind that I was taught in the same way in the
beginning of my labors on my first mission, and the impression it
made upon my mind has been a lasting one; I have never forgotten
it; and through taking that lesson to heart I feel that I have
been exceedingly prospered in my life.
290
There were ten of us, of whom I was the youngest, wind-bound in
the Bay of San Francisco, and we had been thus delayed for nearly
a week near the Golden Gate in consequence of head winds. I
dreamed one night that this party of brethren were heaving at the
windlass, having a rope attached to it reaching forward to the
anchor at the bow of the vessel. We were working with all our
might endeavoring to raise the anchor, but seemingly we made but
little progress. While thus engaged I thought the Prophet Joseph
came from the after part of the vessel dressed in his temple
clothes, and tapping me on the shoulder told me to go with him. I
went, and he climbed on to the forecastle which was higher than
the main deck and on a level with the bulwarks, and there he
knelt down, also telling me to kneel down with him. He prayed
according to the order of prayer which is revealed. After prayer,
he arose upon his feet. "Now," said he, "George, take hold of
that rope--the rope we had been pulling on with all our might. I
took hold of it, and with the greatest ease and without the least
effort, the anchor was raised." "Now," said he, "let this be a
lesson to you; remember that great things can be accomplished
through the power of prayer and the exercise of faith in the
right way."
291
I would like to impress this, with what Brother Woodruff has told
you, upon the minds of the young, also upon the middle-aged and
the aged of this congregation if they choose to take it; great is
the power of prayer when properly offered to the Lord. Whatever
success I have had upon my missions in battling with the
adversaries of this people, in being able to hold my position
when warred upon--and it seemed that nothing in the world but the
power of God could save me or prevent legislation adverse to this
people--whatever success there may be about this in the past,
throughout my life--and I believe it was the case with my
predecessors--it has been due to faith and prayer. I have
remembered this always; I have endeavored to exercise faith in
God, through prayer, which has been heard by the Almighty.
291
Men have met in secret in holy places, and have besought God in
the appointed way, according to the holy order revealed, and
deliverance has been wrought out for Zion, when it seemed that
everything was dark before them and without one ray of light. At
such times, when everything has been hedged up, the servants of
God have met in secret places and have plead with God according
to the holy order, and the heavens have been moved, and
difficulties have vanished away, and our path has been made plain
before us, and we have escaped the hands of our enemies.
291
My brethren and sisters, my young brethren and sisters present,
remember this lesson. Cultivate the Spirit of God; keep it with
you. Remember always, there is power in prayer greater than
anything man can do. There is no power in monarchs, there is no
power in armies, there is no power in legislation, nor in anybody
nor anything else upon the earth that equals the power of God in
prayer.
291
That we may always remember it, and keep it constantly in our
minds throughout our lives, is my prayer in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / John
Taylor, October 9, 1881
John Taylor, October 9, 1881
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered at the General Conference, in the Tabernacle,
Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, October 9, 1881.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
THE PRIESTHOOD--GOD'S LOVE FOR THE HUMAN FAMILY, ETC.
291
We have now been in session for some time. We have listened to a
great many interesting things associated with the Church and
kingdom of God.
291
We have had also, during the Conference, matters to reflect upon,
pertaining to the departure of some of our brethren, whom we
loved and esteemed. They have been taken away from us, and have
gone into another state of existence, which is all perfectly
right. We have nothing to say particularly in relation to these
matters.
292
The Lord has revealed unto us his holy will. He has by his own
voice, by the ministering of holy angels, restored to us the
everlasting Gospel, that plan which was ordained by Jehovah,
before the world rolled into existence, or the morning stars sang
together for joy. Associated with the Gospel he has restored the
Priesthood, which is simply, in a few words, the rule and
government of God, whether in the heavens or on the earth. This
Priesthood, this law, this government and these principles have
been communicated from the heavens. They originated not with man
upon the earth.
293
They did not originate with any church upon the earth, or any
people, or any authority. This is the gift of God to man. This
Gospel places man in communication with God, his Heavenly Father;
this Gospel brings life and immortality to light; this Gospel is
proclaimed in the interest of all men in all parts of the earth;
the Priesthood in connection with the Gospel has a commission to
proclaim to all the world, to every nation, kindred, tongue and
people. It is a message of salvation to the nations of the earth,
and it is very different from that which many call the Gospel,
whose followers would seek to destroy, to defame, to overturn and
to injure all humanity who are opposed to them, and to their
views and feelings. God feels interested in the welfare of the
whole human family, and for this purpose he has established
principles upon the earth which exist in the heavens--a Gospel
that has prevailed among the Gods in the eternal worlds,
containing principles which are calculated to elevate, ennoble
and exalt the human family. The principles are eternal as the
Gospel itself is eternal; and as the love of God was manifested
in former times by the giving of His son for the redemption of
the world, so the goodness of God is extended in the last days to
save, to bless, to elevate and to dignify the whole human family.
And those who are in possession of these principles are in
possession not only of the love of God, but of the love of man,
and will seek, by every means in their power, aided by the Spirit
of God, and that light, love and intelligence which dwell in his
bosom, to spread these sacred principles and to save men, if
possible almost contrary to their own will. It is a mistaken
notion, let me say here, that some people entertain, that because
men persecute us, we must persecute them: that because men would
proscribe us in our religious faith, we must persecute them in
theirs. There is no such principle associated with God, or with
those who dwell in the love of God, or who are actuated by the
Spirit of God. Everything of that kind proceeds from beneath and
not from above. God is interested in the welfare of all people,
all nations, all kindreds, and all tongues. He is the Father of
the spirits of all flesh, and however narrow and contracted men
may be in their ideas, he can afford to let his rain descend on
the evil and the good, and cause his sun to shine on the just and
on the unjust. For this purpose he has introduced the Gospel; for
this purpose he is gathering together a people, under the
influence of the Gospel, which Gospel, when received and obeyed,
imparts the Holy Ghost, and which Holy Ghost takes of the things
of God, and shows them unto us. He has gathered us together here
in this place and in this land, in order that we may be more
fully instructed in His law, for men are not acquainted with God
by revelation anywhere else to my knowledge. Very few men upon
the face of the earth believe in revelation from God. They
believe in their own theories, and notions and ideas and
principles, but they know nothing about "Thus saith the Lord," as
men used to do when they had the Gospel; and wherever the Gospel
exists, there exists with it a knowledge of God, and of the laws
of life. God has committed to us the Gospel and the High
Priesthood, which is not intended, as some suppose, to bring men
into bondage or to tyrannize over the consciences of men, but to
make all men free as God is free; that they may drink of the
streams "whereof shall make glad the city of God;" that they may
be elevated and not debased; that they may be purified and not
corrupted; that they may learn the laws of life and walk in them,
and not walk in the ways of corruption and go down to death.
Jeremiah tells us that the Lord says, "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."
294
We have learned this, that God lives; we have learned that when
we call upon him he hears our prayers; we have learned that it is
the height of human happiness to fear God and observe his laws
and keep his commandments; we have learned that it is a duty
devolving upon us to try and make all men happy and intelligent,
which happiness and intelligence can only be obtained through
obedience to the laws of God. It is in him that we trust. We are
not so much concerned about the destiny of this kingdom as some
people think we are. God is interested in it, the holy angels are
interested in it, the ancient Patriarchs and Prophets and men of
God who have lived in other ages are interested in it, and in the
councils of heaven it was agreed that this kingdom should be
established; it is according to the word and will and eternal
designs of Jehovah. And as he called men in other days he has
called them in these days, and this Priesthood administers in the
earth and in the heavens. And when Brother Moses Thatcher talks
about a man being called, having finished his course here, to go
into another state of existence, he talks understandingly on that
point. This Priesthood is an everlasting Priesthood, as was the
Priesthood of Jesus, after the order of Melchizedek, and it
administers in time and eternity. This Gospel brings us into
communion with God our Heavenly Father, with Jesus the Mediator
of the New Covenant, with the general assembly and church of the
First Born; and while they are operating there, we are operating
here. For this reason we are building our Temples and
administering in them, and these are things that I wish to speak
a little upon to you Latter-day Saints who are assembled here
from the various parts of the Territory. It is not an idle
phantom that has been presented to us in this matter. There is
nothing vague or visionary about it, we are dealing with sober,
serious, solemn facts. Elijah it was prophesied should come and
turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of
the children to the fathers. That prophesy has been fulfilled,
and while millions and myriads of the human family have died
without a knowledge of the Gospel, we are instructed what our
duty is towards them; and while we are engaged in building
Temples and administering therein both for the living and the
dead, the everlasting Priesthood in the heavens are engaged in
operating in the same way in the interests of all humanity, not
only of those who now live but those who have lived. We need, it
is true, the assistance and guidance of the Almighty, and the
Holy Priesthood behind the vail also requires our assistance and
our help. Paul, who understood these things, said, "that they
without us should not be made perfect," and we without them
cannot be made perfect. They in their day had obtained a
knowledge of God and his law, and we are permitted to obtain the
same. God has been pleased to restore the same principles and to
place us in communion with him and them. Hence, while they are
operating in the heavens we are operating here upon the earth. We
build Temples and administer in them. They are attending to those
who have died without a knowledge of the Gospel, and who will
communicate from time to time with us to show us our duty.
294
It is written that saviors shall come upon Mount Zion. How can a
man be a savior if he saves nobody? And how can they save unless
God shows them how? How can they build Temples unless they have a
knowledge of the work in which they are engaged? And how can they
administer in these Temples, unless God instructs them? They
cannot do it; we cannot do it; nobody can do it; and therefore it
is necessary that we should all the time be under the guidance
and direction of the Almighty, for without Him we can do nothing.
294
The reports that we hear concerning the Temples that are being
built are very interesting. We hear they have placed the roof on
the one in Cache Valley; in Manti, they are progressing with
another very favorably, and the people all around in those
districts are contributing and aiding all they can for the
advancement of the work, and then with the one already built
there will soon be two and three and then four Temples in
operation for the labor in which we are engaged. Some people I
know will say it is a very poor speculation, a very singular kind
of religion. Yet we are carrying out the counsel of God, for all
these things are designed by the Almighty, and emanate from Him.
And if we die what then? We shall live and reign throughout
eternity, worlds without end, and we know it. Therefore we are
satisfied as to the work in which we are engaged. It is all
right.
294
I say to the brethren and all who are engaged in this labor, I
say God bless you, and if you could hear the voices above you
would hear loud cries of "Amen" for all heaven is interested in
the work in which we are engaged; and whatever other men may
think about these things, we know what we are doing, and we shall
try, in the name of the Lord, and under His guidance and
direction, to build up his Zion upon the earth; that there may be
a phalanx of people that God will acknowledge--a phalanx of
people that will bow to the behests of Jehovah; a phalanx of
people in whom the heavens are interested; a people who are
engaged in rolling forth the work of God, and establishing not
only the Church of Christ, but His Zion and the kingdom of God
upon the earth.
294
This is a work that is not popular among men. They want their
ideas, their theories, and their notions; we want the ideas and
theories, the word and will, and the guidance and direction of
the Almighty; and if we are connected with his kingdom, if there
is such a thing as the kingdom of God upon the earth, it means
the rule and government of God.
295
Peradventure some will say, "We won't let you do it." Now, don't
stop the Lord, will you? No matter about the theories, ideas and
notions of men. God has committed to us certain principles, and
by the help of God we mean to carry them out. In doing this it
devolves upon us to send the Gospel to every creature under
heaven, and for this we have a First Presidency; for this we have
the Twelve Apostles; for this we have some seventy times seventy
of Seventies; for this we have several thousand High Priests; for
this we have some eight or ten thousand Elders, and God has
called us to do his work, and by the help of Israel's God we will
do it in the name of the Lord, and let all Israel say, Amen. (The
vast congregation responded, "Amen.") These are our feelings on
that subject. And let the Twelve, let the Seventies, let the High
Priests, and let the Elders work up to the dignity and importance
of their calling, and feel that they are under command, as the
servants of God, to do his will in spreading the Gospel of life
and salvation to the nations of the earth. The world will hate
you. No matter--they hated your master before you. They
persecuted Him before they persecuted you. He endured it; we will
try to.
295
What then? We will go on building our Temples, and when we have
built them we will administer in them according to the word of
God. And who else knows this order but us? Let the Latter-day
Saints build these Temples and hand them over to the divines of
the world, and what would they do? Why, all they would do would
be to quarrel about theology. What do they know about the
ordinances of the Gospel? Nothing. What do they know about
salvation for the living and the dead? Nothing. They would not
know how to administer in a Temple if they had one, and further,
we should not know if God had not shown us how. We are dependent
upon the Lord; but we have our friends, as I have said, behind
the vail. They have the same Priesthood which we have, and they
are operating in our interests and it is that which frequently
operates among men now, silently working when they know nothing
about it. They rage in many instances, and foam and get up
resolutions; generally very religious people. Well, it was that
class of people that persecuted Jesus and his disciples; they
thought they were unfit to live. What of it? Do you hate them?
No. Would I injure any of them? No, they are injuring themselves,
God knows, ten thousands times more than I could. Any man who
departs from the principles of right; any man who tramples upon
human rights and human liberty; men who cannot allow other men to
worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience,
are in a deplorable condition; they are fast going back to
barbarism; and it is necessary that God should introduce
principles to lift man above these groveling ideas. We can look
upon all mankind as our brothers, and can try to benefit and
elevate the human race. This is the mission which God has given
us to attend to--first, in regard to religious matters, and
afterwards to political matters, that all men may enjoy perfect
freedom in every respect, not in name, not in theory only, but in
reality.
296
I find that time is passing. We scarcely have time in our
assemblages to attend to things and talk about principles that we
would like to. There are ten thousand things present themselves
before my mind, which I would like to lay before this
congregation; but we have not time. We shall have to take these
things by degrees, little by little, line upon line, precept upon
precept.
297
There is one thing I wish to speak about here politically. "What
do you think about the government of the United States," some
people say.
"What are your opinions?" I will tell you what I think about the
Constitution. I have just the same opinion of it that Joseph
Smith had, and he said it was given by inspiration of God. The
men did not know this who wrote it; the men did not know it who
adopted it; nevertheless it is true. There is an embodiment of
principles contained therein that are calculated to bless and
benefit mankind. "What do you think about the government of the
United States as a government?" I think it is a good deal ahead
of most governments, but I think the administrators are
apostatizing very fast from the principles that the fathers of
this nation instituted. It has become quite a question
now-a-days, whether men can be preserved in their rights or not,
whether men can worship God according to the dictates of their
conscience or not, or whether we are living in a land of freedom
or not. What is the matter? Why, they are like the religionists.
How is it with them? They profess to believe in the Bible. They
do believe it shut, but when you open it they deny it. The people
of this nation profess to believe in the Constitution. They do
until it comes to be applied to the people and then they do not.
That is perhaps too broad a saying; but I will say there are many
who feel like this--not all by a long way. There are thousands
and tens of thousands who are imbued with the same principles as
were the framers of the Constitution and who desire to see human
freedom perpetuated. The principles of freedom and the love of
human liberty have not quite died out of the hearts of all men in
these United States. There is a respectable balance in favor of
liberty and freedom and equal rights. But there are others--why
they talk sometimes about our polygamy until you would think from
what these open-mouthed people say, that we were the most corrupt
people on the face of the earth. I could say something about them
if I wanted to talk, I would say here that we respect family
virtue, and we protect virtue among us. We associate with our
families upon principles that have been ordained of God, and
sanctioned by Him, in the different ages of the world. And then
we are true to our covenants, while they profess to be true to
theirs, and violate them and disgrace and corrupt themselves. God
save us from their infamies! Do not follow after their example.
What have we seen of men here right in our city sent to
evangelize us?--seducing females when they could, and then go
into courts, churches, etc., and talk about the impurities of the
"Mormons!" This is not a very good way to evangelize people nor
to exalt them; it does not produce a love of those ennobling
principles which all honorable men ought to be governed by. We
would say then in regard to religionists--if you profess a
religion be true to it; if you profess to believe in the Bible
when shut, believe it when open, and practice its principles. We
would say to men who profess so much loyalty and patriotism to
the government, be true to your institutions, be true to the
Constitution of the United States, as we say to all our people to
be true to the same. We expect the Latter-day Saints to be so,
and to be subject to law, to avoid lawlessness of every kind and
the interference with men's rights in any shape. Let all men
worship as they please. That is a matter for their own
consciences, it is not for us to dictate. Let all men be free in
their business relations, that in all things we may feel that we
are performing our part as citizens of the United States and
citizens of the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth; and if
other people can afford to traduce us, we can scarcely afford to
tell the truth about them. I might talk about thousands of things
that I am acquainted with that I know as well as I am standing
here; but we will leave them to their master. If they choose evil
let them choose it. We talk sometimes about the influence of
saloons, of whisky and beer, and all these kinds of things.
Cannot you Latter-day Saints let them alone? If you cannot you
are not fit to be Latter-day Saints and you will not be so long.
If the world choose to wallow in these things, let them wallow.
But would an Elder in Israel and a saint of God disgrace himself
by being found in such dens? Yes, many have, but they have got to
repent and turn round a short corner and purge themselves from
these things, or they will be severed from the Church and kingdom
of God, and they will have no association among us. We are after
truth and after righteousness, and let us, as we have been
exhorted, maintain our purity and our virtue, and if others
introduce corruption among us, let them alone, let them take
their own course, but "O my soul, come not thou into their
secret; unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united." Ye
Latter-day Saints purge yourselves from iniquity and speak the
truth, act honestly, be pure and virtuous, and honor God and your
calling, and God will honor you, but if you do not, you will be
speedily rooted out. There is a day of reckoning fast coming. God
is beginning to trouble the nations of the earth, and these
things will grow and increase, and it is time for you Elders of
Israel to be on the side of right, to depart from evil, to cleave
to the truth, to work righteousness, and to honor God. God
expects it of you, the holy angels expect it of you, and if you
do not leave your evils you can have no place with the Saints of
God on the earth or in the heavens.
298
As I before said, we have not time to enter into all these
matters. You have had a good deal of needful instruction. Let us
profit by it and honor our God. And I say God bless all men who
love the truth, whether here or anywhere else; God bless all men
who maintain human rights and freedom; and God confound the
opposers of these principles everywhere. These are my principles
and feelings. We want nothing like communism, or nihilism, or any
of the outrageous infamies that are beginning to vex and perplex
the nations. Yet these things will roll on until it will be a
vexation to hear the reports thereof, and unless this nation
speedily turns round God's hand will be upon them; unless the
speedily adhere to the principles of equal rights and freedom, He
will be after them. Now, you can set that down if you like and
see whether it will come to pass or not. I say, then God bless
every lover of right, whether among this people or anywhere else,
and God bless the rulers of this land who rule in righteousness,
and God remove those who do not (Amen). And let us honor our God
and our religion and adhere to the principles of truth. God will
stand by us, and the glory of God will rest upon us, and no power
this side of hell can hurt us if we be followers of that which is
good.
298
I ask the blessing of my Heavenly Father to be upon this
congregation, upon all Israel who love the truth, and all men
everywhere who are desirous to do right and keep the commandments
of God, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / John
Taylor, August 28, 1881
John Taylor, August 28, 1881
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered at Provo, Sunday Afternoon, August 28th, 1881.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
DUTIES OF THE SAINTS--THE ATONEMENT, ETC.
298
We meet together here and elsewhere in a Conference capacity, for
the purpose of regulating, managing and directing the affairs of
the Church, and submitting the reports of the several Stakes to
the people, that the Saints may comprehend the position which
they occupy, and that through our inter-communication with each
other and through the various reports, we may become acquainted,
to a certain extent, with the spirit and feeling, the desires and
motives that permeate the Saints of God, throughout all the land
of Zion.
299
We talk about a great many subjects, and many principles are
introduced to our notice. The various duties and responsibilities
of the presiding authorities are referred to, as well as those of
the Presidents of Stakes and their Counselors, the Bishops and
their Counselors, and the Priests, Teachers and Deacons, as also
the various societies and organizations which exist as aids to
the Holy Priesthood in the several Stakes. All these things are
very good, so far as they go; but it is proper that we should
examine ourselves, and when it is our duty so to do, examine one
another; and then ask the Lord to examine us; for it is possible
that we may entertain ideas regarding ourselves and our position
that may not be sanctioned by the Almighty; and if this be the
case, then if that harvest should come off which we have heard
sung this afternoon, it may find some of us who are not "wheat,"
not faithfully performing in all respects the various duties and
responsibilities which devolve upon us. And it is quite proper
that we, as an intelligent people, professing preeminently to be
the servants of God, should act with candor and truthfulness, and
should be able to scan our own actions as well as those of
others, to see wherein we come short in following the example
that was set us by one of the ancient Prophets, in which he said,
"Search me, O God, and try me and prove me; and if there be any
way of wickedness in me, bid it depart."
299
The position that we occupy is indeed a very peculiar one. We are
gathered here from the nations of the earth. We are gathered here
because of certain plans, purposes and designs of Jehovah,
pertaining to the world wherein we live, pertaining to the
peoples who have existed before us and relating to all men
whether living or dead. And as the Lord organized this world; as
He is said to be the God of the spirits of all flesh; and as he
is interested in the welfare of all humanity, he would be the
proper personage to inaugurate every measure, everything that
would be calculated to promote the interests of mankind. And in
the accomplishment of the salvation of the human family his
designs, plans and purposes have been perfected generations long
ago. If he could reveal unto Adam all of the events which would
transpire upon the earth associated with coming generations, he
certainly must himself have had a knowledge of those things which
he communicated to our first parents, or he could not have
revealed them. Among other things which the Lord designed should
be introduced upon the earth was what is termed the dispensation
of the fullness of times, wherein he would gather together all
things in one, whether they be things on the earth or things in
heaven; but all should be gathered together in one.
299
We have had in the different ages various dispensations; for
instance what may be called the Adamic dispensation, the
dispensation of Noah, the dispensation of Abraham, the
dispensation of Moses and of the Prophets who were associated
with that dispensation; the dispensation of Jesus Christ; when he
came to take away the sins of the world by the sacrifice of
himself, and in and through those various dispensations, certain
principles, powers, privileges and Priesthoods have been
developed. But in the dispensation of the fullness of times a
combination or a fullness, a completeness of all those
dispensations was to be introduced among the human family. If
there was anything pertaining to the Adamic, (or what we may term
more particularly the patriarchal) dispensation, it would be made
manifest in the last days. If there was anything associated with
Enoch and his city, and the gathering together of his people, or
of the translation of his city, it would be manifested in the
last days. If there was anything associated with the Melchizedek
Priesthood in all its forms, powers, privileges and blessings at
any time or in any part of the earth, it would be restored in the
last days. If there was anything connected with the Aaronic
Priesthood, that also would be developed in the last times. If
there was anything associated with the Apostleship and Presidency
that existed in the days of Jesus, or that existed on this
continent, it would be developed in the last times; for this is
the dispensation of the fullness of times, embracing all other
times, all principles, all powers, all manifestations, all
Priesthoods and the powers thereof that have existed in any age,
in any part of the world, for "Those things which never have been
revealed from the foundation of the world, but have been kept hid
from the wise and prudent, shall be revealed unto babes and
sucklings in this the dispensation of the fullness of times.
300
And who was to originate this? It originated with God the Father,
and it was sustained by Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant,
and it was sanctioned by all the Prophets, Patriarchs, Apostles
and men of God who held the Priesthood in former ages. And
finally, when all the preparations were made and everything was
ready, or the time had fully come, the Father and the Son
appeared to the youth Joseph Smith to introduce the great work of
the latter days. He who presides over this earth and he who is
said to be the maker of all things, the Father, pointing to his
well-beloved Son, says, this is my beloved Son, hear him. He did
not come himself to regulate and put in order all things, but he
presented his Only Begotten Son, the personage who should be, as
he is termed in the Scriptures, the Apostle and great High Priest
of our profession, who should take the lead in the management and
regulation of all matters pertaining to the great dispensation
that was about to be ushered in. And that Jesus who had been
spoken of by all the holy prophets since the world was, and was
the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world, who was
the son of the Eternal Father, and who was the brightness of the
Father's glory and the express image of his person, he it was who
was to take charge of this all-important work, to regulate the
affairs pertaining to the interests of humanity, to introduce the
dispensation of the fullness of times, and to operate with the
various Priesthoods that had existed and the men who held the
keys of these Priesthoods in former times for the salvation of
humanity.
300
And thus the work was commenced. Everything was prepared in the
heavens that had been contemplated from the beginning. And I here
desire to mention one thing pertaining to the Son of God. We are
told that when it was determined to organize the earth, and when
God had laid his plans before the councils of the heavens that he
asked Lucifer what he would do. Lucifer answered, "Behold I, send
me, I will be Thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one
soul shall not be lost; and surely I will do it; wherefore give
me thine honor." The Father then turned to his well-beloved Son,
and asked, "What will you do, you have heard these things as well
as Lucifer?"
The Son replied, "Father, Thy will be done, and Thine be the
glory." Satan, we are told, rebelled against God; and he wanted
to introduce something that was contrary to the law of God and to
the counsel of God; as much as to say,
"O, you do not know much about it; I will go and save all;
wherefore give me thy glory." Some of our folks now-a-days feel
and say sometimes, they have a portion of the Priesthood, and
they think they are almighty personages; they think they know
better than anybody else, better than the Bishop, better than the
Twelve, better than the Presidency of the Church: they are puffed
up and filled with their vain imaginations. Say they, let me have
my way; and then, I want you to give me your honor to help me to
carry it out.
300
Or, in other words, I want to fight against the work of God and
against the Priesthood of God, and I want you to give me power
and influence to accomplish it." They do not tell you that in so
many words; but those are the facts.
301
Now, we are told that Satan rebelled against God. He could
not rebel against a law if that law had not been given; he could
not have violated a commandment if that commandment did not
exist. And we are told that he sought to take away the agency of
man, to make man a poor miserable serf; and then to take his own
course in regard to the destiny of the human family. But God
would not have it so; and because of his rebelling he cast
Lucifer out of heaven and with him one-third of the hosts of
heaven because of their departure from God and his laws, and
because they sought to pervert the counsel of God, and violate
those principles which he had introduced for the salvation of the
world which was to be, and upon which we now dwell.
301
Was it known that man would fall? Yes. We are clearly told that
it was understood that man should fall, and it was understood
that the penalty of departing from the law would be death, death
temporal. And there was a provision made for that. Man was not
able to make that provision himself, and hence we are told that
it needed the atonement of God to accomplish this purpose; and
the Son of God presented himself to carry out that object. And
when he presented himself for this position he was accepted by
his Father, just the same as any man who owes a debt, if he is
not able to pay that obligation, and somebody steps forward and
says, I will go security for him.
301
If the persons to whom he is indebted are willing to take him as
security they will receive the security's note or obligation to
meet the debt. So Jesus offered himself. Now, man could not have
done that. Man could do all that he is capable of doing. But
there was an eternal law of God violated and it needed an eternal
infinite sacrifice to atone therefore; and Jesus offered himself
as that sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world; and hence
it is written, he was the Lamb slain from before the foundation
of the world.
302
Now, to carry out this view of indebtedness a little further. We
will suppose that a man has given his note to pay a certain
amount in a certain given time, and in order to keep that note
good, he agrees to pay interest on it. Now, when Jesus gave
himself up as security for the sins of mankind, and God accepted
of his security, what was done then? Why, sacrifices were
introduced as types of the sacrifice of the Son of God, to show
that the ancient servants of God recognized this principle which
had existed in the heavens, and many of them understood the
principle with great clearness. We find that Adam offered
sacrifices, and when he did this, he said in answer to a question
put to him by an holy angel, I do not know why I do it, only the
Father has commanded it. And then the angel commenced to explain
to him that this rite was a type of the sacrifice of the Only
Begotten of the Father who should come in the meridian of time to
offer himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world; and said
he, "Thou shalt do all things in the name of the Son, and call
upon the Father in his name for evermore." When Adam and Eve ate
of the forbidden fruit, the mercy of God was extended to them,
and they perceived as Eve expressed it, that if there had been no
fall, they would have had no posterity, and that they would have
been deprived of many joys and blessings relating both to this
life and the life to come. And so Adam and Eve rejoiced in their
hearts that God had provided the plan, and although they were
fallen, yet in this life, through the atonement, they would have
joy, and by and by they would return to their Father, and there
rejoice exceedingly in the abundant mercy of God, and in the
redemption wrought out for them by the Son of God.
302
We find that from that time Satan began to operate and to use his
influence against God, seeking to introduce rebellion on the
earth as he had done in heaven. He succeeded but too well in his
operations. And when Cain and Abel offered up their sacrifice,
Cain would not have done it if the devil had not urged him; but
we are told that Cain loved Satan better than he loved God, and
that he departed from the laws of God. Satan requested Cain to
offer up a sacrifice, which he did, and the Lord rejected it, but
he accepted his brother Abel's. Why did the Lord refuse one and
accept the other? Because the Lord knew that Cain had departed
from him, and that he was not sincere in his offering, as we
sometimes are not sincere in our offerings and in our worship,
and therefore he rejected it. Then Satan came again and whispered
to Cain, I could have told you all about it before; God is an
unrighteous God; he gathers where he has not strewn, he reaps
where he has not sown. He was unjust to me in heaven, and
therefore I rebelled against him; and I advise you to do so also.
And Cain listened to the advice of Satan, and as the devil was a
murderer and a liar from the beginning, so he induced Cain to
become the same, and he instigated him to kill his brother Abel.
Here were the two power represented in the two men, that of God
in Abel, and that of Satan in Cain; and thus the warfare
commenced, and the opposition was inaugurated, for we are told it
was necessary there should be an opposition in all things. And
furthermore, we are told that it became him of whom are all
things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto
glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through
suffering.
302
Now, these things spread and grew. It was necessary and proper
that there should be good and evil, light and darkness, sin and
righteousness, one principle of right opposed to another of
wrong, that man might have his free agency to receive the good
and reject the evil, and by receiving the good (through the
atonement of Jesus Christ and the principles of the Gospel, which
he introduced, and which were invocated long before he himself
appeared on the earth), they might be saved and exalted to the
eternal Godhead, and go back to their Father and God, while the
disobedient would have to meet the consequences of their own
acts.
303
This warfare continued; and as men began to increase upon the
earth, so wickedness increased, until it was decided that they
should be destroyed, that they might be deprived of the privilege
of perpetuating their species. Why? Let us go back to the time
when Satan rebelled against the Almighty and drew away one-third
of the hosts of heaven. We find that there were pure spirits that
stood that test and who had given to them the promise of bodies
on this earth. Let us suppose that you and I were there as
spirits, awaiting the privilege of taking bodies, and that we
could see the wickedness and corruption that was going on upon
the earth, and that we could see Prophets going about teaching
the principles of righteousness and warning the people of
judgments that should come, of the flood that should overwhelm
them and of the prisons prepared in which the ungodly should be
cast. And we say, "Father, you see the people on the earth that
they are wicked and depraved, fallen and corrupt! Yes. Is it
right and just that we who have done no wrong should have to
enter into such corrupt bodies and partake of the influences with
which they are surrounded?" "No," says the Father, "it is not
just, and I will cut them off, I will cause the floods to come
upon them to destroy them, and I will send those wicked and
disobedient spirits into prison," which he did.
303
Here was an act of justice. Some men who profess to be very wise,
think God was unjust in thus destroying so many of his creatures.
They know nothing about it because they do not comprehend the law
of God and the purposes of God. It was an act of justice and
righteousness according to the eternal justice that dwells in the
bosom of the Father.
304
What next? Before they were destroyed, Enoch ministered unto
them; he organized a church, and he sent forth Elders, as we are
now doing, to warn the people of the desolation that was about to
overtake the inhabitants of the earth; and the Savior, according
to Luke, said, referring to this event in the world's history,
"And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the
days of the Son of Man." And says Matthew, in referring to the
same thing, "As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming
of the Son of Man be. For as in the days that were before the
flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in
marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew
not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also
the coming of the son of Man be." After these Elders had gone
forth, under the direction of Enoch, they gathered together those
who believed in their message, and they built up a city which
they called Zion. And the power of God was with Enoch, and with
those Elders; and the enemies of God and of his law arrayed
themselves against God and against Enoch and his people, as some
of our very pious people are doing to-day against us, and as
others would like to do. Say they, "Look, what a wicked people
these 'Mormons' are, they have more wives than one. It is true we
have mistresses besides our wives; it is true we commit adultery;
it is true we are covered with infamy and debauchery; it is true
that the stink of our crimes and iniquities rises into the
nostrils of Jehovah, as it did in former days, but we will cover
all that over." But they cannot do it; it sticks out on every
side; the covering is too narrow. They are murderers and
murderesses of their infants, and the stench of their infamy
ascends into the nostrils of Jehovah; and you that want them,
take them, and you that do will go along with them, and go to
perdition with them; and I tell you that in the name of the Lord.
And you that want your children to go to perdition send them to
be taught by those not of us. Are there any more foolish than
some of the Latter-day Saints are to-day? We read in our
newspapers from time to time of certain combinations conspiring
against us, and who are they? The Methodists, the Presbyterians,
the Baptists, the Episcopalians and others, and they want to
petition Congress-what to do? To destroy the very people whom you
profess to love; and still you would send your children to be
taught by them, to drink in their influence and spirit, and in
time to imitate their acts, would you? What is being done in
certain parts of the Southern State to-day? Mobs, led on by
Christian ministers, co-religionists of these men, are seeking
the lives of your own brethren, and those who are here manifest
the same spirit and would perpetrate the same acts if they had
the power in the same way that is being done in Georgia, for
instance; but they pretend to be so nice, and so pure and so
virtuous, and to have such agreeable manners, and to be so well
educated, and they want to teach your children, and to tell you
the truth, to lead them to hell. And you will assist them to do
it! Woe to that man and that woman who permit their children to
come under such influences! They will sup sorrow in time and in
eternity, where there will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of
teeth. Do you hear it? I tell it to you in the name of the Lord.
Woe be unto those fathers and mothers, I say, who thus tamper
with the children that God has given them.
304
I am reminded of a case of mobbing which occurred lately in
Georgia, in which Elder Geo. W. Bean, a young man from this
place, (Provo,) was attacked, the mob as usual having been gotten
up by Christian ministers. And this same class of men will tell
you what good people they are, and yet they will approve such
acts; and on the back of that they will ask that your children
may be sent to them to educate, to be taught what? How to mob;
how to trample on the rights and liberties of men, how to trample
upon everything that is great and noble and exalted in Israel.
And they will pull down the pillars of this nation by their
mobocracies and infamies; and, yet, you will tamper with them,
will you? Leave them alone. Tell them to convert those Christians
who are engaged in mobbing their fellow-men, and when they get
that done to come and convert you afterwards.
304
You know they had Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, etc., in
Enoch's time--or a lot of religious professors like them. Perhaps
they did not call them by those names; but they assembled
together their armies, the same as armies have been assembled
against us, and you will be again. And some of you will help to
do it, and teach your children to do it. Now, the wicked
assembled against the people of God, and Enoch rose up in the
power and spirit of the living God, and prophesied and the
mountains shook, whilst the people trembled and fled afar off,
because of the power of God that was with him; and the power of
God will be with Israel to-day if Israel will serve God; but if
we pander to iniquity, evil and corruption, we will have to abide
the consequences. What next? The flood came and destroyed the
unrighteous, and their spirits were confined in prisons, as they
are termed. And I think I hear the devil laughing, as some of
them did when we were driven away from our homes, thinking that
"Mormonism" had gone to perdition. But we live yet, and they were
mistaken; and so was the devil. For although they were destroyed
in the body, yet when Jesus came and was put to death in the
flesh, yet quickened by the spirit, he went and preached to the
spirits in prison that were disobedient in the days of Noah. And
then the devil put on a long face and said, I imagined I had got
rid of these fellows; but they are going to have a chance yet
that I did not think of. And after the flood we are told that the
curse that had been pronounced upon Cain was continued through
Ham's wife, as he had married a wife of that seed. And why did it
pass through the flood? Because it was necessary that the devil
should have a representation upon the earth as well as God; and
that man should be a free agent to act for himself, and that all
men might have the opportunity of receiving or rejecting the
truth, and be governed by it or not according to their wishes and
abide the result; and that those who would be able to maintain
correct principles under all circumstances, might be able to
associate with the Gods in the eternal worlds. It is the same
eternal programme. God knew it and Adam knew it.
305
Now, with regard to Noah and his day. God made arrangements
beforehand, and told Methuselah that when the people should be
destroyed, that a remnant of his seed should occupy the earth and
stand foremost upon it. And Methuselah was so anxious to have it
done that he ordained Noah to the Priesthood when he was ten
years of age. Noah then stood in his day as the representative of
God; and after him Abraham was selected to take the lead in
relation to these matters pertaining to man's salvation. Some
people suppose that Abraham was an old fogy who knew but little,
a kind of dull, dumpy old shepherd. But we were informed that he
was a man that followed after righteousness, and that he sought
to obtain more righteousness; that he searched the records of his
fathers as they had come down to him, and traced them back until
the days of Adam, and even before the world was. Before the world
was? Yes. God, we are told, talked with him, and told him of
certain noble spirits who stood in his presence in the beginning,
whom he had determined to make his rulers; "and thou, Abraham,"
said he, "art one of them." He was not only a prince on the earth
but a prince in the heavens, and by right came to the earth in
his time to accomplish the things given him to do. And he found
by tracing his genealogy that he had a right to the Priesthood,
and when he ascertained that, he prayed to the Lord, and demanded
an ordination. And he was ordained (as we are told by Joseph
Smith) under the hands of Melchizedek to the holy Priesthood. And
afterwards, we are informed, became in possession of the Urim and
Thummim by which he could obtain a knowledge of God and of his
laws, and all things pertaining to the earth and the heavens. And
God revealed himself unto him; and he told him that in blessing,
he would bless him; and in multiplying, he would multiply him,
and that in him and in his seed all the families of the earth
should be blessed. and has this been so. Yes; from that time
forth, by that lineage the blessings of heaven have flowed to the
children of men. Let us examine a few things. Who were Isaac and
Jacob? Heirs of the same promises as himself. Who was Joseph, who
was sold into Egypt? A descendant of Abraham. Who was Moses, who
delivered the people from Egyptian bondage? A descendant of
Abraham. Who was Aaron, who was associated with the Aaronic
Priesthood, and who presided over it? A descendant of Abraham.
Who were the Prophets that we read of in this Bible?
306
They were descendants of Abraham. Who was Jesus, who as the Son
of God, taketh away the sins of the world? A descendant of
Abraham according to the flesh. Who were the Twelve Apostles,
commissioned to preach the Gospel to all nations? Descendants of
Abraham. And who were the Twelve Apostles that lived upon this
continent? Descendants of Abraham. Who was Joseph Smith, to whom
the Gospel was revealed in these last days? A descendant of
Abraham. And it had been predicted of him that his name should be
Joseph, and that his father's name should also be Joseph, and
that he should be a descendant of that Joseph who was sold into
Egypt. And who are the present Twelve? Just the same kind of
people. And who are we gathering to Zion? A remnant of that seed,
with a considerable mixture of grizzly, grey, and all kinds. But
Jesus said, My sheep hear my voice, and they know me, and a
stranger they will not follow, because they know not the voice of
a stranger. And why do not the millions of the inhabitants of the
earth embrace the Gospel? Because they are not sheep; that is
all. And if the goats kick up and cut a few antics, you need not
be astonished. It is the nature of goats, is it not? (Laughter.)
307
This Gospel is introduced that we may be taught and instructed in
the ways of God, and that the Priesthood may be organized
according to the holy order of God. What for? That this
Priesthood may associate with the Priesthood behind the vail, who
are operating with God and for God in the interests of humanity.
That is the reason of it. And hence we find that these men who
hold the Priesthood, the everlasting Priesthood, that ministers
in time and in eternity, coming one after another to Joseph
Smith, and conferring upon him the Priesthood which they held.
They conferred on him first the Priesthood of Aaron, a descendant
of Aaron, John the Baptist, who held the keys of that Priesthood
in his day, came to Joseph Smith and to Oliver Cowdery, and laid
his hands upon their heads and said, "Upon you, my
fellow-servants, in the name of the Messiah, I confer the
Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministry of
angels, and of the Gospel of repentance, and of baptism by
immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be
taken again from the earth until the sons of Levi do offer again
an offering unto the Lord in righteousness." Then came Peter,
James and John, who conferred the same Priesthood and keys that
they held. And then came other powers, principles and revelations
in succession, one after another. After the Aaronic and
Melchizedek Priesthoods had been conferred in general terms, then
some of the most specific things in regard to the introduction of
this Gospel were accomplished. When Joseph Smith and Oliver
Cowdery were together in Kirtland Temple, we find that Moses
appeared to them. He committed unto them the keys of the
gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the
leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north. And did
they have this power conferred upon them? Yes. And is that power
continued? I think it is or I do not think you would be here
to-day. What brought you here? Why did you not stop where you
came from? Because you believed the Gospel. When you heard it and
obeyed it, the Elder who laid his hands upon your head, conferred
upon you that principle which brought you here, and you hardly
know why you came, but you could not rest easily until you did
come; and you entered into all kinds of plans and calculations to
get here. And I have known people so anxious to come here, that
they were ready almost to sell themselves. And was it because we
were such a good people? I do not know about that; I do not think
we were as good as we ought to be. Nevertheless, that spirit
operated upon you, and you could not rest until you got here.
307
Another thing associated with this was the coming of Elijah. What
to do? To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the
hearts of the children to the fathers. And what is meant by that?
He was a representative of a certain class in the heavens who
felt interested in their children. And their children are our
fathers; and hence they, the fathers' hearts are turned to their
children; and our hearts, who are their children, are turned
towards them. And we begin to build Temples. Some think this is a
very foolish thing to do. It does look like it to some, but not
to those who are informed. Why do we build Temples? Because
Elijah conferred certain keys which he held upon Joseph Smith.
And when he laid his hands upon Elders conferring on them the
Holy Priesthood, they carried the principles imparted by Elijah
to Joseph to you and to others, and you received it without
knowing it. And by and by as the Church began to gather together,
we began to talk about building Temples in which to receive and
to administer ordinances which had been revealed unto Joseph
Smith, pertaining to the interest of the living and the dead and
necessary to our salvation and exaltation in the kingdom of our
God, as well as for those for whom we administer. And we have not
only talked about it, but have done considerable in that
direction. For besides having one handsome structure in St.
George, we are employing not less than 500 men to-day who are
engaged in the same work in different parts of the Territory. And
we intend to go on with this work; and while our Christian
friends look on and wonder what it all means, we will carry on
the work, for we know what we are doing if they do not. As I have
remarked before in speaking on this subject in other places, if
we were to turn over a Temple to them after we had built and
finished it, they would not know what to do with it, for God has
not communicated this knowledge to them; and hence they could do
no more than they used to do when I was a boy, and which I
suppose they still do; that is, the minister, if an Episcopalian,
would appear in a white surplice with a prayer-book in his hand,
from which he would read something like this:
"We have erred and strayed from Thy ways like lost sheep"--which
by the way, would be quite correct (laughter); we have done those
things which we ought not to have done, and left undone those
things which we ought to have done.
And if the minister were a Methodist, he would be in favor of
getting up a great revival, to embrace each other and invite each
other to "come to Jesus," and call upon the mourners to come to
the mourner's bench to be prayed for, and the sum total of the
whole would be, "Come to Jesus." Say some, "What shall I do to be
saved?" Says the Methodist, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ."
"Well, I do believe." "Well, continue to believe." "But I do
believe." "Well, continue to believe." (Laughter). Would not the
devil laugh at such foolishness? Yes, and the angels would, and
everybody else who had good common sense, for such kind of
foolishness is incompatible with the plan, ordinances, order and
law of God, and with the Gospel of the Son of God.
307
In our Temples we expect to receive certain ordinances revealed
to us from God through His servants. And would not the world like
to know what they consisted of? They will have to go to their God
to find out. But I am afraid that he would be a good deal like
the gods we read of. It reminds me of a story told of Abraham. It
is said Abraham's father was an idolater, and that he had a
number of gods in his house. This grieved Abraham, whilst his
father wanted his son to believe and worship as he himself did;
but Abraham knew better than to do such a thing. Abraham at last
thought he would teach his father a lesson by making a clean
sweep of his gods. So he got a club, or some other weapon, and
knocked off the heads of some, the arms and legs of others, and
made a general wreck among the idols, but left the biggest
untouched. When Abraham's father learned what had happened, he of
course was greatly exercised; he inquired of Abraham who had done
it. Abraham told him that the gods had had a quarrel among
themselves, "and," said he, "here is the fellow, (pointing to the
big one he had spared) that did it." Said the father: "My son,
why do you tell me such a thing. My gods cannot fight; they have
legs, but they cannot walk; they have arms, but they cannot use
them; they have eyes and ears, but they cannot see nor hear."
"Why, father," said Abraham, "is it possible that you worship a
god that cannot hear or see, walk or use himself at all?" The god
of the Christians, according to their own description of him,
being a god without body, parts or passions, would be as unlikely
to hear them when they called upon him, as were the gods of
Terah, Abraham's father, when he called upon them.
309
In speaking further on this matter, I will tell you what we are
doing. We are building three Temples, besides the one that is
built in St. George. Two or three weeks ago we were in Logan; and
we were on the roof of the Temple at that place. Brother Woodruff
was at Sanpete; he says the Temple being built there is
progressing finely. And then we are moving along with ours at
Salt Lake City. A gentleman who called on us lately asked me when
we expected to finish our Temple. I told him that I could not
tell him. "I suppose," said he, "it will depend upon the means at
your disposal to carry on the work." "O no," said I, "money has
nothing to do with it; we go at it, and work at it, and intend to
work at it until it is done." To show the kind of feeling that
existed in Cache Valley, I will say they were a few thousands of
dollars behind, and they applied to me, as Trustee-in-Trust, to
help them. "O yes, I said, we can not only help you, but finish
the building. But we would not do that. Why? Because we would be
doing you an injustice. When you build it yourselves, you have a
right there. You are called to be Saviors upon Mount Zion, and it
is one of your privileges, of which we would not deprive you, to
build a Temple to the Lord, in order that people may be saved
therein." And it is not the men that wear the best clothes that
are doing the work. I said to the people in Logan, the man who
chops down trees, and those who drag them through the snows and
frosts, and expose their bodies to the inclemency of the weather
in the interests of the kingdom of God, as well as those who hew
the rock and carry the hod, are as much interested in these
things, and will receive their reward as well as those who
contribute money or other means for that purpose. I saw, amongst
others, a number of Lamanites helping to make mortar. I felt like
blessing them in the name of the Lord. All men, those engaged in
the work, and those who contribute to it, have an interest in
these things. God is looking upon us, and has called us to be
saviors upon Mount Zion. And what does a savior mean? It means a
person who saves somebody. Jesus went and preached to the spirits
in prison; and he was a savior to that people. When he came to
atone for the sins of the world, he was a savior, was he not?
Yes. And we are told in the revelations that saviors should stand
upon Mount Zion; and the kingdom shall be the Lord's. Would we be
saviors if we did not save somebody? I think not. Could we save
anyone if we did not build Temples? No, we could not; for God
would not accept our offerings and sacrifices. Then we came here
to be saviors on Mount Zion, and the kingdom is to be the Lord's.
Then what shall we do? We will build Temples. And what then?
Administer in them, when we get them done. Do we know how? Yes,
we do, for God has told us how. And who shall we save? Our
fathers and mothers, our uncles and our aunts, our grandfathers
and our grandmothers, and we will look after the interest of all
we can trace; we will still go to work, after we have settled
individual matters and attended to our family affairs and a few
little things among us--for we are a small people comparatively,
notwithstanding that we talk about extending our power; we are a
few people comparatively, but God has chosen us and selected us
and planted us here, and told us what to do. Then after we get
through with our own affairs, what next? There are myriads who
have died without a knowledge of the Gospel, that God and Jesus
and the ancient Patriarchs and Prophets and men of God were
interested in as they are in us, and whom we are informed shall
have the opportunity of receiving the Gospel if they had it not
on this earth. And are the Priesthood operating behind the veil?
Yes, and we are operating here. And we have a Priesthood here,
and they have one there. Have we a Presidency? They have one
there. Have we a Twelve? So they have there. Have we Seventies
here? They have there. Have we High Priests here? They have
there. Have we various quorums? Yes, and we operate in them; and
when we get through we join our quorums above. As I told you
yesterday that when Patriarch Joseph Smith died we were told that
he was seated at the right hand of Abraham. And why was he there?
Because Abraham was a Patriarch, and Joseph Smith's father was a
Patriarch. He was at his right hand because he was associated
with the dispensation of the fullness of times, the same as
Abraham was a leading Patriarch in the dispensation in which he
lived. And David Patten, one of the first Twelve, what about him?
Another was to be ordained in his place, but he was not to have
his Priesthood; of David, we are told, his Priesthood no man
taketh--he should stand in his proper position. Where? He was
dead. No, he was not; he was alive. But he died? Yes, he did; but
he lives. He was killed by a mob in Missouri, but he lives behind
the veil and occupies his proper place there in his own quorum.
Then, there was a man named Seymour Brunson, who died, who was a
member of the High Council. It was said that another should be
put in his place, but that he held his Priesthood: Where? Behind
the veil. What of Seventies and High Priests? Just the same, if
they fulfil their duties and magnify their callings. Has Joseph
Smith ceased to minister in his office because he has left the
earth? No; he administers in his office in the eternal worlds
under the direction of the Son of God, and a proper presiding
Priesthood as it exists in the heavens. And so will we. Hence
they have gone to live forever. If a man dies, shall he live
again? Why, yes. A man goes to sleep, but he wakes again. It is
said that Jesus possessed life in himself; and says he, I have
power to lay down my body, and power to take it up again. But we
have not that power. But says he, I am the resurrection and the
life; and, "Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never
die." Die! We will go to sleep, and we will wake up again. We
will associate with the Priesthood again; and that is the reason
why we want to have our records all right, and everything
straight in relation to all of these things.
309
If we are saviors, what have we to do? Build Temples. What then?
administer in them; and others in the heavens are engaged in the
same work as we, but in another position and in other
circumstances. They preach to spirits in prison; they officiate
in ordinances with which we have nothing to do. We administer in
ordinances which God has revealed to us to attend to; and when we
attend to them correctly, God sanctions them. For instance, you
Elders who have been out preaching, you told the people if they
repented of their sins and were baptized they should receive the
Holy Ghost, and they received it, according to the promise you
made them. God sanctioned these proceedings, and you are all
witnesses thereof. And God has said that it was his business to
take care of His Saints. But then it is our business to be
Saints.
310
And then, in relation to these matters, when we are faithful and
true to our calling on the earth, and we step behind the veil and
are associated with our quorums in the heavens, and there
continue to operate, what shall we have to do? We are told that
all those myriads before referred to, that would have received
the Gospel, but had not the privilege of hearing or receiving it
in this world and have died without it, shall have the
opportunity of receiving it hereafter. But who are to be the
administrators of these ordinances? Are we? No, they are out of
our reach, they are behind the veil. But there is a Priesthood
there; and there is a place for the Seventies and the High
Priests, etc., to operate there. And what were the Twelve to do
who lived and operated on the continent of Asia? It is written
that they should sit upon twelve thrones to judge the twelve
tribes of Israel. And what of those Twelve that were on this
continent? They are to be judged by the Twelve whom Jesus chose
in Judea. And then the people of this continent will be judged by
the Twelve that were here; and very likely the Presidency and
Twelve of this Church will have something to do in this matter in
relation to those who live in this age of the world.
310
Now if they have that to do what have we to do? Build Temples.
What then? Administer in them. And when we have got beyond the
range of those whom we know, we shall need information from the
powers behind the veil to know for whom we are to be baptized. Do
you think they will be at the trouble of informing us? I rather
think they will, if they are set to judge people. And having seen
proper to organize the Church and establish the Holy Priesthood
and reveal the first principles of the Gospel, it is but
reasonable to conclude they will be sufficiently interested about
the other matters. But it is for us to build the Temples and
administer in them, and help the fathers to save their children,
and the children to save the fathers. Have they rights in heaven?
So have we on earth. Have they privileges? So have we. Have they
earned salvation and become saviors? We also shall participate in
that if we magnify our calling, honor our God, and keep His
commandments. Hence we are joint saviors with them. We need their
assistance, they need ours. These are some of the things that we
have to perform. We have a labor before us. You, Seventies; you,
High Priests, you are not here to find out what you shall eat or
drink, or wherewithal you shall be clothed. You are not here to
quarrel over little things and to have your own way. Jesus said,
Father, They will be done. He said, He came not to do His own
will, but the will of His father who sent Him. And when His
disciples came to Him and said, Lord, "Teach us how to pray, as
John taught his disciples." He said, pray, "Our Father who art in
heaven, hallowed be thy name: Thy kingdom come." Let the rule and
government of God be established. "Thy kingdom come. They will be
done on earth as it is in heaven." This was His feeling, and this
is the feeling of all good Saints and faithful Elders in Israel.
And what did Joseph Smith come to do? The will of his Father, to
learn that will and do it. What was the duty of Brigham Young?
The same. What is mine? The same. What is the duty of the Twelve?
To follow the counsel of the Presidency. What is the duty of the
Presidents of Stakes? To follow the counsel of the Presidency.
What is the duty of the Bishops? To follow the counsel of the
Presidents of Stakes and of their presiding bishop. I have had
men frequently come to me and want to pass by the Presidents of
Stakes. I pass them back again. I tell them to go to their
Presidents. Again I have men come to me who wish to pass by their
Bishops; I send them back to their Bishops as I wish to honor all
men in their place. I have enough to do without interfering with
the little details of others: and so on from them to the Elders,
Priests, Teachers and Deacons, every man in his place.
310
When the disciples of Jesus desired to know who should be the
greatest amongst them. He placed a little child in their midst
and said: Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and
become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of
heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little
child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
311
We need not talk about our dignity; we have none only as God
gives it us. We want the spirit of union and harmony in our
midst, every man being governed by the principles of the Gospel
and the laws of God. We are traveling through the Stakes
instructing the people in the principles of life, that they may
be one as the Father and the Son are one, that we may be one in
Him; and that all the Presidents, and all the Bishops, and all
the various authorities of the Church may see eye to eye, as we
are told they shall when God brings again Zion. We want men to be
governed by those principles; and for this reason we are
traveling among the Stakes to teach people the principles of
truth and righteousness; and we want you to be governed by your
various officers; and by your various courts too.
311
Here I want to talk a little on a certain principle. There has
been some considerable difficulty between you people of Provo and
those of Salt Lake County about water. You should come together
as men, and if you cannot compromise the matter, bring it before
your High Council, and have it regulated there: and I will tell
you here to-day, that if you take this matter to law before the
courts of the ungodly, you shall be cut off from the Church. Now,
do you hear that? If I have any voice in the matter I wish to be
heard, and I tell you, in the name of Israel's God, we will not
tolerate such flagrant violations of the law of God, among the
Latter-day Saints. No man shall hold a standing in the Church and
kingdom of God, or preside in that Church, who will violate the
laws of God, and seek to the ungodly, inasmuch as God has laws by
which He expects us to be governed. That is my feeling about it;
and we will carry it out, God being our helper. For we will not
suffer this kind of iniquity; and if they do it in the other
county, we will treat them the same. It is time for us to lay
aside our follies and nonsense, and cleave to the truth and rely
upon it, and maintain the Church of God upon the earth. If we do
this, we shall be the blessed of the Lord and our offspring with
us; and if we do not, then we shall not be, and this will not be
a land of Zion unto us. But it will be a land of Zion. The work
of God will progress; but the ungodly shall be severed from this
Church. I will not fellowship them. And any man who does it, he
does it at his own peril, for I will not have anything to do with
it. God has given us laws to regulate these matters and all our
matters before our High Councils, under the direction of inspired
men who have been ordained to the holy Priesthood to judge in
matters brought before them. And when we turn to the ungodly, we
sell ourselves to the devil, which we will not permit men to do
and maintain the fellowship of the Saints and a standing in the
Church and kingdom of God.
311
Now, all who are in favor of this hold up your right hands. (The
congregation held up their hands). Now, Brother Smoot, you see
that carried out.
312
Brethren and sisters, God bless you and lead you in the paths of
life. Do I talk plainly? God expects me to talk plainly. I have
not come here to daub you with untempered mortar, but I tell you
the truth. And while He has called us to high privileges, to
thrones and principalities and dominions, and to be saviors on
Mount Zion, and to be kings and priests unto God, and our wives,
queens and priestesses unto their husbands, while God has
ordained us for this, in the name of Israel's God we will try and
carry it out. And we will find enough that will be true and
faithful to God and to His Holy Priesthood. And the work of God
will roll on, Zion will be established, and the kingdom of God
built up, and no man will stay its progress. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / John
Taylor, October 19th, 1881
John Taylor, October 19th, 1881
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered at Box Elder County,
Wednesday, October 19th, 1881.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
THE BUILDING UP OF ZION--GRATITUDE TO GOD, ENDURING TRIAL, ETC.
312
I am pleased to meet with you, and I should have been so the
other evening, when you held your last meeting, but I thought it
proper to remain among our Lamanitish brethren, as they look to
us for instruction. We sent other brethren along, but I heard
some of the Saints felt a little disappointed because we did not
come. We feel you are our brethren and sisters, and that you are
one with us, and we are one with you, and with all who love
righteousness.
312
We are endeavoring to build up the Zion of our God, that we may
fill the measure of our creation upon the earth, and fulfil the
various duties which devolve upon us, and also teach others to do
the same. It is for this reason that we travel around among the
people; and there are a great many people to see now. In a short
time hence we shall have traveled all through the Territory,
visiting almost all the settlements. We are building up Zion, and
Zion is not confined to our prominent cities, but includes all
the cities of the Saints. We are desirous that all should become
acquainted with the principles which God has revealed for the
guidance, benefit, blessing and salvation of His people upon the
earth. These are our feelings towards you, and towards all the
Saints. And then, we have not any bad feelings towards others,
although the world generally are opposed to us.
312
You have a beautiful valley here, and have facilities for a large
settlement; and the water, perhaps, if properly managed, would
not be malad, or sickly.
313
Zion is growing, and the Lord has said it should; and it will
continue to grow, and it is for us to grow with it--to grow in
intelligence, virtue and purity, and in the knowledge of correct
principles ourselves, and then to teach the same to our children;
to cultivate these virtues in our own homes and in our little
settlements, and to have all our surroundings such as God,
angels, and all good men would approve. That our daughters may
grow up virtuous, pure and happy; that our young men may abstain
from licentiousness, from wrong actions, and from wrong speaking;
that we ourselves may set our children a correct pattern,
reverencing the Lord our God, and acknowledging His hand in all
things--in the blessings we receive from Him, in the food we have
to eat, the raiment we have to wear, and every temporal blessing
that is conferred upon us, for all that we receive and enjoy
comes from Him. And we are told that with none is the Lord angry,
except those who do not acknowledge His hand in all things. Seek
for His blessing upon everything you engage in. If you have a
farm, dedicate it to God, and pray that His blessing may be upon
it. If you build a house, dedicate it to God; also your garden,
your cattle and sheep and all that you possess, and pray that His
blessing may rest upon you and upon everything that pertains to
you.
313
I am told you have had rather severe times, that you have been a
good deal afflicted with grasshoppers and other things, and that
for a number of years you have had short crops; that, in fact,
you have not been able to raise sufficient wheat to bread your
settlement. Well, while this is so, we must bear in mind that you
here are not the only ones who have thus been afflicted. I am
told that the crops throughout our Territory are far better than
the general crop throughout the United States. The destructive
insects and elements which you have had to struggle against begin
to appear in other regions, afflicting the people of other places
as they have you.
313
God has given unto us a land, but there are houses to build,
farms to open, fences to make, our wants to be provided for, our
animals to be taken care of, etc.: All these are necessaries that
seem to crowd themselves upon us. Bishop Hunter says, children
never come into the world with shoes and stockings on. No, nor
clothes either, and if they did, their clothes would soon be too
small for them. We have to try to make provision for the wants of
our families, and to make them comfortable. The difficulties that
you have to contend with, we have experienced; and as far as
difficulties are concerned, none of us are free from them. Men of
wealth among us, as elsewhere, who command their tens and
hundreds of thousands, who have their every want supplied, have
more anxiety, care and perplexity than many of you, who have to
struggle for a comfortable living. And if you were placed in
their position you would be a great deal more uneasy than you are
now. We do not realize these things, but they are given unto us
for our experience, and we should learn to understand and
appreciate the position we occupy here upon the earth.
314
There is quite a fine opportunity now for men--good men, pure and
virtuous men and women to raise up a goodly seed. A Bishop has a
good chance, also his Counselors and those who are associated
with him--and he should seek to gather around him the most
honorable, chaste, and virtuous men, and endeavor to elevate
those over whom he presides; and as things progress get better
houses and better gardens and surroundings in keeping with them.
And upon everything we do we need the blessing of the Almighty;
and we need to put our trust in him. If, for instance, I was
living here and was raising a family, the first thing which I
should do would be to dedicate myself and my family, my house and
garden, my land, my cattle, and everything I possessed to God,
and should ask his blessing upon them. Then every morning when I
arose I should kneel down to supplicate his blessing upon me and
mine during the day, to preserve us from evil influences,
accidents and dangers, and to otherwise bless our labors in
obtaining a livelihood. And then I would pray for those who
presided over me in the Priesthood. Joseph Smith, upwards of
forty years ago, said to me: Brother Taylor, you have received
the Holy Ghost. Now follow the influence of that Spirit, and it
will lead you into all truth, until by and by, it will become in
you a principle of revelation. Then he told me never to arise in
the morning without bowing before the Lord, and dedicating myself
to him during that day. Some people treat these things lightly. I
do not; because I know that we derive our food, our raiment, and
all earthly as well as spiritual blessings from the goodness of
God our Heavenly Father. I know, furthermore, that as President
of this Church I should not know how to dictate if the Lord did
not help me. Should I desire people to yield to my ideas? I have
no ideas only as God gives them to me; neither should you. Some
people are very persistent in having their own way and carrying
out their own peculiar theories. I have no thoughts of that kind,
but I have a desire, when anything comes along, to learn the will
of God, and then to do it, and to teach my brethren to do it,
that we may all grow up unto Christ our living head, that we may
be acquainted with correct principles and govern ourselves
accordingly: and if we have our trials--why we are all tried. You
see people well off, such as I have referred to; they have just
as many trials as you have. They may have nice houses, and have
at their command many comforts; but what of that? Such things
alone do not make people happy. It is a mistaken notion that
wealth makes people happy. Cattle, sheep, houses, possessions,
would not bring you happiness. The Scriptures tell us that he
that hath eternal life is rich: and the Lord has told us to seek
after the riches of eternal life.
314
We are here occupying a peculiar position. The Lord has called us
from the nations of the earth, and he has restored to us the
everlasting Gospel, and that Gospel is calculated to elevate us
in time and throughout eternity. Jesus, in speaking to his
disciples, called them his sheep; and in praying to the Father in
their behalf, he said; "Thine they were, and Thou gavest them me.
* * I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given
me; for they are thine * * * Holy Father, keep through thine own
name those whom Thou hast given me, that they may be one as we
are." That there may be nothing but harmony and peace, and the
Spirit of the Lord, the spirit of intelligence dwelling in all,
that all may feel to promote one another's welfare, and all try
to enhance the happiness of the whole. That is how Our Heavenly
Father feels towards us.
315
Through some remarks already made I am reminded of my boyhood. At
that early period of my life I learned to approach God. Many a
time I have gone into the fields and concealing myself behind
some bush, would bow before the Lord and call upon him to guide
and direct me. And he heard my prayer. At times I would get other
boys to accompany me. It would not hurt you, boys and girls, to
call upon the Lord in your secret places, as I did. That was the
spirit which I had when a little boy. And God has led me from one
thing to another. But I did not have the privilege that you have.
There was nobody to teach me, while you have access to good men
at any time who can direct you in the way of life and salvation.
But my spirit was drawn out after God then; and I feel the same
yet.
315
We are here as Latter-day Saints. What would you do? I would try
as much as circumstances would permit, without laboring too hard,
to make comfortable houses, to make good orchards; I would
endeavor to make my family comfortable and would try to promote
their welfare.
317
Have you a school here? (Answer: Yes, sir). Have you a good
teacher? (Ans. A pretty good teacher). Well then, I would educate
my children. The teacher should be a man or woman who fears God,
who not only teaches grammar and the common branches of education
but the principles of the Gospel as well, that our children may
grow up in the fear of God. And then if I were the head of a
house, I should consider it not only a duty but a great pleasure
to call my family together and pray with them morning and
evening, and to pray for them, and to teach them to cherish this
feeling and spirit. Do you think I would ever want them to hear
me swear? Oh, how ashamed I should be if my children or my wives
or any of my good brethren were to hear me swear. That would be
setting a very bad example; while we, as parents, are required to
set good examples to our children and to all men. And then we
ought to be honest with one another; we should be truthful and
never prevaricate. Parents, be truthful; let your children have
confidence in your word, so that if father or mother says
anything, they might say, "if father or mother says such and such
a thing, I know it is right, because father or mother said it,
and they never prevaricate or tell a falsehood." That is the kind
of feeling we want to cultivate among ourselves and with our
families. And again we want to be cleanly in our persons, in our
houses and in everything. And mothers, you ought to cultivate in
your hearts the spirit of peace; you ought to be like angels of
God, full of every virtue. And the father ought to treat the
mother right. Has she her infirmities? Yes. And so has he. What
would you do under such circumstances--would you bear with her?
Yes, of course, and love her, and do everything I could to
promote her happiness; and instead of trying to perplex and annoy
her, I would bear with her in the spirit of love and kindness,
and cultivate that everywhere. And on the other hand, I would say
to the sisters, treat your husbands right, and make their homes
pleasant. Is there anything they would like to eat? Try to
prepare it for them; and let your children see that you love one
another, that they may grow up with the same feeling, and be led
from principle to honor their father and mother. These are the
kind of feelings that will elevate us; and we will try to educate
and elevate the Indians around us; and when they become educated,
we will send them out to preach the Gospel among their own
people, as we have done among our race. Oh, if we could
comprehend the glory, the intelligence, the power, the majesty
and dominion of our Heavenly Father! If we could contemplate the
exaltation, the glory, the happiness which awaits the righteous,
the pure and the virtuous, of those who fear God, even the Saints
of the Most High! If we could comprehend the great blessings that
God has in store for those people that fear him and observe his
laws and keep his commandments, we should feel very different
from what we do. But then, we do not. The Lord has brought us
from among the different nations, that we may be educated in the
things of the kingdom of God. He has conferred the Holy
Priesthood for that purpose: and the very organizations that we
have of Stakes and Wards, with their Presidency and Bishops, High
Councils, High Priests, Seventies, Elders, Priests, Teachers and
Deacons, etc., are placed in the Church by the Almighty, to
educate and elevate us: and we are going around to-day lecturing
on the principles of education. Education in what? In everything.
In our morals; in our social position; in our religion; in
everything pertaining to time and to eternity, so that we may be
happy in our families, that we may prosper in our enterprises,
and operate together and have the confidence of one another, and
do away with everything that is wrong and dwell together in love
and peace according to the Gospel of the Son of God. This is the
kind of feeling we want to be educated in, and we want to start
with it first in ourselves. As fathers and as mothers we want to
do right; and as children we must do right. If they will not, as
parents, we will set them good examples, and be kind to them, and
lead them as well as we can in the paths of life. That is the
spirit that dwells in our Heavenly Father. We want to follow
after him, and cultivate these principles in our bosoms and in
our hearts. For this reason we have various organizations in our
midst. We have our Bishops; and it is their duty to look after
their wards, and see that everything is moving along right, and
that everybody is doing right, and if there be any poor or sick
to feel after them and relieve them; and then to enlist the
sympathies of the brethren and sisters, that they may also feel
after them. Then we have our Mutual Improvement Associations.
Have you got one? (Answer, Yes, sir.) What are they for? To
instruct the rising youth. This is another branch of our
education. Our sisters, too, in their Relief Societies are doing
a good work. Continue in it. Our sisters know a great deal better
now to sympathize with their sex than the brethren; they can
better enter into their feelings. Carry on this work. This is
another part of our education. And referring again to our Young
People's Improvement Associations; how much I should have enjoyed
such privileges when I was a boy. But I had no such opportunity.
I had no Priesthood to teach me. You have privileges, young men
and young women, that we older folks had not. And this spirit and
feeling of improvement is not confined to one or two places; it
is all over, and a good work among the young is being done
throughout the dwellings of the Saints. And the Contributor,
which I believe is the organ of the Mutual Improvement
Associations, is an excellent periodical; and the young people
ought to avail themselves of its pages by subscribing for it,
which, no doubt, is being done generally. This movement among the
young people is another branch of our education. Another is our
Sunday School movement. Our children should be taught by good men
and good women. Train their infant minds, and lead the little
ones in the paths of life that they may understand about the
Church of Christ, and be nurtured in the fear of God. By and by
they will be men and women in Israel. It will not always be as it
is now. Men will not always entertain towards us the feelings
they do to-day. When they find that we are not the people the
world has held us up to be; when we shall have proven to the
world that we are not what they have believed us to be, but that
we are a virtuous and law-abiding people, the honorable among men
will acknowledge our worth. And the day will come when it will be
said of our children, as the old Prophets have prophesied, that
such and such a one was born in Zion. It will be considered a
great blessing and one of the greatest honors that could have
been inherited by our children to have been born in Zion among
the people of God. These people are not liars, whoremongers,
adulterers or thieves, as represented by our defamers, but they
have learned the principles of virtue and holiness, and such
things as are calculated to exalt and ennoble individuals,
families and nations; they are in possession of these principles,
and are exalted by them; and is it not an honor for a child to be
born of such fathers and mothers? Yes. Then let us be such
fathers and mothers. If we have done wrong, let us cease our evil
practices and repent of all wrong-doing; humble ourselves and
become as little children before God. Let us lay aside
covetousness. We need not scramble, for there is not much to
scramble after. There is not so much in the riches of this world
as some people think there is. They cannot be compared for a
moment with the riches of the kingdom of heaven, which are within
the reach of all men who have not forfeited them.
317
Then we should treat everybody right, those who are not of us, as
well as our own brethren. Would I cheat a man because he is not
in the Church? The thought of such an act would bring the blush
of shame to my cheek; and I feel chagrined when I hear of men,
who have entered into solemn and holy covenants, doing such
things. It is a common thing among a certain class of men to say
I made a splendid trade to-day with Brother So-and-So. But did
Brother So-and-So make as good a trade out of you? If he did, all
right. But if you, because you happen to be a little smarter, or
shrewder on a trade than your brother, have got the better of
him, it is not all right, it is all wrong, and I do not think it
a credit for a man to be possessed of that kind of smartness. I
do not think it a credit to anybody to want something which
belongs to somebody else. The Lord is trying us; and some of you
are already pretty well tried: and you try one another sometimes.
David, you know, said on a certain occasion, if it had been an
enemy he would have borne it; but it was his friend that did it,
and that cut him to the heart.
318
It is necessary that we should be tried, and that we should be
cut to the heart. And why? "For it became him, for whom are all
things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto
glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through
suffering." Why? In order that we might have a High Priest who is
acquainted with our affairs, and one who was tempted in all
points like unto us. He was tempted as we are. I have seen men
tempted so sorely that finally they would say, "I'll be damned if
I'll stand it any longer." Well, you will be damned if you do
not. So you had better bear it; and go to the Lord and say, O
God, I am sorely tempted; Satan is trying to destroy me, and
things seem to be combined against me. O Lord, help me! Deliver
me from the power and grasp of the devil. Let thy Spirit descend
upon me that I may be enabled to surmount this temptation and to
ride above the vanities of this world. This would be far better
than giving way to sin, and proving yourself unworthy of the
association of the good and pure.
319
I am reminded of Elijah. There was a time in his life when we
find him alone in a solitary place. And it thundered and
lightened, but God was in neither. By and by a still small voice
whispered to him, "What doest thou here, Elijah?" Elijah told the
Lord that they had digged down His altars and slain His Prophets,
and that he only was left; and said he, they seek my life also.
This was a gloomy picture; it was a sad story to tell the Lord.
But God understood the situation better than Elijah did; and said
he, I have reserved 7,000 men who have not bowed the knees to
Baal, in whom are the principles of integrity and honor. Abraham
was tried severely. He was told to take his son Isaac, him that
had been given to him by promise, through whom all the families
of the earth were to be blessed. Now, said he, Abraham, take thy
son and offer him as a sacrifice. Do you not think that some
would say, "I'll be damned if I do." Abraham did not stagger. He
believed that God had given him this son in his old age, and that
a great and glorious promise had to be fulfilled through him, and
moreover if he was sacrificed God was able to raise him from the
dead. He did not stagger through unbelief; but he went in
obedience to the command to offer up his sons. A great deal might
be said, but it would take too long to show what Abraham
expected. But he did expect that his seed would inherit the
Priesthood through all subsequent time. And that is the meaning
of that saying, "In thee and in thy seed shall all the families
of the earth be blessed," not cursed. Abraham, through the spirit
of prophecy, had gazed upon his posterity as they should exist
through the various ages of time. And among other things he saw
the days of Jesus, when he should come; and we are told, he was
glad. And after all this, God told him to take the life of his
son. What, and thus prevent your posterity from coming upon the
earth as you beheld it in vision? Yes, and in one stroke of the
knife blast all these glorious, these blessed hopes. He
approaches his son, and says, Come, Isaac, come with me upon this
mount. And they went. "Now, let us build an altar." And they
built an altar. And the boy was heard to say, Father, here is the
wood, and here is the altar, but where is the Lamb for the burnt
offering? Says Abraham: The Lord will provide the offering.
Finally, the father, choking, probably with the awfulness of the
moment, as his thoughts crowded upon him, says, My son, thou art
the one that I have got to offer up. Then at last he takes his
son and lays him upon the altar, and at the last moment he is
seen lifting the knife to slay the promised child, when the voice
of the Lord is heard, saying, Hold, Abraham, put not thine hand
upon the lad. Look; there is a ram caught in the thicket. Take
that, and offer it as a sacrifice. Would you, my brethren, like
to be put in that position? And referring to Job, he was also
proven. It seems that at a certain time the sons of God were
gathered together, and the devil was among them. And the Lord,
addressing himself to Satan, said, Hast thou considered my
servant Job? Oh yes, but you have put a hedge about him. If you
were to serve me the same way, I would be as obedient as he.
Possibly I do not know about that, says Satan. Let me tempt him.
Well, replies the Lord, you may try. Then what do we read?
319
"And there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and
drinking wine in their eldest brother's house:
319
And there came a messenger unto Job and said, the oxen were
ploughing, and the asses feeding beside them:
319
And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they
have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am
escaped alone to tell thee.
319
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The
fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep
and the servants and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone
to tell thee.
319
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The
Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and
have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge
of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
319
While he was yet speaking, there came also yet another, and said,
Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their
eldest brother's house.
319
And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and
smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young
men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
319
Job received all this intelligence, said as it was, without being
moved in the least to anger. He, we are told, rent his mantle,
and shaved his head, and fell down and worshiped, and said,
"Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return
thither. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be
the name of the Lord." We do not always feel so. We used to say
in Missouri, "Those damned Missourians have stolen our cattle.
Those damned Gentiles have done this and that." But they could
not do it if the Lord did not permit them. Here is another
evidence of our being in the hands of God, and we should feel
that we are in his hands; and then it will be all right. We will
not blame the devil, nor wicked, corrupt men; for they are of the
devil whose works they do. But we will say with Job, the Lord
giveth and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
320
The devil again appeared before the Lord, and the Lord said to
him:
"Well, you told me that Job would do thus and so; but he remains
true and unshaken, although thou movedst me against him to
destroy him. Satan then answered and said, "Skin for skin, yea
all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth
thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will
curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, "Behold, he
is in thine hand; but spare his life." Satan sallied forth again
from the presence of God, and smote Job with sore boils from the
crown of his head to the soles of his feet. And while in this
condition we are told that he sat down in ashes, and took a
potsherd and scraped himself. And his friends hearing of his
misfortunes came and taunted him with being a hypocrite, etc., as
we are apt to do when a series of misfortunes overtakes a man.
But he would not be moved by this, although he was stripped of
everything and afflicted withal. At last his wife thought she
could not stand it any longer; she got worked up over it, and I
can imagine her saying to her husband Job, I would not stand it
any longer, I would curse God, and die like a man. Job still
retaining his self-possession turned and said to her, "Thou
speakest as one of the foolish women." "What? Shall we receive
good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? Naked
came I into the world; and naked must I return. The Lord giveth
and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord." And
said he further, "Though he slay me yet will I trust in him. I
know that my Redeemer liveth." Job was a man that feared God and
lived up to his privileges, and the Spirit of the Almighty God
rested upon him; and hence he says, I know that my Redeemer
liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter-day upon the earth.
And though after my skin worms destroy this body, and revel in
this brain; although I go down to the silent tomb, there to rot
and become as the dust of the earth, yet, in my flesh shall I see
God; and these eyes shall gaze upon Him. And I know that my
Redeemer liveth, and that these eyes shall see him, and he shall
reign in the latter-days upon the earth. That is the kind of
religion those men had; and we want the same kind of principle.
After Job had been tried and proven, the Lord lifted him up
again, and increased his flocks and herds and everything in the
shape of earthly possessions which the world calls good. And so
great was the goodness of God extended to Job, that we are told
he was more blessed in his latter days than in his former days.
And it was as the devil had said, God put a hedge around him; and
so he does about us, and we do not know it.
320
Here is Brother Cannon, for instance, who is soon about to go to
Washington as our Delegate to Congress, and you know the
influence that has been exercised against the people whom he
represents, and you know also that he, as Delegate, is not
entitled to a vote. And notwithstanding the devices and schemings
of men and organizations, that have used their influence directly
for the purpose of bringing inimical legislation against us, God
has confounded them in all of their plans up to the present time.
Has not God put a hedge about us? Yes, He has. And as long as we
fear him, he will continue to do it; and he will preserve us, and
no power this side of earth or hell can injure us.
320
One of the poets says--
John Taylor, October 19th, 1881
"Shall I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease,
And sailed through bloody seas?"
John Taylor, October 19th, 1881
And John, while wrapped in vision, saw an innumerable
company of the redeemed clothed in white raiment, singing a song
that no man knew save he that received it. And he inquired
saying, Who are these arrayed in white, and whence came they?
These are they that came up through much tribulation, who washed
their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. I have
heard Joseph Smith say to the Twelve, "God will get hold of your
heart strings, and he will wrench them to the very core." Has he
done it? He has. The Twelve know that he has. President Young
knew it, and Joseph Smith knew it; and finally he had to give
himself up as an offering for this people. Have we passed through
suffering? We have. And shall we have more of it to face? We
shall, if we be found among those whom John saw. We have got to
be sifted in the seive of tribulation until we shall prove our
integrity to be true to God and man. Brethren, seek for the
Spirit of God upon yourselves, and all that pertain to you, and
live so that your prayers can be heard and answered upon your
heads; and walk according to the light of that which you have
already received, and the blessings of God will attend you. You
can make a little heaven right here among yourselves, if you want
to; and you need not go anywhere else for it. Live your religion,
and you will be blessed in time and all eternity. God bless you.
Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / George
Q. Cannon, October 9, 1881
George Q. Cannon, October 9, 1881
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT GEORGE Q. CANNON,
Delivered at the General Conference, in the Tabernacle,
Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, October 9, 1881.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
THE SAINTS A PECULIAR PEOPLE--THEIR RELIGION
PRACTICAL--SUSTAINING EACH OTHER--HONESTY IN TRADE--THE
BLESSING OF GOD ON THE FAITHFUL, ETC.
322
In the presence of so large an audience as we have here to-day,
every one ought to sit very still and repress every noise as much
as possible, for the acoustic properties of this tabernacle are
of such a character that the combination of sounds--shuffling of
feet, crying of babies, walking about of children--drown the
speaker's voice however strong it may be. Every person should
therefore keep as still as possible. No human power can make a
congregation like this hear, unless the congregation itself sits
quietly, and babies should not be allowed to disturb those in
their immediate neighborhood. It may be very interesting to the
mother; she may think the music of her baby's voice very sweet;
but those who come to hear are not interested in hearing it.
322
In coming together as we have done upon this occasion and during
this Conference, we should be so united in our faith that when a
speaker arises the people will draw from him that instruction
which they need. Many of you have come long distances. I see some
here upwards of 300 miles from their homes, and of course when
men take such journeys, traveling about 700 miles in the round
trip to come to Conference, there should be something imparted to
them which will be a profit to them, that they may feel satisfied
when they leave here that the journey has been well taken. Now,
there are topics enough before us, topics of great, vital
importance to us as a people, which we should consider, and which
upon occasions like this are appropriate for our consideration.
324
We have been told--indeed it is a constant comment about us--that
we are a peculiar people. We know this ourselves. It is a very
remarkable thing, that this Gospel, which the world calls
"Mormonism," has gathered only here and there one out of the
families of the earth, and as the most of you who are adults well
know, you were, as a general thing, different from the rest of
your family in many respects. It seemed as though you were
waiting for something to come along a little different from
anything that you had heard. The systems of religion, the ideas
that were inculcated by your teachers and that you were taught in
your Sunday schools, in your chapels and in your meeting-houses
and churches, did not accord with your views concerning God and
Christ, and the plan of salvation; and yet, had you been asked
what you believed in, where you should go to find that which you
did believe in, or to define your ideas of what you wanted, it
would have been impossible for you to have done so. Yet there was
a yearning in your hearts for something higher, something nobler,
something more Godlike, something after the apostolic plan of
salvation. And it is a remarkable fact that the Elders of this
Church, in their travels and administrations among the people,
though they have had great difficulties to contend with, have had
persecutions and all manner of evil things said about them, have
been frequently mobbed and driven--that notwithstanding they have
had these difficulties to contend with, it has been an easy
matter to bring those who are now Latter-day Saints into this
Church. When the Elders found the honest in heart, when they
found men and women who were meek and lowly, who were prayerful,
who believed in the Bible, who were willing to accept truth
however it might come to them, however unpopular its advocate
might be--when they found people of this description, they have
never had any difficulty in gathering them out. The Latter-day
Saints throughout these valleys, from north to south, have been
gathered without much, if any, trouble on the part of the Elders,
for the word of God has come to them in the power and
demonstration of the Holy Ghost, and they have been convinced of
the truth very frequently before they scarcely heard it. This is
very remarkable--remarkable how the hearts of the people have
been prepared to receive the Elders, how their minds have been
softened, and how willingly they have received the truth and
borne testimony to it, when they heard it. I remember well my own
mother's experience. I was a little boy sitting beside her the
first time she saw an Elder. She had never heard of the
Latter-day Saints or "Mormons," she did not know that he was one;
she did not even know that he was a professor of religion; but
she had been waiting for something. My father and mother were
both Episcopalians, but they had no faith in the system, it was
cold and inanimate, there was nothing lifelike or godlike about
it. When he left the house she said to me, "George, that is a man
of God." She had a testimony to that effect, although, as I have
said, she did not know he was even a professor of religion. That
Elder was President Taylor. And when he began to talk afterwards
regarding the principles of the Gospel, she was ready to be
baptized, for it was that for which she had been waiting, her
heart was prepared for it, and there are thousands and thousands
of such instances among the people called Latter-day Saints. God
prepared their hearts beforehand, and the Elders found them
without much difficulty. It is true they had to labor and contend
with others, but those who were the honest-hearted sons and
daughters of God, who were willing to receive the truth, received
it without much difficulty, as I have said. And it is a wonderful
fact that in accordance with the scriptures God is gathering
together a people to lay the foundation of this great work,
concerning which all the Prophets have spoken. God has predicted
through the mouths of His Holy Prophets--and their words are to
be found in the Bible--that in the last days there should be just
such a work as that which we witness--that is, one of a city and
two of a family being gathered together, in order that there
might be a representation of all the families and races of men
upon the earth, to lay the foundation of this, the greatest work
that has ever been established upon the face of the earth. And
yet men talk of there being no evidence in favor of "Mormonism."
They say, Where is the evidence of its divinity? Where is the
evidence that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God? Show us a sign
that we may see whether you are the people you profess to be?
Why, here in these mountains is one of the greatest signs
presented to all the inhabitants of the earth that ever was shown
to man--a system, an organization composed of people from every
creed, and it may be said from every civilized creed, and from
every civilized race, gathered together, dwelling in union and in
love, and worshiping God according to the laws which he has given
with a oneness, with a union, with a love that is unexampled upon
the face of the earth. Nowhere else can such a thing be found;
and I often think when men talk about delusion, and about the
shrewd leaders of this people, and that by the power of their
shrewdness and the strength of the imposture, they are able to
hoodwink the people and to lead them astray, that it takes more
faith to believe that theory than it does for the Latter-day
Saints to believe the truth as we have received it. If this be
imposture where is the truth? The Gospel of Christ was to produce
union, its mission was to produce love, to destroy strife, to
make men and women live together as brethren and sisters, and it
has done so for us and it is doing so and it will do so more and
more, and it will build up a system such as cannot be found on
the face of the earth. And it is growing and increasing. It is
like a little leaven, and by and by it will leaven the whole
lump, and the influence and the power that will go forth from
this people will be felt throughout the whole earth. I know it is
a great thing to say, and men, looking at us numerically, think
we are exceedingly presumptuous to advance such an idea, but it
is nevertheless true. The union of this people, the power which
accompanies them and the effect of their example will be felt
more and more, and the truth will continue to spread until all
honest-hearted people will be convinced of the truth of the
statements which are made concerning the restoration of the
everlasting Gospel in its original purity and power, and those
who may not be prepared to receive it--will sooner or later
respect it and admire it, and be willing to share in the benefits
which will accrue from its establishment on the earth.
324
Now, my brethren and sisters, there is one thing above everything
else, that every speaker from this stand would like to impress
upon your minds, and that is, when you go away from this
Conference that you carry with you the determination to live and
to carry out in your lives the principles that you profess. That
is all that we can ask of you. Live your religion--that embodies
all that can be said to you. There is glory in it, there is
happiness in it, there is peace in it, there is virtue in it,
there is wealth in it, there is exaltation in it, there is no
gift or blessing or power that it does not contain and that does
not accompany it. On the other hand, violate the principles of
your religion, deviate from the path that God has marked out, and
there is sorrow and misery for you, if persisted in.
325
You have been gathered together in the most wonderful manner that
any people ever were. We talk about the gathering of the children
of Israel under Moses. I consider that that mighty movement fades
away in comparison with the gathering that is now going on. This
people have been brought from the various nations of the earth,
and you have received a testimony from God concerning this work.
You know for yourselves if you are living as you should
do--concerning these things. How necessary it is, then, that you
should carry out these principles. But the great difficulty we
have to contend with is that we bring with us our traditions and
preconceived ideas, and to overcome these is the great labor we
have to contend with; it is a labor that we should set ourselves
industriously, patiently, perseveringly to accomplish. Let us be
pure in our hearts, in our language, in our conduct, in
everything that we think and say and do. Let us seek for purity;
let us inculcate purity; let us take the principles of the Gospel
and teach them to our children and endeavor to make them better
Latter-day Saints than we are; let us do everything we can in
this direction, and then if we do this there will be no vice in
our land; liquor saloons, gambling houses, houses of prostitution
and the other evils that abound in the world will not be found
within our borders. It should be our aim to so live that these
things shall be repressed, completely extinguished. It is a shame
for anyone professing to be what we are to enter a liquor saloon,
or to patronize one, or to patronize any of these evils; and we
should withdraw the hand of fellowship from all who do.
Drunkenness certainly will never be countenanced by the Lord. It
is a gross vice, and it will bring the loss of the Spirit to
everyone who indulges in it; and so with these other vices to
which I have alluded. No one can be a Latter-day Saint who
practices these things. We should be honest, we should be
truthful, our word should be like the words of the Lord, that is,
in our sphere. When a man says a thing to his neighbor, he should
so live that his neighbor can have confidence in him. When he
makes a promise that promise should be sacred, and if he cannot
fulfil it, let him explain the reason so that confidence may be
preserved. When we borrow we should repay; when we deal we should
be upright in our dealing. I would like it to be the case among
us that when a man has a horse to sell that he will tell all he
knows about it and not endeavor to take advantage in any shape or
form. The same with a wagon, a cow, a piece of land, or a house,
or anything else, that a man will tell what he knows about these
things, so that confidence may be maintained. There are some men
of whom I have heard who when they make a trade think that the
one with whom they trade ought to have his own eyes open, and if
he does not and is taken advantage of because of his inexperience
or being too confiding, the one who gets the bargain is not to
blame, but to be congratulated on his good luck. Indeed there are
some men who, if they can take advantage in this way, would think
nothing of bowing down on their knees and thanking God for having
made so good a bargain. Now, a man who calls himself a Latter-day
Saints, and will do a thing of the kind, grieves the spirit of
the Lord. Again, if a man employs you to do a piece of work, that
work should be well done, whether he is there to see it done or
not. And when employers agree to pay a certain price, or a
certain kind of pay they should abide by their agreement. But
there is a great deal of trickery in such matters. Some people
think "I am a good trader; I can sell a horse for more than it is
worth; I have got an old wagon, but my neighbor, who has not my
experience wants a wagon; I can trade that poor wagon to him, I
can get a good price for it, and I shall thank God if I can do
so." I tell you such things are very sinful, and are not from
God. When we, professing to be Latter-day Saints, do such things,
we grieve the Spirit of God, and cause Satan to laugh. These are
practical duties. I would give more for a Latter-day Saint who,
if I employed him to do me a job and he did it right, than I
would for a man who would offer a long prayer and tell the Lord a
great many things that might be very good, and did not do the
work honestly. I would rather have a man that was honest in his
dealings with his neighbor--a man that if I wanted to buy a horse
I could go to him with the full assurance that he would do the
square thing by me--than I would have a man who offers very long
prayers if he neglected this other duty. I tell you that the Lord
wants works from the people and not professions. We have got lots
of profession. There are some men very sanctimonious, and because
they can pray well and are looked upon as good Latter-day Saints,
they think they are privileged to take advantage of their
neighbor. Now, I tell you that we want a religion that is
different to this. We want a religion of honesty. If I say a
thing to a man I ought to live so that he will believe every word
I say. If I sell him a piece of property, I should tell him the
truth about it, there should be no concealment, no lying or
allowing the man to be deceived. It is on that account that I
despise this trading. Some men live by trading, and in the long
run somebody is cheated in the community. There are times, of
course, when men can exchange property, and both parties be
benefited thereby. If one man has a piece of property that
another man wants, and the other has a piece of property that
suits the first party, a mutual benefit results from the
exchange. There are other instances of this kind which frequently
occur; but it should be done on the square. Any man who takes
advantage in this direction cannot be a Latter-day Saint, in
truth and deed, and God will hold him accountable for his
conduct. Ours ought to be a religion of works and not of
profession. It should be a religion that we can carry with us in
our every day work--a religion that will make a man a better son,
a better brother, a better husband, a better father than he would
be without it, and I would not give a fig for a religion that did
not have that effect. When I hear men quarreling with their
children, husbands with their wives, wives with their husbands, I
say there is not much religion about that kind of work or
conduct. A man who is not kind to his wife needs some religion. A
man who is not kind to his children and to his neighbors, needs
some religion, and he needs the religion of Jesus Christ. A man
who is indolent and neglects his duties, needs more religion, the
religion of Jesus Christ, to make him more industrious. An
indolent man cannot have much of the Spirit of God about him; an
uncleanly man, and certainly an impure man, a dishonest man
cannot have much of it. When I hear a woman quarreling with her
children and making the house too hot for her husband--I rarely,
if ever, hear them, because I do not go where they are, but I
hear of them--I think that woman needs religion. When she loses
patience, she should go to God and ask for patience, that the
power of her religion may rest down upon her.
327
The great difficulty with us is: We have a religion and do not
seek for its power, we do not dive to its depths, we do not rise
to its heights, we do not comprehend its beauties and blessings.
We go along without seeking after our God and the power of our
God, as we should do. If we would devote a little time to
self-examination when we go to bed, review the events of the day,
see if our conduct has been such as God can approve of, and as
enables us to lie down with a conscience void of offence towards
God and all men, we do well, and if we cannot do that it is time
to repent. If we have wronged anybody, we should make it right.
And when something comes along to cross us or disturb our
equanimity, instead of throwing out words that are like daggers,
lacerating the feelings of those to whom they are addressed, we
should shut our mouths. Some people pride themselves in what they
call their frankness and candor in this respect. I tell you, I
don't want such frankness around me. I would rather a man would
hold his tongue and not indulge in such expressions as are
hurtful to people's feelings. We should so live that our examples
as fathers and mothers will be worthy of imitation by our
children. You see a brawling, boisterous, swearing man, and his
children will copy after him. You see a man that is the opposite
of that, and his children will bear his example in mind. If he is
a prayerful man, his children are likely to be prayerful also; if
he be honest and truthful and keeps his word strictly, that
lesson will not be lost upon his children. If I were a young man
and wanted to marry, I would not go to a house where there was
continual quarreling between the husband and wife and children; I
would not want to select a wife from such a family; I would want
to go where peace resigns, the peace of God, which every man,
woman and child possess in their hearts and in their habitations.
That is our privilege. These are very simple things, and yet
nobody has gotten true religion who does not possess these gifts.
We may talk about our religion; we may boast about it; we may
tell about its gifts and powers; we may tell about the
manifestations we have had; but after all, the marrow of our
religion lies in the performance of those every-day duties, some
of which I have alluded to.
328
There is one thing that has struck me as very remarkable about
the Latter-day Saints. God in the early day of this Church told
us that we should be a people that should have peace, and he has
given unto us a revelation which says, that "it shall come to
pass among the wicked, that every man that will not take the
sword against his neighbor must needs flee unto Zion for safety."
Now that day will come just as sure as God has spoken, and we of
all people on the face of the earth ought to be a peaceful people
in view of this promise--no quarreling, no seeking to injure each
other, no doing violence to one another. I have heard of men
threatening to do something which would involve the shedding of
blood if certain things were done to them. Why, it is a most
horrible thought, for there is no salvation for the murderer.
There is no people on this broad continent who cherish the
Constitution of the United States as a sacred instrument any
more, or as much as do the Latter-day Saints in these mountains.
Believing it as we do to be inspired of God, and given for an
express purpose, of course we attach a great deal of reverence to
that instrument. We do not always pay reverence to officials,
because of their mal-administration of the laws; but the
instrument itself, and the form of government we live under, we
think is equalled by none upon the face of this broad earth; we
think it is the greatest form of government, the freest, the most
liberal, the best adapted for men and women, that ever was
instituted by man among men. This we hold in our hearts, in our
heart of hearts, concerning this government. But then a great
many people are not suited because we take the liberty of
criticising certain officials. There have been a good many who
have trampled upon the principles of the Constitution; but these
outrageous acts, even against a people such as we are, do not
affect the instrument, the fabric or the genius of our
institutions, and on this account we are truly loyal. When the
South raised the flag of rebellion, there was no well-informed
Latter-day Saint who could approve in his heart of such conduct,
however much we might have expected it, Joseph Smith having
predicted, nearly thirty years before the rebellion broke out,
that it would occur--however much this might be the case there
was nothing connected with the principle of secession or
rebellion that met with the approval of the Latter-day Saints.
And it is a remarkable fact that God, through the acts of our
enemies, caused us to be placed in a position where, in the war
of the rebellion, we should not be compelled to shed the blood of
our fellow-men. Had we remained in New York, where our people
first settled; or afterwards in Ohio; had we remained in
Missouri, to which State we subsequently emigrated and from
whence we were cruelly driven; had we remained in Illinois, where
we afterwards took refuge, and from whence we were also cruelly
driven to the wilderness, we should have been made participants
in that dreadful strife, we should have been compelled to have
taken up the weapons of war, or the people would have said we
were disloyal.
328
Inaction at such a time would have been set down to disloyalty
and sympathy with the rebellion, and we could scarcely have
escaped, in view of the prejudices against us, being branded and
treated as traitors to the Government. But we were here in the
mountains, in a position where we could do nothing in the strife.
President Lincoln asked for some men to guard the great highway,
to preserve the mails and keep open communication, and these men
were sent out. But they did not have to fight. Under the command
of General James Craig, our men were sent to guard the great
trans-continental highway, and we did our part in that direction.
But God, in His Providence, did not place us in a position to
imbrue our hands in the blood of our fellow-men. And when five
hundred men--after we were driven from Illinois in 1846--were
required to make up the Mormon Battalion for the Mexican war, the
promise of God to these five hundred men was that they should not
be compelled to shed blood during their absence, and in a
remarkable manner this prediction was fulfilled. They never
shrank from doing their duty as good, loyal citizens and
soldiers, but there was no blood-shedding by the Mormon
Battalion. We have been in all our troubles preserved from
shedding blood. We are not a blood-shedding people. Our garments
are not stained with the blood of our fellow-men--I mean as a
people. There are many among us who have been soldiers in the
war, but I am speaking now as an organization, and we stand in
that position to-day, in the United States. We can say to the
Southerner, to the Northerner, to the Westerner, to the
Easterner, and to every man, "We are your brothers." We are at
peace with all mankind. God has given unto us a law concerning
this, that we must hoist the standard of peace and continue to
proclaim it, and then if we are called upon to defend ourselves,
we are told to leave our cause in the hands of God. We are a
people who love peace, and in the turmoil, in the wars, in the
confusion, in all the disorders that will eventually occur, not
only in Europe, but in our own land--our own blessed land in many
respects which shall become yet very unhappy in consequence of
internal broils and disunion--when all this shall take place we
are the people who will present such an aspect to the world, that
they will say, "here are the features we desire, they have the
peace our souls long for." Now, my brethren and sisters, we
should cultivate this feeling of peace. My sisters, let peace be
in your hearts. Repress everything like quarrelling. Suffer wrong
rather than do wrong. It is a harder thing for a man to submit to
wrong than to fight against it. The natural tendency of the heart
is to resent wrong, to strike back when you are struck at, but it
is not the way laid down by the Savior.
330
There is one thing I want to speak about before I get through,
and that is in relation to our tithes and offerings. I can speak
about this not boastingly, but with freedom, for I do my part in
this matter. There is too much delinquency on our part as a
people in this respect. Let me entreat you to be more punctual in
these matters. The more you do for the Church of God, the more
you want to do; the more you are interested in its welfare the
more you will become attached to it. Look at the Twelve Apostles,
have they not set you an example--I will not speak of the First
Presidency--in regard to these things? Have any of them sought to
build themselves up and become wealthy? Here is Brother Woodruff,
President of the Twelve Apostles. Is there any man in Israel who
has worked harder to support himself and family than he? He is
known for his persistent industry. He has set the people a great
example in that respect. He has not been a burden to any one. He
has labored from morning till night for this people and for their
salvation. He has not fattened upon your earnings, he has
sustained himself by the blessing of God. And so have the rest of
the Twelve. They have labored continually for this people. They
have traveled thousands of miles, gone to the ends of the earth,
to build up Zion, and not counted anything too great a labor.
That is the example the Twelve have set this people. And they
have paid their tithing punctually. They have done as much in
this way according to their means as any of you, and in addition
to this they have spent almost their entire time in the interest
of the Church. What I say on this point applies fully also to
President Taylor, when he was one of the Twelve. Now, with such
examples as these, how will you appear in the day of the Lord
Jesus, when you present yourselves before Him, when you appear in
those Temples to receive your blessings, if you have thought more
about your money and about worldly things than you have about
anything else? Let me say you will be very sorry for this if you
do not repent and do better. There are many leading men among us
who do not do their duty in this respect. They are derelict, and
neglect of this duty is extending among the people. We must do
more in this direction if we would have the blessing of God than
we are doing. We must be more diligent; we must think more about
God and His kingdom and His salvation than we do about the things
of this world. It is true, as we have been told during this
Conference, we shall have houses, farms, etc., etc.; these are
all necessary; but above all else we should think about the
kingdom of God and its advancement. We have no friends but God
and ourselves. At the same time let us extend the hand of relief
where we can to others; but it is our duty to build up Zion. From
my childhood I have vowed in my heart--and I have endeavored to
keep the vow--that not one cent of mine would ever go to build up
anything that was opposed to Zion. At the same time I have spent
years, as others have done, traveling without purse or scrip and
preaching the Gospel to those who were in darkness; but so far as
working to sustain that which is opposed to Zion I have
determined, and I did so determine in my childhood, not to do
that, God being my helper, and he has helped me up to the present
time. The advancement of the kingdom of God should be uppermost
in our hearts, and we should not be afraid to spend means to
assist in this great work. Those who do will have it returned
unto them an hundred-fold. You look at the men who have done the
most in this Church, and you will find them the most blessed.
They may not have so much wealth as some, but wealth is not
everything, not by a good deal. The men who have spent the most
time and the most means for the advancement of this work have
been the men who have been blessed and preserved of God, God has
prospered them all the day long, and he will bless their children
after them. It is something to have one's children blessed. I
would like to have that as well as to be blessed myself; I would
like to live so that I could invoke the power and blessing of God
upon my posterity.
330
I pray God to fill you with the Holy Ghost; the Holy Ghost that
will bring things past to your remembrance and show unto you
things to come; that you may retain the things you have heard
during this Conference, and be built up and strengthened in your
faith, which I pray may be the case, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 /
Wilford Woodruff, October 8th, 1881
Wilford Woodruff, October 8th, 1881
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT WILFORD WOODRUFF,
Delivered at the General Conference, in the Tabernacle,
Salt Lake City, Saturday, A.M., October 8th, 1881.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
THE CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION FROM GOD TO MAN,--DREAMS, VISIONS,
ETC.
330
I want to preach a short sermon to this congregation. To begin
with, I have heard President Young and President Taylor a great
many times from this stand ask the people to keep quiet until the
meeting was dismissed; but as soon as the sermon ends there are a
hundred boys and girls, or two hundred of them, rush for the
doors. I do not like it. It pains me to see the President of the
Church make this request, and the people pay no attention to it.
331
Now, in this fast age we are passing from a polite age to a very
rude one in many respects. When I was a boy 65 years ago, and
went to school, I never thought of passing a man whom I knew in
the street, or a woman, without taking off my hat and making a
bow. I never thought of saying "yes" or "no" to those that were
placed over me. I was taught to say "yes, sir" and "no, sir;" but
to-day it is "yes" and "no," "I will," "I won't," "I shall" and
"I shan't." Now, when I see this rudeness amongst us, I sometimes
wish that the spirit of the New England fathers was more among
the people. But I do hope, brethren, sisters and friends, when a
man stops talking and the choir rises to sing, that you will keep
your seats. You can afford to do this as well as the President of
the Church, the Twelve Apostles, or others who are sitting on
this stand. You don't see us jump up and run for the door the
moment a speaker is done. The Lord is displeased with any such
thing. I hope you will pardon me for so speaking. I felt to say
that much.
331
We have a variety of teaching and preaching, and I have sometimes
thought that we have more preaching and teaching than any other
people on the earth. I expect it is all right. I think we need
it. The world need teaching, we ourselves need teaching; but I
have thought that the Latter-day Saints have had more of the
Gospel of Christ proclaimed to them than any other generation
that ever lived.
331
My mind reverts to the channels of communication from God to man.
Here we have the Bible which gives a history and prophecy of the
prophets from Adam down to our own day extending through a period
of near 6,000 years. The Lord, through all the destruction that
has taken place in the various libraries of the world--like the
great library of Alexandria, for example--has preserved the
record of the Jews, at least we have a portion of it to read.
Then, again, we have the Book of Mormon, the stick of Joseph in
the hands of Ephraim, giving a history of the ancient inhabitants
of this country from the time of their leaving the Tower of Babel
to their disappearance from the land, and of the visitation of
Christ to them. We have these books from which to obtain
knowledge. Then we have the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, our
Testament, which contains the most glorious, godlike, solemn and
eternal truths ever recorded within the lids of a book on the
earth. All these records are the words of God to man; and though
the heavens and earth pass away not one jot or tittle will ever
fall unfulfilled.
331
Then the Lord has other ways of communicating His mind and will.
We have the living oracles with us, and have had from the day
that Joseph Smith received the ministrations of Moroni, the
Nephite, John the Baptist, Peter, James and John, Moses, Elias,
Elijah, Jesus Christ--from that day we have had the living
oracles to teach us the word of the Lord.
333
President Joseph F. Smith yesterday spoke of the gifts and
graces. Now, the Lord has many ways in which He communicates with
us. Frequently, as has been the case in every age, truths,
principles, warnings, etc., are communicated to the children of
men by means of dreams and visions. There is a great vision
recorded in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. When Sidney
Rigdon and Joseph Smith saw the visions of heaven they were
commanded to write while in the vision. The Lord was in that. It
is a communication to man. But we have had a great many dreams--I
have had in my life, and I suppose you have more or less--which
amount to nothing. I will tell you just about what I refer to. A
man eats a hot supper when he goes to bed; he gets the nightmare;
he is chased by a bear; or he falls over a precipice, and as soon
as he strikes the ground he wakes up. Now, the Lord had nothing
to do with that. A man may go to bed half-worried to death, tired
and dream about something that will never take place. Last night,
for instance, I dreamt I was making glass houses out of blocks of
glass two feet square. Now, I don't know that the Lord was in
that. Yet I have had dreams of a very different character. When I
was a boy eleven years old, I had a very interesting dream, part
of which was fulfilled to the very letter. In this dream I saw a
great gulf, a place where all the world had to enter at death,
before doing which they had to drop their worldly goods. I saw an
aged man with a beaver hat and a broadcloth suit. The man looked
very sorrowful. I saw him come with something on his back, which
he had to drop among the general pile before he could enter the
gulf. I was then but a boy. A few years after this my father and
mother removed to Farmington, and there I saw that man. I knew
him the moment I saw him. His name was Chauncy Deming. In a few
years afterwards he was taken sick and died. I attended his
funeral. He was what you may call a miser, worth hundreds of
thousands of dollars. When the coffin was being lowered into the
grave my dream came to me, and that night his son-in-law found
one hundred thousand dollars in a cellar belonging to the old
man. I name this merely to show that in this dream I had
manifested to me certain things that were true. I think of all
the inhabitants of the world having to leave their goods when
they come to the grave. After this scene had passed before me I
was placed in a great temple. It was called the kingdom of God.
The first man who came to me was Uncle Ozem Woodruff and his wife
I helped into the temple. In process of time, after embracing the
Gospel, and while on my first mission to Tennessee, I told
Brother Patten of my dream, who told me that in a few years I
would meet that man and baptize him. That was fulfilled to the
very letter, for I afterwards baptized my uncle and his wife and
some of the children; also my own father and step-mother and
step-sister, and a Methodist priest or class-leader,--in fact I
baptized everybody in my father's house. I merely mention this to
show that dreams sometimes do come to pass in life.
333
Then, again, there are visions. Paul, you know, on one occasion
was caught up to the third heaven and saw things that were not
lawful to utter. He did not know whether he was in the body or
out of the body. That was a vision. When Joseph Smith, however,
was visited by Moroni and the Apostles, it was not particularly a
vision which he had; he talked with them face to face.
333
Now, I will refer to a thing that took place with me in
Tennessee. I was in Tennessee in the year 1835, and while at the
house of Abraham O. Smoot, I received a letter from Brothers
Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, requesting me to stay there, and
stating that I would lose no blessing by doing so. Of course, I
was satisfied. I went into a little room and sat down upon a
small sofa. I was all my myself and the room was dark; and while
I rejoiced in this letter and the promise made to me, I became
wrapped in vision. I was like Paul; I did not know whether I was
in the body or out of the body. A personage appeared to me and
showed me the great scenes that should take place in the last
days. One scene after another passed before me. I saw the sun
darkened; I saw the moon become as blood; I saw the stars fall
from heaven; I saw seven golden lamps set in the heavens,
representing the various dispensations of God to man--a sign that
would appear before the coming of Christ. I saw the resurrection
of the dead. In the first resurrection those that came forth from
their graves seemed to be all dressed alike, but in the second
resurrection they were as diverse in their dress as this
congregation is before me to-day, and if I had been an artist I
could have painted the whole scene as it was impressed upon my
mind, more indelibly fixed than anything I had ever seen with the
natural eye. What does this mean? It was a testimony of the
resurrection of the dead. I had a testimony. I believe in the
resurrection of the dead, and I know it is a true principle. Thus
we may have dreams about things of great importance, and dreams
of no importance at all. The Lord warned Joseph in a dream to
take the young child Jesus and his mother into Egypt, and thus he
was saved from the wrath of Herod. Hence there are a great many
things taught us in dreams that are true, and if a man has the
spirit of God he can tell the difference between what is from the
Lord and what is not. And I want to say to my brethren and
sisters, that whenever you have a dream that you feel is from the
Lord, pay attention to it. When I was in the City of London on
one occasion, with Brother George A. Smith, I dreamt that my wife
came to me and told me that our first child had died. I believed
my dream, and in the morning while at breakfast, I felt somewhat
sad. Brother George A. noticed this and I told him my dream. Next
morning's post brought me a letter from my wife, conveying the
intelligence of the death of my child. It may be asked what use
there was in such a thing. I don't know that there was much use
in it except to prepare my mind for the news of the death of my
child. But what I wanted to say in regard to these matters is,
that the Lord does communicate some things of importance to the
children of men by means of visions and dreams as well as by the
records of divine truth. And what is it all for? It is to teach
us a principle. We may never see anything take place exactly as
we see it in a dream or a vision, yet it is intended to teach us
a principle. My dream gave me a strong testimony of the
resurrection. I am satisfied, always have been, in regard to the
resurrection. I rejoice in it. The way was opened unto us by the
blood of the Son of God.
334
Now, having said so much on that subject, I want to say to my
brethren and sisters, that we are placed upon the earth to build
up Zion, to build up the kingdom of God. The greater proportion
of the male members of Zion, who have arrived at the years of
early manhood, bear some portion of the Holy Priesthood. Here is
a kingdom of Priests raised up by the power of God to take hold
and build up the kingdom of God. The same Priesthood exists on
the other side of the vail. Every man who is faithful in his
quorum here will join his quorum there. When a man dies and his
body is laid in the tomb, he does not lose his position. The
Prophet Joseph Smith held the keys of this dispensation on this
side of the vail, and he will hold them throughout the countless
ages of eternity. He went into the spirit world to unlock the
prison doors and to preach the Gospel to the millions of spirits
who are in darkness, and every Apostle, every Seventy, every
Elder, etc., who has died in the faith as soon as he passes to
the other side of the vail, enters into the work of the ministry,
and there is a thousand times more to preach there than there is
here. I have felt of late as if our brethren on the other side of
the vail had held a council, and that they had said to this one,
and that one, "Cease thy work on earth, come hence, we need
help," and they have called this man and that man. It has
appeared so to me in seeing the many men who have been called
from our midst lately. Perhaps I may be permitted to relate a
circumstance with which I am acquainted in relation to Bishop
Roskelley, of Smithfield, Cache Valley. On one occasion he was
suddenly taken very sick--near to death's door. While he lay in
this condition, President Peter Maughan, who was dead, came to
him and said: "Brother Roskelley, we held a council on the other
side of the vail. I have had a great deal to do, and I have the
privilege of coming here to appoint one man to come and help. I
have had three names given to me in council, and you are one of
them. I want to inquire into your circumstances." The Bishop told
him what he had to do, and they conversed together as one man
would converse with another. President Maughan then said to him:
"I think I will not call you. I think you are wanted here more
than perhaps one of the others." Bishop Roskelley got well from
that hour. Very soon after, the second man was taken sick, but
not being able to exercise sufficient faith, Brother Roskelley
did not go to him. By and by this man recovered, and on meeting
Brother Roskelley he said: "Brother Maughan came to me the other
night and told me he was sent to call one man from the ward," and
he named two men as had been done to Brother Roskelley. A few
days afterwards the third man was taken sick and died. Now, I
name this to show a principle. They have work on the other side
of the vail; and they want men, and they call them. And that was
my view in regard to Brother George A. Smith. When he was almost
at death's door, Brother Cannon administered to him, and in
thirty minutes he was up and ate breakfast with his family. We
labored with him in this way, but ultimately, as you know, he
died. But it taught me a lesson. I felt that man was wanted
behind the vail. We labored also with Brother Pratt; he, too, was
wanted behind the vail.
334
Now, my brethren and sisters, those of us who are left here have
a great work to do. We have been raised up of the Lord to take
this kingdom and bear it off. This is our duty; but if we neglect
our duty and set our hearts upon the things of this world, we
will be sorry for it. We ought to understand the responsibility
that rests upon us. We should gird up our loins and put on the
whole armor of God. We should rear temples to the name of the
Most High God, that we may redeem the dead.
I feel to bear my testimony to this work. It is the work of God.
Joseph Smith was appointed by the Lord before he was born as much
as Jeremiah was. The Lord told Jeremiah--"Before I formed thee in
the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the
womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a Prophet unto the
nations." He was commanded to warn the inhabitants of Jerusalem
of their wickedness. He felt it a hard task, but ultimately he
did as he was commanded. So I say with regard to Joseph Smith. He
received his appointment from before the foundation of the world,
and he came forth in the due time of the Lord to establish this
work on the earth. And so it is the case with tens of thousands
of the Elders of Israel. The Lord Almighty has conferred upon you
the Holy Priesthood and made you the instrument in His hands to
build up this kingdom. Do we contemplate these things as fully as
we ought? Do we realize that the eyes of all the heavenly hosts
are over us? Then let us do our duty. Let us keep the
commandments of God, let us be faithful to the end, so that when
we go into the spirit world and look back upon our history we may
334
The Lord Almighty has set his hand to establish his kingdom never
more to be thrown down or given to another people, and,
therefore, all the powers of earth and hell combined will never
be able to stay the progress of this work. The Lord has said he
will break in pieces every weapon that is raised against Zion,
and the nations of the earth, the Kings and Emperors, Presidents
and Governors have got to learn this fact. It is a fearful thing
to fall into the hands of the Lord. It is a fearful thing to shed
the blood of the Lord's anointed. It has cost the Jews 1800 years
of persecution, and this generation have also a bill to pay in
this respect.
334
I bear my testimony to these things. The Bible, the Book of
Mormon, the Book of Doctrine and Covenants contain the words of
eternal life unto this generation, and they will rise in judgment
against those who reject them.
334
May God bless this people and help us to magnify our callings,
for Jesus' sake. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / John
Taylor, January 1, 1882
John Taylor, January 1, 1882
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Jan. 1, 1882.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
THE POSITION OF THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS--MORALITY AND SOBRIETY
REQUIRED--TRANSGRESSORS TO BE DEALT WITH, ETC.
334
Brother Lyman on rising wished you a happy New Year; I will
continue the compliment by adding a hundred thousand happy New
Years and as many more as you wish.
335
A remark of this kind would sound rather peculiar in the ears of
many individuals who do not look at things in the light which we
do. But there are principles associated with the Gospel of the
Son of God, which reach beyond this life into that which is to
come; and we are simply here acting and operating in a state of
probation. And if we act well our part here, the principles of
the Gospel will place us in a position whereby we shall be
enabled to act well our part in another world, and in another
state of existence.
335
We occupy a peculiar position before the Lord. God is our
Heavenly Father; and we are told that he is the God of the
spirits of all flesh. We are told moreover that when men leave
this earth, the spirit returns to God who gave it. And if we are
faithfully performing our part, and attending to the duties and
responsibilities which devolve upon us, as Saints of the Most
High, then we shall be in a position whereby we shall have a
right and a claim upon an inheritance that is incorruptible,
undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in the heavens for
us. But we are here subject to the trials and vicissitudes
pertaining to humanity, to prepare us for this inheritance
referred to. And if we are faithful and diligent, as has been
referred to by Brother Lyman, in regard to the various duties and
responsibilities of life, we shall have a legitimate claim to the
blessings that the good and the faithful expect to enjoy. But if
we do not conduct ourselves aright, if we do not fulfil the
requirements which the Lord makes of us, if we do not obey the
commandments of Jehovah, we shall have no claim upon those
promises that are made to the righteous, to those who fulfil His
laws and keep His commandments. This is the way that I look at
these things. Hence we are called to occupy a peculiar position
in the world.
336
We have had a great many precious things revealed unto us, many
of which have been hid from the minds of men from the foundation
of the world. We are placed in a position to operate with God our
Heavenly Father in the interests of humanity. He has selected,
called and chosen us for this purpose. He has revealed Himself
from the heavens. He has introduced the holy Priesthood, and
conferred upon men power and authority to operate in his name, to
act under his guidance, to be his mouthpieces to declare his will
and to make known his designs to the human family. For this
purpose men thus endowed and clothed have been sent forth to the
nations of the earth, and are now being sent forth to spread that
light, truth and intelligence which God has seen fit to reveal to
the human family for their good, for their blessing, and for
their exaltation in time and throughout the eternities that are
to come. For this purpose he has imparted the Holy Ghost, and the
light of revelation, confirming the testimony of his servants in
their ministrations among the children of men. For this purpose
he has gathered us together as we are here to-day, and as the
Saints are gathered in other parts of this Territory, and in
other Territories, that whilst we are pursuing the natural
avocations of life, we might at the same time be taught and
instructed of God, that we might learn the laws of life; that we
might comprehend the object of our being and existence, and that
we might in time learn to comprehend God the Eternal Father, and
his purposes and designs in relation to mankind; that we might be
purified from the corruptions and infamies that exist in the
world, and that our spirits might be purged from everything that
tends to deteriorate, injure or destroy man; and that we might be
enabled to comprehend those principles which are calculated to
elevate, to exalt and ennoble mankind, and to prepare them for
the enjoyment of a place among the Gods in the eternal worlds.
For this purpose he has organized the Church of Jesus Christ and
the kingdom of God, and revealed his law and his purposes to his
Saints. For this purpose he has taught us of things pertaining to
the future, having drawn aside the vail of the invisible world,
and made known his purposes to his people, and taught us how to
become saviors upon Mount Zion, that we may fulfil our destiny
upon the earth, and accomplish the purposes of God, and carry out
his design and will in sending us here upon the earth; that those
principles which exist in the heavens and operate among the Gods
may be communicated to man, and that we may be enabled to present
them in all purity and in all their beauty, glory and grandeur,
and that we may learn to save ourselves and then to save others.
For this purpose we are building our Temples and, as they are
being built, operate in them, that we may be one with God, and
one with the ancient Patriarchs and Prophets and Apostles and men
of God. And that while God our Heavenly Father and the holy
angels and men of God who have lived in the different ages, who
have been clothed upon with the Holy Priesthood, and admitted to
communion with God, and have fulfilled their destiny upon the
earth--are operating in the heavens with God our Heavenly Father
for the accomplishment of his purposes pertaining to things upon
the earth as well as to things in the heavens; it is for us to
perform our parts and fulfil our duties and magnify our callings
and Priesthood, and be one with them in the objects which they
have in view pertaining to the welfare and exaltation of the
Saints, the blessing of humanity and the salvation of the living
and the dead, according to the foreknowledge and the eternal
purposes of God relating thereunto. And we are here for that
purpose.
336
We are here to establish the Church of God, that there may be a
people who shall enjoy the right to serve him upon the earth in a
manner acceptable to him. We are here to establish the kingdom of
God, that his government and rule and that an intelligent and
comprehensive liberty and freedom may prevail among men and the
peoples of the earth as they exist in heaven, and that we may be
under the tuition and direction of our Heavenly Father, that his
will may be done on earth as it is done in the heavens, and then
be enabled to communicate these principles to our brethren and to
the world.
337
These are some of the thoughts that pass through our minds when
we read the word of God, and are in communion with him, when the
Spirit of light, life, intelligence, and revelation rests upon
us, and when the heavens and purposes of God are unfolded to our
view. These, I say, are some of the thoughts that naturally flow
through our minds. And talking about making new covenants on this
the first of the year, why No! No! We do not wish to serve God by
fits and starts, but to make his service and the obedience to his
laws as the business of our lives. We love, reverence and serve
God, because he loves us, and blesses and benefits us and acts as
a kind and beneficent father to us. We have already entered into
covenant with Our Heavenly Father; but the question is, are we
fulfilling these covenants? Have we the Holy Priesthood, and do
we magnify that before God and the holy angels, or do we suffer
ourselves to be corrupted and demoralized, and make light of the
things of God, and thus tamper with these great principles which
are calculated to exalt all who are obedient thereto.
337
These are some of the questions that we should apply to
ourselves. We hear of things sometimes which make us blush for
humanity. We hear of crime, corruption and debauchery spreading
itself abroad throughout the world; and we hear too, sometimes, I
am sorry to have to say of some calling themselves Latter-day
Saints, being tainted with evils of that kind.
337
The great majority of the people of this city have been moved,
because of drunkenness and kindred evils increasing among us, to
petition the Mayor and members of the City Council to adopt such
measures as will prevent this state of things. It is a shame for
men professing to be Saints to be under the necessity of
imploring the aid of the civil law to keep them sober; and while
it is proper to guard our youth from the insidious wiles of the
adversary, yet all men ought to do right from principle; and
while we endorse such an act as most commendable on the part of
the people, yet, in one sense, what have these dens of infamy to
do with the Saints of God; or what have the Saints of God to do
with the haunts of shame and disgrace? Why, if there were ten
thousand of such things around, and men were living up to the
spirit and power of God within them, they would say, My soul,
enter thou not into their secret, mine honor, with them be not
thou united, my morals, be not ye contaminated with such infamous
corruptions. That would be the case if men did right and had the
Spirit and power of God in them, and if they loved God and
righteousness. But men who practice these infamies do not love
God, nor have they a respect for his law; they do not love
righteousness; they are not Latter-day Saints; they cannot be
Latter-day Saints, neither can they have part or lot in the
blessings and exaltations of the kingdom of God, either on the
earth or in the heavens.
337
Let the wicked then pursue their course, and let the righteous
pursue their's. If any of our people are found mixed up with
these iniquities, let them be dealt with as the law of God
directs, and let them be purged from our midst. Let
righteousness, truth and integrity be maintained, and let God be
honored and let the Gospel be sustained and the law of God
upheld, and He will stand by the righteous. These are my views
and feelings in relation to these matters. And I would not give
five cents for a man who had to have a law placed upon him; or
some one to stand guard over him, to prevent him from going into
those dens of infamy and those sinks of corruption that
"civilization" has introduced into our midst. I would not give
five cents for the religion of such a man, it is not worth
having, the sooner he gets rid of it and comes out in his true
colors, the better. And then let the transgressor be dealt with
according to the law of God. Purge yourselves from them and their
iniquities, and follow in the paths of righteousness. These are
my feelings in relation to these matters.
338
We learn that in former times that there was no fellowship
between God and Belial, no fellowship between light and darkness,
no fellowship between truth and error, no fellowship between the
Saints of God and the workers of iniquity. That doctrine is just
as true to-day as it was when taught in former days. I speak of
this because it is something which I, for one, will not bear; for
one, I will not fellowship the workers of iniquity, I do not care
who they are, or where they come from. And it is for us all to do
right and keep the commandments of God. We talk sometimes about a
man being an honest man; the reason why some are honest is
because they cannot steal. But let a man be placed in a room or
elsewhere with an amount of gold or other valuables within his
reach, with the understanding that there was no fear of us being
detected, that if he appropriated any to his own use no one would
know it as there was no check upon him; and if he of his own free
will let it alone, I would say he was an honest man.
338
And in regard to drunkenness, which has been of late a prevailing
topic of conversation--what a nice creature is a drunken Elder, a
drunken Saint, a reeling, staggering, drunken Saint! What do you
think of it? We write over our stores sometimes, "Holiness to the
Lord." We are called the Saints, or as the Germans express it,
the heilige, der letzten tage or the holy of the last days. What!
a drunken Elder, a drunken High Priest, or a drunken Saint? We
will not have such a person associated with us; we will not be
contaminated nor disgraced with the name nor with the infamy of
such conduct. And as regards the sellers of intoxicating drinks,
they would many of them, sell themselves. And any man who cannot
let these things alone, any man that has not got manhood and
respect enough to keep out of these pest-houses that disgrace our
city is not fit to associate with decent people, and respectable
people ought to guard against him as they would against small-pox
or any other pestiferous evil. And as the honesty of a man can
only be tested by his having temptation within his reach, so no
man can be considered as acting properly who cannot let liquor
alone, when that is within his reach. Virtue does not consist
simply in being prevented from committing evils, but in having
temptations presented before us and then governing our passions
and appetites. Good and evil are placed before us, no matter by
whom, it is for us to resist evil and cleave to the right; we are
told that it is to him that overcometh that I will grant to sit
down on my throne, as I have overcome and sat down on my Father's
throne. Neither do we want excuses for any of these things, for
God will condemn us if we bear them, and His wrath will be
enkindled against us, and we shall find it a hard matter to pack
such infamies upon our shoulders. I will not do it, I will throw
them off of mine, I will have no fellowship with those who
indulge in them; and I call upon all the Saints to do the same,
and upon the proper authorities to take measures to root out from
our midst everything that would defile and contaminate the morals
of the Latter-day Saints.
339
About the world and their course--let them take their course. The
wicked will, we expect, continue to do as they have done for
years, grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. And to
the evils that are among us, which have been introduced here, and
which are being fostered and encouraged by wicked and corrupt
men, I would say to our people, let them alone. If, however, our
young men or any of the older ones should be found violating the
laws of the land, let them be punished as the laws direct, it
does not matter whose sons they are, or who they may be. If you
should find any of mine doing it, bring them up and straighten
them out, and let the penalty of the law be inflicted for their
evil, pernicious practices; and if it be anybody else's sons or
fathers, do the same with them. And let us guard jealously the
principles of virtue, sobriety and purity, by disfellowshipping
and purging from us those who dishonor and trample them under
foot. And let us be for God and for Zion, for truth and for
righteousness; for we cannot drag the contaminated and corrupt
into heaven, such are not wanted there; and I do not want to
introduce them there whether they are my sons or the sons of
anybody else. The Scripture says:
"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he reap. For he that soweth
to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that
soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."
Now, it is for us to choose what course we will pursue. I do not
suppose that I am talking to any of these drunkards, they
generally do not come to meeting; they would rather have a bottle
with them at home, or meet in grog-shops or other places where
the debased and contaminated are wont to assemble. And it is
proper they should seek their own company, for we do not want
them here. We want men who are Saints from principle, men who
love God, who keep his commandments, men who are pure and
virtuous, men who are seeking to glorify God through obedience to
his laws, and men who do these things because they love to do
them. We do not wish to see anything approaching coercion in
dealing with persons, but we wish them to understand that we will
not any longer be disgraced by their infamies.
340
As has been referred to, we have entered into covenant with God,
and it is only on the condition of our keeping our covenants
inviolate that we shall be entitled to the exceedingly great and
precious promises which he has made to us. And he does expect us
to be true to him: he expects it of me; he expects it of my
brethren associated with me as Counselors; he expects it of the
Twelve; he expects it of the Presidents of Stakes; he expects it
of the Bishops; he expects it of the High Counselors; he expects
it of the High Priests, of the Seventies and the Elders, and of
all Israel. He expects us all to be men of God, with clean hands
and pure hearts, seeking to magnify our calling and to honor our
God. Let us do this, and all will be right with us; and those who
do not wish to do this, let them step on one side. And while we
would avoid anything like harshness or precipitancy, and treat
all men with forbearance and kindness, and bear, to a reasonable
extent, with the weaknesses and infirmities of men, we must deal
with transgressors for their fellowship, and cut them off from
the Church. We must have people who will serve God and keep his
commandments. And then we can go to God our Heavenly Father when
our enemies conspire against us, and plead with him for
protection; and he will take care of Israel and maintain and
sustain his saints. But if we fellowship evil and iniquity, crime
and corruption, infamies and drunkenness, debauchery and
lasciviousness, and all the evils of the Christian world--if we
do this we need not look for the help of God; he will leave us to
ourselves to take our own course. But if we will do our duty,
discountenance iniquity, obey the laws of God and keep his
commandments, he will take care of Israel and sustain his people.
These are my feelings in relation to this matter.
340
God bless you, and lead you in the paths of life, in the name of
Jesus, Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 /
Wilford Woodruff, October 23, 1881
Wilford Woodruff, October 23, 1881
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT WILFORD WOODRUFF,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
Sunday Afternoon, October 23, 1881.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE--THE UNRIGHTEOUSNESS OF RELIGIOUS
PERSECUTION--ETERNAL TRUTHS REVEALED--INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF THE
PRINCIPLES OF THE GOSPEL, ETC.
341
There being a little time left us this afternoon, I feel disposed
to make a few remarks to those who are present. There is one
principle which has been universally acknowledged by the
Latter-day Saints, by Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor,
the Apostles and all the leading men of the Church. I have heard
Joseph Smith and Brigham Young say that if they had the power
over the whole world, over every human being who breathes the
breath of life, they would give every inhabitant of the earth the
right to worship God according to the dictates of their own
conscience. This is a principle which we believe in as Latter-day
Saints, we ever have believed in it, and it is a principle which
even the laws of our country, the constitution of our government
holds out to all of its citizens. What!
would you give the Methodists, the Baptists, etc., the privilege
of enjoying their religion? Certainly. Our city abounds with
churches of different denominations. Have they ever been opposed
by anybody belonging to this Church in the erection of their
churches and in the enjoyment of their religion? I think not. If
they have, they should not have been. Why would you do this?
Because the God of heaven gives all his children this right and
privilege, it belongs to the whole human family, every man, woman
and child under heaven has the right to worship God according to
his desires, according to his own views, and according to the
light which he has. The Lord gives all the children of men this
right and privilege. He gives them their agency and holds them
responsible for their actions, and while the Lord does this, why
should the children of men interfere? Why those scenes of blood
that have taken place on the earth through religious principles?
They are unrighteous. As Latter-day Saints we claim the same
right that we would give to the inhabitants of all the world. We
say to all men, "Enjoy your religion, worship God according to
the dictates of your own conscience." We ask the same right as
the children of God. We claim this by the Constitution and laws
of our country, and upon this principle we have embraced the
fulness of the everlasting Gospel of Jesus Christ.
342
The Lord has sent forth angels out of heaven. He has delivered
the fulness of the Gospel to Joseph Smith. He was raised up as a
Prophet of God, by the power of God, to lay the foundation of
this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the earth,
and to lay the foundation of that kingdom which the Prophet
Daniel and the other Prophets spoke of, and to build up that Zion
which Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel said should be built up in the
latter days. We believe this with every sentiment of our hearts.
Now, in reading the publications of this day, I find there are
many men in our country that seem to be filled with great anger
against the Latter-day Saints, and they belch forth their wrath
and indignation and animus against us, because we differ from
them in some principles pertaining to the Gospel of Christ. Now,
here is one principle that I wish to impress upon the minds of
every Saint of God who dwells upon the earth--and I want our
reporters to write it down--I want to impress it upon the rulers
of our nation and upon all the inhabitants of this nation and
every other nation, namely, that the love of God, faith, hope and
charity, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with all the ordinances
thereof, with the Holy Priesthood, which has power both in heaven
and on the earth, and the principles which have been revealed for
the salvation and exaltation of the children of men--that these
are principles you cannot annihilate. They are principles that no
combination of men can destroy. They are principles that can
never die. Prisons cannot confine them; fire cannot burn them;
the sea cannot drown them; no storm can wreck them; no gulf can
swallow them up; no grave can entomb them, because they are
eternal and will endure forever. They are beyond the reach of man
to handle or to destroy. You may put men in prison and abuse
them; you may burn men at the stake; you may drive men from their
homes who advocate these principles; but it is not in the power
of the whole world put together to destroy those principles, they
are as firm and independent, as far as the agency of man is
concerned, as the pillars of heaven or the throne of God. I want
the inhabitants of the earth to hear these things and remember
them. The inhabitants of the earth have tried for generations to
destroy these principles. Yet it matters not what may take place
on the earth. Republics may be destroyed, kingdoms overthrown,
empires broken up, thrones cast down, the sun may be turned to
darkness, the moon to blood, the stars may fall from heaven, and
heaven and earth itself may pass away, but not one jot or tittle
of these principles will ever be destroyed. I would to God the
world could understand this. It would have been a blessing for
them if the Jews could have understood it before they put to
death the Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ came to the Jews
he brought the everlasting Gospel. He was of the tribe of Judah
himself. He came to his own father's house; he offered them life
and salvation; yet he was the most unpopular man in all Judah.
The High Priests, the Sadducees, the sectarians of the day, were
the strongest enemies he had on earth. No matter what he did, it
was imputed to an evil source. When he cast out devils it was
imputed to the power of Beelzebub, the prince of devils. When he
opened the eyes of the blind they said: "Give God the praise: we
know that his man is a sinner." This unpopularity followed the
Lord Jesus Christ to the cross where he gave up the ghost. Now,
the inhabitants of Judah had an idea that if they could only put
to death the Messiah, that that would end his mission and work on
the earth. Vain hope of that generation as well as this. When
they led Jesus to the cross, the very moment that spirit departed
from that sorrowful tabernacle, it held the keys of the kingdom
of God in all of its strength and power and glory the same as he
had down while in the body. And while the body lay in the tomb,
Jesus of Nazareth went and preached to the spirits in prison, and
when his mission was ended there, his spirit returned again to
his tabernacle. Did the Jews kill the principles he taught? No.
He burst the bonds of death, he conquered the tomb, and came
forth with an immortal body filled with glory and eternal life,
holding all the powers and keys he held while in the flesh.
Having appeared to some of the holy women and the apostles, he
then went and administered to the Nephites upon this continent,
and from here he went to the ten tribes of Israel, and delivered
to them the Gospel, and when they return they will bring the
history of the dealings of Jesus of Nazareth with them, while in
his immortal body. The same unpopularity followed the twelve
Apostles. Some of them were sawn asunder, others were beheaded,
crucified, etc. But did the Jews destroy the principles they
taught? Did they destroy the keys of the kingdom of God? No,
verily no. They had no power over these things any more than they
had power over the throne of God, or God Himself. These men when
the spirit left their body returned holding the keys of the
kingdom of God into the presence of God.
343
I will here say in passing that there is one principle that it
would have been well if the Jews had understood, it would be well
if all the inhabitants of the earth understood it, and that is,
that it costs something to shed the blood of the Lord's anointed,
to shed the blood of Prophets and Apostles and righteous men, to
fight against God, against his Christ, and against his work. When
these Jews cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him," and a Gentile
judge had declared he could find no fault in him, still they were
ready to say--"All right, you let his blood be upon us and our
children." In this the Almighty took them at their word. The Jews
have been trampled under the feet of the Gentiles for 1800 years,
in fulfilment of that declaration. The yoke is not even broken
to-day. In the eastern world, in Russia, and in all the nations
of the earth, more or less they are trampled under the feet of
the Gentiles. Tens of thousands have been put to death. Nero put
to death many, as also did other men in their day and time.
343
Hence you see it has cost the Jews something for the putting to
death of the Lord's anointed.
343
Now, I want to say something with regard to the dispensation in
which we live. The God of heaven has set his hand to fulfil the
volume of revelation which the Bible contains to build up that
kingdom that Daniel the Prophet saw in the interpretation of the
dream of Nebuchadnezzar. The God of heaven has sent forth that
angel which John the Revelator saw "fly in the midst of heaven
having the everlasting Gospel to preach to them that dwell on the
earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to him, for the
hour of his judgment is come." That angel has delivered the
Gospel to Joseph Smith, and I know it. I bear my record and
testimony to this truth. It is the truth of the living God. He
has set his hand, as I have said, to build up this kingdom.
Isaiah has written its history. Look at these valleys of the
mountains. I came here on the 24th of July, 1847? What did I
find? A barren desert, as barren as the desert of Sahara. There
was no mark of the white man. It did not look as if any white man
could live there at all. How is it to-day? Travel through the
length and breadth of this Territory and behold the cities,
towns, villages, gardens, orchards, fields, and crops that cover
this once barren desert. What does it mean? It means that God
Almighty is carrying out his purposes, it means that he has
brought to his remembrance what his Prophets and Apostles have
spoken; and all things shall be fulfilled to the very letter,
even to the winding-up scene. From whence has come this
congregation; from whence have come the Saints gathered together
throughout these mountains of Israel? They have been gathered
from every nation as far as the Gospel has been preached. We have
been gathered together by the power of the Gospel. Yet, as I have
remarked many times in my public discourses, if we had preached
until we were as old as Methuselah, we could never have got men
and women to leave their homes if they had not been moved upon by
the Holy Ghost. The Elders of Israel preached the Gospel unto
them and promised them in the name of Jesus Christ, that if they
would receive this Gospel they would receive the Holy Ghost. Is
there a man on the face of God's footstool to-day that would dare
make such a promise as that unless he were backed up by the power
of God? No, not one. If the Elders of Israel had been impostors,
deceivers, they would have been very soon found out; but the God
of Israel has backed up their testimony, and it is on this
principle that these valleys are filling with the people of God
to-day.
344
Now, I want to say that the same principles which existed in the
days of Jesus and his Apostles exist to-day. There is a spirit of
oppression, opposition, and persecution against the Latter-day
Saints, because they differ from the world in their principles of
religion. Jesus, however, said in his day: "If the world hate
you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of
the world, the world would love its own; but because ye are not
of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore
the world hateth you." What is the cause of this hatred? It is
because we declare the Gospel of Christ; it is because we believe
in Prophets, Apostles, and the gifts and graces of the Gospel; it
is because we preach faith, repentance, baptism for the remission
of sins, the reception of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of
hands; it is because the Church is organized with Prophets,
Apostles, Priests, Teachers, Deacons, etc., according to the
ancient order of things. This does not agree with the feelings of
the sectarian world, therefore they are opposed to us. "But,"
says one, "it is your polygamy that has created so much trouble
with you 'Mormons.'" Oh, indeed, is it? I will ask, where was
polygamy when we were driven from Kirtland and Far West, from
Jackson, Van Buren, Clay and Davis Counties, Mo., from Nauvoo,
etc., to other places, men and women put to death, houses burned,
etc? We suffered more persecution then than we have ever
suffered, ten times over, since polygamy was revealed and
advocated by the Elders of Israel. What was the matter then? "Oh,
you believe in revelation, you believe in Prophets and Apostles.
We cannot stand this--you have got to give up that belief, and if
you don't we will destroy you, put you to death, etc." The
feeling among the people of the United States then was that if
they could only put to death the leaders of the Church, that that
would be the end of "Mormonism." So they thought in putting to
death Jesus of Nazareth, that that would be the end of his
teachings in that land. But lo and behold! when they put to death
Joseph and Hyrum, they did not kill "Mormonism," they did not
kill faith in God, they did not kill hope and charity, they did
not do away with the ordinances of the house of God, nor the
power of the Holy Priesthood. The God of heaven had ordained
these things; he had ordained men under the hands of Peter, James
and John, who held the keys of the kingdom of God in the eternal
worlds, and that Priesthood and the keys thereof was to remain on
the earth forever. It is beyond the power of man to destroy it. I
want the Latter-day Saints to understand this: "Fear not them,"
said the Savior "which kill the body, but are not able to destroy
the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul
and body in hell." The purposes of the Lord must be fulfilled.
There is not one jot or tittle of the Old Book that the sectarian
world believe in but will be fulfilled. The same with regard to
the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants. The opposition of
the world cannot stay the progress of this work. Some men are
trying to do so all the time. I dislike to refer to individuals,
but I have read lately of a Mr. Talmage, who seems to be in a
terrible torment about the "Mormons," and is forever pouring out
his wrath and indignation against them. Now, I just want to say
that if we had a thousand million Talmage's, and they were to
spend every breath they had, they could no more stay the hand of
the Almighty in the rolling forth of this work than they could
stop the wind from blowing. Why? Because God Almighty holds in
His hands the destiny of this people, and of all nations, and
this generation will yet realize that it is a fearful thing to
fall into the hands of the living God. "No weapon that is formed
against thee shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise
against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn," saith Isaiah, and I
know he was a Prophet.
345
Now, so far as I am concerned, I want to say to my friends, and
to all peoples, I have no fears with regard to the kingdom of
God; I have no fears with regard to Zion; I have no fears with
regard to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is
in the hands of the Almighty, and all that he hath said with
regard to its work in the latter-days will come to pass in spite
of earth and hell combined. I want the world to understand this.
These are eternal truths. The principles will live when our
nation is broken to pieces and wasted away, and when we ourselves
have passed away to the spirit world. There is no power beneath
the heavens that can hinder, stop or destroy the progress of
truth and the decrees of Almighty God. I want to have the
Latter-day Saints understand these things. We are in the hands of
God. This is a very different generation from any other. It is a
generation when the Lord has decreed--and that, too, before the
world was made--that in the last days the God of heaven shall set
up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed nor given to other
people; the little stone cut out of the mountains without hands
shall become a great mountain and fill the whole earth. These are
the declarations of the Lord Himself.
345
I will now refer to another principle. I am an American citizen;
a great many of this people are, I hope most are. I was born in
the State of Connecticut, and many of the New England forms and
teachings in our childhood, 65 years ago, were good to receive
and live by. But what I want to say is: We live in a government
raised up by the God of heaven. We have a constitution that was
given by inspiration from God to man. I believe it is the best
human form of government that was ever given to the human family.
Now, I say if our rulers and governors become corrupt and attempt
to trample those principles under their feet; though the nation
itself might go to pieces, yet it is beyond the power of man to
destroy the principles of the constitution. They may destroy one
another, yet the principles contained in that instrument will
live, and the God of heaven will maintain them until Jesus Christ
comes in the clouds of heaven to set up His throne in Jerusalem,
and to reign on the earth a thousand years.
346
I felt that I would like to say so much. I want my brethren and
sisters to understand these matters. We should live our religion.
I have no fears with regard to the kingdom of God. We may have
fears in regard to ourselves. This man may apostatize, the others
may apostatize, John Taylor, myself, or anybody else may die, but
it will make no difference with regard to this work. Israel will
never be without a lawgiver. Zion will become all that Israel saw
it, in its beauty, power and glory in the earth. I wanted to say
so much to strangers here as well as Latter-day Saints. We
believe in these principles with every sentiment of our soul. We
expect to live them, we are ready to die for them, but they will
never be destroyed. We may go to prison, we may suffer all manner
of persecution, but the principles we advocate will remain
forever. When Joseph Smith's body was laid in the grave, his
spirit, like unto the Son of God, went into the spirit world with
the keys of this dispensation to unlock the prison doors. There
were fifty thousand million of spirits that never saw the face of
a Prophet, or heard a gospel sermon in their lives until Joseph
Smith preached to them the message of salvation. Those people in
the spirit world have got to have equal rights in the Gospel
dispensation with those on the earth. That is the reason why
Jesus went to preach to the spirits in prison. Joseph Smith will
hold the keys of this dispensation throughout the countless ages
of eternity, as Peter, James and John will hold theirs. He
(Joseph Smith) will come forth in the morning of the first
resurrection, and will rise up in judgment against this
generation. He sealed his testimony with his blood. That
testimony is in force upon all the world from the hour of his
death. These are eternal truths. I hate to see any nation, I hate
to see our own government, I hate to see the clergy of the day,
rise up in anger against these Latter-day Saints, because they
differ from them in principles of religion. We know for ourselves
this Gospel is true. We know it has been given unto us by the
revelation of God. We know it will stand. The power of God will
be made manifest. These valleys will be filled with Latter-day
Saints. We will grow and increase until the coming of the Son of
Man. Whatever men may do, as I have said before, they are in the
hands of God.
346
I pray God, my Heavenly Father, that He may instil these
principles into your hearts, that they may accomplish the mission
for which they have been sent. Even so, Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 /
Wilford Woodruff, January 29, 1882
Wilford Woodruff, January 29, 1882
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT WILFORD WOODRUFF,
Delivered in the 14th Ward Assembly Rooms, at the
Funeral Services of Sister Elizabeth H. Cannon,
on Sunday, January 29, 1882.
346
We are again called to pay our last respects to the dead. Upon
this occasion it is one of the daughters of the Lord, a mother of
Zion, who has filled the measure of her creation. Sister Cannon
was a noble woman, a noble mother in Israel who has raised a
noble posterity; and she has now gone to rest after spending her
life in upholding the principles of truth and making them
honorable in the earth.
347
There are some things connected with this funeral that may be
considered unpleasant, I refer to the absence of the husband of
the deceased at Washington, where he is laboring for the interest
and welfare of the people of this Territory, he, under the
circumstances, not feeling to leave his post, but to leave the
remains of his companion in the hands of his friends and to the
mercy of God. And also in the absence of her two oldest sons, one
of whom is in England, the other in Germany, preaching the Gospel
to the inhabitants of those respective countries, neither of
whom, therefore, the sons nor the husband, can be present to pay
their last respects to their noble mother and companion.
347
On such occasions when mourning the loss of our departed friends,
I cannot help but think that in every death there is a birth: the
spirit leaves the body dead to us, and passes to the other side
of the vail alive to that great and noble company that are also
working for the accomplishment of the purposes of God, in the
redemption and salvation of a fallen world. And the spirit of
this our deceased Sister, has gone to mingle with her little ones
who have gone before her, and with her father and mother and her
other family relations, and with her many friends who, like her,
have wrestled with life and the struggles and troubles thereof,
have overcome and gone home. All is well with Sister Cannon. She
is satisfied with her condition to-day. I feel with regard to her
as I have always felt with regard to faithful Latter-day Saints,
when they have finished their work and gone behind the vail that
there are none of them that would return to their earthly bodies
if they had the opportunity.
347
In making remarks at funerals, which I have often been called
upon to do, I have taken the liberty of speaking plainly my
feelings with regard to the dead. And I will say here, when I see
a man or a woman, a true and faithful Latter-day Saint pass away,
I do not feel in my heart to mourn. Why should we mourn for the
woman whose remains lie before us? She has been true and faithful
to the sacred and holy covenants that she entered into with God
her heavenly Father; she has received those ordinances in the
house of God that will prepare her to go into the presence of the
best men and women that have lived upon the earth; she has left a
noble posterity to bear her name and to bear record of and to
emulate her example; she is freed from pain and suffering and the
anxieties of life, and is now beyond the power of the enemy of
all righteousness; she has opened her eyes in the spirit world,
among her relatives and friends and her own little ones, whose
death caused her grief and pain; she has gone to enjoy the
society of those who have washed their robes and made them white
in the blood of the Lamb, and to inherit the blessings and glory
of eternal life. No, I cannot feel to mourn for her. It is hard,
of course, to part with our friends; but after all it is with
regard to them, as one of old said. It is better to go to the
house of mourning than the house of feasting. It is natural for
us to give expression to our feelings in tears in laying away the
bodies of our beloved friends, and there is a degree to which we
may go which is proper and right; but there are extremes which
are often indulged in, which is neither proper nor right for
Latter-day Saints to copy after. Here, however, as I have said,
we have nothing to mourn about as far as Sister Cannon is
concerned.
348
When I say that I have never felt to mourn for any faithful man
or woman who has died in this Church, I must make one exception;
I did feel to mourn, and so did all Israel, the death of our
martyred Prophet and Patriarch, Joseph and Hyrum Smith. But we
did not mourn on account of them personally, for they had passed
through all that any martyr ever did or could, but we felt to
mourn their loss to the Church as our leaders, to whom we had
learned to look for counsel and advice in every hour of trouble
and trial, although there is something very dreadful in the
thought of assassinating men, whether they be Prophets or
Apostles, or whether they be emperors or presidents. With that
exception I have not felt to mourn for any faithful person who
has gathered up his feet and gone to sleep with the fathers. I
have felt rather, that they have gained a victory which but few
of the human family have gained in their day and generation. For
you will find, my brethren and sisters, there are but a very few
comparatively, either male or female, who have had independence
of mind enough, as well as honesty of heart sufficient to receive
the Gospel of Christ. It takes independence of mind, honesty of
heart, faith in God, and firmness of character to live the life
of a Latter-day Saint, in the face of a frowning world, and in
the midst of trials and troubles and persecution.
348
The spirit of Sister Cannon has left us; her body is here
awaiting the purifying changes it must undergo in mother earth.
But whether her spirit is present witnessing these funeral
services, or whether she, on opening her eyes in the spirit
world, would say, "I leave my body for my friends to bury, I must
enter upon my mission," that is something we are not able to
speak definitely about. God not having revealed it unto us. But
this we do know, she is all right, because she was thoroughly
prepared for the change that awaited her; and she has gone to do
all that she can for those of her kindred and friends that are to
follow. And what more can you say? We are left, and we are doing
for Sister Cannon what our friends, sooner or later, will be
doing for us. It will not be very long before Brother Cannon and
also the children and friends of the deceased who remain will
join her in the spirit-world, if it is not until the coming of
Christ. This admonition comes home forcibly to the living, "Be ye
also ready." And it applies to us all. And it is for us as
parents and Elders of Israel to labor in the cause of God, while
we are permitted to tarry; living up to the light and knowledge
that we have been blessed with. For there is a time appointed
unto all men; and He takes away many according to the counsels of
His own will. He takes whom He will take, and spares whom he will
spare for a wise purpose in Himself. These things are according
to the purposes and ordinances of God to man. Some labor this
side of the vail, others on the other side of the vail. If we
tarry here we expect to labor in the cause of salvation, and if
we go hence we expect to continue our work until the coming of
the Son of Man. The only difference is, while we are here we are
subject to pain and sorrow, while they on the other side are free
from affliction of every kind.
348
I pray to God to comfort the heart of Brother Cannon, in this his
sad bereavement, and to sustain him by the power of His Spirit;
and I pray that his wives and children may be blessed and
preserved in the truth, that at last he and they, together with
this his companion, whose voice is now hushed in death, may come
forth in the morning of the first resurrection, and stand in
their family organization clothed with glory, immortality and
eternal lives, to join with the redeemed and sanctified in
exclaiming:
348
"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / Joseph
F. Smith, January 29, 1882
Joseph F. Smith, January 29, 1882
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOS. F. SMITH,
Delivered in the 14th Ward Assembly Rooms, at the
Funeral Services of Sister Elizabeth H. Cannon,
on Sunday, January 29, 1882.
F. Smith
Being requested I arise to make a few remarks.
F. Smith
Occasions of this kind afford us opportunity, not so much for
mourning the loss of our departed friends as to reflect upon our
present condition and our future prospects and hopes. For, as has
been remarked, "it is better to go to the house of mourning, than
to go to the house of feasting; for that is the end of all men,
and the living will lay it to his heart."
F. Smith
Here we have occasion to reflect upon our own lives and the
future that awaits us.
F. Smith
For there is one event which inevitably awaits every living soul,
and it is only a question of a very little while when every one
present, as well as elsewhere, will be placed in a position
similar to that in which our beloved sister is placed, whose body
now lies here in the cold embrace of death. We are born to die,
it is the inevitable end of all flesh, it being a fixed,
unalterable decree of the Almighty concerning the human family.
We may therefore, as well now as at any other time, reflect upon
what the result of our lives may be after we shall pass away from
this stage of existence. If we do well, says the Lord, we are
accepted unto Him; but if we do ill, sin lies at our door. It is
a truth that should arrest the attention of every one, that we
shall be required to render an account for the deeds we do in the
body. And for my part I feel that we have no cause to shed a tear
for the condition of Sister Cannon. For years she has been
afflicted, and has been quite feeble at times. Now she has passed
beyond suffering and debility; nothing but the lifeless,
inanimate part of Sister Cannon remains, the life,--the
intelligent and the immortal part has gone to God from whence it
came. Not but what she might be present if she desires to be
here, and her desire be consistent with the will and pleasure of
our heavenly Father; for those who live here in the flesh have a
claim upon this earth, and upon the bodies they have occupied
while they sojourned here. This earth is their home, and will
forever so remain--that is, they will possess an inheritance
here, inasmuch as they overcome and become the Saints of the Most
High God. For it is written, that unto the Saints of the Most
High, the earth and the fulness thereof shall be given, and they
shall possess it forever and ever. But notwithstanding the
immortal part of this our deceased sister has returned to God,
from whence it came, she possesses the privilege, or may possess
the privilege, as I have said, if she so desire, and if it be in
accordance with the will and pleasure of the Almighty, to be
present on the occasion to witness the ceremonies in which we are
now engaged. We are told by the Prophet Joseph Smith, that,
"there are no angels who minister to this earth but those who do
belong or have belonged to it." Hence, when messengers are sent
to minister to the inhabitants of this earth, they are not
strangers, but from the ranks of our kindred, friends, and
fellow-beings and fellow-servants. The ancient Prophets who died
were those who came to visit their fellow-creatures upon the
earth. They came to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; it was such
beings,--holy beings if you please,--that waited upon the Savior
and administered to Him on the Mount. The angel that visited John
when an exile, and unfolded to his vision future events in the
history of man upon the earth, was one who had been here, who had
toiled and suffered in common with the people of God; for you
remember that John, after his eyes had beheld the glories of the
great future, was about to fall down and worship him, but was
peremptorily forbidden to do so. "See thou do it not; for I am
thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the Prophets, and of them
which kept the sayings of this book. Worship God." Jesus has
visited the people of this earth from time to time. He visited
and shewed himself in his spiritual body, to the brother of
Jared, touching certain stones with His finger, that the brother
of Jared had fashioned out of the rock, making them to give light
to him and his people in the barges in which they crossed the
waters of the great deep to come to this land. He visited others
at various times before and after He tabernacled in the flesh. It
was He who created this earth, it therefore is His inheritance,
and He had a perfect right to come and minister to the
inhabitants of this earth. He came in the meridian of time and
tabernacled in the flesh, some 33 years among men, introducing
and teaching the fullness of the Gospel, and calling upon all men
to follow in His footsteps; to do the same thing that He himself
did, that they might be worthy to inherit with Him the same
glory. After He suffered the death of the body, He appeared, not
only to His disciples and others on the eastern continent, but to
the inhabitants of this continent, and he ministered unto them as
He did to the people in the land of Palestine. In like manner our
fathers and mothers, brothers, sisters and friends who have
passed away from this earth, having been faithful, and worthy to
enjoy these rights and privileges, may have a mission given them
to visit their relatives and friends upon the earth again,
bringing from the divine Presence messages of love, of warning,
of reproof and instruction to those whom they had learned to love
in the flesh. And so it is with Sister Cannon. She can return and
visit her friends, provided it be in accordance with the wisdom
of the Almighty. There are laws to which they who are in the
Paradise of God must be subject, as well as laws to which we are
subject. It is our duty to make ourselves acquainted with those
laws, that we may know how to live in harmony with His will while
we dwell in the flesh, that we may be entitled to come forth in
the morning of the first resurrection, clothed with glory,
immortality and eternal lives, and be permitted to sit down at
the right hand of God, in the kingdom of heaven. And except we
become acquainted with those laws, and live in harmony with them,
we need not expect to enjoy these privileges: Joseph Smith, Hyrum
Smith, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Jedediah M. Grant, David
Patten, Joseph Smith, sen., and all those noble men who took an
active part in the establishment of this work, and who died true
and faithful to their trust, have the right and privilege and
possess the keys and power to minister to the people of God in
the flesh who live now, as much so and on the same principle that
the ancient servants of God had the right to return to the earth
and minister to the Saints of God in their day.
F. Smith
These are correct principles. There is no question about that in
my mind. It is according to the Scriptures; it is according to
the revelation of God to the Prophet Joseph Smith; and it is a
subject upon which we may dwell with pleasure and perhaps profit
to ourselves providing we have the Spirit of God to direct us.
F. Smith
But the thing for us to do is to live according to the light and
intelligence that God has revealed to us in this dispensation,
that we may be in harmony with the heavenly powers and with
heavenly beings, and especially with our Lord Jesus Christ, who
stands at our head, who is our lawgiver, our exemplar, and the
way of life and salvation to all the world, through whom we may
enter into the celestial kingdom of God, and without whom we can
never enter that state of glory worlds without end. He is the
way, the light and life of the world; and whosoever will obey the
commandments He has given, and do the works which he has done,
and commanded us to do, shall not walk in the darkness, but shall
have in them the light of life.
F. Smith
The circumstances under which Sister Cannon has been taken away
from us, are in some degree melancholy. I regret that
circumstances are such that Brother Cannon could not be here upon
this occasion. But he is absent not upon his private business,
but in the name and interest of the whole people of this
Territory; and in the protection of our righteous citizens who
are jeopardized by the craftiness of designing and corrupt men.
If he were to leave his post, trickery would be resorted to by
the worst enemies of the people to deprive us of our political
and religious rights; therefore he is firm at his post of duty.
Is there anything of a private character that would keep him away
from home on an occasion like this? There is not; nothing but the
highest sense of duty could do it, and that too in the interest
of the people of God, in defending their rights, and in laboring
for their interests, as he has done from his youth to the present
moment. His whole time, his ability and the wisdom that God has
given him, and all that he possesses has been upon the altar of
sacrifice since his early boyhood in behalf of this people; and
now, under this sad and sorrowful affliction he remains, and that
too, in compliance with the desire of her whose remains are about
to be laid away, true to his post of honor and duty.
F. Smith
Who can describe his feelings? But let us forbear, it would not
be profitable to us; but in this, as well as every circumstance
of life, we will join with him in acknowledging the hand of God.
It, however, grieves me to think that he cannot be here, as it
does his children and family who now surround the earthly remains
of her whose spirit has gone home--a respected, a beloved, a true
and noble woman.
F. Smith
This, however, cannot now be helped and therefore it is all
right. There is another view to take of this. What is life or
death in comparison with the duty that we owe to God and each
other? Should we shrink from duty, should we leave our post in
time of danger because of the natural sympathies and affections
which bind us to each other? No. It would be unjust, it would be
condescending in us to even think of doing so. It is more noble
to make the sacrifice of society, kindred and friends, than to
leave our post of duty, and thus endanger the rights and
liberties of the whole community. If Brother Cannon were here he
could only mourn with us, and then again return to his post of
duty. And what more could he do than he has done? Every attention
has been paid, and every effort has been put forth to do all that
could be done for Sister Cannon. But our prayers did not prevail;
she was appointed unto death. God has take her. She sleeps, but
is not dead. She does not sleep the sleep of death, but of the
righteous and the faithful; yes, one who has proved faithful to
the latest breath, Sister Cannon is an example for her children
and family, an example of patience, of faithful endurance, and of
integrity that is unquestionable. This is a great deal to say of
one of our fellow-creatures, but none too much to be said of her.
My sympathy is drawn out to those who remain. May God bless and
comfort them; and may they abide in the truth and follow the
example of their noble mother and companion in life, remaining
faithful to the end of their days, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / John
Taylor, January 29, 1882
John Taylor, January 29, 1882
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered in the 14th Ward Assembly Rooms, at the
Funeral Services of Sister Elizabeth H. Cannon, on Sunday,
Jan. 29, 1882.
352
In speaking a few words pertaining to the dead, I, as my brethren
have expressed themselves, feel to reconcile my feelings to the
purposes of the Almighty, whether respecting the dead or the
living.
353
This morning, however, I have experienced sorrowful feelings not
on account of Sister Cannon; she is all right. Her body lies here
in the cold embrace of death, but her spirit is peaceful and
happy. She has fought the good fight, she has finished her
course, she has accomplished the object of her creation, and she
has gone to where sighing, sorrow and trouble cannot reach her;
therefore, I cannot mourn on her account. It is all right and all
well with her. Yet there are sympathies, feelings and
associations connected with humanity that it is difficult at
times to dispense with. I have been acquainted with Sister Cannon
from her youth, since she was quite a little girl, and have
watched her through all her life, comparatively. I have seen her
in life, and--I was going to say, in death; nearly so, for I was
with her on several successive days before she died.
353
As has been said, we desired that her life might be prolonged, at
least until her husband should return; but it seems that God has
ordered it otherwise, for some wise purpose which to us is not
always manifest.
353
This reminds me of a circumstance which occurred in my life,
being situated at the time pretty much as Brother Cannon is now.
353
When I was in Paris, France, about thirty years ago, I had a
dream that troubled me very much, in which I saw my first
wife--as the deceased here is his first wife--lying sick at the
point of death. And it so affected me that I awoke, being
troubled in my feelings. I fell asleep again, and again the same
scene presented itself to me when I again awoke and experienced
the same feelings of sorrow, and after some time slept again, and
it was repeated a third time. I knew then that my wife was very
sick, lying at the point of death.
353
I got up and fervently prayed the Lord to spare her life until,
at least, I should have another opportunity of meeting her in the
flesh. He heard my prayer. I took a note of the circumstance at
the time, and learned afterwards that such had been the case
exactly as it had been shown to me. On the following morning I
remember meeting a gentleman who was a Protestant minister, and
he observed that my countenance looked sorrowful, and he enquired
the cause. I told him that my wife was lying at the point of
death, and he asked me if I had received a letter? I told him no;
but related to him how it had been shown to me. But, I said, I
got up and prayed the Lord to spare her life, and I feel consoled
in knowing that she will be healed. When Sister Cannon was sick
we prayed for her, exercising all the faith we possessed on her
behalf; but God has seen fit to take her to Himself. Bro. Cannon,
of course, would feel as I did, desirous to have another
opportunity of seeing his wife in the flesh, and, if possible, to
be at her side when she should pass hence, and had he been
engaged in private instead of public business, he would most
assuredly have been. But it was not to be. She has gone during
his absence from home, and it is all right. So it would have been
if my wife had gone under the same circumstances, I would have
had the same feelings.
353
We are here for a short time only. Our spirits dwelt with our
Father before we came to the earth. In coming here we took upon
ourselves bodies according to the decree of the Almighty, and if
our bodies are required, it would not be for me or for you to say
when or how these things shall be. It is the Lord who directs in
all these matters, both in regard to us individually and also in
regard to the whole human family.
354
The present is only one stage of our existence. We existed before
we came here; we exist here for a time, and when we depart from
this mortal life we shall have a spiritual existence, an
existence without the body, and then again with the body. And it
is for those who manage and manipulate these matters to do as
seemeth good in their sight, and it is for us to yield a willing
and an obedient submission to the will of our heavenly Father,
feeling always that whatever he does is perfect and right.
354
Every day such occurrences happen; the human family live, as did
our fathers before us, for a short time, and then we, like them,
pass away; and then again others are constantly coming to take
the places of those who depart. And so it will continue until
other dispensations shall be introduced, which will place things
in another position.
354
There are one or two things which I wish to mention; they may
seem small matters to some. I see in a telegram from Brother
Cannon that he mentions certain things in regard to this funeral
of his wife, one of which is, that he did not wish any show of
mourning in connection with it. We know his feelings in this
respect; they are the same as ours. It is customary for people to
put on black apparel and to assume a melancholy appearance. That
may be all very well, by way of paying respect to our dead
friends; but the question is, whether this is the most
appropriate way. Brother Cannon desired--I have talked with him
also on the same subject--that the coffin in which the remains of
his deceased wife should be laid, should be made of common
mountain wood, and that everything about it be neat and plain,
and that his family should not put on mourning apparel. His
brother Angus has been desirous to carry out his instructions
touching this matter, doing away entirely with those ostentatious
appearances and all unnecessary parade of mourning so common
now-a-days on such occasions.
354
It is proper to sorrow; it is proper to show respect for the
departed. It is proper that our sympathies should be drawn out;
it is proper that we should assemble together to attend to
appropriate funeral services, as we are now doing, that we may
reflect upon our lives and upon the uncertainty thereof, and upon
death and the results that may follow after; and that we consider
the Gospel of the Son of God, and reflect upon our position, etc.
But I have thought and indeed President Young thought, and so did
Brother George A. Smith and others with whom I have conversed
upon this subject, that we pay too much attention to these
outward forms. We, above all other people upon the face of the
earth, ought to be free from outward show, and from the
appearance of sorrow, and mourning, having had planted within us
the germs of immortality and eternal life; inasmuch as when we
get through with the affairs of this world, we not only expect,
but we know that we will inherit eternal lives in the celestial
kingdom of God. And knowing this, it would not be for us to mourn
as people without any hope.
355
When I see excessive sorrow on occasions of this kind among
people professing to be Saints, I think they do not comprehend
the position. It is proper to mourn; it is proper to sympathize,
but I do not sympathize with Sister Cannon; I sympathize with her
children; especially these little ones whom she has left; I
sympathize with her friends who mourn her loss; I sympathize with
Brother Cannon who is absent at Washington, under the peculiar
circumstances in which he is placed; but while we do this it is
not proper for people who, perhaps are struggling hard to obtain
a subsistence to make a parade, to lay out a large amount of
means to carry out the fashion that exists in the world. We want
to feel that we are the sons and daughters of God; we want, when
our friends leave us to show proper respect to them, which ought
to be paid to all honorable men and women, and when we have done
that we have performed our duty to them and our duty before God;
it does not seem proper to place families or people in
circumstances, through false ideas that would embarrass them and
place them in an unpleasant position by trying to do that which
they are really not able to do.
355
If we have secured the favor of God, if we are Saints of the Most
High, if we have the Holy Ghost dwelling in us, if we are walking
in the path of righteousness, if God is our God, and we are His
children, if we are carrying out all those duties and
responsibilities devolving upon us that His children should
attend to, here upon the earth, we should feel satisfied if we
are laid away without much ostentation and show; and in thus
attending to the obsequies of those who pass away, we fulfil the
duties which God has placed upon us. And He will take care of
them afterwards.
355
If it were not for the atonement of Jesus Christ, the sacrifice
he made, all the human family would have to lie in the grave
throughout eternity without any hope. But God having provided,
through the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, the medium
whereby we can be restored to the bosom and presence of the
Father, to participate with Him among the Gods in the eternal
worlds--he having provided for that has also provided for the
resurrection. He proclaimed Himself the resurrection and the
life. Said he, "I am the resurrection and the life: he that
believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." By and
by the tombs will be opened and the dead will hear the voice of
the Son of God, and they shall come forth, they who have done
good to the resurrection of the just, and they who have done evil
to the resurrection of the unjust.
356
There is one thing that gives me great satisfaction, that Sister
Elizabeth, as she had been true in life to the principles which
God had revealed pertaining to celestial marriage, was also true
to them in death. Being the first wife, while in the heyday of
life and youth having her husband to herself, in obedience to the
law of God she sacrificed her own feelings at the shrine of duty,
and in compliance with the laws of celestial marriage was willing
that others should also share the affections of her husband. And
during her last sickness, well understanding the animus that
existed in the world and in Congress, in regard to this
principle, when the grim messenger was staring her in the face
and the clammy drops of the sweat of death were oozing from her
brow, well knowing that her husband would stand true to his
principles as she had to hers, she indited a telegram, telling
him that if it was the will of God that she should be raised up,
He could do it as well during His absence as if he were at home
at her bedside; and in the conflict between affection and duty,
while the springs of life were fast ebbing out, feeling the
importance of his position, she indited the following immortal
words, "REMAIN AT YOUR POST." She has written during her last
earthly moments, words of evidence to all the world, that she at
any rate was a believer in those eternal principles that God has
revealed for the salvation of His people, and for their
purification and exaltation. I feel proud of that. And I believe
there are thousands of our sisters would do the same. If we have
a religion that will stand by us after life, if we have a
religion that will exalt us among the Gods in the eternal worlds,
the world may howl, and the corrupt may expend their energies,
but God will take care of his Saints; and it will be all well
with us in time and eternity.
356
I pray to God to bless these children who mourn the loss of their
mother, that they may be preserved in the truth and led in the
paths of life; I pray God to bless the wives of Brother Cannon
who are also here, together with all of his family and all that
pertains to him. I pray God to lead them all in the paths of
life; and that we may all be true to our God, and at last obtain
a seat in the celestial kingdom of God, in the name of Jesus,
Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / George
Q. Cannon, July 24th, 1881
George Q. Cannon, July 24th, 1881
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT GEORGE Q. CANNON,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
Sunday Afternoon, July 24th, 1881.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
THE GATHERING--MIRACLES NOT DESIGNED TO CONVERT THE WORLD, ETC.
357
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / George
Q. Cannon, July 24th, 1881
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT GEORGE Q. CANNON,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
Sunday Afternoon, July 24th, 1881.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
THE GATHERING--MIRACLES NOT DESIGNED TO CONVERT THE WORLD, ETC.
357
The speaker read the 18th chapter of the Revelation of St. John,
and said: This chapter which I have read in your hearing,
contains a series of important predictions concerning Babylon. It
is found four chapters after another prediction concerning the
restoration of the Gospel. The sixth verse of the 14th chapter of
the same book says: "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of
heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that
dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue,
and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to
Him, for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that
made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of water."
The next verse says--"And there followed another angel saying,
Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made
all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication."
We would infer from this that one consequence of the preaching of
the Gospel, or the declaration of it by this angel that should
fly through the midst of heaven, would be the downfall of
Babylon. We are not left in doubt, as Latter-day Saints,
respecting the application of this name Babylon. Commentators
have been puzzled to explain what this meant, or to what city or
people it applied, but in the records that have come to us this
is made so plain that I suppose there is no Latter-day Saint who
entertains any doubt respecting this matter. One consequence
which should follow the preaching of the Gospel, as I have said,
should be the downfall of Babylon; but in the first verses that I
have read it appears there should be a cry go forth before
Babylon should fall. "And I heard another voice from heaven
saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of
her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues." There should
be, it appears from these passages that I have read in your
hearing, several events connected with the preaching of the
declaration of the Gospel by this angel that should fly through
the midst of heaven--there should be a cry go forth among the
people to come out of Babylon, out of this system which had made
all nations drunk with her fornications, and no doubt this would
be done in a manner that would be so remarkable that all the
inhabitants of the earth would have the testimony concerning it.
357
There have been a number of predictions made concerning the
gathering together of people from various nations and from the
midst of various peoples. Isaiah and Micah, two ancient prophets,
have left on record their plain predictions concerning certain
events that should take place in the last days connected with the
gathering of people together. Their predictions concerning these
events are among the most remarkable that are contained in their
books, and as Latter-day Saints we fully believe these events are
taking place and have been taking place for a great many years.
Isaiah, in speaking about this matter, uses very much the same
language as Micah. He says in the 2nd chapter, commencing at the
2nd verse.
357
"And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of
the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains
and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow
unto it. And many shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to
the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and
he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for
out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem."
357
Now this is a remarkable prediction concerning the gathering
together of the people in the last days. I have often thought in
connection with this latter-day work that one of the most
remarkable features of the divinity of the work is to be found in
the gathering together of the people called Latter-day Saints. As
we firmly believe, the prediction that I read concerning the
coming of the angel with the everlasting Gospel has been
fulfilled in the establishment of this Church. The Elders of this
Church have testified of this for many years, in fact since its
first organization--that it was necessary for the everlasting
Gospel to be restored in its primitive simplicity and purity from
heaven, there being no Church in existence upon the earth that
possessed it, and, therefore, God the Eternal Father, in
fulfillment of his designs and the predictions of the Holy
Prophets, condescended to send angels from heaven to restore the
primitive Gospel with its accompanying gifts and powers from
heaven.
358
The Elders of this Church have often been questioned as to the
necessity of such a revelation; for the Gospel, as they believe,
was in existence upon the earth. "Why," it has been asked, "do
you mean to say that we do not have the Gospel? that we do not
have churches organized by the will of heaven? that the Christian
religion as believed and practiced by us is not divine?" These
queries have often been propounded to the Elders of this Church
when they have testified that God has restored through the
ministration of holy angels the everlasting Gospel in its
original purity. There has been but one answer to these queries;
that if the Church of Christ existed in its original purity upon
the earth, then which out of the numerous sects was that Church?
How shall we distinguish it? Hundreds of sects exist upon the
earth that profess to be the Church of Christ. The ministers of
these various sects claim that they are the ministers of Jesus
Christ, yet in many instances contend concerning doctrine,
concerning methods of Salvation, concerning ordinances,
concerning many matters that in the mind of the great majority
are deemed essential unto salvation. For instance, there are
Christian churches to-day which believe in at least three forms
of baptism. Now Paul has expressly declared that there is one
Lord, one faith, and one baptism. Yet, as I have said, there are
churches which are considered orthodox in christendom, that have
three different forms of baptism. One believes in sprinkling,
another in pouring, and another in immersion. And they differ as
to the methods of immersion and the preparatory steps to be taken
before being immersed, and before being sprinkled, and so with
almost every cardinal doctrine of the Christian religion. There
being this diversity, a man with the Bible in his hand going
forth in the midst of the Christian sects with an anxious desire
to know which is of God, would be puzzled beyond expression to
find out which of the various churches laying claim to being
divine, and to being the authentic church of Christ, was the true
church. He, if he could not obtain knowledge from God, or some
communication that would satisfy his mind, would be compelled to
give up in despair, or to content himself with the idea that he
would join that which suited him best and risk the consequences,
hoping that he would fall into the hands of a merciful God. It is
on this account that the Elders of this Church have constantly
testified that there was a necessity for divine revelation; that
in these days, God being the same yesterday, to-day and forever,
those who sought unto Him to obtain knowledge from Him in the
proper way, could obtain that knowledge, and could receive some
communication that would satisfy them as to the course which they
should take.
360
The Church of Christ--which is called the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints--has been organized as we testify according
to the original pattern, with Apostles and Prophets, with
Evangelists, with Pastors and Teachers, and the various officers
that were contained in the ancient church, having all the
essential features of the primitive church. But not this alone.
The Gospel as taught is claimed to be the same Gospel in every
particular as was preached by the Savior while upon the earth,
and committed by him to his Apostles to declare unto all nations;
the same doctrine, the same ordinances, the same gifts and the
same blessings. The Latter-day Saints are distinct from all other
denominations which claim to be Christian in this respect: That
they claim that if they obey the same form of doctrine that was
taught by the servants of God anciently, and have the ordinances
administered by those having authority from heaven, that the same
results will follow, that the same gifts, the same blessings, the
same supernatural manifestations will attend the believers in
those doctrines to-day that attended believers in ancient days.
Numerous testimonies have been borne that these have been the
results. In every land where the Elders of this Church have gone
to preach the Gospel, hundreds have embraced it, and after having
embraced it have testified that they have received the gifts as
promised by the Savior, and as promised also by those who have
gone forth to declare this Gospel. I suppose that when these
declarations have been made thousands of persons have said--"If
this be true, and if the supernatural gifts that Jesus promised
unto his disciples follow the preaching of your Gospel, or that
which you call 'Mormonism,' then why cannot you give us a sign,
that we may see for ourselves and be convinced that it is
divine?" This is a very easy way of appealing to the Elders and,
as many believe, of cutting them off from any further statement
respecting their claims until they show a sign. But those who ask
this forget that Jesus himself gave no signs to convince
unbelievers. When applied to himself to give a sign, he said it
was a wicked and an adulterous generation that sought for a sign,
and no sign should be given them. And on one occasion, when he
visited a certain place, it is recorded of him that he did no
miracle because of the unbelief of the people. Now it would seem
that if signs had to be given to convince the people that would
have been the best place Jesus could have labored, a place where
unbelief was most prevalent, and when he himself was appealed to.
But he refused to do so. He did not come for the purpose of
giving men signs. They were told in the Scriptures that "these
signs shall follow them that believe," they should not come to
convince men and to make them believe. Now in this respect the
Latter-day Saints have had considerable experience. We know very
well that the Lord has not given signs for any such purpose, and
yet I suppose in this congregation, were liberty given to speak
and to bear testimony, there are hundreds and perhaps thousands
under the shade of this roof who would testify that they have
seen the mighty power of God follow the administration of the
ordinances of this Church. But I think myself that God has given
unto us greater evidences and more convincing than the working of
miracles. In these days when there are so many materialists, as
they are called, when the senses of men are appealed to, to
convince them of supernatural power, it seems to me that this is
about one of the weakest evidences that could be brought forward
to establish the divinity of the work. If men were to work
miracles before me, to convince me of the truth of any system, I
could not be convinced by any such evidence. My mind is of such a
character that I could not accept miracles as evidence of the
divinity of the system with which the men were connected who
worked these wonderful powers. In fact we are told in the
Scriptures, that the day would come when miracles should be
wrought by false prophets, and men would be deceive by false
evidence of this character. It is an easy thing to deceive the
senses, we see it every time our theatre is occupied by a
magician--we see things done that hoodwink our senses. Our eyes
are deceived, our ears are deceived; all our senses are deceived
by shrewd, cunning men, by men who are expert in manipulating
various articles, and if they were to set themselves up as the
apostles of some system, and declare that these were the
evidences of the divinity of that system, and we should believe
this sort of evidence, we might be converted to error. All those
who are familiar with the Bible know the experience of Moses
before Pharaoh. There was scarcely a miracle that Moses wrought
that the magicians of the king did not imitate, and every miracle
that was wrought only tended to harden the heart of the king, and
make him determined that he would not let the children of Israel
go, so that we see that miracles in and of themselves are no
evidence of the divinity of any system, nor of the power and the
authority from God of the men who work them.
361
But did the Lord ever have a people upon the earth at any time
whom he called his own who did not have power from God? If there
ever was such a people the Bible has failed to give us any
account of them. From the days of Adam down to the days of John
the Revelator--a portion of whose writing I have read this
afternoon--he made manifest his power unto his servants, and
through his servants unto the inhabitants of the earth. He has
communicated his mind and His will in great plainness whenever he
had a people upon the earth; there is not a single exception.
John the Baptist, it is said was a mighty prophet. Jesus said no
greater prophet had been born of woman. Yet did no miracles, but
he was attended by great power. One reason why he was called the
greatest prophet ever born of woman was that he had the privilege
of baptizing the Son of God, a privilege that no other human
being had, and it was so great a privilege that doubtless it
distinguished him above all the prophets that had preceded him or
that followed him. But he had revelation from God, though he did
no miracle, yet he was a prophet. He was filled with the spirit
of prophesy and of revelation, and he declared in great plainness
to the people who lived in Judea, that the coming of the Messiah
was near at hand, and when he baptized him, he bore testimony
that he was the veritable Son of God, the Messiah, and he was
greatly endowed by the Almighty, as were all his servants of whom
we have any account in the scriptures. But as I have said, there
are evidences connected with the Church of God at all times which
are greater than those manifestations to which I have alluded
which are called supernatural and which men seem to greatly
desire to behold. I believe that if it were to be told to the
inhabitants of the earth that a man that was nigh unto death was
about to be administered to by "Mormon" Elders, and that he would
be raised up from that bed of sickness, that people would flock
by thousands to witness that manifestation. And if God would
consent to do such a thing, do you think they would believe any
more in the divinity of the work of God or in the mission of the
men who had thus administered than they did before? I do not
believe that men can be convinced as they should be convinced by
such manifestations. It has been a matter of remark among those
who have had experience in this Church, that where men have been
brought into the Church by such manifestations, it has required a
constant succession of them to keep them in the Church; their
faith has had to be constantly strengthened by witnessing some
such manifestations; but where they have been convinced by the
outpouring of the spirit of God, where their judgment has been
convinced, where they have examined for themselves and become
satisfied by the testimony of Jesus in answer to their prayers
and to their faithful seeking unto the Lord for knowledge--where
this has been the case they have been more likely to stand, more
likely to endure persecution and trial than those who have been
convinced through some supernatural manifestation of the
character to which I have alluded.
362
Now, this Apostle, whose writings I have read, has borne
testimony that a cry should go forth after the declaration of the
everlasting Gospel to all the inhabitants of the earth to come
out of Babylon. It is a very remarkable fact connected with the
preaching of this Gospel, that wherever it has been preached, in
every land to which the Elders of the Church have gone, though
nothing was said unto the people for years after the Church was
organized, concerning the doctrine which had been revealed to the
Church, that is, the doctrine of gathering,--though nothing had
been said concerning that doctrine, the spirit of gathering
together took possession of the converts of this Church. There
are thousands of people throughout this Territory, who, before
they received this Gospel, never expected to leave the land of
their birth. Some born in the Eastern States, some in the Middle
States, some in the Southern States, some in the Western States,
some in Canada and in Europe, and in various parts of the
earth--they had not the remotest idea in their minds before they
heard the preaching of the "Mormon" Elders that they would ever
leave their homes; they never thought of it, it never entered
into their minds. And yet it is a very remarkable thing that when
they heard the Gospel and became convinced by its truth, directly
afterwards, or simultaneously with the hearing of it they were
seized with an intense desire to leave the land of their
nativity, break up their old associations, and gather with the
people of God. I look upon this as one of the most remarkable
phenomena that has ever been witnessed. There is nothing we read
of in either sacred or profane history that approaches this work
in being remarkable. It is true that Moses led the children of
Israel out of the land of Egypt. But they were one people, they
were only sojourning in the land of Egypt. The traditions which
had come down to them from their fathers were that they should
leave that land and go back to the land which God had promised to
their great ancestor Abraham. When Moses came to them he came to
fulfil preconceived ideas; he came to carry out traditions that
had come down to them and which were sacred in their memories;
they were looking for some such event as the leading of them
forth from bondage in Egypt to the land of Canaan. On this
account, therefore, it is not a parallel case. But we see in
these mountains from north to south, extending some 600 or
perhaps 800 miles north and south, a string of settlements built
up by people of various nations who have not come to this land
because of the desirableness of the land; who have not come to
Utah because it is rich in minerals, who have not come to Utah
because it abounds in agricultural resources; who have not come
to Utah because it is a healthy climate, or because of some
advantages of this character. If we visit the settlements in
Idaho, and converse with the people who live in these
settlements, and travel from there through Utah, down into
Arizona, and converse with the people in their settlements and
ask them the motive that prompted them to come to this land--why
are you here? Why did you leave their former homes? Some of you
are eastern people, some southern, some western, some from the
middle States, some from the various countries of Europe, some
from far-off Australia and New Zealand, and some even from Africa
and from the East Indies--you ask these people why did you come
here?
364
What motive had you in view when you came to Utah to settle? and
the universal reply would be from every adult member of this
Church, "I came here because I believed it was the will of God I
should do so. I was prompted by a feeling I could not resist to
leave my former home, to dissolve my connection with my kindred,
to break my old associations and to travel and cast my lot with
the Latter-day Saints." This would be the universal response if
the people were interrogated upon this point. Some have left
pleasant homes, which before hearing and obeying the gospel they
never expected to leave, it was a matter they had not
contemplated. Now to my mind, my brethren and sisters, this is
one of the most remarkable features of this work to see a people
moved upon as this people have been in various lands, all taking
up their line of march and gathering together into one place. As
I have said, we fail to see anything in history that corresponds
with it. In the days of the Apostles, such a doctrine was not
taught. The Apostles built up branches of the Church in various
places where they could get opportunity. They baptized the people
and organized them and left them, and they were overcome in time.
There was no gathering place. It was so in previous ages. But in
these days, in conformity as I firmly believe, and as the most of
you doubtless believe--in conformity with the prediction of
Isaiah, and in conformity with the prediction of the Apostle
John, when he said there should be another voice calling upon the
people to come out from Babylon--in conformity with these
predictions these things have been accomplished. Now if I were to
ask you, could I or could any other man induce you by any human
reasoning to have done this unless you yourselves have been moved
upon? I know very well what your response would be. You would say
that it would be impossible for any human influence to have
operated upon your minds to have brought this about. You are
witnesses in this respect of the power of God upon you. You know
whether it was the inducements held out by the Elders; you know
whether it was the preaching of the Elders, whether it was the
arguments of the Elders, or whether it was any other influence of
this character that operated upon your mind in this matter. If
the thousands that are numbered in this Church had the
opportunity of testifying, they would say, "I was moved upon by a
power that I could not resist. I had enjoyed the society of my
friends. I had intended to live with them all my life before I
heard this Gospel; but when I heard it a greater love sprang up
in my heart than I had ever before known. The love of kindred
became feeble as compared with it. I felt as though I could not
be happy away from the society of those who believe as I believe
and who had embraced the same truths that I had embraced. I
therefore dissolved my connection with my kindred. I bade them
farewell, and I went forth a stranger to cast my lot among a
strange people whom I had learned to love because I had received
the same spirit that they possessed." And we all know--every one
who has had any experience in this Church--how strong that
feeling is. Why, to keep the Latter-day Saints from gathering
together you would have to put them in dungeons, you would have
to deprive them of their liberty. The most powerful magnet never
attracted towards it a substance for which it had affinity with
any greater influence than this Gospel has attracted the people
who comprise the Church. I look upon it as I have said, as one of
the most remarkable phenomena connected with the latter days that
we behold anywhere among the human family at the present time. It
is a most wonderful spectacle. Here are people of almost every
nationality known to Christendom, people speaking almost every
variety of language--that is, the language of every Christian
nation--not trained alike, not educated in the same schools, not
brought up in the same religion, with varied traditions, and
varied knowledge, yet they are drawn from the various nations of
the earth, into one place impelled by one common impulse; for it
is not the least remarkable fact connected with this that those
who come from every land seem to possess the same influence. I
have had the opportunity myself, at least on one occasion, of
seeing nine different nationalities leaving Europe on board one
ship. They sang songs composed of the same truths in their
various languages, all bore the same testimony, all were moved
upon by the same influence, and all dwelt together as if they
were of one family. Now, it might be supposed that people coming
from various nations would be hard to control, would be
quarreling, would have feelings of national jealousy, and that
strife and contention would grow up amongst them. But the
contrary is the case. Some one may say that this is brought about
by the influence of the "Mormon" leaders; "You Mormons," says
one, "have shrewd leaders; Joseph Smith was a shrewd man, a man
of wonderful magnetic power, as also was Brigham Young." But
Joseph Smith and Brigham Young are dead. Yet it is said that the
leaders are shrewd men still, and that they control and influence
the people. What a wonderful thing! What a wonderful power that
men by delusion--for it is said to be a delusion--can accomplish
such great works without the aid of truth and light and
intelligence! Let any number of intelligent men with all the
advantages that they may possess attempt to do what the ignorant,
unlearned Latter-day Saints have done; let any body of men in
christendom go to and attempt to establish such an organization
as we witness in Utah Territory, and what will be the result? If
any doubt this let them try it. Let any sect try it. Take the
best and most enlightened, the most powerful church that contains
the greatest purity and the greatest truth--let them attempt to
do anything like what has been done by these unlearned,
illiterate, ignorant "impostors," as they are called, and see
what the result will be. Let the Catholics, the Episcopalians,
the Presbyterians, the Baptists, the Methodists, or any other
denomination, or let any combination of scientific men attempt
anything of the kind, and see what the result will be. For fifty
years the Elders of this Church have been preaching the Gospel.
We have traversed the whole of the United States and the Canadas,
and nearly all the nations of Europe, and this people have been
gathered out from these nations, and there is no failure
connected with the labor. Men have apostatized, as we see; they
have denied the faith; men and women have left the Church, and
they have used all their influence against the Church, yet the
work is still onward, and every hour has brought acquisitions
from abroad. Wherever the Elders have gone to preach this Gospel
they have found men and women who were willing to receive the
truth and rejoice in it, and to cast their lot with the people of
God and to endure all the consequences attached thereto. Now,
until there can be something of a similar character to this
accomplished, I think that men ought to be careful about charging
the Latter-day Saints with being impostors, and this work as
being the work of imposture; unless there is found something that
is parallel to it, unless there is a power exhibited by somebody
else that is equivalent to it, or at least will bear comparison
with it, I think men and women should be modest in their
statement that it is all a delusion and humbug. You, my brethren
and sisters, know very well it is no such thing. You know that no
body of men could have convinced you by their human power to have
done what you have done, and no human power could have blended
the people into one, as they are throughout all these valleys.
365
There is one thing that distinguishes the Latter-day Saints from
every other people that I know anything about--and I have
traveled considerably--and that is, they love one another. It is
not in name, it is not a profession of love, but they fire a
people that love another so strongly that they are willing to die
for each other if it is necessary, and it is that deep and
abiding love that binds them in union. Travel among the "Mormons"
wherever you will, north or south, east or west, at home or
abroad, in the United States or in foreign lands, this love is a
distinguishing characteristic of the people, you behold it
everywhere. Men may never have beheld each other's faces and yet
they will love one another, and it is a love that is greater than
the love of woman. It exceeds any sexual love that can be
conceived of, and it is this love that has bound the people
together. It has been a cement that all the persecution, all the
tribulation and all kinds of trial could not dissolve or break;
and the extraordinary feature of it all is, as I have said, that
this people who are thus bound together are not a people of one
township, not a people of one nation, not a people of one
language, but they are as diverse as it is possible to get the
human family to be. It would not be so strange if all were
Americans, or all eastern men, born in New England, brought up
with the traditions of New England; it would not be so strange if
all were men of the middle States, or of the northern States or
the western States. But who is there that asks among the
"Mormons" or Latter-day Saints as to a man's nationality? Who is
it asks where a man or woman came from? Here are Danish, French,
German, Italian, English, American--northern, southern, eastern
and western men--all living together as brothers, full of love
for each other; none of that rancorous feeling that exists
between nationalities is to be witnessed in Utah Territory. This
entire people can be moved by a hair when it is in the right
direction. Men say it is a priestly influence, and it is
something that should be broken to pieces. It is dangerous, they
say, to America. Why it is all folly. Let anybody try to drive
this people, and it will be found that they will die in their
tracks before they will be driven. There is no more independent
people lives upon the face of the earth than the Latter-day
Saints in this mountains. A more determined and unyielding people
I never met with. The men whom I associate with, why you might as
well try to bend a bar of steel as to bend them; they will not
bend, and yet they can be led by a hair. But they must know that
what they are advised to do is right. Here are men and women who
have sacrificed their all, who have been willing to give up their
homes, who have had their homes burned over their heads, their
cattle shot down, every piece of property taken from them, and
then were driven out ruthlessly and cruelly by mobs. Yet they
endured all rather than forsake their religion; they could not be
driven--that is, they could not be driven into apostasy; no, they
would have died before they would have yielded. If there is one
characteristic, one peculiarity that the Latter-day Saints are
noted for more than another it is for their unyielding tenacity
to principle, and any man that would drive them in any capacity,
be he Priest, Elder, Apostle or President, would find that he had
undertaken a job that he could not carry out.
365
What is it, then, that makes this people united? It is the
outpouring, as I testify, of the Spirit of God. Others will say
it is something else, but I say it is the Spirit of God, and
these are the fruits of that spirit as borne testimony to by
ancient Prophets and Apostles. They said it would be so, Jesus
prayed in the last great prayer that he offered unto his Father
that his disciples might be one even as he and his Father were
one. This was the great distinguishing character of his Church;
and we learn from the Scripture record that they were one in
heart and one in feeling. They would suffer persecution, they
would go to prison, they would suffer death, for the sake of
their religion. The Latter-day Saints have exhibited the same
qualities. They have been patient, long suffering, forbearing,
and averse to quarrels and litigation. There is no disposition to
go to law and quarrel with one another, and yet every man is
tenacious of his rights. The people who have embraced this Gospel
have had to think for themselves. It is no light matter to become
a "Mormon." It involves serious consequences. Our people may be
ignorant in certain directions, but they are not ignorant about
the Gospel and about the Bible. They understand the Bible and
know upon what their faith is based, and they have clear
conceptions of duty and personal rights, and yet in this
Territory there is little or no litigation among the Latter-day
Saints. Who ever hears of "Mormons" going to law with one
another? It is a rare thing. They have a way of settling their
differences as brothers and sisters should and as all christian
men and women should.
366
What is going to be the result of all this? Why, this work will
go on. This work which the world call "Mormonism," But which I
call the Church and Kingdom of God, will roll forth. It will draw
to itself every thing that is honest and pure. Despised to-day,
looked upon to-day with contempt, it will evince qualities in the
eyes of the world that will yet wield a power in the earth. As I
have often said a people who are frugal, temperate, industrious,
peaceable, united, who do not blaspheme, who do not commit
outrages, but attend to their own business, must make their mark
in the world. They must live in the struggle for existence. They
will live; the qualities that they possess cannot die, they
cannot be extinguished very readily. Wherever Latter-day Saints
have control good government prevails, honesty prevails; you do
not find people heavily taxed; you do not find officers consuming
all the taxes for their salaries. No; you will find peace, good
order and honesty. We are lied about! Yes, all manner of lies are
circulated concerning us. I have heard men say that when they
came to Salt Lake they were actually afraid of their lives
because of the falsehoods that had been sent abroad. Why, from
some of the stories that have been circulated one would think
that a "Mormon" Apostle ate a man for breakfast every morning;
that he was never satisfied unless he breakfasted upon somebody
not of his faith. I do not think that to look at the Apostles and
the leading men that they would give anybody such an idea. They
do not look very savage nor very ferocious. Yet, these lies are
being told and circulated, and they have their effect upon
certain classes. But like all the lies in the past, we shall
outlive them. It would be amusing to read all the lies that have
been used in days past and gone. But there is a new batch in
process of incubation all the time, and when the old ones get
stale the new ones come forth adapted to the change of the case.
Yet notwithstanding all this we continue to live. Lies do not
hurt us. I do not think they cause us to sleep any the less. They
do not cause us to enjoy any the less our pleasant homes, our
fruit, or these beautiful streams that come from the mountains.
We have learned that we can live and be lied about. We will
continue to live and increase.
367
Now, my brethren and sisters, I am exceedingly thankful myself
that God has revealed the truth, and that he has commanded his
people to gather out of Babylon, that they may be free from the
corruption that exists therein. We know there is a condition of
society at the present time on the earth, which corresponds
exactly with that which the Apostle John predicts, and which I
read. You read it at your leisure and you will find that
everything in modern society is represented in the 18th chapter
of John's Revelation. Now, God has commanded his people to come
of Babylon. We are trying to do it. We are trying to establish a
new order of society, not to tear down the old, but to establish
a new order that will grow and increase, and be better than the
old one. Everything connected with this people has for its design
the renovation of the earth from the evils which exist at the
present day. I am thankful there is a prospect for myself and my
children in this respect; for when I look at society as it
exists, its hollowness, I confess if I had no hope only in that
to be found in such society, I would have no desire for life, and
I certainly would not care about having a family. But when I
think of the society that the Latter-day Saints are trying to
establish, every man having his rights, every woman enjoying her
rights, I have hope for myself and for my children. I believe
that they can live and not be preyed upon. I think with pleasure
about the future, the union and the love that I hope will
continue to grow and increase among the people. There is a desire
to feel after and help each other, to care for somebody else
besides ourselves. I notice a disposition of this kind, and I
think in many breasts it is growing and increasing.
367
I pray God that we may continue to develop in this direction;
that we may humble ourselves before God and call upon him in
mighty prayer to aid us in our endeavors; that when we are
disposed to be lifted up in pride that we will go to God and ask
him to show us our true condition. We get the idea occasionally
that we are a very good people; individually we get lifted up by
vanity and pride; we forget who we are. Why, in the sight of his
purity we can imagine how impure we are, and how far we are from
being what we should be. Let us, therefore, go unto him and call
upon him in the name of Jesus for his blessing. We believe in
God. We believe that he is today, as he was in ancient days; a
God who hears and answers prayer; who is well able to hear and
answer the prayers of his children to-day as he was 1800 years
ago. Let us go to him and implore his blessing upon us, upon our
children, upon the honest in heart in all the earth who desire to
serve God.
367
May God bless you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / George
Q. Cannon, May 15, 1881
George Q. Cannon, May 15, 1881
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT GEORGE Q. CANNON,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
Sunday Afternoon, May 15, 1881. (Reported by John Irvine.)
THE GOSPEL GLAD TIDINGS UNTO ALL THOSE WHO WILL RECEIVE IT--THE
FREE AGENCY OF MAN--TRUTH NOT ALWAYS POPULAR--GOD HAS HIS OWN WAY
OF
INTRODUCING TRUTH.
369
The Gospel is declared to be glad tidings of Salvation; and the
principles which have been dwelt upon in our hearing this
afternoon by Brother Naisbitt, are made glad tidings of salvation
unto every soul, especially unto every soul that will receive
them and those who have bowed in simplicity before God, calling
upon Him in the name of Jesus Christ, to give unto them a
testimony and a knowledge concerning the truth of these things.
The declaration of the principles as we have heard this
afternoon, kindles within their hearts the old fire and quickens
their spirit and causes feelings of joy and satisfaction to fill
their whole being. While listening to Brother Naisbitt's remarks
I thought to myself that no human being upon the face of the
earth who could be assured of the truth of that which has been
stated--that there is indeed a church organized according to the
primitive pattern, that the old Gospel is in truth restored, that
the old ordinances have been once more placed in the Church
accompanied by the old power--if a person could be convinced of
this and know for himself and herself that it is true, is there
one soul that would not be willing to endure all things, to have
his name cast out as evil, to be misrepresented, to be
persecuted, yes, and even slain, if that should be necessary in
the providence of God, in order to attain to all these blessings
here and hereafter? I do not believe that, taking the human
family generally, there could be many found who would hesitate
concerning this matter if they could be convinced of its truth.
But the difficulty is to get men and women to comprehend the
truth, to recognize it, to understand it when they hear it, to be
able to separate the truth from error, for the reason that in the
human mind there are certain conceptions of truth. We entertain
certain ideas as to what the truth should be, how it should come
to us and also as to who its teachers should be, the kind of men
they should be. And this is the difficulty that is all the time
in the way of preaching the Gospel. There is an arch enemy of
mankind who is constantly laboring to blind the eyes, to darken
the understanding and to harden the hearts of the children of
men, and to prevent them from receiving the truth when they hear
it. There have been comparatively few who have been able to rise
superior to their surroundings, and it has only been by the aid
of the Almighty that they have succeeded. But in every age from
the beginning there have been those found who have sought after
truth and have been willing to make every sacrifice for it. It
was so with the Apostles. It was so with those who believed in
their doctrine. It was so with the Prophets who preceded them. It
has been so with those who have succeeded the Apostles; for in
every age, and among all people, as we have been told, there have
been those who have sought for the truth in heathendom, in
christendom, among all people, as they would for a precious
treasure of inestimable worth, and who have endeavored to
comprehend it, to value it, and have been willing to lay down
their lives for it. There have been such persons found in all
ages and among all people, but it has been especially the case
with those who have received the Gospel as we have heard it
described in our hearing this afternoon.
369
The world generally have the idea that when truth comes from God,
it comes in such overwhelming power, that mankind are compelled
to accept whether they will or no. But this is not the case, it
never has been the case. If it were the case man would be
deprived of that great privilege that he has received from
God--that is, his agency, without which man would cease to be the
being that he is, the child of God. The Almighty has given unto
all the inhabitants of the earth their agency. A man can choose
to be a wicked man; he can choose to be a devil, so to speak, if
he wish. Will God interpose? Yes; but not to take away his
agency. He can turn to wickedness, be corrupt, and do everything
that is evil and abominable in the sight of God, so long as life
is given to him, and God permits him to do it. He will not take
away his agency. If He did, we would cease to be independent
creatures with the right to choose. On the other hand, a man can
turn to that which is good and holy and pure. He can cherish it,
he can seek for it, he can love it. He has that right, he can
choose between those two principles. They have been placed before
us so that we might choose the good and reject the evil, or
choose the evil and reject the good. That is the privilege that
is given to us.
370
It is not always--neither has it been the case with the majority
of mankind who have comprehended the truth--the popular voice
that is expressive of truth. On the contrary, from the very
beginning down through all the generations, even to our own day,
it has been the case that truth has been unpopular. Hence the
saying of the Apostle Paul: "All that will live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution." He did not say that they might
suffer, or that they perhaps might suffer, but that they shall
suffer. It should be one of the consequences of living godly in
Christ Jesus. The Savior told His disciples the same thing. He
led them to expect that they would be persecuted, that they would
be hated of all men for His name's sake. He cited the attention
of His disciples to the Prophets who had preceded them; they had
been persecuted, they had been slain, and in like manner they
might expect a similar fate, and we know full well that this was
all fulfilled, that they did meet this fate; as He himself died a
martyr to the truth, so His Apostles died in like manner, and the
great body of his followers suffered persecution unto death, but
were sustained by the knowledge they had received from God, not
looking at the world and the perishable things of the earth,
knowing that there was a life beyond. They were willing to endure
all things; to have their names cast out as evil; to be
persecuted; to be stripped of everything that they had. Paul
says: "They were stoned, they were sewn asunder, were tempted,
were slain with the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins and
goatskins, etc." They suffered all manner of afflictions because
of their love for the Gospel. But they lived in peace with
themselves and with their God. There was a joy and happiness that
came from God, that sustained them in the midst of their
sufferings, trials and difficulties. They knew that if they
continued faithful they would receive a reward at the right hand
of God, and the very thought of that eternity to which they were
hastening was sufficient to stimulate them to look beyond the
trials and persecutions of this life, and they walked to the
stake joyfully having that knowledge.
370
Now the very fact that truth has not been popular, shows very
plainly that mankind do not expect to receive it from the source
through which it comes, or through the mediums that presented
themselves to them. They looked for it in some other form. But
God chooses his own methods, he selects his own instruments, he
disseminates his truth in his own way; he has always done so and
he will do so until the end.
371
There is scarcely a day, I may say scarcely an hour, that I do
not reflect upon our condition as Latter-day Saints in contrast
with the circumstances which have surrounded our predecessors.
When I think of the persecution they endured; when I think that
God revealed unto his Apostles that there would be a falling
away, that the Church would be overcome and the truth
destroyed--that is, in its original purity--I cannot help
contrasting our position to-day as compared with the position of
the early Christians. Of course a great deal of truth has been
saved. Some believe in one part of the Gospel and some in
another. Every church possesses some fragment of the Gospel; but
the truth in its entirety, the authority to administer in the
ordinances, had been taken away. Of course this being the case
there could be no organized church upon the earth. But in the
early days of the Church, as I have quoted to you, they suffered
all manner of affliction. We, in our day, have different
circumstances surrounding us. God in his mercy has made certain
promises. He promised unto Paul, he promised through the Savior
himself, that this Gospel of the kingdom should be preached unto
all nations before the end should come. Daniel spoke of the
kingdom that should be set up in the last days and should not be
given into the hands of another people, but it should stand for
ever. This is different from other dispensations which have
preceded it. The Apostles foresaw that there would be a falling
away; they saw that persecution would destroy the Church. But
they looked beyond this, and, as has been quoted in our hearing,
John the Revelator foretold the time when the everlasting Gospel
would be restored again to the earth never to be taken away
again. It might be persecuted, its followers might be hated, they
might be driven, as they have been. Indeed there is no
persecution the early Christians received; there is no trial or
affliction that they had to pass through considering the time the
Church had been organized that the Church of the Savior which he
has caused to be organized in our day, has not endured. Were the
ancient Saints driven? So have the modern. Were the former-day
Saints persecuted? So have the Latter-day Saints. Were they slain
in former days? So they have been in the latter days. Were their
names cast out as evil? So their names have been cast out at the
present time. Were they accused of abominable crimes in ancient
days as a justification to kill them? So they have been in these
days. It is true that such wholesale persecution as attended the
preaching of Christianity in the primitive days has not followed
its preaching in our day, for the dispensations are different.
The Church was driven from the earth then, but as I have said,
God has made a promise in these days that it shall not be
destroyed again, and this ought to sustain you. This has, I know,
sustained and comforted you in days that are past. I have often
wondered in looking back to the days of persecution how the
Saints were cheered and sustained under such circumstances. When
I reflect upon our journey from Illinois, through the wilderness,
destitute of everything, women carrying infants with scarcely
food enough to keep soul and body together--when I think of these
things now, when years have brought responsibility and care, it
is a matter of constant wonder to me how the Latter-day Saints in
those days sustained themselves, how they could be so cheerful
and show such forbearance and fortitude under such circumstances,
meeting together round their camp fires singing and rejoicing
together as though they were in happy circumstances and, even
after they reached this valley, when starvation stared them in
the face, their hope and courage were none the less. What was the
cause of this? It was the consolation which God had given them
that this work should triumph, that it should spread and
increase, and that it should gather within its fold every honest
soul sooner or later. It was this consolation that never deserted
the people.
371
Now, does it follow, my brethren and sisters, that because this
Gospel will not be given to another people, that we will remain
in connection with this Church regardless of our actions?
Certainly not. The religion which we profess ought not only to be
a Sunday religion, but a religion we should carry with us in our
daily lives, in our intercourse with one another, in everything
in fact that pertains to us, and not like a Sunday garment put on
to-day and laid aside to-morrow. In all our dealings, in all our
conversations, we should endeavor to carry out the principles of
our religion.
373
And there is one thing above everything, I think, we should
observe, and that is to be careful about each others' feelings
and reputation. It is bad enough to be persecuted by outsiders;
it is bad enough to have hard things said by those who do not
know us; but it is a cruel thing for men and women who profess to
be brethren and sisters in the Lord to speak evil of each other.
I can endure anything and everything, it seems to me, from the
outside so long as it is not true. I am so organized that I do
not care anything about these things, they do not affect me, and
I rejoice when I think I am trying to do the best I can; but if I
should know my brethren and sisters spoke evil of me, that I
think would hurt me, and I am sure it hurts others. We should be
especially careful how we talk about each other. If we cannot say
anything good let us hold our tongues. If we know of a brother or
a sister's weakness go to him or to her if you speak of this
weakness. If any one has done you wrong go to him or her alone
and tell him or her your grievance, instead of going to your
neighbor to talk about the person whom you imagine has wronged
you. Above all things we as a people should dwell together in
love. The spirit of love should illumine our faces and gladden
our hearts, for God delights in a glad heart. We should therefore
carry peace and gladness into our habitations. Instead of going
in cross, displeased, angry, we should dismiss all such feelings
at the threshold and go into our homes carrying with us the
spirit of peace. And when there are hard feelings existing, a
feeling that some one has injured us, there should be a course
taken to remove the same. We should not come together, as we have
done this afternoon, and partake of the bread and water in
remembrance of the broken body and spilt blood of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, bearing hard feelings towards one another.
If I know or feel that a man has wronged me, should I come here
and partake of the sacrament without going to him and endeavoring
to make the matter right? No, I should not. I should go to that
man and tell him my feelings. If he has wronged me, I should say
to him, "Let us make this right;" if I have wronged any one else,
that person should come to me in like manner. All such feelings
should be removed from the midst of the Latter-day Saints. We
should dwell in love, in union and in peace, and if we cannot
make our differences right between ourselves, then we should call
in the aid of some of our brethren to assist us, and by their
aid, perhaps, the wrong, if any exists, may be rooted out and the
evil put away from our midst. This is the religion that we should
have. We may hear the Elders talking about the principles of the
Gospel, as we have done this afternoon, and our hearts be
gladdened by the recital thereof--we may listen to these things,
but if we do not carry out the principles that are thus taught,
our religion is of no avail, it amounts to nothing, it is like a
sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal, it is not a practical and
true religion; but if we carry them out it will be the case with
us, as long as Satan has power, that we will be persecuted. I
would have none of you imagine that there will be a cessation of
this persecution. I have heard some say that the time will soon
come when there will be a cessation of this hatred against the
Latter-day Saints. Do not deceive yourselves with any such idea.
Thousands of times people have said to me, "Oh, I wish you
Latter-day Saints would abolish that hateful institution. That is
the only thing that makes you objectionable." This is a great
mistake. If we could do such a thing, it would not bring the
result that the world imagine. If this is the Church of
Christ--as we declare it to be--just as true as it is we will be
persecuted. We cannot escape it, it is an inevitable result of
the Gospel. We might seclude ourselves in the deserts of Sahara,
as we secluded ourselves in these mountains some thirty-three
years ago, and persecution would reach us. The adversary will not
let us alone. The direst persecutions we ever had to suffer,
occurred before the doctrine of polygamy was taught or believed
in. There is nothing short of complete apostasy, a complete
denial of every principle we have received, a throwing away of
the Holy Priesthood, that can save us from persecution. When this
takes place, when all the chief features of the Gospel are
obliterated, when we can float along the stream and do as the
world does, then and not till then will persecution cease, or
until the adversary is bound, for the day will come when Satan
will be bound and then persecution will cease, but until then
there will be no cessation; until then persecution will always
exist in some form or other, and we shall have to meet it, so
that we may as well make up our minds on the subject. In my
childhood I made my calculations that the Gospel might cost me my
life. I felt as Brother Naisbitt has described. In my childhood I
had a yearning to know the truth and to know the Church of God. I
would have gone round the world if I had been strong enough to
have found a servant of God who had the ancient power. I thought
I would be willing to do everything that anybody else ever did,
God being my helper, even if it cost me my good name. It might
cost me my life; but what is that compared with eternal life in
the presence of God. What are houses, what are lands, what is
property of any kind compared with eternal life in the presence
of God, to dwell there eternally in the society of Jesus, and of
the Apostles and Prophets of old? This life is but a span. A few
short years and we will pass away. Even if our enemies should
suffer us to live, it is inevitable that we shall die. That fiat
has gone forth. Death is in the world. But we have received a
knowledge of the truth, and we can seal our testimony with our
blood regarding it; but I do not think this will be necessary in
this age further than what has taken place. I trust it will not
be. No man need court any such thing. If it should come while we
are in the path of duty, having espoused the truth, we should be
willing to endure all the consequences involved in its espousal
and should follow the path that God has pointed out, leaving Him
to overrule and control all things. But it is important, my
brethren and sisters, that we should know it is the truth. That
is the important point, that we should know for ourselves--not
because I say so, not because some one else says so, but because
we know it for ourselves, God having revealed it to us. And that
is the privilege of every human being whom God has created, that
each should know for himself and herself concerning the truth. It
is my privilege and your privilege to ask God and find out the
truth for ourselves, and then when we have found it we can endure
persecution. This is what the world calls fanaticism, but it is a
fanaticism that the Saints of God always had. It is different
from any other fanaticism; it is based on the truth, and it is
this that should gather us together; it is this that should
gather us together and make us one people.
373
That God may grant us a continuation of these blessings and an
increase of them and of His power and preserving care, is my
prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 22 / Henry
W. Naisbitt, May 15th, 1881
Henry W. Naisbitt, May 15th, 1881
DISCOURSE BY ELDER H. W. NAISBITT.
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
Sunday Afternoon, May 15th, 1881.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
THE PREACHING AND PRACTICE OF THE GOSPEL--VISITATIONS OF ANGELS,
ETC.
374
However disagreeable it may be to my personal feeling to stand
before a congregation, the consciousness which the Elders of this
Church possess that they have had committed to them the authority
of the Holy Priesthood, and that they are entitled to the
inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and that they possess the faith
and prayers of the Saints who are their associates in the
Church--those who understand their needs--is enough, I think, to
buoy up an individual when he is called upon suddenly to address
the people; indeed it is these thoughts alone which give me
courage at the present time; I count upon a measure of the Holy
Spirit; I count upon the faith and prayers of the Saints; and
while I take up a little time I hope that that which may be said
will be profitable and advantageous to all who listen and to the
speaker himself.
374
Numerous have been the methods and channels through which the
human family from time to time have received intelligence.
Preaching is as old as history. Men have learned from each other.
The results of individual experience have been transmitted to
those who had less opportunity, and in this way knowledge has
been increased in one from the resources of another.
375
But Christians believe, I think, as a rule, that men have not
always been dependent upon those who dwell in the flesh for the
intelligence which they have acquired. Those who have accepted
the Bible, the Old and New Testament, will understand that there
have been in past ages other methods by which intelligence was
communicated than simply through men who dwelt in the flesh.
Spiritual communication is one of the corner-stones of the old
book. It is filled with instances where intelligences not
directly of earth have visited members of the human family and
communicated with them from time to time. Abraham, whom
Christians look upon as "the father of the faithful," was one who
was privileged to receive angelic visitations. Lot was another of
those who had experience of this character; and so were many of
the ancients, from the beginning down to the time of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, whose divine mission was announced by the
visitations and communications of the angelic hosts. Whatever the
character of these angels might have been, whether they were
resurrected beings who had dwelt upon the earth--whether they
were those of higher grades--archangels, as they are called--or
whether they were designed and appointed specially to minister to
individual men--which of these varieties they may have belonged
to, it is very evident that the scriptures are full of the
history of angelic communication, and that they were the
instruments in the hands of the Almighty, sent to communicate his
will under certain conditions. It is quite true that in our age
this has been accounted one of the lost arts; it has been
numbered among the things that had been, but had fallen into
disuse; something that had become obsolete or unnecessary in the
advanced condition of human intelligence.
375
But the same scriptures which tell of such visits in ancient
times also point out with remarkable distinctness that there
would be periods in the history of the human family when this
angelic communication would again be restored, and that
messengers would again come from the heavens to communicate with
the children of men and introduce a new condition of things or
prepare for conditions which must and will exist in order that
the economy of God might be saved. Hence we have an account in
the revelations of St. John, of the different angels that were to
follow each other in the several epochs or dispensations of
Providence among mankind. We have an account of the opening of
the seven seals, which according to that record is to be done by
angels appointed by divine authority, for the express purpose of
the unfolding of the divine programme in human history. But there
is mention made there of one particular angel of whom it is said
that he was seen "flying through the midst of heaven having the
everlasting Gospel to preach unto those that dwell upon the
earth. That this was to be in the far distant future from the
period when John dwelt upon the earth and was a prisoner on the
Isle of Patmos, is abundantly evident to all who have been but
casual readers of the sacred Scriptures; but to those who have
been students of that book, to those who have sought to read it
understandingly, to make it their rule of life and to be guided
by it in their travels, and through its teachings to fit
themselves for the future, this statement could not pass with
common notice--it no doubt has arrested their attention many a
time, as covering a series of interesting and important periods
of events. While in the nineteenth century such an idea by
religionists has been ignored, being considered unnecessary, yet
the documents have come down to us from the primitive times and
the assertion is not denied that such an occurrence was to take
place at some period of human history, if the word was to be
fulfilled. Now I think that there are advantages to be derived
from this angelic communication. Whenever a man realizes who and
why he is upon the earth; whenever he realizes the instincts
which are implanted within him and which make him soar after
something that goes beyond the reach of human life and time, I
think every one will agree that there is a vast field and need
also for the acquisition of intelligence that would tend to the
advancement of thousands and millions of the human family.
375
Ideas that could be communicated in regard to the past, ideas in
regard to the present, ideas in regard to the future, might thus
be obtained. Those ideas are not particularly within the range of
the schools, colleges and educational institutions of mankind,
they must come from a source and through channels where...
[to be continued in volume 23]