Journal of Discourses Volume 20
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20
Journal of Discourses,
Volume 20
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / George
Q. Cannon, April 7, 1878
George Q. Cannon, April 7, 1878
DISCOURSE BY ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON,
Delivered at the Annual Conference, Salt Lake City,
Sunday Morning, April 7, 1878.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
IDEAS HELD BY THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS WINNING THEIR
WAY--TERRITORIAL
PROSPERITY--"MORMONISM" NOT FAVORED OF THE GOVERNMENT--LATTER-DAY
SAINTS TO
SAVE THE GOVERNMENT--GOOD COUNSEL ON MANY POINTS.
1
It is somewhat unexpected to myself that I have the opportunity,
this morning, of appearing in your midst. Important business
demanded my return to this city for a short time; but in
consequence of certain responsibilities devolving upon me at
Washington, it seemed imprudent for me to leave and come here. A
week ago last Friday morning I scarcely thought it possible that
I could get away; but during the day I was favored in making such
arrangements that I felt I could leave with safety, for a few
days at least. And I immediately started for this city by way of
Philadelphia.
1
I am glad to have the opportunity of meeting with so many of my
brethren and sisters, of beholding your faces, of listening to
the instructions which have been given, and in sharing in the
spirit that has been and will be poured out upon us. It is a
great relief to one who has been absent for any length of time,
mingling with the world, to have the opportunity of associating
with you, my brethren and sisters; at least I esteem it as such.
I never turn my face homewards without experiencing joy and
gladness at the thought of once more being reunited with you.
2
I never in my life have had a deeper interest in the welfare, in
the prosperity and in the advancement of the cause with which we
are identified, than at the present time. This feeling has rested
with great weight upon my mind; I feel we are living in a most
important era of time. I feel that the mission assigned unto us
is one that we, at the present time, scarcely begin to
comprehend. The most important results that are to flow from it
have scarcely begun to dawn upon our minds. At least personally
this is my feeling. When I contemplate the immensity of the field
of labor that lies before us, the evils and wrongs that have to
be corrected, as I believe, through the agency of this people, as
also the reforms that have to be effected and to be carried out
successfully, it seems to be that as the days roll around, I
begrudge the passing hours; I feel as though the days are
entirely too short, and that I should like to live for a
millennium to help those with whom I am associated to bring to
pass the great, the important, the soul-saving as well as
body-redeeming plans that are to be carried out in order to bring
to pass the designs of Providence in relation to man and the
earth.
3
Already the Latter-day Saints can see that the leaven that has
been planted by the Gospel has been doing a gradual work in
effecting important changes. It may be thought of a people
confined to these mountains, numbering no more than we do, that
our influence must be necessarily very limited, and that we can
accomplish but very little. But the ideas that have been
propagated by the Latter-day Saints, though they have not
converted as many to our faith as they should have done, have had
a most wonderful influence upon the religious, the philosophic
and the scientific world. Ideas that men now believe in and
receive readily, Joseph Smith was persecuted and denounced for
proclaiming. And while there are millions who do not believe that
he was a Prophet of God, or that the principles he taught were
revealed from God, there is no mistaking the fact that his
teachings, that the truths he advanced, and the ideas which he
disseminated, have had a wonderful effect upon the human mind
throughout Christendom. If those of you who have had experience
in the world, who have arrived at the middle age, will let your
minds revert to the time when you first heard these principles,
and will compare the condition of human thought at that time with
the condition of human though today, I doubt not you will agree
with me in saying that, although men and women have not become
Latter-day Saints, nor have the mass of mankind received the
religious truths in their entirety, as they were taught by
Joseph, and as they have been taught by those who succeeded him,
yet there has been a very visible and a marked advancement by men
and women all over the world wherever the Elders of this Church
have traveled. So that it is not in the gathering of the people
together alone that we are accomplishing great results; but it is
in teaching the world the principles that God has revealed to us,
and gradually indoctrinating the mind of mankind, to some extent
at least, uplifting them from the prejudices and the darkness and
the ignorance in which they have been enshrouded to a higher
plane, to breathe a purer and a freer spirit of inquiry in
religious and scientific thought. Much, however, remains to be
done, and it devolves upon us, as a people, to discharge our
duty, each one of us, as though the entire responsibility
devolved upon us. And herein, probably, there is as much fault to
be found with us as upon any other point--a non-recognition by
the Latter-day Saints of the fact that God holds us, each one of
us, individually responsible; for there is assigned unto every
man and every woman an individual labor which he and she must
perform. For myself, I know that the influence of one man rightly
exercised is potent for good; or, if improperly exercised, for
evil, upon his fellow man. Each man's life, each man's
conversation, each man's deportment and walk before his fellow
man, wields an influence that he most probably does not begin to
comprehend, or understand. And if we all understood this, and
acted accordingly, living up to the light and knowledge we
possess, just think of the influence that we, as a united body,
could wield among the inhabitants of our land, and in fact among
the inhabitants of the whole earth.
4
I look upon our position, politically, as one that is most
important, far more important than that of any other community
with which I am acquainted. To-day it is conceded upon all sides,
and the fact is not disputed by intelligent persons, that the
Latter-day Saints, or, to speak more properly, the people of Utah
Territory, occupy a position superior to that of any other
Territory within the confines of the Union. This is conceded. And
for temperance, for frugality, for economy, for good government
and for submission to the law (if I may except that relating to
plural marriage, which is in violation of the constitution, and
which was passed as a blow at our religion), for the honest
administration of financial and governmental affairs, for the
preservation of good order and the maintenance of peace, and for
the promotion of education; on all these points at least, we are
the equals, of any other people of our Republic. While the
eastern states are burdened with debt and groaning under local
taxation, with failures of no mean magnitude occurring
continually, the men not knowing what to do to redeem themselves
from their financial difficulties, Utah Territory, occupies, it
may truly be said, the unique position of being out of debt: no
Territorial debt to speak of, no county debts. Notwithstanding
the innumerable temptations that have existed, and that our
officers might have succumbed to we are, I am happy to say, free
from debt, and also the most lightly taxed community now within
the confines of the government. When I mentioned these facts to
President Hayes he remarked: "Your position is certainly an
enviable and unique one." This is conceded upon all hands. In our
own neighboring territories, take, for instance, Wyoming, the
people of which are justly proud of their position, because they
have comparatively little debt; yet their taxes are 2 1/2 higher
than ours; and so with our neighboring territories. Our
percentage of illiteracy is lower than that of any of the
territories, and also than many of the states; not but that the
illiteracy of Utah ought to be lower still, for there is room for
great improvement in matters of education. We have 1200 miles of
telegraph line owned in this Territory; we have upwards of 300
miles of local railroad, not counting the Union and Central
Pacific railroads. This is the condition of this Territory. If we
take the statement of the last Federal census respecting our
population and apply the ratio of increase during the previous
decade--that is the increase from 1860 to 1870--to the last eight
years, it will be seen that Utah has a population of at least
150,000. But our ratio of increase has been greater during the
last eight years than the previous ten. The States are divided
into Congressional districts, at the present time, with a
population numbering about 135,000; that is to say, a district
having a population of that number is entitled to a member of
Congress. In this Territory our population is in excess of that
number. No Territory has ever applied for admission into the
Union with so many advantages as ours. In 1789 the Federal
Constitution was adopted, and we became a consolidated Republic.
This was 89 years ago. We have lived in this country upwards of
one-third of that time. It might be thought, then, that with such
a lengthened experience and advantages, with such capacity for
self-government, with such a developed and lightly taxed
Territory, with such good order and freedom from debt, that Utah
would be welcomed into the union of states. Why are we not?
Because we are "Mormons." That embodies the whole reason. If we
are split up into factions, if we were fighting, party against
party, if drinking saloons and houses of ill-fame were through
all our settlements, and if we were heavily in debt, not having
even the requisite population, and were not "Mormons," we would
be admitted into the union of states. What is the reason assigned
for it? "We do not want to countenance polygamy. If we admit
Utah, we sanction, to a certain extent, polygamy." This is the
reason assigned. Suppose, for instance, that one man of every ten
among these "Mormons" is a polygamist, are there any more than
that? If there are I do not know it. I have never taken the
census, but in the range of my personal acquaintance, as I have
scanned them, I think that there are not one-tenth of the men in
this Territory who have attained their majority who are
polygamists. And we will say there are 150,000 people in the
Territory how many of them are men? If we apply the same rule of
ascertaining this that we do to other communities--and it will
not apply to ours because our children are in excess; but as it
is, we will apply the same rule and divine 150,000 by five, how
many does it leave? Thirty thousand. We will say there are thirty
thousand men in Utah Territory who have attained their majority,
and one-tenth of this number are polygamists, what do we have
left? Three thousand men. And for three thousand men the Congress
of the United States say that the bulk of the people shall not
have their political rights. Does it not seem as though--by the
action of Congress in this respect, that they are uplifting a
doctrine comparatively obscure, when you take into consideration
the forty millions of people that live under the flag of the
United States--and giving it national importance? This is one of
the most extraordinary instances of fatuity that I ever recollect
reading of in any history; yet such a thing is done, and this is
the only reason that can be truthfully and correctly assigned for
the refusal, on the part of the nation, of admitting Utah as a
State. In spite of all we can say and do, there seems to be a
determination to give this doctrine of plural marriage a national
and world-wide importance, like everything else connected with
this people. It has been advertised and talked of as though it
might be the practice of twenty millions of people, instead of
that of three or four thousand men.1
5
Now, I say that we have to teach the world a lesson in this
direction. A people patiently pursuing their course, without
murmuring, without rebelling, without rising in riotings, when
receiving a denial of their legitimate and constitutional rights.
Such a spectacle as this is worthy of admiration, especially when
it is understood that not an officer within the confines of our
Territory can hold an office of Federal appointment, if it be
known that he is a "Mormon," or scarcely if it be known that he
is even favorable to the "Mormons." As soon as the office of
Postmaster becomes worth holding, the Mormon Postmaster, who may
have held it when it did not pay him for his labor, is turned out
and somebody else is put in. The Marshal, the Secretary, the
Governor, the Judges and all of the Federal officials were
appointed during the last administration from those who were
known to have no sympathy with the "Mormons." It was as much as
our present Governor could recently do to retain his position,
because he was accused of favoring the "Mormons," because it was
believed that he favored a people he was sent to govern. This is
most extraordinary when you think of it; but the most surprising
thing connected with it is, that the people thus imposed upon
should bear it with the forbearance and equanimity that the
Latter-day Saints manifest under these circumstances.
5
You remember our last Governor. He started out thinking he had
been sent here to govern this Territory and the people of the
Territory as his fellow-citizens. He was disposed not to know the
difference between a Mormon and a non-Mormon; he was disposed to
travel through the Territory and mingle with the people, attend
their public gatherings, and talk to them, as he would were he in
any other place. This he did, and it was brought against him as a
crime, as a reason why he should not continue to hold office. And
an important official no less a person then the Assistant
Secretary of the Interior, was sent to find out whether these
things were really true. And this office of the government, a
gentlemen, who is acknowledged to be efficient, and who had
served three terms in Congress with credit to himself and his
constituency; and who is looked upon as a man of national
reputation, and who, in his private life, is considered most
exemplary, for no other reason than that he was mingling with the
"Mormon" people, treating them as his fellow-citizens, was
removed from office.
6
I allude to these things not to find fault particularly, not to
embitter your feelings because of treatment you have received,
this is not my motive; but to call to your attention the fact
that among other things we have to teach this nation and show to
the whole world is, that although largely in the majority in this
Territory, we have learned the great and most important lesson
that a citizen can and should learn, namely, that of obedience. I
am glad that this is the case. I am glad to know that the
Latter-day Saints are setting an example to their fellow-citizens
all through the union in this respect. Will this continue? Shall
we continue to live as we are living to-day--denied rights to
which we are entitled? We shall, doubtless, for a time, until, in
the Providence of the Almighty, we shall be enabled to assume the
position that rightfully belongs to us, and receive those rights
to which we are fully entitled. The time will come, and it is not
far distant--although we may occasionally get tired waiting, and
may ask ourselves, how long will it be delayed--but let me say to
you that the signs of the times portend for us a much greater
degree of liberty than we possess to-day, or even than we have
dared to anticipate. And as I have said often--for I have never
failed to declare it--that the Latter-day Saints or "Mormons" as
we are called, expect it to be their destiny to uphold
constitutional liberty on this continent, and to preserve our
government and the forms thereof from overthrow and destruction.
I have been taught from my boyhood that this was to be the
destiny of the Latter-day Saints, and this people have been
trained in the same belief, and we train our children to look
forward to it, and to cherish the love of civil and religious
liberty in their hearts, toleration for all men of every creed,
of every nation, of every language and of every color, that all
the sons and daughters of Adam, without exceptions, who dwell
upon this broad land, may enjoy the inestimable blessing of
liberty, and that it will be our favored and honored destiny, in
the course of human events, unlikely as it may appear to-day to
be the case, to preserve constitutional liberty in this land,
which God has said shall be a land of liberty to all those who
are righteous who dwell thereon. I have said, and I firmly
believe, that the day will most assuredly come when the people of
these mountains will become a great factor in the settlement of
differences, in the preservation of human rights in the future,
in the great contests which seem ready to burst upon us at any
moment. You contemplate the condition of the East to-day! The
elements of destruction are widespread in society, and instead of
being smothered and allayed, they are more or less fostered and
harbored, and are fast maturing; and when certain contingencies
arise, they are likely to burst forth, and that, too, to the
death and misery of many souls. Think of the feeling that existed
thirteen months ago, when it was not known who would be the
President of the United States, or whether we would have another
President or not. That was a time when the memories of the late
war were forced upon the attention of earnest and thoughtful men.
They remembered the blood and sacrifices and dreadful horrors of
that struggle, and they shrank from the bare thought of their
repetition. Had it not been that the great civil war had been so
recent, and the recollection of its horrors was so vivid,
especially among the Southern people, undoubtedly there would
have been a conflict of arms before the President could have been
seated in the presidential chair. But men shrank from the
dreadful arbitrament of war and they preferred to submit even to
what they believed to be wrong, agreeing to a compromise as being
better than war.
7
Our position, as a people, in many respects, is one for which we
can be exceedingly thankful. We can congratulate ourselves, that
we are in these mountains, a land of liberty, a land of freedom.
No man, that is a man, can breathe this air and be a slave. When
he looks upon these towering mountains, lifting their grand and
lofty peaks to heaven, and he breathes the pure air of freedom,
and his lungs expand with it, he feels as though he never could
bow to slavery, nor his children after him. There is a race
springing up in these mountains whose influence and power, sooner
or later, must be felt in shaping the future of this nation.
There need be no fear about this. Let us pursue the course marked
out for us, submitting, if necessary, to wrong, but never failing
to protest and contend, nevertheless against it; let our
continued protest go forth, that we understand our rights, and
that we are disposed to maintain them, as far as we can without
violence. Let us continue to pursue our course patiently and
unitedly, presenting an unbroken front to the enemy, having no
traitors within, no factions, no strifes, or bickerings, burying
our little piques and feelings, having the one great and grand
object to accomplish, namely, the establishment of truth and
righteousness upon the earth, that eventually a place and people
may be found worthy of Him who will come, and whose right it is
to reign, and in pursuing faithfully and diligently the course
which God has marked out, you may depend upon it that the
day-star will arise, and the dawn of that glorious day will be
witnessed by all that share and engage in this labor. But how
many labors devolve upon us, and how they accumulate and crowd
upon us. The labor of lifting up the people and uniting them,
furnishing suitable work for the unemployed and for our sons and
daughters, that there may be no idleness in our land, that there
may be no need of any Union societies to be organized, arraying
labor against capital. How necessary it is that we should listen
to the words of wisdom and instruction which have been given,
counseling us to so organize ourselves and arrange our temporal
affairs, that here may not be a single individual throughout our
land, who desires to work, go unemployed, but that all may have
this blessed privilege, for when men labor they keep out of
mischief. You remember the old proverb--"An idle man's brian is
the devil's workshop." We want to banish idleness, how shall we
do it? By organizing, and every President of Stake and every
Bishop making it the study and object of his life to furnish
employment to every man under his immediate presidency who may
desire it. And thus we will preserve ourselves, and our sons will
find employment at home, instead of scattering abroad, going
hither and thither: and our daughters, too, will then find
husbands who will be in a position to maintain them honorably and
properly, and thus marriage be promoted in the land. Our boys,
when they arrive at years of maturity and can take care of a
wife, should get married, and there should not be a lot of young
men growing up in our midst who ought to be, but are not married.
While we do not make a remark to apply to individual cases, I am
firmly of the opinion that a large number of unmarried men, over
that age of twenty-four years, is a dangerous element in any
community, and an element upon which society should look with a
jealous eye. For every man knowing himself, knows how his
fellow-man is constituted; and if men do not marry, they are too
apt to do something worse. Then, brethren, encourage our young
men to marry, and see that they are furnished employment, so that
they can marry.
7
And then there is the education of our children. O, that we could
bestow upon them, in every sense of the word, a proper education,
so that they might become the peers of any people. Our children
are noted for their brightness of intellect. Teachers say, who
come from the east and the west, they never saw children receive
knowledge with more ease than the children of these mountains do.
We should take all the pains in our power to educate our
children, furnishing them the best facilities, that our daughters
and sons may be educated and accomplished. And at the same time
teach them to labor. I tell my daughters that I want them to
learn to wash, and sew, and cook, and become the best of
housewives; and that I do not care then how much else they may
know about music and other accomplishments, that they may be
fitted to mingle with and feel at home in the best society. Girls
as well as boys ought to be so trained as to confer dignity upon
labor; and the idea, prevalent among some people, that because
girls are accomplished they are spoiled and unfitted for labor,
or to do housework, ought to be frowned down.
8
Let us think of these things after we separate and go to our
homes; and let us endeavor to carry in our breasts the spirit of
this Conference, and diffuse the same among the people not
present. And let us so live that the desire may continually well
up in our hearts, not how can we aggrandized ourselves, but how
can we enrich this community, how can we benefit and bless this
people, how can we elevate them and make these multitudes of
children growing up in our midst more useful, so that they can be
ornaments to society?
8
I pray the Lord to bless us and preserve us in the truth, in the
name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / Orson
Pratt, June 23, 1878
Orson Pratt, June 23, 1878
DISCOURSE BY ELDER ORSON PRATT,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
Sunday Afternoon, June 23, 1878.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE--APPARENT MIRACLES EASILY PERFORMED
WHEN
NECESSARY--DISOBEDIENCE BRINGS CALAMITY--FULFILMENT OF PROPHECY.
8
I will call the attention of the congregation to a portion of a
prophecy by Malachi, which will be found in the last chapter of
the Old Testament.
8
"For behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all
the proud, yea, all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the
day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that
it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
8
"But unto you that fear my name shall the Son of righteousness
arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth and grow
up as calves of the stall.
8
"And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes
under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this,
saith the Lord of hosts."
10
On arising, and on opening the Bible, I happened to open to the
words which I have just read, which were spoken through Malachi,
one of the last of the ancient Prophets. They are words very
familiar to the Latter-day Saints, for their attention has been
often called to them. In reading the prophecies of the holy
Prophets, we expect that that portion of them which has not
already been fulfilled, will take place in its time and in its
season. We do not read the Scriptures as most of the inhabitants
of the earth do, thinking that they must be spiritualized. There
are scarcely any of the prophecies but what this generation, as
well as some of the past generations, interpret as meaning
something altogether different from the reading of them. They
look upon inspired men as saying one thing and meaning another,
and the only way to ascertain what meaning they really wish to
convey is to get an uninspired man to give some other meaning
entirely different from the literal construction of the words of
the inspired writer. There are but few individuals, comparatively
speaking, among the nations of Christendom, who differ from the
prevalent belief, namely, that the Bible is a book to be
understood only by the learning and wisdom of man, that the
uninspired preacher, who may be highly educated after the manner
of men, is a great deal better qualified to interpret the things
of God than he or they through whom they were spoken. The
Latter-day Saints, who may have been similarly trained, were more
or less disposed, to entertain such views; but when they embraced
the everlasting Gospel, and received of the Holy Ghost, even that
Spirit by which the Scriptures were written, they were corrected
in their judgments, and learned that the word of God would all be
fulfilled, which have not already come to pass, and that they are
to be understood in the same light, and in the same sense as we
would understand the writings of uninspired individuals, when
plainly and clearly written upon any special subject. This is
something that every ordinarily intelligent man, without any
book-learning whatever, is abundantly able to do, especially when
simple language, easy of comprehension is used. For instance,
when we get letters and communications from our friends aborad,
we never think of putting a different construction upon their
sentences, and claim that they did not mean what they had
written. When, therefore, the ancient Prophets predicted that
"the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven," and that "the
proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the
day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that
it shall leave them neither root no branch"--we must believe that
the Prophet meant precisely what he said. When we read in the
Book of Genesis about the rains which fell from the heavens,
causing a flood of waters to deluge the earth, in fulfillment of
a certain warning message which had previously been preached to
the people then living, by which they were swept away and
drowned, we must believe that the inspired writer who penned the
words, described the event as it occurred, so far at least as the
general facts are concerned, and that the flood spoken of was a
literal body of water, and that it did prevail upon all portions
of the earth. I do not say that the flood did prevail, at the
same moment, upon all the face of the earth; but before the
floods abated, every part of the solid portions of the earth that
were habitable, were covered by the waters. How this was
accomplished is not given by the inspired writer, but is left for
us to conjecture. The Lord has a great many ways and means by
which he could bring about an event of this nature. For instance,
how easy it would be to drown all the inhabitants of the
temperate and arctic regions, by just merely stopping the earth
from rotating on its axis. Unless there should be another miracle
performed to prevent the waters that are heaped up around the
equatorial regions from flowing to the polar regions, they would
necessarily, as the earth began to cease or rotate more slowly in
its axial revolutions, cause the waters of the equatorial region
to flow towards the two polar regions. It is an easy matter for a
mathematician to demonstrate the depth of the waters in any part
or latitude of our globe, should such an event take place or
happen. The waters in receding from the great equatorial regions
would cover up the great mountains on our east, and we, in this
altitude, would be buried under water at least over a mile in
depth. I do not say that this was the manner which the Lord took
in "breaking up the fountains of the great deep." There may have
been other causes unknown to us; but to say there never was such
an event is something entirely unwarranted. Still, it may be
said, this would not cover all the solid portion of the earth,
but leave the equatorial land still further elevated above the
ocean, and if all the lands of the earth were to be under water,
how could that be accounted for? Very easily. Cause the earth to
rotate on its axis more swiftly than what it now does, say for
instance, in one-half the time--in 12 hours instead of 24--and
you would bury up all the equatorial lands of our globe. How easy
a matter it would be for the Lord to cause the earth to rotate
more swiftly, and then again to rotate more tardily, and produce
the effects ascribed to the flood.
11
When therefore, we read that the earth was once depopulated,
except a few individuals, who were saved in the ark, why should
it be thought a thing incredible that the Lord should again
depopulate our globe, not by a flood, but by devouring fire. It
may be said that we cannot see how a universal fire can prevail
over the face of the earth. There are various ways by which this
could be accomplished. How did the Lord cause fire in ancient
times to break out among the children of Israel, when they
transgressed his holy laws, and when they murmured and complained
against God? Fire was sent forth from his presence we are told,
rested upon the tabernacle; he was in the tabernacle, and his
cloud was over the tabernacle; and fire went forth from this
centre, or the place where the Lord chose to manifest and show
forth his glory, and it destroyed many of the people. You may
say, "But this was a supernatural fire that proceeded from the
presence of God, from the tabernacle, consuming thousands of
transgressors." I would ask, cannot the same Being who was able
to produce this destruction by fire upon a few thousand
individuals cause it to be more extensive and more universal in
its operation? Has he not the same power to produce a
supernatural fire over all the earth; even to the consuming of
"all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly;" burning them up
literally their bodies becoming as "ashes," as a farmer would set
fire and burn up the stubble of his fields? Well, you say, "If we
admit that the first was supernatural, that God did actually burn
the transgressors among Israel by fire, we are willing to admit
that the same Being that could do this upon a small scale, could
perform a similar work on a universal scale." But then, perhaps
the Lord may not see proper to do this work of burning in the
latter-days altogether upon a supernatural principle; he may,
perhaps, bring it about by certain physical forces or laws, by
certain changes that may be wrought upon our elements; for the
Lord holds in his own hands all the elements, and not only those
of this little globe of ours, but all the elements that compose
the universe; they are in his hands, he can give instructions and
they are made subservient in the accomplishing of his great and
wise purposes. Now, there is in the very air which we breathe,
and which all animated beings, more or less, breathe, and by
which they live--a principle of heat; and when this heat in its
latent form is evolved, or comes forth from the constituents of
the atmosphere, would there not be a sufficient amount to produce
this revolution upon the earth? Is there not sufficient heat not
only to burn up the wicked and the proud, but to cause the very
elements of our globe to melt by its intensity? thus fulfilling
another prophecy which says, "the hills melted like wax at the
presence of the Lord;" and yet another prophecy, which says, the
mountains shall flow down at His presence like melted substance;
run like rivers, in consequence of the intensity of the heat,
connected with the elements of which our atmosphere and mountains
are composed.
11
Again, independently of the latent heat which is connected with
the atmosphere of our globe, is He not able to cause the great
centre of our system, the sun, to give forth more heat,
sufficient to consume the wicked and melt the earth by its
intensity? Yes, I recollect reading in one of the prophecies of
Isaiah, in relation to this matter. I recollect reading too in
the revelations of St. John that men should be scorched with
great heat. Rev. chap. 16, verse 8. It was to be one of the great
judgments of the latter-days, as seen by that inspired man. And
Isaiah, in speaking on this subject, says, "Moreover the light of
the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the
sun shall be sevenfold," etc. Suppose the heat should be
increased in the same proportion that the light is increased; or,
in other words, supposing that our thermometers, when standing at
a hundred degrees fahrenheit, should be increased to 700 degrees
Fahrenheit, what would be the effect? A general conflagration
over the whole face of the globe would be produced, thereby
fulfilling the ancient as well as the modern prophecy.
14
But we will pass on. It is not for us, unless we have some
definite instructions by the word of God, to tell how He is going
to accomplish His great purposes. It is sufficient for us to know
that he will do it. We are told this burning is to be universal,
so far as all the proud, and all that do wickedly are concerned.
It seems, then, it is to be one of the last destructions of the
wicked. Prior to this there will be numerous destructions, by way
of earthquakes, plagues, hailstorms, wars, etc., that will
prevail and that will sweep away millions from the face of our
globe. But the great judgment that is to cleanse the earth from
all sin, is to be by the element of fire, "But," inquires one,
"do you think there will be many in that day, that will be proud
and wicked? Will they not be mostly converted, and consequently
escape this great conflagration, as Noah escaped being drowned?"
I will answer this by repeating another prophecy, that now occurs
to my mind, recorded in the 24th chapter of Isaiah. This man of
God saw the period of time when the earth should real to a fro
like a drunken man; and he saw that glorious day when the Lord of
Hosts shall be about to reign in Zion and Jerusalem. And among
other things he saw in vision was that the earth became defiled
under the inhabitants thereof; "because," says the Prophet, "they
have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the
everlasting covenant." Plainly showing that they were to be a
corrupt people; a people who, for instance, would change the
ordinance of baptism from immersion to sprinkling or pouring, or
doing it away altogether, and in the same manner changing the
various ordinances of the Gospel from the original form in which
the Lord revealed them. He says, through the mouth of His
Prophet, that the people who should be guilty of this great
wickedness should be visited with fire; "the inhabitants of the
earth are burned and few men left." This is a little more
definite. We learned through Malachi, that they should be
destroyed both root and branch--no branch of wickedness, no roots
of wickedness left; but it does not give us the proportion,
between the righteous and the wicked. But Isaiah gives us a
little further clue to this matter. To the query, how many are to
be overtaken by this last great judgment, Isaiah would answer,
"the inhabitants of the earth are burned and few men left." What,
only a few persons to be converted, only a few to receive the
true Gospel, and be prepared for the coming of the Bridegroom;
only a few people to escape this awful desolation? So says the
Prophet Isaiah; that is, few in comparison to the great and
numerous population of our globe. Even some few millions would be
few compared with the twelve hundred millions that inhabit the
earth. Isaiah, in the same chapter, in describing the glory of
his personal reign on the earth, says that "Then the moon shall
be confounded and the sun ashamed," because of the superior light
that will attend the presence of the being who is to reign in
Zion and Jerusalem. The Lord causes the natural light of the sun
and the heat thereof; he causes the natural light of the other
luminaries that twinkle in yonder heavens, and also the heat
which proceeds from their bodies. Now, if he can produce such
intense heat by such bodies as our sun; if he can cause the
surrounding worlds to be hated and to receive a certain
temperature by the radiation of light and heat; if the sun can
produce such a high temperature on our earth, existing some 90
millions of miles away, who not the Lord be able to produce a
greater light and heat if necessary to sweep off the wicked, and
to cause the earth in a moment, as it were, to feel the power of
heat, even to its melting like wax before his presence? But, you
may ask, way not this heat destroy the righteous, as well as the
wicked? Have not the righteous often times been burned at the
stake? have they not been consumed to ashes, by the power of the
wicked? And why should this intense heat, of which you are
speaking, which is to destroy the wicked root and branch, not
affect the righteous as well?" Let us explain. before this day of
burning there will be no righteous on the earth. Not one? No, not
one. "What is to become of them?" The Apostle Paul informs us
that, "The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God; and
the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we, which are alive and
remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to
meet the Lord in the air." It seems, then, that the righteous
that sleep in their graves are to arise at this time, to be
caught up with those living on the earth, who will be
sufficiently righteous. Now, suppose they should not ascend to
meet the Lord, but should remain on the earth, and he saw proper
to preserve them from this devouring fire, could he do it?
Certainly, and on the same principles he preserved the three
Hebrew children in the midst of fire. We are told, in connection
with this remarkable preservation of life, that there was not so
much as the smell of fire on their garments, neither was a hair
of their heads injured, while some of the wicked, when they were
in the act of casting these young men into the furnace, which had
been heated seven times hotter than was usual for them, were
devoured themselves. Yet the righteous were spared receiving no
harm whatever. Now, that same God who did preserve the three
Hebrew children in the midst of the most terrible ordeal which
they passed through, could preserve the righteous on the earth if
he saw proper to do so. But he will take them up into the cloud,
and they will be with him when he comes. But, you may say, "Have
you not said that when he comes the sun will hide his face in
shame, etc., therefore will not that glory which surrounds the
personage of the Savior consume the righteous after they are
taken up?" Not at all; they will not be subject to the devouring
element of fire, even though they have not as yet been changed to
immortality; for the time for the righteous who remain alive, to
be changed, will be as much as a thousand years after they
descend upon the earth; after there shall have been generation
upon generation here upon the earth; then, at the sound of the
last trump the Apostle Paul informs us, that those who are
righteous shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye. They are
not to undergo this change, when Jesus comes at the beginning of
the thousand years' reign, but after the thousand years are
ended, at the sound of the last trump, which shall awaken and
call forth the sleeping nations of the wicked from their graves,
then the righteous, who remain in the flesh will be changed in a
moment; and after that time there will be no more mortality upon
the earth. "But," you may say again, "we can hardly believe these
great miracles will take place as you say, according to
prophecy." Supposing you cannot, does your unbelief make the
predictions of the servants of God without effect? Supposing, for
instance, we should disbelieve excepting eight souls, as was the
case with the ante-deluvian world, would our unbelief subvert the
word of God. No. The Lord is a God of miracles, or in other
words, he is a God of power and he operates upon the materials of
our globe, according to his own good will and pleasure. When he
burns up the wicked, when he cause the elements to melt with
fervent heat, when he causes the mountains to flow down and melt
like wax before his presence, all this does not destroy one
particle of matter, but only changes matter from one condition to
another. There is not a particle of the materials of our globe
that will be annihilated, they will all exist, and although the
time should come that the intense heat should be such as to
disperse the materials of our solid globe and convert the great
and mighty deep into gaseous substances, and separate the
elements, and the water should cease to exist as either steam or
water, although the time should come when the hydrogen and the
oxygen, which possess the great bulk of the water upon our globe,
should become gasses, yet the Lord could reorganize these
elements, so scattered in space, by his power, bringing them
together again by his law and by his word, making a new world,
and creating a new heaven, and a new earth, wherein, says the
Apostle Peter, shall dwell righteousness. This new earth, which
is to be created, is not to be inhabited by the disobedient and
wicked, as is not the case with the present world; there will be
an entire change in the condition of the earth, and also in the
condition of the human family, the curses of the fall will not be
found in either, and consequently there will be no mortality upon
the new creation, neither sorrow, nor weeping; neither will there
be any more death; for the former things will have passed away,
and all things will become new. There will be but one government,
not several hundred different forms of government, but one form
will prevail upon the new creation, inhabited by immortal beings.
All these changes are what the Latter-day Saints are looking for.
We do not read these prophecies and then undertake to change
them, and tell our hearers that they must be understood to mean
something else, in some spiritual sense. We do not tell them that
this day of burning is a day in which wickedness is to be
cleansed from the earth by the purifying influence of the Spirit
of God, and that all the people are to be converted, and
therefore, the earth will be inhabited by none except the
righteous; and that the portion of the Scriptures referring to
the wicked becoming ashes under the feet of the righteous, means
something entirely different from the literal reading, and that
their sins will all be consumed, and that they will be righteous
and will all walk upon the new earth free from sin. No, but when
we speak of devouring fire burning as an oven, we expect it will
be fire; we expect it will be intense heat; and when he says it
will consume all the proud and all that do wickedly, we do not
expect there will be a wicked man or woman left upon the whole
earth; and when it says there shall neither be root nor branch
left of them, we do not expect there will be found a vestige of
wickedness in any corner of the earth however remote; but that
all will be consumed and none but the righteous left.
17
Our modern Prophet, Joseph Smith, when he delivered his
prophecies the Lord spoke through him, and we do not need any
uninspired man to get up and tell what the Lord meant, when He
spoke through him. For instance, our Prophet spoke of this same
day of burning; it is referred to by him in many places in the
Doctrine and Covenants, which book I hold in my hand. Has the
Lord undertaken to spiritualize, in giving these new revelations?
No; but he has told us the facts in the case. For instance, in
one place speaking of the Lord's coming, it says the wicked shall
be destroyed out of the earth, and that the righteous shall be
caught up, in the same manner as the New Testament describes it.
And then it speaks of the righteous also coming down after the
wicked are destroyed. There is a promise made to the Latter-day
Saints as well as the former-day Saints. The Lord said, in 1831,
to the Prophet Joseph, in a revelation given before a general
conference, and written by a scribe in presence of the
conference, that among other great things that should take place,
the Saints should possess the earth for their inheritance in this
our day, and that all wickedness should cease. I make a promise,
saith the Lord, and this is my covenant with you, and your
children after you that you shall have a certain land that I will
give unto you, for an inheritance and you shall possess it in
time, while the earth shall stand, and shall possess it again in
eternity, never more to pass away. If the Latter-day Saints want
to know where this promise is found, let them read the revelation
given on the 2nd of January, 1831. It was a revelation given when
we were but a small people, before there was any gathering of the
Saints; and in fact, when there were only a few individuals in
the house of Father Whitmer, the place where the Lord first
organized His Church. There, we were informed, that the Lord
intended to give a certain portion of this continent to the
Latter-day Saints, and to their children after them, for an
everlasting inheritance. This was contrary to our former faith,
when we were Methodists and Baptists, and when we were
Presbyterians and professors of the different denominations,
before we came into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints; we were taught then, that our home was away in yonder
heavens, away in some distant part of the universe, beyond the
bounds of space, if anybody can comprehend where that is; I never
could. And yet enlightened Christians sing about it. Before I
became connected with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, I often attended the meetings of the Methodists, the
Baptists and the Presbyterians; and I well remember that this
sentiment was embodied in one of the favorite hymns sung by the
Methodists. They had a very good tune to the words, and being but
a boy at the time, I could not but think it the very best kind of
religion. I never mistrusted the truthfulness of the sentiment,
because I too had entertained the belief that we were going to
take an everlasting farewell to earth, and that we were going to
be wafted and wafted until we got beyond the bounds of space,
there to find a heavenly place, adapted to our heavenly
condition. But when I commenced to reflect and search the
Scriptures for myself, I found that although the tune was sweet
and the singing was beautiful, yet there was no truth in it; I
found that the "Saints' secure abode" was not beyond space, but
that it was on this our earth. And for how long? For all
eternity. But the earth has to undergo numerous changes. A
partial change will take place when Jesus comes, at the beginning
of the thousand years' rest; then a still further change, after
the Millennium should pass, when the great last trump should
sound, awaking the nations of the wicked from their sleeping
graves. I then read in the Scriptures of truth that God would
create a new heaven, and a new earth, and that on this new
creation should dwell righteousness. I also read of a holy city,
called the New Jerusalem, which should come down upon this new
earth, and that God himself, should be among those righteous
people who should inhabit that holy city. And I also read that
the former things should pass away, and that all things should
become new. I read, too, that not only the New Jerusalem should
descend on this earth, but another city called the Holy
Jerusalem, whose dimensions and architecture are described, and
that because of the glory that should exist there, the
inhabitants thereof should not have need of the light of the sun,
nor of that of the moon, nor of the stars; for God himself should
dwell there with them, and he would be their light and their
glory. and that those two great cities which are to descend upon
this new earth are to be the great capitals of this new creation,
inhabited by immortal being--the Saints of God that have lived in
the various dispensations of this world. This was something new
to us; and it was contrary to our sectarian notions and views,
and the sectarian teachings about the future condition of man,
and the earth we live in. Yet, when we come to compare the new
doctrine of the new revelation, with that laid down in the Old
and New Testament, we find a perfect agreement. For instance, let
our minds revert back to the days of the Patriarchs, and we find
Abraham, after leaving his native country, in obedience to a
direct command of God, dwelling in a new land called Canaan, now
known as Palestine, and while there, we learn of the Lord
conversing with him, and promising him and his seed "the land of
Canaan for an everlasting possession." What does this all mean?
Did Abraham ever inherit any of that land? Not a foot of it. He
did buy a place--a burying place for himself and kindred; but he
did not realize this promise, the possession of the land of
Canaan, but on the contrary, he counted himself a stranger and
pilgrim in that very land. And not only Abraham, but his
descendants have failed to realize this promise. The martyr
Stephen, who lived many centuries afterward, just prior to his
death, in bearing testimony to the people who stood before him,
concerning Abraham, said, referring to this promise of the Lord,
that he did not receive so much as to set his foot on, during his
lifetime. Nevertheless, the Lord promised him the whole of the
land, to be for an everlasting inheritance, for himself and his
seed after him. The Apostle Paul, speaking of the same things,
says, that "they all died in faith, not having received the
promises, but having seen them afar off." How far? Thousands of
years after they should sleep in the tomb. They looked forward in
faith to the vast futurity, being persuaded of the truth of the
promise; but they saw that before they could inherit the promised
land, they would have to seek a city, that was in the heavens,
and there to dwell, until the due time of the Lord should bring
them in possession of their inheritance. The Prophet Ezekiel saw
the way in which they should come in possession of it, as is
recorded in the 37th chapter of his prophecy. The spirit of the
Lord took him into the midst of a valley--a great cemetery, as it
were, where he saw a vast quantity of bones which were very dry,
the flesh having crumbled to dust. And the questions was put to
him, no doubt to try his faith, "Son of man can these bones
live?" Ezekiel was not an infidel, he did not say it was
impossible, nor that there could be no such miracle, but he said,
"O, Lord God, thou knowest." He was willing the Lord should know
all about it, and that he should display his power provided he
saw proper to do so. Then the Lord commanded him to prophecy,
using these words: "Prophecy unto these bones, and say unto them,
O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord
God unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into
you, and ye shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will
bring up flesh upon you, and over you with skin, and put breath
in you;, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the
Lord." And after he had thus spoken, the Prophet tells us that
"there was a voice, and behold a shaking, and the bones came
together, bone to his bone." They did not make any mistake, such
as one bone belonging to a certain tabernacle uniting with that
of another; but each bone joined its fellow bone, and sinews and
flesh and skin covered them, and thus the tabernacles were
formed. But here was as yet no life in them. Therefore he was
commanded to prophecy again, and say to the wind: "Thus saith the
Lord God; come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon
these slain, that they may live." He did so "and the breath came
into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an
exceeding great army." This was a vision of the resurrection--the
resurrection of the ancient patriarchs prophets of God, and all
the righteous of Israel. It seems from the record, that the Jews,
in the days of Ezekiel, had formed an idea very similar to that
of many of our Christian friends now living--they had got rather
infidel in their views; they had begun to say in their hearts,
referring to their fathers, "Our bones are dried, and our hope is
lost; we are cut off for our parts;" or, in other words, our
forefather, whose children we are, and whose names are held in
sacred remembrance by us, are all dead. The promises have not
been fulfilled and we are cut off from the part of our
inheritance, and how is it possible now that they can come to
pass? They were of similar mind to the Sadducees--they did not
believe in the resurrection. But the Lord, in order to encourage
them in the belief that it would be fulfilled, gives the
interpretation of this vision. I have heard the Methodists give
their version of this vision. Whenever there was a revival among
them, I have seen them get down on their knees and exclaim, O
Lord, make a shaking among these dry bones; believing that the
sinners were the bones, and the resurrection, the conversion of
sinners. The same interpretation is given by a great many of the
Christian sects of the day. But hearken, O Latter-day Saints to
the Lords interpretation, and judge between them: "Behold, O my
people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of
your graves and bring you into the land of Israel." What can be
plainer than that? And which is the better of the two, the Lord's
interpretation or that of the sects of the day?
18
This promise will most assuredly be fulfilled, the patriarchs,
and their seed who are worthy, will come into possession of the
inheritance. But when? It will be about the time, or a little
after, this great day of burning. The graves of the Saints will
be open just before the fire sweeps over the nations to consume
the proud, and all they that do wickedly; and they will be opened
at the sound of the trump by the Archangel. And the Saints will
come forth; for then the face of the Lord will be unveiled, then
the heavens will be parted as a scroll, then will be seen the
Prophets of God, and all the righteous who have not yet arisen
from their graves, and they will appear in the clouds of heaven
with the Savior. Abraham will be there, Isaac and Jacob will be
there, and all the ancients of whom the children of Israel, in
Ezekiel's days, said, "Our bones are dried, and our hope is
lost," will all be there, ready to enter into the possession of
the earth as their inheritance. "Blessed are the meek," says our
Lord in his sermon on the mount. And what is the peculiar
blessing of the meek? "For they shall inherit the earth." Did
they formerly inherit the earth? No; they wandered about, in the
days of the Apostles, in sheep skins and goat skins, finding
shelter from the inclemency of the weather, and concealment from
the persecutors in the solitary dens and caves of the mountains.
A great many infidels and sectarians cannot believe that this
promise can ever be literally fulfilled, because they did not
realize it in the day of their immortality. But Jesus says, they
shall inherit the earth;" this includes too, all the Gentile
Saints that have, and that will embrace the Gospel, among all
peoples, and nations, and kindreds and tongues, for all such
become Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. What
promise? The promise made to Abraham. To inherit the earth. Hence
all people who are baptized into Christ, whether Jew or Gentile,
bond or free, male or female, and who are true and faithful to
him, have Abraham for their father; and they, with him and the
patriarchs, will inherit the earth, when wickedness ceases to
exist.
18
It is then that the enmity of the beasts of the field as well as
that of all flesh will cease; no more one beast of prey devouring
and feasting upon another that is more harmless in its nature; no
more will this enmity be found in the fish of the sea, or in the
birds of the air. This change will be wrought upon all flesh when
Jesus comes, not a change to immortality, but a change sufficient
to alter the ferocious nature of beasts, birds and fishes. In
those days the lion will eat straw like the ox; he will no more
be the terror of the forest, but will be perfectly harmless, and
gentleness, will characterize all the wild and ferocious animals,
as well as the venomous serpents, so much so that the little
child might lead them and play with them and nothing should hurt
or destroy in all the holy mountain of the Lord; all things
becoming, in some measure, as when they were first created. For
it will be remembered that animals did not devour one another
until after the fall, neither was there any death, until after
the fall. What did they eat, then? The Lord said, "To every beast
of the field, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat."
The grass, and the herbs, and every green thing were their food.
And Adam and Eve ate fruits and vegetables, not animal flesh. The
whole earth will be restored; and man will be restored; and not
only upon man, but upon all flesh the Spirit of God will be
poured out and they will eventually be restored to all that was
lost by the fall of our first parents. Then the knowledge of God
will cover the whole earth, as the waters cover the great deep.
And then the animal creation will manifest more intelligence and
more knowledge than they do now, in their fallen condition.
Indeed, we have a declaration, by John the Revelator, that when
this time shall come, they will even know how to praise God. He
says, "And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth,
and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are
in them, heard I, saying, Blessing, and honor and glory, and
power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the
Lamb for ever and ever." What? The animal creation endowed with
language? Yes, a language of praise, saying something concerning
the Lamb that was slain, and about his glory and excellency. What
a beautiful creation this will be when all these things are
fulfilled. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / John
Taylor, July 7, 1878
John Taylor, July 7, 1878
DISCOURSE BY ELDER JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday, July 7,
1878.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
AN IMPORTANT AGE--CLOSE QUESTIONS--A WORD WITH THE BISHOPS--ALSO
THE
SEVENTIES--HONOR THE SABBATH.
19
I have been very much interested, as no doubt all of you have who
have attended this Conference, in the principles that have been
taught here. It is true a very great many have not been present
to hear the things that have been spoken of by the Elders of
Israel, and the Apostles of the Lord, during this Conference.
There has been a number of reflections, no doubt, in relation to
principles advanced by the various speakers; a great many plain
truths have been enumerated; but we need, as has been stated,
continual awakening up to a sense of our duty, and to a
realization of those great responsibilities which devolve upon
us.
19
We are living in a very important age of the world, when great
events are about to transpire, and the Lord has called upon us to
perform a very great work in our day and generation. He has sent
forth a revelation of his will; He has restored the ancient, the
everlasting Gospel; he has restored the Holy Priesthood; He has
manifested himself by the opening of the heavens and
communicating his will, by the ministration of angels, by the
organization of his Church and kingdom, by the continuous
manifestation of his Holy Spirit, daily imparting faith to the
human family who are humbly and diligently seeking to observe his
laws and to keep his commandments.
20
The Lord has a work to perform upon the earth; and the ancient
Priesthood who have lived upon the earth and who now live in
heaven have also a work to perform. And this Gospel and this
kingdom has been introduced that there might be a Priesthood upon
the earth to operate with God and with the Priesthood in the
heavens, for the accomplishment of his purposes, for the
redemption of the living, even all who desire to love truth and
work righteousness, and for the salvation and redemption of the
dead; that the purposes of God from before the foundation of the
world may be carried out, and that the laws, principles, rules
and government as they exist in heaven, may be taught to man upon
the earth; and that through the operation and co-operation of the
heavenly Priesthood and the earthly Priesthood, and God the
Father, and Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, an
organization may take place, a union be formed, truth developed,
and a kingdom established that the will of God may be done upon
the earth as it is done in heaven. And this is what Jesus taught
his disciples to pray for. "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on
earth, as it is in heaven." But we cannot do the will of God as
it is done in heaven, until he reveals it; we cannot know the
will of God in heaven, until he reveals it to man on the earth.
And then, as it requires the powers and the spirit and wisdom of
God to manage and direct and control the affairs in the heavenly
worlds, and to regulate his kingdom there, so it requires the
same power, and same wisdom, the same light and intelligence to
carry on this purposes here, and to establish his kingdom on the
earth. And hence, for this very purpose, he has commenced to
reveal himself to the human family, and also for the purpose of
organizing the everlasting Priesthood. Do we know what that
means? A Priesthood that administers in time and through all
eternity; a Priesthood that is under the guidance, direction and
control of the Almighty; a Priesthood to whom he will communicate
his will, make known his designs, through whom he will accomplish
his purposes, build up his Zion and establish the kingdom of God
on the earth. And it is for this purpose that the kingdom of God
is established; it is for this purpose that the various
organizations of the Priesthood are put in order; it is for this
purpose that men are ordained and set apart to fulfill the
various duties and responsibilities devolving upon them, at home
or abroad as the case may be. It is not to seek after our own
gain, or interest, or emolument, or to satisfy the devices and
desires of our hearts; we are here as Jesus was here, not to do
our own will, but the will of him who sent us--not to speak our
own words, but the words of life, under the inspiration of the
most High, so that Zion may be instructed in the principles of
righteousness, and that she may comprehend the laws of life, and
be able to fulfill her destiny on the earth.
21
Ye Latter-day Saints, this is why this Church was organized; this
is why the Priesthood was organized; this is why messengers have
been sent, and are now being sent, and will continue to be sent
more abundantly to the nations of the earth. And it is proper and
right, in our Conferences, to reflect upon these things, and upon
the duties and responsibilities devolving upon us, and to ask
ourselves, Are we fulfilling the requirements of the great
Eloheim? It has been asked here by brother Brigham, who has just
spoken, whether this kingdom will fail. I tell you in the name of
Israel's God it will not fail. I tell you in the name of Israel's
God it will roll forth, and that the things spoken of by the holy
Prophets in relation to it will receive their fulfillment. But in
connection with this I will tell you another thing: A great many
of the Latter-day Saints will fail, a great many of them are not
now and never have been living up to their privileges, and
magnifying their callings and their Priesthood, and God will have
a reckoning with such people, unless they speedily repent. There
is a carelessness, a deadness, an apathy, a listlessness that
exists to a great extent among the Latter-day Saints, and there
never was a stronger proof of this than that which was exhibited
here yesterday. I asked myself, as I looked over the empty
benches, Where are all the Bishops? Have they not time to attend
the Quarterly conference? Oh, shame on such men! are they worthy
to hold a place in the Bishopric, and associate with the Holy
Priesthood of God? They are desecrating the holy principles by
which they ought to be governed. Where are their Counselors, I
asked myself, and where are the Priests and Teachers and Deacons?
Is there no interest manifested in the Church and kingdom of God,
or in the Zion he is about to establish? Not much with many of
them. Where were these thousands of Seventies and High Priests
and Elders? The great majority of them were not here; but to-day
they are, and I thought I would talk to them while here, and not
when absent. Are the things of God of so small importance--are
the issues of life, the destinies of the world, and the salvation
of the living and the dead of so small importance, that we can
not afford time to spend a day once a quarter in attending to the
duties of our office, in representing our different districts,
and in fulfilling the duties of our Priesthood, and the
obligations God has placed upon us? I tell you, ye Elders of
Israel, who neglect these things and who shirk your duties, God
will remove your candlestick out of its place, and that speedily,
unless you repent. And I say so to the Bishops, and I say so to
all Israel who hold the Priesthood. We are not here to do our own
will, but the will of our Heavenly Father who sent us. God has
placed an important mission upon us; he expects us to fulfill it.
If we treat it lightly and neglect our duties, he will remove us
and others will take our crown. But he is not going to allow His
kingdom to be overthrown, for it will roll forth and spread and
increase until the kingdoms of this world shall become the
kingdoms of our God and His Christ and he will rule for ever and
ever.
21
I was reminded, yesterday of a parable made use of by the Savior
in his day.
21
"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins
which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
21
And five of them were wise and five were foolish.
21
They that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with
them:
21
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
21
While the bridegroom tarried they all slumbered and slept."
21
I thought that part of it was very pretty nearly fulfilled; for
very nearly all of the people belonging to this stake were caught
napping. By and by, or to quote the words of the text:
21
"And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom
cometh: go ye out to meet him.
21
Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.
21
And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our
lamps are gone out.
21
But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough
for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for
yourselves.
22
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that
were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was
shut;" and the others did not, and--that's all. And there is
another Scripture to which I will refer. Jesus says: "Many are
called, but few are chosen." And there are many other peculiar
Scriptures in relation to this matter. I will refer to another
one. "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and
in they name done many wonderful works?
22
"And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from
me, ye that work iniquity." Or in other words, Depart from me, I
never approved of you. Who, my brethren and sisters, do you think
these Scriptures refer to? Some will say to the Gentiles; but I
have quite another opinion about it. There are men before me
to-day who have prophesied in the name of God, who have cast out
devils in the name of God, who have healed the sick in the name
of God, and done many wonderful works in the name of God; but
they are not keeping his commandments, nor magnifying their
priesthood; they are tampering with sacred things, and God will
hold them to an account for it; and if they expect they can serve
mammon, the world and the devil, at the same time, they are
making a grand mistake. God will say to them, "I never knew you."
Now I shall be there, and you will be there; and I warn you, in
the name of Jesus, to repent of your sins, and humble yourselves,
and from henceforth magnify you priesthood and honor your God.
23
How is it with our various quorums and authorities, and how is it
with many of the Bishops? They do not care much about things
whichever way they go. They have time to attend to their
merchandizing and trading and business operations and pleasures,
but they have not time to attend to the cause of God nor the
interests of the flock, over whom he has placed them. But if they
cannot find time, God will find a people that will find time to
attend to his affairs. We have been engaged for years, but more
especially of late years, in organizing the church more
perfectly. And we have been ordaining men in the various quorums
for the last 40 years and what for? Merely to give them a place
and position and the priesthood? No, I tell you nay; but that
holding the holy priesthood you may magnify it and become the
saviors of men. But is it not the case with a great many of our
Elders and Seventies, that they are trying how little they can do
to save themselves and preserve a standing in the church; instead
of how much they can do? Why, all the heavens ware waiting for
our operations; the Gods are in the eternal worlds and the
fathers of the departed spirits--the holy priesthood behind the
vail, are all waiting for our operations, to see what we will do.
And we are found slumbering and careless and indifferent, willing
that anybody should perform the work of the Lord, if we will be
left out. I tell you, in the name of God, that he will give you
your wish; he will leave you out, unless you speedily repent. "Be
not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also 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." But what are the duties of
these Seventies, so many of whom are before me to-day? As I read
it, it is to be under the direction of the Twelve, and to be on
hand to go to the nations of the earth, as messengers, and to
prepare themselves for that purpose. We sometimes talk about the
work we have done. A very few men, comparatively, have done this
work, and the great majority have done next to nothing. How many
nations are yet unwarned, and know nothing about the principles
of salvation? Our fathers are anxious about them, looking to us
to carry the word to them. O shame upon the Elders of Israel,
especially upon the Seventies who are called specially to this
work. I received a letter from one of our Elders a short time
ago, who is out laboring in the ministry, faithfully and
diligently, in which he writes something like this: "If you can
send me two or three Elders here, I shall be very much obliged;
if the Seventies or Elders would not consider it to much trouble
to come here." What? Too much trouble for the Elders of Israel to
proclaim the words of life and salvation to their fellowmen, and
to magnify their calling and priesthood? O shame on such Elders
and such Seventies and such High Priests; shame on them. God, I
tell you in the name of God, will hold you responsible for these
things. And yet that man's statement was pretty nearly true. If a
man goes on a mission, he thinks he is accomplishing a wonderful
thing. We used, in former years, to think it our duty, regarding
it as one of the things which God required at our hands. We held
ourselves in readiness all the time. And some of us who have
never been abroad will begin to talk of the great work we have
performed. How we apples swim, don't we? To tell what we have
done, when perhaps hundreds and thousands of brethren who have
never been abroad on a mission in their lifetime would consider
it a great calamity to be called to go on a foreign mission.
23
I am talking plainly, but it is true before God, and you know it
its true, and I know it is true. And I say to you Seventies and
you Elders, Awaken up! God has placed the priesthood upon you,
and he expects you to magnify it, and not be all the day long,
and year after year, singing,
23
"Lullaby baby one the tree top
When the wind blows the cradle will rock.
23
we want something else; we want some manhood, and some priesthood
and power of God to be manifested in Israel, and the Spirit of
God to be poured out upon Israel and upon the Elders thereof. And
I pray God, the Eternal Father, to waken up these Elders, that
the spirit of their mission may rest upon them, and that they may
comprehend their true position before God.
23
Now, I would not have said these things before a public
congregation, if I had not said them before you frequently in
your priesthood meetings. But it is time we were waking up to a
sense of the position we occupy before God; for the day is not
far distant when we will hear of wars and rumors of wars; not
only rumors of wars, but wars themselves--nation arrayed against
nation and seizing one another by the throat, and blood will
flow, and general carnage will be spread through the lands, and
if you do not magnify your callings, God will hold you
responsible for those whom you might have saved had you done your
duty. How many of you can say, My garments are clean from the
blood of this generation? I speak in behalf of the nations and
the people thereof, and the honest in heart who are ignorant of
God and his laws. He has called upon us to enlighten them, and to
spread forth the truth, and send forth the principles of the
Gospel, and point out the way of life. And it is for us to attend
to these things, that we may secure the smiles and approbation of
God.
24
But we are careless and thoughtless; and, as has been already
remarked, we pay very little attention to the Sabbath day. Some
would rather go on these Sunday excursions and take their
families with them leading them in the paths that lead to death,
then they would bring them to the house of God. But let me say to
all such, that as sure as you do these things you will have to
feel, and that keenly too, the result of your acts, and they will
follow you in time and all eternity. And I call upon you, ye
Latter-day Saints, to repent of your iniquities, and keep the
Sabbath day holy, set it aside as a day of rest, a day to meet
together to perform your sacraments, and listen to the words of
life, and thus be found keeping the commandments, and setting a
good example before your children. Let us do that which is right,
honor our God and magnify our calling, and the spirit and
blessing of God will rest upon us. But if we do not these things,
his Spirit will depart form us, and we be left to ourselves. God
will not be mocked by his people, or by any other people; but we
shall reap the reward of our doings.
24
We talk about being a good people. Well, we are when compared
with the rest of the world; but we ought to be twenty times
better than we are to-day. And if we, as Latter-day Saints, were
to strictly observe the Sabbath day, and pay our tithes and
offerings and meet our engagements, and be less worldly minded,
be united in temporal and spiritual things, Zion would arise and
shine, and the glory of God would rest upon her. And it would not
be long before all nations would call us blessed. But we are
slothful and careless and indifferent and we neglect our duty and
the responsibilities that devolve upon us.
24
I pray that god may enlighten our minds, and lead us in the paths
of life; and that we may honor our calling and our God; that we
may be found worthy to be associated with the just on the earth,
and with them obtain an inheritance in the kingdom of God, in the
name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / Joseph
F. Smith, July 7, 1878
Joseph F. Smith, July 7, 1878
DISCOURSE BY ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, July
7, 1878.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
PLURAL MARRIAGE--FOR THE RIGHTEOUS ONLY--OBEDIENCE
IMPERATIVE--BLESSINGS RESULTING.
F. Smith
I naturally shrink from the task of addressing a congregation in
this house, feeling as I do my inability to make myself heard.
F. Smith
I have been interested this morning in listening to the remarks
of Brother Cannon. We cannot but be delighted with the testimony
that has been given in our hearing, and that we are continually
receiving from many sources, which go to prove that the world can
do nothing against, but for us. Even their attempts to slander
and misrepresent us, and their unrighteous attacks on the
principles of our religion have ever tended to excite inquiry and
investigation into the facts, which cannot but result
beneficially to us as a people. I say, the efforts of our enemies
against us have ever had a tendency to cause people who desire to
arrive at the truth, to inquire into the real condition of
things. The more people interest themselves in this direction,
the more truth they will learn, and we court such investigation,
for there is certainly nothing connected with us, as a religious
community, in consonance with the gospel we preach, that we
should be ashamed of, or that should not be known by all men. It
makes no difference with the truth how much we are wrongfully
accused; nor will it permanently injure us. If we sustain injury
or suffer loss by the misrepresentations and evils maliciously
promulgated about us by our enemies, it can only be such injury
and loss as will be temporary, for when the facts do come out,
and people learn the truth, so much the more good will be
accomplished in our favor, and so much greater injury to those
who are the authors of the falsehoods concerning us. We want
nothing hidden or covered up neither can we respect any principle
or individual that will not bear the daylight and the most
careful investigation. Since 1830 the Elders of this church have
been faithfully endeavoring to promulgate the gospel which we
have received to every nation and people, without distinction as
to race or color that would receive them; in other words they
have diligently sought to "expose 'Mormonism'" to the world.
F. Smith
We are not ashamed of our domestic relations, so far, at least,
as they exit in accordance with the principles of the Gospel, nor
does any right-minded man or woman feel in his or her heart to
shrink in any manner from the most rigid exposition of correct
views in relation thereto. It is true that in common with mankind
generally, we shrink from that, and it is natural that we should.
It is very proper that we should feel a reluctance to have our
weaknesses and imperfections exposed to the world, or even to our
neighbors. This feeling is a very proper incentive to us to
continue in the work of self-improvement, until we shall overcome
the weaknesses we have inherited, living nearer to the principles
of life and salvation which we have received. But the errors of
man affect not in the least the principles of the Gospel of the
Son of God. You show me a man who had embraced the Gospel in its
entirety, in faith and practice, and I can then point to a man
who has overcome the follies and weaknesses of the flesh; or show
me a mean who is trying to live according to these principles,
and I will show you a man who is trying to overcome his
weaknesses. Hence there can be no blame attached to the doctrines
of our faith, because of the infirmities and shortcomings of
mankind; but we should rather attribute such weaknesses to their
proper source--the defectiveness of man, or to his failure, at
least, to comply with those principles which are calculated to
correct every evil, and to establish man in righteousness. It is
perhaps a difficult things for us, under the circumstances in
which we are placed, the traditions of the fathers clinging to
us, the practices of the world before us, and the temptations to
evil so continually surrounding us, at all times to live the
religion of Jesus Christ as perfectly as we should or otherwise
might. It is no doubt difficult for us to overcome our follies,
to forsake the traditions of the fathers, to eschew the practice
of sin, to be patient in suffering, to endure privations and
trials of our feelings, while we possess so little, as we do, of
the Spirit of the Lord, and the knowledge of the truth. But we
need not be discouraged because of this, nor because we see
faults in each other, for no man is perfect; all men have, more
or less, the shortcomings incident to humanity. We need not
falter or be discouraged because of this, for perhaps it would
not be possible for one who was perfect in all good to remain in
the midst of this corrupt and perverse generation. Still it would
seem good if we had a few among us who were really perfect, whose
example we could see, whose precept we could learn, and whose
footsteps we might follow. We might then be the better able to
perfect ourselves. Still we will do well to emulate the good that
are in our midst, and to observe those great truths we have
already received in part, which in their fulness are able to save
us unto the uttermost. We shall not be cast off, my brethren and
sisters, for those sins which we ignorantly commit, which are the
results of misunderstanding in all honesty before the Lord. The
difficulty does not lie here; the danger lies in our failing to
live up to that which we do know to be right and proper. For this
we will be held responsible before the Lord; for this we will be
judged and condemned unless we repent and forsake our follies,
and our unwillingness to obey the light and the knowledge which
we have received. There are some plain, simple truths which we do
know, but which we do not observe. Herein lies our great sin. The
condemnation of the world, when the Savior commenced his mission
among men, was that light had come into the world, but they loved
darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. This
principle applies with equal force to us in this dispensation. If
we had remained without the Gospel, we would not be under
condemnation. But now that light has come into the world; now
that truth and the authority of God have been restored, we cannot
longer remain without sin, unless we obey this Gospel so
revealed, and practice our profession.
F. Smith
There is a great deal said about our plural marriage by the
outside world, and sometimes it is referred to by the Latter-day
Saints at home. I fancy sometimes that not only is the world
without knowledge in relation to this principle, but many of
those who profess to be Latter-day Saints are far from possessing
a correct understanding of it.
F. Smith
In the first place, it is a principle that savors of life unto
life, or of death unto death; therefore it is well for those who
have embraced the Gospel to obtain a knowledge in relation to
this matter. It is a principle that pertains to eternal life, in
other words, to endless lives, or eternal increase. It is a law
of the Gospel pertaining to the celestial kingdom, applicable to
all gospel dispensations, when commanded and not otherwise, and
neither acceptable to God or binding on man unless given by
commandment, not only so given in this dispensation, but
particularly adapted to the conditions and necessities thereof,
and to the circumstances, responsibilities, and personal, as well
as vicarious duties of the people of God in this age of the
world. God has revealed it as a principle particularly suited to
the nature of the work we are called to perform, that it might be
hastened to its consummation. It is a righteous principle not an
unrighteous one. It is a pure and holy principle; and, therefore,
persons, either male or female, who have not the desire in their
hearts to become pure and righteous, have no business to practice
it, for it cannot be practiced acceptably before God on any other
principle than that of purity and righteousness, therefore no
wicked unjust or impure person can enter into the law of
celestial or plural marriage without incurring the displeasure of
the Almighty and his own condemnation before the Lord, unless he
speedily repent of all this impure motives and designs. A man
that is no honest in his heart, who does not desire to be just
and impartial, even as God is just and impartial, has no business
in plural marriage; and before he enters into the practice of
that principle he needs to repent, to learn wisdom to get the
Spirit of God, to get understanding in relation to the purpose
God has in view in regard to this principle; that he may go into
the practice of it understandingly, that his heart and mind may
be set upon practicing it in righteousness. It is a difficult
matter, I am aware, to distinguish between the actions of a man
and the principles in which he professes to believe. A corrupt
ungodly hypocrite can do more injury in the midst of a people, in
a given length of time, correspondingly, than a host of upright
men can do good. Send an Elder to preach the Gospel among the
nations, and let him degrade himself, dishonor his priesthood and
calling, and he will bring more reproach upon the cause
misrepresented by him, than twenty good men could remove. Because
people generally look at the man. To judge him by his acts would
be righteous judgment: but to condemn the Gospel or the Saints,
because of his acts, would be unjust; yet the cause he
misrepresents suffers wrong because of his connection with it. A
man's acts may unjustly be considered as resulting from his
principles. We judge a tree by its fruits. The fruits of the
Gospel are good; he that has actually embraced the Gospel will do
good, only so far as he may err, or depart therefrom. Hence, it
is difficult to separate a man's actions from his principles.
F. Smith
There is no difficulty, however, in this matter to those who
always bear in mind, that evil and corrupt practices are not the
results of obedience to the Gospel, but of disobedience, and of
the preservation of truth. If we would keep this in our minds we
would not cast blame upon the principles themselves when we see
or hear of men, who should represent them, do wrong; but we would
rather say, the man has departed from his principles and gone
into error. It is he that is defective, through not practicing
what he professes, the principles are good and holy, and he
himself would become so too, if he would but practice them.
F. Smith
It is precisely so in relation to our domestic relations. We see
trouble in families occasionally, not any more so in plural than
in single families. There is no reason why there should be any
difference between the husband and wife, or the husband and
wives, in the midst of this people, if all are disposed to obey
the principles and doctrines of the Gospel. It is only by the
practice of these principles that we can avoid the disturbances
that occur in families, or among mankind. We must learn and obey
correct principle, or we will ever ben in turmoil and confusion,
and in antagonism one towards another. Where differences exist in
families they are traceable directly to some cause. I want to
impress upon the minds of my hearers that the cause of such evils
is not traceable to the practice of any principle which God has
revealed touching these matters, but to the non-observance of
them; and this is true in relation to every principle of the
Gospel. Sometimes it is the fault of the man, sometimes of the
woman, and oftener of both, but never the fault of the principle.
The principle is correct, great, ennobling and calculated to
bring joy, satisfaction and peace, if we would but observe and
practice it as we should. But in order to do this we must get
wisdom and understanding. These, by many, are acquired only
through long experience. We begin as children, we have to learn
precept by precept, line after line, here a little and there a
little, which is good, provided we profit by that which we learn.
Men must be just, so also must women, in relation to these
matters. All must be just one towards another; also forbearing
and patient, cultivating largely that Christian attribute called
Charity, in order to get along peaceably with our neighbors, our
brethren and sisters, as well as with our wives, husbands and
children. We are all imperfect, we have to learn by little as we
pass along, profiting ofttimes by that which we suffer, yet often
repeating the same errors.. When we find ourselves overcome in
fault, that should be set down as an example for the future time,
if possible, never allowing ourselves to be caught in the same
predicament again. Thus profiting by the experience we gain.
F. Smith
Some people have supposed that the doctrine of plural marriage
was a sort of superfluity, or non-essential, to the salvation or
exaltation of mankind. In other words, some of the Saints have
said, and believe, that a man with one wife, sealed to him by the
authority of the Priesthood for time and eternity, will receive
an exaltation as great and glorious, if he is faithful, as he
possibly could with more than one. I want here to enter my solemn
protest against this idea, for I know it is false. There is no
blessing promised except upon conditions, and no blessing can be
obtained by mankind except by faithful compliance with the
conditions, or law, upon which the same is promised. The marriage
of one woman to a man for time and eternity by the sealing power,
according to the will of God, is a fulfillment of the celestial
law of marriage in part--and is good so far as it goes--and so
far as a man abides these conditions of the law, he will receive
his reward therefor, and this reward, or blessing, he could not
obtain on any other grounds or conditions. But this is only the
beginning of the law, not the whole of it. Therefore, whoever has
imagined that he could obtain the fullness of the blessings
pertaining to this celestial law, by complying with only a
portion of its conditions, has deceived himself. He cannot do it.
When that principle was revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith, he
very naturally shrank, in his feelings, from the responsibilities
thereby imposed upon him; foreseeing, as he did in part, the
apparently insurmountable difficulties in the way of establishing
it, in the face of the popular opinion, the traditions and
customs of many generations, the frowns, ridicule, slander,
opposition and persecutions of the word. Yes, this man of God,
who dared to meet the opposition of the whole world with bold and
fearless front, who dared to dispute the religious authority and
accumulated learning and wisdom of the age--who dared everything
for the truth, and shrank not even from the sacrifice of his own
life in testimony of his divine mission, shrank, in his feelings,
from the weight of the responsibility of inaugurating and
establishing this new innovation upon the established customs of
the world. But he did not falter, although it was not until an
angel of God, with a drawn sword, stood before him; and commanded
that he should enter into the practice of that principle, or he
should be utterly destroyed, or rejected, that he moved forward
to reveal and establish that doctrine.
F. Smith
To put this matter more correctly before you, I here declare that
the principle of plural marriage was not first revealed on the
12th day of July, 1843. It was written for the first time on that
date, but it had been revealed to the Prophet many years before
that, perhaps as early as 1832. About this time, or subsequently,
Joseph, the Prophet, intrusted this fact to Oliver Cowdery; he
abused the confidence imposed in him, and brought reproach upon
himself, and thereby upon the church by "running before he was
sent," and "taking liberties without license," so to speak, hence
the publication, by O. Cowdery, about this time, of an article on
marriage, which was carefully worded, and afterwards found its
way into the Doctrine and Covenants without authority. This
article explains itself to those who understand the facts, and is
an indisputable evidence of the early existence of the knowledge
of the principle of patriarchal marriage by the Prophet Joseph,
and also by Oliver Cowdery.
F. Smith
When the revelation was written, in 1843, it was for a special
purpose, by the request of the Patriarch Hyrum Smith, and was not
then designed to go forth to the church or to the world. It is
most probable that had it been then written with a view to its
going out as a doctrine of the church, it would have been
presented in a somewhat different form. There are personalities
contained in a part of it which are not relevant to the principle
itself, but rather to the circumstances which necessitated its
being written at that time. Joseph Smith, on the day it was
written, expressly declared that there was a great deal more
connected with the doctrine which would be revealed in due time,
but this was sufficient for the occasion, and was made to suffice
for the time. And, indeed, I think it much more than many are
prepare to live up to even now. When the time came to introduce
this doctrine to those who were worthy in the church, God
commanded the Prophet and he obeyed. He taught it as he was
commanded to such as were prepared to receive and obey it, and
they were commanded to enter into it, or they were threatened
that the keys would be turned against them, and they would be cut
off by the Almighty. It need scarcely be said that the Prophet
found no one any more willing to lead out in the matter in
righteousness than he was himself. Many could see it--nearly all
to whom he revealed it believed it, and received the witness of
the Holy Spirit that it was of God; but none excelled, or even
matched the courage of the Prophet himself.
F. Smith
If, then, this principle was of such great importance that the
Prophet himself was threatened with destruction, and the best men
in the Church with being excluded from the favor of the Almighty,
if they did not enter into and establish the practice of it upon
the earth, it is useless to tell me that there is no blessing
attached to obedience to the law, or that a man with only one
wife can obtain as great a reward, glory or kingdom as he can
with more than one, being equally faithful.
F. Smith
Patriarchal marriage involves conditions, responsibilities and
obligations which do not exist in monogamy, and there are
blessings attached to the faithful observance of that law, if
viewed only upon natural principles, which must so far exceed
those of monogamy, as the conditions responsibilities and power
of increase are greater. This is my view and testimony in
relation to this matter. I believe it is a doctrine that should
be taught and understood.
F. Smith
The benefits derived from the righteous observance of this order
of marriage do not accrue solely to the husband, but are shared
equally by the wives; not only is this true upon the grounds of
obedience to a divine law, but upon physiological and scientific
principles. In the latter view, the wives are even more
benefitted, if possible, than the husband physically. But,
indeed, the benefits naturally accruing to both sexes, and
particularly to their offspring, in time, say nothing of
eternity, are immensely greater in the righteous practice of
patriarchal marriage than in monogamy, even admitting the
eternity of the monogamic marriage covenant.
F. Smith
Man may receive great reward, exaltation and glory by entering
into the bond of the new and everlasting covenant, if he continue
faithful according to his knowledge, but he cannot receive the
fullness of the blessings unless he fulfills the law, any more
than he can claim the gift of the Holy Ghost after he is baptized
without the laying on of hands by the proper authority, or the
remission of sins without baptism, though he may repent in
sack-cloth and ashes.
F. Smith
"But," says one, "how will it be with good men who believe the
doctrine, but are prevented, or cannot enter into the practice of
it?" I reply that every man and woman will receive all that they
are worthy of, and something thrown in perhaps on the score of
the boundless charity of God. But who can justly expect to obtain
more than they merit? All the judgments of God are not given unto
man. What we do not learn relative to the salvation of our souls
which are our bodies and spirits, in this probation we will have
to learn in the eternity which lies before us, for we cannot be
saved without knowledge. "But what if we never get knowledge?"
Then we never will be saved.
F. Smith
Suppose we live and die without knowledge? Then, if we ever
obtain salvation we will have to get it in the next world, as the
Antediluvians did, who rejected the Gospel as preached unto them
by Noah and were destroyed by the flood, sent to the prison-house
to be punished for their disobedience and other wickedness, and
in the meridian of time received knowledge by the proclamation of
the Gospel, as preached unto them by the Savior while his body
slept in the tomb, without which they would forever have remained
ignorant of God, his government and laws, in a lost condition.
All men must obtain salvation upon their own merits, for by our
works shall we be judged, and by them justified or condemned.
F. Smith
It is a glorious privilege to be permitted to go into a Temple of
God to be united as man and wife in the bonds of holy wedlock for
time and all eternity by the Authority of the Holy Priesthood,
which is the power of God, for they who are thus joined together
"no man can put asunder," for God hath joined them. It is an
additional privilege for that same man and wife to re-enter the
Temple of God to receive another wife in like manner if they are
worthy. But if he remain faithful with only the one wife,
observing the conditions of so much of the law as pertains to the
eternity of the marriage covenant, he will receive his reward,
but the benefits, blessings and power appertaining to the second
or more faithful and fuller observance of the law, he never will
receive, for he cannot. As before stated no man can obtain the
benefits of one law by the observance of another, however
faithful he may be in that which he does, nor can he secure to
himself the fullness of any blessing without he fulfills the law
upon which it is predicated, but he will receive the benefit of
the law he obeys. This is just and righteous. If this is not
correct doctrine then I am in error, and if I am in error I want
to be corrected.
F. Smith
I understand the law of celestial marriage to mean that every man
in this Church, who has the ability to obey and practice it in
righteousness and will not, shall be damned, I say I understand
it to mean this and nothing less, and I testify in the name of
Jesus that it does mean that. But what will become of him that
cannot abide it? Says the Lord, "whoso having knowledge have I
not commanded to repent, and he that hath not understanding it
remaineth with me to do according as it is written." In other
words he that is without understanding is not under the law, and
it remains for God to deal with him according to his own wisdom.
If a man acknowledge that he is incapable, or disqualified by a
lack of knowledge, wisdom or understanding to obey this law, when
it remains with God to deal with him according to those
principles of justice which are written, or are yet to be
revealed it is not like however, that he will take his seat with
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, or share in their promised blessings.
F. Smith
This law is in force upon the inhabitants of Zion, and he that is
qualified to obey it cannot neglect or disregard it with
impunity. But it must be observed in righteousness. The
commandment is "be ye righteous as your Father in heaven is
righteous; be ye holy as he is holy.
F. Smith
Why did the Son of God make this requirement of his disciples,
seeing that it is so universally believed by the world, that man
cannot be righteous at all? Did Jesus require anything
inconsistent or impossible? No, he did nothing of that kind. All
that he commanded us to do, we can accomplish by the help of the
Holy Spirit; but we cannot do it ourselves. Therefore if we will
seek for the Holy Spirit, the gift of wisdom and understanding
from God, we may practice these principles of righteousness, and
they will make us righteous even as God is righteous, in the
sphere in which we are called to act. We will fulfil the law, and
receive the blessings, exaltation and reward which will follow;
if we do not, we will fail of the reward.
F. Smith
This is very simple reasoning, I admit. Critics would say, these
are axioms that need not be told. If we do wickedly we will be
punished; if we do righteously, we then receive blessings at the
hands of God.
F. Smith
May God bless you, and keep us all in the path of righteousness,
and enable us to live the religion we have received from him, is
my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / George
Q. Cannon, July 7, 1878
George Q. Cannon, July 7, 1878
DISCOURSE BY ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, July
7, 1878.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
GRATIFYING POLITICAL AND GENERAL MATERIAL CONDITION OF THE
SAINTS--EMPLOYMENT FOR THE POOR--ENEMIES FOILED--PLURAL MARRIAGE.
32
It is with much pleasure I meet with the Latter-day Saint this
morning; it was a great pleasure to me yesterday to sit and
listen to the remarks which were made by the brethren who spoke,
and to the testimonies which they bore; and I trust that the same
spirit which rested upon them while addressing us yesterday, will
be upon us, speaker and hearers, today.
32
I can appreciate the privilege we enjoy in meeting in these
quarterly conferences, perhaps more so because of my lengthened
absence from home, than I could were I constantly in your midst.
After a person has been deprived of food, many of you know how
good it is to sit down to a well-spread table. I do not know that
the Latter-day Saints are exactly in this condition. There are
privileges we need and which we can enjoy, even when away from
the body of the Church, which enable those who are thus separated
to rejoice in their religion and its blessings. It has been a
rule of my life, since I was old enough to comprehend the truth,
to so live that the Spirit of the Lord would be my companion, and
thus to have peace, to have joy and to have satisfaction of mind;
and this I can testify I have had. But still absence from the
society of the Latter-day Saints is a great deprivation; at least
it is to me.
33
With regard to our condition politically, I do not think it would
be inappropriate for me to allude to it casually, although it is
Sunday. There probably never was a time since we have been in
these mountains when we were in a better political position than
we are today. Notwithstanding all the efforts which are being
made against us to destroy our liberties, to embarrass us in our
progress and to malign us, the people who reside in these
mountains have gained and are gaining a credit which in many
respects is very gratifying to those who live the truth. It is a
difficult thing to condemn an entire people, and make the world
believe that those who manage a Territory such as ours, the
affairs of which are so well managed, and are in so healthy and
thrifty a condition, are a wicked people. And so far as my
observation has extended, I think we are being better understood.
There is one thing particularly that I have noticed, that where
men and women have visited this Territory, with scarcely any
exception, they speak favorably of what they have seen. I have
endeavored to urge men of national standing, men who hold high
positions in the Government, to visit Utah. And I may say that
some of the warmest friends we have, while they do not sympathize
particularly with our religious views, but are tolerant and
desirous that we should have our rights in common with other
people, are those who have visited this Territory and have seen
us in our homes, and have had opportunities of witnessing the
changes that been affected in this desert land by our residence
and labors.
33
As to the time when we shall become a state, concerning which
considerable is said by outside parties, as well as by ourselves,
it is difficult at the present time to say anything definite
respecting it. I believe, however, the time will come, and that
too before long, when certain exigencies of a political character
will arise that will make the vote of Utah necessary in deciding
national questions, and under those circumstances it would be
important to have Utah as a state. In fact it is already
acknowledged that had Utah been admitted as a state when Colorado
was, that all this difficulty which has occurred connected with
the presidential election would have been entirely settled;
indeed it would not have arisen. This is now conceded. But this
experience comes too late to be of any benefit in correcting the
injustice which we suffered, and to be of any avail in the
presidential contest which is now past; but it may have some
effect in the future. There are many, a great many men of both
political parties who have said to me that they would vote for
Utah's admission whenever the question should be brought up,
provided they had a voice in the matter. However, as far as this
is concerned I think sometimes it is a matter of comparatively
small moment. It is true we have looked to our admission to
statehood as likely to greatly relieve us, and to bring about a
better condition of affairs throughout our Territory. But the
conviction has grown upon me in watching the progress of events
that our being kept in a territorial condition to the present
time has been attended with great advantage to us as a people.
The experience we have gained under this condition of affairs is
an experience that is necessary to us, and without which we could
not so well, in my opinion, fulfill the destiny assigned to us. I
believe there is an overruling Providence in all these affairs; I
believe the Lord is watching over this people, and that he is
controlling and shaping events and circumstances, and managing
everything connected with the affairs of this nation, and our
affairs as part of the nation, with a view to accomplish his
great designs and purposes. And whenever it shall be wisdom in
his sight that we should have our political condition changed and
our Territory become a State, it will be effected. And it will
come, too, as easily as other changes that have been wrought out
and that at one time seemed exceedingly improbable. So that it is
not necessary that we should become excited or impatient or
indulge in too much anxiety concerning such things, but leave
them in the hands of Him who has up to the present time
controlled all things for the good of his people and for the
bringing to pass of his own purposes.
35
I consider our condition to-day in these mountains the best
condition that we can occupy. When I travel through the States
and converse with gentlemen who are familiar with the affairs of
the nation through its length and breadth, I never arise from
such conversation without feeling impressed more than ever with
the excellence of the circumstances which surround us. It is true
we have a desert land, that it is a land requiring excessive toil
to make it fruitful and habitable for those who live in it. The
grass does not clothe our hills spontaneously; our territory is
not favored with the rains of heaven to make it green with
verdure: our fields would be barren indeed, if it were not for
the labor of irrigation and the constant efforts of the
husbandman. In this respect our country differs very much from
every other place east of us. In travelling through the broad
prairies of Illinois, with the continuous fields of grain; and
through Iowa and Nebraska, so far as Nebraska is settled, and
contrasting the ease with which those lands are cultivated,
compared with the toil required in this mountain region, I could
not help thinking that if we were permitted to live in so good a
land, under favorable circumstances, we would soon convert it
into an Eden. But in the providences of the Almighty we were
driven out and led to this land, and the Lord has showed unto us,
and is showing to the inhabitants of the earth, that when a
people will do that which He requires of them, that he is
abundantly able to sustain them and make their labors successful.
He has done this in leading us to this country, in sustaining us
since we came here. Our condition in many respects is far
superior to those who live in those favored localities to which I
have referred. We have a healthy land; we have a land that the
Lord has blessed and made fruitful as the result of our labors.
It is a land in which men cannot, from the very nature of things,
monopolize large bodies of land to the exclusion of their poorer
neighbors. This is an advantage to the people of this country.
The nature of our surroundings compels us to occupy small
holdings and the result is our land it better cultivated, there
is a more widespread ownership of the soil than you will find in
any part of these United States; that is, there are more men
holding land and owning and occupying it, in this country, in
proportion to the entire population, than you can find elsewhere.
The result is a condition of independence you cannot find
elsewhere. At the present time, in the western States especially,
men are greatly concerned about the element known as Communism,
which has taken possession of the minds of a numerous class of
the people. The working classes are becoming very dissatisfied,
and men are trembling for fear of what will come upon the nation.
One of the strongest arguments that was made in favor of keeping
up the United States army up to its present numbers was, that
there would probably be riots in large cities and in populous
centres, which would require the presence of the military acting
as police to quell. And had it not been for this evil the army
would have been cut down. But a good many men were anxious to
have it increased, deeming it necessary for the preservation of
life and property. When we reflect upon this it shows how changed
have become the affairs of our nation, when it is deemed
necessary to appeal to military power to maintain good order in
the Republic. There can be no surer sign of the decay of a
republic than when human life and property and liberty cannot be
sustained by the masses of the people, and the military power,
the ranks of which are filled with hired soldiers, has to be
appealed to sustain good order in the midst of the people. Let
such a state of thing continue and there would soon be an end of
true republicanism.
35
In this respect we also have our difficulties. The business of
furnishing employment for our poor people so that our streets
shall not be filled with idle men and boys, has no doubt pressed,
and will continue to press itself upon the minds of the leading
men of this Territory. But in comparison with the magnitude of
this question elsewhere, it seems to sink into insignificance
here. It is a matter of small moment, comparatively speaking, in
this Territory; because the great bulk of the people have
employment, and can easily furnish themselves with employment.
However, this is a matter that should receive attention and from
those, too, who care for the people and have their welfare at
heart. No doubt everything will be done that should be to
preserve good government throughout this Territory, and
throughout all these valleys which are inhabited by the
Latter-day Saints. The fact is, the time will come, concerning
which there has been so much said in the past, when it will
devolve upon the people of these mountains to maintain good
government, to uphold constitutional rights; and we are receiving
the training necessary to fit and prepare us for that great and
glorious destiny. I have no doubt that the day will come, and
come speedily, when Utah will be looked to, as an example of good
government, and that the condition of affairs in this Territory
will be pointed to as a example for other communities and other
societies to imitate with advantage to themselves and the country
at large. There is every inducement therefore for us, as
Latter-day Saints, to continue to persevere in the direction in
which we are going.
36
I have no doubt many of you would be surprised if you knew the
interest that is being taken, outside of our Territory, in our
affairs. When the news of the death of President Young reached
the east, there was, I might say, a general expectation that
rival claimants to the power he wielded would arise, that
dissensions would ensue and that the work of disintegration would
commence and the speedy overthrow of the system soon follow. I
suppose I have been spoken to hundreds of times upon this point
and men seem surprised that this has not been the result. Many
have said to me, "Your affairs seem to go on prosperously,
notwithstanding the death of your great leader." Yes. "Well, we
scarcely expected this would be the case; we have heard so much
said through the newspapers concerning the probability of
dissensions in your midst and quarrels over the leadership, that
we were expecting you would have trouble." I have told them
invariably that President Young had all his life-time
acknowledged that the qualities and powers he possessed he owed
to what the world call "Mormonism;" that he was not the creator
of "Mormonism," but he himself was the product of it, and that
this would continue to increase, no matter how many leaders might
die or pass away. The results which have followed the decease of
President Young have given to thinking men a higher idea of the
strength and power of this system. It assumes a different
position in their minds. The idea now begins to prevail that it
is not entirely dependent upon the life or the ability of any
single individual and I think the death of President Young has
had the effect also to cause men to pause, and to look upon the
work a little differently. He was the target at which every arrow
was aimed he was the object of every plot and scheme; every
combination for evil had for its object, his destruction or his
embarrassment. His withdrawal from the scene spoiled these plots
to nought. To this I attribute the quiet of the past season.
Although I have often been at Washington for the past 20 years,
and have spent a considerable portion of my time there for a
number of years past, I have never seen less of the disposition
on the part of public men to take adverse measures against the
people of Utah Territory than there has been this season. The
feeling has been to let us alone for the present; and although
there were emissaries sent down from here who labored very
diligently to stir up feeling and to secure action again the
people of Utah, their efforts scarcely created a ripple upon the
surface of political affairs, and they attracted no attention
outside of the committees, to whom they addressed themselves.
Though it is unpleasant upon some accounts to have men there who
are circulating all manner of falsehood about the people of Utah
to gain their ends, they have their uses. They create discussion.
They stir one up, and their presence and opposition furnish
opportunities to talk to committees and members about Utah
affairs, which otherwise the Delegate would not have. Such
discussions made things lively in the committee rooms, but
outside of the committees there was not a feeling that I could
discover particularly hostile to Utah. This is a remarkable
condition of affairs; and I attribute it in part to the effect
that the death of President Young has had upon the public mind
throughout the entire country.
36
I do not think there is any less hostility against the truth; I
do not think that Belial has lost any of his hatred to the Lord;
but the Lord in his wisdom has permitted a feeling of this kind
to grow up, and is overruling it for his own purpose.
37
I have said the eyes of the people are upon us; they are watching
us and great hopes are entertained concerning us by many people
who are not of us. We are looked upon as the pioneers in many
reforms. The ladies, as you are aware, have lately been agitating
in Congress their question--Woman's Rights. Among other ladies
who argued their cause before the general committees of the
Senate and the House, was a sister of the Rev. Henry Ward
Beecher--Mrs. Isabella Beecher Hooker, a lady of character and
great ability. It was most gratifying to me to hear the tribute
that these ladies paid to the woman of Utah; not that they
sympathized with plural marriage, for they disavowed their
sympathy with it; but they begin to recognize, as they never have
until quite recently, the true position that men and women of
this Territory occupy upon this question. Indeed, I heard more
than one say, and among them was one very prominent lady, that if
there had to be a choice, she would prefer plural marriage than
to have the condition of affairs which exists in their
communities. There seems to have been a good deal of light thrown
upon this subject: and our sisters here, through their
publication, the "Woman's Exponent," as well as other channels of
communication, have greatly aided in this matter. Their efforts
are commendable, and are already beginning to have their good
effects in the States among their sisters; and I am pleased to be
able to bear this testimony. When the question of legislation for
Utah was argued, the committee rooms were thronged to listen to
my argument upon the subject; and on one occasion two ladies took
part in the discussion against the bills urged by our enemies and
in favor of the rights of the women of Utah. A knowledge of the
future condition of affairs in this Territory is gradually
growing, and although it may be but slowly, it is of faster
growth than we generally imagine. This is especially true of that
much abused principle called plural marriage. It is becoming
recognized in its true light, and people are beginning, as I
never heard them before in my experience, to talk about it and
reflect upon it, often alluding to it in a way that shows that a
better understanding of the subject is steadily spreading among
the people. And there is a reason for this: This question has
been so much agitated. It is a remarkable fact that every
publication against this doctrine of the Latter-day Saints has
the effect to spread the knowledge of it among the people and it
makes men and women reflect upon it. Our efforts alone would not
be attended with the results that are now witnessed. But every
man that has published articles against it, or lectured or
written books or made any effort against it, has helped to
propagate the knowledge of it; they have been missionaries in its
favor. And no true doctrine need ever fear being assailed and
denounced; for it will emerge from the conflict brighter and
better understood than it otherwise would appear. Every man who
has gone down to Washington from here to fight us has made men in
Congress think about us and talk about us, and has made editors
write about us. They have, without designing it, helped to
disseminate a knowledge of our cause. The more the "Mormon"
question, as it is termed, is agitated, the better it is for us;
the more it is fought, the more it is written against and talked
about, the more that Congress is stirred up to take steps against
it, the better the principles of our faith are understood;
because there are some men and some women who reflect upon these
things, and who will contrast that which they hear of us, with
that which exists in their midst. And when they see a man stand
up boldly and say, "We believe in plural marriage; we do not
believe in prostitution; we do not suffer women to become the
slaves of men's lusts; but believe they ought to become honored
wives and mothers, and that children ought to be educated and
provided for and called by the name of their father, and at their
father's death his property be equally divided among them even
though their mothers should be plural wives." When they hear
this, they cannot help thinking about such a condition of
affairs; and they say, there is a moral courage which these
people evince in this matter that is admirable. I have had it
said to me often times, by both sexes, that it is better that we
should live as we do, than such practices as exist elsewhere
should come in our midst.
37
So that, as has often been said, everything done against us is
overruled for the good and spread of the work of God.
38
The subject of plural marriage is always in interesting subject,
and it is made still more so by the constant attacks made upon
it, and the misrepresentations made concerning it. Whenever
people meet with the Latter-day Saints it is almost sure to be
the first topic broached. The opinion which some entertain who
take their views from the slanderous reports published about us
is that we are a licentious people, who take wives to gratify
lust. Such persons, if reasonably honest, are soon made to
reflect and to modify their views by asking them a few questions.
A prominent gentleman with whom I recently conversed, entertained
that opinion. I said to him, after conversing a little while:
Sir, you believe the People of Utah are bad and licentious, and
that they degrade women by their system of plural marriage. Let
me ask you, if their purposes were only sensual, have they any
occasion in this day to marry women? Could they not accomplish
sensual ends much easier, cheaper and without creating any
especial remark by not marrying women and not caring for and
educating and legitimatizing their children? There are practices
which prevail in society and which are not unpopular if a certain
degree of secrecy be observed which a licentious people could
avail themselves of, without the trouble, care, expense and
responsibility of marriage. What is the crime of which the people
of Utah are accused? It is of marrying women! It is not that of
seducing or debauching them. All the pains and penalties inserted
in bills before Congress for the punishment of the "Mormon"
people are affixed to the marriage of women. This is made a
crime, and because of it, it is proposed to punish men. Not one
word of condemnation, nor penalty of any character, is proposed
for the seducer, or the vile betrayer of female innocence; he is
to walk up to the polls and vote unchallenged; but the man who
marries women, and maintains them honorably and virtuously,
sustaining family and parental relations in all purity and
sacredness, is to be disfranchised and visited with other pains
and penalties! You will perceive, therefore that the "Mormon"
people are either not a licentious people or they are the most
foolish in the world. No one ever charges them with a lack of
shrewdness or prudence. Such a charge would be utterly at
variance with all their known characteristics. If they were not a
conscientious people, with strong moral and religious
convictions, they would not risk becoming martyrs, as they do,
for the sake of marrying women, when, if they followed the usual
practice of the age, they could get them without marrying.
38
He frankly acknowledged that what I had said has given him a new
view of the case, and he admitted that if the gratification of
sensual desires were our object, we could reach that without
marriage and without exciting any particular odium. The fact is,
illicit connexions are winked at and overlooked by very many
people in the world while they are kept from public knowledge;
they only excite scandal and unfavorable comment when the parties
to them are so unfortunate as to become known.
39
A reply of Bro. Hooper and myself, which we are credited has
having made to inquirers who were curious to know respecting our
domestic relations, is often quoted and created some amusement in
Washington city. Both of us have doubtless made remarks similar
to that quoted; the reply, however is not original with us, but
with Bro. Horace S. Eldredge. Upon one occasion, while purchasing
machinery in the East, he called upon a firm in Providence, Rhode
Island, to whom he brought a letter of introduction. One of the
members of the firm, after carrying him in his carriage to see
the various objects of interest in the city brought him back to
his place of business and introduced him to his partner. This
gentleman had a number of inquiries to make respecting Utah and
its people, and soon learned that Bro. Eldredge was a "Mormon."
After stating that he understood that the "Mormons" believed in
marrying more than one wife, to which bro. Eldredge replied in
the affirmative, he asked if he himself has more than one, to
which he again responded affirmatively. He then asked how many he
had. to this bro. Eldredge replied: "I have such a plenty of my
own that I have no occasion to trouble my neighbors'; and that is
more than a great many in the land of steady habits can say."
This was a home shot. His partner laughed heartily. Knowing the
other's character, he could appreciate its applicability to him.
After getting his reply, the gentleman had no more questions to
ask, and soon made an excuse to go out. Many who have heard of
this reply, think the idea embodied in it a capital one, for it
is not uncommon in many places for other men's wives to receive
attentions which should be only tendered to them by their
husbands.
39
I desire greatly to see this people prosper and increase in
everything which will make them the favored people of God. I want
to see us become a strong people, strong in our virtues; looking
after our children, and bringing them up in the fear of God, and
teaching them good morals and good precepts; whilst we endeavor
to put down the evil practices that are creeping in, such as
smoking and chewing tobacco, using the name of the Lord in vain,
and also profane and improper language, and to see that our boys
and girls are educated in everything that will make them great
and noble. It is the great desire of my life to see this people
become all that the Lord desires us to be. But when I saw how few
there were in this Tabernacle yesterday, few compared to the
attendance this morning, I felt the reproofs that were made by
brothers Pratt and Woodruff were well-timed, and ought to be
taken to heart by all of us, and the disposition be encouraged to
be more attentive to our duties.
39
That the Lord may bless you, and bless all who belong to his
Israel, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / John
Taylor, August 4th, 1878
John Taylor, August 4th, 1878
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered at Logan, Sunday Afternoon, August 4th, 1878.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
GOD'S POWER IN ALL THINGS--KINGDOM OF GOD--CO-OPERATION, A
STEPPING STONE TO
THE UNITED ORDER--POLITICAL ECONOMY--NATIONAL
TROUBLES--MISSIONARY
LABORS--SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS.
40
I have been a good deal interested in the remarks made by my
brethren; and in connection with them, I am very much pleased to
see you meet in this beautiful house, and in possession of the
privileges you enjoy; and you have a right to enjoy them, because
you have made them yourselves. And then again, you did not make
them yourselves, only as God assisted you. I think there is a
modern Scripture which reads: "Against none is His wrath kindled,
save those who do not acknowledge his hand in all things." And
there are some other principles connected with these matters that
are of a good deal of importance to us. One of the old prophets,
in speaking of the people and their relationship to God, says:
"The Lord is our God, the Lord is our king, the Lord is our
judge, the Lord is our law-giver, and he shall rule over us." If
we could really place ourselves in this position, and feel that
we live in God, that we move in God, and that from him we derive
our being, and that he holds the issues of life, and every
blessing we enjoy whether of a temporal or spiritual nature,
either referring to this world or the world to come, proceeds
from God. If we, as a community, could comprehend our position in
regard to this grand, leading, and very important feature of our
faith, we should be prepared to receive greater blessings at the
hand of the Almighty, and be prepared also to magnify that great
and holy priesthood which he has placed upon us. We should be
prepared more understandingly to build temples, and to operate in
them; we should be prepared to stand as saviors upon Mount Zion,
and to operate with God and the holy angels, and with apostles
and prophets who have lived before, and with the holy priesthood
in the eternal worlds, as well as in this world, for the
accomplishment of the purposes of God for the redemption and
salvation of the living and the dead; for the salvation and
exaltation of ourselves, our progenitors and our posterity. But
we need to realize and comprehend our position and relationship
to the Almighty.
41
Some of the brethren who have addressed you have spoken upon our
political rights, which is all very correct. It would be a poor
thing indeed, if, after God has gathered us from among the
nations of the earth to place his name upon us, and to establish
and build up His kingdom upon the earth, we should be under the
necessity of calling in the devil to help us to do the Lord's
work. It is one of those incongruities which the reasonably
intelligent and reflective mind will necessarily disown. We are
gathered here, not in the interests of any political party or any
essential organization, other than that which God dictated and
ordained. Why are we here to-day? It is because the heavens have
been opened, because angels have appeared, because the
revelations of God's will have been made known to man, it is
because God and holy angels, with the eternal priesthood, have
thought proper to manifest in these last days the fullness of the
everlasting Gospel, which Gospel has been proclaimed to us in the
different nations from whence we came. And having yielded
obedience to its first principles we have gathered here. We did
not come here as being associated particularly with any
colonization scheme; we did not come here because of the richness
or fertility of the soil, we did not come here because there was
gold and silver in our mountains. We had no such idea. We came
here because we believed that the Lord had restored the
everlasting Gospel; because he had renewed the everlasting
covenant; and because he had sent forth the proclamations,
"Gather my people together, those who have made a covenant with
me by sacrifice," and because we had been baptized into Christ,
and put on Christ. This is the reason of our being here; and,
therefore, as Latter-day Saints, it becomes our first and most
paramount duty to build up the church and kingdom of God upon the
earth.
42
Now, we all believe this. And there is a number of duties that
seem to devolve naturally upon us, such as to prepare buildings
like this, that we may meet in to attend to the worship of God;
and to build temples in which to administer the ordinances of
God. Who for? The living and the dead: for ourselves, our
progenitors, and our posterity. And that we might operate and
co-operate with the priesthood behind the vial, in the
accomplishment of his purposes toward the human family. This is
the kind of labor we are engaged in. But I occasionally think we
are something like the disciples who lived in the days of the
apostles on the Asiatic Continent. It is said of them, that they
saw in part, and prophesied in part, and of course comprehended
in part. But they thought then, and we think now, that when that
which is in part is done away, and that which is perfect is
come--and which the Lord is trying to introduce as fast as he
can--then shall we see as we are seen, and then we shall know as
we are known; then we shall comprehend as God comprehends in
relation to all of these subjects which we have been reflecting
upon and praying about. But we only comprehend in part at the
present time. We are something like our little children--when
they begin to walk a little, they make awkward stumbles,
oftentimes falling down and scratching themselves. Our Father
watches over us, the same as our mothers did when we were babies.
You all know what watchful care a fond mother bestows upon her
little child; how anxious she is about its safety and welfare.
But our children frequently think they are much smarter than
their parents. They would think nothing at all of taking hold of
a razor and cutting their fingers with it, or running over rough
and dangerous ground. We are, in many respects, a good deal like
them. We see in part and comprehend in part; and some of us have
been so long steeped in the superstitions and traditions of the
age, and are imbued with false religions and political ideas and
notions, and so inoculated by the world, that we hardly know what
is right and what is wrong. We want a little of God in the
kingdom of God, a little of man, and, I am sorry to say, a little
of the devil in the kingdom of God, so that we might all mix up
together and be hail fellows will met, God and all creation
together. That is not the calculation of the Almighty. He has
called us together; what to do? Let me tell you what the prophet
said: "I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I
will bring you to Zion." And what will he do with those he gets
there? "And I will give you pastors according to mine heart,
which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." Who would
give them pastors? The Lord. One of the prophets, in speaking of
this time, when people should be very much better than we are
to-day, says: "And they shall be all taught of God." But some of
us would like a little infidelity with it, a little of this
world's politics, a little of the theories of men, and a little
false tradition with it; and it is difficult for us, with all our
traditions and erroneous training which we have inherited from
our forefathers, and which we have been brought up in from our
early childhood, to divest ourselves from them, and listen to the
pure word of God, and be governed by the laws of life.
43
We talk sometimes about the thing we call the kingdom of God.
Now, if it is the kingdom of God, it is not the kingdom of man,
it is not our kingdom only so far as we are subject to its laws,
which are the laws of God. We have made attempts lately, under
the direction of our venerable and respected President Young, who
has left us and gone behind the vial, to organize the church of
God, and this organization has spread, more or less, through the
Territory. But it is a good deal with us as it was with the boy
in Salt Lake City. A stranger, walking along, said, "Boy, are you
a Mormon?" The boy answered: "No, sir, I am not, but dad is."
"Oh, he is?" "Yes, sir; but he does not potter much at it." It is
a good deal so with many of us. We have our individual affairs
and our own operations, which occupy our attention, and we have
little time to attend to the things of god. We have an
organization of our priesthood; we have our stakes organized with
President, and High Council, with Bishops and their Counselors,
and Priests, Teachers and Deacons; and we have our Seventies'
quorums, our High Priests' Quorums, and our Elders' Quorums; all
of which are in accordance with the order that exits in heaven.
But how little many of us think of this. Yes we are doing pretty
well, as has been remarked here. I have no feeling of complaint
in my mind about the doings of the people generally. I think that
you have manifested a zeal, liberality and generosity in the
building of this house, that is praiseworthy and commendable; and
I think you have manifested the same in the progress that is
exhibited in the building of your temple here. But these are only
very small parts of the duties of this priesthood which we have
taken upon us; very little parts indeed. How many of our Bishops
are there who do not comprehend really and truly that they hold
their priesthood from God? that they administer in the cities of
Zion, or ought to, by virtue of that priesthood; and therefore
ought to be fathers over the people over whom they preside,
having self and its interest in abeyance, laboring as good
shepherds in the interests of their flocks, and thus operating in
it according to their ability; but a great many do not comprehend
the position of things in relation to these matters. If a man is
appointed a Bishop, is it that he may aggrandize himself? No. Is
it that through his position he may monopolize certain interests?
No. It is expected of him that he will operate in the interest of
the Church of God, and more especially in the interests of the
community over whom he presides. That is the way I understand
this matter; and these are some leading features by which a
Bishop ought to be governed. And in our Bishop's Courts, when
cases are brought before them, they ought to be as free from
partiality in their judgments as the Gods of the Eternal worlds
are, and feel to administer justice and righteousness, and seek
for the Spirit of God to actuate and govern them in all of their
decisions. And the same spirit and feeling ought to actuate in
the High Council. They are making a record of which there is a
record kept in heaven; and so are the Bishops. And when you are
administering in any of these offices, God will hold you to an
account, and the priesthood on the earth will hold you to an
account; and you are now writing a history in indelible
characters that never can be erased. If for every word and secret
act all men shall be brought to judgment, how much more will the
public acts of public men be brought into account before God and
before the holy priesthood.
43
Here, for instance, is the President and his Counselors, who
preside over this Stake. They ought to feel interested in the
welfare of every man, woman and child in the Stake, so far as
they come under their observations; and these men, by virtue of
their high calling, ought to be full of life and the spirit and
revelations of God, to comprehend things as they are presented to
them and that they may administer justice in righteousness, and
rule over the people in the way and manner that will secure the
favor and approbation of the Most High; always seeking first the
interests of the kingdom of God and the flock that God has given
them the oversight of.
46
Now I will maintain some things here that my attention has been
called to, in regard to union, and union of effort. We have had a
great deal said about the United Order, and about our becoming
one. And some people would wish--Oh, how they do wish, they could
get around that principle, if they could! But you Latter-day
Saints, you cannot get around it; you cannot dig around it; it
will rise before you every step you take, for God is determined
to carry out his purposes, and to build up his Zion; and those
who will not walk into line he will move out of the way and no
place will be found for them in Israel. Hear it, you Latter-day
Saints for I say to you in the name of Israel's God that it is a
revelation from the Most High, and you cannot get around it.
There seems to be difficulties in the way at present; but we
shall surmount these. The only way for us to do now, in
consideration of the weaknesses and infirmities with which we are
surrounded is to do the very best we can, and advance those
interests as near as we can, practically and in their spirit and
essence, until we can bring about the things that God designs,
for men are not prepared for these things yet in full. But we are
in part, as they of old prophesied in part, and understood in
part; and by and by that which is perfect in relation to these
matters will be introduced. Joseph Smith tried to introduce this
order, but such was the corruption, covetousness, fraud and
injustice of men, that he found it almost impossible to do it.
This was the idea he conveyed, if not the precise words that he
used in speaking upon this subject. We have made various attempts
to do what the Prophet Joseph tried to do. In some places they
are doing very well, and in other places very poorly; I can tell
you this much about it, it is pretty hard work to make sheep out
of goats. Did any of you ever try it? Let me quote you a passage
of our Savior's: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and
they follow me."--"A stranger will they not follow, but will flee
from him; for they know not the voice of strangers." And he
prayed to the Father concerning them: "Holy Father, keep through
thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be
one as we are." "That they all may be one, as thou, Father art in
me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the
world may believe that thou hast sent me." Or, in other words,
"God sent him, and his people knew it and knew him, but the world
believed it not; but when this oneness should be brought about,
the world would know it. And when we become one in all things,
our condition will be a spectacle for God, angels and men to gaze
upon with delight: and the world then will know that God is with
us, and that we are his Israel, and that he is our guide, our
shield, our deliverer. There are some things that Brother Lorenzo
Snow is doing that are very creditable; but it is not the United
Order. He is working with the people something after the same
principle that the sisters teach the little ones how to walk;
they stand them in a sort of chair which rolls along, and the
babies appear delighted, they think they are walking. But we have
not learned how to walk yet. And then there are other
institutions scattered throughout the Territory, having the same
laudable object in view, many of them have most excellent
principles among them, and they manifest a most admirable spirit;
but they only see in part, and know and comprehend in part. And
you here are doing pretty well in some things; but some of you
are like it was said by President Young of Brother Snow, that he
had got the folks into the United Order without their knowing it.
You have hardly got one foot in yet, but you are aiming at
progress, and are making some little advancement. For instance, I
hear you have a kind of commercial business here in connection
with some other interests that you are trying to unite on. This
is very proper, and it is proper that your president should
dictate in such matters; it is his business to do it, and it is
your duty to be governed by such principles and follow such
instructions as may be given in regard to these things; and keep
together, and let this individualism be held in abeyance, and let
us feel that we are all holding the holy priesthood, and that we
should, as brethren, operate in the interests of the church and
kingdom of God. I suppose these things could go on and increase,
and everything in regard to your commercial relations could be
operated with one common consent, under the proper authority and
administration of the priesthood, and you all labor unitedly,
with singleness of heart before God. And what would be the
result? You could not be preyed upon by outsiders; you would have
no middle-men living off you, and what speculations might be
entered into would be in the interest of the community. And then
you could operate in regard to your farming interests, and the
disposing of your grain, and cattle, sheep, etc. And operating
and co-operating together, you will be able to form a phalanx in
this valley that will become a power in this part of the land.
And then if you could go to work and manufacture your own leather
and cloth, and make your own boots and shoes and harness, and
your own wearing apparel, men's and women's wear, as they are
doing in Brigham City, a great deal for remunerative employment
could be furnished your own people and it would be the means of
putting trades in the hands of many of your boys; and by and by
you could become a self-sustaining people. The people of the
world comprehend this principle that we are striving to
comprehend among ourselves. There has been quite a talk lately
about something that has existed in France. You will remember
that in the late war with Germany, the French nations was badly
beaten, and an enormous debt was the result, which the French
Government has since paid. And how? The first Napoleon, in his
day, introduced what was called at that time the "Continental
System," which meant nothing more nor less than home manufacture.
Every encouragement was extended to the people of that nation to
raise and manufacture everything possible, that they might become
independent of other nations for their sustenance. And this was
the secret of their success in paying their indebtedness incurred
by the late war. We have had enough talk about these things; the
only thing left is to contrive in all our various settlements, to
introduce such things, gradually and according to circumstances,
as will subserve the interests of the people and make them
self-sustaining. And then let the people throughout the Territory
do the same thing, and we shall be progressing in the march of
improvement and get, by and by, to what is called the United
Order. But I will tell you one thing you can never do--unless you
can get the United Order in the hearts of the people, you can
never plant it anywhere else; articles, and constitutions amount
to very little; we must have this law, which is the law of God,
written in our hearts. Many men associated with these
institutions do not act in good faith. I have seen men unite with
them, thinking that they could get a very easy living by preying
upon the people who were more confiding and honorable than
themselves. Will such men be blessed? No, they will not but the
curse of God will rest upon them for trying to pervert his
purposes; and it would have been better for them never to have
entered into such connections. These have been some of my
reflections in relation to these matters.
46
We have here Seventies and Elders. I wish to talk a little upon
some things associated with their callings, for there are a great
many of them present to-day. I suppose the great majority of the
brethren here are either Seventies, High Priests, or
Elders--three prominent quorums in the church and kingdom of God.
Now then, what are we called to do? What, for instance, is the
duty of an Apostle? We used to understand it to be our duty to go
to the ends of the earth and preach the Gospel; and I may say we
have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles to accomplish that
object. But some of us are getting whiteheaded. As I was saying
to one of my wives a little while ago, Your head is getting a
little grey, but mine is not (it is white). And it is so with
many of the Twelve; they have got past that some time ago. But
the Twelve went out, and were always ready to go out, and are
to-day if required. And I will say of my brethren who are around
me, I do not know of a better set of men in existence, nor could
I tell where they can be found. I will bear this testimony
concerning my brethren of the Twelve. They are ready to do what
God requires of them at any time. Now, we have had a great many
honorable men among our Seventies, our High Priests and Elders
who have gone forth with alacrity, as have the Twelve, filled
with the spirit and power of their calling, feeling to rejoice
all the day long, and sing, hallelujah, the Lord is our God; they
have been the means of gathering the House of Israel, as they are
to-day in these mountains. Shall they have credit among Israel?
Yes, and so will they have credit before God and the holy angels.
But the Presidency or the Twelve, or the Seventies, or the High
Priests, or the Elders, never could have done it, unless God had
been with them. They went forth in the name of God, bearing
precious seed; and they returned again rejoicing, bringing many
sheaves with them. And God will hold all such men in honorable
remembrance in time and through all eternity. But a great many
are getting like myself, they are getting old; and we cannot
expect them always to be going. But then, they have a lot of boys
growing up, and we expect the boys to step forward and take the
place of their fathers, and try to do something in the interests
of the church and kingdom of God upon the earth.
47
We have been passing through quite a scene for some time past,
and the world generally has, especially the European nations,
since about 1873. There was, as was termed, a financial panic,
and it has grown worse and worse until the present time; and
trouble seems to be spreading and going among the nations, and is
permeating the nations with which we are associated. It is now
workmen against employer--labor versus capital, and vice versa,
instead of union, harmony, fellowship, and sympathy, which ought
always to exist between man and man. And we have felt a little of
the effects of the monetary crises here. Then the grasshoppers
have paid us a visit now and then; and the codling moth is among
us, and some parts of our valleys have suffered considerably from
winter frosts. And I have thought sometimes that if the people
did not understand that God ruled, they would find out by and by;
for I believe that all these things are used by the Lord to bring
the people to reflection. And if I read my Bible aright,
judgments are first to begin at the house of God. And if
judgments are to commence at the house of God, where are the
wicked and ungodly to appear? There is a terrible time
approaching the nations of the earth, and also this nation, worse
than has ever entered into the heart of man to conceive of--war,
bloodshed and desolation, mourning and misery, pestilence, famine
and earthquakes, and all those calamities spoken of by the
prophets will most assuredly be fulfilled, and they are nearer by
forty years than they were forty years ago. And it is for us,
Latter-day Saints, to understand the position we occupy. Among
the honorable men I have referred to, there are some things that
make it extremely difficult for men sometimes to perform the kind
of missions that they did formerly, owing to age, infirmities,
and circumstances. Yet I have frequently felt ashamed when I have
seen the acts of many in these quorums to which I refer, when
they have been called upon to go on missions. One has one excuse,
and another, another. It was easier some twenty years ago to
raise two or three hundred men than it is now among all those
thousands in Israel. How do you account for this? Partly in
consequence of an apathy that exists in the different organisms
of the priesthood; and partly from circumstances with which we
have been surrounded. We have been grappling with these
difficulties in common with others; and the Lord has placed us in
this position to try us to see what material we are made of. Or,
to use a common saying to see who would be found at the rack, hay
or no hay. But the general feeling seems to be--and I suppose it
is so with us in Salt Lake and other places--that we would rather
go to the rack when there was plenty of hay. But there is such a
thing as having faith in God, I will tell you how I have viewed
these things. A great many have been thrown into circumstances
that without distressing their families it would be extremely
difficult to pick themselves up and go on missions. We did not
use to think about this; but there should be in this, as in other
things, a co-operation, a united order if you please. We have
found, in looking over some of our affairs, that these pinching
times have reached to England. And lately when our Elders have
returned home after having been absent two or three years, they
themselves not having the means to pay their way home, have had
to give their notes for the money; and the consequence was they
would return with a load of debt upon their shoulders. The
Council have considered this matter, and decided to cancel such
indebtedness; it amounted to some $50,000; and then we contrived
with Brother Staines and the Presidency in Liverpool, to try to
make such arrangements that when our brethren returned home from
missions, they shall come free. How do you feel? All who are in
favor say aye. [The congregation said aye.] We do not want Elders
to feel pressed down or embarrassed, but, if possible, to be
relieved; and we are aiming to accomplish this. And when they are
away, it is not proper that they should feel worried and
concerned about their families at home; and therefore we will
call upon our brethren here who preside, to see that the families
of the missionaries are looked after, that they may not suffer. I
hear men sometimes pray God to bless and provide for the families
of those on missions, and in their prayers they are ever mindful
of the poor. This is all very well as far as it goes, but it does
not go very far. My feelings are, never ask the Lord to do
anything I would not do myself. If I were a woman--but then I am
not, you know and I do not know much about it; but if I were a
woman, the wife of one of our missionaries abroad, I would much
rather have a sack of flour; a little meat, some butter and
cheese, a little fire-wood or coal, and a little cloth for
myself, and family, than all the prayers you could offer up for
me. And if you want to see these folks taken care of, you must
see to it yourselves. And you sisters of the Relief Society, do
not give your husbands any rest until these families are all
provided for. And do not spare the Bishop if they are not
provided for but go after him and "ding" it into him; and perhaps
by your continued teasing and worrying him, he may hearken to
your prayers. And I will risk it, if the sisters get after him.
47
Now after making excuses of that kind, we cannot excuse
everybody. There are lots of able-bodied men who, if they could
only have a little more faith in God, and could realize the
calamities that are coming upon the earth, and the
responsibilities of that priesthood that God has conferred upon
them, they would be ready to break all barriers and say, Here I
am, send me; I wish to benefit the human family. If Jesus came to
seek and save those who are lost, let me be possessed of the same
spirit. And if the Twelve, the High Priests and the Seventies,
who are now aged, have done these things, let me also do it: I am
willing to enter into the harness and do all that God requires at
my hand. I tell you, my brethren, in the name of God, that right
among the nations of Europe, where many of you have come from,
there will be some of the bloodiest scenes that you ever read of;
and God expects you to assist in warning the nations, and in
gathering out the honest in heart. Then when you come back,
having accomplished a good mission, you can say, "My garments are
clean from the blood of this generation." Many of you cannot say
that now, therefore I wish to remind you of these things, that
you may reflect upon them, and prepare yourselves for the work
that is before you.
48
Another thing that has been referred to here--about our schools
and education. God expects Zion to become the praise and glory of
the whole earth; so that kings, hearing of her fame, will come
and gaze upon her glory. God is not niggardly in his feelings
towards us. He would as soon we all lived in palaces as not; but
he wants us to observe his laws and fear him, and standing as
messengers to go forth to the nations; clothed upon with the
power of the priesthood which has been conferred upon us; seeking
"first the kingdom of God and his righteousness;" seeking first
the welfare and happiness of our fellow-men, and God will add
unto us all the gold and silver and possessions an everything
that may be good for us to receive. I was going to say, perhaps
more than would be good for us. But all these things shall be
added, for no man that forsakes father and mother, houses and
lands, wives and children for God and his kingdom, but what shall
receive in this world a hundred fold, and in the world to come
life everlasting. This was true anciently, it is true to-day.
This being the case, we ought to foster education and
intelligence of every kind; cultivate literary tastes, and men of
literary and scientific talent should improve that talent and all
should magnify the gifts which God has given unto them. Educate
your children, and seek for those to teach them who have faith in
God and in his promises, as well as intelligence. I was talking
with Bro. Maeser, who is principal of the Brigham Young Academy,
in Provo. I saw the students go through their various exercises
in the several classes, and I was congratulating him upon the
success, when he remarked--"There is one thing, Pres. Taylor, I
will guarantee, that is, that no infidels will go from my
school." He would teach them the Gospel, and inculcate its
principles, which are so far advanced of infidelity, that it
would have to hide its hoary head in shame before the light,
glory, and intelligence that comes from God, and that exist in
all his works, and that fools do not comprehend. I am pleased to
know that Pres. Young made arrangements before his death for the
endowment of a college in this neighborhood, and the brethren
acting as trustees in the matter are feeling interested, and are
taking steps for the accomplishment of that object. And that
object is, as I understand it, to afford our own children greater
facilities to become learned, and that they also have the
privilege to learn trades, and agriculture, and horticulture, and
become progressive, intellectual and informed in regard to all
these things, and that they may comprehend the earth on which we
stand, the materials of which it is composed, and the elements
with which we are surrounded. And then, by having faith in God,
we might stand as far above the nations in regard to the arts and
sciences, politics, and every species of intelligence, as we now
do in regard to religious matters. This is what we are aiming at;
and if there is anything good and praiseworthy in morals,
religion, science, or anything calculated to exalt and ennoble
man, we are after it. But with all our getting, we want to get
understanding, and that understanding which flows from God.
48
Bro. Smith said his time was up; mine is more than up.
48
Brethren and sisters, God bless you. Let us love one another; let
us seek to promote one another's welfare. And let the Bishop's
and the Relief Societies, and the Young Men's and Young Women's
Associations, and our mechanics and manufacturers, and also our
merchants, and all hands, operate in the interests of the whole
for the welfare of Zion and the building up of the Kingdom of God
upon the earth; and the blessings of God will begin to rest upon
us, Zion will begin to arise, and the glory of God will rest upon
her. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / Angus
M. Cannon, August 25, 1878
Angus M. Cannon, August 25, 1878
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT ANGUS M. CANNON.
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
Sunday Afternoon, August 25, 1878.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
THE SAINTS PROSPERED--RESTORATION OF THE GOSPEL--SHOULD LISTEN TO
INSTRUCTION--GOD'S GIFTS TO THE CHURCH--SALVATION FOR THE
DEAD--EXAMPLES BEFORE CHILDREN.
49
I have listened with deep interest to the instructions we have
received through Elder Teasdale this afternoon; and rejoice in
being numbered with the people of God. I have just returned from
a trip through the south-eastern portions of our Territory,
having visited localities that, five years ago, were barren and
unfruitful, and where frosts were known to appear every month in
the year; and finding these places cultivated by our people, and
their crops in a flourishing condition, and the crops themselves
acknowledging the overruling hand of God in tempering the
elements for their good, I have felt to magnify God in my soul;
and I return to you, my brethren and sisters, with heartfelt
gratitude to our heavenly Father, in thus blessing the land and
the elements for the good of his Saints. And this is only an
additional testimony to me that God lives and rules, and that
Jesus is indeed the Christ.
49
We have been called out from the world, to be separated from the
world. When John the Revelator was on the Isle of Patmos, he
beheld the darkness that the churches indulged in, and realized
that they would drive the Priesthood from the earth because of
the errors that had crept in amongst them, which were being
tolerated, and which were antagonistic to the truth. And while
there the Lord favored him with heavenly manifestations, among
which was that of an angel flying in the midst of heaven, the
bearer of the everlasting Gospel to every nation and tongue and
people. And after this he says he heard another voice, saying,
"Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her
sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
50
We have received the Gospel; the Angel Moroni brought it, and
with faithfulness he delivered it to the Prophet Joseph. He
watched the record for centuries with increasing care that he
might reveal unto us the lost knowledge of the Gospel in its
purity. God has taken one of a city and two of a family, and
brought us to Zion, and he has taught us the principles of his
Gospel, and the testimony of his servants, who were instrumental
in his hands of introducing those principles of divine truth to
the world, was sealed by the blood of his anointed. When our
enemies have expelled us from our homes, and deprived us of the
sustenance we had provided, God has blessed the endeavors of his
people in cultivating the soil, and he has rebuked the destroyer,
and where sand and aridness seemed to prevail, the earth has been
made productive, and we have reaped abundance. When our enemies
have sought to follow us, he has rebuked them, and the divisions
which they would introduce in our midst, to enfeeble us, he has
caused to be visited upon those who have sought to destroy us.
The Lord has said through Isaiah, "The ox knoweth his owner, and
the ass his master's crib," and they will come where they are
used to be fed. We have been fed by the hand of God, we have been
succored in the hour of our deepest distress; he has made us
strong out of weakness, he has blessed us beyond our most
sanguine expectations. He has taught us the principles of eternal
life; and has taught us to turn our hearts to the father, as the
fathers' hearts have been turned towards us, lest he should smite
the earth with a curse and we not be permitted to inherit it.
51
Lehi, when he led his little family from Jerusalem, was shown of
the Lord that he would lead him to a land of promise, a land that
was choice above all other lands. The Almighty blessed his
posterity, and they enjoyed peace and plenty until they became
envious toward each other, and their hearts were filled with
hatred towards God. Lehi was told that this land should be
consecrated as a blessed land to his posterity and they should
continue to enjoy it and possess it, and that that pure in heart
should dwell upon it, but the corrupt in heart should not possess
this land in peace and prosperity. He led us to this land when we
were oppressed, when we were wounded and afflicted, and when we
were bleeding and hungry and naked; and here he has succored us
and fed us, promising to be our Father and Friend if we would
continue to rely upon him. Witness the extent of our increasing
population, and the multiplicity of our settlements, as well as
the prosperity that has attended us on every hand; and then ask
ourselves the question: Are we possessed of the same humility, of
the same love, and of the same undying devotion, as when our
enemies were driving us from the rear, and apparently nothing but
destitution unto starvation presented our front. Jesus once said
to his Apostles, when he saw some of his disciples forsake him,
"Will ye also go away?" But Peter answered him and said, "Lord,
to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life." Then,
if we now begin to idolize our possessions, the creations of our
own hands, under the blessings of God, what profit is it to us in
our having been led of the Lord to this land? Wherein, I ask, are
we profited, if we turn a deaf ear to his words. Has he not said
through Paul, as recorded in the 4th chapter of Ephesians, that
he has placed in his church apostles, prophets etc. What for?
"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," etc., remaining in this condition until that
which is perfect is come. And when we shall have arrived at that
state of perfection, seeing as we are seen, and knowing as we are
known, we shall not need Prophets to teach us, for we will then
see alike, dwelling in the presence of God. Then, shall we turn a
deaf ear to the voice of Prophets before we become united, before
we see eye to eye? If we do we shall prove ourselves no better
than the world of mankind whom we have left. We have come here
and demonstrated that the Lord has blessed us--for he has
demonstrated this to our heart's content; he has given us wives
and children, pledges of an eternal union that is to exist
between us and them for ever. Our children are the offspring of
the Almighty, they are placed under our guardian care to be
instructed in the principles of eternal life; they should be
taught that they are created in the image of God, that they owe
allegiance to him, and that they have not come upon the earth to
do their own will, but the will of their Father in heaven. It is
said and understood by us that Jesus will come and take unto
himself the people that are prepared to meet him. What is our
condition? We are anxious to bless the earth we occupy; we are
anxious to nourish and cherish our flocks and our herds. We say
our prosperity depends upon these things, and that they are
created for our sakes, that they were created for man, to be
subject to him, and that our children will succeed us in the
possession of them. How important that they be filled with
intelligence; how important it is that we endeavor to keep open
communication between God and our children, how important it is
that we see that they receive a good sound education, and that
they have proper associations, and that they are early impressed
with truths calculated to make them immortal and bring them
everlasting joy and happiness, and that they do not become
infidel and ungrateful in their hearts. Moses was raised under
peculiar circumstances, having been taught in all the learning of
the Egyptians--a people who were estranged from God, and received
the best education that the Court of Pharaoh could afford. But
did his heart become alienated from God, his kindred and people?
No, he learned to love them. And as he saw them plodding and
laboring under the most unpleasant and adverse circumstances to
make brick, his heart was drawn out in sympathy towards them; and
he never rested until he prevailed with God to rescue them from
their bondage. And when his mission to deliver his people was
made known to them, and when he had obtained their confidence,
did they hearken to his counsels? And when he had so far led them
on their way to the wilderness, the Red Sea before them, the
forces of Pharaoh in rear of them, with no chance of escape on
either hand, did they relent and want to retrace their steps, or
did they follow their leader, he acting as a God unto them? They
followed the man whom it has pleased God to place at their head,
between Him and them, and they never questioned him they knew
there was no salvation for them only through him. And he led them
to liberty; he led them to prosperity; he led them to the favor
of God, and with uplifted hands, while his mortal strength
endured, he plead their cause with the Lord.
52
God has given us Apostles; he has given us homes that are
beautiful to look upon, and lands that are productive and
fruitful; and he has made us gracious and precious promises in
that eternal union with our wives and children, restoring us to
the society of our fathers in favor with God. He has placed great
and glorious blessings within our reach, but has first called
upon us to erect sacred edifices to his name in which to receive
them. Shall we, my brethren, withhold our substance and the labor
of our hands necessary to complete this work? If we do we shall
be found in the condition of those that Jesus came to. What did
he say to them on a certain occasion? "It is written, my house
shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of
thieves." And he further said: "I send unto you Prophets, and
wise men, and scribes; and some of them ye shall kill and
crucify," Why? "That upon you may come all the righteous blood
shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Able unto the
blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the
temple and the altar." Infidels say, this is injustice, why
should they be condemned and held answerable for the blood of
their forefathers who were slain before they came into existence?
These very men had the chance to redeem them. The Messiah himself
stood before them inviting them to be taught in these principles
of salvation. The burden of his soul was to draw men to him that
they might be fed with the bread of life. "Come unto me, all ye
that are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon
you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye
shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my
burden is light." Would they do it? No. But on the contrary they
took John the Baptist and slew him; and they took Jesus and
crucified him. Why? said they, "His blood be on us and on our
children." Part of the Savior's mission was "to preach
deliverance to the captives," which he did when he passed to the
other side of the vail. They rejected the Gospel, and therefore
would not go into the Temple to administer in the ordinances on
behalf of their fathers who had not the opportunity to hear the
Gospel through the Savior, and could not pass through the
ordinances of his house; and they took part with their enemies
and with those who slew the Prophets and consequently they were
under this condemnation. The work that was required at their
hands is required of us, namely to perform ordinances for our
fathers and forefathers which they were not permitted to do for
themselves while living in the flesh. Let us lay our hand to and
never cease our labors until the Temples of our God are erected,
and our fathers' hearts are warmed into their knowing that their
children are laboring for their redemption.
53
Our fathers, for many generations, knew not the Gospel. Hireling
ministers preach, and have preached for years, what they conceive
to be the truth. But God has, in our day spoken from the heavens;
he has proclaimed the regeneration of the human family, the
redemption of Zion and the establishment of His kingdom in power.
And he has told us that he would make us instrumental to this
end. Then if we would have our sons be faithful, and not infidel
in their hearts let our acts conform with our doctrine, let them
understand from our conduct and the spirit within us, that we
love God more than we love anything in earth; that we revere His
Apostles, from the fact that we listen to their counsels and
carry out their instructions. And I will tell you, my brethren,
that our children will respect and honor us; and when we sleep we
will be numbered among the blessed dead who die in the Lord; and
we will rest from our labors, and our works will follow us. There
is no consistency in our acts when we say, we will receive this
principle or doctrine and reject another. If we have the Spirit
of the Lord within us, we well know, as has been said, that Jesus
is the Christ; but if we lose claim to the Holy Spirit, we can no
longer testify that Jesus is the Christ and that His Apostles are
his ministers. And when once bereft of this we enter into
temptations, and by and by fall into darkness, and will be found
walking in bye and forbidden paths, and our sons and daughters
begin to view us with distrust, and they say in their hearts,
"Surely, father must have lost faith, for he does not practice
what he once professed."
54
As I have said, we have left our homes; for what? To be taught to
be instructed by the servants of the Lord, in other words, to do
the will of God, and not of man. And the Lord's manner of
instruction is to give line upon line, precept upon precept, here
a little and there a little, until we become perfect in the
knowledge of his laws. Under these circumstances we will not
refuse to go and proclaim the Gospel to the world of mankind,
without purse or scrip; we will not refuse to contribute of our
substance to build temples to His name, neither will we reject
any of the counsels of the Almighty. Are we not to have the full
liberty of our agency? Yes; and we are to be responsible for our
conduct; just as much as Moses was when he undertook to rescue
his brethren from bondage. There is a danger of becoming
faint-hearted. You remember what Jesus said: "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." How is it to-day? Only a few consult the Spirit. Has he not
likewise said, the kingdom of heaven shall be likened unto ten
virgins, five of them wise and five foolish. Has he not said the
kingdom of heaven is like unto a net which is cast into the sea,
it gathers of all kinds of fishes, and that when the net is
brought to shore, a separation takes place? I would ask if it is
difficult for Latter-day Saints to perceive that a separation
must sooner or later take place among us? This work in which we
are engaged is the kingdom of God, and those who are found
keeping the commandments of God will be possessed of His Holy
Spirit, they will know the voice of the good shepherd, and the
place where they have been fed, and them he will separate from
the wicked even as a shepherd divideth the sheep from the goats.
The Holy Spirit is given to men, who have rendered obedience to
the requirements of the Gospel, to enable them to comprehend the
will of the Father, or that they may know the voice of the true
shepherd; and it is only by constant watching, living the lives
of purity and uprightness and carefully eschewing evil, that we
can retain it in our hearts, as our guide and revelator, after we
have received in the way prescribed. Peter was enabled to say, in
answer to a question put to him by the Savior, "Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God." It was by virtue of the
Spirit of God which he possessed, that he was enabled to say
this, nothing but is could reveal that knowledge to him. And it
was against his spirit he said the gates of hell should not
prevail; and it is this same Spirit that enabled Peter to say
that Jesus was the Christ enables us to declare that these men
who preside over us are His Apostles, servants of the living God.
But let a man, possessing his Holy Ghost indulge in drinking,
profane the name of Deity, or violate in any way his covenants,
will he then enjoy its light and influence? No; the Spirit of the
Lord dwells not in the tabernacles of such men. What is their
condition? They may be found in groups and on street-corners,
idling away their time, and assailing the characters of those God
has called to lead us, ever ready to cast doubt into the minds of
the honest; while their children, as a general thing, become like
unto them--distrustful, disobedient, and in time alienated from
God. There is only one way by which we can ensure eternal life,
and that is by abiding by all the counsels of God, seeking to
cherish in our hearts the quiet, peaceable influences of the Holy
Spirit, which will grow within us until we become fully
developed, perfect men and women, in the likeness and stature of
the Lord Jesus. And our children will also partake of this
influence. Will they all do so? They will, unless they are
inclined to be wilfully wicked, or we neglect to afford them such
care and attention as is due to them.
54
We know it is essential we should be faithful in all things: pay
our tithes and offerings, and let children be witnesses of our
faithfulness to God and His kingdom, and although they may wander
for a season from the true path, their hearts will warm towards
us in the days to come, and they will remember the examples and
precepts of their fathers and mothers, and they will say, I will
return to the God of my fathers, the communion of whose spirit I
enjoyed in childhood before I knew sin. And they will repent of
their folly, and like the Prodigal Son of the Scriptures, they
will learn to appreciate the good by the things they suffer. Let
us not be filled with jealousies, and vanities and strifes. Let
us cherish in our hearts the peaceful influences of God; they
will lead us to be good fathers, good husbands, to be good sons
and good daughters, and to be good wives and mothers; and the
blessings of the Almighty will rest upon us, and peace will flow
unto us, and prosperity will attend us, and our children will
inherit these blessings after us. And when the days of calamity
and the justice of God overhangs the nations, our children will
be found with oil in their lamps, prepared for the coming of the
Savior.
54
May God help us so to live that this may be our happy lot, is my
prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / John
Taylor, September 22, 1878
John Taylor, September 22, 1878
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered at Ogden, on Sunday Afternoon, September 22, 1878.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
THE CHURCH PARTIALLY IN THE UNITED ORDER--PERPETUAL EMIGRATION
FUND--BEING
EDUCATED TO A FULLNESS OF THE UNITED ORDER--CO-OPERATION AT
BRIGHAM CITY--UNION IN ELECTIONS--EDUCATION OF THE YOUNG.
56
As has been remarked, by others, I have been very much interested
in the remarks which have been made. They are things in which we
are all concerned. They are part of our religion, part of our
faith, part of the principles of the Gospel which we have
embraced; and as I stated at the priesthood meeting yesterday, so
I repeat now, for my part I do not know how to get around them if
I would. I cannot find any loop-hole whereby I can be excused. It
is true, as remarked by brother Snow, we are not now called upon
to enter into these things in their fullness and perfection, but
we are called upon to make steps towards it. We have been partly
in the United Order, many of us but we have not known it. For
instance, I remember the time, and many of you do, so far back as
Far West, in Missouri, when we were surrounded with difficulties
and had to leave the State in consequence of persecutions and the
intolerant feeling and persecution that existed there. We agreed
among ourselves to help one another, to use all the means, all
the teams and all the property we had to help each other out of
the State, until there should not be a person left there, that
wished to come away. We fulfilled it; and yet, properly and
technically speaking, we were not in the United Order, but we
were stimulated by the principles of union, liberty and
communion, if you please. We did the same thing, when in Nauvoo,
after the Prophet Joseph was killed, and mob-violence again
prevailed, and prosecution, tyranny and persecution were rife. We
had to leave that country. Was it because we had injured any one?
No. Because we had violated any law? No. Because we had
interfered with any body's right's? No. Because we were
troublesome in the community? No; but because we were Latter-day
Saints and because we chose to believe in a religion revealed to
us by God, and which the people would not let us do and live in
peace among them. What next? We met in the Temple of the Lord,
and there, with uplifted hands before God, we entered into a
covenant that we would help one another out with our means, as we
had done in the State of Missouri; and as we were coming to this
country we would not rest until there should not be a Latter-day
Saint there who desired to come to this land. Did we fulfill
that? We did; we carried it out to the very letter; we fulfilled
our covenants and sent our teams back year after year, until
there was not one left in the country that desired to come to
Zion. Was not this a United Order? Yes it was, in part, and we
have done a great deal of the same kind of thing since we came
here. So soon as we fulfilled that covenant, we organized a
Perpetual Emigration Fund Company, under the direction of
President Young, having for its object the gathering of the poor
from distant lands; and thousands and hundreds of thousands of
dollars were subscribed and used for that purpose. It was
organized on a wise principle, not exactly what you would call
the United Order; yet it was an order calculated to benefit our
poor brethren to bring them from their distant homes to unite
with us in Zion. Many of your present remember when we sent our
boys with our teams, loaded with provisions to bring them from
the frontiers. I am very sorry to say that a great many of them
have not lived up to the principles of that order in making good
their indebtedness, as it was calculated they would do in order
to make the fund perpetual in its operations, using the same
means to bring others here who were situated in a condition
similar to that of themselves. I say again, I am very sorry to
have to say that a great many have failed thus far to repay the
amount used to emigrate them, although in very many cases they
were abundantly able to do so,. Brother Carrington, who is
President of the Fund, informs me that there is now due to the
Perpetual Emigration Fund the sum of about one million dollars,
without interest, and if the interest were added it would be
about double that amount. That is one thing where in we have
failed in part to make good our agreement; but a great many have
met their obligations promptly and honorably. I wish we could say
the same of all those who have been assisted by this Fund. I hope
that those who are still owing for their emigration will be led
to reflect upon these things, and consider the situation of the
brethren who are now in the same position as they themselves were
some years ago.
56
This is a principle of union which has been abused; but it is
right, and shall we cease our endeavors in this direction because
it has been abused by thoughtless or dishonest men? No, we will
try and do what we can, with the aid of the Lord, to deliver
scattered Israel from the oppression and poverty under which many
are suffering. I would remark that of this sum now due to the
Fund, there is quite a large amount that has been advanced by the
Church to help out the poor. And if you were to hear the letters
that I receive, if you were addressed and supplicated and
importuned as I am from time to time in relation to these things,
describing the terrible condition and poverty under which the
people are laboring, you would feel that if common honesty could
not induce you to meet you obligations, that at least the
sympathies of human nature would prompt you to extend to others
that same kindness that has been extended to you. We should
reflect upon these things, and at least try to make them right.
59
But to return to the United Order; when the Bishops in those days
came around to you and informed you that so many men and teams,
with the necessary provisions, were needed to go east to bring in
the poor Saints, they were furnished. The Presidency and Twelve
made the calculations and apportionment of those teams. They were
then handed to the Bishops, and they called upon you, and you
furnished from one to two hundred, and as many as five hundred
started out in one season. I think this looked very much like the
United Order. Many of you, perhaps, have gone yourselves, or else
you have sent your boys to perform this labor; and you did not
let praying for them suffice, but you sent them food, and you
felt as we ought always to feel for one another. We have done a
great many such things. Now we are called upon to build temples.
Are we doing it? Yes. I suppose there are to-day upwards of 500
men engaged in building temples throughout the Territory. So
taking the temple at Manti, in Sanpete Valley, the Temple in Salt
Lake City and the temple in Logan, Cache Valley, all these things
are going on just about as well as we could reasonably expect,
and the people are contributing of their means and their
substance quite as liberally as we could expect. Is this the
United Order? Why, yes. What are we doing it for? For ourselves?
Yes. For anybody else? Yes; for our fathers and mothers, uncles
and aunts, and for those we do not know anything about. We are
building them because God has commanded it, and because the
ordinances of God will be performed in these houses; and so far
as this is concerned, we are in the United Order. Now, then, we
have tried to introduce home manufactures, a combination of
effort, not, as has been remarked, strictly according to the plan
laid down in the Doctrine and Covenants; we have not got to that
yet, we are not prepared for it, we are not educated to that
standard yet; but we are aiming at it, and in some places the
people are entering into it, not exactly according to any
particular law laid down in the Doctrine and Covenants, but
approaching it as near as circumstances will admit of it, in the
present state of society and with our present surroundings. The
great majority of the people to-day who have gone into Arizona
are approaching as near as they can to what we term the United
Order. Brother Snow has been operating for quite a while in that
way, and the result is that to-day in that little out-of-the-way
settlement, Brigham City, notwithstanding the many difficulties
it has had to cope with, having had its woolen factory burned
down as well as quite a number of other damaging misfortunes,
there is not a man, woman or child that wants labor there but
what can get it. I wish we could say the same of all the
settlements of this Territory, I think we should be in a better
position than we are to-day. In Brigham City the people make
their own cloth, their own boots and shoes, and almost everything
they need to sustain themselves, having upwards of forty
industrial departments all in running order. Well, but you say,
"the prices they have to pay for their goods are altogether to
high, and what a pity that is." Shall I tell you why they fix
their prices at a high rate. It is because the people are
desirous to have big wages. If they all agree among themselves to
fix the prices of their goods at certain rates, who is injured by
it? I can tell you how it is with them. The carpenter says to the
shoemaker. See there, you have charged me very high for those
shoes, and the shoemaker says, Yes, but then you charged me very
high for my doors and sash; while the farmer charges very high
for his wheat and flour. It makes no material difference whether
they charge fifty cents or ten dollars, so long as they agree
among themselves. A man working there is asked how much he gets a
day; Oh, three and a half and four dollars a day. That is pretty
good wages for a common hand, especially for these times, you
know. And he feels pretty well in telling you this part of it;
but he does not tell you how much the other folks get. Can a man
get a house built? Yes. Why? Because they have the masons and
carpenters, etc., and the expense attending it is charged to his
account. Then, if he wants to get butter, he does not put his
hands in his pockets to feel for the money, for perhaps there
would not be any there if he did; but he puts his hand in his
pocket for an order, which procures him his butter. Then, if he
wants a hat, he can get it; and the same may be said of
furniture, and so on all through the chapter. I think this is a
pretty good united order, and I think if we could have these
things all over the Territory, we should be doing much better
than we are. And I certainly cannot but praise the course the
Brother Snow has pursued in relation to these matters. In a place
called Orderville, too, they are doing very well; they have
things pretty much in common, and there is a good, kind and a
generous spirit prevailing among them. I remember talking to a
sister, who was quite an accomplished lady, and on seeing an old
man there, who was quite infirm tottering along, I said to her,
What kind of employment do you put such people to. She answered,
that she did not think it necessary to put such a man to any
employment; he has seen a great many years of hard toil, and if
we can feed him and clothe him and take care of him in his
declining years, perhaps somebody with the same spirit will take
care of us when we get old and infirm. Is not that a good spirit?
It think it is; I think it a right kind of feeling, a feeling we
should all have one towards another, all being bound together by
the bonds of the everlasting gospel, which makes us love one
another as God loves us; and feel for one another's welfare, and
pursue that course which will tend to bring about these results.
In Cache County, in Davis County, in Tooele County, and other
places, they are trying to establish the same order of things as
fast as they can. Here is Brother Farr, he went to work, with
others, and built a factory; he ought to be sustained by the
Latter-day Saints. They should take their wool to him; and if he
charges you a big price for his cloth, do with him as they do in
Brigham City; you charge him a big price for your wool. But let
us sustain one another, and place things on a proper basis, and
not be governed by the rules of the Gentiles. Gentileism and
Mormonism do not fit very well; the things of God and the things
of the Devil never did and never will fit well. Tanneries are
being introduced in many places among us; and a very good article
of leather is being manufactured, from which boots and shoes and
harness are made. The first thing started in relation to these
things was co-operation. President Young told us it was the will
of God that we should enter into it; and we did, but we made
awful bungling at it, the same as we have done with a great many
other things. But is it right to co-operate? Yes. But we find
people beginning to pull off in their own interests. If we go on
a little further in the way we are going, we shall take a
retrograde path, instead of going forward. But the ship of Zion
is onward; the "little stone" is hewn out of the mountain without
hands, and will roll until it fills the whole earth; and under
the direction of God we have a duty devolving upon us as his
Priesthood, to carry out his will upon the earth. And shall we,
because of individual interests and personalities draw off from
things that God has ordained? I say no, never! No, never! But let
us unite closer together, and harmonize our temporal interests,
until we shall manufacture everything we need to make us
independent of the world.
59
We took a vote at the Priesthood meeting, yesterday, and so far
as I could discern, the brethren all voted to sustain
co-operation, and that those in the merchandise business will
purchase of the co-op.
59
But some may say, have not the co-operative organizations made
many blunders? Yes, they have, and in many instances acted very
foolishly. But shall we give up the principle of co-operation
because of the unwise acts of a few individuals? We do not act
thus in regard to other matters. We baptize men into the Church,
and lay our hands upon them that they may receive the Holy Ghost,
and after they have thus been blessed with light, spirit and
power of God, many of them act very foolishly, violate their
covenants, and transgress the laws of God. Shall we, therefore,
repudiate baptism and the laying on of hands because of their
folly and wickedness? Certainly not. The Lord has provided a way
to purge the Church, and those men are dealt with according to
the laws of the Church, and are rooted out. This is the way that
we ought to manage our temporal affairs. If the people do wrong,
deal with them according to the laws of the Church, and if the
co-operatives do wrong, professing to be governed by correct
principle, deal with them in the same way, and let those wrongs
be righted and evil eradicated.
60
But we do not want to find fault nor cast reflections on our
brethren in the Co-op., nor on those out of it; but merely to
touch upon some important principles necessary for building up of
the kingdom of God upon the earth. As I have said, we took a vote
yesterday, and the brethren agreed to sustain co-operation, and I
would like to know from this congregation, whether you will
sustain co-operation as directed by the Priesthood or not. All
that are in favor of doing so, hold up the right hand. [The
congregation voted unanimously.] Let us stick to our covenants,
and get as near to correct principles as we can, and God will
help us. We want to be united in other things as well--in our
elections, for instance, we should act as a unit. Other men are
not ashamed to use their influence and operate in behalf of their
party; why should we? As American citizens, have we not the same
right? Yes, we have. Then let us be one and operate as one, for
God and his kingdom. And let us, as we are told in the Doctrine
and Covenants, select the wisest, the most prudent, intelligent
men, and put them in office, and maintain them in it. That is the
way for us to do; not be pulling apart, each one pursuing the
devices and desires of his own heart. The members of the Church
of England pray to the Lord every Sunday to forgive them for
following the devices and desires of their own hearts. Are we in
the Church and Kingdom of God? Are we instructed of God? If we
are let us honor our calling, and show to God, to angels, and
men, that we are true to our trust that he has conferred upon us;
and go on in the good work and aim at more union. And while we
have done a great deal of good, let us try to do more. And in
regard to schools and the education of the young, I would endorse
most emphatically what brother Cannon has said in relation to
this matter. We have committed to our care pearls of great price;
we have become the fathers and mothers of lives, and the Gods and
the Holy Priesthood in the eternal worlds have been watching us
and our movements in relation to these things. We do not want a
posterity to grow up that will be ignorant, depraved, corrupt,
and fallen, that will depart from every principle of right; but
one that will be intelligent and wise, possessing literary and
scientific attainments, and a knowledge of everything that is
good, praiseworthy, intellectual and beneficial in the world, and
become acquainted with the earth on which we stand, and the
elements of which it is composed, and by which we are surrounded,
and know how to control them and manage them, and how to put to
the best use everything that comes within our reach. And above
all other things, teach our children the fear of God. Let our
teachers be men of God, imbued with the Spirit of God, that they
may lead them forth in the paths of life, and warn them against
the various evils and iniquities that prevail in the world, that
they may bear off this kingdom when we get through, and be
valiant in the truths of God. Teach them how to approach God,
that they may call upon him and he will hear them, and by their
means we will build up and establish Zion, and roll forth that
kingdom which God has designed shall rule and reign over the
nations of the earth. We want to prepare them for these things;
and to study from the best books as well as by faith, and become
acquainted with the laws of nations, and of kingdoms and
governments, and with everything calculated to exalt, ennoble,
and dignify the human family. We should build good commodious
school-houses, and furnish them well; and then secure the
services of the best teachers you can, and thus "train up your
children in the way they should go." Solomon said, if you do,
"when they are old they will not depart from it."
61
I am very pleased to find out that there is a great deal of
interest manifested in regard to our youth. I see three of our
brethren here--brothers Goddard, Evans, and Willes; they have
been out visiting some of the settlements in the interests of the
Sunday Schools; I wish to encourage such men in their labors, for
they fully realize that a great mission has been committed to
them, to teach the youth of this people. And then, there is our
Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations; they are very good
institutions, and we have some very excellent young men, that are
rising up and going among the youth, calling upon them to study
and understand the laws of God. And all the Elders of Israel
ought to sustain such men in their operations. And then the
ladies associated with the Relief Societies have rendered
themselves very efficient. Let them operate for the good of all,
and as mothers in Israel, let them be united and lay aside every
petty jealousy and little feelings that are wrong, and be one;
and let the Bishops assist them, as well as the Young Ladies
Mutual Improvement Associations, in their labors in the interest
of the female portion of society, and all objects of mercy and
charity, or anything that comes within their reach. And I say,
God bless you, sisters, and lead you in the paths of life that
you may prove yourselves worthy of the highest trust committed to
your care. And throughout all of our institutions, let us sustain
the right and put down the wrong and be valiant for the truth,
asking no odds of this world, for God is on the side of Israel,
and he will defend us if we obey his laws and keep his
commandments. Are we going to be broken up? Will this plan of our
enemies, spoken of by brother Cannon, be accomplished? No. Will
this people fail of their mission? No, but many of them will, and
many of them will be rooted out. But the work of God will go on,
and Zion will progress; and if we can put ourselves in the
harness to fulfill the various obligations devolving upon us, God
will be with us, and will lead us in the right path. We want
everybody to perform their duties, in all the various branches of
the Priesthood, every man to operate for God, and not in his
individual interests. This is what we ought to strive for, and to
be on the side of Zion and operate for the welfare of Israel and
for the establishment of righteousness. We want our Seventies and
High Priests to wake up, and our young Elders and middle-aged
Elders to feel the responsibilities of the mission that rests
upon them. The world has to be evangelized, the Gospel has to be
proclaimed to all nations. God has laid it especially upon the
Seventies, with the others to assist them. And we call upon the
Seventies and High Priests to wake up, to assume the
responsibilities that devolve upon them, and prepare themselves
to do the work of God. For instead of being through and having
finished our work we are only just beginning to prepare ourselves
for the conflict. Wars and rumors of wars are beginning to sound
in our ears; the terrible day is fast approaching, and God
requires it at our hands that we prepare to go forth to the
nations of the earth to proclaim to them the words of life. Never
mind what people can do among us, we ask no odds of them. God is
with Israel if Israel will only be with God. And if the world
will only treat us fifty per cent as well as we have treated
them, it is all we ask of them; and if they won't, we will still
continue to do them good. And when the day comes that all men
will be brought to justice, we want to feel conscientiously free
from the blood of this generation. Do we want the aged and infirm
to go and preach the Gospel. No. Had there been time yesterday, I
would have very much liked to have heard the brethren of the
priesthood express their feelings; but I would say to you, High
Priests, get together and humble yourselves before God, seek unto
Him for wisdom to guide you in all your operations, and prepare
yourselves to magnify your offices in the various duties of your
calling, which is really that of presiding, that when changes may
take place in the present Stakes, or other Stakes may be
organized, you may be prepared as President and council, as
Bishops and council, as High Councils, or whatever office you may
be called to fill, and I would say the same to the Seventies and
also to the Elders, prepare to magnify your callings; let us
humble ourselves before God, and purify ourselves and walk in
uprightness before him and live our religion and magnify our
calling, and be quick and active and diligent and energetic in
the performance of our duties, and the power of God will rest
upon the Priesthood, and they will be prepared to go to the
nations to proclaim the Gospel message to all peoples.
62
I do not know how many we will want to call at our approaching
conference; I have had applications for twenty to fill missions
in the Southern States, besides a great many other places, but
whether few or many be needed, we must be in readiness at all
times and under all circumstances to magnify our Priesthood and
to do everything required of us. We will build our Temples and be
Saviors on Mount Zion, and the kingdom will be our Lord's.
62
God bless you and lead you in the paths of life. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / Orson
Pratt, August 25, 1878
Orson Pratt, August 25, 1878
DISCOURSE BY ELDER ORSON PRATT,
Delivered at the Thirteenth Ward Assembly Rooms, Sunday Evening,
August 25, 1878.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
THE BOOK OF MORMON--PROMISES TO THE LAMANITES--OBJECTS OF THE
RECORD--THE BOOK OF ABRAHAM--GIFTS TO THE CHURCH--BENEFIT OF
IMMEDIATE REVELATION--THE GREATER THINGS SHOWN TO THOSE WHO
RECEIVE THE RECORD--THE VISION OF MOSES--THE CREATION, ETC.
65
There is a sentence in the Book of Mormon, (p. 510) that has come
to my mind, which I will read, "And whoso receiveth this record,
and shall not condemn it because of the imperfections which are
in it, the same shall know of greater things than these." This
passage from the Book of Mormon is one that I do not remember
having chosen as a foundation of any special remarks. It is one
that applies directly to the present generation--the people that
should live on the earth at the time that the Lord our God should
bring forth this record, and affording them the opportunity of
reading its contents. They were written by the Prophet Moroni,
who was the only man of his nation--the Nephites, who was
righteous; his nation having been destroyed a few years before he
penned this sentence. It is true a few of his nation had deserted
and gone to the opposite nations--the Lamanites, and a few had
fled at the general destruction; but they were hunted down by the
Lamanites, and were destroyed as a people. Moroni, being a
Prophet of God, would not join that nation in their wickedness
and idolatry, and the only way he could preserve his life was to
keep himself secreted and hidden from the knowledge of the
Lamanites. While concealing himself from his enemies, he finished
the record of the Book of Mormon. The latest date which he gives
in the record is 420 years after the birth of Christ, according
to the signs that were given on this American continent,
concerning his birth. Thirty-six years prior to this time his
nation was destroyed in what we term as the State of New York,
around about a hill, called by that people the Hill of Cumorah,
when many hundreds of thousands of Nephites--men, women and
children, fell, during the greatest battle that they had had with
the Lamanites. For 36 years this prophet of God kept himself hid,
and wrote as he was prompted by the spirit of inspiration, and
finally hid up the plates of gold, containing the records in the
hill of Cumorah, with the promise which the Lord gave him that
these records should come to light in the last days, that He
himself would bring them forth by his own wisdom and power. And
he also tells us his object, namely, to benefit the Gentiles who
should occupy this American continent--the Promised Land, as they
term it; and also for the benefit of other nations of Gentiles to
whom the book should afterwards be sent; and when they should
reject it, the Lord would cause it to be published to the
remnants of the Lamanites inhabiting this country, whom we call
American Indians, which shall be the means of revealing to them
the history of their forefathers, and also certain promises made
to them as a branch of the house of Israel, setting forth that
many of their descendants should believe the record when it
should be made know to them, and that they should be instructed
in the things of God, and the curse which has degenerated them to
their present low condition, should be removed, and that they
should lay down their weapons of war, and that they should cease
to war and commit murders, and thefts and robberies, and that
they should become a peaceable, and also a white and delightsome
people. These are the predictions given in the Book of Mormon as
some of the objects of the bringing forth of that record in the
last days. And among other objects that the Lord had in view was,
that he might enlighten the minds of the people in regard to the
Gospel in all it plainness, and fulness, and all its promises,
blessings, gifts and ordinances; so that the people, the Gentles,
to whom this record should be sent, might have no excuse for
rejecting it, and also that the Gospel might be established in
the earth in its purity, according to ancient prophecies. Another
object was, that he might build up his church among the Gentiles,
if they should believe in this record and in the preaching of His
servants when they should be sent forth in the last days among
them, testifying to its truthfulness. In speaking of this work
which the Lord is doing in the earth, we sometimes call it the
Church of God, and we also speak of it as the kingdom of God. It
is both, God himself being the King; not a civil power, not a
civil government in the earth, for we already have established
here upon this choice land a government wherein all classes of
religious people may worship God as they please; but the Lord
intended among these various religions and ecclesiastic
denominations, to have a peculiar denomination, a peculiar
people, a peculiar church, which he denominates his kingdom, and
himself as the great law-giver in this kingdom. Another object
was that men might have more faith than what they had been in
possession of in the former generations of apostacy and
wickedness, and that the faith which the ancient Saints exercised
might again dwell in the hearts of the children of men. For
instance, a power of faith, through our repentance and through
our obedience to the ordinances of baptism, to receive that
greater and miraculous baptism of the Holy Ghost. And that this
gift, this baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost which should be
given to all the members of the Church of God, should put them in
possession of certain gifts, which no other people on the face of
the whole earth should have or know anything about, providing the
members of the Church were worthy to possess them. I will name,
in short, the various gifts that the Lord intended to be given to
this people. In the latter days, when this record should be
brought forth, he intended, in the first place, to raise up a
great and mighty Prophet to translate the divine book. This was
fulfilled before the rise of the Church about 50 years ago. This
Prophet who was raised up to perform this work was permitted to
take these records out of the hill where Moroni had deposited
them some 420 years after Christ. This Prophet was spoken of in
the records, and the work that he should perform was also spoken
of. And notwithstanding his youth and inexperience in regard to
the learning and wisdom of the world, he proved himself a great a
mighty man of God; he not only was the instrument in the hands of
God of bringing to light the Book of Mormon, but also received
numerous other revelations which were contained in this book
called the Doctrine and Covenants, a book that contains nearly as
much reading matter as the Book of Mormon; and besides these you
will find that many of the revelations were given by him which
are found in what is called the new edition of the Pearl of Great
Price, published by the Deseret News Office, which gives a
knowledge of things that took place in the creation much more
fully than what is described in the book of Genesis, giving an
account of a great many occurrences and events that transpired
before the flood, also giving us much information of the Gospel
that was taught in those early ages, and giving us some very
important prophecies, reaching down to the present period of the
world, and also prophecies that reach down still further, from
the present day to the end of the world. These are not the only
revelations, given through this great modern Prophet. The Lord
brought to light sacred records from the Catacombs of Egypt.
After several hundred men had wrought and toiled for many months
in digging down one of these vast structures, they entered into
its interior; they found a great number of mummies--the bodies of
persons that had been preserved since the catacomb was built, and
some eleven of these mummies, well preserved, were taken out by
these men, and they finally fell into the hands of a person named
H. Chandler. They were sent from Egypt to Ireland, where it was
supposed he resided, but learning that he resided in America,
they were sent to him. After receiving the mummies he began to
take off some of the ancient covering or wrapping, and to his
astonishment he found upon the breast of one of these mummies a
record written upon ancient papyrus in plain characters, written
both in black and red inks, or stains, or colors. And the mummies
and the records were exhibited by Mr. Chandler, in New York,
Philadelphia, and many of the Eastern States of our Union; and
thousands of people saw them, and among them many learned men;
and these characters were presented to them, and not unfrequently
was Mr. Chandler referred to "Joe" Smith as they used to term
him, who, they said, pretended to have translated some records
that he found in the western part of New-York, and that if Mr.
Chandler would go and see him perhaps he would translate those
ancient characters. Many of these references were made with the
intention of ridiculing Mr. Smith; but it so happened that in
traveling through the country, he visited Kirtland, Ohio, where
the Prophet Joseph Smith resided, bringing the mummies and the
ancient papyrus writings with him. Mr. C. had also obtained from
learned men the best translation he could of some few characters,
which however, was not a translation, but more in the shape of
their ideas with regard to it, their acquaintance with the
language not being sufficient to enable them to translate it
literally. After some conversation with the Prophet Joseph, Mr.
Chandler presented to him the ancient characters, asking him if
he could translate them. The prophet took them and repaired to
his room and inquired of the Lord concerning them. The Lord told
him they were sacred records, containing the inspired writings of
Abraham when he was in Egypt, and also those of Joseph, while he
was in Egypt; and they had been deposited, with these mummies,
which had been exhumed. And he also enquired of the Lord
concerning some few characters which Mr. Chandler, gave him by
way of a test, to see if he could translate them. The Prophet
Joseph translated these characters and returned them, with the
translation to Mr. Chandler; and who, in comparing it with the
translation of the same few characters by learned men, that he
had before obtained, found the two to agree. The Prophet Joseph
having learned the value of these ancient writings was very
anxious to obtain them, and expressed himself wishful to purchase
them. But Mr. Chandler told him that he would not sell the
writings, unless he could sell the mummies, for it would detract
from the curiosity of his exhibition; Mr. Smith inquired of him
the price which was a considerable sum, and finally purchased the
mummies and the writing all of which he retained in his
possession for many years; and they were seen by all the Church
that saw proper to visit the house of the Prophet Joseph and also
by hundreds of strangers.
68
The Prophet translated the part of these writings which, as I
have said is contained in the Pearl of Great Price, and known as
the Book of Abraham. Thus you see one of the first gifts bestowed
by the Lord for the benefit of His people, was that of
revelation--the gift to translate, by the aid of the Urim and
Thummim, the gift of bringing to light old and ancient records.
Have any of the other denominations got this gift among them? Go
and inquire through all of Christendom and do not miss one
denomination. Go and ask the oldest Christian associations that
are extant; go to Italy, headquarters, and ask the man that holds
the greatest power and authority in the Romish Church, "Can you
translate ancient records written in a language that is lost to
the knowledge of man?" "No," he would say, "we cannot, it is out
of my power to do it." Go to Russia and inquire of the heads of
the church of Greek Catholics, if they can do this; and they will
give you, substantially, the same answer. Then try the later, and
the present day denominations, inquire of every one of them,
beginning with the Lutherans and the Calvinists, and the Church
of England, and then put the same question to all of the branches
that have sprung from them; as well as to those that have come
into existence by other means; and the universal reply of the
Christian denominations, numbering some 400,000,000, would be
that they have not the power to do it. Ask them if they pretend
to possess supernatural power from God, to accomplish a work of
this nature; and they will all tell you that God have never
bestowed such power upon any of their ministers. And then, if it
were possible, ask the 400,000,000 of the Christians, scattered
throughout Asia, Europe, America and the islands of the seas, if
a man can be found among them endowed, as ancient seers were,
with the gift to see, or as ancient revelators were who told
future events, what should befall men and nations and their final
destiny; and the universal reply will be, O, no, such things are
all done away. Here then the very first gift that the Lord set in
his church, is a peculiar gift so far as the religions of the
world are concerned, not peculiar so far as the Church of Christ
is concerned, but so far as the religious world in the four
quarters of the earth is concerned, we have something which they
have not got, and something that is in accordance with the Bible.
What man, I would ask further, among all the religions of the
earth, for the last seventeen centuries, that has possessed the
Urim and Thummim, the gift that would constitute him a seer and a
revelator? There may have been some seventeen thousand million of
people that have passed off from our globe without such gifts
being among them; and they were gifts given to the people of God
before the advent of the Savior, and that were enjoyed by his
servants that lived contemporary with him and with those who
lived after he had performed his mission to the earth, and
ascended to heaven. Then, in speaking to strangers, I would say,
you must give us credit of at least professing to have these
great and important gifts, gifts which all the other religions of
the world do not even profess to be in possession of. Let me
candidly enquire, which is the most pleasing in the sight of God,
for people to obtain the great and precious things which come
through the operation of the Holy Ghost? or for people to have no
information, no instruction for some seventeen hundred years,
only what they could glean out of the writings of some of the
ancient Seers, or Prophets, or Revelators, or apostles, who have
lived and who have died centuries ago? Perhaps strangers might
claim that they have the writings of those favored men of God,
and that they need no more, and that all the generations of men
since the days that such men of God fell asleep needed no further
instruction than that which was given to former-day Saints. The
strangers present will readily concede this to be the sentiment,
the belief and testimony of all, or nearly all the religious
people upon the face of the whole earth. You also know if you
have read the history of Christendom for seventeen centuries
past, that their belief and testimony in this respect have been
similar to those entertained by Christianity of to-day. Now, I
ask again, which is the more Godlike, which is the more in
accordance with the Bible, for a people to enjoy the same gifts
that were enjoyed by the people of God in earlier dispensations,
or to be obliged to depend upon some one else's gift who has long
ago passed away? Now, any consistent religious man will give his
testimony on religious affairs independent of the traditions of
his fathers, and would say in his own mind, it is ore consistent
for us to have Revelators, Prophets, Seers and Translators
inspired from heaven in our Church, it is more in accordance with
the Bible to be in possession of those gifts ourselves than to
depend upon Revelators and Seers of former ages. I do not suppose
for a moment that there is any consistent person but that, if
left to his own reasoning, would say that this is certainly the
more reasonable and the more consistent; and especially when the
Bible is referred to, in which there is nothing limiting the
generations that have lived upon the earth for seventeen
centuries in regard to these gifts. It is more consistent than
when God should raise up a Church he should have Prophets, Seers
and Revelators in that Church, inspired men, men that can receive
the word of the living God, upon all the subjects that should
come before them which might concern the people. How many
millions of questions and matters of more or less magnitude might
be cited for which no instruction could be found in the Bible
that would be at all suitable to the circumstances. Take any one
individual among the many of the human family, and you could find
thousands of things, pertaining to his individual welfare and
temporal circumstances, that he could never learn out of the
Bible. The Lord guides and directs the temporal as well as the
spiritual affairs of his people; he always has done so. How many
thousands of things does a single head of a family need to know,
in regard to his own temporal circumstances, what course he
should take most pleasing to the Almighty, whether to pursue this
course or that branch of business, or whether to pursue some
other branch of business, wherein he might do the most good; and
wherein he could glorify God most; and which would be the
greatest blessing for his household and family, and wherein he
could please the Lord and live more uprightly and more godly, and
more consistently and honestly, by pursuing one branch of
business rather than that of another. All these things concern
every head of a family; therefore, if he had the spirit of
revelation, if he could go and inquire of the Lord, if he found
it to be the whisperings of his spirit which course to pursue in
temporal matters, what a great blessing it would be for him; and
then not for that one person only, but for all his sons as they
grow up, and for his wives, if he have a number of wives. The
Lord used to give revelation not only to the head of a family,
but also to a man's wives. Read, for instance, what the Lord
revealed to the wives of Jacob, how he used to reveal a great
many things to Rachel, a great many things to Leah, a great many
things to Bilhah, and a great many things to Zilpah. These four
wives were revelators; they were prophetesses; they were
individuals that could inquire of the Lord, and obtain an answer
from him; and we have their revelations recorded in the
Scriptures. We call their revelations the Word of God to them.
What a benefit it would be for a man who had three or four or
half a dozen wives, who could receive the world of the Lord in
relation to their several duties; how calculated it would be to
produce peace, and union, and salvation in the family and
household. And what great comfort it would be for a man if he had
several wives, and knew by the spirit of revelation how to deal
in relation to all his domestic and temporal affairs, according
to the mind and will of God. Again, how great would be the
benefit to a body of people--to say nothing of households and
families--located for instance, in one region of the county, a
people who were united together according to the law of God,
desiring to advance each others welfare and happiness, and each
man was required to love his neighbor as himself; a people who
knew how to so conduct their temporal affairs that each man's
neighbor might be benefitted as well as himself; and each one
looking not only for his own welfare or that of his own
household, but for the welfare of the whole community, with whom
he was associated, producing at least that unity and oneness
which the Lord requires in the numerous revelations which he has
given.
68
It requires revelation then; it requires revelation for one
single branch of the church located in one region of the country;
how much more necessary, when there are numerous branches, and
that those branches should know their duties in regard to one
another, that they might not work against one another's interests
in any way or manner, but on the contrary, labor for the mutual
benefit of all the branches of the Church and Kingdom of God, and
thus preserve means, even as Joseph did in Egypt. Joseph was a
man that sought after riches, he advised King Pharaoh to seek
after riches, by building storehouses, and procuring as much of
the surplus grain as he could, during the seven years of
plentiful harvest which he foretold, and to store it away for
future use. Some people might have supposed, if they had lived in
that day, that Joseph was a great speculator, and wanted to take
advantage of the people, getting rich himself at their expense.
But the Lord directed this; he gave a revelation, clearly showing
what would be necessary for the salvation of the Egyptian and
also the children of Israel who were sojourning in the land.
Hence we perceive it was necessary to get revelation in regard to
temporal matters, and that without it the famine would have come
upon them unawares and destroyed hundreds of thousands of people,
and they would have perished over all the land. Hence by the few
words of revelation given through a Prophet of God, that lived in
their midst, millions of people were saved alive.
68
If we trace the history of the people of God we shall find it a
history of revelations of God to man given for the purpose of
directing them as individuals, as families, as neighborhoods, as
tribes and as peoples, directing them in regard to their temporal
affairs, as well as concerning the great matters that pertain to
a future state of existence.
69
I mention this in order to refer to the text which I have taken.
He that receives this record, and shall not condemn it because of
imperfections that are in it, the same shall know of greater
things than these. That is, they shall know of greater things
than what are contained in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon
contains some wonderful things about the colonization of this
country soon after the flood, the history of a certain nation
that lived here some sixteen or seventeen centuries; then of
another nation that succeeded it, and that lived here some 600
years before Christ, and down to the time that the records were
hid up. Great things, historically, are revealed in this book
great thing are revealed in it concerning prophecies that are yet
to take place, and that have already taken place--when this
record was translated. Not only this, but it contains the Gospel
of the Son of God. I mean the first principles of the Gospel--the
principles of faith in God and in his Son Jesus Christ;
repentance--turning away from sin, from all unrighteousness;
baptism by immersion in water for the remission of sins; the gift
and power of the Holy Ghost to be shed forth upon those who
should receive this record--that is, receive its truths and obey
them. It does not mean those who should read this record and not
perform the things that are contained therein; the promise is not
extended to them. "Whoso receiveth this record." That is,
receives the Gospel therein contained, will assuredly believe in
Christ; will assuredly repent of his sins; will assuredly be
baptized for the remission of his sins; and will assuredly be
confirmed by the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy
Ghost. No man or woman that fails to comply with these things
that I have named--believes and receives the record; they may
pretend to believe the record, they may say it appears to be a
very good record, and it speaks as if it might be true; but
unless they do receive it, by obeying its ordinances, and it
institutions, and complying with the principles of the Gospel,
they would not be entitled to the promise recorded in the words
of my text, "They shall know of greater things than these." I
would ask, if the Latter-day Saints know of anything greater than
that which is contained in the Book of Mormon. What a wonderful
thing the Book of Mormon is, to be brought forth by an angel sent
from heaven to be translated from the ancient languages of this
country into our english language, to have the Urim and Thummim
given to the translator by which the words were translated. What
a great and wonderful thing the Book of Mormon is so far as its
prophecies are concerned so far as its history and its doctrine
are concerned; and so far as its predictions of those thing which
are immediately in the future are concerned, what a great benefit
it has been to us Latter-day Saints to read our own history
before it comes to pass.
70
I might take up a whole discourse in showing how the Book of
Mormon has been fulfilled since it has been translated up to the
present time, in the bringing forth of the Gospel from among the
Gentiles. The persecutions that they should endure are predicted
in the Book of Mormon. It is a great thing, it is a wonderful
thing. In fact it is just what Isaiah said it would be in
prophesying of the Book; he said it should be a marvelous work
and a wonder. But the people who should receive this record
should know of greater things. What greater things have we
learned? We might have searched the Book of Mormon from beginning
to end, and we never could have learned the perfect organization
of the kingdom of God upon the earth, such as we now find it in
the midst of this people. We might have read in the Book of
Mormon about the Melchizedek priesthood, as it existed among the
Nephites; we might have read of the Aaronic priesthood such as
also existed in this land; and we might, too, have read about the
first principles of the Gospel and about Twelve Apostles chosen
among the ancient Nephites; but do we read of the manner in which
the Nephites were organized after they were baptized and received
the Holy Ghost? No. Why? Because the Lord saw proper to withhold
this from us, deeming it proper to reveal it through the
patriarch Joseph, whom he would raise us, as something greater
than the Book of Mormon should contain; showing that there were
to be Twelve Apostles in our day. Did the Book of Mormon inform
us that we were to have twelve Apostles? No. The Lord therefore
have greater things to this people who believed the record that
had come unto us, by revealing directly that we were to have
raised up in this dispensation twelve men, called Apostles, and
that they should go forth and preach this Gospel, first to the
Gentile nations, and when the times of the Gentiles should be
fulfilled, they should go forth and preach His Gospel to the
scattered remnants of the house of Israel. This was taught when
the revelation was given soon after the last part of the Book of
Mormon was translated; that the Lord would raise up a Church;
that he would call twelve men and send them forth as apostles,
that he would build up his Church among the Gentiles first; that
he would, when their times were fulfilled, send them to the house
of Israel, to bring the people back to a knowledge of the Gospel.
70
Now this was new information to the people. They at first learned
the Book of Mormon, and having learned it, having been taught
concerning what God taught ancient Israel on this land, then the
Lord revealed unto them greater things according to the promise
in our text by telling them what should be done directly in our
midst.
70
Then again, what could we learn from either the Bible or Book of
Mormon in regard to three glories--the celestial, the terrestrial
and the telestial glories? What did we know concerning those that
should inhabit these various worlds of glory? Nothing at all. It
was merely referred to in Paul's writings, that there were three
glories, "one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon,
and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from
another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead."
But Paul left us here; he did not tell us anything about the
celestial, or anything about terrestrial, or telestial glories;
he told us nothing about the inhabitants of these worlds, nor
anything about the laws by which these different glorified worlds
were governed but merely referred to them in a few words and then
dropped it. The people, to whom he was writing may have known all
about the subject he so casually referred to, if they did, the
knowledge they possessed was not handed down to us. But the Lord,
on the 16th day of February, 1832, poured out His Spirit from on
high while Joseph was engaged in the work of translating another
record, and also upon his scribe, and they saw in vision the
celestial world, and they were commanded to write a portion of
the things which they saw, to write about the greatness and power
and majesty and the knowledge of the people who inherit the
celestial world. And they were also shown, in the same manner the
terrestrial world and the inhabitants thereof and their glory,
and what their condition would be in the eternal worlds; and then
they descended also in their vision and beheld the lesser or
telestial glory, and they saw the inhabitants that dwelt there
and comprehended the laws by which they were governed. Some of
these things they were commanded to write while there were things
which they beheld which they were strictly commanded not to
write, as the world was not worthy to receive them. Neither was
the Church, at that time, prepared to receive a full knowledge
concerning these things. But that portion which they were
permitted to write they wrote, and it has been printed now some
40 years for the Saints and for the inhabitants of the world to
learn concerning the future condition of all those that shall
pass out of this state of existence behind the vail.
72
Here, then, were greater things made manifest than those in the
Book of Mormon, or those in the Bible. Whoso receives this record
and shall not condemn it because of imperfections, the same shall
know of greater things. "But," says one, "what imperfections
could there be in the writings of an inspired man?" I will tell
you. Imperfections may creep in through the printing press,
unless there was some expert person to examine the printing of
the Book. There might be imperfections creep in through the
persons that recorded these things--Moroni and the various
prophets that preceded him who wrote upon the plates.
Imperfections might occur through the omission of some words. But
one of the Prophets says, he knew of no imperfection in the
record; nevertheless, the Lord knew all, therefore, he said judge
not, lest ye be judged; judge not with harsh judgment, lest ye be
judged harshly--that is unrighteously. Probably the individual in
reading the first edition of the Book of Mormon from the hands of
the printer, knew of no error so far as the printing was
concerned. But when we came to examine the first edition, and
even all the editions, we found some few little imperfections
that were introduced chiefly of a typographical nature. Well,
those who will not condemn the work of God because of such little
things, have the promise that they shall know of greater things
than these. The Latter-day Saints are witnesses. You have upon
your shelves the Book of Covenants and Commandments, the
revelations of heaven, you also are in possession of the Pearl of
Great Price, containing the vision of Moses, that great and
glorious vision which he received on the mount, revealing to him
the history of the creation of the world. The Lord saw proper to
descend upon a certain mountain before Moses, and showed himself
to him, and the glory of God rested upon Moses so that he stood
in the presence of the Lord; and the Lord showed unto Moses the
works of his hands in relation to the various creations that he
had made. And when Moses began to inquire of the Lord, the Lord
said unto him, No man can behold all my works, except he behold
all my glory; and no man can behold all my glory and afterwards
remain in the flesh upon the earth. Here, then, Moses began to
understand that it was not for him as a mortal personage to cast
his eyes forth and behold all the infinite creations of the
Almighty dispersed through boundless space; but the Lord was
willing that he should know in part. And Moses, when he saw the
glory of God, and the things with which he was surrounded,
pertaining to the planetary systems, he began to wonder and
marvel, as you and I would do if we had the privilege of gazing
in vision upon the works of God. And while he was marveling at
what he had seen, the Lord for some reason, withdrew from him,
probably to try him, to see if he would be faithful to him. And
when the Spirit of the Lord was taken from him, and the glory of
God had withdrawn from him and the Lord himself had departed from
before him, Moses was left to himself. O how weak! He fell to the
earth, and for the space of many hours he did not receive his
natural strength. And when in this weak, fallen condition he
exclaimed, I know now that man is nothing; and he began to call
upon the Lord to restore his strength. And Satan, we learn, took
advantage of Moses on this occasion, while thus left to himself,
and came and stood before him, and said Moses, son of man, I am
the Only Begotten, worship me. Moses looked upon Satan and
perceived the difference at once between the glorious personage
that had appeared to him a short time before, and the personage
of Satan. And Moses in looking upon this strange visitor said,
Where is thy glory that I should worship thee? Behold, I could
not look upon God save his glory were upon me; but I can look
upon thee in my natural state. Having said so much to him, he
commanded him to depart; but being so weak his faith was not
strong enough to prevail against Satan, hence he did not leave at
his bidding. Moses then called upon God, and Satan began to
tremble and the earth began to shake; and Satan went upon the
earth, and commanded Moses, saying, I am the Only Begotten,
worship me. But Moses still called upon God for strength, and the
Lord heard and answered his prayers; and he then commanded Satan,
in the name of the Only Begotten Son, to depart; and he was
rebuked from his presence. And again Moses lifted up his voice to
heaven and cried to the Lord, and the glory of God began to come
upon him; and the Lord stood in his presence again, and Moses
lifted up his voice to heaven and cried to the Lord, and the
glory of God began to come upon him; and the Lord stood in his
presence again, and Moses was again filled with his glory. And
while he was filled with the glory of the Lord he beheld all the
earth and the inhabitants thereof, and there was not a particle
of the earth withheld from his vision; he saw every particle of
it. He beheld it not by the natural vision, but by the Spirit of
the living God.
73
Moses not only saw the whole of this beautiful creation in its
entirety, but he doubtless beheld the laws by which every
particle is governed by the law of gravitation or electricity or
heat, Moses comprehended it. He was then desirous to know how the
Lord created the earth, as well as other heavenly bodies; but
would the Lord grant his desires in full? No; because it was not
for mortal man to know so much. But Moses still plead with the
Lord in this language: "Be merciful unto thy servant, O God and
tell me concerning this earth and the inhabitants thereof, and
also the heavens, and then thy servant will be content." He
thought that if he could not behold other worlds, if he had not
the privilege granted to him of looking upon more glorious
creation, it would be satisfaction for him to look upon this
earth and also the heavens. But what was the Lord's answer to
him? "The heavens! they are many, and they cannot be numbered
unto man, but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine, and
as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof, even so
shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to
my words." But, said the Lord, "I will reveal to you concerning
this earth upon which thou standest, and also the heaven
belonging to the earth, and you shall write the words which I
speak to you." This is the way that Moses obtained what is now
called the Book of Genesis, which gives an account of the
creation. How did we learn of these things? By way of fulfillment
of this promise, contained in the words of our text: "Whoso shall
believe in this record and shall not condemn it because of its
imperfection, the same shall know of greater things than these."
Here then we have come to a knowledge of the great and grand
vision given to the Revelator Moses. God communicated to Moses
concerning the creation of the heavens and this little earth upon
which we dwell. He tells us that darkness came upon the face of
the great deep, after the earth was created. What was there
before this darkness came upon the face of the great deep, after
the earth was created. What was there before this darkness came,
can any one tell us? A great many religious people, without any
reflection have supposed there was no light, from all eternity,
until about six thousand years ago; that then the Lord created
the sun, moon and stars, they really think that that was the
first time from all the endless durations of past eternity that
there was any light. I mean a great many ignorant people. But
according to the revelation given to Moses, there was light
before the foundations of this world were laid, before God caused
darkness to come over this great deep; after he created the
heavens and the earth, then God spake and said, let there be
light and there was light. And as we are told, the evening and
the morning was the first day. Why does it begin with the evening
and not with the morning? Because darkness reigned, the Lord
having caused darkness to reign over the whole face of the earth.
How he did it, in what way he produced it is not revealed. At any
rate, it is not said in the book of Genesis that the sun was
permitted to shine forth, or that the moon gave its light on the
first day; but that was something which was permitted to take
place on the fourth day instead of on the first day. What the was
it that existed before darkness came over the face of the deep?
Was it sunshine? I think not. It was that probably which is
connected with all creations in their first
formations--self-luminous matter. Darkness was then made, but how
we know not; it might have been by causing the light associated
with those materials to become latent in the substance--not
permitted to shine forth. How long this darkness continued is not
revealed. How long it was before the Lord said again, "Let there
be light, and there was light," is not revealed.
73
Again, we find that the solid portions of the earth were entirely
covered with water, for the Lord commanded the waters to be
gathered together to one place; and commanded the dry land to
appear. The dry land he called earth; the gathering together of
the waters called he seas. How did he do this? He may have done
it by a direct miracle, or he may have done it according to
certain laws which he controlled, and which were always under his
control. How easy it would be for him to take this globe of ours
that was entirely covered by water, and set it in motion, and
cause it to rotate upon its axis. Would not this cause the waters
to be gathered together from the equatorial regions to the two
polar regions--the Arctic and the ant-Arctic seas, and in the
intermediate regions, and thus leave the dry land in the
equatorial regions?
73
Then again how easy it would be for him to compress the solid
portions of the earth at the poles and cause the same to bulge
out above the equator. Or in other words, to do this also by law,
by causing the earth to turn more swiftly than it does at the
present time, which would give a greater diameter through the
equator then at the poles.
73
There are many things in the new translation besides the vision
and revelation in regard to the creation, written by Joseph
Smith, which are far greater than anything contained in the
Bible, or in the Book of Mormon, or in the Doctrine and
Covenants. I bring up these things in order to show you that God
has fulfilled his promise to the present time, by giving us
greater knowledge concerning the creation of our globe.
75
The Prophet Joseph Smith revealed to us that all the materials of
our globe and all the materials of the universe, are eternal in
their nature, that their substance is eternal, not created out of
nothing, according to the vagaries and foolish ideas of the
religious world. The Lord told us that he created the earth out
of materials that previously existed; he told us that these
materials were eternal in their nature, and of everlasting
duration. In what condition have these material been for the
last, say millions of ages--for instance, as many millions of
years as there are sands upon the sea shore? Have they been lying
dormant without any control of law? Were there no electric
principles or laws to govern them, was there no heat connected
with them, or was there no latent principle called light, neither
a gravitation power in connection with these materials? I have no
doubt in my own mind but what there have been laws from all
eternity--or if you do not wish to call them laws, call them
forces, call them powers, call them by any name which may suit
you--that have controlled these materials; and then again these
laws or forces have also been under the control of a wise,
supreme intelligence from all eternity to the present time. How
many organizations the materials of our earth have undergone
before they were organized according to the revelations given to
Moses, are not revealed. How many worlds they had entered into
prior to that time; how many conditions existed through the
millions of ages of past duration are nowhere revealed. A great
many learned men are beginning to see that the materials of our
globe have been in existence, as they say, for millions of ages.
Some of them have made calculations in regard to how many
millions of years since such and such phenomena took place, in
regard to certain materials of which our earth is composed; and
because they have discovered some of these things, they have, in
the weakness and foolishness of their minds, began to doubt the
Mosaic history, concerning the creation. I presume if I had never
heard of the Book of Mormon, or Doctrine and Covenants, or the
revelations of which I am speaking, I suppose I should have been
probably an infidel, so far as regards the religious sects; I
could not have believed them, if I had suffered my mind to
reflect. But when I come to learn and understand that God has
nowhere spoken in all the revelations that he has given, that he
ever made so much as one particle of this earth out of nothing;
and when I found that God has never hinted or revealed any such
thing; but, on the contrary, that he organized the world out of
pre-existent materials that were eternal in their nature, then I
could reflect back with our learned philosophers and suffer my
mind to go back just as far as they dare to go in their theories,
and then go back to all eternity beyond that which they go, and
say, these materials were in organization, and say worlds were
being organized, and different conditions were taking place, and
laws were being given for all these vast ages of the past, and
still reconcile it with the revelations God has given in these
latter times. Science and true religion never can possibly
contradict each other. There never was any truth in science that
would contradict any principle of revelation that God ever
revealed to man. Why? Because true science is founded upon a true
understanding of the laws and forces of nature. But who ordained
from time to time these laws of nature in connection with the
universe as we now behold them? It was the Lord whom we serve,
the great Supreme Ruler of the universe, who organizes and
disorganizes according to his own will and pleasure. He garnishes
the heavens in his wisdom and builds the vast superstructure of
the universe, as a very handy work. He brings into life and being
new worlds and disorganizes them, scattering the elements, and
again brings them together by his power or by the laws he has
ordained, and by his laws makes new creations, new worlds, and
one universe, and inhabits them with myriads and myriads of
intelligent beings? This is the work of the great Supreme Ruler
of all things.
76
This we find out by reading the first two chapters of Genesis, as
revealed anew, and many other things, of which we were profoundly
ignorant, until God raised up his youth, this unlearned Prophet
of the nineteenth century, to bring these things to light. By
revelations given in ancient days, and renewed through this young
Prophet of God, we learn that we, ourselves, did not begin to
exist when we were born into this state of existence; we learn
that we are of higher origin than that assigned by poor,
unbelieving man. Contrast the ideas of the last few centuries
with the ideas that God has revealed from heaven. They would make
man look for his origin down to the very reptile and the worm
that crawls upon the earth, and to the fish of the sea--as the
first father, the first origin, the first oyster. Such is the
reason of the learned of the last few centuries--the evolution
theory; in other words, that which you learn from books, the
creation of man's folly and foolishness. But when we learn
through the revelations of God that instead of man's coming up
from the poor worm of the dirt, he descended from the being who
controls the universe by his power; that he descended form that
being who is the fullness of all knowledge, and who sways his
sceptre over more planetary systems than there are sands upon the
sea shore. We are his offspring, we are his sons and his
daughters, we are his children, he has begotten us, and we
existed before the foundation of the world. Who among the wise,
and the great, and those who have studied as far as human wisdom
can at present reach; who among them can tell the origin of life?
Who among them can tell the origin of this intelligence in man,
this reasoning power, and this perceptive faculty, that enables
man to grasp not only a great many things appertaining to the
laws connected with their own little earth, but enables him to
launch out into the regions of space for hundreds of millions of
miles and find out and understand many things that govern worlds
afar off. Is there no man that can tell the origin of this
Intelligence? Let the trained collegiate mind, whose lifetime has
been occupied in study, come forth and tell us how man obtains
the first principle of knowledge, how came knowledge to be
connected with matter, how came knowledge connected with flesh
and bones, and blood, and skin, and sinew? That knowledge--that
intelligence is Godlike; God is the author, he is father of our
spirits, and we were begotten before this world rolled into
existence. Once we dwelt in the presence of our Father; once we
were enabled to lift our songs of praise in the celestial world,
from which we emigrated; once we dwelt in the society of an
innumerable convention of angels, upon a world that had passed
through its stages, its ordeals, the same as this world is
passing through its various mutations. That celestial world from
whence we came, is more perfect than this earth, it is organized
after a celestial order, a higher order and glorified by the
presence of immortal, glorified, celestial beings. That is our
home, from that world we came. Here is our dwelling place for a
season; to that world we will return, to that being by whom we
were begotten we will render an account; he who is our Father
will require us to give an account of our doings in this
probation. We must meet him, and behold him, in all his glory, in
all his power, in all his majesty, and greatness, and superior
excellency and with that infinite knowledge of which he is in
possession; we must appear of our doings while shut out from his
presence on this little world.
76
Here then is another thing in which the Lord has fulfilled our
text. He has told us of our pre-existence; he has told us of the
glory and the greatness of our ancestor, even the Supreme Being;
he has told us when we existed, that it was before this world was
brought into existence. Are not these greater things than are
contained and explained in the Book of Mormon or the Bible? It is
true the Book of Mormon barely alludes to the pre-existence of
man, without explaining it. Jesus, before he appeared in the
flesh, showed his spiritual form to the brother of Jared; it was
not a body of flesh and bones; but a spiritual form, like the
image of man. He said unto the brother of Jared, Seest thou, that
thou art created after mine image? And he further says, All men
in the beginning have I created after the image of the body of my
Spirit; that is the spiritual form occupied by him. All men and
women in the beginning were created by Him, and there never was a
person, there is not any one now living, and there never will be
a man or woman, but what was in the beginning created in his
image.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / George
Q. Cannon, April 6, 1878
George Q. Cannon, April 6, 1878
I do not know but what I am occupying to much time, I will
briefly say, however, before closing, that certain records which
God has promised to bring to light in his own due time, will far
exceed anything that has been revealed through the Book of Mormon
or the Bible, or that which has come to us through the Abrahamic
record taken from Egyptian papyrus, or that which is contained in
the vision of Moses, revealing to him the history of the creation
of the world. All these will be as a drop in the bucket in
comparison with the eternal knowledge that will yet flow down
from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints before this
generation shall pass away. The earth will be filled with the
knowledge of God, as the waters cover the great deep, and the
things of all nations will be revealed. The records of old that
were kept by the people of Asia, who have since dwindled into
savages by reason of the transgressions of their fathers; and
those that have been kept by the ten tribes of the north
countries, where they have lived for over 25 centuries; and those
records that have been kept by the people of the City of Enoch,
giving an account of the dealings of God with ancient Zion, will
all come forth to help fill the earth with the knowledge of God,
as the waters cover the great deep. And John, when upon the Isle
of Patmos, saw things in vision, which were commanded to be
sealed up, and they are yet to be unsealed; and in this way we
shall receive knowledge upon knowledge, revelation upon
revelation, concerning not only the six or seven thousand years
of the earth's temporal existence, but concerning the materials
of the earth before it was made, and the elements and materials,
and all things pertaining to the future earth that is to be
created when the elements of this earth shall be dissolved and
pass away into space. There is nothing too great to be withheld
from the Saints of God in the last dispensation of the fulness of
times Hear what the Prophet Joseph Smith said, when confined in
Liberty Jail. As well may the puny arm of man attempt to stop the
waters of the Missouri River as to try to prevent the Almighty
from pouring down knowledge upon the Latter-day Saints. It will
come; it will come like a mighty flood, it will come like a
mighty ocean, and there will be no mental darkness upon the whole
face of the earth. The laws by which the earth is governed, by
which the materials were governed, by which intelligence produces
intelligence, by which one material cleaves to another, and by
which all the various mechanisms are performed, will be revealed
in their times and in their seasons. And then the Lord will not
stop there; but he will unfold other systems and heavens that
shall come into connection with ours. How, I know not; in what
way, I know not. There will be telescopes, microscopes and other
instruments discovered in these systems, that will so far
outstretch the discoveries made at the present time, that all
these things will dwindle into insignificance, and when the
inhabitants of one system can converse with those of another, and
when there shall be communication between all the creations that
God has made with the present creation we inhabit, and when the
Lord shall bring forth Zion out of all the creations he has made;
then, I think, we shall begin to look back in astonishment at the
littleness of the discoveries of the learned of the 19th century.
Amen.
77
DISCOURSE BY ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON,
Delivered at the Semi-Annual Conference, on Sunday Afternoon,
April 6, 1878.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
LABORS AND EXPERIENCE OF THE ELDERS--THE WORK SCARCELY BEGUN--THE
POWER OF
UNION--TEMPORAL SALVATION NECESSARY AS WELL AS
SPIRITUAL--CO-OPERATION
AND THE UNITED ORDER.
77
The speaker read from the Doctrine and Covenants (new edition),
commencing at the 24th paragraph, and ending at the 33rd
paragraph, of section 58.
78
This is a great people, and if anything would be likely to appall
a man and make him feel his own nothingness, it is to stand up
before such an audience as is here assembled, to attempt to speak
to them and to instruct them. We have, however, something besides
our own strength to rely on; if it were not so, I should not be
here. The promise of the Lord is that when we assemble together
as we have this day, and as we are now assembled, he will give us
that portion of his word and his counsel as shall be suited to
our circumstances, so that every soul shall eat of the bread of
life and go away satisfied, and rejoice in the privilege he may
have had of coming together as we now are.
78
This work in which we are engaged embraces more and more. The
older I grow the more I become acquainted with its magnitude,
with the responsibilities that are connected with it, and
especially the responsibilities which rest down upon those who
are the chosen leaders of the people.
78
We know, as was testified to this morning, that this is the work
of God, that God has laid its foundation, that God has chosen the
men who are associated with it and who are in authority connected
with the work, to fill the situations which they occupy. We know
also that he has restored the authority that was once enjoyed by
man, by which men are enabled to act in the midst of the people
in Christ's stead. And knowing these things we are encouraged as
a people and as individuals to press forward and to help
establish that cause which he has revealed to the earth. But
there are many things connected with this work, with its
advancement, with the binding of the people together, with the
carrying out of the great designs which God has revealed for the
salvation of the children of men; which press upon our attention
and cause us to exercise every faculty of our minds in thinking,
in pondering upon and in giving shape to measures that shall
result in the greatest good to this great people.
79
The principles of the Gospel we are all familiar with, as a
people; we have studied the lesson from the beginning and have
become familiar with it in almost all its details. We have
traveled, we have preached, we have borne testimony to this work;
we have helped to gather the people together, organizing them,
before doing so, into branches, into conferences, into missions,
and then have organized them into companies to travel by sea, to
travel by land, to bring them to the gathering places which have
been appointed. With these labors the Elders of this church have
obtained great familiarity; they have become experts in preaching
spiritual salvation, in preaching the first principles of the
Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ; in telling the people how they
shall be saved from their sins, and what they shall do to obtain
the promises of God connected with obedience to this Gospel. And
we have, in coming to these mountains, obtained considerable
knowledge concerning other matters. Probably to-day a man would
not be open to the charge of egotism, of being vain concerning
the people, were he to say that, to take the Latter-day Saints,
the men of this church, and in no other body of men of the same
numbers will you find men of such experience in preaching, in
traveling, as missionaries, as Elders, in organizing the people,
in handling companies of large bodies of men and women and laying
the foundation of settlements, in building cities, in developing
countries, and in organizing systems of government in those
countries. I do not know that I am open to the charge of being
vain concerning the Latter-day Saints when I make this
statement--that in all the earth, among all the inhabitants of
the earth, you cannot find so large a body of principal men
familiar with spiritual things, familiar with temporal things,
familiar with the handling of large bodies of people and
organizing them and dictating their labors and planning for their
temporal salvation, and for their good government, as you will
find in the midst of these mountains and numbered in the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
79
And yet, after making this statement, we stand, as it were, at
the very threshold of our work, just at the door of it; we have
scarcely accomplished anything compared to what remains to be
done connected with the work devolving upon us. We have made a
beginning, it is true, we have solved some problems; but there is
an immense amount of work to be done by us as a people, and
especially by those who act in our midst in the capacity of
leaders. The highest qualities of statesmanship are needed and
called for; the highest qualities that men and women possess that
make them capable of planning for nations devising schemes and
plans that will not only save a town or a small community of
people but that will extend to nations the means of saving them
from national peril and from evils that menace the existence of
every power that now exists upon the face of the earth.
79
You look abroad to-day among the inhabitants of the earth and see
their condition, see the evils with which they are afflicted and
which threaten the downfall and overthrow of nations and we need
not to go beyond our own land to gain experience in this matter,
and to ascertain the danger which besets this republic, the most
glorious nation, and the most glorious form of government that
exists upon the habitable globe. How many times it is said that
this republic cannot stand, that evils are working and
undermining the fabric of government, and which threatens its
speedy overthrow. You can scarcely talk with a thinking man upon
these subjects, a man who takes in, to the extent of his vision,
all the evils which threaten our nation, without having him
acknowledge that the future, in many respects, looks exceedingly
dark, and that it is somewhat doubtful whether the republic can
be preserved as it is at the present.
79
With all these facts, then, before us, it is well for us to-day,
assembled as we are in this general Conference, to take into some
consideration our own condition, the circumstances which surround
us, and examine them in the light of intelligence and wisdom, as
he has given it to us, and whether we should not take steps to
preserve our existence, and not only preserve, but perpetuate it,
and to increase our power, and to cause that work with which we
are identified to continue to progress and to fulfil its high and
glorious destiny.
80
There is one principle which I think in mentioning everyone will
see the power of, and that is union. It is a trite saying, often
repeated, that union is strength. Certainly we have proved the
truth of this saying through the long or short period, as it may
be, of our existence as a people. There is no people to-day with
whom I am acquainted who has proved so satisfactorily as we have
throughout our past experience, the value of union. It is that
which makes us, numerically a weak people, a strong people; it is
that which makes us one hundred and fifty or one hundred and
sixty thousand, or perhaps two hundred thousand people throughout
these mountains north and south, a power in the land; and a power
certainly which there is more said about than any other power,
probably, in existence. Divide us up, segregate us into
denominations, into factions, and what would we amount to?
Nothing; our strength would be dissipated, we would be enfeebled,
and nothing particularly would be said about us more than is said
about thousands and millions of others from whom we are
separated. It was the union of the Latter-day Saint which in the
beginning created opposition against us, brought it to the
surface, and made it moving when there were but fifty or less
members of the church. The very fact that a new principle of
union, had been brought to light, through which these fifty men
and women were united as the heart of one, was sufficient to
arouse opposition and to create to a certain extent, fear.
Sectarian influence was brought to bear against us. "Our creed is
in danger, our sect is in danger, our place is in danger, if this
people with this union should gain a foothold among us." Alarm
was felt in the ranks of the various sects, and they felt that
although a power insignificant and weak, as it were, it should be
fought and its existence extirpated, if possible from off the
earth. Hence the opposition it met with in the beginning a few
weeks old, like a little trembling, puny infant not able to walk,
not able to speak or make itself felt. Yet the very existence of
the infant aroused fear, as great fear as that which animated
Herod of old when he issued an edict for all the first-born male
children of Israel to be slain. It created terror in the land;
and all because a certain babe of Bethlehem had been born, and he
hoped, in issuing this cruel edict, to destroy this man-child and
with him the power which he feared. So it was in the beginning of
this work, when it was weak and feeble it created in the minds of
those who watched its birth and its aftergrowth a feeling of
fear, and they were determined to destroy it from off the earth,
if they could.
81
When the church moved to Kirtland and the people began to gather
together to go to that place to settle, you will see by reading
the history, the fear that was produced. And you read the history
of the settlement of the people in Jackson County and you will
see the same manifestations, only more violent, until such a
spirit was engendered that the mob succeeded in driving the
people from the county. You can trace it through all the history
of this people to the present time. It has been the union of the
Latter-day Saints that, as I have before said, aroused
opposition, crystallized it and made it as effective as it has
been against us. Had we been a divided people, had we been
quarrelling among ourselves, had there been factions among us and
jealousies among our leading men, you would not have seen this
opposition neither would you have seen the credit that has been
given to us, nor the power that this people have wielded in the
earth to the present time. You would not have seen this
spectacle--this inspiriting spectacle of 12,000 people assembled
under one roof to worship God according to the dictates of their
own consciences and the revelations of God, and partaking of the
Lord's Supper, as we are to-day. You would not have seen these
valleys peopled from Idaho in the north to Mexico in the south
with settlements of people of one faith, of one belief,
worshipping God in the same manner and calling upon him unitedly
to bestow upon them the same blessings, and laboring for the same
objects. The value, therefore, of union we, as a people, have
demonstrated as no other people now living have. And I leave you
to your own reflections to imagine what we would be without it.
Everyone can think for himself, or herself, upon this subject,
and can draw his or her own conclusions. But as we are united and
have been spiritually, it is not the design of God, as is clearly
manifest in his revelations, plainly spoken through his word, and
deeply impressed by his Holy spirit upon every heart belonging to
this church, that this alone is not the object of our
organization as a people. It was not for spiritual salvation
alone that the word of the Lord came to us to gather out of
Babylon; it was not for spiritual salvation alone that the Elders
of this Church traversed sea and land for so long a period,
gathering the people together at such an expense of time and
means; it was not for spiritual salvation alone that we have
suffered the attacks and the violence of mobs, that we left our
homes in the east--the pleasant places that many left, and
crossed these dreary wastes, and planted ourselves in these
mountains. There was something more than this embodied in the
idea; there was something more than this embodied in the effort.
There was temporal salvation also connected with the spiritual
salvation that had been extended to us. I use the term "temporal
salvation," because it is better understood probably than any
other term I could use. My training has led me to blend the two,
it being difficult for me to draw the line of demarcation between
the temporal and spiritual; but in many minds there is a
distinction. I use the phrase, therefore, that those who are
familiar with it will understand my meaning. Temporal salvation
is as necessary, according to the faith of the Latter-day Saints,
in its time and season, as spiritual salvation. Of course
spiritual salvation occupies the first, and ought to be foremost
within every heart, but we cannot accomplish our spiritual
salvation and the destiny of our Father and Creator without also
connecting with it temporal salvation, temporal acts, the
performance of temporal labor. Hence, as I have said, it should
occupy some portion of our thoughts, it should be considered by
us; and as I have remarked, we have not come out of our present
location for purely spiritual performances, but to lay the
foundation of a system that should stand forever, that should be
connected with man's existence here upon the earth, both his
spiritual and his temporal existence; a work that should affect
everything connected with man and his relationship to his
fellow-man.
82
A great many of the Latter-day Saints have failed, as I have
sometimes thought, to grasp this idea, to grasp the idea that the
Lord was founding a great nationality--if I may use such a
limited phrase as that, it limits the idea to call it a
nationality. The Lord is gathering out from every nation,
kindred, tongue and people a community, out of which he intends
to form for himself a kingdom, not an earthly kingdom, but a
kingdom over which he will preside in the heavens; a kingdom that
should be based upon purely republican principles on the earth;
and therefore not a kingdom in the strict sense of the word, so
far as its earthly location is concerned; but a republic. And for
this purpose, as the Latter-day Saints have believed from the
beginning, the Lord raised up the founders of our nation and
inspired them--George Washington and others--to do the work that
they accomplished, in laying the foundation of a form of
government upon this land under which that kingdom that he should
establish should grow and flourish and extend itself without
interfering in the least degree with the genius of the
government. And this is the work in which we are engaged; this is
the labor that should occupy our attention, and as I have said,
we should take warning by that which we see around us on every
hand--the decay, the disintegration of the various governments
and powers, and organize ourselves so that we can preserve
ourselves, and grow and increase and add to the power we already
possess. I believe our people are beginning to take higher views
of the organization with which they are connected, and
consequently higher views of their own individual responsibility
and the labor that devolves upon each one as an individual. We
see more of this spirit manifested. The Elders have ever evinced
a willingness to go forth at the call of the proper authorities
to preach the Gospel and perform labors of this character for the
public good; but it has been a difficult lesson for us to learn
that it was equally binding upon us, as servants of God, that we
should labor in temporal matters with the same devotion and the
spirit of self-abnegation that we did in laboring to preach the
Gospel. There seemed to be a higher calling in the mind of man
associated with spiritual matters; it seemed to be more
dignified; it has seemed to be more worthy of men's gratuitous
labor, than to labor with their hands or brain for the temporal
advancement of the work and for the temporal salvation of the
people. I believe that you will all have noticed that there is a
change taking place in many minds in regard to this, and many men
are beginning to take a different view--in fact they have done
for years; probably some never had any other view, but a great
many who have had different views, who have imagined that it was
their duty to look at these temporal matters, are beginning to
take different views, to take a higher conception of their
responsibility in this direction. It is right and proper that we
should do so. There is no good reason why a man should imagine
that he has fulfilled the acquirements more acceptably, more
approvedly in preaching this Gospel, than in laboring, after the
people have been gathered home, for their salvation in temporal
things.
83
There is a subject that has occupied a great amount of thought,
and has been dwelt upon very frequently in our public assemblies
for the past few years; I refer to that of the United Order.
There have been some attempts, in fact I may say many attempts at
organization with a view to its more complete carrying out. There
is another principle connected with this that has been in force
also upon our attention for many years past, namely, the system
of cooperation in temporal matters. We have felt to a very great
extent the importance of this; I believe the spirit of it has
rested upon the Latter-day Saints. When you look back a few
years, by way of contrasting our condition then with our
condition to-day, you will perceive, doubtless, there has been a
great change effected among us in regard to this matter. There
has been considerable thought among the people concerning it; a
great many have reasoned upon it for themselves, and have become
thoroughly convinced of the importance of the principle. In this
a good work has been done, because it is an exceedingly difficult
thing to leaven the whole mass of people, like this people who
inhabit these valleys, to leaven them with correct ideas and have
them understand them. If the First Presidency of the church
comprehend a principle and the Twelve comprehend it, but the
people fail to comprehend it, you can readily understand how
difficult it would be to make that principle practical and
operative. The leading men, then, have carried the whole people
upon their shoulders, so to speak; if under those circumstances
anything has to be done it is to be done upon their faith and
influence alone. But when you can get the thinking men and women
throughout our community to understand and realize the importance
of the principle, the victory is won, the work then is
comparatively easy of accomplishment. And this has been a subject
of congratulation to me in my feelings, that notwithstanding the
many errors, notwithstanding the many failures, notwithstanding
the lack of success in many directions, the principle of
co-operation, the principle of uniting ourselves together in the
United Order has been reflected upon, has been cogitated and
discussed in all the circles of this people and at their
firesides, until it may be said an understanding of it permeates
the entire mass of the people, as a people; and there is scarcely
an argument needed in talking about it now to convince those who
are the most stubborn and reluctant in giving adherence to the
principle. When you hear any opponent to the principle express
himself now-a-days, it is in this way: "It is an excellent
principle, if we could only carry it out properly." The principle
is conceded, its correctness is assented to; it only remains now
for us to carry it out properly, in order for us to gain the
confidence and the support of those who are doubtful upon that
point. And I think this a great work accomplished. It seems to me
that the Latter-day Saints to-day are in this position: Tell us
what to do and how to do it. You leading men, tell us how we can
operate, how we can unite together. Devise the plan, suggest how
it can be carried out successfully, and we are on hand to carry
it out." I do not know from your expressions, whether I state
your feelings correctly or not on this point; but I state that
which I believe, and which I am impressed with in connection with
my brethren and sisters, wherever I meet them, and whenever this
subject or topic comes up for discussion or mention. There is one
thing, brethren and sisters that must strike us all as being
right and proper; and this is to throw our efforts in one
channel, to make our influence felt as an entire body and not as
I have remarked, to divide ourselves and scatter our influence so
that it will be unfelt.
83
I have endeavored to describe to you the influence we wield
because of our union in spiritual matters. The same remark will
apply exactly to our union in temporal matters. Let this people
be united in temporal matter; let it be known that we work
together for one another's good, that we labor, as a people to
benefit the whole and not the individual, and that our influence
is in this direction; and I tell you that the same influence, the
same power, that wield now as a spiritual organization will be
felt in our temporal affairs, in our financial affairs, in all
the affairs in fact which attract our attention.
84
One great object we should aim to reach, that we should aim to
accomplish, is to make ourselves independent in regard to
manufactures. We have had, the last week, considerable
conversation with leading men from various parts of this
Territory concerning this principle of co-operation.
Notwithstanding some differences of opinion upon some points,
upon this one point that I have endeavored to set before you in
my last few sentences, there has been an unanimity of feeling and
opinion, that is of the imperative necessity of our being united
in our business matters, in our financial matters and work to
sustain each other and build each other up. I am persuaded that a
great amount of good will result from these interviews and from
the measures that will be adopted. I have felt that it will be a
most excellent thing for us to have a permanent organization of
our best business men, and the most practical men, from all parts
of our Territory, acting in the capacity of a board of trade,
whose duty shall be to look after our manufacturing, mercantile
and other interests; and should there at any time be anything
wrong in our systems of doing business, tending in the least to
prevent perfect union, that the necessary measure might be
devised to remedy these things and bring about a concert of
action upon all hands. Now you have heard it stated frequently
that those who hare engaged in home manufactures do not receive
the patronage that they should do, that our home manufactories
were not treated properly, that those engaged in them did not
receive the sympathy of business men, and that the masses of the
people were not disposed to patronize them. I think there is at
the present time but little cause for statements of this kind; in
fact I have not heard of them of late. But if we had such an
organization as this--and I understand that Pres. Taylor is
thinking seriously of having it a permanent organization--then if
there were anything of this character that needed correction, if
there was a struggling institution that needed help, by making a
requisition to this Board of Trade, it perhaps could receive the
support it needed, and be placed upon a firm footing in our
midst, and perhaps be able to sustain itself and live.
85
Already the stockholders of Z. C. M. I. as it is called--Zions
Co-operative Mercantile Institution, met, and a report was made
by the President and Secretary of that Institution, which I think
was most gratifying to all present upon that occasion. I have
been familiar with the institution since its inception. I think I
can truly say that at no period since its organization was it
ever in so good condition, having so few liabilities to meet as
it has to-day. It is in sounder, healthier and more prosperous
condition than it has ever been. I allude to this because it is
called the Parent Institution. In Box Elder County where Brother
Snow presides, he took the profits of their mercantile business
to start the branches of manufacture that are now in successful
running order. Our institution has done much in a similar
direction. It has carried many a struggling enterprise; it has
been the best of burden for almost every institution and every
establishment and railroad almost in the country. It has
accomplished an immense amount of good, far more than the mere
paying of dividends, although it has done this to a surprising
extent. Those who invested their means seem to have become the
most discouraged. Therefore, in alluding to it in this manner, it
is in justice to it, and in justice to those especially who have
all the time, over and again, kept their shoulders to the
Institution, sustaining it and bearing it up to the best of their
ability. You all know, who have attended conferences in past
times, how much Prest. Young was interested in this matter; not
so much in the sale of merchandise as in the principle of
co-operation. And he and others have stepped forward repeatedly,
and have sustained it in the mist of the people, when otherwise
it would have gone down. I allude to this because it comes in the
line of my remarks, in the thread of my argument, so to speak. To
be successful we ought, instead of dividing asunder and drawing
one from another, to cling closer together; it is of the utmost
importance that all our financial matters should be conducted in
a way to contribute to the influence of the whole people; it is
of the utmost importance that we should take steps to develop in
our midst something of a home character. Steps have already been
taken, as some of you know, in the establishment of a tannery,
and in connection with it a shoe manufactory. I was exceedingly
gratified to learn from the report that nearly $100,000 of home
manufactured goods, besides a large list of small articles, the
value of which was not estimated, had been sold during the last
half year by the Co-operative Institution. I am informed that
this was the purchase price, the price at which they were sold
would of course amount to still more. This speaks well for home
manufactures, sold by one institution.
86
It is an easy thing to tear down; any man no matter what his
knowledge, no matter what his experience can pull down; a fool
could set fire to a building; a few fools could set fire to a
city and consume the works of man that had cost hundred of years
of labor. It requires no wisdom for a man to criticize the acts
of another man. It is even said that a fool can ask questions
that could not be answered by the wisest men. Unwise people can
criticize plans and schemes the creation of wise and experienced
heads; that is a comparatively easy matter for persons to do. But
is requires great wisdom to organize; it requires great wisdom to
create measures that will bind a people of diversified interests
together; of varieties of views, dissimilar habits and to some
extent of training, and to bring them together, and bind them
together, and make one people of them, requires the highest
qualities of wisdom, and it is this we are endeavoring to do. Can
it be found fault with? Undoubtedly there are many things in our
organizations that are defective; but it is our duty, if there be
faults, to correct them. If there be wise men among us let them
come forward; let us see their wisdom, and not retain it to
benefit one, but let it be used to benefit the whole. There was
not any more obligation upon Prest. Young, when he was alive, or
upon the Prophet Joseph when he lived, than there is upon us
individually; that is looking at it in one light. You and I all
expect to share if faithful, the same glory that they will
attain. Every man and every woman in this audience comprising
this body of Latter-day Saints, expect, if found faithful, to
share with those who have gone before--the righteous and holy,
and become heirs of God, and joint heir with Jesus Christ; that
is, attain to the very highest glory. If this be our aspiration,
our hope and anticipation, we should work for that, we should
labor for it. In the words of the revelation I have read in your
hearing, "He is a slothful servant that waits to be commanded." A
man may do, and he should do many things of his own free will in
the exercise of his agency and if there be wisdom in the breast
of any man that has not been brought to light, let it come forth
to the light that we may have the benefit of it in causing to be
effected a more perfect organization of this people. For I tell
you we have a perfect organization in view, and nothing short of
it will satisfy us. The Twelve have all had it at heart, and they
are bound by the covenants of the Holy Priesthood and by the
responsibility which rests upon them, and upon him, who is the
President of the Twelve and of the Church. I say we are bound by
these covenants and these signs of responsibility, and to labor
to-day, and labor to-morrow, and labor continuously until
eternity shall dawn upon us for the more perfect organization of
this people in their temporal affairs. And as for division, we
want it not; disunion, we want it not. We do not want to see the
Elders of Israel fall asunder, dividing this people and leading
them away from the union that should characterize us. We say that
any man that does it is not of God; the man that does it is not
inspired by the Spirit of God, and has not the love and
prosperity of this work at heart.
86
We are struggling now, the elements are chaotic. In some respects
we are endeavoring to gather together. Dealing in merchandise is
a small matter, and yet it lies to a certain extent at the
foundation of our business; therefore we talk about it; but
merchandizing is a small matter compared with the work of
organizing the people to get them to manufacture and to furnish
labor, that there may be no idle among us, that every boy and
every girl, and every man and every woman in this community shall
find employment; and that measures may be devised to use their
labor and talent and ingenuity for the welfare and prosperity of
this people for the elevation of the whole; not for the elevation
of a few individuals, but for the uplifting of the entire
community, and the whole human race out of ignorance, out of vice
and from vicious habits, and everything degrading, lift us up,
until we shall stand as man and woman could in the divine
presence, filled with the divinity which we inherit from our
Heavenly Father; and govern and control the elements with which
this earth is so abundantly endowed, for our happiness, for the
happiness of our posterity, for the happiness of the entire human
family as far as they reach--from the north to the south, from
east to west, until we shall comprehend the whole family of God
or Heavenly Father, gradually diffusing the blessings we enjoy in
these valleys throughout the entire earth, until the whole earth
shall be benefitted and blessed by our organization and by our
existence upon it.
87
These are some of the responsibilities that devolve upon us as a
people. Shall I live for myself? God forbid that I should live to
spend my time and exercise the talent I may possess for my
personal benefit, or for the benefit of my family alone. Why? It
is unworthy of any man or any woman to live for self alone; to
pile up our benefits and comforts for our own luxury and
aggrandisement. God forbid that we whom God has chosen, we whom
he has called and inspired by his Holy Spirit, and blessed with
the everlasting Gospel, and upon whom he has placed his Holy
Priesthood, and called us to be saviors of men, I say God forbid
that we should do this, that we should settle down and think
entirely of self and build up self, and let our sphere of
usefulness be limited to our own family, extend not an inch
beyond our own household and our own family circle. God did not
choose us for any such purpose, he did not reveal himself to us
for any such object; but he has chosen us to be his missionaries
in the earth, to be the pioneers in laying the foundation of that
great work that shall stand forever, that shall swallow up all
the works and powers of man, all the organizations of man, shall
swallow all up and comprehend them all within itself. He has
called us to this high and holy calling; and it should be your
aim and it ought to be my aim to labor for the general good. To
starve ourselves? No. Neglect ourselves? No. Let our families go
uncared for? No. This is not necessary, that is the other
extreme. I have no right to have a family and neglect them; but
on the other hand I am under obligation to look after them, to
treat them properly and give them every advantage in my power.
When I became a father I took upon myself that responsibility,
and it is a serious one, that is, I should educate my children
and train them up in a proper manner, and see that they do not go
hungry or naked. But I have another duty, a duty that reaches out
beyond the family circle, a duty I owe to my fellow creatures. It
is my duty to use my surplus strength and surplus means for their
good, to endeavor to make them better for my existence; because I
have been born that the earth will be better for it, that men and
women will be better because I have lived. And it should be that
the world will be better, because this Church has been organized,
that the world will be better for our existence as an
organization. And it should be the aim of every man in this
Church, of every Bishop and every President of Stake and every
Counselor and officer of whatever name or calling; it should be
his aim to labor for the salvation of the people. And the
Apostles above all, it devolves upon us, it is the covenant, as I
have said, of the priesthood we have received, and it rests upon
us, and it requires us to labor to combine and unite the
interests of this people. And we beseech you, in Christ's stead,
brethren and sisters, be ye united, put away bickerings, put away
strifes, put away all those causes of division whether they are
real or imaginary, and be united as a people, and I tell you in
the name of Jesus, as one of his Apostles if you do this, the
heavens will be open to you and the blessings of God will descend
upon you, in your basket and in your store, in your fields and in
your flocks, and herds, in your wives and children, in your
husbands, in your fathers and mothers, in your brothers and
sisters and all your organizations; the blessings of God will
descend, like the dew distilled from heaven, and rest upon you,
and all that bless you will imbibe and cherish the same spirit.
Now, these things are pressing upon us. We have everything
against us, the whole world it may be said, are ready to pass
judgment upon us; but yet there are many who oppose the work of
God who do so because they have not understood it, and such
people, many of them will yet be gathered in and numbered among
us. This work is not for this little handful of people, it is for
the whole earth and all the inhabitants thereof and the day will
come when the lessons taught by the Latter-day Saints will be
approved by those who are not Latter-day Saints. When the good
government maintained in the midst of the people of God will be
copied after, and we will be looked to as exemplary.
88
I pray God to bless you, to pour our his Spirit upon this
Conference and upon all who shall speak and all who shall hear
and all who are kept away from the Conference that the same
spirit may run through every heart; for I tell you, my brethren
and sisters, it is in vain we labor, unless God is with us, in
vain we assemble unless his Spirit is poured upon the people to
make them to comprehend and to soften their hearts. It is a need
greatly to be desired that God's Spirit will descend upon the
Latter-day Saints. Oh, that it might be poured out in power and
break and rend asunder the darkness that beclouds our minds, that
we may see the things of God as they really are, and sense fully
the responsibilities we are under as individuals before him. And
I believe that it will be poured out more and more, the blessings
that we have yearned for and which we have prayed for and that we
have so much desired in our hearts, and for which we have built
Temples, these blessings will descend upon us, and the angels
will be nearer to us, and the heavens will be more open to our
cries and to our supplications to bestow upon us the blessings
thereof. We approach nearer to heaven correspondingly as we live
the Gospel revealed to us. It is a precious Gospel, it is a
Gospel in which there is contained every requisite to make men
and women happy and to produce a heaven upon earth; and if we
obey it and carry it out there will be more blessings conferred
upon us. And that this may be the case, is my prayer, in the name
of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / George
Q. Cannon, September 15, 1878
George Q. Cannon, September 15, 1878
DISCOURSE BY ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, September 15, 1878.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
CONSISTENCY IMPERATIVE--THE GOSPEL IN CONFLICT WITH MANS FALLEN
CONDITION--SHOULD LOVE OUR ENEMIES--THE "GOLDEN RULE"--NECESSITY
OF THE HOLY GHOST--EVERY TREE KNOWN MY ITS FRUITS.
88
The speaker commenced by reading the 7th chapter of St. Matthew,
commencing at the 7th verse; there are many important principles
embodied in these few verses which I have read in your hearing,
and they are especially applicable to us as Latter-day Saints, a
people professing to be the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We claim the holiest of names, and certainly with such
professions as we make, there should be holiness of life
corresponding to those professions. If we are called the
disciples of Jesus, the followers of the Son of God, and have any
claim to that name or title, we should exemplify in our lives the
principles which he taught; if we do not, then our claim to his
name is baseless and may be treated with contempt.
89
The Lord Jesus has caused to be left on record certain
principles, certain doctrines, a plan which has been properly
called the plan of salvation; and He required in ancient days,
when upon the earth clothed in mortality, that those who
professed his name and to be his followers, should believe in and
practise those principles and doctrines. If they did not, they
ceased to be his followers and they soon left him. His doctrines
came in contact with many things that were popular in the day and
follies, the pride, and the selfishness of men, then, and in this
respect they have not changed a particle. They come in contact
to-day with the selfishness of men, with men as found in what is
termed their natural condition, or more properly speaking, their
fallen condition. And this is one reason for the unpopularity of
the doctrines of Jesus. He taught mankind a higher life, the
means of attaining to a better condition; and to require the
assistance of the Holy Spirit which he promised to bestow upon
those who kept his commandments to enable them to carry out in a
proper manner the principles he imparted to them. If he had
taught man to gratify all his inclinations; to indulge in every
selfish desire; that self-denial and self-abnegation were not
necessary, it is probable that he would have had many more
followers than he did have; and his doctrines doubtless would
have been more popular than they were. But this was not the case.
The Savior started out teaching men at the beginning of his
ministerial career the most pure and godlike principles,
principles which were not understood and practised by men
generally, which were more heavenly, which seemed to be more
fitted for a more exalted race of beings; than for man in his
fallen condition. Hear what he says:
89
"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for their's is the kingdom of
heaven.
89
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
89
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
89
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness;
for they shall be filled.
89
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
89
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
89
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the
children of God.
89
Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and
shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
89
Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in
heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before
you."
89
And in another place in the same chapter, he says:
89
"Let your communications be yea, yea: nay, nay: for whatsoever is
more than these cometh of evil."
90
And again he said; "Resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite
thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any
man will sue thee at the law, and take away they coat, let him
have they cloak also." These were peculiar doctrines. Who is
there among men naturally that could practice them? Why if a man
were struck in the cheek by another man, the natural impulse
would be to knock him down, if he could; to return evil for evil.
If a man sued another at the law and took his coat, would he be
inclined to give his cloak also? No he would contend for this
coat. And again: "And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile,
go with him twain"--go with him two miles. "Give to him that
asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou
away." This sort of teaching came directly in contact with man's
fallen nature. It is the same to-day, and yet they are the
teachings of the Son of God, they are the principles which he
taught; their practice he required then, and he requires the same
to-day. "But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that
curse you, 'do good to them that hate you and pray for those
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."
90
In order then to be the children of our Father in heaven, we must
love our enemies, we must bless them that curse us, we must do
good to them that hate us, and pray for them who despitefully use
and persecute us. Now mark how pointedly the Savior puts this to
those who are listening to him: "For if ye love them which love
you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? and
if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do
not even the publicans so? The wicked love one another, that is
they at least affect to do so. It is natural for man to love
those who love him; it requires no effort it comes easy. It
requires no particular superiority in a man to love his friend.
But the Savior requires more than this; the requirement is that
he shall not only love his friends and brethren, but he shall
love his enemies. He shall not hate his enemies he shall not hate
them that despitefully use and persecute him, but shall pray for
them, allowing the feeling of forgiveness to reach after them.
This feature you will find exemplified in the Savior's entire
life. Up to his last moments when upon the cross suffering the
agonies of death, and although possessing all power, instead of
using that power by way of revenge upon those who so cruelly
treated him, he submitted himself meekly to their hands, and
cried, "Father forgive them; for they know not what they do." He
thus set all men an example which they should imitate.
90
It is common now, it is common among newspapers, and it is common
in our city to publish alms doing that everybody might now how
benevolent we are; that it might be carried by the wings of
lightning and published to the world what generous people we are.
This city of Salt Lake does this very thing. "Take heed," says
the Savior, "that you do not your alms before men to be seen of
them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in
heaven." You get your reward when you get the praise of men. His
teaching was to do good by stealth, that it might not be known,
and that men might not get honor from their fellow-men.
"Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet
before thee, as the hypocrites do that they might have the glory
of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But when
thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what they right hand
doeth; that thine alms might be in secret and thy Father which
seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly." The whole of
these teachings are full of instruction, and indicate the
character of the Savior and the nature of the Gospel which he
preached.
91
Here is another saying: "Take no thought for your life, what ye
shall eat; neither for the body what ye shall put on. The life is
more than meat, and the body is more than raiment." This kind of
teaching did not suit mankind, it came in contact with their
ideas, and with their traditions, and the manner in which they
had been taught. It was the praise of the world that they sought;
it was to be seen of men that they worshipped, and it was to be
seen of men that they gave alms. And they loved those that
bestowed favors upon them, that were kind to them. They invited
the rich to their feasts and not the poor. Jesus commanded his
disciples to invite the poor and not the rich, as they could
invite themselves. In fact, he taught doctrines that laid the axe
at the root of all selfishness, and, if carried out, that would
destroy it entirely, leaving no vestige of it in the human bosom.
91
I have already read to you the great rule that the Savior taught:
"Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to
you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the
prophets." Let us Latter-day Saints ask ourselves this afternoon,
partaking as we are of the Sacrament, eating the bread and
drinking of the cup in remembrance of the body and the blood of
our Lord and Savior; let us ask ourselves--and I include myself
with all of you, for I preach to myself as much as I do to any
one of this congregation upon these points--do we remember this
golden rule that the Savior gave? Do we endeavor, when dealing in
any way or manner whatever with our brother or our sister, put
ourselves in his or her position and say in our hearts, that
which I do to my brother or to my sister, or am about to do, is
just what I would that he should do to me? Do we think of this?
Do we carry it out? Or do we think about ourselves, and forget
about our brother and sister, unmindful of their interest and the
rights and the claims which they have upon us?
92
Well, now, I know, that situated as we are it is somewhat
difficult to carry out these principles properly in their
perfection, and that there has to be wisdom used. But
nevertheless, here is the standard to which we are required, as
Latter-day Saints and as disciples of Christ, to attain to. We
must attain to it. Just as sure as we live, if we do not attain
to it, where God and Christ are we never can come; we could not
dwell in their presence unless we have the same spirit, the same
feelings and inclinations, having conquered the weaknesses of our
fallen nature sufficiently, so that the Gospel that He taught
shall be exemplified in us as it was in him. "Not every one that
sayeth to me "Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of
heaven;" it is not all those who will say unto him in that day,
"Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name
have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?"
It is not all these whom the Savior will recognize and
acknowledge, and whom he will admit into his presence and into
his kingdom; but it is those that do the will of his Father in
heaven; it is those that enter into the strait gate and that walk
in the narrow way, and that persevere unto the end, denying
themselves and overcoming every evil inclination, and bringing
their dispositions into complete subjection to the mind and will
of God, bringing forth the fruits of righteousness; for every
tree will be known by its fruits. No corrupt tree can bring forth
good fruit; no good tree can bring forth evil fruit. No
Latter-day Saint, that is, a true Latter-day Saint, will bring
forth the fruits of unrighteousness or wickedness. No professed
Latter-day Saint who is a hypocrite, who is not of God, can bring
forth fruit that will be acceptable unto him. I know how we feel
as a people. The general feeling in our hearts is that we have
borne witness unto the Father and unto the Son and unto angels
and unto all the earth, by the course of life we have taken in
joining this Church, and in taking upon us the name that has been
hitherto so ignominious, in taking up our cross; and because of
our obedience to the Gospel of the Son of God there is scarcely
doubt in our minds respecting our future condition, that we are
almost sure to enter into the celestial kingdom of God and sit
down with the Father and the Son, and with the Prophets and
Apostles who have gone before. I am sensible of the fact that
this feeling is general. And I believe there is no people of the
same number who are entitled to this feeling, than the Latter-day
Saints are. I say this because there is no people who have
endured so much for their religion; and they have witnessed to
the heavens and the earth their willingness to forsake all things
for its sake. They have taken no thought of their lives; they
have taken no thought in times past as to what they should eat,
as to what they should drink, or as to what they should wear and
they have held themselves ready to sacrifice their all for the
Gospel of the Son of God. But there are other duties, there are
other obligations resting upon us as a people besides these to
which I have referred. And it is necessary we should live a Godly
life after we have done all these things. After we have
prophesied, after we have done many wonderful works, after we
have received the Holy Ghost and cast out devils, it is
essentially necessary we should do other things, and this is to
carry out in our lives the principles of our Lord and Master. And
upon these points we need continued instruction and reproof; we
need continued warning least we should be overcome by the spirit
of the world and become self-deluded by imagining that our case
is a good one, our condition is a sure one, and that we are
secure of eternal life. We should always remember the which the
Apostle Paul says--"Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth
take heed lest he fall." There are none of us in so secure a
position but what we may do things that may displease the Father.
93
It is necessary, as the world have been taught by the Elders of
this Church from the beginning, that men should have faith in
God; and it is as true to-day as it was anciently that faith
without works is dead. It is necessary that men should repent of
their sins, and it is not only necessary to repent of, but to
forsake those sins and be baptized for the remission of them, and
that they should receive the laying on of hands, according to the
apostolic pattern, for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and
without which no man can see God, nor dwell in his presence, nor
prepare himself to dwell there. Man needs it all the time to be
with him to assist, to guide him, acting as a monitor to him. The
Elders of this Church have testified that these things are
necessary and essential to salvation in the kingdom of God. It is
just as necessary now as in ancient days that men should take a
certain course in order to receive certain blessings, and this is
the great cause of the disunion and the variety of opinions which
exist in the religious world to-day. It is because men have
departed from the truth as it was originally; it is because they
have changed the ordinances of the Gospel and broken the
everlasting covenant as foretold by Isaiah. And hence, when you
travel through the world of Christendom to-day, you find every
variety of religious belief. You can scarcely conceive of a
doctrine that is not entertained. There is but one Christ, and
Christ is believed in, or at least men profess to believe in him.
But they have some three different kinds of Baptism, and I have
heard of more. There are as many methods of approaching the
Savior and obtaining remission of sins, almost, as there are
sects and denominations; and all professing to be followers of
the Lord Jesus Christ, as though the Lord were the author of
confusion, as though the Lord were the author of strife. Hence it
is that there is so much infidelity, so much atheism, and so many
men that deny God; for they can see nothing admirable or
desirable in the professions of Christianity, as it is called.
And why so? Because men have strayed from the truth; it is
because they have forsaken the faith and doctrine taught by the
Savior; and having departed from it, of course they are left to
themselves. Every reformer that has arisen has presented some new
form of doctrine; he has enunciated some new ideas, or ideas
which he thought were new. He promulgated some new teachings, and
has not failed to draw some followers, according to his
popularity.
93
The Latter-day Saints believe that the Lord has spoken from the
heavens. And this appears to be very objectionable. I remember
the time in my boyhood, when it was thought the worst thing--that
is, before the principle of plural marriage was taught. It is
very often said now, "If you were not polygamists, and did not
believe in polygamy, there would be no trouble. You are a pretty
good people, you 'Mormons,' if you would only get rid of you
peculiar institutions we could get along with you." It seems to
be but a few years ago when we were not known generally as
believers in plural marriage, and what was the objection to us
then? "You 'Mormons' believe in new revelation, and we do not
know what kind of revelation you may get: you may profess to
receive a revelation and get a false one, and we do not know what
may be the result; it is a dangerous doctrine." Well, it is a
dangerous doctrine for the wicked world. But think of it. What is
there about the doctrine of revelation--continuous revelation
from God, that conflicts with the Gospel as taught in ancient
days? Why, we are taught in the Bible that all flesh are equal in
the sight of God; that he that works righteousness is acceptable
to God in every generation among every people; that God does not
confine his mercies and providences and blessing to one
generation, or one people, or one nation, but that he is God over
the whole earth; that his salvation is as boundless as eternity,
and his hand is over all his handiwork--that is, over all his
creations. That he was the God of Adam and those who lived
contemporary with him; was the God of Noah and was mindful of him
and those who lived contemporary with him who feared him and kept
his commandments; and also of the Savior and the Apostles; and he
is the same God to-day as he was yesterday, the same God in this
year of our Lord one thousand, eight hundred and seventy-eight,
as he was in the first year of our era; and that he has not
changed or grown old, that his eyes have not grown dim, or his
arm less powerful to save to-day, than it ever was. And this
doctrine appeals to every human being as divine truth, as the
revelation of nature to man--if you may use the word nature, if
you do not like the word God--that all men of every generation
are equal before God; and it is a doctrine that runs through all
the teachings of every inspired man through all the ages. And I
would not give a fig for a religion that did not teach it, nor a
system that did not recognize it. It is not worthy of a place in
a man's belief.
94
We believe, then, that God has revealed himself to man again, for
his own purpose, to accomplish his own design and to prepare a
people for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. For we believe he
will come that he will come to reign upon the earth and to
establish righteousness and uproot iniquity, and carry out the
doctrine I have read in your hearing; and establish an order of
society that shall have for its basis eternal truth, some of the
principles of which I have read to you. We believe he is coming
for this purpose and to destroy all those man-made systems, and
this inequality, and this fraud, and all wickedness that
prevails. He will do it, better than Kearney, better than Labor
Unions or Workingmen's Leagues. He will do it better than any
man-made institution. In fact the whole of them will be
overturned by him; and he will introduce a plan by which every
man will recognize the value of his brother man, a plan by which
the poor can rejoice and which will prevent the oppressor and the
evil-doer and the strong hand of Wealth from controlling and
governing the earth, as is the case to-day. And it is for this
purpose that the Gospel has been restored; and we have commenced
to practice some of the principles calculated to bring about this
condition of affairs. Imperfectly we admit, very imperfectly; but
nevertheless the principles themselves are true and are perfect,
however imperfectly they may be believed in and carried out by
those professing to be the followers of them, and, as I have
said, the Lord has restored the ordinances in their ancient power
and in their ancient purity; and the results we see before us
to-day, to a certain extent, in this Territory. We are partially
united; and I thank God for it; I praise him every day of my life
that my lot is cast among this people and that I am counted
worthy to be a member of this Church. However humble my station
may be, I still feel that I would have abundant cause for
thanksgiving in the fact that I am a member of this Church and
that through membership I have a claim to the fellowship of this
people. Imperfect as we are, I nevertheless feel thankful for the
degree of union that we have attained to throughout these
valleys. I am thankful for these by brethren and these my
sisters. When I see their union and course of life and the
disposition they manifest in the midst of the temptations which
surround them, I feel thankful that the Gospel has been restored
and for the power it has upon the hearts of those with whom I am
associated. To me the spectacle is one that fills me with
thankfulness and admiration to God, when I see these elements
gathered to these mountains from so many different nations and
peoples, notwithstanding our peculiarities and original
differences of faith and of language education and training, to
see them dwell together so peacefully as they do, loving one
another and ever ready and willing to do good to each other; not
to the extent probably we should do or that we are required to
do, for in too many instances we forget ourselves and partake too
much of the spirit of the world. But I am thankful, as I have
said, for that which I do witness, for the union and love and
disposition to deny ourselves and the reverence we have for God
and sacred things and also the regard we have for his Priesthood.
95
This Gospel to which I have referred, if taught and believed in
and practiced by the inhabitant so the earth, would revolutionize
the face of society; it would change the affairs of the earth, as
we witness them. Instead of one man lauding it over his
fellowman, as though he were made of better clay, as though he
were made of porcelain, while his neighbor was made of common
stuff, and thinking himself entitled to better board and bed and
finer clothes, and to live in greater ease, instead of feeling
that way, when the principles of the Gospel are practiced by us
in their entirety, we will get rid entirely of these feelings,
and we will seek to carry out that which he has commanded his
servants, namely to love your neighbor as yourselves; and not to
profess to do it; but do it. And when we trade with our neighbor,
instead of taking advantage of him and of his ignorance and
necessities, trade with him as we would want him to trade with us
under similar circumstances, and mete out to him evenhanded
justice, as we would wish him to do to us were our positions
reversed. These are lessons required of us in the Gospel; to
learn them and practice them, and then struggle with our
weakness--for these are weaknesses in our nature--and they come
in contact with the sort of doctrine, these heavenly and advanced
principles which Jesus taught when upon the earth.
95
It is an easy thing to tell a true Latter-day Saint from one who
only professes the religion; it is an easy thing to tell a false
Prophet from a true Prophet; it is easy to tell where a man gets
his doctrines from, whether from beneath or from above, by the
fruits that they bring forth. The doctrines of the Lord Jesus
Christ bring peace; they bear testimony to every man's soul who
practises them that they are true. And if a man want to know
whether God lives and whether Jesus is his Son, and had a right
to teach the doctrines accredited to him in the Bible, let him
practice those doctrines, and he will find out for himself that
they are true, because there will be a spirit that will bear
testimony to him of their truthfulness. He will have the spirit
of heaven, the spirit of peace, the spirit of love, of charity,
of patience and forgiveness, and the spirit of joy in his heart.
But when he believes them and comes in contact with them, there
is another spirit takes possession of him and his joy, his peace
and happiness take their flight.
95
Why, brethren and sisters it is good for us on this the Lord's
day to leave our business, leave our workshop, leave our counting
houses, leave our stores and our fields and farms, our gardens
and cattle, and the other things that engross our attentions
during the six days of the week, and come here on the Lord's Day,
and ponder upon his Word and on the doctrines given unto us, and
treasure them up in our hearts, and seek them a practical
application in our lives as fast as we can. And the more a man
seeks to do this, the more he labors in his own individual
interest. In one sense it makes but little difference, and will
make but little difference to me what your fate may be. It is
true it would add to my happiness to see and know that my friends
were saved and exalted in the presence of our Father; but the
great duty devolving upon you and me, is to see that we are
individually saved. It is not for met to watch and scrutinize and
comment upon you, having my attention directed to your
weaknesses, and then say, "There is Brother So-and-So; how
unworthy he is;" or "There is Sister So-and-So, look at her
conduct, and what poor management she has in her household; and
how she treats her household." It is not for you or me to do this
one to another, but it is for each one of us to look at ourselves
and examine our own hearts, look at and scrutinize our own
conduct doing that which is right in the sight of God ourselves.
96
Are we individually complying with those requirements which Jesus
gave his apostles? If we are, it is well with us. If we are not
it matters not how many others are doing wrong, it does not help
my case or excuse you in the least degree. But it is for me to do
right myself; it is for me to carry out and practise in my life
the principles revealed, and which I know to be true; and then
whether those on the right or those on the left do wrong, it
makes no difference so far as my individual salvation is
concerned. And this is practical religion. If I were to set down
and begin to relate to some of my neighbors the faults of another
neighbor, do you think that would add to my perfection? No, it
would tend to make me more contemptible in the sight of God, and
in the sight of all men more just and upright than myself.
Therefore it is our duty to indulge in and practice
self-examination, and self-condemnation if necessary. The man
that looks at himself in the light of the Spirit of God, and who
is a humble man, will not find much fault with his fellow-man;
for the presence of his own faults arise before him continually
when he sees another man's weaknesses, and instead of filling him
with self-pride and self-justification and feeling
self-righteous, it produces a feeling within him of commiseration
for others, and the spirit of charity takes possession of him,
and undoubtedly a prayer ascends from his heart to God in behalf
of him who had given way to weakness desiring the Lord to deliver
him that he might not be left to be overcome by the adversary.
There is too much talking among us about one another. If we
perceive a weakness in a brother or a sister, instead of talking
about it, we should rather, pray for him or her; it would be much
better for us. If we are so perfect that we need no help
ourselves, let us exercise faith for those who are not in so good
condition, and pray the Lord to help them, and they may be
enabled to overcome.
96
The Lord bless you, brethren and sisters, and help us to be that
which we profess to be, not only to be Latter-day Saints in name,
but in word and deed, exemplifying the principles of our religion
in our lives; which I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / Orson
Hyde, November 3, 1878
Orson Hyde, November 3, 1878
SUBSTANCE OF A DISCOURSE BY ELDER ORSON HYDE,
Delivered at Mount Pleasant, Sanpete County, Utah,
on Sunday Morning, November 3, 1878,
Said to have been the last delivered by him while living in the
flesh.
GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES--THE CORRUPTION OF THE
ADMINISTRATION--ITS
TREATMENT OF THE LATTER-DAY SATINS--THE JUDGMENTS OF GOD UPON THE
WICKED--OPPOSITION TO POLYGAMY PREPARATION FOR COMING EVENTS.
97
I am much gratified this morning, my brethren, sisters and
friends, to meet with you in this Tabernacle in Mount Pleasant,
in the capacity of a two day's meeting. From the numbers present
before me, I am led to conclude that a deep and abiding interest
dwells in your hearts; and you have come here to increase your
zeal, and add intelligence to your present stock of knowledge
pertaining to the kingdom of God.
97
I hope and trust that you may not be disappointed; for it is,
bona fide, my intention to lay open to your view, in plain,
simple, and unmistakable language, the facts that are presented
to my mind, for I desire all to hear and to understand,
especially those who may not be fully conversant with the English
language.
97
The government of the United States, on paper, is an institution
approaching as near perfection as any government ever ordained by
man; but when its administration drifts in to the hands of
unscrupulous and dishonest politicians, it becomes an engine of
oppression and very unequal in its bearings. Any crack or
deformity of the elegant mirror becomes the more conspicuous by
contrast--so the cracks, splits, and crookedness in our general
government become the more glaring and unwelcome in the eyes of
the governed.
97
Great effort has been made to ferret out the guilty parties and
bring them to punishment who were engaged in the horrid Mountain
Meadow massacre. Had this been done in the spirit of justice and
truth, free from that animus and extreme desire to criminate the
whole Mormon Church that effort would have been praiseworthy and
highly commendable; but conducted as it has been thus far, it
will go down to the shades, covering with odium the conductors of
that campaign.
98
In contrast with the foregoing, I will now refer to the horrid
massacre at Hawn's Mill, in Missouri, wherein seventeen
peaceable, quite, and unoffending citizens, were shot down, in
cold blood, and their bodies thrown into an old well; and for
what? I am at the defiance of the whole world to show that it was
for anything, except for the crime of being "Mormons." I would
here ask this government how much military and judicial
investigation was had to ferret out and bring to punishment the
perpetrators of that bloody deed, to say nothing of the wholesale
banishment of an entire community by force of arms, and the
sequestration of their property and inheritances? How does this
compare with the claims of the government to justice and equal
rights?
98
Again, my hearers, I will refer you to the murderous assault made
on Joseph and Hyrum Smith, John Taylor and Willard Richards, in
Carthage jail. These men were untried and uncondemned,
incarcerated within the walls of a strong prison, and no danger
of escape; yet a band of disguised men, about one hundred and
fifty in number, assaulted the prison and slew Joseph and Hyrum
Smith, and seriously wounded John Taylor with musket rifle balls;
and as every man is to be held innocent until proven guilty, they
remain innocent, because never proven guilty, nor could they be
proven guilty, by any truthful evidence.
98
It was said that some kind of legal proceedings were instituted
in this tragic affair, yet not with a view to convict and punish,
but with the intention to place a bar against all future
proceedings that might be undertaken and prosecuted in good
faith. Thus the Prophet of God and Patriarch of the Church were
cruelly murdered, to the great grief of their numerous friends,
and to the joy of a Christian nation.
98
Popular clamour crucified the Savior, and a popular outburst of
indignation murdered the Prophet of God and his brother, and amid
fire and storm, cannon balls, swords and bayonets, were the
"Mormon" people compelled to flee into the wilderness. To the
shame, dishonor and disgrace of the nation be it spoken; and when
they ask the cause of the whirlwinds, tornadoes and cyclones,
that sweep through the land, they are respectfully referred to
Haun's Mill, Carthage Jail and to the treatment generally of the
"Mormons" in Missouri and Illinois for the true and faithful
answer.
98
The Prophet Isaiah, 60th chapter, 12th verse, utters this strong
sentiment: "For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee,
shall perish; Yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted." They
may ask, Are we to be so humiliated as to serve the "Mormons"
whom we have despised, persecuted and rejected? They can take the
other horn of the dilemma if they choose, and be utterly wasted.
Wisdom however would suggest that our enemies move slowly and
cautiously.
98
For one, I have no objection to any and all federal officers
coming here to execute the laws, impartially in the spirit of
justice and truth. I say, they have my cordial good will to do
so. But when they come full of wrath, with a determination to
immortalize their names by squelching out "Mormonism," pandering
to the prejudices of an ungodly age, I can not find language
sufficiently strong to express my disapproval and contempt for
their administration--wresting laws from the known intention of
the Legislature, and applying them by certain technical twists,
to take the advantage of a people who labor day and night to
conform to the revelations of God.
99
Polygamy is a subject that greatly agitates the public mind at
the present day. Some men in their depraved zeal to pry into
every secret of polygamy with a view to expose it, know no limit
in their efforts to accomplish their hellish purpose. The Supreme
Ruler above has not yet relinquished all his rights, nor indeed
any of them, on our little planet to the sons of earth, though
they hold a very precarious dominion by sufferance, "until he who
letteth will let, 'til he be taken out of the way." Pestilence
and famine, earthquake and wars, whirlwinds and cyclones, fires
and floods, besides accidents innumerable are being called into
requisition to remove all obstacles; "for the nation and kingdom
that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall
be utterly wasted." The day of spiritualizing and daubing with
untempered mortar has gone by. It is stubborn, self-evident facts
that we have set forth in a light that all may understand.
Polygamy is a principle revealed from heaven with a commandment
to enter into it practically. The principle is abundantly
corroborated in the ancient scriptures, approved of God and
sanctioned by all righteous men; and he who labors to overthrow
this principle, fights against Jehovah and makes himself a
shining target, courting the arrows of the Almighty upon his
head, heart and country. Would to God, that I could,
conscientiously, make an exception here of our wise and learned
judges, attorneys, juries and marshals; but conscience forbids
it. The same consequences will follow against the fighting
against any commandment that God has given, or that he may give.
The consequences of the judicial war waged against the late
Brigham Young are not yet cancelled; but the hand of the
destroyer has already begun his work, though in a comparatively
mild and gentle form. Churches of various denominations, that
have always been barred against our preachers, are being opened
by the hand of Providence, as the cyclone that recently passed
through Pennsylvania may be considered as a slight reminder; nor
has Missouri altogether escaped. We are now living in the days of
a "marvelous work and a wonder." Our enemies are about to be
checked up in their career of burning strange fire upon the altar
of God.
99
The Elders of this Church, my brethren and sisters, have
faithfully labored during the last half century in almost every
nation on the globe, to warn the inhabitants of their duty and to
tell them the consequences of their not complying with it. It is
true, that by the help of the lord, we made many converts, yet
few in comparison to the numbers who rejected our message. We
can, therefore, with propriety say, we are unprofitable servants;
yet the Lord wishes to test our fidelity, our fortitude and our
patience, knowing that the world would not be converted by the
preaching of the Gospel, hence his design was to "send forth
judgment unto victory;" and when the judgments of God wax hot in
the land, many people will say, "Come, let us go up to the
mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob," and so
they will "come like clouds and like doves to their windows," and
Zion's gates be ever open, and Zion will not always be oppressed
for their kings will yet "become our nursing fathers and their
queens our nursing mothers."
99
We shall not always, my hearers, be under the necessity of
reasoning with the sceptical and technical unbeliever, to
persuade him to be saved; for a power will be manifested in the
land more potent than man's reasoning.
99
I wish to ask you, my brethren and sisters, two important
questions:
99
1st.--Why our unprecedently liberal harvest of grain this year?
100
2nd.--Why does the spirit of the Lord rest down upon our
Elders, directing them to explore the eastern, south-eastern and
southern countries with the view of finding suitable places for
new locations and settlements?
100
Ans. to first question--That we may be prepared to lay up a
surplus against coming troubles.
100
Ans. to second--to open the way to receive the multitudes
flocking to Zion, having heard that God is with us, and desiring
to escape the scourges by enlisting under the aegis of the
"Mormon" protection; and shall we escape the scourges of the
Almighty if we foolishly part with the surplus gifts that heaven
has granted us in trust for other purposes, and that too, before
the time? If the people of Utah will listen to wise counsels,
there will be no famine here arising from the refusal of the soil
to yield her fruits; but there may be danger of famine by the
rapid increase of population from abroad, especially if the
stores provided by the hand of Providence be foolishly parted
with before they may be needed to meet this exigency. A word of
caution to the wise virgins is sufficient; but bray a fool in a
mortar, and he is a fool still. Under the profession of great
piety and deep solicitude for the redemption of our children from
the influence of "Mormonism," many alleged charitable enterprises
have been put on foot in the shape of opposition schools, to
decoy them into their traps. They ensnare some of the children of
our apostates, and some apostates who claim that they find better
schools, and better teachers under the supervision of sectarian
priests, than they do amongst the "Mormons." This claim is made
through a disposition to depreciate "Mormon" institutions and to
elevate sectarianism. We have just as good institutions of
learning and as competent teachers as any of our neighbors; but
even allowing the children of this world to be wiser in their
generation than the children of light, it is no reason that I
should adopt them as my instructors. I now write a clumsy,
illegible hand. Many men can write my name and with much more
style and elegance than I possibly can do; yet, if they should
attach my name to a bond or promissory note for any amount, it
would not be my signature and could create no binding obligation
upon me; but the learned and accomplished gentleman who attached
my name to the instrument might be proven guilty of forgery and
subject himself to punishment. Jesus says: "Every plant which my
heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up."
101
There is another important feature, my friends, connected with
this subject that I cannot allow myself to omit. In the great
rush of people to the Saints in the last days, all sorts, sizes,
and of both sexes, will rush in upon us to escape the wrath of
the elements, which will render a time of purification and
cleansing, actually necessary. The chaff must be blown away, and
they who laid us waste must go forth from us. The wicked and the
ungodly must be far away. Now, what agencies must be employed to
accomplish this important part of the programme. It is out of my
power to inform you as to what means may be called in to
requisition to effect this object. We know, however, that wind
has something to do with the scattering of chaff. The departure
of the ungodly from amongst the Saints may be voluntary in many
cases. I have been informed by those who claim to know, that a
certain lady in this Territory built up a large fire in the room
where she lived, fancied that that fire was the most desirable
and lovely place in all the world, and plastered herself with tar
from head to foot, laid herself down on the fire, and literally
roasted herself to a chip.
101
She was said to be an aged lady, and I presume that God can make
even hell itself or any intermediate bad place look as inviting
to a wicked person as a bit of cheese in a trap to a hungry mouse
outside, but the majority of the departures will be involuntary.
But suffice it to say that something will occur, in a
providential way, that will cause sinners in Zion to tremble, and
fearfulness to surprise the hypocrite. It will, probably, be
something that will appear terrible to the unrighteous, and will
be all the nerves of the righteous can endure.
101
In conclusion, I will here say to you my brethren and sisters and
to the Saints generally: Set your houses in order and know that a
right spirit has dominion over you and things and dwellings and
over all things under your jurisdiction. Let the blood of the
covenant be freely sprinkled on your door posts and lintels--a
deep rooted union exist in your hearts and practiced in your
lives--devote yourselves to earnest prayer in secret and in your
families and allow not the cries of the poor to reach the ears of
Jehovah against you. Omit not the duty of patronizing every
institution or learning among the Saints, whether day or evening
schools, or Sunday schools. Defeat not the designs of the
Almighty by fooling away the fruits of the earth, knowing that we
are placed here, not to do our own will, but the will of him by
whose goodness we live; and we should be willing to be used in
doing good, building temples, places of education and in learning
to manufacture what we need.
101
Notwithstanding all the alleged improprieties of the Saints, and
charges brought against us--the errors and wrong-doings of any of
its members--the entire Church is a revelation from the eternal
God to the world at large, and is their standard reared in the
mountains and he who fights against it or against any of its
acknowledged members, fights against his Maker and toucheth the
apple of his own eye. Now, my brethren and sisters I bless you,
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / John
Taylor, December 8, 1878
John Taylor, December 8, 1878
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered at Ogden, on Sunday, December 8, 1878.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
THE PERPETUAL EMIGRATING FUND--HOW TO SETTLE DIFFICULTIES--SHOULD
BE GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF GOD--CO-OPERATION AND BROTHERLY
KINDNESS--THE PROPER TRAINING OF CHILDREN.
104
I am pleased to have the opportunity to meet with the Saints
here; and I have been quite interested in the remarks you have
heard this morning from Bro. Joseph F. Smith. There are a great
many principles associated with the Gospel of the Son of God; and
Bro. Joseph has presented some things that are quite interesting
and then there may be a few things said on the other side of the
question that are equally true. Those doctrines he has taught are
true; they are in accordance with the spirit of Gospel. We ought
always to live with reference to eternity, feeling full of
kindness, benevolence, charity and long suffering to all,
respecting always the motives and circumstances of others. Then
on the other hand while we do that, it is not right for others to
take advantage of that benevolence because a man is a good man
and an honorable man, a man that fears God and who is lenient,
kind, merciful and forgiving, it is not right for others to take
advantage of such goodness and praiseworthy actions; there are
two sides to all these matters, the question of debtor and
creditor is not all on one side. I will mention a thing here
which has been alluded to before, and which will serve to make
plain my meaning, I refer to the operations of the Perpetual
Emigrating Fund. There has been a very large amount expended for
the gathering of the poor Saints to this country. Have any been
pressed by that Fund for the payment of what they owe it. No. Yet
there are many of you who have gone with your teams--if you have
not gone, you have sent them--to assist these people. What for?
Because you felt it in your heart to do it, and because you were
called upon to do it, and because your were doing it in obedience
to a command of God. You not only furnished teams, but you
furnished provisions for the emigrating Saints. Now they, on the
other hand, covenanted and gave their notes for the payment of
this indebtedness, which if paid according to promise, would have
been used to emigrate other Saints similarly situated. Was it
right for you to bring them here and to supply them with food,
etc.? Yes. It is right of us to engage in such enterprises? Yes,
because the Gospel requires it at our hands, and the love of God
and the love of our brethren. This was done in good faith. Should
not this be met? There are a million of dollars due to-day on
this account. Is it right that it should be so? No. Have these
debtors been pressed, or has anybody seized them by the throat,
saying, pay me what thou owest? Not that I am aware of. Have they
been dragged before courts of justice? No. But still the debt
remains unpaid; and there is a question that arises in my mind.
Will it remain there, until it removes itself or not? This is a
little on the other side of the question, and this is not a small
thing either, and it is something we are all familiar with. If
this matter has not been pressed, it makes the obligation none
the less sacred. We are told to pay our debts, to meet our
obligations, to deal justly and righteously one with another. And
I wish we had no debts to pay; I wish we could so live as to keep
out of debt and meet our obligations day by day. But then we do
not do this; if we did we should be much better and more
pleasantly situated and feel more comfortable in our feelings and
dispositions. And if people do not do these things, what then?
There is a way appointed by the Lord, and that is to adjust them
before the bishops' courts. We as Latter-day Saints ought to be
governed by the laws of the church and not by the laws of the
land, until the law of God is complied with. How far would you
take them? Just as far as the law of God prescribes. If a man sin
against another is it good and charitable and kind to forgive
him? Yes. Now, I will speak of myself. I never sued a man either
before our own courts or any other courts. Why? Because I never
thought the thing worth enough; I never thought money and
property worth enough to go to law about. I think so yet, I think
it rather too small an affair to break up those fraternal
relations that should exist between brother and brother. Then do
you believe in owing people and not paying them? No, I do not. I
believe in meeting engagements honorably and honestly before God.
But will men be blessed for being forgiving? Well, I think so.
And I think that, as Latter-day Saints, we will have a good
chance of obtaining quite a blessing on account of our
forbearance in relation to those having obligations before
referred to; for there is, as I have said, a million of dollars
owing among the people, and I do not think they have been pressed
to pay it. But I wish people would do nearly right. I wish they
would act honorably and uprightly and consistently and properly,
and all meet their obligations and pursue an upright course. But
there is again another question to be adjusted in this matter. It
is not the value of the money alone nor how it will affect me;
but how are others affected by it? A perpetual fund was
established, which fund contemplated a continual help, a
continual return of the money loaned and perpetual fund kept
always on hand, for the assistance of those requiring aid. This
fund was not designed as a gift, but as a loan; but now it
happens that this fund is crippled, because men have not returned
their loans. It is not therefore a matter as between ourselves,
but one that affects hundreds that are very much worse off than
those who owe these debts. The cry is continually coming to our
ears for help. The poverty, distress, and trouble in Europe are
on the increase, and we have continually to hear the wails of the
poor; they look to us for help, but those debtors have got their
means and are using it. There is another cry; it is not those
debtors being oppressed by us; but the ungathered poor being
defrauded by those who have borrowed money and do not return it.
It may become quite a question as to how far we are justified in
permitting those who have been assisted, by this public fund by
withholding what they justly owe, to block the wheels of the
institution and deprive others, who may be more meritorious than
themselves, of obtaining that relief which is justly their due.
But do you believe in being grasping? No. Do you believe in
covetousness? No, I do not. I think that as Latter-day Saints we
ought to have our minds fixed on something else--something more
elevating, more exalting, more honorable, and more in accordance
with the position we occupy and the principles we profess to
believe in.
105
As this subject has been broached, I wish now to speak a little
in regard to our manner of doing business. We are mixed up a good
deal at present--you, here in Ogden, are especially, and we in
Salt Lake are too--with Gentile institutions, and their practice
is strictly upon the ground referred to by brother Joseph, "an
eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, pay me that thou owest,"
etc., which in one sense is all very correct; but there is a
better way to settle difficulties, which is by mixing up with it
a little charity and benevolence, and then it does very well. But
when we talk about "popping men through" the courts who do not do
thus and so, as has been referred to, I tell you what you should
do, whenever a man would attempt to "pop" you through the courts
of the law of the land, you should "pop" him through the courts
of our Church; you should bring him up for violating the laws of
the Church, for going to law before the ungodly, instead of using
the means that God has appointed. We think, as Latter-day Saints,
that the laws of God are a little in advance of the laws of the
land; and, in fact, it is not an unfrequent thing for men not
belonging to our Church to express themselves desirous to bring
their cases for trial before our High Council, believing they
could get better justice than they could before the courts of the
world; I believe it with all my heart. Latter-day Saints, we
ought to be controled by correct principles; and if anybody is
sinned against, we have our remedy. If the brother that Brother
Joseph F. Smith has referred to, instead of cherishing and
harboring those unpleasant feelings, had gone to his brother who
had given him offence, and told him that his feelings were hurt
at some word he has spoken, and he thought he would come and talk
the matter squarely to him, that little affair would have been
settled, and good feelings, would have existed between them. But
then, supposing after being so waited on, your brother would not
hear you, it would then be proper to wait on him again, taking
with you another brother; and if he still persisted to manifest
hard feelings, it would then be proper to report him to the
Church, and let the matter be brought to the notice of the
Teachers or the Priests, as the case might be. If he refuse to
hearken to their counsel, let a charge be preferred against him
to his Bishop who, with his counselors, should hear and decide
the case according to the evidence, with all long-suffering and
humility and justice and prayer before God, to guide him in his
decision. And when they operate together in this way, such things
will be disposed of aright. And if either party should be
dissatisfied with the decision, an appeal could be taken to a
higher court--the High Council. And when that body of men sit
upon the case and render their decision in the matter, and if the
brother refuse to hear them, what then? He is cut off the Church.
"But (a man may say) it is a matter of dollars and cents, and if
a man owe me $5,000, I cannot afford to lose it, and what
recourse have I?" Bring him up before the Church, and if he will
not listen to the counsel of the Church authorities, let him be
dealt with by this council. And what will be the result? He will
be severed from the Church. "And am I to lose my money?" No, not
necessarily so; he is outside of the Church, and now you can "pop
him through" by the law, if that be the term you use. And this is
why we take such pain in electing our representatives to our
legislature. We try to select good men in order, that we may have
good laws enacted, and then we try to get good Probate Judges.
Brother Richards here is a Probate Judge, and is he a good man? I
think he is. Is he an Apostle? Yes. Well, would it be right to
take your case to him as a Probate Judge? No; if you were to, we
would deal with you for your fellowship. You say, "That's a
curious doctrine." You have agreed to be governed by the laws of
the Church, and I mention this to show you what would be right in
regard to principles of that kind. And if after summonsing the
parties referred to before the Bishop's Court, and from there the
case be carried before the High Council, and then we would not do
right, the consequence would be that he would be cut off from the
Church, and then you would be at liberty to summon him before
Brother Richards, as a Judge of Probate. But there possibly might
be an appeal from the High Council, and Brother Richards, in a
Church capacity, might be one to consider the case, then that
would be all right.
106
I speak of these things to show what our duties are, and the
position we occupy. Do you remember what the Apostle Paul said
when talking to some of the former-day Saints on this subject?
The people to whom he addressed himself were doubtless like some
of our easy-going brethren, who are always in trouble a good
deal, and are always wanting to "pop 'em through." Says he, in
the 6th chapter of Corinthians, "Dare any of you, having a matter
against a brother, go to law before the unjust? Do you not know
that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be
judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that
pertain to this life? I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there
is not a wise man among you? No, not one that shall be able to
judge between his brethren? But brother goeth to law with
brother, and that before the unbelievers. Now, therefore, there
is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with
another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? Why do ye not rather
suffer yourselves to be defrauded?" etc., and is it not said too,
in speaking of the Twelve, that they shall sit upon twelve
thrones, and shall judge the Twelve Tribes of Israel? And does
not the Church to-day possess the same officers as it did
anciently, and are they not set apart by the revelation of God,
and ordained by the holy Priesthood to occupy this position? Are
these men not competent to judge of the comparatively trivial
things associated with this life? and yet you will take your
brother before ungodly men to be judged of them. I tell you the
hand of God will follow you if you do it. And we do not want any
such thing done by any calling themselves Latter-day Saints; and
Israel cannot do such things with the approbation of God, or the
councils of his Church. And I will give you fair warning, and I
call upon Brother Peery here, who is President of this Stake, to
carry it out, that when he finds any Latter-day Saint under his
jurisdiction going to law with his brother before the ungodly, to
bring him up and deal with him for his fellowship. This is a
correct principle before God; and as Saints of God we should be
governed by his laws, and not by the laws of the world. But these
laws are made and provided for our protection, and when it is
proper and right we can make use of them in common with other
citizens. But we have laws among ourselves, and all honorable men
among us will submit to the decisions of our Church authorities,
and those who are not honorable we do not want, and we will cut
them off.
106
I attended your monthly priesthood meeting yesterday. I find
there has been a little feeling about the districting of your
city, which ought not to exist. We sometimes get a little zealous
in those local matter, each has his own ideas, and is desirous of
carrying them out. I do not know that I have any idea of my own
about these matters. I am desirous to ascertain the will of God,
and if I know that, I want to do it regardless of my opinion,
that does not amount to much. But if we can know the will of God
and understand the principles of life, and then abide by them,
all will be well. And as to what imaginary line or district you
live in, I do not think it makes much difference. We want a
little of this good feeling of brotherhood about which Brother
Joseph has been speaking so pleasantly. Jesus says: "Blessed are
the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they
which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be
filled. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
That is of more value a great deal than dollars and cents, if you
could but understand it. It is worth ten thousand million times
more, for they perish with their using. You brought nothing into
the world; you can take nothing out. By and by, and a little
space of ground six feet by two is all you will want, and your
money and your property you will leave for others to handle.
"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness,
for they shall be filled." Blessed are whom? The liar, the
hypocrite, the thief, the rogue, the debauchee? No; but "Blessed
are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Let us hunt after
these things, and seek to possess more of these principles which
were taught and inculcated by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
107
We have introduced among us the kingdom of God. What is meant by
it? The law, the rule, the government of God. Now, the Lord has
laid down a perfect law in relation to our temporal affairs and
we would not see so much squabling among us if we could carry it
out. I refer to what we call the United Order. But we cannot bear
it, it seems to much for us, as much as we talk and boast of our
intelligence we cannot come to some of these little principles of
the Gospel. Some of us can manage to pay our tithing, and some of
us cannot. And then some of us can believe a little in
co-operation, and we think that it is a terrible stride; to me
that is one of the least things that God ever instituted among
men and I sometimes think if we cannot do that we had better
quit. Talk about being Gods and organizing worlds; why if we fail
in such a comparatively small undertaking, I do not think we have
faith enough to drag a sitting hen from her nest. If we cannot be
united in some of these little things, how can we in greater
things? We were talking about the principle of co-operation in
our priesthood meeting; and I thought I would refer to it here.
And we are getting up County or rather Stake organizations
throughout Zion. And we want in all of our temporal affairs to
deal justly one with another. We want to sustain co-operation,
and then we want co-operation to sustain us. It is not all on one
side; there are two sides. If we sustain co-operation, we will
call upon co-operation to sustain us, and all the settlements
throughout the Territory will be represented, just the same as
the Saints to-day are represented in the Church through the
President of Stakes, and we will try to do right ourselves, and
then we will try and see that they do right. We will sustain them
with good, honest efforts, and we want square up and down
operations on both sides, carrying out the principles of
co-operation honestly and truthfully before God and men. That is
what we expect and we expect it from your President, his
counselors and also from the Bishops and from all the people. And
if you cannot do this never talk about making worlds.
107
The world is opposed to us. They say they are not. Well, would
you injure them? No; I would not hurt a hair of their heads or
deprive them of any right they enjoy, either religious or
political. We want to treat all men kindly and with due respect;
but we do not want to be governed by their religious views, nor
put our children under their teachings. We want to look after the
education of our children and see that they are placed under
proper teachers and receive proper training, and not be placed in
the hands of the enemies of the Church and kingdom of God.
108
Now brethren if we are Latter-day Saints, let us be consistent
with our belief and profession. I profess to be a Latter-day
Saint, and I believe in the doctrines that the Lord has revealed
to us with all my heart; and I do not care who knows it. Now I am
told in the revelations to bring up my children in the fear of
God. I believe that this kingdom which the Lord has set up will
grow and increase until the kingdoms of this world will become
the kingdoms of our God and his Christ. And this you believe as
well as I do. We believe in celestial glory; and we believe in
terrestrial and telestial glory; or in other words, we believe
there will be a separation finally of the good from the bad. Now
we are engaged gathering together, or separating ourselves from
the world and building our temples and administering in them for
the living and the dead, and we spend millions of dollars in the
accomplishment of this object, that we may become united and
linked together by eternal covenants that shall exist in all time
and through out eternity. And then, when we have done all this go
and deliberately turn our children over to whom? To men who do
not believe the Gospel, to men who, according to your faith, are
never going to the celestial kingdom of God. They will get as big
a glory as they are prepared for, but they are not going there.
And you will turn your children over to them. And you call
yourselves Latter-day Saints, do you? I will suppose a case. You
expect to be saved in the celestial kingdom of God. Well,
supposing your expectations are realized, which I sometimes
doubt, and you look down, down somewhere in a terrestrial or
telestial kingdom, as the case may be, and you there see your
children, the offspring that God had given you to train up in his
fear, to honor him and keep his commandments, and perceive that
between you and them there is a great gulf, as represented by the
Savior in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. And supposing
they could converse with you--which, however, they could not
do--but if such were the case, what would be their feelings
towards you? It would be, Father, mother, and you are to blame
for this. I would have been with you if you had not tampered with
the principles of life and salvation in permitting me to be
decoyed away by false teachers, who taught incorrect principles.
And this is the result of it. But then I very much question men
and women's getting into the celestial kingdom of God who have no
more knowledge about the principles of life and salvation than to
go and tamper with the sacred offspring, the principle of life
which God intrusted to your care, to thus shuffle it off to
imbibe the spirit of unbelief, which leads to destruction and
death. I very much doubt in my mind the capability of such people
getting there. We had better look after ourselves a little. God
has given us light and he expects us to be governed by it. In
speaking of Abraham he says, "I know him." What do you know of
him? That he will fear me. What else? "That he will command his
children after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord. To
do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham
that which he hath spoken of him."
109
Well, the time is passing, but before closing, I wish to say a
word or two in regard to this co-operation in temporal things.
They are very little things but they form a kind of stepping
stone towards other and more important events. A closer union
which we shall expect to inaugurate by-and-bye, but which we are
not prepared to yet. But for the time being it is expected that
as honorable men and women, we will honestly and truly carry out
our covenants in regard to these little temporal things; and let
us be one, for the Lord has plainly told us, if ye are not one,
ye are not mine. If ye are not mine, whose are ye? You can figure
that up just as you please. These are the facts in relation to
this matter, we are desirous to bring about these things. What
for? For the sake of making money? No. Money is of little
importance where truth is concerned. I would not care if all the
money was out of existence, but I do care about the principles,
and the laws of God, about men being what they profess to be, and
not hypocrites, be-lying their profession. We expect to see these
things carried out in honesty and truth, because it is the order
which God has introduced as a stepping-stone to something in the
future. We build temples and administer in them. How? Precisely
according to the revelations which God has given to us; but when
it comes to our temporal affairs, we would ride over and almost
totally ignore the laws which he has given to us to govern them.
Jesus says, "In vain you say to me Lord, Lord, and do not the
things which I say." And I say, In vain you will say, Lord, Lord,
if you cannot attend to these little things; and those who will
not, God will shake out from among his people. Now hear it, ye
Latter-day Saints! and be not deceived: God is not mocked; for
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also 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." We should be governed by correct principles in the
fear of God; and should righteously, uprightly, and virtuously
preserve our bodies and spirits pure and keep all the laws of God
and seek to comprehend his will in regard to all things, and feel
that we are here to build up the kingdom of God and not
ourselves, to establish the principles of righteousness and of
truth and the laws of heaven, and not our ideas and theories; for
through the ordinances of God and through obedience to his laws
come the blessings of God to Israel in time and through all
eternity.
109
God bless you and lead you in the paths of life, in the name of
Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / John
Taylor, January 6, 1879
John Taylor, January 6, 1879
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR.
Delivered at the Quarterly Conference of the Salt Lake Stake of
Zion,
in the Salt Lake Theatre, Sunday Afternoon, January 6, 1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
WE SHOULD NOT BOAST OF SUPERIORITY OVER OUR FELLOW CREATURES--GOD
IS
INTERESTED IN THE WELFARE OF ALL MANKIND--THE RELATION AND
AMENABILITY
OF ALL MEN TO THE LAWS OF GOD--WE SHOULD BE COURTEOUS TO THOSE
WHOSE
VIEWS DIFFER FROM OURS--THE SERVANTS OF GOD ARE MESSENGERS OF
SALVATION--THE RESTORATION OF THE PRIESTHOOD--THE JUDGMENTS OF
THE
ALMIGHTY--ABSURD THEORIES OF LEARNED MEN--ONLY THE RIGHTEOUS
AMONG
THE SAINTS WILL BE SAVED IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
109
I have been interested in listening to the remarks that have been
made by the brethren who have addressed us during this
Conference: and I propose myself to offer a few reflections that
have passed through my mind while listening to the teaching and
instruction that has been presented.
110
There is a feeling prevailing more or less among all the branches
of the human family, that the nation or people to which they
belong is superior in many respects to others, either in
government, in morals, in science, in manufactures, in the arts
or in religion, as the case may be, and the Latter-day Saints are
not without this sentiment. We feel that God has blessed us more
abundantly with wisdom and knowledge regarding himself, his ways,
his laws and in relation to eternal things, through our obedience
to his will than he has others, and that we are moving in a
higher plane than the rest of the sons and daughters of Adam.
Admitting this to be correct, there is nothing whereof we as
individuals or as a people ought to boast. If we have received
any intelligence or knowledge pertaining either to the present or
the future, it has been solely through the communications that
God has been pleased to make known to us. For naturally we are
very like other men--not much taller, not much shorter, not much
more intelligent, not much more ignorant, than they are. There is
not so great a diversity among peoples as some imagine, other
things being equal; it may be well for us to reflect a little on
the position we occupy in relation to others, in relation to our
God, in relation to the world in which we live and the peoples by
which we are surrounded; to reflect upon the past, the present,
and the future; and to comprehend, if possible, our true status
before the Almighty and before all men.
110
It is indeed true that God has conferred upon us many great and
peculiar blessings for which we are indebted to him; but at the
same the Lord feels interested in the welfare of all men, and all
peoples of all nations, of all creeds and all religions--not in
their religions as religions, but in the people who profess to
believe in them; and he is acquainted with the peculiar ideas,
habits, dispositions and feelings of men everywhere. One of the
old apostles in speaking upon these things says, "God hath made
of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of
the earth; and hath determined the times before appointed and the
bounds of their habitations; that they should seek the Lord if
haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not
far from every one of us." It is further said, "that we are all
his offspring," and again "that he is the God and the Father of
the spirits of all flesh;" and consequently he is interested in
the welfare of all the human family, everywhere--among all
peoples, all nations, all kindreds and all tongues.
111
Now if this be the case, which we have no reason to doubt--then
he is interested in all the human family, and will try to promote
their welfare and happiness so far as he is capable of doing,
according to certain laws by which he himself is governed, as
well as all things in creation, and the learning we have heard so
much about is simply a knowledge of some principles associated
with those laws which are generally denominated the laws of
nature. In relation to the nations or peoples the Lord will do as
well by them as they will let him, and as far as the laws by
which he is governed will permit, just the same as we would
towards our children. We fathers and mothers, have children; they
do not always do as we would like to have them do; but we wish to
look over their frailties and imperfections as much as possible;
but when it comes to certain points, then both father and mother
have to stop. If our children violate the laws of the land, they
have to be judged by those laws and we can not prevent it,
neither should we try to. Still our feelings are drawn out
towards our families, and it is right and natural they should be,
for these paternal feelings are planted in the human breast by
the Almighty. It is therefore proper that we should have
affection and to manifest kindness, forbearance and long
suffering towards all our children and all those with whom we are
associated. God has this kind of feeling towards his children;
and it is a portion of the spirit that emanates from him that
prompts this affection and regard for our offspring.
111
These things are connected also with other matters. We try to
look after the welfare of our children; we try--that is, those
who are not utterly depraved--to lead them in the right paths,
and to influence their minds and their morals and to teach them
correctly both in relation to religion, education and morals, as
well as secular matters, in order that they may become
intelligent men and women, capable of sustaining themselves, that
they may improve the talents God has given them, and that they
may be able to comprehend some few of the laws, at least, by
which the creations, the worlds are governed and the principles
by which we are surrounded in this world, as also a knowledge of
the laws of life. This is all very proper; and it is also proper
that men should cultivate pleasant relations and have a good kind
feeling towards others. One of the greatest evils alluded to in
holy writ that, it is said, would develop itself in the last days
is thus delineated: "in the last days perilous times shall come.
For men shall be lovers of their own selves" instead of having
that kind, brotherly, affectionate feeling towards others, they
shall be "lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud,
blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without
natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent,
fierce, despisers of those who are good, traitors, heady,
high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; having a
form of godliness but denying the power thereof." This is spoken
of as being one of the greatest evils that could exist among men.
112
As I before stated, we have a regard for our children, and God
has also a regard for us. We wish to train our children in the
way we wish them to go; other people wish to do the same. Talk
about the Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists and
other denominations, no matter what their ideas or feelings may
be, no matter how inconsistent and foolish we may regard their
manner of worship, yet many of them are quite sincere in trying
to benefit their children. And God is sincere in trying to
promote their happiness and welfare as well as he is ours, both
in regard to this world and the world to come. And hence he will
do the best he possibly can with all peoples. But as I stated
before, being governed by law, he can only treat them "according
to the deeds done in the body, whether those deeds be good or
evil." And when that judgment takes place all men will have to
abide its award; there is no appeal from it. No court to which
they can have access whereby they can change the decree of the
Almighty. The Lord knows this and he has prepared certain
classes, so to speak, in his school here upon the earth for his
people and for all the world. And he has provided a means of
instruction for the inhabitants of the earth, looking upon them
as eternal, immortal beings, having to do with time and eternity.
But all things, as I remarked, are under the influence, control
and government of law, just as much as the planetary system with
which we are connected is governed by law. It makes no difference
what a few of us may do, or how the world may act, the sun rises
and sets regularly, the earth revolves upon its axis, and so it
is with all the planetary systems; there is no confusion, no
disorder in any of the movements of the heavenly bodies. They are
governed by a science and intelligence that is beyond the reach
of men in mortality; yet they move strictly according to certain
laws by which all of them have been, are and will be governed.
And these laws are under the surveillance and control of the
great law-giver, who manages, controls and directs all these
worlds. If it were not the case they would move through space in
wild confusion, and system would rush against system, and worlds
upon worlds would be destroyed, together with their inhabitants.
But they are governed by a superhuman power, by a spirit and
intelligence that dwells in the bosom of the Gods, about which
mankind knows but very little. It is so with regard to all the
forces of nature--the earth on which we stand, the elements of
which it is composed, the air we breathe, the water we drink, and
everything in nature is governed strictly according to immutable,
eternal, unchangeable laws, practical, philosophical, and
strictly scientific, if these terms are preferred; but they are,
nevertheless, placed there by the Almighty.
112
Now, in regard to the world, and the position we occupy in it.
There is something peculiar about the relationship we sustain to
the world of mankind with which we are surrounded. It is not
proper for us to be censorious, to upbraid people for things that
they do not comprehend and that are beyond their ken; we should
be courteous and charitable to all, and not find fault with men
because they do not comprehend things as we understand them. But
try to understand our true position and the relationship we
sustain to our heavenly Father, to his laws, to the peoples with
whom we associate, and to the world in which we live.
113
We read of many prominent men who have existed in the world in
various ages. For instance, there was Adam, Seth, Enoch,
Methusaleh, Noah, Abraham, Moses, the Prophets, Jesus and his
disciples, the people who came to this continent, Ether, and the
brother of Jared, Lehi and Nephi, Alma, Moroni, and many other
prominent individuals who held intercourse with the Almighty, who
were placed by the Lord in a position whereby they could receive
communications from him, could learn his will and teach it to
others. We look upon these men as great men, and justly too, as
wise men, as intelligent and philanthrophic men; as men who were
interested not only in their welfare, but in the welfare of the
peoples by whom they were surrounded and the world in which they
lived. These men did not come as the censors of the world; they
did not come to aggrandize themselves, to build themselves up,
nor to control or coerce others. What was the great blessing
conferred upon Abraham? "In thee shall all the families of the
earth be blessed;" not cursed, not destroyed, not annihilated;
but as a messenger of God as the elect of heaven, as a man whom
he had chosen to accomplish his work, and whom he would use
through those principles that existed in eternity to pour
blessings upon fallen humanity. That was the feeling which was
manifested, as I understand it. It is true that Abraham, when a
parcel of thieves came along in the shape of a confederation of
kings, and took away his nephew and others, and despoiled them of
their goods, that he gathered together his household, pursued
them and smote many of them, and delivered those they designed to
oppress and brought the captives back again to their own places.
And when he had done it, what then? Why, said they, Abraham you
have done a good deed, you have delivered us and brought back
this spoil, take what you please. But he told them that he did
not want any of it: "You were injured, robbed and despoiled, and
carried captive: these men came upon you and fraudulently
despoiled you of your goods; and here is my nephew, Lot, who is
an honorable man and one in whom I am particularly interested,
and I was only doing for you what one man ought to do for
another; I will take none of the spoils. Here are these young men
who were with me, you may give them what you like, but you shall
not have cause to say that you made Abraham rich."
114
Prominent men who were the descendants of Abraham acted in the
same way; true benevolence makes all cosmopolitans. It has been
the feeling, the design of all good men to benefit their
fellow-men; and even the philosophy of the heathen has advocated
this to a certain extent. What was the message of Moses when he
was sent as a deliverer to the children of Israel, whom the
ungodly Egyptians had oppressed and made slaves of? He, as the
sent of God, delivered a message, Thus saith the Lord, let my
people Israel go. A message of mercy to Israel, and not even
injurious to the Egyptians, unless opposed by them. Did he
deliver them by any inherent wisdom or intelligence in him? No,
but by the power of the Almighty, by the revelations of God and
by the intelligence that God gave to him. His labor was
especially a message to deliver Israel from bondage and unjust
oppression. He brought them out, and God worked with him. And
when their enemies pursued them, he protected them; he opened the
sea and made the waves stand up while they passed over dry shod.
Some of these philosophical people--I do not call them
scientists, but ignoramuses--say, that is contrary to the laws of
nature. But it is not contrary to the laws of God, nor the power
of God, for he can do things just as he pleases, and manage them
according to his own will and purposes, and he is acquainted with
other laws in nature, of which men are ignorant, Moses, we are
told, was a stranger in a strange land, where he saw a bush that
burned with fire and the bush was not consumed (it might be said
that this was contrary to nature's laws also); and a voice spoke
to him which proceeded from the bush, telling him to take the
shoes from off his feet, for the ground whereon he stood was
holy; also telling him that he was a chosen messenger of the Lord
to accomplish a certain work. And the Lord taught and instructed
him. And Moses went before the king of Egypt and the powers
thereof, and delivered the message that God had given unto him.
It was not a very agreeable message for them to hear, nor a very
pleasant one for him to communicate. But he was a man of God and
had the fear of God before him; the Lord had selected him as an
instrument, and although comprehending his weaknesses he shrank
not from the responsibility, but went forth in the name of
Israel's God to perform the commission committed to his care, and
he delivered the Israelites. It is true they were rebellious and
ignorant, and it is true they were self-willed, and many of them
were very corrupt; it is true they could not endure the light of
the blessings of the Gospel; and it is also true the when God
would have made of them a kingdom of priests they could not
receive that priesthood, nor be governed by its influence. He
then took from them the Melchizedek Priesthood, leaving them the
lesser of Aaronic Priesthood, because they would not and were not
competent to magnify the duties of the greater, and of that they
were necessarily deprived. What then? God did the best he could
with them as he has done with every nation and every people; he,
however, sent prophets among them from time to time.
114
Now we will pass on. What was the message that Jesus came to
proclaim to the people, a message of destruction? A message of
death? A message of condemnation? No, no; it was a message of
glad tidings and great joy to all peoples. And what did he tell
his disciples to go and preach? Destruction to all people? No;
his commission to them was: "Go ye into all the world and preach
the Gospel to every creature." Where? To all the world. And what
was the nature of that Gospel? Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, and the laying
on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, which would
place men in a position whereby they could have communication
with God their heavenly Father, having a hope blooming with
immortality and eternal life that entered within the vail,
whither Christ their forerunner had gone. Hence it was a message
of mercy, salvation and exaltation to all people who would
receive it. "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to
every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;
but he that believeth not shall be damned." If they were
condemned, if they suffered the wrath of God, it was not because
they had not life and salvation held out to them; it was because
they rejected that life and salvation through the preaching of
his word and the atonement of his only begotten Son. Was there
anything injurious in this? No, nothing of the kind. It was in
the interests of humanity; it was for the welfare of the world;
it was to teach man, through those heavenly principles which he
had communicated, the laws of God, to put them in possession
those rich treasures of eternal life, opening the kingdom of
heaven to the believer who would obey his laws and be governed by
them. This is the message that God has always proclaimed to the
people.
116
When Joseph Smith came, what did he preach? Just the same as all
the others had done. Was it because of any peculiar philosophy,
or any remarkable intelligence that he had in and of himself in
the first place to comprehend those principles that he revealed.
No. It is true that he was a chosen instrument of the Almighty
for that purpose; it is true that being one of the seed of
Abraham, that peculiar blessing belonging to him. It is true that
Abraham in former years through his genealogy was made acquainted
with the rights pertaining to the priesthood, and that Joseph
Smith had those rights in common with Abraham, being one of his
seed. And it is true that he was selected for this purpose; but
until the Lord made himself known unto him and revealed his
purposes, he knew nothing about the things of God any more than
you or I did. I know this for I have talked with him upon these
subjects. Well, what was the nature of his mission? It was to
restore the ancient Gospel; it was to bring forth the record of
the Gospel upon this continent which the people who lived here in
former years had forfeited, because of their transgressions; it
was that the stick of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim might be
united with the stick of Judah, in their testimony evidence,
prophecies, doctrines and ordinances, developing correct
principles, that things as they exist in the heavens might be
made more plain to men upon the earth, and that in the mouth of
two or three witnesses every word would be established. Was it to
condemn the world? Not unless the world rejected it. What was the
Gospel Jesus taught? Just the same as that which Jesus and his
disciples taught. He called upon the people to repent and be
baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins, and they
should receive the Holy Ghost. And did he and his brethren go
forth and preach this doctrine? They did. And was the promise
they made fulfilled to those who believed and obeyed? It was; and
you are my witnesses to-day that these things are true, it having
been made known to us by the Holy Spirit of promise, the Holy
Ghost, which takes of the things of the Father and reveals them
unto man. And is anybody harmed by this? What is injured? Whose
rights are interfered with? Whose principles are trampled under
foot. Nobody's! Is anybody forced to obey this Gospel? No! Has
anybody been coerced into any measure pertaining to these
matters? No! It has always been proclaimed and is to-day, "It is
all free grace, it is all free will." Would you curtail anybody
in their religious rights? Not by any means; I would leave them
with their God. If they cannot comprehend, or comprehending have
not the inclination to obey correct principle, I would leave them
with their God, in whose hands we all are, and in those hands are
the issues of life and death. IF men do not live the truth we
cannot help it; if men become corrupt and unrighteous and full of
infidelity we cannot help it, we did not place them in that
position, it is their own act. Can you find a set of men to-day
in the wide world, men who are filled with more philanthropy and
benevolence, or greater benefactors to mankind than these Elders
who are around me? You cannot find them on this little earth; you
cannot find men anywhere that have and will make the sacrifices
for the principle that the Elders of this Church have done. I see
those around me that have traveled hundreds and thousands of
miles without purse or scrip, in the midst of persecution,
contumely and reproach, to deliver the message of life to the
people, because God had commanded it, and because they were
desirous to promote the weal and happiness of the human family.
How have they been treated? Just as Jesus was treated; just as
his Apostles and just as the prophets of old were treated. Men
have always killed the prophets and stoned those who were sent to
them. But then what of that? That is all the worse for those who
did this; they have the hardest row to hoe, for they as well as
we have yet to appear before the Judge of the whole earth, and he
will say, I called but you refused; I stretched out my hand but
you heeded it not; hence, "I will laugh at your calamity, and
will mock when your fear cometh." That is the way he puts it. I
offered you light; I offered you truth; I offered you
intelligence; I desisted to promote your happiness, your well
being, but you would not have it, and therefore you are left
without excuse. Are they his children? Yes. Does he feel sorry to
see them act that way? Yes; but he cannot help it, he is governed
by law, and those laws are inexorable and just and they cannot be
departed from.
116
What next? As eternal beings we all have to stand before him to
be judged; and he has provided different degrees of glory--the
celestial the terrestrial, and the telestial glories--which are
provided according to certain unchangeable laws which cannot be
controverted. What will he do with them? For those who are ready
to listen to him and be brought under the influence of the Spirit
of God and be led by the principles of revelation and the light
of heaven, and who are willing to yield obedience to his commands
at all times and carry out his purposes upon the earth, and who
are willing to abide a celestial law, he has prepared for them a
celestial glory, that they may be with him for ever and ever. And
what about the others? They are not prepared to go there any more
than lead is prepared to stand the same test as gold or silver;
and there they cannot go. And there is a great gulf between them.
But he will do with them just as well as he can. A great many of
these people in the world, thousands and hundreds of millions of
them, will be a great deal better off through the interposition
of the Almighty than they have any idea of. But they cannot enter
into the celestial kingdom of God; where God and Christ are they
cannot come.
116
God has made use of various means, in various ages of the world,
to teach and led men in the right path. He sent forth his
servants in different ages into the vineyard, and gathered a few
here and a few there who would obey his law, that they might be
saved in his kingdom. And what, let me ask, have the other people
of the world to do with it? They would not listen to the words of
life; can the messengers of God help it? No, they cannot. Theirs
is not a very enviable position. It was not a very pleasant thing
for Moses to go to the Egyptian king to tell him the message he
had to bear, nor to see the plagues roll on one after another.
But God set him to work at it, and he did it. It was the Lord
that managed that matter; he was simply the instrument. Who was
it that inspired the prophets to predict many things that were
very unpleasant to the ear? It was God. Could they have helped
it? No. He had either to do the thing that God required at his
hand, or not do it, and have suffered the consequences; and if he
had not done it others would, for God's work is destined to be
performed. But he did his part of it, and did it well and
faithfully, and I know it, for I was there when he was killed by
some of our highly reverend Christian brethren.
118
You Elders of Israel who meet together in the capacity of a
Conference, you have had the priesthood conferred upon you. Where
did it come from? From the Lord. The Aaronic Priesthood was
delivered by John the Baptist, who held it in former times upon
the earth. He communicated that to Joseph Smith and Oliver
Cowdery. And then Peter, James and John, who had operated in the
Melchizedek Priesthood in their day, came and conferred it upon
them, then the apostleship was organized, and then the order of
the priesthood was manifested unto us as it exists in the
heavens. Why? That we might be put in possession of principles
that emanate from God, and that we might be able to carry our
part in carrying out the purposes of God; not only pertaining to
ourselves, but more especially to the nations of the earth, and
then to operate for the dead as well as the living. Had we
anything to do with it particularly? I did not introduce it,
neither did Brigham Young, nor Parley P. Pratt, nor Orson Hyde,
nor Heber C. Kimball, nor Joseph Smith; no man introduced it only
as God gave it. Joseph Smith was made use of as an instrument in
introducing it; and then having organized the Church in all its
various branches, with Presidents, Apostles, Patriarchs, High
Priests, Seventies, Elders, Priests, Teachers, and Deacons, with
Bishops and High Councils, and all the various organizations of
the Church. These things were given us for what? To gratify our
ambition? to enable us to ride over and trample under foot our
fellow creatures? to place power and authority upon us? No, not
for any individual affair, not for any man's emolument or
aggrandizement. Although there is nothing more honorable, nothing
more dignified, nothing to which a man ought so much to aspire
to, as to be a servant of the living God, and to be commissioned
by him to do his work upon the earth. And what is it for? To
spread correct principles among men; to combat priestcraft,
statescraft, oppression, fraud and iniquity of all kinds, and to
introduce among men those pure and holy principles by which the
Gods are governed in the eternal worlds. It is not for you and me
particularly; the Lord could get along very well without us, if
we could without him. But God, and the holy priesthood behind the
vial, that have lived and operated upon the earth, and who
operate in eternity, felt interested in regard to the things that
we were connected with, and interested in the welfare of the
world. We talk about the wisdom of men. What true wisdom or
intelligence has man that he receives not from the Almighty? I
will tell you what the wisdom of men will come to by and by, and
it is not so far in the future as many people think, "when the
wisdom of the wise shall fail, and the understanding of the
prudent shall be hid," their power and glory will fade, and you
will see war, desolation, carnage and death run riot through the
nations, plagues, pestilence and famine depopulating the earth.
And then where will their wisdom, philosophy, and intelligence
be? Men get a little smattering of knowledge and philosophy, and
some of the lesser laws that God has planted in nature, and they
give glory to themselves, as did the Babylonish monarch who said,
"is not this great Babylon that I have built?" They do not know
that they are poor, blind, foolish, ignorant, naked, destitute,
and in the way of death. The nations of the earth, with their
wealth, their corruptions, their power and might, will become, by
and by, like the chaff of the summer's threshing floor before the
wind, as represented by the Prophet Daniel. Why? Because eternal
justice cries to the great God in relation to all the people of
the earth. That is the reason, and because of their own acts and
of their own corruptions. Hear what the Lord has coupled with his
commission to his servants in this our day, and, when he said it,
he said that which is verily true; Go forth and bear your
testimony to the world; and after your testimony cometh the
testimony of war and of fire, and of sword and bloodshed, and the
waves of the sea heaving beyond their bounds, etc. He gives them
fair warning, and they heed it not; but these things must and
will most assuredly come.
118
What next? Does he destroy them for their good sometimes? Yes.
After Noah had preached the Gospel to the antediluvian world, and
after their cup of iniquity was full, and Zion and her cities had
fled, then followed the judgments of God; then came desolation
and destruction. And why this wholesale sweeping out of existence
of humanity? To stop them from propagating a corrupt species. Was
not that right? Yes it was. He said, I will cut them off; I will
prepare a prison for them, in which they shall be confined for
generations, where they shall not have power to propagate their
species; for these pure spirits in the eternal world shall not be
contaminated with their corruptions: I will take them off the
earth, and I will raise up another people. And he did do it. What
then? He was still merciful. When Jesus was put to death in the
flesh, he remembered them. "He went," said Peter, "and preached
unto the spirits in prison, which sometime were disobedient, when
once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, etc."
What did he preach? The Gospel. And what is it he had told us to
do to-day? Not only to preach the Gospel and gather the people,
but to build Temples. What for? To administer in them. Who for?
For the dead who have died without a knowledge of the Gospel,
that they might participate with us in the blessings which they
had not the privilege of enjoying on the earth. We are doing
this; hence we are doing more than preaching the Gospel to the
living; we are making preparations for saving the dead, according
to the word of God.
119
Reference was made this morning to the wisdom and learning of the
world. I don't know where it is. I have traveled quite
extensively in various parts of the earth, and I must say that I
have not met with their intelligence. I tell you what I have met
with very frequently; I have witnessed a great deal of ignorance,
superstition and wickedness, and any amount of corruption, and
notwithstanding the little advancement that some few have made in
the true principles of science, what do they know of things as
they exist before God? I told a few scientific gentlemen whom I
happened to meet with a few days ago, a few things that Joseph
Smith, that unlettered, ignorant boy told me in regard to the
heavenly bodies and certain things associated with them, and when
I had done so, one of them said, Mr. Taylor, those are some of
the most comprehensive ideas I ever heard in my life. I said
these ideas are from Joseph Smith, that unlearned man; but God
gave them to him by revelation. Another remarked: I have read a
good deal and studied a good deal; but I have a great deal to
learn yet. Was it anything I knew? No, I simply told them
something that Joseph Smith told me. We have a great many
ignorant, learned fools; but when you meet sensible, intelligent
men, as these were, they will acknowledge principle when it is
presented to them. But many men have not the understanding to do
it. Talking about saving themselves, who among the philosophers
can save themselves? who knows anything of God or heaven? They
know a very little of the earth whereon we dwell, much less do
they know of things pertaining to the heavens or of God or of
eternity. And let me tell them furthermore, that no man knoweth
the things of God, save by the spirit of God--or, to use the text
as it is given: "For what man knoweth the things of man, save by
the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God
knoweth no man, but the spirit of God." And they cannot get that
spirit without first obeying the first principles of the Gospel
of Christ. Talk about their intelligence, it is a curious sort of
intelligence to me. What do they do when they have to grapple
with the sting of death, and when it stares them in the face?
Why, they take a leap in the dark. And this darkness is the end
of all their philosophy and all their science. And the little
they do know in divining the laws of God is only with regard to
some very few of the fundamental principles of the laws that God
has planted everywhere throughout the universe and I do not
therefore have that reverence for their theories, notions and
vagaries, nor do I attach that importance to their intelligence
that some people do.
119
I remember on a certain occasion, while in Paris, France, (I have
referred to this subject before, but it will not hurt to repeat
it again) quite a number of professed philosophers called on me
and present so many foolish, dreamy, intangible, mysterious,
incomprehensible ideas and visionary theories, that I thought of
all the ignoramuses I ever met with, they beat all. They have a
certain kind of bread in that city, a kind of light cake, which
they make there. It is so light that you could blow it away with
a breath, and you might eat all day of it and not be satisfied. A
brother who was there visiting me asked if I knew the name of
that bread. I said I did not know the French name for it, but
could give it a name. What name would you give it, he asked?
Well, I said, you may call it philosophy or fried froth, just as
you please.
120
Professor Huxley, in visiting Niagara Falls made some remarks
which I remember were published and copied extensively in the
papers, to the effect that here was another evidence afforded of
the many thousands or millions of years (I forget the number now)
that it had taken to wash away the rocks below these falls. And
this evidence was advanced in support of geological ideas. I
thought to myself, yes, professor Huxley is a very learned man. I
wonder if he knew that rock was once in a friable, plastic
condition, when, by the force of the watery element the soft
stratum might be disintegrated, excavated and removed by the
washing process in perhaps a very few days. We have seen large
gaps washed away out of some of our ditches in a few hours. Such
are common occurrences here. If a change were to take place in
the elements comprising such washouts, which might very easily
occur here as elsewhere, and they become petrified, the same
condition of things would exist as may be seen at Niagara Falls,
and some other philosopher hereafter might expatiate on the years
it took to remove so much rock. If we have to submit to their
theories, we should really be in a sorry condition. I, for one,
will not fall down and worship at any such shrine.
121
We talk about our organizations; are they right according to the
order of God? Yes. Will they exist in the heavens? Yes. Are we
all magnifying our calling? No; we are not. We have indeed a sort
of skeleton fixed up; but I think sometimes it needs flesh on the
bones and the breath of life, the spirit of the living God
breathed into it. We need to realize the position we occupy and
the duties devolving upon us. We see this in almost everything
around us associated with the Church and kingdom of God. While
many men are diligent and their whole hearts are engaged in the
work of God, there are a great many astride of the fence, saying
Good Lord and Good Devil, know knowing those hands they will fall
into. And yet they are High Priests, and Seventies and Elders.
What will be the condition of such! We are told that "Many will
say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy
name, and in they name have cast out devils, and in thy name done
many wonderful works?" Yet to all such he will say, "I never new
you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity." You say, that means
the outsiders. No, it does not. Do they do many wonderful works
in the name of Jesus? No; if they do anything, it is done in the
name of themselves or of the Devil. Sometimes they will do things
in the name of God; but it is simply an act of blasphemy. This
means you, Latter-day Saints, who heal the sick, cast out devils,
and do many wonderful things in the name of Jesus. And yet how
many we see among this people of this class, that become
careless, and treat lightly the ordinances of God's house and the
priesthood of the Son of God; yet they think they are going, by
and by, to slide into the kingdom of God. But I tell you unless
they are righteous and keep their covenant they will never go
there. Hear it, ye Latter-day Saints! Hear it, ye Seventies and
High Priests! "Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also 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." You have the priesthood, and if you do
not magnify that priesthood God will require it at your hands. He
expects us all to be alive and energetic, honoring our calling,
our priesthood and our God, for he expects it of all of us. Now
hear it for as sure as God lives it will be so. It will not be
"how we apples swim!" You must swim yourselves; for every man
"will be judged according to the deeds done in the body." If you
aim at a celestial glory, you must have a celestial spirit and be
governed by it. You must be honest, virtuous and benevolent; you
must be men full of the Holy Ghost, magnifying your calling, and
honoring your priesthood, if you would obtain an entrance into
the kingdom of God. And so in regard to the sisters, they stand
precisely on the same ground. What are we to do? To listen to and
be guided by the world? No; but to regulate our temporal and
spiritual affairs--things pertaining to time and things
pertaining to eternity, according to the influence, the law, the
direction of the Almighty.
121
Let us come again to this intelligence. Who would know to-day
anywhere in the world how to build a temple that would be
accepted of the Lord? Nobody. Who would know how to administer in
them acceptably to him when built? Nobody. Let them bring forth
their wise men, if they have any, and tell us how we shall obtain
an inheritance in the kingdom of God. This is something they
cannot do. Why? Because they have not the Gospel; and it is the
Gospel that brings life and immortality to light, and this is the
kind of intelligence we are after. To redeem and save the living
and the dead; to build up the Zion of our God, that a people may
be prepared who shall be pure in heart, and prepared to associate
with the intelligences around the throne of God.
121
These are some things associated with our duties and
responsibilities. Have the apostles duties to perform? Yes. Does
God require it at their hands! Yes. If they do not do it, will he
hold them guiltless? No. Have the Seventies? Yes. What are they?
To go to the nations of the earth as bearers of the Gospel. That
is your duty, you Seventies; and if you do not do it God will
remove your candlestick out of its place. Do you hear it, you
Seventies? And you High Priests and Elders, God has not conferred
the priesthood upon you to dream about, to trifle or tamper with,
or treat it with contempt: he will spew you out of his mouth
unless you take another course, many of you. God expects his
message to go to all nations, and the priesthood ought to be
seeking after God and to be clothed upon with the power of God
and with the light of revelation, that they may stand forth as
his messengers to the nations: and then by and by, after having
cleared their garments from the blood of this generation, to go
and administer for the dead in the temples of the Lord, and keep
laboring and doing until God shall have accomplished his
purposes.
121
What else are you going to do? To build up the kingdom of heaven
upon the earth, where the voice of God shall rule and where the
law of God shall have the dominion, and where men shall be
instructed with the laws of heaven and be taught of God. A great
many revelations and changes have yet to take place, we have got
to put ourselves in a position to be guided and directed of the
Lord in temporal as well as spiritual things, or we will never
obtain that glory for which many of us are looking.
122
Well, what shall we do? Do right, following the counsels of those
who are placed over us. Follow the counsel of the Twelve, you
whose business it is to do it; follow the counsel of your
bishops, you who live in the wards, and you bishops follow the
counsel of the presidents of Stakes, and you presidents of Stakes
seek for and follow the counsel of the Twelve. And you people, be
taught of your teachers; and you teachers, get the Spirit of the
Lord that you may teach aright, and you Seventies and Elders
prepare yourselves to go to the nations of the earth. Say, here
am I, send me; I am on hand, I am ready to fulfil my duty and to
magnify my calling, and with the help of the Lord I will lift up
a warning voice to my fellow men. And as High Councils to sit in
judgment with honesty, truth, fidelity and integrity, without
fear or favor of any man to act and administer in righteousness.
And you Bishops, act as fathers over the flock of Christ, that
you may magnify your calling, and that in your judgment you may
seek for the inspiration of the Almighty, that you may administer
justice among the people; that righteousness may prevail in Zion,
and that it may spread and grow and increase, that the glory of
God may rest upon us, and that we may rejoice together in the
fullness of the Gospel of peace. And will it go on? It will. Will
the kingdom spread? It will, "until the kingdoms of this world
shall become the kingdoms of our God and His Christ, and he will
reign forever and ever." And about the wicked and the ungodly,
protect yourselves against them as well as you can; unite
yourselves together and be one, and never mind their ideas and
feelings. God has called us to be one, to be united; and that man
who tampers with the Gentiles and with their vices and follies
will go down to death. We are sent to teach the principles of
life, not to be taught of them; and we are required to be
governed by the principles, laws, intelligence and truth that
come from God, that we may magnify our calling, build up His
kingdom, gather together the elect, save the living and redeem
the dead, and then when we get through, unite with the assembled
throng in the Celestial kingdom of God; and honor and praise and
glory and power and majesty and dominion be ascribed to him that
sits upon the throne, and to the lamb, forever and ever. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 /
Charles W. Penrose, January 19th, 1879
Charles W. Penrose, January 19th, 1879
REMARKS ON UNION, MADE BY ELDER C. W. PENROSE,
In the Ogden Tabernacle, January 19th, 1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
123
I am more than pleased this morning to have the privilege to
assembling with you, to see the faces of so many of my old
friends, and to enjoy the blessings of the Spirit of God and the
instructions of this Conference. I believe we realize to a great
extent the importance of the subject that has been presented to
us this morning by Brother F. M. Lyman. I have thought upon it a
great many times in reflecting upon the condition of the
Latter-day Saints and the prospects that lie before them, and in
viewing also the apathy and carelessness of a great many, and the
influx of the people amongst us who are not of our faith. I have
sometimes almost dreaded the consequences that may ensure, unless
we become more united in our feelings and efforts to build up the
Kingdom of God and to maintain the liberties that God has
bestowed upon us. The people of Ogden are peculiarly situated. A
great many people have come here who are not of our faith, some
good people and some not so good. But their sympathies and
feelings both religious and political are dissimilar to ours;
they are not of us, their interests are not identical with ours,
and although they may seem for the time to be friendly and to
have an interest with us in our local affairs, yet our experience
has demonstrated to us the truth of a certain saying of our Lord
Jesus Christ, "He that is not with me is against me; and he that
gathereth not with me scattereth abroad." It would seem in our
history that sometimes this was not the case, some people having
come among us whose feelings appeared to be in consonance with
ours and who were friendly disposed towards us, but their faith
not being our faith, although their views to some extent were in
harmony with ours, yet we have found in our experience that these
words of the Savior held good even with them. Something is sure
to arise to draw the dividing line; some circumstance transpires
which places them where they belong, and they then occupy their
true position. They are outside the covenant of the Gospel, and
their sympathies and feelings and faith cannot be identified with
ours. They are of the world, we are not; we have come out of the
world. This may seem strange to some; but it is true as God is
true. Christ laid this rule down, and we shall find that it is
perfectly correct.
123
The great necessity for us as Saints of God is to become really
and truly united, not only in thought, but in our faith and
desires and sympathies one toward another, and in our fellowship
as brethren and sisters in Christ. We must cherish an active
living faith, showing our faith by our works in our efforts to
arrive at a perfect union. I see the necessity of this in our
political affairs. When I look back at the last election, I am
reminded of the few votes, comparatively, that were cast in this
city. This shows something wrong. What is it? There is a
carelessness growing upon the people, and we perceive it to some
extent in our religious affairs and public meetings, but we see
it more clearly when it comes to voting, for many who have a
right to vote stay away from the polls. We call the attention of
our brethren and sisters to these matters, and say to every
Latter-day Saint who has the right of franchise, it is your duty
to vote. The franchise is not given to us as an ornament or
plaything, but as a power to be used with our best judgment in
the maintenance of truth and liberty. The spirit of the Gospel is
the spirit of liberty, the Gospel itself is the perfect law of
liberty; and every move that may be made, having for its object
the maintenance of liberty, we ought to regard in the light of
Gospel, in the light of duty.
124
There is a great deal of talk, and has been for years past, of
separating religion from politics. I believe that we need a
little more religion in our politics than we already have, and I
believe that if there were more true religion in politics
throughout the world it would be better for humanity. I am
certain that it is absolutely necessary for us who have come
here, having separated ourselves from the world, for the purpose
of building up the kingdom of God, in order to accomplish this to
permit our religion to enter into our lives and govern us in all
we do, whether it be secular or religious. We cannot act
separately, singly and alone; the Spirit of the Lord, which is
the spirit of the everlasting Gospel, should dictate us in all we
do in a public as well as a private capacity, and when we are so
influenced we will act with a due regard to the interests of our
brethren and sisters. We did not come here for gold and silver,
no matter how much of these precious metals there may be hid up
in the mountains around us. We did not come here for flocks and
herds, for houses and lands, for orchards and vineyards, or for
substance or earthly wealth of any kind. All these of course we
desire to obtain, and it is a blessing to have them, for with
them we can the better assist in rolling forth the kingdom of
God; but the acquiring of such wealth was not the object we had
in coming here; it was rather to build up a better system of
society and establish upon the earth that divine order that
exists where our Father dwells, a few of the principles of which
have been revealed to us through the Prophet Joseph Smith. We
came here, in other words, to find out the will of God, and then
do it. We must keep that object before us all the time, no matter
in what capacity we act, whether as members of the Church or as
members of society, whether we act in political or religious
matters, we must keep the fact before us that the main object of
our lives is to establish the kingdom of God upon the earth, that
He whose right it is to reign may rule. And when we go to the
polls, whether it be to vote for our municipal officers or
otherwise, we must go there as Latter-day Saints, to be true to
our religious covenants; we cannot say, religion, you stand
aside, I am a politician to-day. We must be Latter-day Saints all
the time, in every act of our lives. And this carelessness in
regard to voting we must get rid of; we must understand that the
exercise of the franchise is required of us, and knowing this we
should have the manhood to use it; and the sisters who enjoy the
privilege of voting, should understand that the same obligation
rests upon them as well as upon the men. This blessing is given
to them to be used for the good of their brethren and sisters,
for the benefit of the community of which they form a part.
125
It is necessary that we be as one, one in spirit and acts, and we
must aim all the day long for the accomplishment of the work
entrusted to us. Every member must be alive and continue to be
alive. The sign of life is motion, but a great many of the
brethren and sisters appear to be either dead or asleep in regard
to these matters. We must do better if we would preserve
ourselves from the burdens which the people of Tooele county have
had to bear and are now bearing; if we would maintain our liberty
and keep the balance of power, we must exercise the powers
conferred upon us, and if we do not, we shall have to reap the
consequences. This union we talk so much about, and which we say
is essential to our strength, how shall we increase it? For we
need an increase of union, particularly in some places. We will
take Ogden, for instance, how shall we establish union and
preserve it here? I have thought there is one thing that needs to
be impressed upon us, and that is harmony of feeling and of
thought between the heads and the body of the people. In order to
establish that and continue it, there needs to be an identity of
interests of our hearts. It will not do for our brethren, when
they meet each other, to shake hands and enter into a formal
conversation, and then when they separate, have something evil to
say of each other. We must try to establish real harmony; the
head must be in harmony with the feet, and the spirit that is in
the head should flow to the extremities of the body. We must try
to establish an essential union. Not merely a grasp of hands and
a tying together by rules, but the binding of heart to heart,
that the spirit may have free course, run, and be diffused among
the people. And in order to establish this, I have thought that
we have need to be frank and free, and open one to another. I do
not believe in that kind of discussion which produces contention,
which comes from the devil; but I do believe in that free speech
which establishes mutual understanding, tends to bind men
together, and produces true affinity. We should be bound together
by essential union--a union of heart and soul. How can this be
brought about? By being true and honest one towards another, that
there may be real confidence in our midst. Because one man may
differ from another, even though with one called to preside over
him, is that to say that such a man is rebellious? I think not.
There should be a distinction between honest difference and
stubbornness and contention. We cannot all see alike yet, neither
is it expected that we should in our present imperfect condition.
As there is a difference in each other's countenances, so there
is in each other's minds, and the only way to harmonize the
difference of opinion that may exist among us, is to so live that
the light of the Spirit of God can shine in our hearts. Some men
are quick to perceive a truth; others are slow. Some men will
grasp at an idea and comprehend it in a moment, while it takes
others a long time, simply because they are slower of intellect,
or because they do not happen to see from the same standpoint as
we do. We must be patient and try to convince one another when we
happen to disagree. How? By threats and denunciations? No; but by
real forbearance, the same as God exercises towards us. Do we
ourselves carry out His purposes as He has revealed them? I think
not. I confess I do not. I can see the standard of righteousness,
of nobility, and purity before me, but, alas! I know I have not
reached it; yet I want to keep on striving until I get up to that
standard, and I believe these desires are in your hearts. God
exercises patience towards us, and this is the spirit we must
exercise one towards another, until we can be brought to see eye
to eye. There will be a time when the watchmen upon Mount Zion
will sing together with perfect harmony. "Thy watchmen shall lift
up their voice; with the voice together shall they sing; for they
shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion." But
the Lord will never bring Zion from above until Zion from beneath
is prepared to meet it.
126
Then I would say, let us cherish forbearance and let us be frank
and encourage frankness; I do not mean contention, that is a very
different thing and comes from a different source. There is an
essential union and there is an apparent union. I would not give
a fig for the last, but the first is worth all we possess. If we
only appear to be united and bound together and the bands should
once be broken, separation would ensue, all would be confusion
and the strength we possess would be wasted; but if we take such
a course as will enable us to see alike and act alike, we will
have veritable strength. Then let us try to establish such a
union by being free and frank with and true to each other. To
illustrate my idea: A lady gets a new bonnet, and she meets a
lady friend and asks how she looks. "O how nice!" says the
latter, it suits you admirably; it becomes you so much." She
turns around when her friend is gone, and says to another lady,
"What a fright she looks in that poke of a bonnet!" So men will
be friendly to each other's faces and false when their backs are
turned. We should be free and frank and outspoken; but that is
not to say we should be unwise and abrupt in our expressions,
because we are very sensitive and easily get offended. We may
even drop an innocent remark, which a person may take umbrage at
and feel that we are his enemies when we are in reality his
friends and the same feelings are like to result from joking,
when really no offence is intended.
127
But the greatest cause of disunion is promise-breaking. One of
the evils that is spoken of to be prevalent in the last days is
that men should become "truce-breakers;" this is, they should be
guilty of making promises only to break them. I believe it can be
truthfully said of some who call themselves Latter-day Saints,
that they give their word to a brother, and almost before the
breath is cold the falsify their promise; they make contracts in
writing, and almost before the ink is dry they break them. If we
make a promise to perform a piece of work, we should try to keep
it, even if it appears to be to our injury. If we promise to pay
a brother, we must do it or make it right with him, and not try
to excuse ourselves by saying, "Oh, it is only a brother;"
whereas, if it were a "gentile," we would very likely keep our
promise. We must be true to our words under all circumstances and
to all persons; if we borrow, we must pay our debt; if we cannot
possibly do it, we must give our creditor the best satisfaction
we can. When we meet with one another, and agree to carry out
certain measures, let us do it, or not promise to do it. And when
we meet together in our meetings, and any measures are brought
forward in which the public are interested, or nominations are to
be made for any of our public officers, and we feel that we
cannot agree with the measures proposed, or have just cause to
oppose the nominations, do not sit mum in the meeting, and as
soon as it is over commence to kindle the spirit of opposition
among our brethren. In all our political matters, if the leaders
and the people get together and come to a clear understanding
with regard to the men who are to occupy certain positions, in
the manner that I have alluded to, I cannot see how there can be
any divisions, or how those who are not of us, who are in the
minority, can expect to succeed in electing opposition candidates
to fill our public offices. I cannot be done. We have the
majority in numbers, and if we have a thorough union of power,
our strength will be preserved. But our weakness is in our
carelessness and apathy. We have the right to do good, the right
to vote, but do not exercise it.
127
When we disapprove of any man put up to occupy any position, let
us be sure in our minds that what causes that disapprobation is
not any private pique against him. We have no right to vote
against a man from our private feelings. If a man be put up for
public position, and we have a private pique against him that
should not weigh in a feather. A man is put up because he is
considered fit for the position, and when the majority agree upon
a certain person, we should fall into line, the minority should
give way to the majority. And when we disagree with our brethren,
it should not be because of any private feelings. One may say,
"Oh, I do not want that man." Why? "Well, he said so and so
against me, or he did not do so and so for me." I is not a matter
whether you like a man personally or not. The question is, is he
fit for the position. Is he the right man for the place? Do the
majority of by brethren want such and such a man? If so, I will
wave my differences and vote for him who is considered best fit
for the position. These things are of far more importance than
many of us think they are. In times past we have had the balance
of power in our elections, and all things have gone on smoothly
whether we have voted or not. But the time will come when things
will be more evenly divided, and we must get in the habit of
exercising every power that God has conferred upon us for the
building up the his kingdom and for our mutual benefit. When a
bishop of a ward calls upon a man to perform any public duty he
should be willing to step forward to do his part; and every woman
should feel that she would like to see her husband do quite as
much as any other woman's husband, and not only in religious
matters but in all things for the welfare of the community of
which we form a part. Let us all be active members of the church
and let us all be active members of the body politic--let us be
real, live Latter-day Saints, and let the spirit of the Gospel
flow to every part, and all may be invigorated, particle clinging
to particle, for when each particle clings to the other particles
this is the sign of life in a man, but when particles seem to
have a desire to separate, that is indicative of dissolution,
that mysterious change which we call death, when we pull apart
that is a sign of spiritual death in the midst of the Latter-day
Saints.
129
I desire to see the church and kingdom of God alive in all its
parts; I desire to see every member imbued with the spirit of
God, and every man holding the holy priesthood feeling that
spirit and power the belong to it, for I know there is virtue,
and power and strength in it. I know that it is a reality. I know
that when a man is ordained to the holy priesthood, if he seeks
for the spirit of his calling, he can draw nearer to God than he
could without it; I know he can do more good to humanity with it
than he could possibly do without it. I know that the priesthood
of God is effective; that there is life and vigor in it, and that
through it a man has access to God the eternal Father, and has
power to help his fellowman. We should be a nation of kings and
priests unto God, a royal priesthood, a peculiar people zealous
of good works. This is what we should be, my brethren and
sisters. And here, in Weber County particularly, where the
outside element seems to be gathering, and which is naturally
aggressive, always ready to try and wrest from us our vested
rights, it behooves you to be earnest and sincere and united, and
to be diligent in your efforts to hold for God and his kingdom
those rights and liberties which he has given to us. God intended
that his people whom he has gathered to this land should possess
it, and that they should not be ruled over by their enemies, as
long, at least, as they are in the majority. Then shall we give
up our strength to the minority who desire to take away our
rights, and who have tried all the day long to destroy our best
men? I think we will not; I think we will be more energetic and
cling to one another, and, if we have differences we will try to
settle them. Brethren, if you have hard feelings against a
brother, go to him like a man, and tell him that he has done so
and so, and that it is your desire to have the thing straightened
out; and if you cannot make it right yourselves call to your aid
the services of a teacher, and rather let us sacrifice our
feelings than allow that genial spirit which belongs to true
brotherhood to be crushed out of our hearts. Let every man and
woman in this congregation to-day feel that any difficulties they
may have had with their brethren or sisters shall be buried from
to-day, and shall not be harbored any longer. Say in your hearts,
before I will have anything rankle or tarnish my feelings, I will
go to my brother or to my sister and confess my weakness and thus
get rid of it. And if we will be free and frank and honest, and
say what is in our hearts, without fear or favor, there will be
more union in our midst, and the Spirit of God will dwell with
us, and we will see new beauties in our religion every day, and
we will seek the society of our brethren rather than shun them;
but, on the other hand, if we harbor hard feelings in our hearts
without divulging them or seeking relief, we may depend upon it
that it will, if allowed to go unchecked, result in a separation
from the very men for whom we to-day profess fellowship, and in
our own overthrow and death. We are children of the covenant, and
should be bound together by the influence of the Holy Ghost,
whose ties are stronger than those which exist between man and
wife; that influence will make us one, even as the earth is one,
though composed of millions of atoms. In the beginning, we are
told, God spake, chaos heard, and worlds came into order. The
scattered particles came together and they were solidified,
consolidated, and this little earth now rolling in space shows
the effects of this real essential union of parts. God has spoken
to the chaotic particles of humanity; he has gathered us together
to this place to make us one; and we should live together and
work together, and present a strong phalanx of power, as real
brethren and sister in very deed, that the spirit of union may be
in our hearts, and in every deed and act, which should be made in
each other's interest, and not for individualism and self. The
spirit of individualism is, every man for himself; the spirit of
the Gospel is, every man for his brother; and it is this
influence that prompts a man to say, "Let me love the Lord my God
with all my heart, and with all my soul, and with all my
strength, and let me love my neighbor as myself, and seek his
interests as well as my own." This is the Spirit of God; it is
the spirit of the everlasting Gospel; it is the spirit of peace,
and joy, and consolation and comfort, and there is real, true
happiness in it. What a miserable feeling it is not to be able to
meet a man frankly and cordially. How different when friends and
brethren meet. Their countenances at once brighten, and there is
a glow and warmth which bespeak their feelings for each other; it
is a feeling of joy and satisfaction, and those who possess it
desire to bless and do good to their fellow-men.
129
I feel the importance of these simple truths; they are necessary
to our growth as a community, and to our progress as individuals.
God has revealed them for our guidance and salvation, both
temporally and spiritually. Let us ponder upon them, and let
nothing come between us and the Priesthood of God. Let us be
united in all things, and when the time comes for us to vote for
our municipal officers, let us have a clear understanding before
hand, and then unite on it, and I will promise you that if you
will do your part, God will do his part, and we will come off
more than conquerors. And the day will not be far distant when
the Priesthood of God will have the balance of power, and their
rule and dominion now in the hands of the wicked upon the face of
all the earth will be taken away from the corrupt and the wicked,
and given unto the hands of the Saints of the Most High God, and
he will reign for ever and ever. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / John
Taylor, December 1, 1878
John Taylor, December 1, 1878
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered at Bountiful, Davis County, on Sunday Afternoon,
December 1, 1878.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
ALL THINGS GOVERNED BY LAW--ALL INTELLIGENCE AND BLESSINGS HAVE
EMANATED
FROM GOD--MAN'S FREE AGENCY SHOULD NOT BE INTERFERED WITH--THE
OPPONENTS
OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO TEACH OUR
CHILDREN--NECESSITY OF ALL BEING SUBJECT TO LEGITIMATE AUTHORITY.
130
I am pleased to meet with the Saints in this place; and I have
been very much interested in the remarks that have bee made by
the brethren who have spoken to us this morning as well as this
afternoon. I think they have laid before us many good and
precious principles which will result in our good, if we can only
appreciate them and be governed by them.
130
We are living in a very eventful day, in a time that is pregnant
with great events; and it is necessary that we prepare ourselves
so that we may be able to conform ourselves to the circumstances
with which we are surrounded, and to fulfil the various duties
that devolve upon us individually and collectively.
130
The brethren who have addressed you have spoken more particularly
upon temporal things--a subject which is very appropriate and
important, because, although we may believe it is right, proper
and profitable for us to be united in temporal matters, whatever
our faith may be we do not quite carry it out. We make a stagger
at it, but we do not seem to appreciate fully the position we
occupy, and it is very difficult for men to comprehend these
things. We have established organizations in the several Stakes,
which are all very well so far as they go; they are the
frame-work--the bones, and sinews and arteries and flesh
(comparing them with the human body); they are very beautiful and
symmetrical in all their parts. But they need the Spirit of God
to breathe upon them to quicken them; with its life-giving
vitality, energy and power, that they may fulfil their various
functions as living, breathing and intelligent powers, that we
may truly comprehend the position which we occupy in these
various stakes, both officers and people, and we all of us may be
active and alive and energetic in the pursuit of those principles
which God has developed as necessary for our present and eternal
happiness.
130
There is order in all the creations of God. The planetary system
by which we are surrounded and with which we are associated is
governed by the strictest principles of law; all those
magnificent bodies move in their several orbits in the midst of
the power of God, sustained and directed by his Almighty hand.
And everything in nature is also governed by law.
131
To-day we can talk of railroads and steamboats. I remember the
time, and many of you old people also remember, when there were
no such things in existence. Well, but did not steam possess the
same properties five thousand years ago as it does to-day? Yes,
it did, the properties were precisely the same but we did not
understand it, that's all. The principles were the same, and
there is an eternal law by which all these things are governed.
The same thing applies to electricity. Your remember very well
when it took several months to send a message to Washington and
receive an answer; now we can do it in as many minutes. But did
not that principle always exist? Yes; but man did not know how to
avail himself of it. I remember the time, too, very well when
there was no such thing as gas, when whale oil was used, which
produced a light that just about made darkness visible. We knew
nothing about kerosene, or gasoline, or gas or any of these
superior artificial lights; but then the principles existed then
as they do now, but we did not understand them. We did not
comprehend the position of things and it is only quite recently
that some of these discoveries have been brought into operation.
The art of photography has not been long known. When I was a boy
people would have laughed at you if you had talked of taking a
man's likeness in a minute's time; yet it is done. Did not light
always possess the same properties? Yes, but man did not
understand it. The same thing applies to the mineral world, the
vegetable kingdom, the animal creation, and all the works of God.
They are all governed by certain laws. The vegetables which you
grow here, how were they organized? God organized them and placed
them upon the earth, and gave them power to propagate their
species; so also with regard to the animal creation, as well as
birds, fishes, insects, &c.
132
We talk sometimes about our temporal things. If we could
understand things as God does, we should not be much troubled
about them. If for a moment we reflect upon all creation that
live upon this little globe--those that move in the air, the
waters and on the land, we find there is a wisdom, an
intelligence that provides for all. There is a prescient and an
omnipotent power that governs, controls and shapes the affairs of
this world according to the counsel of his will, and especially
so in all matters pertaining to the human family. As one nation
rises up and another falls, it is by his power that it is done.
Nations and people may be in prosperity for a short time, but one
touch of the finger of the Almighty and they wither, crumble and
decay. Change succeeds change in human affairs, but the laws of
God in everything are correct and true, in every stage and phase
of nature, everything on the earth, in the waters and in the
atmosphere is governed by unchangeable, eternal laws. There are
some bodies that will unite; there are others that will not
unite. You cannot, for instance, mix oil and water; you may shake
them up together, but soon each one adheres to his own element.
The sisters sometimes say they have good or bad luck, as the case
may be, in the making of soap; but in reality there is no luck
about it, for you would find that if you have the same properties
equal in strength and quantity, using the same process, that the
same results would be reached ninety-nine times out of every
hundred, and you would find that you could afford to throw the
other one in too--the conditions being the same. And so it is
with the various minerals in all their organizations and
conditions. They assume certain forms and they are known by
geologists by their shapes, etc., and they are always true to
them. And so it is with all the elements with which we are
surrounded in the atmosphere, in the earth and in the water. We
think we have learned a great deal, but if we did but know it we
are only at the foot of the hill; and when we are able to
comprehend things as God does we shall comprehend a great many
principles that have never entered into our hearts to conceive
of, although we are surrounded with those materials and are even
treading them under our feet. To speak of these laws, God himself
is governed by law, and the Priesthood in the eternal world are
governed by law, just as much as his works are. Our earth rolls
upon its axis and we have day and night, summer and winter,
seed-time and harvest. When men comprehend the laws by which the
planets are governed, they can tell you to a quarter of a second
when an eclipse will take place, and when our earth will be in
conjunction with other planets. Why? Because they are governed by
eternal laws. There are a great many things by which we are
governed of which we know very little and with which we have very
little to do. For instance, I will mention the flowing of the
blood; What has man to do with that? Nothing; still it flows and
courses through the body. I have noticed an aged person, and seen
his pulse begin to falter, as though the machinery of life were
about to stand still, after having been in motion for perhaps
sixty or one hundred years, during which time the pulse had
continued to beat without any action on his part, day and night,
asleep or awake. There is another principle that God has planted
within us, which we call breathing. We continue to breathe, and
what effort of the will does it require? No more that it does to
cause the blood to flow. We are machines; God has made us and he
is our Father. He has planted within us the breath of life and we
continue to inhale and breathe day after day, month after month,
and year after year. And when that stops, what then? Just the
same as when the blood ceases to circulate in our veins--we pass
away. And yet these emanate from God, and they are planted within
us and we have nothing much to do with them. We have organs, and
it seems as if the Lord plays in them; in his hands in the breath
of life, and in him we live and move from day to day and from
year to year, because he suffered us to. He once said to his
disciples: "Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat;
neither for your body what you shall put on. The life is more
than meat, and the body is more that raiment. Consider the
ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have
storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye
better than the fowls?" He watches over all, he cares for all, he
is interested in all; and in him we live, move and have our
being.
133
What next? Are we mortal? Yes. Are we immortal? Yes. Have we to
do with time? Yes. We have also to do with eternity. We are the
offspring of God; and God in these last days has seen fit to
place us in communication with himself. He has, through the
revelations of himself and his Son Jesus Christ, by the ministry
of holy angels and by the restoration of the holy priesthood
which emanates from God, and by which he himself is governed,
placed us in a position whereby we can fulfil the object of our
creation. The world generally are not situated as we are; they do
not comprehend things as we do, and hence in many instances they
feel very bitter and acrimonious towards us. What is the matter?
They do not understand our position; and we did not understand
these things until they were communicated to us by the Spirit of
the living God, and we could not, nor can any man obtain a
knowledge of these things only by the laws which God has laid
down. There may be lightning in abundance, but it cannot be used
for the conveying of intelligence from place to place only as it
is governed by law. If you communicate to any part of the world
through this means, you must have the wires laid and the
instruments properly connected and adjusted, and then you must
know how to operate them; if you don't know how to do this your
labor is in vain--the wire, the instruments, etc., are useless.
You might possess a most magnificent steam-engine, but unless
charged with steam of what use could it be? But let the fire and
water be put to it, and have a good engineer to manage it, and
you may then travel from your settlement here to Salt Lake City
or to Ogden quite rapidly. But without these things would the
engine be of any use? None whatever.
134
There are certain eternal laws that have existed from before the
foundation of the world. There has been a priesthood also in
existence always, and hence it is called the everlasting
priesthood, and it administers in time and in eternity. That
priesthood has been conferred upon man together with the right of
the Gospel; and we are told how man can get into possession of
the Holy Spirit of God, and how he can be placed in communication
with God, just the same as you would place one town in
communication with another by means of the electric wire. We are
told how to do that, and that is by faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ; by repentance and baptism for the remission of sin, and
by having hands laid upon our heads for the reception of the Holy
Ghost. This is a way which God has appointed--an eternal law
which man can not gainsay nor depart from any more than they can
from any other law of God. He has given us other views in
relations to these matters. He has revealed things concerning the
relationship that exists between husband and wife between
children and parents and between the various quorum organizations
of his Church. He has placed in our power certain principles
which are the offspring of God, which have emanated from him, in
regard to endowments and anointings and other intelligence which
it would not be proper to speak of at the present time. Where did
all these originate? In the first place in the one great
principle that God had revealed himself to the human family and
had restored the everlasting Gospel, and that with it came all
these other things--apostles and high priests and elders and
patriarchs and bishops and high councilors and all the various
organizations of the Church and kingdom of God as they now exist
upon the earth, all occupying their own peculiar place and
position. What for? For the building up of a something that is
called Zion or the pure in heart. What for? For my
aggrandizement? for yours? for my individual interests or for
yours? No. But in the interest of God and of Jesus the Mediator
of the New Covenant, of Adam and of all the ancient patriarchs
and apostles and men of God who have lived before, both on the
Asiatic and American continent, with the powers that exist in the
heavens that may be revealed through the medium which He has
appointed to men who dwell upon the earth; that we might stand in
and occupy our true position before God, not acting and operating
of ourselves or by ourselves or by anything inherent in us or by
virtue of any intelligence with which we individually may be
endowed, but by that alone which God communicates. To whom are we
indebted for the light we have to-day? Some might say to Joseph
Smith. Yes, as the instrument, but primarily to God and the
Priesthood behind the vail. Could Joseph Smith have revealed
anything if it had not been communicated to him? No. Could
Brigham Young? No. Could anybody else? No; no man can reveal
anything pertaining to these matters only as it is given to him
and he is permitted by the Lord, who is the Author of all light,
intelligence and knowledge which we, his children, possess. And
he has gathered us together for the purpose of instructing us
that we may operate with him and by him and through the
intelligence which he imparts, in building up his Zion of the
last days. The world say we are exclusive. We cannot help that.
Are we exclusive? To a certain extent, yes. For instance, I know
there is a law which God has given. Can I ignore that law and
expect blessings from God? No. Can you? No, you cannot. Can men
climb any other way into the favor of God than that which he has
appointed? No, they cannot. What will you do? We will try and
help the Lord to do the very best he can for them; and we will do
the best we can for them. One thing we can do, and we are set
apart many of us for that purpose, and that is to go and preach
the Gospel to every creature. This the Lord requires at our
hands, especially we Seventies, Elders and Apostles. We can do
all that is in our power for the people in this way.
135
And what next? Can we make them believe? No. Can we make them
obey the Gospel? No. We would not if we could, because if there
was any force made use of for the accomplishment of that object,
it would only result in evil instead of good. We are told by
Joseph Smith that "No power or influence can, or ought to be
maintained, by virtue of the Priesthood only by persuasion, by
long suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love
unfeigned; by kindness and pure knowledge." They are not to be
exercised by force. This is the way I look at these things, and I
take the same view of our temporal affairs of which we have heard
so much to-day. Should I wish to control any man? No, I would
show him the right way. Should I feel indignant at the follies of
men and wish to destroy people? No. David, we are told, prayed to
the Lord that his enemies might be sent to hell quickly; Jesus
said, when suffering at the hands of cruel men all that human
nature could endure, "Father, forgive them, for they know not
what they do." I like the latter better than the former. Who are
the people of the world? They are the children of God. If they
are not heirs with God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ, they
are all his offspring. And what is he going to do with them? The
very best he can; and we will try and help him do it. We will set
them good patterns; we will teach them by precept and example
better ways, and seek to the Lord for wisdom to govern us, and
then try and benefit them. But shall we allow them to destroy us?
No. Shall we allow our children to be taught by them? No, never
by them, for they know not the way of life, and are enemies to
God and his laws. God has given unto us children, and he not only
expects obedience from us, but expects us, as he did Abraham, to
command our children after us to obey the Lord. Then do not let
us give them over to the powers of darkness to be taught by the
enemies of God and his people. But let us study their interests,
both for time and eternity, and set them good examples, and keep
them from the contamination of the world. I heard a statement of
a circumstance said to have transpired in one of those schools in
Salt Lake City which was something like this; A teacher
interrogating the children of a certain school asked--Who is the
great false prophet of the 19th century? In answering a child
mentioned John Taylor. I was a little amused at it; although I
suppose it was intended that they should have given the name of
Joseph Smith, but the little one made a mistake. But what of the
idea of our children attending the schools of people who teach
and catechise them in this way? Don't you think it rather
humiliating? I think we are descending very low when we can
submit to their tuition. We do not want to partake of their
feelings nor contract their ways, nor to be degraded with either
their social or religious principles, but at the same time we
wish to do them all the good we can. If they lie about us, never
mind that; we can stand all they can say about us. Would we want
to injure them? I hope not. We ought to deal with and treat
everybody aright, acting justly and honorably with all. But then
we do not want them to be our teachers. They would think they
were doing God's service if they could by any influence lead us
astray. What will the Lord do with them? He will put the more
worthy of them in the Terrestrial kingdom, and the other class
will inherit a telestial kingdom, but they will never get into
the celestial kingdom, unless it be through the medium of that
priesthood conferred upon us by the Lord. Then do we wish our
children to be taught by those who would seek to degrade and lead
them to another and a lower place than that we hope to enjoy?
Certainly not. What was said of Abraham, speaking of his
children? The Lord says, "I know Abraham." What do you know?
"That he will fear me and command his children and his household
after him, etc." We want to be very careful about training our
children, we should act honestly before them; for if they see
father or mother act dishonestly, the children will be likely to
follow their example. We should be careful too not to be found
speaking harshly or using hard words in their presence. But
rather do as the old lady used to do when teaching school; when
the children would come to a word they could not pronounce, she
would tell them to skip it and call it "hard-word." Let our lives
and actions and conduct bespeak that we are men of God, that we
are acting uprightly and righteously and performing the will of
God upon the earth.
137
Well, now, a little further in relation to these things. Shall we
benefit? Yes, we will do all the good we can. But if men lie and
become fraudulent, and delight in abominations and are void of
principle, then we will say, with him of old, "My soul enter thou
not into their secret, and mine honor with him be not thou
united." We are gathered here for the express purposes of God;
the world, however, do not understand it. But I tell you what
they will do, by-and-by. You will see them flocking to Zion by
thousands and tens of thousands; and they will say, "We don't
know anything about your religion, we don't care much about
religious matters, but you are honest and honorable, and upright
and just, and you have a good, just and secure government, and we
want to put ourselves under your protection, for we cannot feel
safe anywhere else." There is a scripture which says, the time
will come "when he that will not take up his sword to fight
against his neighbor, must needs flee to Zion for safety." And
they will come. But we must prepare ourselves; we have got to
have the invigorating influence of the Spirit of God to permeate
all of our organizations, all feeling that we are under the
guidance and protection of the Almighty, every man in his place,
and every man according to the order of the priesthood in which
God has placed him. Does a Bishop expect the members of his ward
to be subject to him? Yes. Then if the President of a Stake
expects obedience from those under him he must be subject to
those over him. The Priests, Teachers and Deacons in their place,
the Bishops in theirs; the Presidents of Stakes in theirs; the
High Priests, Seventies, and all others, magnifying their
respective callings, filling the positions they occupy, holding
themselves as minute men, clothed upon with the power of God and
the holy priesthood which rests upon them. And when more of that
spirit is in existence among the elders of Israel, they will feel
the word of God like fire in their bones, and they will desire to
go forth carrying the word of life and salvation to their
fellowmen who are scattered throughout the earth. A good many are
beginning to feel like that now, the fire is beginning to burn a
little more, and if we continue to fulfil our duties--and do not
go and ask people to believe something we can hardly believe
ourselves; but go full of faith, seeking all the while unto God
for more intelligence, his Holy Spirit will beam upon the altar
of our hearts; the revelations of God will be unfolded and we
shall feel in our hearts to exclaim, O, God, let me go forth to
lift up a warning voice for thy judgments are approaching, the
nations are shaking, thrones are tottering and will be cast down,
and wars and commotions are spreading abroad, and I want to go
and snatch those who are honest "as brands from the burning;" so
that when I have accomplished my work I can feel that my garments
are spotless from the blood of all men. This is the kind of
feeling we should have and be governed by. As for these other
matters of a temporal nature before referred to, if we cannot
co-operate together and do it honestly and in good faith, as this
is one of the very best things that can be required of us, it is
a very little that we can do. We should cultivate the Spirit of
God ourselves; we ought to drink freely of that water which the
Savior told the woman of Samaria that he was able, to give to
her, even that water that would, "be in her as a well springing
up to everlasting life." We have drank already at that well; it
remains now for us to permit it to bubble and burst forth, to
flow and spread its revivifying influence all around. We ought to
have a heaven upon earth--to be really the Zion of our God, the
pure in heart, each one seeking another's welfare. "Thou shalt
love the Lord they God with all they heart, with all they might,
with all thy soul, with all they strength, and thy neighbor as
thyself." We have hardly got to that yet; but supposing Paul were
to come along and say a little further--each one preferring his
neighbor. That part of it we will let alone awhile. But if we
could feel we are the children of God, all animated by that same
Holy Spirit, producing peace and joy, and all welded together in
one common brotherhood, in the bonds of the everlasting Gospel,
all operating with God and the holy priesthood who have lived in
other ages, to carry out his purposes upon the earth, and
assisting to redeem the earth and establish his kingdom, never
more to be thrown down. If we could feel like this, we should
drop our individuality and self-esteem a little, we should seek
to do not our own will, but the will of Him who sent us.
137
I find that the time is passing. In conclusion let me say,
brethren, love one another, be kind to each other; if you have
difficulties, settle them honorably. I do not know a man upon the
earth that I have a solitary feeling against. I would not
entertain such feelings, because they make one feel miserable.
Forgive one another; bear with one another's infirmities. We are
not all alike. Our faces are different, our habits are different,
although made of the same material and possessing the same kind
of an organization. So dissimilar are we that you can hardly find
two people alike. I do not want everybody to think as I do. I am
willing to grant every one a great amount of leeway in regard to
these things; but I would like to see everybody do right and
cleave to God. And as for a great many other little things I care
very little about them. Let men treat their wives kindly; and
then you wives can afford to treat you husbands the same, can't
you? Let all cultivate charity and forbearance, and how much
better it will make you feel! Children, obey your parents; and
parents treat your children kindly, and let us all seek to do the
will of God upon the earth. May God bless you, brethren and
sisters, and lead you in the paths of life; and may God help us
all to do right, and may the fear and blessing of God rest upon
all Israel and upon all that love the truth everywhere, and may
our enemies be confounded in all their plottings against Zion, in
the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / John
Taylor, February 2nd, 1879
John Taylor, February 2nd, 1879
REMARKS MADE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
At the Funeral Services of Brother Dimick B. Huntington, in the
16th Ward
Meeting House, Salt Lake City, on Sunday Morning, February 2nd,
1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
138
There are a great many things associated with human existence
that call upon people to reflect. We came into the world, and
people are coming into it in a continuous stream--children are
being born as all of us were in our turn; and whilst some are
coming into the world giving pleasure to their parents and
friends, there are trials, anxieties, cares and perplexities
attending to the nurture of the babe and the care of youth until
they arrive at years of maturity. Then comes the struggles of
life with all its attendant cares and responsibilities.
138
With us particularly the greatest thing that we think of
associated with the welfare of our youth is that they become
acquainted with the principles of truth, with the order and
organization of the kingdom of God, that they comprehend in some
measure the laws of life and prepare to live for the future that
is before them.
139
Brother Huntington has lived a great length of time associated
with this church and kingdom, and has arrived to what is often
termed "the sere and yellow leaf," when it is expected, according
to the common course of humanity, that people must leave and go
into another state of existence. For quite a long time it has
been known by his more intimate friends that he was shortly to
leave. I visited him not long ago myself, and had a very pleasant
interview with him, and since then I never thought of his living
long; in fact I expected to attend his funeral as we are now
doing. But there was no compunction of feeling--no desire to
continue to live; but the felt as though he had accomplished the
work that was assigned him. Speaking to him, as I sometimes do to
our aged brethren on some occasions, I said, "Well, Brother
Dimick, you are about leaving, and, when you, go carry my best
respects to our friends who are already there, and tell them I
will continue to do the best I can in the hope of by and by
meeting with them." And that is about the way that I look at
these things. We have our entries into the world, our struggles
in the world, and when we get through with these, and the weary
wheels of life stand still, then we pass into another state of
existence. The Gospel has revealed to us some of the most
glorious, exalting, ennobling and encouraging principles; and
when we are in possession of these principles and the feelings
they produce, there is no terror in the approach of death. I have
seen the time myself when I could have died just as easy as not
if my time had come, and would just as soon have done so as not,
and I do not feel much otherwise to-day.
139
There is something very interesting in all the affairs of human
life, especially is there associated with us as a people. Brother
Huntington has been with us for a great many years, and has
passed through many trying scenes with the church in Missouri and
elsewhere, and while they are not of the most pleasant nature to
contemplate, at the same time they serve to show the faithfulness
and integrity of those who have been associated with them. I see
around me a good many of the brethren who, by experience, know
all about these things, and I see too that their hair, like mine,
is getting--I will not call it gray, but a little white. Some
people felt sorry for us when enduring these things, but we did
not feel sorry for ourselves, nor do we to-day. Some felt as
though it was impossible to bear up under the continued struggles
that we had to pass through; but the Latter-day Saints had no
such feelings. They reflected upon the future and upon those
great principles of eternal life which God has given unto them,
and these thoughts stimulate us with hope and joy to-day; and as
the effervescent affairs of time slide and pass away the Saints
of God rejoice in the knowledge that an inheritance which is
incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, is reserved
in the heavens for them. And they feel also that they have been
called, and chosen, and elected by the Almighty to help to
establish his kingdom on the earth, to introduce among men those
principles that exist in the eternal worlds and to maintain them
by the Spirit, the power and strength of the living God. They
feel that they have a work to perform, and doing that work they
realize that God is with them and that all will be right, whether
it relates to this world or the world to come; that is the
feeling which the Gospel of the Son of God inspires in the hearts
of those who live up to its requirements, obey its demands, and
fulfil the various duties devolving upon them.
140
It is not with them simply a personal matter. The Latter-day
Saints feel as though they occupy a peculiar position in the
world--that God has selected them from among the nations of the
earth and gathered them together that he might place his name
among them; and that in the coming struggle, in the great
revolutions that shall transpire upon the face of the earth, it
will be for them to manage, to direct, to control and adjust, and
under the influence and guidance of the Spirit of the living God,
to promulgate the principles of eternal truth to all people, that
all mankind may have the opportunity of listening to the great
and glorious principles that God has revealed to them, that they
may be inducted into the laws of life and comprehend the
principles of truth as they exist in the bosom of God; and
holding the priesthood in all its various forms, organizations
and powers, they feel that they are associated with the
priesthood on the other side of the vail, who are interested in
their welfare, in the progress of the work in which they are
engaged, and in the accomplishment of the purpose which God has
designed from before the commencement of the world. This is the
kind of feeling that the Latter-day Saints are inspired with who
comprehend their true position. And hence there are organizations
of High Priests, Seventies, Elders and others, whose duty it is
to go to nations of the earth to proclaim to all peoples the glad
tidings of salvation. And whilst men ignorantly, and without
knowledge, seek to persecute, proscribe and interfere with the
rights of Israel, the God of Israel stands forth as their
defender and will protect them under all circumstances, and every
arm that is raised against them will fall, and every power that
is marshalled against them will crumble to pieces, for he will
assuredly take care of his people, and protect them in every
emergency.
140
And when we comprehend these things, we realize that we are here
not to do our will, but the will of the Father who sent us. We
are here to introduce those eternal principles that exist in the
bosom of the Almighty; we are here to build up the Church and
kingdom of God upon the earth, and to form a nucleus through
which and by which the God of heaven can work, operate, lead,
dictate, and control the affairs of all men. He has introduced a
little leaven which will by and by leaven the whole lump. And
although wars, commotions, troubles, difficulties, bloodshed,
plagues, pestilence and famine will stalk over the earth, the
nations totter and fall, thrones be cast down and the powers of
the earth be shaken, yet God will protect Israel, he will
maintain his people, if they will cleave to him and obey his laws
and keep his commandments; and we are here to introduce and
establish these heavenly principles that exist with God, and to
teach the principles of life to the people, that all mankind may
have the opportunity of hearing and knowing of the great things
that God has revealed for the salvation of the human family. We
are here, then, for the accomplishment of these things. We are
here not only to proclaim salvation to the living, not only to
introduce the principles of law, and government, and religion,
and everything calculated to exalt and ennoble man upon the
earth, until the kingdoms of this earth shall grow and increase,
and become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ, but we are
here also to redeem the dead, to build temples and administer
therein and to accomplish all the various works that God requires
us as his servants to attend to. And when one after another of
our friends passes away, what of it? It is only the ordinary
course of nature, and it makes very little difference whether a
man be on this side of the vail or on the other. Brother Dimick
has gone where paralysis cannot strike him any more, where sorrow
and sighing with him are passed, and where everything is
pleasant, joyous and happifying, and where he can rejoice with
his brethren who have gone before him. Do we feel to sorrow
because of the change? No, not in the least. We feel about this
as you, my brethren and sisters, did in years gone by, when
leaving your friends and, perhaps families, to gather to Zion,
and as your friends did in seeing you take your departure. They
would shake you heartily by the hand and say: "Well, I am sorry
you are going and yet I am glad, and I will try to follow you as
soon as I can." That is about the feeling. It is an ordeal that
God has placed upon all men, and we have got to meet it, and
having met it, like all other things, we are prepared for what
follows.
141
But let us speak of the living, for it is with those actualities
we have now to do in relation to things that are transpiring.
Sometimes people will say, "Don't you feel a little scared about
things now?" referring to inimical legislation. No much; at least
I do not. I do not know that it makes my knees tremble much. I
feel as pleasant, joyous, comfortably and happy to-day as at any
other time; all is right. Men cannot do as they please. God rules
in the heavens; and the Prophet has said, "Surely the wrath of
man shall praise thee, and the remainder of wrath shalt thou
restrain." It is His duty to take care of His Saints, and why
need we trouble much about it? We have children, and it is our
duty to take care of them; and it appears that they are not much
concerned where their dinner or their clothes come from; the
believe that "daddy" will take care of that.
141
As regards brother Dimick, it is all right with him. I would say
to him, "Peace to his ashes," and I would say to his family and
friends, "Be comforted, peace be multiplied to you, and have
confidence in God and all will be right." And by and by you will
pass along, and we will come and see you if you do not come and
see us; that is, we will bury you if you do not bury us first.
And by and by we will all be on the other side of Jordan, singing
"Hallelujah, hallelujah, the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth."
141
Let us seek to do right. That is the main thing for us Saints to
do. I do not fear the world, nor any of its affairs or
influences, or powers, or any of its intrigues, nor anything it
can devise; for God will take care of his people if they do
right. The only fear that I have is, that people will forsake
their God, and lose faith in him and his promises, and be found
serving the evil one instead of serving the Lord. If we fear God
and keep his commandments, live our religion, and pursue a proper
course, all will be well with us in time and through eternity.
141
Brother Huntington for many years was associated with the High
Council; he has gone now to associate with the councils above,
and with the various organizations of priesthood that are
eternal, endless and everlasting. And we, by and by, will follow
to join our quorums, our friends and associates who have gone
before.
142
I am reminded of an item in Brother Dimick's written request,
desiring that only his good deeds should be spoken of at his
funeral, and also of a remark by Brother Taylor, in referring to
it, that we should not speak anything but good of our friends
whether living or dead. I am really astonished sometimes to
witness the hard feelings and rancor that exist among men. They
come--I do not know where they come from; yes, I do too, they
come from beneath. The fruits of the Spirit of God are love,
peace, joy, gentleness, long-suffering, kindness, affection, and
everything that is good and amiable. The fruits of the spirit of
the devil are envy, hatred, malice, irritableness, everything
that tends to destroy mankind, and to make them feel
uncomfortable and unhappy. The fruits of the Spirit of God are
love, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost; and the man that says
he loves God and hateth his brother, is a liar, and the truth is
not in him. I do not care who he may be, or what his name, or
where he lives. This is the way I read the Scripture, and the way
the Gospel teaches me. "By this shall all men know that ye are my
disciples, if ye have love one to another." Even an outside poet
has sung:
"Then speak no ill, a kindly word
Can never leave a sting behind," etc.
Let us be governed by these principles, and cleave to everything
that is ennobling, that we may be associated together in the
bonds of fraternity, love and affection, live our religion, keep
God's commandments, and cultivate his holy Spirit, and the spirit
of kindness, affection, and love and fraternity among ourselves;
so that when we get through with our affairs on this earth, we
may meet with joy all those with whom we have associated on the
earth below.
142
God bless the family of Brother Huntington--his wives and
children and grandchildren, and all pertaining to him. To his
children I would say: follow the example of your father, and God
will bless you and save you ultimately with him in his kingdom.
And may God help us all to be humble and diligent in keeping his
commandments, that we may be saved in his kingdom, in the name of
Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / Orson
Pratt, March 9th, 1879
Orson Pratt, March 9th, 1879
DISCOURSE BY ELDER ORSON PRATT,
Delivered in the North Branch Meeting Room, of the London
Conference,
on Sunday Evening, March 9th, 1879.
(Reported by Joseph May, of Sheffield.)
142
It is with pleasure, brethren and sisters, that I rise before
this small assembly to address them upon such subjects as may be
put into my heart. However much learning and information may be
in the possession of a speaker is does not matter, God is able,
by his Spirit, to make use of the most unlearned, if they will
but seek unto him, and have faith in him, that he can speak
through them to the edification of the people who hear. We have a
vast amount of information which the Lord has revealed from on
high in different periods of the world's history, as well as in
our own day; information that is of the greatest importance to
the human family; information that has relation to our eternal
happiness and welfare in the world to come, if we can but obtain
enough of the spirit of truth to impart that information to our
minds.
143
We latter-day Saints, are living in a peculiar age of the world;
we are called by the Almighty, by new revelation. We have not
taken this name upon ourselves, it is a name the Lord gave by
direct revelation through the prophet and seer, Joseph Smith. The
Lord spoke to him, as he always did to those who were sent forth
to build up his Church on the earth; hence, this Church has not
been built upon the opinions of men, neither upon the learning of
men, neither upon the doctrines and covenants of men; but in the
very beginning, before there were any Latter-day Saints, or true
Church, the Lord gave a revelation regarding the time when the
Church should be organized. A few had believed, a few had
repented, a few had been baptized for the remission of their
sins, and a few had been confirmed, by the laying on of hands,
for the gift of the Holy Ghost. They were organized into a Church
by commandment, and on the same day that they were thus
organized, the Lord pointed out the duties of the members, and
also of the officers of the Church. It was also revealed that in
the Church of the living God there would be inspired apostles. We
did not assume the apostleship ourselves, we did not pick up this
information in and of ourselves, but the Lord gave revelation
respecting it. And, indeed, there is not one doctrine believed in
or practiced by the Latter-day Saints, but what the Lord our God
has given revelation upon that subject or that doctrine. In the
first place, before the establishment of the Church, the Lord
intending to set up his kingdom again on the earth, made
preparation for it by raising up a boy--a young man, unlearned in
the schools of theology. This youth was inspired from on high.
God sent his holy angels to minister to him, and gave him power
to bring forth a sacred record of a branch of the house of
Israel, a record, in other words, of a remnant of Israel, who
inhabited the great western continent. Their records were brought
forth by this boy, this young, unlearned, uneducated youth. He
did not attempt to establish the Church while translating those
records. This was the first duty required at his hands--namely,
to translate from the plates of gold, which he discovered, by the
aid of an instrument, called the Urim and Thummim. This sacred
instrument was used in ancient times to inquire of the Lord. This
young man continued the work of translation from the autumn of
the year 1827, until 1829, as time and circumstances would
permit. He was a man whose father was in poverty, and
consequently a portion of his time had to be occupied by himself
in laboring to obtain the necessary comforts of life; but he,
after some two years and a half, succeeded in finishing and
printing the record, a record which contains about 600 pages.
After this record was translated, and the manuscript placed in a
hands of the certain printer in Palmyra, State of New York, and
after it had been printed, and the Lord had prepared all things,
he then gave commandment to this young man to organize the
Church, that is, to establish the Latter-day kingdom spoken of by
Daniel, the prophet, on the earth, and gave the name by which the
same should be called--namely, "The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints."
144
In regard to our forms of Church government, we are also guided
by written and printed revelations. We were not left to
ourselves, to conjecture, or merely to base our opinion, in
regard to what the various duties of the officers of the Church
are, but the Lord did distinctly point out the duty of an
apostle, telling us that that was one of the officers of the
Church, that it is his duty to receive revelation--to receive
communications from the heavens, as the apostles did in ancient
times, and to administer in all of the ordinances of the doctrine
of Jesus Christ, and to regulate the Church and watch over the
same, and to administer in all spiritual things. The Lord also
pointed out the duties of Elders, and of the lesser priesthood.
Now we should not have known anything about, what is termed, the
"lesser priesthood," if it had not been for new revelation. We
read about two priesthoods in the Bible; one was called, the
"higher priesthood" the priesthood after the order of
Melchizedek; the other was called, the "lesser priesthood," or
the priesthood after the order of Aaron, the Levitical
priesthood, some would term it. But we knew nothing about these
things only so far as the Lord revealed them. There were none to
take us by the hand, and say to us, "we have the priesthood of
the Church, we can teach you what the duties of the respective
officers are," but these things had to be learned anew.
145
The Lord did not see proper, at the first, to give us the fulness
of the authority that he afterwards revealed. He gave us the
lesser priesthood. And how did he do it? It was not on the earth.
You might have searched all the various Christian churches, built
up among all the nations, and you could not have found among any
of them, what is termed the "lesser priesthood," after the order
of Aaron, and yet we are told, in the Jewish record, (the Bible,)
that the priesthood of Aaron is an "everlasting priesthood," that
it was intended to be continued while the sun and the moon should
endure--that is, when men were acknowledged sufficiently worthy,
to have that priesthood on the earth. It has never died out. It
has been in the heavens all the time. Death takes no authority of
a divine nature, from any human being, when it is once conferred
upon him, if he is faithful until death; consequently there were
persons in the heavens who held that priesthood, but no one upon
the earth, no one that ever pretended to have it, among the
Christian denominations. And the Jewish people, who pretend to
have the Levitical priesthood, rejected and do still reject the
true Messiah, consequently, their priesthood is null and without
authority, and they could not, therefore, administer baptism, for
the remission of sins, as John the Baptist did, the forerunner of
Christ, who held that priesthood.
145
There was no other way, therefore, for this priesthood to be
established again on the earth, only for it to be sent down from
heaven; and the Lord did this. Without it, all of our
ministrations would have been in vain. We could not have
officiated, without some kind of authority, or priesthood. How
did the Lord restore it? In answer to humble, solemn prayer,
before the Church arose, the Lord sent his angel, John the
Baptist, to two of his servants, namely, the translator of the
work, and also the scribe who was writing from his mouth. This
angel came, and laid his hands upon their heads, and ordained
them, unto the same priesthood which he himself held. They were
also instructed, by that angel, concerning the nature of the
duties of that priesthood. They were told that they should
baptize the people, as John did in ancient times, for the
remission of sins, but they had no power, by this priesthood, to
lay their hands upon baptized believers, that they might receive
the Holy Ghost; that authority did not belong to the lesser
priesthood, but required a greater power than the Levitical
priesthood to administer that divine ordinance, for the baptism
of the Holy Ghost. Therefore these persons could, as yet, only
baptize in water; but they sought diligently, knowing from the
Bible, and also from the Book of Mormon, which they were
translating, that the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy
Ghost, was a sacred and holy ordinance, and that without it, the
Church could not be organized on the earth. Knowing this, they
pleaded before the heavens, that God would condescend to give
them a higher priesthood, that would enable them also to
administer in those higher Gospel ordinances. The Lord heard
their prayers, and three heavenly personages were sent to them.
What authority did these three angelic personages hold? They held
the apostleship. They were the ancient apostles, Peter, James and
John, three of the most conspicuous of the ancient apostles. They
were sent as ministering angels. They also conferred upon them
the apostleship. The apostleship holds this higher priesthood,
after the order of Melchizedek, a priesthood greater than that of
Aaron; and hence, when they received the apostleship, or this
divine authority, they were commanded to call the baptized
believers together, and lay their hands upon them, and confirm
upon them the gift of the Holy Ghost.
146
In this way the Church was organized, on the 6th day of April,
1830, in Fayette, Seneca Co., New York, or rather began to be
organized, for there are many things besides these first
principles of the Gospel I have named, that are essential duties
necessary to be practised amongst the people of God. After they
were thus organized and confirmed by the laying on of hands, and
became members of the Church, then it became necessary, that
there should be other officers, as leaders, and guides, and
persons, holding different authority, to administer in their
respective callings, among the people and hence, deacons,
teachers and elders were given, and after a while bishops. Now,
we had but little knowledge of the duties of bishops. We knew
what the sectarian religionists expressed, in regard to bishops,
that they were to administer principally in spiritual things, but
the Lord gave us altogether a different view of this subject,
from what we had learned from sectarian religion. He gave by
revelation, the duties of bishops, that they were to hold the
presidency of the Aaronic priesthood, that they were to
administer in all temporal things, and not spiritual things only.
And finally other officers were pointed out, from time to time,
as the Church increased and among these, the Lord had told his
servants, about a year before the organization of the Church,
that there would be Twelve Apostles appointed, and that the Lord
should designate to them, who these Twelve Apostles should be.
These Twelve, in due time, were called and ordained, by the
commandment of the Almighty, and they also had their duties
specified by revelation. Their duties were more particularly, to
see that the gospel was preached to every nation, and kindred,
and tongue, and people, upon the face of our globe; first, to
carry it to the Gentile nations, and after we had completed our
mission to the Gentiles, then our calling and duties would be to
the house of Israel scattered in the four quarters of the earth.
146
We have been now almost one half a century, in fulfilling the
first part of our duty, namely, in publishing the Gospel to the
gentile nations.
146
We have sought diligently, year after year, to publish glad
tidings of great joy, to all the different peoples on the face of
the earth, so far as the government, and the laws of the
respective governments, of these nations would permit the Gospel
of the Church of Christ, to be established amongst them. We have
sought diligently, therefore, to perform our mission to the
Gentiles. We have not gone to the house of Israel, because that
was not the commandment. We were commanded of the Lord our God,
to preach to the Gentiles first, to warn them, to testify to them
that their times are nearly fulfilled; and that then the Gospel
of the kingdom should be turned from among them, and transferred
over to the house of Israel. We have been faithful, I believe, in
England, in Wales, in Scotland, in Ireland, and upon the
Continent, among the European nations, so far as their laws would
permit, and also among the various States of the American union,
and in the British dominions, the Canadas. And we have tried to
be faithful, in carrying out our testimony also to the British
Colonies in India; and also in the Southern portions of Africa;
and also in Gibraltar, and in South Australia, and New Zealand
and in all those various countries, trying to warn the Gentile
nations, concerning that which the Lord our God is beginning to
do here on the earth. Having established his kingdom, he offers
it first to these Gentile nations, if they will receive it; and
when they shall account themselves unworthy of the kingdom,
unworthy of eternal life, unworthy of the message which God has
sent to them, and shall persecute his servants and his people all
the day long and shall close up their sanctuaries, their
Churches, and their chapels, their meeting houses, and their
places of worship against this message, and when it can no longer
find place among them, so as to bring them to a knowledge and
understanding of the truth, the Lord will, after a while,
designate by revelation, and say unto his servants, "It is
enough. You have been faithful in laboring in my vineyard, for
the last time;" for it was the decree of heaven, that this shall
be the last time, that he will labor in his vineyard. It is the
eleventh hour the last warning that will be given to the nations
of the earth, first to the Gentiles, and then to the House of
Israel.
146
When they shall render themselves unworthy of this great and
joyful message, that has been presented to them, the servants of
God will, as I have already stated, have it revealed to them, to
confine no longer their mission to the Gentiles; but they will
receive a commission from the Almighty to go to the scattered
remnants of the House of Israel, wherever they may be located.
147
The American Indians are the descendants of the remnant of the
tribe of Joseph with a mixture of the descendants of one of the
kings of Israel of the tribe of Judah; hence, Judah and Joseph
are mixed together, and God will send his servants among them,
and they will receive the records of their fathers. They will
believe in those records, which their forefathers kept by
inspiration, and believe in the revelations that are contained
therein. It is their Bible, the same as the Old and New
Testaments are the Bible of the Jews, that lived at Jerusalem.
147
They, the Indians, will not reject it, but obey it, and
practically receive it, and become a powerful branch of the House
of Israel. The servants of the Lord will also be sent to the
Jews, some of whom are here in London. Some are mingled with the
various nations of Europe. Many hundreds of thousands of them are
in Asia and among all nations. These Jews must be warned, when we
get through with the Gentiles; and they will begin to believe in
Christ, according to the prophecies, that are contained in the
Stick of Joseph. They will begin to believe in the true Messiah
and gather unto their land, the land of Palestine; and there will
be many of the people of Israel, that are scattered upon the
Isles of the sea,--on the Pacific Isles,--who will receive the
work; and the Lord will perform in their midst, miracles, and
signs, and wonders, and make bare his arm, just as is prophesied
by Isaiah in bringing about his covenants to the House of Israel.
And he will make bare his arm very differently from what he has
done among the Gentiles; for among the Gentiles, he has, it is
true, healed the sick; he has opened the eyes of the blind; he
has caused the tongue of the dumb in some instances, to sing; and
he has healed them of various diseases; and there has been a
certain degree of the power and gifts of the ancient Gospel,
manifested as in ancient times, among the ancient Gentile
Churches. But I do not call this the making bare of the arm of
the Almighty in so great fulness as it is predicted in the Jewish
record, the Bible. It is making bare his arm in some small
degree. And we have great reason to be thankful, when he does
hear the prayers of his servants, when he does heal those who are
sick, and when he does show forth his power as in ancient time,
in these spiritual gifts and blessings, which belong especially
to the Gospel of his Son. But when I speak of the Lord making
bare his arm in the eyes of all the nations, I have reference to
that what which is predicted in this book, called the Bible, when
the waters will again be divided, and Israel will go through
dryshod, as they did in ancient times. When the great deep will
have a highway cast up through the midst of it, and Israel will
pass through it dryshod. When I mention about the Lord making
bare his arm in the eyes of all the nations, I have reference to
that tremendous power, that is specified by the Ancient prophets,
which will be made manifest before all people, all governments,
nations and countries upon the face of the whole earth. Israel
will return with power. Will God be with them when they return?
He will. He will go as literally before their Camp, as they go
out from among the nations, as he did in ancient times when he
brought them out from that one single nation of the Egyptians.
Then there was a display of great power, great signs, great
wonders. The Lord condescended to talk with men from heaven. He
descended upon Mount Sinai and his voice was heard, like the
voice of thunder, by the numerous multitudes of Israel that were
gathered at the foot of the mount.
148
Upon that mountain he manifested his power by causing it to
tremble exceedingly, his lightnings and thunders were seen and
heard and therefore this was making bare his arm in very deed,
and from that day to this, Israel when scattered among the
nations, and when they wish to speak of the greatness of their
God and magnify his great and holy name, still refer to the signs
and wonders that were wrought in delivering their fathers from
the land of Egypt, in dividing the waters of the Red Sea. They
still refer to the cloud they saw over their camp by day, and to
the shining of the flaming fire by night. They still refer to the
numerous revelations, given to them while they sojourned forty
years in the wilderness. They still refer to the waters of Jordan
which were divided, as they went into the land of Palestine.
148
But that was only a display of the power of the Almighty before
the nations that were in that immediate vicinity. There is a day
coming when this will be manifested over all the face of the
earth, when the Lord God shall organize the camps of Israel among
the various nations and bring them home to their own lands.
148
Ezekiel, the Prophet, being filled with the spirit of
inspiration, and looking forth by the power of that spirit to
that time when they should be brought back and assembled into one
body, in the wilderness, says that the Lord should plead with
them face to face, like has he plead with their fathers in the
wilderness and the land of Egypt. (See Ezekiel xx.) So we see
there is a day of power coming, and day of wonders and a day of
mighty deeds, when the power of the Lord, in great judgment, will
be upon the nations of the wicked; and also when his glory shall
be upon his covenant people who shall be restored to their own
lands. The message with which we are now entrusted is a part of
the great and last warning message to the nations of the earth,
first to the Gentiles, and last to the house of Israel. And when
we get through warning the Gentiles, the proclamation which the
Lord has given us, shall be delivered to Israel in the islands of
the sea and among the various nations; and they shall gather home
to the land of their inheritance. Then Jerusalem shall be
redeemed and a temple established upon its former foundation in
the holy land. Then the nations of the earth will see a
fulfillment of our words. We have told them for the last
forty-nine years that the Lord God has commenced a work to
prepare the way before the face of his coming, to prepare a
people to endure his presence, to gather his people from the four
quarters of the earth into one, in order that they might be
prepared, against the day when the veil of eternity shall be
rent, and the voice of the Lord shall be heard unto the ends of
the earth. Then they shall behold a fulfillment of our words,
they shall then know of a surety, if they do not before, that
there is a God in this work, that he has commenced a proclamation
and message for the last time, to prepare the way before the face
of the coming of his Son from the heavens.
148
But before that great day shall come, let me foretell, before
this people, that which they may look for, that which will most
assuredly come to pass, and that which will eventually cause
their ears to tingle, and the sound thereof will cause them to
tremble exceedingly, namely the judgments that are decreed by the
Almighty, to be poured out upon the nations of the Gentiles, that
do not repent.
149
While this message is going forth, in your midst, it is a time of
comparative peace, it is a time when the Lord our God is granting
unto you the proclamation of mercy, and has given you peace in
your homes, peace among yourselves; no civil wars are raging in
your midst, though there are some foreign wars that occasionally
disturb the peace of the people; but the Lord has been specially
favorable to the people of this island, while the proclamation
has been sounding, during the last forty-three years in your
midst. But this will not always continue. You may be assured,
that there is a change coming as you may be assured of the
fulfillment of anything that has ever been spoken, by the mouth
of the ancient servants of God. A change is coming over the
political affairs of these nations. Great Britain will not
escape. What will be this change? There will be various causes
that will bring it about. One change will be this which you,
without being prophets, can by a little reflection, understand
for yourselves. You know that England, for many years past, has
been the great manufacturing nation for the whole world. They
have looked to you for your manufactures and such merchandize has
been carried unto all parts of the earth; and this has kept your
workmen and poor people employed. They have had abundance to do
the most of their time. You have sent forth a vast amount of your
manufactures to the continent of America, to the people of the
United States, but the scene is changing; for any person, with a
little reflection, can see that the change is already beginning
to come, and that too very readily. The nations, to whom you have
exported your products, are beginning to manufacture for
themselves. This cuts off the trade with Great Britain.
149
The American nation is beginning to manufacture for themselves,
and not only themselves, but they are actually sending their
manufactures to this little island; and the people here are
beginning to purchase American goods and manufacture in
preference to their own. This cuts off in your country a great
many of the manufacturing establishments, and you have a surplus
populations, of many millions, thrown as it were out of
employment, who can scarcely get sufficient to sustain themselves
from day to day. Is this state of things going to get better? No,
it will not, there may be prosperous times for a short season,
but they will soon pass away; and such times are coming, such as
this nation has not experienced, neither they, nor their
forefathers for many generations.
150
I might go on and tell you many things, in relation to the
consequences of people being thrown out of employment. I might
portray it, but I do not wish to harrow up the people, in regard
to this matter. You yourselves can see, that when people are
pinched, for the want of bread, for the want of clothing, for the
want of the necessary comforts of life, and are driven to
desperation, you can judge for yourselves what must be the state
of things that will ensue. I have no need to portray them. But I
would say to the Latter-day Saints who have been taught these
things for many years, gather out from this nation. And inasmuch
as we have pointed out the way of escape and shown you that the
Lord has provided in regard to these matters, for all that will
believe in him, and repent of their sins, and obey the gospel, do
not be dilatory, do not be slack, do not be extravagant in your
expenditures, but strive to lay up means, and so far as you
possibly can, by being faithful, and serving the Lord your God,
gather out from these countries: for a day of great tribulations
is coming, a day of desolation, a day wherein the country will be
revolutionized, wherein the poor and the afflicted, and the
needy, will contend earnestly for the lives of themselves, and
their little ones, instead of seeing them perish by hundreds and
thousands in the streets. And inasmuch as such a day is coming,
Latter-day Saints, it would be far better for you, to be out of
the country, than in it. And would to heaven we could sound this
message, not only to the Latter-day Saints, but to every good,
upright, honest-hearted soul, throughout Great Britain. That they
might take warning, and escape, before the terrible time shall
come.
150
Now let me point out some other things which will occur, before
the coming of the Son of Man. The Lord has a controversy among
all the nations of the gentiles. He has sent to them a warning.
He has sent his servants to prophesy to them. He has sent them to
preach and bear record of the truth. He has sent them to call
upon the nations to repent, both high and low, rich and poor,
religionist and non-religionist, priest and people, for all of
them to repent and receive the Gospel in its fulness, and not
only to do this, but to gather out from these nations. Will they
hear? They will not. We know they will not; but this does not
justify us in being slack in delivering our message. We have a
responsibility placed upon us, and that responsibility we must
fulfill, whether the people hear, or whether they forbear, we
must warn them, so that they shall not have any excuse, when the
tribulations shall come which I have named.
151
The Lord, therefore has a controversy among them, the same as he
had with the Egyptian nation, with this difference, that the
Egyptians did not have the same length of time to consider the
message which you have. They only had a few days, and if they
would not repent and receive the word which Moses and Aaron
delivered to them, well and good; and only a short time, a very
few days were allowed them to decide this matter. You have had a
portion of a whole generation. Your times are not quite yet
fulfilled, and hence you have had the privilege to consider it
from your childhood up to middle age, and some of you from middle
message which God has sent or not. Now, the consequences will be,
if you receive it, you will save yourselves by fleeing out from
the midst of this nation. You will save yourselves and your
children temporally speaking as well as spiritually. On the other
hand, if you do not receive it, the Lord, who is long suffering,
will, after he has borne with the people all the day long,
withdraw his servants from your midst. When that day shall come
there shall be wars, not such wars has have come in centuries and
years that are past and gone, but a desolating war. When I say
desolating, I mean that it will lay these European nations in
waste. Cities will be left vacated, without inhabitants. The
people will be destroyed by the sword of their own hands. Not
only this but many other cities will be burned; for when
contending armies are wrought up with terrible anger, without the
Spirit of God upon them, when they have not that spirit of
humanity that now characterizes many of the wars amongst the
nations, when they are left to themselves, there will be no
quarter given, no prisoners taken, but a war of destruction, of
desolation, of the burning of the cities and villages, until the
land is laid desolate.
151
That is another thing that will come before the coming of the Son
of Man.
151
What about my own nation--the American nation? What can I say
more than I have said in times that are past? They have had a
great desolating war; a war between the North and the South in
which many hundreds of thousands were destroyed. This war was
foretold twenty-eight years before it took place; the very place
where it should commence was marked out by the Prophet Joseph
Smith, that young man of whom I have spoken. By him it was
designated that the revolution should commence in South Carolina,
and it did so. By him it was pointed out that this war would be
great and terrible, and it came to pass although twenty-eight
years intervened, before it commenced. These revelations and
prophecies have been published by hundreds of thousands and
circulated in your midst here in Great Britain. The people are
not altogether ignorant about these matters; they have been
forewarned. But what about the American nation. That war that
destroyed the lives of some fifteen or sixteen hundred thousand
people was nothing, compared to that which will eventually
devastate that country. The time is not very far distant in the
future, when the Lord God will lay his hand heavily upon that
nations. "How do you know this? inquires one." I know from the
revelations which God has given upon this subject. I read these
revelations, when they were first given. I waited over
twenty-eight years and saw their fulfillment to the very letter.
Should I not, then, expect that the balance of them should be
fulfilled? That same God who gave the revelations to his servant
Joseph Smith in regard to these matters, will fulfil every jot
and every tittle that has been spoken, concerning that nation.
What then will be the condition of that people, when this great
and terrible war shall come? It will be very different from the
war between the North and the South. Do you wish me to describe
it? I will do so. It will be a war of neighborhood against
neighborhood, city against city, town against town, county
against county, state against state, and they will go forth
destroying and being destroyed and manufacturing will, in a great
measure, cease, for a time, among the American nation. Why?
Because in these terrible wars, they will not be privileged to
manufacture, there will be too much bloodshed--too much
mobocracy--too much going forth in bands and destroying and
pillaging the land to suffer people to pursue any local vocation
with any degree of safety. What will become of millions of the
farmers upon that land? They will leave their farms and they will
remain uncultivated, and they will flee before the ravaging
armies from place to place; and thus will they go forth burning
and pillaging the whole country; and that great and powerful
nation, now consisting of some forty millions of people, will be
wasted away, unless they repent.
152
Now these are predictions you may record. You may let them sink
down into your hearts. And if the Lord your God shall permit you
to live, you will see my words fulfilled to the very letter. They
are not my words, but the words of inspiration--the words of the
everlasting God who has sent forth his servants with this message
to warn the nations of the earth. The Book of Mormon contains
many of these predictions. This book has now been printed
forty-nine years, and the prophecies contained in it are being
fulfilled with great rapidity; and every prediction yet in the
future, recorded in that book, will be fulfilled literally,
according to the words that are spoken. The Lord our God has
already destroyed two great and powerful nations that once
occupied the western hemisphere, because they fell into
wickedness and would not repent. We have a record of this. The
first nation he brought upon that hemisphere, were a people from
the Tower of Babel. They were led by the hand of the Lord. They
were located upon the north wing of that continent, and they
became a great an powerful nation. They inhabited the land for
some sixteen or seventeen centuries after they came from the
Tower of Babel. But the Lord made a decree, when he first led
them forth to that land, that if they or their descendants should
fall into wickedness, and would not repent, that he would visit
them with utter destruction. He did so. About 600 years before
Christ, that great nation were entirely swept off by the
judgments of Almighty God, and their bones were left bleaching
upon the plains and mountains of that land--left unburied by the
numerous armies that went forth slaying and being slain, and
another colony was brought from Jerusalem in their stead, being a
remnant of the tribe of Joseph. The same decree was passed
respecting one branch if that colony, that was made regarding the
first nation. Said the Lord to them, "Inasmuch as you keep my
commandments, you shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as you
keep not my commandments in the land, you shall be destroyed from
the face thereof." That was literally fulfilled. After living
upon that land till nearly the close of the fourth century of the
Christian era, they fell into wickedness and were destroyed, with
the exceptions of a few who went over to the opposite army.
152
And the Lord also made a similar decree, recorded, too, in the
same book, in regard to the present great populous nations called
the people of the United States. They must perish, unless they
repent. They will be wasted away, and the fullness of the wrath
of Almighty God will be poured out upon them, unless they repent.
Their cities will be left desolate. A time is coming when the
great and populous city of New York--the greatest city of the
American Republic, will be left without inhabitants. The houses
will stand, some of them, not all. They will stand there, but
unoccupied, no people to inherit them. It will be the same in
regard to numerous other cities, or, in the words of the Lord, "I
will throw down all their strongholds, and I will execute
vengeance and fury upon them, even as upon the heathen, such as
they have not heard." It will all be fulfilled. But there will be
a remnant who will be spared. It will be those who repent of
their sins; it will be those who believe in the lord Jesus
Christ, and are willing to obey his commandments, willing to
hearken to his voice, willing to be baptized for the remission of
their sins, willing to be born of the spirit, or receive the Holy
Ghost, by the laying on of hands, willing to walk uprightly and
honestly with all men, and justly one with another.
153
These and these only will be spared, for it is the decree of
Jehovah, and this is not all. We have thus far, only told you
that which will take place upon the people of Great Britain, upon
the European nations, and upon the people of the United States.
But great tribulations will also be among all of the nations of
the earth, who will not repent. They will be wasted with various
judgments; but the heathen will be spared longer than these
Gentile nations who have had the scriptures in their midst, but
would not obey them.
153
You have had the Bible multiplied by the millions of copies, and
circulated in almost every family. You can read it at your
leisure. You can see the glorious light of truth, recorded in
these prophecies, in these doctrines, in these heavenly and holy
principles, and yet in the face of all this light, knowledge,
truth and divine revelations, you reject the servants of God,
reject the ancient Gospel, when it is preached in its fulness,
refuse to repent of all the iniquities and abominations into
which the nations are fallen.
154
It is because of this, of the light that the nations have in
their midst, which they will not receive that the Lord will visit
them first; and when he has visited and overthrown them, he will
lay his hand heavily upon the heathen nations in Asia, and also
those who are in Africa, and they will be visited with severe
judgment, but they will not be utterly destroyed. A portion of
the heathen nations will be redeemed. Why? They will see the
power and glory of God that will be manifested among the tribes
of Israel, who will be gathered out from their midst and return
to their own land. They will wee the glory of God manifested as
in ancient times and they will say, "surely Jaggernaut is no
longer my God." "Surely I will not worship crocodiles, nor
serpents; neither will I worship the sun, or the moon, for there
is a God manifested among that people, Israel, who is worthy of
the natures and attributes of a God. I will cast my Gods to the
moles and bats, and I will worship the God of Israel. Then will
be fulfilled that which was spoken by the prophet Ezekiel, "then
shall the heathen know that I the Lord am God." And it will come
to pass, after that period, when Jesus shall have raised all the
righteous from their graves, that he will descend with all the
hosts of heaven accompanying him, and will stand upon the Mount
of Olives, and he will go out of Jerusalem, and the Jews will go
out to the mount to meet him and will acknowledge him as their
Messiah and King; and then it shall come to pass, that the
heathen nations will also more fully recognize him as the true
and only God. Then will be fulfilled that which is written in the
last chapter of Zachariah, that every nation round about
Jerusalem, shall come up from year to year, to worship the King,
the Lord of hosts, at Jerusalem, and also to keep the Feast of
Tabernacles. There will be a great many of those solemn
assemblies and feasts that were commanded in ancient times, that
will be reestablished in the midst of Israel when they shall
return. And the Lord Jesus will be there. His Twelve Apostles who
wandered about with him, while he was in the flesh, will be
there; and they sit upon twelve thrones, and assist our Lord and
Savior in judging the twelve tribes of Israel. But Jesus will
have a throne as well as these twelve disciples. Where will be
his throne? A temple is to be reared in ancient Palestine where
it formerly stood. Ezekiel saw it in vision, and he describes the
building of that house when it shall be complete, and he saw the
glory of God coming by the way of the East, and this glorious
personage entered through the East Gate of that Temple, and
entered into the temple; and Ezekiel, being full of the spirit of
God, was picked up and carried into that court, where Jesus had
entered, and he heard a voice speaking unto him, Behold, the
peace of my throne, where I will dwell in the midst of the
children of Israel for ever, and they shall no more defile my
name, but I will dwell with them for ever.
154
This will be a glorious period. It will be a time when all will
know who the true God is, and who is commissioned to speak in his
name, and to declare his truths among the people--if we do not
find it out before. If we will not repent of our sins; if we will
harden our hearts, that the Spirit of God has no place within us,
to reveal to us the truth, we shall know then who it is that will
be saved. We shall know then, that there is a Lord God, and that
he is in the midst of Israel, and his throne is among them, and
he will reign over the house of David, and all Israel, for ever
and ever. Do you not suppose that the Twelve Apostles, who were
with him, who suffered persecution, and finally the most of them
were martyred--do you not suppose that they will have thrones?
John the Revelator saw the thrones of those that were beheaded
for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God; and he says,
they will sit upon these thrones as judges. So there will be
twelve thrones built, when the temple of God is built in
Jerusalem, besides the throne of the Messiah for these twelve men
to sit upon, when they shall come forth from their graves to
reign has kings, and to eat and drink at the table of the Lord.
"What?" some might exclaim, "eat and drink after the resurrection
from the dead? Yes, did not Jesus eat and drink with his
disciples after he came forth from the tomb? He did. He ate the
broiled fish and the honeycomb, in their presence. Immortal
beings can eat if they choose to do so. Hence it is written, "You
that have followed me in the regeneration," meaning these twelve
disciples, "Inasmuch as you have followed me in the regeneration,
you shall sit upon twelve thrones and shall eat and drink at my
table, and you shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel." That
will be better than to be judged by imperfect mortals. Men who
are called here to be judges are not always perfect in their
judgment. They err; the best of them, the wisest of men may err
in their decisions. But not so with these great judges that come
forth out of the tomb, raised to immortality, clothed with light
as with a garment, purified and made white before God. Their
minds are full of intelligence, and it beams forth from their
countenances, and they know how to judge by the Spirit that is
upon them, and their decisions will be in righteousness.
155
How pleasant it would be to walk into one of those beautiful
rooms that will be constructed in the temple of our God at
Jerusalem, and on which the luxuries of our earth shall be served
to those immortal beings, and then to see the Master, the great
King, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings rise up and minister to
his disciples; wait upon them; setting them an example. He that
is immortal and as far above mortality as the heavens are above
the earth, condescending to administer to their happiness. Would
not this be delightful? Who, that has any desire for holiness,
and purity, and honesty, and virtue in his heart, would not be
enraptured at the thought of having the privilege of being an
invited guest, to go in, even if you did not sit down to the
table; to see them when they were partaking, with their Savior,
of this feast? And these will be the men that will be with Jesus
when he descends upon the Mount of Olives, after the graves of
the just have been opened. In the resurrection, they will come
forth immortal, eternal, clothed upon with the fulness of that
glory that pertains to the celestial kingdom. They will also
reign as kings and priests here on the earth. To some of the
raised saints there will be given ten cities to rule over. To
others there will be given five cities to rule over, according to
their works here in this life. All will not have the same power.
All will not have the same rule. The Twelve shall have twelve
thrones--one throne each, to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.
The tribes will need judging, during the whole thousand years
they live on the earth; they will need judges in their midst, to
make manifest unto them that which is important for men, and
women, and children, to know.
157
These twelve men who are appointed to judge these twelve tribes
of Israel cannot be as it were the judges over all the earth at
the same time. They cannot be everywhere present at the same
moment, and hence there will be other judges, other men of God,
those who are accounted worthy in the sight of the Most High.
Hence we read in the revelations of St. John that he heard them
singing a new song, a glorious song. About what? Their future
glory and their future happiness and their future home, Where? On
the earth. What? People in heaven singing about coming to the
earth? Yes. When it is redeemed it will be a glorious mansion, it
will be a glorious world, it will be worth living on; and it will
be sanctified, and the knowledge of God will cover the earth as
the waters cover the deep. All beings will have knowledge. All
people will have understanding. They will comprehend the things
of God, and perform them. The Lord will make this earth one of
the most glorious habitations, inasmuch as the people will
prepare themselves for it, one of the most glorious habitations
that can be given to men. It will be peopled by immortal beings
throughout eternity. But before that it will have to die. The
earth will have to pass away the same as our bodies do, and the
dust thereof be mingled in a chaotic form. But that same being
who organized the earth will again speak, and eternity will again
hear his voice, and the materials of our earth will come together
again, and when it unites them in one, and forms them into a
world, it will be a glorious world, a habitations for immortal
beings; for kings and for priests, and for those that have been
faithful to the end. They will dwell upon it, and the generation
of their children will dwell upon it, till they become
sufficiently numerous to need another creation. What generation?
Generations do you say, Mr. Pratt? Do you mean to say that these
immortal beings are going to have posterity? I do. I mean just
what I say. Those who are accounted worthy to inherit this earth,
when it shall be made heavenly, celestial beings will people the
earth with their own offspring, their own sons and their own
daughters; and these sons and these daughters which will be born
to these immortal beings, will be the same as you and I were
before we took these mortal tabernacles. Now do you understand
it? How were we then? Perhaps some stranger present may ask,
"What position did we occupy before we took these mortal
tabernacles?" We were in the presence of God the Eternal Father.
We were with our Elder Brother. Who is he? The scriptures say
that he was Christ. The scriptures say that he was our Lord and
Savior Jesus "the first born of every creature." Indeed! Does
that mean his birth in the stable? No. Do the scriptures really
say that? Yes. Who are the others that were born? It was all the
human family, who were once in the celestial kingdom from whence
our spirits came, when they took possession of these mortal
tabernacles. As Jesus came down from the Father, being the eldest
of the family, and took upon him a mortal tabernacle, even so
have his brethren and sisters come from the same region of glory,
and have taken upon them mortal tabernacles to follow in his
footsteps, if they will. As he was with the Father, before the
foundation of the world was laid, so were we, and all the rest of
the human family. I don't mean this flesh; these bones, I do not
mean the mortal part of man, but I mean that being that is within
these flesh, and bones. I mean that being that feels, that
reflects, that thinks, the being that is godlike in its nature,
inasmuch as it keeps the commandments of God. That is the being
that lived, before these mortal tabernacles were framed. We were
there when the foundations of the earth were laid. We were
numbered among those sons of God, whom the Lord speaks of to the
patriarch Job. "Where wast thou, speaking to Job, when I laid the
corner stone of the earth, when all the sons of God shouted for
joy, and the morning stars sang together?" Job where were you at
that time? He was among them; he was there, perhaps he did not
remember it, any more than we do. This is a principle that was
taught in ancient times. God is the Father of our spirits, God is
the author of all the intelligences, that have ever come into
this world. He begat them. He is called the Father of Spirits.
Have we to become like him? What is the promise Latter-day
Saints? What is the great promise made to all Saints, ancient-day
Saints, as well as Latter-day Saints? The promise is that they
shall become like him. In what respect? Like him with an immortal
body. He will purify these vile bodies of ours and fashion them
after his own body, cleansed from sin and prepared to dwell in
his presence, having immortal bodies of flesh and bones as our
Savior has; and if there is no end to the increase of our
Savior's kingdom, there will be no end to the increase of the
kingdom of his younger brethren. Here then, we see the propriety
of what I, a little while ago, stated, that this earth will
become a habitation of immortal beings and there shall be no more
death nor sorrow, for the former things have passed away and all
things have become new. They will spread forth and multiply as
the stars in yonder heavens or as the sand on the sea shore, that
cannot be numbered by mortal man. These offsprings will be
spirits, not bodies with flesh and bones, till they have proved
themselves as we have done, when they shall be sent upon a new
earth, and receive tabernacles the same as we have done, and if
they are willing to keep the laws of God, as the Saints keep the
laws of God, they will also be redeemed, and there will be a
mansion prepared for them, namely, the world that is erected for
their habitation. Thus creations will be multiplied upon
creations, and universe of worlds will be constructed for the
kingdoms of our God, all becoming or being subject to him that
sits upon the throne, who sways his sceptre over all the worlds
and dominions, and we in connection with him will reign upon
thrones and in our mansions, that are given unto us. Hence, says
the Apostle Paul, the man is not without the woman in the Lord,
neither the woman without the man. People may think they can get
a fulness of celestial glory, without having a wife. They may
think so, but they will be mistaken. The Lord our God ordained
that the male and female should be united for eternity. A
marriage covenant for time alone, is not the order of heaven. God
designed that man and woman, being immortal beings, should be
each others companion, husband and wife, while eternal ages shall
roll around, and to enjoy all that is intended for them in the
eternal worlds. This is the object that the Lord had in view.
These marriages that are celebrated by the gentile nations are
well enough in their places. They do very well for those who have
no knowledge of the truth. They do well enough for those who have
no knowledge of the Gospel. They are human marriages, or, in
other words, marriages performed by human authority, marriages
that are necessary in human governments, or governments
established according to human laws, but all such marriages, and
institutions, and ordinances will crumble away, with human
government, and after the resurrection they have no force. But
that which is of God will endure forever and ever. Marriages that
are ordained of God are eternal. What he has joined together
never can be plucked asunder, if the two persons shall remain
faithful to their covenants, and faithful to the Lord their God.
Hence eternal marriage was ordained by him for the purpose of
multiplying intelligent beings after we leave this world. No
marriage in the next world. This is the world for all ordinances
as well as the ordinance of marriage. If you want to be baptized,
do it here. No such thing as being baptized for yourselves in
that world. If you want to be confirmed, have it done here, for
there is no confirming there. If you want to partake of any of
the ordinances of the Lord our God, this is the place for us to
attend to them. Hence it is written that they neither marry nor
give in marriage in that world. Why? Because it is supposed that
people will have secured to them, in this life, all that pertains
to their future exaltation and glory; and if that thing be
neglected here, such place themselves in a condition not to
occupy the fullness of the glory, ordained before the foundation
of the world, to be given to the sons and daughters of the Most
High. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / John
Taylor, March 2nd, 1879
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered at Kaysville, on Sunday Afternoon, March 2nd, 1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
THE NATURAL WEAKNESS OF MEN--THE NECESSITY OF CHARITY--THE
PURPOSE
FOR WHICH THE GOSPEL WAS REVEALED--THE SPIRIT THAT SHOULD PREVAIL
REGARDING CO-OPERATIVE INSTITUTIONS--THE FOLLY OF DISSENSION.
158
I am pleased to have the opportunity of meeting with the Saints
in this place. I have come to talk with you, and to have a little
visit; to tell you how I feel, and to learn how you feel, and how
things are moving generally.
159
I desire to talk a while on some of the plain principles of
"Mormonism," as we used to understand them in former times, and
as we understand them to-day when we reflect and use our judgment
dispassionately. Our feelings and ideas are not much different
from what they used to be. Many of us started in this work many
years ago, and we entered into it because we believed it was
true, and that the principles taught and inculcated were from
God; and when it came to us, we received it as a message from God
to us. These were about the sentiments that we entertained some
twenty and thirty, and as long as forty-five years ago; and I
suppose the majority of us have still the same ideas of the work
that we then entertained. Before we embraced the Gospel, we were
beset with the weaknesses of the flesh, and after we embraced it,
these natural infirmities still followed us. We have had
difficulties and trials, and have passed through many
circumstances calculated to perplex and annoy, and caused, too,
many times, by the unkind acts of others. And then we ourselves
have not always been the most considerate and kind one towards
another. And the we have not always done exactly right, ourselves
being the judges, and the other people were of the sam opinion.
And hence we have experienced, to no inconsiderable extent,
little annoyances and difficulties, for which we have no one to
blame but our own folly and weakness. And this too, in many
instances, because when we had done wrong, we failed to go to God
and our brother whom we had offended, making acknowledgements and
asking forgiveness. And in too many instances difficulties that
have arisen have been allowed to run on to our injury and
annoyance, and we have been sometimes ready to ask, "Is this
Zion?" "Yes, this is Zion." What, with all of our infirmities,
weaknesses and follies? Yes. I think that Jesus, when upon the
earth, said that "the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that
was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind." That is the
way my Bible used to read; how does your read? Some of those were
good fish, fit for any market; others rather small, poor eating,
and perhaps a little bony and horny. And being gathered together
as we are from different nations, with various customs, habits
and traditions, with all our peculiarities and odd notions, we,
as a matter of course, do not agree in many particulars, and
hence difficulties sometimes arise in our midst. Sometimes some
of us keep these things to ourselves, and sometimes they leak
out; but if they were not there they could not come out; could
they? When there's nothing bad in, nothing bad can come out. And
I believe Jesus will bear me out in his saying, "Out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the
good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an
evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth
evil things." Then again, there is another curious Scripture
which James makes use of: "the tongue is a little member and
boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire
kindleth." It "setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is
set on fire of hell." That is a peculiar expression. What do you
think it means? "Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and
therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of
God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing." And
then, reasons the apostle, "Doth a fountains send forth at the
same place sweet water and bitter? Can a fig tree, my brethren
bear olive berries? either a vine figs? So can no fountain both
yield salt water and fresh." And says the Savior, in speaking of
men, "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of
thorns, or figs of thistles?" I find many curious things, and you
must excuse me if I do not preach a very connected sermon; we
will talk over some matters of fact, as we would in a fireside
chat.
160
We all of us want to be good Latter-day Saints; we all want to
secure the favor and approbation of God, and when we get through
with this life, we all want to be numbered among those who will
secure a celestial inheritance. This is the general feeling of
the people I am talking to to-day. We sometimes pray, "Thy will
be done on earth as in heaven." And then we sometimes make little
mistakes in our intercourse one with another, and we sometimes go
to him we have offended, asking forgiveness; and then we pray the
Father, saying, "Forgive our sins as we forgive them that sin
against us." Is not this so, my brethren? And would you like to
be measured in that half-bushel? But if when you pray after this
manner, you do not forgive your neighbor his trespasses, could
you feel as your red brethren say, "honest Injun?" Would it be
consistent with your profession to ask this favor of God, when
you yourselves are not willing to grant the same to one another?
I believe you will readily agree with me in answering that in the
negative; but at the same time, if any of you have any doubt
concerning it, you can easily reduce it to a mathematical basis,
and so decide. "But," says one, "there should not be any of these
things in Zion." I agree with you. In the first place, you should
not do wrong, or harbor or sustain it when done; neither should
your neighbor. And what then? Is this Zion? Yes, so we say. Have
I got a treasure? Yes, but we are told that it is held in
"earthen vessels," which are subject to all the weaknesses,
infirmities and follies, incident to humanity. Now this is the
fact, and God would exalt us and place us on high among men, and
pour upon us intelligence, and give unto us knowledge of his will
and his law, and he would like to prepare us as a people that
would acknowledge his hand in all things, and be submissive to
his will and who would say, both by precept and example, "Thy
will be done on earth, as in heaven." I would like we should do
this, but then we have not done it. And we feel sometimes as
though we cannot do it, and sometimes as though we won't do it.
But if we could submit ourselves to the law of God, and to the
order of God, and to the priesthood of God, and that Priesthood
submit itself to the law of God and all be under his guidance and
direction, Zion would arise and shine, and the glory of God would
rest upon her, and the power of God would be manifested in our
midst, and we would see and comprehend things we never dreamed
of.
160
I find, in examining things, that we are human in every sense of
the word. I look at myself, for instance. Am I perfect? No, not
by a long way; neither are my brethren of the priesthood of the
various quorums. And I look at people, male and female,
generally, and am forced to the same conclusion respecting them.
We do not come up to the standard, we fail to fulfil the
requirements which God makes of us.
161
We have had an idea, which is quite correct, that God has
gathered us from among the nations that he might place his name
among us, and that his priesthood might be organized, that men
thus ordained might be prepared to establish his kingdom and
reign on the earth. But we find men in the priesthood, yes, in
all grades of the priesthood who are weak. Is there anything
astonishing in that? Oh, no. Go back, for instance, to the days
of Jesus, and you will read of some men who were rather of an
aspiring turn, and one of them got his mother to assist him. Said
she, "Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right
hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom." She might just
as well have added, that she herself would like to occupy some
important position. But the Savior told her, saying, "Ye know not
what ye ask;" such a position "is not mine to give, but it shall
be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father." Then
there was another circumstance, in which Peter made himself
conspicuous. Jesus was telling them of approaching trouble, and
intimating what would take place the approaching night, against
which Peter boldly demurred, saying, "Though all men shall be
offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended."
Whereupon Jesus said unto him, "Verily I say unto thee, that this
night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice." Peter
could not believe it; but he did just as the Savior said he would
do. Was he weak? Yes, after the manner of men. If he had said,
Lord, though all men be offended because of thee, I will not,
according to my present feelings, nor will I at all if thou wilt
give me power to carry them out. But he felt sure that he could
stand side by side with the Savior under all circumstances, but
he could not. He did not look so very valiant when the trial
come; it is easy enough to talk about it in the distance, at
least much easier than to meet it and overcome it. But were these
two brothers, whose mother made such a request of Jesus, bad men?
No; but she had a notion that she would like to see her sons
occupying such a position, and probably they would not have
objected to it themselves; this we are not informed of. Then was
it right in Peter to say he would stand by his Lord? How often
have we said it? I will not condemn anybody, but merely speak of
that thing to bring forth for good, and exhibit men as they were
and as they are. Was Peter a weak man? No; but he was not without
the infirmities of human nature, and when the trial came he
faltered a little. After all I do not think the mistake so
grievous, all the circumstances considered, for he was surrounded
by, and speaking to, a riotous, corrupt and bloodthirsty people,
only he had said he would not do it, but he did it, that's all.
Was Peter valiant for the truth? He was. Was he imprisoned for
the truth? Yes. Did he proclaim against vice and advocate virtue?
He did. And did he go forth and feed the lambs and flock of God?
Yes; and he acted every way becoming to a man of God, and finally
suffered a martyr's death. Shall we find fault with either of
these men? No, we love them for their good deeds, and for their
fidelity and integrity and the great work which they accomplished
in their day, in bringing forth the truths of the everlasting
Gospel. Shall we condemn our brethren here with like weakness?
No. What did you call them? Some of them very weak sisters; some
of them very foolish and some very ignorant. We won't make use of
any hard words at all; but I would rather feel like saying to
them, as the old lady who was teaching school said to her
children--"When you come to a hard word, and you cannot spell or
speak it right, pass over it and call it a hard word." I was a
little amused this morning, you know I have heard of a little of
your foolishness, and I find that we are all in the same box, all
tarred with the same stick. And when listening to these things,
one of the brethren remarked to me that this is a good people.
What and still do these foolish things? Yes, there are none of us
so very bad after all, when you come to shake us up, we do not
mean to be bad. But notwithstanding, many foolish things have
existed among us. The Priesthood sometimes have not done exactly
right; and then the people have not been without blame, and
consequently we make all kinds of curious errors. Now, I would
like if we could go at it, act "honest Injun" and get right to
the bottom of things, and then go as near right as we can, being
guided by the principles of the Gospel, and not influenced by the
follies of men.
163
The fact of our having some amongst us who have weaknesses, does
not make untrue any of the laws of God which he has revealed;
unto us, neither does it affect our belief in them. We still
believe that the priesthood emanated from God; and that he has
instituted it for the benefit, salvation and exaltation of the
human family. And as a proof of this we are here to-day, and the
reason of our coming here is that God raised up and inspired men
to go forth and preach the Gospel to every nation, and we heard
such men preach and believed their message. Says Jesus, "My sheep
hear my voice, and a stranger they will not follow, but flee from
him for they know not the voice of strangers." Was it the
Priesthood that did it then? Yes and no. It was they in obedience
to the commandments of God that went forth, but it was the power
of God in them, and the power of God operating upon our hearts
that lead us to the truth; and had God not operated with them
they could have done nothing, and unless God had revealed from
the heavens the principles of the gathering and the priesthood
and power thereof and sealed that upon Joseph Smith, and he in
turn conferred the same upon his brethren, they never could have
got this people here, as they are to-day. You all know that this
is a fact when you give the matter thought and reflection. We
learn from the Doctrine and Covenants that on a certain occasion
Jesus and other heavenly messengers appeared to Joseph Smith and
Oliver Cowdery, and among them was Moses, who conferred upon them
the keys of the gathering, which should extend to all Israel, and
also bring back the ten tribes. And my brethren, let me say to
you, that if the Lord had not sent us these keys in the manner he
did, you would not be here to-day. But that principle was
unlocked, and when you received the Gospel you received it,
because it is a part of the Gospel, and the consequence was you
wanted to gather and you hardly knew why. You used to sing the
songs of Zion in far off lands with much earnestness, and the
gathering was the theme of your conversation and also your
preaching and in your dreams you have many times seen yourself
among the Saints of God, long before you managed to get here. The
Lord as we well know has an object in thus gathering his people
from among the nations of the earth, but it would take me too
long to talk about that this morning; suffice it to say that the
scripture is being fulfilled, which 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 my heart, which shall feed you
with knowledge and understanding." And this is why we are here.
He designed that here his Priesthood should be organized, that
his will and mind should be made known here and his power made
manifest. And it is expected that we will not barter away or
trample under our feet this knowledge when we get it, but use it
in a proper manner; and in order for us to do so we must
comprehend our position and understand the relationship that
exists between us and God and his kingdom. It is true our
organization has been greatly perfected of late, but then there
needs to be a great many other developments and much more willing
obedience and submission to the law and word of God. It is "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 which
is in heaven." Let me quote a little further. "Many will say to
me in that day: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?
and in thy name cast out devils? and in thy name done many
wonderful works? and then I will profess unto them, I never knew
you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Or in other words,
you are not my sheep, I have never approved of your actions. Who
does this scripture refer to? Is it the unbelieving Gentiles? I
think not; I don't think they can cast out many devils, at least
I never heard of their having done so, I have never heard of
their having prophesied or done any wonderful thing in His name.
No, it does not mean them at all; it refers to those who once
held the priesthood, and instead of honoring it, tampered with
it, losing its power and efficiency and also the Holy Spirit by
treating lightly the things of God and violating their covenants
with him. Although they once enjoyed the power to work miracles
by virtue of their priesthood, they no longer possess it; but as
"the dog is turned to his own vomit again, and the sow that was
washed to her wallowing in the mire," so have they turned to
error and wrong doing; and to such men the Savior will thus
address himself.
163
It is not because a man holds the priesthood or whether he be or
may have been an apostle, a high priest, a seventy, an elder, a
president or bishop, and may have had power with God in former
times, doing many mighty works in his name, but it is they who
not only are thus favored and blessed but who endure faithful to
the end, that shall be saved and owned by our Lord.
163
There are some things that strike my mind that I will refer to. I
do not know of a time when there was a more perfect organization
of the priesthood on the earth than there is to-day. There may
have been in the days of Enoch, and there may have been upon this
continent in those days when there were no rich nor poor, but
when they had all things common among them, and every one dealt
justly on with another; but I do not know, because there is not
among us any record of the fact. And what is this organization
for? Is it for my individual interests? I do not so understand
it. Is it in the interest of the Twelve? I think not. Or in the
interest of the presidents of Stakes or any of the bishops, or
any individual? No, but it is in the interest of God and
humanity, to assist in establishing righteousness upon the earth,
and union and fellowship one with another, and to elevate us to
the scale of society, and that we may stand head and shoulders in
all other matters, as we now do in regard to our religious
sentiments, that Zion may be the head and not the tail, and that
God may be honored by us and through us and among us, and that we
may in very deed be the "Zion of God," which means the pure in
heart.
165
Now if I talk a little plainly upon some of our secular affairs,
I trust you will not be offended, you surely will not as long as
I confine myself strictly to the truth, will you? Well, we have
talked one time and another, a good deal about the United Order,
and also about co-operative institutions; let me ask the good
people of Kaysville, what have we done in that direction, how
much have we entered into them? As the Indian would say,
describing it by the size of his thumb-nail, about so much. Do we
believe in these movements? Some of us do, and some do not know
whether they do or not. Some of us would believe in them much
more readily if they would make us rich, and give us prominence
and position among men. I will tell you, Latter-day Saints, that
unless we can enter into our co-operative institutions and the
United Order with singleness of heart and pure motives, as the
Elders do when they go forth to preach the Gospel, because it is
God's command, your efforts will be of small avail. We do not
want to stop and ask, Is their money in it? Is it his will, his
law and principle? When we combine our interests on this
principle, and work to it, we will succeed and prosper. But in
too many instances our co-operative institutions have jumped the
track. What, the big Co-op? Yes, and little Co-ops too. Have you
got a Co-op here? No, you have not. Do you know of any? We find
little institutions they call Co-ops in most of our settlements,
but when you come to inquire into affairs connected with them we
generally find, that, instead of their being run in the interest
of the community, and with a view to build up the kingdom of God,
a few individuals represent the Co-op, who are the ones, who are
benefitted by it. That is the trouble. But is the principle
right? Yes, if you can live it, dealing honestly one with
another; but if you cannot, you need not try it, for instead of
giving satisfaction, it will only be a disappointment. But I will
promise the Latter-day Saints that if they will go into these
things allowing God to dictate in the interests of Israel and the
building up of his Zion on the earth, and take themselves and
their individual interests out of the question, feeling they are
acting for him and his kingdom, they will become the wealthiest
of all people, and God will bless them and pour out wealth and
intelligence and all the blessings that earth can afford; but if
you will not, you will go downward, and keep going the downward
road to disappointment and poverty in things spiritual as well as
temporal. I dare prophecy that, in the name of the Lord. That is
the way that I look at these things, and that is the way I figure
them up, and not in the light of every man looking for gain from
his own quarter. These things are stumbling-blocks in the way of
the people, and have been for some time. Well, what shall we do?
Why, do the best we can, and keep on trying to improve upon our
present conditions, always keeping in view the object to be
gained, dealing honestly upon a fair basis and correct
principles, then we will succeed and things will move on
pleasantly, and we shall be a united people, owned and blessed of
the Lord. It was on this principle that the Nephites became a
prosperous, a blessed and a happy people; it was not because one
was a little smarter than another, or through his smartness
taking advantage of his neighbor; it was not that a man was a
good financier, that he should "financier" other peoples'
property into his own pockets and leave them without. I will
relate here an anecdote which comes to my mind. A smart young man
had just returned from college, and at the table he wished to
show his parents what extraordinary advancements he had made.
"Why, father, says he, you can hardly conceive of the advance I
have made." "Well, my son," says the father, "I am sure I am glad
to hear you say so, and I trust you will make a great man." There
happened to be two ducks on the table for dinner, and this young
man proposed to give his father a specimen of his smartness.
"Now," he says, "you see there are only two ducks, don't you?"
"Yes," answered the father. "Well, I can prove to you that there
are three ducks." "Can you," says the father, "That's quite
extraordinary really, how can you do it?" "Well," says the son,
"I will show you. That's one?" "Yes." "And that's two?" "Yes."
"Well, two and one makes three, don't they?" "Quite so," says the
father, "It is very extraordinary, and to show how much I
appreciate it, I will eat one of these ducks, and your mother
will eat the other, and we will leave the third for you." Some of
our "financiers" have made this kind of discovery, but when it
comes to the practical thing they, live the boy, have got to fall
back on father's duck or mother's duck. This kind of proficiency
may be all very well in its place, but then we have no place for
it; we want to act honestly and begin right, and then carry it
out right. Let the big Co-op. straighten itself out, and then the
little Co-ops. do the same, and let us stick to one another and
all act one with another, and lay aside our scheming; and let us
have honest, honorable men, Elders of Israel who have at heart
the building up of God's kingdom, to do our business, who will
act for the welfare of all. That is my doctrine on that point. I
can see plenty of faults in these things, but we will let them
go, they are the weaknesses of humanity, and they carry with them
their own reward. If people do right, the right stands by them
and sustains them; if they do wrong it works them down, down,
down. Men cannot afford to do wrong if they could but understand
their true position. A few dollars, a little land, a few houses,
a few of the comforts of this short life, cannot be compared to
the glory laid up for those who are true and faithful. But I am
afraid it will be said of some of those, as was said of the rich
man, "thou in thy lifetime received thy good things and likewise
Lazarus his evil things, but now he is comforted and thou art
tormented." We do not want anything to cling to us but what is
right, and honest, and truthful, and whenever we can act for the
benefit of all, then we are doing right, free from this narrow
contracted feeling and this personal, selfish, aggrandizing
spirit. Do you not think you can get up something of that sort if
you try? Do not be in a big hurry; do not break your necks; go at
it quietly, and start one industry and then another, and make
your leather, and your harness and shoes, and prepare to raise
silk. Brethren, operate together, and sisters operate together,
and let all act in the welfare of each other, that all may be
encouraged and benefitted. The presidency of this Stake ought,
and all ought to unite with them, in producing everything as far
as possible, and as fast as possible, that you require among
yourselves; and also find employment for every man and woman and
child within this Stake that wants to labor. That is what you
should do, Brother Smith. That is the way I read these things.
And then we should not try to hunt up anything against one
another, and our little weaknesses, for we all have enough of
them, God knows; and I would say if I were one of them, Tom, if
you cry quits, I will; Mary, if you will forgive me, I will
forgive you; and Dick, if you will overlook my faults, I will
overlooked yours; Susan, if I have done wrong please forgive me.
Let us try, one and all, to straighten up, and get up a good
common surprise, a brotherhood and sisterhood, that we may be
one; and then if we are desirous to help one another, and pray
God for his spirit to enlighten us, we will go and improve in
these things; and we will go on from truth to truth, from wisdom
to wisdom and from intelligence to intelligence, and God will
help us, if we will help ourselves by taking a course to
accomplish these objects.
166
There is another thing I want to talk about, and that is the
priesthood. What is your idea about it? Don't you thing that the
priesthood should rule in spiritual things, and the other "hood
in temporal things, or how do you fix it up? I don't know. What
other "hood" do you call it? It is not brotherhood, nor
sisterhood perhaps you may call it divisionhood. Is that the
right way, do you think? Let me talk upon some of the first
principles upon this subject. To whom are we indebted for the
knowledge of the principles of truth which we possess to-day? To
Joseph Smith, to Hyrum Smith, to Oliver Cowdery, to Sidney
Rigdon, Brigham Young or the Twelve? I think not. We are indebted
to God for this knowledge, from the fact that the time had come,
in the councils of heaven, that it was necessary to start the
Latter-day work, and to prepare a people, gathering them together
to build up Zion and establish the kingdom of God upon the earth,
that His will might be done upon the earth as it is done in
heaven. And if God and the Priesthood with him had never turned
the key, and given their consent to have these things done we
would have been in the dark, every one of us; or in other words,
we would have been where we came from--on the other side of
Jordan, or somewhere else. At any rate, we would not have been
here. Do you not think it would have been well for the Lord to
have come down to consult our opinion about these things first?
But he did not do it, and we knew nothing about it until the
elders brought us word. Then we had nothing to do about it, did
we? We knew nothing about it until God sent the messengers among
us, did we? I think not. Did we know any more when we came here?
Who of us knew how to build temples or thought about such thing?
None. Who knew how to administer in them! None, not even Joseph
or any other man, until God revealed it. We talk about being
baptized for our dead; what avail would that have been if God had
not directed it? Do you think, you are going into a Temple to
accomplish anything except God direct it? No; what you might do
would amount to nothing at all.
168
God has established his Church, and we sometimes say his kingdom.
What do we mean by "the kingdom of God?" I wish somebody would
tell me what we mean by that term. There is the Church of God and
the kingdom of God. The Church, of course, refers more
particularly to spiritual things, and the kingdom to temporal
rule and government and management and to temporal affairs. If it
does not, what does it mean, I would like some one to tell me? We
sometimes preach about "the kingdoms of this world becoming the
kingdoms of our God and his Christ," don't we? Will the kingdom
of God be the kingdom of men? I think not. What does it mean,
then, where it says, if we keep the laws of God, we need not
break the laws of the land? Because the laws of Gods are so much
more pure and elevated, so much more adapted to the wants and
situation of humanity, that we walk right over everything of that
sort; and it is nothing comparatively for us to do; what is
required we can easily do it, and a great deal on the back of it.
But when the will of God shall be done on earth as in heaven, and
the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God
and his Christ, how will it be done? I have heard lots of you
preach this: "Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of
the Lord from Jerusalem." Shall it? O, yes. Do you mean to say
that is in the Bible? Yes, and what is the meaning of that
scripture? The law cannot go forth from Zion unless it is made in
Zion, can it? Who is going to make that law? and who is going to
give the word of the Lord from Jerusalem? How are these things to
be accomplished? Are we to have a lot of opposition Tickets to do
it, do you think? You that feel you can manage things without the
priesthood, try it and see how far you will go. Go back to your
ordination and baptism, go back to the spreading of the Gospel
through the land and the pouring out of intelligence upon the
priesthood, and God ruling and dictating, and "The Lord shall be
our judge, the Lord shall be our king, the Lord shall be our
law-giver, said Israel, and he shall reign over us." Was not that
the way we used to talk? I had a visit from some of your folks
during the session of the Legislature. How was it, and which was
right? None of them was right, just as it was when the Prophet
Joseph asked the angel which of the sects was right that he might
join it. The answer was that none of them are right. What, none
of them? No. We will not stop to argue that question; the angel
merely told him to join none of them that none of them were
right. Anything wrong here? Yes, considerable. There wants to be
perfect freedom about all these matters, the feelings of our
brethren should be consulted. A bishop has not the right to crowd
or oppress, the priesthood is not given to him for that purpose;
but everything should move on harmoniously, and the wishes of the
people should be consulted and respected. I understand there was
a little crowding in your election affairs, you were not more
than ten minutes getting through your business. It is better to
take ten days, then to have such shameful operations as you had
here, and you would have spent your time much better doing
something else. What next? Some thought there was a little
pressure, that they were not properly represented. I do not know,
how this was, but I am inclined to think it was a little hasty. I
think it would have been much better and very much more in
keeping with our profession, if the leaders could have been got
together, and acted in unanimity and good feeling, all anxious to
sustain the principles of right and to select for office those
who are good, virtuous and competent men, and men who are capable
of filling offices with honor, and then do it unanimously. But as
soon as a feeling to crowd is manifested on one side, the feeling
on the other side, when expressed is, if this is going to be the
way, we will buck against that, and if we cannot get our rights
with the priesthood, we will fall back upon our political rights
as men, and we ill frustrate you in your operations if we can.
Now both are wrong. There should have been a free and full
consultation on the one hand, the right to fall respected, and on
the other I would rather submit myself a thousand times, even to
an imposition than to act as you did--to speak plainly, if a
bishop wish to crowd on me, I would let him crowd. I could stand
it if he could. I am instructed to be obedient to the priesthood,
and if he would do wrong he might do it, but I would not. Two
wrongs never make a right. I will not say how far you were wrong,
but I will say you both were wrong, and that another course would
have been much better and more satisfactory and praiseworthy.
What is the result, you men who would fall back on your reserved
rights? The first thing that you do is to persuade the people to
give up their rights and franchise. If God gave us certain
rights, and we trample them under our feet and throw them away to
suit some little ideas of our own, we are very foolish and
deserve to be chastened. If I had thought the bishop was wrong, I
would have gone to him and talked to him respectfully, and see if
things could not be modified. But you take the other way and
brusquely say, "I will show you: Here, Tom, Bill, Ned, get up
your team and see what a devil of a fuss we can kick up." And you
are elders in Israel, and you are engaged in building up the
kingdom of God, are you? Pretty elders you are! pretty
kingdom-builders you are, using all the influence and power of
your priesthood to pull down and destroy the kingdom by attacking
the rights of the people and bartering them away, sending a
petition to the legislature asking that body to take away your
rights, for you do not want them. And this done by Elders in
Israel. I feel a little ashamed of you, and when I heard it,
said, "Tell it not in Gath, publish in not in Askalom." What,
high priests, seventies, and elders conspiring to take away the
people's rights? That's the way I figure it up. And why all this?
To show others we are free men. Are we free? Yes, free to do
right, but not to do wrong. Have we all rights? Yes, we have
rights to do right, but we have, every one of us, covenanted to
be true to God and his cause, have we not? And when we depart
from that we do wrong. You have lots of sheep here, and you have
doubtless seen them sometimes make a break: one will start, and
the others follow and away they go. Where are they going? They do
not know. Do you know? No. But the sheep perhaps thought they
were in bondage and wanted to get out; the lead sheep jumps,
perhaps into a mire-hold, it does not matter, they all follow the
leader.
168
Let us operate together as men, as Saints. If you have got to
have elections, meet together honestly and consider and talk
plainly, with a view of accomplishing the welfare and good of the
whole. We cannot elect everybody, we cannot all be officers, we
cannot make magistrates, mayors, councilors and aldermen of you
all. But as long as we have good and competent men for office,
that is all I care about, and we have plenty of them and we
should all pull one way--a long pull, and a strong pull and a
pull altogether.
168
They have had quite good enough of division in Tooele County.
When the time came for the people of that County to be
represented in the Legislature, their representative was in
California, and when matters of importance pertaining to that
County were pending, they had no one to represent them. Then
again, they elected a County Superintendent of Common Schools,
and was he there? No, he was off somewhere and they could not get
any of his school money. Would you like to be in the hands of
such men? You would soon want to get back again, and you would
feel a little like Esau did, after he had sold his birthright; he
sought to get it back with tears, but could not regain its
possession. Our strength lies in our union, but our union alone
would not accomplish much unaided by God; and he will help us if
we are united in the accomplishment of his purposes.
169
I will now refer to some other things. We have Relief Societies,
and we should encourage them. We brethren, you know, should
assist our "female brethren," and we should have the loyalty and
patriotism to do it all times and under all circumstances; and
when they are seeking to do a good work, help them all we can.
And if they are trying to get together a little wheat, let us
help them, it will not do us much harm, and possibly we may find
it by and by of advantage to us. The women are not always such
fools as we men sometimes take them to be. I am reminded of a
circumstance which I will relate. There was a certain lady who
had a husband who was very free and generous, would give away
anything he had; she saw that he was a little too liberal and
careless, and that there evidently would come a time when he
would be in a pinch. So she asked him one day if he would not
allow her a certain amount to keep house. "O, yes, how much do
you want?" "So much a week." He gave her quite a liberal
allowance, so much that she could manage to keep house and put
away a certain portion every week; she put her savings in the
Bible, until by and by it amounted to quite a sum, and the Bible
was full of greenbacks. Some years afterwards there came a
financial crisis, and the husband was troubled. The wife readily
perceived the change in her husband's countenance, and she asked
him to tell her the cause of his trouble. He told her that he had
a note coming due, and he was afraid he could not meet it. She
tried to encourage him by telling him to have faith in God, and
referred to the good, old Book, telling him to read it, that he
might get some comfort from it. She handed him the Bible, and as
he opened it and turned over the leaves the bills began to drop
out. Why, Susan, says he, what does this mean, I find it full of
greenbacks? She quietly answered him saying, "I thought you were
very generous and a little extravagant, and I was afraid their
would come a time when we would need money; so I put away so much
a week in the Bible." He blessed his wife, and I think she was
the better man of the two, and perhaps should have worn the
breeches. Now we may find a time when we may need this wheat that
our sisters are storing up; let us not be too confident about our
affairs, and do what we can by way of helping them. I am pleased
to witness the spirit manifested by our sisters generally. I hear
that you are going into silk culture, and am glad of it. The
Legislature appropriated $1,500 to help our sisters, simply
because they were our sisters and because they were trying to do
good. You go to work and help them here, and help about all these
things and do all you can. You are a little famous in some of
these parts--in Farmington I believe, they profess to be in
advance of everything in the silk line.
169
And then with regard to our educational pursuits, let us do all
we can in that direction. Some people talk about the means it
takes; why money is not to be compared with intelligence. I wish
we had our own text books, published by ourselves and read by our
children. I think such things are indicated in the Doctrine and
Covenants. Then let us have our high schools, that our children
may be taught in the common branches, that we may be as far ahead
of the world in regard to literacy, mechanism, the arts and
sciences, and everything else, as we are now in regard to
religious principles.
170
I am also glad to see our Young Men's and Young Ladies' Mutual
Improvement Societies doing so well. It will be well for you to
come together as conjoint societies once in a while; it will
afford an agreeable change, as well as do much good. I met with a
very intelligent gentleman a few days ago, who told me that he
had attended one of the Young Men's meetings, and was astonished
at the intelligence and talent displayed. He said that he had not
seen that like anywhere among young people.
170
We should not only try to excel in literary institutions, but in
mechanism as well. We must unite together and make our leather,
and our boots and shoes, our harness and our implements of
husbandry, and everything we need for our use, until we become
self-sustaining, and import nothing more than is absolutely
necessary, and then we shall find full employment for all our
people.
170
I have perhaps said enough. Husbands, love your wives; treat them
kindly; bear with their frailties and imperfections, and love
them as you used to do when you went a courting them; it would do
you good, many of you, to do your courting over again. Wives,
treat your husbands right; do not "nag" with them and find fault,
but be full of kindness and try to make your homes a heaven.
Children, obey your parents, and treat them right. And parents,
you that have servants, treat them right, and pay them honest
wages, and deal with them on honorable principles. And in your
deal one with another, be honest and manly; do not seek to take
advantage one of another. Do not come and tell what a splendid
bargain you have made, unless the other party made as good a
bargain as you did; if he did, it's all right, but if he did not
it's not all right.
170
And now I will turn teacher before I close. Have any of you hard
feelings against your neighbor? If you have, do to him, not in a
captious, quarrelsome way, but as a friend. For
instance--"Thomas, you and I have had a little difficulty; I
thought I would come and talk the matter over and see if we
cannot settle it." But if Thomas will not be reconciled, then
take a third party with you, somebody whom you think would have
more influence with him than yourself, and if he still refuses to
yield, let him be reported to his bishop and if he will not
listen to the Church, let him be considered as a "heathen man."
Mary, Helen, Susan, how is it with you? Any little unkind feeling
existing between you? Do you feel as though you can be good
sisters, and treat one another right? Then seek one another's
welfare, as the Scripture's says: "Be kindly affectionate one
with another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one
another." You say that is rather hard; well, but you had better
do it. We are told to love our neighbor as ourselves. If we can
do this, and then prefer our neighbors to ourselves, and if there
is a little advantage put in on their side, we not only fulfil
the law and the prophets, but the Gospel. Let us cultivate the
spirit of love and kindness, and let every little unpleasantness
be buried, let us forget the election difficulty and our
neighbor's difficulty, and be one, brethren and sisters together,
united in building up Zion and establishing the Kingdom of God
upon the earth.
171
Brethren and sisters, God bless you and lead you in the paths of
life, and God help you do right. And I ask an interest in your
prayers, that I may be able to do right, and be guided by the
Lord in the interests of Israel; and that my brethren of the
Twelve and the presidency of your stake, together with all of the
brethren, may be aided and blessed of the Lord, and be enabled to
sustain God and His kingdom and every principle of right, and
then the people sustain them, and they the people, and everything
work harmoniously together, and all of us do right, no matter
where it cuts. Do right and pay our tithes and offerings and be
free before God, angels and men.
171
Praying God to bless you and lead you in the paths of life, in
the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 /
Brigham Young, April 8, 1879
Brigham Young, April 8, 1879
DISCOURSE BY ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG,
Delivered at the General Conference, on Tuesday Morning,
April 8, 1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
THE GROWTH OF ZION--BENEFITS OF SEEKING COUNSEL FROM THE MORE
EXPERIENCED.
171
The privilege that we enjoy of meeting together again in
Conference I believe is highly appreciated by the Latter-day
Saints. The dry details of our reports are somewhat tedious I am
aware; but no doubt many are interested in the reports of their
several Stakes, for there is a feeling in the hearts of this
people that causes interest to be felt for all the stakes of
Zion, and I believe that the present organization together with
the reports that are made quarterly, semi-annually and annually
are drawing the people together in their interests. We are better
acquainted with each other than ever before within my
recollection. Our general assemblies bring us together and
pleasant re-unions are made, and the good Spirit of God being
disseminated among us makes us feel more like the children of one
common parent than when we are widely dispersed and seldom behold
each other's faces.
172
Many reflections have passed through my mind during this
Conference. I have listened with interest to the remarks which
have been made, and to the reports which have been read. Zion is
growing, financially and in numbers. It is wonderful! I was
astonished, as well acquainted as I have been with this people
for the number of years that they have inhabited these valleys,
to know that one-third of the entire population of this
Territory--as far as the Latter-day Saints are concerned--are
children under eight years of age. But such is the fact. These
reports do not take in the entire populations of this Territory.
There is quite a number of children over eight years of age who
have not been baptized and consequently they are not represented
in these reports. I presume that there are hundreds, if not
thousands of cases in the midst of the Latter-day Saints where we
have neglected to administer the ordinance of baptism to our
children, who, according to the revelations of God, ought to be
numbered among the members of this Church. The instructions which
we have received are plain and pointed; perhaps I may not be a
competent judge for all mankind, or for my brethren, yet to me
they are full of the inspiration of the Lord and are calculated
to lead and guide his children in the path of everlasting life.
And it does seem impossible to me for any man, or any set of men,
to refute the testimonies that have been borne to this
Conference.
172
It is proper and consistent that we look for counsel to those who
are advanced in the knowledge of the Gospel. We should do the
same in regard to law or politics. If I were to go to Washington
among the politicians of the country and set myself up as a
politician, pretending to understand all the ins and outs of
political life as, say, one of the representatives of our nation,
I would find myself greatly deficient, and I would gladly seek
some experienced man on whom I could rely to instruct me in
regard to these things. It is true, I might read the
Congressional Record, in which the speeches of our statesmen are
published; I might go to hear them delivered, and exert myself
otherwise to inform myself; yet though through diligence and
perseverance I might acquire very considerable knowledge of this
kind of business, yet I would lack a most important part, namely:
the experience, and I would willingly and gladly avail myself of
the teaching of an experienced man. If I were to start in the
business of law, it would be reasonable to suppose, of course,
that I, like the seventy men or more who follow that business in
this city, would have a smattering of legal knowledge; but like
them too, if a more experienced man were to come along, and
especially if he were a genius in his profession, I would gladly
learn of him and it would afford me pleasure to listen to him.
This is the case in all things. Suppose a member of my family is
sick; I am at once prompted with a desire to consult some
experienced nurse who is more competent than myself in
administering such things as one in that condition ought to
receive. Perhaps a finger of one of my children may need
amputating. I might take an ax an cut it off in my way, but I
could not do it like our Dr. Anderson for instance, a man who is
a skilled surgeon. I would naturally yield my way to theirs in
regard to these things. And so it is through all the branches of
business transacted in this life--the influence, opinion or
knowledge of somebody else controls or affects that of ours.
173
To-day we may be acquainted with a man who is really excellent in
his profession, but another man comes along who can surpass him,
and the former is glad to learn of the latter. And so we may
follow it through until we come to the subject of religion. But
the moment that subject is touched men rise up, no matter how
ignorant they may be with regard to the principles which are
calculated to exalt mankind, and say, "I must think for myself;
no man must be trammeled in those matters; every man must have
the privilege of worshipping God according to the dictates of his
conscience." So say I, but I do know, and we have indubitable
evidence of the fact that the men who stand at the head of this
people are skilled in the things pertaining to the building up of
the kingdom of God in the last days. This fact is proven to the
satisfaction of the Latter-day Saints, to those at least, who
have followed them the last 15 to 30 years. We know that they
understand more about these things than we do. When questions
arise, whether in politics, finance, morals or law, requiring the
judgment of sound and experienced men, or when circumstances
arise in our individual lives which are perplexing and of such a
nature as to exhaust our ability, we naturally seek the counsel
of these our brethren; and our experience has proven them to be
masters of the situation; that they are skilled in their
profession and abundantly able to direct us. Why should I not
follow the leaders whom God has placed over me? Why should not
this privilege be granted me? Is it more inconsistent in me
showing my principle and desire for right in following these men
than in acquiring the art of mechanics in being taught by a more
experienced mechanic? or in politics or law or surgery, by men
who are farther advanced in those professions than myself?
Certainly not. And besides this the Spirit of God which I have
received which is an unmistakable guide, bears witness to me that
it is right for me to be taught of them and that their teachings
are the teachings of heaven to the children of men, and that they
are calculated, if lived up to, to lead men back into the
presence of God the Father. Yet I, in connection with this whole
people, am accused of yielding my own will and free agency to an
overbearing priesthood, thus becoming their dupes and slaves.
This is in short, the judgment generally passed on the Latter-day
Saints by the American nation. And while they say this of us,
their better sense would tell them that they do the same in law,
in morals, in mechanism, in politics, etc, directly, and in
religious matters they do the same indirectly. Well, for
one,--and in saying this I speak the sentiments of this whole
people--I intend to follow the men appointed and ordained of God
to lead and direct his Saints, as they follow Christ. "Know ye
not," says the apostle, "that to whom ye yield yourselves to
obey, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto
death, or of obedience unto righteousness."
173
May the blessings of God rest upon this people and the peace of
heaven be with them in all of their locations and settlements,
and give unto us strength to continue faithful in the cause of
truth, that we may do our part towards, the building up of his
kingdom, and at last be saved with the faithful, is my prayer, in
the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / John
Taylor, April 8, 1879
John Taylor, April 8, 1879
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered at the General Conference, Tuesday afternoon, April 8,
1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
OPENING OF THE LAST DISPENSATION--DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORK OF
GOD--SENDING FORTH MISSIONARIES--USEFULNESS OF THE
SISTERS--IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATIONS--EDUCATION--CO-OPERATION.
174
I will state that I feel very much obliged to my brethren for the
generous feeling manifested to myself. Permit me, however, to
say, with regard to some of these ideas presented to the
Conference by Brother George Q. and which he has said, he has
frequently presented to me and others of the Twelve, that while I
duly appreciate the feelings and views of my brethren, and am not
ignorant of the proprieties of life, individually I would not
wish to change my position. Personally I care nothing about the
outside show, the glitter and appearance of men; but I do care
about the great eternal principles associated with the Church and
Kingdom of God upon the earth. And as has been stated, it was
some time before I could make up my mind to accept a proposition
of this kind. And I accept it now simply in the capacity of your
servant for Christ's sake for the benefit of the Kingdom of God
and that all things may be conducted in a proper manner.
174
Now we will let this pass, and talk about something else.
176
I have been very much interested in the remarks that have been
made at this Conference. It is now forty-nine years since the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized. There
were then, as you heard stated and as we very well know, six
members organized. There were however, more than six persons in
the Church, as was remarked by Brother Snow, the organization
being effected for the purpose of legal recognition, still there
were only a very few, and as the spirit of revelation rested down
upon God's servant Joseph in these early days, who like Adam,
Moses, Abraham, Jesus, Jared, Nephi, Moroni and others, had the
heavens unfolded to his view, and although the Church was so few
in number the principles and purposes of God were developed fully
to the vision of his mind, and he gazed upon the things that are
to transpire in the Latter-days associated with the dispensation
that he was called upon by the Almighty to introduce. He learned
by communication from the heavens, from time to time, of the
great events that should transpire in the latter days. He
understood things that were past, comprehended the various
dispensations and designs of those dispensations. He not only had
the principles developed, but hewas conversant with the parties
who officiated as the leading men of those dispensations, and
from a number of them he received authority and keys and
priesthood and power for the carrying out of the great purposes
of the Lord in the last days, who were sent and commissioned
specially by the Almighty to confer upon him those keys and this
authority, and hence he introduced what was spoken of by all the
prophets since the world was; the dispensation in which we live,
which differs from all other dispensations in that it is the
dispensation of the fulness of times, embracing all other
dispensations, all other powers, all other keys and all other
privileges and immunities that ever existed upon the face of the
earth. At that time he was a feeble youth, inexperienced, without
a knowledge of the learning of the day. But God put him in
possession of that kind of intelligence, and what may be termed
as scientific knowledge of all things pertaining to this earth,
and the heavens, if you please, which was altogether ahead of all
the intelligence that existed in the world. He commenced as
opportunity presented by following the education he had received
from the Almighty, by teaching the principles of life and
salvation, the principles of the everlasting Gospel, by
conferring upon others that priesthood which had been conferred
upon him and by organizing a state of things that was after the
pattern of the heavens, that was calculated to live and grow and
increase, that had the principle of life and vitality within
itself, and that was calculated to draw together the honest in
heart and assimilate them in their ideas and views and feelings
and faith, and empower them to operate with him and with the Lord
and with the holy priesthood that had existed in former ages. And
thus he commenced to organize the Church with all its various
offices under the direct inspiration, guidance and revelation of
the Lord. The First Presidency was pointed out, the Twelve were
also pointed out and designated, and these quorums were ordained.
The high priesthood was organized however before these other
quorums took shape. Then there were the quorums of Seventies,
then the quorums of Elders, then the Bishops, then the quorums of
Priests, Teachers and Deacons, together with the High Councils
and all that we know about these things. He taught us all that we
know about them; God taught him. Hence in the various
organizations of the several quorums of priesthood whether it
relates to the Melchizedek, Aaronic or Levitical priesthood, all
of these, together with the duties devolving upon each, were
given by the Lord. And hence the church that we are associated
with is called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Hence Jesus Christ is the medium through whom we are to approach
the Father, calling upon him in the name of Jesus; for there is
no name given under heaven, nor known among men, whereby we can
be saved, but the name of Jesus Christ. And although they do not
do it now, yet the time is approaching when to him "every knee
will bow and every tongue confess that he is the Christ, to the
glory of God the Father." And hence the religion we profess is
one that has been given us from the heavens. We cannot dispense
with it; we cannot dispense with any part of it. It is not of
man, but from the Lord God, our Heavenly Father, through our Lord
Jesus Christ, making use of his servant Joseph and those whom he
should call by revelation as the instruments to carry out the
purposes of God upon the earth. The priesthood we have received
we received not of man nor by man, but by revelation. And
latterly President Young, a little before his death, organized
all the various branches of the Church into Stakes, with the
officers thereof, carrying out the designs of God and his
revelations to Joseph Smith; and placed them upon the foundation
that was first laid by Joseph Smith under the immediate
revelations of the Lord. And God expects it at our hands that we
shall magnify it, and not operate according to our peculiar
notions, but according to the will and law and guidance and
revelations of God in all things and under all circumstances; for
we are here as Jesus was here--not to do our own will, but the
will of our Heavenly Father who has sent us, and who has called
us to the high calling, and has made us to sit together in
heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
176
In accordance with the order of God, the Twelve, the Seventies,
the High Priests and Elders have been abroad among the nations of
the earth, delivering the testimony which God gave to them, and
the Spirit and power of God has operated with us in our
ministrations; and the results of these operations and these
labors, and the faith and the self-abnegation and self-denial and
the desire to do the will of God, and the testimonies that have
been borne, are manifested in the Saints gathered to-day as we
are in the valleys of the mountains. These things have been
brought about by the interpositions of the Almighty; we are, as
such dependent upon him to-day, and as we ever were in all the
days of our lives, for guidance, for support, for revelations,
for the Spirit of God to guide us that we may not make any false
steps; but as a people we must magnify the Lord our God in our
hearts and honor him and observe his laws and keep his
commandments. There has quite a change taken place since this
Gospel was introduced, as the thousands of people who inhabit
these valleys sufficiently attest. And if we continue to progress
in faith, in union, in intelligence, in virtue, in purity, in
knowledge, and especially in the knowledge of God and in the
observance of his ordinances, the work of the Lord will continue
to roll with tenfold rapidity. We are just commencing our labors,
and are just getting ready to perform the work that God has laid
upon our shoulders, and are just commencing to perform the work
that God intends us to accomplish; everything that has been
prophesied by all the ancient prophets, as contained in the Bible
and the Book of Mormon, and those things predicted by Joseph
Smith, and every other prophet of God, will as surely be
fulfilled as we are here to-day, without any faltering, or
flagging, or hesitation.
177
We go on and attend to many things. Our organizations are very
good; but we need, I think sometimes, the breath of life from God
breathing into them all through, that the Spirit and power of the
Most High may be in our midst, and that the power and blessings
of God that come through the ordinances may be in our midst, and
that the power and blessings of God, the come through the
ordinances may be imparted to us; and such will be the case if we
are faithful in the performance of the duties devolving upon us.
It is not with us a question of what we shall eat, or what we
shall drink, or what kind of houses we shall live in; it is not a
matter of so much importance as it is to be doing the will of
God, to have our hearts engaged in his service, to feel that we
are building up the Zion of the Lord of Hosts, to feel that we
are recognized of the heavens, to feel that we are associated
with the priesthood behind the vail who have lived and operated
in time and are now operating in eternity; for they without us
cannot be made perfect, neither can we without them be made
perfect. We need their assistance from the heavens, and we ought
to seek it all the time.
177
Let me speak of this not only to the Twelve, but to the
presidents of Stakes and their counselors, and to all men holding
authority, to seek to God, seek for wisdom, seek for faith, and
learn to approach God, that we may draw down blessings from
heaven and partake of that faith which was once delivered to the
Saints. We are trying to do some things and are doing them pretty
well. Do I wish to find fault? No. Or to censure anybody? No. But
I wish everybody would so live and act that they would not
censure themselves, that their minds would not condemn them; for
if your own hearts condemn you, God is greater then your hearts.
177
We are doing pretty well. We are building our Temples, and there
is a laudable spirit manifested in relation to these things
generally. Do all do it? No. Have all this spirit? No. I wish
they had; but then we would be expecting too much perhaps. But
there is a growing interest in these things, which I am glad to
give the Saints credit for. And in speaking of our Temples, I
suppose there are no less than 500 men engaged to-day in building
Temples in this Territory. Some people would consider this quite
a tax upon them, and, I may say, we have some who call themselves
Latter-day Saints who have a little of this feeling, not much,
but a little of it. But men who feel right, they feel that they
and all they have belong to the Lord; they feel that they are on
hand to perform the work of God, to build up his kingdom, to
operate with them and with the holy priesthood, and to prepare
Temples to administer for the living and for the dead; that we
may indeed be not poor and helpless dolts; but feel that we are
saviors upon Mount Zion, and that the kingdom is the Lord's.
178
There is a good feeling manifested among the brethren and also
among the sisters, who are quite as zealous in most interests as
the brethren are. Notwithstanding the immense labors we are
performing in our building, for we are doing a good deal, we are
not unmindful of other matters. There is constant labor going on
in the Temple at St. George, with very little intermission, and a
corps of persons steadily engaged administering in the ordinances
of the Lord's House there; while in these other places, as you
have heard read over, according to the financial accounts
pertaining to the Temple being built in Manti and Logan--there
has been expended in a short time on these two Temples nearly two
hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The brethren have taken hold
of it with a will, and there seems to be a feeling among many of
them to see who shall do the most, instead of who can do the
least. And notwithstanding this there is about fifty thousand, I
think, in round numbers, more tithing paid this last year than
there was before these things commenced. I speak this for the
credit of the Latter-day Saints. Honor, as the Scriptures say, to
whom honor is due. And I am pleased to see a spirit of that kind
grow and increase among the brethren.
178
There has been a good deal of care bestowed on the sending forth
of missionaries whom we have sent forth among the different
nations abroad and to this nation. There is a duty devolving upon
the Twelve and the Seventies especially, to see that this work is
performed; and we have been alive to this matter, and have aimed
to call men that would not be embarrassed or perplexed in their
minds, but such as would go forth as the servants of the Living
God, who would not, when they go about two hundred miles from
home, commence to think when it would be time for them to return;
and the fruits are fast beginning to be borne in the European,
the Scandinavian and other missions, and also in the United
States. And we wish it to be understood among the Elders and
Seventies that we do not want men to go on missions who look upon
it as a painful duty for them to fulfil; we would rather such men
stay at home. But he that hath a desire to preach the Gospel to
the world, whose life is upright, pure and virtuous, and who is
capable of presenting the principles of the Gospel to the world;
he is the kind of man we are desirous to send. We do not want
anybody to go simply because it might be thought that a mission
would do him good, or that it might save him from some evil he
might be likely to fall into. We do not want men to go abroad
representing the Captain of our salvation to reform themselves;
let the work of reformation be done at home. We want men to
preach the Gospel who are honorable and upright men, and full of
the Holy Ghost; and when such men go they go with our faith,
carrying with them our esteem and love and affection; and if they
need anything, we will give it to them. If their families need
anything, we will have them looked after, we will feed them and
clothe them and take care of them, and consider that they are out
brethren and not that they are poor, miserable paupers, or that
their wives and families are a trouble to us; we want to do away
with all such feelings. Let us cultivate the spirit of
magnanimity and kindness, and as the Lord blesses us, let us
bless others; and that is all the things of the earth are worth.
Do good to all men, especially to the household of faith. And by
and by, as was the case formerly, those who go forth weeping,
bearing precious seed, will return rejoicing, bringing their
sheaves with them.
179
Furthermore, we have an auxiliary among our sisters here. Brother
Geo. Q. Cannon represented how they were imposed on in many lands
and how they had been. Why should they be? Are they not our
mothers? Are they not our wives? Are they not our sisters? Are
they not our children? Should we not protect them? Do we profess
to be in the image of God, holding the holy priesthood of God,
and then would we treat the fair daughters of Zion with contempt,
or permit them to be injured or imposed upon in any way? God
forbid. They are flesh of our flesh, bone of our bone; they are
our helpmeets, and our associations and our relations with them
ought to be pleasant and agreeable and with all long suffering
and fidelity. And then the sisters should turn round and help to
bless one another, and act as our teachers are doing in other
respects--teaching their sisters, looking after the poor and
assisting the bishops in the performance of their labors. And the
Relief Societies which have been organized have been of very
great benefit to the Saints of God. And I say, God bless the
sisters, and inspire them with more of that heavenly spirit, that
they may assist their husbands and their brethren and their
children--their sons and their daughters--to promote correct
principles, to stem the tide of iniquity, and to promulgate
virtue, truth and purity among the Saints of God. And I would
say, it is the duty of the bishops and presidents of Stakes to
assist them all they can, which I believe they generally do, to
carry out everything that is good and praiseworthy.
179
There is another class of people among us doing a great deal of
good; that is our Mutual Improvement Associations; both Young
Men's and Young Women's. How much more pleasant it is to see our
youth grow up in the fear of God, trying to instruct one another
in the principles of life and salvation, than to see them ignore
the laws of God. How pleasing to us! How pleasing to God and the
holy angels! Let us encourage these things and instruct our sons
and daughters, that they may grow up in intelligence, virtue,
purity and holiness before the Lord.
179
And then we want to study also the principles of education, and
to get the very best teachers we can to teach our children; see
that they are men and women who fear God and keep his
commandments. We do not want men or women to teach the children
of the Latter-day Saints who are not Latter-day Saints
themselves. Hear it, you Elders of Israel and you
school-trustees! We want none of these things. Let others who
fear not God take their course; but it is for us to train our
children up in the fear of God. God will hold us responsible for
this trust. Hear it, you Elders of Israel and you fathers and you
mothers! Talking about education, as I said before, Joseph Smith
knew more in regard to true educations than all the philosophers
and scientists of the earth; and he knew it by the revelations of
God. We want to get together to train our children up in the fear
of God, to teach them correct principles ourselves, and place
them in possession of such things as will lead them in the paths
of life.
179
I find it is time for me to quit. I feel to thank you for your
attendance at this Conference, and for the kind of spirit that
has been manifested here. and to thank the members of our choir
who have made for us sweet music; and I would say that our choir
is a credit to our Territory and to our people. And furthermore
they are meeting together for the purpose of cultivating the art
of music, and that we may be organized and be more perfect in
relation to these things.
180
I would like to have said something about our Sunday Schools. I
do not believe we are behind any people on the face of the earth
in relation to these matters. I am informed by the general
Superintendent that we have 29,000 children attending Sunday
Schools; and I would not be afraid to say that that is more than
attend the Sunday Schools in all the Territories put together,
outside of Utah. (A voice from the stand--"And in half the
States.") Some one remarks, and in half of the States. I do not
know how that is. But they do say our children are Utah's surest
and best crop. Let us try to train them up in the fear of God,
that we may have his blessing to be with us.
180
I would like to have said something, too, about our co-operative
associations. I am pleased to inform you that the Co-operative
Institution of this city is doing remarkably well; it is on a
solid foundation and everything is moving along pleasantly and
agreeably. We have organized for some time a Trade's Union,
through which all the people of Utah can be represented. And
while the Co-op calls upon us to sustain them, which is right and
proper, we want the Co-op to sustain us. There are two sides to
this question, hence we have an organization called a Board of
Trade in a number of the Stakes and expect to perfect them in all
the Stakes, that the whole people may be represented at our
general board. Then we expect to spread and grow in manufactures
of all kinds, that we may become a self-sustaining people, a
people who shall be independent, under God, of all other powers.
180
I will not detain you. God bless Israel, and all that bless
Israel, and let our enemies be confounded. And God grant unto us
power to serve him and observe his laws that we may have a claim
upon his blessings, and at last obtain eternal life in his
kingdom, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 /
Erastus Snow, April 6, 1879
Erastus Snow, April 6, 1879
DISCOURSE BY ELDER ERASTUS SNOW,
Delivered at the General Conference, on Sunday Morning, April 6,
1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE--THE RISE OF THE LATTER-DAY
WORK--ORGANIZATION OF THE
CHURCH--ITS SUBSEQUENT PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT--THE MANNER OF
CALLING GOD'S
SERVANTS--DUTIES OF CHURCH OFFICERS--THE SAVING POWER OF
TRUTH--THE
DISOBEDIENT AND IDLE CONDEMNED--LIBERALITY OF THE GOSPEL PLAN.
180
In the 24th chapter of Matthew our Savior uses a figure in
speaking to his disciples, illustrating the signs of the time in
which we live.
181
"Now learn a parable of the fig tree; when his branch is yet
tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh; so
likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is
near, even at the doors, verily I say unto you this generation
shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."
181
The rendering of this 24th chapter of Matthew is somewhat
imperfect in King James' translation; the events connected with
the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jews seem
to be intermingled with the events that were to precede and
accompany the second advent of the Savior. In the new translation
of this chapter by the Prophet Joseph Smith, which may be found
in the Pearl of Great Price, the difference is made very plain,
and the figure of the fig tree and the second coming of the Son
of Man and the generation referred to therein is made applicable,
not to the period of the destruction of Jerusalem, but to the
time of the second coming of the Son of Man. And the new
translation reads, in speaking of the putting forth of the
fig-tree and the signs that should precede the coming of the Son
of Man, "Verily, I say unto you, this generation, in which these
things shall be shewn forth, shall not pass away, till all I have
told shall be fulfilled." From the reading of the new and correct
rendering it will be seen that, instead of the things spoken of
being fulfilled in the generation in which the prophecy was
made--which is the inference--the application is transferred at
once from the generation in which the Savior was speaking to the
generation who should witness the signs of the times therein set
forth.
182
It is now more than 51 years since the plates from which the Book
of Mormon was translated were committed by the angel Moroni, to
the hands of Joseph Smith, who was raised up to be a prophet,
seer and revelator to the nineteenth century, and to lay the
foundation of this church and kingdom upon the earth. And since
that sacred record, which contains the fulness of the everlasting
Gospel, was first revealed to him in the Hill Cumorah, nearly 56
years have passed away; it is 49 years since the organization of
the Church was effected in conformity with the laws of God, and
in accordance with the laws of New York; that is the say, the
rule established by the laws of New York governing the
organization of religious bodies and to comply with the statutes
and to give it tangible form. The 6th day of April was selected
by revelation as the day on which this church should be
organized. The question is asked by some, were there only six
believers who had received the testimony of the Prophet and been
baptized for the remission of their sins on that day? I answer
there were many more. Why, then, was the number six made to
figure in the organization? I answer in this respect: the same as
under the statutes of Utah co-operative associations must have at
least six to unite in the formation of any such associations
before it can incorporate. But any number not less than six might
unite and organize themselves into a religious association to
enjoy the rights and privileges of the law as such religious
bodies. This number was selected, however, from among the
believers on this occasion to conform to the requisitions of the
statutes. This is, therefore, the anniversary of the day on which
the organization took place, or commenced rather to develop
itself. And from that time, as the body of the Church increased,
the Priesthood in its various branches has developed itself into
the organization as we now behold it in the earth. There were no
twelve Apostles at that date; the material from which to draw
them had not been gathered. There were no seventy Elders; the
material from which to make them was not yet on hand. There were
no High Councils, no Bishops' courts, nor quorums of High
Priests, Elders, Priests, Teachers or Deacons. There was no
classification of the organization of the priesthood as there is
to-day. Neither is there any organization of the Stakes of Zion,
for there was no material of which to make them. It was indeed
but the shooting out of the earth, as it were, of the plant, like
the mustard see, which is a small plant at first, having but a
single stalk; and as it rises and receives strength and sends
down its roots and spreads forth its branches, from one branch
another grows out and shoots forth. And so from day to day, and
from month to month, and from year to year did the Lord reveal
through the Prophet Joseph Smith, line upon line, precept upon
precept, here a little and there a little, revealing to the
people the order of the priesthood and the order of Zion and her
government, her institutions and the classification of the
priesthood under the two great heads--the Melchizedek and the
Aaronic or Levitical priesthood, with their various sub-divisions
and quorums. It was not till the year 1835, in the month of
February, that the quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the quorums
of the Seventies were organized in this Church. These were drawn
principally from those tried men who composed Zion's camp. There
was a revelation given in this same year showing how a High
Council should be organized in Kirtland, and shortly after
another was organized in Missouri; and it also defined the laws
governing the High Council and Stake organizations. At first,
when the Church was organized on the 6th day of April, the
general duties of the Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons were
defined in that revelation, given in that day, known as the
articles and covenants of the Church. Elder seemed to be a
generic name embracing all the branches of the Melchizedek
priesthood, from the Elder proper to the Apostle, namely the
Elders, High Priests, (after the order of Melchizedek), including
the High Counselors, Seventies, Apostles and First Presidency.
This also corresponds with the language of the Apostle Peter, in
his exhortation contained in his first general epistle: "The
Elders who are among you I exhort, who am also an Elder." Still
he was an Apostle and was ranked as the chief Apostle in his day,
holding the keys and presidency to bind on the earth and loose in
heaven; but he ranked himself among the Elders, for this term
seemed to be a general appellation for classes of the Melchizedek
priesthood. In a similar manner also the term "priest" was used
among the Jews under the operation of the law of Moses, and
subsequently in the Christian church for those who officiated in
the lesser or Levitical priesthood; and this term included the
presiding priest or Bishop who was called under the Jewish
dispensation the Chief or High Priest. But there were lesser
organizations or sub-divisions under the term of Priest, Levite,
Nethenims, etc.
187
There is one feature through all the organizations of the Church
of Christ and all the administrations of the people of God, and
that is: "No man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is
called of God as was Aaron." This declaration of the Apostle Paul
is borne out by history both ancient and modern. And the same
writer says in another place, speaking of those who are called to
preach the Gospel and of the faith that is begotten in the hearts
of the people through hearing the word of God: "Faith cometh by
hearing, hearing by the word of God." But in the new translation
that passage reads: "Faith comes by hearing the word of God."
Another Scripture reads: "How shall they believe in him of whom
they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
and how shall they preach except they be sent?" The idea I wish
to convey is this: That all the various offices assigned to the
servants of God in his Church and Kingdom are assigned to them
and not in and of themselves and of their own choice, nor at
their own instance, but at the instance of the Holy Spirit
manifesting itself through those who are appointed over them in
the Lord, as Aaron was called to the priesthood, receiving his
appointment by the manifestation of the will of God through
Moses, his brother. There is another principle in connection with
this, laid down in the revelations of God, namely: that all
things shall be done by common consent. And therefore, where
there is a regularly organized branch of the church, ordination
to the priesthood shall not be made without a vote of approval of
said church. Now this must be understood in the spirit in which
it was given, to apply not particularly and specially to every
individual who may be admitted into a quorum of priests, teachers
or deacons, so much as those who may be called to preside over
the people in the capacity of a Presiding Elder; a bishop or a
bishop's counselor, and also priests, teachers and deacons, whose
labors and duties may be required in that particular branch of
the Church, they must be sustained by the votes and prayers and
confidence of the people as well as by the appointment of those
who are over them in the Lord. And for the same reason those who
officiate in the more extended spheres, such as presidents of
Stakes, high councilors and all Stake authorities, are put before
the people in their several Stakes in conference assembled, for
their approval, their confidence and support; otherwise their
appointment has not the same force and effect upon the people. In
like manner those who may be selected by the working of the Holy
Spirit through the proper authorities, to preside over quorums,
are nominated for this calling and are submitted to the members
for their sanction and confidence. And then come the general
authorities, who preside over and minister in the affairs of the
Church in all the earth. These general quorums are not local, are
not limited to any particular Stake or quorum. Their business is
to see that the Gospel is preached to the whole world; to impart
counsel by the spirit of revelation according to the spirit of
their apostleship and calling, as special witnesses and
messengers to the world of mankind. These are the First
Presidency, and the Twelve Apostles and the Seventies, whose
calling and duty is to labor under the direction of the Twelve
and bear the gospel to all nations and to regulate the affairs of
the Church in all the world. These general authorities are
therefore brought before the general conference assembled, for
their approval and for them to uphold and sustain by their faith
and prayers; and in like manner are they presented at the several
Stake conferences so as to reach the masses of the people, to
insure the confidence and prayers of the whole people, for whom
they minister, and whose eyes are upon them, who are criticizing
their teachings, their walk and conversation before God and man.
For God proposes to deal with His Church as a whole, and as a
whole to hold them responsible to work the works of righteousness
and to defend the faith of the everlasting gospel committed to
them, and to purify and sanctify the whole Church and see that
evil is put away from our midst, whether it be in the family
circle or private walks of life, or in its high officials and
those who minister in public capacities; in like manner he
requires of them to see that all our organizations and
municipalities are in a wholesome condition, and are administered
with integrity and uprightness before God and the people. And as
mouthpieces of the Almighty and as watchmen upon the wall of
Zion, God requires of us his servants, the Apostles, the Elders,
the Presidents of Stakes, and the Bishops everywhere, not only to
minister in their several callings in a church capacity, but also
to instruct officers of every kind intrusted with the municipal
affairs of life, that they may be found faithful in magnifying
the law and discharging the trust reposed in them in secular
affairs as well as ecclesiastical; for civil organizations and
powers of civil government are also appointed and ordained of
heaven for the welfare of mankind, for the protection of all
flesh. And those children of men who may not accept the doctrines
of Christ and the priesthood, its administrations, counsels and
decisions in the secular affairs of life; yet if they are
disposed to obey good, wholesome rules of society in their civil
capacity, as such are entitled to protection. And it is more
especially for the benefit of this class of mankind that civil
governments are established among men and recognized in heaven.
It was with this view that Paul, in his epistle to the ancient
Saints, told them that they should respect and honor the civil
law, and governors in their places, and judges and officers in
their condition of life, whose duty it is to preserve order and
maintain peace and protect the rights and privileges of all
alike, religious or irreligious, believer or unbeliever, saint or
sinner; for religion with all its accompaniments and everything
pertaining to it is a matter of conscience between man and his
Maker, and for the exercise of which he is held alone responsible
to his God and unto his co-religionists, who place themselves
under its guidance and control. But the civil power extends its
protection to all alike. One of the great evils that has
afflicted mankind has been the bigotry of religious priests, and
the blind superstition of religious zealots, who seem to have
lost sight of this principle, the government of our Heavenly
Father over his children, that in his efforts to exalt his
children he has never resorted to force or attempted in any wise
to coerce the human mind. The light of truth, like the glorious
light of the sun, shines unobstructed, free to all; and all are
at liberty to draw a veil over their faces if they choose, or
shut themselves up in a dungeon and lock out the rays of the sun,
or they may walk out in the sun-light, open their windows and let
it into their dwellings; so is their free light of heaven
imparted to all the sons of men. The Lord has reserved to
himself, however, the right to call into judgment all his
children for the manner in which they make use of the
opportunities and privileges afforded them. "This is the
condemnation," says the Savior, "that light is come into the
world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their
deeds are evil." So many people walk in darkness at noonday, when
the light of heaven shines in its glory and effulgence they are
surrounded in darkness. When the light comes to the righteous
they will hail it gladly, and though it may be at first in the
distance, they will mark it as they would the dawn of the morning
star, or a light shining in a dark place, and they will give
diligent heed to it as it approaches, until they enter into its
effulgence and glory. Such is the experience of the Latter-day
Saints; such is experience of those who love the light rather
than darkness and who are waiting for the salvation of Israel;
they received the testimony of Jesus when it was first sounded in
their ears. Hundreds and thousands in different parts of the
world have witnessed the dawn of this light, have heard the sound
thereof in the distance, have gone in search of it, have captured
the first ray that penetrated their minds and followed it until
it has led them finally to the possession of eternal life. These
are they whose deeds are good. Though they may have erred in many
things because of false doctrine and the traditions of men the
fog that beclouded their minds and the minds of their fathers,
yet since the truth made its way to their hearts they embraced it
gladly, and they have loved and followed it still. While, on the
other hand, those who love darkness rather than light, because
their deeds are evil, are fighting against the light and will
shun it when it approaches, like the thief at the approach of the
officer of the law, and conceals himself in darkness. So with
those who love evil, who have abandoned themselves to wickedness,
who have given themselves up to hypocrisy and to the lust of the
flesh, and who sell themselves to the enemy of all righteousness
to work wickedness for gain; darkness reigns in their hearts, and
they become the children of disobedience, hating the light
because their deeds are evil. Truth needs no constraint; it
exercises its power and dominion over the children of men by
virtue of its excellence, its beauties, its attractions, it
loveliness, the good fruits that flow from its observance, the
peace and happiness that attend it; the fruit of truth and
righteousness is delicious above all other fruit. The strength
and power of Jehovah are with the good and virtuous of all His
children; His power and His love are made manifest through the
truth; order and peace are the fruits of the laws and regulations
that He prescribes, and which recommend themselves to the
intelligent or thoughtful children of men, and the results
thereof are only peace, union, fellowship and love. Even the
penalties that are attached to the laws of heaven prescribed in
the Gospel of the Son of God, are not instruments of vengeance,
of wrath and indignation, with a view to the utter destruction of
the children of men. But rather the instruments of restraint upon
the evil deeds of the wicked and ungodly, to deter them from
encroachment upon the righteous, in their evil course of
self-destruction. Even the damnation of hell, threatened in the
Scriptures upon those who continue in their unbelief and
disobedience, is but the natural fruit of their unbelief, and
neglect of the blessings that were held out and designed to be
bestowed upon them. The same may be said of the indolent and the
slothful of the children of men in a temporal point of view. When
the Lord says to his people, Here is a beautiful earth I have
formed for you, and here are the elements within your reach--the
grasses, the streams of water which flow pure as the breezes of
heaven, free to all; here are the animals, I place them under
your control; and here are the trees bearing fruit, and the grain
and the vegetables containing seed in themselves; to forth now
and occupy the land, cultivate, improve, embellish, ornament and
gratify your eye, your taste, and satisfy your wants, eat, drink,
and be merry, plow the ground, cast in the seed, and I will send
you the rains to water the earth, and make it fruitful to reward
your toil; and this covenant I make with you that so long as you
see my bow in the heavens, seed time and harvest shall never fail
you. "But," says the sloth, "I will not do it, I wish to go and
lay me down under the shade of the trees in the hope that some
kind soul will bring me a little water to quench my thirst, and
then bring me some fruit, and put it into my mouth, and then wag
my jaws, or I lay me down and die." Our Father says: "Then die
like a fool; the penalty is your own, and the eternal mandate of
heaven shall not be revoked to indulge your idleness." And the
same may be said of all those who disbelieve in Christ, and who
reject the words of life when they are proclaimed in their ears
without money and without price, and the ordinances of heaven
made free to all. Those who disbelieve, they perish, and what is
the condemnation they bring upon themselves? The condemnation of
the sloth. He perishes in his idleness; they in their ignorance
and their utter disregard of the means of grace, losing all the
precious things that others enjoy who put forth their hands and
partake of the tree of life. And when they die and go hence, they
will wake up in the spirit world, finding themselves as dark as
they were in the natural world. He who is filthy, then will be
filthy still, and he who refused to be enlightened, will be found
to be in darkness still, yea, in outer darkness, because he
despised the light and fought against it, because his deeds were
evil; he finds association with kindred spirits who like himself
refused to obey, refused to put forth their hands and partake,
and rejected the proffered gifts of heaven. Their punishment is
that of ceaseless remorse, fully conscious of blessings cast off
and rejected, which blessings others are permitted to enjoy, but
which they are not, because of their sins and transgressions, and
their own neglect of the means of grace. Their torment is the
torment of the damned, and it is like the smoke that ascends up
forever and ever; among them is found weeping and wailing and
gnashing of teeth, to use the language of the Scripture. But for
what? For blessings lost, for opportunities gone, for privileges
ignored, for the means of grace, for glory and exaltation once
within their reach, which they, in their pride, would not
receive; for being deprived of the presence of God and the Lamb,
and the holy angels and the sanctified ones, and of the keys of
immortality and eternal life and everlasting increase vouch-safed
to the obedient, while they are doomed to perpetual darkness,
which they have chosen in lieu of the blessings of the faithful,
and in which condition they will live to prey upon each other and
to work out the same evil passions which they delighted to
indulge in while in the flesh; the devil, who deluded them, will
rejoice over their downfall, and will reign over them until,
peradventure, the time shall come when the long-suffering and
mercy of an indulgent Father shall cause him to send messengers
from the terrestrial or celestial world, as the case may be, to
see if there are any among them who, by their sad experience,
have learned to appreciate the light, and are yearning for a
better condition. And if they do, the offer of salvation may
again be made to them, and they, through the means that our
Savior has wrought out for them, and through the ordinances of
the House of God, and the servants and handmaidens of God who may
be called priests and priestesses, to administer for and in their
behalf.
187
Such is the beauty and extent of the plan of salvation which God
has revealed to his children on the earth. And truly it is as
Paul has said of it--good news, glad tidings of great joy
revealed to all people; joy to the righteous, and will be a joy
to all people who appreciate it, henceforth and forever. And that
we as a people may be worthy of it, walking in the light, and
that our pathway may grow brighter and brighter until the perfect
day, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 /
Lorenzo Snow, April 7th, 1879
Lorenzo Snow, April 7th, 1879
DISCOURSE BY ELDER LORENZO SNOW,
Delivered at the General Conference, Salt Lake City,
Monday Morning, April 7th, 1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
BLESSINGS OF THE GOSPEL ONLY OBTAINED BY COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAW.
187
"And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared
to Abram and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me
and be thou perfect."
187
In connection with this I will quote part of the words of the
Savior in his sermon on the Mount, as contained in the last verse
of the 5th chapter of Matthew.
187
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven
is perfect."
187
In occupying a short time this morning, I desire an interest in
your faith and prayers.
188
We learn that the Lord appeared to Abraham and made him very
great promises and that before he was prepared to receive them a
certain requirement was made of him, that he should become
perfect before the Lord. And the same requirement was made by the
Savior of his disciples, that they should become perfect, even as
he and his Father in heaven were perfect. This I conceive to be a
subject that concerns the Latter-day Saints; and I wish to offer
a few remarks by way of suggestion, for the reflection of those
whom it concerns.
188
The Lord proposes to confer the highest blessings upon the
Latter-day Saints; but, like Abraham, we must prepare ourselves
for them, and to do this the same law that was given to him of
the Lord has been given to us for our observance. We also are
required to arrive at a state of perfection before the Lord; and
the Lord in this case, the same as in every other, has not made a
requirement that cannot be complied with, but on the other hand,
He has placed for the use of the Latter-day Saints the means by
which they can conform to His holy order. When the Lord made this
requirement of Abraham, He gave him the means by which he could
become qualified to obey that law and come up fully to the
requirement. He had the privilege of the Holy Spirit, as we are
told the Gospel was preached to Abraham, and through that Gospel
he could obtain that divine aid which would enable him to
understand the things of God, and without it no man could arrive
at a state of perfection before the Lord. So in reference to the
Latter-day Saints, they could not possibly come up to such a
moral and spiritual standard except through supernatural aid and
assistance. Neither do we expect that the Latter-day Saints, at
once will or can conform to this law under all circumstances. It
requires time; it requires much patience and discipline of the
mind and heart in order to obey this commandment. And although we
may fail at first in our attempts, yet this should not discourage
the Latter-day Saints from endeavoring to exercise a
determination to comply with the great requirement. Abraham,
although he might have had faith to walk before the Lord
according to this divine law, yet there were times when his faith
was sorely tried, but still he was not discouraged because he
exercised a determination to comply with the will of God. We may
think that we cannot live up to the perfect law, that the work of
perfecting ourselves is too difficult. This may be true in part,
but the fact still remains that it is a command of the Almighty
to us and we cannot ignore it. When we experience trying moments,
then is the time for us to avail ourselves of that great
privilege of calling upon the Lord for strength and
understanding, intelligence and grace by which we can overcome
the weakness of the flesh against which we have to make a
continual warfare.
189
Abraham was called to leave his kindred and country. Had he not
complied with this requirement, he would not have been approved
of the Lord. But he did comply; and while he was leaving his
home, he no doubt was living in obedience to this divine law of
perfection. Had he failed in this, he certainly could not have
obeyed the requirements of the Almighty. And while he was leaving
his father's house, while he was subjecting himself to this
trial, he was doing that which his own conscience and the Spirit
of God justified him in doing, and nobody could have done better,
providing he was doing no wrong when he was performing this
labor. When the Latter-day Saints received the Gospel in the
nations afar, and when the voice of the Almighty to them was, to
leave the lands of their fathers, to leave their kindred as
Abraham did, so far as they complied with this requirement, so
far they were walking in obedience to this law; and they were as
perfect as men could be under the circumstances, and in the
sphere in which they were acting, not that they were perfect in
knowledge or power, etc.; but in their feelings, in their
integrity, motives and determination. And while they were
crossing the great deep, providing they did not murmur nor
complain, but obeyed the counsels which were given them, and in
every way comported themselves in a becoming manner, they were as
perfect as God required them to be.
190
The Lord designs to bring us up into the celestial kingdom. He
has made known, through direct revelation, that we are His
offspring, begotten in the eternal worlds, that we have come to
this earth for the special purpose of preparing ourselves to
receive a fullness of our Father's glory when we shall return
into his presence. Therefore, we must seek the ability to keep
this law, to sanctify our motives, desires, feelings and
affections, that they may be pure and holy, and our will in all
things be subservient to the will of God, and have no will of our
own except to do the will of our Father. Such a man in his sphere
is perfect, and commands the blessing of God in all that he does
and wherever he goes. But we are subject to folly, to the
weakness of the flesh, and we are more or less ignorant, thereby
liable to err. Yes, but that is no reason why we should not feel
desirous to comply with this command of God, especially seeing
that he has placed within our reach the means of accomplishing
this work. This I understand is the meaning of the word
perfection, as expressed by our Savior and by the Lord to
Abraham. A person may be perfect in regard to some things and not
others. A person who obeys the word of wisdom faithfully, is
perfect as far as that law is concerned. When we repented of our
sins and were baptized for the remission of them, we were perfect
as far as that matter was concerned. Now we are told by the
Apostle John, that "we are the sons of God, but it does not
appear what we shall be: but we know that when he shall appear,
we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." "And every
man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he,
Christ is pure." The Latter-day Saints expect to arrive at this
state of perfection; we expect to become as our Father and God,
fit and worthy children to dwell in his presence; we expect that
when the Son of God shall appear, we shall receive our bodies
renewed and glorified, and that "these vile bodies will be
changed and become like unto his glorious body." These are our
expectations. Now let all present put this question to
themselves. Are our expectations well founded? In other words,
are we seeking to purify ourselves? How can a Latter-day Saint
feel justified in himself unless he is seeking to purify himself
even as God is pure--unless he is seeking to keep his conscience
void of offence before God and man every day of his life. We
doubtless, many of us, walk from day to day and from week to
week, and from month to month, before God, feeling under no
condemnation, comporting ourselves properly, and seeking
earnestly and in all meekness for the Spirit of God to dictate
our daily course; and yet there may be a certain time or times in
our life, when we are greatly tried and perhaps overcome; even if
this be so, that is no reason why we should not try again, and
that, too, with redoubled energy and determination to accomplish
our object. There was the Apostle Peter, for instance, a man
valiant for the truth, and a man who walked before God in a
manner that met with his divine approval; he told the Savior on a
certain occasion that though all men forsook him he would not.
But the Savior, foreseeing what would happen, told him that on
that same night, before the cock crowed, he would deny him
thrice, and he did so. He proved himself unequal for the trial;
but afterwards he gained power, and his mind was disciplined to
that extent that such trials could not possibly affect him. And
if we could read in detail the life of Abraham, or the lives of
other great and holy men, we would doubtless find that their
efforts to be righteous were not always crowned with success.
Hence we should not be discouraged if we should be overcome in a
weak moment; but, on the contrary, straightway repent of the
error or the wrong we may have committed, and as far as possible
repair it, and then seek to God for renewed strength to go on and
do better.
191
Abraham could walk perfectly before God day after day when he was
leaving his father's house, and he showed evidences of a superior
and well disciplined mind in the course he suggested when his
herdsmen quarrelled with the herdsmen of his nephew, Lot. There
came a time in Abraham's life, however, which must have been very
trying; in fact anything more severe can scarcely be conceived
of; that was when the Lord called upon him to offer as a
sacrifice his beloved and only son, even him through whom he
expected the fulfillment of the great promise made him by the
Lord; but through manifesting a proper disposition he was enabled
to surmount the trial, and prove his faith and integrity to God.
It can hardly be supposed that Abraham inherited such a state of
mind from his idolatrous parents; but it is consistent to believe
that under the blessing of God he was enabled to acquire it,
after going through a similar warfare with the flesh as we are,
and doubtless being overcome at times and then overcoming until
he was enabled to stand so severe a test. "Let this same mind be
in you," says the Apostle Paul, "which was also in Christ Jesus:
who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal
with God." Now every man that has this object before him will
purify himself as God is pure, and try to walk perfectly before
him. We have our little follies and our weaknesses; we should try
to overcome them as fast as possible, and we should inculcate
this feeling in the hearts of our children, that the fear of God
may grow up with them from their very youth, and that they may
learn to comport themselves properly before him under all
circumstances. If the husband can live with his wife one day
without quarreling or without treating anyone unkindly or without
grieving the Spirit of God in any way, that is well so far; he is
so far perfect. Then let him try to be the same the next day. But
supposing he should fail in this his next day's attempt? That is
no reason why he should not succeed in doing so the third day. If
the Apostle Peter had become discouraged at his manifest failure
to maintain the position that he had taken to stand by the Savior
under all circumstances, he would have lost all; whereas, by
repenting and persevering he lost nothing but gained all, leaving
us too to profit by his experience. The Latter-day Saints should
cultivate this ambition constantly which was so clearly set forth
by the apostles in former days. We should try to walk each day so
that our conscience would be void of offence before every body.
And God has placed in the Church certain means by which we can be
assisted, namely, apostles, and prophets, and evangelists, etc.,
"for the perfecting of the Saints," etc. And he has also
conferred upon us his Holy Spirit which is an unerring guide,
standing, as an angel of God, at our side, telling us what to do,
and affording us strength and succor when adverse circumstances
arise in our way. We must not allow ourselves to be discouraged
whenever we discover our weakness. We can scarcely find an
instance in all the glorious examples set us by the prophets,
ancient or modern, wherein they permitted the Evil One to
discourage them; but on the other hand they constantly sought to
overcome, to win the prize, and thus prepare themselves for a
fulness of glory. The Prophet Elijah succeeded. He so walked
before God that he was worthy to be translated. And Enoch was
found worthy to walk with God some 300 years, and was at last,
with his people, taken up to heaven.
191
We are told that in the latter-days "there shall be no more
thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his
days; for the child shall die an hundred years old." And in
another scripture we are told that the age of the infant shall be
as the age of a tree, and that it shall not die until it shall be
old, and then it shall not slumber in the dust but be changed in
the twinkling of an eye. But in those days people must live
perfectly before the Lord, for we are told in the same passage,
that "the sinner," instead of being favored, "being an hundred
years old, shall be accursed." When we once get it into our minds
that we really have the power within ourselves through the gospel
we have received, to conquer our passions, our appetites and in
all things submit our will to the will of our Heavenly Father,
and, instead of being the means of generating unpleasant feeling
in our family circle, and those with whom we are associated, but
assisting greatly to create a little heaven upon earth, then the
battle may be said to be half won. One of the chief difficulties
that many suffer from is, that we are too apt to forget the great
object of life, the motive of our Heavenly Father in sending us
here to put on mortality, as well as the holy calling with which
we have been called; and hence, instead of rising above the
little transitory things of time, we too often allow ourselves to
come down to the level of the world without availing ourselves of
the divine help which God has instituted, which alone can enable
us to overcome them. We are no better than the rest of the world
if we do not cultivate the feeling to be perfect, even as our
Father in heaven is perfect.
192
This was the exhortation of the Savior to the former-day Saints,
who were a people of like passions and who were subject to the
same temptations as ourselves, and he knew whether the people
could conform to it or not; the Lord never has, nor will he
require things of his children which it is impossible for them to
perform. The Elders of Israel who expect to go forth to preach
the gospel of salvation in the midst of a crooked and perverse
generation, among a people who are full of evil and corruption,
should cultivate this spirit especially. And not only they, but
everybody, every young man and woman belonging to this Church who
is worthy to be called a Saint should cultivate this desire to
live up to this requirement that their consciences may be clear
before God. It is a beautiful thing, either in young or old, to
have this object in view; it is especially delightful to see our
young people take a course that the light and intelligence of God
can beam in their countenances, that they may have a correct
understanding of life, and be able to live above the follies and
vanities of the world and the errors and wickedness of man.
192
May God bless you, brethren and sisters, and pour out His Holy
Spirit upon you, that you may be blessed in all your acts, in
your incomings and your outgoings and in the performance of every
duty, and be blessed in calling upon the Almighty, that His
Spirit may be in you as a well of water springing up to
everlasting life, to guide you in His fear through all the scenes
of life, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / Moses
Thatcher, April 8, 1879
Moses Thatcher, April 8, 1879
DISCOURSE BY ELDER MOSES THATCHER,
Delivered at the General Conference, Tuesday Afternoon, April 8,
1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
MANIFEST BLESSINGS OF GOD TO THE SAINTS--PROPER EDUCATION OF
THE YOUNG--INFIDELITY THE RESULT OF IGNORANCE.
193
In trying to address so large an audience, I earnestly desire an
interest in the prayers of my brethren and sisters, that the few
remarks I may offer may be dictated by the Spirit of God. There
are many things that we as, Elders in Israel, should always be
pleased to speak of, and particularly is this the case in
reference to the kindness of our Father in heaven towards us as a
people. We are permitted to dwell in peace, surrounded with the
blessings of life and liberty, having pleasant homes wherein to
dwell, and God to be our Father and Friend. When I look around
upon the homes of the Latter-day Saints and see how the elements
have been changed and made so propitious, enabling us to produce
food and clothing, the necessities and many of the luxuries of
life, my heart is exceedingly grateful, for I must confess there
is no land with which I am familiar where the blessings of God
are so abundantly bestowed as in our own. It appears to me that
every bud is not only willing, but does blossom, and where seed
by man is sown broadcast in the ground it comes forth, bearing
twenty, thirty, or fifty fold. This, my brethren and sisters, is
not the result of the work of man; but it is the blessings of our
Heavenly Father. And how any human being can look upon the
mountains by which we are surrounded, and gaze upon the beautiful
fields and smiling nature seen on every hand, and not be able to
acknowledge God in all these things is beyond my comprehension.
In speaking to the young people particularly I have had sometimes
pleasure in referring to the works of man, comparing them with
the works of God. And while I believe it proper for us to look
with pleasure upon the accomplishments of art and sciences, and
upon the skilled workmanship of man, yet I would have our young
people always realize that God is the originator; I would have
them understand, as the arts and sciences are being developed and
new discoveries are being brought out by what we call the genius
of man, that God understood all these things before they were
made known to us. And while having them admire and wonder at the
grand achievement of man in chaining the lightning, thus making
it to serve his purposes; and while it was the work of man that
moulded and fashioned the metal into the wire over which
intelligence is transmitted by the power of electricity, I would
help to lead their minds beyond, so that they may comprehend that
the material of which that wire is composed was the creation and
work of God, and that the electricity itself is at the bidding
and mandate of the great Jehovah.
193
I believe, my brethren and sisters, if we take proper pains in
the education of the young, employing the right kind of men and
women to be their preceptors, that, instead of the seeds of
infidelity being sown in their minds we will have faith, and in
that faith we will have the manifestations of power.
194
In talking with the learned of the world we find that they have
but a faint conception of God and Godliness. Were you to tell
them that they hate God, or that the carnal mind is at enmity
against God, they would not understand you. And yet, when we come
to the actual facts, we find that the learned and many professors
of Christianity really do hate God. I do not mean to say they
hate the God they themselves picture in their own minds; but that
they hate and fight against him whose attributes and character
are portrayed within the lids of the Bible. The Supreme Ruler of
the universe, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, is not
only the tender and loving Being that the pious Christian of the
19th century pictures him to be,--he is not only willing to love
and cherish and save the human family, but he is also a Being of
justice and judgment, having always power enough to inflict
punishment upon the breakers of his laws. Yet modern divines
think with horror of a God who would inflict punishment, on the
plea that such would be revengeful; and yet, neither they nor any
of our professed Christian friends would for a moment find fault
with the judge of an inferior earthly court for passing judgment
on a criminal, though it might lead even to the loss of the life
of a fellow creature.
194
Having but a very short time to occupy this afternoon my remarks
must necessarily be brief. But before closing I feel to bear my
testimony that here in Utah is a people who are trying to serve
the Lord. And I testify too, that Joseph Smith was and is a
prophet of the living God, chosen of Him to open up the last
dispensation to man--the dispensation of the fulness of times;
and that his successor, Brigham Young, was an apostle of the Lord
Jesus, and a prophet, seer and revelator. And I feel to bear my
testimony that this same power and revelation rests upon his
servant, Brother John Taylor. If we would live for the light of
God's Holy Spirit we might see not as with eyes through a glass
darkly, but with eyes that see clearly having also ears capable
of hearing, and hearts full to understand.
194
It is our duty, as young men, as middle aged men and as aged men
to bestow great care and attention on the education of the young.
It is not particularly the duty of the father, as I understand
it, to place in the hands of his son the writings of Payne and
other infidel authors unless they follow up the reading of such
works with good sound argument, and then place the Bible and the
Book of Mormon in their hands to be read and studied, and when
necessary correctly explained showing wherein the Lord has
wrought out the literal fulfillment of many of the predictions
therein recorded. If they would do this with prayerful hearts,
and with the wisdom God may give them, there will be little or
nothing to fear from the readings of infidel works. I take the
broad ground that in infidelity is ignorance. You meet the
infidel and you will find him as a general thing, ignorant in
regard to that which is laid down in the Bible, which he claims
to disbelieve. It has been so from the beginning. It is a truth
that has been uttered on many occasions by the servants of God,
that it is easier and more natural for mankind to believe a
hundred falsehoods than to accept a single truth. It must be
apparent to all, that it is more in harmony with our fallen
nature to do wrong than to do right. Let six boys be taken, for
instance, and be carefully taught in the principles of morality,
virtue and truth; and another six in the follies and wickedness
of the world and see which of the two sets will make the most
rapid progress, those in the right, or those in the wrong? All
will readily agree with me that immorality is more easily
acquired than the virtues, and hence we may conclude that we are
in a fallen world, and that we have the battle against sin to
fight.
195
May the blessings of God rest down upon the Latter-day Saints.
And by way of conclusion I will say, if we want to dream dreams
or see visions, it is our privilege to do so, but we must first
purify our hearts and seek to love the Lord our God with all our
might, mind and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves; and to
do unto others as we would have others do unto us. And permit me
to say that in all my experience in life I have found as yet but
one thing that can afford true happiness and true enjoyment, and
that is a consciousness of keeping the commandments of God. And
if we, Latter-day Saints, will live near unto us. And instead of
having to call in physicians to minister to the members of our
families when sickness makes its appearance, the power of God
will be upon us in such rich abundance as to enable us to rebuke
it from our dwellings, and to invoke the blessings of health to
attend us and ours, which was the case years ago in the primeval
days of the Church. If we have lost any of these blessings it is
not through any fault in the Lord, or that there is less power
and efficacy in the priesthood we bear, but rather in our own
lack of faith in the promises made to the faithful. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / George
Q. Cannon, April 6, 1879
George Q. Cannon, April 6, 1879
DISCOURSE BY ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON,
Delivered at the General Conference, on Sunday Afternoon, April
6, 1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
INFLUENCE OF THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS--THEIR MISSION--THE MARRIAGE
RELATION--CAPITAL AND LABOR--RELIGIOUS LIBERTY.
196
In some respects I would prefer to sit and listen to my brethren
speak, and to partake in quietude of the spirit of this
Conference, than I would to speak myself. But there is a duty
devolving upon me I presume, the same as upon my brethren and I
desire to the best of my ability to discharge that duty. The
sight of so many people, the singing, the speaking of our
brethren this morning and the spirit that I felt when I entered
this building to-day almost overpowered me. There is an
influence, there is a power, there is a spirit connected with the
assembling together of a large body of people, such as we witness
to-day, that must affect those who are sensitive to impressions,
and especially when one has been absent among strangers, to feel
that he is home among his friends, among a people who are his
brethren and sisters, whose faith is his faith, and who are
laboring and struggling to accomplish the same objects that he
himself has in his heart. I rejoice exceedingly, my brethren and
sisters, this day in our midst, and I am thankful for the
delightful circumstances by which you are surrounded. I am
thankful that the prospects before you are so promising, so full
of hope and so delightful to contemplate. It is true we have had
sickness, we have had many deaths, this has been a cause of
regret. But death is unavoidable, and with it all we are in much
better circumstances and more favorably situated than the
generality of the children of men. The Latter-day Saints are
rapidly becoming a great and important people. The influence that
attends us is being more widely felt; our power for good is
increasing, our strength, our union and the other qualities that
we possess, and which we have manifested through our career, are
being more recognized every day. It has always been a favorite
idea of mine, that no single human being who chooses to exert an
influence for good among his fellow men, ever spoke or ever acted
in vain--without making his influence, his example, his words,
have an effect upon those with whom he has been brought in
contact. If this be true concerning an individual, how much more
truth is there in it when applied to an assemblage of
individuals, and to a community, to hundreds of communities, to a
great people stretching through these mountains and filling these
valleys? We have not lived in vain. We have not sought to exhibit
lives of temperance, of industry, of frugality, of self-denial,
lives of righteousness with the fear of God before our eyes, nor
have we lived these lives during the last 49 years, without the
effect being felt, not only upon those by whom we are surrounded,
but by the world at large. There is something connected with the
example of such a people that elevates men and women from the
slime, from the mire, and from the abject ruin into which, in too
many instances, they are plunged, to contemplate humanity in its
better aspects, humanity in its noble appearances, with its
Godlike attributes, with its powers for good, its capability of
accomplishing great results. There is something in the very fact
of a people believing in God in these days of atheism and utter
infidelity that brings men to serious contemplation. They say
very frequently that it is fanaticism, but there is something
about fanaticism that is healthy, refreshing, invigorating in its
example, for no man ever accomplished anything on this earth,
without exposing himself by his actions, his earnestness and
enthusiasm and zeal, to the charge of fanaticism. I am willing we
should be called fanatics. I have a right to be a fanatic if I
wish to be, as long as my fanaticism does not interfere with the
rights of my fellowman. That is a barrier beyond which my
fanaticism should not be allowed to go.
197
It is refreshing to see a people who not only believe in God, but
who are willing to show their belief by suffering for his
cause--to leave their friends, to leave their homes, to suffer
exile, persecution, privations, hardships, and even death for the
sake of God, for the sake of religion, for the sake of principle.
What would life be if it were not for such people and for such
characters? Why, their peculiar lives illume the somber darkness
of ages; they are bright spots in history. When we look back and
recall the men who have suffered and died for principle, even if
they died wrongfully, we find something about their heroic lives
that is glorious to contemplate. And when a whole people can be
found, such as are in these mountains, who are capable of making
the sacrifices which they have made, there is something, as I
have said, in their example and in their lives that influences
men, that impresses them, and that causes them, whatever their
feelings may be respecting the belief of these people, to feel a
profound and heartfelt respect for them; for no man or woman
properly constituted ever failed to respect devotions to
principle, moral courage and the qualities that are exhibited in
the lives of the Saints; I therefore say, we have not lived in
vain; we have not preached in vain; we have not suffered in vain;
we have not protested in vain. The fruits of these labors of ours
which apparently have been so long in coming, will be reaped in
the great harvest yet to be reaped upon the earth.
197
I feel to speak these words of encouragement to my brethren and
sisters, many of whom feel probably that their obscure lives and
struggles, their contest with poverty, their humble and eventful
histories are sometimes of so little value that they are
comparatively worthless in the earth. I say to the humble
struggler, to the man or woman who may be content with poverty,
whose life may be uneventful in his own estimation, who may be
hidden from the popular sight and may not figure on the world's
stage, I say to every such person, as a Latter-day Saint, You
have a great and important mission to perform, and if you perform
the duties devolving upon you properly, your influence will be
felt; and in the days to come, in that great day of God Almighty,
your worth will be fully recognized, and you will shine as a
jewel in the kingdom of our Redeemer.
199
There is one thing that every parent can do. He can endeavor to
make his sons and daughters better qualified, better equipped for
the great struggle of life and better able to perform their part
in this glorious work that God has established, than himself;
that is one thing the parents of the rising generation of these
mountains can do. I have never felt as I do to-day, and as I have
recently, of the great importance of our training and educating
our children to the greatest and best advantage, that nothing
shall be left undone on our part to prepare them for the great
work which they have to perform. This is a labor that we can
accomplish. It does not depend so much upon the knowledge of
books; a great many people imagine that only books are necessary
for education; but the man is best educated, in my opinion, who
has thought the most, and that correctly. So far as theology is
concerned, we have been able, by the blessing of God, the light
of the Holy Ghost, and the power of truth, to go forth unlearned,
illiterate, and unprepared, so far as worldly education is
concerned, and by virtue of the knowledge that comes down from
above, the elders of this Church have gone forth and met the
world of Christendom. I do not speak in vanity, nor in the spirit
of boasting when I say they have never been vanquished. The
learned, the educated, the professed theologians when they have
met the elders of this Church with the Bible in their hands, have
been compelled to retreat before the power of truth proclaimed by
uneducated but inspired men. Is our mission accomplished by
having done this? I feel that we as a people are only on the
threshold of the great work that lies before us. We have an
immense field of labor stretched out before us. When you look
ahead and try to see its limits, the field of usefulness, which
stretches out before this people called Latter-day Saints, is
beyond the reach of human vision; it is illimitable, stretching
out in the far distant future. Is there a wrong upon the earth to
be righted? If so, it is our bounden duty to attempt its
correction. Is there a false principle extant? It is our bounden
duty to seek its eradication. Is there tyranny in the world,
tyranny of the body, tyranny of the mind, physical or mental
tyranny? It devolves upon us as Latter-day Saints to overthrow
it. Are there social problems to be solved? Who shall solve them?
Who can do so? Remove the Latter-day Saints from the field, and
who can solve these problems which are pressing themselves upon
the attention of all thinking people? The whole earth is full of
violence, wrong, oppression, misgovernment, and a thousand other
evils which I cannot now enumerate. It devolves upon us, as fast
as we can reach these things, to correct them, to remove them. In
the first place we have got to correct and remove them from our
own midst. It is a slow labor to train a people, brought as we
are from every nation, educated in every creed, speaking almost
every language and heirs of every tradition. There is, false or
true, wedded to us old customs and the evils of ages, which have
been transmitted from generation to generation until they have
formed a strong part of our very being. It is a slow work, I say,
educating a people such as we are. We have been at it now 49
years, and we can scarcely perceive, that is, in comparison with
that which lies before us, the growth and the development which
have been made. But we have grown, our minds have been enlarged,
we have become emancipated from many old follies, and freedom of
thought has taken place in our midst; but the great labor that
devolves upon us is to educate ourselves, and then we can soon
educate the rest of mankind, for as I have said, our example is
felt; the influence of it goes forth and bears its fruit among
other people. But it is a most difficult thing to get these
Latter-day Saints to understand the principles that are as plain
as the noonday sun--that they should receive readily, and why?
Because, as I have said, they are heirs of the traditions of
centuries that have come down through the dark ages. It is a
wonderful thing to do what we have done respecting woman. Look at
what monogamy has done. Look at its effects; trace its influence
from the death of the Apostles, or soon afterwards, down to this
the nineteenth century, and what do we behold? Why, in every
generation a large percentage of our sisters has been consigned
either to that nameless condition of which it is a shame to
speak, or have died without ever knowing the joys of maternity.
When I think of it, when I read the history of the boasted
civilization of the Greeks and the Romans, and think of the
boasted civilization of our day, inherited from these nations,
and witness its effects, I wonder how man, standing up in the
face of heaven, dare look at woman and talk about being her
protector. Read the history of the sex and of the frightful evils
which have been brought upon our sitters through man's accursed
traditions and evils. If it were to be told to another people
differently situated to us, with different traditions to us, they
could not believe that intelligent man would entertain for one
moment, or that women themselves, in view of what their sex has
suffered, would cherish and cling to the wretched traditions that
have prevailed in christendom and to a certain extent yet prevail
in our midst.
199
I know I am touching now upon what many people consider a tender
spot. Say they, "The decision of the Supreme Court has arranged
all this." Yes, but it will not stay arranged. Let me tell you,
that wrong may prevail and right may apparently be crushed; but
right must at last prevail and claim its own in spite of laws, of
decisions, of mandates, and everything that man can utter. I am
talking now not respecting law; I am not talking respecting
tradition; I am not talking about "Mormon" plural marriage or
patriarchal marriage; I am talking about men and women, brethren
and sisters as such. Come let us reason together; let us talk
together, not as religionists, not as "Mormons," not as
monogamists, not as polygamists, not as citizens of Christendom,
but as men and women, the children of God, as brethren and
sisters of the one family. Let us talk together face to face, in
plainness, in simplicity, without allowing tradition to have
weight with us, to blind our understandings. It is in this spirit
that I wish to talk upon this subject.
200
Here is a family, a family composed of men and women, and we will
say this tabernacle contains this entire family of God upon the
earth, for the sake of illustrating the point. Here are men and
women in equal numbers and equal proportions, one sex not
outnumbering the other--a man for a woman and a woman for a man,
no surplus of women, no surplus of men. If they were to marry,
each would have a partner, each man would have a wife and each
woman would have a husband; each would be perfect, for the man is
not perfect without the woman, nor the woman without the man. We
turn in and make a law, such as prevailed at one time in Rome
that every man shall marry a wife. Such a law was made at Rome at
one time; it was aimed at celibacy. It was aimed at a certain
class as the law of 1862 was aimed at us. One was enacted to
prevent marriage, the other to compel marriage, that no class of
men should grow up in the community without wives, and that no
woman should be allowed to forsake man and become a nun. We have
such a law, say in this tabernacle. That answers very well. Every
woman is provided with a husband, and every man with a wife. But
after a while somebody comes along and says, "I do not like this
law, it is oppressive; I know, for instance, where it works very
badly; I know men who do not want to have wives." They prefer a
single life, and they succeed after a while in repealing the law,
as they did in Rome. The law is repealed and men are at liberty
to marry or not as they please. On the top of this another law is
enacted, in effect that every man shall have but one wife, and
shall not be permitted to take two or more wives. The women, of
course, have to do just as the man say, they cannot compel the
men to marry them, but must wait until they are invited to marry.
This law suits a great many individuals. Many men say, "I prefer
not to have a wife and especially if you will only make a law
confining the men to marry but one wife each. I like that very
well because I will not then be under the necessity of keeping a
wife. If I want a partner, an associate, I can have one without
being at the trouble or expense of keeping her as such. Because
if you confine marriage to one man and one woman there will
necessarily be a share of the women who cannot be married; that
is, if the sexes are equal in numbers. Then I can do as I please.
I know the confiding nature of woman; I know how she loves, how
she clings to the object of her love. This will be my
opportunity." But what shall be said respecting the women. The
men so far as they are concerned, have the right to marry or not
as they please. But here is a large percentage of the women who
by this law are to a certain extent deprived from marrying, even
supposing the sexes to be equal. A civil commotion arises. Men go
to war, they go to sea, they engage in commercial pursuits, they
leave their homes, they engage in hazardous occupations. The
result is that though in the beginning the men and women were
equal in numbers, by the effects of war, and of engaging in
hazardous pursuits which women do not follow, the men die and are
killed, and the women survive and outnumber the males. The
operation of a law then, such as I have described, increases the
hardship, increases the percentage of those who are not married
and who have no opportunity of marrying. Here comes along a man
after witnessing the evils that have grown up among his brothers
and sisters, and says, "I have a plan to suggest which I believe
will cure the evils that exist among us. I see that a dreadful
vice called prostitution has crept into our midst, and arising
from it are dreadful diseases, diseases that I cannot describe,
so appalling are they that the very thought of them makes the
heart recoil with horror; they have appeared in our family circle
and they are destroying our young men and women. And now then,
the plan that I have to propose to our family is this, that every
man shall marry until all the women are married, until every
woman that wants a husband shall have one, so that the men who
will not marry shall not have a class of unmarried women, to prey
upon, to commit violence with, or to prostitute. "Now," says he,
"if you let all these men and women marry, there will be some
women who will not want to marry, but that proportion will be
very small and by this means you will arrest this dreadful evil
that is growing in our midst."
200
Now let me put this to you; let us reason upon this, face to
face, as I have said. Which will be the better plan? According to
my judgment, speaking as one of this family, not as a member of
Congress, not as a "Mormon," but as one of the family I have
described. The latter law is far superior to the other. I would
say, as a father, if I had a family of that kind, by all means
let my daughters marry, let every woman have a husband that wants
one. Then if every man marries a wife, they will only have a wife
apiece; but if there should be any of the boys that do not want
wives, the girls would not necessarily go without husbands.
201
I consider our false tradition upon this subject one of the
greatest evils at the present time that exists upon the earth. It
has come down to us from the Greeks and Romans, than whom a more
abominable lot of people never lived upon the earth. To read
their books is enough to make a man with the least feeling of
modesty blush and be ashamed of his race. Yet they are introduced
into our literature. Whoever reads Horace, Sallust, and numbers
of those authors, well knows how full of corruption they are. Not
only crimes, but crimes against nature were justified by some of
the best and most noted of Greek philosophers, and were practised
by Sophocles, Socrates, and others; and yet this is the
philosophy that has come down to us. They had a class of women in
their midst who were regularly compensated and sustained as
courtesans; they were maintained in order that the purity of the
domestic circle might be unpolluted. And this has come down to us
in Christendom, in Europe and America to the present time. The
fairest of Earth's daughters fall yearly sacrifices to the
abominable lusts of men. How is the domestic circle preserved in
monogamous countries to-day? It is only preserved at the expense
of this class to which I have referred, by those priestesses of
humanity, blasted for the sins of the people, living short lives
and carrying with them the effects of man's abominable lust.
201
Now I do not want to talk to-day about law; I do not want to talk
to-day about its effects in relation to this subject--the subject
of "Mormon" patriarchal marriage; I do not want to talk about the
law of 1862, nor the decision of the supreme Court of the United
States affecting it; but I want to deal with the facts that stare
us in the face. Shall we correct these evils? "O," says one,
"they always existed." Out upon such doctrine; we do not believe
it. I cannot believe that the Great Creator, he who formed the
universe, who placed the sun in the centre of our solar system
and caused those planets to revolve around it; that that being
who created these things, and produced order out of chaos who
said, "Let there be light and there was light;" who called forth
out of chaos the elements from which our earth is formed and
created it as a glorious habitation for man; that He possessing,
as we know he does, infinite wisdom, has placed men and women,
his sons and daughters, upon the earth in the midst of evils such
as I have briefly alluded to, and provided no remedy therefore. I
could no more believe it than I could believe this light to be
darkness. But I do believe that in the bosom of the Father there
is wisdom to crete all, to carry out all, and to make this earth
a heaven, where peace, love, joy and happiness shall prevail, and
where there shall be no sin, no sorrow, no heartrending or pain,
where man and woman will dwell together in perfect peace, love
and harmony, and children grow up in purity with every heavenly
surrounding.
202
I have said, probably, enough on this subject. I merely wish to
point out and to show that certain evils exist and that they need
correction. How shall they be corrected? Who shall point out the
remedy? I believe God has done it, and he will continue to do it;
he will bring to pass in his own way and in his own due time all
the corrections necessary to change all this. This subject of
itself, affecting as it does the happiness welfare and prosperity
of the human family, is one of almost overshadowing importance.
But there are other evils under which mankind groan. There are
evils in regard to wealth and the management of property, the
organization of capital and the organization of labor, the
relations, that labor shall bear to capital, and capital to
labor. There are questions of this kind that press themselves
upon the attention of statesmen, and upon the attention of every
man of thought and reflection, and he sees there is room for the
exercise of the most profound wisdom, and the greatest talent in
order that these things may be corrected. It devolves upon us,
Latter-day Saints, to help to accomplish this work. It devolves
upon us, and will devolve upon us more particularly in the near
future, to maintain upon this continent and through this broad
land pure republican institutions, constitutional liberty in its
broadest sense. For the day is not far distant when the power
such as is growing up in the mountains will be needed. Conflict
of parties, an increase of party feeling, an increased
disposition to take possession of power by any means, no matter
what it might be, are becoming general in the United States. This
is so self-evident that no man, unless completely wedded to the
idea that this nation will exist in perpetuity, can fail to see
for himself that there is a crisis approaching in the affairs of
our nation. Already the feeling prevails that in order to
accomplish certain things fraud is justifiable. Money is used to
an extent in the accomplishing of certain results in government
affairs, and in politics that you, as a people who live in these
mountains, have scarcely any conception of. And this is
increasing. What the end will be is not difficult to foretell.
Republicanism ceases to be republicanism whenever fraud enters
into the decision of questions and the will of the people cannot
be properly ascertained.
202
So far as religious liberty is concerned we have fought that
battle thus far with tolerable success; but we have yet to
contend still more for greater liberty, not for ourselves alone,
but for every human being that dwells upon this land, from the
east to the west and from the north to the south. The principle
must be maintained, the principle, that actuated the founders of
our government, when they laid the foundation stone thereof, that
in matters of religious concernment no man has a right to step
between his fellowman and his God. I may worship idols; I may
burn incense to idols; I may worship the sun and pay adoration to
him, the great luminary of day; I may do other things which may
seem equally improper, but have I not the right to do these
things under our constitution? Was it not the intention of the
framers of our form of government that every man should have this
right? Certainly it was; and it can be clearly proved that this
was their intention, that this was the spirit that actuated and
prompted them.
204
In Salt Lake City, if the "Mormons" had supreme control--I say
"Mormons," I ought to say Latter-day Saints--if they had supreme
control from our northern boundary in Idaho, to the southern
boundary, Arizona, and from our eastern boundary, Colorado, to
our western boundary, Nevada; if we had supreme control and
undisputed possession of this land, without the right of dominion
over us being questioned, we would have no authority under the
constitution under which we live to say to any human being within
these confines how he should worship, what he should or should
not do in order to please the Creator. If the Chinaman should
come here and build a Joss house and burn incense to Joss, if he
prostrate himself in adoration before the images that he thinks
represents his deity, we have no right in the world to interfere
with him. If an Ingersoll should come here and say that he did
not believe in any God at all, and he could carry his feelings
into practice, we would have no right to interfere with him.
Under the circumstances I have described, he would have a perfect
right to believe in God or not. We would have no right to
interfere with a man who, believing his priest has power to remit
his sins, would enter the confessional chamber for the purpose of
having them forgiven; or with the Episcopalian who may choose to
sprinkle his infant, or the Jew because he believed in
circumcising his infant child, or with the Baptist because he
believed in baptism by immersion. But supposing that a man should
come along that believes it his right and in accordance with his
religious convictions to marry more than one wife, and he takes
care of his wives and provides for them properly according to his
religion, believing that in the eternity to come he will dwell
with them. Some of us may think that his ideas of heaven are very
materialistic; we may think him a very foolish man for having
such a belief, and especially for going to the expense of keeping
three or four wives; these may be the popular ideas about him,
but if he carries out his belief from a religious standpoint, he
has a perfect right to do it in the face of God and even under
the constitution of our land. The Parsee and fire worshipper and
men of kindred belief may yet come to this land of liberty; and I
tell you if the spirit of the Constitution be maintained, as the
Latter-day Saints will yet maintain it, they will have a perfect
right to worship their God according to the dictates of their own
consciences without any to molest or make afraid. The only time
that these men can be interfered with will be when their
religious acts interfere with the rights and liberties of their
fellowmen. Hear it, ye Latter-day Saints! When John Chinaman
comes in your midst, teach your children to respect him. When any
other man of any other creed, race or color takes his abode among
you, teach your children to respect this form of worship. And if
they go to the church of the Catholics or that of the
Presbyterians or of any other sect, teach them to behave
themselves and treat everybody with civility and kindness, and
that it is none of their business how these sects worship, teach
that they violate good order and good law when they in any way
make light of religious exercises. I would whip a boy for it
quicker than for anything else. That is the freedom I believe in;
that is the freedom I mean to teach to my children and to all men
so far as my voice and influence extend; that is the freedom I
mean to contend for and, as I have said hundreds of times to
leading men of this nation, I will, if necessary, take my sons
and make them swear that they will stand by and maintain this
liberty as long as they live and contend for it and teach their
children after them to contend for it also. I believe in the
fullest liberty upon these points. We have been accused of
exclusiveness. Our hearts have many times warmed towards
"Gentiles," as they are called. We have extended the arms of
kindness thousand and thousands of times to them, as our history
has proved. We have been full of that disposition. But how have
our advances been met? Let those in this tabernacle and those who
are familiar with such matters read the newspapers. I have had
people visit me at my house where every attention and courtesy
would be shown them, and they would leave and perhaps through
reading newspaper articles consisting of abominable lies, would
go away and betray those who had received and treated them kindly
and hospitably and so often has this been the case that I have
almost sworn I will never do it again. It is not because we have
unkind feelings. The time will come when we will have power; at
present we are in the minority, and it pays for scribblers to
write about us and hold us up to ridicule. But suppose the
Latter-day Saints had control; suppose their ideas were
fulfilled, that is, that we, as it is destined we shall be, were
the people who uphold Constitutional government upon this
continent, who restored the government to its primitive condition
when all the political parties shall have fallen into chaos;
would we feel at liberty to say that none but the Latter-day
Saints should be elected to offices of trust and responsibility?
No. Joseph Smith set the pattern; he taught the brethren who were
with him better ideas; you well-informed Latter-day Saints know
that there are two powers which God has restored in these the
last days. One is the Church of God, the other the Kingdom of
God. A man may belong to the Kingdom of God and yet not be a
member of the Church of God. In the Kingdom of God, using it in a
political sense, there may be heathens and Pagans and Mahommedans
and Latter-day Saints and Presbyterians and Episcopalians and
Catholics and men of every creed. Will they legislate for the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints alone? Will the laws
that they enact protect us alone and not protect others? No. Why?
Because God is the Father of the Latter-day Saints as well as of
every human being; God is the father of all, is the father of the
Chinaman, the Hindoo, the African, the European, the American; is
the Father of all the races of men and of every creed and
nationality. When he establishes his kingdom it will protect all
in their equal rights; I as a Latter-day Saint, will not have
power to trample on my fellow-man who may not be orthodox in my
opinion, because I am a Latter-day Saint; nor will my fellow-man
to whom I am heterodox, have the power to trample upon me. Does
not that look right? That is the kind of kingdom we have to
contend for; that is the kind of kingdom we have to establish,
and it is already provided for in the Constitution give unto us
by God, and through the glorious labors of the fathers who aid
the foundation of this government, who were inspired and raised
by our Almighty Father for this express purpose. There is no
liberty that a human being can desire, neither is there a right
that can be exercised properly, that we do not have under the
Constitution of our land. It needs no amendment about it; it is
broad enough, if interpreted in its true spirit, to cover the
individual, the continent, and the entire globe and furnish
freedom for all.
205
Now, Latter-day Saints, if you have had narrow views I will tell
you to put them aside. I do not mean by this you must take
everybody into your houses. There is the difference. I have seen
President Young scores of times acting upon the spirit to which I
have alluded. He has invited strangers to our social parties and
houses and extended courtesies to them because it was wisdom to
do so. But a great many of the Latter-day Saints are so ignorant
upon these points that they do not know when to stop. There are
some so ignorant that they would in the spirit of kindness let a
man come into their homes and become so familiar that he would
try to lead astray some member of their family. Can you not see
that these are acts of folly, that we are not required, because
of the liberality we should cherish and cultivate, to throw down
every barrier and allow vice to stalk through our cities and
enter into our family circles to pollute the purity that should
prevail there. Can you not see, Latter-day Saints, however young,
however uninformed you may be, can you not see that to allow this
liberty would be wrong? Therefore we ought to discriminate.
Nowhere in good society has a man the entree without proper
introduction. If a stranger were to come to me bearing lines of
introduction from a friend of mine, I would, if necessary, go
with him to the bank and endorse a note for him, because I would
be perfectly secure in doing so. But supposing a stranger were to
come to me for the same favor, without an introduction, I would
not be under the slightest obligation to do as he wished, though
I might do so as an act of charity, but of course under such
circumstances I should not be expected to do more than this. And
if I were to go among strangers I would not think of attempting
to push myself among the people without proper introduction. I
have gone in their midst many times, but have never been a sharer
of their kindness and confidence only as such confidence was
established by acquaintance. So in our midst; a man can come
properly recommended, he is at home. He can have time enough to
establish his name and to show to the people what kind of man he
is. Then he will be received as he should be, having that respect
shown to him that is due.
205
I have talked a great deal more than I intended. I hope what I
have said may be blessed to your profit. If I have said any
unwise thing, forget it. If I have said any improper thing, I
hope it will pass from your minds, and that which is good, cling
to you. Cleave to virtue, to purity, to everything that is good,
that will elevate you and make you a better people. Above all let
me say to you, let us get rid of old traditions as fast as we
can, and learn from the Lord, and be taught by his holy spirit.
That God may grant this is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / C. W.
Stayner, May 25th, 1879
C. W. Stayner, May 25th, 1879
DISCOURSE BY ELDER C. W. STAYNER,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon
May 25th, 1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
FATES OF THE ANCIENT APOSTLES--WORSHIP OF THE TRUE GOD--HIS
CREATIONS AND HANDIWORK--PROPHECY.
208
In rising to address the congregation this afternoon, a brief
passage of Scripture is suggested to my mind, as the basis for
such remarks as I may make. It is the latter part of the seventh
verse of the fourteenth chapter of the Book of Revelation, and
reads as follows: "and worship him that made heaven and earth,
and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Believing with the
ancient Apostles that no prophecy of scripture is of any private
interpretation; but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by
the Holy Ghost," and that "all scriptures were written for our
profit and learning that we through faith in them, might have
hope." I am firmly convinced that the words of the text have a
profound significance; for although it is acknowledged that the
sacred writings contain the most sublime language, and furnish
the most poetic quotations, still I do not believe that those
holy men sought to round off their sentences, simply for the sake
of the music they would afford to the ear of the reader; but that
beneath all the poetry and sublimity of the language, there is a
beautiful meaning to every sentence recorded, involving the most
important truths for the benefit of mankind. In order to reach
clearly the correct significance of the passage we have read, let
us first consider by whom it was uttered, and inquire into the
circumstances under which it was recorded. History tells us that
the venerable Apostle John who wrote the Book of Revelation, was
sentenced by the Emperor Domitian of the Roman Empire, to be
scalded to death in a cauldron of boiling oil; that this cruel
sentence was carried out as fully as it was in the power of men
to execute it. The cauldron of oil was heated to boiling heat,
and the great apostle was submerged in the scalding fluid, but
through Divine interposition he was delivered like Daniel from
the "lion's den," and Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego from the
"fiery furnace," by the power of that God, whom he served and
obeyed; so that he suffered no harm and simply looked like he had
been anointed. The cruel Emperor was so enraged at this wonderful
deliverance, that he instantly sentenced the doomed Apostle to
banishment on the Isle of Patmos. While in exile inaccordance
with this sentence, St. John was made the happy recipient of the
most wonderful visions of things to come to pass in the future
history of the world. Enwrapped in heavenly vision he beheld,
among other important matters, an "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 then the words
of our text, "and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and
the sea, and the fountains of waters." Thus then we find this
text was the enunciation of an angel; and as the time when this
angel was to come is plainly shown to be at a most important
crisis of the world's history, "the hour of God's judgment," it
may well be supposed he did not waste time in poetic fancy or
simply the elegant rounding of periods, but that every word he
uttered carried with it a depth of meaning, and was in every way
calculated to impress those to whom he was sent, with the
importance of his message. What then was his reason for using
this particular language? Why did he not close without uttering
the last words? or why did he not call the attention of earth's
inhabitants to some other peculiarity of the Divine greatness?
First because it is customary with the Lord and his angelic
messengers to generally give some reason for the requirements
made by them; God is ever willing to show his children why we
should obey his commands, we find his doctrines reasonable; his
requirements reasonable, and his revelations reasonable; hence
the angel added by way of reasonable argument, "and worship him
that made heaven and earth, and the sea and the fountains of
waters." But why did he not call attention to some of the great
things in the unseen world; why not refer to the hosts of heaven
or the majestic glory of God, as he sat upon his throne; or any
others of the numerous existences that create joy or wonder
"behind the vail?" No doubt, because the angel could see
prophetically that when the time should arrive for him to deliver
his heavenly message, at the hour of God's judgment, the whole
world would have reached what may be called a scientific age, an
epoch of "materialism" a time when the universal scientific
thought would be centered on that which was material in its
character; and that people would be more devoted to searching out
the matters of the visible world, than the hidden mysteries that
lay beyond the vail. Hence he called attention to the things
which were most engrossing their thoughts. He saw that men would
reach as they have done, some conclusions concerning the
planetary bodies, and establish some theories, the correctness of
which has in certain instances been proved, as particularly shown
in the precision with which eclipses are predicted, that
frequently occur within a minute, and even a few seconds of the
time designated. Although men have discovered comparatively
little with regard to such matters, and even in our own solar
system are at a loss in some things, still enough has been
discovered to create wonderment and inquiry as to the origin of
the worlds that "roll upon their wings" in the firmament, and I
believe I shall be endorsed by the highest scientific authorities
when I say that they acknowledge the existence of a master
intelligence that organizes, sustains and controls the universe.
But who or what that power and intelligence is, they do not
comprehend, neither can they without he should reveal himself
unto them. But when the inquiry arises as to who is this
organizer? the voice of the angels comes ringing down the cycle
of time, "Worship God, who made the heavens," for, as the
Psalmist gives it, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the
firmament showeth his handiwork." How charming it is to
contemplate the beauty of the heavens, and then think of the
discoveries that have been made; concerning light, for instance.
How wonderful it is! To think that light, traveling, as
scientists assert, from the sun to the earth in eleven minutes, a
distance that would occupy a cannon ball twenty-five years in
transit; and yet, notwithstanding its velocity, it is so composed
as not to harm in the least degree the tenderest of animal or
vegetable substances; the minutest plant--the most delicate
flower is blessed by its influence, and not in the least injured
by the rapidity of its motion. How is this accomplished? By the
particles of which it is composed being so minute as not to offer
any resistance to the slightest substance. And yet a single
sunbeam, which no one can paint or define, looking so innocent
and colorless, is found to consist of seven colors, and will
penetrate the deepest darkness and reveal all existing objects in
their proper and actual form and color. The beneficial effects of
the sun's light cannot be too highly appreciated, and, in
contemplating its blessings we are constrained to "worship God
who made the heavens." Let us now consider the earth; take for
instance the atmosphere which we breathe and by which we are
sustained. We find it in a pure condition originally, but we
ascertain that it is rendered impure by being breathed. Through
passing through the lungs it becomes so highly carbonized that it
is unfit for our use; the large infusion of carbonic dioxide it
receives through the process of respiration, renders it poisonous
to men and animals; but strange to say it is then in the most
proper condition to nourish the life of the vegetable kingdom.
Plants thrive on it, and vegetation generally, receives its chief
nutriment from that impurity which animals could not endure.
Scientific experiment has proved that a sprig of mint placed in a
bottle of air rendered impure by respiration or putrefaction,
will so absorb the impurity, and nourish itself on the
unwholesome carbonic acid gas, as to again render the air
sufficiently pure to sustain human and animal life. Thus we find
that the atmosphere which would otherwise become unfit to sustain
our lives, is purified, and at the same time is enriching us
through the medium of the vegetable creation, from which we
derive much of our support and sustenance.
211
Then think of the richness of our fields, of the mineral wealth
in these huge mountains, of the beauties to be seen and studied
in the floral creation, of the grandeur of earth's scenery, and
the capacity of the soil to support its wonderful population,
think of what is on the earth's surface, and consider what is
discovered in its deepest recesses; and when the inquiry arises
as to the originator of these blessings, and men of science and
reflection ask who and what is the controlling power that bestows
and regulates all these things, the loud voice of the angel comes
down through the ages, "Worship God who made the earth!" Then
there is the mighty ocean that covers such a large portion of our
globe. Now, some people have thought that there was too great a
proportion of our earth covered by water; but scientific men, who
have thought deeply on this subject, declare that if there were
any less, there would not be sufficient to furnish moisture for
the fertilization of the land. Here, then, is an element
prepared, from which, through the action of the atmosphere, the
moisture is drawn up into the clouds, and, what is very
wonderful, it is not emptied out in torrents, to ravage and
destroy by its furious impetuosity, our fields and gardens, but
is carried in the clouds as they are gently wafted by the wind,
and beautifully distributed in grateful showers, to refresh and
nourish the crops of the husbandman. Then, again, see the
provision for preserving those large bodies of water, called
seas, so that they may not become putrid and malarious; they are
strongly supplied with salt, and thus turned into brine, which
preserves the water in a wholesome state. Upon the surface of the
seas are the vessels of the commercial world, laden with
treasure, and down in those almost unfathomable depths are found
endless varieties of the finny tribes, that delight to dwell
there, and are so useful to man. The sea is their home, from the
smallest specimen that floats near the surface, to the huge
leviathan that lashes the ocean in his fury. They are perfectly
adapted to live there, and the element is specially fitted to
supply their necessities. Then, too, beneath its surface we
discover beauteous and precious gems for the adornment of the
person; providing even for the pleasures and fashionable tastes
of "them that dwell on the earth." And when we ask what
intelligence and beneficent power has provided for our happiness,
we still hear the voice of the angel as he cries, "worship God
who made the sea!" There is still another branch of the subject
to which we must briefly refer, and that is the "fountains of
waters" What can be more delightful than a fountain, or spring of
pure water? Up in these glorious mountains which have inspired
the Saints with a love of liberty, we can see and hear the
rippling brook as it escapes from a bright, cold, pure spring in
the nook of a canon or the crevice of a rock! How is it formed
and sustained? We find that through the process of evaporation
before alluded to, moisture is drawn from the oceans and lakes up
into the clouds; some of these clouds pass over the mountains,
and deposit sheets of snow, and showers of rain in the canons and
on the mountain sides. These sink into the crevices between the
rocks, and here and there burst forth in bubbling springs of
fresh water which feed the rivulets and streams, and form the
creeks that descend to the land in the valleys, then pass into
rivers and finally return to the bosom of the oceans and lakes
from whence they came, there to be again preserved till again
evaporated. But one peculiarity we should notice here, and that
is, the water in these springs is fresh and sweet, although the
bodies of water from whence it is evaporated are salt. Here we
live on the borders of the Great Salt Lake, yet did you ever
notice any saline flavor to the springs and streams sustained by
the evaporations from the lake? No, and yet this is a body of
water having the strongest saline character in the world! What a
glorious provision to have pure fresh water in constant supply!
And how beautiful to contemplate, is the present fertility of
these valleys! When we look back to the time when those grand old
pioneers set their feet on this soil, and realize its past
barren, arid condition, we are led to thank God, "who made the
fountains of waters;" and we can see the literal fulfillment of
his word through the ancient prophets, that he would "turn the
dry ground into water springs," and "make pools in the desert;"
we see that "fountains of water" have sprung up in unexpected
places, to enable this dry and unpromising soil to yield and
equitable return for the toil of the laborer; and we can now say
that indeed the "Desert has been made to blossom as the rose." In
short it seems that "the heavens and the earth and the sea and
the fountains of waters" have formed a grand combination to
introduce their united evidences of the Divine existence,--and
the rich Divine dealings with mankind. Through the ages that are
past every method consistent with the perfection of omnipotence,
has been adopted to impress man with reverence for the Deity;
angels from the heavens declare the glory of God, and the music
of the spheres as they perform their wonderful course in the
firmament, invite our attention to his glorious handiwork; God
has written his being on the imperishable rocks, has recorded the
existence of Deity in the granite mountains and among "the
everlasting hills;" if we "go down into the depths of the sea, he
is there;" and at his bidding, "fountains of water" burst forth
in fertilizing streams, to nourish the barren soil that it may
bring forth its rich fruit for the sustenance of the Saints. Thus
the heavens in their glory, the earth with its rich blessings,
the seas upon which we ride, and the "fountains of waters" that
supply us with an element without which we could not live,
furnish us with a chain of material evidences, of the existence
and goodness of the Deity, that cannot be successfully denied.
But I would still fail in the performance of my duty this
afternoon, if I should close without touching upon the subject of
spiritual evidences that are furnished in such rich abundance
from the very commencement of the world's history to the time
when God revealed himself to Joseph Smith, a young boy of
fourteen or fifteen years of age, unskilled in the sciences, and
unlettered in the learning of the world. God revealed to him not
only the fact of Divine existence, but even how he became God;
that it was through living up to correct principles, and by
developing within himself every sublime sentiment that had its
origin in truth. He taught him how the people "who dwelt on the
earth" might also be thus exalted to be angels of God, and
finally Gods themselves; how they could scale the ladder of
intelligence step by step, till they finally overcame all evil,
and sat down at the right hand of the "majesty on high." Read and
consider the beautiful prophecies in the Book of Daniel! Read his
florid account of the wonderful visions given to him, of the
method he was commanded to adopt in order that he might be worthy
to receive them. How he was required to fast, "to eat no pleasant
food;" to subsist on flowers and other innocent kinds of
vegetation; and then ponder over his prophecies, and the
prophecies of angels recorded by him, especially concerning the
four beasts, which represented the four great kingdoms of the
world, Babylon, the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, the
Macedonian Empire, and the Roman power. Read his prophecies
concerning the last days; and compare them with the writings of
Gibbon and other historians whom while they denounced God and
religion, and declared the prophets were impostors, actually
recorded the most literal fulfillment of their glorious
predictions; and it will be found by those prophecies and their
recorded fulfillment, that Daniel and his colleagues were not
simply writers of poetry for the amusement of themselves and
their neighbors, but that they were ministers of God, chosen to
warn mankind of the great things that should come to pass on the
earth, long centuries after those prophets should be called
behind the vail. God has painted the history of the world in the
rich colors of prophecy, and mankind, under Divine Providence has
sculptured its fulfillment in the marble of history. The two
records are before us, and I am ashamed of the intelligence of
the nineteenth century when I think that scientific men, and
learned people can be induced to impute to those holy servants of
God other motives than the advancement of God's purposes in the
earth. But I do not condemn the caviller by any means, or consign
him to endless torments; no, I regard him as being of great use
and of infinite importance to society; he, acting like the
tempestuous elements, promotes a healthy condition of the
atmosphere, and stirs up the great ocean of thought; this leads
us to reflect and consider, and while investigating more closely
the works of God, we are apt to come to right conclusions and be
more firmly established in the principles of truth.
211
May God add his blessing, is my prayer in the name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 /
Charles W. Penrose, May 25th, 1879
Charles W. Penrose, May 25th, 1879
REMARKS BY ELDER C. W. PENROSE,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday
Afternoon
May 25th, 1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
DEFINITE IDEAS CONCERNING GOD--HOW TO WORSHIP HIM
ACCEPTABLY--RESTORATION OF THE GOSPEL--ITS PREPARATORY MISSION.
212
I have listened with a great deal of pleasure, my brethren and
sisters, to the remarks of Elders Stayner. There are a great many
arguments which might be adduced from the material universe to
establish the fact that a divine hand has formed the worlds; and
I think there are few people, even in this skeptical age, who
altogether repudiate the idea of a grand Creator of the universe.
This is called an age of infidelity. It is a fact that there is
very little real faith in God upon the earth. There is very
little knowledge concerning God in the world, and there are some
people who altogether repudiate the idea of the existence of a
God; but I believe they are in number very few indeed. But while
there are few who entirely reject the existence of Deity, there
are a great number of people in the world who have no definite
idea concerning God, concerning his ways, his dealings with
mankind, or concerning the right manner of worshipping him and of
learning from him.
213
In the text which Elder Stayner has read this afternoon, and from
which he has made some very excellent remarks, the command is
given "to worship Him that made heaven and earth, and the sea,
and the fountains of water." In the explanation which has been
given to us it has been made clear that the words which have been
read in our hearing were to be uttered by an angel of God; they
were to be spoken at a period in the worlds history, some time in
the future of the day in which the Apostle John saw the vision
referred to. In the 4th chapter of the same book (Revelations),
and the first verse, you will find that having seen a number of
events portrayed before this mind, John says: "After this I
looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first
voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me,
which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which
must be hereafter." All we read in that Book of Revelations,
after the first verse of the 4th chapter, describes events to
transpire after these things were seen. And if we take the
trouble to read the whole of that book, we will find that John
was shown the dealings of God with man, age after age, down until
the time that this angel should come to the earth. Says the
Apostle: "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 waters." (Rev.
xiv., 6, 7.) According to this prediction, just before the hour
of God's judgment--that time which all the prophets of God have
foreseen and prophesied of, just before the grand consummation,
just before the time when the Lord should come to judge the quick
and the dead--this angel was to come to the earth with the
everlasting Gospel; and that Gospel was to be preached to every
nation, and kindred, and tongue and people. Now, what does that
pre-suppose? To every reasonable mind, that the people of every
nation, and kindred, and tongue upon the face of the earth were
destitute of that Gospel. For, if the Gospel was already there,
already preached by any nation, kindred, or people, there would
be no need for the angel to reveal it anew to mankind. And
further, if there were people living upon the earth who did
worship God aright--that is, the true and living God, not the God
of the heathen, not the God of men's imagination, but the God
that made the heaven and the earth, the sea and the fountains of
waters--if people dwelling upon the earth were already
worshipping that God aright, there would be no need of a heavenly
messenger to leave the courts of glory to come to the earth to
call upon them to do so.
213
Now this may be a rather startling declaration to make in the
face of all Christendom, in the face of the hundreds and
thousands of Christian ministers of the various Christian
denominations, who spend their time, their talents and ability in
preaching what they call and perhaps believe to be the
everlasting Gospel; and in the face of the millions of the earth
who think they do worship God and give glory to that Being who
make the earth, and the seas, and the fountains of waters. But
here is the text, here is the language of Scripture given by
inspiration. We must believe the declaration to be divine, or not
believe it at all. The Apostle John saw in the vision that at a
certain time the angel was to come again to earth and reveal, or
restore anew the everlasting Gospel, the true Gospel, by which
alone man can receive a fulness of salvation in the presence of
God the Father.
214
There are millions of people living to-day upon the face of the
earth who believe that a divine hand formed this world, and that
he is also the Creator of the universe; but they know nothing
certain about that Being. Notwithstanding the boasted knowledge
and intelligence of the 19th century, the world today know
nothing concerning this divine Being. While most of them admit
the fact of his existence, yet at the same time he is to them as
he was to the Ephesians to whom Paul preached on a certain
occasion--an "unknown God." If this is not the case who is there
that can tell us anything about him? what he is like? where he
dwells? what are his purposes with regard to the people of the
present age? which is the right way to approach him that we may
learn to know him for ourselves?
214
We read in the Scriptures that in olden times men communed with
this divine Being, that he walked and talked with men in the
flesh, and revealed himself to them. But he is neither seen nor
heard of men to-day, and what is even worse, none seem to know
how to approach him to learn of him as his servants did in
earlier times. But some will say, "We have no need of such
communications now, for we have the writings of these men; they
approached him, and they have written books containing his words
which have been handed down to us; we have no need to approach
God as they did." But who can tell us how to read this Bible
aright? These people who say they have no need of revelation do
not agree as to what those prophets meant when they wrote these
things. Take the minister of one Christian denomination, for
instance, and get him into conversation with a minister from
another Christian denomination, each of these men of course
professing to believe that the Bible is a divine record given to
us for our guidance in spiritual things; and in a very short time
you will get them into a quarrel. Take half a dozen men from half
a dozen Christian denominations, each professing to be called of
God to explain his word, and you will find that all of them have
different views and ideas concerning that which the prophets
wrote. Ask any one of these Christian ministers to tell you
anything about God, and after exhausting his store of language in
trying to do so he will wind up thus: "God is incomprehensible."
There is an attempt to describe God in the Episcopalian
prayer-book. We are told in that book, which contains the
articles of the faith of that body of people, that God is three
and yet he is only one; that there are three distinct personages
in the Godhead, yet only one personage, and that this being is
without body, without parts and without passions. Here, then, we
have an imaginary being composed of three parts, who yet is only
one without any parts. We are told further that one of these
bodiless, passionless beings without parts had a body, and that
he was a man in all points as we are, possessing like passions,
but that he sinned not. This is a strange attempt at description
of a divine Being. I do not wish to take up the time in further
reference to these absurdities, you can read them in the
Athenasian creed, and in the thirty-nine articles which all
Episcopal ministers must subscribe to before they can receive
"holy orders."
215
We read in the Bible: "For a man indeed ought not to cover his
head (when he prayeth), forasmuch as he is the image and the
glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man." (1 Cor.,
xi, 7) According to the Scriptures, when you see a perfect man,
as far as man can be perfect in this imperfect condition which we
now occupy, we see a being in the image of Deity. When Jesus
Christ, who died that we might live, appeared on the earth, we
are told that he was "the image of the invisible God," and "the
express image of his (the Father's) person." So much indeed, was
he like his Father, that when one of his disciples asked him to
show them the Father, he answered him saying, "He that hath seen
me hath seen the Father;" giving us to understand that the Son
inherited the likeness of his Father. Some read it to signify
that he was the same person; but the Savior says again, "My
Father is greater than I." The words of Jesus to Mary in the
garden are significant on this point: "Go to my brethren and say
to them, I ascend unto my Father, and you Father, and to my God
and your God." And at the baptism of the Savior we find that the
Holy Ghost descended upon him, and that the voice of the Father
was heard out of heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son in whom
I am well pleased;" showing that there were three distinct
substances--the Son coming up out of the water, the Father
speaking from heaven and the Holy Ghost descending.
216
In regard to this divine Being. The Son is the first born in the
spirit, the only begotten in the flesh, sent into the world to
die for the sins of the world. How can the people of the earth
learn anything concerning him? and which is the right way to
worship him? Says the Catholic minister, "Here is the way, the
only way." "No," says the Episcopal minister, "here is the way."
Says the Methodist, "No, you are both wrong, we have the true
way." Against these assertions the Baptist minister enters his
protest, saying "All these are wrong, ours is the way." And so
with all the various sects and parties that exist upon the earth.
Let us bear in mind now that the angel spoken of by John was to
come from heaven and call upon every nation and tongue to worship
this Being, the true and living God. And not only call upon them
to do so, but to bring the everlasting Gospel, by which man can
learn of God and walk in his ways. And it is very evident what
they would do, from the predictions of other prophets. We read in
the writings of Isaiah, also in the writings of Micah, that in
the last days there should come a people from all the nations of
the earth, who should gather together in the tops of the
mountains to learn of the ways of God and to walk in his paths.
It seems, then, that the angel was not to bring his message for
nought; here was to be a people among all these nations who would
receive the message and who would respond to it; and in
consequence of that response they would leave their homes and
would come from the East and from the West, and God would "say to
the North, Give up, and to the South, Keep not back, bring my
sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth." And
they would go up to the mountain of the Lord to be taught in his
ways and to walk in his paths; that they might be prepared for
the day when the "law of God would go forth from Zion and the
word of the Lord from Jerusalem." And the work was to continue;
for according to another prophet, the time shall come when "they
shall teach no more every man his neighbor, saying, Know ye the
Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the
greatest of them, saith the Lord." How shall this be brought
about? "And they shall be all taught of God." The Lord is to
teach them; they are not to be taught by the enticing words of
man's wisdom, but as God spake to the people in olden times, so
he is to speak to them in the latter times. He said he would
raise up shepherds after his own heart, who should "feed them
with knowledge and understanding;" not with speculative ideas,
notions springing from their own minds, but with the truth from
the true and living God, sent down from on high. Jesus, when upon
the earth, made a remark very pertinent to this point; said he:
"And no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any
man the Father but the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will
reveal him." The inhabitants of the earth will never come to a
knowledge of the true God, they will never know how to approach
him, they will never know how to obtain knowledge and
intelligence from him, unless they walk in the way his Son shall
point out. He stands between us and the Father; he is the
First-born, the Mediator, chosen from the creation of the world.
He performed the work on the earth which he was sent to do. "Thou
hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, even
thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy
fellows." He stands as a Mediator between God and man. When we
approach God we must do it through the Son. Who can tell us how?
We hear the cry, "Come to Jesus," in every camp meeting. We are
told by the preachers of every Christian denomination to "come to
Jesus." But how are we to come? The ways pointed out are
different and various. I am reminded right here of a saying of
the Prophet Jeremiah: "Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways,
and see and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and
walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they
said, We will not walk therein." "The old path," what is that?
The everlasting Gospel which the angel was to bring. "Enter ye in
at the straight gate," says the Savior; "for wide is the gate,
and broad is the way, that leadest to destruction, and many there
be which go in thereat: because straight is the gate, and narrow
is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find
it." There is but one way into the sheepfold; he that climbs up
any other way will be accounted as "a thief and a robber." The
angel was to bring the old way; that those who walk therein might
find rest for their souls; but it appears the great bulk of the
people would say, "We will not walk therein."
217
I bear my testimony to this congregation, that in the times in
which we live, which are just preceding the coming of the Son of
man in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory, to
accomplish all things spoken of, God, the Eternal Father, has
spoken from the heavens by his own voice, revealing his Son, and
has sent holy angels committing the everlasting Gospel to men who
have been commissioned and ordained of God to go to all the world
to preach it as a witness before the end comes. I bear my
testimony that as soon as that Gospel reached my ears in a
distant land, I received it and obeyed it. That is, believing in
the truth thereof, I repented sincerely of my sins before God,
and went humbly and submitted to the ordinance of baptism for the
remission of sins, receiving that ordinance from men ordained of
God to preach this Gospel. That having been buried in the water
in the likeness of the death of Christ, and raised again in the
likeness of his resurrection, I received a witness from God that
my sins were remitted. I bear my testimony this afternoon before
God and angels, and before this congregation, that I received a
remission of my sins, through the atonement of the Lord Jesus
Christ, in obedience to his ordinances. The hands of the servants
of God were laid upon my head, and I received the Holy
Ghost--that same Spirit which God gave to the prophets that same
Spirit which rested upon John upon the Isle of Patmos, that same
Spirit by which holy men of old wrote and spoke as they were
moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and that Spirit is the same
yesterday, to-day and forever. It takes of the things of the
Father and makes them plain to the human mind; it makes things
past clear to the understanding of man, and it lifts upon the
curtain of futurity and shows things to come. It is the Spirit of
prophecy, the testimony of Jesus; it is the light of God to the
human soul. And as natural light discloses to the vision of men
the objects of the material universe, without which none can
discern them, so the Holy Ghost is the light of God which reveals
to the spirits of men the things of eternal life, and without
which men cannot understand the things of God. It is because of
the absence of this divine light that the world lies in darkness
in regard to their Father and God; this is why men,
notwithstanding their learning, their scientific discoveries in
the material universe, cannot comprehend the things of God. Man
by searching cannot find out God. He can reveal himself to
mankind, but must do it through the Son, and obedience to the
Gospel of his Son is the only way of salvation. There is no
other, and no name given under heaven whereby man can be saved
but the name of Jesus Christ. A mere form of worship avails
nothing; we must obey the commandments. "Not every one that
sayeth to me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven,
but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven." This
Gospel is restored to the earth, and everybody may know it for
themselves. We are not dependent upon the words of Joseph Smith;
we need not depend upon the Twelve Apostles who received their
ordination under his hand. Every man and every woman and every
child who have come to years of accountability can receive direct
from the Lord, direct from the fountain of their being, a
testimony by which they may know that he lives, that they are
walking in his ways, and learn how they can approach him
acceptably.
218
Some people may think that it does not matter how people worship,
that God will accept of their worship, anyhow. But from what we
read of His dealings in the Bible, we find it a matter of the
greatest importance. Abel, for instance, offered to the Lord that
which God commanded; Cain offered what he pleased to give. Abel's
offering was accepted, Cain's was rejected. Cain slew Abel in
consequence, and the spirit manifested by him has been
perpetuated to this day. God has marked out the way by which he
may be worshipped. He has ordained certain ordinances through
which certain blessings are to come; and the blessings of God
will not come except by means of the ordinances. Those who obey
these in the way that God has ordained invariably receive the
blessings; for spiritual laws are as fixed and unchangeable as
are the laws of the material universe. No man expects to reap
oats from sowing wheat. That which a man soweth, that will he
also reap. If he sow to the flesh, of the flesh he may expect to
reap corruption; if to the spirit, of the spirit life
everlasting. By walking in the way that God has ordained every
man can know and receive for himself the testimony promised. And
this people who are here inhabiting these valleys of the
mountains knew for themselves before they left their homes in the
old world, that they had received and obeyed the Gospel brought
from the heavens by means of the angel described by the Apostle
John, it was in obedience to the requirements of that Gospel that
they left their homes to come here to learn more of his ways, to
walk more perfectly in his paths, and to prepare themselves for
the great day of the Lord that is nigh at hand. This Gospel is
sent to prepare the way before his coming, to be preached "as a
witness" that all mankind may know that God has sent it. How
about the people who will not hearken unto it? They feel as Cain
did when he learned that his offering was not acceptable--he
desired to slay Abel; and this is the feeling that has been
manifested towards the Latter-day Saints from the beginning. We
have come out of the world, and the world hates us, and many seek
to destroy us. What harm are we doing to the people of the earth?
We have come away from them; we have sought the wilds of this
once desert country that we might worship God according to the
dictates of conscience, and we are here trying to serve him with
all our hearts. We have many imperfections, but we are trying to
obey the Lord in his appointed way; and because we have accepted
this way, the way ordained of God, those who will not walk
therein are stirred up to anger against us; they circulate all
manner of evil reports concerning us and like the ancient Saints
we are "everywhere spoken against." They endeavor to stir up
strife in our midst, and failing to divide us they gnash their
teeth in anger, seeking to bring all kinds of evil upon us. But
God will rule and over-rule for the good of His people, and
accomplish His ends and purposes.
218
In the midst of these trials we recognize the hand of God, as we
see it in relation to the material elements which have been
referred to this afternoon; just as much as we understand that
there is a controlling hand which guides the destinies of the
earth, which formed the planets, which put them in motion and
arranged them in such perfect order that one world should not
rush against another, and causing the whole universe in all its
beautiful variety and adaptation to move in perfect order and
harmony; as we recognize the Divine hand in these material
things, the physical objects of the universe, so we can recognize
it in spiritual things. We acknowledge God in all things; we know
that he lives, that in him we move and have our being, that he is
the same yesterday, to-day and forever, that he changeth not;
that he communes with his children today as he did five or six
thousand years ago. The God of Abraham is the God of the
Latter-day Saints. As he guided and directed him and delivered
him from his enemies, so the Almighty's hand has been and is over
us, and will continue to guide and deliver us, inasmuch as we
continue to carry on his work.
219
Now I say that all people may receive these blessings if they
will walk in the narrow way. But they must believe in Christ, and
repent of their sins by putting them away; they must be baptized
in a proper way; they must receive the Holy Ghost by the laying
on of hands of men ordained and authorized of God, which Spirit
will bring them en rapport with the Lord; and then if they will
seek the interests of his kingdom they have a claim upon his
blessings, and in proportion to their righteousness before God,
so shall their communion be. But although they are baptized and
confirmed members of the body of Christ, yet, unless they
continue to walk before God, continue to be taught of him,
continue to obey the divine word, they will not enjoy much
communion with the Father. But if they strive to "live by every
word that comes from the mouth of God," their minds will become
more enlightened, the Holy Ghost will increase within them and
their path will grow brighter and brighter, even to the perfect
day. God will speak by his Spirit direct to their hearts; and
when he reveals anything through his appointed servants, every
word will find an echo in the hearts of those who have received
this Spirit, and the people will see eye to eye, for they will
become united as one, as a band of brethren and sisters, to roll
forth the purposes of God, to prepare the way for the feet of the
Lord Jesus.
219
I bear my testimony to what has been said by Brother Stayner and
the Gospel of Jesus Christ which the angel has brought, and pray
God to bless this congregation, that all who are here, may be
able to learn of him and walk in the good old way, that they may
know how to worship and obey the true and living God, even him
who made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the
fountains of waters, and finally come into his presence and be
crowned with a fullness of his glory. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / John
Taylor, December 15, 1878
John Taylor, December 15, 1878
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered at the 17th Ward Meeting House, on Sunday Afternoon,
December 15, 1878.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
ALL INTELLIGENCE COMES FROM GOD--LIFE AND IMMORTALITY BROUGHT
TO LIGHT THROUGH THE GOSPEL--GATHERING--TEMPLE-BUILDING--THE
ELDERS MESSENGERS OF SALVATION TO THE NATIONS.
219
We meet together from time to time to attend to the worship of
the Almighty, because we think it is proper for us to pay due
respect unto the Lord God, our heavenly Father; we assemble
ourselves for the purpose of praying to him, of singing his
praises, of speaking of principles, doctrines, ordinances and
other matters in which we are individually and collectively
interested, all of which is more or less connected with the
worship of our God.
221
There is something associated with our religious views that
differs materially from those of many others. The Lord has
revealed unto us his will, or law; he has given unto us a
knowledge of the principles of truth and righteousness; and he is
seeking by the means he has appointed--the medium of the
everlasting Gospel, to prepare us for the events that will
necessarily take place in a short time, and to enable us to
introduce among men those pure, holy and heavenly principles
which exist with the Gods in the eternal worlds, and to
prepareus, through the medium of the Gospel, to operate with him
and with the holy priesthood that has existed in former ages, in
the development of the purposes of God upon the earth. It is a
great and important work in which we are engaged, and we need
continually the direction and the guidance of the Almighty; for
it stands to reason, when we reflect upon it, that no man, as is
spoken of in the Scriptures, can know the things of God unless
they are revealed to him by the Spirit of God. We talk of these
things sometimes rather flippantly, and probably, in many
instances without due reflection. But when we look upon man as he
is organized, and the limit and bounds of his intelligence, and
then reflect upon the position that he sustains to the Almighty,
we shall find that there is nothing very mysterious in these
remarks, but that there is a great amount of truth and reason
associated therewith. For instance, men know very little about
themselves, or about the things of man or how to control their
passions and habits and the various evils with which they are
surrounded and have to combat. They know very little about the
true condition of man and his relation to God, to the world, to
the past, present, or future, as is evidenced by the position of
the world everywhere wherever we turn our attention. We are
beginning to find out some few things in relation to the laws of
nature and the earth on which we dwell, but our knowledge of
these things is very small comparatively, and yet we boast
sometimes quite freely of our intelligence. But when we reflect
on our true position, we know very little in reality even about
the world in which we live, or about the properties of matter or
the elements with which we are surrounded; and yet a few years
ago the world knew much less than we know to-day. I can remember
the time very well when there was no such thing as steamboats. I
remember sailing across the Atlantic more times than one when no
such thing as a steamboat was used for that purpose. I remember
the time, too, when there were no such things as locomotives or
railroads; and many of you know very well how it was in regard to
the telegraph, the photograph and a great many other things. They
are simply certain principles that exist in the laws of nature
that have been unveiled to us; but there are thousands of other
things that we know very little about. And then what do we know
about the future? What do we know about the heavens that are
above us? We can get some scanty ideas and we boast very much of
them, but really there is not very much to boast of when we
reflect upon these things. These things are simple principles
that we have become acquainted with through study and research by
chemical analysis and the development of eternal laws. We are
simply becoming acquainted with some of the principles that exist
in nature. The question necessarily arises, who placed those
principles there? Who organized this earth on which we dwell and
man upon it and all creation as it exists? Some superior
intelligence, or power--we call it the power of God. "By faith we
understand that the worlds were made by the power of God, so that
things which are now seen were not made of things that do
appear." There is not a particle of the human system but what is
full of intelligence and displays forethought, prescience,
design, skill and creative power; and everything bespeaks the
handiwork of a wise, intelligent, omnipotent Creator, or God.
When a little boy I used to ask myself, Who am I? Where did I
come from? What am I doing here? And why am I here? etc. These
things still puzzle us, at least many of them do, yet these are
thoughts we cannot help reflecting upon. We see children born
into the world, and we see spring and summer, autumn and winter
follow each other in regular succession, and we ask ourselves, By
what power were these things brought about? Why are we here, and
what is the object of all these things which we see around us?
not to say anything about the worlds with which we are environed.
For speaking of ourselves, we are only a speck in creation; there
is nothing to or of us scarcely, or in the world we inhabit, in
comparison to the myriads of worlds with which we are surrounded.
222
Now we frequently want to know the object of our existence and
why we are here; and the Saints will still go a little further by
asking, Why have we to battle with the affairs of this world, and
to struggle, to be tried and tempted? And we go still further and
ask, when we see our friends pass away from this state of
existence one after another, and the body that was once full of
life, animation and vitality now lying helpless and void of life,
and our minds reach back into the years that are past and we
think of the thousands of millions, yea, of myriads who have
inhabited this earth and who have gone into another state of
existence, and we are led to ask ourselves, Why is it thus? And
we are led to ask ourselves further, Why are we thus situated?
And why should we thus come into life, have an existence and then
fade and decay? And it is proper that we should have such
thoughts and such reflections. Who can unravel these things? Who
can tell us upon natural principles the meaning of this strange
phenomena, the whys and wherefores in relation to these matters?
Nobody. We have peculiar feelings and sensations in common with
all men in regard to the future. But what are the views, ideas
and feelings of men generally in relation to these matters? And
if they have views, what is the source of their intelligence?
What scientist philosopher, or divine can unravel to us many of
these mysterious principles which we see every day exhibited
before us? It is very difficult for man to comprehend, and
nothing as I said before, but the Spirit which organized the
creations of God can reveal those principles and give us a
knowledge of that fitness of things as they exist in the mind of
the Creator, of our relationship to God and to each other and the
world in which we exist and the worlds that are to come. Nothing
but superhuman intelligence, even the inspiration of the
Almighty, can reveal these things. We have ten thousand ideas,
notions and feelings; the world is full of ever kind of theory in
relation to these matters. But what does it amount to? We may
theorize as much as we please, but unless we receive some
communication from the beings possessing intelligence superior to
anything mortal, that are associated with these vast creations
and know something of their origin and object, what can we know?
We need communication with and revelation from God enlightening
us thereon, or we shall still be in the dark and know nothing
concerning the future and many things of the present and past.
Some of our poets in rather beautiful metaphor point us to some
place "beyond the bounds of time and space," where we are to look
forward to a heavenly place, the Saint's secure abode. There is
something very pleasing about such reflections, but at the same
time there is something very foolish. I do not know how or upon
what principle we are to get beyond the bounds of time and space;
it is beyond my comprehension, and I very much question whether
the person who wrote it could; in fact I know he could not. We
sing sometimes, too, about "singing ourselves away to everlasting
bliss." What is this and were is it? How shall we enjoy it and
under what circumstances? Certainly those who talk about these
things display no intelligence. We can never comprehend anything
about these things but by the revelations of God either made
directly to us or to us through others.
224
Now we Latter-day Saints are indebted--I was going to say to
Joseph Smith, for what knowledge we have; but this would not be
strictly true, for we are not indebted to him or any other man
for the knowledge we possess; we are indebted to the Lord, and
the Prophet Joseph was made use of by him as the medium to
reveal, in the midst of the chaotic mass that existed in the
world, the principles of life, light and intelligence and the
laws by which the Gods are governed in the eternal worlds, to
teach us what course we should pursue, that we might act wisely,
prudently and intelligently, and comprehend the position we
occupy here upon the earth, and the relationship that subsists
between man and his Maker, and that we might understand things
pertaining to the future as well as things pertaining to the
present. And the religion we have had unfolded to us is to
prepare us to take part in these things both in this world and
the world to come; to teach us how to approach our Maker and to
get further knowledge of his laws and the principles of truth
that have been revealed to us. The world generally treat these
things very lightly. The reason is they do not comprehend them,
and therein lies the difficulty. And we only know them in part
and see them in part and comprehend them in part; but without
communion with the Almighty we certainly should not have
understood anything at all about these things. There is something
very peculiar in the world and we as well as others are sometimes
apt to be quite narrow and contracted in our ideas pertaining to
the world in which we live and the people with whom we are
surrounded. We are told that "the manifestation of the Spirit is
given to every man to profit withal." And I would state further
that all true intelligence which men possess in regard to the
laws, nature and their operations, as well as any moral,
scientific or philosophical ideas we may form that are correct
proceed from the same source, whether acknowledged by men or not.
And furthermore, whatever correct religious ideas that the world
possess in relation to the future state, proceed from that
portion of the Spirit that is given to every man to profit
withal--not unto us only, but to every man, and to the influence
of that Spirit all men are indebted for the degree of honor and
integrity that exists among men. It is true there is very little
comparatively, but for the amount there is they are indebted to
God just as much as we are. The Apostle Paul, on a certain
occasion, said that God had not left himself without witness.
This is a general principle that exists everywhere and among all
mankind. But there is another principle which is separate and
distinct from that, and that is the principle that brings men
into closer communion with the Almighty. And what is that? It is
the Spirit of the Lord in a more eminent degree, and is called in
the Scriptures the Holy Ghost. How do men obtain that? Through a
certain medium that God has appointed, viz., by faith,
repentance, baptism administered by proper authority and laying
on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. Now the Lord has had
his "witness" upon the earth in different ages of time. When he
has had this witness the Gospel has generally been associated
therewith; it is a part and parcel of the great programme. There
is a very foolish idea prevailing in the world, that there was no
such thing as the Gospel until Jesus came. It is the greatest
folly in creation. No Gospel until Jesus introduced it! Say you,
"Do not the Scriptures say that life and immortality are brought
about through the Gospel?" Yes. "And did not Jesus introduce the
Gospel?" Yes. "Well, then, if he came and introduced the Gospel,
why do you say that they had the Gospel before?" They always had
the Gospel whenever men had a knowledge of God. It is the Gospel
that brings life and immortality to light; it is the Gospel that
places man in a position to obtain a just knowledge of God and of
the eternities to come, of their position on the earth, and of
their position as it will be hereafter. It is that very principle
that brings, as we are told, life and immortality to light. And
if you will trace out the records of either the Book of Mormon or
the Bible or those of any people that have lived upon the earth,
and anywhere a people that had a knowledge of life and
immortality, then I will point you out a people that had the
Gospel. It was through that principle that men before the flood
had a knowledge of God and had communication with him. It was
through that that Enoch understood the principles of heaven, and
applied those to his position, and it was by that power and
through that principle that he, with the cities in which he
lived, was translated, as well as the thousands who lived then
and also after that time were translated; it was through the
principle and power of the Gospel that brings life and
immortality to light. It was through the same principle that Noah
was saved; he had communication with God, who revealed to him
what was coming on the earth and the results of it. God warned
him and prepared him and told him what to do and how to do it,
and he pursued the course given him, and he received his reward.
It was through that principle that Abraham comprehended God and
had revelation and communication with him, for without it he
would have known nothing about God. But he understood, through
the records of his fathers, of certain privileges that are
mentioned in his history--certain privileges pertaining to
himself and his progenitors, which he traced clear back to the
days of Adam, by which he learned that he was an heir to the holy
priesthood; and when he ascertained this he sought an ordination
from the Lord. And when he was persecuted for his faith he left
the land in which he lived, and he did so at the instance of the
Lord: "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and
from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee." And
the Lord greatly favored him and blessed him, and said unto him:
"I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth
thee; and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
Was that so? Yes, it has been fulfilled. Let us look at this for
a moment and see whether it has or not. Who were Isaac and Jacob?
Did they have communication with God? Yes. How did they obtain
it? Through the medium of the Gospel and through the promises
made to their father Abraham. And when Israel was in Egypt who
delivered them? Moses. And who was Moses? A descendant of
Abraham. Did he lead the people out of Egyptian bondage? Yes; God
manifested his power in their behalf. Did Moses have the Gospel?
Yes, and so did Abraham. The Apostle Paul says, in his epistle to
the Galatians, "that God foreseeing that he would justify the
heathen through faith, preached before the Gospel unto Abraham,
saying, in thee shall all nations be blessed." The Israelites had
the Gospel preached to them in the wilderness; but, as the
Apostle says in speaking of them, "The word preached did not
profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it."
But Moses did lead some of them into the presence of God--those
who were prepared to receive it; the others, when they heard the
thunders and saw the lightning and heard the voice of God, they
said unto Moses, "Speak thou unto us and we will hear; but let
not God speak with us, lest we die;" we are not prepared for this
glory, for this kind of manifestation which has been given unto
us.
225
Well, they were foolish; they departed from correct principles,
they violated the laws of God and therefore incurred his
displeasure, and his Spirit was withdrawn from them, and the
Gospel was taken from them and they were left under a law of
carnal commandments, and the law was given them as a
schoolmaster, we are told, until Christ came. And what did Christ
do? He restored the fulness of the Gospel that they had
forfeited, because of their former transgressions. What next? We
go to the promise made to Abraham, which was that in him and in
his seed all the families of the earth should be blessed. Moses,
as I have said was of his seed, and he was the deliverer of the
whole of that nation. And who were the prophets that existed
among ancient Israel? They were descendants of Abraham; and to
them came the word of God and the light of revelation. Who was
Jesus? After the flesh of the seed of Abraham. Who were his
Twelve Apostles? Of the seed of Abraham. Who were the people that
came to this continent--Lehi and his family, about 600 years B.
C.? Of the seed of Abraham. Who were the Apostles they had among
them that spread forth among the millions that then lived upon
this continent? Of the seed of Abraham. Who was Joseph Smith? Of
the seed of Abraham; and he, we are told, was to be the son of
Joseph, and should himself be called Joseph. And he was raised up
for what purpose? To injure or destroy mankind? No; but to bring
life and immortality to light through the Gospel. He, like other
prominent men of God, came in the fulness of times to do the work
which the Lord had appointed unto him, being called of God and
taught of God; and being thus taught he possessed an intelligence
second to none on the earth. He introduced principles, that no
philosopher, or scientist, or all the wisdom of this world
combined was capable of developing; neither was it possible for
anybody to bring to light such principles, unless through the
revelations of God--principles of truth, principles of
intelligence, principles which affect man in time and in
eternity; principles which affect the world in which we live;
principles which affect thousands and myriads that have lived
before; principles of salvation that extend to all nations and
all peoples living or dead, pertaining to time and pertaining to
eternity.
226
In what manner were these principles to be made known? How were
men to get acquainted with these things? By being brought into
communion with the Lord. And how was this to be done? Jesus, when
upon the earth, ordained and set apart others and told them to go
into all the world and preach the Gospel. What Gospel? That
Gospel that brings life and immortality to light; that Gospel
that brings men into communication with their Maker; that Gospel
that will show us who we are and what we are, and why we are
here, and the object of our existence, and what lies before us.
Jesus said to his disciples in his day, "Go ye into all the
world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall
be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe: in my
name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new
tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any
deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the
sick and they shall recover. And lo, I am with you always, even
unto the end of the world." Was he with them? Yes. How did they
preach? They called upon the people to repent and be baptized for
the remission of their sins, Who did? Men authorized of God and
commissioned of him, and not by somebody else. And what then? If
they did this, they should receive the Holy Ghost. And what
should that do for them? It should take of the things of God and
show them unto them; it should bring life and immortality to
light; it should place them in communication with the Lord; it
should enable them to comprehend principles that no man could
comprehend nor ever ought to comprehend, without the Spirit; it
should bring to their remembrance things that were past; it
should lead them into all truth, and it should show them things
to come. Was it so? Yes. Did they have that Spirit? Yes. The
spirit of prophecy? Yes, The spirit of revelation? Yes. Did they
have the ministry of angels? Yes. Was the vision of all truth
open to their mind? Yes. They comprehended the manifestations of
God until the winding up scene, and until the dead small and
great shall stand before God, and until this earth shall not only
be redeemed but become celestialized, and celestial beings
inhabit it. They understood these things and prophesied and wrote
about them. Is it so with our Gospel? Precisely the same. Have we
had these things communicated to us? We have. Have the Elders
been called upon to go forth to the nations of the earth to call
upon people to repent and be baptized as in former times? They
have. Have most of you heard this Gospel preached among the
different nations of the earth? You have. Have you received it?
Have you obeyed it? Yes. Did you receive the Holy Ghost
accompanying it? You did, and you know and can bear testimony of
it. It is the self-same Gospel: and why the same? Because it is
the everlasting Gospel, not something started eighteen hundred
years ago. Says John, "I saw another angel fly in the midst of
heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that
dwell on the earth etc." What Gospel? The everlasting Gospel; the
Gospel that existed with the Gods before this world rolled into
existence or the morning stars sang together for joy; the Gospel
that was preached to Adam and which he preached to his posterity;
the Gospel that was preached by Enoch and Noah, by Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob, and all the ancient prophets; the Gospel that was
preached by Jesus and his Disciples when he commanded them to go
and preach it to all nations; in fine, the Gospel that brings
life and immortality to light. It can be said of us as of them of
whom it was said, "Ye have been baptized into one baptism, and
have all partaken of the same spirit." Did they? Yes. It was not
many baptisms, it was not many faiths and many ideas and many
notions; but it was "one faith, one Lord and one baptism and one
God who is above all and through all and in you all."
227
There are a great many things associated with these principles in
which the children of men are very deeply interested and in which
more especially the Latter-day Saints are very, very deeply
interested. The Lord has gathered us from among the nations of
the earth, just as he told some of his ancient prophets, who
wrote it, that he would do. And one of them while wrapped in
prophetic vision gazed upon the purposes of Jehovah in relation
to this generation, and saw the people of God gathering together,
exclaimed: "Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves
to their windows?" and another says: "I will take you one of a
city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:" what
will you do with them when you get them there? "I will give you
pastors according to mine own heart, which shall feed you with
knowledge and understanding." "Saviors shall come upon Mount
Zion," says another, "and the kingdom shall be the Lord's." Very
peculiar expressions and very significant some of these remarks
are. Yet they were made by men when under the influence of the
Holy Ghost, the spirit of revelation which unfolded to their view
things that should transpire in the Latter-days which is
emphatically, what is called in the Scriptures, "The dispensation
of the fulness of times," when he would "gather together in one
all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on
earth; even in him." He would gather his people in one to
commence with, and hence our position to-day in these valleys of
the mountains. Why are we here? We came here because it was
according to the eternal purposes of God that we should gather
together; and because God has restored this principle among other
principles through the ministration of holy angels, and by the
manifestation of his power by the revelation of his will through
the ancient priesthood that existed upon the earth. And what made
us gather together? you could hardly tell, many of you, if I were
to ask you. I know very well that when you received this Gospel
in foreign lands you could not rest until you gathered to Zion;
and there was a correspondent feeling among the Saints here to
help to bring about these things. Before the railroad across the
plains was built, you used to send out your teams as many as five
hundred at a time. What made you do it? It was the spirit of the
gathering that associated itself with the latter-day
dispensation, if there were time I might tell you how peculiarly
some people were moved upon.
227
The Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery baptized each other.
Why? Because John the Baptist appeared and conferred upon them
this priesthood, and they went and administered in it. Why did
Joseph Smith and others lay hands upon men for the reception of
the Holy Ghost? because Peter, James and John, who held the keys
of the priesthood and of this Gospel in former days conferred
that power upon them and they operated in it. Why did the people
feel inclined to gather? because Moses who was at the head of the
gathering dispensation and to whom the keys of this dispensation
were given, came and conferred upon them the power to gather the
house of Israel and the ten tribes from their dispersion; and
when you received this Gospel you received this as a part. This
dispensation of the fulness of times embraces all other
dispensations that have ever existed upon the earth, with all
their powers. That is the reason you desired so to gather
together, and for these peculiar impulses which many of you could
not account for.
227
Why do we build temples? because Elijah appeared and conferred
the powers of his priesthood which were to "turn the heart of the
fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their
fathers." And why do you expend so much--even your enemies are
complaining because of the millions of dollars that are used in
the erection of temples. Why do you do it? Simply because God has
commanded us to do it and we know it and because the spirit
attending this peculiar work rests upon us until we feel its
impulses in our very bones. And is it a trouble to do it? No. We
feel a pleasure in it. And then when we build our temples we feel
a pleasure in administering in them, not only for ourselves but
for our fathers and mothers and those of our progenitors who have
died without the Gospel and then to help to save all that have
been worthy of salvation that have ever lived upon the earth. And
we have got to continue our labors in this direction, we have
only just commenced; and if this little thing troubles men all
the consolation I can give them is that they will be worse
troubled yet. If others know not what we are doing we do; we know
in whom we have believed, and consequently we operate in these
things.
227
Now then, what shall we do? Continue to do good; continue to live
our religion; continue to carry out the purposes of God; continue
to humble ourselves before the Lord and cultivate his Holy Spirit
that we may comprehend his laws and know his will concerning us.
You have received the Holy Ghost. Now I will tell you a piece of
instruction that Joseph Smith once gave me, and it wont hurt you.
Said he, "Elder Taylor, you have received the Holy Ghost: now
follow the leadings of that spirit; and if you do, by-and-by it
will become in you a principle of revelation that you will know
all things as they come along and understand what is right and
what is wrong in relation to them." That is just as applicable to
you if you can receive it and live up to it and enjoy it.
229
Well, what are we? We ought to be the Saints of God without
rebuke in the midst of a cooked and perverse generation. We ought
to be full of charity, of brotherly kindness and affection and
love one towards another and love towards all men. We ought to
feel as our heavenly Father does. What does he do? "He maketh his
sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the
just and on the unjust." He will save all men to such a degree of
salvation and exaltation as they are capable of receiving; but he
cannot bestow upon people what they are not prepared to receive.
There is a celestial glory and a terrestrial glory and a
telestial glory; "there is one glory of the sun, and another
glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star
differeth from another star in glory, so also is the resurrection
of the dead." But there is, we must bear in mind, a celestial
glory which is one, and there is a terrestrial glory which is
one, etc. And we want as Latter-day Saints to comprehend the
position we occupy; and while God has conferred many great and
precious privileges upon us, we want to appreciate them and honor
them. Are we Seventies? We ought to be full of light and life and
the power and spirit of the Living God and feel that we are
messengers to the nations of the earth; we ought to feel the word
of God burning like fire in our bones, feeling desirous to go and
snatch men from the powers of darkness and the chains of
corruption with which they are bound, and lead them in the paths
of life. We ought to be prepared to go forth weeping, bearing
precious seed that we might come back again rejoicing bringing
our sheaves with us. If we are High Priests, we ought to magnify
our calling in that portion of the priesthood and to prepare
ourselves for the duties and responsibilities that are devolving
upon us associated with that priesthood, that we may be prepared
according to the revelations we have received in regard to these
subjects, to preside over and among the different Stakes when
they shall be organized and to be prepared to operate in all
things according to the mind and will of God. If we are Elders we
should seek to magnify our calling in every particular, and put
away from us every evil and satisfy ourselves that we are
accepted of God, living so that it will be a pleasure as well as
a duty to carry out the will of God in all things. If we are
fathers, we should treat our children properly and train them in
the fear of God; we should treat our wives with mercy and
tenderness and with love; we ought to bear with their infirmities
and sustain them in the pathway of life, pour joy and happiness
into their bosoms, and help them to bear the struggles and
difficulties that they have to cope with. If we are wives, we
should try to make a heaven of our homes. And as children and as
parents and as Latter-day Saints and as Elders of Israel, we
should seek by the prayer of faith to fulfil the various duties
that devolve upon us, that we may honor our God, magnify our
calling and fill the measure of our creation here upon the earth,
and purge ourselves from all unrighteousness, and be full of
love, kindness, generosity and philanthropy, and also full of
honesty, of truthfulness and integrity, feeling in our hearts to
say, O God, search me and try me and prove me, and if there is
any evil in me, help me to purge it out from me, and help me to
honor and magnify my priesthood and every duty devolving upon me.
And as fathers and mothers we should never utter a word or do an
act that we should be shamed for God, or angels, or our children
to hear or see. And if we will do right and cherish and cultivate
the spirit of God to the extent that it can prevail and
predominate in our midst, we will see Zion arise and shine, and
the glory of God will rest upon her. God help us to do right and
preserve our purity, keep this laws and lead us in the paths of
life, that while we live upon the earth we may operate with him
in the salvation of the living and the dead, and be saved
ultimately in his celestial kingdom, having fought the good
fight, finished our course, and kept the faith. In the name of
Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 /
Aurelius Miner, May 11th, 1879
Aurelius Miner, May 11th, 1879
DISCOURSE BY ELDER AURELIUS MINER,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, on Sunday
May 11th, 1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST--ITS OBJECT, PRINCIPLES AND POWER.
230
The young brethren who have spoken this afternoon, and who have
so recently returned from missions to England, have told us
something about the Gospel they were sent to preach. By way of a
continuation of the remarks which have already been made, I
propose to ask this question: "What is the Gospel?" The Apostle
Paul declares the answer in the following language: "It is the
power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth."
Believeth what? Believeth that God is; that Jesus Christ died and
rose again, and opened the way, provided the means and devised
the plan whereby man may be delivered from the power of evil.
This Gospel, then, being the power of God, it is the power by
which God acts. If we secure salvation we shall have to obtain
that power ourselves, in order that we may overcome every
obstacle which stands between us and eternal life. Christ said,
"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit down with me on my
throne." Then if Christ exercised the power of this Gospel, and
it was by that power that he overcame the principle of evil,
which has ever existed and which ever will exist in some form
upon some of the creations of God, we must in like manner and by
like means accomplish for ourselves the same result. In this
struggle he conquered; in obedience to certain principles he
acquired power by which he overcame and attained to eternal life.
This principle comes to us as the same mean to gain the same end.
But what are these principles which; if we adopt them and
practise them in our lives, will enable us to attain to this
exalted position and power? These brethren have told you that
they are made manifest in the teachings of the elders of Israel.
How do we know this? Ministers of other denominations will tell
us that they have the truth, the way and the life; that they
preach the Gospel, the word of God to the people. But they
propose different plans, teach different systems. One will teach
us one system, another a different one. If you go into the old
country especially you will hear it upon the streets, "Only
believe in Jesus and you are saved." Other systems hold that it
is all free will and all free grace on the part of God and
ourselves. Another sums up the doctrine in this form: "You will
and you won't, you shall and you shan't, you will be damned if
you do, you will be damned if you don't. It makes no difference
on the part of the individual what he thinks or believes, so far
as appertains to his salvation."
233
Why this difference in the religious world? God is not the author
of confusion, or of conflicting doctrine and principles. Go into
the scientific world, if you please, and range through the field
of exact sciences, and what do you find there? If I were to ask
the enlightened people of all nations what is the product of 2
multiplied by 2, they would all tell me 4. Why? Because the
answer is understood to be correct; they have been taught it and
they have demonstrated it in the practical operations of life.
There is no dispute, then, that 2 and 2 are 4 the world over. Why
this universal declaration of this one truth? Is it not because
all have been taught a correct principle? That they have all been
taught the same doctrine, and that those who have taught them
have been inspired by the same sentiment, the same truth. But
suppose I should find some who were teaching that 2 and 2 are 3,
or that 2 and 2 are 6; I would at once say, Some of you are
wrong, all cannot be right, certainly not. What would be the
conclusion in our minds? That some had been taught imperfectly;
that those who had been taught that 2 and 2 were 3, or 5, had
been instructed by teachers who did not understand the principles
they essayed to advance. And the conclusion would be correctly
drawn that there were systems of error being taught, and that all
were in error except those who proclaimed the doctrine that 2 and
2 are 4. This figure of 2 and 2 are 4--3-6, may be appropriately
applied to the teachings of the religious world; for we find one
class who profess to be the teachers sent of God, who declare to
us one set of principles, another class who declare another set
of principles, or doctrine, diametrically opposed to the first;
we find a third opposite to both; and continuing our research
until we traverse the entire globe, we find that there are
several hundred different denominations professing to worship God
according to his laws, all differing more or less in their
doctrines, discipline and forms of worship. There being but one
Lord, one faith, and one baptism, we discover that some have been
and are teaching a doctrine that 2 and 2 are some number other
than 4. That some are preaching something that is not "the power
of God unto salvation," but a system embracing the doctrines and
precepts of men. Such a system is devoid of the power of God, and
is not that system which will bring salvation to the human soul.
It is not that system which will impart to individuals the
knowledge of the true God, and of his Son Jesus Christ. It is not
that system which will bring man up from the condition of sin and
error to the great plan of righteousness and truth. A system
revealed from God alone can accomplish such results. But where
can we find these principles of the Gospel, this power of God
revealed to mankind, if it be revealed at all, that men may know
that 2 and 2 are 4 for themselves, that they may know that the
power of God is unto salvation unto all that believe and obey. It
is written in this Bible, and we sometimes refer to it as
authority to those who do not comprehend the higher law, or
rather have not understood that law of which this book is but the
exponent. Just upon the same principle that I may ask an
individual what is the product of 2 multiplied by 2, and he tells
me 4. But if I were to ask him to demonstrate the 42nd
proposition of Euclid, he would answer me that he knew nothing at
all about it. This is simply a higher law, an advanced principle
of knowledge; the plan by which the power of God is obtained is a
progressive system in its enunciated principles and doctrines.
With this system we go on from step to step, as Paul declares the
"righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith;" or in
other words, that the power of God was and is increased upon
himself by his obedience to an eternal law, and thus became the
King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus Christ also, in obedience
to this eternal law, obtained that power by which he triumphed
over sin and all the opposing powers of evil, and attained to his
exalted position at the right hand of God. Practising these same
principles and law, we obtain salvation and power to become Gods,
even the sons of God. And in observing these principles and laws,
we but follow the advice of Paul which he gave to the Saints in
his day: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ
Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to
be equal with God." What, humanity attain to the dignity of the
God? Yes; if we are the sons of God, why not attain to something
of the honor and dignity by inheritance with our Father? But how
shall we do this? This Gospel, which these brethren have been
teaching in distant lands, points out the system which brings to
us this power of God. And what is it? It is said that to those
who believe it it will become the power of God unto salvation.
And what do you mean by salvation? Deliverance from the power of
sin, which is death, and thus attain to eternal life. How shall
we triumph over the power of death? By believing in Jesus Christ;
believing that he is, and that he is the rewarder of all that
diligently seek him. How can we hear except there be a preacher,
and how can that individual preach except he be sent of God? And
if he be sent of God, will he not proclaim unto us the doctrine
of God? Will he not proclaim the doctrines of Christ if he be
sent of Christ, and is taught of him? But if he be not sent of
him and taught of him, then he takes the honor unto himself, and
is unworthy to be called an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
ambassador of heaven bearing the words of eternal truth. But how
may we know these things? We know that 2 and 2 are 4, this fact
is demonstrated in our daily transactions. How may we obtain this
power of God, which shall be unto us salvation? By doing the will
of the Father, by following diligently the instruction of the
Apostle Peter, given on the day of Pentecost: "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: for the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to
all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall
call." And he further says, "Save yourselves from this untoward
generation." What did he tell them to do? To repent. They already
believed in Jesus, for he had preached Christ to them, and they
were pricked in their hearts and they cried out, "Men and
brethren, what shall we do?" Peter did not tell them to come to
an anxious seat to be prayed for. No, there was a work for
themselves to do. What do you mean by repentance? Forsaking all
evil, turning away from all unrighteousness; "Let him that stole
steal no more;" let him that was drunken drink no more, etc.;
overcome all your sins by righteousness and obedience to the law
of God. Repent, then, every one of you. What, all these good men
who had come up to Jerusalem? Yes, a new dispensation had now
been ushered in. "Repent." What else? "And be baptized every one
of you." What for? "For the remission of sins." Is there no other
way, Peter, by which we can get our sins remitted? He has not
declared any other; if there were he ought to have told them, for
they asked him a most important question, and he preached by
command of the Savior and was taught of him for forty days prior
to his ascension, and it is to be presumed that Christ gave to
him, in connection with his fellow Apostles, every particle of
instruction they needed, for he cannot be accused directly or
indirectly of leaving his work half done. For, says Christ, what
more could I have done that I have not done. He gave them all the
instruction needed to go forth as teachers and ministers to all
nations and peoples. After Peter told these people what to do,
what fulfilment of promise was to follow obedience to his
instructions? "And ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
That is the promise, is it? Peter, have you not made a mistake?
Have you been telling us that 2 and 2 are 4, or that 2 and 2 are
6. He has told us the truth presumedly. How may you know? Oh,
says one, the promise was only to the Apostles and those to whom
they preached. But the promise was not confined to them; it was
an extended promise, "And to your children, and to all that are
afar off, even as may as the Lord our God shall call." How many
has the Lord called? Read the 1st verse of the 50th Psalm: "The
mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken and called the earth from
the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof." Read also the
17th verse of the last chapter of Revelations: "And the spirit
and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And
let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely." Are not you, my hearers, as well as
the whole of mankind, included in this general call? The promise
is, then, to you. "But supposing I do come in obedience to the
testimony, borne by these young men this afternoon, how shall I
know for myself that I shall have done the will of God?" I
answer, do the things that they say and you shall know whether
the doctrine they preach be of God or whether they speak of
themselves. For know ye that if the promise be not fulfilled to
you, the Lord speaks not by them or by anyone else. If a promise
has been made by the great Jehovah to the children of men upon
certain conditions, and those conditions be performed upon their
part and the promise be not realized, then know ye that the God
of heaven never made that promise. But said Christ, they did not
believe him in his day. And they asked him how they should know
whether the things he taught were true or not. He told them to do
the things which he commanded. And you, my friends, can know in
no other way. This is a practical work. Is there no theory about
the Gospel? Yes; but the theory is worth no more than the theory
of anything else; it is the practical part we want, that which
brings benefit and blessing; that which comes like the old Yankee
to the man who fell from his horse and broke his leg. Said some
of the spectators who had gathered around, I am very sorry for
this man, he has a large family and their only support will now
be taken away from them. The old Yankee, it will be remembered,
said, I am sorry for him just ten dollars, how much are the rest
of you sorry; and handed over the money. That ten dollars was
worth more to the injured man than all the sympathy in the
universe. And if the Gospel does not come with blessing and
benefit, with intelligence, power and exaltation to the human
family, it is of no practical benefit; and if of no permanent
benefit it is not worth our time to meddle with. So the
Latter-day Saints may feel sorry for the poor people in England,
whose deplorable condition has been described to us this
afternoon by the brethren who have just returned from missions to
that country; but if they do not put their hands in their pockets
and assist them to the extent of their means their sympathy will
not amount to a hill of beans. The Savior gave and observed this
form of doctrine, and if he taught not a correct system let us do
away with it altogether; for if he is not the author of our
salvation, who is? There is no name given under heaven whereby
man must be saved but the name of Jesus Christ, and if we do not
preach the form of doctrine he taught where shall we find it?
234
What is the promised result of obedience to this counsel of
Peter? "you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." What shall
be the result of the reception of that spirit? Christ told his
disciples that it should bring all things whatsoever he had said
to them to their remembrance. And was it to bring to memory only
the things which had been heard? or was it to reach back into the
vista of the past and unfold to us some knowledge of our
pre-existent state? Why not, since the spirit comprehends from
the beginning to the end? But is that all it was to do? He also
said that it should lead us into all truth. Then we have the
great teacher who teaches by the spirit of revelation that 2 and
2 are 4 in every part of the known world, and to all people. You
have the same teacher now that taught you in England or Russia or
China or America, or wherever the human family exits, that spirit
will lead you into all truth; and if we are in possession of that
spirit we will be taught the same doctrine and the same principle
and will all tend according to our faithfulness to the same
degree of exaltation. Thus shall you know that God lives, thus
shall you know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And thus by
the revelation of that spirit which shall lead and guide you into
all truth. What else can it do? It shall show you things to come;
and if you were peradventure to declare any of these things you
would become a prophet. This would be a terrible thing, to become
a prophet! But Moses said when Joshua wanted him to rebuke
certain ones and forbid them from prophesying in the camp of
Israel, after asking him if he was jealous for his sake, "I would
that all the Lord's people were prophets," because it would imply
that they had obeyed this form of doctrine, that they were living
in constant communion with the Holy Ghost, it would be to argue
that they were living according to the doctrine of John when he
said "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." How shall they know that
Jesus is the Christ? Only by the testimony of the Holy Ghost.
For, says the Apostle Paul, "No man speaking by the spirit of God
calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the
Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." Did Paul tell the truth or not? No
man can say knowingly that Jesus is the Christ but by the power
and revelation of the Holy Ghost; and no man ever obtained this
knowledge in any other way, or ever will. It is the plan God has
designed, and if we would come unto him we must do so in his own
appointed way. We must run the race that is set before us, and
not attempt to prescribe the rules of the race-track ourselves.
Let us therefore so run that we may gain the prize at the end of
the race. In order to secure this we must conform to the
ordinances of the Gospel which comprise this testimony which is
given by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the spirit of
prophecy; and he who has the spirit of prophecy has the testimony
of Jesus. Then mankind may ridicule the idea that prophets are no
more upon the earth; it is tantamount to saying, "that we know
not God and are without hope in the world." And who can know the
Father but by the revelations of the Son, and he unto whom the
Son may reveal him?
234
It seems then that this Holy Ghost is full of intelligence, full
of knowledge, full of power, and is the acting minister of God
throughout all the dominions of the great Jehovah. That spirit
reveals to man that Jesus is the Christ, and Christ reveals the
fact of the existence, power and glory of his Father. And this is
the order. And how shall we know this fact? By rendering
obedience to the ordinances, and then you can know it for
yourselves. It is no great trouble; a little cold water will not
hurt any of you. I presume there are many in this congregation
who have been buried in the water of baptism when the ice has had
to be cut, and they will tell you that by obeying these simple
forms of doctrine they have received for themselves, by the
laying on of hands of the Elders, this Holy Ghost, and that it
has borne record to them of the Father and the Son? Is not the
experiment worth trying? Is not the prize of sufficient value to
induce you to sacrifice the follies of the world to put on
Christ? Shall we not run the race that is set before us? Shall we
not do and perform the acts which bring unto us the power of God?
236
But is this power acquired only by acts or words? let us see what
the Savior says. You remember that a certain man brought his son
who was possessed of a devil to the Savior that the Savior might
cast the devil out as the Apostles had failed to do so. The
Savior, it will be remembered, gave them a severe rebuke upon
that occasion saying in substance. How long shall I be with you
as a teacher and you be so thick-headed that you will not learn
these principles which I teach from day to day? How long shall I
suffer you to be my disciples, and how long shall I have to be
with you as your teacher before you learn these things? Bring the
boy to me. The father obeyed and by that power which had been
developed in Christ by obedience to law he commanded the unclean
spirit to come out of the tabernacle of the boy and to depart
from him and it obeyed him. The disciples felt the rebuke, and
when opportunity presented itself they asked the Savior why they
could not cast out the evil spirit. And Jesus answered and said
unto them, "because of your unbelief: for verily, I say unto you,
if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto
this mountain, remove hence to yonder place: and it shall remove
and nothing shall be impossible unto you." What? I have heard
ministers say, yes you can remove mountains by utilizing a lot of
Chinamen. But shall we thus curtail the power of faith, for it is
a principle of power and not simply a volition of the will. It
was by the power of faith that God created the heavens and the
earth? and if God could by the power of faith organize these vast
planets which revolve in most perfect order through space, if, I
say, that he could do this by the power of faith, how great a
portion of that power would it take to remove the Wasatch range?
Not a very large proportion. Said the Savior to his disciples in
answer to their inquiry: howbeit this kind goeth not out but by
prayer and fasting. Then we have a clue from the declaration of
the Savior himself as to how this power is obtained. To believe
only? No. Belief only would be worthless; belief followed by
works under the direction of the holy spirit which is the power
of God brings forth the power of faith. Have you elders of Israel
found yourselves in the same condition as these disciples, when
called upon to perform a similar act, and if you have did you
know the reason why? Learn the answer from the lips of the
Savior. Do you fast and pray according to the ordinances of this
system, through which the power of God is obtained? If you have
not, then your ministrations were in vain because you failed to
comply with the conditions. Are the promises to men in an
individual capacity? In one sense, yes, in another, no. When the
conditions prescribed are complied with, then the fulfilment of
the promises must be forthcoming, for God cannot lie. Is it the
individual that acts then? No. He is simply the representative;
it is the ministering servant of God who acts, not in his own
name but in the name of his principal, by virtue of the power
behind the throne. Just the same as the Judge upon the bench or
the Police upon the street. Do they act in their own name? No,
but are representatives of a power from whom they hold their
commissions. So they who minister in the holy ordinances of the
Gospel, minister not in their own name, but by virtue of the
authority of their commission. For how can men preach the Gospel
except they be sent, and sent of God to declare his Gospel, so
that their words may be the words of God to the people? Then the
exhortation of the Elders of Israel is, repent every one of you,
and be baptized for the remission of your sins and the promise is
that you shall receive the Holy Ghost, which will lead and guide
you into all truth; it will bring things past to your remembrance
and it will show you things to come. It will enlighten your minds
and will lead you step by step, giving line upon line, precept
upon precept, here a little and there a little. But owing to the
weakness of the flesh and the weaknesses of our fallen natures
that are ever present with us, we learn slowly. But by
perseverance in the warfare against sin we continually increase
this power within us, which though gradually developing will
ultimately become in us a principle of revelation and prophecy,
sufficient to enable us to hold converse with God and to receive
wisdom and knowledge from the great fountain of intelligence. The
Gospel does away with all narrow contracted feelings; it widens
the range of thought as well as ennobles the mind; it makes us
feel that God is our father, that the world is our home and that
mankind are our brethren, all the sons and daughters of God; and
I am not benefitted by crushing you nor you by crushing me, but
that we are only exalted in the scale of being by acts of
intelligence and goodness; and that as we increase in knowledge
so do we increase in the power of God.
236
The government of God upon the earth is denominated as his
priesthood, as is declared by Paul in his letter to the Romans,
is the power of God made known and that which may be known of God
is manifest in them who hold this priesthood, for God hath shewn
it unto them. The knowledge of God comes then through the
priesthood which has been established upon the earth; and the
salvation of the human family through the administration of the
ordinances of this Gospel by the power and authority thereof. His
knowledge comes to us with an assurance which is stronger and
more convincing than the seeing of the eye, the hearing of the
ear and the handling of the hand put together. For it is as Paul
says, the sure word of prophecy, which is more satisfactory
evidence to the human mind than all other evidences combined. And
it comes to us with such convincing power that it cannot be
gainsayed. And hence these young Elders stand up and say they
know the things to be true whereof they testify by the gift and
power of the Holy Ghost. And they tell us that they have obtained
this knowledge by obeying this simple form of doctrine, which is
so plain that a wayfaring man need not err therein if he sets his
heart to do the will of God. Are they narrow, contracted in their
feelings? If so why do they spend their time in going forth to
labor in the vineyard of the Lord without compensation, except
that which comes from God and the satisfaction of knowing that
they are doing the will of Heaven? they preach not for hire nor
divine for money but go forth and preach the everlasting Gospel
to all, calling upon the people everywhere to repent and be
baptized for the remission of their sins, promising them in the
name of him who commissioned them, that when these requirements
are complied with in all sincerity they shall receive the gift of
the Holy Ghost, which shall give them to understand and know for
themselves that 2 and 2 are 4, that God lives, that Jesus is the
Lord; all being taught by this Spirit will know and understand
alike. Ignorance will depart and knowledge will increase and
abound and to all there will be but one Lord, one faith and one
baptism. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / George
G. Bywater, June 29, 1879
George G. Bywater, June 29, 1879
DISCOURSE BY ELDER GEO. G. BYWATER,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon
June 29, 1879.
(Reported by Geo. G. Gibbs.)
THE GOSPEL AS PREACHED BY THE SAINTS--OPPOSITION BY THE WORLD
TO THE DIFFUSION OF TRUTH.
238
We are assembled here this afternoon as a congregation of
worshippers; we have come together to worship God according to
the dictates of his word; according to the revelations of his
divine will, as it has been made known to the people of the
Latter-day Saints. We represent a faith, a spiritual
constitution, an organization of ideas which incorporates our
sense of duty, our duty to our God and our duty to our fellowmen.
This is not a new occasion; this is not a new announcement. We
have existed as a people in the midst of the nations of the earth
for a third of a century. Our doctrines are not new; our
principles of which these doctrines are compose, are not of the
19th century; they are not the outgrowth of the intelligence of
this age; they are not the products of that intellectuality which
is by many regarded as the highest standard of advancement, as
the most elevated platform of thought. Our principles are from
eternity to eternity. The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, which
is the name commonly applied to the religion we profess, was
preached aforetime unto Abraham; was revealed unto our fathers,
the ancients. Many of its fundamental principles, several of its
divine ordinances and very many of the hopes that inspired and
caused to heave with heavenly emotion, and delight the bosoms of
the purest men and women of this age, or of ages preceding this
of ours, were principles that had been re-revealed in ages and
dispensations gone by. But we claim to have received this Gospel
in the dispensation in which we live as a new revelation; not new
principles, but a new revelation of old principles, of ancient
doctrines, of institutions that the greatest benefactors,
philanthropists and humanitarians that ever graced the human
race, were more or less made familiar with. We are here to-day,
beloved friends, as the result of the operations of the ministry
of this Gospel, as a people occupying this section of country
called the Territory of Utah. We are fruits, we are results of
the ministry of reconciliation brought forth through the mission
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness and primitive purity
in the day and age in which we live, and to us as a people when
we thus address each other and reiterate these truths in each
other's hearing, we are not announcing that which we do not
understand, but we simply do so to remind each other, to stir up
our thoughts, to put into activity our reflective powers and call
forth those intellectual energies which are awakened by the
revelation of these principles of life and immortality in the
development of our faith, and to stir up our minds, that they may
become more pure and to bring to our remembrance things that are
past, as well as cause to pass before our minds the
circumstances, the duties and the incidents of the present, and
thus carry with us the history we are creating, and produce by
the combined action of our past and present labors those results
which the Gospel in its entirety and its power and influence
exercises over the heart of man in bringing to pass that human
regeneration so long spoken of by the prophets; so long ago sung
of by the inspired psalmist and the songsters of Israel, which
should characterize the features, that would mark the development
of God's purposes in this humanity, in this great mass of
intelligence, which he has created and given a conscious
existence to upon the earth.
238
In speaking in this manner, my brethren and sisters, I desire to
do so as making a few preparatory remarks to what may be said by
my brethren who may follow after me, as I shall not occupy your
attention but for a limited portion of time this afternoon. I
wish to say, however, in addition of what I have already said
with reference to the character of the Gospel, that we need not
look to any other source for an evidence of the divinity of the
mission in which we are engaged, the divinity of the revelations
which have been intrusted to us in this dispensation of the
fulness of times, for an evidence of its divine character and
heaven-born nature, or for the proofs of its practical result as
to ourselves. We can, my friends, examine our own experience; we
can review, each individual one of us, the several chapters which
each day's acts, conversations and the results of our labors as
individual members of this body ecclesiastical and of this Church
militant, and see what have been the fruits which these
principles have borne in our lives, and moreover see how far we
have conformed to those conditions upon the blessings of the
second birth, the regeneration of the human heart under the
inspirations of the spirit of the Lord have been vouchsafed, and
see whether our professions are professions merely, whether they
are simply wordy acknowledgements or whether we preach those most
practical of sermons in the actions of our lives, in the
practices of our everyday conduct, so as to verify the
correctness of our testimony and to justify our friends and
ourselves in the conclusion that we are honest and sincere in the
worship of the Lord our God according to the revelations of his
will.
239
Brethren and sisters, we have received revelations from God, the
unbelief of the world respecting those revelations to the
contrary, notwithstanding. We have received those glorious truths
pertaining to the regeneration of man, pertaining to his further
development and to his final and complete redemption; or, in
other words, to use, perhaps, language more familiar to some
minds, the more perfect development of man. We have received
those glorious principles; we have accepted them in the
simplicity of our hearts as truths from God, and we have realized
in our individual experiences that our testimony is true; that
the principles we have embraced are true; that they have verified
themselves in our experiences and verified the promise made by
our Redeemer in the declaration to his disciples: "And ye shall
know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." "If the Son,
therefore, shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." Our
principles are simple; they are perspicuous; they are clear; they
are self-evident: they become self-evident to every mind capable
of perceiving the relation which these principles bear to our
conditions of life, including the physical and mental.
239
The plan of human redemption, which we call the Gospel of the Son
of God, is composed of principles and doctrines that are pure,
that are in perfect harmony with every want of our natures, with
every rightful desire, with every legitimate unfoldment of our
being, physical or mental, material or spiritual, whichever terms
we choose to select to express the materiality or spirituality of
our being. I repeat, that the Gospel of the Son of God contains
every provision and is enriched with every quality, is endowed
with every element necessary to the perfect enjoyment of all the
powers of man and of all the capacity with which he is endowed
for the development of his power and intelligence.
239
In speaking upon this subject, my brethren and sisters, we are
led to the further consideration of the eternity of our being; we
are conducted thereby into premises which spread out on the right
and on the left; we are guided in our reflections under the
inspiration of principle--for every truth possesses its own
principle of life, its own quality of power, its own
characteristic energy, and whenever that truth is received by a
sentient being, by a conscious being, by a being possessed of
consciousness of the quality of the ego feeling, and when the
complement of his intellectual faculties are not impaired; when
they are awakened to a healthful exercise by the laws of thought,
by the force of principle, by the impress of objects, and when
the man is awakened as a thinking intellectual being, he is
unavoidably open to receive a portion of the inspiration which
they inherit; and the more advanced he is, the more elevated he
becomes in the plane of intelligence, the greater will be his
susceptibility and capability to receive of that inspiration; and
the more he indulges in the contemplation of the higher and
loftier aims of life, the more value he attaches to every
principle of morality and virtue, to ever principle of revelation
from God, to truth of every kind, and more especially those
truths that have an immediate bearing upon his present condition,
as well as those truths which affect his future state.
240
There is much of the knowledge that has been conferred upon the
family of man, there is much of that intelligence and
understanding which man has been brought into possession of that
we can not use immediately in regulating our affairs socially, or
in any other work in the structure of society. But the principles
to which I am now directing your attention; the principles of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ, are fundamental principles; they are
cardinal elements, they are the foundation stones, if you please,
of the great superstructure of humanity; they reach the
fundamental conditions of its being; they possess the virtue of
delving down into the most intricate recesses of our natures and
of causing to well up from our inmost natures those qualities and
excellencies, those virtues, those deeds which are praiseworthy
and of good report, and command veneration, those deeds which
have adorned the lives of all men who have made themselves
benefactors to their race, and who have shone as the reformers
and regenerators of society. No matter by what name they have
been called, if they have done good in any capacity or sphere; if
society to-day owes anything to the past, to the great motor
force that has affected the interests of humanity or guarded the
conditions of its welfare, or has directed its energies in any
degree to produce a condition that is desirable in the history of
our race, we owe it to that class of men, we owe it to men that
have been firm and true to their convictions of what was right;
we owe it to men who have stemmed the current of popular
prejudices or who have dared to row against the stream of popular
opinion; we owe it to men who have sacrificed the good will of
those who were floating with the tide of popularity, and to men
who have stood firm and true and inflexible to their convictions
of right. Have there been such men? Yes, my brethren and sisters.
I rejoice that through the sable darkness, that through the
almost impenetrable clouds that intervene between us to-day and
the ages of the past we can see glimpses, scintillas of light
that illumed time, and I revere and honor the memories of such
men who did what they could to fulfil the purposes of their Great
Creator, the Father of the human race, and the creator of all
things that are. I honor their memories. If they were not in the
possession of so much truth as those who followed them; if their
philosophy was not as sound, and if in their theology there were
greater incongruities, yet it must be remembered that they were
not so far advanced as to be able to perceive their errors, and
if they were devoted and sincere in the course they pursued,
living up to the best light they possessed, I, for one, cherish
with fond remembrance the memories of such people.
241
But there is a very anomalous mental state existing in the midst
of the human family, which is not a new one, however. It is the
constant battle that is being waged by antiquated theories and
principles, which are perhaps established in the hearts of the
majorities, whenever a new truth is introduced to the world;
whenever a principle that has not been recognized distinctly as
such has not entered into the constitution of their own religion,
philosophy, politics or science. Whenever a new truth is
introduced, the stubborn and inflexible conservators of
antiquated notions and ideas are unwilling to widen the area of
their thoughts, and extend the boundary of their reflections
still outward. And it is refreshing when we discover one here and
there the world over entertaining the sensible views expressed in
the language of Humboldt, the German naturalist: "Weak minds
complacently believe that in their own age humanity have attained
to the culminating point of intellectual greatness, forgetting
that by the internal connection existing among all natural
phenomena, in proportion as we advance, the filed to be traversed
acquires additional extension, and that it is bounded by a
horizon, which incessantly recedes before the eyes of the
inquirer." How forcibly true, how substantially correct are these
words spoken by this noble man, one of the brightest minds of the
19th century! Are we able to extricate ourselves from these
thoughts, from this dwarfed condition of ideas? No, I fear not.
And is it not as true to-day as it ever has been, that whenever
an individual or a community of individuals introduce into the
world any principle or doctrine which they conceive to be in the
most perfect accord with the principles of truth already
revealed, they are sure to be met with the same old cry; the same
weapons of warfare that are strewn around over the battle grounds
of the ages are eagerly clutched by some of the sturdy veterans
who will grab at anything--infidel, sceptic, heterodox, fanatic,
immoral, and it matters not what the odium attached to such words
may be, as long as they think they can be used to arrest the
progress of truth, of principle, of doctrine which has not been
incorporated in their views.
241
We talk about our progressive enlightenment; we talk of our
advancing intelligence; we speak eloquently of the march of
intellect, and yet we are free to condemn every effort that is
made by the world's most staunch advocate of human progress, in
feeling after the foundation of society, in feeling after the
foundation of faith, in seeking to determine the soundness or the
unsoundness of principles, and if we discover that our fathers
ate sour grapes, and we their children have had our teeth set on
edge, we wish to administer some panacea to remove the
difficulty, to change the elements that are sapping the
foundation of that society which we are trying to build up, and
supply its place with elements of a homogeneous texture, of a
more durable fibre, and reconstruct it upon the basis developed
by the principles of the everlasting gospel, which brings life
and immortality to light, and we are confronted with the cry of
"fools," "fanatics" and a very great number of uncomplimentary
terms. But I have long ago, my friends, come to the conclusion
that there is a great deal said when there is a very little
meaning to be drawn from what has been said in relation to these
men. They are "as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal."
242
We, as Latter-day Saints, have embraced the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. What is that Gospel? It is faith in God; it is an avowed
confession of the existence of a Deity, that there is a supreme
intelligence that not only governs, but built the universe, the
great architect of the heavens. We believe in his existence; that
he is a rewarder of all them that diligently seek him. We believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ, his only-begotten son, who came into
the world in the meridian of time to announce the message of
mercy, who proclaimed principles of eternal truth, who made known
the conditions whereby mankind could attain salvation, could
elevate himself by the means provided in this great scheme of
man's redemption from his low estate, that he might ascend the
ladder that Jacob saw, having its feet placed upon the earth and
its top reaching to heaven, whereby he might climb round after
round, receiving line, upon line, precept upon precept, here a
little and there a little, until he shall become a perfect man in
Christ Jesus our Lord. We believe then in Jesus Christ as the
Savior of the world. We believe in the gospel he received and the
principles of that gospel which ave been handed down to us by
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the four historians who compiled
the history of his ministry and recorded the principles he
taught. We believe them to be eternal truth; we believe them to
be essential to the salvation of mankind. We believe in
repentance of all past sins; a genuine and sincere
repentance--not a professed repentance, but a repentance which
need not to be repented of; a repentance which brings forth
fruits mete for repentance, namely a forsaking of sin, a
forsaking of every evil habit of which we have a knowledge of
their being evil, turning away therefrom and seeking to the Lord
our God with full purpose of heart, adorning our lives with his
doctrine, with his sacred precepts and principles, believing that
"the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and before
honor is humility." We believe in baptism for the remission of
sins and in the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy
Ghost.
243
Now, we believe all this and much more. Our doctrines have been
before the world for many years. Our Church works contain a very
full and clear exposition of our views in relation to our faith,
in relation to our principles affecting our life here and
hereafter, and yet we discover, my friends, that we are
unpopular, that we are not to be included among the Christian
elements of society; we are considered Pagans, heathens, outlaws,
barbarians, an immoral and reprobate race. And let me ask, how
was it in the days of Jesus, this great prototype of human
perfection, this great master-teacher of the purest of all truth?
Our Christian ministers to-day speak eloquently from the pulpit
to their congregations, telling them that there is no name given
under heaven whereby man can be saved but the name of Jesus; and
yet when men go forth as our Elders do, declaring in all
soberness that they have the message of life and salvation
revealed from the heavens, which is the power of God unto
salvation to all that believe and obey, and ask these men
permission to preach to them and their people the Gospel of the
meek and lowly Jesus, this same once despised Nazarene, in their
pulpits or lecture platforms, and they at once express themselves
fearful least we should inoculate them with this dreadful
contagion. What do we preach? The self-same principles that Jesus
taught. We do not take it as expressive of a high and lofty mind
to be combative, to court discussion, but we are at the defiance
of the unbelieving world to prove one principle of our
fundamental doctrines, revealed to us in this age by Joseph
Smith, or by Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, that is not
in perfect consonance with the declarations of holy writ. We have
had men contradict us, we have had people tell us that we are
duped and led astray, but their simple assertions are of no
weight or value unsupported by legitimate argument. Our doctrines
are biblically pure, they are doctrinally sound according to the
embodiment of divinity contained in this most ancient of books,
called the Bible not only our first principles, but all other
principles pertaining to it, including our social institutions,
which is the great bone of contention with the moralists of our
day. I dare not permit myself to talk upon this question at the
present time. I am so thoroughly disgusted with the rottenness
and the canting hypocrisy of society, and with the infidelity of
its social relations, and with the entire degeneracy of the
morality of our age, to talk upon this subject, particularly with
men who have jumped at conclusions and who have reached them
without measuring ever step they have taken, without analyzing
the elements of the doctrines they call in question; but we can
say in meekness of heart and in confidence, without hypocrisy and
without a zeal that is not in accordance with knowledge, but with
a zeal that is being fanned into a glow that becomes honest men,
that we know our doctrines are of God and the whole world who
oppose its principles lie in the gall of bitterness and in the
bonds of iniquity.
243
I feel grateful, my brethren and sisters, that we have a religion
that is self-sustaining; that we have a faith whose foundations
are God and heaven, whose bulwarks are immutable, indestructible
truths. We may fight them as did the ancients; our enemies may
fight those doctrines as did the unbelieving Jews, and the
surrounding unbelieving Sadducees and Pharisees, and the various
discordant faiths, during the ages that are past; but truth, like
the diamond, is unchangeable in its nature, it is unbedimmed in
its own eternal lustre. You may heap upon it the odium of grosser
materials; you may endeavor to conceal it from the gaze of the
world or cover it up in reproach, it is a diamond still, and like
truth, it will one day triumph and conquer, and roll forth in its
own, naked and unborrowed lustre and brightness and vindicate its
own claims. So it will be with the truth of the Gospel we have
embraced. We have received it from God, and we have but one thing
to fear. I am not afraid of the prejudice of the world; I am not
afraid of the influences that are and might be brought to bear
against us by people and communities or the universal world who
are opposed to the progress of humanity, who are stereotyped in
their views, who make no advancement in that path of the
righteous which shines brighter and brighter unto the perfect
day; but I fear more for our own neglects, our own selfishness,
our own yielding to the depravities of human nature, our own
backslidings from God and the covenants we have made, than
anything else. I have no fear of the final triumph of truth; I do
not shake or tremble while contemplating the results of the great
work which the Lord has recommenced in this dispensation, which
is one of the many dispensations which have preceded it, for God
will so conduct the issues of his work, the labors of His
Priesthood, the operations of His ministry and the final
consummation of His purposes as to cause to be torn asunder all
false systems, false politics, false religions, false philosophy
and false bonds and obligations of society; and in the place
thereof he will fill the earth with true and correct knowledge.
Then every man in every place shall meet a brother and a friend;
then no man shall have need to say to his brother, Know ye the
Lord, for all shall know him, from the least to the greatest.
This will be the final result; this will be the finish, the
consummation of the purposes of Jehovah in perfecting the earth
and the sanctification of his children who dwell thereon. They
shall no more see as through a glass, darkly, but face to face;
becoming heirs with God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ to a
kingdom and government in which dwelleth righteousness and peace.
This will be the final triumph, fight it who may.
244
I will conclude my remarks, thanking you for your attention and
feeling pleased for the opportunity of expressing my feelings
with regard to the great latter-day work. Let us carry out the
oft-repeated precept of President Young, which he reiterated in
our hearing: "Brethren and sisters, live your religion;" "Fear
God and keep his commandments; this is the whole duty of man."
And then we shall learn one day that all things work together for
the good of them that love God; that truth is mighty and will
prevail. And that this may be the result of the experience of
each and every one of us, is my prayer, through Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / George
Q. Cannon, August 3rd, 1879
George Q. Cannon, August 3rd, 1879
DISCOURSE BY ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
on Sunday Morning, August 3rd, 1879.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
SLAIN FOR THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS-FUNERAL RITES OF JOSEPH
STANDING.
244
I will read a portion of the 23rd chapter of St. Matthew,
commencing at the 34th verse:
244
"And, wherefore, behold I send unto you prophets, and wise men,
and scribes; and some of them ye shall kill and crucify, and some
of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues and persecute them
from city to city; that upon you may come all the righteous blood
shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the
blood of Zecharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the
temple and the altar."
244
There is another portion of Scripture which I will read. It will
be found in the 6th chapter of the Revelations of St. John:
244
"And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the
souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the
testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice,
saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and
avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?"
246
Very unexpectedly I have been called upon to make a few remarks
to you this morning. Naturally I would prefer to sit still and to
reflect upon the sad event that has called us together. It is
plain from the reading of these passages of Scripture that you
have heard, that innocent blood--the blood of the servants of
God, of the prophets, or the wise men, of the scribes, all those
who have the testimony of Jesus, who are the bearers of the word
of God--when shed wickedly, remains as a heavy debt to be atoned
for at some period by the inhabitants of the earth. Also that in
the days of John the Revelator, one of the apostles of the Lord,
in the visions which he saw it was made manifest that there were
yet more lives to be offered up for the cause of truth before the
blood that had been shed could be avenged upon those that dwelt
upon earth. It doubtless seemed strange to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem when Jesus said unto them that all the righteous blood
that had been shed in past generations from the blood of
righteous Abel to Zacharias, son of Barachias, should be required
of that generation. There were reasons for this which he well
understood. There are reasons existing now and that will continue
to exist and operate, why the blood of those who have been slain
for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus in ancient days,
should be avenged upon some generation in the future, from the
time that John spake and wrote the revelation he had received.
Jesus said when he was upon the earth: "And this is the
condemnation; that light is come into the world and men love
darkness rather than light." They were held to a strict
accountability after light was revealed. The generation in which
he lived were held to a stricter accountability than any
preceding generation, because he himself, the Son of God, was in
their midst, performing mighty works, preaching the Gospel of the
kingdom in its purity and in its power, and communicating unto
them the mind and will of heaven. Every generation who have the
privilege of hearing the pure Gospel of Jesus preached in its
fulness are held to a similar accountability. Their position is
different to that of the generations who do not have that
privilege. The generations that intervened between the time that
Zacharias lived and the coming of the Son of Man in the flesh,
were not held to the same strict accountability as the
contemporaries of the Savior. Why was this? Because they did not
have the truth in its fulness revealed unto them; they did not
have the prophets and apostles and righteous men in their midst
to communicate unto them the will of heaven, as the generations
in which the Savior lived had; and for the same reason the
generations that have lived since the death of the Savior, and
since the visions that John the Revelator had, are not held to
the same accountability as this generation, unto whom the fulness
of the everlasting Gospel has been revealed. When God
communicates his mind and will unto his children by the medium of
angels, by the medium of prophets, by the medium of holy men whom
he has raised up, those who hear that testimony, those unto whom
that message is communicated, are held to a strict accountability
to obey the same or be held in great condemnation for their
rejection of it. If you will read the history of God's ways of
dealing with the children of men throughout all ages, you will
find that it is invariably the case that judgments and
calamities, the fiery indignation of the Almighty always follow
the rejection of his truth, when that truth is proclaimed by his
authorized servants, such as are apostles and prophets. If
Nineveh had not heard the voice of Jonah, the Ninevites could not
have been held to the same accountability as those to whom the
word of the Lord had been proclaimed; and when prophets arose in
the midst of Israel, prophets whom God raised up to declare his
word, when the children of Israel repented of their sins and
obeyed the warning voice of the servants of God, then the
blessings of God always followed their obedience. But on the
other hand, when the children of Israel rejected the testimony of
the servants of God, when the prophets preached in vain, when
they testified and warned the people without the people obeying
their testimonies or their warnings, then invariably the
judgements of God followed, his anger and indignation were
kindled against that people or generation, it rested down upon
them and in many instances to their destruction.
247
This is our position to-day. In this respect the Latter-day
Saints occupy a unique position in the midst of the inhabitants
of the earth. Men wonder very frequently at the testimonies that
we bear. They express surprise that a people so few in number as
we are, should imagine that there is so much importance attending
the testimonies that we bear, or the Gospel that we preach. But
it is a remarkable fact, abundantly sustained in the history of
God's dealings with the children of men, that he does not hold
mankind guiltless because there are only a few who are the
oracles of truth in their midst and who have the authority to
proclaim that truth. If there was but one prophet on the face of
the earth, and he had no followers, but stood alone in the midst
of the nations of the earth, his warnings would be followed by
terrible results if they were disregarded by those who heard
them. The Lord does not look upon men according to their numbers;
the importance of his work and his dealings with the children of
men is not to be measured by the number of those who adhere to
the principles that he proclaims. When Joseph Smith stood alone,
when he had only two or three followers, and he declared unto
those by whom he was surrounded that God had spoken to him from
the heavens, that God had revealed the everlasting Gospel in its
ancient purity and power, that God had sent his holy angels to
him, and that those angels had laid their hands upon his head,
and upon the head of Oliver Cowdery, and ordained them to the
everlasting Priesthood, his testimony was as binding upon those
who heard it as if millions of men had testified to the same
truths. His testimony was binding from the moment that he
commenced to bear it to those by whom he was surrounded, and the
accountability of the people who listened to him and heard his
voice, and heard his testimony, began from the moment that he
opened his mouth and bore testimony of these things. And so it
has been from that day unto this, wherever the Elders of this
Church have gone and have borne testimony to the inhabitants of
the earth respecting the work that God has commenced--from that
very moment the condemnation of the generation commenced if they
did not obey these testimonies and warnings. This seems to some
minds scarcely what it ought to be, that is, it seems to many
that we attach too much importance to what one or two men might
say, when we assert that condemnation follows their testimony;
but their is this to be considered connected with the testimony
of God's servants in ancient days, as in the days in which we
live: God has not left the inhabitants of the earth without a
witness, God has not left them without some testimony which they
can obtain to assure them that the words of God's servants--that
is the true servants of God--which they hear are from him. When
he called Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and when he sent his
angels to lay their hands upon their heads to ordain them to that
priesthood which had been withdrawn from the earth, he also sent
his Holy Spirit to accompany their words and to seal the
testimony with power upon the hearts of all that were honest, and
who prayerfully sought for a knowledge from God concerning the
truth of their words. When Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery laid
their hands upon other men's heads and ordained them to the same
priesthood which they had received from heaven, God confirmed the
ordination by bestowing the Holy Ghost upon them, and when they
went forth and proclaimed the truth, the Holy Ghost accompanied
their words, and those who were desirous of knowing from God
respecting the truth of their testimony had the opportunity of
receiving a knowledge direct from heaven that it was of God, and
on this very account condemnation commences because light hath
come into the world, and when men reject it they reject it
because they love darkness rather than light. God does not hold
people accountable for that which they do not know, or that which
they have not had an opportunity of knowing. Where there is no
law, there is no transgression. Transgression commences when the
law is received and men reject it. What is the duty of the
inhabitants of the earth when they hear a man stand up and
proclaim in the power and authority of the priesthood, and in all
solemnity, that God has spoken from the heavens, that God has
revealed the everlasting Gospel, that God has established his
church in this ancient power and in its ancient purity, that God
has endowed man to go forth and administer in the ordinances of
life and salvation as in ancient days. What is the duty of the
inhabitants of the earth under such circumstances?
248
Situated as the world is to-day, there is no voice from God. You
travel throughout the whole of Christendom and there is an
unbroken silence reigning between heaven and earth; no voice to
disturb the solemnity of eternity. Go visit all the different
churches, and all the ministers of the various denominations, and
talk to them who profess to be the followers of Jesus Christ; ask
them, "Do you know anything about God? Has God communicated his
mind and will to you?" and the universal answer from all sects is
"No, revelation has ceased, God no longer speaks to man; we
depend upon his written word in the Bible for our knowledge of
God. We are divided into sects, we are split up into parties, we
have all our own way of worshipping God, but there is no voice
from God, there has been no revelation from God to disturb the
silence of ages, since the death of the Apostles, and our
knowledge concerning the plans and purposes of God is derived
from the Bible." This being the case, then, what is the duty of
the inhabitants of the earth when a man comes as Joseph Smith
did, and as the Elders of this Church are doing, proclaiming the
truths which I have alluded to? Why, they being in ignorance of
God, they having no revelation from God, they not having heard
the voice of angels, they being split up into parties and sects,
and divided and quarrelling respecting the points of doctrine
which Christ revealed--they being in this position should humble
themselves and ask God, in the name of Jesus, and in mighty
prayer to reveal unto them whether the testimony of these men who
come with this new revelation be true or false. That is the duty
of every living soul upon the face of the earth who hears the
testimony of God's servants concerning this truth, and there
never has been, from the time that Joseph Smith made his first
proclamation until this day, the 3rd of August, 1879, a time when
a man who took this course did not receive a witness from on
high, the testimony of Jesus Christ, that these truths,
proclaimed by the servants of God are divine and from heaven.
Wherever the Elders of this Church have gone and lifted up their
voices in humility, in meekness, calling upon the inhabitants of
the earth to repent--and they have gone to many lands and spoken
in many languages--and the people have repented and sought unto
God in the name of Jesus Christ for a testimony of the truth,
there has never been a single instance where they have failed to
receive that testimony; not one. Who have rejected this ? The
indifferent, those who would not take the trouble to investigate
it, those who would not take the trouble to bow in submission
before the Lord and ask his testimony concerning it, those who
thought it beneath them, those who have been too proud, or too
rich or too well situated or who, for some other reason, have
failed to take any interest in the work; these are they who are
not members of this Church and who have failed to obey this when
they heard it preached in its simplicity and its purity amongst
the nations of the earth. Well, now, will this generation escape
condemnation? I say unto you, nay. There will be a heavy
condemnation fall upon this generation because of their
inattention to these things. Judgements and calamities will be
visited upon the inhabitants of the earth in consequence of
neglecting the word of God written in the Scriptures, and also
the word of God to his servants in these days. The Prophet Joseph
Smith, his brother Hyrum, and numbers of others have been slain.
What for? Why, said the mob who killed him, because they could
not reach them by law. They were brought before courts, Joseph
Smith particularly, as you all know, from time to time, but they
failed to find any cause of condemnation against him, and at last
his blood was shed. He sealed his testimony with his blood. Like
other apostles and prophets, he laid down his life as witness
before God and before all men of the truth of the testimony that
he bore. Others have done likewise.
249
We have met here to-day on this mournful occasion to pay the last
rites, to offer the last testimony of respect to the remains of
one who has in like manner laid down his life for the truth, one
of the many who have been slain for the testimony of Jesus and
for the word of God which he bore. Was there anything wrong in
the testimony that he declared when he lived? Was it wrong to
call upon men to repent of their sins, to be baptized for a
remission of them, to have hands laid upon them for the reception
of the Holy Ghost? Was it wrong to entreat men to forsake sin and
to lead better lives, to be more pure, more holy, to live near
unto the Lord, to seek knowledge from God, to contend for the
faith that was once delivered to the Saints? If these things were
wrong, then our brother, whose remains are before us, was guilty
of wrong. This was the extent of his offence and no more. He
endeavored to persuade men to lead purer, holier lives, and
proclaimed that the days of God's judgment was near at hand. He
went forth to declare these principles, filled with zeal, filled
with good desires, exemplary in his life, pure in his
conversation, the admiration of all who knew him, the joy of his
father's household, an example to all his associates of the same
years, and even to those older than himself, a young man of whom
we all had great hopes, whose future we thought was bright. In
reading his letters, in listening to the accounts of his labors,
in hearing from his co-laborers, we could not help feeling
gratified. We indulged in bright anticipations for his future,
not because of his birth, not because his parents were rich, not
because of any extraordinary talent which he possessed, not
because of any earthly advantages, but because in his youth he
humbled himself before God and attained a knowledge concerning
the of Jesus Christ, and burning with zeal, he had a heartfelt
desire to proclaim the great truths which God had revealed to
him, to a fallen world and tried to save the children of men from
the pit into which they were likely to be engulfed. The same
spirit that animated the breast of the Savior, animated the
breast of Joseph Standing, that is, he had a portion of that same
spirit. He did not count bodily fatigue anything, he did not
count toil anything, he did not take into consideration his
health, the feebleness of his frame; none of these things had
weight with him. He did not think how, by staying at home and
attending to his business, he could benefit himself and receive
worldly advantages; none of these things were thought of, but the
very moment he was called to go from home he dropped everything,
although in somewhat feeble health and although he had already
filled an honorable mission, he felt it his duty to go when he
was called, to go without purse and without scrip, without hope
of earthly reward, putting his trust in God, laboring with
unselfish zeal for the salvation of his fellowmen, and thus he
labored until he fell a victim to the ungodly hate of those who
knew him not, who understood not the objects for which he
labored, and the purpose which animated his noble heart.
250
Who shall mourn to-day? The Latter-day Saints? No. Who shall
mourn to-day? The family and friends of Elder Joseph Standing?
No. It would be difficult and it would not be right that we
should repress the natural emotions of our hearts, that we should
stifle those natural affections; it is right and proper that we
should shed sympathetic tears, allow the heart's affection to
flow out in this manner and receive relief by the tears that are
shed. But there is no cause for grief to-day in this Tabernacle.
A servant of God who has occupied a faithful position, who has
been true, who has been upright, who has been blameless, has
fallen a victim--a victim to that hate that the adversary of
souls seeks to instil into the hearts of all the children of men
who will be led and guided by him, and the men who have to mourn
today are those who have been guilty of this foul deed. The land
that ought to mourn is the land that has been drenched with his
blood. If the Governor, the Judges, the Legislature, and the
other officials of the State of Georgia feel as they should they
will not rest satisfied until there shall be atonement made, and
the guilty wretches who took part in this great crime shall have
been brought to justice. But it will be a most extraordinary
thing if such shall be the result. Not but what I believe the
Governor is an upright man, and, so far as I am acquainted with
him, would do everything in his power to punish these murderers;
but there are other influences at work that are stronger than the
influence of the Governor, there are prejudices harder to conquer
than anything else that can be met with and there are hundreds,
and probably thousands of people who think that in killing the
"Mormons" they are doing God's service. Shall we hate them for
this? No; they are to be pitied. Men who indulge in such feelings
carry with them in their own breasts their punishment, and they
will experience a still more severe punishment before they get
through.
250
My brethren and sisters, when we embraced this, those of you who
were old enough to comprehend it, doubtless took into
consideration all the consequences that might follow; those who
were not old enough, or who have been born in the Church have had
experience enough upon these points to see and understand what
the results of the espousal of the truth are likely to be. It
cost the Savior his life. It cost the greater portion of his
apostles their lives. It cost every prophet almost that has lived
his life for proclaiming the truth. It has cost the best blood of
this Church and this generation to lay the foundation of this
Church. We have been mobbed, we have been driven, we have been
persecuted, we have been hated, our names have been cast out as
evil, there is no crime, there is no evil of which men could be
guilty that we have not been accused of, and we all know how
falsely and with how little foundation we have been charged with
these things. This is part of the results that we have to meet in
espousing the truth. The man that holds his life dear, that
values it more than the truth is unworthy of the truth. If we
value house, if we value lands, if we value a good name, if we
value property, if we value self, if we value even life itself
more than we do the truth we are unworthy of the truth. But God
has given unto us the truth; it is worth more than all else
beside. He has revealed himself to us. When we pray to him we
know that he hears us. When we ask him for a blessing that we
need we have the testimony from on high that he hears our
prayers, that he is willing to answer and grant unto us the
righteous desires of our hearts. These things compensate for the
loss of all other advantages; we have this consolation which our
persecutors do not have.
251
The Prophets who have preceded us have been slain generation
after generation; they have passed away. The Savior and his
apostles likewise passed away, the work, the foundation of which
they laid, having been overcome and destroyed by the adversary
from the face of the earth. They foresaw that for a long time
ahead, apostacy would follow their labors and administrations,
and a sorrowful thing it was for them to contemplate; but in our
case it is different. We live on the threshold of a new era; the
work that God has established in our day shall never be given to
another people. The priesthood which God has restored, the
authority by which men can administer in the ordinances of
God--that priesthood shall never be taken from the earth. Joseph
Smith, Hyrum Smith, David Patten and other martyrs may fall,
Brother Joseph Standing among the rest, their blood may be shed,
and the blood of others yet living may yet be shed to confirm the
testimony that has been borne, but though this is the case, there
is this to console us who live, to console us in contemplating
the future for ourselves and our posterity after us, and it is
that there is no power on earth, nor in hell that can destroy the
church that God has established, nor obliterate the priesthood
from the earth again as it was obliterated in ancient days. It
was necessary when this Church was started that angels should
come to restore that which was taken away, the everlasting
priesthood, but there will be no future necessity for this. We
are at the threshold of a thousand years of peace, we are engaged
in laying the foundation of that work which shall stand forever,
not only the thousand years but as long as time shall last and as
long as the earth itself shall endure. This is the consolation we
have that our predecessors did not have, and we can rejoice in
the contemplation of the glorious future of this work. As for
Brother Standing, no hero could wish to die a more glorious death
than his. He will be crowned among the glorious army of martyrs,
as one who was willing to lay down his life for the truth without
shrinking, without fear, without faltering when the time came. He
has borne a noble and untiring testimony all the time to the
truth of God, and there is in store for him a glorious crown
along with those who have been alike faithful in this work.
251
That his companion, Elder Rudger Clawson is alive and in our
midst to-day, is due to the wonderful providence of God. My
belief has been that had the mob commenced their whipping they
would both have been killed. The death of Brother Standing
doubtless saved Brother Clawson's life.
252
I pray God the Father to comfort your hearts, to pour out the
spirit of consolation and peace upon the family and upon all the
friends of the deceased. I pray for his enemies and for those who
have shed his blood. I would not do them any harm if I could.
There is not in my bosom, nor should there be in the bosoms of
the Latter-day Saints who have the true spirit of the resting
upon them, a feeling to revenge. We ought to be and I think we
are, far uplifted above such feelings, and if we do not have we
should have the feeling which Jesus had when he was upon the
cross and led him to say, "Father, forgive them, they know not
what they do." They had treated him with the greatest ignominy,
treated him as if he had committed the greatest crime, but in his
dying hour he could implore the blessing of his Father upon them.
And so we may upon those who seek to destroy this work. They
think they are doing God service; they are actuated by a spirit
of which they know nothing. They are to be pitied, they are to be
mourned over, and the day will come when, as we comprehend the
sufferings of those who did these deeds, our souls will swell
with pity and compassion and sorrow for their wretched condition.
I pray that the Spirit of the may rest down upon all of us, and
that the peace of heaven may be and abide in all our hearts,
which I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / John
Taylor, August 3, 1879
John Taylor, August 3, 1879
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
Sunday Morning, August 3, 1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
SLAIN FOR THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS--FUNERAL RITES OF JOSEPH
STANDING.
252
I wish to make a very few remarks on the present occasion; and I
desire that order and quietness may prevail.
253
We are met to-day on what may be termed a very sorrowful
occasion. We see before us the body of a murdered man, cut off in
the bloom and flower of his youth, with brilliant prospects
before him of a useful and glorious future. It is sorrowful to
reflect that men in a land of liberty, a land that boasts of its
enlightment, its religious liberty and its liberal institutions,
should be guilty of embruing their hands in the blood of an
upright honorable man because he dared to worship God according
to the dictates of his own conscience, and to teach his fellow
man the ways of life. It is a sorrowful reflection to feel that
liberty is only a name and that protection and even equal rights,
is only a figment, and exploded theory; and we may say, how has
the glory of this nation become sullied! How has the fine gold
become dim! How have the high and noble principles that inspired
the founders of this nation, in whose breasts burned the spirit
of freedom been desecrated, and those glorious principles for
which they battled been trailed in the dust. And what a miserable
showing we have before us of the efficacy of those sacred
principles for which the founders of those institutions battled
and died. It is sorrowful to reflect upon it. And on the other
hand it is a matter of pride to Latter-day Saints to see one of
our youth firm and unshaken in the principles of our holy
religion, and ready to maintain them in the midst of fanaticism
and hate even unto death. Pride, indeed mingled with sorrow.
Pride to see the heroism of the dying martyr, and poignant grief
for his loss, and more especially have we met here to sympathise
with his parents, the family and friends, and to mingle our tears
with theirs, and to reflect that although he died, he died with
the harness on, he died battling for the principles of the
everlasting Gospel; he died maintaining those eternal truths as
they have emanated from God our heavenly father; and that having
died he still lives and is numbered with those who are beneath
the altar, crying, how long, O Lord, holy, just and true, wilt
thou not avenge us of our adversaries? He has gone. Peace be to
his ashes. I would rather by ten thousand million times be lying
where he is than be in the position of those who imbrued their
hands in his blood, who, wherever they may be cannot help seeing
and feeling the horror of their fiendish act--their hellish deed,
and they will go down to the grave execrated as murderers and men
who have no friends or hope either in time or in eternity.
253
That young man has gone where others have gone whom I have seen
leave this earth under circumstances of a very similar nature. I
was with Joseph and Hyrum Smith when they were killed; and then,
their murderers tried to dispatch me too, and came very near
doing so. They shot at me and hit me a number of times. But I am
here yet; I suppose my time had not come. That is all right,
however. They have gone, and this our brother has followed, and
that is all right too, so far as he is concerned. His father
here, I have been acquainted with for upwards of forty years; and
his son, whose remains now lie before us, was born in this City;
he is one of our boys. He received, as has been stated, the
truths of the everlasting Gospel; he believed them with all his
heart and advocated them, going forth as a messenger of life
clothed with the Spirit of the living God. But this generation
does not like the truth, and indeed the generations have been
very few that have not rejected the truth when it has been
proclaimed to them. Stephen said in his day, "Which of the
prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain
them, which showed before of the coming of the just one of whom
ye have been now the betrayers and murderers." They lauded the
dead prophets, but killed the living ones.
253
Many of the people to-day are actuated by the same malignant
feelings, not knowing what spirit it is that incites them to
fight against and feel inimical to the principles of the
everlasting Gospel. And were Jesus here to-day appearing as he
did before--meek and lowly as the Savior of the world, preaching
the same doctrines, there would be as loud a cry by the professed
Christians throughout this land as there was in the land of Judea
by the Scribes and Pharisees: "Crucify him, crucify him! let him
be crucified," and there are many in our midst to-day who would
imbrue their hands in our blood, as those murderers in Georgia
did in the blood of this young martyr, if they dared do it.
254
God has committed to us the principles of truth, and has
commanded us to proclaim them to the ends of the earth; and
regardless of consequences and in the name of Israel's God we
will do it and let all Israel say Amen. (The vast congregation,
as with one voice, responded, "Amen.") We are not scared of
bonds, imprisonment or death. A few days ago they were talking
about putting me in prison because I chose to decline to betray a
trust committed to me by this people, and turn over to them
certain properties entrusted to my care. I said, You may take me
to prison, gentlemen; I am ready, but I am not ready to forsake
my principles, I am not ready to betray my people, I am not going
to barter away my honor nor the things that God has communicated
to me and that his people have vested in my hands. I can afford
to go to prison if you can afford to send me there; I can stand
it if you can. These are my feelings.
255
The same feeling exists in our midst that laid that young man
low. Men may clamor for our property; they may clamor for our
blood just as much as men have at any other time; but in the name
of Israel's God Zion will go on and prosper; the principles of
truth will prevail; the things that God has committed to us we
will bear off triumphantly, God being our helper, and there is no
power in this land, nor in any other land, nor on this side of
hell nor in hell itself that can prevent it. If we will cleave to
God and do our duty and purge ourselves from unrighteousness and
live our religion and keep His commandments, Zion will arise and
shine, and the glory of God will rest upon her. And when this
nation and other nations shall crumble to pieces, Zion and the
glory thereof will extend from nation to nation, and it will
continue to spread and grow until the kingdoms of this world
shall become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ, and every
creature in heaven and on the earth will be heard to say,
Blessing and glory and honor and praise and power, and might and
majesty and dominion be ascribed to Him that sits upon the
throne, and to the Lamb for ever. In God is our trust. He will
sustain his Israel. Our course is onward; and purity, virtue,
truth, integrity, the laws of God and equality to all men is our
motto, and protection to every honest man under all
circumstances. We are friends of God and the friends of humanity.
Like Brother Cannon, I do not mourn over the departed dead. He
has gone to associate among an honorable band who dared during
their life-time to do their duty, and who battled valiantly for
the cause of truth. Here is Brother Rudger Clawson, who was with
Brother Standing when he was shot. The mob threatened his life
and leveled their guns to take it. He calmly folded his arms and
looking his adversaries in the face told them to shoot. But they
did not do it. God preserved him, that's all. Here is Brother
John Morgan, who has labored and traveled extensively in that
region of country. He and Brother Standing as one of his
colaborers had preached the Gospel and succeeded in baptizing a
number of people. This had aroused the feeling of opposition in
the hearts of some, and the reason they were opposed to these
things was because people believed the Gospel, and they did not
want them to. That's all. Did they hurt anybody? No. Are they
honorable men? Yes. Did either of them interfere with the rights
or privileges of any one? No. For what then was this young man
killed? Because he dared to believe in God, and dared to proclaim
that God had revealed himself in these latter days as he did in
former days. Because he dared to tell the people to repent of
their sins and be baptized for the remission of them, promising
all that would do so that they should receive the Holy Ghost.
What a great crime for him to die for! That is what I am sorry
for. I am sorry to see that vindictive and revengeful spirit
existing among mankind. We have very different feelings from
this, as our history from the beginning abundantly proves. David,
you know, on a certain occasion, feeling angry with the people by
who he was surrounded because of their wickedness, prayed that
God would send them to hell quickly. Jesus, while suffering the
agonies of death, exclaimed, "Father, forgive them, they know not
what they do." How much better the latter is than the former. Let
us cultivate that spirit. But while we do that, do not let your
enemies think you are asleep; but woe to those men who fight
against Israel. In the name of Israel's God, they shall be wasted
away, and you may write it down and see whether it comes to pass
or not. And let all Israel say Amen. (Again the congregation
responded, "Amen.") But Zion will arise and shine, and the glory
of God will rest upon her.
255
Brother Standing (the speaker turned and addressed himself to the
father of the deceased, who was seated on the stand) it is right
you should mourn; it is right that you and your family and
friends should be sorrowful and possess those feelings of
sympathy; but your son has gone to prepare a place for you that
where he is you may be also.
255
What do you propose to do? To do good to all men as far as they
will let us; but to prevent them from robbing us and interfering
with us, as God give us power; and maintain our rights, the
rights of freemen, the rights that God has committed to us, and
honor our priesthood and calling and still go to the ends of the
earth and proclaim the unsearchable things of the kingdom; gather
together the honest in heart from among all nations, build
temples and administer in them, honor the Lord our God and keep
his commandments; and by and by, when the dead shall hear the
voice of the Son of God, and come forth, that young man, with
Joseph and Hyrum Smith, whom I saw butchered by a mob, while
under the protection of the law--under the protection of the
Governor of the State, who pledged his honor and the faith of the
State to me and to Dr. Bernhisel, that if we would go there
without any arms, that we should be protected; and soon after we
had complied with his request, these men were murdered in cold
blood. These are things I am personally conversant with. Well,
what of them? They are gone to mingle with the Gods, so has
Brother Joseph Standing. Brother Standing, (addressing the father
of the deceased) do not be troubled, your son is all right. I am
glad to see the care that has been manifested by Brothers Clawson
and Morgan in regard to getting the body of their fellow-laborer
here that we might have an opportunity of paying the last tribute
of respect to this our departed brother, who was faithful to the
end, and who will receive a crown of light and glory among the
Gods in the eternal worlds.
255
Brethren, let us be faithful to God, let us live our religion,
keep his commandments, treat everybody well even all men who do
right; treat them well and be kind and just to them whether of
your faith or not; but do not allow those miserable miscreants
that exist in our midst to have dominion over you. We must
maintain our rights--rights that are guaranteed unto us by the
constitution of our country and which God has given to us; and if
we do this he will stand by us. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / John
Taylor, March 2, 1879
John Taylor, March 2, 1879
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered in the Ogden Tabernacle, on Sunday, March 2, 1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
THE INTEREST OF HUMANITY SHOULD BE OBSERVED.
256
I thought I would come down and talk with you a little this
morning. I am pleased to hear the remarks made by Brother Joseph
F.; they are very well worthy of all acceptation by all good men.
We indeed, as he said, are engaged in a great work--the ushering
in of the dispensation of the fulness of times, wherein it has
been decreed thousands of years ago, that God would "gather
together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven,
and which are on earth, even in him." And for this purpose he has
manifested himself; for this purpose the Son of God has
manifested himself; for this purpose those holy prophets,
referred to in the revelation read to you by Brother Joseph,
manifested themselves; for this purpose the heavens and the
intelligences around the throne of God are united; for this
purpose the Holy Priesthood that have existed in the various
dispensations of time are interested, and for this purpose those
who held the keys of the several dispensations that have passed,
have brought those keys and conferred them upon the Church of the
latter-days, through the medium of Joseph Smith. The work that we
are engaged in is associated with the interest of all
humanity--all men that have ever lived, those that now live, and
those that will live, and the salvation of the living and the
dead is mixed up with these matters.
257
We are not here for the purpose of looking after our own
individual affairs and interests, or to carry out our own
peculiar notions or feelings associated with any of our interests
or the interest of any particular party or clique, or anything of
that kind. But the Priesthood of the Son of God has been
manifested in the interests of God, in the interests of the
heavens, and in the interest of all humanity; embracing all
people and extending to all nations and tongues. The Lord has
gathered us together for the express purpose of forming a
nucleus, an organism, a people to whom he could communicate and
reveal his will, and to whom he could make known his designs, and
among whom he could establish the principles of eternal truth and
the light, intelligence, rule and law of God, as they exist in
the eternal worlds. This is why we are gathered here to-day, if
we can comprehend it.
257
Jesus, when here upon the earth, had a people and called them his
sheep. Said he, "My sheep hear my voice and they know me and they
follow me, and a stranger will they not follow, for they know not
the voice of a stranger." And again he says while supplicating
the Father, "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for
them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. Neither pray I
for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me
through their word; that they all may be one, as thou, Father,
art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that
the world may believe that thou hast sent me," that they may have
evidence of a union that exists nowhere else in the world of the
love and affection of those godly principles that cement and bind
men together, which nothing but the power and spirit of
revelation can do; that they may have evidence of something more
exalting, more ennobling, and which will unite and associate men
together in indissoluble bonds of eternal truth according to the
laws of God; that there may be evidence in existence in the world
that thou hast sent me, and that the principles that thou hast
given me have been revealed to them and that they are to be
governed by them: "thine they were, and thou hast given them me."
257
That was the feeling that existed in former times among the
Saints of God, and these were some of the teachings unto them.
The sheep have been scattered abroad among the nations of the
earth to whom this communication has been sent, and thousands
have heard and obeyed the voice of the good Shepherd and have
gathered themselves together, as we are here and as they are over
this Territory, according to the impulses originating from the
Spirit of God, which has operated and worked upon our minds and
brought us together as we are here to-day.
257
Now then, what was this for? To preach first the Gospel of
repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, and the laying
on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, to be followed
by the gathering together, etc. And what was it for? That we all
might be baptized into one baptism, that we all might partake of
the same spirit, that we all might be brought into communication
with the Almighty and derive wisdom and intelligence from the
same fountain, having "One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God
and Father of all, through all, and in you all." When Jesus sent
forth his servants formerly he sent them to preach this Gospel.
When the Father and the Son and Moroni and others came to Joseph
Smith, he had a priesthood conferred upon him which he conferred
upon others for the purpose of manifesting the laws of life, the
Gospel of the Son of God, by direct authority, that light and
truth might be spread forth among all nations. There was a number
of men selected by the Savior anciently, to whom he said: "Ye
have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you." What
to do? To do the things you have seen me do, as I have come to do
what I have seen my Father do. The words which I speak, I speak
not of myself; but the Father who dwells in me, he doeth the
works.
258
Now then, we have got a priesthood organized here upon the earth,
as there was one organized in the days of Jesus, only with this
distinctive difference,--that that was a dispensation of God to
them; this we live in is the dispensation of the fulness of
times, embracing all other dispensations and times and powers and
authorities that have existed upon the face of the earth, in the
various ages, from the commencement to the present time. Herein
it differs from others. Hence we are requested to gather
together, something which they were not commanded to do. We are
told to build Temples: they were not. We are told to administer
for the living and the dead, which ordinances were only performed
then to a very limited extent. We are called upon to build up not
only the Church, but the kingdom of God, and to introduce the
rule and government of God upon the earth. We are here just as
Jesus was, not to do our own will, but for the purpose of
carrying out our own ideas or theories, but to do the will of God
who sent us. That is the way Jesus preached: "For I came down
from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that
sent me." Sometimes it was trying and perplexing, sometimes it
was hard to endure; but he did endure and suffer it, and he
accomplished the work he was sent to do. But sometimes when
struggling with the powers of darkness, and environed with the
corrupt and ungodly, he gazed upon and comprehended the gravity
of the situation and things before him, it so operated upon him,
that in mortal agony he sweat great drops of blood. "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 sufferings." "For we have not an high
priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our
infirmities; but one who was in all points tempted like as we
are, yet without sin." He endured everything possible for mortal
to endure on the earth. Finally, when the last struggle came,
said he, "Father," if thou art willing, "if it be possible,
remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be
done." What were his feelings in the midst of all this sorrow?
Did he give railing for railing, contumely for contumely? No, he
did not. David, you know, prayed that God would send his enemies
to hell quickly. He was quite in a hurry about it, as we are
sometimes. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not
what they do;" they are ignorant, they are foolish, and blinded
through superstition; they comprehend not the laws, they know
nothing of my mission. Father, forgive them. I admire the
sentiments and feelings of the Savior under such circumstances,
very much more than those of David.
258
As I understand it we are called upon to be saviors. And as
saviors of men, endowed with the holy priesthood, we should, with
one feeling and spirit, operate together in the interests of
Zion; we ought to humble ourselves before God and seek for His
Holy Spirit to lead us in the right path, that all may comprehend
His law, and that we may operate together in the interests of
Israel, and in the building up of the Kingdom of God upon the
earth; and every other feeling and idea ought to be esteemed
subservient to that, and that ought to be the first, leading,
guiding, and controling sentiment of all the elders of Israel,
and especially of those who take the lead in Israel.
259
We get tried sometimes, and we sometimes try one another; and we
sometimes feel as David did on a certain occasion, when he
exclaimed: "For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I
could have borne it; neither was it he that hated me that did
magnify himself against me; then I could have hid myself from
him. But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and my
acquaintance."
260
Did you ever know it is necessary that we should be tried in all
things? If you do not you will find it out before you get
through, and we are not through yet quite. In this connection, I
am reminded of what I heard the Prophet Joseph say, speaking more
particularly with reference to the Twelve, "The Lord will feel
after your heart-strings, and will wrench them and twist them
around, and you will have to learn to rely upon God and upon God
alone." Has he done it? I think he has pretty thoroughly. The
Prophet himself was tried about as much as anybody I know of, and
his Brother Hyrum had his full share, the Twelve also have been
tried as much as any men that I know of, and a great deal more
than you know anything about. He furthermore said, "If God could
in any other way more keenly have tried Abraham than by calling
upon him to offer up his son Isaac, he would have done it." And
as I have said, Jesus himself sweat great drops of blood, and in
the agony of his suffering cried out, "My God, my God, why hast
thou forsaken me?" And why is it thus? We are told by one of old,
"For it became him, for whom all things, and by whom all things,
in bringing many things unto glory, to make the Captain of their
salvation perfect through sufferings." "For we have not an High
Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our
infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet
without sin." Oh, what a happy thing it would be if we could
follow in his footsteps in that particular! But we have our
weaknesses and infirmities in common with all men. It is incident
to humanity, and the devourer is at work seeking to destroy, to
contaminate, to corrupt and defile, and to lead men down to
perdition, to produce discord and envy, hatred and strife, and
every evil that proceeds from that source. Shall I tell you its
fruits? Envy is one; hatred is another; malice is another;
uncharitableness is another; evil speaking is another; and so
on--all these things proceed from an evil spirit; and it is said,
"That to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants
ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or obedience
unto righteousness." Men sometimes falter? Yes, sometimes they
think they are strong; but no man is strong unless he be strong
in the Lord. No man is sustained only as God sustains him; and if
he do not sustain him, I would not give much for his ideas or
position. We sometimes think we are strong and that we can do a
great deal. So thought Peter on a certain occasion--at the time
when Christ said to his disciples, "All ye shall be offended
because of me this night." But Peter answered him, saying,
"Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I
never be offended." The Savior doubtless appreciated his
feelings, but knowing better than he the frailty of humanity, he
said unto him, "Verily I say unto thee, that this night, before
the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice." Did he do it? Yes he
did; but Jesus did not get angry with him, nor begin to upbraid
him and speak angry words to him. He knew too well the weakness
of mortal man, and he knew it before that time. But he says,
"Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith
unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee." If you love
me, if you are my friend and my disciple, "Feed my Lambs." That
was not very hard to do; he had been called for that purpose. "He
saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest
thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love
thee. He said unto him, Feed my Sheep." And the third time the
Savior put the same question to Peter, and which on being
answered as before, he said to him, "Feed my Sheep." What is the
duty of the Apostles, the Presidents of Stakes, the High Priests,
and Seventies, especially of those that are generally presiding?
If Jesus was here, he would tell you to lay aside your nonsense,
your follies and weaknesses, and act more like men and Saints,
and go to work and "Feed my Sheep." Said he, "If I be lifted up,
I will draw all men to me," not that I will rule with an
iron-hand, not that I will trample upon them, not that I will let
you see that I possess power and authority; but "I will draw all
men to me." That will not be accomplished until the time spoken
of when every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall be heard to
say, "Glory, honor, majesty and power, be unto him that sits upon
the throne and to the Lamb for ever;" but it will be done through
the influence of the Gospel, through its cementing and
harmonizing influences, through the aid of the Almighty and the
operations of the holy priesthood combined together, united as
the heart of one man in the accomplishment of the purposes of
God; with kindness and brotherly affections, with long suffering
and with every principle of righteousness that is calculated to
draw the feelings and affections of men, that they may see the
truth and know it for themselves, and that they may know also
that we are their friends, acting for the welfare of all men,
living and dead, and in the interest of the Church and Kingdom of
God upon the earth. And where this principle does not exist,
there is something wrong, the principles of the Gospel are not
lived up to. For God is love, and they that dwell in God, dwell
in love; and "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother,
he is a liar," so said the word or God formerly, and it says
to-day. God is love, and they that dwell in God, dwell in love.
They are surrounded by that element, it is the fountain of life
within them. Jesus said to the woman of Samaria, whom he asked to
give him drink, "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst
again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him
shall never thirst; but the water I shall give him shall be in
him a well of water springing up unto everlasting life." If we
will live so as to be entitled to drink of the well streams that
flow from the fountain of all light, all these little, narrow,
contracted, by gone influences, will vanish like the dew before
the rising sun, and the light, the Spirit and revelations of God,
will rest upon the priesthood, and Israel will be one and his
priesthood one, and they will fight side by side in the defence
of truth, an in the maintenance of those principles calculated to
exalt men through all time and all eternity.
261
These things referred to by Brother Joseph F. are too small for
men to have anything to do with. It might be excusable in babies,
but for men to be engaged in such things is a shame upon the
priesthood, and an outrage upon the holy principles that God has
been pleased to reveal to us. That is the way I look at these
things. And it is a trick of the devil to decoy and destroy, to
divide and disrupt, and to lead men down to perdition. What would
be the result if these things are carried out a little further?
The whole head would be sick and the whole heart faint. I say,
shame on the Elders of Israel! shame on men holding the holy
priesthood that cannot be united and operate together in the
interest of the Church and the Kingdom of God, but must drag in
their mean, low, contemptible ideas and notions, forgetting the
high calling with which they are called.
262
What shall we do? Why, lay them aside and repent of your
foolishness, and forgive one another of your hard speeches and
words, and your rash and hard treatment made us of to produce
stings, trouble and annoyance among men; and study from this time
henceforth one another's feelings, and act the part of a brother
and friend one towards another, live your religion and keep the
commandments of God. How did Jesus teach his disciples to pray?
When you pray, say, "Our Father which art in heaven." What? I
must tell a little story here. There was a poor man once called
upon a minister for assistance; the minister tried to cheat him,
and would not give him what he had agreed to for some labor
performed by him; the man was not very well suited about it. The
minister, it would seem, was one of those fellows who, if he
could squeeze a little out of the poor man, was quite willing to
do it. "Well," said the man, "I will take what you offer me,
although it is not what you agreed to give me, providing you will
teach me the Lord's prayer." To this the minister agreed and
said, "Repeat after me and say, 'Our Father which art in
heaven--'" "What!" says the man, "is God your Father and my
Father, too?" "You must repeat what I say," said the minister,
"Our Father," etc. "What," said the man, "my father and your
Father?" "Yes, yes." "Then," broke in the man again, "is he
indeed my Father as well as your Father?" "Yes," replied the
minister, but you must repeat my words." "Well, what a rascal you
must be to try to cheat your poor brother in this way?" We should
all feel that God is our Father, and that we are all brethren and
sisters. There are none of us very big; in fact we are all very
little when you come to know all about us. None of us can do
anything except the Lord help us, and if he does not help us, we,
as a certain lady said, are "all poor, miserable, independent
sinners." There is none of the "big I and little you" amongst us.
We should have a common sympathy one for another, and feel a
kindly regard for the lowest of God's creations, and especially
for the Saints of God, no matter what position they occupy. If
any are in error, try to reclaim them by kindness; if they have a
bad spirit, show them a better one; if any do not do right, do
right yourselves and say, "Come follow me, as I follow Christ."
Would not that be the right course to pursue? I think it would;
that is the way I understand the Gospel. We do not, any of us,
have the priesthood for self aggrandizement, or to be used to
oppress, or take advantage of anybody, or to use improper
language; but with all kindness and long suffering and
forbearance and with love unfeigned. I will read from the
Doctrine and Covenants something bearing on this, from page 386.
262
"Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are
they not chosen? Because their hearts are set so much upon the
things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, and they
do not learn this one lesson--"just the very thing I have been
talking about--"That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably
connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of
heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles
of righteousness." Do you think that God will give power to any
man only to carry out his own contracted or selfish purposes? I
tell you he never will, never, no never. "That they may be
conferred on us it is true; but when we undertake to cover our
sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise
control, or dominion or compulsion, upon the souls of the
children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold the
heavens withdraw themselves, the Spirit of the Lord is grieved;
and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood of that man."
262
We think sometimes, we are standing in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus; and so we are. But there is no priesthood of the Son of
God that authorizes one man to oppress another or to intrude upon
his rights in any way. There is no such thing in the category; it
does not exist; as it is said--"Behold! ere he is aware, he is
left unto himself, to kick against the pricks; to persecute the
Saints, and to fight against God." We have learned by sad
experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all
men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose,
they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.
Hence many are called, but few are chosen. No person or influence
can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only
by persuasion, by long suffering, by gentleness, and meekness,
and by love unfeigned, by kindness, and pure knowledge, which
shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without
guile, reproving by times with sharpness, when moved upon by the
Holy Ghost, and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love
toward him whom thou hast reproved lest he esteem thee to be his
enemy; that he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than
the cords of death. Let thy bowels also be full of charity
towards all men," not of envy, not of hate, not of fault-finding,
but "be full of charity towards all men and to the household of
faith; and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly, then
shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God, and the
doctrine of the priesthood shall distill upon thy soul as the
dews from heaven." Then shall you feel the power of the Holy
Ghost resting upon you and its influence penetrating your soul,
and then it will grow and spread until its influence extends
everywhere; and then will men respect, esteem, and venerate you
for your fidelity and for your adherence to the truth. "The Holy
Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an
unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth, and thy dominion
shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it
shall flow unto thee forever and ever."
263
These are great truths for us to reflect upon. And in connection
with this I wish to say, we not only need to have confidence in
men, but we must exhibit that confidence. "Be kindly affectionate
one to an other with brotherly love; in honor preferring one
another," not preferring ourselves, but "in honor preferring one
another." This may be a hard lesson for some to learn, but we
have got it to learn, or we never shall be fitted to hold any
important position in carrying out the designs of God, in
building up His Church and Kingdom on the earth. We want to feel
a free interchange of that union one with another, not for one
man to stand up among his fellows as though he were
unapproachable, and say to others, "Stand off, I am holier than
thou." Nothing of this kind; but entertain a kindness, a sympathy
and a desire to promote the happiness and welfare of all men,
just as God does. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and on
the good, and he sends his rain on the just and on the unjust.
263
There is something I thought I would refer to in order that it
might be known and properly understood. There is a feeling
generally entertained that President Young, in his lifetime, got
possession of a certain square here in Ogden wrongfully. Certain
things are continually being originated by certain minds, and
rumors get circulated, and it is too often the case that people
do not stop to consider as to their truthfulness and in many
instances conclusions are formed, and I would venture to say that
in nine cases out of every ten such conclusions are wrong.
Brother Lorin Farr is present: he was Mayor at the time this land
in question was transferred to President Young, and is conversant
with the whole transaction. I will therefore call upon Brother
Farr to come forward and relate the same fully, yet concisely,
that you may be apprized of the facts.
263
Elder Lorin Farr then made the following statement:
264
President Young spoke to me, as Mayor, either once or twice--I
think it was twice--wishing to know if Ogden City would let him
have the "Union Square" for the purpose of making a Utah Central
Railroad Passenger Depot, saying that if he could obtain it for
this purpose he would also make of it an ornamental square,
suitable for a summer resort; which I believe he fully
contemplated doing, and would have done, or have made the
necessary provisions for it to be done, had he known he was so
soon to leave us. I have no doubt in my mind but what he intended
to make a very nice public resort of it, and believing so, I laid
the matter before the City Council, informing that body that
President Young had a claim on this city which arose in this way:
when he located Ogden City, between the forks of the two rivers,
there was then a very desirable farm here which was owned by
Father Bingham, containing 160 acres more or less. The President
intimated to Father Bingham his design of locating a city
hereabouts, and that he knew of no situation so good and suitable
as that commanded by his farm and proposed to purchase his farm
for that purpose. Father Bingham consented to the proposition,
the purchase was affected, President Young paying for the land
out of his own pocket, and turned it over to the city. I
supposed, as one of the members of the City Council, that that
piece of land belonged to the city and belonged to the Church, as
President Young belonged to the Church. I thought so, and we all
thought so, and there was no thought given to it. It passed along
for about twenty years in that way. It is true, I sent down to
President Young at one time the sum of sixty dollars of City
money to apply on the interest then due on the money he advanced
for the purchase of the land,--the money we sent to him was the
proceeds of City lots which we sold at five dollars each, which
about paid the expense of surveying and recording, leaving a
small part of pay for President Young. It was understood that he
was to have his pay sometime. I think I sent down a small amount
of money another time, but the amount I do not now remember. I
laid this matter before the City Council, stating to that body
how President Young looked at it, and I told them I thought it
quite right and proper that President Young should have his pay,
but that I disliked very much to give up the square; but, I said,
seeing that President Young intended to make of it an ornamental
square, I would consent; without the other consideration I was in
favor of sending a committee to wait on President Young to
ascertain how much he paid for the land previously owned by
Father Bingham, and refund him the money with ten per cent
interest. I requested the Council to appoint such a committee;
but some differed from me, while a few, I believe, favored my
suggestion. We agreed, however, seeing that President Young had
advanced the means to buy the location of our city, and actually
purchased and possessed it, which probably no other man but he
could have done, and that he had requested the City to deed him
the square in payment of his claim, and that he had proposed to
beautify it for the benefit of the public, we concluded to deed
him the square; and when the time of filing the land came, which
was shortly afterwards, President Young filed upon the square and
got his deed for it.
264
I will here take occasion to remark that when I gave this
explanation at our Caucus meeting lately held in Ogden, that a
gentleman, an editor from the East, afterwards spoke to me about
it, and in telling you what he thought about the matter will
illustrate my feelings in regard to it. He said--that is before
this land jumping--I think that you did nothing more than right,
I think President Young has done enough for this people, and he
richly deserved that square, and you would not have exceeded
fairness to have given him more than that ten acres for the 160
acres which you say he purchased and turned over to the city for
city purposes.
265
President Taylor then resumed, the stand. Some people will say
"Oh, don't talk about it." I think a full, free talk is
frequently of great use; we want nothing secret nor underhanded,
and for one I want no association with things that cannot be
talked about and will not bear investigation. I wanted to hear
Brother Farr's statement about this affair, and I wanted you to
hear it, because out of such things, unless properly understood,
a great many misunderstandings arise. I have heard it stated that
President Young had exacted too much in getting possession of
this ten acre square; I wonder now if any of you speculating men
had owned this 160 acres of land in this locality if you would
have been satisfied to take ten acres of this swampy land for it?
There is no decent man anywhere that would object to anything of
that kind, neither Jew, Gentile, or Mormon, and such
unpleasantness frequently arises from a miscomprehension of
affairs. Had President Young, because he was President of the
Church, no right to have pay for that which belonged to him? And
if he furnished 160 acres of land and got sixty dollars for it, I
think nobody was injured very seriously in giving him ten acres
in lieu of it. Some of you would have thought your toes were
trodden on pretty heavily had you been required to trade on any
such terms. I herd a man say not long ago, when something
perplexing occurred, he did not know what excuse to make about
it. I said to him, a right needs no excuse, and an excuse will
not make a wrong right. We want facts, and when we get them let
us appreciate them, and lay aside our nonsense which so
frequently arises from our misconception of things.
266
There is another thing I wish to refer to pertaining to your
local officers. I have heard it said that the City Council was in
trouble about the land on which the Tabernacle stands, because it
was thought the Church would get the benefit of it. Why? Because
they have occupied it so long. Who for? For the Church generally?
No; but for the local church in this place. The Church, as a
Church, has bought a part of that square above referred to, and
has paid the estate for it. Brother Joseph F. Smith and Brother
F. Richards here are cognizant of the fact, as auditors. I refer
to the land where our Tithing Office stands; but this other
matter is something that pertains to yourselves and not to the
Church. You have had this for upwards of twenty years. (Brother
Joseph F., addressing himself to President Taylor, said: "This
place was designated by President Young, when the city was first
laid out, as a place to build a meeting house.") I am informed
that this place was designated by President Young, when the city
was laid out, as a place for church purposes. (A voice from the
stand--"That's correct, and Brother D. H. Wells carried the flag
when it was surveyed.") Brother Herrick testifies to its
correctness. (Brother Wells said, "I am also conversant with the
fact; I carried the flag-pole when this square was laid out."
Brother Wells also bears testimony to the same thing, he carried
the flag-pole when the Square was surveyed. I want these matters
understood, open and above board; we have nothing to conceal from
anybody. But there was some inattention manifested by your local
authorities--for the general authorities of the Church have
nothing to do with it; this place through neglect, was not
entered at the time the city entries were made, and because of
this technicality some of the City Councilors seemed to object to
the Church having two-and-half acres of the ten acres, which was
all they asked for, and that, too, on behalf of the citizens of
Ogden, by paying for it what it had cost the city, the same as
they have done with private individuals, I believe as provided by
law. But somebody seems to think that somebody is injured. Who is
injured? If the Church had ten acres and only desires
two-and-half acres, or if they desired the whole of it, I don't
think it any great stretch of liberality of anybody, and I do not
see why any one should be at all exercised about it. They will
say, What will the Gentiles say? No honorable Gentile would say
it is wrong, or take any exception to it, and as for those who
are not so, we do not care anything at all about them. That is my
idea. Somebody said the City Council had given two-and-half acres
to some outside religious sect. Well, if they had it to spare,
who cares? We do not want to be pinched up in a nutshell. But
then, I think the Latter-day Saints have just as much right to
lands surveyed and owned by them upwards of twenty years ago, as
the Gentiles to receive a free gift. I do not know why this kind
of feeling should exist, and therefore I speak of it. We are all
one, or ought to be; and therefore I speak of these things as
they have been presented to me. Is there anything wrong in that?
Again, here the Seventies, I understand, have given a large hall
over to the city. Anything wrong in that? No, not if they felt
able to do so. I would not think it very good policy, however, to
give such a hall away and then be left without any place to meet
in. But then it belonged to them and they have done it, and who
cares? I don't. But if the city has got things of that kind from
the Seventies, if they have done an act of that kind, why not the
city turn around and be a little generous? Can't the city be as
generous and kind? Who are the city? I suppose you are, along
with a few outsiders. Brother Richards mentioned to me, as
Trustee-in-Trust, that there were five acres of land here,
joining the schoolhouse, in the lane, saying, "We would like to
get it, for we wish to use it for the purposes of a high school
or academy." I said, "I will mention it to the brethren of the
Council." We have since turned it over. Whose business is it? The
city is not injured, and the Church is not. I mention these
things that we may have a proper understanding of them, and not
be found talking about things we do not understand. I fee very
liberal towards the liberal class of Gentiles; but do I feel
liberal in any feelings to every miserable "unprincipled man?"
No. But to the good, and virtuous, and upright everywhere.
266
What was our message to the world? Salvation. What was the
promise to Abraham? "In thee and in thy seed shall all the
nations of the earth be blessed," not cursed. The priesthood of
God was not given to curse men or destroy them, but to bless
them.
267
Again, we are told to go and preach the Gospel to every creature;
and there is a great deal of pains being taken to do this. What
is it? The Gospel of life and salvation. Is it free to all? Yes,
free as the streams that pass your city, and all are invited.
Some do not like it. What of that? We cannot help that; we are
going to perform the work that God has set us at, and we will
treat all men right. When they come here, as strangers in our
midst, will we treat all men right. When they come here, as
strangers in our midst, will we treat them right? Yes. Do they
treat us right? Not quite. Will we be liberal and generous and
kind? Yes; I would give to every man of whatever name, or creed,
or color, all his rights without his ever asking for them; we
need no plot, or intrigue, or anything of that kind. We expect to
build up and establish the kingdom of God, that will contain in
it, admiration, protection of the virtuous and good among all
nations. The time will yet come when he that will not take up his
sword to fight against his neighbor, must needs flee to Zion for
safety. All those who are not fond of blood and carnage and
desolation, if they want to be preserved will flee to Zion. Have
we not got to have a Zion for them to flee to? Yes. And what is
Zion? The pure in heart. We want to organize in such a way, and
advocate and maintain such correct principles, that they will
become the admiration of all honest men, who will flee that they
can be protected and find safety and an asylum in Zion. What of
that? Are we going to follow them then? No, no, no, we are not.
Are we going to be governed by their notions? No, we are not. Are
we going to mix up with their Babylonish ideas? No, we are not;
we are going in for Israel and for the Church and kingdom of God,
but we will protect every man in his rights so far as God gives
us power to do so, but we will not mix up with their iniquities,
their frauds and corruptions, that they are seeking in many
instances to crowd in upon us; we want to be free from these
evils, and put our trust in the living God and cleave to the
right and the truth. If a man is a good man, won't I treat him
right? Yes; but at the same time, our moral and social ideas are
very different, and while I accord to them all the civil
liberties that any reasonable men should want, I do not wish to
be governed by his standard of morality, nor do I wish him to
teach my children. Why? Simply because I do not wish them
perverted. No Gentile or reasonable man would find fault with me
for that. He does not want me to teach his children my faith. All
right, he can keep them away, and I want to keep mine from his
influences. Why? Because we are associated with things that are
eternal in their consequences. We are aiming at the celestial
glory. We believe they will get as big a glory as they are
looking for, but it will not be that which we anticipate;
therefore we don't want them to train our children and lead them
down to death. We want to manage these things ourselves, but
injure nobody. Is anybody injured by it? No. "I cannot see as you
see," say some. All right, we cannot help that. Would I find
fault with the City Council because they give a burying ground to
some who prefer to have their dead by themselves? No, not if you
have it to spare; but on the other hand, don't let us shut out
our own people and our own interests, but maintain every right
wisely, to the building up of the kingdom of God. We will be as
generous as the world dare to be; and we expect the principles of
the everlasting Gospel will go on and increase until the kingdoms
of this world become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ.
267
I say to those men who may have any differences, settle them like
men and don't act the baby any more, but conduct yourselves as
servants of the Most High God. And may he enable you to do so and
bless us all and lead us in the paths of life, is my prayer in
the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / George
Q. Cannon, July 20th, 1879
George Q. Cannon, July 20th, 1879
DISCOURSE BY ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
on Sunday Morning, July 20th, 1879.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
NECESSITY OF REVELATION--EVIDENCES OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST--THE
FUTURE OF THE SAINTS--PLURAL MARRIAGE.
268
I am greatly pleased this afternoon at having the opportunity of
meeting with the Latter-day Saints, and of listening to the
testimonies that have been borne by Brother Staines in relation
to this work. I, also, have been absent for some length of time.
Upwards of 34 weeks ago I left this city to go east; I have been
back twice during that period for a few days, and it is a great
pleasure and I may say a delight to me to have the opportunity of
being here to listen to the instructions, to the singing, and to
partake of the Spirit that prevails in this Tabernacle; to me it
is the spirit of home, it is the spirit of peace, and I have more
delight and satisfaction in mingling with the Latter-day Saints
than I have under any other circumstances. They are my people.
Their religion is my religion. Their God is my God. Their future
is the future in which I hope to share. If they be prosperous I
hope to be prosperous. If they have adverse circumstances to
contend with I expect to share in them; and it is this knowledge
of which Brother Staines has spoken that prompts these feelings
to which I refer.
274
If there is any peculiarity about what the world calls Mormonism,
or that which we term the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as
taught by his Church, that I admire, that I love, that causes me
to feel thankful unto God; it is the peculiarity which reference
has been made by Brother Staines, namely, that William C.
Staines, or George Q. Cannon, or any other man or woman however
humble, who is connected with this Church, has a right, according
to the promises of our heavenly Father, to receive revelation
from him when needed. I would not give much for a religion, the
revelations of which were confined to two, three, four, or
perchance twelve men. It would not recommend itself as the
religion of that Being who is the Father of all, who has created
all, and who has placed us all here upon the earth as his
children. This feature to which I refer is one of the most
delightful characteristics of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Brother Staines has referred to the Prophets Joseph Smith
and Brigham Young, and to others who have stood in prominent
places in this Church, who have received revelations from God;
and who imparted these revelations to the people. Of what value,
of what special value, would these revelations be to those to
whom they were imparted through the medium of these men, unless
they had some means of testing their truthfulness? What a
terrible condition we should be in if God, in his providence,
were to confine his knowledge in that way--if we were required,
as some imagine mankind are required, to submit to the teachings
of their fellow-men and to accept and practise them because those
men say they are from God! Imagine the condition of the
Latter-day Saints if this were the case! Imagine the condition of
the whole world if one man stood prominent, or three men, or
twelve men, or fifteen men, stood prominent, receiving
revelations from divinity and conveying these revelations to the
children of men, with the requirement that those who received
them should submit to them as the voice of God, and the people
themselves be destitute of any means of testing the truthfulness
of these revelations, except so far as they might appeal to their
reason and to the sense of right that is begotten in them! Now, a
great many people who are not acquainted with the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the teachings of that
Church--and I do not know but some who are members of that
Church--imagine that this is the nature of the organization of
the Church of Christ, and that this is the manner in which
knowledge is conveyed to the people, and in which the
requirements of the people are submitted to by the people. Why
this Church could not stand, could not have endured the trials
and afflictions and the opposition to which it has been exposed,
one hour if that were the case. It would fall to pieces, there
would be no power, no cohesive power, to hold it together. The
strength, the power, the cause of the perpetuity of this work,
the marvelous character of its operations throughout the nations
of the earth, the wonderful attractiveness of this Gospel, the
secret of its great success in foreign land, preached by
illiterate men, consists in the fact that God the Eternal father,
reveals his mind unto every honest soul who humbly seeks for it.
Not to one man, not to three men, not to apostles, not to
bishops, not to high priests, not to seventies, not to elders
alone, but to every humble soul who in sincerity, and with a
broken heart and contrite spirit, bows himself or herself in
secret before the throne of the great Eternal, and in humility
asks, in the name of Jesus, for a knowledge to be imparted to him
or to her whether it is the truth he or she has heard. This is
the secret of the success of this work. This is the cause of its
wonderful power and the attractiveness it has for the hearts of
the children of men. This is the reason that illiterate men,
going forth bearing testimony of these things, have been so
successful throughout all the nations of the earth where they
have been, and it is this that draws them, as we have been told
this afternoon by Brother Staines, by thousands from foreign
lands and causes them to come to this land and to assimilate with
those already here; until we have in this Territory of ours,
throughout these valleys running north and south, east and west,
a people unexampled, and, in many respects, unlike every other
people that we know anything about. Why, in this last company,
which came in a few days ago, the members of it spoke some seven
languages. I remember a company of Saints leaving Liverpool while
I was there, the members of which spoke nine different languages.
They were Latter-day Saints gathering up from various lands, some
from Switzerland, from France, from Great Britain, and from the
various nations of Europe, all coming together, singing the songs
of Zion in their own languages, bearing testimony that God had
revealed to them in their own language the truth of this, the
everlasting Gospel. With such a spirit they come to these
mountains, they scatter among the people already here, they
become homogeneous. We have here a oneness of feeling and
purpose, a oneness of spirit, and a oneness of sentiment and of
heart, that you may look for in vain elsewhere throughout the
whole earth. I sometimes think we overlook those great and
glorious blessings that God has given to us. We overlook too
frequently the spirit of oneness that has been poured out upon
this people. Men ask for a sign; they say, "Where are the
evidences of the divinity of the work you believe in? You say
that you preach the Gospel of Jesus; you say that you are the
people of God." Why, could there be any greater evidence given of
the divine character of this mission than is witnessed in the
effects of this Gospel upon the people who embrace it? We are led
to expect that heaven is a place of unity, a place of love; that
there is no quarreling, no litigation, no strife in heaven; no
man warring against his fellow-men, no man exalting his creed and
his ideas as superior to the creed and the ideas of his neighbor;
all dwelling in peace and in love. That is the idea of heaven
that has been taught to us in the Bible? Anything else would not
be heaven; any other kind of place could not be heaven. Is it not
reasonable to suppose, then, that if the spirit of heaven rests
down upon a people, that they will be united, that they will love
one another, will die for one another, if necessary? Why,
certainly. If I were to start out to-day in search of the Church
of Jesus Christ, if I did not know of its existence upon the
earth, I would expect to find a people united together, a people
who loved one another, and who brought forth the fruits of the
Gospel of Jesus as he taught it. I would expect to find a people
who gave an exhibition in their lives of those heavenly truths
taught by Jesus when he was upon the earth. And until I found
such a people I would despair of finding the Church of Christ.
Men might perform miracles before me, and say a great many
wonderful things unto me, but unless I could find a people with
the love of Christ in their bosoms, united together as the heart
of one man, a people who loved one another, I do not think I
could, with the knowledge I have, recognize them as the people of
Christ, or as the people of the Church of Christ. For the
evidences that they were that Church it would not be in
profession alone I would seek. It would not be in their Sunday
service alone. It would not be in the sermons that were preached
in their tabernacles, or meeting houses, or churches alone. It
would not be in any of these things alone that I would seek, but
it would be in the fruits of the Gospel as I found them exhibited
in their daily life, in their conversation, in their
associations, one with another. If I found a quarrelsome people,
if I found a people fighting one with another for their rights,
if I found a people taking up weapons of war against each other,
no matter by what name they were called, no matter how
high-sounding their professions, I would say, these cannot be the
people of Christ; these are not the fruits which the Gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ brings forth. But if I found a people who
were humble, meek, lowly, willing to endure wrong rather than do
wrong; if I found a people persecuted for righteousness sake; if
I found a people of whom all men spoke evil, though their lives
were not evil, though their conduct was humble and pure and they
were disposed to love one another and dwell together in peace, I
would begin to say, here are some of the signs, some of the
fruits of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I must stop here. I must
examine into this matter. I must look after these people, and see
whether they are the people of whom I am in search. If I were to
come into this valley of Salt Lake and find a people professing
to belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
were I trust to report I would be inclined to say they cannot be
the people they profess to be. Why? Because all manner of evil is
spoken against them. Is there any crime in the black catalogue of
crime of which they have not been accused? Is there any evil
which people can perpetrate with which they have not been charged
and declared guilty? If I were to be disheartened by reports, I
need only stop in Salt Lake City, or in Utah Territory, to have
that feeling; but if I remembered that those in Christ Jesus are
sure to suffer persecution, and that "if they have called the
Master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them
of his household?"--I might, if I bore that fact in mind, stop
and examine further. If I looked around me and inquired
concerning the Latter-day Saints, I would probably find that they
did not drink liquor, did not get drunk; I would probably find
they did not take the name of the Lord in vain, did not go to law
one with another, but were averse to it, and were in favor of
promoting peace, and that because of this they offended lawyers,
judges and others. If I were to look at the material aspects of
the city, I would find a beautiful city, laid out and planned
with wisdom, laid out by somebody who knew something of life and
what was proper for society. If I made further inquiry I would
learn that a few years ago, before the advent of so-called
civilization in the midst of the Latter-day Saints, that from the
Idaho line in the North to the Arizona line in the South, there
were no liquor saloons, no drunkenness, and profanity was
punished; but in every settlement and in every house, throughout
the length and breadth of the land, prayers ascending morning and
night to the God of heaven, on behalf of themselves and their
children, and on behalf of the honest in heart throughout all the
nations of the earth. If I happened to be there when a company
came in, and in mingling with that company asked what brought
them to this land, I would be told in Norwegian, in Swedish, in
Danish, in German, in Italian, in Welsh, in English, in Polish,
in Dutch, in French, that each of these men and women had obeyed
the Gospel as it was taught to them by the Elders who had been
sent to them, and that in answer to prayer they had received a
testimony from the Almighty for themselves that they knew this
was the Gospel of Christ, that they were commanded of God to
gather out from the various nations, and that in response to that
commandment they had come out and were here. These would be the
things that would be told to me. If I were to inquire among them
respecting other matters, I would find that they believed in this
book (the Bible) in its entirety, not a part, not in isolated
parts of this book, some parts of this book, some parts separated
from the rest, but in its entirety, in its doctrinal parts. I
would find that they believed that God was the same to-day as he
was yesterday, that he is a God of revelation, a God of truth, a
God who could hear and answer prayer. I would find that they
believed in the organization of the Church apostles, prophets,
teachers, etc. I would find further that they were contending, as
James commanded the Saints to do in his day, earnestly for the
faith once delivered to the Saints, a faith by which the mighty
works concerning which Paul speaks in the 11th chapter of his
epistle to the Hebrews were accomplished. I would find that they
were contending for this faith, that they believed in the signs
following them that believe; that they were contending for them,
contending for that faith; and teaching their children to
exercise it to the greatest possible extent. Now, where else upon
the face of the earth could I find a community teaching and
practising these things! I have been, in my time, a somewhat
extensive traveler. I have mingled with a great many people, in a
good many lands, and I confess to you today, I have never seen a
people who answered this description, except the Latter-day
Saints. I do not say this out of vanity, or by way of boasting,
because this Gospel is intended for every person, not only for
those who are Latter-day Saints to-day, but for every honest man
and woman throughout the face of the whole earth. This Gospel of
the kingdom has to be preached to all nations, and then will the
end come. It is not, therefore, with any feeling of pride because
of these being the doctrines believed in and practised by the
Latter-day Saints that I allude to them in this manner, but
because God, in his infinite mercy, has revealed the Gospel to
the inhabitants of the earth, because it is taught again by
divine authority. How could you account for it in any other way?
Tell me, if there be philosophers or wise men here. Men say it is
delusion, men say it is imposture, men say that the building up
of this system is the result of fraud. Most extraordinary results
of fraud, if this be fraud! Men going out without purse or scrip,
as in ancient days, and preaching the everlasting Gospel,
baptizing people, and the spirit of unity and love resting down
upon them, accompanied by the Spirit of God, which testifies, as
we have heard this afternoon from Brother Staines, as it had
testified to him, that this is the Church of Christ, that this is
the Gospel of Jesus which they have embraced. People may think,
people may talk about the delusion of the Latter-day Saints. Why,
to believe that these results which we see are the product of
fraud, or imposture, would require far more credulity than faith
to believe them to be from God. Where is there a peculiarity of
the ancient Church that is not possessed to-day by the Latter-day
Saints? Can one be mentioned? Can a doctrine or a principle be
mentioned that was contended for in the ancient Church, that is
not contended for and sought after to-day by the Latter-day
Saints? Where they persecuted? Then it is quite certain we can
claim a blessing, if it so be that persecution brings blessings.
Were their names cast out as evil? Then we can claim with them
the same results, if blessings attend any such thing. "Oh, but,"
says one, "they were good people, the Apostles in ancient days
were good people, but you Mormons are a very wicked people." Why,
do you imagine that if they had considered Jesus a very goodman,
a very holy being they would have crucified him between two
thieves? No. The populace, when Pilate wanted to have him
forgiven because of the feast of the passover, cried out: "No;
release to us Barabbas, the murderer, the vile person. Let him be
released, but crucify the Christ; let his blood be upon us and
our children." They were willing to risk the consequences,
because they believed him to be a vile impostor. Do you think
that Peter and Paul, one of whom was beheaded, and the other of
whom was crucified with his head downward--do you imagine that in
killing them the Romans thought they were killing good, innocent,
pure men? Certainly not. They were hated just as much as we are
hated. Of course they thought they were doing God service, as
many think they are doing God service to-day in persecuting the
Latter-day Saints. They thought they were doing the world some
good by ridding the earth of such impostors as Peter and Paul.
Their eyes were blinded to their goodness and to their virtues.
Such things were hidden from their sight. They could only say
they were deluders of the people, that they led people astray,
and as impostors were worthy of death. And so it is throughout
this Territory. The virtues of the Latter-day Saints are not
perceived. Our temperance, our frugality, our perseverance, our
industry, our union, and all the qualities that have made this
wilderness blossom until it is the admiration of every visitor,
the joy of every traveler--all these things are obscured, and
with many people lost sight of, before the idea, imagined by very
many, that Brother Brigham was a vile impostor, that all those
who have been associated with him are no better, and that it
would be doing God service to destroy them from the face of the
earth, that the people who are deluded by them might be free from
the influence which they wield over them. Oh, generation of
blind--I was going to say fools, but shall I use such a phrase?
But is there not evidence sufficient before the eyes of this
generation of what has been done in the pst, in the persecution
of righteous and holy men, in the killing of them, in the
shedding of their blood, that men cannot learn that there is such
a thing as a man being a good man, a virtuous man, a pure man,
and yet be maligned by the enemies of purity and virtue, as in
the days of Christ? This generation will have a great deal to
answer for in consequence of this thing. As Latter-day Saints, we
have been accused of every crime. It has been told of us that we
were ready to commit murder at any time, in order to serve our
own ends, that we were ready to shed the blood of the innocent,
and that this feeling to destroy life existed among us, when at
the same time, throughout these wild mountains and secluded
valleys life has been more safe, property more secure, than in
the streets of the best managed cities in the Union. There never
has been a day since we came beyond these mountains that
travelers could not pass from the North to the South, and from
the East to the West, and through all parts with perfect
security. There never was a day, when the Latter-day Saints lived
alone in these valleys, that a woman would be insulted either by
word or by gesture, night or day, whether an old lady or a young
lady, in traveling from one end of our Territory to the other.
Can this be said of us to-day? Certainly not; but it was the case
a few years ago throughout these valleys, and let me say to you
it will yet be the case.
274
I sometimes think that if we were one-twentieth part as bad as we
are accused of being, it would be very unhealthy throughout this
country for a good many who are now unmolested. I know this, that
no other community would have borne one-twentieth part the insult
and injury that we have submitted to so quietly. What has caused
us to do it? Is it because we are incapable of feeling, or that
we do not understand our rights, or that we do not want them,
that we suffer ourselves to be imposed upon? No, it has not been
because of these things. Our bosoms have burned, probably, with
the fire of indignation, as much as any people on the face of the
earth could under such circumstances. What has retained us?
Simply the knowledge that these men are ignorant, and I believe
that the Latter-day Saints have partaken of that spirit which
Jesus had when he hung upon the cross. It has been somewhat in
that spirit that the Latter-day Saints have acted. It would have
been easy for them to have acted otherwise had they chosen to do
so. It may be said they were restrained by fear. It has not been
through the fear of man, but the fear of God has restrained this
people. It is far better for us to suffer wrong than to do wrong;
it is better to endure evil, ignominy, shame and persecution than
to turn and practise any of these things ourselves.
275
I am looking for a great change to take place in our
circumstances. The nation of which we form a part looks with more
interest upon us as a people than upon any other part of the
United States. There is no people, no community, within the
confines of our Republic concerning which there is so much
interest felt as the Latter-day Saints. Men's eyes are directed
towards us. I believe we are becoming better understood. The
completion of this railroad, which was supposed to be the
death-knell to Mormonism, the discovery of these mines, which we
ourselves rather disliked, those things that many supposed would
be the means of destroying this people, have now been in
operation for years, and with what result? With this result, so
far as my observation extends--a better knowledge concerning this
people, and the circumstances which surround us; a more extended
knowledge of our land, and all the difficulties we have had to
contend with. I have remarked this in Congress myself, that
whenever I want to accomplish anything in connection with our
Territory, I always find men who have been here and who have seen
for themselves and formed their opinions accordingly, ready to do
anything in reason that I ask. Intercourse has had the effect to
remove prejudice. There are people in this country who fear us.
The very fact that they do fear us by their refusing us our
rights, not only shows that they do not understand us, but it is
a recognition on their part of our power; and as such we should
accept the denial of these rights to which we are fully entitled.
Governors, judges and other officers are sent here, in the
selection of whom we have no voice whatever. Even if they were
all honest, patriotic, fair and just men, their selection without
our voice is an injustice; but which no people can bear better
than we. We are, however, learning lessons which will be of
immense importance to us in days to come; for as sure as the sun
shines, as sure as God lives, so sure will this people called
Latter-day Saints become a governing people. It is an inevitable
consequence in the very nature of things. We possess all the
elements to make a strong, mighty, governing people. There is
therefore a great future in store for us, and to prepare us for
that future it is necessary that we should pass through the
furnace of affliction, that we should feel the hand of
oppression, and that we should feel the effects of injustice, so
that when it shall become our turn, as undoubtedly it will in the
very nature of things, we shall know, by the treatment we have
received, how to temper justice with mercy, to extend to others
that which has been denied unto us, and the value of which we
have well known. You cannot keep down a people like this. I do
not say this to flatter you, because you have many faults. We
know them, and I do not think we are afraid to tell you your
faults, and to tell our own faults. But a people possessing the
qualities of the Latter-day Saints must grow and become powerful.
Union is strength. Love will prevail, it is a great power on the
earth, and added to this there are integrity, frugality,
temperance and virtue--for there is virtue in this land--there is
chastity here. In these mountains, amongst this people called
Latter-day Saints, if virtue is not cherished next to human life,
it is because people are not living up to the teachings they have
received. If man is not as virtuous as woman, then it is because
man has not profited by what he has been taught. Do you think
that a daughter should be expected to be more virtuous than a
son? Do you think that the girls of a family should be more
chaste than the boys? Certainly not. One of the greatest crimes,
the greatest, with the exception of the shedding of innocent
blood--and it is a doctrine that is taught by the Latter-day
Saints, and should be taught by every man in his household--that
can be committed, is the seduction or defilement of the weaker
sex. There can be no greater crime committed, except the shedding
of innocent blood, and people thus taught, what will they be?
Why, if they observe such teachings, they will be strong,
vigorous and mighty. Can you repress such a people? Will the
sending of a few men to prison for breaking the law of 1862
destroy this work? Will the entering of a suit against the
executors of the estate of the late President Young, or the
Trustee-in-trust of this Church destroy this work? Why, the men
who say so have failed to read history. They do not understand
anything connected with human progress and with human powers, if
they flatter themselves with such opinions as these. All these
things intensify the people, they add to our strength.
277
As to plural marriage, in dealing with that great question, as it
is called, if I had been anxious to extinguish or repress it, I
would never have allowed it to have received the attention it has
done. There has been a complete misconception as to the best
method of dealing with this question. Why, this ancient practice,
practised by a few people in these mountains, has been lifted
into national importance. Mormonism has become famous, because of
the practising, by a portion of the people, of this doctrine,
until the whole earth resounds with the talk of "the Polygamy of
the Mormons," as though the Mormons were half the people of the
United States. In fact, if they numbered twenty-five millions
instead of two hundred thousand, they could not have received
more attention. This is a grand mistake in statesmanship on the
part of those who want to put down Mormon doctrines. If men
understood statesmanship they would let the question pass, but
instead of that they are determined to give us world-wide
notoriety, to uplift us before the world, and by their foolish
acts make people suffer as martyrs for that principle. Most
unwise. It reminds me of an incident mentioned in Macauley's
history of England. He drew a contrast between the policy of
James the Second and his successor, William. You all know that
James was looked upon as an old impostor, and that ultimately he
was expelled from the throne. There was a Bishop in James' day
who seemed very anxious to attain some object, and he annoyed the
king so much that the king got it into his head that the Bishop
wanted to be a martyr, and, said James, "I am determined he shall
be one." Macauley contrasts this policy with that of William
under similar circumstances. William was a wise ruler, and there
was a man who did something similar to him in his day, and acted
offensively, as the Bishop did to James, his father-in-law. He,
too, seemed anxious to be a martyr, and, said William, "I am
equally determined he shall not be gratified." In this we see the
difference between the statesmanship of the two kings, and a true
statesman, dealing with the question of polygamy, would let it
alone severely. If he wanted it exterminated he would not take
George Reynolds and send him to prison and make him a hero,
instead of a felon. Such a proceeding only had the tendency to
make people cling to their faith and be willing to suffer for it.
If plural marriage be divine, as the Latter-day Saints say it is,
no power on earth can suppress it, unless you crush and destroy
the entire people. But supposing it is not divine, as many people
say it is not, supposing that it is not of God, do you not think
the forty millions can afford to let it alone? If their position
be true do you not think they are safe to do more among the
200,000 people who believe, and a portion of them practice it, by
moral force than by persecution and violence? I think so. Now we
will see which is the best policy. I do not believe in being
defiant. Men that marry more wives than one should be able to
bear the penalty of it if there be any attached thereto, or they
should not take them. A man that enters this Church ought to be
able to die for its principles if necessary, and certainly should
be able to go to prison for them without crying about the matter.
If you are sentenced to prison for marrying more wives than one,
round up your shoulders and bear it like men and no murmuring
about it; prepare yourselves to take the consequences. We know
that for the Gospel in ancient days many laid down their lives
with joy, that the great Captain of our salvation was crucified,
and that nearly all the prophets perished by violence. If we
expect, then, to be one with them, and inherit the same glory
that they do we should be prepared to endure the consequence of
adhesion to, and our advocacy of the truth; and so we should in
regard to every doctrine we have embraced. We have embraced
certain doctrines. They are unpopular. Still if we are men we
will be prepared to endure all the consequences, whatever they
may be, and make no fuss about them. But I am trespassing on your
time. May the Lord bless you, fill you with the Holy Ghost, and
keep you a holy people, and enable you to overcome all evil, is
my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / John
Morgan, August 17th, 1879
John Morgan, August 17th, 1879
DISCOURSE BY ELDER JOHN MORGAN,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
on Sunday Afternoon, August 17th, 1879.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS--PRE-EXISTENCE OF MAN--FIRST
PRINCIPLES OF THE GOSPEL.
277
I will read within your hearing this afternoon the 19th, 20th and
21st verses of the 3rd chapter of the Acts of the Apostles:--
John Morgan, August 17th, 1879
" Repent ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may
be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the
presence of the Lord.
" And he shall send Jesus Christ, which was preached unto you.
277
"Whom the heavens must receive until the times of restitution of
all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy
prophets since the world began."
278
In endeavoring to address those who are present this afternoon, I
desire that I may have an interest in the faith and prayers of my
hearers, that such things may be said, such principles brought
forth, as will be for our mutual good and benefit, and acceptable
to our Father and God. I have often thought in connection with
our services here in the Tabernacle, that it should be a
testimony, not only to the Latter-day Saints, but to strangers
who may visit us, in regard to the work in which we are engaged,
the manner in which our preaching is done. Elders come into the
congregation with no anticipation whatever of being called upon
to address the people. During the week they have possibly been
engaged in their various avocations as farmers, as artisans, as
mechanics of various grades and kinds, as merchants, and in the
different walks of life, and they possibly come to the meeting
and into the congregation with their minds filled with the
business of the previous week, when they are called upon to stand
before a congregation of one, two, three, five, or ten thousand
people, and preach to them the words of eternal life. A
congregation of that size elsewhere in the Christian world, to
edify, to instruct them, would require considerable preparation
upon the part of the minister. But it is not so with us as a
people. Elders are called to the stand without a moment's
warning, or time to prepare what they may have to say, or what
they may be expected to say; and it looked strange to me when I
first entered a congregation of the Saints and saw this manner of
procedure. It doubtless looks strange to many to-day who visit
us. But we rely on the promises of our Savior, though made many
hundreds of years ago. We consider these promises still good and
in force, and that in the hour we are called upon to proclaim the
words of eternal life he will give unto us words to speak; we
shall speak by the inspiration of that spirit which leads, guides
and directs us unto all truth.
279
In the passages that I have just read, especially in the 21st
verse, reference is made to Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who had
come forth in the day and age in which these words were spoken,
in a lowly manner, from the city of Nazareth, proclaiming certain
principles, certain ideas, and certain doctrines. As it happened,
these principles, ideas and doctrines were not popular in the
section of country in which he was preaching at that particular
time. He taught certain doctrines to the people, which the mass
of mankind by whom he was surrounded did not receive, did not
accept, and did not believe. On the contrary, they used every
means in their power to thwart the carrying out of the designs of
the Savior, the bringing forth of the principles and the
promulgation of the ideas and doctrines that Jesus and those by
whom he was immediately surrounded proclaimed. As the result of
this opposition, which lasted a considerable length of time, this
man, Jesus of Nazareth, was taken by the populace, and by the
Scribes and Pharisees and ministers and high priests of that day,
and crucified; and said they, "Let his blood be upon our heads
and the heads of our children;" considering it better that one
man should perish than that the whole nation should be led away.
They considered that if they allowed this man to go on, the whole
world would follow after him; therefore, this heresy, this
delusion, this gigantic wrong, that had sprung up, must be done
away with, and the only way to do it was to kill Jesus, whom they
looked upon as an impostor. As a result they crucified him,
doubtless anticipating that that act would stop the work that he
had started; that from the day of his crucifixion, his followers
would dwindle and fall away, and that the delusion he had been
preaching would no longer be heard on the face of the earth.
Well, to a certain extent they were correct in this. Peter,
doubtless, as prophet, seer, and revelator, saw this feature in
the future. In telling them that they had crucified the Christ,
the Savior of the world, he reminded them that the heavens must
receive this man. He could no longer dwell with them in the
flesh. He had come forth and was born upon the earth; was
baptized; the Holy Ghost came upon him in the bodily form of a
dove; he was crucified, buried and resurrected, and had ascended
into heaven. Naturally his friends and followers would ask the
question, How long is he to remain there, throughout all the ages
of eternity? Oh, no, for at the time of his ascension, when his
disciples stood looking at him ascending on high, there stood two
angels by their side, who said, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye
gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you
into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go
into heaven." They had the promise given unto them from the lips
of holy angels, that in like manner as he had ascended in a body
of flesh and bone, in like manner should he return to the earth.
Peter then informs us how long he is going to remain from the
earth, informs us what length of time he is to abide in the
heavens, "Whom the heavens must receive until the times of
restitution of all things."
279
It must be, then, that something would have to be taken from the
earth to enable the bringing about of a restitution. As, for
instance, it would be impossible for a man to restore back to me
something I had never been in possession of. It would be
impossible to return back to the earth something that the earth
had never possessed. It would be impossible to restore back to
the human family that which they had never possessed, Then, to
make restitution, it must be that there would be restored back to
the earth certain things, certain principles, certain doctrines,
certain ideas, that had once been extant on the face of the
earth. Others of the apostles and prophets, seers and revelators
of the Lord Jesus Christ in their day and age looked forward to
this time. Isaiah tells us that the time should come when the
earth should mourn and fade away and languish. Why? "Because they
have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance and broken the
everlasting covenant."
279
Certain principles were advanced when Jesus was upon the earth.
They were advanced by him and by his followers, the disciples,
and those who believed in his mission. Prominent among these
principles that were advanced was the principle that he advanced
in regard to himself. He spoke of his having come from the
Father; and Peter, in speaking of this matter in one of his
epistles, says: "Who verily was foreordained before the
foundation of the world." Going further back into history, as we
have it here in holy writ, we find that God had spoken to some of
the prophets in times of old in regard to the same principle.
Said he to Jeremiah, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew
thee, and before thou camest out of the womb I sanctified thee,
and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." Again, we find
in the writings of Job, speaking of the organization of the
world, that "the sons of God shouted for joy when the foundation
of the earth was laid." Again, one of the writers in holy writ,
in speaking on this subject, said: "Then shall the dust return to
the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who
gave it." I take it as a logical consequence, that it would be
impossible to return to a place where we had never been; that it
would be impossible to return to God, if we had not been in his
presence.
281
I find in the passages that I have quoted an allusion to the
pre-existence we have had, similar to that which Jesus taught of
himself when he was upon the earth. As he and his disciples
passed along the road they found a man who had been blind from
his birth. The disciples referred to Jesus and asked, "Who did
sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" If the
result of the blindness was the sin of the man, certainly that
sin must have been committed before the birth in the flesh. It is
scarcely possible that a man would have to be punished in this
way in the expectation of his committing a sin. That idea is
reserved for men in the nineteenth century. We as a people know
that men, in hundreds and thousands of cases are judged and
condemned before they are proven guilty. That idea, however, is
not promulgated by divine authority. I find, then, in these
passages, a proof of the pre-existence of these spirits of our
which inhabit our tabernacles, those that I see before me this
afternoon, as well as my own. I find in all parts of the world
that we have any knowledge of, or wherever I have had the
privilege of coming in contact with the children of men, that
there is what we call death comes to them; and I find that they
almost universally agree-although sadduceeism does to a certain
extend exist in the Christian world to day--that when we bring
this body of flesh and bone, this outward covering of the spirit,
there is a spirit that has inhabited that body that goes
somewhere, if you please; that when it leaves this earth it
exists as a spirit, or has an existence outside of this body of
flesh and bone. And I also find, as a general thing, that the
human family recognize that that spirit has intelligence, and I
moreover find that the great mass of the Christian world believe
that that spirit has not only intelligence, but that it can
suffer pain, and can enjoy pleasure. As, for instance, we hear
people speak in regard to those of their household who have
passed away from their midst. They have buried the body of flesh
and bone, and it may moulder away in the grave, yet they feel to
say, "The spirit has gone behind the vail, and when we go there
we expect to meet." We also find that the so-called followers of
the Lord Jesus Christ today, in talking on this subject, assert
that the spirit has gone to a place of punishment, where it is
punished, or that it has gone to a place of enjoyment, where it
can enjoy. In other words that this spirit within us is something
that is tangible, something that can reason, something that can
sense and feel pain or enjoy pleasure. In other words, when we
came to examine this matter, when we come to ascertain the truth
in relation to it, we find that the spirit that inhabits this
body, the spirits that inhabit the bodies of the human family, is
the intelligent part of them--it is the part that receives light
and knowledge; it is the part that was created before the
foundations of the earth were laid, and which has come upon the
earth to tabernacle in the flesh, and when we have done with this
body of flesh and bone, the spirit, as far as light and knowledge
is concerned, retains its identity and its knowledge. One very
erroneous idea that has crept into the minds of the human family,
and one that we find traditioned in the minds of our children, is
this: A kind of vague, indistinct impression that when we lay
down this body of flesh and bone we lay down the frailties and
imperfections of this life. Not if the words of this book the
Bible, are true, for we find that those spirits, after having
gone behind the vail, according to the Apostle Peter, had to be
preached to: "For for this cause," says he, "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." They needed to be preached to, to enable them to live
according to the Spirit of God, and as we find in the preceding
chapter, Peter says, "By which also he went and preached unto the
spirits in prison, which sometime were disobedient, when once the
long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah." And I often
think that, in connection with this matter, if many of our men in
Israel would stop and reflect for a few moments in regard to this
point it would be a benefit to them; that if they would but
understand and comprehend that the habits and the weaknesses in
which they indulge, the frailties to which they become
accustomed, and that are not right, that they go with them into
the spirit world, there to be repented of, or turned from, they
would hesitate before coming addicted to many of the things they
do, seeing that the habits they have contracted will remain
eternally with them, unless they are repented of. But repentance
here or repentance there must come before progress or exaltation
will ever reach them, worlds without end. All the thoughts and
the acts we indulge in here, the ideas that we obtain, the
principles that we become partakers of, are eternal in their
nature, and they will stay and abide with us throughout the
eternities to come, for good or for evil. There are certain laws,
certain rules, a certain system of order, which controls, leads
and guides all this great plan. These principles were taught by
the Savior when he was upon the earth. They were not popular,
however, because they did not chime in with the ideas of that day
and age of the world. Said these wise men of the Pharisees and
Sadducees, "Why, these doctrines clash with our particular, or
peculiar ideas, and if we admit them for one moment, the fabric
we have built up here will tumble to the ground; we cannot stand
it." It is true they could not contend with Jesus and his
apostles in argument; and I have always said that any man, any
set of men, any government, I care not who they are, or what they
are, who resort to brutal force to convince their opponents that
they are wrong--I say that those who do so are almost certain to
be in error. They have run out of argument, and any government
that will force men in regard to belief, political or religious,
I consider that that government, or the people who engage in such
a thing, are out of argument on their side, they have no longer
any argument to sustain themselves, and resort to force to carry
their point. In that day and age of the world, those men who
opposed Jesus and his apostles ran out of argument, and as a
result they say, "We will take the life of this man.'
282
We find other principles that were taught by our Savior when he
was upon the earth. One of these was faith, a very important
principle in the plan of salvation. Another was the principle of
repentance, and I have often thought, in coming in contact with
the human family, that one of the reasons to-day of the discord
and confusion that reign in the midst of the children of men is
because they have not truly repented. It is true, there is a form
of repentance indulged in by many millions of the human family--a
kind of repentance that moans, and groans and cries and laments
over the sins that they have committed, but they go and do the
same thing to-morrow. That is the kind of repentance that Paul
meant when he said: "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to
salvation not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the world
worketh death." There is a kind of sorrow that needs not to be
repented of, and which consists in turning away from all that is
evil, from all that is wrong or incorrect in the sight of God and
of holy angels and of all good men.
283
Jesus taught also the principle of baptism, and I have no doubt
in my own mind that he foresaw the fact that the time would come
when the principle of baptism as he taught it would be perverted
and changed. Paul undoubtedly foresaw that time, for says he,
"The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but
after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers,
having itching ears. And they shall turn away their ears from the
truth, and shall be turned unto fables." We find many fables in
the world to-day in regard to the principle of baptism. The
baptism that Peter taught was widely different to the baptism
taught by the Christian world to-day. Said he, "Repent and be
baptized, every one of you." What for? "For the remission of
sins." To-day baptism is not practised with that object in view,
by any means, by those who profess to have the Gospel of Christ.
They baptize for a form, for the answering of a good conscience.
I find that the baptism that Peter taught, that John taught, had
for its object the remission of sin, and another very important
principle was to follow this baptism, for said Peter
emphatically, "Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." And
for fear that there would be those who would pervert and change
and turn away from this principle, he told the thousands of Judea
that were listening to him, that "the promise is unto you, and to
your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the
Lord our God shall call." The promise was unto those that were
afar off, It makes no difference in regard to nationality,
kindred, or race, and to-day, if God calls any man to obey him
and keep his commandments by going into the waters of baptism,
this promise is just as good as it was on the day of Pentecost
when the Holy Ghost was poured out so mightily upon the apostles.
We find an instance in connection with this ordinance in the Acts
of the Apostles. The Apostles, when at Jerusalem, heard that
Samaria had received the word of God, and that Philip had been
attending to the ordinance of baptism, after the people had
repented--but by repentance they did not receive the Holy Ghost.
You know repentance in the Christian world to-day brings the gift
of the Holy Ghost. Peter and John went down to Samaria and prayed
that they might receive the Holy Ghost. But did praying bring it?
No. "Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the
Holy Ghost." This was an ordinance instituted by our Lord and
Master, taught and preached by him and his apostles, for the
reception of the Holy Ghost. But that ordinance to-day, in the
midst of the Christian world, is obsolete; it is no longer
considered necessary. I suppose that in this day of enlightenment
of the nineteenth century, with their wisdom in regard to
mechanism, in regard to discovery, in regard to invention, they
have found out some short-cut method whereby they can work out
their salvation without the help of the Lord, and consequently
have taken upon themselves to do away with this principle of the
Gospel.
283
We find that one of the blessings that should be given to those
who received this great and glorious gift should be the gift of
wisdom. If, however, we are to judge the so-called wise men of
the present day, we can only conclude that they are certainly not
in possession of it; they certainly cannot be in possession of
it, or they would not take the course that many of them do. It
should give unto them wisdom, but you do not find wisdom in their
midst, and no faith in this ordinance of the Gospel. What is the
reason to-day that this nation, for instance, does not go into
the waters of baptism? Because they have no faith that God will
keep his promise and remit their sins by that ordinance. What is
the reason that the sects of the day omit the ordinance of the
laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost? Because
they do not believe that the God of Israel will keep his promise;
they have got no faith in him. What is the reason that, in the
midst of want and misery that is brought about by sickness, they
do not administer to the sick by the laying on of hands as
commanded? Because they have no faith to believe that God will
keep his promise. Consequently, I am led to believe that in all
this there is a lack of wisdom on the part of the people; they
have not received the gift of the Holy Ghost, which leads, guides
and directs them into all truth. That it does not do this to the
wise men of this nation and to all the nations of the earth, is
an evident fact from the many blunders they make in their
political work, in their financial schemes, for to-day one scheme
is raised up whereby the national debt is to be paid; to-morrow
another man comes forth with his ideas; next day something else
turns up, and so they are tossed to and fro by every wind of
financial doctrine; consequently I am led to believe that they
have not received this gift.
286
I also find that this gift will show unto us things that are to
come. Well, it is true we do find people talking about things
that are to come. We had a man recently who published a little
book in regard to great calamities that are coming. By what
authority did he speak? By what privilege did he enunciate these
ideas, and where did he obtain them? Did he get credit for them?
Yes; the world gives him credit. But did God speak through that
man? I should judge not, if we are to takes as evidence all the
belief and the doctrines of the man. Again, when we go abroad in
the midst of this nation and the nations of the earth we ask,
"Have you wise men in your midst who can foresee and foretell
events that are to come? "No," say they, "we have nothing of that
kind; we do not believe today in any man having that gift," and I
well remember the startled look a gentleman gave me when, in
conversation on this principle, I told him that the gift of the
Holy Ghost revealed unto man things that were to come. He at
first seemed very pleasantly struck with the idea. He was a
member of a church and lived in a Christian community in which
there were thousands of good Christian people. While talking I
asked him, what would be the result if he professed such a thing.
"Why," said he, "I certainly think they would kill me. They would
not let me live here a week if I were to profess anything of the
kind." "What?" said I, "in the midst of this Christian community,
with Bibles all around, with Bible associations, with ministers
of the Gospel calling upon people to be saved, and with the fact
that the Savior preached this doctrine, and yet when you follow
his instructions they would take your life?" "Yes," said he, "I
verily believe they would." Well, I can also believe they would,
too, from what little experience I have had in the Christian
world, consequently I am led to believe that they lack the
possession of this principle, that they have not received this
gift. And I sometimes liken it in this way in my meditations in
regard to it; said John, "That was true light which lighteth
every man that cometh into the world." I understand every person
on the face of the earth has this lamp in his possession, but I
ask you as reasonable beings what benefit is this lamp to them
unless it is lit up? Would a lamp, in a dark room be of any
benefit to a man if he had no means of lighting it, or any means
whereby to touch the light to cause it to shine? None whatever,
he would be just as well without the lamp. It must be lit up, and
the difficulty with the world to-day is they may be in possession
of that lamp but it has not been lit up, whereas it was lit up
within the prophets of the living God in days gone by, and as
Peter could tell these people, comforting them in regard to these
matters, "Whom the heavens must receive until the time of the
restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of
all his holy prophets since the world began." It was by the
lighting up of that lamp within Peter that taught him in regard
to this great event that was to come at the restitution of all
things. Well, what was the result? When the morning sun of the
day of restitution arose and began to make its influence felt on
the earth what was the result? History but repeats itself. As it
was in the days of Noah so shall it be in the coming of the Son
of Man, in the days of the restitution of all things. And when it
came to pass that God raised up his prophet on the face of the
earth and sent his angel from the courts of heaven to restore
these things to the children of men, these great and glorious
principles that had been lost, the same opposition came forth.
The principle of faith, to a great extent, had been lost from the
face of the earth, and when it was restored back it had to be a
restoration of the same faith precisely that was had in times of
old, the faith that would cause men to obey the principles of the
everlasting Gospel despite all the opposition of the powers of
darkness, of earth and hell combined, that might be arrayed
against them. There was restored back to the earth the correct
principle of repentance, of turning away from wrong-doing. There
was restored back to the earth the correct principle of baptism
for the remission of sins. There was restored back to the earth
the ordinance of the laying on of hands for the reception of the
Holy Ghost. There was restored back to the earth the authority to
act in these different offices, and as John the Baptist held the
keys of the office of baptism for the remission of sins he was
sent back to the earth in this day and age of the world as a
messenger of God to restore this principle to the earth. But says
the Christian world, "We don't believe it." I wonder what
difference that makes? I wonder if it makes any difference? I
wonder if that will have any influence upon the fact? If John did
really come, though every man and every woman, every soul that
exists upon face of the whole earth, should refuse to believe
save the one to whom it was sent, yet it is binding upon them so
far as the proclamation reaches them. Believe it or not, it still
remains a fact, a principle of truth; and when man, vain man,
stands up and tells what he believes; what difference does that
make? None whatever, with all due respect to their belief
whatever that may be; we as a people to-day know for ourselves
that the authority to baptize for the remission of sins has been
restored to the earth by the return of the proper personage, and
the Latter-day Saints are well versed in regard to these matters.
"How do you know these things; how do you obtain this knowledge."
I have had men ask me in coming in contact with strangers to our
belief. In replying to that question let us turn back to the
sayings of the Savior. Said he "If any man," (he did not bind it
to a dozen, a hundred, a thousand or ten million) "will do his
(the father's) will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be
of God, or whether I speak of myself." The Latter-day Saints have
gone into the waters of baptism, have received the laying on of
hands, and they know for themselves that these principles that I
have been speaking to you about this afternoon are true, and I
have often looked on the matter in this way: would it not be a
very unheard of and peculiar proceeding for say fifty, or 100, or
500 wise men from the east to come here and try and convince us
there was no Lake out there, never had been, that it was all a
mistake and a myth, that we were deceived in regard to it, and
when they had pushed their argument, to such a length as almost
to be offensive, unpleasant and disagreeable, without convincing
us; it would be an unheard of proceeding if they were to say,
"Well, we will put you in prison and fine you if you do not
acknowledge that there is no lake." But just as unheard of is the
proceeding made against us to-day, and for years gone by, in
regard to these principles we advocate; we know as a people, as
well as we know that Salt Lake exists, that God has spoken from
the heavens in these the last days. Talk about convincing men to
the contrary in regard to these matters! I am sometimes led to
marvel at the folly of men in regard to these things, and it
looks like presumption on their part to talk and act as they do.
I am willing to talk kindly, courteously, and agreeably with any
man in regard to these principles, and when he tells me there is
such a place as Omaha, and says "I have passed through it, I know
there is such a place, or that there are certain stations on the
railroad here," I am willing to believe him; I do not contradict
him and when I tell him that I know for myself of the truth of my
religion I expect he will treat me courteously in regard to that
matter. But our expectations in that respect are not always
realized. We are often answered very peculiarly; we are often met
with very peculiar arguments. I take it for granted, however,
that it is no argument to disprove a principle to libel the
character of believers in that principle. The after character of
Judas did not prove that his evidence of Christ was incorrect.
The denial of Peter did not prove that Jesus was not the Christ.
The character of a man has nothing to do with the principle that
may be advanced. I do not care where truth comes from; I do not
care who preaches it; I do not care if the devil himself
enunciated a principle of truth, it is truth all the same, and
you cannot change or alter it. I do not care how wise the man is,
how long the prayer he may make, or how reverend he may look, if
he tells a lie, it is a lie, and you cannot change or alter it.
Thus it is we as a people look upon the principles of truth,
those principles that led to light and knowledge, and it is time
that people laid down the foolish idea of striving against such
things. Let us sit down for a moment and examine in detail
principle after principle, and I will say to you that if any man
on the face of the earth will show me that I am in error on any
principle, I will leave it that very hour, and no longer claim it
as a principle. Will every man do as much to me? Many will, and
many will not. I remember the case of a minister who came to
visit me. I wished to be fair with him, and I desired that he
should be equally so with me. I said, "Now we are alone in the
room, there are no witnesses here; but I will make a contract
with you. Here is the Bible; we will hunt for truth, and wherever
I find truth you are to acknowledge it, and wherever you find
truth I shall do the same." "No," said he, "I won't." "Why not?"
said I. "Oh," said he, "you might spring some trap. We have a
certain discipline to go by; we have got a creed of faith, and
you may try to catch me in some trap." "But," said I, "if you are
wrong in your creed or faith, don't you want to be put right?"
"Oh," said he, "it is the faith of my fathers, it is the faith
they died by, it is the faith of my grandfather, my great
grandfather; for generations back they have lived and died by it,
and I cannot afford to make a change." "Well," said I, "there is
no use you and I talking if that if the case, that ends the
conversation." Now, I consider such reasoning as the height of
foolishness. Let us, as honest men and honest women, lay down all
prejudice and malice, and examine the principles of truth and
righteousness as they are placed before us, and as the light and
intelligence of the Holy Spirit will show them unto us, for they
will lead and guide us back to the presence of our Father and
God. The truth will hurt no man. The principles of truth the
Latter-day Saints preach to the nations of the earth; the
principles that the Elders have carried to the nations, are the
principles whereby the human family can be saved if they will but
hearken to them. These principles are not for a few, the plan God
has revealed is for all. These principles are revealed that God's
kingdom may be established on the earth in righteousness, and
they shall lead, guide, and control untold millions of the human
family that have dwelt and shall yet dwell upon the earth. We as
Latter-day Saints should have broad and philanthropic vies in
regard to these things. What if our names are cast out as evil?
What if they do strike us, or contend in regard to these matters?
Read the history of the past, and what has been the result? Take
individuals, take the men who have contended against the kingdom
of God in the last half century, and what has been the result?
Take the plans, and the untold thousands of plots and projects
that have been brought forth for the overthrow of the Church of
Christ, and where are they to-day?
"Gone glimmering among the things that were
A school boy's tale of other days
The wonder of but an hour."
287
Gone no longer to be remembered; forgotten from the face of the
earth and their projectors with them. How long will men continue
in their foolishness, striving against the bucklers of Jehovah?
Why, just so long as the Lord lets them, no longer. We as the
people of God, recognize the hand of God in relation to these
things, and we want to prepare and fit our minds for an exalted
view in relation to the workings of the kingdom of God. We want
to put away the "penny wise and pound foolish" ideas that many of
us have in regard to these things as not becoming us as
Latter-day Saints. I am not finding fault; but we want to look
upon these principles with great and noble minds; "we want to
shape our lives in connection with these things, and as was said
in times of old, let us "seek first the kingdom of God and his
righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." We
want to set our faces to the building up of the kingdom of God.
To the spreading and promulgation of the principles thereof not
only throughout the valleys of the mountains, but throughout the
nations of the earth. And will the opposition we have to meet
stop it? Not by any means. It will but add fuel to the fire,
until the blaze will grow higher and higher until all the nations
of the earth shall see it, and Zion shall be set upon a hill,
which may God grant in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / George
Q. Cannon, July 27th, 1879
George Q. Cannon, July 27th, 1879
DISCOURSE BY ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, July 27th, 1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
PRACTICAL NATURE OF THE GOSPEL.
287
There is a little time remaining, which I am requested to occupy.
289
The theme of the Gospel is one that can be dwelt on for a great
length of time and yet not be exhausted; for according to the
views of the Latter-day Saints the Gospel embraces all truth, and
there is no truth of any nature or name, whether it be
scientific, or moral, or religious, that is not comprehended
within the scope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore, those
who embrace the Gospel, as has been said, start upon the path of
progress, the end of which no one can see; it is not given to
human beings to comprehend; it extends into eternity, and
comprehends the wisdom and power and the knowledge of eternity.
It has often been remarked respecting our meetings in this
Tabernacle, by persons who have not been accustomed to our form
of worship and our method of instruction, that we very frequently
dwell upon a great many subjects that other people do not deem
appropriate to the Sabbath. There is a reason for this; it is
found in the fact which I have stated--that the Gospel of Jesus
Christ comprehends all truth; and therefore everything necessary
for the promotion of a man's happiness, for the enlargement of
his views and his mind, and for the development of all his being,
physical and mental, everything of this kind should be treated
upon at the time and the season when it is needed. I do not,
myself, value a religion that confines its teachings to the
Sabbath, that does not enter into the every-day life of those who
profess it. Such a religion people may put on as they do their
Sunday apparel, and wear to the meeting-house; and when the day
passes, doff it as they do their apparel, and assume their
every-day practices. But the religion of Jesus Christ should be
taught and practised by those who believe it, every day of the
week and in all the pursuits of life. And in this respect I
sometimes think that we, as Latter-day Saints, come short of
doing that which is incumbent upon us. We allow our religion to
be too theoretical, and do not practise it to the extent that is
required by the teachings of the Gospel. It is very well for us
to come to-day and listen to the discourse we have heard, and
rejoice in the spirit of it; but if we do not take with us the
principles which are taught, and apply them in our lives, our
visit to-day to this Tabernacle would be of very little profit.
It is for this purpose that the Gospel has been revealed, it is
for this purpose that it is taught, it is for this purpose that
the Holy Ghost has been promised and poured out, that those who
receive it may become better men, may become better women, may
become more pure, that the evil that seems to be natural to us in
consequence of our fallen condition, may be overcome and
uprooted, and put away from us. Will those who believe and
practise the Gospel be dishonest? Certainly not. Will they take
advantage of their neighbors? Will they tell falsehoods
concerning their neighbors? Will they indulge in slandering and
tattling and backbiting? Will they be envious, or filled with
malice or jealousies? Not if they practise the Gospel; not if the
spirit of the Gospel rests down upon them will they do any of
these things. If they do, they will be checked in their feelings,
the Spirit of God will reprove them, and if they live as they
should, when they bow down at night to ask pardon for the acts of
the day that have been improper in the sight of God, it will
bring to their remembrance, and show to them in plainness where
they have come short on these points, and they will have the
spirit of repentance, and will seek to put such things away far
from them. In this way they will progress. Now, this is not
required of us on this day alone--the first day of the week, the
day of worship set apart for us to come together; but it is
required on Monday, and on Tuesday, and so on until Saturday.
This work of self-improvement, under the influence and power of
the Gospel and Spirit of God, should go on every day we live, and
it should be a constant subject of thought with us when we rise
in the morning and lie down at night: Wherein have we come short
of obeying the principles of the Gospel? Have I done any injury
to my fellow-man? Have I grieved the Spirit of the Lord? Have I
neglected some duty? Have I said that which I ought not to have
said? Have I done that which I ought not to have done? Have I
been just, have I been merciful, have I been upright? Have I
allowed any thought, any feeling to enter my heart concerning my
neighbor, concerning some of my associates that I should not
entertain? If I have, then it is my duty, if I believe the Gospel
and desire to practise its principles, to repent of that, to
confess it.
289
There was a time when God required of his people the sacrifice of
animals. They brought their animals and they were offered up as
sacrifices, and they obtained the remission of sins by that
method. This was required under the law of Moses; it was required
until the coming of the Son of God, until he made his great
sacrifice for man. But what does God require of us? Is it that we
shall bring animals and offer burnt offerings unto him? No, he
does not make that requirement of us to-day, but this is the
sacrifice required of us: he asks us that we shall come to him
with broken hearts and with contrite spirits. If we do he will
accept of us, our offerings will be like the offerings of Abel,
acceptable in his sight; but if we go to him as Cain did, our
offerings will not be acceptable to him, and he will reject them.
But if you and I and all who profess to be the followers of the
Lord Jesus will bow down before him with humble hearts, each of
us with a broken heart and contrite spirit, what will be the
effect? Why, we will confess our faults to him, because they will
be plain in our sight, we will see ourselves in the light of the
Spirit of God, and the spirit of repentance will rest down upon
us. Suppose we bow down before him because it is the custom to do
so, in a formal manner, worshipping him with our lips while our
hearts are far from him, repeating by rote certain sentences we
have learned, and to the use of which we have become accustomed,
will such an offering be acceptable in the sight of God?
Certainly not. He desires that those who worship him shall
worship him in spirit and in truth, and that they shall confess
their sins not only to him, but, where they have wronged each
other, to one another. It is my duty, if I have wronged my
brother, to go to my brother and confess and ask his forgiveness.
If I wrong my sister, it is my duty to do the same. If I do wrong
to my God, it is my duty to bow down before him in humility and
confess in contrition of spirit the wrong I have done and beseech
him in the name of Jesus to forgive my sins. And this is a duty
that rests upon us as Latter-day Saints.
291
These are some of the practical parts of our religion, and, as I
have said, not to be practised to-day alone, to-day, the first
day of the week, the Sabbath, but to be practised to-morrow, and
to be carried out in our lives, in our daily intercourse one with
another; to be meek and lowly in heart, seeking the Spirit of
Jesus, willing to suffer wrong rather than do wrong; not to be
rude, not to be harsh, not to be unfeeling, or unkind in our
intercourse with our families, but to carry with us the spirit of
meekness and of love, that when we enter our homes we shall be
welcomed with gladness, our children shall delight in our
visitations as they would in the visitation of an angel if they
knew one was coming. How many are there of the men in this
assembly and of this Church who, when they enter their houses,
enter with scowls on their faces, bringing all their cares with
them, intruding upon the serenity of their families, making their
presence disagreeable to all, instead of going in with gladness
and peace and carrying with them the consolation that should
attend their presence always? Their wives are perhaps fretful
from overwork, their nerves affected by the toils of the day, or
the heat, causing them to be in an irritable mood, and when the
two come together under such circumstances they produce friction,
bad feeling and offences follow. Is it a man's duty, or right, or
privilege, to carry his cares into his family and disturb the
peace and serenity existing there by relating his troubles?
Certainly not. When his foot rests upon the threshhold of his
door, no matter what his difficulties, or perplexities may be, he
should enter with the spirit of peace in his heart and with the
love of God burning within him. If there is irritability
existing, his presence should be soothing to every member of his
household, and particularly in talking with his children, they
should feel the influence of his presence; and if there should be
any improper feelings existing, they should be calmed as
disturbed and ruffled water is by pouring oil upon it. A
Latter-day Saint! Think of the nature of the name. A Saint of
God! Why, he should be next to an angel; the most perfect of the
human family. He should be perfect in his sphere, as God is
perfect in his sphere. He should be free from fault. If he have a
fault he should seek daily and hourly to correct it, and not rest
satisfied as long as he is aware of the existence of a fault
until he conquers it, pleading with the Father in the name of
Jesus for strength to overcome his weakness, for power to put it
away, carrying with him the spirit of love, the spirit of
serenity, the spirit of peace, that when he appears in society,
no matter where he may be, all who come in contact with him may
feel his influence and feel purified and strengthened by his
example and by his words and by his very presence. And this is
what God designs we should be as Latter-day Saints. Tattle about
one another; backbite, slander and speak evil of one another; are
such things proper for Latter-day Saints? No. They should be
banished from our society and from our households. Our children
should be taught better. When they speak evil of any one they
should be checked and told if they cannot say something good
concerning their fellows, to say nothing. Instead of finding
fault there should be charity, which covers a multitude of sins.
Instead of looking at the faults of others, they should be taught
to look at their own faults. And they are numerous enough; we
have plenty of them to keep us occupied closely all our time,
with all the prayer and all the faith we can exercise before God.
Our own faults, our own sins, our own shortcomings are sufficient
to occupy our entire attention, without thinking about those of
our neighbors, or ever speaking about them. Those who bear the
priesthood have the right, and it is their duty to administer
reproof and to point out faults; but it is for the members of the
Church to look to themselves. Let any member of the Church who
thinks he has plenty of time after attending to his own faults to
attend to his neighbor's, examine himself; let him bow down
before the Lord and ask for the Holy Spirit to be poured out upon
him, so that he can see himself in his true light; and if he does
not arise satisfied that it will take all his time to correct his
own weaknesses and follies it will be very strange.
291
Then, are we honest one with another? Do I do to my neighbor in
my dealing with him as I wish him to do to me? If I do not, then
I do not carry out the principles of my religion. If I take
advantage of his ignorance, of his inexperience or of his
circumstances--it may be he is in a strait place, and he is
compelled to do something that he would not do if his necessities
did not press him, do I perform my duty to him as a Latter-day
Saint! If I take advantage of him, then I do not treat him as I
would like to be treated if our positions were reversed. Does the
spirit of greed enter into my heart, and I think "Now, here is an
opportunity for me to make something, or getting the advantage;"
if it does, then I am not a Latter-day Saint in that respect: I
do not carry out the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I
fail in being that which I profess to be, and I have cause to
repent truly and sincerely, and ask forgiveness of the Lord and
my brother.
292
This work of self-improvement, under the power and influence of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is a work given to each of us. It
should be the great work of our lives; it should be the chief
thought of our hearts. There is nothing greater. Brother Stayner
remarked that if he could be the means of saving only one soul,
how great his joy would be. Yes, that is true. And if that soul
should be himself alone, his joy will be great. But if he should
be the means of saving another soul, his joy would be still
greater. But the greatest work we can do is to so live that we
ourselves shall be saved, that our own acts shall be correct, and
our will and desires and passions be brought into subjection to
the will of God. There is no work that I know of so great and
important to me as this. A man may perform a mission; he may do
innumerable good works; his name may be heralded throughout the
Church and to the nations of the earth, and the people may accept
it as that of a great and mighty man; but if that man does not
conquer himself and live in strict accordance with the principles
of the Gospel, his position will only increase his condemnation.
Far better is the condition of the humble, the obscure man, the
man unknown out of the limited circle of his immediate
associates, who is without fame, but who does live his religion,
who practises the principles of the Gospel as they are taught by
the Lord. Far better is the condition of that man than the other,
if he does that and the other man neglects to do it. This Gospel
of our's is a practical Gospel. It is not like our Sunday
apparel, to be put on to-day and put off to-morrow; it ought to
be carried with us in all the transactions of life, applied to
everything we think, we say and do, and always be remembered by
us. And then what sort of people will we be? We will be a people
whom the Lord will delight to bless; and who will have his Spirit
and power resting down upon us. And no matter how much we may be
maligned and spoken evil about, we shall have the consolation of
knowing from the Lord that we are right, that we have done that
which he requires, and that we have his blessing and his
approval. This is worth more than everything else that can be
brought about. With the experience I have had in my life I would
rather have the grace of God, the sweetness and happiness, the
blessing and comfort of his Spirit and be in poverty as great as
that of the wild Indian of our mountains than to dwell in palaces
and revel in luxury and ease without that grace and Spirit. I
have tested this to my entire satisfaction, tested it under
circumstances when I have proved that a man can be as happy as an
angel--that is, as happy in his sphere, in doing the will of God
in the midst of poverty and difficulties. It is not these
external circumstances that are the sources of happiness. Of
course it is right and proper we should take care of the bodies
God has given unto us, just as much as our spirits, that they
should be kept clean, that our clothing should be comfortable and
our habitation suitable. God has given unto us wisdom and power
to do this, and he has placed the elements around us, and he
would condemn us if we did not use them for our comfort and
blessing. But they are not the only things needful. You may pile
up money until you fill this Tabernacle and its possession would
not make a man happy. You may give men carriages and horses,
houses and lands and everything of this character, but unless
there is the spirit of happiness within them they would not be
happy. The man who lives near to God who has the Spirit of God,
be he ever so humble, is a happy man; and without it there is no
true happiness.
292
It should be our constant study to live so that the Holy Spirit
will always dwell with us, that when we arise in the morning our
minds and our hearts may be as clear as the sky when there is no
cloud in it, that we feel at peace with God and man. It should be
the aim of every one professing to be a Latter-day Saint not to
leave his chamber in the morning until he comes out feeling that
spirit of peace, with his brow unruffled with care, with a
consciousness of having communed with God and that he knows his
standing with him. When he leaves his chamber having that spirit,
he will diffuse joy and gladness throughout his entire household.
Should anything occur to disturb the serenity of a Latter-day
Saint he ought to step aside and ask God in the name of Jesus to
remove it and to pour out the spirit of peace and consolation
upon him to fill his heart. At night too, the same Spirit of
peace should be sought for. The thoughts, the words and the
actions of the day should be reviewed, and forgiveness of wrong
should be sought for, then a man can retire in peace; and then if
God in his providence should call him home during the night he
would feel at peace with Him and with all men. In this manner we
should live, and if we do not live in this way we fail to be what
we profess to be.
292
That God may help us so to live, is my prayer, in the name of
Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 /
Charles W. Penrose, August 17th, 1879
Charles W. Penrose, August 17th, 1879
DISCOURSE BY ELDER C. W. PENROSE,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
on Sunday Afternoon, August 17th, 1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
THE WORK OF RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS--FUTILITY OF THE EFFORTS
OF ITS OPPONENTS--SHOULD NOT CHERISH ANIMOSITY TO ENEMIES.
293
There are a few minutes remaining, which I am requested to
occupy; and while doing so I earnestly desire that I may be
inspired by the spirit that gives light and intelligence to the
human mind and makes plain the things of God, so that what I may
say to you may be profitable and edifying.
293
I rejoice very much that I have the privilege of living upon the
earth, at the time when God has commenced the great work spoken
of by all the holy prophets since the world began; when the times
of restitution have commenced; when God has begun to restore to
the inhabitants of the earth, the doctrine and principles which
were revealed to the people anciently, by which they were brought
into communion with the Father; when the holy priesthood, or the
authority given from God to man to act in his stead, has been
restored to the earth; when the gifts and blessings which were
enjoyed by the ancient Saints have also been restored; when the
knowledge possessed by the ancients of the manner in which God
could be approached so that they might learn of him, has also
been made manifest to the Latter-day Saints; in the day when the
great work which will prepare the earth and the inhabitants
thereof for its Prince, its rightful lawgiver and King, has
commenced upon the earth. I rejoice and thank God with all my
heart that I am identified with this people that I have received
the spirit of this work; that I have been able to understand
these principles and doctrines and that I have cast in my lot
with the people who are engaged in the work of preparing
themselves for the coming of the Lord.
294
The times of restitution which have been alluded to this
afternoon by Brother Morgan, and which the Apostle Paul speaks of
in the words which have been read in your hearing, are of the
very greatest importance to all people, who live upon the earth
to understand. Every prophet by whom God has spoken since the
world began has had some foresight in regard to this work. When
we take up the Bible we find all the prophets whose words are
recorded therein speaking of the great work of God in the latter
days; of the great day of the Lord; of the time when
righteousness should prevail, and iniquity should cease; of the
time when misrule should be cast down, when the kingdoms of this
world that have ruled in unrighteousness should lose their grasp
upon the children of men, and in the place thereof the kingdom of
God should be established; of the time when the curse which was
placed upon the earth in the beginning should be removed, and
when instead of the thorn and the brier should spring up the fig
tree and the myrtle tree; of the day when the animosity between
man and man and between mankind and the brute creation, should be
taken away; when the lion and the lamb should dwell together;
when the spirit of destruction should cease and the Spirit of the
living God prevail over the face of the whole earth, and the way
be prepared for the coming of its rightful ruler, "He whose right
it is to reign" and who will rule "from the rivers to the ends of
the earth;" of the time when that wicked one "who tempted our
first parents in the beginning, who introduced evil and death
into the world, and who has ever since made it his aim and object
to usurp the control of the earth, shall be bound, and with all
his hosts be banished from the earth and this whole creation be
rid of his influence, and when the Spirit of God will be poured
out upon all flesh. This period has been foreseen and has been
alluded to in much plainness by many of the prophets upon the
eastern hemisphere and also upon the western continent; their
words were recorded and have come down to us through the Bible
and the Book of Mormon.
294
The spirit which God has been pleased to pour out upon us in some
degree opens our minds to a comprehension of these same things.
When we take up the Bible or the Book of Mormon and read of the
restitution to come, we can see it as the prophets saw it; for
the same spirit that rested upon Isaiah and Jeremiah and upon
Nephi and Moroni and others of the prophets that lived upon this
continent, rests upon the people of God in these latter-days. The
same evidences are open to our vision, and we know as sure as we
know that God lives that the day is close at hand when those
events spoken of will transpire upon the earth.
295
We are living in a time of great wickedness, of great corruption
and evil of numerous kinds; they are widespread upon the face of
the earth, and the inhabitants thereof have turned from the Lord
in a great degree, according to the Scripture which has been
quoted: "They have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance
and broken the everlasting covenants." God has withdrawn himself
from the children of men. Darkness has covered the earth and
gross darkness the people. While they boast of living in an age
of Gospel light, they are really and truly shut out from
communion with the Lord. No prophet's voice is heard in their
midst; no seer discerns the things of God; no angel from the
courts of glory bears a message of glad tidings to man. The
heavens are as brass over their heads. They have no answer when
they pray, or rather when they say their prayers, for it may be
truly said of them in the words of the Lord through Isaiah, they
"draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me,
but have removed their hearts far from me, and their fear toward
me is taught by the precepts of men." "Therefore," says the Lord,
"behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this
people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of
their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their
prudent men shall be hid," while to the weak and despised and
poor of the earth whom God has gathered from the nations he has
revealed his will and the precious things of his kingdom; and
they are preparing themselves for the great events that are to
transpire in the near future.
296
God has commenced the great work of restitution of all things by
restoring the Gospel in its primitive simplicity, and every
principle and ordinance belonging thereto, with the authority and
power to administer therein. Every man that has lived upon the
earth in past ages, who has held the keys in any dispensation of
God's mercy to man, has come down from the place whence he has
gone, and restored those keys; they have all brought their
priesthood, their authority, and the spirit and power belonging
thereunto, and ordained living men to the authority which they
themselves held. And the reason why we know this is true, is
because God Almighty has made this manifest to every humble soul
who has bowed in obedience to this Gospel. Our testimony does not
depend upon Joseph Smith; it does not depend upon Brigham Young;
it does not depend upon John Taylor, or upon the council of the
Twelve Apostles, which is now the presiding quorum in the Church.
I pin my faith to no man's sleeve; I am a believer in the
Scripture which says, "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man,
and maketh flesh his arm." I obeyed this Gospel because I
believed it was true, through reading the Scriptures, which I was
taught from my early childhood to believe in. When the sound of
the Gospel reached my ears I believed; and having bowed in
obedience to the ordinances, I received a testimony for myself of
its truthfulness, and that testimony has never departed from me.
I know by the power and gift of the Holy Ghost that God lives. I
know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. I know
by the same Spirit that God Almighty has sent his angels in these
the last days to Joseph Smith and others, for the purpose of
commencing this work of the restitution of all things. I know
that work has begun to be ushered in. I know that the power of
God is being manifested on the earth, that the same power which
rested upon the former-day Saints, rests down upon the Latter-day
Saints. I know that the former-day ordinances have been restored,
and the spirit and the power thereof. I know it for myself,
because I have experienced it and realized it. I know there is a
way to approach the Eternal Father and learn of him. I know that
those who seek aright in the way appointed, find an answer to
their prayers, and that the promise made by the Savior is true:
"Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you." And in bearing my
testimony to the truth of these things, I say what most of this
congregation know, and what the great majority of the people
throughout this Territory could testify to, as well as thousands
more who are scattered upon the race of the earth, who are
longing to gather to these mountain vales. We have not come here
for the mere purpose of enriching ourselves in gold and silver,
in flocks and herds, or houses and lands, things which perish in
their handling, but to become rich in the imperishable things of
eternity, which we can obtain here in the way appointed of God,
and about which the world know nothing.
296
People wonder why it is that the leaders of this people are still
upheld by the unanimous voice and vote of the Latter-day Saints,
and why it is that we have faith in them and cling to them, in
spite of all that is said against them. They do not understand
the secret spring that moves this work. The power that unites and
guides us does not rest in any man or any set of men, neither in
this wonderful organization, but in this eternal, unerring Spirit
which God has shed forth in our hearts through obedience to the
Gospel, by which we can approach Him and learn of Him for
ourselves.
296
We have gathered to these mountains that we may aid in this great
work of restitution. We are building these Temples that the Lord
may come and restore further powers and keys and knowledge
pertaining to the holy priesthood, which has been held in
reserve, for we have as yet only received the droppings of the
shower to come; we have but received a few things compared with
what remains to be revealed. There is not a principle nor a
blessing referred to in these Scriptures, which has been enjoyed
by the Saints of any former time, but what the Lord our God will
restore and bestow upon his people of the latter times, things.
This doctrine of celestial marriage that creates such a stir in
the world, is only one of the doctrines believed in and practiced
by the ancients, and that, too, under the immediate sanction and
direction of the Almighty, that God has commenced to restore in
the latter days. The Lord has restored that in connection with
other principles, and it is a truth which this people can testify
to, whether others believe it or not. God is the author of it,
and if men choose to fight against the Lord, let them fight; it
is God and them for it. I bear my testimony that God Almighty has
revealed this doctrine of celestial marriage, or marriage for
eternity, including the doctrine of plurality of wives. He made
this manifest to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and has revealed it to
thousands by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost. But these are
only the beginnings of things. We have come here to learn of
God's ways and to walk in his paths. "Our fathers have inherited
lies and vanity, and things wherein there is no profit." They
have been fed upon husks, while the kernel was not with them.
They have been taught by the traditions of men; they have been
led by theologians who knew not God, who could not describe him
or explain his laws to the people, for they knew not of Him
themselves, and how could they, when according to their own
admissions the voice of prophecy had ceased, and God would no
more speak to the children of men.
298
We have come out from the traditions and false theories of our
fathers, and gathered here that we may lean of God. And God has
organized his Church, and we are receiving line upon line and
precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, for our
profit, to prepare us for the things to be manifested in the
future. And if we would only live up to the things that He has
revealed to us; if we would be as pure and virtuous, and honest
and upright, and conscientious and patient, and long-suffering
and charitable as we are commanded to be in the revelations the
Lord has given unto us in these latter times, we would be better
prepared for the great things yet to be unfolded. If the people
called Latter-day Saints desire to receive further of these great
things which have been kept hid from the world for generations,
let them live up to the principles already revealed--let them be
Saints in very deed. As they have come out from the world bodily,
let them be separated from the world in spirit. Let them be
temperate, chaste and true; let them be honest and honorable with
all men; let them live up to their agreements and fail not to
keep their promises one with another, always remembering, with
due regard, their sacred covenants and solemn obligations to the
Lord. And thus they will come up near to Him, and as a natural
consequence the Lord will draw near to them, his Spirit will be
upon them, and God will fight their battles and overcome their
enemies, and break off every yoke. For the Lord is nigh at hand
and not afar off. He has commenced the great work of restitution,
and will roll it on to its consummation. He will restore every
power and every gift and grace, every key, revelation and
inspiration that has ever been enjoyed by the ancient Saints. Is
that all? No, my brethren and sisters, it is not all; for after
God has restored everything that has been lost, He will, in this
dispensation, reveal things kept hidden from the foundations of
the world. He will reveal them "to babes and sucklings," to the
children born in Zion who are heirs to the holy priesthood,
trained up in the way they should go, not trained up as some of
our children are, but in the way God has appointed. As we are
living in these momentous times, it behooves us to be what we
profess to be--Saints. We are called to be Saints; whether we are
Saints or not is another thing. Many are called, but few are
chosen. And why are they not chosen? Read the Book of Doctrine
and Covenants; find out your own weaknesses, your own failures,
your own omissions as well as commissions. Find out wherein you
have ceased to do that which you ought to do, and have done that
which you ought not to have done, and repent. Repentance is
needed to be taught to the Latter-day Saints as well as to the
world; for we are called with a holy calling, and if we do not
live up to our professions, it were better we had never made
them. Let us return to the Lord, and the Lord will return to us;
his Spirit will be manifested in our midst to a still greater
degree, and His gifts and blessings will abound. Our sick will be
healed as in times past. We have seen the sick healed
instantaneously. The lame have been made to walk, the dumb to
speak, the blind to see and the deaf to hear, by the power of God
through the administrations of the servants of God. The gifts of
tongues, prophecy, dreams, faith, discernment, and every gift and
blessing spoken of in the Bible as having graced the primitive
Church, have been enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints in this
latter-day Church, and we are witnesses thereof. God has been
near to us, and we have felt his presence in our public
assemblies and in our private abodes. Peace has reigned in our
hearts, and we have felt like praising Him with all our souls for
His goodness.
298
Now the Lord will be still nearer to us if we practice our
religion and be Saints in very deed; and our own eyes will be
open to discern the work of God among the nations. We have
already begun to comprehend the purposes of the Almighty. God's
hand is over all, and he will smite down the oppressor and break
ever yoke. He will destroy the tyranny that still exists in the
world, and the way will be open for the servants of the living
God to go to every nation, kindred, tongue and people, as
messengers of the truth and to gather out the seed of Israel, and
the work of God will roll forth, and every effort of our enemies
will only tend to accelerate its progress. There are societies
formed here to oppose this work and to bring trouble upon us.
What have their efforts so far amounted to? Those that have
concocted their schemes to misrepresent us and to bear false
witness against us and to malign us, how much have they
accomplished? They have been the means of helping to kill one
faithful youth, who, in common with many of his brethren, was
engaged publishing to the world the principles of our religion.
And besides this, they have been the means of inciting mobocrats
to drag a few inoffensive aged people from their homes and beat
them nearly to death, because of their belief. Let those plotters
look upon their work and see what they have accomplished? How
much satisfaction these ladies, these "Christian" ladies and
gentlemen must have in their labors! How much will this do to
stop the progress of the work of the Almighty? Not anything at
all; it will only tend to roll it on to its consummation and
final triumph. The Lord will so overrule in behalf of his people
as to turn the intended evil into good. Their efforts to
overthrow "Mormonism," as they term it will simply advertise our
cause all over the world; attention will be drawn to our Elders
who are traveling throughout the world preaching the Gospel, and
they will be the better able to bear their testimony and gather
out the honest. They may fight this work as they please; they may
malign and stigmatize this people, and heap all manner of
reproach upon them; they may imprison and even kill the bodies of
some of its most faithful advocates, but the facts still remain
that we are engaged in the work of restitution; that God has
commenced it; that God is with us, and will remain with us as
long as we are true to him as his servants; and no power on earth
or in hell will stop his purposes. The nations of the earth are
in his hands; the governments of this earth he considers as a
very little thing, and by and by he will laugh at their calamity
and mock when their fear cometh. The kingdoms of this world, with
all their pomp and glory, will, in the own due time of the Lord,
be humbled in the dust and be broken to pieces; and then will
come the kingdom of our God, and he whose right it is to reign
will rule from pole to pole and from shore to shore.
299
But let us not cherish animosity in our hearts against those who
are plotting against us. While we stand up for our civil rights
and the liberty to which we are entitled by virtue of the
Constitution of the United States, and stand firm, shoulder to
shoulder, in vindication of our religious rights, and help to
maintain for others the rights which we claim for ourselves, let
us not cherish anger, or animosity, or revenge, in our hearts.
But let us take the words of the Lord Jesus Christ for our guide,
and try to be patient and long suffering, even as God is. And the
Lord will fight our battles, and those who fight against us by
and by will be brought to shame and confusion as they always have
been. And let those who love to lie about the Latter-day Saints,
lie on; there is a place prepared for them, and we will leave
them in his hands. Ye who wish to lie, lie on! Do your work, fill
the mission you are engaged in as did Judas of old; but as for
us, we will serve the Lord; we will keep his commandments; we
will battle with the evils in our natures, entailed upon us
through the errors of our forefathers; we will learn to govern
ourselves and our households in the fear of God, and while we are
engaged in battling with evil and corruption God will be on our
side, and who shall prevail against him? "A little one shall
become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation; the Lord will
hasten it in his time."
299
Now, we are here in the valleys of these mountains to aid in this
great work of bringing to pass the restitution of all things; let
us take hold of the truths revealed to us and practice them in
our lives, that we may become a holy people unto the Lord,
faithful, true, honorable, upright, chaste and pure, fit for the
companionship of the angels. And the spirit of the living God
shall have free course among us and the gifts of the Gospel will
abound; truth will prevail and our enemies will be confused. The
time is not far distant when God will sweep the earth, as with a
besom of destruction, of all that rebel wilfully and
intentionally against him and his work; he will cleanse the earth
from pollution and establish righteousness thereon. Men shall
then be found beating their swords into plowshares and their
spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against
nation, neither shall they learn war any more, but every man in
every place shall meet a brother and a friend. And this same
spirit of peace will also produce a change upon the brute
creation, according to the words of prophets who lived centuries
ago, and the earth itself will be blessed, the curse be removed
therefrom, and he whose right it is to reign will come and rule
in the midst of his people.
299
I have occupied sufficient time. I thank God, as I said in the
beginning, for the privilege of being a Latter-day Saint; I thank
God for the privilege of being here in the valleys of these
mountains, helping to bring forth this great work of restitution.
And by the help of God we will cleave together as a band of
brethren and sisters, to serve the Lord our God no matter what
may come. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / John
Taylor, July 6th, 1879
John Taylor, July 6th, 1879
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, July 6th, 1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
POWER AND EFFECTS OF THE GOSPEL--ANTAGONISM BETWEEN LIGHT
AND DARKNESS--NECESSITY OF GOD'S JUDGMENTS UPON THE WICKED.
300
I have been very much interested in listening to the remarks made
by my brethren both this morning and afternoon. And I feel with
the aid of the Almighty, like making a few remarks myself.
300
We are living in a peculiar day and age of the world, in a time
that has been spoken of by prophets, seers, revelators and
apostles, by men who have been inspired by the Spirit of the
living God and who comprehended the purposes and designs of God
in relation to the world on which we live; in relation to the
people who now live upon it, to those who have lived upon it in
the various ages of time and to those who will live upon it, and
who have had a general conception and manifestation of the
various events that should transpire associated with what is
termed in scripture, "the dispensation of the fulness of times,"
in which God would gather together all things in one, whether
they be things in the heavens or things on the earth. As a
commencement of this operation he has communicated his will again
to man, and by revelation of that will, by the opening of the
heavens, by the ministering of holy angels and by the voice of
God have we had revealed unto us those great and eternal
principles in which the interests of a world are concerned, past,
present and future.
301
We have had a good deal spoken unto us pertaining to the Gospel
of the Son of God and the power and blessing associated
therewith, as well as arguments advanced and scriptures quoted to
show the various manifestations of the Spirit of God in other
ages. But the Gospel itself is a principle of revelation, and
without revelation we can have no Gospel; for we are emphatically
told that life and immortality are brought to light by the
Gospel; that through its influence men are able to comprehend the
position and relationship they sustain to each other, and to God,
to the past, to the present and to the future and can alone
comprehend the final destinies of man. The Gospel is a living,
abiding, eternal principle. And hence when John on the Isle of
Patmos wrapped in prophetic vision gazing upon the events that
should transpire in the latter-days, saw, among other things,
"another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting
Gospel to preach to them that dwell upon the earth," not a new
Gospel, not some new theory or principles or dogma; but the
everlasting Gospel, as it had existed with the Gods in
eternity--the medium through which God conveys intelligence to
the human mind; the principle by which Gods are governed and all
nations controlled, the everlasting Gospel.
302
This principle has been referred to as being a personal thing in
which every body that is brought in contact therewith and obeys
its requirements is made a participator and becomes one of the
vast multitude that has existed, does exist and will exist in
seeking to carry out the purposes and designs of God in relation
to the welfare, happiness and exaltation of the human family.
Therefore, the relevancy of the remarks we read, such as we have
heard today, calling upon the people to repent and be baptized in
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and they
should receive the Holy Ghost. Who? Those who repent, those who
believe, those who obey, those who are governed by the principles
contained in the Gospel of the Son of God. And what should that
do for them? Take of the things of God and show them to them, and
bring them into communion with the Lord Jesus Christ and with the
Father and into communion with the holy angels and prophets who
lived before, enjoying the same Gospel, the same light, the same
intelligence, the same spirit and the same power; that they might
be one with each other, one with the ancient apostles, prophets,
patriarchs and men of God who have lived in the different ages;
one with the Lord Jesus Christ, operating together for the one
great purpose of Jehovah pertaining to the welfare, happiness and
exaltation of the world and the people thereof. And hence, say
the scriptures, you have all been baptized into one baptism. And
what else? You have all partaken of the same spirit, as Jesus
says, "that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and
they in me, that they may be made perfect in one." And hence
those who have obeyed the Gospel--although in many instances they
do not comprehend it in all its bearing, and very few do, in fact
we only see as through a glass darkly, see in part, know in part,
prophecy in part, and comprehend in part until that which is
perfect shall come and that which is in part shall be done away,
that we may all then see as we are seen, and know as we are
known, But although we have not arrived at that condition, yet
all who have received the Holy Ghost through obedience to the
laws of God and the ordinances thereof, administered by men
holding authority, know for themselves not only that this is the
work of God, that this is the church and kingdom of God and that
we are engaged in establishing and bringing to pass the things
that have been spoken of by the holy prophets since the world
was. They know at least that they have passed from death into
life, the Holy Ghost bearing witness thereof. That is the case of
every individual who has lived his religion, keeping the
commandments of God. They realize this and know it for
themselves, and consequently it is, as has been referred to, with
every one a personal thing. That principle is not for somebody
else; it is for ourselves, and if we follow the leading of that
spirit and grieve not the Spirit of God, whereby we are sealed to
the day of redemption, that spirit will grow and increase in us,
and we shall add to our faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge,
and to knowledge brotherly kindness, to brotherly kindness
charity, and so forth; increasing in every good word and work
until we shall see as we are seen and know as we are known. This
is to be brought by the Gospel of Jesus Christ--the everlasting
Gospel.
302
Now this is a personal thing, it belongs to each one individually
to every man, to every woman, to every boy, to every girl who has
arrived at the years of accountability. If they are living their
religion and keeping the commandments of God they have the Spirit
of God within them that bears witness unto them that they are the
children of God, even heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus
Christ our Lord.
303
Now then, we come to other things. This eternal principle of
which we speak is not to be confined to ourselves alone. It
reaches out and seeks to bless, and while being blessed it seeks
to communicate the same to others; it seeks to advance and
promote the welfare of humanity in all conditions in every sphere
and among all people, just as God does, for it emanates from him,
and he is the God and Father of us all, not only of the
Latter-day Saints but all other people; but having committed to
us the true riches of eternal life, he expects us to communicate
the same to others. And hence in former times he said unto his
disciples, "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to
every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;
but he that believeth not shall be damned." Also "Let your light
so shine before men that they may see your good works, and
glorify your Father which is in heaven." But he has prepared men
for the accomplishment of this work. In former times, both on
this continent and the continent of Asia and other places, he
communicated with men himself, organized his church, established
his priesthood, endowed men with authority, placed them in
positions and gave them power to act; and they became priests of
the Most High God, the dispensers of salvation to a fallen world,
and the medium through which he communicated intelligence and
knowledge of himself, his laws, and of his eternal purposes
pertaining to the human family. And hence, in former times, he
said to his disciples, "Ye have hot chosen me, but I have chosen
you;" go ye forth then and proclaim these tidings to all people.
And what else? And take care also of the flock of Christ, watch
over my sheep. And hence, when he said to Peter on a certain
occasion, after he had manifested his weakness and infirmity,
"Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?" He saith
unto him, "Feed my sheep." A second and a third time he asked the
same question. A second and a third time he was answered in the
same way. One thing was to spread forth the light of truth, to
preach the Gospel, to unfold the principles of eternal truth; and
then when people had received the first principles of the Gospel,
to teach them and more fully instruct them in the principles of
eternal life. And hence the necessity of the priesthood. And what
is that? The rule and government of God through the medium of
which men whom he selects and chooses, which he has done in the
different ages of time, are duly authorized and qualified to
proclaim his will and administer his ordinances. There is more
than one priesthood spoken of in the scriptures. There is one
especially associated with the Gospel which Paul speaks of as
being without beginning of days or end of years; or, rather, he
speaks of a man, Melchizedek by name, who was without beginning
of days or end of years, and he abides a priest forever. Some
people have thought that he was a very singular kind of
character, without father and without mother. However, that is
very easily comprehended when you are made acquainted with the
principle. In the Levitical priesthood, they had to prove by the
records that they were literal descendants of Aaron and of the
tribe of Levi, before they could be admitted to the priesthood.
But speaking of this, the Melchizedek priesthood, he said it was
without father and mother. It is an organization independent of
these considerations, and those who have it abide priests
continually, and administer both in time and eternity. What, does
it continue so long? Yes. How do you know? By the revelations of
Jesus Christ. For your information I will take the scriptures for
it, and examine for a moment some principles there developed.
303
I find that when Jesus was upon the earth, he, on a certain
occasion, took Peter, James and John with him to the top of a
mountain; and he was transfigured before them, and Moses and
Elias appeared before them. And Peter said: Master, it is good
for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for
thee, one for Moses, and one for Elias." For whom? "One for
thee." Who else? "One for Moses." What was Moses doing there?
"And one for Elias." What was Elias doing there? Where did these
strangers come from, both having existed generations before. They
held the priesthood in time. Moses preached the Gospel in time,
and Elias did the same thing: both of them held the priesthood,
and now they come to administer to Jesus; having existed in the
eternal world, they come again to earth and administer to him and
to Peter, James and John on the mountain. Why? Because they held
the everlasting priesthood, that administers in time and
eternity.
303
I again turn to the Bible, and find in the Revelations of St.
John there was a great and mighty personage presented himself to
him, arrayed in glory, magnificence and power. And John fell down
to worship him. Said he, "See thou do it not." Why? Who art thou?
"I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the
testimony of Jesus." I am one of thy fellow-servants, the
prophets that lived upon the earth, that ministered in time and
operated as thou art now doing, seeking to carry out the will of
my Father; having held the priesthood and ministering therein in
time, I am now continuing to administer this everlasting
priesthood, which is associated with the everlasting Gospel.
Well, so much for this. We will let it pass.
304
Now then, what is the position we occupy? We have had the same
things restored to us through Joseph Smith, by the revelations of
God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ, and Moroni and Mormon,
and Peter, James and John, and John the Baptist and others who
communicated the same and revealed things pertaining to the
priesthood they held, and conferred authority upon him, and he
upon others, to administer in regard to these great and eternal
principles. And hence we have our church organized upon this
basis, our residency, our apostles, our seventies, our high
priests, our elders, our high councils, our bishops and their
counselors, our priests, teachers and deacons, and all the
various organizations of the church and kingdom of God. What
else? The edifying of the body of Christ. Edifying the body of
Christ? Yes. Go and preach the Gospel to all nations. What then?
Gather them together. What then? Says the prophet Jeremiah, "I
will take you one of a city, and two of a family and bring you to
Zion: and I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which
shall feed you with knowledge and understanding," and "edify the
body of Christ," that they may be prepared to fulfill their
destiny and magnify their calling on the earth. But what then? We
go to work to build temples. What for? That we may administer
therein. For whom? For the living and for the dead, that as the
scriptures say, "Saviors may come up on Mount Zion, and the
kingdom be the Lord's." And that by gathering together a nucleus
of people from among the various nations of the earth, we may be
under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord, united together in
one and through the medium of the holy priesthood and our union
and communion with God, we may go to work and operate with the
apostles, prophets, patriarchs and men of God who have lived in
the different ages of the world, and with God and with Jesus, the
Mediator of the New Covenant that we may operate with them in the
accomplishment of the purposes of God pertaining to the salvation
of the living and the redemption of the dead.
304
These are some of the works that we are engaged in and expect to
be engaged in, and expect to carry out, and to do the things that
God requires at our hands, and we expect God and the holy angels
and the priesthood behind the vail and all heaven to be on the
side of Israel, and all hell to be opposed to us; and we will
risk the consequences under any circumstances.
305
We talk about the Saints; are they good people? Yes, many of them
are very good people. And the balance of them? Well, some of them
are sinners; some of them the meanest of men you can find
anywhere. How is this? It is exactly in the way the Scriptures
says. I think it says: "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net
that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind." And so
it is among us, and so it has been and so it will be. If we take
the history of the ages past, it has been precisely so. The very
first start we read that Adam had two sons, one Cain, and one
Abel. Abel was a man that feared God, but Cain did not. That is
like some of us here. Some of us fear God, and some of us do not;
and those who do not always consider they are injured or
oppressed, or there is always something wrong; they labor under
an immense amount of difficulty; but the good folks sing,
Hallelujah, hallelujah, the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth, and
will reign until he puts all enemies under His feet; and they
feel peaceful and rejoice in the Lord of hosts. Cain thought he
was injured because the Lord did not accept of his sacrifice, and
he thought his brother had something to do with it, and his
jealousy prompted him to slay him, and he did so. That was rather
a bad start when you come to look at it. According to the Bible,
there were only two of them; and the wicked man was left to
represent what? Outside of Adam, God's creation on the earth, for
at least one hundred and thirty years, except that Adam had other
sons. That, however, we will not talk about to-day. Well, the
Lord came along after a while, and, says he, "What have you been
doing? Where is thy brother Abel?" He replied, "I do not know
anything about him, I am not my brother's keeper." Says the Lord,
"The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground;
and because thou hast done this thing, I will set a mark upon
thee, and thou shalt be a vagabond upon the earth;" and so will
every man be who fights against Zion; and if anybody does not
believe it, let him try it, and he will find out before he gets
through that there is a God that rules in the heavens, and that
he is all the day long crying, "Touch not mine anointed, and do
my prophets no harm." And said he on another occasion, "Whoso
shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it
were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck,
and that he were drowned in the depths of the sea." This is how I
read the Bible.
305
I find in tracing out the scriptures, that from the beginning
there have existed two powers--the powers of light and the powers
of darkness; that both these things existed in the heavens before
they came here, that the powers of darkness were cast out, and
thus became the devil and his angels. This antagonism, then,
existed before, and it is necessary it should exist. It is
necessary men should be tried and purged and purified and made
perfect through suffering. And hence we find men in the different
ages that have passed through trials and afflictions of every
kind, and they had to learn to put their faith in God, and in God
alone. Such was the wickedness and corruptions of men in the
early ages that it was necessary that God should sweep the face
of the earth by a flood, in order that men might be deprived of
their power to do evil.
307
I have heard some people say that they thought it was very hard
for God to do such a thing. I think it would have been very cruel
on his part if he had not done it. Why? Because man is a dual
being, associated with time and eternity, being in possession of
a spirit as well as a body; and as God is the God and Father of
the spirits of all flesh that ever did exist or will have a being
on the earth, it was necessary under certain circumstances, that
he should operate in his judgment upon the wicked whenever they
should become as corrupt as they did at that time. Why so? For
God is the God and Father of the spirits of all flesh, and all
flesh at that time had corrupted itself. And would it be just for
those unborn spirits to have to come and inhabit bodies of those
unclean and corrupt people and have to suffer the judgments of
God? No, it was not just; and it would be very reasonable for
them to say, "Father, look at that world of people; see their
crimes, their degradation, their iniquity, their theft and
robbery, their murders and whoredoms and every kind of evil; they
have left the good and have gone to the bad, and the imaginations
and thoughts of their hearts are evil; Father, is it proper that
we should have to go there and inhabit such low, fallen, degraded
bodies as they possess, and thus not have a fair chance upon the
earth?" "No," says he, "it is not; and I will destroy them and
raise up another people." And hence, he destroyed them. But was
the spirit of antagonism to God extinct by this act? No, it still
continued to operate. We find, for instance, that in the days of
Job the sons of God met together before the Lord, and that Satan
was among them. This may seem strange, that the devil should be
permitted to move among the sons of God, but nevertheless it was
so. And the Lord conversed with him, asking him if he had
considered his servant Job, who was a perfect man, etc. "O yes,"
Satan remarked, "I know all about him; but allow me to have a rap
at him. Job does not fear God for nought. You have made a hedge
around him and fenced him in; under those circumstances who would
not serve God? I would if you would serve me so." "You may try
him," says the Lord. The devil took his leave; and the next thing
we hear of is a series of troubles that befell this good man. We
are told that the Sabians and Chaldeans, as they do here
sometimes, fell upon his oxen and camels and took them away, and
that they spared not the herdsmen, but slew them; with the edge
of the sword. This report had no sooner been made to him when
another followed, representing that fire had fallen from heaven
and destroyed his sheep and their herdsmen, save only the one who
brought the intelligence. And while he was speaking, we are told
that another messenger arrived, informing his master, Job, that
while his sons and daughters were feasting in their elder
brother's house, a great wind from the wilderness blew up and
smote the house until it fell, killing the young men. But withal,
Job's integrity was not shaken. "Naked," said he, "came I unto
the earth, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and
the Lord hath taken away, and blessed be the name of the Lord."
Again, there came a day when the sons of God assembled together
before the Lord; and the devil also presented himself. And the
Lord said unto Satan, "Hast thou considered my servant Job, that
there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright
man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil? and still he
holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedest me against him
to destroy him without cause." And Satan answered the Lord, and
said, "Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for
his life. But put forth thine hand now, and tough his backbone
and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face." And the Lord
said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life."
Then Satan smote Job with boils, from the crown of his head to
the souls of his feet; and he set his friends upon him, and they
accused him, and his enemies taunted him, and finally his wife
came along when he was in this miserable condition, and said,
"Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God and die." But
Job answered and said unto her, "Thou speakest as one of the
foolish women speaketh. What, shall we receive good at the hand
of God, and shall we not receive evil? The Lord gave and the Lord
hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord." This was his
feeling; and it is pleasant to feel that way after all--much
better than the other way. He said further: "Though he slay me,
yet will I trust in him." And why? Because he had the everlasting
gospel. What! Job had the Gospel? Yes, to be sure he had. How do
I know? Because the Gospel brings life and immortality to light;
and he had a knowledge of that. And hence he says, "For I know
that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter
day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this
body, yet in my flesh shall I see God, whom I shall see for
myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my
veins be consumed within me."
307
That is the kind of feeling he had; that is the kind of feeling
we want to possess, and feel that God is ours and we are his, and
that we are associated with his Church and his kingdom, and are
doing his will and carrying out his purposes upon the earth. And
it is all the same with us then, whether in peace or war; nobody
need have any trembling in the knees, for no power can harm the
Saints of God if they continue to be followers of that which is
good. The Psalmist says, "Surely the wrath of men shall praise
thee; the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain." He will turn
and overturn, until ultimately the kingdoms of this world shall
become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ; and he will rule
for ever and ever. Whilst those that set themselves and run
against the bosses of Jehovah's buckler, shall find that they
have God to cope with, and that they are but potsherds of the
earth, and that they will wilt and wither and die and be damned.
There is no power on earth that can hurt Israel as long as they
shall be found doing what is right, obeying the commandments of
God, keeping their covenants and preserving themselves in purity
and honor before him.
307
God bless you and lead you in the paths of life, in the name of
Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / John
Taylor, August 24th, 1879
John Taylor, August 24th, 1879
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, August 24th, 1879.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
FUTILITY OF THE MACHINATIONS OF THE WICKED--THE WORK
OF GOD CANNOT BE STAYED.
307
I have listened with great pleasure to the remarks that have been
made by the brethren who have addressed us, and I thought that I
would arise and add a few remarks myself to those already given.
It gives me pleasure always to meet with the Latter-day Saints,
to talk with them and hear them talk of those great and eternal
principles, which our Father in heaven has revealed for the
salvation, the blessing and exaltation of the human family. Men
comprehend very little of these things. And further they know
very little about us and our faith, our practice and our doings.
308
I was pleased to hear Brother John H. Smith make the remarks he
did concerning himself, as regards his purity, his virtue,
singleness of heart, and his desire to do good. I wish all the
Latter-day Saints could say and do the same. I wish they were all
actuated by the same principle of honor, of truth, of integrity,
and of virtue; and I would say that if there are those who are
not they are hypocrites, they are not the representatives of the
principles of truth, of these great and glorious principles which
God has revealed to us, but they are a disgrace to their
profession.
308
God expects us, at least, to be moral. He expected the Jews under
the Mosaic dispensation to be moral. They were also to have faith
in God, as we propose to have faith in him when living under the
law. They were told to commit no murder, they were told not to
covet a man's house, or his wife, or his land, or his ox, or his
ass, or any thing that belonged to him. I wish the Latter-day
Saints would incorporate this always in their creed. It is
hopeless to suppose the Christians will. But I do hope to see the
Latter-day Saints governed by those high and noble principles
which they propose to have faith in. But as regards the world
they know very little about these things. They talk sometimes
about the impurity of the "Mormons." What! Men wallowing in
filth, corruption, rottenness and infamy! Men and women who are
the murderers of their own infants by the thousands before or
after birth. Who violate incessantly their marital covenants, who
do not know the difference between right and wrong! Men who would
seek to despoil other men of their goods, their property and
possessions and women of their virtue, and then come and preach
morality to us! Now, we can talk to one another, I can talk
plainly to the Saints, because we profess more, but it does not
do for such characters to come and preach morality to us; they
had better go home and attend to their own affairs.
309
But we are expected to do right and to take a proper, consistent,
upright, virtuous and honorable course, and then we need not fear
any evil. Talk about persecution, why, yes. Will they persecute
you? Yes. Will they hate you? Yes. Will they rob you? Yes, and
thank God for having the privilege. And what will we do? Try and
prevent them, God being our helper. Will they traduce you? Yes,
that is, if their words are of any account, but they are not much
these low degraded infamous characters do not believe one
another, and we do not believe them. Consequently, we have very
little odds to ask of this class of people, nor in fact of the
world, or anything that is in the world. We fear God and know no
other fear, for God is our friend, and our protector, and he is
the only friend that we know anything about in this world. He
will take care of us. We will commit our cause to him, and ask no
odds of this world, in any shape they can fix it. They may
fulminate their decrees, and Mr. Evarts if he please may call
upon a number of European nations to assist the United States to
regulate the morals of a small people numbering about two hundred
thousand here, among upwards of forty millions;--he may call upon
these European nations to assist the United States to regulate
the morals of this people up in these mountains, if it pleases
him. But what a magnificent spectacle coming from such a source
as it does! Why, there is more corruption in Washington in one
day than there is in Salt Lake City in twelve months, Gentiles
thrown in! But we certainly all of us need our morals more or
less correcting.
309
In relation to these matters, however, we care very little about
them. We have a work to perform that God has commanded us to
attend to, and we shall do it, hear it all ye ends of the earth!
We will do it in the name of God, nor can this nation, nor any
other nation stop it! Hear it! publish it to the ends of the
earth! Write it down and see if it does not come to pass. I
prophecy it in the name of Israel's God, let all Israel say Amen.
(The whole congregation as with one voice responded "Amen"). We
know what we are doing, whether other people do or not. This
kingdom that has been spoken of will roll on. The word of the
Lord has spoken it thousands of years ago. It will continue to
roll on, and woe unto that man or that people who set their hands
to fight against Zion for God will be after them. That people or
nation will be wasted away. He will maintain the rights of this
people, if they will fear him and keep his commandments. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 /
Franklin D. Richards, October 6, 1879
Franklin D. Richards, October 6, 1879
DISCOURSE BY ELDER F. D. RICHARDS,
Delivered at the General Conference, Held in the Tabernacle,
Salt Lake City, October 6, 1879.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
PREACHING OF JOHN THE BAPTIST AND RESTORATION OF THE GOSPEL
COMPARED--OPPOSITION TO REVELATION--GIFTS OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT--POLYGAMY--HUMAN LAWS FOUNDED UPON THE REVEALED LAW OF
GOD--CELESTIAL MARRIAGE PROMINENT IN THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS.
309
In contemplating the condition of the work of the Lord as it is
on the earth to-day, and as we have had to contemplate it from
the light of history in its existence in former periods of time,
we find a very striking analogy exists.
310
I scarcely need tell my congregation this afternoon that we as a
people bear a significant relation to the people of the United
States in a political point of view, and without undertaking to
review the various periods of the earth's history, and the
relationship which the work of God at different times has
sustained to its inhabitants, it may perhaps be enough to refer
to one circumstance in the days of our Savior. When John the
Baptist had gone forth among the people of Palestine, telling
them that the kingdom of heaven was at hand and calling upon all
who entertained faith in his mission to come and be baptized--it
appears that he created quite a sensation among the people,
insomuch that all they of Jerusalem and Judea and the regions
round about went forth and were baptized by him in great
multitudes, as recorded in Mark, i, 8. This had a political
effect upon the rulers of that day, and when John was followed by
Jesus and his wonderful works, they began to say--"If we let him
thus alone all men will believe on him, and the Romans will come
and take away our place and nation." It was very directly a
matter of political significance and importance.
310
I recollect that some fifty years ago, in the days of my youth,
and in the land of the Puritans, I used to hear and to see aged
matrons as well as reverend ministers wringing their hands and
lifting up their eyes with holy horror, because there was a great
evil in the land called slavery. They could scarcely eat or drink
in peace, or worship God with the spirit and understanding, by
reason of a terrible sense of condemnation resting on their
consciences--because their brethren in the Southern States
believed in slavery. This came to be worked up by the preachers
in the pulpits, by the politicians in their stump speeches, by
the parents of households, and fulminated by the press, until in
nearly every class of society there was a continual stir and
sensation about slavery in the Southern States. This terrible
evil had become one of such vast importance that it must some day
bring a national scourge, and in their great anxiety and horror
over this, and their determination to put it away, they stirred
up the fire until the North were at enmity and hostility against
the South, and the South were at enmity and hostility against the
North. We well recollect what were the consequences of the recent
terrible conflict that devastated and demoralized so much of our
beloved country. While this fanaticism was raging in the North,
and silent preparations for defence were going on in the South,
none seemed to consider the cost of hundreds of thousands of
lives, or the taxation necessary to pay a few hundred millions of
war debt, and still less the demoralizing influences thereby
fastened upon the country.
311
About the same time, or very soon after, when the Elders began to
preach the Gospel in that region, I recollect that there arose
quite a sensation about this people that professed to have new
revelation. It seemed to strike these same conscientious,
religious people with consternation that anybody should dare to
say that God would now reveal himself to the human family; that
it was the most impious blasphemy to preach that the priesthood
had been restored, or to assert that the Holy Ghost was given in
the latter days, or that the gifts of the Spirit were made to
abound among the children of men. No indeed; it was not to be
tolerated any more than the doctrine of slavery. There were here
and there a few, though but very few in proportion to the general
population, that did receive this very alarming doctrine among
those professing religious belief in the mission of our blessed
Redeemer. It will be borne in mind that at the time I now speak
of, the doctrine of plurality of wives had not been heard of as a
doctrine of the Church in the last dispensation; but it was the
gifts of the Spirit, it was the doctrine of present revelation,
it was the terrible repulsive idea that there could be a man
raised up in our day who should be a prophet that should bring
again the word of the Lord and speak his mind and will to the
people, that created a fresh outburst of pious indignation in the
minds of those who were so devout, and who claimed to occupy the
"cradle of liberty."
311
It was but a short time after this--stepping along rather rapidly
in the history of events--till the doctrine of plurality of wives
was revealed to the Saints, away in the West, on the banks of the
Mississippi, though not publicly proclaimed until 1852, in Utah.
But the sound of this sacred scriptural doctrine, when it came to
be made known, seemed the very acme of all that was corrupt,
abominable and ungodly, and they who professed to believe in the
doctrine of polygamy were not deemed fit to live on the earth.
Consequently, if I were to take a text to preach from, I would
take "Where are we now?"
311
About the year 1854, or 1856, the terrible odium of these two
principal doctrines, and polygamy especially, had attained such a
political hold on the minds of the religious community, that they
were prepared to place these as two planks in the party platform,
which was to be adopted as a ground upon which a President was to
be elected. The celebrated Senator Douglas, after we had come out
from the midst of the people and come into the wilderness, a
thousand miles from any settlement of civilization, announced to
the country that if he were made a candidate for the presidency
of the United States, his opinion was that "the loathsome ulcer
must be cut out from the side of the body politic." That was his
political faith in regard to this one of the twins. President
Buchanan was elected with a clear understanding that the
abolition of polygamy was one of the jobs he was undertaking. He
tried his hand at this first, but on finding that it took two
years for his army to reach the field of their operations, and
then in their decimated condition were dependent upon polygamists
for subsistence, the prestige of the campaign dwindled down to
what was commonly known as the "contractor's war on the
Treasury."
311
When, in 1860, the Republican party came into power, it assumed
the obligation which President Buchanan had failed to discharge
in regard to the "twin relics;" and, to avoid repeating the
mistake which he had made, turned its attention to the other
twin. This soon furnished occasion for a recall of the remaining
troops in Utah to the other field of conflict.
311
I feel more interest in narrating these facts, because our rising
generation, as well as many Saints who have immigrated to our
midst from abroad, are not familiar with the circumstances, which
have brought us to our present position. A little patience and I
will notice some of the circumstances attendant upon what has
been done, and perhaps we may judge therefrom what has to be
done, if it ever gets done at all.
312
Formerly, the Representatives and Senators from New England went
to Washington laden with petitions to Congress to abolish slavery
in the District of Columbia, even more strongly than priest and
people have recently been asking Congress to abolish polygamy.
Ex-President John Q. Adams presented lengthy petitions containing
thousands of names on many yards of paper, and became known as
the Member who manufactured public opinion by the yard. These
applications were repeated year after year. Be it remembered that
the District of Columbia is not a State, but is governed by
direct legislation of Congress. And what was the result of the
strenuous and powerful efforts of the most brilliant and profound
statesmen of the North, contested, of course, by the best
statesmen from the South? The result was that slavery was not
abolished in answer to the petitions of the Northern people, but
it continued a political question, and became a powerful factor
in the politics of the country. If an anti-slavery State was
admitted into the Union from the North, a pro-slavery State was
admitted from the South. Compromises were made between parties
for the admission of certain States, until some of the Southern
States declared for secession, and on the question of their right
to do so the war commenced, and not on the direct question of the
abolition of slavery.
312
From the firing of the first gun the demon of war seemed to
inspire the contending parties with the most bitter enmity and
rancorous hate towards each other, while multitudes met their
near kinsmen in mortal combat. Year after year the war raged,
till the Southern armies were recruited by their slaves; the
Treasury of the nation was rapidly depleting; fierce engagements
and wasting disease had done their work; and recruits were
enlisted for three years, or till the end of the war, and
President Lincoln, by proclamation, abolished the slavery of
several millions of negroes, not as a political measure, but as a
measure justified by the exigencies of war. I state these facts
without any argument as to whether slavery should be justified,
or condemned. Their great ancestor said they should be servants
of servants among their brethren, making their servitude the
fulfilment of prophecy, whether according to the will of God or
not.
312
But where are we to-day? We find slavery disposed of, but what of
polygamy? This question is assuming proportions which seem to
overshadow us so completely that even John Chinaman gets no
special consideration in Utah.
313
About the time of the "Bull Runstampede," in 1862, when officers,
raw recruits, and congressmen fled from the battle field and took
shelter in the Capital, Congress passed a law making plurality of
wives, bigamy, or polygamy if you please, a penal office. Now it
should be distinctly understood that this offence is not sinful
because Congress has made it penal. There is no ungodliness in
it, because God has revealed it, he has commanded it. Congress of
the United States says that it must not be permitted. Well, then,
"Where are we to-day?" What have we to expect? This law has been
passed--although we had hoped that Congress and the nation had
sufficient virtue enlightenment, liberty, and the spirit of the
constitution of the fathers left among them, that they could see
that this was not a sin or an evil--yet we find they have closed
their eyes against this, and have determined that it is sin,
while corruptions of every kind are permitted to be carried on in
the country, such as prostitution, foeticide, infanticide, etc.,
that because we have embraced the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, we must be demolished or give up our religious faith. The
highest court of the nation had declared polygamy
unconstitutional, yet in its nature it is the only potent remedy
by which to eradicate the so-called social evil, with all its
con-comitants, from the land. Yet they cannot see it, and they
declare that all who engage in polygamy shall suffer from two to
five years imprisonment and not exceeding $500, fine.
313
Now I want to place it clearly before you, my hearers, that this
is no longer the business of a party, it is to-day the voice of a
nation. Mr. Secretary Evarts in his circular letter sent to
ministers in foreign countries, says in the last clause that
"this government has determined to prosecute polygamy to the
extent of the law and to eradicate the institution from the
country." These are his words. That is authority so far as
authority from the United States government goes. We find the
same thing reiterated in the charge to the grand jury in this
city, a short time ago, that the voice of forty to fifty millions
of people must have its rule and that one hundred thousand must
be sacrificed or as many of them as insist on the doctrine of
polygamy. That is about where we are to-day. Now I ask my
brethren and sisters--are you prepared for whatever comes on this
question? Did you when you entered into the waters of baptism
make up a reckoning what the Gospel of Jesus Christ was worth?
Have we considered that it was worth fathers and mothers,
brothers and sisters, houses and lands, wives and children, and
our own lives also? If we did not we figured up wrong, for he
that is no willing to forsake all things and make them secondary
to a whole-souled belief in and faithful obedience to the Gospel,
is not worthy of it. I ask my brethren and sisters who have come
from the antipodes of the earth to this place for the Gospel's
sake, if you came prepared and having made such a reckoning?
Jesus says in one of his parables, "Which of you, intending to
build a tower sitteth not down first and counteth the cost
whether he have sufficient to finish it, lest, haply after he
hath laid the foundation and is not able to finish it, all that
behold it begin to mock him saying, this man began to build, and
was not able to finish." Now that is about the way with us. There
is no use our laying the flattering unction to our souls that
government is not going to do this. We have got an example of
what they have done to the Southern States, and have no doubt
they are just as ready and willing to do that much to abolish
polygamy among us if God will let them. They have come to that
point. They have pronounced against polygamy and are ready to
invite, hire and bribe men's wives to aid in the conviction of
their husbands, I have no doubt of it; you need not have. They
are here telling us plainly that this is their business, and we
need only to look around us and see where we are to-day.
314
Now, as regards this matter, nobody need tremble at all. I do not
think that any who have received the Holy Spirit, and learned of
the revelations of Jesus Christ, and know of their influence,
need fear, or that anybody's heart who is faithful before God,
need be any heavier than it is in the habit of being, or that
their faces need be any longer than they are used to be. Not at
all; we must look upon this as only a part of the "all things" we
agree to endure for the Gospel's sake and our salvation. Now,
they may go to law, and fix up, as we see already, packed juries,
just such as they want, so that no Latter-day Saint who is a
believer in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, whether he believe in
polygamy or not, can have any place among them, or any say as to
who are innocent or who are guilty. We have evidence that they
will do all this, and having done this much, it would be very
easy for them next winter to fix up such laws concerning juries
and testimony as will enable them to carry out what they have
undertaken. We give them credit for all this, and we have
evidence they will do it, from the fact that the Constitution has
been no limit to their former enactment. Indeed, it has virtually
been cast overboard, and liberty taken to enact any such laws as
might be desirable to carry favorite measures, and it will be
just as consistent for them to do anything they please in regard
to polygamy; and thus one thing after another, until they shall
have attained the object which they have determined to
accomplish.
314
The true issue of this question is not exactly between us
individually and the courts, or the government. The issue is
between the two governments. If they who make us offenders are at
a loss to know which is the higher law, they will have plenty of
time to find out. It is a violation of both the letter and the
spirit of the Constitution, and of good and true government of
this nation, that there should be any law made that should
restrict our belief or practice of any religious doctrine, which
does not infringe upon the rights of others. The Constitution
expressly says that "Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof." Neither is there anything in the Constitution that
tells Presidents, Congressmen, Judges or juries, what shall be
religion, or what shall not be religion.
314
In the days of Jesus, their Senate and House of Representatives,
their supreme and lesser courts were comprehended in the
Sanhedrin, or Chief Council, which was an institution of the
Jewish government to determine all matters, secular or religious.
In our day, although there is no law except the law of God that
determines what we may accept as religion, and what we shall not,
there is a principle which I call your attention to, that will
enable us to understand our position in relation to each other
and to our fellowmen. I may perhaps illustrate this best by
stating a circumstance which took place a few years ago, while I
was in Europe. A gentleman from one of the European States had
emigrated to this country and had become an American citizen. He
returned to his native country to attend to some business. While
there that government undertook to enforce from him some act of
subordination, as though he were still a subject of that
government. what was the result? The government of the United
States, when appealed to, informed the authorities of that land
that his rights as an American citizen must be respected. We see,
then, that when a difficulty arose that abridged this man's
liberties, the responsibility was upon the parent government of
asserting and maintaining the rights of this man's citizenship.
The authorities of Europe as well as America lauded the wisdom of
Daniel Webster in this case, and the man was delivered.
315
Now, in our case, the government has determined that polygamy
shall be abolished, but the government of heaven had previously
determined that polygamy should be established, and that sin and
wickedness shall be rooted up; that men and women shall have the
right to obey that higher law in their marital relations.
315
This is our position, this is where we are to-day. We have
accepted this doctrine, this principle of faith from the Lord
Jesus Christ, and we, or some of us, have lived it more than
thirty years in this Territory. And in the matter of our appeal,
inasmuch as the government is determined to eradicate this item
of our faith, and us with it, of course, and inasmuch as we can
get no redress therefrom, our appeal must be to the government of
heaven, to which we have vowed allegiance. Jehovah will hold a
contention with this nation, and will show them which is the
higher and eternal law, and which is the lesser and more recent
law. While they are carrying on this high-handed proceeding,
regardless of life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness, the God
of heaven and earth will notify the earthly government that the
rights and liberties of His citizens must be respected and
maintained.
315
The whole procedure is inconsistent, and utterly at variance with
the fundamental principles of law. The great legal apostle,
Blackstone, has plainly stated, and every lawyer knows, that
human laws and governments are professedly derived from, and
founded upon the revealed law of God, which he gave to Moses on
Mount Sinai, and every man of them who rejects the revelations of
Jesus Christ, must know that he is condemning himself in the
thing he professes to allow. The eternal law of celestial
marriage and plurality of wives stands out with singular
prominence in all the law and prophets, and is evidenced in the
personal humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Plurality, as
believed and practised by the Latter-day Saints, is no crime in
and of itself; it presumes no deception or fraud; it infringes
upon no other rights, but vests additional rights in him who
accepts the heavenly doctrine, whose Author has said, "It shall
be visited with blessings and not cursings, and with my power,
saith the Lord." It cannot therefore be malum in se, but is only
malum prohibitum, by the Act of Congress.
316
With this view of the subject before us, what have we to do? What
is our privilege and our duty in the premises? It is that we draw
near to God, the Author of our faith, in humility and in
obedience to all his requirements, remembering our covenants
sacredly before Him, that our cause may reach His ears, and when
He sees our trouble He will in His own good time step forth and
deliver us. We have erred and sinned more or less, some of our
children may have departed from the way of the Lord. If we have
violated the Sabbath, taken the name of the Lord in vain, or
violated any of our covenants, it is time for us to turn to the
Lord and do so no more. If we do this, He in his own due time
will say, "Hitherto shall thou come but no further, and here let
thy proud waves be stayed." While, then, we see all the
blandishments of civilization among us, while we see all the
troubles that human governments can make, in our view we have
only to trust in God as Daniel did. Notwithstanding the edict of
the King, he worshipped the True and Living God. So must we. And
peradventure all these things must happen to us. There are a
great many among us who say, "Lord, Lord," and do not pretend to
do the things which God requires of us. We have to keep the
commandments of God, we have to sense it, and to learn the lesson
in all sobriety. Have we any time to waste with these outside
characters? Have we any time to dally around grog-shops and play
in billiard saloons? No, my brethren and sisters, we have not. It
is our duty to be alive to our work, day by day, knowing that the
eyes of God are upon us. It is He that will do all things
marvelously well for us; it is He that will fight our battles for
us. Then the only way for us to gain deliverance is to remain
devoted to his service, that we may help to build up His kingdom,
and be found worthy of that assistance which He has promised to
render us in the time of need.
316
There are two sides to this question. Peradventure it may be
necessary that our enemies should carry out the works of their
father, the devil, that they may show sooner or more fully to the
heavens when the purpose and measure of their wickedness is full.
As to the ultimate establishment of truth on the earth, there is
no question. The prophets have all prophesied of it, the angels
have looked forward to it with glorious anticipation, and we have
the testimony of the Holy Ghost that this work shall be
accomplished. The thing for us to do is to live true and faithful
to our religion, irrespective of what may be going on around us.
316
That the Lord may inspire us by his Spirit to be faithful to our
duty, to draw near to him, leave the wickedness of the world
alone, and sanctify ourselves before him, is my earnest prayer,
in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / John
Taylor, October 6th, 1879
John Taylor, October 6th, 1879
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR.
Delivered at the General Conference, Held in the Tabernacle
Salt Lake City, October 6th, 1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
THE WORK OF GOD CANNOT BE HINDERED--THE UNITED STATES TO BE
AFFLICTED BY JUDGMENT.
317
I have been interested in listening to the remarks of the
brethren this afternoon, and I am thankful to find that good
old-fashioned Mormonism, or Latter-day-Saintism is not altogether
dead yet--that there is a little of it living in the bosoms of
the Saints, in our speakers, and in those who hear. The
Methodists, you know, used to have a prayer to the effect that
"His Spirit might pass from heart to heart as oil passes from
vessel to vessel," and I have thought that that kind of a spirit
has been exhibited more or less here to-day, whether we have any
Methodists among us or not.
318
We have come here, as has been stated, to worship Almighty God in
accordance with his commands. Most of this congregation were good
citizens before they came here. Some are from the various parts
of Europe and from other parts of the earth, and a great many
from different parts of the United States. They were good
citizens and observed the laws of the land to which they
belonged. They have observed every law of the United States,
except one that was made on purpose to make them disobey God, and
therefore, so far as political affairs are concerned, and the
duties pertaining to citizens of the United States, they have
been maintained in their integrity up to the present time. I
remember being asked in a court here some three or four years
ago--I do not remember the time precisely, but the court seemed
to be very fond of interfering with religious matters, it was not
always so; but I suppose civilization has extended--I was asked,
"Do you believe in obeying the laws of the United States?" "Yes I
do, in all except one"--in fact I had not broken that. "What law
is that?" "The law in relation to polygamy." "Well, why do you
except that one?" "Because," I replied "it is at variance with
the genius and spirit of our institution; because it is at
variance with the Constitution of the United States; and because
it is in violation of the law of God to me." The United States
Supreme Court, however, since that time has made it a law of the
land, that is, it has sanctioned it; it was not sanctioned at
that time, that question was not then decided. We are here
to-day, gathered together according to the word and law of God
and the commandments of God to us. "Gather my Saints together
unto me," says one of the old prophets, "Those that have made a
covenant with me by sacrifice." "I will take you," says another,
"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." Now, the servants of
God in these last days have been sent out as they were in former
days to gather the people, and the Lord has given us this
law--the law of polygamy--among other things, and I know it
before God and can bear testimony of it, if nobody else knows it.
I know that it came from God, and that God is its author. But
there are hundreds and thousands of others who have a knowledge
of the same thing; but I speak of it in this wise to testify
before God, angels and men, before this nation and all other
nations that it came from God. That is the reason that I speak of
it, that I may bear my testimony to you and to the nations of the
earth. Now, then, about the result of it; that is with God and
with the people. It is for us to do the will of God; it is for
the Lord to bring about the results in his own way. But one thing
I can assure all men, in the name of Israel's God, that neither
this nation, nor any other nation, can do anything against the
truth, but for the truth. Do their very best, help themselves as
they may, they cannot help themselves in regard to these matters,
for the Lord will say unto them, as he did unto the waves of the
mighty ocean, "Hitherto shalt thou come but no further: and here
shall thy proud waves be stayed." Now, that is how the thing is.
The prophet in another place says, "Surely the wrath of man shall
praise thee; the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain." He will
manage the other. He will put a hook in the jaws of men and of
nations, and lead them just as he pleases. They are all in his
hands, as we are in his hands.
319
Need we be surprised that people should feel inimical to the
Gospel of Jesus Christ? No. Need we be surprised that men, as the
scriptures say, "should wax worse and worse, deceiving and being
deceived?" No. We have preached it--I have preached it upwards of
forty years in this nation and in other nations. Need we be
surprised that they should trample under foot the Constitution of
the United States? No; Joseph Smith told us that they would do
it. Many around me here knew long ago that they would do this
thing and further knew that the last people that should be found
to rally around that sacred instrument and save it from the grasp
of unrighteous men would be the Elders of Israel! When,
therefore, we see these things progressing need we be astonished?
I do not think we need be. Some of our people you know, who are a
little shaky and get how? Why a little astride of the fence, and
say "good Lord and good devil," not knowing into whose hands they
will fall; when they see some of these things transpiring they
are filled with amazement; but men who understand themselves, and
who are in possession of the gift of the Holy Ghost and the
Spirit of the living God, are looking for such things and they
are not at all surprised. Were we surprised when the last
terrible war took place here in the United States? No; good
Latter-day Saints were not, for they had been told about it.
Joseph Smith had told them where it would start, that it should
be a terrible time of bloodshed and that it should start in South
Carolina. But I tell you today the end is not yet. You will see
worse things than that, for God will lay his hand upon this
nation, and they will feel it more terribly than ever they have
done before; there will be more bloodshed, more ruin, more
devastation than never they have seen before. Write it down! You
will see it come to pass; it is only just starting in. And would
you feel to rejoice? No; I would feel sorry. I knew very well
myself when this last war was commencing, and could have wept and
did weep, over this nation; but there is yet to come a sound of
war, trouble and distress, in which brother will be arrayed
against brother, father against son, son against father, a scene
of desolation and destruction that will permeate our land until
it will be a vexation to hear the report thereof. Would you help
to bring it about? No, I would not; I would stop it if I could. I
would pour in the oil and the wine and balm and try to lead
people in the right path that will be governed by it, but they
won't. Our Elders would do the same, and we are sending them
forth doing all that we can, selecting the very best men we can
put our hands upon--men of faith, men of honor, men of
integrity--to go forth to preach the Gospel to this nation and to
other nations. And how do they receive them? Not long ago they
killed one and mobbed others. Well, we cannot help that. They are
in the dark; they do not realize the position they occupy; they
know not what spirit they are of. But it is our duty to have our
bowels full of compassion extended to them, to send forth the
message of life. But when our Elders go among these people they
have to take their lives in their hands and trust in the living
God. Nevertheless, we need not be afraid, we need not be troubled
about any of these matters. "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." Yea, I say unto you
fear Him; and we feel to-day, while we would submit to every
ordinance of man that is just, equitable and right, observe every
law and interfere with no man's rights, we are not ignorant of
the fact that it is unjust for legislatures and courts to make
and enforce laws to entrap and destroy us; that a magnanimous and
just government would protect all its citizens; but we feel, at
the same time, that the Lord is our God, the Lord is our judge,
the Lord is our Law-giver, the Lord is our King, and he shall
rule over us; and all that feel like saying that say Amen. (The
vast congregation responded "Amen.")
319
It is an historic fact, written in letters as of living fire,
that neither nations, peoples, emperors, kings, or presidents,
nor the combined powers of the earth, are able to regulate the
conscience or change the faith of man. Noah maintained his faith
alone, as against that of a world. Abraham could not be swerved
by the most unnatural and forbidding circumstances. Moses, at the
behest of God, alone withstood the power of Egypt's king and
nation. Daniel unflinchingly bowed his knee to Israel's God, in
the face of a prohibitory regal decree, passed by the intrigues
of the combined powers of the kingdom of Babylon, who were his
enemies. Job, when tried, maintained his integrity, even as
against God, and said, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in
him:" and he further said, "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and
that he will stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though
worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God." The
three Hebrew children could not be made to bow to the image set
up by the King of Babylon; but rather than deny their faith chose
the penalty of the fiery furnace, in which they walked
accompanied by the Son of God. Jesus came to do the will of his
Father, and though in doing it he sweat great drops of blood, and
begged of his Father to let the cup pass if possible, yet "not my
will," he said, "but thine be done;" and when groaning in mortal
agony he cried, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me." And
though he could have commanded twelve legions of angels, who
would have obeyed him, yet in obedience to the mandate of his
Father, he quietly said "It is finished," and gave up the ghost.
320
And this nation may yet learn that under no fictitious pleas, as
used by the Babylonish nation against Daniel and others, can they
pervert or overthrow the faith and religion of the Latter-day
Saints; and that no legislative enactment, nor judicial rulings,
can pluck from the mind of man his undying faith, or legislate
away the scrupulous exactions of an inexorable conscience. The
rack, the gibbet, the faggot, and death in all its horrid forms
has never accomplished this, nor never will. And in free America,
the land of boasted toleration, it will be as impotent under the
guise of liberty as it has been in other ages under the name of
despotism. And Congress to cover their shameless infraction of
the Constitution of the United States, which guarantees religious
liberty to all--in order to avoid the odium of religious
persecution, which naturally attaches itself to them, may pervert
an institution of God by misnaming polygamy and calling it bigamy
and not religion, and though the Supreme Court of the United
States may confirm their acts, yet there are more than one
hundred thousand persons who know better than they do, who will
declare that polygamy is a part of their religion and a command
and revelation from God.
321
These are our feelings and we will try to acknowledge the Lord in
all things. And then, on the other hand, we do not wish to treat
anybody disrespectfully. Have we any quarrel with this nation?
No; they are seeking to quarrel with us; don't let us give them
the opportunity. They are like the boy strutting along the street
with a chip on his shoulder, asking us to knock it off. But we
won't knock if off, but let them strut. It is true they try all
they can to annoy and provoke us--that is, a few mean men do,
although that is not generally the feeling of the nation, but is
confined in great measure to religious fanatics and corrupt
politicians, some of them holding positions under government, are
trying to stir up strife. What for; Well, they want to get a
certain "ticket" elected. A great amount of this "fuss and
feathers" that we have to-day is simply a political ruse in the
interest of party politics. What for? Why, the brethren have told
you. Mormonism is very unpopular, and if they can only do
something that will be in opposition to Mormonism it will satisfy
the howling priests throughout the land, and a great many of
their flocks. As was remarked by one of the brethren, when Jesus
was crucified, Pilate and Herod could be made friends. When
Mormonism is to be opposed, all men, or at least a great many
men, can unite in opposing it. And they want to go before the
people and tell them that they have rooted out slavery, and now
they are after Mormonism, and wont you religious fanatics join
in? No, excuse me, I mean, you pure and holy religious people,
who are so humble and posses so much of the spirit that dwelt in
the lowly Jesus, wont you help us to do this thing--wont you vote
for us because we are doing this thing? Why, bless your souls,
they would not hesitate to sweep us off the face of the earth to
get elected. That is their feeling. They care nothing about human
rights, liberty, or life, if they can bring about the results
desired. They would despoil, destroy and overthrow this people to
accomplish their own end. Well, the other party, it is true,
would not be very well suited about it, but they would not care
to see it politically. However, it is for us to do the best we
can. We have got to put our trust in the living God. We might
ask--Will they derive any benefit from any course taken against
the Latter-day Saints? No! a thousand times no!! I tell you that
the hand of God will be upon them for it, and every people, be it
this nation, or any other nation, that shall lift up their hands
against Zion shall be wasted away; and those that want to try it
let them try it, and it is them and their God for it. But it is
for us to fear God, to keep his commandments; we can afford to do
right whether other people can or not. Respect all men in their
rights, in their position, and in their privileges, politically
and socially, and protect them in the same; but be not partakers
of their evil deeds, of their crimes, nor their iniquities, that
you have heard spoken about here to-day. We do not want them to
force upon us their drinking saloons, their drunkenness, their
gambling, their debauchery and lasciviousness. We do not want
these adjuncts of civilization. We do not want them to force upon
us that institution of monogamy called the social evil. We will
be after them; we will form ourselves into police and hunt them
out and drag them from their dens of infamy and expose them to
the world. We wont have their meanness, with their feoticides and
infanticides, forced upon us. And you, sisters, don't allow
yourselves to become contaminated by rusting against their
polluted skirts. Keep from them! Let them wallow in their infamy,
and let us protect the right, and be for God and his Christ, for
honor, for truth, for virtue, purity and chastity, and for the
building up of the kingdom of God. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / Orson
Pratt, October 6, 1879
Orson Pratt, October 6, 1879
DISCOURSE BY ELDER ORSON PRATT,
Delivered at the General Conference, Held in the Tabernacle,
Salt Lake City, October 6, 1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
PROGRESS OF THE WORK OF GOD--INTRODUCTION OF EVILS BY THE
WORLD--UNCONSTITUTIONAL INIMICAL MEASURES--PLURAL MARRIAGE NOT
CRIMINAL--INTOLERANCE DENOUNCED.
323
By the blessing of our Heavenly Father, we are permitted once
more, under circumstances of peace, to assemble ourselves here in
this large tabernacle, in the capacity of a semi-annual
Conference, in the 50th year of the history of this Church. A few
months more, and this Church will have seen the history of fifty
years. Great and wonderful has been the progress of the Church
during this period of time; far beyond anything that we could
have calculated upon, looking at the subject naturally, as
natural men. But contemplating the subject spiritually, we might
have expected to see what we now behold--a great people assembled
from many nations, occupying the central portion of this great
north wing of the western hemisphere. We, as a people have made
during the first half century, or nearly so, of our existence,
great and rapid progress, far beyond that of some of the former
dispensations which have been introduced into our world. It is a
matter of astonishment with me, that so many people have received
the divine message which God has communicated to the human family
in our day, when we consider that the generation, or people, who
should live just prior to the coming of the Son of man in his
glory were described as a people such as did exist in the days of
Noah. It will be remembered that the message of that good man did
not receive much attention, in this day; but a very few, in fact,
believed in his message. I have oftentimes thought how
discouraging it must have been to that good old prophet, to
prophesy to that generation--to foretell concerning the great
judgment that was to happen to them, to point out the only means
of safety for those who desired to escape, laboring diligently
for so many years, and then to find only seven individuals
besides himself righteous enough to receive the message. How
discouraging! If this message had been treated with the same
indifference, we can readily imagine how discouraging it would
have been to Joseph Smith, as a prophet and revelator, to labor
for perhaps a hundred years and only make seven converts. As
regards numbers, then, those who have obeyed the Gospel message
in our day, have become very numerous, compared with those that
received the message in the days of the flood. Not merely one
family of persons, but hundreds of thousands have been gathered
into this latter-day Church. The divinity of a message does not,
however, depend upon the numbers who receive it. Numbers has
nothing to do with the subject. The Lord, our God has sent forth
his servants in this great dispensation; he sent them first
directly to our own nation; they, as a people, have rejected it.
Individuals, however, in all the States, have seen proper to
receive the divine warning, and have mostly gathered to these
mountains, and are located among these everlasting hills. Who
were they that first redeemed this desert? Were they a mixed
people, those belonging to the Latter-day Saints and those
unconnected with them? No; it was the untied efforts of a poor
and afflicted people, who had already been driven from their
houses five times while they dwelt in the States. They came here
almost bare-handed, so far as property was concerned. They came
to an undesirable country; they came to a location that was
marked upon our maps as "the Great American Desert;" a country
that had scarcely been penetrated by white men. We began anew in
this country, and it was by the labor of our hands, being
strengthened by the Almighty, that we opened up these rugged
canons, and penetrated into these mountains, and obtained timber
to build our houses and to fence our fields; it was by the united
labors of the Latter-day Saints, that we constructed
water-ditches and canals for the purpose of irrigating the land,
instead of depending upon the rains of heaven, and thus commenced
a new system of farming, at least as far as our experience was
concerned. It was by the labor of the Latter-day Saints alone,
and not by the labor and capital of Gentiles. These beautiful
ornamental shade-trees we placed out in front of our houses, to
beautify and adorn the streets, by the labor of the hands of the
Latter-day Saints, and not by the aid of Gentiles. It was the
Saints who established these beautiful orchards that are seen,
not only in this great city, which well might be termed a city of
orchards, but in almost all other large towns and cities
throughout this great desert. It was by the labor of our own
hands that schoolhouses were erected in all the countries and
settlements of our Territory; all this too, at an early stage of
our settlements here, the education of our youth, being among the
most prominent and important steps calculated to benefit the
people. It was by the labors of our own hands that academies and
buildings for high schools were established in various portions
of the Territory, as well as our common schoolhouses. It was by
the labor of our own hands that chapels and meeting-houses were
located in all our settlements throughout this mountain region.
It was by the labor of our own hands that the desert was made to
blossom as the rose.
323
By and by, after we had fulfilled and about accomplished this
work, having formed numerous settlements and built numerous
dwelling-houses, and planted out numerous ornamental trees and
established extensive gardens, and began to raise grain, fruits
and vegetables in great abundance; after we had done all these
things, fairly opening up the Territory, that outside population
began to pour in. Who was it, then, that opened up the country so
that our Gentile friends might come into it, and of causing
prosperity to prevail in our midst? It was the Latter-day Saints.
Who was it that made feasible the grading of the Union Pacific
Railroad through these rugged mountains--the most difficult work
on the whole of its construction? It was the strong arms of the
Latter-day Saints, our mountain boys; they continued the road
some hundreds of miles; tunnels had to be cut through huge
mountains, and rough and precipitous places were made smooth, and
the way prepared that our Gentile neighbors might come among us,
and all this that they might have the privilege of entering on
record that they were the great ones that established these
facilities, and that made the desert to blossom as the rose.
324
What, let me ask, have our Gentile neighbors that have come among
us done? They have done some good things; they have introduced
some very bad things. I speak now according to my own individual
feelings upon this subject. Before they came we had no grog-shops
in the various towns, and villages, and cities in our Territory,
to convert a temperate people into confirmed drunkards. We had no
such institutions; but as soon as they came this product of what
they call civilization was introduced into our midst, wherever
they could obtain a foothold. So much for this kind of
civilization that has been introduced into the midst of this
people. What else? Years and years passed by, before the Gentile
population began in any degree to come into our Territory, during
which safety attended our habitations. We could leave our doors
open at night, in summer time, to be benefitted by the mountain
breezes; now we have to lock our doors, and bolt down the
windows. Why? Because that thing called civilization has come
into our midst, which renders it unsafe for our habitations to be
thus left open. What else? Formerly we could wash our clothes, as
we do weekly, and hang them out upon the lines, letting them
remain there if necessary for one or two days and nights, without
the least danger of their being taken away. Dare we do these
things now? Can we expect safety now? No. Why? Because Gentile
civilization has come into our midst, that which we forsook, when
we left the lands from which we emigrated. It has come to us; and
these are the disagreeable things which the Latter-day Saints
have to encounter.
324
But it has been said, and even published that it was not the
Latter-day Saints that introduced the blessings that are enjoyed
to-day by the inhabitants of this Territory; that it was some
other people. I am trying to portray these things precisely as
they are.
324
What else? Our streets are filled, not only with drunkards, by
introducing these liquor saloons in nearly all parts of our
Territory, but we see fightings, blasphemy, threatening life,
etc. in all the places in the territory, wherever this outside
"civilization" has appeared. There may be some few exceptions
among the Gentile elements. We do not wish to pronounce all the
outsiders who have taken up their abode among us being of this
character, but we speak of these things in general terms. There
are good men and women who were not among the early settlers of
this country, that have come here since the way was opened, and
since prosperity prevailed over this desert; we do not speak
against them, but against that class that have introduced these
evils into our midst. We might speak of other things, such as
houses of ill-fame--something that was not known in our country,
and something that the youth and the rising generation grew up to
manhood without knowing anything about, only as they happened to
read of them occasionally in some of the Eastern papers. Do they
now exist? Yes. Who brought them here, and who sustains them
after they have come? Undertake to put these things down by law,
and every exertion is made to retain these sink-holes of
corruption in the land. Writs of habeas corpus are issued in
order to free those bad characters, and turn them loose upon the
community. This is another feature of what they term
"civilization." We might go on and name Sabbath-breaking, lying,
misrepresenting, quarreling, stealing, and so forth, but we have
not time to dwell on all these subjects.
326
We came here as a religious people. We had a civil government,
and a religious government; we had civil authority and
ecclesiastical authority, before the Gentiles came here in any
great numbers. Both of these principles of government were in
existence in this Territory in the early rise thereof. The
religious, in this Territory, seemed to be very much united, with
a very few exceptions. We all believed in the same doctrines. But
says one, "Is not this in opposition to the principles of our
government, for all the people to be united?" I do not know of
anything in any of the principles ordained by the revolutionary
fathers that requires division in a representative form of
government. They make provisions, in case there should be
division; but never founded the government with an express
determination that there should be division, either in their
religion or in their politics; it is not necessary con-comitant
to the form of our government. Our government and the principles
thereof could be sustained without any violation whatever, if the
forty millions of people were all of one faith. If they were all
democrats, or any other political faith, still the government
would not be violated. But they made provisions, in case there
should be divisions. Thank God, that in this Territory we have
supported a Republican form of government, without being under
the necessity of impressing upon the people that they should be
divided. We do not impress any such thing upon their minds. It is
not part of the Republican government to be divided. You can all
vote the same way at the polls; you can all believe the same
religion and yet be good citizens of the United States. What? Can
they all be Presbyterians and at the same time be good American
citizens? Yes. Can they all be Methodists, and yet be good
American citizens? Yes. Can they all belong to one political
party, without any to oppose them, and yet be good American
citizens? Yes. Why? Because there is nothing in the Constitution
of our government that requires the population to believe
different doctrines, according to their religious notions and
ideas--nothing that requires them to be politically divided, in
their feelings. But they are divided. The people of all nations
are divided; and good wholesome laws, for the most part, have
been established by Congress, and by the various States of our
Union, making provisions for this divided state of society,
giving, to every person the privilege of believing as he or she
may see proper to do in regard to their religious ideas, and to
carry out their sentiments by practising their religion also, as
well as believing; and that the majority should not, because they
happen to be the majority oppress the minority. Arguments have
been made by statesmen, judges, and others professing great
intelligence something like this: that the Latter-day Saints are
a people of only about 150,000; while the United States are a
people, numbering forty or forty-five millions. Therefore, say
they, the great majority--the forty or forty-five millions of
people--should, or they have a perfect right to oppress you,
Latter-day Saints, because you are the minority in your religions
views. Now, I do not believe this anti-republican idea, though it
was published in this city last week, from a person in high
authority--a Federal officer of our Territory. Supposing, for
instance, there were only ten religious men, living in the United
States that believed a certain doctrine, according to Bible
precepts, and all the rest believed something else, differing
from that; have this great majority a right to oppress these ten
men? They have no such right. The Constitution of our country has
provided for that minority, to believe as they choose to, so long
as they injure no one by their belief, and so long as they injure
no person by practising that belief. Supposing that the
Presbyterians should insist, in their church capacity, that
sprinkling with water was to be the only mode of baptism, that
should be observed by the members of their denomination; have
they a right to do this? Yes. But supposing that forty millions
of people, who were not Presbyterians, should denounce that
system as criminal, on the ground that it was not in accordance
with the doctrines of the Bible, and consequently it would be a
criminal practice to blaspheme the name of Trinity by sprinkling
a few drops of water and call that baptism; and supposing they
should succeed in getting Congress to pass a law against
sprinkling, because it was criminal according to their ideas; and
supposing that the persons who introduced that mode of baptism
should be brought up by that law to be judged by it, and should
be found criminals, according to that law of Congress; and
supposing that the Supreme Court of the United States were to
confirm the action of the lower court, on this matter; ought such
persons to be condemned as criminals? No. You would say that they
have a right to sprinkle; I would say the same, however much I
might differ from the Presbyterian practice, in my own mind;
however much I might look upon that act as abominable in the
sight of heaven; however much I might consider it to be criminal
before God, yet I would say they had a constitutional right to
sprinkle; so in regard to all other divisions so far as religious
sentiments are concerned. Wherein those division of political or
religious sentiments do not harm the neighbor, do not harm
society, do not harm families, or the nation at large; a law,
passed by men, has nothing to do with it, what courts might
decide to the contrary notwithstanding.
326
These are my views as an individual. I do not pretend to set
these things forth as your views or the views of the people
generally, but my own individual views on this subject.
326
Now in regard to plurality of wives, why is that a crime? Only
because Congress passed a law making it criminal. Does the Bible
make it criminal? No. Does the Book of Mormon make it criminal?
No. Does the Doctrine and Covenants make it criminal? No. Why is
it criminal? Is there a law of our nature that makes it criminal?
No. There are some things that are criminal in and of themselves,
and we cannot think of them only as such, and as we by our own
consciences know them to be criminal. And for instance, stealing
property that belongs to our neighbors. That we look upon as
being criminal. We would not wish our neighbor to steal our
property. Again violence done to another person to rob him of his
property, that is something which is criminal in itself. Taking
life like the heathen, who offer up their human sacrifices, the
heathen widow that is burned upon the pile, is criminal. Why?
Because it is something that our nature at once denounces to be
criminal, and it is also denounced as such by the laws of heaven,
by the laws of God; but not so in regard to many other things.
For instance, one day out of seven is set apart as a day of rest;
and under the law of God, in ancient times, it was considered
criminal to gather a bundle of sticks on that day, for the
purpose of making a fire; and the person who was found doing so
was condemned to death. Now if there had been no law concerning
that matter, all Israel would have made no distinction between
the sacredness of days. All would have been alike to them. Why?
Because there was nothing in their own minds or consciences that
would perceive such an act to be criminal. But when the revealed
law of God came, making it criminal, it then because so. So in
regard to many of these religious principles, observed among the
heathen. They are criminal, and any person acquainted with the
law of God is compelled to pronounce them as such. But then,
shall we condemn anything that the conscience does not denounce
to be criminal, that the law of God does not denounce as
criminal; shall we get our Congress to make a law declaring it
criminal, so that those that break that law shall become
criminals? I cannot see it. I am so obtuse in my understanding
and my mind is so blunted, that I really cannot see any sense in
a law of that kind, whether passed by Congress or a congressional
power of all nations combined; it makes no difference, so far as
my mind is concerned.
327
I have read the speeches of members of Congress, in which they
have made the contrast of Bible polygamy with some of the heathen
worship which is denounced by the Bible. Why not contrast
everything else pertaining to religion in the same way? Why not
pass a law, prohibiting that religious people called Jews, from
practising the Mosaic law of circumcision, inflicting fine and
imprisonment if they persist in following the Bible custom?
Simply, because they are not hated as the "Mormons" are. We must
have a law expressly framed for these Mormons; we must pass a law
that will catch them. But in order to make the people think we
are not unjust we will make it general throughout all the
Territories.
327
I believe in the great principles laid down in the American
Constitution; I believe in religious freedom, religious belief,
religious practice. I believe in every principle guaranteed in
that document. Well, supposing then that they should send me, as
an individual, to prison because of my belief or religious
practice; would that alter my belief? No. Would, say, five years
in the penitentiary change my belief? No. If they were to inflict
the full penalty of the law upon me in every respect, how much
would they succeed in converting me that my belief and practice
were a crime in the sight of God? Not one iota, forty-five
millions of people to the contrary notwithstanding. Why? Because
although I am in the minority, I am protected by the Constitution
just as much as though I were in the majority; I am an American
citizen and I have the rights of an American just as much as
though I belonged to the majority. Well, them, what do you say,
shall I renounce my religion, because of this law? No. Shall I
advise the Latter-day Saints, (an independent people to do as
they please so far as their religious views are concerned) to
renounce any part of their doctrines because Congress had
denounced it? No. I can do no such thing. If they wish to
renounce them or forsake them, they are at liberty so to do, and
be accountable to God, and be disfellowshipped from the Church,
because of their disbelief. "O," says one, "you would
disfellowship your members and thus bear upon them?" Certainly we
would. Have we not the right to do so? What denomination is
there, in these United States, but has the right to disfellowship
their members for any thing they please, if they go according to
their own creed and documents? I do not know of any denomination
that does not enjoy this right. I claim no more for myself, nor
for my brethren, in regard to these matters, than they claim for
themselves, nor any more than the Constitution guarantees to all.
327
We have the right, therefore, to say, that if a man denounces any
part or portion of his religion that we will disfellowship him;
or that if a woman shall do the same, that we deal with her in
like manner. And we have the right to disfellowship members of
our Church, for any transgression of the laws God. And this has
nothing to do with the great principles of right and wrong
established by our American government. But I will leave this
subject.
328
We have assembled here in our semi-annual conference, what for?
To take into consideration any subject that may be for the
advantage and wellbeing of the whole. That is one object. To give
advice and counsel to the people of God that may be under the
sound of our voices. To get the united sanction and voice, with
uplifted hands to the Most High God, in sending forth
missionaries to the various nations of the earth. What for? To
convert them to the everlasting gospel.
328
We have been told by a circular letter, which has been issued
officially, and sent to various nations, that because the people
believe in the doctrines of the Latter-Saints in Germany, in
Scandinavia, in Great Britain, etc., that the United States are
very anxious to get all these governments to band together
against what? To prevent the religious people who believe in
these doctrines from emigrating from their own lands, to the land
of America. Will these governments respond? Will they aid the
great government of the United States, to persecute religious
people by trying to prevent them from emigrating from one country
to another? I do not know but what they may; it is very doubtful,
in my mind, whether they will go back to the old dark ages of
persecution, and be united as Herod and Pilate were, in
preventing religious people from emigrating to other nations. It
would be difficult, under the color of consistency, to hinder it.
How are they going to know whether emigrants are Presbyterians,
Baptists, Methodists or Latter-day Saints, when they embark at
European ports to come to this great continent of America? or how
are they going to know what religion they belong to? Are they
going to have their ambassadors, their consuls, and great men,
appointed on purpose, paying them large salaries, and instructing
them to be at every port, and also to make every man swear, when
he embarks on board of a vessel, that he is not a Latter-day
Saint?
328
Now, I do not believe they are going that far; and if they do
not, how easy a matter it would be for emigrants, to say nothing
about their religious sentiments, while sailing across the great
ocean. Or could we not keep our peace so long? Would it be
difficult for the Latter-day Saints to shut up the fire of truth
in their hearts, so that no one would know them to be Latter-day
Saints for ten long days? I expect that would be the difficult
part of the undertaking. We fell to rejoice so in the Gospel, in
the great plan of salvation, that we can hardly hold our peace
for ten days; though if it were really necessary, I think some of
us could manage to do so.
328
Well, supposing we landed safely, and held our peace, and should
take the railroad cars for Chicago, say, whose business is it?
And supposing we concluded then to take the cars for Omaha, whose
business is it? And at Omaha, supposing we should get it into our
heads to come further West, and should then purchase a ticket for
Ogden, have we not the right to do so? Is our government going to
employ runners and spies to find out every man's religious views,
who passes over the various railroads? I am inclined to think
not; I do not believe they have reached that stage yet.
329
But now concerning the justice of these matters. Supposing that
we do preach what the world calls "Mormonism" from the time we
embark, until the time of our landing, because we believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ, because we believe in repenting of our sins,
and because we believe in baptism by immersion for the remission
of sins, and because we believe in the plural order of marriage,
as taught in the Bible, have they the right to shut down the gate
against us? When I say a right, I mean a Constitutional right. Is
not this country open to all nations? Is it not called by every
people, "the asylum of the oppressed of all nations?" They have
not yet passed a law forbidding the Chinaman from emigrating to
this country. Have the Latter-day Saints sunk down so far beneath
heathenism, that we must have the gate shut down upon us, and
heathens by tens of thousands come swarming to our land? I do
not, I cannot believe that the good sense of the American people
can tolerate such persecution. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 /
Lorenzo Snow, October 6th, 1879
Lorenzo Snow, October 6th, 1879
DISCOURSE BY ELDER LORENZO SNOW,
Delivered at the General Conference, Held in the Tabernacle
Salt Lake City, October 6th, 1879.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
THE CHURCH FOUNDED UPON THE ROCK OF REVELATION--FAITHFUL
SAINTS CANNOT BE MOVED BY PERSECUTION.
329
I have been very much interested in the remarks of Brother Orson
Pratt.
332
I wish during the short time that I occupy the stand to make a
few observations in reference to the foundation upon which we
have established our faith and belief in the principles of the
everlasting Gospel which we have espoused, and to see what means
the elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
employ in establishing these principles in the hearts of the
people in the various nations where they are proclaiming the
fulness of the Gospel. It is well perhaps in view of the
surrounding circumstances, and in consideration of the
difficulties that arise in our midst--and which may possibly try
our faith--to examine occasionally more closely into the
foundation upon which we ground our hopes--our hopes in regard to
our property and in regard to our ability to accomplish the
commandments of God and withstand the temptations that will be
presented to try our faith, and overcome the difficulties that
may come in our way in the path of our progress. In preaching the
Gospel in the days of the apostles there were certain things that
followed their labors, that inspired individuals that received
the doctrine from their hands that filled them with great
confidence in regard to those principles as is shown on a certain
occasion where one of the Apostles uses language like this: "Our
Gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in
the Holy Ghost and in much assurance." The people who had
received the Gospel were reminded of the peculiar blessings and
powers that attended it in its administration. When the disciples
were ordained by the Savior and sent forth to proclaim the Gospel
to the world, they were told that certain blessings and
assurances should follow its administration. On another occasion
it was said by the Savor, when people were anxious to know in
regard to the divinity of his mission, he told them that if they
would do the will of God they should know of the doctrine. And
again, on a certain time when his disciples came together, he
asked them what the people said in relation to him, the character
that they gave him, and the feeling he had produced among them in
regard to the divinity of his character. He was informed that the
people had various ideas and views in relation to it. Some
thought that he was one of the prophets that had risen, that he
was Elias or Jeremiah, or John the Baptist that had been
beheaded. In the midst of this confusion of ideas, however, there
was one individual that had obtained correct information on the
subject, and from a quarter that every person that receives the
fulness of the Gospel is privileged to obtain a perfect knowledge
of its divinity. Turning to the disciples he said, "But whom say
ye that I am," and Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God." Now, he had obtained a
revelation in regard to the character of the Son of God. He had
not obtained it through the observance of the miracles that Jesus
had performed. He had not obtained it from any other quarter or
source save from God the Eternal Father. Jesus told him that
"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." That is, upon the rock of
revelation, for the nature of the Gospel is such, that when it is
proclaimed and honestly obeyed, individuals receive a testimony
in regard to the divinity of the doctrine. This was confirmed on
the day of Pentecost. Peter in preaching to the people said,
"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. For this promise is unto you and to your
children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord
our God shall call." This gift of the Holy Ghost is a different
principle from anything that we see manifested in the sectarian
world. It is a principle of intelligence, and revelation. It is a
principle that reveals things past, present and to come, and
these gifts of the Holy Ghost were to be received through
obedience to the requirements of the Gospel as proclaimed by the
Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in
these days. It was upon this rock that their faith should be
grounded; from this quarter they should receive a knowledge of
the doctrine they had espoused, and we are told by the Savior
"that the gates of hell should not prevail against them." Thus
the Church was organized upon the principle of revelation. In it
were placed "first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly
teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps,
governments, diversities of tongues." Thus God placed in his
kingdom and in his Church those things that were according to the
mind and will of heaven, according to the laws of the celestial
world. In another place we are told that God gave gifts unto men.
"And he gave some apostles and some prophets, and some
evangelists, and some pastors and teachers." Now for what purpose
were they given? We are told that they were given "for the
perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ." How long were these gifts to
continue? We are told they were to continue "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
fullness of Christ." These were the principles taught by the
apostles, and when they went forth among strangers they could
say, "We have authority to administer in the ordinances of the
Gospel; but you cannot know these things except you receive this
knowledge from the eternal world. We profess to have this
authority, but you are not acquainted with us, you do not know
our character. We require you to repent of your sins and to be
baptized for a remission of the same, and then you shall have a
knowledge of the truth." These are the declarations of our Elders
in these days; it is by this means that the people are gathered
here from the various nations of the earth. Here we have a people
from England, Denmark, Sweden, France and from almost all the
nations of the earth. Why are we gathered into these mountain
valleys? Why have we left our homes in distant lands? Because we
realize the truth of the gospel as proclaimed by the Elders. We
have received the gift of the Holy Ghost, which has revealed to
us this knowledge; and it is because of this knowledge that we
are here to-day. Where in all the world can you find a class of
ministers that dare take the position our elders do? Where is the
man or the set of men that can be found that dare to present
themselves before the world and say that they have been
authorized of God to administer certain ordinances to the people
through which they may receive revelation from God? Any one
announcing a doctrine of this kind would soon be found out if he
were an impostor--he would place himself in a very dangerous
position, and would soon be discovered if he held no such
authority. Our elders, however, dare take this position. We have
taken this position for nearly fifty years. God has sent his holy
angels from heaven and restored the authority to man to
administer the ordinances of the Gospel, and through these the
gift of the Holy Ghost now confers upon man a knowledge in regard
to the divinity of this work. Now, we talk about people
succumbing because of their inferiority in numbers or because
they are partly in the minority. That may be all very well
providing it is simply man's work. We can very well see that in
such case 150,000 could not expect to prosper or succeed in
opposition, or in holding principles that are in conflict to
those of 45,000,000 of people. Noah could not expect to succeed
against a whole generation while his doctrine was accepted only
by seven individuals, providing it had been only man's work.
Neither could Moses when he proclaimed his message expect to have
succeeded against the Egyptian government and its influence had
he not been inspired and had authority from God. It is not that
one man or set of men should proclaim principles as divine and
demand their acceptance unless he have authority beyond that of
man. If, therefore, the elders of Israel have been authorized, if
they have received authority from the Almighty to proclaim these
principles, then it will be very easy to understand who will
succumb in the end. If it is the work of God we may expect very
well what will be result. There was a law in the days of king
Nebuchadnezzar that all nations should bow to the golden image
which he set up; it was made obligatory upon every individual
that he should not offer prayer to the God of heaven. Well, what
were the results? It is very easy to see; it is very easy to see
what will be the results at all times when God has a work to
accomplish in the midst of a people. When men of integrity, men
of honesty, receive a knowledge of any principle, divine
principle, when they receive a manifestation of the Almighty
concerning the truth of any work or any doctrine, it is a very
difficult matter to destroy or force that knowledge from them.
You cannot do it by imprisonment, you cannot by any method of
torture. So in regard to the people called Latter-day Saints.
inasmuch as they have received these doctrines in various nations
where the Gospel has been proclaimed, and inasmuch as they have
received a divine manifestation of the truth of these principles,
we do not expect when they come here to these mountain valleys
that they are to be frightened out of these things, because a
man's religion is more dear to him than life. Has anybody
received a revelation to the contrary? Has anybody received a
revelation that Joseph Smith was not endowed with power from on
high, or that the Elders of Israel have not been authorized to
preach this Gospel? No; but we can bring thousands of individuals
that have received revelation that these things are true;
thousands upon thousands. Well, then, the foundation upon which
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is built is the
rock of revelation--upon the rock that Jesus said He would build
His church, and the gates of hell should not prevail against it.
We have not received this knowledge through flesh and blood, we
have not received this testimony from man, we have not received
it through the reading of the Bible, New Testament or Book of
Mormon, but we have received it through the operations of the
Holy Ghost, that teaches of the things of God, things past,
present and to come, and that takes of the things of God, making
them clearly manifest unto us. You cannot take this knowledge
from us by imprisonment or any kind or persecution. We fill stand
by it unto death.
332
And now all the Latter-day Saints have to do, all that is
required of us to make us perfectly safe under all circumstances
of trouble or persecution, is to do the will of God, to be
honest, faithful and to keep ourselves devoted to the principles
that we have received; do right one by another; trespass upon no
man's rights; live by ever word that proceedeth from the mouth of
God and his Holy Spirit will aid and assist us under all
circumstances, and we will come out of the midst of it all
abundantly blessed in our houses, in our families, in our flocks,
in our fields--and in every way God will bless us. He will give
us knowledge upon knowledge, intelligence upon intelligence,
wisdom upon wisdom.
332
May God add his blessing upon this people. May we be faithful to
ourselves, faithful to all the principles we have received,
seeking one another's interests with all our heart, and God will
pour out his Spirit upon us, and we will come off victorious in
the end, which I ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / George
Q. Cannon, October 6th, 1879
George Q. Cannon, October 6th, 1879
DISCOURSE BY ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON.
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 6th, 1879.
(Reported by John Irvine.)
THE RIGHTEOUS SUFFER PERSECUTION--FALSE TEACHERS POPULAR--SAINTS
SHOULD NOT RETALIATE UPON THEIR ENEMIES--THE SAINTS WILL HAVE
POWER
TO ROOT OUT EVIL--APPROACHING REVOLUTION IN THE EARTH.
333
I have been reminded, while listening to Brother Rudger Clawson's
remarks, of the sayings of the Savior, recorded in the 6th
chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke, 22d and 23d
verses:--
333
"Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall
separate you from their company, and shall reproach you and cast
out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake;
333
"Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for behold, your
reward is great in heaven; for in the like manner did their
fathers unto the prophets."
334
It is frequently remarked concerning the Latter-day Saints that
there being so many stories told about them, there must be some
truth in some of them; in other words, to use the familiar
saying, "Where there is so much smoke there must be some fire."
But it is worthy of remark that from the beginning, according to
the history that has come down to us of the dealing of God with
the children of men, every man and people who professed to have a
knowledge of God, and who really did have that knowledge, or a
portion of it, and who were raised up by him, or called by him,
had to suffer persecution. Stephen, the martyr, when he was being
stoned at Jerusalem, said to the Jews: "Which of the prophets
have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which
shewed before of the coming of the Just One"--scarcely a prophet
that had ever lived among them who had not suffered persecution.
Even Moses himself, the great law-giver, the great deliverer of
the Hebrew nation, who had led them out by the exhibition of
mighty power, several times during his career came very near
being stoned to death, or killed by the people. It is an
evidence, an infallible evidence, of truth to have persecution
accompany it. It is not that every one who is reviled and who is
persecuted possesses the truth. This does not always follow. But
there never was a prophet of whom we have any account, raised up
in the midst of the children of men to proclaim unto them divine
truths, who did not receive in his life and experience these very
things of which Jesus has spoken. They were hated, they were
separated from the company of their fellows, they were
reproached, their names were cast out as evil, they were reviled,
their lives were sought; and this was especially the case with
the Son of God himself--a Being who spoke as never man spoke,
whose life was an exemplification of purity, who was without sin,
whose doctrines were holy and pure, who performed mighty miracles
among the children of men, whose work and labors were accompanied
with great power; and notwithstanding these evidences of divinity
which accompanied him, the generation in which he lived, and by
which he was surrounded, were not satisfied until they had slain
him. It is also recorded that every one of the Twelve Apostles,
excepting John, died a violent death. There are reasons for this
which are made plain in the Scriptures. There are two powers;
there is God and there is Belial; or in other words, there is the
Spirit of God and there is the spirit of Satan. These two powers,
or forces, have been in existence since man was expelled from the
garden of Eden. Satan has opposed God. He has contended against
goodness and purity. Each of these influences has been operating
upon the hearts of the children of men. When the adversary has
succeeded in overpowering the truth, in slaying the servants of
God, in shedding the blood of innocence, and the extirpation of
the power and authority which God had bestowed upon man has been
accomplished, then there has been a lull, there has been a
cessation of that violence which has attended the proclamation of
the truth. The extirpation of those who had authority to proclaim
it has left the field to the adversary. Then he had his own way.
One of the greatest evidences of the bad condition of affairs now
existing in Christendom is the popularity that attends what is
called the preaching of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Whenever a preacher is popular in the midst of a wicked
generation, or a man is popular who professes to be a minister of
truth, you may set it down as a certain fact that that man does
not preach the truth as it exists in Christ. There is no
disputing this, if this book (the Bible) be true; if there is any
reliance to be placed in the word of God. As true as there is a
God, and as true as there is a devil, the man that preaches the
truth to a wicked generation will bring about the hatred of which
I have read in your hearing. This is just as true as that God
lives and that there is evil to combat, or that Satan has power
over the hearts of the children of men. Satan knows very well
that his time is short. He knows very well that if the truth is
proclaimed and believed in and practised by mankind his kingdom
is overthrown, that his power will soon cease. Hence it is that
he has aroused in every age and at all times the children of men
to rage against the truth.
335
Whether the Latter-day Saints preach the truth or not it is for
those who hear them and examine their doctrines to decide; but
there is this notes fact connected with the preaching of this
truth, as imparted in this system which we call the Gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ, that wherever it has been preached it has
raised hatred, it has stirred up animosity, it has enkindled the
fires of persecution, it has caused blood to flow, mobs have been
raised, houses have been burned, fields have been destroyed,
grain has been burned, cattle have been shot down, men and women
have been expelled from their homes in the depths of winter, the
blood of innocence has flowed, and all because men and women
chose to believe a system of religion that differed from that
which is popularly entertained. And there is this remarkable fact
connected with the persecution of the people called Latter-day
Saints--and it is the same characteristic that attended the
preaching of the Gospel of the Son of God by himself and his
Apostles the chief persecutors, and those who have stirred up
strife in the hearts of the people have been popular
preachers--have been themselves, in too many instances, the
professed ministers of Jesus Christ. It was the High Priests, it
was the Pharisees, it was the religious people in the days of the
Savior who were his chief persecutors, and I am sorry to say the
chief persecutions which we as a people have had to endure have
had their origin with the same class. Why, I am informed that one
or two, if not more, of those men who formed the mob that shot
Elder Joseph Standing, were circuit riders; preachers who
professed to have great zeal for holy religion and pure morality.
They were so filled with zeal that they could not let two young
men travel in their country and preach from the Bible, with out
mobbing them!
336
As Latter-day Saints this ought to cause us to rejoice. We should
not be angry, we should not indulge in the spirit of revenge.
Such a spirit is foreign to the Gospel. It is our duty to endure
all things patiently, uncomplainingly, and with long suffering,
putting our trust in God, relying upon his arm, awaiting the
deliverance which he will bring to pass in his own time and in
his own season. If I am persecuted and I turn upon my persecutors
in the spirit which they manifest, do I exhibit a spirit that
will bring down the blessing of God upon me? Certainly not; I
would be no better than my persecutors. If a man strike me on the
one cheek and I turn and strike him again, retaliate, give him
blow for blow, do I by so doing manifest that I have received any
better spirit than the man who struck me? I think not, It is very
natural, I know, when we are reviled to turn round and revile
again; when we are struck to turn round and strike again when we
are abused to turn round and abuse again. This is the natural
prompting of the human heart; this is the natural feeling of
every man of spirit--not to submit to indignity, but to resent it
instantly. Our codes are all formed upon this. The training that
we have had from our childhood upward, in the society of the
world, has been that a man who submits to an outrage quietly is
unworthy of the name of man; that the man who submits to be
called a liar, or to rebukes, or to abuse quietly, is unworthy of
the name of man. Now, that is certainly not the teaching of the
Savior; all his teachings are to the contrary. His people are to
be a meek people. His people are to be peacemakers. His people
are to leave the results with him; to submit to these things
quietly, uncomplainingly, that is, so far as outward
manifestations are concerned; to pray unto him, to leave it with
him. He has given unto his people a law upon this subject. If our
enemies come upon us, or our families, once, we are to bear it
patiently and revile not, neither seek revenge and we shall be
rewarded. If our enemies come upon us the second and third times,
we are to bear it patiently, as on the former occasion, and great
rewards are promised. If they come the fourth time, then the law
in ancient days, and as the Lord has revealed it to us, is that
they are in our hands to do to them as we may please; but if we
then will spare them, we shall be rewarded for our righteousness.
I speak of these things because I know how painful it is to
submit to outrages such as have been heaped upon us. There are
many such committed that are almost unbearable, men feel as if
they could not submit to them; but as I understand it, it is far
better for us to submit to these things patiently, and without
retaliating, and leave the Lord to deal with them, than to
indulge in the other spirit and the other feeling.
337
There is a great anxiety in the minds of many of the Latter-day
Saints respecting the future. How long must we submit to such
wrongs as we many times have to endure? is a question that arises
very frequently in the minds of the people. We have been in these
mountains nearly thirty-three years--thirty-two years last July.
We had more freedom in some respects the first few years we were
here than we have to-day, notwithstanding our growth,
notwithstanding the numbers of the people have increased to so
great an extent, notwithstanding the labors that have been
performed; and there is a natural anxiety in the minds of a great
many people as to how long these things will go on as they are,
and some are almost discouraged. There was a time when throughout
these valleys, from one end to the other, drunkenness was
comparatively unknown. Drinking saloons were not permitted,
gambling saloons were not licensed, nor did they exist; other
places which I need not name had no foothold, nor existence, in
our midst, and from one end of the Territory to the other there
was a condition of affairs which everybody who loved good order
and peace admired. I frequently meet with gentlemen who knew us a
few years ago, who speak of the unfavorable change which has
taken place in our affairs. The Latter-day Saints realize very
fully how great this change has been. Our sons and daughters are
now exposed to temptations of which they knew nothing in former
years. We had the power, which we exercised, to control these
affairs, but as I explained here not a great while ago, we have
now found out that the charter of this city, which we supposed
gave unto the municipal authorities all the power necessary to
control, regulate, and, if necessary, prohibit the institutions
and practices to which I have alluded, is limited in its power to
stop the sale of liquor. So the judiciary have ruled. Monster
petitions have been gotten up by the women of this city and
presented to the City Council, asking for the prohibition of
liquor saloons; but in vain. The City Council are powerless in
the matter, because of judicial ruling. Naturally the inquiry
arises, how long shall these things continue? Shall all the hopes
respecting the future of this country, respecting the future of
Israel, be blotted out? Are we to be disappointed, and a
condition of affairs be established here which will perpetuate
all the evils exiting elsewhere, from which we have fled? If I
thought this would be the case I should be discouraged. If I
thought for one moment that we should not have power in the
future as we have had in the past to maintain righteousness and a
righteous rule and good order in this country, I should feel
exceedingly discouraged. But I do not look for a perpetuation of
these evils. I expect the day will come when this people, if they
will be true to themselves and the principles which we have
espoused, will have power to control affairs throughout these
mountains. Shall we do this by violence? Not at all. By
overstepping the bounds of the Constitution, or of the legal
rights of individuals? Not at all. I do not look for any such
thing; but I look for the time to come when this people
throughout these mountains shall have the power they ought to
have--the power to elect their own officers, enact their own laws
and to enforce them; when the majority of the people shall have
the right to say what shall be the rule in this land, a right
that has been denied us up to the present time. Why is this right
denied us? Partly because of the fears of people who live in our
midst-their imaginary fears, or their pretended fears. There is a
class of people in these valleys, particularly in this city and
the country round about, who are using every influence in their
power to prevent the Latter-day Saints having the power that
citizens of the United States have elsewhere. They say that if we
get this power and this authority it will be impossible for them
to live here, that they will have to leave the land; that there
will be such a reign of terror, or such a condition of affairs
that no one will be able to endure it, except the Mormons, or
Latter-day Saints, themselves; and by the publication of such
stories as these, by magnifying all the trifling things they see
done, by calling attention to plural marriage, and by giving a
false representation of the power that is wielded by the leaders
of the people, and by the circulation of the most infamous
falsehoods, they create an impression abroad that is unfavorable
to us and to our rights.
337
In the providence of God I recognize all these things as likely
to accomplish much good for us. I myself feel it is important
that we as a people should be trained; that we should learn those
lessons that are necessary to enable us to temperately and
properly exercise power when we gain it; and I have hoped that,
by submitting to these things, by enduring them--as we have had
to do for many years--a lesson would be taught us that neither we
nor our posterity should ever forget; and that when the time
should come for us to exercise our full rights as American
citizens, we might be able to administer the laws and govern in
such a way that all should be protected, that every man of every
creed, of every nation, and of every people, should enjoy his
rights in our midst as perfectly as if he were in full faith with
the majority of the people. Not the right to do wrong, not the
right to practise iniquity, not the right to trample upon his
neighbour, to intrude upon his rights, but the right to do that
which may seem good in his own eyes, so long as he should not
thereby interfere with the rights of others; the right to worship
God as he pleases, to call upon him in any form that may be
acceptable to him or his conscience, to believe in God, or not to
believe him if he choose, so long as the belief, practice and
rights of his neighbour shall not be interrupted. Until we can
reach this condition and entertain these views and carry them
out, it would not surprise me if we should be kept in subjection.
338
I wish to say for the encouragement of the Latter-day Saints,
because I have sometimes thought there was a feeling of
discouragement creeping over some of the people, that some were
letting down bars and yielding to the influences around them and
almost giving up in despair, feeling that all that had been
spoken concerning our future is very doubtful or not likely to be
fulfilled--I therefore wish to say for the encouragement of the
people today that the time will come, as sure as God lives, that
all that has been said concerning us will be fulfilled. There is
a great destiny in store for this people called Latter-day
Saints. They cannot be repressed. Mr. Evarts may issue his
circular, he may send to the nations of the earth, and the ports
of the United States may be closed against our emigration. The
law of 1862, against plural marriage may be enforced with rigor,
and everything be done that can be by those who are determined to
check the growth and development of this people, and yet there is
a power connected with them that cannot be unless the people
themselves be extirpated. Anything short of this will fail, will
fail entirely, in accomplishing the stoppage of this work. A
people such as this, with all their faults--and our faults are
numerous--but possessing such qualities as are being developed
among us, must rise to the surface and become a governing people.
Where in the race of life, as you witness it among private
individuals, do the qualities that characterize the Latter-day
Saints fail to win success? We have temperance, frugality, union,
true love, honesty, industry and chastity. "No," says one, "not
chastity." Yes chastity! for among no other people upon this
continent is chastity respected as it is among the Latter-day
Saints. Where will you find these qualities fail in being
successful? They are always successful in private life. If you
want a man to succeed, if you want your son to succeed, you say
to him, "my son, be truthful, be honest, be industrious, be
frugal, be chaste, avoid drunkenness, avoid wicked society, avoid
taking the name of God in vain, govern your speech, be temperate
in all things, and you will succeed." What father who love his
children does not impress upon them the importance of these
qualities? And these are the qualities that dominate among the
Latter-day Saints.
339
I had occasion to go to a gentleman here, within a week, to
transact some business. He has been doing business here for some
years. Without my leading him on at all he said to me, "I never
dealt with so honest a people as the Mormons. They pay their
bills, they meet their engagements; you can rely upon them. Any
money that I have lost I have not lost it through the Mormons." I
felt thankful that this man could say this about us, and yet we
are not near so honest as we should be, but there is this to be
said in our favor, we are struggling in this direction,
struggling to be honest, struggling to be truthful. We have
raised a standard which is much higher than we have attained
unto. It is an elevated standard, but there is this to be said
for the people, if their standard is high they are struggling to
attain to it. If not done to so great and extent as we ought to
do, still it can be said we are struggling to be truthful, honest
and temperate, and we deplore intemperance, profanity, litigation
and strife, enmity and hard feelings. I say there is a hope for a
people who have a standard of this kind, and especially so when
they have men in their midst--as I thank God we have--who are not
afraid to tell the people when they do wrong, to tell them their
faults to their faces and say unpleasant things to them. There is
one thing about the leading men of this Church they do not depend
upon the people for their support. It is not necessary for them
to tickle their ears by fine speeches and pleasant things. They
can say rough things, unpleasant truths, because they are
independent; they can live without the aid of the people by the
industry of their own hands, and they are not afraid of some of
their deacons or some of the congregation taking exceptions to
their manner of speech and cutting off their salary. Why if such
unpleasant truths were told, as have been told to the Latter-day
Saints, by ministers of different denominations, who do you think
would give them a call? Would they receive a call to some other
places and be paid a higher salary? No, their style would be too
unpleasant to be popular. Well I have hope for this people while
this is the case, and I pray that we shall always have men here
who are not afraid to tell you and me our faults and warn us of
them and reprove us, for "better the reproof of a friend than the
kiss of an enemy."
339
It is not going to be a great while--and many of you will see it
too--before there will be a great revolution in the earth. Just
as sure as the Lord Lives the day will come when there will be
consternation not only in foreign nations but in our own nation.
The people of this Republic are actually treading upon a volcano
and they do not know how soon the fires may burst forth, how soon
the governmental fabric of this nation, the most glorious the sun
has ever shone upon, the best that man without the priesthood has
had upon the earth, shall tumble. And why? Through the corruption
of the people. The best government becomes the worst government
when the people become corrupt, when bribery in high places
rules, when political parties condescend to purchase votes. The
power of a government is weakened when Senators, Representatives,
and Presidents get their places by the use of money. Woe to a
nation when this becomes the case. It is doomed and sooner or
later it must fall. What is the remark respecting the election of
United States Senators in many of the States? It is that a man
cannot get that position except he be wealthy. What does that
mean? Every one can draw his own conclusion. But that is not the
worst feature either. There is disunion and animosity and the
fires of sectional hatred burn fiercely. They may smoulder at
times. They may not always appear on the surface. But let the
breeze blow and quicken them into life and how fierce the flame
burns.
340
It may be asked what has all this to do with the Gospel? The Lord
has restored the everlasting Gospel for the express purpose of
raising up a pure people upon this land. This American continent
is the choicest land upon the face of the whole earth. God kept
it hidden until the 15th century that it might not to be overrun
by the people of Europe or of the rest of the world. He kept it
hidden in darkness and covered with clouds until the set time had
come when he could accomplish his purpose and prepare the way for
the American Republic, under which his kingdom could be
established. Could it have been established in Asia, in Europe,
or in Africa? No, it required the Declaration of Independence
framed by men inspired of God; the Constitution of the United
States framed and adopted by men whom he had raised up; it
required a people who had fought for their liberty, religious and
civil, and who by his divine blessing had succeeded in gaining it
and in establishing a free form of government. It required such a
republican government as we have, to permit this people called
Latter-day Saints to be organized, to grow and increase and
become a mighty power. Is there any thing incompatible with true
republicanism in the growth of such a people organized as the
Latter-day Saints are? Let me say that the men and women who live
in accordance with the Gospel are the best people in the world.
They make the best members of society and live above all earthly
law, that is constitutional law. Now I take issue, you know, with
some laws. Some laws are constitutional, and some laws are
unconstitutional, but a man who believes in and practices the
Gospel of Jesus christ will live so far above every
constitutional law that he will never violate it. He may be
guilty of mistakes, he may fall into error, but there will be
nothing culpable in his conduct.
341
As the people of God, we must be meek and lowly of heart. We must
confess our sins one to another, help the poor, clothe the naked
and administer sustenance to those who require it. We must cease
our backbiting, our strife, our fault finding, our evil speaking,
bearing false witness and all other practices of this kind, and
live as Latter-day Saints should who are worthy of the name, then
we will be the best citizens of the country, the best citizens
that can be found, citizens of whom people will be proud--that is
all good and honest people--and whom God will bless. These are
duties that devolve upon every one of us. We should not be Saints
in name alone, but in deed and in truth, striving to make our
lives an exemplification of the principles we profess, and then
if men revile us and cast out our names as evil we can leave our
case in the hands of God. We can call upon him and ask his
blessing, and then what difference does it make what the wicked
think or say about us? None in the least. We do not live for the
opinion of the wicked; but if we live as we should do, if we live
for God and pursue a straightforward course, and then if our
enemies malign us, God will be our friend; he will deliver us and
it will be all right with us in the end "But," says one, "how do
you know God is your friend?" Pray to him in faith and you will
find out. Man may deride and say there is no God, and say that it
is all humbug. But I know for myself that God lives. I know that
when I pray to him he hears and answers my prayers. If I pray to
him in secret and he rewards and gives me the desires of my
heart, supposing all the rest of the world should say that God
does not live, does that alter my position, or detract from any
of the blessings I enjoy? Not in the least. It does not interfere
with them. It is my right to believe there is a God, and if
another man chooses to believe there is not then that is his
business. Shall I quarrel with a man because I think my religion
is better than his? Not at all. If my religion is better than
his, why I will show it in my life and not descend to ridicule
and violence. When people take up pistols and use violence they
give to the world the best proof that their religion is not of
God. But that is the way we have been treated. For believing in
the true Gospel we must be mobbed, we must have our houses
burned, we must be driven from our homes, our children and aged
people must die by the way side, our track being marked with the
graves of them that fall, all because we have a religion that
happens to differ from the religion of others. It is curious that
men will do such things in the name of religion! Now if you have
true religion--as I know we ought to have--show the world that
your religion is what it is proclaimed to be--the Gospel of Jesus
Christ; show the world that it is a pure, a better and a loftier
religion than any other, and not with our lips alone, but
proclaim it to all, by our words, and by our deeds, and then the
time will come when it will receive its proper recognition.
Belial, or Satan, is not going to rule always. His end draweth
near, and the time is nigh when misrule and wickedness shall be
banished from the face of the earth.
341
I pray that the blessing of God may rest upon us. I pray God to
fill us with the Holy Spirit, to inspire our hearts with pure
desires, that we may serve him to the best of our ability and
knowledge, which may God grant in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / Joseph
F. Smith, April 8, 1879
Joseph F. Smith, April 8, 1879
DISCOURSE BY ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH,
Delivered at the General Conference, Held in the Tabernacle,
Salt Lake City, April 8, 1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
DUTIES OF THE SAINTS IN TEMPORALITIES--IMPLICIT OBEDIENCE
REQUISITE--CHURCH INTERESTS CAREFULLY GUARDED--GATHERING
THE POOR--HOME INDUSTRIES.
F. Smith
There is a little time remaining, and as I have been requested I
desire to make such remarks as may occur to my mind. I have been
pleased and edified during the Conference which is now drawing to
a close. It has been very gratifying to see the large number of
people that has gathered together during the two days that have
passed. It is evident that the Latter-day Saints are interested
in the welfare of Zion, and are prompted to attend to the duties
which devolve upon them, to take that part which belongs to them;
in adopting and sustaining the measures proposed for effectually
carrying out the purposes of the Almighty in relation to the
great Latter-day work in which we are engaged, and in seconding
and sustaining those who are appointed to take the oversight of
all the affairs of the Church, by the voice of the people and by
the voice of the Lord. In doing this we are but doing our duty,
still it is ever pleasant to see the people willing to do their
duty, and especially so, to see so many cheerfully respond to
their duty as have done so during this Conference. It is
certainly encouraging to those who stand at our head to see the
people rally around them, manifesting such faith, good feeling
and love for the work of God and for those whom the Lord has
inspired with his good Spirit to lead us. It is an evidence, at
least, that in a great measure, our desires and our hearts are
united.
F. Smith
There are a great many things which are necessary for us to
consider and so far as possible thoroughly understand. Not much
has been said during this Conference in relation to our temporal
affairs, except so far as the reports which have been read have
shown the financial and statistical condition of the Latter-day
Saints. We belong to a temporal as well as a spiritual kingdom,
and it is very necessary that we should take a lively interest in
whatever tends to build up the kingdom of God, temporal as well
as spiritual, and spiritual as well as temporal.
F. Smith
I have never yet found any one who can draw the dividing line
between our spiritual and temporal interests, neither do I expect
to. I believe that it is quite as necessary that we should attend
to the temporal, as it is to attend to the spiritual duties which
devolve upon us, and vice versa. It will not do to devote all our
time to the spiritual part, nor all to the temporal alone. We
must not run to extremes, but we should carry on the work of the
Lord committed to us, in all its parts, or bearings. We should
have sufficient of the good Spirit to make the temporal labors
light and easy to bear. I find that when we have to carry on the
temporal labors without the Spirit, or the life, light, vigor and
power of faith, we are apt to feel that it is burdensome and
hard, or difficult to bear; but when we enjoy the companionship
of the Holy Spirit, we can and do joyfully perform all the
temporal duties and labors which may be righteously required of
us. The Lord will not require of his people anything which they
are unable to perform. He will not impose burdens upon his people
that they cannot bear; but if we have not the love of the truth
and the light of the good Spirit to guide us, the most simple
duties and the easiest tasks may seem burdens, too grievous to be
borne. I have known Elders, who, all their lives, have been
"minute men;" they have never stopped a moment to question the
calls that have been made upon them, neither have they stopped to
consider their own temporal interests, they have gone and come at
the request of their brethren in the service of the people and
the Lord. They have had their cares and personal
responsibilities, which have not always been of the lightest
character, and which have taxed their energies to the utmost, or
at least equal to many of those brethren who have enjoyed their
leisure at home, spending largely their time and ability in the
interests of themselves and families. They have had perhaps as
many in family to look after, to feed, clothe, and otherwise care
for; yet these things have not been considered, or allowed to
stand in the way, when duty called them to go forth in the
interest of the Church. They were on hand, like the ready
watchman, scarcely stopping to think of themselves or theirs.
This they have done with all their hearts, and their labors have
never been regarded as burdensome; but on the contrary, they
afforded them joy, pleasure and constant satisfaction. They have
not grown weary, they do not think that they have done enough, as
some have thought who have performed a short mission--that it is
now time they were beginning to do something for themselves; they
are still ready and willing to go or come, or do whatever may be
required of them, regarding, at all times, their duties in the
priesthood of greater moment than any personal considerations.
The Lord has blessed them in their labors; he has made their
burdens comparatively easy to bear; they have not felt the load,
but they have gone on rejoicing, never failing to accomplish the
work assigned them, to the best of their ability, trusting in the
Lord, at the same time doing all in their power, for the
maintenance of themselves and families.
F. Smith
This is but a sample of what all the people ought to be. We
should all be willing to labor for the welfare and salvation of
the people--to sacrifice our own desires and feelings for the
good of the whole, being perfectly willing to do the bidding of
the Almighty, with no will of our own but to serve the purposes
of the Lord. Is this not consistent with the pattern set us by
the Savior? Jesus said, "Father, not my will, but thy will be
done." This was the doctrine he inculcated among his followers,
and commanded them to obey; that their will should be swallowed
up in the will and pleasure of the Almighty, that they should
feel in their hearts that they are willing to serve God even to
the sacrifice of everything, though it should be life itself,
"counting all things but dross in comparison to the excellency of
the knowledge of Jesus Christ." When we possess the spirit of the
Gospel and faith in God, as we should, we will have no burdens
that will be difficult to bear; on the contrary, we will find our
"yokes easy and our burdens light," and it will be a pleasure to
do our duty, whatever that may be. If we should be called to
preach the Gospel, we will find it a pleasure to preach the
Gospel, we will find it a pleasure to respond, for we will feel
that we are enlisted in the service of God, for the salvation of
souls, including our own. What is there to compare with this
labor? Can we compare houses and lands, gold or silver, or the
wealth of the earth, to the salvation of the souls of men? What
will a man not give for his own life? And what will it profit a
man though he gain the whole world, if he at last lose his own
soul? These are questions propounded by the Savior who, is "the
author and finisher of our faith." That which is of the earth is
earthy; it belongs here, we cannot carry it away when we leave
this state of existence, we cannot possess it beyond the vail,
unless we live so while here that eventually we shall be numbered
with the Saints of the Most High God--for it is said that unto
them shall the earth be given, but not until they are prepared to
"possess it for ever and ever." And then they must receive it
from Him who has the right to give. If we do right, therefore, in
this probation, when "the earth and the fulness thereof shall be
given to the Saints of the Most High," we will be numbered among
those who will inherit it. But that time has not yet come. The
earth and its fulness are not ours--if they were we might remain
here in peaceful possession; but they are God's, and we are his,
what we have being committed to us, as stewards, for a little
season; therefore, our worldly riches and possessions are but
dross compared with our eternal salvation. We are laboring for
the salvation of souls, and we should feel that this is the
greatest duty devolving upon us. Therefore, we should fell
willing to sacrifice everything, if need be, for the love of God,
the salvation of men, and the triumph of the kingdom of God upon
the earth, in which we expect to receive our reward, our
exaltation and our crown of life. These are not mere
suppositions, the chimera of men's brains, or the cunning of
man's devices; but things which have been revealed to us from
God, he having spoken and declared these truths unto man in our
day."
F. Smith
I can testify to you, my brethren and sisters, that so far as the
Spirit of God manifests to me, all is well in Zion to-day. The
work of God is progressing. The interests of the kingdom are
carefully and jealously guarded by those upon whom rests this
responsibility. Zion's welfare is the constant theme, meditation
and prayer. They desire that no interest of Zion shall be allowed
to fail, or flag, for the want of proper care and timely
attention. The finances of the Church are guarded carefully by
the Trustee in Trust for the Church. This I can testify to,
having been more or less intimately associated with him for the
last six months. I know he has carefully looked after the
financial interest of the Church, as well as the temporal and
spiritual welfare of the people, that the Church might be
protected in its rights as well as individuals, and that
individuals might also be protected in their rights as well as
the Church, that justice might be dealt out to all.
F. Smith
There have been some circumstances developed and brought to the
notice of the Trustee in Trust and the Auditing Committee, which
have been of a very trying character, both to their feelings and
to the feelings of the other members of the council of Apostles,
and no doubt also very trying to the feelings of some of the
brethren who have supposed they had claims upon the Trustee in
Trust, which investigation has proved they did not have. And in
other instances, where it has been shown that the Trustee in
Trust has claims upon individuals who supposed they were not
indebted to the Church. But in all of these matters even-handed
justice has been sought to be dealt out to the individual and to
the Church; but while the Church can afford to be liberal in its
alms to the worthy and needy poor, and to pay all just demands,
or claims upon it, it cannot afford to sanction or allow claims
that are not just. And further, it is but just and fair that
individuals should be as prompt, so far as it is in their power,
to meet their obligations to the Church as it is expected that
the Church will be in meeting its obligations to individuals.
F. Smith
We do not expect that the rights of the Church will be
disregarded in any particular. We do not expect that any person
will indulge, or even admit the feeling that the Church is an
institution only to be preyed upon; but we expect that the people
do and will understand that we cannot afford to deal in any other
manner than upon the principles of the strictest justice,
righteousness and equity between man and man, and between the
Church and individual members of the Church, or the individual
members and the Church.
F. Smith
We have had a very excellent discourse from the President of the
P. W. Fund Company, in regard to the duties of those who are
indebted to the company. He has shown the vast amount that is now
owing to that company by individuals who have been assisted to
immigrate to this goodly land by its means; and the ingratitude,
want of charity and dishonor which attaches to individual who
have been so generously assisted out of poverty and oppression,
and placed in circumstances to become free and independent, and
then neglect or fail to do their duty in these matters.
F. Smith
In some instances individuals who have been assisted to Zion by
the P. E. Fund, have gathered around them of this world's goods
until they have become rich, and still their indebtedness to the
"Fund" remains unsettled.
F. Smith
It is more than probable that these same individuals would always
have remained in poverty had they not been gathered to Zion by
the P. E. Fund: thus, we see, they are doubly indebted to the
"fund," first for their deliverance from Babylon, from poverty
and bondage; and secondly for the wealth and liberty which they
now possess.
F. Smith
And again they are manifoldly more guilty of ingratitude to God
and man, because they have withheld from the fund its just
dues--which they were able to pay, and deprived others more
worthy than themselves from receiving assistance in the manner
they had been assisted.
F. Smith
Every man that owes the fund a dollar should realise that it is a
just debt, that there are others in the same condition that they
were in when picked up by the P. E. Fund company and brought to
this blessed land, that they are praying and pleading for
deliverance also, and that perhaps they are quite as worthy--if
not more so--than many who have been helped and now owe the
"fund" to an amount which, if all was paid up, would be more than
sufficient to immigrate to this country all the Saints now in
Europe.
F. Smith
Men but do their duty when they pay their just debts and to do so
in this case they discharge a triple duty--to the Fund,
themselves and to the ungathered, worthy poor. What honorable
person can refuse or neglect to do such a duty?
F. Smith
We are sending large numbers of Elders from time to time, to
preach the Gospel abroad. It is the duty of the Latter-day Saints
to assist those Elders on their missions when they need
assistance, or when they are unable to fit themselves out. Their
families too should be cared for by the Church, during the
absence of the husband and father, so far as they are needy or
unable to provide for themselves. Every man is in duty bound to
do all the reasonably can to roll on the work of God, to maintain
himself and family and assist to build up Zion.
F. Smith
Some times a good man is needed to fill a certain mission, he is
well adapted to the position he is called to fill, or the duty he
is required to perform; but he is poor, he may perhaps have a
large family to maintain, which would require his whole time if
devoted wholly to that end, yet his ability, faith, integrity and
other qualifications peculiarly fit him for the duty required,
and he is the most available man to be found. Now what is to be
done? Are we to excuse him because his family is large and
require his services, or because of his poverty. Certainly not.
F. Smith
If the interest of Zion requires his services, in that direction
lies his legitimate path of duty. Then it becomes the duty of the
Saints to provide for his family and see that they do not lack
the necessaries of life; and it would not hurt us to see that
they enjoyed some of the comfort.
F. Smith
If there is no excuse for the poor, certainly there can be none
for the wealthy, nevertheless the rich are often so engrossed in
their business so bound up in worldly affairs, that they are but
poorly qualified for missionary service; the greater the reason
why they should freely impart of their abundance in aid of those
who are better fitted for the ministry when such are called into
the missionary field. It is true the tithings of the people are
for these and other purposes, and no doubt when all the rich and
poor with one accord honestly obey the law of tithing there will
be plenty in the store house of the Lord, to build temples and
houses of worship, to feed and clothe the hungry and naked to
provide for the aged, infirm and poor, to gather the Saints, to
send the Elders to the nations of the earth and maintain their
families while they are gone, and also to purchase the land of
Zion and redeem the center Stake and obtain possession of our
inheritances, or do any other thing which may be needed, although
in the beginning God gave a more perfect law than that of tithing
by which to accomplish all these things, but the Saints were not
able to abide the higher law--and it was temporarily suspended,
therefore until we know how, and will do better than we now do,
our tithings and our offerings are necessary to carry on the work
of God.
F. Smith
These duties should not be considered a hardship by the Saints.
The law of tithing is a commandment with promise of reward for
obedience. No man ever observed this law but he was blessed in so
doing, for God is both able and willing to fulfill all his
promises when the conditions are complied with on our part. Those
duties which God requires may seem a burden to the disobedient
and unfaithful, but to the willing and obedient they are sources
of blessing, pleasure and delight and are no burden at all. Our
burdens become lighter in proportion to our increasing
faithfulness. Our enjoyment of the gifts and blessings of the
Holy Spirit will increase as we become more diligent and so will
our knowledge extend and our title to exaltation and eternal life
become more and more sure.
F. Smith
The sending of Elders from year to year, and thousands of dollars
annually to gather the poor is not all we have to do. We have
home industries to look after. We must provide employment for our
people, that when they are gathered home they may not be idle for
want of remunerative labor. We should establish branches of
industry from which we could at least provide for our own
necessities and as soon as possible be able to export our home
productions, and thus give employment to every faithful
Latter-day Saint who is gathered to Zion, that individuals may
not only become self sustaining but contribute their proportion
to the general good.
F. Smith
Our manufactories should be fostered, patronised and protected,
and their staple wares sought after and preferred by the people,
even though they were more costly at first. It needs no argument
to prove to the sagacious and far seeing that this policy will
pay the best in the end.
F. Smith
While we continue to be purchasers and importers only, we will
remain dependent to, and at the mercy of manufacturers and
exporters from abroad; but when we can produce what we need by
our own industry and skill, from the elements which so abundantly
surround us, we cease to import, to be dependent upon babylon, or
the world, we approach independence, and begin to assume the
position in the earth which God has designed we should, to lead
and not be led, to teach and not be taught, to be the "head and
not the tail." Every Latter-day Saint should be proud to wear
home made clothes, from head to foot, and when we begin to study
our best interests, and the interest of Zion we will do so though
it costs us more now than to wear the stuffed, starched, glossed
and glittering shoddy of the world, or even the best the world
affords. Money spent in home manufactures, is money saved to the
community, it is money laid up for future use and benefit at
home, while money sent abroad builds up New York, Boston,
Philadelphia, Lowell, and the world generally all of whom are
opposed to the people and the work of God and will only return
evil to us for the patronage we bestow upon them.
F. Smith
We should be prepared, not only to manufacture our own wearing
apparel, but also to make all our mechanical and agricultural
implements, our house-hold furniture, our building materials, our
wagons, carriages and equipment, with all that is necessary for
the righteous and legitimate use of man, that when Babylon shall
fall we may be prepared for it, and not be found among those who
shall wail and lament because "no man buyeth her merchandise any
more."
F. Smith
I see some of the sisters wearing fine hats trimmed with silk
ribbon, also silk shawls, dresses, neckties, etc., which are of
their own production and make. This is as it should be--"the
beauty of the work of their own hands."
F. Smith
Perhaps no country in the world abounds more profusely than ours,
with the real elements of wealth, and none better adapted to the
raising of silk, which enters so largely into, and is so eagerly
sought for female apparel, and there are thousands of men, women
and children in Utah, who could as well as not devote a portion
of their time to its culture, say a month or six weeks in the
proper season of the year, both to their pleasure and profit, if
they would, and the result would be the production in vast
quantities of the much coveted article of silk, and an increase
of profitable labor.
F. Smith
Sister Zina Young, Father Graves and a few others are interesting
themselves in this industry and are trying to awaken an interest
therein in the minds of the industrial classes, that silk may
eventually become a stable product of Utah. So far, I fear, they
have found it rather uphill work. The people seem to be eager for
immediate profit, for present gain, which in too many cases is
exceedingly detrimental to the individual as well as to the
public good. It is difficult to get people to look forward, or
labor for the future; we are all so terribly wrapped up and
engrossed in the present and in self. But the culture of silk is
gradually being extended, I am told, and by and by it will,
unquestionably, become one of our flourishing industries. A
little child is capable of attending to a large part of the labor
involved in the production of raw silk, and children a little
farther advanced can prepare it for the loom.
F. Smith
May the Lord bless the people. May the Spirit of the Lord abide
in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints, and lead them
continually, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 / John
Taylor, November 30th, 1879
John Taylor, November 30th, 1879
DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,
Delivered in the Tabernacle at Provo, November 30th, 1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
THE TEMPLES IN COURSE OF ERECTION--POLITICAL POSITION OF THE
SAINTS--OUR POSITION REGARDING PATRIARCHAL MARRIAGE--THE
CORRUPTION
OF SO-CALLED CHRISTENDOM--HOW THE SAINTS SHOULD LIVE--SUNDAY
SCHOOLS,
RELIEF AND MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATIONS.
348
We have heard a good many great and important truths uttered by
those who have addressed us since the commencement of this
conference. We have these conferences appointed for the purpose
of adjusting and regulating any matters that may arise in the
several Stakes, and for teaching and instructing the people on
all matters pertaining to their welfare relative to this world as
well as the world to come.
349
My brethren of the Twelve and myself have been traveling around
considerably lately among the people. We have visited some of the
most prominent Stakes and attended their conferences; among which
are the Stakes of Sanpete and Cache Valley--two of the most
prominent of the Territory--in which temples are being built. We
thought we would like to visit them and see the condition of
affairs; how they were progressing, what advancement they were
making in these important labors, and then if they needed
assistance of any kind we could render it intelligently after
enquiring into their position. We found in both of these places
that the people had been very faithful, diligent and liberal in
the prosecution of this work, that is, in building temples to the
name of the Lord, that they may go and administer therein and
attend to the ordinances of God's house for themselves, and
receive those blessings which God has to confer upon His people,
and administer not only for themselves, the living, but also for
the dead. We found that a very large amount of means had been
used in both of these valleys, including the districts around,
appointed to assist them in the erection of these temples, and
they are building up splendid edifices in both places. The one in
Cache valley is built of hard rock, a species of marble, that
will make a very strong wall. There is, however, mixed up with it
in different places, some very fine sandstone, which they have to
bring from quite a distance. They have raised the walls of that
Temple about fifty-five feet and are still persevering. We found
also that they were prosecuting their work very assiduously in
Sanpete. They have beautiful sandstone there of a light color,
easy to hew, which will make a beautiful structure when
completed, almost equal to ours in Salt Lake City, with this
difference, it is simply dressed outside. Hence things are
progressing rapidly, which evinces a good desire among the Saints
to carry out the purposes which God has designed and which they
have engaged along with us to perform.
349
In visiting these places we felt a desire to see the people that
lived in the settlements around. We made an attempt to this end
before, but could not accomplish it because of the pressure of
circumstances that required our attention in the city; but this
time, being at liberty, we visited all the principal settlements
in Sanpete and Cache Valley, which are quite numerous. We thought
it was proper, seeing they have as good meeting houses as you
have here. They have a much larger meeting house in Cache valley
than you have here, and I think the one in Ephraim, Sanpete, is
larger than this--yet they could neither accommodate all the
people, nor get them together, and you could not here. We could
take some of the houses in which we have attended meetings, and
put most of the people who are seated in the body of this
tabernacle into them. If the Saints wanted to attend conference
they could not find room, and consequently we thought it better
to visit them at their homes, see how they were situated, feel
after their spirits and let them feel ours; converse with them,
preach to them and see what they were doing.
349
We found that in these temple districts, whilst they had been
very energetic and very generous in their feelings in
contributing to the work, they needed some considerable
assistance, and we felt it to be our duty to assist them out of
the general fund of the Church, the same as we do in Salt Lake
City; but of course not to the same extent.
350
They were working in union in a kind of united order; but not of
course fixed up in that order. But as we are operating together
in the interests of the Church and Kingdom of God, we deemed it
quite proper that those places should receive the necessary
assistance; and we thought also that that kind of feeling and
spirit would also be satisfactory to our brethren of the
priesthood and to the Saints generally throughout the Territory,
for we are one, or ought to be one in our endeavors to build up
the Church and Kingdom of God. Having enjoyed ourselves very much
in preaching and in mingling among the Saints in the places where
we have visited, we thought we would come to you and do
likewise--not particularly to talk to you, because you doubtless
have enough of preaching, and perhaps a little more than you can
attend to; but in some places the people do not have the same
opportunity that you do here in Provo, for we sometimes slide by
many settlements on the road, and it appears in some instances as
though they were neglected. We thought in coming among you we
would bring our own carriages as we used to in former years, and
go by the highway and visit the folks at their own homes, go into
the highways and byways and try to meet with all the Saints, for
we are all one, all having been baptized into the one baptism and
ought to partake of the same spirit and be governed by those
glorious principles which God has revealed for the teaching and
exaltation of the human family. Besides there are a great many
circumstances, transpiring from time to time, which render it
necessary that we should be conversant with one another's
feelings; that we should understand the mind and will of the
Lord, and that we should be prepared to operate with Him in the
interests of the human family, in the establishment of Zion and
in the building up of the Kingdom of God on the earth. I always
take pleasure in preaching the Gospel--I have done a great deal
of it--and my brethren of the Twelve feel the same. There is
nothing I take greater pleasure in than in proclaiming the Gospel
to the nations of the earth, and in mingling among and preaching
to the Saints of God. Although I cannot now go abroad, yet I can,
and so can my brethren of the Twelve, associate with you--for
they feel as I do in relation to this matter; we can visit the
Saints at home and talk to them on the things pertaining to the
kingdom of God.
350
There are a great many things associated also with this Kingdom
that it is proper should be presented to us from time to time,
that we may be enabled to act and to operate together and be one
in our feelings religious, one in our feelings social, and one in
our feelings political; for all these things are mixed up and
intimately connected with the position we occupy as the Saints of
the Most High God in the building up of His Zion here upon the
earth. There are things spiritual, there are things denominated
temporal, there are things also spoken of as being eternal in
their nature, and all these subjects, in all their various
ramifications, demand more or less of our attention. For
instance, we are gathered together here as a peculiar people in
these valleys of the mountains. We are gathered here because we
embraced the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and because of the revealing
of that Gospel to Joseph Smith, and because after having embraced
it, we partook of its spirit, and because there was associated
therewith the principle of gathering. We are gathered here under
peculiar circumstances. But our first object was simple obedience
to the Gospel. There are circumstances growing out of this, over
which we seem to have very little control, by being gathered
together in the position we now occupy, and composing part of
this nation, there are certain political duties that seem to
force themselves upon us. We came here simply on religious
principles to start with, because we had faith in God, because we
had faith in the restoration of the everlasting Gospel; because
we had faith in the gathering together of the people; because we
had faith in the ordinances of the Gospel of the Son of God;
because we had faith in the organization of the Church and
Kingdom of God, and the various offices pertaining there unto
throughout all the ramifications of the Church. We came together
therefore in a Church capacity: but being gathered together as a
people, we brought our bodies with us, that is we brought our
souls, if you please, for the spirit and the body, we are told,
is the soul of man. We brought ourselves here and being here we
naturally form an integral part of the United States, and have
become part of what is termed the body politic of the government.
But we could not help that, and If do not know that we want to
help it.
351
We became then organized in a territorial capacity and part and
parcel of the government of the United States; this follows as a
natural consequence.
352
There are a great many Saints here gathered together. I do not
know the number; it is estimated by some to be from 150,000 to
200,000. How many there are I am not prepared to say. No matter,
however, about that: but we have gathered ourselves here. Now,
then, it is necessary we should be under some government. Being
here in the United States, we, of course, became part of that
government, and, as a necessary consequence, according to the
customs and usages of this government, we were admitted as a
Territory. Under these circumstances, the government send out
certain officers; for instance, a governor is appointed and
selected by the President of the United States, and then
sanctioned by the Senate, and he receives his commission from the
administration of the government of the United States, and he
comes here as their representative. Then we have U.S. judges, a
secretary, a marshal and civil officers, according to the usages
that exist among people situated as we are in the Territories of
the United States. There are so many representatives of the
government who are properly appointed and authorized according to
the form and usage that obtain generally in the country and in
the administration of the affairs of this nation. We therefore
come under this government and are subject to its laws and
receive its officers. They come among us, which is very right
they should do, according to the forms and usages that exist in
the United States; and it is our duty to treat them properly, as
it is their duty to treat us properly; the duty in this regard is
reciprocal. We need the protection of law wherever we are, or
under whatsoever circumstances we may be placed; and in placing
ourselves in this position we are only doing just the same as
others of our fellow citizens similarly situated are doing. This
is a matter which has grown out of our religious ideas. Our
religion prompted us to come together; and being together we have
become a body of men, and being on territory belonging to the
United States, it becomes necessary that we should be subject to
its laws and usages, according to the provisions made and
stipulations entered into under its jurisdiction and government.
These things are all plain matters of fact, there is nothing
extraneous or uncommon about them. Further, as American citizens
we have certain rights, and others have certain rights. All men
in the United States possess certain rights which are guaranteed
to them by its Constitution. Again we have our legislative
officers, provided for by act of Congress and passed by the
general government of the United States. We have our probate
courts, also our justices of the peace, our select men and the
various organizations and laws pertaining to education, to public
schools, and all things as they exist in other Territories. But
notwithstanding all this there is one thing wherein we are very
unpleasantly situated, which difficulty arises from the peculiar
position we occupy in regard to our religion. There is nothing
else that I know of. I have been in this Church a great many
years, and lived in this nation a great many years, and have been
a citizen for a great many years; but there is nothing that I
know of excepting that one thing, that could in any wise be
considered objectionable, and that is in relation to our views
pertaining to plural marriage; there is nothing else in all our
acts that any man in any part of world can or would attempt to
find fault with. No man can justly say this people have been
disloyal to the Government of the United States, if they say so
they say something that is not true, and a great many of them
when they do say it know they are telling falsehoods. We are not
turbulent, we do not create any difficulty, we do not get up
mobs, we do not interfere with anybody's rights, socially,
religiously, politically or any other way. We do not interfere
with a man because his religious views are not as ours; but on
the other hand, so far as we have the authority we protect all
men. But there are some things we have occasion to find fault
with because of men wishing to trespass upon our rights. We think
this wrong, contrary to comity, good faith and correct
principles, and consequently we speak about it, and that is
right, we have the right to do that. If any man, either in a
religious, political or social capacity, trespass upon the rights
of common humanity, we have as much right to express our feelings
and to defend our rights as any other set of men have under the
same circumstances, and no just man would seek to deprive us of
this liberty.
352
Now then, so far so good. While we would respect all honorable
men, and would treat them justly and equitably, we do not, we
cannot respect these miserable men who respect no man's rights,
who would turn and give you evil for good, traduce your character
and circulate falsehoods about you and seek to injure you--we
cannot look upon them as honorable men. They are not so treated
among any people; especially those miserable sneaks who would go
round our houses and take advantage of certain circumstances and
become informers and implicate you in crime under guise of
friendship. All such men in any country are despised, and would
be looked upon as scoundrels not fit to associate with honorable
people. There is no one more contemptible than a spy. He is
looked upon as the scum of society and the filthiest dregs of a
community anywhere. We do not want to associate with such, we
cannot, our natural feelings revolt at it, and while we respect
honorable men everywhere, we say to such characters, "O my soul,
come not thou into their secret, unto their assembly, mine honor
be not thou united!" These are our feelings about such
individuals.
352
In regard to our religious matters wherein our social relations
are concerned--for these are as much religious matters with us as
anything instituted among men. Our marriage system is one of the
greatest principles that God ever developed to the human family,
whether men believe it or not. But there are many who are not
acquainted with these things as we are; they do not understand
God nor his revelations; and they really, if it came to the
point, should have nothing to say against us in relation to these
matters. But they do not understand it, neither do they wish to
understand it; because there are a great many very corrupt men
devoid of principle, and they care not what becomes of their
future if they can only accomplish their present objects.
354
Now then, did we seek this principle? No, we did not. Did we ask
God that we might have plurality of wives? No, we did not. Was it
a matter of our choice? No. The same God that revealed to Joseph
Smith the first principles of the Gospel also revealed unto him
the doctrine of plural marriage; it was presented to us as a
doctrine to be believed in and be governed by. Could we help it?
What had we to do with it? It is a command of God; and the
question is, Shall I, after having embraced the Gospel of the Son
of God, and entered into covenant with Him to observe His laws
and be governed by the revelations of His will; shall I, because
of something that is distasteful to me set up my will and
judgment against His, and say, "Why, I shall be despised, I shall
be hated:" shall I, because of a feeling of that kind violate the
laws of God? No, I cannot do it; neither can you who believe in
the revelation. God gave it to His servant Joseph Smith and he
declared it unto us. Now, how was it? The first thing that was
done, when the word of God came to us to do it--for there was a
time after this revelation was given when we were not permitted
to teach this doctrine publicly; but as soon as we were
instructed to do so, Prof. Orson Pratt was sent to Washington to
publish a paper, at the seat of government, and there proclaim
our sentiments on plural marriage to this nation and to the
world. This mission he fulfilled--publishing a paper called the
Seer, and lecturing in a hall hired for that purpose, several
times a week. Was there anything under-handed about this, or low,
or anything antagonistic to the interest of this nation or any
other nation It was merely proclaiming certain principles
pertaining to eternal lives and covenants that should exist
through eternity, in our sexual relations pertaining to our
association in this world and the world to come. Did we interfere
with the rights of others? No; and if we had any revelations, it
was not for us to oppose them. But others do not know anything
about these things, consequently they cannot comprehend our
position. Have we done anything covertly? Not until we were
forced to. Some few years ago, I remember being brought before a
court to give evidence in a case. I was asked if I believed in
keeping the laws of the United States. I answered Yes, I believe
in keeping them all but one. What one is that? It is that one in
relation to plurality of wives. Why don't you believe in keeping
that? Because I believe it is at variance with the genius and
spirit of our institutions--it is a violation of the Constitution
of the United States, and it is contrary to the law of God. Now
this is plain. You could not tell your feelings much plainer.
This was before the Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality
of that law. "Well," said a man to me, "Are you prepared to abide
the consequences." "Always," said I, "every where." That is
straightforward, and in saying this, I only expressed the
feelings of thousands of my brethren and sisters. Well, then,
whose business is it? If I do a thing and am prepared to abide
the penalty, whose business is it? Do I interfere with the
friends or government of the United States? No. They have passed
a law for political effect which is really intended as a trap for
us. One would think that a great and magnanimous nation of fifty
millions, could afford to allow a few thousand people to work out
a social problem, without fear of contamination. They do not
understand us, we wish them no harm. Many of them know this; but
they cannot always control circumstances, and many of the members
of Congress who were not willing to do anything of this sort,
were crowded on by religious bigotry that prevailed among their
people, just the same as others were in the days of Jesus. In his
day he and his followers were maligned as we are; If he ever did
any good, how was it represented? "Give God the praise; we know
that this man is a sinner." And if we do any good somebody else
must have the praise instead of us; but if there is any harm
done, as, for instance, the trouble among the Indians, "it is the
Mormons that do it!" I suppose if there are any storms,
shipwrecks, wars or bloodshed, in Timbuctoo, among the Zulus,
Chinese, Japanese, or Europeans, the Mormons will be represented
as having had a hand in them. What position does this place us
in? Do we wish to be governed by the laws of the United States
and sustain its institutions? Yes, we do. But while we are doing
this, many infamous men are misrepresenting us. But there are
many honorable men who have other feelings. I have seen many of
them not only in this nation but other nations, who possess more
liberal and generous feelings, men of position and of all
conditions in life. And among the honorable men of earth I find
there are a great many who look upon us as having been cruelly
treated by those who ought to be our friends. Well, now what
shall we do under those circumstances? Having passed a law on
purpose to entrap us they would now complain because we do not
run right into the trap and say "take us and put us in prison."
We are not such big fools yet, we have very different ideas to
those. If they are ignoring principles that God has revealed to
us we cannot help it. If they do not believe our statements we
cannot have confidence in theirs; but one thing we do know we are
a thousand times more virtuous, a thousand times more pure, in
our actions than they are in theirs. There is not a country in
the world to-day where virtue and the rights, privileges, honor
and chastity of the female portion of the community are more
strongly protected that in this Territory. Now, that is a fact.
355
The question then arises what shall we do? We are under the
painful necessity of protecting ourselves as best we may. How did
they do in other times--how did they do in Rome? We are not so
badly of as some people were informer ages. I is said that
Christians had to dwell in caves, and that they were hunted and
dragged from these places of concealment by government spies and
put into the arena, where thousands and tens of thousands of
people would go to see them devoured by wild beasts, and I have
no doubt that many of our pious Christians would like to see a
scene of that kind. What shall we do? God has given unto us a
law. Shall we obey it? We are placed--not by acts of our own--in
a position where we cannot help ourselves. We are between the
hands of God and the hands of the Government of the United
States. God has laid upon us a command for us to keep, He has
commanded us to enter into these covenants with each other
pertaining to time and eternity, and has revealed this law
through the holy priesthood and the regularly constituted
channels which He has appointed for conveying this information,
and we, having been baptized into one baptism and partaken of the
same spirit, know for ourselves that these things are true. I
know they are true, if nobody else does. I know it myself. I
cannot help knowing it, and all the edicts and laws of Congress
and legislators and decision of courts could not change my
opinion. I know that it is from God, and therefore bear testimony
of it. Now, can I help it? No. The question resolves itself into
this: having received a command from God to do a certain thing
and a command from the State not to do it, the question is what
shall we do? Daniel had a political trap set for him, as we have
had for us. And edict was passed forbidding him to pray to his
God under penalty of death; he went and opened his window and
prayed in the sight of the community, hence he violated that
decree with death staring him in the face. He knew this law was
irrevocable, but he was determined to obey the commandment of God
and he did. They cast him into a den of lions, and he played with
them as a child would play with kittens. There was something to
try Daniel's faith in this but God took care of him.
356
But there is another feature manifested in this. We notice that
King Darius, the victim of a political plot, was very solicitous
for the welfare of Daniel, for early in the morning he went to
the lion's cave and cried, "O Daniel, is the God in whom thou
trusteth able to deliver thee?" When Daniel replied, "O King,
live forever, the God in whom I trust has sent his angel and has
delivered me from the jaws of the lions," etc. I do not think
from the reading of the President's message, that if any of us
were cast into the lion's den or into prison, that Mr. Hayes
would manifest the interest about us that Darius did about
Daniel; but then we must remember this difference, that the first
of these is a Christian; the latter was a heathen. But outside of
these things, I feel to proclaim against the vices of the age,
whether in this nation or others; for we as a nation are fast
descending as low as the most degenerate and corrupt nations of
Europe, and are practising infamies which have been the overthrow
and ruin of many mighty cities, nations and empires, and which
are now the loathsome, unnatural, disgusting, damning sins of
Christendom. The standing law of God is, be fruitful and
multiply; but these reformers are "swift to shed blood," even the
blood of innocence; and with their pre-natal murders and other
crimes, are slaying their thousands and tens of thousands with
impunity, to say nothing of that other loathsome, disgusting,
filthy institution of modern Christendom "the social evil," as
well as other infamous practices. We must protest against
foeticide, infanticide, and other abominable practices of
Christendom being forced upon us, either in the shape of
legislative enactment, judicial decision or any other adjunct of
so-called civilization. We are American citizens and are not yet
deprived of the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness. Men express surprise sometimes at the
action of the grand jury who sat upon, as I am informed, about
200 classes of polygamy and only found bills against three. Why,
human nature with all its infirmities is not sunk so low as at
the bidding of an official satrap to find indictments to order,
without evidence and testimony, and there are very few, in view
of the above facts, who are sunk so low as to condemn men for
marrying wives and supporting their children, while at the same
time they know that their accusers and persecutors are violating
every principle of chastity, and murdering their own offspring.
Many men may be very corrupt, and indulge in the vices and crimes
of the age; but all are not hypocrites. Despotic laws require a
despot, and not even packed juries will always carry them out.
Now, it becomes a question for us to decide whether we shall
observe the laws of God or the commands of men. If I had to
answer I would answer as I did before the court. When I made that
answer this question had not then been decided by the Supreme
Court of the United States. Since then they have sanctioned that
law, hence we are placed in a position a good deal like the
Christians were in the days of Rome, and the Christians now
assume the position of the then heathen.
356
What shall we do? Shall we trust in God or in the arm of flesh?
Shall we give up our religion and our God and be governed by the
practices that exist in the nation which are contrary to the laws
of God? All who are in favor of abiding by the laws of God hold
up their right hand (The congregation voted unanimously). We find
the same feeling throughout the Territory.
356
We wish no disrespect to the government, for after all I do not
suppose we could get any better treatment from any other
Christian nation than we do from our own, but this is not saying
much for them. It is a poor thing when so great and magnanimous a
nation cannot afford to allow 200,000 people to worship God
according to the dictates of their own consciences.
356
But have we resisted anything else? No. Have I? No. Have you? I
presume not. I expect these kind of things--the opposition and
corruption of men and the world, under the instigation of the
devil, who is the enemy of the Saints. What then? Do I expect to
give up my religion to the devil? I think not. What shall we do
then? Shall we abuse the people of the United States? No. Shall
we abuse the President of the United States? No. Yet I am sorry
that he is not a little more magnanimous, I am sorry he does not
possess a little more of those feelings that actuated the
founders of this government; I am not sorry for the Saints, for
it is quite necessary that we should have to pass through a
variety of things in order that, like ancient Saints, we may be
made perfect through suffering. "For it became him, for whom are
all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain
of their salvation perfect through sufferings." "He was in all
points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." Shall we forsake
the institutions of this country because of the acts of those
men? No, we will cleave to them and sustain them. Shall we
deprive other men of their political rights? No, we will not.
Shall we deprive any man of his social rights? No, we will not.
Shall we deprive any men of their religious rights? No, we will
not. They may do as they please in Washington and other places;
but we will do right towards all men. Our motto is, Freedom,
Liberty and Rights of Conscience to all people; as Brother Parley
P. Pratt has it in one of his poems:
356
"Indian, Moslem, Greek or Jew,
Freedom's banner waves for you."
357
This is the kind of feeling we entertain in regard to this
subject. We all have faults, and perhaps this government is one
of the best governments we could have in the world; and we will
sustain it. And then, we will contend for our rights legally,
properly, orderly and constitutionally. And then, we will watch
those miserable hounds that come sneaking into our midst, and
tell them to leave; we do not want a lot of dogs among us.
Honorable and decent men, men that will do right we will maintain
all the time. But this nation is laying the axe at the root of
the tree and they then will crumble to pieces by and by. If they
can stand it we can. If they can afford to treat us in this way,
they will soon treat others in the same way. And they will tear
away one plank of liberty after another, until the whole, fabric
will totter and fall; and many other nations will be cast down
and empires destroyed; and this nation will have to suffer as
other will. And it will be as Joseph Smith once said, "When all
others forsake the Constitution, the Elders of this Church will
rally around the standard and save its tattered shreds." We will
come to its rescue and proclaim liberty to all men.
357
What shall we do about many other things? Let them alone; "let
the potsherds of the earth contend with the potsherds of the
earth." The God who rules in the heavens is watching over their
movements as well as ours, they are in his hands as we are--he
will put a hook in their jaws and lead them in the way they
dreamed not of. He will say to them as he did to the proud waves
of the surging ocean--"hither shalt thou come, and no farther;
and here shall thy proud waves be stayed." But it is for us to
cleave to God and observe his laws and keep his commandments; and
then we need fear no evil that may come upon us, "for God will
make the wrath of man to praise him, and the remainder he will
restrain." And God will bless and protect Israel; he will lead us
forth in the paths of life--not all of us, for as we have heard,
we are not all of us doing just right. But he will accomplish his
purposes and roll forth his work and build up his kingdom and
establish Zion, and bring to pass all the things spoken of by the
holy prophets since the world began.
357
Now then, having talked a little upon this principle, I will
speak about some other things associated with our affairs here,
in a Stake capacity, or as Saints, say, for I generally talk more
to the whole people than I do to the people of a Stake. There are
a few things that I wish to draw your attention to. You have got
a Stake organization, you have a president and his counsellors,
who stand in the same position to you as the First Presidency to
the Church. I think you heard something about that this morning.
Pray for them. Have they weaknesses? Yes. Have you? Yes. Have I?
Yes. We are in possession of a rich and glorious treasure; but it
is contained in earthen vessels. We all have our weaknesses and
infirmities; but we will pray for those that are appointed to
preside over us, that God may bless them. And when we bow with
our family, with our wives and children around us we will ask God
to bless them and inspire them with wisdom, that they may manage
well all things committed to their care. We will not find fault
with them, but ask God, if we think a false step has been made,
to lead them in the right path. And we will make things right if
we do this, whether they want them or not, for God will control
them by His Spirit for our good.
358
And then, we have bishops among us. We will treat them
courteously. Have they weaknesses? Yes, they are men just like we
are. "What," say you, "have you weaknesses?" Yes, lots of them. I
wish I had not sometimes, and then again I don't wish so. "Do you
ask the people to pray for you? Yes, and pray also for my
brethren of the Twelve that they may be guided by the
inspirations of the Most High, and be led and that they may lead
others in the paths of life; that we may magnify the calling God
has given unto us and honor it and do good among men, and help to
build up His Zion. This work devolves upon you in your sphere as
much as upon President Smoot and his counsellors and the several
bishops. Everyone has his duties to perform; and if we all do
them we will do pretty well. Listen, then, to their counsels. You
have a High Council, sustain them in like manner, that in all
their judgments and counsels they may do right. And I would say
both to the Bishops in their capacity, as common judges in
Israel, and to the High Council as a High Council, deal justly in
the sight of God; do not bring into deliberations any of your own
private notions or feelings. Do not, in the name of God, seek to
pervert judgment or justice. I would not give five straws for a
man--he is not fit to be a high councilor--if he would not apply
the same judgment to his own brother or son as he would to
anybody else. We need to ask God to give us wisdom in the
management and direction of these affairs, and then we ought to
have another principle more thoroughly enforced than it is among
us. We have people going to law one with another sometimes, and
that before the ungodly, and the Elders of Israel sanction it.
God will hold you to an account, I tell you, and He will bring
you up standing when you don't dream of it, and all they that
like to go to law, in the name of God they shall have enough of
it until they are sick and weary--for it will bring them down to
poverty, ruin, misery and death, unless they turn around speedily
and repent. Let us honor the institutions that God has given unto
us, honor the Priesthood, honor our own courts of justice, and
treat all men everywhere with proper respect, but we do not want
to go to law with the ungodly.
359
There are other things I wish to speak about pertaining to the
interests of this community. We should educate our children
properly. I am very glad to find you have one very good
institution in this place. You have got those at the head of it
that know God, and who instil into the minds of their pupils
correct principles and the fear of the Lord, and teach them the
principles of life; that they, when they go forth to teach
others, may teach them the same principles that these our
brethren teach them--that correct principles may spread, grow and
increase, and that while they are obtaining an education in
regard to science and the various branches of secular education,
they may always have before their minds the fear of God. Well,
would you seek for knowledge? Yes, as I would for a hidden
treasure. Would you like the people to be acquainted with the
arts and sciences, etc.? Yes. We want to so educate our children,
and if necessary make sacrifices ourselves for that purpose, in
order that they may be men and women capable of coping
intellectually with any persons that live upon the earth. We are
seeking after these things, we are anxious to promote the welfare
of all people in regard to these matters, especially those
associated with us, that our children may grow up not only in the
fear of God, but possess intelligence of every kind. Now, these
are our feelings in relation to these matters, and bye-and-bye,
if we do this and keep doing it how will it be? It will not be
long before we will be as far ahead of the world in regard to the
arts, sciences, mechanism and every principle of intelligence
that exists upon the face of the earth, as we are in religious
matters to-day. Some of our little boys five and six, seven and
eight years old know very well how to cope with men that profess
generally to be wise men on religious subjects. Some few days ago
I attended a Sabbath School exhibition in the 17th Ward of Salt
Lake City, and witnessed there more intelligence displayed by the
children, male and female, in regard to religious matters, than I
have ever seen exhibited any where in the whole Gentile world
wherever I have traveled. I was reminded of a saying of the
Savior's that "out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast
perfected praise." Let us train up our children in the right way.
That reminds me of another thing, that is our Sabbath Schools.
You have them here, how extensively you are engaged in them I am
not prepared to say, but it is a good institution worthy of our
best efforts, and I would say let us encourage them, let our
young and middle aged men that are talented engage in them, that
our children may be brought up in the fear of God. The school
that Brother Maeser and Brother Hardy are engaged in, in this
place, I consider a model institution, and I say God bless them
and let the blessing and Spirit of God be with them. Continue in
your labors as you are doing, and your names will be known in
Israel and be handed down to posterity as some of the great men
of Zion. Let our brethren, too, be interested in these Sunday
Schools, and let us get men that fear God--you young men and
Elders of Israel who have the Spirit of the Lord--teach the
children and instil the principles of life and salvation into
their minds. And then there are other things that are very
praise-worthy institutions, one of which is the Female Relief
Societies. Our Sisters are engaged with us in trying to do a good
work. Shall we despise them in their labors? No. Who are they?
Part of ourselves. Do they hold the priesthood? Yes, in
connection with their husbands and they are one with their
husbands, but the husband is the head. And women are so
constituted that they are much better prepared to feel after the
welfare of families than men are. They can sympathize with the
sisters, for they are one with them. I remember a certain lady
said to me in talking about some things, "you never was
grandmother." "No" said I, "I never was? I never had that
experience." "Well, then, you cannot enter into the feelings of a
grandmother." No, and I never was a wife, and therefore I could
not enter into the feelings of a wife. But a wife can enter into
a wife's feelings and into a mother's feelings and they can
sympathize with the sisters, and pour in the oil and wine and
they can teach the sisters correct principles, teach them
cleanliness, kindness and sisterly sympathetic feelings. They are
doing this to a great extent, therefore I say God bless the
sisters. They are one with us in seeking to promote the welfare
of Israel. They tell me I was chairmen when the first Ladies'
Relief Society was organized in Nauvoo; perhaps I was, I do not
remember, however, but I am pleased to cooperate with the
sisters. I desire to see them prosecute their labors and try to
train up young women to be good mothers, good housekeepers, good
wives, and to cultivate the fear of God and to teach their own
children to walk in the paths of life.
360
Then we have our Young Men and Young Womens' Mutual Improvement
Associations. These are very good institutions. How much better
is to see our youth engaged in the fear of God, meeting together
and talking over the things of God, mediating upon them, teaching
one another good, virtuous, holy principles, than to see them
associated with corruptions and treading in the paths that leads
down to death. How much better to teach purity, holiness, virtue,
and intelligence, making them honorable men and women, than to
see them take a different course. I have been asked sometimes if
there was the priesthood associated with this. No; not
particularly; but it is one of those helps spoken of in the
Scriptures. A bishop will not object to being helped by the
Relief Societies. Will he object to them visiting the poor? will
he object to any man or any woman seeking to promote peace,
order, virtue, and righteousness? No. Who are they? Some are
Elders, some are Seventies, some High Priests, and all belong to
the several quorums of the priesthood. These associations are a
very creditable thing, in advance, say of our Sunday school
operations. It is leading on to knowledge, or what we term
theology and science, and every principle of intelligence. We
have a great many good, highminded, honorable young men and
women, and I say God bless you in your labors.
360
You, bishops, I say to you, encourage all these things among you,
sanction and protect them, and do all you can to foster them.
360
With regard to our political organization, I would say, we must
be united. Who, I ask, should dictate us? If I was here in Provo,
and had to do with such matters, the first thing I would do would
be to confer with President Smoot to ascertain whom he would
recommend for such and such offices.
360
"But," say some, that would interfere with my freedom. I think
Watts says:
360
"I would be walking with the wise. That I may wiser grow."
360
Well then,
360
I would not be walking with the fools,
360
Lest I a fool should grow.
360
But I would seek from men of experience and judgment advice as to
the best course to pursue. And as to your freedom have as much a
you please, that is, freedom to do right, not wrong. It is very
necessary that we be united; and anybody that seeks to divide the
people is not the friend of God or man, neither is God his
friend; and if he continue to interfere with the happiness and
union of the people of God, He will not hold him guiltless; but
he will remove him out of his place. There is a providence in
many of these things. People wonder sometimes why we have
sickness amongst us. The Apostle Paul in writing to the
Corinthians, in referring to divisions that existed among them,
together with their unworthiness, when partaking of the Lord's
supper, says, "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you,
and many sleep." Do you believe a principle of that kind? I do.
Let us fear God then, honor Him, and keep His commandments.
361
Another thing, we want the brethren to do, and that is to
cultivate a right feeling towards the sisters, and towards their
wives especially. God has given them to us; treat them well and
kindly. If they have weaknesses--which doubtless they have--we
should bear with them, they are the weaker vessel, and we ought
to be strong, and a strong man ought not to be much afraid of a
weak woman. We ought to have them in our affections, and instead
of returning evil for evil, be kind to them; and if your wives
chide you, render to them kindness in return and love them, and
say, this is not exactly right; let us be friends. And they will
turn round and reciprocate that kind of feeling. And then make
their homes as comfortable as you can, and lighten their
household duties as far as it may be in your power to do so; and
do all you can to unite your efforts together as families. And
wives, comfort your husbands; speak kind words, and make their
homes a heaven. And neighbours, don't bite and devour one
another, don't tear in pieces one another's character, but be
united in all things.
361
"Nay, speak no ill, a kindly world
Can never leave a sting behind."
361
Let us learn to speak kindly of each other, and if we cannot say
something good of our brother or our sister, let us hold our
tongue. And if our brother sin against us, tell him of his fault
when you are made acquainted with your wrong, confess it and
repent, and try to do better. And let us live together as
brethren and sisters and as Saints of God. And do not forget to
call upon the Lord in your family circles, dedicating yourselves
and all you have to God every day of your lives; and seek to do
right, and cultivate the spirit of union and love, and the peace
and blessing of the Living God will be with us, and He will lead
us in the paths of life; and we shall be sustained and upheld by
all the holy angels and the ancient patriarchs and men of God,
and the veil will become thinner between us and our God, and we
will approach nearer to him, and our souls will magnify the Lord
of hosts.
361
Brethren and sisters, God bless you, and lead you in the paths of
life, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 /
Lorenzo Snow, October 19, 1879
Lorenzo Snow, October 19, 1879
DISCOURSE BY ELDER LORENZO SNOW,
Delivered at the Weber Stake Conference, Held in the Tabernacle,
Ogden City, October 19, 1879.
(Reported by James Taylor.)
THE SPIRIT AND PRINCIPLES OF THE UNITED ORDER.
361
As a foundation for a few remarks this morning, I will read the
18th verse of the revelation commencing on page 337, Book of
Doctrine and Covenants:
362
"Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have
made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my
Gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall with the wicked
lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment."
362
Also a few verses, contained in the same book, on page 123,
commencing at the 3rd verse, which show what is required of every
man in his stewardship.
362
"3. I, the Lord, have appointed them, and ordained them to be
stewards over the revelations and commandments which I have given
unto them, and which I shall hereafter give unto them;
362
"4. And an account of this stewardship will I require of them in
the day of judgment:
362
"5. Wherefore I have appointed unto them, and this is their
business in the Church of God, to manage them and the concerns
thereof; yea, the benefits thereof.
362
"6. Wherefore a commandment I give unto them, that they shall not
give these things unto the Church, neither unto the world:
362
"7. Nevertheless, inasmuch as they receive more than is needful
for their necessities and their wants, it shall be given into my
storehouse.
362
"8. And the benefits shall be consecrated unto the inhabitants of
Zion, and unto their generations, inasmuch as they become heirs
according to the laws of the kingdom.
362
"9. Behold, this is what the Lord requires of every man in his
stewardship, even as I, the Lord, have appointed, or shall
hereafter appoint unto any man.
362
"10. And, behold, none are exempt from this law who belong to the
Church of the living God;
362
"11. Yea, neither the bishop, neither the agent who keepeth the
Lord's storehouse, neither he who is appointed in a stewardship
over temporal things."
362
The short time that I occupy this morning, I wish to speak in a
manner that will be for our edification and mutual improvement in
those things that pertain to our salvation. For this purpose I
desire the faith and prayers of all those who believe in looking
to the Lord for instruction and intelligence.
362
We should realize the relationship that we sustain to the Lord
our God, and the peculiar position we occupy. To properly
discharge the obligations devolving upon us, we require
supernatural aid. The character of the religion that we have
espoused demands a certain course of conduct that no other
religion that we know of requires of its adherents; and the
nature of those demands upon us are such that no person can
comply with them, unless by assistance from the Almighty. It is
necessary that we comprehend, at least in part, the great and
important blessings that we are to derive, eventually, by
complying with the requirements of the religion or Gospel that we
have received. The sacrifices that are required of us are of that
nature that no man nor woman could make them, unless aided by a
supernatural power; and the Lord, in proposing these conditions,
never intended that his people should ever be required to comply
with them unless by supernatural aid, and of that kind that is
not professed by any other class of religious people. He has
promised this aid. The demands upon us are of a peculiar nature,
and, as I before said, no man or woman could comply with them,
unless enlightened and sustained by the power of the Almighty.
363
The religion we have received is not a chimera. It is not
something that has been devised by the cunning of man, but it is
something that has been revealed by the Almighty. It is a fact.
It is something that truly exists. It is something that is
tangible. It is some thing that can be laid hold of by the minds
of the Latter-day Saints. It is something that can be directly
understood, and be fully comprehended, so that there can be no
doubt in the mind of any Latter-day Saint in regard to the nature
and character of the ultimate outcome of the course that he
proposes to pursue in complying with the demands of the Gospel he
has received. But those demands are of a nature that perhaps
would be almost appalling to the minds of individuals that were
darkened, that had no light or understanding in regard to the
outcome that is expected to be experienced by the Latter-day
Saints, inasmuch as they continue faithful in adhering to the
principles which they have espoused.
364
These demands are not of a nature that have no parallel in the
history of the people of God. They were required in every age and
period when God called a people to serve him, and to receive his
laws. They were required in the days of Israel, in the beginning
of that people. They were required of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
They were required of Moses, and of the people that he led from
Egyptian bondage. They were required by all the prophets that
existed from the days of Adam to the present period of time. They
were required by the apostles that received their commission by
the laying on of the hands of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living
God, and by the adherents of the religion that the apostles
proclaimed and taught to the people, in their day and no man or
set of men or class of people from the day of Adam to the present
time, could comply with these requirements, except the people of
God, as they were endowed with power from on high, which could
proceed only from the Lord our God. And it would be simply
foolish indeed to expect the Latter-day Saints in these days to
comply with the celestial law, with the law that proceeds from
God, and with his designs to elevate the people into his
presence, except they were sustained by a supernatural power. The
Gospel promises this. It promises the gift of the Holy Ghost,
which is divine in its character, and which is not enjoyed by any
other people, and which we are told by the Savior, should lead
into all truth, and inspire those who possessed it, and give them
a knowledge of Jesus, a knowledge of the Father, and of things
pertaining to the celestial world; that it should inspire those
who possessed it with a knowledge of things to come, and things
that were past; and inspire them to an extent that they should
enjoy supernatural gifts--the gift of tongues and prophecy, to
lay hands upon the sick, by which they should be healed. Those
who received this Gospel were promised these supernatural powers
and gifts, and a knowledge for themselves, that they might not
depend upon any man or set of men, in regard to the truth of the
religion that they had received; but that they should receive a
knowledge from the Father that the religion came from him, that
the Gospel came from him, and that his servants had the right and
authority to administer those ordinances, so that no wind of
doctrine should shake them or remove them from the path in which
they were walking; so that they might be prepared for the glory
that should be revealed, and be made participators therein, so
that they might endure any trial or affliction that it should be
the will of God to be brought upon them, to prepare them more
fully for celestial glory; so that they should walk not in
darkness, but in the light and power of God, and be raised above
the things of the world, and be superior to the things around
them; so that they might walk independently beneath the celestial
world, and in the sight of God and heaven, as free men, pursuing
that course that should be marked out to them by the Holy Ghost;
that course by which they could elevate themselves to knowledge
and power, and thus prepare themselves to receive the glory that
God proposed to confer upon them, and to occupy the exalted
position to which God designed to raise them.
365
In view of this, Jesus told the young man who came to him and
wished to know what he should do to inherit eternal life, to
"keep the commandments." The young man replied that he had kept
these commandments referred to from his youth upward. The savior,
looking upon him, saw there was still something lacking. The
young man had kept the moral law, the law given to Moses, and for
this Jesus loved him, but saw that there was one thing lacking.
He was a rich man, and held influence in the world in consequence
of his superior wealth. Jesus knew that Before he could elevate
him, or any other man, to the celestial world, it was necessary
that he should be submissive in all things, and view obedience to
the celestial law of the utmost importance. Jesus knew what was
required of every man to gain a celestial crown--that nothing
should be held dearer than obedience to the requirements of
heaven. The Savior saw in this young man a cleaving to something
that was not in accordance with the law of the celestial kingdom.
He saw peradventure, a disposition in him to adhere in his
feelings to that which was injurious to him, and would render a
compliance to all the demands of the Gospel disagreeable or
impossible, therefore he told him that he should go and sell all
that he had, "and give to the poor, and follow him." This
commandment made the young man feel sad and sorrowful. He looked
upon riches as the great object in life, as bringing him the
influence of the world, and all things that were desirable; as
procuring him the blessings and enjoyments of life, and as the
means of lifting him to high positions in society. He could not
conceive the idea of a person's securing the blessings,
enjoyments and privileges of life, and such things as his nature
craved, independent of his wealth. But the Gospel was of a nature
that provided for everything that was necessary to fulfil the
wants and requirements of man and to make him happy. Riches were
not so calculated; and the Lord desired him to give up these
ideas, and to dislodge them from his mind and feelings, so he
might secure him as his servant in all things. He desired this
man to be wholly devoted to his service, and to go into his work
with full purpose of heart, and follow the dictates of the Holy
Spirit, and prepare himself for celestial glory. But this young
man was not willing; it was too great a sacrifice. And the Savior
said upon this occasion, "how hardly shall they that have riches
enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the
kingdom of God." The disciples "were astonished out of measure"
at this, "saying among themselves, who then can be saved?" They
thought that no man could possess riches and be saved in the
kingdom of God. This was the idea they received from the remarks
of the Savior. But Jesus answered, "With men it is impossible,
but not with God: for with God all things are possible."
366
Now, we want to look and see how this is possible. I have read in
the Book of Doctrine and Covenants the revelations that have been
given in these days to the Latter-day Saints, setting forth the
requirements of God in relation to temporal affairs. Here are
remarks that are pretty straight, which I have read, on page
337--"If any man shall take of the abundance which I have made,
and impart not his portion according to the law of my Gospel, he
shall lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment." Now this is
straight language, and looks perhaps, rather severe. When the
Lord revealed his Gospel in these latter times to the world, he
commenced teaching the people what was required of them in their
temporal affairs, as he taught the young man and as he taught
many others, and as the apostles were taught and others who
received the Gospel under their administration. The greatest
trouble that has ever been, probably that the Lord has had, with
the people in any age, has been in reference to their temporal
affairs, their financial matters. The Latter-day Saints at the
present day, are very united in reference to their spiritual
principles and doctrines. We see eye to eye in regard to
principles that pertain to the doctrinal portion of the religion
we have espoused; but when it comes to our temporal, our earthly
possessions, and our conduct in relation to them, we seem to be
little confused in reference to what is right and wrong, and more
or less, we feel disposed to pursue our own course in regard to
these matters and, as in the days of judges, "Every man is doing
what seems right in his own eyes." We seem to forget that the
Lord has distinctly pointed out our duties, and that there is a
little book, Doctrine and Covenants, that God has given by direct
revelation in regard to these matters, by which we should be
governed; we forget these things as it is natural for us to
forget the things of God. We sometimes think of the many good
things that we do, and imagine, perhaps, that because of these
good acts, we are excusable in not bothering ourselves in
reference to some other things that we do not perform. In giving
his revelations to us in regard to these matters the Lord took
certain individuals and made them examples to the Saints, and he
wished the Saints to look upon these individuals and follow their
examples. The Lord did not propose at first to call upon all the
people at once and tell them what to do in relation to these
temporal matters, because they were very ignorant and more or
less covetous. In march 1830, one month before the organization
of this Church, the Lord commenced to instruct, or lay down
principles which should govern the people of God in all their
temporal affairs. The foundation was raised as a standard, or
beacon shining in a dark place, that every Latter-day Saint might
look at and judge for himself what would be required. The first
revelation that I recollect of that was given in regard to the
temporal obligations of the Saints, or what should be required of
them, was given to Martin harris. You will find it on page 111,
Book of Doctrine and Covenants. Martin Harris was a man who
possessed considerable wealth, or at least was tolerably well of.
The Lord gave ] him a revelation touching temporal affairs, the
same as Jesus gave the rich young man. The Lord said to Martin
harris, "Impart a portion of thy property; yea, even part of thy
lands, and all save the support of thy family." This revelation
applied simply to Martin Harris, and not to everybody, only as
you consider it an example to Latter-day Saints. But on page 161,
Book of Doctrine and Covenants, there is a general commandment in
connection with the divine law which was given in this
revelation. It applies to everybody, as, for instance, "Thou
shalt not lie," is a general commandment, and applicable to every
Latter-day Saint. Here is the commandment, verse 55--"And if thou
obtainest more than that which would be for thy support, thou
shalt give it into my storehouse, that all things may be done
according to that which I have said." In connection with this
subject, we find on page 233 that the Lord called together six of
his Elders, and gave them commandments and revelation, and
appointed unto them a stewardship: "Behold, and hearken, O ye
inhabitants of Zion, and all ye people of my Church." Now this
was quite extensive. "All ye people of my Church." The Lord was
going to speak, here, something that concerned all the Saints,
wherever they might be, whether in New York, Ohio, Missouri,
Indiana or any other part of the world. "Hearken, o ye
inhabitants of Zion, and ALL ye people of my Church, who are afar
off." Now here is something which concerned all the Latter-day
Saints, and which the Lord considered of vast importance to
everybody worthy to be called by that name. He wanted all the
inhabitants of Zion to pay particular attention to what he was
going to say to these six of his Elders. It concerned everybody.
The fact in the case was that he took these six Elders and made
them an example to all the Saints. The revelation continues:
366
"Hear the word of the Lord which I give unto my servant Joseph
Smith, jun., and unto my servant Martin Harris, and also unto my
servant Oliver Cowdery, and also unto my servant John Whitmer,
and also unto my servant Sidney Rigdon, and also unto my servant
William W. Phelps, by way of commandment unto them;
366
"I, the Lord, have appointed them, and ordained them to be
stewards over the revelations and commandments which I have given
unto them, and which I shall hereafter give unto them."
366
Now this was a matter of some importance, especially to these six
elders, to be appointed stewards over those things from which
should accrue great temporal advantages. Perhaps some people
might be jealous, or were jealous at that time, and supposed that
they had reasonable grounds to be jealous, that the Lord should
bestow such great advantages upon these elders, which they might
use to the great disadvantage of the people of God. But we will
discover that these matters were strictly guarded of the Lord, as
also would every man who was appointed a steward in the kingdom
of God be held in check.
366
"And an account of this stewardship will I require of them in the
day of judgment."
367
Now, perhaps I do not believe as some do in regard to the United
Order--that everybody is to come together and throw all their
substance into a heap, and then come and take of it as they
please, or that one man who does not understand temporal affairs
at all should be placed as a steward over extensive concerns. I
believe that there is an order in these things--a pleasing and an
agreeable order--and that these things are arranged by the Lord
in such a way that when people properly understand them they will
be satisfied and admire them. It is because we do not get to
understand the requirements of God that we are dissatisfied. God
fixes these matters up and arranges them in such a way as will
tend to the exaltation of every Latter-day Saint who is disposed
to honor them. It is because of our ignorance that we are
displeased with the requirements of the Lord.
367
Now, I believe in the independence of men and women. I believe
that men and women have the image of God given them--are formed
after the image of God, and possess Deity in their nature and
character, and that their spiritual organization possesses the
qualities and properties of God, and that there is the principle
of God in every individual. It is designed that man should act as
God, and not be constrained and controlled in everything, but
have an independency, and agency, and the power to spread abroad
and act according to the principle of godliness that is in him,
act according to the power and intelligence and enlightenment of
God, that he possesses, and not that he should be watched
continually, and be controlled, and act as a slave in these
matters. But that the law of God should proceed forth from him,
and the constitution of the Most High God should be in him, and
he should act in accordance with that. And, as the Lord has
said--"I will write my name in the hearts of the people"--the law
should proceed forth from their hearts.
367
And so far as the law of tithing is concerned, there is about it
something that is not of the same nature and character as the law
of the United Order. It was added because the people were not
willing to comply with this noble and high celestial law, whereby
they could act according to the light that is in them, and the
power of the Almighty, by which they should be inspired. I read
on:
367
"Wherefore I have appointed unto them, and this is their business
in the Church of God, to manage them and the concerns thereof.
367
"Wherefore a commandment I give unto them, that they shall not
give these things unto the Church, neither unto the world."
367
Now, was it designed that these six men should go and build fine
houses, and spread abroad and obtain immense treasures of the
earth, independent of the obligations devolving upon them to
other people? There was great latitude given them, but they were
held accountable unto the Lord. "I give you this latitude to
exercise, but, remember, you are accountable; and an account of
your stewardship will I require of you in the day of judgment."
Some of these Elders had seen God and talked with him face to
face, and angels had laid their hands upon their heads. They knew
that there was a God in heaven. This was made clear to them by
the power of the Almighty, and by angels making their appearance
unto them, and talking with them as one man talks with another.
Now, when we consider what the Lord said to these men that were
thus enlightened, and had this wonderful experience, we see that
it required a man to be a little careful how he acted in regard
to these temporal affairs that were given to him in charge.
368
"Nevertheless, inasmuch as they receive more than is needful for
their necessities and their wants, it shall be given into my
storehouse." Now here was wherein they were limited. But yet in
this matter they were left to their own judgment and
philanthropy, which should be enlightened. But their philanthropy
would be the philanthropy of God, and their intelligence, the
intelligence of heaven.
368
"And the benefits shall be consecrated unto the inhabitants of
Zion, and unto their generations, inasmuch as they become heirs
according to the laws of the kingdom.
368
"Behold, this is what the Lord requires of every man in his
stewardship, even as I, the Lord, have appointed, or shall
hereafter appoint unto any man.
368
"And, behold, none are exempt from this law who belong to the
Church of the living God."
368
Now this law should continue as long as salvation continued. (See
page 337 1st verse) It never has been repealed. The law of
tithing could not repeal this law. The law of tithing is a lower
law, and was given of God. But the law of tithing does not forbid
us obeying a higher law, the law of celestial union in earthly
things. And the fact that we do not feel satisfied in simply
obeying the law of tithing shows that it is a lesser law. Do you
feel justified simply in obeying the law of tithing? Why, then,
do you contribute to our temples and to bringing the people from
the old countries, and to this object, and that, in thousands of
ways, after you have properly and justly complied with the law of
tithing? The fact that you do these things shows that you are not
satisfied in merely obeying the law of tithing. In these
contributions you are acting just as God designed you should
act--by the light of the Holy Ghost that is in you. Now, this law
is very distinctly portrayed, and the Lord has made it so plain
that he is determined that no man shall misunderstand him. When
he speaks he speaks in such a manner that there can be no
dispute. He is not satisfied with telling it over once, he tells
it the second and the third time; so that there can be no
misunderstanding in regard to the mind of the Lord with reference
to this law of a man's giving all, except that which is needed
for his support, unto the Lord's storehouse. And observance of
this law is what he says is required of every man in his
stewardship. So that if the Latter-day Saints are appointed unto
stewardships, or are satisfied to act as stewards before the
Lord, this law is in force, and this law they should observe. I
believe many do walk in the spirit of this law to a certain
extent; and have complied with it, no doubt in a manner in which
they are justified before God, while some, perhaps, have paid no
regard to it whatever. Some so far ignore these principles that
they become very miserly and covetous, and gather around them and
their families what they consider they need now, and then lay up
for future generations, when there is distress around them, and
thousands of Saints in Europe and other parts who are groaning in
poverty, under the iron hand of tyranny, not knowing from day to
day where they are going to obtain a meal of victuals. Yet here
are men among us who call themselves Latter-day Saints, who do
not impart of their substance according to the law of the Gospel.
I say God is displeased with such covetousness, and he will never
prosper the Latter-day Saints who are guilty of such miserly
conduct.
369
But as regards the law of tithing, it is in force upon the poor
as well as the rich, and it seems that it acts almost unequally
in some respects. There is a widow, whose income is ten dollars;
she pays one for tithing, and then has to appeal to the Bishop
for support. Here is a rich man who has an income of one hundred
thousand dollars, and pays ten thousand for his tithing. There
remains ninety thousand, and he does not need it, but the poor
widow requires much more than she had before complying with the
law of tithing.
369
Now what would be the operation of the celestial law? The widow
has not enough for her support, therefore nothing is required of
her by the celestial law, or the law of the United Order. This
rich man, with his ninety thousand dollars, continues to increase
his riches, pays his tithing fully, and yet wholly disregards the
law of stewardship, or the law of temporal union. I cannot
believe that a Latter-day Saint is justified in ignoring the
higher law. For, as we have read, "behold none are exempt from
this law who belong to the Church of the living God." There is
not a man within the sound of my voice who is exempt from this
law, nor will he ever be until Jesus, the Son of God, comes in
the clouds of heaven to set all things right: "yea, neither the
Bishop, neither the agent who keepeth the Lord's storehouse,
neither he who is appointed in a stewardship over temporal
things." This will apply to the Bishops who reported here
yesterday, and to every Latter-day Saint. We are under this law.
We should act in the spirit of this law according to the light of
God that is within us.
369
Furthermore, on page 275, we read:
369
"It is the duty of the Lord's clerk, whom he has appointed, to
keep a history and a general church record of all things that
transpire in Zion and of all those who consecrate properties, and
receive inheritance legally from the Bishop; "And also their
manner of life, their faith and works; and also of all the
apostates who apostatize after receiving their inheritances.
369
"It is contrary to the will and commandment of God that those who
receive not their inheritance by consecration, agreeably to this
law which he has given, that he may tithe his people, to prepare
them against the day of vengeance and burning, should have their
names, enrolled with the people of God."
369
Now, this might be considered rather strong language, but this is
a revelation of God that we profess to believe.
369
"Neither is their genealogy to be kept, or to be had where it may
be found on any of the records or history of the Church;
369
"Their names shall not be found, neither the names of the
fathers, nor the names of the children written in the book of the
law of God, saith the Lord of Hosts."
369
That is, those that were not willing to abide the law of
stewardship and consecration should be debarred of these
blessings. It is the same today, and it has been so since the
days of Adam in relation to these matters.
370
Now, when the Lord established this Church, he was very anxious
to bring the people to this order of things; and we find some
thirteen revelations in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, that
are given to explain these principles of the United Order--the
law of consecration and stewardship. Men were to have their
stewardship--to have possession of property--but they were to
hold it as servants of God, not as their own individual property,
particularly, but they were to be made stewards over that
property, after they had consecrated to the Lord, and to receive
according to their abilities, and manage according to the gifts
of God that were within then in regard to temporal affairs. If a
man was capable of managing merchandise to the amount of one
hundred thousand dollars, it would be proper that he should be
made a steward over that amount. If a man was not capable of
managing extensive concerns, it would be improper to make him
steward over a large business. But every man would receive a
stewardship in proportion to his capacity to oversee it for the
general good.
370
In order that there might be no misunderstanding, the Lord
informs us further in regard to these matters on page 237, Book
of Doctrine and Covenants. The Lord took great pains to manifest
his pleasure in regard to these principles. He called some seven,
eight or nine elders, and made them stewards over property and
various departments of business, and then told them how to act.
They were to work in accordance with this law, which will be
found on page 343, Book of Doctrine and Covenants:
370
"68. And all monies that you receive in your stewardships, by
improving upon the properties which I have appointed unto you, in
houses, or in lands, in cattle, or in all things save it be the
holy and sacred purposes shall be cast into the treasury as fast
as you receive monies, by hundreds, or by fifties, or by
twenties, or by tens, or by fives;
370
"69. Or in other words, if any man among you obtain five talents,
(dollars,) let him cast them into the treasury; or if any man
obtain ten, or twenty, of fifty, or an hundred, let him do
likewise;
370
"70. And let not any man among you say that it is his own, for it
shall not be called his, not any part of it;
370
"71. And there shall not any part of it be used, or taken out of
the treasury, only by the voice and common consent of the Order."
370
Now this was making things secure--pretty safe. It might not,
perhaps, be as agreeable, unless persons could conceive the whole
plan of this scheme or Order in temporal affairs for men to
devote their surplus in this way, but with the other portion,
which we read further on, they would be perfectly satisfied.
370
Now, we can easily conceive, that with a vast population of
Saints acting under this celestial law, there would be an immense
treasury filed after a time; and that there might not be any
misunderstanding in regard to this property and its use, among
those who had thus subscribed or bestowed their means, the Lord
has made the matter plain by giving the following instructions:
370
"71. And there shall not any part of it be used, or taken out of
the treasury, only by the voice and common consent of the Order.
370
"72. And this shall be the voice and common consent of the Order;
that any man among you, say unto the treasurer, I have need of
this to help me in my stewardship;
370
"73. If it be five talents, (dollars), or if it be ten talents,
(dollars,) or twenty, or fifty, or an hundred, the treasurer
shall give unto him the sum which he requires, to help him in his
stewardship."
371
Now a whole people, enlightened by the principles of High Heaven
in regard to these matters--filled with the Spirit of God, with
the spirit of understanding, the spirit of philantrophy, every
man seeking the interest of his neighbour, having an eye single
to the glory of God, putting his means into the Lord's treasury,
and no man saying that anything is his, except as a steward
before God--would be a pillar of financial strength, a sublime
picture of holy union and fraternity, and equal to the most
extreme emergencies. Then when any misfortune befalls a man, such
as the burning of his property, or failure or trouble in his
department of business, he could go to the treasurer and say, "I
have need of a certain amount to assist me in my stewardship.
Have I not managed the affairs of my stewardship in a wise
manner? Can you not have confidence in me? Have I ever misused
the means put into my hands? Has it not been wisely controlled?
If so, give me means to help me in my stewardship or to build up
this industry that is needed for the general interests of the
whole." Well, it is to be given to him. There is confidence
reposed in him because of his past conduct, and the course which
he has pursued. He has due right in exercising his talents
according to the light of the spirit that is within him. He
understands fully the circumstances in which he is placed, and
governs himself according to the obligations that rest upon him.
He is found to be a wise, economical manager; and he is assisted
in his stewardship to the extent of the means that he should
have.
371
Now, were the Saints all acting in the spirit of these
revelations, what a happy community we would be! We would all be
safe, and no man would need remain awake at night thinking what
he should do for his family to keep them from begging their
bread, or going to the Bishop, which perhaps is only one degree
better. And there would be a union that would be in accordance
with the union of Enoch and his people, when they were taken to
the world above--a union pleasing to the Almighty, and according
to the principles of the celestial world.
371
But now how is it with us, with the people of Ogden and in other
places? We distrust one another. Every man feels that he has no
security in his neighbour in time of misfortune. We distrust our
neighbors, because neighbors are not seeking the interest of one
another. Every man is seeking how he can best help himself. This
is too much so with the Latter-day Saints.
371
Now, this law, the United Order, was given in 1831-2. Men were
commanded consecration of property. Bishop Partridge, seeing
there was some misunderstanding, wrote to Joseph for an
explanation in regard to the matter. Joseph in answer, says that
in matters of consecration it should be left to the judgment of
the consecrator how much he should give and how much retain for
the support of his family, and not exclusively to the Bishop,
for, if so, it would give the Bishop more power than a king
possessed. There should be a mutual understanding between them,
otherwise it should be left to a council of twelve High Priests.
Now where is the Latter-day Saint, that cannot see a liberality,
a generosity, in this matter, and be willing to submit to this
tribunal. I would be willing to submit to the high council of
this Stake of Zion, or the high council of any other Stake of
Zion, and say, "Here is my property, say how much I ought to
retain for my wives and children, and how much shall go into the
common property of the Church?" But I think my bishop and myself
could settle the business at once. Joseph says in that
explanation, "it is not necessary that you should descend to
particulars in regard to these matters.
371
I see I am occupying more time than I intended. There are many
things that should be said in relation to these matters. The time
is now that the Latter-day Saints should awake. These laws were
given to govern the Saints. The Saints in misfortune would not
obey them, and they were driven out.
372
We have been harassed from the beginning unto this day, and I
fear will be, until we conform to this law, and are willing that
God shall rule in regard to these temporal matters.
372
I will now say, let every man who stands in an official station,
on whom God has bestowed his holy and divine priesthood, think of
what the Savior said to the Twelve Apostles just before he went
into the presence of his Father--"Feed my sheep." And he
continued to say this until his apostles felt sorrowful that he
should continue to call upon them in this manner. But, said
he--"Feed my sheep." That is "Go forth with your whole heart, be
devoted wholly to my cause. These people in the world are my
brethren and sisters. My feelings are exercised towards them.
Take care of my people. Feed my flock. Go forth and preach the
Gospel. I will reward you for all your sacrifices. Do not think
that you can make too great a sacrifice in accomplishing this
work." He called upon them in the fervor of his heart to do this
work. And now I call upon all who hold this priesthood, the
presiding officers of this stake, and the bishops, and the high
council, to go forth and feed the flock. Take an interest in
them. Did you ever lose a child, and the parting struck keenly
into your souls? Transfer a little of this deep feeling to the
interests of the Saints over whom you are called to preside, and
in whose interests you have received the holy priesthood. Work
for them, and do not confine your thoughts and feelings to your
personal aggrandizement. The God will give you revelation,
inspiration upon inspiration, and teach you how to secure the
interests of the Saints in matters pertaining to their temporal
and spiritual welfare.
372
May God bless you, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Journal of Discourses / Journal of Discourses, Volume 20 /
Erastus Snow, October 8th, 1879
Erastus Snow, October 8th, 1879
DISCOURSE BY ELDER ERASTUS SNOW,
Delivered at the General Conference, Held in the Tabernacle
Salt Lake City, October 8th, 1879.
(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.)
CLEAVE TO LIGHT--COMING OF CHRIST--ABOMINATIONS OF
THE WICKED--WELFARE OF THE YOUNG.
372
The prophet Isaiah, in speaking of the latter-day Zion, made this
singular remark:
372
"Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let
her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion.
372
"But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand
they his counsel," etc.
372
Again, it has been said concerning the disobedient who reject and
set at nought the counsels of the Almighty, through his servants
who are sent unto them:
372
"I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear
cometh."
373
The wicked comprehend not the things of God; they cannot know
them, for they are spiritually discerned. "The things of God,"
says the Apostle Paul, "knoweth no man only by the Spirit of
God;" or, in other words, carnal man knows not the things of God,
neither can he understand them. The unbelieving world cannot see
as the Saints see; they walk in darkness, but the Saints are the
children of light, even as many as keep sacred their covenants
with God. The wicked love darkness rather than light, because
their deeds are evil. This was true of the first century of the
Christian era, when the Savior uttered it; it is true today. As
the light shone in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not,
so might the same be said today. We are called to be the children
of light. Blessed are they who continue in the light, for the day
of the Lord will not overtake them as a thief in the night; but
woe unto them that depart from, or reject that light that shines
in the midst of the darkness, for the day cometh, and that
speedily, when they will be overtaken as by a whirlwind. The
command of the Lord to the Saints is to watch, for we know not
the day nor the hour when the Son of man shall come. The precise
time of his coming has not been revealed; the prophets were
ignorant of it; it could not be declared to the apostles of the
Lamb, and, indeed, the Savior said that not the angels, nor even
he himself, knew the day or the hour of this important event. And
on taking his final leave of the Twelve, on the Mont of Olives,
the question was put to him--"Lord, wilt thou at this time
restore the kingdom to Israel?" They, it seems, were wont to
regard the Savior as that Being that was to establish himself
upon the throne of David, and bring to pass all that they had
been so anxiously expecting; but he told them; it was not for
them to know the times and the seasons which the Father had put
in his power. These things have been spoken that the Saints
should watch and not fall asleep. The same idea is also set forth
in the parable of the ten virgins, who were represented as having
gone forth so meet the bridegroom, five of whom were wise and
five foolish. The wise virgins took oil in their vessels, and
were prepared to meet the bridegroom and to go with him into the
marriage feast; the foolish virgins took no oil, they were
unprepared, and were consequently shut out. This parable is
expressly applicable to the time of the second coming of the
Savior, showing us that however reluctant we may feel to admit
it, we are plainly given to understand that a great portion of
those who are counted virgins, of the Lord's people, who believe
in his coming and who go forth to meet him, will slumber and
sleep, and be locked out when he shall come. And it behooves all
Saints to ask themselves the question which the disciples asked
the Savior when he hold them the startling truth that one of them
should betray him--"Lord, is it I?" And all those who are very
anxious upon this point will be likely to be on the watch-tower,
and not slumbering in that fatal hour.
374
And again, in the 24th of Matthew, he speaks of that wicked
servant who shall begin to say, "My Lord delayeth his coming. And
shall begin to smite his fellow-servants and eat and drink with
the drunken. The Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he
looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and
shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the
hypocrites; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." He
expects this of his servants whom he has appointed over his
house, to give his children meat in due season. It becomes the
apostles, and presidents, and bishops, and all who are called as
watchmen upon the walls of Zion to read the 24th and 25th of
Matthew, giving due attention thereto, and to beware, least they
be found among those unfaithful servants who have been appointed
to minister in his house and give meat in due season, but who
smite their fellow-servants, and who eat and drink with the
drunkard, and otherwise neglect their high and holy calling, for
responsibility, position and station will not be any protection
or safeguard in that day. But, on the contrary the greater the
responsibility neglected, the greater their fall, chagrin and
disappointment, and woe when they find their allotted portion
among the hypocrites and unbelievers.
374
And the enemies of Zion who want to penetrate our sacred and holy
places, and who say in their hearts, Let her temples be defiled;
let adventurers, profligates and libertines mingle in their
family circles, and break them asunder, and defile the daughters
of Zion and break up the holy institution of sacred and holy
matrimony, by which they are bound together in the new and
everlasting covenant for time and eternity; yes, they say, let
this covenant be broken, let all who believe and will not deny
the laws and commands of God, be excluded from the jury-box, from
the ballot box and from official station. And here comes another
wail from a member of the Cabinet, in the form of a decision to
the effect that all plural wives, who will not break their
covenants with their God and their husband, shall be excluded
from the right of homestead and pre-emption; and I doubt not but
what everything will be done that Satan can put into their hearts
to do to block the wheel, to hedge up the way, in order to test
the faith of the righteous and their integrity to each other and
the principles of truth. But it must be remembered that God
permits it, that they may fill up the cup of their iniquity, that
the righteous may be proven and tested, even to the chore. For
God will have a tried people, and those only who will abide in
his covenant, even to the death if necessary, will be found
worthy of that glory and exaltation in his kingdom which we seek
after. It is a day of warning, not of many words; it is also a
day of sacrifice. God has a controversy with the nations, but
first with those unto whom the fullness of the Gospel has been
sent. He will work in his own wondrous way his purposes to
perform. It becomes us to be very humble, that we may be worthy
to be his instruments in accomplishing his designs.
374
I rejoice in the testimony of the Spirit manifested by the
previous speakers during this Conference. My earnest desire is
that the Spirit may spread abroad among all people and take deep
root in their hearts, not only throughout the Stakes of Zion, but
throughout the earth. Dark clouds may gather around us from time
to time; then is the time not to fear, but to watch and pray and
patiently await the Lord of Hosts to dispel them and cause the
sun to shine again upon us; remembering the vision of Nephi, in
which he saw the rod of iron which led to the tree of life, along
the turbulent stream of muddy water, and through mists and clouds
which at intervals beset his pathway; and that those who clung to
it were led safely through and reached the tree and partook of
the fruit thereof, while those who ceased their hold to the rod
of iron wandered off and were lost.
375
I have felt the greatest concern for the rising generation among
us; they are far more numerous than our foreign immigrants.
Secretary Evarts and the Cabinet need have far less fear
concerning our foreign immigrants than of those that are
constantly coming from the spirit world. The enemies of Zion fear
this doctrine of the Saints, that "Children are an heritage of
the Lord, * * * and happy is the man that hath his quiver full of
them." This doctrine permits the Latter-day Saints to fulfil the
first great command given to Father Adam and Mother Eve, instead
of adopting that abominable and soul-destroying doctrine of
devils, infanticide and foeticide, which is practised to no
little extent in the Christian world, which is in open violation
to the laws of nature and the law of God to our first parents, to
"multiply and replenish the earth." And the practice of this same
doctrine is fast depopulating some of our older States; besides,
it tends to encourage prostitution; and, strange as it may
appear, a future day will yet reveal that among the foremost and
prominent votaries of this doctrine of devils are those who fight
against Zion and her institution of marriage, under the
hypocritical cant as such men as Schuyler Colfax, in his
utterance from the balcony of the Townsend House in this city,
and Attorney-General Devens, in his argument in the Reynolds
case, in effect, that the plural marriage of the Mormons cannot
be tolerated, because the burning of widows upon the funeral pile
of their husbands was wrong. There is about as much relevancy and
consistency in the argument as there would be to say that the
practices of the multitudes of families of this Christian land,
who are destroying their own offspring and taking villainous
compounds to induce barrenness and unfruitfulness, must be
tolerated and encouraged, because the practices of the Latter-day
Saints are filling these mountains with a thrifty population. It
is shown by the statistics that our children under the age of
eight years are already nearly as numerous as the lay members of
the Church. I feel that too much attention cannot be bestowed
upon the rising generation. Our young people's Improvement
Associations, our Sabbath Schools and quorum meetings are all so
many aids in the training and education of the young in all that
is elevating and praiseworthy. And may God bless them in their
earnest efforts to improve the spirits of their fellowmen.
375
There is one thing I wish to call the attention of our presiding
officers to, more especially, that of the Presidents of Stakes
and their counsellors and the Bishops as their aids and
assistants, and that is to give more diligent heed to the
temporal condition of the families of the Saints over whom they
preside, seeing to it that they are suitably and profitably
employed. It is an old adage that an idle brain is the devil's
workshop; and we all know that the lack of useful and proper
employment is the source of numerous evils. It should be our
study to introduce new branches of business, devise means of
employment, that none may be idle. This is an important duty
required of the leading men in Israel; and so earnest should they
be in its performance that they make it a matter of faith and
prayer, using their utmost endeavors to seek it out by thoughtful
study, and by consulting each other, and by inviting the aid of
inventive minds. It is important that our school-teachers should
not merely be automatons or parrots in the schoolroom by way of
impressing a lesson upon the minds of the children, but strive,
in an eminent degree, to direct their minds in a moral and
religious sense, inculcating, by precept and example, due respect
for virtue, and everything that is pure and noble; having also,
as much as practicable a watchcare over them out of school as in
school, laboring to enforce punctuality and an honest report,
thereby helping their parents to look after them, so that they
may not squander away their time foolishly, as many do in our
towns and cities, lounging around stores and other places,
acquiring habits that are calculated to lead away and defile the
minds of the youth. The school-teacher who is alive to the true
spirit of his calling becomes a valuable auxiliary in improving
the minds and conduct of our children, and his or her influence,
when properly excited, might be of incalculable good.
375
There has been in times past, and still is, a great tendency
among our youth to seek easy berths; and sometimes the acme of
their ambition seems to be realized upon a high stool in a
counting room, or behind a counter; they desire to shun the
hardships through which their parents passed. That is a vain
delusion, and it is simply foolishness on the part of parent or
child who indulges in it. It is unwise for parents to entertain
this spirit, to be anxious to shield their children from the
trials of life through which they themselves have passed; no
really sensible man or woman would do it. There is no sensible
man or woman in the land that would exchange their experience for
all the wealth of the world. If any would do it, they have failed
to learn their lesson and profit from their experience. Adversity
is good for all; prosperity few can fear.
376
The Presidents of Stakes, with their Counselors, and the Bishops
as their assistants, should, when they know of any unoccupied
land within their borders that ought to be improved and possessed
by the Latter-day Saints get together and select young and
middle-aged men who are not already provided with good, suitable
homes or means of sustenance, organize them with good and
efficient leaders, and send them out to occupy those new valleys,
teaching them to do as their fathers have done--teach them to
take out the mountain streams, build gristmills, saw-mills and
factories, raise breadstuff, sheep and cattle, and prepare to
live, instead of craving easy berths, and be all the days of
their lives dependent upon the will of an employer for a
livelihood.
376
There are many places in our Territory east of us, on both sides
of Green river, also in Sanpete, Piute and Kane counties, and in
the adjoining States and Territories, that ought to be occupied;
for the Latter-day Saints cannot be confined to Utah. Everything
indicates the fulfilment of the declaration of the ancient
prophet, who said:
376
"Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the
curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords and
strengthen thy stakes;
376
"For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left,"
etc.
376
In the very nature of things this must be the case; for we are an
aggressive people, not to trample on the rights of our
fellow-man, but to fulfil the purposes of the Almighty, and
possess and make fruitful the waste places. And as the wicked are
wasted away through disease, war and bloodshed, murder,
infanticide, foeticide and the judgments of an offended God, he
requires his people to go forth as he shall prepare the way, and
possess the land and hold it for God and his kingdom, whose it
is, and who will come in due time to reign over it.
376
Fear not to take to yourselves wives and to multiply and
replenish the earth, and occupy the unoccupied regions, and leave
it not to your enemies while you are clustering around these
mercantile houses and saloons and places of ease and idleness;
but break out and face the realities of life. And let no father
or mother in their old age indulge childish fancies, and
encourage these whinings of their children; but be as courageous
as the old hen, who, after scratching for her brood until they
are able to scratch for themselves sends them forth to get their
own living.
376
We do not wish to be compelled to call men to this work of
settling up the country; the Twelve and the General Conference
have other things to occupy their time and attention, while this
work more directly belongs to the Presidents of Stakes. The
Twelve, however, are ready to counsel with these brethren and
render them all the aid we can. But we don't want the Presidents
of Stakes to think that they can do nothing, leaving the Twelve
to attend to all such things; that is part of their calling, as
fathers in Israel. We wish the country bordering on that occupied
by the Lamanites settled by men who know how to behave
themselves, and who will befriend that people, and not shoot them
down as we would the wild beasts, without cause or provocation,
nor give them occasion to be our enemies, to lay in wait to rob
and kill; but to cultivate their love and good will which is a
common duty of all Saints to all people, but especially to the
House of Israel; and set good examples and manifest in all their
dealings honesty and integrity, thereby sowing good seed in their
hearts, that shall in the due time of the Lord bring forth
precious fruit.
376
We want many earnest, upright young men also to learn the
languages of the natives of the American Continent, and also the
Spanish language which is extensively used in Central and South
America as well as Mexico, and which is the national language of
those countries and of the educated natives who exercise dominion
over the ignorant Indians and the mixed races of the Continent.
We expect to call many to labor among these people, as the Lord
may dictate, and we want them to be prepared to respond when
there is a whisper in their ears to that effect.
376
May God bless you, and help us all to be truly what we are called
to be, Saints of the last days, to stand before the Son of Man
when he shall appear, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.