Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 6, 1870.

I have a request to make of the doorkeepers and of those brethren who seat the congregation, as also of our sisters, some of whom, I see, are occupying a few of the seats that we usually reserve for strangers. We should be very much pleased if the sisters would fill up other parts of the house first, and we would like the brethren who seat the congregation, to see that the seats generally occupied by strangers are held in reserve today until the meeting commences; then, if those for whom they are reserved do not come to fill them, they may be used by the sisters. I hope this will be recollected and observed.

As our brethren of the Twelve will address us during the Conference, I feel like giving them a few texts to preach upon if they choose to do so. I should have no objection to hear them discourse upon union of action, or concentration of faith and action, or, as some call it, cooperation. That is one item. I would also like to hear them give instruction with regard to our traditions; instruction on this subject is necessary all the time. We must overcome them and adopt the rules laid down in revelation for the guidance of man’s life here on the earth. If any of our brethren feel to speak upon this subject we should be very pleased to hear them; if they are not disposed to preach to the text, they may preach from it, as most ministers do. I have heard very few ministers preach to their texts, they generally preach from them.

The education of our children is worthy of our attention, and the instruction of the Elders from this stand. It is a subject that should be thoroughly impressed upon the minds of parents and the rising generation; and those who wish to preach from this text may do so. And if they do not feel to preach to the text, they may preach from it.

The subject of the building of the Temple is a very good one for occupying a portion of the time. The ordinances of the House of God are for the salvation of the human family. We are the only ones on the earth at the present time, that we have any knowledge of, who hold the keys of salvation committed to the children of men from the heavens by the Lord Almighty; and inasmuch as there are those who hold these keys, it is important that they should be acted upon for the salvation of the human family. The building of Temples, places in which the ordinances of salvation are administered, is necessary to carry out the plan of redemption, and it is a glorious subject upon which to address the Saints.

The gathering of the House of Israel is another text upon which the brethren might address the Saints with profit. We are in the midst of Israel; they are also scattered among the nations of the earth. They are mixed with all nations, especially the tribe of Ephraim. These are to be gathered out. We have Israel in our midst; we live upon their land; we have communion with them and we are under the necessity of feeding and clothing them to a certain extent, and to preserve peace with them at present, until they come to a knowledge of the truth. I mean the Lamanites, the aborigines of our country. They are of the House of Israel.

Not least nor last, but one subject that I would as soon hear treated upon in this house as in any other place, is the union of the sexes. We cannot go into any town or little village in the Territory but we find quite a large number of young people who have arrived at a marriageable age and still they remain single. But this can be accounted for to some extent. The young man says, “I dare not marry a wife, the fashions and customs of the world prevail among the ladies here to such a degree that I should need a fortune to maintain one.” The young lady says, “I don’t wish to marry unless I can find a husband who can take care of me and support me according to my idle wishes.” By their acts only can people be judged, and from observing them we must conclude that the ideas of the young men are too true, they are founded in fact. This should be done away. Such feelings, views and influences should be dispelled from and broken up in the midst of the people. Our young men and women should consider their obligations to each other, to God, the earth, their parents, and to future generations for their salvation and exaltation among the Gods and for the glory of Him whom we serve. These are not idle tales, they are not fictions, but facts; and for a community, believing as we do, to live like the Gentile nations in these things is very incorrect. It is not according to our faith; we should put our faith into practice, and be willing to sustain ourselves, each and every one of us. Our young folks who have arrived at years of maturity should think and act for themselves. They are citizens of the earth; they have a share here, and have a part to bear—a character to form and frame and present to the world, or they will sink into oblivion and forgetfulness. These things are of importance to us at least, and especially in this nation, where many of the people are wasting away their lives, bartering away their very existence, and will hardly receive in return therefore a mess of pottage.

The education of youth is an important text for the brethren to preach from. A very high value should be placed upon it by the Saints. We have the privilege of enjoying the spirit of revelation and the knowledge which comes from above, and in addition to this, every branch of education known in the world should be taught among and acquired by us. All the arts and sciences, and every branch of mechanism known and understood by man should be understood by this people. But no matter how much knowledge we may acquire in a worldly point of view, by study, unless the revelations of the Lord Jesus are dispensed to each and every individual, they cannot use or apply their acquirements to the best advantage. A man may know facts without revelation. The mathematician, for instance, may acquire a great amount of knowledge without any special revelation by the Spirit of the Lord to enlighten his mind; but still he will not know and understand what he might if he had applied his heart unto wisdom. So it is with all the sciences.

These principles should be considered by this people. This is the place, brethren, to teach them. But I will give a caution to my brethren, the Elders—never undertake to teach a thing that you do not understand. Such things will come into your minds; but without launching out on such subjects, questions may be asked and answered, and we gain knowledge from each other. There is plenty within the scope of our own brains that, by the assistance of the Spirit of the Lord, will enable us to tell many things—more than the world or even more than the Saints can receive.

Suppose a man should come here and tell you the very nature of our Father Adam—tell precisely how he was organized, his height, his proportions, the extent of his knowledge, tell you the agreement that was entered into, the amount of knowledge that he had to forget to reduce himself to the capacity of a corruptible being! Suppose this could all be told to the congregations of the Saints, what would they know about it? Very little. There may be some minds which could grasp some things pertaining to it, but others could not. The spirit of revelation can reveal these things to the people, but unless they live so as to have the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ, they will remain a mystery, for there is a veil before the minds of the people, and they cannot be understood. Some of these principles have been taught to the Latter-day Saints, but who can understand them?

Brother Orson Hyde referred to a few who complained about not getting revelations. I will make a statement here that has been brought against me as a crime, perhaps, or as a fault in my life. Not here, I do not allude to anything of the kind in this place, but in the councils of the nations—that Brigham Young has said “when he sends forth his discourses to the world they may call them Scripture.” I say now, when they are copied and approved by me they are as good Scripture as is couched in this Bible, and if you want to read revelation read the sayings of him who knows the mind of God, without any special command to one man to go here, and to another to go yonder, or to do this or that, or to go and settle here or there. In the early days of the Church, if a man was going to sell a farm he must have a revelation—Joseph must receive and give a revelation. Many men would not do one thing until God had given them a revelation through the prophet. It must be: “Thus saith the Lord, sell your farm, devote such a portion of your means to education, or printing, or for distributing knowledge to the world. Devote such a portion of your means to do this, and such a portion to do that.” I have known a good many men in the early days of the Church who had property, that must have revelation to know what disposition to make of their substance; but who, when they received it, were sure not to strictly obey it. What did revelation do for such persons? Nothing but seal their condemnation. Why do the people want revelations to damn themselves?

Give the mind of the Lord to this people here in this Conference, would they observe it? There is a few who would like to; but take some of those who are called Latter-day Saints, would they follow it if it were given them? I know they would not, still the Lord is merciful and forbearing and He bears with His people. He has borne with and blest us, to see if we would walk in the knowledge of the truth and yield strict obedience to His requirements.

Poverty, persecution and oppression we have endured; many of us have suffered the loss of all things in a worldly point of view. Give us prosperity and see if we would bear it, and be willing to serve God. See if we would be as willing to sacrifice millions as we were to sacrifice what we had when in comparative poverty. Men of property, as a general thing, would not be. We know this, God knows it, and He has to treat us as unruly, disobedient, slow to think and slow to act—as a set of children.

It has been said, time and time again, that if the people would live worthy of the great things God has in store for them, they are ready to come forth for their salvation and edification; but until we improve upon little things and hearken to the voice of the Lord in our first duties, He is not going to bestow the great mysteries of the invisible worlds upon us. We know too much already unless we do better. You may think I am complaining; well, I am just a trifle. I see the Latter-day Saints here and there going to destruction, apostatizing. “Oh,” say they, “we have a little wealth, a little means,” and in some instances that is leading them to destruction.

These merchants that we have made rich, where are they? Those who are not in fellowship and some who are in fellowship with us? They are in our midst, but their feelings are, “We want more, we want your money, Latter-day Saints.” Ask them to sacrifice their all and see what course they will take. When they came here they had not a wagon and did not own five dollars in the world; we have made them rich. Is there one in ten that would endure if we were to get a revelation for them to make a sacrifice of all they have? No, they would lift up their heels against the Almighty and His Anointed. Whether I am complaining or not, this is too true.

Now, brethren, preach the things that we verily believe, and when we come to points of doctrine that we do not know, even if we have good reason to believe them, if our philosophy teaches us they are true, pass them by and teach only to the people that that we do know.

You can know nothing of this Gospel short of the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ. If our Gospel, that we preach in this house and that the Elders of Israel teach, is hid to any man on earth, it is because he is lost. It is not hid to him whose eyes are open to the things of God; he understands it. When he hears the voice of the Good Shepherd, when he hears sound doctrine—that that comes from God, he knows it and receives it. Says he, “That is right, correct, that is congenial to my ears and sits smoothly and satisfactorily on my understanding. I like that doctrine because it is true. The reason we like “Mormonism” is because it is true. It is good; it embraces all the good there is in the sciences, and all that ever was revealed for the benefit of the children of men. There is no art beneficial to the human family but what is incorporated in our religion. The only true philosophy ever revealed by God to man on this earth is comprised within and is part of our religion. It embraces the whole man and all his talents and time while he lives here on the earth, and then will only prepare him, let him do his best, to enter a higher state of glory, where he will see that he is but just commencing to learn the things of God and the riches of eternity, to know and understand the life of those immortal beings who dwell in light and live in glory and who are surrounded with light, glory, immortality, and eternal lives, and live in accordance with the laws which control the Gods. When we have learned all that we can learn here by a close application in our lives to the faith which Jesus has unfolded, we shall see that we are then just commencing to learn, as it were; and when the spirit is reunited with the body we shall be prepared to enter into the joy of our Lord.

A good deal is said about so much power being given to one man. What does man’s power on the earth consist of? Of the influence he possesses. If a man have influence with God he has power with Him. Again, if he has influence with the people he has power with them; that is all the legitimate or righteous power man has. We have influence; God has given it to us, and the Latter-day Saints delight to place that confidence in us that is deserving, and the wicked world cannot help it. It may be a great pity in the estimation of a great many, but still the world cannot help it; and justice, mercy, truth, righteousness, love, and good will command this respect, and the worthy get it. We have heard considerable about “down with the one-man power!” All right, down with it! What is it and how are you going to get it down? When you get down the power of God, that which is called one-man power in the midst of the Latter-day Saints will fall, but not before! It is no more nor less than the concentration of the faith and action of the people. And this brings to my mind the facts that exist with regard to the faith of the Latter-day Saints.

When we go into the world we find quite a portion of the people who belong to a class called Spiritualists. I do not know that I am right in styling them a class, but they aspire to be so considered. They would like to have it considered that “Mormonism” is nothing but Spiritualism; but it is temporalism as well as Spiritualism. A great many want to know the difference between the two. I will give one feature of the difference, and then set the whole scientific world to work to see if they can ever bring to bear the same feature in Spiritualism. Take all who are called Spiritualists and see if they can produce the order that is in the midst of this people. Here are system, order, organization, law, rule, and facts. Now see if they can produce any one of these features. They cannot. Why? Because their system is from beneath, while ours is perfect and is from above; one is from God, the other is from the devil, that is all the difference. Now see if the whole Spiritualist world can organize a community of six individuals who will agree for a year, that will not fall to pieces like a rope of sand. Now, Spiritualists, go to work, bring your science to bear and demonstrate the fact that you have a system if you can. We have demonstrated it to the world; it is manifest, it is before us, we see it, it is tangible, we can see its results, it has wrought wonders. See if they can do like this. If the kingdom of the devil can do like the kingdom of God on the earth, it is deserving of credit; but its members can only divide and subdivide, produce confusion on confusion, disorder following on the heels of disorder, one to the right, another to the left, another for the front, another for the rear, one pulling this way, another pulling that, sect against sect, people against people, community against community, politically, religiously, and I may say morally to a great extent; and I do not know but I might say scientifically, although the sciences agree better than the faith, feelings and imaginations of the people. Now try this, Spiritualists! This is a text for you; and when you have produced order, system and unity among the inhabitants of the earth we will look and see what more there is that we have that the world have not. I am not going into details at all, but I just mention this to see if the Spiritualists can systematize or organize anything. When they have done this it will be time enough to admit that they have some science; but until then we will say that Spiritualism is a mass of confusion, it is a body without parts and passions, principle or power, just like, I do not like to say it, but just like the so-called Christians’ God. The creed of the so-called Christians represents that their God is without body, parts or passions; and it should be added, without principle or power, for the latter is the corollary of the former. When we see anything that has solidity and permanency, that produces good, that builds up, creates, organizes, sustains, and betters the condition of the people, we pronounce that good and from God; but when we see that that injures, hurts, destroys, produces confusion in a community, disturbance and discord, strife and animosity, hatefulness and bitter feelings one towards another, we at once pronounce it evil, and declare that it springs from beneath. All evil is from beneath, while all that is good is from God.

I did not think to preach you a sermon when I commenced, but to call upon some of the brethren to do so. I have given them some texts, and they may preach to or from them, just as they please. Some of them will probably talk about organizing the kingdom of God on the earth, and so governing a community as to make them of one heart and one mind. I am prepared to prove to any sensible congregation, any good philosopher or thinking person or people, who have steady brain and nerve to look at things as they are, that can tell white from black and daylight from midnight darkness, that the closer the connection in a business point of view that a community hold themselves together, the greater will be their joy and wealth. I am prepared to prove, from all the facts that have existed or that now exist in all branches of human affairs, that union is strength, and that division is weakness and confusion.

I do not know but I will advert once more to Spiritualism. Spiritualism is like Methodism and the sects of the day exactly, I mean so far as unity of faith or action is concerned. When I was a Methodist, as I was once, they said to me, “You may be baptized by immersion if you absolutely require it, but we do not believe in it, but we do believe in giving every person his choice.” “Well,” said I, “I believe in it. There are some things required in the doctrine of the Close Communion Baptists which I cannot subscribe to as well as to most of the principles that you hold in your catechisms, and in the tenets of your church, but,” said I, “they believe in baptism by immersion, and I want to be baptized by immersion;” and finally they consented to baptize me, and did do it. So say the Spiritualists.

Another one says, “I want to kneel down in the water and have the water poured on my head.” Says the Methodist priest, “We don’t believe in it, but you can have it done. It is no matter, one method of baptism, perhaps, is as good as another.” So say the Spiritualists. Another one says, “I want to get down into the water and be baptized face foremost.” “Well,” says the priest, “we don’t think it makes any difference, and if you really desire it, you may have the ordinance administered to you according to your wishes.” So say the Spiritualists. Another one says, “I want to sit in my chair and have the minister dip his fingers into a bowl, and put it on my forehead, and call that baptism in the name of the Trinity.” The Methodist says, “We will consent to that; it is just as good as anything else.” So say the Spiritualists. Another one says he wants to kneel down in the water and have water poured on him. The priest consents to this also. So do the Spiritualists. Why do I say this? Because men baptized by these various methods can all get communications, they say, from the spirits sanctioning each and every different form of baptism. The Methodists say, “We believe in a God without body, parts and passions;” so say the Spiritualists, the Presbyterian and other sects, but the Latter-day Saints do not. And in reference to the ordinance of baptism; the Latter-day Saints say, “Go down into the water and be buried with Christ in the water; and come out of the water as Christ came up out of the water, when the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove rested on His head, and a voice from heaven was heard saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, hear ye him.’ He will tell you what to do, teach you correct doctrine. He has no traditions to overcome, no prepossessed notions taught by parents, binding him to the sects that are now on the earth. Hear ye Him! Have hands laid upon you that you may receive the Holy Ghost.” The Latter-day Saints say to the people, “Believe in God the Father and in Jesus, the Son! Believe in the gifts of the holy Gospel! They are as ready to be bestowed upon His children at this day as any other in the history of the world. This is the time to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; this is the very time that we should acknowledge him and believe in his ordinances and in the gifts and graces that are promised to the children of God. We are living in a Gospel age and dispensation, we are living right in the day in which, as the Apostles said on the Day of Pentecost, the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Has the Lord called upon the children of men in this day? Yes, in the east and the west, from the north to the south, and in the uttermost parts of the earth. He has called upon the inhabitants of the earth to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Suppose this order of things had continued from the days of the ancient Apostles; suppose there had been no backsliding, no merchants to lift their heels because they are getting rich, no apostates, and the successors of the Apostles had received the holy Priesthood and had gone to the uttermost parts of the earth, where would have been your paganism today? It would not have been on the earth; infidelity would not have been known. Children would have been taught the ways of the Lord and brought up in the way they should go, and the whole world would have been full of the knowledge of God, instead of being in darkness as now!

Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sept. 25, 1870.

A few words to the Latter-day Saints. First, I feel very thankful for the privilege of returning to my home and my friends that dwell here in this city. I am thankful that I am able to stand before you to bear my humble testimony to the truth. Truth, in the end, will prevail.

You have been hearing a description of our travels, of the route we passed over, and the ministrations to our comfort from our friends in the South. I feel wearied, having been broken of my rest a good deal, not being able, while traveling, to ob– tain the quantity of rest that I require. I feel almost unable to stand here before you, still I look flush and hale and hearty, and think that I have probably gained from six to ten pounds of flesh since I have been gone. We have only traveled a little over nine hundred miles in 28 days. How many times we have preached I do not know. I have not kept count. Whenever we came to a settlement, either in the daytime or evening, while stopping to feed, the brethren would say, “Can’t we have a meeting? We want a meeting! Brethren, will you hold meeting? Frequently we would say, “Yes,” and while our animals were refreshing themselves, we would assemble with the people and talk with them.

It made no difference how arduous our labors had been; if we had traveled and preached a month without sleep, I don’t know that the brethren would have supposed that we needed rest. I asked one brother, a presiding Elder, who wanted to have a meeting, how old his father was. “Why,” said he, “he is sixty-seven.” I suppose that man does not do as much labor in a month as I do in a day, take it year in and year out. Still I may be mistaken in this. Said I, “Brother, if your father had endured what I have endured for three or four weeks past, and was asked to go to meeting and there spend an hour or two, talking to the people, you would feel insulted, and would consider it an imposition for your father to be required to labor without cessation.” Said he, “I did not think of that.” Said I, “I am considerably older than he is, yet look at my labors!” So we passed on and did not have a meeting. But it was meeting, meeting, meeting, from the time we left this city until our return.

In our communications to the Saints I have taken the liberty to speak of our traditions. The world of mankind have no idea of the force of tradition upon them, it does not come into their hearts, they do not contemplate it; if they did they would correct many of their errors, and cease a great many of their practices, and adopt others more in accordance with the principles of life and truth. We wish the Latter-day Saints instructed in such a way that the traditions they communicate to their children will be correct. If we did but understand truth from error, light from darkness, and knew the will of God perfectly and were disposed to do it, it would be just as easy to give our children an education to profit themselves and others, to enable them to be profitable to the human family, and to show forth that wisdom which God has given us, as to take a course to fill their lives with error and wrong. Many, very many, people regret much of their lives, because, through circumstances over which they have had no control, they have been deprived of the knowledge that some few possess. It makes no difference how children are brought up so far as the permanence of the impressions and habits of childhood are concerned. Whether surrounded with error or truth, the web woven around them in childhood’s days lasts, and seldom wears threadbare; but in many instances it grows brighter and brighter and stronger and stronger until its possessor goes down to the grave.

You have heard it declared here, within the few minutes just passed, that we have the truth, the Priesthood of the Son of God; that we are endowed with that understanding and wisdom by the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that we do know the way of life and salvation, and know, better than any other people, the course to pursue here on this earth to prepare us for glory, immortality and endless lives which are to come. If this is the fact, we should manifest and show it forth to God and man by our teachings, practice and every act of our lives.

I may say that the infidel world has grown up in consequence of false religions; it has been strengthened by false theories. For any individual in the world to teach what he does not practice is a stumbling block to all beholders; then if the Latter-day Saints know the truth and do it not, certainly, great will be their con– demnation. Hence it stands us in need to be on the watch continually. I do not know of a more absolute monarch that ever reigned on earth than the one who has perfect control over his passions. Do you know of a more absolute monarch than such a person? If you do, I do not. We should all learn to govern and control ourselves! The question may be asked, “Can we govern our own thoughts?” Yes, we can by steady application in gathering to ourselves reflections, thoughts and meditations which are according to truth and righteousness and justified of God and of all the good on the face of the earth, we can avoid evil thoughts, communications, reflections and enticements, and can bring the whole man into subjection to the law of Christ. Is this the fact? It is. If we are filled with good thoughts, ideas and feelings formed upon precepts which God has taught for the salvation of the human family, our communications will be beneficial to our fellow beings. This is to the Latter-day Saints.

When I look over the character of the few who have been gathered together—a pretty fair representation of almost all nations, it is astonishing to see the various ideas of right and wrong entertained by them in consequence of their traditions, and the teachings they have received from their fathers, mothers, schoolmasters and school madames; the priest in the pulpit and the deacon under the pulpit. I say it is astonishing to see this variety—all springing from tradition. Not but what there should be a great variety; we see a variety of countenances in the human family, and we may also expect a variety of dispositions; but all these dispositions can be governed and controlled by the principles of right and righteousness.

Our traditions, then, should be correct! We should know how to teach our children correct principles from their youth up. The first thing that is taught by the mother to the child should be true; we should never allow ourselves to teach our children one thing and practice another. I have sometimes said to my sisters, “Do not teach your children to lie.” This is the course pursued by many, without designing to do so. The very first lessons that are given to the infant mind capable of receiving impressions is to falsify or tell that which is untrue. “Well,” says a mother, “if I do so, I do not know it.” It may be quite true that you do not know it. But what did you promise your little girl if she would do so and so? Did you promise her a present for well doing? “Yes.” Have you recollected it? “No, it has gone from my mind,” says the mother. If she does ill have you promised her a chastisement? “Yes.” Did you keep your word? You have not, and the child forms the conclusion in its own mind directly that the mother tells that which is not true—she says she will do this or that, and she does not do it. It is an easy lesson for mothers to learn to pass their time with their children and never give them a false impression. Think before you speak; promise your children nothing. If you wish to make them presents, do so; if you promise a chastisement, keep your word, but be cautious! Never give a promise for good or for evil, but let the reward come in consequence of well doing, and chastisement in consequence of doing ill. Silence is a thousand times better than words, especially if those words are not in wisdom. But so great is the love of the mother for her offspring, so tender the feeling with which she regards it, that many cannot see wrong in the acts of their children; and if they do, they will pass it without chastisement, even if chastisement has been promised. These are our traditions, and so great is their power that we are governed and controlled by them continually.

I sometimes bring up circumstances to illustrate the traditions of the fathers. We in this country are acquainted with a great many different classes of people; different sects and beliefs in religion, and with a great variety of beliefs in regard to morality. If a mother, for instance, permit her child to bring eggs into the house, when she does not own a fowl, she knows that they come from some other source. If her child pick up a knife that does not belong to her and bring it to the house, she cultivates dishonesty in the child; and from such little circumstances, thousands of which occur, the principles of dishonesty grow and strengthen with the strength of the individuals until they become natural thieves. Perhaps this term is too harsh, and should not be so applied; it might be better to say that, through habit, such individuals become accustomed to appropriate the property of others to their own use.

I will tell a little circumstance that I was acquainted with; I was not an eyewitness of it, but had it from one of my neighbors. A Methodist preacher, in company with a friend, was returning from a preaching tour, and while passing a plow lying by the side of a man’s farm the companion of the priest had considerable difficulty to prevent him putting the plow into the wagon. Said the priest, “It will be lost, it ought to be taken care of;” and he would have taken care of it by taking it home, making use of it and wearing it out, without advertising it, and the owner of the plow would have had to buy another. That is appropriating other people’s property to our own use. In this case the partner of the priest forbid it. Said he, “Take that and lay it by the fence; it belongs there; do not put it in the wagon,” and the priest did so. You may ask, “Was he a good man?” Yes, as good as he knew how to be according to his traditions.

So many circumstances flood upon my mind with regard to these traditions, that I hardly dare commence saying anything about them, that I have seen and learned. One man brings up his child to strictly observe the letter of the law. The spirit and essence of his teaching to his child is, “You must not break the law, if you do you will be chastened by the law; but at the same time,” says the father, and he may be a deacon or a priest, “if you can, take advantage of the poor in their daily labor, in purchasing your neighbor’s property”—for instance, perhaps he owns a small farm by the side of him, who, through necessity, is obliged to sell, and if he can purchase it for one-half or one-third its value in cash he will do it, because the law will not condemn such an act. This is tradition or the influence of it; but in the eyes of God he who thus takes advantage of his neighbor’s necessities is as guilty as if he had robbed him.

Do we know of any here who have been brought up to work on the first day of the week, and who would like to do so now? Yes, we have them. Can they refrain from doing something or other that is like labor on the Sabbath day? It is almost impossible; they must work on the Sabbath. There is a certain class of our Christians by whom the first day of the week must be devoted to labor, just to show to their fellow Christians that they are not sectarian in their feelings. Say they, “One day to us is as good as another. God is the author of all days; all days are His, and to show to the Christian world that we are free from their narrow, illiberal views, we labor on the first day of the week.”

Another class of the religious world, equally conscientious with that to which I have just referred, is as stringent in prohibiting all kinds of labor on that day. Towards evening on the seventh day of the week the father cries to the children, “Your chores must be done by sunset;” and as soon as the rays of the glorious orb of day have disappeared, parents and children assemble, and chapter after chapter of the Bible is read, and comments are made thereon; and there the children sit until bedtime, and on the first day of the week they repair to the Sunday school, or to the house of worship, and so spend the Sabbath, believing that it is wrong to walk out, to play, or even to laugh; but when sunset comes again, away go the children to work, and the hurry of the world again begins. Do we see any such traditions as these? Yes. The traditions of another have been of such a nature, perhaps, that all labor must cease at twelve o’clock on Saturday night sure, and as soon as twelve o’clock on Sunday night comes we are at liberty to work again; and so we might go through the thousand traditions, the effects of which we see manifested by our fellow creatures around us.

I was traditionated to believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, and I believe it is a Bible doctrine. I do not think I am mistaken in my religious faith. My priest would pray, “Father of all mercies, God of all grace, make thou one in our midst! Send thou the Holy Ghost upon us, upon our minds, that we may see! Reveal thyself unto us as thou dost not unto the world! Give unto us thy mind and thy will! Give unto us the revelations of thy Son, and bestow upon us thy power and the influence thereof;” and after making such a prayer the sermon that would be preached would deny every word of it. Ask the ministers of the Christian world if the Holy Ghost is given in this day, and they will tell you “no.” I have heard it preached hundreds and perhaps thousands of times. Ask them if God manifests Himself to the human family in this our day, and you will be informed that “He does not; that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament contain the word of God, the plan of salvation, and all that is necessary to save the human family. God does not reveal Himself; He does not come down to dwell with the children of men; the Son of God does not come to visit his people; the Holy Ghost is not given as in ancient times.” Ask them if the gift of healing is with them, and the reply is, “No, it is done away.” “Have you the gift of prophecy?” “No, it is done away.” “Have you the gift of seeing spirits?” “No, it is done away; all these gifts are done away and we want you to understand that we do not believe them.” All this is in accordance with their traditions, and it is taught to the children, and they are confused in their understandings. Well, the Latter-day Saints know better than to teach their children one thing at one time and another at another time; they also know better than to teach their children principles and doctrines in theory which they deny in practice. The Latter-day Saints are not at liberty to do this; we are not so called; we have not so received the Gospel; but having received the truth in our hearts, we should practice it in our lives, and on this basis —the truth as it is in Jesus—should the traditions which we instil into the minds of our children be built.

With regard to the faith that the Lord has revealed for the salvation of the human family, teach them principles that are correct. Do not say, “Do not do this or that, child, the Lord sees you!” “Well, ma,” says the child, “I heard the minister say today that the Lord has no eye, how can he see me? How is this, ma? I want to know; is this true, or is it not true? You say that the Lord looks upon my acts, and knows everything I do, and will judge me according to my acts; yet I heard the minister say today that the Lord has no body and no parts, that He has no ears, that He has no head, that He has no arms, that He has no feet, and so on. How is this, ma?” And the child is confused in its mind and does not know what to believe; it is lost in its thought. The same is true of grown people. The children know very little more than their parents, but they would if they were let alone. I will illustrate this by a simple fact, if I do not prove it. You go to the heathen nations, the aborigines of our country, for instance. They believe nothing in religion as we suppose, yet their ideas of God and heaven are far above those entertained by professed Christians. They believe in a God who has body, parts and passions, possessed of principle and power; who can see, handle, walk, talk and communicate. This is their faith; whether it is through tradition I cannot say. If they have no traditions on these points they have certainly imbibed these ideas from some source, and whether natural or by tradition it is immaterial to me. They are a people who know nothing of the Bible or of the Christian religion, and still their ideas are more correct than many of ours. This will illustrate what I wished, to my own satisfaction.

I say, with regard to traditioning children falsely, especially in religious matters, rather let them alone; give a good common education, and no teachings whatever with regard to the Bible, and their own philosophy will teach them there is a Supreme Being, better than many who, though identified with Christian nations, have repudiated their religious notions. I mean the infidel world, and its members are very numerous. The philosophy of the child, if untrammeled by false tradition, will teach him, by what he sees every day, that there is a Supreme Being—a supreme principle and power somewhere. It cannot think of anything but what is brought into existence in some way or other. Nothing is self-made or self-existent. This is the natural philosophy of the thinking child. As it grows up, the idea naturally suggests itself to its own mind, “I did not bring myself here; I have parents. I understand this; this is on natural principles. I can, to some extent, understand the creations which are before and around me.” Says the child, “I can understand very readily that if we cast wheat into the ground when it is properly prepared, it produces wheat; if we cast corn into properly prepared ground it will produce corn. So of rye, the various grass seeds, shrubs, plants and flowers—they all yield according to their kind.” This, the child naturally understands, “but,” he says, “where is the origin of myself? I know not; yet it must be somewhere. The origin of life whether human or inferior, must be lodged in some character whom I have not seen! Follow it back, no matter whether it be for six thousand years, six millions, six million millions, or billions of years, the figures and numbers are immaterial, I must have come from some source, my natural philosophy teaches me this.” But, leaving the natural philosophy of the child free from false tradition let us inquire. What does the philosophy of the Christian sects, or many of them, not all, teach? “God made the world in six days, out of nothing!” This is very wrong; no child should be taught any such dogma. God never did make a world out of nothing; He never will, He never can! There is no such principle in existence. Worlds are made of crude element which floats, without bounds in the eternities—in the immensity of space; an eternity of matter—no limits to it, in its natural crude state and the power of the Almighty has this influence and wisdom—when He speaks He is obeyed, and matter comes together and is organized. We take the rock, and the lime from the mountains and burn it and make mortar with lime and sand and lay the foundation of houses, and rear the superstructure with bricks, stones, adobies or lumber. We bring these elements together and organize them according to our pleasure. We should teach our children that God has so organized the earth from the rude, rough native element. It is true that some believe that it never was created. Well, all right then! It is here anyhow; they cannot dispute the fact that the earth is here, no matter how long it has stood!

This calls to my mind some circumstances of our trip. We had Major Powell with us on some portions of our journey South. He is now preparing to explore more of the Colorado. He was engaged in this undertaking last year; then he went on his own responsibility. This year he has received a little aid from Congress. One evening while sitting by the camp fire, said I, “Major, how long will it take light to come from the nearest fixed star to the earth? Some of our astronomers say thirty thousand years.” Said he, “O dear! Thirty thousand years will not do it, it will take as many millions of years.” Well, that opened up conversation, and I do not know but I might have indulged in a little of my boyism. In our journeyings we came to some petrified trees lying on the ground; they were broken to pieces. Some had very fine quartz between the bark and wood, very finely formed, beautifully crystallized, perfect diamond shape. Said I, “Major, how came these here?” Well, he did not know when they were brought, or how they had become petrified; they had certainly, according to his opinion, come from some other country, for no such trees grow here now. In our travels we came to one place where there had been a slide of rocks, and there was a perfect bed of oyster shells in the rock—perfect rock. Said I, “Major, how long has it taken for these shells to become petrified?” He philosophized a little upon it, when I said, “Look here, you and I both know that there are springs of water that will petrify things of this kind in a short time, and that petrified human bodies have been exhumed which, it was known, had not been buried very many years, and how do you know that it has required a hundred and fifty million of years to bring about what we now behold? It may only have required eighteen years!” I recollect a circumstance bearing on this question, which occurred in the State of New York, which I will relate. A certain lady had been laboring under disease, pain and sorrow for eighteen years, her sufferings and the nature and character of her affliction baffling the skill of the best physicians; after suffering for the space of time I have mentioned she died, and, for the cause of science, was opened by the surgeons, when a petrified child was taken from her. That was near Utica, in the state of New York. How long did it take to bring about this petrifaction? Certainly not millions of years as some of the philosophers talk about. All that can be said of such things is that they are phenomena, or freaks of nature, for which the knowledge and science of man cannot account.

Since I parted company with Major Powell I have heard another story, which will furnish another problem for the geologists to solve. A short time since a piece of petrified bacon was found on the trail of Colonel Fremont, and there is no question but it was left where found by his party when exploring in the Rocky Mountains. It is petrified, having become perfect rock. We all know that it is not half a million years since Colonel Fremont and his party went through this region of country. It is impossible for man to tell the cause of certain freaks of nature unless it is revealed to him by divine wisdom, unless his eyes are open to understand the invisible things of God; for the ways of God and His dealings are very different from the ways and dealings of the children of men. Yet there is nothing done only on the science of true philosophy if we did but understand the facts. If we cannot define the power by which these things are done it is not our prerogative to dispute the effects, for they are before us. These and kindred topics give rise to much speculation on the part of the scientific; but it is for me to wait until their causes are made known from the proper source. It is very sure that there is no such thing in existence as a piece of wood being turned to stone without the action of elements upon it; and though we do not understand the combination, nature, and action of those elements, we can see their results.

A few words more with regard to our traditions. We want he Latter-day Saints to believe and practice every correct principle with regard to their religion, also with regard to their moral lives. We know there are a great many who depend upon a moral life for future happiness and joy, believing that will prove satisfactory. I can tell you that I would rather have the practice of a good moral religion without any faith at all in a Supreme Being, than to have faith in a Supreme Being without any moral good action, and a life filled with vice, sin and iniquity. That is my choice, I will say that sin or evil is simply doing that which injures some thing or being. This is sin; but that that promotes life, happiness, peace, joy and the well-being of intelligence—no matter what the degree is—that promotes happiness, builds up, refines and makes better, is as good religion as we can ask for. This is the doctrine of the Son of God; but there are thousands of these little intricate questions or ideas connected with salvation which are mysteries to the human family, which it would take a lifetime to teach to them unless the revelations of God were given to open up their minds at once, that they might see things as they do exist.

Let us train our minds, first to think aright, believe aright, that the meditations of our hearts may be correct, for our actions will naturally correspond with that that is in the heart. This, my brethren and sisters, is our duty. Train ourselves with regard to our faith. Believe the Scriptures as they are. I have met with a great many gentlemen who refer to the dead languages for the proper interpretation of the Scrip– tures, which, to my mind, is folly, and absurd in the extreme. If I were a divine, and had all the learning which could be bestowed upon a mortal being, and considered that the Bible is translated incorrectly, I should hold myself accountable and responsible to give a correct translation as quickly as time and opportunity would permit, that all people might know the truth. So I hold every divine, and especially those who preach for hire and divine for money, for they have nothing else to do. I have to raise my own potatoes; but yet I would find time to do this. I say it is an absurdity in the very nature of good sound argument and reason to refer to the dead languages for the true interpretation of the Scriptures. Take the Bible, then, as it is. If it is not translated correctly, wait until it is. It will do for us as it is, consequently we teach the principles it contains to each other and to our children, and endeavor to avoid giving them false ideas with regard to the faith of the Gospel that we believe in.

We believe in our Father, and do not apply this term to a nonentity—to a fancied something that never existed; the application would not be correct. We do not so use language. We use this term to a being, and we claim this title as children. He is our Father; He is our God, the Father of our spirits; He is the framer of our bodies, and set the machine in successful operation to bring forth these tabernacles that I now look upon in this building, and all that ever did or ever will live on the face of the whole earth.

This is the doctrine taught by the ancients, taught by the prophets, taught by Jesus, taught by his Apostles, taught by Joseph Smith, taught by those who believe the same doctrine that Joseph Smith believed in—the revelations that God has given in modern times, who believe in that Being after whose image and in whose likeness man was formed, framed and made, precisely like Him that made him. This is the doctrine. To believe that He lives; He is a Being of place, of habitation. He dwells at home; His influence fills immensity to us; His eye is upon all His works, and He sends forth His ministers to administer here and there according to His will and pleasure. He has given His son, according to His good pleasure, to redeem the earth, and all intelligent beings thereon, and all inanimate matter, if there is any such thing; to redeem the whole earth and all pertaining to it, and it is His good pleasure to do it. The reasons why He did it are plain and obvious, though we may not say anything about them today; yet there are reasons for all this, and that that we may call eternal philosophy, God’s philosophy, the philosophy of angels—natural philosophy, reasonable philosophy, that commends itself to the human mind, to the intelligence that man possesses, will explain it. If men understood the religion that we believe in they would receive it; it naturally commends itself to the conscience of every just and righteous person, and none such would refuse it if they understood it.

Well, then, we ought, in the first place, to train ourselves to believe correctly, to think correctly, and to practice correctly, and instil correct principles into the minds of the rising generation, so that when they are old they will not depart from them. This is the idea, and not bring up the children as we bring them up. You recollect the wise man said, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” That is, teach them correct principles. If we do that, they will understand the principles by which God lives and acts, and has brought forth the earth and the intelligence it contains; the intelligence he has entrusted to man in giving him eyes to see and ears to hear—properties that are worthy the attention of a God—that will enable Him to contrast and know, from reason and from self experience, the good from the evil. I say if we train our children so as to place them in possession of these principles we shall train them in the way they should go, and the saying of the wise man will be verified—they will not depart from it.

In teaching false doctrine there always will be more or less of truth mixed with it; there always has been where anything of importance has been taught. The enemy, the serpent, who beguiled our first mother, told some truth. Said he, “If you take this and eat thereof, your eyes will be opened and you will see as the Gods see.” This was true, but when he told her that she would not suffer death as the consequence of so doing, he lied—told that that was not true. He mixed some truth with the error he taught; her eyes were opened, or how could she have seen?

If I were to preach to this congregation, who have been brought up in countries where there is no fruit raised, and I was to teach them that there is such fruit as oranges, if you had not seen or tasted them how could you know whether I told the truth or not? If I were to say to this congregation there is such a fruit as a sweet apple, but you had never seen nor tasted nor had any knowledge of it, how could you tell whether I told the truth or not? But having tasted the bitter and the sweet; having enjoyed ease and suffered pain; having seen the light and endured the darkness, you know that which is good and that which is evil. Without this experience how could we know it? Consequently God has committed to the children of men this knowledge, and He has made it plain and reasonable before them, that they should know as well as the Gods, that they might choose the good and refuse the evil. So it is, and so we should be taught.

And then, with regard to the religion of God, of His Son Jesus Christ, of the holy angels and of the prophets and Apostles, from first to last, it can never injure any soul who will receive it. If men would observe that, they would never go to war with each other, they would never destroy a good work that others have performed. It is an evil principle which introduces destruction, wickedness and confusion into any community whatsoever. A good principle—that which is of God, ornaments, builds up, gathers the elements, beautifies the earth and makes it like the garden of Eden; it improves the hearts of the people, teaches children right doctrine, correct principle, to which they will adhere through life. Through imbibing false ideas, principles and teachings, children become as the old Indian said. The missionary had been trying to instruct him in the saying, “Bring up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it;” but the old Indian gave it a little different interpretation. Said he, “Bring up a child and away he goes.” So it is now—we bring up children and away they go. Look at our young, middle-aged and old men! Look at the community that we have in our country and in other countries! You take the sons of those flaming divines! If you want to find the most polished, complete and perfect outlaws that can be found, you hunt up the son of some priest who has received a liberal education; after having been taught the highest branches of education, away he goes. At least the son of such a man is just as apt to do so as the son of the lawyer, farmer, mechanic, judge or statesman. This is for the lack of correct tradition, and this shows the force of early training and of the traditions imbibed in childhood. The power of it upon myself is perfectly astonishing to me; with all that I have learned from the Scriptures and from the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ, the traditions of my earliest recollection are so forcible upon me that it seems impossible for me to get rid of them. And so it is with others; hence the necessity of correct training in childhood.

Teach your children honesty and uprightness, and teach them also never to injure others. As I say to my sisters sometimes, “Look here, my dear sister, if your child quarrels with your neighbor’s child, do not chasten your neighbor’s child. Go and make peace, be a peacemaker. Teach your child never to do a wrong; and if your neighbor’s child has injured you or yours, or taken anything from you, never mind. You stop until you find out. Perhaps the child has meant no wrong. You should learn the facts in the case, and go with a meek, humble, quiet spirit, and peace will result.” How many neighbors become enemies to each other in consequence of contention with children! Woman will contend with woman, “Your child injured my child,” and so on. Why if you understood and would practice the true doctrines you would not mind this; you would say, “It is the act of a child and not of a matured mind; it is only the work of children.” Perhaps it may have done some mischief; and if so, reason with it, and teach it never to do anything wrong among its playfellows, but to promote good feelings continually. You will see occasionally a child that is ready to give up everything rather than have contention; and why not have it so with all. It might be so, just as easy as it is otherwise. Let mothers be possessed of a meek, humble, quiet spirit in childbearing, and when their children come forth into the world and commence on this stage of action, teach them correct principles, and by imbibing them they will be enabled to lead lives of purity, joy, peace and tranquility that surpasses all understanding. So let our traditions be, and never do or say a wrong thing. Never do or say that which we shall regret. Watch yourselves day by day, hour by hour and minute by minute. Keep a guard over yourselves so that you will never do or say anything that you will regret hereafter, and your lives will be filled with usefulness, and you will increase your own peace and promote it among your neighbors, and this will insure a great degree of salvation here, and prepare for a higher degree hereafter. The principles of life and salvation are the greatest blessings which can be bestowed upon us here on this earth. The greatest gift God can give to His children is eternal life. We have its principles in our possession. We know how to teach and to live them, and how to practice them so as to enjoy their benefits. This is what gives peace and joy to the heart. Who else that live on the earth could endure as the Latter-day Saints have endured, if they did not enjoy the Spirit of the Lord? If they had not the spirit of peace and union and of love to God and to one another and the whole human family? Let our traditions and practices be such that we can say, to the whole world, in the words of the Apostle, “Follow us, as we follow Christ.”

This is the doctrine. In our scanty, hasty reflections to the Latter-day Saints we say, live your religion! If you do, you will do no evil to any person on the face of the earth. I sometimes ask myself the question, “Do people understand what we teach, believe and practice?” They cannot see and understand as we see and understand; they cannot believe as we believe, if they did they would never do as they do—that is our enemies.

I have occupied all the time I should this morning. This is only a little. God bless you. Peace be with you. Do right. Love God and keep His commandments, and, in the words of the Scripture, “Eschew evil!” Have nothing to do with it. Let us seek continually to do good to ourselves and each other, that when we sleep in our mother dust, when these tabernacles take that happy nap in the bosom of our mother earth, our spirits may be prepared for higher society than we enjoy here. This is my desire and prayer for the good all the day long. God bless you. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, August 7, 1870.

It may appear strange to Jew and Gentile, to Saint and sinner, to high and low, to bond and free, but with all our weaknesses and imperfections we, the Latter-day Saints, are the hope of the whole world. Our brother who has just spoken says there is something to be done, and I say that God has commenced to do it upon this continent. The Lord has revealed his will from the heavens; he has bestowed his Priesthood on the children of men; he has sent forth his holy angels with the Gospel to proclaim, and this Gospel has been proclaimed to the children of men, and a few have received it; and strange as it may sound to the ears, and inconsistent as it may be to the hearts, sympathies, judgments or feelings of the Christian or of the heathen world, without us they cannot be saved; with all our weaknesses and imperfections, and as far short as we may come of the perfection that we understand and which is necessary to possess before we can enjoy the celestial kingdom of God, this is verily true.

The few observations that we have heard this morning are rich, and many of them full of divine matter, and especially with regard to the Christian world. This book, that we call the Bible, the Christian world profess to believe in. Let me tell them that they must either acknowledge, openly and frankly, that the Latter-day Saints have the Gospel taught by Christ and his Apostles or they will go to the wall as infidels; it cannot be otherwise. There are but two parties on the earth, one for God and the other for the world or the evil one. No matter how many names the Christian or heathen world bear, or how many sects and creeds may exist, there are but two parties, one for heaven and God, and the other will go to some other kingdom than the celestial kingdom of God.

Our brethren go forth in weakness; and our Elders have traversed the earth, and have offered the Gospel unto every nation that would open its doors to receive it. A few from various nations have obeyed it and have gathered themselves together; but of this number few live strictly according to the words revealed for the guidance of the Saints. The Gospel of the Son of God is the only thing that will do the people good. It is all happiness, submission, kindness and love; it is glory to God in the highest, and good will to man on the earth. But even if we had not the Holy Ghost within us, look at the morals that are taught in this Book, say nothing about the divinity of the doctrine of the Son of God; take it morally, is it not the best code for people to live by ever portrayed or placed on paper? We say it is; and we may look at it in any light we please.

When the Elders of Israel go forth to preach the Gospel to the inhabitants of the earth, though it may be done in weakness and with a stammering tongue, the Spirit of the Lord attends the preached word and bears witness to the honest in heart, and teaches them that this is the truth. No matter how many priests, or who contend against the Gospel and say, “We do not acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, we believe he was a philanthropist, or a divine man in human shape, so far as nature can make him so, but to acknowledge that he was the Son of God we cannot;” it is no matter how many talk like this, they must eventually either acknowledge that he is the Son of God and that his Gospel is the only Gospel or they must take infidelity. Is this the fact? It is. Sooner or later the sects, one after, another, will deny the Savior and every one of the ordinances of his Gospel, until they are all enveloped in infidelity, or they must accept the whole. Strange as it may appear, they are now following shadows, phantoms of the brain, and mischievous manifestations.

When the Elders of Israel first commenced to preach the Gospel there was no such thing known on the earth as a belief in spiritual manifestations, which are now so general. I promised them years and years ago, when I commenced my career in the ministry, that, if they did not accept the revelations which God had delivered to the children of men, he would suffer the enemy of all righteousness to give them revelations to their hearts’ content, and they would receive and believe them. What is the condition of the Christian world today? They are seeking after mischievous muttering spirits; they are seeking to know something that is not true, and to establish that which no true philosophy on earth will establish. The only true philosophy ever revealed to the children of men, whether pertaining to religion, science, art, mechanism, or to any and every department of human knowledge, was revealed by God. It is true that many who do not believe in Jesus possess more or less of this true philosophy which comes from God, whether they acknowledge it or not.

One of my brethren who has been speaking to you says it is a mystery to him to see the people led as they are; to see them submit to manpower, and to false creeds and governments as they do. It is not strange to me. They must be servants to some being or principle. There is not a being on the face of the earth that is free and independent of God and his Spirit, or of that mischievous influence and power that goes through the earth, seeking whom it may devour and to lead captive at its will. Every son and daughter of Adam is subject to one of these powers; there are none but what have within them the operations of a spirit of good or evil.

When we read over the history of the ancients we can learn that many of them acted very foolishly; their conduct was unbecoming in many instances. Even Moses, great as he was, and as much of divinity, light and intelligence as he enjoyed from the Almighty, lifted himself up above the Power that conferred upon him his greatness and influence, and said to the people, “Shall I do this or that for you?” instead of saying, “The Lord will do this or that for you,” or, “Shall the Lord do thus and so for you?” Through his pride and selfishness he was deprived of the privilege of going into the land of Canaan. It is also true that David, in many things, was very unwise. We are told that he was a man after God’s own heart, yet he did many things which he knew to be wrong in the sight of God. Where was he left? In darkness. Then Solomon, born to David by Bathsheba, was also left in the dark, with all his greatness and wisdom! After being blessed of the Lord to a most wonderful degree, he turned from the Lord, followed after strange women and sacrificed to idols. Many of the ancients acted unwisely, and I hope and trust that many of the Elders of Israel will do better than some of them. But if we can do as well as some of them, we are safe for honor, glory, immortality, eternal lives and exaltation in the kingdom that God has prepared for the righteous.

When Brother Spencer was speaking he said, “I believe in one-man power.” What can we do without it? If God does not rule in the midst of the nations of the earth, sooner or later those nations will go down. If the Lord Almighty does not rule in the hearts of individuals, families, neighborhoods, towns, cities, states, and countries, sooner or later they will fall. I cannot do without the Lord Jesus! He is the man for me. That God who holds the keys of life and death, and who has suffered and died for the children of men, is he who must rule in the hearts of the children of obedience, and his kingdom will stand forever. The laws which God has revealed to the children of men are as pure and as much calculated to endure forever today as they ever were. Why? Because they are pure and holy, and anything that is impure must, sooner or later, perish; no matter whether it is in the faith and practice of an individual, town, nation or government. That kingdom, principality, power or person that is not controlled by principles that are pure and holy must eventually pass away and perish.

Our brother who last addressed you said he did not know much about Scripture. He had a father who read the Scriptures in his family, and who taught his children the way of life and salvation contained therein. Professor Orson Spencer was as good a scriptorian as could be found on this continent. He lived faithful to it, and taught his children to have faith in the name of the Lord Jesus. He was a rare gentleman. Very few of the learned or of those who are high and lifted up in the estimation of the people receive the Gospel; but Professor Spencer received it. Though poor, yet he was in high life and high standing, and he received and obeyed the Gospel and submitted to the government God had established.

What is it that enables our Elders to go forth and preach the Gospel? The Spirit of the Lord. This is their experience and testimony. What do they testify when they go forth? That the Gospel, as set forth in the Old and New Testaments, is true; that the plan of salvation, revealed by God through his prophets in ancient times, and in modern times through Joseph Smith, is true; and as they are enlightened and aided by the Spirit of the Lord, error must fall before them. I often think what a task the Elders of Israel would have to perform if they had to go to the world and establish a false religion! They would have to read and study for years! They would be compelled to start at the common school, and go from there to the academy, and thence to the college and seminary; they must know what every divine, historian and commentator has said about every Scripture; they must also have language at their tongues’ ends to swamp the common people with their fine words, and drown them in the mist of fog and error. But it is not so with the Elders of Israel; they go forth with the plain, simple truth which God has revealed, and which commends itself to the conscience and understanding of every honest and virtuous individual who hears it. No matter how simple the declaration of a servant of God; no matter how imperfect his language or how few his words, the Spirit of God will bear witness of its truth to the spirits of those who are ready and willing to receive it. How easy it is to live by the truth! Did you ever think of it, my friends? Did you ever think of it, my brethren and sisters? In every circumstance of life, no matter whether among the humble or lofty, truth is always the surest guide and the easiest to square our lives by. When the sisters, for instance, meet together at a quilting or for a visit, if everyone speaks, believes and loves the truth, and there is nothing in them that is deceptive, how easy it is to converse and pass the time! We all delight in the truth; and if a wrong, or that which is false, is manifested it must be corrected or banished, and truth be adopted in the place thereof. It is the easiest life to lead on the face of the earth. How do I know it? By experience; I never tried the opposite much.

How easy it is to sustain truth! How easy it is to sustain the doctrines of the Savior! If I were to undertake to prove that baptism is not necessary for the remission of sins, what a labor it would impose upon me! How I would have to study, and use language so as to throw a mist over the minds of the people! Jesus told his disciples to go to all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, saying, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;” but suppose I were to come along and say it is not necessary, and Jesus did not mean what he said, what a labor it would impose upon me to deceive the people, by endeavoring to prove the truth to be false! Jesus calculated that every individual should be baptized for the remission of his sins. How easy it is to preach that! If persons believe and be baptized, Jesus says lay hands upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost; but if I were to say contrary to this, a labor would devolve upon me which I should not have to bear if I preached only that which is true. What a labor it imposes upon the priests, divines, lawyers and statesmen, and others who hold leading positions in society, when they argue from false premises and undertake to enforce their false theories! But simple truth, simplicity, honesty, uprightness, justice, mercy, love, kindness, do good to all and evil to none, how easy it is to live by such principles! A thousand times easier than to practice deception!

How I have looked at the meandering paths of politicians! See one man spend a thousand dollars to get a small office. Another ten thousand, another a hundred thousand. Intriguing and planning here and there. What for? To deceive somebody or other! Why not tell the truth right out? Would it not be easier? It would. Politicians would not be under the necessity of using so many arguments to make their hearers and constituents believe that they are the very men wanted, and that their opponents are the very men not wanted. I was diverted at a gentleman in this Territory, fifteen or sixteen years ago, who put himself up as a candidate for the legislature. He went on a tour of what is called “stump speaking,” telling the people “I am the man you want; this other is the man you do not want; you may think you want him but you do not, I am the man you should send to the legislature, and the one you should vote for.” They could not see the point and did not vote for him. His opponent kept quietly attending to his business, all he said being, “I am not at all anxious for office, and if the people want me, they may vote for me.”

How many times have I heard men labor an hour or two to prove that baptism is not necessary; when a close-communion Baptist, with a Bible in his hand, would come along and in five minutes prove that it was necessary. Some Christians will argue that the taking of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is necessary; while others will argue for hours that it is unnecessary. But the one who argues in the affirmative has the Bible—the words of Jesus to sustain him, and his opponent, however strenuously he may labor, cannot substantiate his petition, because his premises are false, consequently his whole argument must fall to the ground.

I used to be amused in my youth at the friend Quakers; if they had done nothing for a whole week, from Monday morning till Saturday night, they would surely rise from their beds, if sick, for the sake of working on the first day of the week—the Sabbath—to show to mankind that they were above superstition. They would declare that the observance of the Sabbath as a day of rest was all superstition, all the work of the Elders, and was unnecessary.

When our Elders go forth to preach the Gospel, in the power and demonstration of the Spirit of God, it commends itself to every heart; and, if the people admit the truth of the Scriptures, it is by no means difficult to convince thereof the truth of the doctrines that we preach; but it requires a great deal of the power of God to induce some to receive it enough to carry it out practically in their lives, and to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Very few do this. Many will acknowledge that faith, baptism, the laying on of hands and the Lord’s Supper are according to the law and the testimony; but pride, the love of the world, the love of money, and the love of a good name prevent many from obeying. A good name! Bless me! What is a name? It may shine like the noonday sun in the estimation of friends and neighbors today, and tomorrow be eclipsed in midnight darkness, to rise no more!

The glory of the world passes away, but the glory that the Saints are after is that which is to come in the eternal world; the intelligence, honor and brightness that come from the Supreme Being, by which the inhabitants of celestial spheres live without sorrow and pain.

Joy, comfort, consolation, glory, happiness, perfection and eternal lives are before us, with the eternity of God to spend in the fruition of the glory of him that sits on the throne, the Lamb that was slain for us. Glory, honor, might, dominion, and the kingdom forever and ever. If we submit in all things to him, whose right it is to reign king of nations as he does king of Saints, we shall attain to this. I do desire that we may be numbered with this happy company, and I pray that the Lord will help us to be so. Amen.

Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, July 24, 1870.

Short sermons are very frequently interesting, if the speaker can say what he wishes to say from the time he commences to speak until the end. But most of us who are public speakers labor under timidity, and experience that lack of the governing and controlling principle which pre– vents our doing this. I notice this in almost every public speaker I hear. It is seldom that a speaker can arise and deliver his thoughts and reflections readily, unless his speech and subject have been studied and fixed previously. For my part, as far as my public speaking is concerned, I do not know that I ever troubled myself to take thought beforehand of what I should say. There have been times in my life that I have been led to lecture on certain principles, and on such occasions my mind would be confined to those principles alone, consequently my subject would be before me more immediately. But upon rising to address the people I trust in Him from whom we all derive the power of thought and reflection, and I strive to express my reflections acceptably to God and to my hearers.

The Gospel, whose principles we have been hearing about this morning, is the Gospel that every Christian professes to believe in. I do not know of a Christian but what will admit that the Bible is true; then where is the difference between the Latter-day Saints and the various Christian sects that dwell on the earth? The difference is that we believe enough to obey; while they believe just enough to acknowledge but not to obey.

If there be one principle in this Gospel that we preach that is not perfectly true, we would like some divine to make us acquainted with the fact; and prove by principles of true philosophy wherein it is not true, or wherein it is injurious to those who believe it. We believe that every principle that God has revealed to the children of men is strictly true, and absolutely beneficial to the life of every intelligent being that dwells upon the whole earth. We have come to this conclusion, for we have tried to learn and understand and to carry out in our lives the principles of the Gospel that we believe in, and if we sum them up, in a few words, we might, with the strictest propriety, use the words of one anciently, and say that the Gospel is “peace on earth and good will to men.” We can also say truly that this is eternal life to know the only wise God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. But when we examine the faith and acknowledgements of the Christian world we find that, with all their professions, they are involved in midnight darkness concerning the true nature and character of God. Is there a divine on the face of the whole earth who can give you or me any description of the Being that the whole Christian world worship as God? There is not. Where is the proof of this assertion? I am a witness; their writings are witnesses; their sermons are witnesses; their declarations are witnesses. Yet this book, the Bible, portrays the character of God, the Father of our spirits, and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, just as clearly as any work ever written by man portrays the shape, nature, construction and constitution of the human frame. If this is so, why do not the Christian world believe in it? The Latter-day Saints do believe enough of it to try and carry it out in their practice.

What do we believe about the faith that Jesus revealed? He said a great deal with regard to life and salvation. His Apostles wrote and taught after him, and the Gospel was among the children of men from the days of Adam until the coming of the Messiah; this Gospel of Christ is from the beginning to the end. Then why was the law of Moses given? Just answer the question! In consequence of the disobedience of the children of Israel, the elect of God; the very seed that He had selected to be His people, and upon whom He said He would place His name. This seed of Abraham so rebelled against Him and His commands that the Lord said to Moses, “I will give you a law which shall be a schoolmaster to bring them to Christ.” But this law is grievous; it is a law of carnal commandments. Still it will be hard for any divine that now lives to draw the line between the law of carnal commandments and the law of divine commandments. I have not seen them who can do it.

I ask what is the nature of our religion? Why, it is “peace on earth and good will to men” in every particular; and if its precepts be observed it will fill society with peace, joy, wealth, beauty and excellence; it lifts man above the things of earth, gives him the philosophy of eternity, and shows the works of God in all their glory and magnitude, and leads the mind of the creature to admire and worship the Creator. Is this the fact? Certainly it is. I have not found anything in my religion that will do harm to any creature on the face of the earth. I have not found errors in our religion. Are there errors in the people? O yes, plenty of them. I recollect a gentleman from Philadelphia who was tarrying in this city for the benefit of his health, but was called home on business, who said he believed the Bible and believed all, as far as he had learned, with regard to the doctrines of the Latter-day Saints. Said he, one day, when visiting me for the last time, “Mr. Young, am I to understand that you consider yourselves perfect?” I said to him, “Such an idea with regard to us is a mistaken one, and if you entertain it you have not got the matter placed correctly in your mind. Let me correct you, so that when at home you may meditate upon it. The doctrine that we preach is perfect; but our lives are very imperfect. To say that a human being is perfect, that he has no errors, would say that he is divine—a God or a holy angel. But we are in a world of sin and darkness, a world that knows not God; in a world where error dwells and reigns supreme. “Now,” said I, “remember this. The doctrine that we preach is from God; this doctrine is pure and holy; it is without spot or blemish; and it is the doctrine of the Son of God, the Savior of the world.” Is it good for man here? Certainly it is—the best that can be given to any beings on the earth; to organize a society, to rule a family, to dictate and control scholars at school, to rule, govern and control an individual, a community, a nation or kingdom, it is the very best code of principles and laws ever delivered to the children of men. In all my researches into the doctrine of Jesus I have never found an error.

It has been observed here this morning that we are called fanatics. Bless me! That is nothing. Who has not been called a fanatic who has discovered anything new in philosophy or science? We have all read of Galileo the astronomer who, contrary to the system of astronomy that had been received for ages before his day, taught that the sun, and not the earth, was the center of our planetary system? For this the learned astronomer was called “fanatic,” and subjected to persecution and imprisonment of the most rigorous character. So it has been with others who have discovered and explained new truths in science and philosophy which have been in opposition to long-established theories; and the opposition they have encountered has endured until the truth of their discoveries has been demonstrated by time. The term “fanatic” is not applied to professors of religion only. How was it with Dr. Morse, when shut up in the attic of an old building in Baltimore for more than a year, with a little wire stretched round the room, experimenting upon it with his battery, he told a friend that by means of that he could sit there and talk to Congress in Washington? Was he not considered a fanatic, and wild, and crazy? Certainly he was; and so it was with Robert Fulton, when he was conducting his experiments with steam and endeavoring to apply it so as to propel a vessel through the water. And all great discoverers in art, science, or mechanism have been denounced as fanatics and crazy; and it has been declared by their contemporaries that they did not know what they were saying, and they were thought to be almost as wild and incoherent as the generality of the people now think George Francis Train to be.

I will tell you who the real fanatics are: they are they who adopt false principles and ideas as facts, and try to establish a superstructure upon a false foundation. They are the fanatics; and however ardent and zealous they may be, they may reason or argue on false premises till doomsday, and the result will be false. If our religion is of this character we want to know it; we would like to find a philosopher who can prove it to us. We are called ignorant; so we are: but what of it? Are not all ignorant? I rather think so. Who can tell us of the inhabitants of this little planet that shines of an evening, called the moon? When we view its face we may see what is termed “the man in the moon,” and what some philosophers declare are the shadows of mountains. But these sayings are very vague, and amount to nothing; and when you inquire about the inhabitants of that sphere you find that the most learned are as ignorant in regard to them as the most ignorant of their fellows. So it is with regard to the inhabitants of the sun. Do you think it is inhabited? I rather think it is. Do you think there is any life there? No question of it; it was not made in vain. It was made to give light to those who dwell upon it, and to other planets; and so will this earth when it is celestialized. Every planet in its first rude, organic state receives not the glory of God upon it, but is opaque; but when celestialized, every planet that God brings into existence is a body of light, but not till then. Christ is the light of this planet. God gives light to our eyes. Did you ever think who gave you the power of seeing? Who organized these little globules in our heads, and formed the nerves running to the brain, and gave us the power of distinguishing a circle from a square, an upright from a level, large from small, white from black, brown from gray, and so on? Did you acquire this faculty by your own power? Did any of you impart this power to me or I to you? Not at all. Then where did we get it from? From a superior Being. When I think of these few little things with regard to the organization of the earth and the people of the earth, how curious and how singular it is! And yet how harmonious and beautiful are Nature’s laws! And the work of God goes forward, and who can hinder it, or who can stay His hand now that He has commenced His kingdom?

This brings us right back to this Gospel. God has commenced His kingdom on the earth. How intricate it is, and how difficult for a man to understand if he be not enlightened by the Spirit of God! How can we understand it? O, we have nothing to do but to humble ourselves and get the spirit of the Lord by being born of the water and of the Spirit; then we can enter into it. How is it if we are not born of the Spirit? Can the natural man behold the things of God? He cannot, for they are discerned spiritually—by the Spirit of the Almighty, and if we have not this Spirit within us we cannot understand the things of God. But the most simple thing in the world to understand is the work of the Lord. What shall we do? Divest ourselves of great, big “Mr. I.” Let him fall at the feet of good sound reason. What next? Humble ourselves before the Lord and receive the truth as He has revealed it, then we will be born of the Spirit. Then if we wish further blessings, be born of the water; then, if we wish further blessings, receive the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost; and if we wish still further blessings, live by every word that proceeds out of His mouth, that is spoken from the heavens, then things will be brought to our remembrance by the Comforter that Jesus promised his disciples, which should show them things past, present, and to come.

This is the Gospel as we believe it. Is there any harm in it? Not the least in the world. Should we not obey it? We should. Should we not obey the requirements of Heaven? Certainly we should. Would it be the least injurious to the human family to receive the Gospel of the Son of God, and to have the man Christ Jesus to rule over them? Not at all; but, on the contrary, it would fill them with peace, joy, love, kindness, and intelligence. Would the principles of the Gospel, if obeyed, teach us to control ourselves? They would. They will teach men and women to govern and control their own passions. You very frequently hear it said, “Such a man or woman has too much temper.” This is a mistaken idea. No person on earth has too much of this article. But do we not frequently see the evil conduct of people through allowing their passions and tempers to have full control of them? Certainly we do. What is the difficulty? We want the spirit, knowledge, power and principle within us to govern and control our tempers; there is no danger of having too much if we will only control them by the Spirit of the Almighty. Every intelligent being on the earth is tempered for glory, beauty, excellency and knowledge here, and for immortality and eternal lives in the worlds to come. But every being who attains to this must be sanctified before God and be completely under the control of His Spirit. If I am thus controlled by the Spirit of the Most High I am a king, I am supreme so far as the control of self is concerned; and it also enables me to control my wives and children. And when they thus see that I am under the government and control of the Good Spirit, they will be perfectly submissive to my dictates. They feel and say, “Yes, father, or husband, certainly, you never require anything that is wrong; I have learned that long ago. Your judgment and discretion and the power of thought and reflection in you are sufficient; you know what is right.” And if I could extend this power I could reign supreme, not only over my family and friends, but also over my neighbors and the people all around me. Could the spirit of error, hatred and wickedness perform this? No, it can be accomplished only by means of the meek and humble spirit of the Lord Jesus. If an individual is filled with that, it makes him a perfect monarch over himself, and it will give him influence over all who will hearken to his counsel. What a pity it would be in the estimation of the wicked and corrupt, if any man on the earth really did possess this power! Suppose that Napoleon, for instance, was actually filled with the power of God to that degree that the whole people of France would love him as much as a child ever loved a parent, because they knew every word he uttered was full of wisdom and would produce health, wealth, joy and peace among all classes; would elevate the suffering poor—those in need and distress, fill them with knowledge and wisdom and give them the good things of life, why, there would be a general outcry against him, and he would be denounced because of the exercise of the “one-man power!” But let him be a devil and rule with an iron rod, a tyrant’s hand, and take off heads every day by the score or hundred, and there would not be a word said against him! Let the good I have referred to be brought about, as it would be, under the rule and government of Heaven, and the ruler would be called a tyrant. But this is the way to rule, no matter what the inhabitants and the wise men and philosophers of the earth may think; and the time will come when this earth will be revolutionized by these principles, and when through their influence war, dissension, hatred, malice, and persecution will cease among the children of men and when there will be a universal reign of peace and righteousness. Suppose we live to see it! We shall all be of one heart and one mind, shall we not? I will here ask, for my own satisfaction, what will you do, Mr. Politician, when there is no division at the polls, but when the cry will be, from one end of the earth to the other, “We want one man only, but the best that can be found for this office; this is the only man we want!” Your occupation will be gone about that time. Will there be wars in those days? No, they will be done away. Any contentions then? No, all will be peace. Bickering and strife will have passed away, and a better spirit will have taken possession of the minds of the people, and they will be peaceful, joyous, kind and full of benevolence, and the general feeling will be, “Friend, what can I do for you? Brother, how can I do you good?” or, “Sister, can I add to your comfort, or make any addition to your joy and peace here on the earth?” You and I are looking for this day. Let me ask the poor miserable apostate, the hater of God and righteousness, “Do you not think that will be one-man power?” I reckon it will. That is what leading men everywhere are after now, not only in this country, but in every other; they are all scrambling after it, and they are mad because they cannot get it.

I think I will take the liberty of relating a little circumstance which was related to me. Whether it is a fact or not I cannot say. Some of our good government officers here inquired of a man from the Southern part of the Territory: “Do you know Brigham?” “Yes, I know him very well.” “Do you not know that he is trying to influence the election?” “No, I never heard anything about it.” “Can’t you make oath that he has always guided and influenced the elections in this Territory?” The man said, “No, I am not well enough acquainted with him nor with politics to know anything about it.” I laughed heartily inside at the poor miserable fools when I heard this. Why, yes, I would govern and control the elections of the earth if I desired and could; certainly I would, and help yourselves the best way you can! Bless my heart, who don’t do it? The poor creatures! Isn’t that what they are after? Would not they do it if they could? I can govern and control the Latter-day Saints, not by the iron hand, but by the principles of true government—the principles of our religion, which, in their very nature, are bound to make those who will be guided by them healthy, wealthy and wise. I think we are doing our best at it; and I also think that we will go on and be successful in this good work in spite of earth and hell.

I say God speed everybody that is for freedom and equal rights! I am with you. Whom do we want to fill our public offices? We want the best men that we can find for governor, president and statesmen, and for every other office of trust and responsibility; and when we have obtained them, we will pray for them and give them our faith and influence to do the will of God and to preserve themselves and the people in truth and righteousness. I have talked as long as time will allow. God bless you. Amen.

Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, July 17, 1870.

I realize that it is quite a trial for young men, who have just started in the life of the Gospel, to speak to an audience, either large or small. In my observation and experience I have noticed that most speakers are timid at the sound of their own voices. If it were prudent and wisdom we would not ask our young brethren to speak when they return home, but would let them pass along and gratify their own feelings, without speaking to the congregations of the Saints. This timidity, experienced on rising to address their fellow creatures, is in all, with very few exceptions. I think I have seen a few men in my life that I suppose never were troubled or felt that trembling, fearfulness, timidity, bashfulness or any hesitancy whatever to get up and say what they had a mind to; but such persons are very rare. I do not know whether I ever saw a female of this character or not, but I think I have seen a few men. As far as I am concerned, although I have addressed congregations so many times, I have scarcely ever felt free from this timidity when rising for that purpose. When I view the faces of my fellow creatures I behold an embodiment of intelligence before which my nature, according to this life, shrinks; and this is the case with most speakers. Still, in my experience, when it has been my duty to declare the Gospel of the Son of God to the children of men, I have found that the Lord has strengthened me; He has given me His Holy Spirit, and when enjoying it while talking to the people fear or timidity soon disappeared. This is the experience of my younger days; and this is the case with our young Elders. When they rise they feel this timidity of which I have been speaking, but if they enjoy the Spirit of the Lord, their humanity or the weakness of human nature is soon forgotten. I know how to feel for and sympathize with them; I have realized all that they have realized for my experience in my early career as a preacher of the Gospel was similar to theirs. I was ignorant of letters to a great degree, yet I had been a Bible student from my youth; but when the Spirit of the Lord was upon me it was no matter to me who heard my voice when declaring the principles of the Gospel, or who felt disposed to dispute, criticize, or spiritualize or do away with the Scriptures of divine truth. To me it was nothing; they were like children, and their efforts were no more than the efforts of babes. I do not think I have ever seen or been acquainted with a “Mormon” Elder who has enjoyed the spirit of his mission but who was able to stand before the learned and wise and before the divines of the day and preach the Gospel fearlessly, for the simple reason that they have not the Gospel. They may have a gospel; I do not dispute that; and they have also their creeds and forms of worship; but when they take this book (the Bible) for their guide, in their religion, faith and works, they are one with us; then we have no disputations, no contentions, no room for arguments; but when they do away with the Scriptures and turn the truth of God into a falsehood, and manifest the same spirit as that manifested by the children of Israel, namely, to transgress every law, to change every ordinance and to break the covenants delivered to them, why the Elder of Israel has God to back him up; he has the word of the Almighty to sustain him; he has the Bible in his hand to prove that his position is correct, and that theirs is false.

We have labored, toiled and tra– veled, without purse or scrip, to preach the Gospel to all nations and people wherever they would hearken. Wherever they would permit us to enter their cities, towns and villages, their meetinghouses, schoolhouses or dwelling houses, we have been ready to preach to them the words of life and salvation. It is our delight to hear the young brethren, who have returned from missions, say the past three or five years, as the case may be, “have been the happiest of my whole life.” Where is the man or woman now living, or that ever did live, that was not happy when in possession of the Spirit of God? It makes its possessors happier than all the pleasures of life. Can wealth and worldly honor give that complete joy and satisfaction which the Spirit of God affords to the humble Saint? No. The possession of everything that we can desire—that our eyes could see, our ears hear, or our hearts conceive, would fall at our feet worthless, so far as their capability of conferring real, genuine joy, satisfaction and pleasure is concerned, when compared with the Spirit of God when it enlightens the mind, enriches the soul and lifts up an individual to behold the things of eternity, the work of God and His designs concerning this earth and the children of men. I say that all earthly things fall at the feet of an individual who possesses the Spirit of God; for his life, hopes, desires, thoughts, anticipations and will are far above the things of this life, and earth sinks beneath him. This Spirit animates our young brethren when faithfully attending to their duties while on missions, and it is this which enables them to say that the time so spent has been the happiest of their lives. This enables our Elders, many of whom are to a great degree destitute of education, to stand before the learned, wise and noble, and the divines of the day, and declare the principles of the Gospel of Jesus. Who could do this under such circumstances without the Spirit of the Lord? I do not know the individual; and if there be those who could they are such as I referred to at the commencement of my remarks who, destitute of a knowledge of their own weakness, can stand up anywhere and speak with boldness, and exhibit themselves, whether it be wisdom or folly to do so. None but those who enjoy the Spirit of the Lord, who are filled with the Holy Ghost, can stand before emperors, kings and wise men of the earth and speak the words of truth with all that simplicity and pleasure that children converse together [with].

This is my experience. When contemplating what we have passed through in traveling and preaching, it gives joy to many. The contemplation of my own experience, when I have time to do so, is a source of the greatest pleasure; perhaps this is not quite correct, but it is a source of great pleasure to take a retrospective view of the scenes I have passed through, for I can see where God has favored and blessed me. For instance, I recollect the Sunday morning on which I was baptized, in my own little mill stream; I was ordained to the office of an Elder before my clothes were dry upon me. I passed the day in meeting, and one week from that day I had the pleasure of meeting with and preaching to a large congregation. I think there were present on that occasion four experienced Elders, formerly of the Methodist and Baptist persuasions, who had received the Gospel and had been numbered with us. I expected to hear them address the people on the principles that we had just received through the servants of the Lord. They said that the Spirit of the Lord was not upon them to speak to the people, yet they had been preachers for years. I was but a child, so far as public speaking and a knowledge of the world was concerned; but the Spirit of the Lord was upon me, and I felt as though my bones would consume within me unless I spoke to the people and told them what I had seen, heard and learned—what I had experienced and rejoiced in; and the first discourse I ever delivered I occupied over an hour. I opened my mouth and the Lord filled it; and from that time, wherever we traveled and preached, the people heard, received and rejoiced in the Gospel, and we baptized our thousands upon thousands.

I recollect when I left, to go to England, I was unable to walk twenty rods without assistance. I was helped to the edge of the river Mississippi and carried across. When brother Kimball and I started on our journey there was a struggle between us and the powers of earth and hell whether or not we should accomplish our mission. We were in the depths of poverty, caused by being driven from Missouri, where we had left all. I recollect that one of my own sisters pitied my condition and situation; she was sorry for me, and said, “Brother Brigham, what necessity is there for you to go to England while you are sick? Why not tarry here until you are well?” I said to her, as I started off one morning, “Sister Fanny, I never felt better in my life.” She was a very eccentric woman and, looking at me, with tears in her eyes, she said, “You lie.” I said nothing, but I was determined to go to England or to die trying. My firm resolve was that I would do what I was required to do in the Gospel of life and salvation, or I would die trying to do it. I am so today.

We landed upon the shores of England, and then I felt that the chains were broken, and the bands that were upon me were burst asunder. Twelve months and sixteen days a few of the Twelve and Seventies tarried in England. In these twelve months and sixteen days, under my supervision, between eight and nine thousand persons were baptized (though some apostatized) before we left, the Churches were organized, the emigration prepared, ships were chartered and companies sailed out. When I landed in Liverpool I had six bits, with which I purchased a hat. In twelve months and sixteen days one of the finest vessels in the harbor tied up eight days to carry myself and brethren across the water. The agents of the vessel said such a thing had never been done before, but they were urgent and anxious to oblige us, for we had chartered and fitted out several vessels, and as our emigration promised to be a large business they wanted to carry us home. In that twelve months we had printed five thousand copies of the Book of Mormon, three thousand hymn books, and commenced the Millennial Star; over sixty thousand tracts had been printed and sent by the hands of the Elders to many of the houses in the towns they visited or distributed in their meetings; and in this way the word was distributed and the work carried on for one short twelve months. Our labor was successful, God blessed us, and when we returned our Book of Mormon was paid for. The gentleman who bound the first Book of Mormon in England binds them today when they have to be bound. We have not owed the first farthing to those who have done this work for us, but have paid promptly, according to promise, for every particle of our printing. Besides doing what I have already mentioned in that twelve months I sustained several families while there, and preserved them from starvation and death. All this was through the blessing of the Lord being upon us. We were strangers and unknown in a strange land, but the work prospered under the hands of the servants of God, and the means to do the work that was done, was procured through our industry and prudence. I have before taken the liberty, in a public capacity like this, to tell my brethren and sisters, that I do not recollect of spending more than one penny, needlessly, while in England, and that was for a bunch of grapes while passing through Smithfield market, Manchester. When I took them in my hand I saw women passing through the market who, I knew, were suffering through hunger, and who probably perished and died. I felt that I ought to have given that penny to the poor. Whenever I went from my office, if I neglected to take my pocket full of coppers to give to the poor mendicants which are everywhere to be met with, I would return to the office and take a handful of coppers from the drawer, and as I walked along would give something to such objects of pity and distress as I met, and pass on without being hindered by them. We organized the Church, we ordained two patriarchs, and from that time we have been gathering the poor.

This is the experience of many of my brethren as well as myself. We have toiled and labored together, gathering the people, preaching the Gospel to the nations, hunting for the pure in heart, those who love the Lord our God, those who believe the Bible. Where is the minister, the deacon, where are the people who believe in God the Father? In our Lord Jesus Christ? Who believe the New Testament? Who will accept of the salvation that is proffered to the human family through the labors of Jesus and his Apostles? We are after them. Is there an individual on the face of the earth that will receive the truth? We want to find him. Who will receive the truth? They who will give all for Christ. Not the proud, not the haughty; not those who set stakes and say the Lord must come to them or they will not have salvation, but they who say, “Let the Lord draw the line and mark the path and we will walk to it.” This must be the conclusion of every person who expects to be saved in the kingdom of God.

We preach faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Christian world say they have faith. Have they? If they have they will bow down and receive the ordinances of the New and Everlasting Covenant, and thank God that they have the privilege of receiving them. Can they who reject the New Testament and the Son of God, who refuse to receive the ordinances of the New Testament that were placed in the Church and kingdom of God on the earth in the days of Jesus and his Apostles, be saved in the celestial kingdom? I answer they cannot. The Scriptures make this answer; it is the declaration of Jesus and the Apostles; it is the word of the Almighty, consequently we must concur and say the same. Unless we believe the Gospel of Christ and obey its ordinances we have no promise of the life to come. If we ever attain to that it will be only by complying with the terms that Jesus has laid down. We cannot build and plan for ourselves; if we do we shall be like the Jews of old, who, as the prophet says, “have hewn out cisterns that will hold no water.” We must submit to the ordinances of the house of God.

Who is there that can say baptism is not necessary for the remission of sins? Jesus and the Apostles said it was necessary. Can I say it is not? I cannot, and it is a fact that all who receive eternal life and salvation will receive it on no other conditions than believing in the Son of God and obeying the principles that he has laid down. Can we devise any other means and plan of salvation? We cannot. Will we do away with the Bible? We will not; though the Christian world are actually coming to the point that they will dismiss the Bible from their schools; and by and by they will dismiss it from their pulpits and get one to suit themselves; they will hew out for themselves cisterns that will hold no water. They cannot abide the doctrine contained in the Old and New Testament, “and,” say they, “we must alter and change it; it does not suit our condition. It was not written for us; it was written for people in days of old; but we live under different circumstances and the Bible should be altered, and we will assemble our synods and have the Scriptures revised to suit our condition.” Have they commenced this? Yes, and not very recently either. Can you find a copy of the first printed edition of the Bible? We have Bibles between two and three hundred years old, but where can the first Bibles that were printed be obtained? While I was traveling in England there was one sold for five hundred pounds. It had belonged to one of our brethren—had descended to him from his ancestors; and he, not knowing its value, sold it for fifteen shillings. Afterwards, if my memory serves me correctly, it was sold for the sum I have named. We cannot find books of that edition; some that have been altered and changed are plentiful. I mean King James’ translation, and that is good enough for me; it will answer my purpose. But how is it with the Christian world? Will it answer theirs? If it will, why do they not abide by it? Why do they not say, “This shall be our rule of faith, and our lives and works shall correspond with its principles and precepts?” They would do so if they were honest and their belief was sincere. And it will have to be so with them if ever they gain admittance into the kingdom of God, for in the Bible are the words of life and salvation. I ask again, who can say that baptism is not necessary for the remission of sins? The question has been asked, “What virtue is there in the water?” If there is no virtue in it don’t drink it; it is not good for the system if there is no virtue in it. But there is virtue in it. If there is not, we should never apply it to our clothing or to the surfaces of our bodies for cleansing purposes; we should never use any more for cooking; we should never again apply it to the soil for the purpose of irrigation. How inconsistent it is to suppose that water should be used for so many and important purposes in life if there is no virtue in it! But there is virtue in it, and there is virtue in being buried beneath the wave in the likeness of Christ, and coming forth to a newness of life. There is virtue in being born again, whether in the font or in the river, it makes no difference, for Jesus has said that “except a man be born of the water and of the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” When a person is buried beneath the water he comes forth from one element to another, and is literally born again. Who, then, after the declaration of Jesus on this subject, can say that baptism is not necessary or that there is no virtue in the water? I cannot. Who can say that the laying on of hands is not necessary for the reception of the Holy Ghost? It is true that the house of Cornelius received the Holy Ghost before the Gospel was preached unto them. But the Lord had a special purpose in view in its bestowal in their case, namely, the removal of the prejudice of Peter and his brethren, who, being Jews, and full of the traditions of their fathers, thought that the Gentiles—among whom Cornelius and his house were classed—were not privileged to receive the Gospel. But the vision which Peter had on this subject, and the message sent to him by Cornelius in obedience to the command of the Lord in connection with the fact of the bestowal of the Holy Ghost on Cornelius and his family was so convincing to Peter and his brethren that the former was constrained to exclaim, “Can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?” Some may say, “What was the necessity of sending for Peter, one of the Apostles, when they had already received the Holy Ghost?” The simple fact is this: there was nobody to baptize Cornelius and his household, nobody to bury them with Christ in the water; no one had authority to baptize them for the remission of their sins; and consequently, although they had received the Holy Ghost, an Apostle had to be sent for to administer that ordinance. And we read further in relation to this case, that Peter “commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.” Did any others receive the Holy Ghost before baptism? None that we have any record of; but there is no doubt that many who were worthy received it in a measure; but, whether in the days of the Apostles or in our day, when the doctrine of baptism for the remission of sins is preached by a servant of the Lord, to persons who have received the Holy Ghost, if they reject that doctrine the Holy Ghost will withdraw from them forever. Is it necessary that believers should obey all the doctrines and ordinances taught and established by the Savior? There is no ordinance that God has delivered, by His own voice, through His Son Jesus Christ or by the mouths of any of His prophets, Apostles or evangelists, that is useless. Every ordinance, every commandment and requirement is necessary for the salvation of the human family.

What are we required to do? To receive the Gospel, the ordinances of the house of God, and then to go on to perfection. We have been baptized for the remission of sins and have received the laying on of hands for the Holy Ghost. We have Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, and so on. Are we not perfect? According to the testimony of the Apostle we are not. Says he, Hebrews 6th chapter and 1st verse, “Therefore not leaving the principle of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection.”

How will perfection be obtained? By all persons in the kingdom of God living so as to be revelators from the heavens for themselves and for all they preside over, that everything they have to perform in this life—every worldly care and duty, and all their walk and conversation before each other and before the Lord, may be marked out by the spirit of revelation. Is this the way to perfection? It is. This is the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; this is the Gospel of life and salvation. Who can dispute it? We must destroy the Bible before we can dispute it with any hope of success. But we may do away with the Bible and say it is no use to us, it has lost its virtue; it was written for the people six thousand, four thousand, two thousand, or eighteen hundred years ago, and it is not for us now. We have plenty upon the earth who can tell the will of God to the children of men and lead the people back into the presence of God; and if the Bible were destroyed by accident, it can be rewritten, and all the words of the Lord that are necessary for their salvation can be given to the people. We are thankful for this.

Are we, the Latter-day Saints, loved for entertaining these views and for declaring these truths? “Oh, well,” says the stranger, “you should not be hated.” If we are hated for anything it is for preaching the Gospel of life and salvation. If we are hated for anything it is for good works instead of evil works, no matter who hears, tells or writes to the contrary. Truth is truth and will prevail. Are we in fault for believing in Jesus Christ? We ask the whole Christian world, Can you give us the words of life and salvation, or tell us how to be saved? Could you do this when we belonged to your societies, Presbyterians, Baptists or any of you Protestants? Not the first individual amongst you could point out the path, for one short rod, to the kingdom of God. Do I know this? Certainly I do by experience. I have searched for the truth, though in my youth I was called an infidel, and I was an infidel. What to? This Bible? No, to false creeds, and to professing without possessing, as I am today.

Where is the man who can point out the way of life and salvation? Who can tell us of God the Father and of our Lord Jesus Christ, and give us their characters? Who can tell about heaven and heavenly things? Who can introduce heaven to earth or earth to heaven and bring man to his Father again, and reestablish familiarity and association between them, which is so much desired by intelligent beings? The prophet of God, Joseph Smith, commenced it in this generation, no matter how odious his name may be to the inhabitants of the earth. I will defy any nation to hate a man more than the Jews hated the name of Jesus Christ—when he lived in the flesh. I honor and revere the name of Joseph Smith. I delight to hear it; I love it. I love his doctrine. Why? Because it is true, and truth will abide when error passes away. Life will remain when they who have rejected the words of eternal life are swallowed up in death. I like the truth because it is true, because it is lovely and delightful, because it is so glorious in its nature, and so worthy the admiration, faith and consideration of all intelligent beings in heaven or on the earth. Should I be hated and my name cast out as evil because I love the truth? Yes, or the words of Jesus could not be fulfilled, for he said, “Ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.” He told his disciples to rejoice evermore and to pray without ceasing when they were held in derision by their enemies, and to lift up their heads and rejoice when all men spoke evil of them, for “behold your redemption draweth nigh.”

Is there any harm in believing in the Lord Jesus Christ? I frequently ask the question for my own satisfaction. Is there a doctrine taught in this book (the Bible), that would ruin or injure man, woman or child on the face of the earth? Not one. Is there a doctrine taught by Jesus and his disciples that would not do good to the people morally, physically, socially, religiously or politically? Not one. Did Joseph Smith ever teach a doctrine that would not elevate the soul, feelings, heart and affections of every individual who would embrace it? Not one. Did he ever teach a doctrine that would lead those who embraced it down to wretchedness, woe and misery, that would give them pain for ease, darkness for light, error for truth? No; but just the reverse. He proffered life and salvation—light for darkness and truth for error. He proffered all that was in the Gospel of the Son of God, and proclaimed that very Gospel that John saw the angel flying through the midst of heaven to restore. That angel delivered the keys of this apostleship and ministry to Joseph Smith and his brethren, and commanded them to blow the Gospel trump through all the nations of the earth, and to cry to all who love and wait patiently for the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, “Come out of her, my people, that ye may not be partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues.” This was the doctrine of Jesus; this was the cry of John when on the Isle of Patmos. That angel has flown through the midst of heaven having the everlasting Gospel to preach to those who dwell on earth, and his cry was and is, “Come out from Babylon, from pride, from the foolish fashions of the world; come out from the spirit of the world, from the spirit of hatred, anger, malice, wrath, selfishness and every feeling but that is honorable and justified of the heavens. Gather yourselves together! Sanctify the Lord God in your heart.” This was the cry, and it is the cry today, and it will be until the pure in heart are gathered together.

Should the Latter-day Saints be hated for this? “Oh, they have done so many evils!” What have they done? You can see for yourselves what we have done. Mark our settlements for six hundred miles in these mountains, and then mark the path that we made coming here, building the bridges and making the roads across the prairies, mountains and canyons! We came here penniless in old wagons, our friends back telling us to “take all the provisions you can, for you can get no more! Take all the furniture you can, for you can get no more! Take all the seed grain you can, for you can get none there! Take all the farming implements you can, for you can get none there!” We did this, and in addition to all this we have gathered all the poor we could, and the Lord has planted us in these valleys, promising that He would hide us up for a little season until His wrath and indignation passed over the nations. Will we trust in the Lord? Yes.

What have we been doing here? You can see for yourselves that we have been laboring with our hands. We have had no time to find fault with our neighbors or to do them injury, or to do anything else only to make ourselves comfortable, and to prepare as fast as possible for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. See the settlements that have been built up by the penniless, those who had not clothing to last them three months when they came, and some of whom did not bring a month’s provision with them, and did not know that they could raise a thing, only by faith. Yet we came and we have lived and prospered, and here we are. What fault should be found with us? “Oh, you have done so many evil things!” What evils have we done? I am at the defiance of earth and hell to put a finger on the place or time that a false doctrine was taught to anyone, a wrong taught to anyone, or when evil was justified in anyone, all the liars and all the lies on earth and in hell to the contrary notwithstanding.

We believe the Gospel and in Jesus; is there crime in it? No, there is not; and if the inhabitants of the earth are not disposed to receive the Gospel, they have the liberty to reject it. If men come into this Church and are disposed to apostatize, they have the privilege to do so. Every intelligent being has the right to choose for himself whether he will have the man Christ Jesus or Satan to rule over him. He will certainly have one or the other! Just as sure as he is a living being, the Lord Almighty will be his leader, dictator, director and counselor, or the devil will. We cannot live without them. We were brought here; we did not bring ourselves. We were created, formed, fashioned and made independent of ourselves. We are under this law and we cannot get from under it. But the Lord has given us intelligence, and He has set before us life and death, and has said, “Choose ye this day whom ye will serve.” Which shall we take? I will take the Lord Jesus every time. Why? Because his doctrine is so pure and holy. I love it, because in it there is life; because it will endure; while all error, falsehood, lies and liars will be cast into hell; and when they shall be utterly destroyed and wasted away, truth will live and it will endure forever. I think I will hold to it. Had not we better all do so? Do you not think that the Latter-day Saints had better keep their religion and hold on to the faith of the holy Gospel? I say to the Latter-day Saints, it is far better for you to retain your characters as Saints than to let them go. I do not care where you go, if it be among the most wicked band of men on earth, they will respect you more if you retain your characters as Saints than they would if they could say to you, “You have been preaching this doctrine that we call false for thirty, thirty-five, or forty years, and bearing your testimony to its truth, and now you turn round and say it is false. You have just learned that you have been a hypocrite, and that those whom you formerly hailed as brethren and friends are a set of hypocrites.” Such individuals will be branded wherever they go, and they will not be trusted either for good or evil; and if they go to hell they will be despised by the damned. That is the condition of apostates. Why? Because they are traitors, and having lied about one thing they will lie about another; having lied once they will lie again. Is it not so? Yes, everybody will admit that. Well, do you not think that good men and good women had better hold on to their goodness? I think so. When a man by his course in life has acquired a character that is spotless, it is a priceless jewel, and nothing should induce him to barter it away. If the wicked try to bring a blemish or cast a stain upon it their efforts will not be successful. They may throw their mud, but it will not stain the garments of the pure and holy. Had we not better preserve the good characters which God has helped us to maintain? I think we had.

Now, what do we believe in? In anything that will do us harm? Not the least in the world. Our belief will bring peace to all men and good will to all the inhabitants of the earth. It will induce all who sincerely follow its dictates to cultivate righteousness and peace; to live peaceably in their families; to praise the Lord morning and evening; to pray with their families, and will so fill them with the spirit of peace that they will never condemn or chasten anyone unless it is well deserved. They who live in the enjoyment of the spirit and influence of our holy religion will never feel “cross.” That is the common word. Yankees will understand it, for I have seen lots of them cross—out of humor, out of temper. They will never feel like this. They will rise in the morning with their spirits as smooth and serene as the sun that is rising and giving life and heat to the world; just as calm and as smooth as the breezes on a summer evening. No anger, no wrath, no malice, contention or strife. If a wrong arises, the party wronged will go to his neighbor and quietly investigate whether wrong was designed; and if the seeming transgressor is living according to the spirit of his religion, it will be found that he had designed no wrong, and that he will make ample amends, forgiveness will be accorded, and the trouble will end. This is the spirit and teaching of the Gospel. Peace prevails. There are no lawsuits or contentions; no work for a poor miserable lawyer, who is seeking to breed disturbance in a community. I do think very low of that class of men! If I had no better business than stirring up strife in a community, I would pray for my end on this earth, that I might go where I belonged. The teachings of Jesus and his Apostles inculcated peace and prevented contention, discord, strife, quarrelling and lawsuits; and the Gospel, today, has the same effects as then. Here a great many of us have to water from one ditch from year end to year end. But there is no quarrelling over it. Says one, “I am content to have my share at midnight; you can have yours tomorrow at eleven o’clock.” No contention or strife! We meet together and ask God to bless us and to help us to live in the observance of all His laws, and to promote every principle of peace and morality, and so help to make ourselves and our neighbors happy. Is there harm in this? No, there is not. We like it, because it brings us comfort, peace and joy. We may look at the world and we observe a very different state of affairs. What is the condition of the kings of the earth? Can they pass around among their subjects anywhere and everywhere with peace and safety? No, they must have their lifeguards to protect them; they are afraid of being destroyed from the earth. We may go to our political men and ask, “Have you got friends?” “Yes, such a man is my friend, he is a nice, good friend; but take care of that one, He is my enemy.” “What has he done?” “Nothing, only he is trying to break my calculations and plans in my election, and I don’t like him or his party.”

Saints have no such parties and feelings; they have no choice but to get the best there is, and be satisfied; and hence, in their political affairs they have no contention. This is one objection which outsiders have to the Latter-day Saints: they all go and vote one way. Is it not right to do so? Let us think about it. Suppose that we do all actually vote one way, or for one man for our delegate to Congress, and have no opposing candidate, and get the best there is, is that not better than having opposition? What does opposition bring? It certainly brings anger and strife; and of what use are they? They serve no good purpose. Then let us all vote one way, and think and act one way, and keep the commandments of God and build up His kingdom on the earth in peace and righteousness. I certainly think that this is the best idea. We have plenty of competition in our midst, but what will it accomplish? Not much, if anything. They who favor it may contend until they are tired, and then they will drop silently out of the way, and that will be the end of them. Contention does not profit a people.

Have you truth? Let us have it if you have. If people have said to me, in my preachings, “That is error,” I have said, “Perhaps so, but this book (the Bible) is the standard I believe.” I have read out of that book many times to men, and they have said, “Oh, that is the Book of Mormon.” “It is good doctrine, is it not?” and they would not know whether it was the Bible or the Book of Mormon, and yet they would profess to be Bible readers and believers. Sometimes they would listen until tired, and then say, “I will not have any more of that, it is the Book of Mormon,” and some have even gone so far as to say, “It is blasphemous.” I have said, “Will you please look at the title page,” and when they would see that it was the Bible they would say, “Well, I really did not know that such things were in the Bible.”

I say to any and to all, “If you have any truth, let us have it.” If I have errors, I will swap ten of them for one truth. But I have the words of life for you, what have you for me? I ask the infidel world what they can give in exchange for the faith I have in Jesus Christ and the religion I believe in and practice. If I am wrong, mistaken, overzealous, enthusiastic and bewildered in my imagination, what can you give me? “Nothing, we have nothing; we do not believe in anything.” Then I do not see any necessity of trading, for all I have cannot hurt or wrong anybody on the earth. I do not believe or practice anything that will do harm. I have embraced nothing in my faith, neither do I teach any doctrine that will hurt any person; hence, there is no necessity of trading if you have nothing to give me for my priceless jewel. I am for life everlasting. I have a being and a life here; and this life is very valuable; it is a most excellent life! I have a future! I am living for another existence that is far above this sinful world, wherein I will be free from this darkness, sin, error, ignorance and unbelief. I am looking forward to a world filled with light and intelligence, where men and women will live in the knowledge and light of God. Have you anything to give for this? Not the least in the world. Then I guess we will not trade. I have something for you if you will accept of it. If you will hearken to my counsel you will not only have joy in this life, peace in the Holy Ghost here, but life everlasting hereafter. I have embraced the Gospel for life and salvation; I have embraced it for time; I have embraced it for eternity. I calculate to go back and see my Father. Say the Christian world, “Who are you going to see?” A personage very much like myself; my Father, He who begot my spirit; my Father who set in perfect order the machine to produce this tabernacle in which my spirit dwells. “Oh,” say the Christian world, “we don’t believe in such a God as this.” We know you don’t. You don’t believe in a God at all—only a phantom of the brain. Still they mean better; but they are like those who, in olden times, worshipped an unknown God. The inscription on their temple was, “To the unknown God.” This is not our inscription; ours is, “To the known God,” our Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our elder brother according to the spirit. I am going to see Him one of these days if I live so as to be worthy; and when I see Him I shall fall upon His neck and He upon mine, and we shall kiss each other, shouting “Alleluia” that I have returned. Do not you think it will be a time of rejoicing? Yes.

This is the God that we serve and that we know and understand. Is there any harm in all this? Not the least in the world. Peace on earth and good will to men. Christ has died for all; but we can receive the benefit of his atonement on his conditions only, not on our own. We must repent of our sins and be baptized for the remission of them, and have the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost so that the spirit of the Gospel will live within us. Then we can shout Alleluia in praising Him whom we serve.

God bless you, Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle, Ogden City, July 10, 1870.

I am disposed to ask a few questions of this congregation, though not expecting them to give audible answers. Judging from what I know and understand of the Latter-day Saints, I can answer these questions satisfactorily to myself, and probably to the satisfaction of most of the people.

Do we believe in the Scriptures of Divine truth? Those which are contained in the Old and New Testaments, in the Book of Mormon, the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and other revelations that have been given to this people? I can answer this in the affirmative, by saying that we certainly do. This leads my mind to the reflection that if we believe the Scriptures and the revelations I have referred to, we also believe that Jesus is the Christ; and believing the Scriptures and that Jesus is the Christ, we must believe other things also. If the Scriptures are true, it proves that sin is in the world, and the question arises, Is it necessary that sin should be here? What will the Latter-day Saints say? Is it necessary that we should know good from evil? I can answer this to suit myself by saying it is absolutely necessary, for the simple reason that if we had never realized darkness we never could have comprehended the light; if we never tasted anything bitter, but were to eat sweets, the honey and the honeycomb, from the time we come into this world until the time we go out of it, what knowledge could we have of the bitter? This leads me to the decision that every fact that exists in this world is demonstrated by its opposite. If this is the fact—and all true philosophy proves it—it leads me to the conclusion that the transgression of our first parents was absolutely necessary, that we might be brought in contact with sin and have the opportunity of knowing good and evil. It may be deemed strange and singular by the Christian world that we should believe such a thing; but the Scriptures inform us, in Genesis iii., 22, that the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become as one of us, to know good and evil.” Are we the sons and daughters of that God whom we serve? We answer we are. Do we expect to be exalted with our Father in heaven? We do. How are we to be exalted? We have sinned and transgressed the law of God. The Christian world and the world of mankind have not only transgressed the laws of God, but they have changed the ordinances and broken every covenant that God has given them. Then I ask, Is there a debt contracted between the Father and his children? There is. Our first parents transgressed the law that was given them in the garden; their eyes were opened. This created the debt. What is the nature of this debt? It is a divine debt. What will pay it? I ask, Is there anything short of a divine sacrifice that can pay this debt? No; there is not.

I say this to gratify myself, and to gratify my brethren and sisters. A divine debt has been contracted by the children, and the Father demands recompense. He says to his children on this earth, who are in sin and transgression, it is impossible for you to pay this debt; I have prepared a sacrifice; I will send my Only Begotten Son to pay this divine debt. Was it necessary then that Jesus should die? Do we understand why he should sacrifice his life? The idea that the Son of God, who never committed sin, should sacrifice his life, is unquestionably preposterous to the minds of many in the Christian world. But the fact exists that the Father, the Divine Father, whom we serve, the God of the Universe, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Father of our spirits, provided this sacrifice and sent his Son to die for us; and it is also a great fact that the Son came to do the will of the Father, and that he has paid the debt, in fulfillment of the Scripture which says, “He was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Is it so on any other earth? On every earth. How many earths are there? I observed this morning that you may take the particles of matter composing this earth, and if they could be enumerated they would only be a beginning to the number of the creations of God; and they are continually coming into existence, and undergoing changes and passing through the same experience that we are passing through. Sin is upon every earth that ever was created, and if it was not so, I would like some philosophers to let us know how people can be exalted to become sons of God, and enjoy a fulness of glory with the Redeemer. Consequently every earth has its redeemer, and every earth has its tempter; and every earth, and the people thereof, in their turn and time, receive all that we receive, and pass through all the ordeals that we are passing through.

Is this easy to understand? It is perfectly easy to me; and my advice to those who have queries and doubts on this subject is, when they reason and philosophize upon it, not to plant their position in falsehood or argue hypothetically, but upon the facts as they exist, and they will come to the conclusion that unless God provides a Savior to pay this debt it can never be paid. Can all the wisdom of the world devise means by which we can be redeemed, and return to the presence of our Father and elder brother, and dwell with holy angels and celestial beings? No; it is beyond the power and wisdom of the inhabitants of the earth that now live, or that ever did or ever will live, to prepare or create a sacrifice that will pay this divine debt. But God provided it, and his Son has paid it, and we, each and every one, can now receive the truth and be saved in the kingdom of God. Is it clear and plain? It is to me, and if you have the Spirit of God, it is as plain to you as anything else in the world. Why are you baptized for the remission of sins? Is there virtue in it? There is. Why do we lay hands on the sick? Is there virtue in doing so? There is, and the wicked world as well as the Saints prove this. Since Joseph Smith received revelations from God, Spiritualism has taken its rise, and has spread with unprecedented rapidity; and they will lay hands on each other—one system proving another—spiritualism demonstrating the reality of animal magnetism? Is there virtue in one person more than another? Power in one more than another? Spirit in one more than another? Yes, there is. I will tell you how much I have. You may assemble together every spiritualist on the face of the earth, and I will defy them to make a table move or get a communication from hell or any other place while I am present. Yes, there is more spirit in some than in others; and this power—called by the world animal magnetism—enables those possessing it to put others into the mesmeric sleep. When I lay hands on the sick, I expect the healing power and influence of God to pass through me to the patient, and the disease to give way. I do not say that I heal everybody I lay hands on; but many have been healed under my administration. Jesus said, on one occasion, “Who has touched me?” A woman had crept up behind him in the crowd, and touched the hem of his garment, and he knew it, because virtue had gone from him. Do you see the reason and propriety of laying hands on each other? When we are prepared, when we are holy vessels before the Lord, a stream of power from the Almighty can pass through the tabernacle of the administrator to the system of the patient, and the sick are made whole; the headache, fever or other disease has to give way. My brethren and sisters, there is virtue in us if we will do right; if we live our religion we are the temples of God wherein he will dwell; if we defile ourselves, these temples God will destroy.

We shall now sing and dismiss the meeting. We do hope and pray you Latter-day Saints to live according to your best knowledge; and we pray God, our Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, to give you faith, grace and fortitude to do so; and his Spirit, that you may be able to see the glory of his kingdom, and then compare it with the kingdoms of this world. What is the glory of this world? Just gather it all together, and it is nothing but a shadow! All the kings and potentates on the earth, with all their power, pomp, greatness and grandeur, will pass into oblivion—they will pass completely from the remembrance of the children of men; they were, but are not. This is the glory of the world; but the glory of the kingdom of God was, is, and forever will be!

The Lord bless you. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, July 3, 1870.

I have a few words to say to the Latter-day Saints with regard to borrowing money and not repaying it. The individual referred to by Brother Carrington is not the only one who has done this. If we were to do justice by them I think we should deprive them of the fellowship of the Saints until they learned to keep their word and to deal honorably with their brethren. It is bad enough, quite bad enough, to borrow from an enemy and not to repay him; to do this is beneath the character of any human being; but all who will borrow from a friend, and especially from the poor, are undeserving the fellowship of the Saints if they do not repay. If anybody in the congregation is disposed to make a motion to that effect I certainly should put it to the vote. Then again, I will pause. There are circumstances that are discouraging, and which naturally weaken the faith and confidence of the Saints, and few things more so than to send money to bring the poor home to Zion, and, after teaching them how to take care of themselves, to accumulate the necessaries of life around them, and when they become comfortable and have a little to spare, for them to lift their heels against God and his Anointed. And this is not infrequently done.

I look over the congregations of the Saints as I travel through the Territory and I see quite a large percentage of people who, I know, never in their lives owned a house, a foot of land, a horse, a wagon, a carriage, an ox, a cow, a sheep, or even a fowl. But gather them here, make them comfortable and put them in happy circumstances and they often forget their God, their covenants and their benefactors. I do not know of anyone, excepting the unpardonable sin, that is greater than the sin of ingratitude; and I do think that many of this people are guilty of it. I will say, however, that if there be those in this congregation who have held out to the poor Saints any prospects of helping them to gather, keep your word with them.

A very serious question frequently arises in my mind with regard to the character of men and women. It is this; “Are our characters our own?” We may say “yes, we form these characters.” Suppose that we are fortunate enough to form a good, honest character in the minds and in the faith of those who are acquainted with us, do not those characters belong to our neighbors, although we may be the framers of them? And I would like to ask: Have we the right to destroy them? It is a serious question with me. If we have confidence in each other, and our conduct has been such that we have created confidence in the feelings of our neighbors towards us, have we a right to destroy that confidence? Is it not sacrilege? I will simply reply by giving my views with regard to myself. According to the knowledge which I possess it is a great deal easier for an individual to preserve a good character than to frame and make one if it is lost. It is much easier to keep a fort when it is well armed and defended than to give it into the hands of the enemy and then regain it. Consequently we had better keep our characters, if they are good, than to suffer the enemy to rob us of them.

Now, to the Latter-day Saints, I will say that when you received the Gospel in foreign lands you received no more, in comparison, than a child receives at school when he learns his first lesson. If he masters the alphabet he thinks he is progressing finely. If the Saints receive the alphabet abroad they are doing well. When they come here they have more to learn. The school we are in will never cease; the lessons we have to learn will never be less than those which we have received: they will never end; consequently it is important that we school and train ourselves until we are in subjection to the mind and will of heaven.

In passing through the world I see that the most of parents are very anxious to govern and control their children. As far as my observations have gone I have seen more parents who were unable to control themselves than I ever saw who were unable to control their children. If a mother wishes to control her child, in the first place let her learn to control herself, then she may be successful in bringing the child into perfect subjection to her will. But if she does not control herself how can she expect a child—an infant in understanding—to be more wise, prudent and better than one of grown age and matured? I think it would be asking too much. If we will school ourselves and bring our own tempers and dispositions into subjection we shall then have influence to do good, over the minds of our acquaintances; but if we do not control ourselves how can we have influence over others? You let two men meet, for instance, say two neighbors, between whom there is a difficulty, and one is full of anger and wrath and he is ready to settle the matter on the spot; but the other one, calm and quiet in feeling, says: “Neighbor, stop a moment, let us look at and reason on this subject; I perceive that you are angry this morning, you are not in a good temper, and are not in a situation now to consider this matter justly. Wait a few moments and see if this evil influence will depart from you. We will then endeavor to revise this matter thoroughly and learn who is to blame.” Now the one who is calm and full of judgment, discretion and patience pretty soon overcomes the opposite influence. Which of the two has the mastery? The one who is angry or the one who is full of patience? Why, the one who is angry at once submits in his own feelings to his superior. Who is the superior? The one who has possessed his soul. If we take this course we will gain influence.

But we do know, the Christian knows, the heathen knows, and the whole world of mankind knows, and it is acknowledged by all, that confidence is lost; the members of the human family have not confidence in each other, as nations, individuals, kings, potentates, statesmen, or as officers of governments; and I am sorry to say that people have not confidence in each other as Christians. Confidence is lost. The work in which you and I have enlisted is to restore confidence in the minds of the people; and when I hear of circumstances transpiring in which brethren forfeit their word I regard it as a blot upon the character of this people. We should keep our word with each other. And if we have difficulty of misunderstanding with each other, talk it over, canvass the subject thoroughly, seriously and discreetly, and we shall find that all difficulties will be remedied in this way easier than any other; and we shall also find that nearly every difficulty that arises in the midst of the inhabitants of the earth, is through misunderstanding; and if a wrong in intent and design really exists, if the matter is canvassed over in the manner I have advised, the wrongdoer is generally willing to come to terms.

This restoration of confidence devolves upon us, then let us do what we can in our humble sphere to do so among ourselves in the first place, and by-and-by it will reach to others. I am happy to say that those who are not of us have a great deal more confidence in us, in many respects, I mean as businessmen and traders, than in any other community on this continent; and I do not believe that there is a community in the whole of Christendom, the members of which pay their debts as well as the Latter-day Saints. But they are not up to the mark, and are defaulters in many respects; yet they may not be nearly so much to blame as outward appearances seem to indicate, for there are so many men who will deal on prospect, really believing that their business matters are so propitious and promising that they will be able to make both ends meet and accomplish all their designs. Such persons have more confidence in themselves and in future fortune than they should have; and through this the Latter-day Saints oftentimes fail in their business transactions and engagements with one another. How desirable it is that we should be prompt with each other in every respect! Failure in this is often the source of ill feeling and of a bad reputation. How often I have heard the saying, from my youth up, “There is a bad neighbor,” or “such a one is a bad neighbor!” But in most of such cases which have come under my notice, I have learned that the “bad neighbor,” wants that re– turned which others have borrowed, and at the time they have promised; and if they were not prompt and true to their word he speaks uncomfortable words and gets angry. And, as a general thing, I have found that “bad neighbors” in a country are, in nearly every case, men who are very prompt, and because others are not so, difficulties arise; for instance, Mr. A. goes to Mr. B. and says, “Can I borrow your hoe, plow or wagon of you today?” Says Mr. B., “Yes sir, you can have it, if you will return it in the evening, for I shall want it early tomorrow morning.” But tomorrow morning comes and the plow is not brought home, and here stands the team and the hired man and boy waiting for it, and thus anger is created. These little bars should be put up. It is hard for us to enjoy that spirit of peace that we should enjoy unless we are very prompt in our dealings with each other. We sometimes say to the brethren, “We do not see nor understand how in the world you can enjoy your religion unless you have a good fence around your garden; you have a fine garden with good vegetables and fruits growing, but no fence around it.” “Well, it is the law here for people to take care of their cattle.” “Yes, but they don’t do it.” In this garden there may be a patch of beans coming on finely, or some young fruit trees growing thriftily. The owner of the garden gets down on his knees for morning prayer, and presently he hears a rush round the house. “What is the matter?” “Why cattle are in the garden.” I think he cannot pray much. It destroys the spirit of prayer and takes peace from him. But let him put a good fence around his garden, orchard or field and he can kneel down and pray in peace, and ask his heavenly Father for the blessings he wants, and not be interrupted, and the devil is fenced out. Well, in all these things guard against temptation, against this loose life, and be prompt in everything, and especially to pay your debts.

The Perpetual Emigrating Fund is not doing anything this season.

But it is painful to hear the cries, wishes, wants and importunities of the poor Saints. If we will do right we shall have abundance to gather the poor. They must all have a chance, although many of them forsake their God, deny their Savior, forsake their brethren and turn away and become traitors, yet they must have their chance. Gather them, give them all the chance possible for life and salvation, and if they receive it right, blessed are they; if they reject it, their blood be upon their own garments.

I want to say a few words with regard to our religion, our spiritual faith and belief, to my friends who are here. I am accosted frequently with the expression, “I think you have done wonders here, but I do not believe anything of your religion.” Now, you certainly do. There is not an infidel in the world but who believes in our religion more or less; and the same is true of the heathen and also of professing Christians and their ministers; but they do not know how to define it. They believe in a God, but they do not know how to define that God. If they turn to the Bible and read, it will tell what God is; it will describe the character and form of the very God that the Christians serve. He has a body, parts and passions; he has feelings, sensibility, principle, attributes, and powers and this Bible proves it definitely to every person who really believes the Bible is true.

Do the Christian world believe in the Son of God—the Savior of the world? They say they do, and we certainly do; and we also believe that he came and died for sinners—died to save the world. Do the Christian world believe it? Yes, they say they do. Do not we believe alike? Yes. They do not know how to define it, but we do. Do they believe in the gifts and graces of God? They certainly do. I have heard ministers begin to preach and read from the scriptures and give their interpretations of what the Lord meant. I have said to them “there must be more revelation in the world than ever before, for how can you tell what the Lord means, if you do not read it, unless he tells you?” Here is the word of inspired men, but you say it does not mean what it says. I believe it means what it says, where it is translated correctly. I believe that inspired men said what they meant, and meant what they said. I believe that Jesus said precisely what he meant, and meant precisely what he said. Do Christians believe this? They say they do, and I have heard ministers of the gospel declare that they believed every word in the Bible was the word of God. I have said to them “you believe more than I do.” I believe the words of God are there; I believe the words of the devil are there; I believe that the words of men and the words of angels are there; and that is not all—I believe that the words of a dumb brute are there. I recollect one of the prophets riding, and prophesying against Israel, and the animal he rode rebuked his madness.

Do you believe all this is the word of God? If you do you certainly believe more than I do. The words of the Lord are the words of the Lord, and the revelations God has given concerning himself are true. When Moses wrote and said that man was formed precisely in the image of God he wrote the truth. We are the children of our father—his offspring, of the same family; we belong to him by birthright, and we are his children and Jesus is our brother. Does the Bible tell all this? Just as plain as words can tell anything. The Christian world do believe “Mormonism,” and “Mormonism” is the truth.

“Where is your code, your particular creed,” says one. It fills eternity; it is all truth in heaven, on earth or in hell. This is “Mormonism.” It embraces every true science and all true philosophy. Is this so? Certainly it is; but, vain philosophy is the result of vain conjurations of the brains of men. How often we hear men philosophize about what would have been suppose we had not been here, and suppose the earth had not been made, and suppose Adam had not come into the garden of Eden, and suppose he had not sinned, what would have been the condition of the world! Always arguing from false premises, and on a false foundation. Facts are facts, and we might as well argue that there is not a railway across this continent to carry the people and goods as to argue that Adam was not in the garden of Eden, that he did not fall, that sin is not in the world or that Jesus is not the Christ. The negative of these propositions is hard to prove, but the affirmative is easy to prove and comprehend, and easy to understand and live by.

Well, I will say that our religion is nothing more nor less than the true order of heaven—the system of laws by which the Gods and the angels are governed. Are they governed by law? Certainly. There is no being in all the eternities but what is governed by law. Who is it who desires to have liberty and no law? They who are from beneath. This is what Lucifer, the Son of the Morning, wanted. He wanted to save the world without law, to redeem the world without order. There must be law, order, rules and regulations; there must be a system of government; and, to have a kingdom of God on the earth, there must be a king, and subjects to rule, and territory for those subjects to dwell upon. These things comprise the kingdom of God, the embryo of which is now being formed by the Latter-day Saints, by the will of the Father, by the power of God; and they will endure and truth will prevail, and we need not be afraid as to the result.

True science, true art and true knowledge comprehend all that are in heaven or on the earth, or in all the eternities. By these all beings exist, whether they be celestial, terrestrial or telestial; or whether they are from beneath and dwell with the devils among the damned. All truth is ours. Now, if anybody wants to make a trade, come on! If you have truths, and I have errors, I will give ten errors for one truth. I have said a great many times to my friends, “if I have errors bring on your truth.” I have embraced the Gospel of the Son of God, by the world termed “Mormonism,” simply because it is true; and there is no power, no argument, no true philosophy, no principle of science, there is no truth from heaven, no word of God or of angels that says to the contrary; but all agree that this is the word of God, this is the power of God, this is life everlasting; and we can say, as it was said in old times, “This is eternal life to know the only wise and true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent,” and thanks be to God we are tolerably well acquainted with him, and with the principles which he has revealed for the guidance and salvation of the children of men. He extends life and salvation to all, and says, “Come to me all ye ends of the earth and be ye saved.” Is there any person excused, any left out of doors, to whom no invitation is sent? Not one. It was a marvel to me, when I first believed, how it was that professing Christians in the world need to repent. But I took this ground in my own mind, and I carried it out. Said I, “If I have no sins to repent of let me repent of that religion that I have embraced that is not true.” So we say to all others. If you have been righteous from your birth up, and have never committed known sins and transgressions, be baptized to fulfil all righteousness, as Jesus was. If you can say you have no sins to repent of, forsake your false theories, and love and serve God with an undivided heart.

God bless you. Amen.

Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 29, 1870.

If I can have your attention I will talk to you a few minutes. Speaking as much as I have in public makes me feel most forcibly that I have both stomach and lungs, hence I would like to have stillness in the house. I see some sisters withdrawing in consequence of their children not being quiet; I am very much obliged to them, and trust that others will do likewise if they cannot keep their children still.

I am not in the habit of making many apologies nor very many preliminaries when I speak to a congregation. Sometimes I feel to say a few words that might be called apologetic in rising to address a congregation, having that timidity which most men feel on such occasions. I have seen few public speakers in my life who were capable of rising and speaking directly upon a subject, unless it had been studied or perhaps written beforehand. To speak extempore, on the impulse of the moment, without reflection, requires considerable steadiness of the nerve. This is a matter that I have reflected upon a good deal, for in my experience I have learned that there is a modest timidity in the feelings of almost all persons I ever saw when called upon to speak to their fellow beings. This is frequently the case in private circles as well as before the public. I think I understand the reason of it; it is a matter which I have studied. I find myself here on this earth, in the midst of intelligence. I ask myself and Wisdom, where has this intelligence come from? Who has produced and brought into existence, I will say, this intelligent congregation assembled here this afternoon? We are here, but whence have we come? Where did we belong before coming here? Have we dropped accidentally from some of the planets on to this earth without order, law or rule? Perhaps some, in their reflections, have come to this conclusion, and think that is all that is known in relation to this matter. I inquire where is this intelligence from which I see, more or less, in every being, and before which I shrink when attempting to address a congregation? I ask the question of my friends, my brethren and of every man that lives: Suppose that you, through duty, are called to speak to a private family, to a small congregation, or even to children in a Sunday school, do you not feel this same timidity? Where is the man who can rise to address children without feeling this same modesty? I have seen a very few in my life who could rise before a congregation, in a prayer meeting, or go on the stage of a theater, or anywhere else, and speak with perfect ease and confidence. I think they have great reason to be thankful for their self-confidence; but where they obtained it or whether it is inherent, whether they are destitute of real refinement or have a surplus of it, it is not for me to say. I know that I do not possess this faculty. When I speak to a congregation I know that I am speaking to the intelligence that is from above. This intelligence which is within you and me is from heaven. In gazing upon the intelligence reflected in the countenances of my fellow beings, I gaze upon the image of Him whom I worship—the God I serve. I see His image and a certain amount of His intelligence there. I feel it within myself. My nature shrinks at the divinity we see in others. This is the cause of that timidity to which I have referred which I experience when rising to address a congregation.

I rise with pleasure this afternoon to speak to my friends, brethren and sisters, and to the strangers who are here; and I will take the liberty of looking at my people—my brethren and sisters, as they are, and we will look at each other as we are. I look at others as they are, and we will look at each other as we are. We will chat a little together, and I will give both Saints and strangers a few of my views. First to the Saints, I will say that you and I have professed to believe in God who reigns in the heavens, who formed the earth and the planets. No matter whether He rules the celestial, terrestrial or telestial, you and I have professed to believe in that Supreme Being who has set this machine in motion. He governs by law. He has reduced His offspring, His legitimate offspring, to all the sin, darkness, death and misery that we find on this earth; He has also provided means and, in connection with the attributes He has implanted within us, has instituted ordinances which, if we will receive and improve upon, will enable us to return back into His presence. I say to the Latter-day Saints, live your religion! Live so that the Spirit of the Lord will dwell within you, that you may know for a surety and certainty that God lives. For me to tell you that there is a God in heaven, that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world; for me to tell you that Jesus will give his holy Spirit to them that believe on him and obey his Gospel, would be fruitless to you unless you obey his requirements. I know that the Latter-day Saints are looked upon by the world as dupes—as a low, degraded, imbecile race, and that we are so unwise and shortsighted, so vain and foolish, that through the great amount of enthusiasm within us, we have embraced an error, and have been duped by Joseph Smith. You who have obeyed the principles he preached know whether you are deceived or not. I know for myself and you know for yourselves.

Now let me ask you, if you trust to my faith, to my word and teachings, counsel and advice, and do not seek after the Lord to have His Spirit to guide and direct you, can I not deceive you, can I not lead you into error? Look at this and see to what mischief it would lead, and what an amount of evil could be done to a people if they did not live so that the Spirit of the Lord would dwell with them that they might know these things for themselves. It is my request, my prayer, exhortation, faith, wish and earnest desire that the Latter-day Saints will live their religion, and that they will teach their children all things pertaining to God and godliness, that they may grow up into Christ, their living head.

I would ask of my friends or foes, no matter which—I mean those who do not believe as I do—those who look upon us as a set of fanatics, I would ask a few questions of the world of mankind, of the greatest philosophers, of the greatest geniuses, and of the men of the most profound knowledge on the face of the earth, Can you tell me where you get your knowledge? Say some, “The schoolmaster taught me thus and so; my mother taught me thus and so; or I have learned it from books.” Can you tell me the origin of this knowledge? Can you direct me where I can go and get the same knowledge? Was this inherent in you? Was it developed without any nourishment, or instruction—without the life and intelligence which came from the vision of the mind? Ask the mechanic—Who influenced you to bring forth this and that improvement in mechanism? Who influenced Professor Morse to believe that he could stretch a wire round this building or any other, and then, by applying a battery at one end of the wire, that he could receive an answer at the other? Who taught Robert Fulton that he could apply steam so as to propel a vessel? Did his mother, his schoolmaster or his preacher tell him this? No, he would have spurned the idea.

Now, all this is in my remembrance. I lived nearby those who assisted Mr. Fulton in building his steamboat. He could not be dissuaded, by any means, to desist from his operations. I ask what was it that influenced the mind of Fulton in this direction? It was that invisible influence or intelligence that comes from our Creator, day by day, and night by night, in dreams and visions of the mind. “I see it, I know it,” said he. I recollect him telling some of our neighbors who assisted him in building the first steam vessel that ever was built, “I know that I can apply steam so as to propel this vessel from here to New York. I know it just as well as I live.” I recollect a Mr. Curtis, a carriage maker, who lived in the State of New York; said he, “I have a little property, and I will spend all I have to assist Mr. Fulton to put his project into successful operation; for I have faith in it.”

This is a question which I would like the scientific and philosophic world to answer, Where do you get your knowledge from? I can answer the question; they get it from that Supreme Being, a portion of whose intelligence is in each and every one. They have it not independently; it was not there until put there. They have the foundation, and they can improve and add knowledge to knowledge, wisdom to wisdom, light to light, and intelligence to intelligence. This power to increase in wisdom and intelligence so that we can know things for ourselves is within every one of us.

Now, I ask the wise, where did you get your wisdom? Was it taught you? Yes, I say it was taught you. By your professors in college? No, it was taught you by the influence of the spirit that is in man, and the inspiration of the Spirit of God giveth it understanding; and every creature can thus add intelligence to intelligence. We all know that if we learn one page of a book today, we can learn another tomorrow, and yet retain that which we learned previously; and so we can go on step by step, from day to day, improving the faculties with which God has endowed us, until we are filled with the knowledge of God.

The “Mormons” believe all this. I ask strangers and the philosophers of the world, Is there any harm in it? Is it any harm for you and me to exercise faith in God? We have faith, we live by faith; we came to these mountains by faith. We came here, I often say, though to the ears of some the expression may sound rather rude, naked and barefoot, and comparatively this is true. Is that a fact? It is. Shall I explain this? I will in part, and I will commence by satisfying the curiosity of almost everybody that comes here, or with whom our Elders converse when away. A great many men and women have an irrepressible curiosity to know how many wives Brigham Young has. I am now going to gratify that curiosity by saying, ladies and gentlemen, I have sixteen wives. If I have any more hereafter it will be my good luck and the blessing of God. “How many children have you, President Young?” I have forty-nine living children, and I hope to have a great many more. Now put that down. I impart this information to gratify the curiosity of the curious.

“President Young, did you come here naked and barefoot?” I will say, very nearly so. “How many of your wives had shoes to their feet, after leaving everything you had in the State of Illinois?” I do not think that more than one or two of my wives had shoes to their feet when we came here. We bought buckskins of the Indians and made moccasins of them. How many of these Elders had whole pantaloons when they reached here? I do not believe a dozen of them had. They had worked in the dead of winter ferrying the people across the river until they had nothing, and they came here naked and barefoot, that is, comparatively.

We had to have faith to come here. When we met Mr. Bridger on the Big Sandy River, said he, “Mr. Young, I would give a thousand dollars if I knew an ear of corn could be ripened in the Great Basin.” Said I, “Wait eighteen months and I will show you many of them.” Did I say this from knowledge? No, it was my faith; but we had not the least encouragement—from natural reasoning and all that we could learn of this country—of its sterility, its cold and frost, to believe that we could ever raise anything. But we traveled on, breaking the road through the mountains and building bridges until we arrived here, and then we did everything we could to sustain ourselves. We had faith that we could raise grain; was there any harm in this? Not at all. If we had not had faith, what would have become of us? We would have gone down in unbelief, have closed up every resource for our sustenance and should never have raised anything. I ask the whole world, is there any harm in having faith in God? Have you faith? Ask Mr. Pullman if he had faith that he could build a car more convenient than any the traveling community enjoyed before, and he will say that he had faith that he could build cars in which ladies and gentlemen might travel through the country with all the ease and comfort they could desire; and he showed his faith by his works, as we read of the ancient worthies doing. You know James says, “Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” Mr. Pullman and others can show their faith by their works. We show our faith by our works. Is there any harm in this? I ask the whole Christian world, is there any harm in believing in God, in a supreme power and influence?

The Christian world believe in God, but they say He has no body. Christianity does not teach any such thing. “God has no parts and He is without passions,” say the Christian world. I do not read the Scriptures aright if this is the fact. I read that God loves, that God hates. I read that His eyes are over the works of His hands; that His arm is stretched out to save His people; that His footsteps are seen among the nations of the earth. If He has no feet, He certainly can make no impression; if He has no hands or arms he cannot reach down to save His people. I read that the Lord’s ears are open to the petitions of His people; but if He have no ears how can He hear. This is the way that I read the Bible, and I ask, is there any harm in reading and understanding it thus? There are a great many infidels now, who were formerly among our Christian friends and brethren, who are ignoring the Bible in their public schools. I do not. Is there anything in the Bible that should not be read by the scholars in schools? If there be, leave out such parts, or rather replace the language there used, with phraseology more in accordance with modern usage, so that the principles contained in the Bible may be taught in your catechisms or other books. I know that there is some plain talk in the Bible, plainer than I heard this morning; but that plain talk was the custom of the ancients. The mere phraseology there used is not of much consequence, it is the true principle which that book teaches which renders it so valuable. If any of you, ladies and gentlemen, were to step on a steamboat and cross over to Liverpool, you would hear language and see customs that you never heard or saw in Yankee land. It is the same with regard to the Bible, the phraseology is that which was customary centuries ago; but no matter what the language is, that is merely custom. But I will say that the doctrines taught in the Old and New Testaments concerning the will of God towards His children here on the earth; the history of what He has done for their salvation; the ordinances which He has instituted for their redemption; the gift of His Son and his atonement—all these are true, and we, the Latter-day Saints, believe in them.

Some, in their curiosity, will say, “But you Mormons have another Bible! Do you believe in the Old and New Testaments?” I answer we do believe in the Old and New Testaments, and we have also another book, called the Book of Mormon. What are the doctrines of the Book of Mormon? The same as those of the Bible. “What is the utility of this book—the Book of Mormon? Has it been of any use whatever to the people anywhere?” O, yes. “Where and when?” I will refer to one of the sayings of Jesus recorded in the New Testament. Just before his crucifixion he said to his disciples, “Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.” After his crucifixion he came to this continent, chose Twelve Apostles from among the people and sent them forth to preach his Gospel. He also did many mighty miracles. He was seen to come from heaven down into the midst of the people. He organized his Church amongst them, healed the sick, and left his Church and Gospel in their midst. I am sorry to say that we see the descendants of this very people now in a very low and degraded state. I refer to the aborigines or native Indians of this continent. But this is in consequence of their apostasy and turning from God. The aborigines of this country are the descendants of this very people whom Jesus visited, to whom he delivered his Gospel, and among whom he organized his Church. They were obedient for over three hundred years, and served God with an undivided heart, after which they began to apostatize. For three hundred years the people on the continent of North and South America were benefited by the work of the Savior in organizing his Church and revealing every principle and ordinance calculated to assist them back into the presence of God. Is not that good?

“What good does it do you, Latter-day Saints?” It proves that the Bible is true. What do the infidel world say about the Bible? They say that the Bible is nothing better than last year’s almanac; it is nothing but a fable and priestcraft, and it is good for nothing. The Book of Mormon, however, declares that the Bible is true, and it proves it; and the two prove each other true. The Old and New Testaments are the stick of Judah. You recollect that the tribe of Judah tarried in Jerusalem and the Lord blessed Judah, and the result was the writings of the Old and New Testaments. But where is the stick of Joseph? Can yon tell where it is? Yes. It was the children of Joseph who came across the waters to this continent, and this land was filled with people, and the Book of Mormon or the stick of Joseph contains their writings, and they are in the hands of Ephraim. Where are the Ephraimites? They are mixed through all the nations of the earth. God is calling upon them to gather out, and He is uniting them, and they are giving the Gospel to the whole world. Is there any harm or any false doctrine in that? A great many say there is. If there is, it is all in the Bible.

When I first commenced to preach to the people, nearly forty years ago, to believe the Bible was the great requisite. I have heard some make the broad assertion that every word within the lids of the Bible was the word of God. I have said to them, “You have never read the Bible, have you?” “O, yes, and I believe every word in it is the word of God.” Well, I believe that the Bible contains the word of God, and the words of good men and the words of bad men; the words of good angels and the words of bad angels and words of the devil; and also the words uttered by the ass when he rebuked the prophet in his madness. I believe the words of the Bible are just what they are; but aside from that I believe the doctrines concerning salvation contained in that book are true, and that their observance will elevate any people, nation or family that dwells on the face of the earth. The doctrines contained in the Bible will lift to a superior condition all who observe them; they will impart to them knowledge, wisdom, charity, fill them with compassion and cause them to feel after the wants of those who are in distress, or in painful or degraded circumstances. They who observe the precepts contained in the Scriptures will be just and true, and virtuous and peaceable at home and abroad. Follow out the doctrines of the Bible and men will make splendid husbands, women excellent wives, and children will be obedient; they will make families happy and the nations wealthy and happy and lifted up above the things of this life. Can any see any harm in all this? “Oh, but you Mormons are such a strange people. It is true that we have found things in Utah different from what we expected, but still you people are so strange!” Why, what did you expect? Did you expect to see men and women with fins like fishes? We are right from your country—from England, France, Germany, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, from the South, from every State in the Union; what did you expect to see? We lived with you, went to school and to meeting with you; but still the saying is, “Oh, the Mormons are a strange people.” It is true that we are; but in what does our peculiarity consist? We do not believe in litigation, quarreling, or in having contention with each other. We take the low and degraded and lift them up. If it would be any satisfaction to any man in the world to know what advantages President Young has had, I will say that I used to have the privilege of cutting down the hemlock, beech and maple trees with my father and my brothers: and then rolling them together, burning the logs, splitting the rails, and fencing the little fields. I wonder if any of you ever did this? You who came from England, or from the rich prairies of Illinois or Missouri never did. Well, this was my education. “Did you not go to school?” Yes; I went eleven days, that was the extent of my schooling.

Now, if we can take the low and degraded and elevate them in their feelings, language and manners; if we can impart to them the sciences that are in the world, teach them all that books contain, and in addition to all this, teach them principles that are eternal, and calculated to make them a beautiful community, lovely in their appearance, intelligent in every sense of the word, would you not say that our system is praiseworthy and possesses great merit? Well, this is all in that book called the Bible, and the faithful observance of the principles taught in that book will do this for any family or nation on the earth.

We are not anxious to obtain gold; if we can obtain it by raising potatoes and wheat, all right. “Can’t you make yourselves rich by speculating?” We do not wish to. “Can’t you make yourselves rich by going to the gold mines?” We are right in the midst of them. “Why don’t you dig the gold from the earth?” Because it demoralizes any community or nation on the earth to give them gold and silver to their hearts’ content; it will ruin any nation. But give them iron and coal, good hard work, plenty to eat, good schools and good doctrine, and it will make them a healthy, wealthy and happy people.

This is the great mystery with regard to the Latter-day Saints. We have got a code of laws that the Lord Almighty has left on record in the book called the Old and New Testaments. This same code is contained in the Book of Mormon, also in another book we have, called the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. These doctrines are taught in all these books, and taught alike.

Now then, does the voice of the Lord, as heard from the heavens, ever teach men and women to do wrong? Never. You see a man or woman, in any community, no matter where they are or who they are, that is inclined to do a wrong act to themselves or anybody else, and they profess to do that under a religious influence, and you may know that their ideas of religion are false. Ladies and gentlemen, write that down. His religion is false who does not have love to God and to his fellow creatures; who does not cherish holiness of heart, purity of life, and sanctification, that he may be prepared to enter again into the presence of the Father and the Son.

The question was asked a great many times of Joseph Smith, by gentlemen who came to see him and his people, “How is it that you can control your people so easily? It appears that they do nothing but what you say; how is it that you can govern them so easily?” Said he, “I do not govern them at all. The Lord has revealed certain prin– ciples from the heavens by which we are to live in these latter days. The time is drawing near when the Lord is going to gather out His people from the wicked, and He is going to cut short His work in righteousness, and the principles which He has revealed I have taught to the people and they are trying to live according to them, and they control themselves.”

Gentlemen, this is the great secret now in controlling this people. It is thought that I control them, but it is not so. It is as much as I can do to control myself and to keep myself straight and teach the people the principles by which they should live. Do all do it? No, and the consequence is we see wickedness in the land. Men do very wrong. Who is guilty? The Lord? No. The religion we have embraced? No. The counsel we have given? No. I have had the question asked me, in the days of Joseph, “Mr. Young, I suppose that you would obey Joseph Smith, let him tell you to do what he might?” “Well, I think I would.” “Suppose that he should tell you to kill your neighbor or to steal, or to do this, that or the other, that is wrong, would you do it?” I would reply, “Wait till I am told. I have never yet been told from heaven, by Joseph Smith, the Old or New Testament, the Book of Mormon or the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, to do a wrong thing; and I will wait until I am, before I say what I would do; that is time enough.”

“Well, have you not committed wrong?” I may have committed a great many wrongs for want of judgment or wisdom—a little here and a little there. “But have you not done great wrongs?” I have not. I know what is in the hearts of almost every person who comes to this city. It is hurled throughout the length and breadth of our country like lightning that Brigham Young and the “Mormons” are guilty of doing this, that and the other, I need not reiterate; and it is often asked, “Have not you Mormons been guilty of this or that crime or evil?” I answer, no, ladies and gentlemen, we have not. It is the wicked who do these crimes; it is men who will go to hell; and then they try to palm them off on the just and righteous. You can imagine what you please of the stories you have read about the people of Utah from the pens of every lying scribbler who has been here. Imagine what you please, but write this down, publish it in your little paper (the Trans-Continental), that a Saint will never do wrong if he knows it. If a man will do a wrong thing willfully, he is not a Saint. When you hear of Brigham Young, and of his brethren who are in the faith of the holy Gospel, doing this wrong and that wrong, wait until you find out the truth before you publish it to the world.

We have been asked a good many times, “Why do you not publish the truth in regard to these lies which are circulated about you?” We might do this if we owned all the papers published in Christendom. Who will publish a letter from me or my brethren? Who will publish the truth from us? If it gets into one paper, it is slipped under the counter or somewhere else; but it never gets into a second. They will send forth lies concerning us very readily. The old adage is that a lie will creep through the keyhole and go a thousand miles while truth is getting out of doors; and our experience has proved this. We have not the influence and power necessary to refute the falsehoods circulated about us. We depend on God, who sits in the heavens. Our trust is in Him who created the heavens, who formed the earth, and who has brought forth His children on the earth, and who has given the intelligence which they possess. He has given them the privilege of choosing for themselves, whether it be good or evil; but the result of our choice is still in His hand. All His children have the right of making a path for themselves, of walking to the right or to the left, of telling the truth or that which is not true. This right God has given to all people who dwell on the earth, and they can legislate and act as they please; but God holds them in His hands, and He will bring forth the results to His glory, and for the benefit of those who love and serve Him, and He will make the wrath of men to praise Him. All of us are in the hands of that God. We are all His children. We are His sons and daughters naturally, and by the principles of eternal life. We are brethren and sisters. What is it that makes the distinctions we see in the classes of the children of men? We see the low and the degraded, like the aborigines of our country; what is the cause of their being in their present condition? It is because of the rejection by their fathers of the Gospel of the Son of God. The Gospel brings intelligence, happiness, and glory to all who obey it and live according to its precepts. It will give them intelligence that comes from God. Their minds will be open so as to understand things as they are; they will rejoice in being blessed themselves and in blessing their fellow beings, and in being prepared to reenter the presence of the Father and the Son. This will be their delight. Is this so? It is.

I was very much gratified a day or two ago with a little circumstance that transpired while a company of ladies and gentlemen were visiting me. We were talking over some circumstances relating to our coming to the valleys, and our hardships after we got here. I said it was faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that enabled us to endure. A lady present said, “That is right, I believe in exercising faith in him. Have faith in God, for God will bless all who have faith in Him, no matter who they are nor by whom called; if you have faith in God, and live according to the light you have, God will lead you to glory.”

I delight to hear a person give an intimation of their having faith in God; to hear it said, “I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe in his crucifixion and atonement, and in his ordinances.” These ordinances we are trying to live, that we may glorify God, and prepare ourselves to build up His Zion on the earth, that the world may be filled with peace, knowledge and joy.

God help us to do so!

Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 8, 1870.

We have now been together in a Conference capacity for four days. It seems a very short time; we would like to stay a little longer, if it were prudent. This is the place to give general instruction to the Latter-day Saints. It is good when the Saints meet together to look at each other, to hear the brethren bear testimony of the truth and to feel the fellowship of the Holy Ghost. This makes our hearts joyful and glad. It will be prudent for us now to bring our Conference to a close, and, after I have spent a few minutes in speaking, we shall adjourn until the 6th of next October, at ten o’clock in the morning, at this place.

There are many things which we would like to talk about; I would like to do a great deal of talking if I had the opportunity and were able to do so. There are many little items pertaining to what are called temporal matters, which it would be well for the people to understand in order to promote their happiness here on the earth and to aid them in securing eternal salvation. It is not those who are hearers of the word only who are blessed and who secure to themselves the blessings of eternal life; they who secure eternal life are doers of the word as well as hearers. If we hear the word and do not perform the labors indicated by it, it will profit us nothing. To hear the word, as the Latter-day Saints do, and then to perform the labor devolving upon them, requires a great deal of wisdom; and to bring the people up to this standard much labor and instruction from the Elders is necessary.

If we can remember what we have heard at this Conference, and carry it out in our lives, it will profit us. I hope and trust that we may. Let us apply our hearts to the wisdom that has been exhibited before the Conference, and observe the little duties of everyday life, that we may be prepared to receive more. It is not possible for a person to learn all the will of God in an hour, a day, or a week; it requires much time and attention to do this. The Lord gives a little here and a little there, a precept now and a precept again, and by close observance of these things in our lives we grow in grace and in a knowledge of the truth.

We are thankful for the privilege of talking a little. We ought all to be very thankful that we have the privilege of the Gospel and of the ordinances of the house of God, for by applying them to the duties of life we can increase in knowledge, wisdom and understanding. We are thankful to see the increase that there is in the midst of the people.

You very well know that it is said by many of those who wish to traduce the character of the Latter-day Saints that we are a poor, miserable, ignorant people. If we are, there is a great chance for improvement. We will acknowledge that we are very ignorant, and that the Lord has taken the weak things of the world to confound the wisdom of the wise. He has picked up the poor of the earth and brought them together, because they seek after him; while the hearts of the rich and the proud, the high and the noble, are lifted up, and they cannot hearken to the principles of the Gospel and receive them and obey them. They feel themselves too good; they know too much; while the poor and needy, those who suffer from hunger and nakedness, and from hard labor and taskmasters, are the ones who naturally seek after the Lord. The Lord is just as willing to bless and to pour out his Spirit upon the king on the throne as upon the beggar in the street; but the king has sufficient—he does not feel after the Lord; but the beggar cries unto the Lord for his daily bread. Hence the Lord gathers the poor. When we are gathered together, if we will improve ourselves by and by we will be filled with wisdom.

When we look at the Latter-day Saints and remember that they have been taken from the coal pits, from the ironworks, from the streets, from the kitchens and from the barns and factories and from hard service in the countries where they formerly lived, we cannot wonder at their ignorance. But when they are brought together they soon become scholars. Many of them become farmers and merchants, and they soon learn to procure a sustenance for themselves and families, and gather around them the necessaries and comforts of life. They also learn the object of their being, of the creation of the earth, and how to organize the elements so as to subserve their own wants and necessities. This is a blessing, and we are proud to see the industry of the Latter-day Saints, and also their improvements and faithfulness. If we are ignorant, let us become wise; if we are poor, let us gather around us the comforts of life. I look around among my brethren and I see scholars. The world say we are ignorant; we acknowledge it, but we are not as ignorant as they are, although they have had opportunities of education perhaps that many of our brethren have not had. We study from the great book of nature. We are driven to this of necessity. Where is there another people who have done what this people have done in these mountains, by way of making improvements in their own midst—upon the soil and in their cities and towns. They are not to be found on the face of the earth. If this is not intelligence—if this is not good, hard, sound sense, I wish somebody would come and teach us a little. If we are taken from the poor, ignorant, low and degraded, and make ourselves wise and happy, it is a credit to us.

There are causes for this which some may not have thought about. I often think of them. You take, for instance, a father, who has, say, four, ten or twelve sons. He may have abundance to dispose of to each and every one; but he dislikes some particular one, and perhaps feeds and clothes eleven, but the twelfth, whom he hates and despises, he turns out of doors to provide for himself. This one son goes forth weeping, and says, “I am forsaken of my father and his house; now I have to look after myself. I have the earth before me; I have to live; I do not want to kill myself, and as I have life before me I certainly must make my own future. I will go to work and accumulate a little of something, so that I can purchase me a piece of land. When it is purchased I will put improvements upon it. I will build me a house; I will fence my farm; I will set off my orchard and plant out my garden; and I will gather around me my horses, my cattle, my wagons and carriages, and I will get me a family.” Pretty soon here is a boy who knows how to live as well as his father does. How is it with the rest of the family? They are led and clothed by their father; they know not where it comes from nor how it is obtained, and they scarcely know their right hand from their left with regard to the things of the world.

This illustrates the history of this people. We have been under the necessity of learning every art—to cultivate the soil and how to provide for our own wants under the most adverse circumstances. We have been compelled to do this or go without, for none would do it for us. We have been forced to study mechanism, all kinds of machinery, how to build, and how to provide and take care of ourselves in every respect. I thank the parent and the boys for turning us out of doors. Why? Because it has thrown us on our own resources, and taught us to provide for ourselves. We have a future before us, and God will take care of us. In my meditations I say, “Shall I complain of father? No. I will not complain at all, he has done the best he could for me, though he knew it not. If he had made my house, opened my farm, planted my orchard, seen to my planting and ploughing as well as the gathering; and then had brought my food to my chamber and appointed a servant to feed me, what should I have known about getting my living? How could I have known anything about raising fruit or anything else? I could not have known. I might read books until Doomsday, and unless I apply the knowledge thus obtained I should know but little.” Without the application of knowledge acquired by reading, it makes mere machines of us; we can tell what others have done, but we know nothing ourselves. Then speak evil of no man, and acknowledge that it has been a blessing to us to be cast aside and compelled to take care of ourselves.

When we left our homes in the East and started for the Rocky Mountains the feeling in regard to us was, “There is starvation before you Mormons; but if you do not die of starvation the Indians will kill you.” We knew that they would do no such thing; we knew that we could live when we got here, and we also knew that we could travel twelve or fourteen hundred miles with our cows, calves, colts, lame cattle, our seed grain and provisions and farming utensils on wagons, carts and handcarts, without an ounce of iron on some of them. It was said that we could raise nothing when we got here; but I said, “We will wait and see; we know that God has led us out here, and we will wait and see what he will do for us.” You can see what he has done, and thank his name and be humble. Shall we speak evil of others? No. Why? Because the result of their treatment towards us has made us better and greater than we could have been otherwise. It has brought us closer together than we could possibly have come without a great deal more revelation than we have had. Our enemies have pushed us together; and it is excellent to be surrounded by circumstances that will bring us close together. We learn then whether we have fellowship one for another. Let us thank God, and speak evil of none; and instead of finding fault with father, let us thank him for turning us out of doors, for we have learned a great many useful lessons in life that we could not have learned without. We can read just as much as the inhabitants of the earth, and after reading we can practice a thousand times more than many of them.

I wish now to say a few words in relation to a subject which is attracting the attention of thousands of people in the world. I refer to what is termed infidelity. We are very well aware that a statement made in reference to this matter in this Conference is true—namely, that the inhabitants of the earth are drifting, as fast as time can roll, to infidelity. I do not profess to know a great deal; but some things I do know. Shall I take the liberty of telling you the story of the boy who went to the mill? He was looking at the miller’s hogs, which were very fat, clean and fine. The miller came out, and, seeing the boy attentively observing the pigs, said to him, “What are you thinking about?” Said the boy, “I was thinking that millers have fat hogs.” “Were you thinking of anything else?” said the miller. “Yes.” “What was it?” “I do not know whose grain they are fed on,” said the boy. I take the liberty of telling this story for illustration. Some things I do know and some I do not know; if I do not know whose grain the pigs eat, I do know that there are some fat hogs.

What shall I say with regard to infidelity? I do not know a great deal, but I say that a man has not good common sense who denies his Maker; such a man is not endowed with reasoning powers. I hold this book in my hand, and I say that for its production from the crude element it required a type founder, paper maker, printer and a book binder, and by their united exertions the book was made. But the infidel bases his argument on the principle that the book is here without a producer—that no type founder, paper maker, printer, nor bookbinder was necessary. Is not a man who argues on this principle a fool? If he is not he comes pretty near it.

There are a great many who say that there is no embodiment of the Deity. Our Christian brethren almost deny the existence of a God; but it is in word only; they do not feel it in their hearts, they do not mean any such thing. They are like the people of whom Paul speaks, who had temples reared to the unknown God. The Christians do not know anything about God, neither does the infidel. The Christian world say, “We believe in a God who has no body.” You do not believe in anything of the sort, Christian world! You think you believe it, but it is only tradition with you. Your fathers told you that God has no body; the priests told them; the schoolmasters have joined in the endorsement of the same ridiculous idea; it is also written in your church creeds; but, when you let common sense have place in your hearts, you do not believe in any such nonentity or nondescript as a God without body, parts or passions.

But foolish and absurd as is such an idea, it is not so ridiculous as that of the infidel. The Christian world, while virtually declaring that God is nothing, also declare that the world was created by him; but the infidel says the world had no creator, it is the result of chance. Now I defy any infidel, or any other person on the face of the earth, to prove that anything can be made or exist without a maker. The world and all its various grades of organized denizens, from the lowest forms of vegetable or animal life, up to man, the lord of creation, were framed and made, or they would not have been here.

I just want to say with regard to infidelity, it means nothing more nor less than to disbelieve anything we have a mind to. If we disbelieve in the existence of the Eternal, as an embodiment or personage, we are infidel on that point. If we disbelieve in the efficacy of the blood of the Savior and his atonement, we are infidels on that subject. I wish to say, however, to the Christian world, that the moment the atonement of the Savior is done away, that moment, at one sweep, the hopes of salvation entertained by the Christian world are destroyed, the foundation of their faith is taken away, and there is nothing left for them to stand upon. When this is gone all the revelations God ever gave to the Jewish nation, to the Gentiles and to us are rendered valueless, and all hope is taken from us at one sweep.

What proof have you, Infidels, that Jesus is not the Christ? What proof have you of the negative of the existence of God the Father, or of Jesus as the Mediator, or of the Holy Ghost as God’s minister, or of the gifts and graces that God has bestowed upon his people? None at all, not the least thing in the world. Is there anybody living on the earth that has the proof of the affirmative? Yes; we have. We have proof that God lives and that he has a body; that he has eyes, and ears to hear; that he has arms, hands and feet; that he can walk and does walk. He has declared himself to be a man of war—Jehovah, the great I Am, the Lord Almighty, and many other titles of a like import are used in reference to him in the Scriptures. But take away the atonement of the Son of God and the Scriptures fall useless to the ground.

How is it, Infidel, have you any proof that Jesus did not die for the sins of the world? No; not the least, any more than you have proof that there was no need to go to the mountains to cut the timber used in building this house, or to quarry the rock of which the pillars of this house are composed. How is it, Mr. Infidel, have you any proof of the nonexistence of Him who rules and reigns in heaven, and who controls the destinies of the earth? No; not the least. But you say, “I do not believe it.” That is your affair only, nobody cares about that.

Infidelity extends to other subjects besides the existence of God and the atonement of the Savior. Some are infidel on one point and some on another. I want to say that so far as a God without a body, parts and passions is concerned, I am a complete infidel. The God whom I serve has got eyes, ears, nose and mouth. He has hands to handle; his footsteps are seen in the midst of his people, and his goings forth among the nations; and he who has the Spirit of the Almighty can see the providences of God and behold his ways. I ask the infidel if he has any proof that I do not enjoy that Spirit? I have proof that I do. What is that proof. The peace, light and intelligence that I enjoy, which I have not obtained from the infidel, from reading books, from going to school, nor from studying the wisdom of any man that ever lived on the face of the earth. “Where did you obtain it?” says the infidel. From heaven, from the fountain of light and intelligence. “Where is your wisdom?” again says the infidel. Here, right before me, teaching the people how to be saved, how to live, and to live with each other; how to improve their minds; how to govern and control themselves. It was so with Joseph Smith, in his day. So it is today; how else could it be done? Who can gather the people from the nations in their poverty and ignorance and fill them with light and intelligence, teach them how to live, what the earth is and what it is for, make them understand that God is our father, Jesus the Mediator, and that we belong to the highest intelligence that there is in existence, and that we are the natural offspring of God the Father? God only can do this. Yet the infidel will say there is no God, that we are creatures of today, that we had no existence before this, and that when this is over there is nothing after. And following down the chain of his reasoning, he will say there was a time when there was no earth, no stars, no worlds, no anything. Well, I know there never was such a time. That is faith against faith, declaration against declaration. What a pitiful condition it would be for all space to contain nothing! To suppose that element, worlds, men, the grass of the fields, or the trees of the forest were created, is all folly! They are from eternity. It is equally vain to imagine space empty! There is no space without a kingdom, neither is there any kingdom without space, and they are from everlasting to everlasting. “How do you know it?” asks the unbeliever. By the revelations of God, by the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ. “How do you know how to teach the people to control themselves and make them of one heart and one mind?” By the revelations of the Lord. Well, then, I guess we will sing and pray and serve our God and keep his commandments; and I rather think that Zion will prosper. That is my opinion.

While the chapter from the prophecies of Daniel was being read, showing the plans and schemes of those who sought to entrap Daniel, and their miserable end, I was thinking how wise (!) men were in those days. How wise were those great captains, counselors and presidents! Could they not foresee that they could not overthrow Daniel? No, they could see no further than to believe that if the King would sign the decree that no petition should be presented to any potentate, on, above, or around about the earth, but to himself, for the space of thirty days, they would entrap and destroy Daniel. What was the result? Just as quick as they commenced their special legislation against Daniel the Lord commenced special legislation for him and against those who got him into the lion’s den. The final result was that Daniel lodged with the lions over night and came out unscathed, not injured in the least; the lions lay there peaceable when the stone was rolled away, and those who had caused him to be thrust there were condemned to take the place he left, and the lions devoured them. They could not foresee what Daniel could; he could have foretold their destiny, and that the legislation of the Lord Almighty would be a little above the special legislation of which they were the authors against him.

Brethren and sisters, will you keep the Word of Wisdom, say your prayers, observe the Sabbath, speak evil of no man, and strive to be humble and faithful in all things? If you will, we shall be one by and by; we are not yet. We must overcome the love of the world. He that hath the love of the world hath not the love of the Father. He that loves the things of the world loves not the kingdom of heaven on the earth. Whosoever serves mammon cannot serve God. We must let these things go out of our affections, then lay hold of the principles of eternal life and sustain the kingdom of God on the earth, or else we shall go by the board. If we jump over, we shall certainly sink, and if we stay aboard Zion’s ship, we can do no more than sink, and it will be just as well if Zion’s ship sink to be aboard as to jump overboard and sink. We had better stay aboard, she may go into harbor; and I can promise you in the name of Israel’s God that she will go there safe and carry every one of her passengers. Will we be humble and faithful? I trust we will. I hope—I pray you, brethren and sisters, let us be humble, be faithful to our God, our religion, and each other.

I will say a few words on a subject which has been mentioned here—that is, celestial marriage. God has given a revelation to seal for time and for eternity, just as he did in days of old. In our own days he has commanded his people to receive the New and Everlasting Covenant, and he has said, “If ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned.” We have received it. What is the result of it? I look at the world, or that small portion of it which believes in monogamy. It is only a small portion of the human family who do believe in it, for from nine to ten of the twelve hundred millions that live on the earth believe in and practice polygamy. Well, what is the result? Right in our land the doctrine and practice of plurality of wives tend to the preservation of life. Do you know it? Do you see it? What is our duty? To preserve life or destroy it? Can any of you answer? Why yes, it is to perpetuate and preserve life. But what principle do we see prevailing in our own land? What is that of which, in the East, West, North and South, ministers in their pulpits complain, and against which both gentlemen and ladies lecture? It is against taking life. They say, “Cease the destruction of prenatal life!” Our doctrine and practice make and preserve life; theirs destroy it. Which is the best, saying nothing about revelation, which is the best in a moral point of view, to preserve or to destroy the life which God designs to bring upon the earth. Just look at it and decide for yourselves.

This house is very large, but as a general thing the people have been very attentive, and they have tried to keep as still as possible. Still, I believe they can improve a little. I think that many of our sisters who have children can stay nearer the doors, and then, if they cannot prevent their children crying, they can step out. I do believe they can stop their whispering. When there is anything said from this Stand that pleases or displeases you, you turn to your neighbor and whisper, and the next one does the same, and directly there are a few thousand whispering, creating a noise like the rushing of many waters. Then you scrape your feet a little, and the many little noises are like the dust that composes the mountains and the whole earth. Every person should be silent when we meet here to worship God. Remember and try to keep perfectly quiet, and do not whisper, talk, nor scrape your feet; and do not let your children cry if you can help it. Twenty years ago I used to tell you that you might pinch your children to make them cry as loud as they could if you wished, and I could preach louder than they could cry. I could do it then, but now I want all to keep still.

I trust we shall long have the privilege of enjoying this shade which we have built; it is a cover from the burning sun in summer; and when the storm of rain comes this umbrella will shelter us. I perceive that, in the gallery, there is a little more heat now than before; we shall open the ventilators and put in some skylights, then I think it will be as cool as in the past.

Brethren and sisters, I feel to bless you. I ask my Father in heaven to bless the Saints, to bless every quorum and organization of his kingdom, from the First Presidency down to the last organization to promote good in the midst of his people. I pray continually for the Bishops, presiding Elders, High Councilors, and the Female Relief Societies. I will bless you, my sisters, if you will hearken to the counsel which has been given you with regard to these fashions. Then, to my brethren, I say, I will bless you, if you will seek a little closer to sustain yourselves, by preserving and wisely using that which the Lord gives you, and not suffer your cattle and sheep to die on the prairies, but preserve them, that we may have the wherewithal to supply ourselves with the necessaries of life, by raising sheep, building factories, raising flax, the mulberry and silk and other things useful. I do not care how beautifully you are adorned, ladies, if you will only raise the silk and adorn yourselves with your own hands. That is the requirement of heaven. It was so almost forty years ago. The word of the Lord to his Saints then was, “Let the beauty of your apparel be the beauty of the work of your own hands.” If you will observe this, adorn yourselves as much as you please. Make your hats and bonnets, and also make hats for your brothers and sons. It is your duty to do it. Preserve that that the Lord has given you, and waste nothing. I can say to the Latter-day Saints that there is no man nor woman, person or persons, but what I would rather feed, clothe, and sustain than to see a particle wasted in the midst of my family or this people. God does not like it, his Spirit is grieved with it. Idleness and wastefulness are not according to the rules of heaven. Preserve all you can, that you may have abundance to bless your friends and your enemies, as we did in ’49, ’50 and ’51. In those years we fed thousands and thousands of poor, starving emigrants, who had gold so big in their eyes that, when they started for the Plains, they did not know whether they had anything to eat or not. By our instrumentality they were fed and sent on their way rejoicing. If we take the counsel now given we shall have abundance to bless our enemies if it be necessary. Shall we say that we have any? Yes, there are those who would delight to be our enemies if they knew how; but they do not know how. I do not suppose that there was a greater enemy to the Savior, when he was on the earth, than the devil. How he did plead with the Savior to worship him! Said he, “I will give you all you can see, if you will fall down and worship me.” But Jesus rebuked him. Yet the devil hunted and followed up Jews and Gentiles, that is, the Romans, until they betrayed the Redeemer into the hands of his enemies, who crucified him, and in doing that they consummated the great act for the salvation of the human family, which will cheat the devil out of pretty much all of them, one way or the other. If he had had any good sense about him—but he was as short of that as the infidels in our day—he would have said, “I am with you, I will go with you, pay your taxes, and will make you welcome to my house.” But no, the devil and his followers did not know enough to do this, neither do our enemies, and thank God for it!

Again I say, I feel to bless my brethren and sisters—every quorum, every authority; our brethren and sisters who have sung for us, or played on the organ. I thank you, doorkeepers, and you who have waited on the congregation, and I say God bless you, and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I bless the whole house of Israel. I pray for the redemption of the Center Stake of Zion, and the upbuilding thereof. It is before us continually in our faith, and I hope that we shall live to see it. Amen.

Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 6, 1870.

The Scriptures inform us “that no man knows the things of God, but by the Spirit of God;” and then no man can speak the things of God unless aided by the Spirit of the Lord; and no people can comprehend the things spoken unless inspired and guided by the same Spirit. We need this Spirit continually and so do all mankind, to guide us, to enable us to comprehend the laws of life, to regulate and concentrate our thoughts, to elevate and ennoble our feelings, to give force and vitality to our actions, and to place us in a position before God, before men, and before the holy angels, that will be right, acceptable and proper to all true intelligence, to the angelic host, and to our heavenly Father. It matters very little what we are engaged in, it is impossible for us to do right without the guidance of the Almighty; but aided and directed by the Spirit of the Lord, we can act in consonance with the dignity of our high position as immortal beings possessing the holy Priesthood, and participating in the new and everlasting covenant; by the aid of that unerring Spirit we can fulfil the measure of our creation and prepare ourselves for an inheritance in the celestial kingdom of our God.

We are told “that the world by wisdom knows not God;” yet they do comprehend a great many things, and because of the spread of general intelligence and the great progress of science, literature and the arts, they believe they can find out God. Like the framers of Babel’s Tower, they seek to penetrate the heavens on natural principles. Like them they are mistaken, as all men have been who have sought to solve the problem of life through the influence of human wisdom. No man ever did understand God on this principle; neither can they by mortal agency alone understand the principles of life and salvation. No man in the present generation comprehends them on this principle; neither will human wisdom enable any man who ever will live to understand them. It is true that mankind, within a short time, have made great advances in the arts and sciences. During the last half century scientific research has made many wonderful developments; and many things which, before that time, were unknown to the human family, are now quite familiar. There was very little known of the application of the power of steam half a century ago. I remember, very well, the first steamboat and locomotive that were propelled by steam, and riding on the first railway. Before that, locomotion had to depend upon the winds and tides and horse power and a few other agencies. These are now supplanted by what all will acknowledge as a very superior agent—namely, the power of steam.

Electricity, or rather its application, so as to subserve the wants of man, was unknown until a comparatively recent period. I refer now more particularly to the electric telegraph. That has been a means of greatly facilitating the transmission of thought and the spread of intelligence among the human family, and has been a great advantage to the world at large. When we came to this valley, for instance, even so late as that, we had to depend upon ox teams to bring our mails and to convey intelligence from the East, and I have known it to be four, five, and sometimes as long as six months before we knew what President was elected. Now we can have it in fewer minutes; this exhibits a great improvement in such matters.

I can remember the time when we had to plod along at night, nearly in the dark, in our largest cities, the streets being lighted only by dim oil lamps. Now we have gas and various luminous oils, which we have made the earth teem forth by millions of gallons, that are almost equivalent to gas. Daguerreotyping, or as it is more generally called photography, is another great achievement of the human mind, conferring the power to take likenesses, landscapes and views in a moment, which formerly required days or months, even by the most eminent artists.

In machinery and chemistry, manufactures, and many other scientific developments connected with human life, wonderful advances have been made, and the world seems to have been progressing with great rapidity in the arts and sciences, in regard to manufactures. Some years ago every texture had to be spun by a single thread, now, by the aid of steam and machinery, it is done by thousands and hundreds of thousands. We might go on enumerating many other improvements which have taken place within the past few years; from which it is very evident that the progress of the present generation has far eclipsed that of any preceding it, of which we have any knowledge. Because of these things it has been supposed by many that the human intellect is capable of grasping everything in this world and the world to come—even eternal things, and many men have got puffed up and vain in their imaginations because of the discoveries they have made and the advancement in science, literature and the arts. They forget “that every good and perfect gift proceeds from God, the Father of light, in whom there is no variableness nor the shadow of a turning.” They forget that every particle of wisdom that any man possesses comes from God, and that without Him they would still continue to grope in the dark. They forget that, with all the increase of wisdom and intelligence and the expansion of the human mind, they are in the dark in regard to God, and that no man by wisdom can find Him out. The mystery which enshrouds Him is as high as heaven, as deep as hell and as wide as the universe; and it is unfathomable and incomprehensible by human intelligence, unaided by the inspiration of the Almighty.

There are men, it is true, who profess from the little knowledge they have of earthly things, by a series of deductions, to be able to find out heavenly things, but there is a very material difference between the two. There is a philosophy of the earth and a philosophy of the heavens; the latter can unravel all mysteries pertaining to earth; but the philosophy of the earth cannot enter into the mysteries of the kingdom of God, or the purposes of the Most High. But because of the advancement to which I have alluded, men set themselves up as teachers of things pertaining to spiritual matters, of which they know nothing. But the moment they do that, they exhibit their folly, vanity, imbecility and shortsightedness, for, as I have stated, they never did comprehend the things of God without the Spirit of God, and they never will. What folly it is, for men with the breath in their nostrils, who are but worms of the earth, existing as it were for a day, and tomorrow are cut down like the grass; or like the moth or butterfly, which flutters around for a brief space and then passes away into everlasting oblivion; I say what folly it is for beings so circumstanced, so weak, imbecile, circumscribed and controlled to set themselves forward, unaided by the Spirit of the Almighty, to fathom the designs of God, to unravel the principles of eternal life, to comprehend the relationship that subsists between God and man and to draw aside the curtain of futurity. Who is there who has seen God or can comprehend Him, His designs and purposes? No man is capable of fathoming these mysteries. Man, indeed, can comprehend some of the principles which are developed in nature, and only a few of these. But who can grasp the intelligence that dwells in the bosom of Jehovah? Who can unravel His designs and penetrate the unfathomable abyss of the future? Who can tell upon what principle this world was organized or anything about the denizens of those worlds that we see moving around us? It is true that by the science of astronomy nice calculation in regard to the heavenly bodies can be made; but none can tell who put those bodies in motion, how they are controlled, or by what class of people they are inhabited. As the Scriptures say, “What man, by his wis– dom, can find out God?” No one can comprehend Him. We can find ourselves to be a remarkable enigma, both in regard to body and mind—each individual man, woman and child; but who can draw aside the veil and tell how or why we came here, and what awaits us when we lay aside this mortal coil? None can do this, unless God reveals it. There never was a man, neither is there a man now, nor ever will be, that can comprehend these things upon the principle of natural or human philosophy, and nothing short of the philosophy of heaven—the intelligence that flows from God, can unravel these mysteries.

Some men will stultify themselves with the idea that in ages gone and past the human race was in a semi-civilized or barbarous condition, and that any kind of a religion would do for the people in those days; but with the progress of intelligence, the march of intellect, the development of the arts and sciences and the expansion of the human mind, it is necessary that we should have something more elevated, refined and intellectual than that which existed then. To me such notions are perfect foolishness. If I read my Bible aright and believe in it, known unto God were all things from before the foundation of the world, and I do not think that the intelligence of the nineteenth century can enlighten His mind in relation to these matters. He that framed the body, shall He not know its structure? He that organized the mind, shall not He understand it? Before this world rolled into existence or the morning stars sang together for joy, the great Eloheim comprehended all things pertaining to the world that He organized and the people who should inhabit it; the position that they would occupy and the intelligence that they would possess; their future destiny and the destiny of the world that He then made. It is vanity, puerility and weakness for men to attempt to gainsay the designs of God, or to boast of their own intelligence. What do they know? Why, they discovered awhile ago that there is such a thing as electricity. Who made that electricity? Did man? Did he originate and place it among the nature’s forces? Did it proceed from the acumen of man’s intelligence and his expansive mind? No, it always existed, and the man who discovered it—a little smarter than his fellows—only found out one of the laws of nature that emanated from and originated with God. It is just so with steam—the properties which render it so useful in subserving man’s purposes always existed, but man discovered them; if there had been no God to make these properties, no one could have found them out. It is so with the various gases and their properties, with minerals—their attractions and repulsions—they originated with God; man is incompetent to form anything of the kind. So we might go on through all man’s boasted achievements; they amount to no more than the discovery of some of the active or latent laws of nature, not comprehended by men generally, but discovered by some who consider themselves, and they no doubt are, smarter than their fellows. Where, then, is the boasted intelligence of man? Science reveals the beauty and harmony of the world material; it unveils to us ten thousand mysteries in the kingdom of nature, and shows that all forms of life through fire and analogous decay are returned again to its bosom. It unfolds to us the mysteries of cloud and rains, dew and frost, growth and decay, and reveals the operation of those silent irresistible forces which give vitality to the world. It reveals to us the more wonderful operations of distant orbs and their relations to the forces of nature. It also reveals another grand principle, that the laws of nature are immutable and unchangeable as are all the works of God. Those principles and powers and forces have undergone no change since they were first organized, or, if changed, they have returned again to the original elements from which they were derived. All of the properties of nature were as perfect at the creation as now; all the elements of nature possessed the same specific properties, affinities and capacity of combination that they do at present. Trees, shrubs, plants, flowers, birds, beasts, fishes and man were as perfect then as now. God’s works are all perfect and governed by eternal laws. It reminds me of an infant; I can compare it to nothing else. The new-born child is perfectly oblivious to anything and everything around it, although marvelous in its organization and perfect in its structure. By and by it holds up its hand and discovers for the first time that it has a hand. It had it before, but a new light bursts upon the brain of the child, and it discovers it has a hand, and no doubt thinks it is wonderful wise in finding it out, just as some of our philosophers do when they discover the properties of matter. But God made the child’s hand, and it was in existence before its brain was capable of comprehending it. And so were all these things, about the discovery of which men boast so much. God made them and made them perfect. Yet men will boast that they know things independent of God, whereas unless they had been aided by the Spirit of the Lord, and unless the principles had existed they never could have been found out, for no man could have originated them himself. All that man has ever done, with all his boasted intelligence, has been simply to develop or find out a few of the common principles of nature that always have existed, and always will exist, for these things and every principle of nature are eternal. The Gospel is also eternal. But where is there a man who understands heavenly things? Who can unravel them? Who has been behind the veil and talked with the Gods? Who among the wise men, philosophers, divines, philanthropists, kings, rulers or authorities of the earth can comprehend God or His designs. If we can understand so imperfectly the laws of nature with which we are surrounded, with the privileges of seeing, feeling, comparing and analyzing, what do we know of things beyond our vision, hearing, or comprehension? We can read, in the history of the past, of the rise and fall of nations of the downfall of thrones and of the destruction of kingdoms; we can read of wars and rumors of wars. History points out what has transpired in relation to the nations of the earth and to men who have lived upon it, but who can penetrate into the future? Man is an immortal being: he is destined to live in time and throughout all eternity. He possesses not only a body, but a soul that will exist while “life or thought or being lasts, or immortality endures.” Who can tell in relation to this future? Who can tell things pertaining to our heavenly existence, or the object God had in view for creating this and other worlds, and the destiny of the human family? No man, except God reveals it to him. What has been and still is the position of the world in relation to these things? It has been governed by every kind of dogma and theory of religion. “Isms” of every kind have prevailed in turn—polytheism, infidelity, Christianity in its ten thousand forms, and every kind of theory and dogma that the human imagination could invent. Such contrarieties show definitely and positively that men, by wisdom, cannot find out God. And Christianity, at the present time, is no more enlightened than other systems have been. What does the Christian world know about God? Nothing; yet these very men assume the right and power to tell others what they shall and what they shall not believe in. Why, so far as the things of God are concerned, they are the veriest fools; they know neither God nor the things of God. Our Government is engaged just now in an act of this kind. Our legislators would tell me what I shall and shall not believe in, what shall be the course of my morals, as if they were immaculate and had been made perfect; as though they had inspiration from on high, and had found out the truth in all its richness, power and glory; as though they had conversed with the heavens and were acquainted with God. Oh, fools! What do they know about the truth? No more than a child about its hand. They are imbecile and ignorant and in the dark, and the greatest difficulty in the matter is—they are fools and don’t know it.

We consider, and always have since this Church was organized, that that part of Scripture that I quoted before is true—namely, “No, man knows the things of God but by the Spirit of God.” We, as Latter-day Saints, understood no correct principle until it was revealed to us. I did not, nor have I ever met with anybody that did, and I have traveled very extensively over the world that we live in, and have met with all classes and grades of men in different nations. We, as Latter-day Saints, are indebted to the revelations of God, given unto Joseph Smith, for the knowledge of the very first principles of the doctrine of Christ, and he could not have known it unless it had been revealed to him. One thing I did know of myself before I came into this Church, and that is more than a great many know of themselves—namely, that I was a fool, and did not know anything unless God revealed it. It takes a great deal of hammering to get that into some men’s minds. The main questions in my mind, when this Gospel came, were, “Is this true?” “Is this from God, or is it not?” “Has God, indeed, spoken as this man says He has?” If He has not, it is all a fiction, a farce and delusion, like the other “isms” that exist in the world; if He has, it is for me to obey, no matter what the consequences may be.

There is one thing that has always been satisfactory to my mind in relation to this Gospel—there has never been one principle revealed, at any time, but what has been instructive and in accordance with the Scriptures, which we consider to be of divine origin. Never one principle but what could be substantiated by the word of God, although we did not know it before, and the world does not know it now. And I may also say that there has never been a principle revealed but what has been strictly philosophical and is in accordance with good, sound common sense; and, furthermore, I will go on beyond that and say that no principle ever will be revealed but what will be in accordance with philosophy, if we can comprehend it. As there is a philosophy of the earth and a philosophy of the heavens, it needs heavenly instruction to comprehend the heavenly things. But, as I said be– fore, “no man knows the things of God, but by the Spirit of God.” The Scriptures show unto us how we may obtain that Spirit, which will give us a knowledge for ourselves.

When this Gospel was revealed, it was declared unto us that it was an everlasting Gospel, that there was a Priesthood associated with it, and that that Priesthood was everlasting; so we were presented with an everlasting Priesthood, and with an everlasting Gospel. There was also an everlasting covenant associated with it. We were told how we might obtain a knowledge of this Gospel for ourselves—the promise being that if we would repent of our sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of them, by one having authority, we should receive the Holy Ghost. We were also told that Holy Ghost would place us in communication with God; that it would take of the things of God and show them unto us, and that we should know for a certainty, each of us for ourselves, of the truths that had been proclaimed unto us.

This was the position that we were placed in. We went forward and obeyed it, for we were told that God had revealed Himself from the heavens, that He had restored the Gospel by the means of a holy angel, as referred to by John the Revelator, and that He had restored, by authority direct from heaven, communication between Himself, the heavenly world and His creatures here. We were told that by obedience to that Gospel we should be made the recipients of a Spirit which would bring things past to our remembrance, that would lead us into all truth and show us things to come.

Believing in this message, this vast crowd of people before me today, went forth and bowed in obedience, and they received that Spirit, and they knew and do know that the Gospel they had preached unto them came not in word only, but, in power and in the demonstration of the Spirit, and that the Holy Ghost accompanied it. You know, and I know, that when you obeyed this Gospel and had hands laid upon you for the reception of the Holy Ghost, you received it. Who else knows anything about it? Nobody. Do any of these strangers around? No. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Except, a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Then what do they know about it? You talk to a blind man about colors, and ask him to tell the difference between red and white, black and blue, and he would tell you perhaps that one was long and the other short, that one was light and the other heavy. He could not describe, nor his sense comprehend it. Jesus said a man could not see the kingdom of God unless he was born of the Spirit. Did he speak the truth? I think he did. And when you were born again of the water and of the Spirit, you saw and you entered into the kingdom of God, and things that you were ignorant of before, you then comprehended. Many of you felt a good deal like the blind man spoken of in the Scriptures, after he had been healed by our Savior. The Scribes and Pharisees, a learned and very holy body of men—spoke to his father, saying, “Give God the glory, for we know that this man is a sinner.” They knew that Jesus was an impostor, a deceiver, a false prophet, a blasphemer, and that he cast out devils through Beelzebub, the prince of devils, and that he was one of the wickedest, meanest curses in existence. “Give God the glory,” said they, “for we know this man is a sinner.” The father of him who had been healed of his blindness said, “Whether he is a sinner, I know not; but this I do know, that whereas this my son was once blind and now he sees.” Now a great many of you here are very much deluded in the estimation of the philosophers, wise men and priests of the world; but if you do not comprehend the philosophy of the whole matter, one thing you all know—that once you were blind, but now you see. You understood that years ago and you understand it today, and no man can deprive you of that knowledge, or strip you of that information. No man can rob you of that light: it is the gift of God, it emanates from Jehovah, and no man can take it away, or reason or legislate it away; it is an eternal principle, emanating from God, and that is something the worldly-wise and great know nothing about. You who are here today, who have obeyed this Gospel, are witnesses of the truth of which I speak; I am a witness and I bear witness to it.

We are told that Jesus said on a certain occasion to his disciples, “It is necessary that I go away, for if I go not away the Comforter will not come. If I go away I will send you a Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost.” What will it do for you? It will lead you into all truth, so that you will see eye to eye and comprehend the purposes of God; you will march in line; you will be under one instructor; you will have one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God who is in all and through all, will inspire and guide and dictate you; you will not be split up and divided as the sectarians are—every man taking his own course, every man for himself and the devil for the whole; it will not be setting up human intellect above the intelligence and inspiration of the Almighty. Instead of this, all will bow to the dictates of Jehovah; the aspiration of every heart will be, “O, God, thou that rulest in the heavens; O thou Supreme Governor of the universe, that created all things and controls all things, impart to me a small moiety of Thy wisdom! Inspire me with a little of that intelligence that dwells in Thy bosom! Give me a little of Thy Holy Spirit, that I may comprehend Thee and Thy laws, and walk in obedience to Thy commands!” This will be the feeling of that individual. “O God, teach me the paths of life and then give power to walk in them!”

Jesus told them they should have the Holy Ghost, the Comforter; the Spirit should bring things past to their remembrance, it should enable them to comprehend something about the world and why it was organized and by whom; why man was placed upon it; what the position of the human family is in relation to the present, past and future; find out what God’s dealings had been with the human family in ages gone and past, and His designs in relation to the world. Then it should unfold things to come, it should draw back the curtain of futurity and by the inspiration and intelligence of that Spirit which proceeds from God, it should grasp the future. It should comprehend the destiny of the human family, and by the revelations which God should communicate, make known the life to come in the eternal worlds. This is the kind of thing that the everlasting Gospel communicates, and it is the revelation of God to man. But the world, as I said before, know not the things of God, and they cannot comprehend them.

I have had it asked me by philosophers, “Is this the only way you propose to ameliorate the condition of the human family—faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, baptism for the remission of sins and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost?” Yes, that is God’s way of doing it; that is the way He has pointed out. I remember, on one occasion, being in the city of Paris, and a gentleman came to me to inquire concerning the Gospel. He was associated with a system of socialism, very common in France, called Icarianism. A company of them went to Nauvoo after we left. This gentleman was a philosopher, and the society was trying to carry out its philosophy in France, and they aimed to bring about the Millennium. They never prayed to God, they were going to do it by human intelligence. This gentleman, whose name was Krolikrosky, called upon me, when after a lengthy conversation on the principles of our faith, said he, referring to faith, repentance, baptism and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, the first principles of our Gospel: “Is this all you propose to ameliorate the condition of the world?” “Yes.” He answered, “I hope you will succeed, but I am afraid you will not.” “Permit me,” I said, “to draw your attention to one or two things. I am a religionist.” “Yes.” “I profess to have had revelation from God; you do not.” “That is so,” said he. “You have sent out to Nauvoo a number of your most intellectual men, well provided with means of every kind and with talent of the first order. Now what is the result? They have gone to a place that we have deserted; they found houses built, gardens and farms enclosed, nothing to do but to take possession of them?” “Yes. They found buildings of all kinds, public and private, in which they could live and congregate.” “Yes. Was there ever a people better situated in regard to testing your natural philosophy? You could not have hit upon a better place. It is a fertile country, on the banks of the most magnificent stream in the United States—the Mississippi. Houses built, gardens made, fields enclosed and cultivated. You have wise men among you—the wisest, the creme de la creme of your society, yet with all this and the favorable circumstances under which your people commenced there, what have you done? Every time that I take up a paper of yours the cry from there is, ‘Send us means;’ ‘we want means;‘ we are in difficulty;’ ‘we want more money.’ This is their eternal cry, is it not?” “Yes.” “Now,” said I, “on the other hand, we left our farms, houses, gardens, fields, orchards, and everything we had, except what we took along in the shape of food, seeds, farming utensils, wagons, carts, and we wandered for from ten to fifteen hundred miles, with handcarts, ox teams and any way we could, and settled, finally, among the red savages of the forest. We had no fields to go to and no houses built; when we went there it was a desert—a howling wilderness, and the natives with which we were surrounded were as savage as the country itself. Now then, what is the result? We have only been there a few years, but what are we doing? We are sending money to bring in our emigration; we are sending hundreds of thousands of dollars, and have expended half a million a year in teams to bring in our poor from the nations. But what of you wise men who know not God, and think you know better than He does, what are you doing—you philosophers, intelligent men and philanthropists, crying out eternally, “Send us help?” “Which is the best?” Said he, “Mr. Taylor, I have nothing to say.”

We care nothing about the opinions of men, let them look upon us as they may. We can say as the old Apostle said, “We are living epistles, known and read of all men.” Judge us by our works. Do thieves, renegades, blacklegs and corrupt men accomplish the work done here? Where are your Gentile associations? Here we have a magnificent city called Corinne, instituted by you gentlemen Gentiles here. What a magnificent place it is! It looks as if Tophet has been spewed out to people it with honorable American citizens! Yet these men will prate to us about morality, the poor miserable curses! O, shame, if thou hadst any blood in thy body, thou wouldst blush for very shame at the transactions of this world in which we live.

But we believe in God, and you Latter-day Saints, your religion is as true as it was ten, twenty, thirty, or eighteen hundred or six thousand years ago. It has not changed, and I do not think that it will. It is everlasting; it is eternal in its nature and its consequences, and, whether other men know what they are doing or not, we do. If others do not attend to eternity, we do; if others know nothing about God, we do, and we know where we are going and how we are going. God has pointed out to us the path, and we intend to walk in it, in spite of all the powers of earth and hell.

God has taught us the relationship that should exist between us and the eternal worlds. That is a thing that is very much found fault with. He has unveiled the future to us and told us that man is not made for here alone, and then to die and rot and be forgotten, or to sing himself away somewhere beyond the bounds of time and space where nobody ever was nor ever will be. We have been taught something different from that. We are aiming at eternal exaltation, at thrones, principalities and powers in the eternal worlds. Being made in the image of God, male and female, and having had developed to us the laws of this life and the laws of the life to come, we take the privilege of walking according to these laws, despite the ideas and notions of men.

Who is there among the men of the world who know anything about the future? I know how it was with me, and how it was with you, Jew, Gentile, Mormon, everybody. What was it! If you applied to the priesthood of the day to be married, the priest told you he joined you in the holy bonds of matrimony until death. And what then? You had to find out the rest by your own ingenuity. No matter about the future. Is that all man was made for—to live, marry and die—and nothing pertaining to the future? Is man made in the image of God? Is God our Father? Is there a heaven above? Is there an eternity before us, and are we to prepare ourselves for it or not? We take the liberty of following the counsel of Jehovah, revealed to us in relation to it.

What man has a claim upon his wife in eternity? It is true that some of the writers of the yellow-backed literature have a philosophy a little in advance of the priests of the day. Some of them do tell us about eternal unions. They expect to be married here and hereafter. They know nothing about it, still they are in advance of the clergy. They follow the instincts of nature, and nature unperverted looks forward to a reunion. We are not governed by opinion in these matters. God has revealed the principle, and our wives are sealed to us for time and eternity. When we get through with this life we expect to be associated in the next, and therefore we pursue the course that we do, and no power this side of hell, nor there either, can stop it.

Our course is onward. The Lord has revealed to us the pearl of great price. We have sacrificed everything that the world calls good to purchase it; we are in possession and we will not part with it for worlds. We “fear not men, who can kill the body,” as Jesus said; and after that there is no more that they can do. We fear God who is able to cast both soul and body into hell. Yea, we fear Him.

We make our covenants, then, for eternity, because the Gospel is an everlasting Gospel. Every truth that ever did exist is everlasting. Man is an eternal being; his body is eternal. It may die and slumber, but it will burst the barriers of the tomb and come forth in the resurrection of the just. I know that some of our wise men, even some among us, profess to think that these things are only folly. However, I look at them differently. I believe the Bible; I believe in the revelations of God and in the manifestations of the Spirit of God. I would rather possess the feeling that Job had when he was afflicted, cast out, oppressed and despoiled, when he lay scraping himself with a potsherd, wallowing in ashes, than the proud and lofty folly that dwells in the heart of the unbeliever and scorner. Said Job, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand in the latter days 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, not for another; and though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.” Those were his feelings. This transpired in the “dark ages,” when men did not know so much about electricity, locomotives and a few other scientific discoveries, as they do in this enlightened age. I also read in the sayings of the prophets, given under the inspiration of the Almighty, that “the dead, small and great, shall rise, and that bone shall be joined to its bone, sinew to sinew, and they became a living army before God.” I knew a man, whom many of you knew, who built a tomb for himself in the city of Nauvoo. His name was Joseph Smith, and many of you heard him say what I shall now relate. Said he, “I expect when the time of the resurrection comes to rise up in my tomb there, and strike hands with my brethren, with my father and with my mother, and hail the day when we shall burst from the barriers of the tomb and awake to immortal life.” Have you never heard him talk thus? I have. Shall we reject from our belief the glorious principles of eternity—the resurrection of the just? Says John, when wrapt in prophetic vision, and clothed upon with the Spirit and power of God and the revelations of Jehovah, “I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and all nations stood before God.”

I want a part in the resurrection. The angel said, “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection.” I want to have part in the first resurrection. It is that which leads me to hope. It is that hope which buoys me up under difficulties and sustains me while passing through tribulation, for I know as well as Job knew that my “Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand in the latter day upon the earth,” and I know that I shall stand upon it with him. I therefore bear this testimony.

Allow me to quote a little Scripture. You know that there is a saying, by one of the Apostles, that Jesus was a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek; and speaking further of this Melchizedek, the Apostle says he was “without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of years.” A very singular sort of man, was he not? Did you ever see a man like that? We are told that Jesus was a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Now, there never was a man without father or mother, but this refers to his Priesthood, that was without beginning of days or end of years, and Jesus had the same kind of Priesthood that Melchizedek had.

Now we talk about the everlasting Gospel, and we will go back to some of these dark ages referred to. The Melchizedek Priesthood holds the mysteries of the revelations of God. Wherever that Priesthood exists, there also exists a knowledge of the laws of God; and wherever the Gospel has existed, there has always been revelation; and where there has been no revelation, there never has been the true Gospel. Let us go back to those times. We find that the Gospel was preached unto Abraham, and that Melchizedek was the man to whom Abraham paid tithes, and that Melchizedek blessed him. Paul tells us, “Verily the less is blessed of the better.” Now Abraham had the Gospel, and Melchizedek had it, and the law was added because of transgression; and by and by, when Jesus came, He was a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, and he restored the Gospel, and consequently revelations, the opening of the heavens and the manifestation of the power of God; and whenever the Gospel has existed, in any age of the world, these same manifestations have existed with it; and whenever these have not been upon the earth, there has been no Gospel. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith.”

In addition to Melchizedek, the Bible also mentions a man called Moses, and he had the Gospel, for Paul tells us “that he preached it to the children of Israel in the wilderness, but that it profited them nothing, not being mixed with faith.” There was another man called Elijah, that we read of in the Bible. He was one of those fanatics who believe in revelation, and he had the Gospel. We come down to the time that Jesus was here on the earth; and on one occasion we read that he was on the mount with three of his disciples, Peter, James and John, and Jesus was transfigured before them. And Peter said, “Master, it is good for us to be here, let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses and one for Elias.” What? Was Moses, that old fellow who led the children of Israel from Egypt, there? That shows that he had the everlasting Gospel and Priesthood; and having got rid of the affairs of this world, he returned to minister to Jesus when he was on the earth. Was Elias there too? So Peter said. What was he doing there? He died long before, but having held the everlasting Priesthood he lived again, and lives for evermore. We will go to another man. There are curious things in the Bible, if the people only believed them; but they do not, and that is the trouble. I refer to John, the beloved disciple. We are told that he was banished because he was a fanatic—I was going to say a Mormon—as John did not agree with the enlightenment, philosophy and intelligence that existed then. What did they do with him? They banished him and sent him to the Isle of Patmos; and compelled him to labor among the slaves in the lead mines; he was not fit for civilized society, but they could not deprive him of fellowship. While there with the Almighty, he was carried away in the Spirit, and that Spirit manifested to him things past, for generations gone; things present—the condition of the churches that then existed; and also things to come—the world with all its myriads of inhabitants down to the winding-up scene. He saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened; and another book was opened, called the Book of Life; and he saw a hundred and forty-four thousand, and a number that no man can number, who sang a new song, and the glories of eternity, and the past, present and future were unveiled before his vision. He saw the new Jerusalem descend from above, and the Zion from above meeting the Zion from below, and they were married and became one. He saw the end of the nations, and of the world. “Cloud-capped towers and gorgeous palaces were dissolved,” and everything passed away. He gazed upon the whole; and a mighty angel stood before him, and he was about to bow down before him and to worship him; but the angel said, “Stop, do not worship me!” “Why? Who are you? You are a glorious personage; you are filled with greatness, and surrounded by majesty, glory and power, and the visions of eternity seem to be at your command, for you have unfolded them to me. Will you not let me worship you?” “No.” “Who are you?” “I am one of thy fellowservants, the prophets, who kept the testimony of Jesus, and the word of God, while here upon the earth, and feared God and kept His commandments. Do not worship me, worship God.” Said he, “I am one of those old fellows who were buffeted, persecuted and misrepresented just as you are; despised as you are by fools who knew nothing about God or eternity.”

Well, now, we believe these things. We believe in a religion that will reach into eternity, that will bring us into connection with God. We believe that God has set up His kingdom on the earth; we believe and know that it will roll forth and spread and extend, that Zion will be built up, that the glory of God will rest upon it; that the arm of Jehovah will be made bare in its defense; that the power of God will be exerted in behalf of His people; that Zion will rise and shine, and that the glory of God will be manifested among His Saints. We know that this kingdom will grow and increase until the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and His Christ, and that He shall rule and reign forever and ever. And we expect to join in the universal anthem, “Hosanna, hosanna, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth,” and will reign until all enemies are under His feet.

God bless Israel. God bless all His Saints, and let the wrath of God be upon the enemies of Zion from this time henceforth and forever, in the name of Jesus. Amen.