Discourse by Elder Erastus Snow, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 8th, 1868.

Thirty-eight years ago the Prophet Joseph Smith, in a little upper room in Father Whitmer’s house, Fayette, Seneca County, New York State, gathered six men together by commandment of God, and proceeded to organize the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Perhaps this was the smallest number with which a church was ever organized. But the Savior compared the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard seed, which, He said, is the least of all seeds, but which, when grown, becomes greater than all herbs, so that the fowls of the air can lodge in its branches. From this small beginning the Latter-day Saints have become a great people. That which has brought this about, specially, has been the fulfilling of the commandments of God, given through Joseph and the ancient prophets, in reference to the gathering of His people from Babylon in the latter days. One reason assigned by the Lord for the gathering of His people is set forth in the revelations of St. John, where He says, “Come out of her O, my people that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” This, in a few words, explains the chief reason for the Lord requiring His people to gather together. But the prophets Isaiah and Micah assign another good reason—they predict that the mountain of the Lord’s house in the last days shall be established in the tops of the mountains, and the nations shall flow unto it, saying. “Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, for He will teach us of His ways, that we may learn to walk in his paths.”

These two scriptures show unto us that the Lord has required His people to gather in the last days, that they might escape the sins of the wicked, and the plagues which shall be poured out upon them, and that they might be taught in His paths, taught to govern themselves, to correct their foolish habits and customs, and to train themselves and their offspring that they may be able to build up Zion according to the law and order of Heaven.

We have already made a commendable advance in this direction. I rejoice in moving to and fro among this people to see the spirit of improvement manifested by them in both temporal and spiritual things, and the increase of unity in their midst. Yet there is still room for further improvement in all these matters. There is one principle which fathers and mothers, and the Elders of Israel generally, should understand and teach to their children, that is, what trials and tribulations this people have passed through to establish themselves in this, their mountain home; and that these things have been borne for the Kingdom of Hea– ven’s sake and not for filthy lucre’s sake. Had it been gold or silver or worldly comfort we had followed after, we should not have gathered together; but should have been scattered through this wicked world. We left these worldly considerations when we embraced the gospel and emigrated to this country. Yet our common foe is on the alert to neutralize our efforts and to draw away our young men, and many of the middle aged who have forgotten the testimony of Jesus and have ceased to realize that this is the work of God, and when they hear reports of the discovery of gold or silver, or think they see a chance to make money by digging for gold or by freighting, they launch forth and strike hands with unbelievers, engage in their enterprises, and neglect the good work of God. This ought not to be. Our young men are heirs to the priesthood and of all the blessings of the new and everlasting covenant, and they ought not to employ themselves in building up the kingdom of darkness or spending their strength with unbelievers. But I suppose it is all right to have these temptations spread before us, in order that the people may be proven more effectually. It is important that our young men, and all Israel who do not thoroughly understand these principles, should be taught, so that the love of the gospel may be uppermost in their hearts.

I am persuaded that the Lord is perfectly willing that His people should possess every good thing the earth will afford, orchards, gardens, vineyards, houses, carriages and every other good thing, to be enjoyed with thanksgiving and used with prudence and judgment. I am aware that the hosts of hell have sought to control the wealth of the world, and Lucifer has ever sought to allure the righteous, as he did the Savior when he offered Him the kingdoms and wealth of the world if He would only fall down and worship him. It becomes the Elders of Israel, young, middle-aged or old, to imitate the example of the Savior, in saying, “Get thee behind me Satan.” As to the riches of the world they belong to the Lord, and He gives them to whom He will. If we are determined to devote our lives to the kingdom of Heaven, and not to this world, we shall in due time inherit all that is good for us to inherit; and unless we realize the objects of our existence, and learn to govern and control our spirits so as to devote ourselves and our energies and all the means given to us to build up Zion, then the good things of this life would be wasted upon us comparatively.

During the progress of this Conference there have been various means of industry and enterprise spoken of and presented for the consideration of the people, such as the producing of wool, flax, hemp, cotton and silk, and the introduction of machinery for the manufacture of the raw material into the various fabrics necessary for the use of the people in cold and warm weather. The subject of developing the mineral resources of our Territory is one of great importance. Iron, copper, coal, lead, zinc, and tin abound in our mountain home, and the development of these minerals is of far more importance to the welfare and prosperity of a nation, than the development of mines containing the precious metals; for the latter are limited in their use, while the grossest metals are those that, in their uses, enter into all the ramifications of life. The discovering and opening of gold and silver mines tempt the cupidity of the blind worshippers of mammon, and spread corruption among the people. The prayers of every good man and woman should ascend to God, that in Zion these precious metals may be covered up and concealed until it is His good pleasure for His Saints to possess the kingdom, so that they may be governed and controlled by the righteous instead of the wicked.

There is much neglect in some of the distant settlements on the part of our foreign brethren, with regard to taking out their naturalization papers. The word “white” is stricken from the Constitution of Deseret, and when the citizens of African descent are admitted to the polls, the adopted sons of America who have come here to obtain homes for themselves and their posterity, should not be indifferent respecting the rights of citizenship and neglect to take the steps necessary to secure to themselves the full privileges pertaining thereto.

The emigration of the poor has commended itself to the hearts and feelings of the people, and I am sure that their liberal response to the calls made upon them last October will do much to commend them to the favor of Heaven, and to secure the blessing of the Lord upon the labor of their hands. Let us continue in this great work, and let every bishop and elder exert himself in his sphere, to encourage the people to send in their available means of every kind, that our President and those whom he calls to assist him may be able to carry out the glorious program that he has adopted for the gathering of the poor. Let the people in every ward be awake and alive to this subject, that neither provisions nor teams for the outfit may be lacking when the time comes to send for the poor. If the people find that their plans for freighting and other business are thwarted to some extent in doing this, they will in the end find themselves richer, for the Lord has given us abundant evidence in times past that He controls the avenues of wealth and prosperity to this people. And who need fear the locusts and grasshoppers? Have we not been tried in these things before? And if it is essential that we should be again, all right. I can say with David of old, “I have not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread.” The Lord has said, “it is my business to provide for my Saints,” and if He does not do it we certainly cannot. We may plow, sow, and irrigate, but we cannot give the increase. And if the blade grows, it may wither or the locusts devour it; and if they do God directs them, for there is not a sparrow which is not fed by our Father in Heaven, neither does a hair of our heads fall to the ground without being numbered; neither is there a locust that is not cared for by Him who rules all things, and He can dispose of them as seems to Him good. He can move them east, west, north or south, and can destroy or multiply them at pleasure. And He can preserve our crops; but He certainly will not do it unless we adopt the measures He has ordained. We must plow and sow and plan and leave the event with Him. He will not forsake His people, and He will provide for the multitude that we may gather up.

We may exert ourselves to the utmost to gather the poor and send forth our teams to bring them to our homes and He will provide abundance for us to feed them and ourselves and the locusts that He sends among us. And when the locusts have eaten enough, He will bid them leave, providing we are not overanxious to transport our substance to feed the wicked and build up hell in our midst. If the Lord thinks that the locusts will be less offensive and do less harm than herders of the ungodly in our borders, I am contented to feed them, provided our people will cease feeding their enemies. I do not mean that we shall cease feeding the hungry, no matter whether he is Saint or sinner; but cease to feed and build up the wicked who will not labor with us to develop the resources of the country and help to build up Zion. God has called us to turn away from the folly of sustaining and building up Babylon—the worshippers of mammon—those who have no interest in common with us in establishing Zion and building up the Kingdom of our God upon the earth.

With regard to the aborigines of this continent, there are several prophecies in the Book of Mormon to the effect that they will one day become a pure people; but that will not take place until the fulness of the Gentiles has come. Then, according to the promise, the Spirit of the Lord will be poured out upon them and they will inherit the blessings promised. Until that time we expect they will be a scourge upon the people of Zion, as the Lamanites were a scourge to the Nephites of old. That which the Lord is pleased to use as a scourge today, He may use in days to come as a means of support and of strength. It becomes the Latter-day Saints as a people to cherish the principles of love and good will to all men, and especially the household of faith; and also to the natives, who are blind and ignorant pertaining to the principles of the gospel, and not to thirst for their blood, nor be very revengeful for every wrong that they, in their blindness, may commit; but to exercise generous forbearance. God will enable us to inflict such summary chastisement upon them as circumstances may require, when it is His good pleasure that they should be chastened. Or else He will take it in hand Himself, for He can easily destroy, by various diseases, those who are shedding the blood of the Saints. And this will be far more acceptable to Him than if it were done by us.

It certainly ought not to be specially gratifying to anyone to shed the blood of his fellows, whether red, black or white. I have seen that the Lord has taken care of the Lamanites as well as of the Latter-day Saints, and He requires that we should exercise our reasoning powers, and not throw ourselves heedlessly into positions where we are exposed to the wrath of the savages. Inexperienced men who are unacquainted with Indian habits and customs, and their mode of warfare, should never be trusted beyond the confines of our settlements with their wives and families, to commence operation on their own account. They thereby tempt the cupidity of the savages. Men of experience, energy, watchfulness—men with kind hearts and generous impulses, who can forgive an injury—are the men who should be selected on all occasions to lead out in the formation of new settlements on our frontiers; and they should be sustained by obedient and experienced men, who will help to control and take care of the people and keep them out of danger.

I have thought many a time that the Lord has suffered the natives in various places to drive in our outpost; just as a wise vine dresser will clip off the end of his vines that they may produce more fruit and make less wood. We are sometimes in the habit of scattering too far. Being over anxious to spread, we lay on more warp than we have filling for.

I would say a word in relation to the missionaries who went South last fall to the Muddy. Brother Joseph W. Young and myself left here on the second of March and visited the settlements between this place and St. Thomas on the Muddy. The bad condition of the roads and the limited amount of time at our command, having to return here to Conference, prevented us devoting that amount of time to the settlements that we wished to. But we found them generally in a prosperous condition; though in some places we were reminded of what we saw last winter in Salt Lake City, and of Israel of old when Moses went up into the mountain and they got Aaron to make them a calf. Still as a general thing we found the people prosperous.

I will say for the benefit of those who have sons and daughters and friends there, who have been reared in and about Salt Lake City and the older settlements, that it must not be expected that everything will run smooth with them, or that they will realize all their expectations. There are many here who assisted in establishing settlements in Salt Lake Valley, and who know the difficulties we had to encounter for the first two or three years; and there are others who have gone out and buffeted the difficulties of establishing settlements upon our borders north and south. The country on the Muddy affords facilities for extensive and prosperous settlements, but there is a lack of timber. They have done very well for fuel, as within about thirty miles of St. Thomas there are large groves of cedar and pinion pine, which will supply them with fuel for many years, and a good natural road to it, and springs of water in the grove. There is also considerable sawing timber in the mountains twenty miles east of St. Thomas; and a much larger body of excellent saw timber in the mountains west of St. Thomas about fifty or sixty miles. But in both these places portable steam mills are necessary, as there are springs of water in the timber, but no creeks sufficient for water mills. And until they are able to get mills to saw their lumber, they cannot make very much advance towards building. As to fencing, the only fences in that region of country are two stone corrals, one in each settlement for corralling the stock at night which is herded in the day. And I am fully satisfied that it is very much cheaper; and that they will make far greater progress in developing the country by adopting this system of herding their stock, than they would by attempting to fence their land. And I will say that in my visit to that country I have not, to the best of my recollection, seen one single animal preying on the crops in that section of country. I wish I could say as much for the best fenced sections of country in the other portions of our Territory.

Those who went down to St. Thomas last Fall seem comfortable, pleasant and happy. Everything around them exhibits an air of thrift and comfort. I cannot say quite as much for those located at St. Joseph. For many of those who went to that settlements heard of a country higher up stream, and they felt anxious to visit it; and instead of settling down at once and beginning to improve and make themselves a home, they waited in hope of finding a better country. By and by in the course of the Winter a man, who was responsible and ought to have taken a different course, led them out to the Upper Muddy, and when they were called back again to St. Joseph, they came feeling disappointed. The result was, their feelings were unsettled, and six weeks or two months of their labor may be said to have been thrown away; and yet not thrown away, for I trust the experience they have received, and the instruction which followed, have sealed lessons on their minds that they will not forget, and that will prove more valuable to them than any amount of means they would have earned by that two month’s labor. And I trust God will overrule it for their good.

They were much pleased and rejoiced to see us among them, and to hear our word; and were ready and willing to be told what to do, and to go with their might and do it; and I believe that since our visit among them they have settled down in their feelings and have gone to work in good earnest to make themselves homes. They have not Salt Lake market to go to, and they cannot procure all the little luxuries of life; and their food and manner of living will necessarily be somewhat crude and primitive, but wholesome and healthy. I scarcely know of a single instance of sickness among them. There were a few who, when they were migrating south last year during the months of November and December, and were exposed to severe storms, took cold and fever, but since their arrival in that country they have been healthy.

It is very natural for them, like children, to feel after home and father and mother, and the scenes of their youth. And it is very natural, too, for the sympathies of parents to be with their children. But let not this mistaken sympathy lead parents to give wrong counsel to their children to their hurt. It requires stout hearts to develop a new country like that; but perseverance, time and patience will accomplish it. There is plenty of bread—the staff of life—in the country, and no necessity for actual want among any of them. It is not now as it has been in St. George and on the Muddy, where there was no bread in the country and we had to come to Sanpete or to Salt Lake City to fetch it.

I would say to all who have been called and have not gone—for judging from the best information I have, not above half of those called are in the southern country—for the sake of your own future welfare and prosperity, respond to the calls that have been made upon you and strive to fill that mission with confidence, boldness and energy. Or if there are good and sufficient reasons why you should not do so, go to the President and make known your circumstances, that you may be released, that your consciences may not condemn you and that your God may not condemn you, and that your future usefulness may not be curtailed. Let no one flatter himself that he can pass along in obscurity, unnoticed, and neither magnify his calling, nor yet be discharged from it. It will linger around you, it will haunt you and will be like a canker worm gnawing at the root of your felicity. Take steps to be exonerated one way or the other, and God will bless you: Amen.

Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 7th, 1868.

The subjects which have been touched upon by brother George A. Smith ought to be of paramount importance to us as a people under our present circumstances. The gospel of life and salvation, which we have received, would be of comparatively little avail to us unless we can prolong our lives and the lives of our children and posterity on the earth. The greatest boon that God has given us, and that upon which every other hinges, is life. With life we need health, the power to carry out designs of our being upon the earth. Without these blessings everyone must perceive that other blessings which we value very highly would be of little or no account. God has moved upon His servant Brigham in a very powerful manner of late to stir up the peoples minds to the consideration of a great variety of subjects connected with our temporal well-being; and the more these subjects are reflected upon the more important do they appear, and the more we hear about them, the more we are impressed with the necessity of paying attention to them.

We have heard considerable of late, especially since twelve months today, on the subject of the Word of Wisdom. Almost every elder who has spoken from this stand has felt the necessity and importance of calling the attention of the people to this subject. We are told, and very plainly too, that hot drinks—tea, coffee, chocolate, cocoa and all drinks of this kind are not good for man. We are also told that alcoholic drinks are not good, and that tobacco when either smoked or chewed is an evil. We are told that swine’s flesh is not good, and that we should dispense with it; and we are told that flesh of any kind is not suitable to man in the summer time, and ought to be eaten sparingly in the winter. The question arises in the minds of a great many people, “What then are we to eat if we drop swine’s flesh and eat very little beef or mutton, and cannot drink tea or coffee, why, dear me, we shall starve to death.” In conversation with one of the brethren the other day, he remarked “the diet of the poor is principally bread and meat, and if they dispense with meat, they will be reduced to very hard fare.” I reasoned with him on the subject, and before we had got through, I believe I convinced him that other articles of food could be raised more cheaply and in greater variety than the flesh of animals. But just at the present time we are destitute, to some extent, of this needed variety; and, hence, the very apparent necessity that we as a people should turn our attention to the multiplication of varieties of food in our midst. We should not confine ourselves to a few articles of diet and be content therewith; but the people who have the opportunity of so doing should cultivate a variety of food for the benefit of themselves and families.

It is a fact, which the experience of ages has confirmed, that man of all creatures, requires the greatest variety of food. His stomach is fitted to digest a greater variety of food than the stomach of any other animal. God has created him lord of creation, and all that is created around us is created for man’s use and benefit. It would therefore be very unwise for intelligent man, inasmuch as God has given to him the vegetable creation, and has made him lord of the animal creation and placed him as monarch of the finny tribes, to be content to sit down and eat as our degraded Indians do.

It is to remedy this that we hear the teachings that are given at the present time by the servants of God. Man requires food to build up his body. He requires food that is adapted to the development of bone, muscle and sinew; but this is not all. He requires food that is suitable to feed his brain and to supply the waste sustained in consequence of the use of his mental faculties. There is a necessity, therefore, for us to take these things into consideration. My opinion is that it will be most difficult for fathers of families to induce their wives and children to refrain from the use of tea and coffee, if they do not supply their tables with other articles in their place, and unless food, suitable to the requirements of the human system, is provided, our wives and children will be exposed to constant temptation to transgress the counsels that are given in regard to our diet. It is an exceedingly difficult thing for most people to break off and discontinue cherished and long standing habits. A man who has never drunk tea, coffee or spirit, or one who has never chewed or smoked tobacco, is not at all affected by the counsel to discontinue their use; but they who have been accustomed to them miss them when they are deprived of them, and they want something to supply their place. I speak, now, not from my own experience, but from what I have heard others say on these things. There is a craving felt by parties when they discontinue the use of these stimulants, and they need variety. This variety must be supplied, and we must take steps to supply it.

The culture of fish has been alluded to. Physiologists say that fish contains more of the elements necessary to strengthen and build up the brain than almost any other known substance. It would supply a great want if we had it in abundance. But our supply of this article of food is very limited, and hence we are taught at the present time to take measures for its increase. I see no reason why we should not raise our own fish as we do our eggs or chickens. This Territory is better adapted to the raising of fish, in consequence of our system of irrigation, than any on the Continent we know anything of, and I believe that the time is not far distant when our farmers will raise fish for their own tables as they now raise beef, mutton, pork, fruit or any other article of diet now in use. It can be done easily by bestowing a little attention, thought and care on the subject.

We must also cultivate fruit more extensively than we now do; and we must multiply every variety of diet, and if it is possible discover new varieties. It is only a few hundred years since the potato was discovered, and what a blessings it has proven to man. There are other vegetables, probably, as good and as healthful as it is if we could only bring them into use. But vegetables are not grown among us as they should be; there is not that attention paid to them that, it seems to me, they should receive. My theory is, that if we wish to raise a healthy, noble looking, intellectual and perfect race of men and women we must feed our children properly. We must prevent the use by them of every article that is hurtful or noxious in its nature. We must not permit them to drink liquor or hot drinks, or hot soups or to use tobacco or other articles that are injurious. I do not believe that you could ever make as great and noble race of men, if you feed them on one article of food alone, as if you gave them a variety of diet. We have illustrations of this in India, where the chief diet is rice—of itself a very good article of food. We have other illustrations in the case of other races. A people who, for instance, are fed on potatoes alone do not have the stamina that they would have if they had a greater variety of food. Such a people could, I believe, be kept subjected more easily to thralldom than a nation which is better fed. The millions of India are kept in subjection by as many thousands of Europeans. There are doubtless many causes for this, among the chief of which is their diet.

God has given to us a land that is bounteous; every variety of food can be produced here in the greatest profusion. It only requires the exercise of the powers with which we are endowed, with proper industry, to bring forth food in the greatest abundance and supply every want of man and beast. But whilst I speak in this strain about a variety of food, I am opposed in my own feelings, to a great variety of food at one meal. I believe that we enslave our women; we crush out their lives by following the pernicious habits of our forefathers in this respect. We sit down to table and, especially if we have friends, our tables are covered with every delicacy and variety that we can think of. I believe in variety at different meals, but not at one meal. I do not believe in mixing up our food. This is hurtful. It destroys the stomach by overtaxing the digestive powers; and in addition to that it almost wears out the lives of our females by keeping them so closely confined over cooking stoves. A variety of food is not incompatible with simplicity of cooking; they can go hand in hand. We can have a variety in diet, and yet have simplicity. We can have a diet that will be easily prepared, and yet have it healthful. We can have a diet that will be tasteful, nutritious and delightful to us, and easy to digest; and yet not wear out the lives of our mothers, wives, daughters and sisters in its preparation.

These are topics, my brethren and sisters, that should claim the attention of the Latter-day Saints, because they pertain to our everyday existence here on the earth; and if we follow the course marked out, and seek to follow the counsels given, the result will be that, here in these valleys, we shall raise a race of men who will be the joy of the earth, whose complexions will be like the complexions of angels—full of health, purity, innocence and vitality; men who will live until the wheels of life will stand still in consequence of the gradual decay of the body; not afflicted and brought to the grave prematurely by disease engendered by improper feeding and other unhealthy habits. We can do what no other people ever could do, at least no other people living in the present generation. We are here a new people, forming our habits and laying the foundation of a great work, and of course are in a state of transition. We can therefore, if we so please, accommodate ourselves to new habits—habits recommended and taught to us by the servants of God. One of the great advantages that would result from our having a more simple diet would be that we should be less apt to overload our stomachs through the tempting character of the food we eat. How often is it the case, after we have eaten enough, somebody will say, “Here is something I would like you to eat a little of; do taste it.” Well, you taste, and before you are aware of it, you have eaten more than you should; your stomach rebels, and you feel that you have done a wrong, and if your stomachs are weak, you have to pay the penalty of your imprudence.

We are expecting a heavy emigra– tion this season. We hope to see them come by thousands. How are these brethren and sisters to be employed? Already we are under tribute. The great majority of the articles of clothing that we wear is imported, and there is nothing more apparent, to those who reflect on this subject, than that we as a people must turn our attention to the creation of new industries. Our President has led out in this direction. He has set an example to the capitalists of this Territory, worthy of all imitation by introducing machinery and urging upon the people the cultivation of certain articles—such, for instance, as cotton and wool. It is a matter of necessity for us to turn our attention to these branches. We must use the facilities God has given us in the best possible manner for increasing the means of employing those who come into our midst. It should be our aim as individuals, as families and as a community to dispense with everything that we cannot manufacture. I am told that thousands of dollars a year are expended in supplying our tables with mustard imported from the East. I have no means of knowing the truth of this, but it seems incredible, that we, with the facilities we have for its production, should depend upon importation for the supply of a common article like mustard.

But this is only one article. When we sit down to our tables, and take a survey, we find many articles that are thus imported. It may be, and frequently is said by a certain class of persons that articles can be imported much cheaper than they can be manufactured here. This is urged by them as a reason for importing; but it is a delusion and a snare, and the man who utters such a sentiment is an ignoramus. He knows nothing about the true principles of building up a people and kingdom. That which is manufactured here, though it cost ten times the amount it would cost in the east, is the cheaper, for that is the commencement of independence. The man or the family who carries on home manufacture is laying the foundation for true and lasting independence. They are helping to emancipate the people here from the thralldom under which we have groaned, sweat, toiled and bled for years. This Territory has been bled of its money and life by this erroneous idea. We must stop this drain or we will sink into slavery more abject than that felt by any other people on the continent. The cause of God requires us to take a different course, and if we pursue that marked out for us, means and facilities will increase on every hand. We would like to see it fashionable in the Territory to dispense with all articles that are imported. But now, when one family procures an imported article, their neighbors feel that they are not in the fashion unless they have the same. One lady and gentleman must have a fashionable bonnet and hat, and their neighbors must have the same. You can see the result—these fashions make us slaves. Our young ladies are ashamed to go into company unless they can dress like their companions; our young men feel the same. And it is not confined to one class; we all partake of it to a certain extent. We must reform; there is nothing more apparent than that. We must change our habits, and make it fashionable to have articles of our own manufacture, and dispense with all articles that are not so, unless they are absolutely necessary for our comfort and well-being.

The Lord has multiplied around us every facility for making us a great and mighty people. We have been able, in an astonishing manner, to create comfortable homes; the land has been touched by the power of God, and it yields to us of its strength in abundance. Nowhere on the face of the earth can food be raised of a better quality than here. Our cereals, fruit and vegetables are unsurpassed in the world. We can also produce the finest of hemp, flax, wool and silk. All these articles can be produced in abundance here, if we will bestow the attention and care necessary for their culture.

When we reflect upon our position twenty years ago—then this Territory was a desert and we were cut off by almost illimitable stretches of barren waste from the rest of the world—we can realize to some extent what God has done for us. Now we and our children and the stranger can dwell here in peace, comfort and security. This should stimulate us to press forward. There is no work too great, under the blessing of God, for us to accomplish if we will only exercise the ability and power that He has bestowed upon us. I look forward to the day, and I trust it is not far distant, when we will have everything in our midst necessary to make us a great and mighty people; when our young people will be the best educated, trained to the best manners, dressed in the best clothing, and appear to better advantage than any people on the continent or in the world. I look forward to this; and it seems to me that it is in the near future. Great and wonderful changes will be effected in Zion. Our young people will be educated in true principles; they will be healthy and beautiful, filled with the Holy Spirit, and attractive to God and man. Our habitations will be delightful to visit; our orchards and gardens and all our surroundings will be the most beautiful that can be imagined. Is there anything to prevent it? Nothing but our own unfaithfulness. God, who has blessed us as we are blessed today, is willing to bless us more abundantly. Heaven is full of blessings to be poured out upon us, if we will only prepare ourselves to receive them. The faith that the Saints are now manifesting in sending for the poor will bring down the blessings of God upon them, and will increase our faith to accomplish those labors that we have yet to perform. Send for five thousand people! Yes, and the Latter-day Saints can do it and perform their other labors too. What effect does this have upon us? It fills us with faith and confidence that there is no labor that can be assigned to us that we cannot perform. And this is the training that God is giving to us. It is upon the principle that gymnasts perform their feats of almost super human strength—by continued practice. It is so with us. God in the beginning gave us small works to accomplish. We performed them, and as a consequence, had faith to attempt greater, and thus we have gone on until today. And the work we are now doing is preparatory to some greater work that He has yet in store for us to accomplish.

May God bless us, my brethren and sisters and His wisdom be given unto us. May His Holy Spirit rest mightily on all the Latter-day Saints that their minds may be filled with it, that when the prophet and servants of God speak unto us, our hearts may be prepared to receive their counsels, treasure up our words and carry them out in our lives, that when Jesus comes we may be prepared to meet Him, which may God grant for Christ’s sake. Amen.

Discourse by Elder George A. Smith, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 6th, 1868.

We have been in the habit of looking contemptuously on the sectarian world, so far as their habits appear to us to be indications of hypocrisy. Among them men take great pains to seem to be religious. They will put on a long face, a sad countenance, and on the Sabbath day they will endeavor to seem to be very holy. But as soon as the Sabbath has gone by, a great many men will not scruple to commit the most outrageous acts of dishonesty and corruption, thinking, perhaps, by being so very good on the Sabbath day, that the wickedness and corruption of the remaining six days will be sanctified and justified.

Well, we have looked contemptuously upon a spirit of this kind, and in so doing some of us may have failed to appreciate, as we ought, the importance of observing the Sabbath day. We may have felt that it was a tradition that we and our fathers had inherited from the sectarian world. There are many instances of our brethren failing to observe the Sabbath day. Some going to the canyon on a Saturday for wood or lumber, knowing that they could not return with their loads until Sunday; or going out to hunt cattle when they knew they could not accomplish what they desired without breaking the Sabbath. I feel a desire to call the attention of the Conference to the consideration of this subject, because it not only involves a commandment given in the law of Moses, and endorsed by the New Testament, but it has been also enjoined upon us by revelation, through Joseph Smith in the present generation; and if we neglect it we have no right to expect the blessings of God to that extent that its observance would ensure. We find on the 149th page of the Doctrine and Covenants something on this subject, to which I wish to call the attention of the brethren and sisters. It reads as follows:

“Wherefore, I give unto them a commandment, saying thus: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind, and strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve him. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Thou shalt not steal; neither commit adultery, nor kill, nor do anything like unto it. Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things. Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in righteousness, even that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day; For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High; Nevertheless thy vows shall be offered up in righteousness on all days, and at all times; But remember that on this, the Lord’s day, thou shalt offer thine oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy brethren, and before the Lord.

“And on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart that thy fasting may be perfect, or, in other words, that thy joy may be full. Verily, this is fasting and prayer, or, in other words, rejoicing and prayer.”

I read this simply to call your attention to the law as it has been given to us through Joseph Smith, our Prophet, and to impress upon the minds of the Elders the necessity of observing it.

We find it also enjoined upon us in a portion of section 4, of a revelation on page 160, of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, which reads as follows:

“And the inhabitants of Zion shall also observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy.”

I have felt that it was necessary to call the attention of the Saints—the brethren especially, to this subject, because I believe it affects us in various ways. We should come together on the Sabbath day and partake of the Sacrament, and we should do no work, but what is necessary to prepare food for ourselves, or to feed our animals. We should observe the Sabbath as a day of rest, and if we do it faithfully we shall live longer; for my impression is, saying nothing about the commandment of the Lord, that nature requires one-seventh of our time for rest, and that when a man has worked fifty-two Sundays in a year, he is at least fifty-two days older than he needs to be, and has not done as much work during the year as if he had worked only six days a week and had rested the seventh. I hope our brethren will hereafter make their calculations to observe the Sabbath and thus act in accordance with the law of God. The evidence is plain on the face of the Book of Mormon, that when men commence to live in accordance with the laws of the gospel, as the people of Nephi did for about two hundred years after the Savior visited the land Bountiful, they shall begin to be stronger and to live longer. Amos, the son of Nephi, kept the records on the plates of Nephi eighty-four years, and his son Amos kept them one hundred and eleven years: Book of Mormon, pages 494-6, sections 8 and 11. Previous to this period the Book of Mormon shows that the Nephites were a short-lived race. The observance of the Sabbath, as well as the observance of every other commandment of God, has a tendency to prolong human life. There is nothing to prevent us commencing, by observing the Word of Wisdom, to lengthen our days, in accordance with the words of the prophecies of Isaiah, which says, “for as the days of a tree are the days of my people.”

There are several subjects I wish to refer to in addressing my brethren in Conference. One of them is the emigration of the poor from Europe, which was agitated last Fall Conference. Some of the brethren have contributed liberally, and sufficient means has been collected to aid a considerable number; but nothing like what was desired. Yet with what has been raised here, with that which may be possessed by some who are partly able to help themselves, we expect to bring five thousand adults to the railway terminus. We also expect to raise the wagons, mules and oxen necessary to fit up teams, and the necessary provisions and teamsters, guards and arms, to go from here to the terminus of the railroad, and bring home the brethren and sisters and their children who may gather to that point. We also want to make plans and calculations, and every man and woman throughout the Territory should feel that it is a part of their duty to contribute his or her share to accomplish this; and then to lay a foundation for setting all these people to work at something that will enable them to live and acquire a competence as well as return the means expended in bringing them here. Those indebted to the Perpetual Emigration Fund should feel the importance of paying their indebtedness; and those who are not indebted should feel alive and awake to the accomplishment of this object. It is a great and glorious work which we have undertaken, and it will never do for us to be discouraged and leave it half done.

There is another subject under consideration, which weighs very heavily upon the minds of the Saints. The Word of Wisdom recommends us to use the flesh of animals sparingly. The law of Moses prohibited to Israel the use of swine’s flesh; but in the Gentile world at the present day it is considered superior, as food, to almost every other kind of flesh. And even among us, with the education and training that we have received, there is a great deal of it used. It seems to be a pretty general idea among the people that swine’s flesh can be more easily raised than any other; but there is no doubt that, with proper care and attention, other kinds of meat might be produced with equal facility. For some reason God, by special law, prohibited its use to the children of Israel; and it certainly seems desirable that we should also discontinue its use, as within the past few years in some countries where a great amount of pork has been consumed the people have been afflicted with a kind of pestilence—a disease which is considered incurable. It is therefore wise and prudent for us to adopt plans to procure supplies from other sources. In some countries the culture of fish has recently been introduced. It was commenced, in the first place, by sportsmen for the purpose of increasing the amusement of anglers; but the French government, under the reign of the present Emperor, have commenced to stock the rivers of France with fish for the purpose of increasing the supply of healthful food to the people. This is being done successfully in New England, where rivers were formerly well stocked with salmon and other varieties of fish, though for many years they have become extinct. Laws have been passed in New Hampshire, Maine and other Eastern States, requiring the owners of mills to construct fishways over their dams, so that fish can pass freely up and down the streams, the dams having heretofore effectually prevented this.

Persons have also been employed to restock the rivers, and in this way many choice varieties of fish have been again successfully introduced. The real fact is, they are as easily raised as hogs, if the proper attention is paid to them. Our beautiful lakes—such as Utah Lake and Bear Lake—our rivers, and even our springs can, with a very little trouble and expense, be made to yield an immense quantity of this healthful food. I wish to call the attention of the Bishops and Elders, at home and abroad, to the propriety of studying this question; and if they lack information on the subject just let them drop a note to the Hon. W. H. Hooper, our Delegate at Washington, and ask him to furnish information on the culture of fish. He has it in his reach through the Bureau of Agriculture, and can send it under his own frank, and that will put you in possession of the information you require. You can feed fish as well as hogs, and they will eat a great many things you are little aware of, and with a little trouble you can procure that which will furnish an agreeable and healthy change in our diet.

I also wish to advise our brethren—the Bishops especially, to consider the propriety of taking proper measures for the production of poultry. Their flesh is agreeable and much more healthful as food than using great quantities of pork, as we are compelled to do in many instances.

I will also call the attention of the congregation to the subject of raising silk. We are anxious to dress in broadcloth, and to wear fine clothing; but there is a difficulty in the way of our sending abroad for them, for we have scarcely anything that we can send to purchase the necessary material; hence the necessity of taking measures to raise it here. The revelation given to the Church years ago to let the beauty of our garments be the workmanship of our own hands, although it has not remained a dead letter, has never been fully complied with; and it is time that we, as a people, should be thinking of some new industry by which the kinds of clothing we desire may be produced, and also have a production or staple of some kind that we can send abroad that will bring us wealth in return, instead of sending away all our money, and bringing nothing back.

It has been proven by a few years’ experience that the mulberry tree grows in this country; the climate agrees with it, and it grows rapidly and thrives well. It has also been proven that the silkworm is healthy in this climate, and experiments have proven the fact that silk of a fine quality can be produced here in abundance. Now, silk has commanded gold in all ages. It once would pay for transportation overland on the backs of animals from the frontiers of China to the west of Europe; and silk garments have been considered so delightful that they were worth their weight in gold. And in consequence of the high esteem in which it has ever been and is yet held, the trade in silk is still very remunerative. We would like to see our wives and daughters clad in the most delightful silk, but we cannot get it; and yet it can be cultivated and produced by their own nimble fingers, in this climate, just as easily as flax or wool, and at very little more expense. Several years ago in the States there was quite an excitement on this subject; but it proved a failure. The reason was that in many of the States where the experiment was tried the climate was too severe for the culture of the proper varieties of the mulberry; they would kill with the winter frosts, and then the summers were too damp or rainy for the healthy production of the worm. Our climate is peculiarly fitted in these respects. Our dry summers and mild winters are both suitable, and there is not a doubt but as fine silk may be produced here as anywhere in the world. President Young has taken pains to introduce the mulberry. He sent to Europe and obtained the proper kind of seed. It can be grown from the seed and multiplied to any extent from the cuttings. Our brethren in every ward should take this matter in hand and plant out these cuttings, and send for the silkworms, and set in operation a new branch of industry, which will employ us some six weeks or two months in the summer time in feeding and taking care of the worms; the residue of the labor—winding and manufacturing the raw material into silk can be conducted through the year. Millions of dollars worth of silk might thus be annually pro– duced in this Territory, from labor that now counts very little.

The feeble, the aged, the lame, and almost any person, no matter how weakly, might be employed at this business; and silk always fetches such a price that it would pay us for sending it abroad, in addition to the amount we might use.

It is just as easy for us to clothe ourselves with silk, the workmanship of our own hands, as to go ragged. Then, I feel it, conscientiously, to be a duty we owe to ourselves as a people, and the obedience we owe to the revelations of the Lord that we should add this industry to the branches we have already commenced.

We should also take care of our sheep, and continue to erect woolen manufactories, and never relax our efforts in the cultivation of flax, hemp and cotton, for all these articles in their time and season are indispensable; and with the whole of them put together—the silk, wool, flax, hemp and cotton, we need ask no odds of mankind for clothes to wear, however beautiful we may choose to make them.

Remarks by President Daniel H. Wells, delivered in the Old Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, 22nd March, 1868.

We learn, as we progress in our experience in the Church and Kingdom of God, the necessity of living near to the Lord in order to enjoy His Holy Spirit and to reach the standard to which it is our privilege to attain. We can all remember when we received the gospel, how elated we were, and how glorious everything looked to our vision. We saw no difficulties but what we were willing to attempt to surmount. There appeared nothing in our way but what we thought we could overcome, and we felt, that, so far as in our power lay, we would remain faithful so long as we lived on the earth; that we could not stumble at anything that might come before us, and that we were competent to encounter the evils of life and every difficulty and affliction, counting it more honorable to be a doorkeeper in the House of the Lord than to feast with the rich and ungodly.

This is the experience, I might say, of all who have received the gospel in sincerity. I suppose that the Apostles and disciples of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ also felt elated with the idea that they were associated with the Savior of the world—the Son of God; but we find that they shortly afterwards deserted him. And even in the days of the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, they doubtless were elated with the mission of Moses, and went forth nothing doubting; but we see in a short time that their minds again reverted to the things of the world, and the place they had left, and they transgressed so deeply that the Lord would not permit them to enter the promised land; yet, not to be frustrated or thwarted in His purposes, He declared that their children should inherit it. So it is with the Latter-day Saints. A good many feel, I think, as though their religion has become an old story. They received the word gladly in the first place, and were perhaps a good deal elated with the idea of being members of the Kingdom of God on the earth; but when they begin to live in that Kingdom and find that those ideas are not realized as fast as they imagined they would be, they get dull, and fancy the work does not progress. Perhaps they neglect their prayers; they think it is of little use to pray; they become cold, slothful and dull, and, their minds become darkened. Instead of living so as to enjoy a full measure and flow of the Spirit of God, they become discontented and dissatisfied with the Kingdom of God and the principles of our holy religion.

If we only reflect, when we enlisted in this cause it was for a lifetime—for eternity; not for a few days, or a year or two, and then to fall away and return again to the beggarly elements of the world. We did not receive these principles with any such idea; but we enlisted for time and for all eternity under King Emanuel’s banner. We covenanted that we would keep the law of God, walk humbly before Him, and do all in our power to build up Zion, and hold on to those principles made known in His kingdom, that we might attain to the blessings which were in the future. They who get weary and discontented think, perhaps, that they are not called and chosen. Why, we are called or chosen to be righteous, holy beings; and let us remember that the time for being chosen because we have been righteous will come after a while, and happy will be that individual who has so lived up to his privileges as to be among the chosen ones. If we wish to attain to this great blessing we must live for it, and not be neglectful in regard to the things of God. We must apply our religion to our daily lives. We can meet and sing and pray and soar away in the spirit, for we have as much in our spiritual exercises as any people on the earth to raise our drooping spirits and fill our souls with joy; but, on the other hand, our religion does not consist of that alone; it is practical.

We read that when the Kingdom of God shall be set up, the kingdoms of this world shall be broken in pieces; and that the power shall pass into the hands of the righteous and the just preparatory to that day when Jesus shall reign “King of nations as he now reigns King of Saints.” We are engaged in this preparatory work—the dispensation of the fullness of times in which this great temporal kingdom, which shall stand forever, is being established, and you and I, brethren and sisters, if we are united and earnest in our efforts for the promotion of the principles of truth may become happy instruments in the hands of the Lord in assisting in this great work. This is the dispensation of the fullness of times, and it comprises the keys, powers and authorities of all the dispensations since the world began; and we should live so as to enjoy a full flow of the Spirit of God so that we may progress and commune with Jehovah and holy beings, for the heavens are ready to drop with fatness if we will make good use of the blessings already conferred upon us. When we do this with clean hands and a pure heart before the Lord, blessings will flow to Israel in greater abundance than ever before. Look where you will upon the face of the earth and you can find no people blessed as we are even now. Why is it? Because we have a better country, and have better opportunities for bringing forth the blessings of the earth in a temporal point of view? No; we labor under many disadvantages that are un– known in most other places; and yet we are more comfortable and happy than any other people. It is because the blessings of the Almighty are with us, and we shall have them in greater abundance inasmuch as we will cleave to the Lord and prove to Him our integrity.

But I fear there is a great neglect of prayer in the midst of this people. It is our privilege, nay, more, it is our duty to seek to the Lord frequently, that we may enjoy the full measure of His Spirit. Peradventure there may be something between us and our brother or sister—we may have spoken evil of them, or they may have spoken evil of us. We may have neglected our secret prayers, or to pray in our families; and if so we shall decrease in that good spirit which ought to pervade every breast, and we are more liable to yield to the evil influences that are around us and to become more captious in our remarks with our brethren, and less courteous, civil and circumspect in our intercourse one with another, and more apt to say things that are calculated to injure the feelings of our brethren. Perhaps we neglect our fences and let our stock trespass on our neighbors’ fields, gardens or orchards, and give them occasion to say hard things about us; and then we go and retaliate and speak hasty words. To carry this idea a little further, perhaps we take that which is not our own, or borrow and do not return, or perhaps we go and take down our neighbor’s fence on purpose to let our stock go and get his hay or grain. Or, perhaps, some amongst us go hunting stock on Sunday, or to the canyons with our teams when we should be keeping the Sabbath day holy. It may be possible that a great many of this people practice some of these things and thus prevent a free flow of the Spirit of God unto themselves, and get darkened in the counsels of their minds. This should not be. If any of us find ourselves in this dilemma let us seek at once to remove the obstacles from our path, just as we would raise the gate if necessary to let down the stream to irrigate our gardens. Many a soul may be drooping for the want of spiritual moisture, and they do not know what the difficulty is. There are obstacles in the way that need removing, that our minds may be enlightened by the light of the Spirit of the living God.

It is moreover necessary that we should take this course that we may be united, that when the word shall come from our bishop, or a call is made upon us by any in authority who has a right to dictate, we may be ready to respond and be glad of the opportunity of so doing. A man should never fail of improving the opportunities that are given him for doing good, or he will be the loser if he dies. A man may perhaps feel a little elated if he escape the call of a bishop or get excused, thinking that it militated a little in his favor; but who is there who has ever felt so, but what he has had seasons of regret for not going forth manfully and freely performing the duty required of him? How much better such persons would feel if they had done so. On the other hand how well they feel who have always responded to every call made upon them! I do not think there is a person that lives who feels different. If he does, he feels very different to what I do. How often have I witnessed the pride and joy the brethren have felt in relation to this in their reunions at the parties of the “Mormon Battalion,” the “Pioneers” and “Zion’s Camp!” and other associations. How many have said to me, “I was with you at such a place, and such a place; and I was with the Saints in their troubles in Illinois and Missouri.” And they speak of it as though they were proud to have been there. And even in the times of trouble we had in our early settlement here, when clothing and provisions were scarce, the same feeling is manifested. “I was here,” says one, “and I,” says another, and they feel glad that they were counted worthy to endure these trials and stand firm. It is a matter of satisfaction to everyone who has proven himself worthy thus far; and when we shall have passed a little further along, and have got through this state of mortal existence, will we not, in that great reunion beyond the grave, feel still more to congratulate ourselves and each other that we have passed safely through, and that we have had virtue, strength and integrity sufficient for our day? And we shall be glad and rejoice that the difficulties we encountered were thrown in our way, and that we had the opportunity of proving ourselves before the Heavens.

Do not let us be discouraged at difficulties and trials, for we are sent to this state of existence for the express purpose of descending below all things, that we may pass the ordeals and trials of this life and thereby prove our integrity and be prepared to rise above all things. And after all, we have not been called upon to endure to that extent that the Savior of the world was. But he was not subjected to the afflictions he had to endure without hope, neither are we; but we are called to pass through them that we may prove whether we have power and strength to stand in that day when all things shall be shaken, and nothing doubting, cleave to the Lord our God with full purpose of heart, no matter how much things are against us, apparently. If we can pass these tests and trials we shall prove to God and angels that we are worthy to receive the welcome plaudit, “well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of the Lord.”

These great principles are known to the Latter-day Saints, and they know also that there again exists communication between the heavens and the earth, and that the way has been opened through the ordinances of the House of God, for the full flow of His Spirit; and yet some of them begin to falter in their feelings and slacken in their duties and to go into darkness. Let it not be said in Israel, or in all the borders and coasts thereof, but let the Saints, as with the heart and voice of one person, continually strive to promote those principles and that unity which are necessary to wield an influence with the Heavens for the Kingdom of God on the earth. It was once said facetiously by one of the founders of American Independence, that it was necessary for them to hang together, because if they did not they would most likely hang separately; meaning that if they did not succeed in gaining their Independence they would be convicted of treason, and put to death. It is so comparatively with the Latter-day Saints; unless we act unitedly and in concert in temporal as well as in spiritual things, we shall suffer loss. A Latter-day Saint in the world may live his religion as circumspectly as we do in the valleys of the mountains, but what power or influence can he wield for the kingdom, standing alone? All the surroundings of the world are against him. But if we are united in this great work, we shall in the due time of the Lord, become a great and mighty people on the earth, that can never be uprooted nor overcome by the floods of sin and corruption, that have so long deluged the world. The Latter-day Saints have no rights that the world consider themselves bound to respect, and if we expect them to do so we shall be deceived, especially if we live near to God. I have seen this tested over and over again in my own experience. What rights had the Latter-day Saints in the State of Missouri? Why, every right that man could ask for. Were they respected by the people or the authorities of the State? No, but the rights of this people were trampled under foot and they were expelled from the State. It was the same in Illinois, and in every place where they gathered together. In view of this it was a great blessing conferred upon us when the Lord brought us out here where the wicked could not have such control over us as they formerly had. Since that time we have become a great and mighty people in comparison to what we were then, and we are exerting an influence in the earth.

Shall we, who have enjoyed the Spirit of the Lord, and, I might say, have a knowledge of the powers of the world to come, suffer bickering, strife and division to enter into our midst? Let it not be said in the midst of Israel, but let us be more careful hereafter in our intercourse one with another than we have been in times past. Let us not trespass upon what is our neighbors’, either in feelings, property or possessions. Let us be courteous, and, instead of engendering strife and destroying each other as they do in the world, let us build each other up. We have to prepare to cooperate with the Lord in the establishment of His Kingdom, and it should be our special business to first perform the duties devolving upon us, and let our individual matters, if we have any, be secondary. This kingdom is made up of individuals as much as any other kingdom, and is prospered and built up by our individual efforts, but if we can have our labors wisely directed, then he who acts as he is counseled, is not only attending to and securing his own interests, but he is working for the good of the kingdom generally. For instance, the farmer, who is engaged in raising the various kinds of grain, and is industrious, frugal and economical, is a good citizen and is doing as much for the kingdom as he who is preaching the gospel; but if he be counseled to direct his energies especially to the raising of flax, hemp, or the mulberry, it is his duty to heed that counsel, and so work unitedly with the Saints of God under the direction of those who are appointed to direct the labor of this people and thus bring about the greatest good to the whole. So with the mechanic, and in fact with every individual in Israel.

There is one thing I particularly wish to speak upon. There is much knowledge which we need that would benefit us if we would take the trouble to search for it in useful books and apply it. Who amongst us knows how to analyze the soil, and so be able to tell what kind of produce it is best adapted for? This knowledge we can acquire from books, and by experiments in agricultural chemistry. We do not raise sufficient grain and other produce in this Territory to make ourselves comfortable. Why is this? Some of us have a very poor way of farming. I remember when I was south last year—though I need not go out of this county to find such farming—of seeing land that had not been harrowed above once in three or four years, and neither plowed nor sowed in that time, and watered only once or twice in a season; still they reaped a crop every year, and the people complained that they had not seed enough for their land, and they were, I think, the poorest people I have yet found in this Territory. I told them they were criminally poor, that there was no reason for their being so, but that it was the result of their indolence and bad management. I said to them, “Suppose you rented this land, and the owner should come and see you, and find what a condition his land was in—overrun with cockle and black seed and the weeds so numerous that they choke out the grain, would he not upbraid you and take a portion of that land from you and let it to others who would cultivate it properly?” Said I, “you complain of poverty, but you have more land than you can handle properly, and that is the great cause of your poverty. Then, again, you had more cattle than you could take care of, and the Indians got them. Now if you had had fewer cattle, and had taken better care of them, the Indians would not have taken them and you would have been better off.” I told them they had better dispose of a portion of their land, and keep no more than they could cultivate properly, and they would get twice the amount of grain they ever got before and with less labor. This was for the want of intelligent farming. How many of us here do not reap half such crops as we might reap for the same reason? It has been said by somebody that “he who makes two spears of grass grow where but one grew before is a benefactor to his race;” but how much more so is he who, by his superior intelligence, helps to increase the necessaries and comforts of life! Let us learn to analyze the soil and know its component parts, then we will understand whether it is best adapted to the growth of vegetables, or wheat or other kinds of grain; and know where to put trees, strawberries, and other things, that they may have the kind of soil best adapted to their growth.

The recuperation of the soil, too, is a matter of great importance. Some people think if they put manure on the land, that is all it requires. There is some land that would be better with sand mixed with the soil; some would be benefited by having clay mixed with it. If we would pursue this course we might cultivate less land and receive a greater reward for our labor.

We might also cultivate lucerne, carrots, beets and cabbages to keep a cow. Now the custom is in most cases to send them to the range, making them travel from eight to twelve miles daily. This causes their feet to become tender, and they have to be sent to the blacksmith’s to be shod; and when they get to the range there is little but bitter weeds for them to eat. This is no way to keep a cow. If we wish them to be of any service they should be well fed with lucerne or other suitable food, and kept up in the city and attended to properly; then a cow would do some good, give good milk and butter, which go a great way towards making a family comfortable. Then, again, almost anybody can keep a few chickens, and, with them and a cow properly attended to, very little additional expense is necessary to make a family comfortable. In this country a great many neglect these things and complain about poor living, just for the want of a little attention. They have girls and boys too, who could attend to these matters.

I wish to speak in relation to imparting the necessaries of life to the poor and the needy. We do not furnish labor enough in the winter season to those who depend upon it for their daily bread. It seems to me that the men who have the means do not make the improvements they might make in the winter, and so employ those who are destitute. In the summer there is plenty of labor for every body, all through the Territory; and it frequently happens that hands are scarce and wages high; but as soon as the storms begin to come in the Fall, laborers are thrown out of employment and have nothing to do through the long winter. I think the Bishops should turn their attention to this matter and contrive more useful and profitable employment for the winter season. The first Thursday in every month, let us remember, is a day set apart for fasting, prayer and donations to the poor. It will soon come around again. Notwithstanding there may be a little scarcity felt in the midst of the peo– ple, do not let us neglect those things. Do not forget them, and let us live up to those things necessary in the midst of the Saints of the Most High God, so as to keep a full flow of the Spirit in each and every one of us, and seek to make a better use of the blessings with which the Lord has surrounded us. The elements are rich and laden with everything that is good for man, and it is for us to exercise our discrimination and understanding to draw our support therefrom, that we may become a great, free and independent people, able to bear off His kingdom against every opposing obstacle.

May God help us to do so, and to be faithful, is my prayer in the name of Jesus: Amen.

Remarks by Elder George A. Smith, delivered in the Old Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, December 29th, 1867.

In the dealings of God with the children of men, in almost every age of which we have any account, we find that a certain weakness of the human heart has ever manifested itself—that is, its proneness to stray from the Lord. On almost every occasion when the children of Israel began to get prosperous and wealthy, they forgot their duty and strayed from the Lord. After Joshua had led them across the Jordan, subdued their enemies, and placed them in possession of Canaan, he called the people together en masse, and exacted of them a covenant that they would serve the Lord, who had brought them out of Egypt and had wrought so many miracles in their favor; and it is recorded of that generation that they served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the Elders who outlived Joshua. This is about as long a time as Israel ever did abide by the law of the Lord. In reading the Book of Mormon this same trait of character is very noticeable in the history of the Nephites and Jaredites. When the Elders were stirred up to preach and prophesy to the people, or when, through the scourging of the Almighty, they were brought to repentance and to the knowledge of their fathers, it would be but an incredibly short time—a few years of peace and industry with their attendant blessings—before they would again go astray from God, follow new doctrines and forms of worship designed by men, and wickedness would soon again overspread the land. This was repeated time and again by the Nephites from the time they separated from the Lamanites until their final destruction. It is remarkable, however, in the history given in the Book of Mormon, that after the mission of the Savior to this continent, and the reception of the gospel by the whole of the Lamanites and Nephites, that for several generations they remained faithful to its precepts and principles, and walked before the Lord with such a degree of humility and thanksgiving that they were prospered and blessed in all things. This is the longest period of peace, and the most like a millennium that we have any account of in any of our records where time is given to us. It is true that Enoch and his followers were more faithful than this, for it is said that he walked with God three hundred and sixty-five years; but, as we have no detailed account of the transactions in his cities, or of the regulations in Zion under his direction, we are not prepared to use the short account we have of him and his people by way of comparison.

All these lessons taught in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and by our own experience are to warn us of the danger of going astray, and to show us how prone we are to lust after the leeks and onions of Egypt, or to sacrifice principle to gain some temporary advantage or to answer some mercenary purpose; and they should be so firmly fixed upon our minds, and so applied in our lives, that nothing could induce us to do so, for however great the seeming advantage resulting from such a course, it would in the end prove a serious disadvantage, for in following it we sacrifice our integrity, violate our faith, weaken our confidence in God and our power with him, and lay ourselves liable to fall into snares from which it is impossible for us to extricate ourselves.

As I have already said, when I first read the Book of Mormon, this trait of character astonished me, and I have been equally astonished at seeing it manifested by this people during the thirty-seven years I have been conversant with their history. In relation to the Word of Wisdom, see what a variety of opinions and feelings have arisen amongst us. It is now about thirty-six years since that was given by the Lord to His people, not by commandment or constraint, but a principle with promise, and yet today many of us find it difficult to leave off our tea or to do without our tobacco. Had we, as a people, pursued an even, straightforward course in obedience to the counsels of the Almighty, many of us who today are in bondage to these and other pernicious practices would never have indulged in them.

I moved into Kirtland with five families. The question immediately arose—“Where shall we settle?” Why, right here in Kirtland; the Lord designs to make this a stronghold for a few years, and here we are to settle, which was the counsel of the Prophet.

The very first thing that occurred after this advice was that two out of the five came to the conclusion that they had better go to the neighboring town, because they thought they could gain some temporary advantage. To Chagrin they went, in opposition to the advice of the Prophet, and in a few weeks they were in darkness, and not long after they were numbered with the enemies of Zion, and were soon using all their power for the destruction of the Saints. He that gathereth not with us scattereth abroad. Joseph, the Prophet, told us to go to work and build up the cities of Zion, and not to build up strange cities. Kirtland, of course, contained but few Saints, and they were poor, and many of the brethren who were mechanics would go to Cleveland, Painesville, and other places, while the residue were willing to take the advice of the Prophet and stay in Kirtland and get what work they could among the brethren, and make improvements, and at the end of the year it invariably turned out that those who had obeyed counsel had made the most means, and what was more, they had the best spirit, and, as a general thing, they are still in the midst of the Saints; while those who went abroad, contrary to the counsels and instructions of the servants of the Lord, became darkened in their minds, and eventually apostatized. The fact is, in relation to this, that we are to seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, and to use all our efforts to sustain His Kingdom and each other, and to sustain and uphold those who uphold the Kingdom of God, and when we neglect to do this, and suffer temporary interests to drag us to the right or to the left, we lay a foundation for darkness and destruction. However many objections we may feel to abiding the counsels and instructions which are given to the Saints, we will find, under all circumstances, that they are invariably for the best, and that, when they have not been observed, the result was unfavorable. It seems to me that most of us can look back the last four or five years and see the course that has been pursued by some in their eagerness and determination to disobey counsel. By these lessons and examples in the school of experience we ought to make ourselves acquainted with the principles of progress, and profit by them. If we will do so God will strengthen our hands and enlighten our minds, and enable us to pull unitedly together; and, when we are united as a solid mass, all the powers of earth cannot prevail against us.

Our weakness consists in division among ourselves, in not living up to our calling, in not abiding by the counsels which the Lord inspires His servants to impart unto us, and not abiding by the covenants which we make when we lift up our hands to Heaven and vote to sustain our President, or Prophet, as a seer and revelator unto us. This failure on our part weakens both his hands and ours. Brother Woolley said this morning—“We are progressing,” and there is no doubt we are, but it is slowly.

May the Lord bless us, unite our hearts, and quicken our progress, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Remarks by Elder Lorenzo Snow, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 9th, 1867.

Knowing our religion to be true, we ought to be the most devoted people on the face of the earth to the cause we have embraced. Knowing as we do, or should know, that the gospel we have received promises all our hearts can wish or desire, if we are faithful, we ought to be very faithful, devoted, energetic, and ambitious in carrying out the designs and wishes of the Lord, as He reveals them from time to time through His servants. We ought not to be lukewarm or negligent in attending to our duties, but with all our might, strength and souls we should try to understand the spirit of our calling and nature of the work in which we are engaged. When Jesus was upon the earth he commanded his disciples to go forth and preach the gospel without purse or scrip, taking no thought beforehand as to what they should eat or drink, or wherewithal they should be clothed, but simply go forth and to testify of those things which had been revealed to them. In doing this they secured to themselves the blessings of the Almighty, and success attended all their exertions. They were bound to succeed; no power could cross their path and prevent them reaping the most sanguine success, because they went forth in the strength of the Almighty to perform His will, and it was His business to sustain and support them and to furnish them all the means of success. Through obedience to the commands of the Lord they secured to themselves the blessings of life with the privilege of coming forth in the morning of the first resurrection, and they had the assurance that in their labors no power on earth could successfully oppose them. These were the kind of prospects I should have liked had I been in their position, or in any other position, for to the thoughtful mind the idea of ultimate success in any pursuit is very pleasing. Now, had the Apostles, instead of doing as they were commanded, imagined that by doing something else they could have answered the same purpose, they would not have succeeded so well in their operations, neither would they have possessed that assurance of success which, under all the trials and persecutions to which they were exposed, was, doubtless, to them a source of constant pleasure and satisfaction.

Quite a number of young men have been called to go to the southern portion of our Territory for the purpose of developing the resources thereof and building up Zion. Now, should they imagine that they could be as successful by taking upon themselves a mission similar to that given by Jesus to his disciples, they would find themselves very much mistaken. Had the Apostles or Seventies in the days of Jesus imagined that they could have fulfilled the missions given them by building an ark as Noah did, or building granaries and storing grain as Joseph did, they would have been grandly mistaken.

Joseph, in the land of Egypt, was called upon to perform a certain class of duties, which were made incumbent upon him. He was not called to preach the gospel without purse or scrip, but to build granaries, and to use all his influence with the king, nobles, and people of Egypt to store their grain against a day of famine. I have often thought, in reflecting upon this subject, how little proof they had of the importance of doing what Joseph required of them, when compared with the abundance of proof we possess in relation to the importance of the duties required of us. There was Pharaoh—a Gentile, making no profession of religion—he had a dream which none could interpret save Joseph, a stranger in the land, whom no one knew, who had been bought for money, and who was taken from prison into the presence of the king. No doubt the nobles and the people who heard of the interpretation of the dream believed that Joseph made that for his own benefit, glory, and exaltation, and that the king might think well of him; and when they saw him riding round in pomp and splendor, trying to establish granaries all through the country, they, no doubt, thought he was an impostor, and placed no credence in his predictions. In fact, I think I could hardly have believed it myself had I lived in those days. Many of the people placed such little faith in his words that, failing to lay up their food, when the famine overtook them, to save themselves from starvation they had to sell themselves for slaves to the King. Now, supposing that Joseph had gone to work and built an ark, he would not have been accepted of the Lord, neither could he have saved the people of Egypt nor his father’s house. When Noah was commanded to build an ark, supposing he had established granaries, he and his house could not have been saved. So in regard to ourselves, when duties are required at our hands, whether it is to go to the southern part of our Territory, to Europe, to contribute to the Perpetual Emigration Fund, or to build temples, or whatever we may be required to do within the pale of the kingdom of the Almighty, we have to walk in the spirit of these requirements, and perform them, if we would gain power and influence with our God.

I am pleased, indeed, to see the prosperity of Zion. I feel a spirit of solemnity upon me while standing here gazing upon this multitude of Saints. Seeing the difficulties through which we have passed, our present prosperity is astonishing to ourselves and equally so to the world. I feel to thank God for the prosperity of Zion as it presents itself at this time. And when we contemplate our individual position, and see the blessings God has conferred upon us in gathering us from the nations of the earth to the valleys of the mountains, where we are under the guidance of the Priesthood, we should be a contented, joyous, and happy people.

I feel to say a word or two in reference to education. There are very few people who have arrived at the age of fifty and upwards who feel like studying mathematics; they do not feel like attending school and applying their minds to the acquisition of the sciences, but there is a kind of education worthy the best attention of all, and in which all ought to engage—that is the education of the Spirit. As we advance in life we one and all ought to be less passionate, more spiritually minded. The men ought to be more fatherly at home, possessing finer feelings in reference to their wives and children, neighbors and friends, more kindly and godlike. When I go into a family I do admire to see the head of that family administering to it as a man of God, kind and gentle, filled with the Holy Ghost and with the wisdom and understanding of Heaven. Men and women can increase their spiritual knowledge; they can grow better as years multiply upon them. It was so, in a measure, with the old prophets. When they stood on the verge of the grave, ready to give up the ghost and to pass from this life to another, they were full of the power of the Almighty, and could lay their hands on the heads of their children and tell them what would befall them down to the latest ages. The High Priests and Elders of Israel should cultivate this spirit, and live continually that they can have the revelations of the Almighty to guide them, that they may grow wiser and better as age advances.

Nothing can be more foolish than the idea of a man laying off his religion like a cloak or garment. There is no such thing as a man laying off his religion unless he lays off himself. Our religion should be incorporated within ourselves, a part of our being that cannot be laid off. If there can be such a thing as a man laying off his religion, the moment he does so he gets on to ground he knows nothing about, he gives himself over to the powers of darkness; he is not on his own ground; he has no business there. The idea of Elders in Israel swearing, lying, and giving way to intoxication is far beneath them; they ought to be above such things. Let us put from us every evil, and live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Let us lay hold of every duty assigned to us with ambition and energy, that we may have the spirit of our God, the light of truth, and the revelations of Jesus Christ within us continually. God bless the Latter-day Saints. God bless the President, the Priesthood, and all Israel, and may we be successful in winning our way onward in the path of eternal truth and glory; and that, as we advance in life, we may not only have the privilege of gazing upon this beautiful scenery within these walls, but of meeting together in a temple built by the power of the Almighty and the united efforts of His Saints; of building the Center Stake of Zion; and above all, when we have finished our course on the earth, that we may have the privilege of coming forth in the morning of the first resurrection with our bodies glorified and singing the new song. Amen.

Remarks by Elder George A. Smith, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 9th, 1867.

We are composed of persons from various nationalities. We speak a number of languages. The languages and dialects of the British empire, the Scandinavian, the French, Dutch, German, Swiss, and Italian are all represented here. It appears that God in His divine wisdom revealed the gospel in the English language, which is the native tongue of the majority of the Saints, probably more than half of them having acquired it in America, and a large portion of the remainder in the old world. It is very desirable that all of our brethren who are not ac– quainted with the English language should learn it. We do not wish to blot out the original languages that they may have spoken, but we want them all—men and woman, old and young—to learn the English language so perfectly that they will be able to thoroughly understand for themselves the teachings and instructions and the published works of the Church, as well as the laws of the country. And while we preach to all classes—all the boys and girls under ninety—to go to school and educate themselves in the various useful branches, we do not want our bre– thren who do not speak the English language to think that they are neglected or without the pale of this call. We hope the bishops and teachers will make every reasonable exertion to stir up the minds of the brethren and sisters who do not thoroughly understand English to the importance of this particular item of counsel. We, of course, wish them to stir up everybody on the subject of education, and to encourage, in every possible manner, our day and Sunday schools, for the cause of education should be popular in Israel now, as it was in the days of Joseph; and old and young should go to school together. I recollect a school that I attended in Kirtland under the direction of the prophet Joseph; the oldest scholar in my class was sixty-three years old. We shall have long winter evenings directly, and a good deal of time to spend in self-improvement, and it is our duty to become a cultivated people in all the useful branches of education known among mankind. There is a spirit among some of our young men in different settlements to appear rough and reckless; they indulge in rowdyism and cultivate the savage side of human nature. We ought to use all the influence and power we possess to suppress this, and to stir up in the minds of our young and old the necessity of cultivating simple, plain, innocent, and genteel manners. There is an idea out that a man who has to go to the canyon cannot do it without swearing, or that when he gets to the mouth of the canyon he must throw off his religion and swear all the way up and back again. Any man who entertains such a sentiment should dispense with it at once, for he needs his religion more there than anywhere else. The roads are rough, and there is danger of him being tipped over and breaking his neck, or mashing up his wagon or his team, and he needs the influence of his religion as much under such circumstances as under any others. The Elders of Israel should avoid indulging in rough language under all circumstances. Most men, if they thought there was a probability of them dying by some sudden accident, would begin to think about praying. When a man is more exposed to danger than at any other time I am sure he needs his religion, for if he should have a log roll over him, and be sent into eternity with a big oath in his mouth, he might not be recognized as a Saint on the other side of the veil. Hence I would like our brethren, and would recommend them to dispense with the idea, that on some occasions they can lay their religion to one side. It is said that an old Quaker, on a certain occasion when his family were grossly insulted and abused, felt very much like chastising the offender, but his religion forbade him fighting. He bore it tolerably well for a time, but at last his patience was exhausted, and, pulling off his broad-brimmed hat and his broad-tailed coat, said he—“Lie there religion until I lick this man.” He might just as well have kept his religion on while doing the flogging. He might have felt as an uncle of Joseph Smith—Rev. Mr. Mack—did on a certain occasion. He was a Baptist minister, and was celebrated for his great physical strength. A professional pugilist went to see him once, and told him that hearing he was one of the strongest men in the state he had come to test his strength. The old man was too pious to wrestle or scuffle. The stranger said he would fight him, but Mr. Mack was too religious to fight. The stranger told him he had no ill will towards him, but said he—“I must and will know which is the strongest.” Mr. Mack did his best to put him off, telling him that he was a minister and so forth, but the stranger would not be disappointed, and, as Mr. Mack turned round, he kicked him. The reverend gentleman’s religion could not stand this, and he set to and gave the stranger a good thrashing. He went before his congregation and made a confession, which was something like unto this—“I bore all this patiently, notwithstanding my own nature was to try the man’s strength, but after he kicked me I took off my coat and flogged him most properly.” I think that kind of a rule might work under some circumstances; but at the same time a man should never lay down his religion, and should never believe that it is necessary to swear, not even in the canyon. I tell you that every vile word we utter and every vile sentiment we entertain is a wrong for which we, someday, will have to atone. When I hear men—young or old—talking intemperately or improperly, I realize that they have that folly to overcome and repent of.

In speaking of the education of our children, I wish to draw the attention of the Saints particularly to the system of phonetics, or the Deseret alphabet, which has been referred to by President Young and some of the brethren. This is calculated to considerably abridge the labor of our foreign brethren in learning to read English. I think that in all our schools phonetics should form one branch of study, and as fast as works of phonotopy can be obtained they should be introduced, for there is no doubt that a general reformation will be effected in our English orthography. It is said that the Lord will restore to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon Him with one consent. While we urge our brethren to acquire the English lan– guage, and to make themselves proficient in the useful branches of education, we wish them to remember that the orthography which the English nation has adopted is by no means perfect, for our present mode of spelling might be materially improved. According to the present system, it is a very long and difficult job for a man to learn to spell. I commenced as soon as I was old enough to put three letters together, and I have been at it ever since, and I hardly dare write a letter now without consulting the dictionary to see how some word or other should be spelled. The spelling of the English language is very arbitrary. For several generations it has been undergoing improvements and modifications, and it will, no doubt, go on until English orthography will become so perfect that every letter will have but a single sound, instead of having, as now, in some cases, four or five sounds to the same letter. Now, when a child learns to spell, he learns first to give to the vowel a its long sound, as heard in the word male, supposing that to be its only sound. In another position he gives it the Italian or grave sound—as in the word father, and so on, until he finds it has four or five distinct sounds, and then he has to continually exercise his judgment, or has to depend upon the judgment of some other man, to know which of these sounds to use.

I wish our brethren to give this subject their serious and candid consideration, and do their best to introduce into our schools a system that will greatly abridge the time required to gain the various branches of a good education. No greater or more blessed mission can be given to an Elder in Israel than to teach the true principles of education to the rising generation of this Territory. I would advise our brethren, aside from the ordinary schools, to get up evening reading classes in all our settlements for the instruction of those who cannot attend at other times. The instruction of our wives and daughters is of the utmost importance. The disposition of some to neglect the education of girls is the extreme of folly. If we take pains to have the English language taught correctly to our wives and daughters, they will teach it to their children, and this will lay the foundation for the permanent improvement of the language of the state, of which we form the nucleus. Some of the ablest men in the Territory received the most of their education from their mothers, and it is said that the President of the United States was educated by his wife. I wish to call the attention of the Conference to the text of President Young in relation to storing our wheat. This is a question of vast importance. A few years ago President Young gave counsel to the people of the Territory—most of whom agreed to it—to lay by seven years provisions. We were to have commenced three years ago, and were to have laid up one year’s bread over and above the year’s supply. The following year we were to add another year’s supply, and so have continued until we had our seven years’ supply laid up. How faithful the people have been in keeping this counsel I am not prepared to say, but I am afraid that few men in Israel, even among those who have raised breadstuffs and have had the power to control considerable quantities of it, had three years’ bread laid aside when the grasshoppers made their descent this season and swept off half the grains, vegetables, and fruit raised in the Territory, and were prepared, if the whole had been swept off, to live for the next three years without laying in more bread. I am aware that some of our brethren thought this counsel extravagant; they considered that it could not be necessary to lay up such a quantity of bread; and some of them, instead of getting out lumber and making good substantial bins for the preservation of their wheat, turned out their means for teams, and freighted their bread to the north, to the east, and to the west; and not only so, but in many instances they gave it away, if they could only get half price for hauling it. Hundreds and thousands of sacks of flour have been hauled away, when it should have been stored up here against a day of want. I feel just as keenly on this matter now as when this counsel was given, and a little more so, for the army of the Lord—the grasshoppers—may have awakened my mind to the importance of the subject.

All nations have to take more or less precaution for their general preservation, and, as they are occasionally visited with years of scarcity, if they failed to do so the consequences might be disastrous. We are situated in the heart of a great desert, surrounded a portion of the year by impassable mountains. We have no railroads, no seaports, no great navigable rivers and canals by which we can bring provisions from abroad; and if there had been ten grasshoppers this year where there was but one every particle of food raised in the Territory would have been consumed; then where would our bread have been? Where could we have gained our subsistence?

In the empire of China provision is made for the general preservation, and one-fifth of the produce of the country is stored in the public granaries against a day of famine. A famine occurred not long since in one of the provinces of China containing thirty-three millions of people—a little more than the whole population of the United States—and they lost their entire crop. China, however, is favored with large navigable rivers, some capable of navigation for over two thousand miles. There are also many canals and seaport towns that are used in the coasting trade; the result is that when this famine came on this province the storehouses were opened, and the grain or rice was carried to its inhabitants, and they were kept from starvation. We are differently situated. We have no public storehouses, neither can we bring sufficient provisions from abroad without it costing more than we are able to pay. A good many of us claim our descent from Joseph, who was sold into Egypt. He was the instrument of the Almighty in saving the Egyptians, through the interpretation of the King’s dream of the seven fat and the seven lean kine, and the seven full and the seven blighted ears of corn. He prescribed the means by which the storehouses of Egypt were filled with corn, and when the seven years of famine came the whole people were actually saved from death through the wisdom of Joseph in laying up bread. We expect to be saviors on Mount Zion in the last days. We all exercise faith that God may give to our President wisdom and understanding to foresee the evils with which we may be threatened, and to take measures to avert them. Suppose that he comes forward and tells us how to prepare, and we neglect his counsel, then the watchman is clear, and we are liable to the dangers and difficulties resulting from disobedience. If the King of Egypt had not observed the counsels of Joseph almost the whole people would have been destroyed. As it was, those who did not obey Joseph’s counsel were under the ne– cessity of selling all their property, and ultimately themselves, for slaves to the king, in order to obtain that bread which they could have laid up during the seven years of plenty, if they had obeyed Joseph’s counsel.

Now, brethren, let us not treat this subject lightly. If we have been neglectful in times past, let us remember that we live in a high altitude, in a country subject to frost and to extreme drouth, that we have several times lost our crops, and that we have twice been reduced to famine or half rations through the crickets or grasshoppers. Let us heed the counsel given about storing up provisions, and, instead of freighting our food away to feed strangers, let us go to work and build good substantial granaries, and fill them with breadstuff, until every man and woman has enough on hand to last for seven years. Terrible destruction awaits the wicked. They will come to us by thousands by-and-by, saying—“Can you not feed us? Can you not do something for us?” It is said by the prophets they shall come bending, and shall say you are the priests of the Lord. What priest could administer greater earthly blessings than food to the hungry, who have fled from a country where the sword, famine, and pestilence were sweeping away their thousands? I look upon the subject of storing grain and other kinds of food as a very religious matter. How could a man who was half starved enjoy his religion? How on the face of the earth could a man enjoy his religion when he had been told by the Lord how to prepare for a day of famine, when, instead of doing so, he had fooled away that which would have sustained him and his family. I wish our brethren to lay this matter to heart, and not rest until they have obeyed this particular item of counsel.

I also advise them to live within their means, and avoid getting into debt. I suppose our nation at the present time owes about three thousand millions of dollars, and the several states owe one thousand five hundred million dollars more, and that the counties, cities, towns, and villages owe as much more, making a total of about six thousand million dollars. All this is the result of folly, corruption, and wickedness of men in authority. I do advise my brethren to avoid getting into debt. “Well,” say you, “how are we going to do it?” A few years ago, during the war, while money was plentiful and almost everybody had greenbacks, the President devised a plan. Said he—“You bishops, go to work and sow rye, and set our sisters and their children to work to make straw hats and bonnets and ornaments for the whole Territory.” What does a nice straw hat cost now? I have bought so few of such things that I am not very well posted as to the prices, but I suppose five or six dollars. What would have been the result if this counsel had been faithfully kept for the last few years? The result would have been a saving of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars that have been paid out of the Territory for straw hats and bonnets and trimmings. “But,” say some, “if we had not bought these things we should not have been in the fashion.” Why bless you, sisters, in my young days, in northern New York, I wore hats made in the neighborhood of lambs’ wool. Why not produce them here? Why not manufacture and wear the beaver and other furs collected in our mountains rather than send them to the States to be manufactured, and brought back to be sold to us at exorbitant profits. If ninety-nine out of every hundred of you present were wearing these home made articles at this Conference, she who was not wearing one would have been the only one out of the fashion. Why she would be as odd as Dick’s hat band, which was said to go half way round and tuck under. And if the brethren had all worn home made hats, the man wearing any other kind would have been an oddfellow among us. Why not make our own fashions, and keep the money in our pockets to do good with? It is a very simple matter to do, and the hats we can manufacture here are just as pretty and just as comfortable as the imported articles, most of which are made abroad out of materials that can be raised in abundance here! When any of the brethren start in the hat business here we cannot wear them, they are too heavy; we must buy hats that will not last more than a month. Why not go to work and manufacture our own, and have them suitable for either winter or summer? Why not plant the mulberry? President Young imported the seed, and he has on hand a half million of trees for sale. The silkworms are here, and our sisters and children have nimble fingers to handle them, and this is naturally as good a silk producing country as Italy or France. There is nothing on the face of the earth to hinder us, as a people, from making our own ribbons, silk handkerchiefs, and dresses; and it is believed, by those who are acquainted with the business, that we can actually produce silk here at a lower figure than other material for clothing, taking into account the time it will last.

I advise all the brethren to cultivate the mulberry, and raise silk, as well as flax and wool, and let us extend our efforts to the cotton region. There is no mission more important to the welfare and development of Israel than a mission to the cotton region. We have entered into the Church to build up the kingdom of God, and to labor where the master builder says we can labor to the best advantage. In that region we have a climate and a little land suitable for the production of cotton. What could we have done without what has been already raised there? When cotton rose to a dollar and a half a pound in the States, and it would actually pay to raise it in Santa Clara and send it to San Francisco and St. Louis for sale, what could we have done here but for our home grown article? Look at the thousands of pounds that have been grown and manufactured in this Territory. Where could we have got our clothing without the efforts that have been made in this direction by our brethren in Dixie? God bless them for their exertions. Every man who has done what has been required of him on the southern mission is entitled to the eternal gratitude of the Saints and will have the blessing of the Almighty.

In relation to the Word of Wisdom, I wish to impress upon the minds of the brethren the fact referred to by President Young yesterday—that it is perpetual.

When I was in the States I had a conversation with a professor of some pretensions to learning, who declared that, if we carried out the institutions we had commenced here in the mountains, including the Word of Wisdom and our system of marriage, in about seventy years we should produce a race of men who would be able to walk the rest of the human race under foot. This is just what we expect. Do not let us be negligent or careless on these subjects, but pay strict attention and be diligent. And let us inaugurate a system of fashions of our own. I do not care about the shape of our hats and bonnets so long as they are of our own manufacture. I would just as soon a man should wear a bellows hat or a stove pipe as anything else, if it please him; but I say, encourage home manufactures instead of paying ten dollars for a hat made in Paris, or in the United States, with the word “Paris” put in the inside. I do not care whether the ladies wear a bunch of flowers, a cabbage leaf, a squash, or a scoop, or a saucer on their heads, if it pleases them; but let it be made at home. I would recommend the brethren and sisters to establish societies for the promotion of home manufactures. With the money that has been spent and sent off for hats, bonnets, and trimmings since the President counseled the Bishops to raise rye to manufacture them, we could have built woollen and cotton factories in nearly every county in the Territory, with which we could have manufactured our own clothing, besides establishing other branches of business. These things are a great part of our holy religion. I tell you that the judgments of the Almighty are coming upon the earth, and the Saints will barely escape. God has gathered us here to these mountains to prepare for the storm. We were told in a revelation, given more than thirty years ago, to let the beauty of our garments be the workmanship of our own hands, and a great many have tried to carry it out. The old fashioned spinning wheel, hand loom, and cards have been brought into requisition; but the majority prefer to buy everything that is imported. Our young men are afraid to get married because they cannot afford to buy all these trimmings. Say they—“We cannot do it, it is impossible with our limited means.” Young men, when you get married take wives who will be a help to you. You do not want women who can only waste your means. Choose women who can spin, card, and make a mattress or comforter, if necessary, and, if she cannot do it, let her be willing to learn, and be zealous to make herself useful, for the woman who is really ornamental in society is the one who is useful as well. You go to New England, that is where a great many of us came from, regular old down east Yankeedom, and you will find many of the farms occupied by our grandfathers owned by Irishmen, and the girls who descended from that old Puritanic stock are above work now-a-days, and Irish girls are hired to do it. While the American ladies are living on the proceeds of their fathers’ estates, and making a great display in following the fashions—they deem it not fashionable to work or even to have children—the boys are marrying Irish girls. If asked why they do this, they will say they are compelled to do it, for they cannot afford to marry a woman and hire another to wait upon her. Our girls ought to adopt a different policy. Every man and woman in the world ought to be useful. No man is too rich to labor. All men and women, according to their health, strength, and ability, ought to labor to sustain themselves, and for the welfare of the community. “The idler shall not eat the bread of the laborer.” This is the law of Heaven. In connection with labor we should also take into consideration our manner of living. It is really probable that in many houses in this Territory full one-third of the provisions brought in for the support of the family is wasted, and what is cooked is not as palatable and healthful as it might be. Every female should study and become acquainted with the best modes of cooking, and introduce it into their families and wards. A great many of our sisters have come from districts of country in Europe where they have had to work in factories, and to follow other branches of business, and consequently have had but little opportunity to learn cookery and other household work; but I have known many of them, after arriving here, become very proficient housekeepers, and all may if they will try.

I feel to impress these sentiments on your minds that we may become a practical people, and learn to provide within ourselves the necessaries of life, that in all things we may be pleasing to the Lord. Let us live in accordance with the laws of life, avoiding excess, all vulgarity and unnecessary levity, and endeavor to conduct ourselves wisely, properly, and genteelly, and use our influence to promote that class of manners that will command respect everywhere. We shall thus lay the foundation of a great, polished, and highly civilized people, setting an example worthy of imitation in all things to all nations.

May God bless us, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Remarks by Elder Erastus Snow, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 8th, 1867.

I am persuaded that the subject last referred to by President Young—the prolongation of life and the preservation of health cannot be overrated. This is one of the subjects relating to our temporal welfare that received the early attention of the Prophet Joseph, and the revelation commonly called the Word of Wisdom has been before the people for over thirty years. I feel assured that a word on this subject kindly spoken by our President is a prompting from on high, and I believe that every true Elder in Israel will bear witness that this is the word of the Lord to us at this time. I exhort every Bishop and presiding Elder in this city as well as throughout the country to lay this matter to heart as one subject requiring their special attention. Not to make it a hobby to the exclusion of everything else, so as to disgust the people, but in the true spirit of the Gospel seek to bring this matter home to the hearts and understandings of the people of their respective wards and settlements. Feel after those who may be stupid and ignorant, who do not come to meeting, and do not receive the spirit of this Conference. Let the Bishops and others in authority endeavor through their teachers and otherwise to search out such individuals, and dig round about them, and prune them that they may perchance bring forth fruit.

Remarks by Elder Erastus Snow, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 8th, 1867.

In relation to matrimony—one of the texts before the Conference—perhaps there is not so much a lack of disposition on the part of the ladies as there is on the part of the gentlemen. The latter sometimes feel themselves unworthy or unprepared, and in many instances, perhaps, they are so. And if you ask why they are unprepared to assume these responsibilities as husbands and heads of families, it is mostly because they have neglected the word of the Lord which they have heard from this stand. They have not given their hearts to prayer sufficiently; they have not read the scriptures and educated their spirits; they have not drunk in the spirit of the Gospel. Every young man who has been taught by his parents to pray in secret, to mingle with the family in devotion, to attend meeting and receive the counsels of the servants of Lord, has grown in the spirit of the Gospel, and this has given them a disposition which has impelled them, as soon as they arrive at a suitable age, to move forward in the duties and responsibilities that they have been called upon, during this Conference, to assume. And they will meet with a like response everywhere from the opposite sex who are living their religion. If there is any lack of disposition on the part of the ladies it is because they are not living their religion, for the neglect of one duty leads to the neglect of another, and if our young men and women fail to make themselves acquainted with the law of God they are liable to be led away. Young men or women seeking the society of the wicked are soon befogged and led to destruction. If the young men of Israel are not alive to their duties, the young ladies may be left to wander in the society of the ungodly. This happens many times through the neglect of parents to impress on the minds of their daughters the value of the kingdom of heaven and the value and importance of salvation, exaltation and glory. Through the neglect of parents in properly educating their children many of them are now, perhaps, unable to discern between saint and sinner, and they would as soon associate with the wicked and unbelieving as with the righteous. It is a grievous sight to those who have labored twenty-five or thirty years traveling over the world to preach the gospel and to gather the people to see the rising generation without that culture they so much need to develop within them a love of righteousness, truth, and every holy principle. There is as great a field for missionary labor in Utah, as in any part of the world. There is as great a necessity for preaching here at home in our settlements, even in some parts of Great Salt Lake City, as there is in any part of the world. There are those here who neglect the opportunities offered them and they need to be felt after personally.

The subject of education is another of the texts given by our President for the elders of Israel to preach upon. I have already touched on it in a few words. I will say that our school teachers should not only be men qualified to teach the various branches of education, but they should be men possessing the spirit of the gospel, and who, in every look and word, and in all their discipline and intercourse with their pupils are influenced by that spirit. They should govern and control, not by brute force, but by superior intellect, sound judgment and the wisdom that the Gospel teaches that they may win the hearts of their pupils, and so be able to impress their minds with those principles they present before them.

I cannot speak too highly in favor of those good books that have been recommended to our schools—the Bible, Book of Mormon, Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and all other good books; but especially those that contain the history of the dealings of God with his people from the beginning of the world to the present time, as well as the teachings of the prophets and apostles; for the foundation of all true education is the wisdom and knowledge of God. In the absence of these, though we obtain a knowledge of every art and science and acquire what is termed by the world a first class education, we but obtain the froth and lack the foundation on which to rear a proper education.

In relation to the missionaries south, I will say that I have heard some say when referring to this subject, “What is the use of the southern mission? What good can result from our going or sending there?” I will say to all such querying, grumbling, faultfinding, growling spirits, just wait a few years, and we will show you the good of the southern mission. I do not know but time would fail me to bring argument in favor of it, but I will say just wait and by the help of God we will show you.

The subject of home production and becoming a self-sustaining people is another text, and this will probably guide me right back to “Dixie.” I will ask the question, How are we going to become self-sustaining unless we avail ourselves of the elements around us and provide ourselves and families with what we need to eat, drink and wear, and our implements of husbandry and other things of like nature? We need ironware and machine shops. Our sons need teaching in the various mechanical arts. Instead of raising them all to be farmers or mule drivers, we want a goodly portion of machinists, painters, artists, smiths, school teachers, and all other useful professions. We shall also need lawyers. I do not mean dishonest contemptible pettifoggers; but statesmen-lawyers in the true sense of the word who understand the principles of justice and equity, and who make themselves acquainted with those general principles of jurisprudence, that wise statesmen have recognized throughout the civilized world, that they may not only be competent judges in the land, but be able to thwart the wicked efforts of this ungodly set of pettifoggers. The southern country affords us facilities for raising many things that cannot be successfully raised in the north. We have had one four years of internecine war that has almost entirely prevented the raising of cotton—perhaps the most essential of all productions for articles of clothing. Will we as a people be blind to this fact, and now, that the first woe is past, lull ourselves to sleep and forget that there is another coming. Saint George, though the center of our present operation in cotton raising is only on the borders of the cotton district. From three hundred to five hundred acres is the most that we can water from one dam and canal in that district of country, while lower down, the same labor would encircle a field of six or eight thousand acres of better land; but a little handful of people cannot grapple with so great a labor. We have commenced some small settlements on the Muddy. The settlers there were mostly substitutes—Bro. Henry Miller calls them destitutes. Most of them got discouraged and came back, the rest stick and hang like a dog to a root—but they scarcely know what to do. The question is shall we allow this little handful to be worn out, or shall we strengthen their hands, and so keep moving and progressing, and hold what we have and get more.

I like the idea of sending young men down there. It struck me as a decided hit when I heard the names read out yesterday. We can do with a number of young men who have small families or who are about to get them, and I say God bless them, and speed them and their wives on their way and by the help of God we will help them.

Remarks by Elder George A. Smith, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 7th, 1867.

There are, at the present time, in Great Britain ten or twelve thousand Saints, some of whom have been members of the Church for twenty or twenty-five years. They have contributed of their scanty means to feed the Elders and to help to emigrate their brethren and sisters, and in many cases many of them have gone without their meals and beds to make the Elders comfortable, and now they are without the means to gather with the Saints here in the mountains.

There are a great many brethren, probably some are here today, who, in years past, have been assisted to this country by the Perpetual Emigration Fund, to which fund there is now due from individuals assisted about nine hundred thousand dollars. I wish to call the attention of this class of individuals to the condition of the poor Saints abroad. There are many Saints here who, before gathering home, have said to their brethren and sisters in the old world—“When we get to Zion, if God blesses us, we will remember you and do the best we can to aid you to emigrate.” A great many persons have failed to keep their promise, and their friends back feel that they are forgotten and neglected. In many instances, no doubt, Elders while on missions have promised to assist those who have treated them with kindness and divided their mor– sel with them. I want to bring these things to the consideration of all our brethren. They should remember that our brethren and sisters in the old countries labor under the disadvantage of the prejudice against Mormonism. Employers and business men, who are under the influence of the priests of the day, are unwilling to extend the same kindness and facilities for labor to the Latter-day Saints that they do to other persons. Besides these disadvantages, many of our brethren there have to work for a shilling, eighteen pence, or two shillings a day, as the case may be, and out of this have to pay house rent, buy fuel, clothing, and every necessary of life for their families, and in some cases, perhaps, they have a sick father or mother to sustain out of their mere pittance, which is barely enough to keep life in their bodies. Our brethren, who have had the benefit of the emigration fund, should remember that their first duty, to God and themselves, is to liquidate these liabilities with the very first means they acquire after their arrival here; and that if they go on accumulating cattle, horses, houses, and lands, and these debts remain unpaid, they are robbing the poor and the needy. This is a matter about which the brethren should not feel neglectful or careless. Those who will come forward and honorably discharge their liabilities to the Perpetual Emigration Fund will be blessed in their substance and in their efforts. And you must remember that while you are doing this you are acquiring experience and gaining information that will make you more successful hereafter.

My desire is that, when the Elders go from this Conference, that they should light a fire in the breast of every person who has liabilities of this kind. Let every man in Israel, whom God has blessed, be alive and awake to this matter, and respond to the call the President has made for contributions to the Perpetual Emigration Fund.

I understand that over there, there are hundreds of sisters who are determined to remain single until they reach Zion, and there are men in our midst, and some of them in debt to the Perpetual Emigration Fund, who are able to send for a dozen or two of these sisters; they ought to bring them to this country and place them where they can marry according to their wishes. May the blessings of heaven be upon us that we may be able to gather all our brethren and sisters from the old world.

I appeal to the sons and daughters of Zion to be awake to this subject. Amen.