Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Oct. 7, 1867.

Never having had the opportunity of speaking to so large a congregation as the present, or at least in so large a house as the one which we are now assembled, I do not know whether I shall be able to adapt my voice so as to make the congregation hear me. I know the object of coming to meeting and preaching is to hear and to be edified and instructed more perfectly in the things pertaining to God and to godliness, and in our duties before the Lord. When I look upon this large tabernacle, which has been erected here in these high regions of our globe, I am forcibly reminded of the sayings of two of the ancient prophets, Isaiah and Micah, both of whom have spoken of an event that was to take place in the latter days. I will quote their sayings, for the language of both is almost identical. “It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the House of the Lord shall be established in the tops of the mountains.” I have often wondered when I have read this portion of Scripture, what was meant by the mountain of the house of the Lord being erected, or established, in the tops of the mountains. The mountain of the house of the Lord is something, it seems, that God himself would establish in the mountains. When I entered this Territory in August last, on my return from my last mission, I beheld from the mouth of Parley’s Canyon the top of this building very prominent. It seemed to rear itself up above the surrounding buildings, and it was easily to be seen. It looked very much like an artificial mountain erected here, or like some of those mounds that we see down on the Missouri River, that were made by the ancient inhabitants of our country, only it is much larger and higher than some of them. Whether this is really what the prophet in ancient days meant, it is not for me to say, I only say that the shape of this building reminds me, or suggests to me what was prophesied anciently; but whether or not it is the fulfillment of that prophecy I do not know.

I will take this opportunity to express my gratitude and feelings of thanksgiving to the Almighty, that he has enabled this people to erect unto him so large a building in which they can assemble to worship his great and holy name. The Lord, in ancient days, when he constructed temples and tabernacles, did honor them by his presence. No doubt on some occasions his presence was made more manifest than on others. Oftentimes we read that the power and the glory of God, as manifested in his tabernacles and temples were so conspicuous that the people could behold them with their natural eyes. I do not say that this was the case under all circumstances, and in all houses that were built unto the name of the Lord. Many temples and houses were built on the American continent by the remnant of the House of Israel, to whom this land was given. It is not recorded whether the Lord manifested himself in all these houses or not; but it is recorded that at the temple which was built in the land Bountiful, in the northern part of South America, the Son of God, himself, did show forth his power and his glory to a certain congregation assembled in and around about the temple. Jesus, after his resurrection from the dead, was sent by his Father from the heavens to the American continent, to a congregation of two thousand and five hundred souls, men, women and children, who where assembled together for the purpose of worshipping God the Father in the name of Jesus. Consequently God did respect this temple built on the American continent, as well as the great temple built by Solomon in the days of old. When Solomon had built the temple, he spread forth his hands to the heavens, and prayed to the Father, in the presence of the congregation of Israel that was assembled, and the spirit of the Lord was poured out in such a wonderful manner that the people, through their faith, beheld the power and the glory of God as they were manifested in that temple. By this the people knew that God respected his own house. So it was in the days of Moses. When they journeyed in the wilderness, God commanded the Children of Israel to build a tabernacle. He gave them a pattern thereof. In that tabernacle the Lord showed forth his power among Israel. It became visible not only on the inside, but on the outside the glory of God was made manifest and rested upon it. By this the Children of Israel knew that God was near unto them. They not only believed, but the testimony manifested before their eyes gave them a knowledge that God was in the midst of their camp; although through their wickedness, unbelief, and darkness of mind God withdrew his immediate presence from the midst of the congregation, and Moses only was permitted to see the Lord and talk to him face to face, yet the display of God’s power and glory was so great that the Children of Israel knew that God was near them.

The question may arise, Will there be a time again when the glory of the Lord will be manifestly visible to and his voice heard by his people? I answer, yes. God has promised this in the last days. There is no doubt, as was said yesterday by Brother Kimball, that heavenly messengers hover around the congregation of the Saints here assembled. I have no doubt of this in my own mind, though I have not seen them and you may not have seen them; yet that God who has seen your labors and diligence in building a house to his name, has no doubt sent heavenly messengers to hover around us, to bluff off the powers of darkness, that seek to darken the minds of the people, and to close their hearts against understanding. The time will come when the faith of this people, the pure in heart, will be sufficiently great that when they build a house to the name of the Lord, and do not suffer any unclean thing to enter therein, that the Lord will come and grace it by his presence, as well as by the presence of his angels. That will be the time when the pure in heart, who enter into the house of God, will behold his face. O! what a grand, glorious, happy privilege that will be to the sons and daughters of the Most High, to behold the face of him who created them, the Father of their spirits, who created them before the foundation of the world. How great and glorious a privilege for the sons and daughters of God who are now shut out from his presence! For this cause the people of God are commanded at all times to build a house to his name, that he may reveal those ordinances devised by him for the salvation of the children before the world was laid.

I know there are some people who do not believe God has a face like unto man, or in other words that we are in his image and likeness. There has been a great variety of views among the inhabitants of our globe in regard to the being or beings whom they have worshipped and called God. Some have believed that he was an immaterial being. Some have believed that he had no properties, perfection or qualities in common with any other substance in nature; that he was entirely separated from all material nature. This seems to be the view of the great mass of the Christian world at the present day. Some two hundred millions of the inhabitants of our globe consider that God is something altogether indefinable, incomprehensible, a person, and yet has no parts; consisting of three persons, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and yet no part of these persons. That is a horrible idea in my mind. My mind is so constructed that, with all my reading and meditation, I never could conceive of a being of that description, and yet it is incorporated in the articles of the Church of England, also in the Methodist discipline, and is in accordance with the views of almost all the Christian world at the present day. “God consists,” say they in their creeds, “of three persons without body, parts or passions.” I do not wish to dwell upon this long; it is so inconsistent, so very absurd, so contrary to all intelligence, reason and revelation that I am willing to throw it by without contemplating it for any length of time. I merely mention it to call to your mind the inconsistencies of the religious world who profess Christianity. One of these persons, called the Son, without body and without parts, was actually crucified, died and was buried in a tomb, and the third day he rose again, and with his body ascended into heaven, when he did not possess a body. If anybody can believe such nonsense, they are perfectly welcome to it, only keep it away from me. I want nothing to do with it. I never expect to worship such a being here on earth or throughout all the future ages of eternity. I have no reverence whatever for such a being, for I do not believe that such a one ever existed, only in the hallucinations of disordered minds.

Perhaps the strangers who are present, if any there be, may be led to inquire what kind of a being do the Latter-day Saints worship? Let me reply according to my understanding. I believe that God—I mean God the Father is a material personal being; that he has a body and a spirit united together; that his spirit within his body is material; that he is a personage just as much as every man in this congregation is a personage; and let me go still further and say that he is a personage of flesh and of bones. Perhaps that may shock the ideas of some of the outsiders and they may think that to get over their immaterial god, without body or parts, we have gone to the other extreme. Well, whether it is to the other extreme or not, I wish to state to you my views, and I think they correspond with the views of the servants of God.

God is a being, then, who has a tabernacle of flesh and bones in which his spirit dwells; and this flesh, bones and spirit are material. Strangers may be anxious to know something more about this personal being whom we call God the Father. We are told that in the beginning man was created in the image of God, and we are also told that Jesus, the Son of God, was the express image of His Father. The doctrine that man, in his form and shape is in the image of God, may be or may seem something new and strange to those who are not acquainted with the principles in this church. But why should not men resemble God is the question, seeing that we are his offspring? Would you expect that sons and daughters of this world would be like a horse or like the fowls of the air or the fish of the sea? Or would you expect them to resemble their parents, and be in their image and likeness? Do we not see in the animal creation—of which the human species is said to be a part—a likeness between the parent and the offspring, certainly we do. If then this law prevails among all animated beings here on the earth, why should we imagine God to be entirely distinct and different from his own sons and daughters? Why not believe that there is a resemblance between them and him. When we look at our fellow man we behold him erect in the form of God. To be sure there may be many deformities among men and women, produced in many instances, perhaps, by wickedness, disease and by accident; but in the general outline there is resemblance among all the human species, and there should be in as much as their Father and God is indeed their Father, as any in this congregation are the literal fathers of their children. We, who compose this congregation, are all one family, and only a very small portion of the family of our Father and God. But when did he beget us? I answer before this world was made; not our flesh and bones, but that being called man that was created in the image and likeness of God and who dwells in his mortal tabernacle. That being is the offspring of God; we were all begotten by him before this world was made. We then dwelt in his presence and could behold his face as sons and fathers here on earth can behold each other. We then partook, in a measure, of his glory, and were acquainted with the glory and power of his kingdom. We were present with him in the grand and magnificent work of creation, and we saw and rejoiced in his handiwork. We sang praises in the presence of our Father and God; before we had tabernacles of flesh and bones. We then assembled ourselves together as we do here on the earth; we then accompanied our Father and God and his Son Jesus Christ, on the grand and glorious mission of the formation of the world we now inhabit. Did we know anything about the object for which this world was created? Yes, we knew that it was created expressly for us, and we sang and rejoiced over it as much as the people of God now rejoice, when they erect a temple or tabernacle to his name. When you erect a tabernacle to the Most High, you expect to enter at times, and be feasted with the words of eternal life, and to partake of the blessings of God. So it was in regard to the creation of this world. We were there and I think all this generation among all nations, kindreds, tongues and people were present on that occasion. Shall I limit it to this generation? No; I believe all the sons and daughters of God who had proved themselves faithful were assembled on that occasion. I do not include in this number the one-third part of the family that fell, but the two-thirds who kept the law of their first estate who were really and truly accounted the sons and daughters of God, the thousands and millions who inhabit this globe besides the generations of the past and all future generations. Think of this and try to conceive in your heart the magnitude of the great army of the sons and daughters of God assembled at the time the foundations of this world were laid.

The Lord put a very curious question to the old patriarch, Job, on a certain occasion. Job had been praising up the works of God, and so far as his narrow mind would permit him, he tried to magnify the greatness of his power; but, by putting a few questions to Job the Lord showed to him that his wisdom and knowledge were but foolishness in the sight of his creator. Said the Lord,”Where were you, Job, when I laid the foundation of the earth, and the cornerstones thereof? Where were you, Job, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” I do not know that Job understood the pre-existence of man, it might not have been revealed to him; at any rate he left the Lord to answer the question on the subject, knowing that he would give information on the matter that he, Job, could not give. If Job had been a sectarian, how easily he could have answered this question! “Why, Lord,” Job could have said, “I did not exist then, and why do you ask me such a question?” But Job very well understood that there must be something in the pre-existence of man, or the Lord would never have put such a question to him. The very question itself implied the pre-existence of Job at the time the foundations of the earth were laid, and it also implied a knowledge on the part of all the sons of God of the objects of the creations of this world; for if they had had no such knowledge, why should they have joined together in singing the songs of heaven on account of it? Well, then, we have come to the point, namely, that we did exist in the image and likeness of God before the foundations of the world were laid, and this is what is meant when the Lord says to his only begotten Son on the sixth day of creation, “Let us make man in our image and in our likeness, and give him dominion over the fish of the sea, over the fowls of the air, the beasts of the earth, and over all the earth to subdue it,” and so forth. So God created man, male and female. He did not tell us all the particulars of the creation—that we were born male and female in the spirit world, and so on, but yet there are many sayings which indicate that such was the fact. For instance, in the books of Moses and in the books of the New Testament we read that God is the Father of all our spirits, that we were begotten sons and daughters unto God. The vision given in 1832 to our Prophet, Joseph Smith, shows this matter more clearly. Besides showing the vast number of worlds that the Lord had created, the voice of the Lord, in that vision, declares that all the inhabitants of all those worlds were begotten sons and daughters unto God. The Book of “Mormon” bears testimony to the same great doctrine. You who are familiar with that book will recollect reading in the book of Ether how that the brother of Jared fell to the earth with fear when he saw the finger of the Lord, after the veil fell from his natural eyes. And the Lord spoke to him, saying, “Why hast thou fallen?” Then the brother of Jared answered, “I saw the finger of the Lord, and I knew not that the Lord had flesh and bones.” It did resemble flesh and bone, but he, doubtless, thought it was so in reality, whereas it was the body of his Spirit. Then said the Lord, “I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people; I am Jesus Christ; I am the Father and the Son, and the body which thou now beholdest is the body of my spirit. Seest thou not that thou art created after the body of my spirit, and all men,” says Jesus to the brother of Jared, “have I created in the beginning after the image of the body of my spirit.” This, I believe, is the only passage in the Book of “Mormon” that directly teaches the pre-existence of man.

Well, that body—the body of the Lord—that the brother of Jared saw, was a personal body. It had fingers, a face, eyes, arms, hands, and all the various parts which the human body has, so much so that he thought, it was really flesh and bones, until he was corrected and found that it was the spirit of Jesus, that same spirit, says Jesus, which, in the meridian of time, should come and take a body, and die for the sins of the world. These beings, who, in the beginning, were created after the image of the spirit of Jesus, had a probation; they had law; they had intelligence. It was called their first estate. They were agents there just as much as you and I are here. They could obey the law that was given to them, or they could disobey that law. I have already alluded to a third part of the great family, who did not keep their first estate. What became of them? They were thrust down, and thus came the devil and his angels. Jude says they were reserved in chains of darkness, until the judgment at the great day. That was their doom; their transgressions were so great—sinning against God the Father, whom they could behold, and against the person of his Son, whom they could also see—disobeying the most sacred of all laws—seeking to dethrone the Almighty, and to take the power from that Being who had begotten them, into their own hands. For this they were thrust down, and were called Perdition, and the heavens wept over them. I do not know how faithful the remainder of the spirits were; that is not for me to say. I do not know whether they transgressed any of the laws of God, or not in their first estate. If they did, one thing I do know, and that is, that they understand about Jesus and his atonement; for he was as a Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world, and inasmuch as he suffered in spirit as well as in body, I do not know but his sufferings in spirit would redeem them in their first estate as well as us who sin here in the body. I do not pretend to say that such was the case. Suffice to say, that the plan of redemption was known by them, and suffice it to say again, that they were faithful enough to retain their position in their first estate, and to have the privilege of coming forth in this world, and taking upon themselves tabernacles, or bodies, and having a second estate. We also read that all who come into this world were innocent. That shows that they never had sinned, or if they had, that they had been forgiven and made innocent. Which way it was I do not know. If they had sinned and were all made innocent through the blood of the atonement, and through the sufferings of Jesus in the spirit, as well as in the flesh, that would prepare them to come into this world without having any stain upon them. But if they never transgressed the law, never went beyond its bounds, or limits, they would be sanctified, purified, perfected, saved and be innocent by keeping the law. But let us come down a little further. When we came forth into this world, and took upon ourselves bodies of flesh, they were fallen bodies—subject to pain, sickness, sorrow, mourning, trials, and finally death, or dissolution. This death that came upon the bodies of the children of men, was brought to pass by the transgression of one man and woman, that is, by our first parents; as it is written, “By the transgression of one sin entered the world, and death by sin.” It matters not whether it is the little infant that dandles on the knee that has never sinned, or the youth, the middle-aged or the old, all have to feel this great penalty that has been inflicted upon all the posterity of Adam by reason of his transgression.

Now, there is a question that has often been asked of me by the Latter-day Saints, and by those outside of this Church—“Why is it that infants, who have never sinned, should die? Why should they be subject to death because their father some six thousand years ago sinned and transgressed?” I answer this by asking you a question, Why is it that children, oftentimes to the third, fourth and fifth generation, suffer from lingering diseases here in this life, because their forefathers were licentious, and broke the laws of life and happiness? Why, it is hereditary, is it not? Is it just that they should suffer, because their parents or some of their progenitors have sinned? No, it is hereditary. Why, then, may not all the inhabitants of the world, whether in their infancy or not, inherit death as well as these children who suffer through diseases entailed upon them by their forefathers? Not as a matter of justice particularly, but something that comes upon them in consequence of the fall of man. It is handed down among them. Now, that would be a very unpleasant condition if they were always to remain in that state. They are plunged into slavery, as it were, by one man; hence the Redeemer steps forth and rescues them from that slavery. When I say rescues them, I do not say that he does it at once, before they have had a chance to know the difference between good and evil, between the bitter and the sweet, to contrast between happiness and misery. It is wisdom that they should suffer, even should it be from hereditary disease, that they may gain experience. But I will tell you what he rescues them from, by his atoning blood. He breaks the bands of death and rescues them from the power of the grave, which, but for that, would have held the infant as well as the middle-aged in their power eternally. There is such a thing as a father, through his foolishness, plunging not only himself but all his children into a slavery from which he cannot redeem himself or them, so far as their bodies are concerned; but with Adam’s children this was the case with both their bodies and spirits, for the Book of “Mormon” says that all mankind, through Adam’s transgression, became subject not only to a temporal death—the separation of the body and spirit, but also to a spiritual death, eternal in its nature. If there were no atonement—no sufferings and death of our Redeemer—no infinite atonement to rescue men from the grave, their spirits, in consequence of the slavery entailed upon them by their first parents, could not have been rescued from eternal death. Could they have delivered themselves? No. They were in captivity—slavery—and their master, the devil, was there to bind them in that slavery. Could they turn the key of the prison doors and run back again? No! Could they say to the grave, Yield up my body and let me go again into the presence of my Father and God? No; there were potent enemies who had endless power over them had it not been for the atonement.

We are taught in the revelations of God that Jesus suffered the pain of all men. You will find it in the teachings of Jacob, the brother of Nephi, in the Second Book of Nephi. “He suffered the pains of all men, women and children,” says Jacob. What was this great suffering for? That the resurrection might come unto all men, women and children; that Jesus might have power to say to the grave “restore those captives you have taken, behold I have redeemed all whose bodies slumber in the grave. I have power to bring them forth by virtue of the atonement I have made.”

Could man have redeemed himself? Could one man have shed his blood for another, and said to the grave give up your dead? No. Why not? Because all were fallen; all were under the dominion and power of Satan. All were spiritually dead—dead to things pertaining to righteousness. It was universal, eternal death. A being greater than man was required to redeem him, hence Jacob says, in the passage to which I have already referred, in relation to the atonement, “that it must be infinite.” Wherein was the Son of God infinite? In the first place, he was begotten different from you and me. We were begotten by a mortal father, but Jesus was begotten by an Immortal Being, his Father and God. If then his body was begotten by that Being, do you not see that his body in that respect differed from ours? It is true that he inherited the same as we do so far as his mother was concerned, but on the part of the Father he was superior. Hence, being begotten by an Infinite Being, he could do that which no other man could do—redeem from spiritual death and the captivity of Satan. Hence it is said that “through Jesus came life and light into the world.” If it had not been for Jesus, darkness would have reigned eternally over this creation.

Talk about works of righteousness redeeming us without the atonement! Why the thing is preposterous in the highest degree. Why? Because we were spiritually dead, and can a person who is dead work righteousness? Can a person who is dead to everything good, holy, upright and Godlike, who is in captivity to Satan, work righteousness? Could a feast of salvation be prepared for him in that dead state, unless there was some redemption or atonement made to bring life to the world to impart to the human family? Light and life have come upon all men. Jesus is that light and life; He is the light and life of all things; and by reason of that light and life which he has purchased for us by his own blood, you and I have the privilege of working righteousness, which we never would have had without the atonement. We could not have done anything acceptable in the sight of God, without his atoning blood. That is the very foundation of the redemption of the children of men; without it, this would have been a lost and fallen creation, and not one could have been saved.

But let us pass on a little further. You recollect in the former part of my remarks, I was speaking about the personality of God. Now let us come along to the plan of redemption, and see how it is that we are exalted and brought back into the presence of God, and become as it were, gods, then we can form some idea concerning our Father and God. We are instructed, and we believe, that all of us who believe in Jesus Christ, in his sufferings and death, and receive the benefit of his atonement, will, if we remain faithful, be exalted into the presence of that being who is our Father, and that we will be made like unto him, and be crowned with glory, and shall have the privilege of sitting down with the Son upon his throne, as he has overcome, and has sat down with his Father upon his throne, and that we will become one with him, as he is one with the Father. We believe we will be perfected, purified and cleansed in him, and made not only the sons of God, but grow up unto him in all things, that we may become Gods like unto our Father who begat us.

This is consistent with analogy. Analogy shows that sons here upon the earth, grow up and become like their parents. Why then should we set a barrier between the sons of God, who are redeemed through the atonement, and their restoration to the mansions where they formerly dwelt? Why should we erect obstacles, and set a barrier so that we cannot become like him? Analogy would say at once that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Analogy would say that when he shall redeem our bodies from the grave, that he will fashion them after his own glorious body, and clothe them with power and glory, even as He is clothed with glory and power, in the presence of his Father and our Father and God.

But says one, if you adopt that sentiment, then your people believe in a plurality of gods, and we have all been taught in the Christian world that there is but one personal God, or rather three persons in the Trinity—the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Well, these three are called one, are they not? Yes, they are called one. Jesus prays that all his disciples may be made one, as he and the Father are one. If ever that prayer is answered, then, in one sense of the word, there would only be one God, but, in another sense of the word, there would not only be three, but a great many personal beings called gods. Let us for a few moments refer to that glorious saying in the revelations of St. John. In the visions of eternity that were shown to John, he beheld things that were to take place in future generations. Among other things that were shown to him, were the one hundred and forty-four thousand, standing on Mount Zion, who had been redeemed from among men. Who were they? Let us look at the inscription that John says was written on their foreheads. That will tell us that the name of their Father was written there. What was his name? God, translated into the English language. Ahman in the pure language. The Father’s name John saw inscribed on the foreheads of the hundred and forty-four thousand who were singing the new song before the Lord. What would you think if you were to have the future opened to you as John had, and could see these men with the word God, inscribed in bright and shining characters upon each of their foreheads? Would you think that God was making fun of them by putting such an inscription there? Would you suppose the inscription was a mere form without any meaning? No: every man permitted to see these things would at once say, “they are gods having been redeemed, and made like their Father.” This is what we believe. Then, when we come to personality, we not only believe in our personal Father, in His Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost, as personages, but we also believe that in the eternity of eternities, in the heaven of heavens there will be innumerable millions of persons who will occupy that exalted station—each one being a personal god, as much so as the God of this creation—the Father of our spirits is.

If time permitted, we might bring up the revelations of heaven, given in these days as well as anciently, in regard to the representations which God has given of Himself, not only representing himself by his person, but also by his attributes. But this is a subject upon which we do not feel to dwell at this time. Suffice it to say, that God has said that he is light and truth; that he is a spirit: that he dwells in tabernacles and temples, and so forth. I do not know, but that in my teachings in years past, where teaching upon these two distinct subjects, I may have left an impression upon the minds of the people that I never intended to convey in reference to the qualities, perfections, glories and attributes of these personages, for attributes always do pertain to substances, you cannot separate one from the other. Attribute cannot exist without substance; everywhere it shows its bearing and relation to substance and person, and if in any of my preaching or teachings I have ever conveyed the impression that attributes could exist separate and apart from substances I never intended to do so. I do not know that I have ever declared any such in my writings. I have said that God is love, and that he is truth because the revelations say so. I have said that he oftentimes represents himself by his attributes. The same as when he says I am in you; but he does not mean that his person, his flesh and bones are in us. When Jesus says I am in the Father, he does not mean that his person is in the Father. What does he mean? He means that the same attributes that dwell in his own person also dwell in the person of the other. I think I have heard this doctrine taught from the commencement, by the authorities of this Church, and I think it is taught, more or less, now, almost every Sabbath day. We are exhorted to develop and perfect those attributes of God that dwell within us in embryo, that we may more and more approximate to that high state of perfection that exists in the Father and the Son.

Attributes belong, in all cases, in this and all other worlds, to personages and substances, and without personages and substances, they cannot exist.

In the “Kingdom of God,” published in October, 1848, I have set forth the personality of the Father and the Son, and the glorious attributes that pertain to each. And again in many of my writings, to which I might refer, and could perhaps give the page, I have taught the same thing, and my views today concerning this matter are just the same as they were then, and then the same as they are now; only I think, by searching more fully, I have progressed and obtained some further light and information more than I had twenty or twenty-five years ago. I do not know, that, in my remarks this morning, concerning the atonement, and the personalities and glorious attributes of God, I have varied in my views from those of the rest of the authorities of the Church. If I have I hope they will correct me and tell me wherein I am wrong, for it is my desire, and ever has been, to go in accordance with the revelations of heaven, to abide in the word of God, and to have that word abide in me.

We are taught that the words of truth have power. The word of God we are commanded to live by. In one of the revelations we are taught and commanded that we shall live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, for says the revelation “the word of God is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is spirit, even the spirit of Jesus Christ, and the spirit gives light to every man that comes into the world, and the spirit directs every man through the world who will hearken to it; and he that hearkens to the voice of the spirit comes to God, even the Father, and he teaches him of the covenant which he has renewed and confirmed upon you for your sakes, and not for your sakes only, but for the sake of the whole world.”

Now, I want to abide in that. If the word of the Lord is truth, and whatever is truth is light, and whatever is light is spirit, I want to embrace it, and hold fast to it. Again, he says, when giving a revelation to the servants of God: “That which you hear is the voice of one crying in the wilderness—in the wilderness, because you cannot see him—my voice, because my voice is Spirit, and my Spirit is truth, and truth abides forever and has no end.” I desire to abide in it forever and ever. Amen.

Remarks by President D. H. Wells, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 18th, 1867.

I feel it a privilege to mingle my voice with my brethren in testifying to the truth of the work of the last days, although, if it were left to my own choice, I suppose I should very seldom speak to the congregation of the people, and I expect that if the Lord were to call upon me as He did upon Moses, I should do as Moses did—plead with him for a mouthpiece. Nevertheless, if I can say anything to comfort or encourage the Saints, or to strengthen their faith, it is my duty to do so, for I conceive that none have the right to conceal in their own bosoms the light and truth with which the Lord has blessed them, but that it is the duty of the Latter-day Saints, and of all people on the earth, to make known the good they possess that all may be benefited and blessed thereby.

Jesus said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” He also said, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

Eternal life is what we are all anxious to obtain. All the children of men on the face of the whole earth are anxious to secure to themselves an eternal existence in the great hereafter. Even those who have but a limited idea of the principles of the gospel look and hope for a beatitude or heaven hereafter, where they may dwell eternally in peace and happiness, free from the power of Satan, sin, and death. All the people of Christendom, and perhaps all the generations of men, have at some time in their lives felt the spirit of the living God convicting them of sin, and they have felt a desire to learn how they might secure to themselves eternal lives in the presence of God.

We read that God created man upright, but that he has sought out many inventions. This is especially true in regard to religious matters. Instead of walking according to the precepts and commandments of God as taught by His servants holding the Holy Priesthood, they have done as the Prophet foretold—taught for the commandments of God the precepts of men. More particularly is this the case in our day and generation, when the Lord has again revealed Himself and has opened up the dispensation of the fullness of times. We find a great many religious views, notions, and opinions upon the face of the earth at the present time; but in the absence of truth there is little difference among them, for they are all wrong. But when the truth is revealed it is necessary that mankind should pause, listen, and investigate, that they may learn whether that which is proclaimed as truth be so or not, and if it be, embrace it, and walk continually according to its precepts, that they may obtain that exaltation in the presence of the Father and Son which all so earnestly desire. What does it matter to me how eloquent the preacher may be, how beautiful the theory, or how nice the principles that are laid before me, if they are not true? Why should I attach any importance to, or circumscribe my faith and feelings by that which is not true, because it is beautiful or plausible, or because my fathers for hundreds of years before me have considered it sacred? When the word of God, the truth from high Heaven, has come, why not repudiate that which is false although contravening my early prejudices and the traditions of my fathers before me? I know of no reason why we should cling to the traditions of the fathers, more especially when we are told by the oracles of God that we have inherited lies from them. We find this to be true when we investigate, even with regard to the scriptures; for by the aid of the principles now made manifest through the revelations of the Lord Jesus, we can understand them as we never understood them before. Why? Because we have the light of truth, and we see from the standpoint possessed by the prophets and Jesus and his apostles; hence the scriptures open up to our minds a new and entirely different field to that we possessed while under the guidance of teachers who have not come from God, neither hold the power of the Holy Priesthood.

This is a great wonder to some. They cannot understand the difference between the Latter-day Saints and the Christian world. Say they: “There are a great many sectarian churches in the world, and you Mormons are only one added to the list.” But this is not so; the principles of truth are not sectarian in their character. Are not the Mormons a sect? No. They are the church of the living God—the Church of the Firstborn; they are they who have come out from the world, as Jesus and his followers did in their generation. This people have been touched with the light of truth; they have received the testimony of Jesus, and know for themselves the truth of the holy gospel they have embraced. Having been made participants in the knowledge of God, through the power and gift of the Holy Ghost, they speak with assurance of these things, and not as they speak who only believe and hope.

“But,” say they who have not embraced the truth, “we do not know whether that which you say is true or not.” Suppose you do not, that does not make the truth false, and I can tell you how you may find it out. Repent of your sins, go forth into the waters of baptism, eschew evil, learn to do well, seek after the Lord your God with full purpose of heart, and you can obtain a testimony as we have done—you may learn to know God and Jesus Christ, whom to know is life eternal. This is the only principle upon which you can obtain that knowledge which you so much desire. Many a person will say—“If I only knew these things were so, I would be with you heart and hand.” I have told you how you can find out. You cannot be healed of your leprosy of sin unless you comply with the requirements of the gospel. When Naaman came to the prophet Elisha to learn what he should do to be healed of his leprosy, he went away in a rage because he was simply told to wash himself in the river Jordan. But his servants came near and said unto him—“My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? How much rather, then, when he saith to thee, wash and be clean?” Then the Syrian went and did as he was commanded, and he was made whole. So it is with us all, we must comply with the requirements of heaven before we can receive its blessings. We need not expect to be cleansed from sin and made meet receptacles for the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, unless we yield obedience to the gospel, because this is the way appointed of God, our heavenly Father, for bringing us to a knowledge of the truth. Be honest, then, before God, and when you are pricked to the heart, and feel that what is called “Mormonism” may be true, follow up that feeling until you come to understanding, and then obey the gospel, and receive the Holy Ghost, which will give you a full knowledge of those things necessary for your salvation and exaltation hereafter. If the Lord had commanded you to do some great thing—to go to the ends of the earth or some other different undertaking—would you not have done it? How much more willing should you be to comply with these small things when they are for your own good? Eschew evil, repent of your sins, and walk in the ways of truth and righteousness, for they are the ways of peace and wisdom.

It is wisdom in us to pursue a course in this, our earthly probation, that will secure to us eternal life in the world to come. It is our privilege to do so; we are here for this express purpose. The God who reigns in heaven is the father of our spirits and the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; and we may become heirs of Him and joint heirs with Jesus Christ by complying with the requirements of the gospel that He has revealed. How plain and simple is the way of life if we will but open our ears to hear, our eyes to see, and our hearts to understand. God has revealed it; He has opened up the dispensation of the fulness of times, which will embrace within its purview all other dispensations since the world began. In this dispensation will be revealed the keys of the resurrection, which will enable men to go forth clothed with power to raise and bring forth the dead. The Lord has commenced this great work; we are engaged in it; and it will go forth until it covers the whole earth. The foundation of that kingdom which shall endure forever and ever is laid. The principles of the kingdom have gone forth, and have touched the hearts of many of the children of men—one of a city and two of a family—and they have been brought together from the nations of the earth to the valleys of the mountains, as was foretold by the prophets thousands of years ago.

Jesus told the Jews that Abraham saw his day and rejoiced in it. They queried with Him as to how he—not fifty years old—could know anything about Abraham, who had been dead so long. Jesus said—“Before Abraham was I am.” This seemed to puzzle the Jews; they did not understand the principle of pre-existence and that Jesus, who was then clothed with flesh, had possessed an existence in the spirit world, that he was the firstborn of many sons, and had been born before Abraham in the spirit. Jesus understood it, and once in a while, as in that case, he spoke upon the principle. The Jews prided themselves on serving the God of their father Abraham, but Jesus told them that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was not the God of the dead but of the living, thus teaching them plainly the principles of the resurrection.

I will now say a few words with regard to partaking of the sacrament. This ordinance was instituted by our Savior, and his followers were commanded to partake of it in remembrance of Him. But how many of us partake of it regardless of Him in commemoration of whose death it is administered! I have seen some of the Saints take the cup very irreverently—blessed and consecrated as it is—and drink to quench their thirst. I do not suppose that such persons think any more about our Lord and Savior than they do when drinking on ordinary occasions. To say the least of such conduct, it is highly improper and irreverent. I have seen brethren and sisters partake of the sacrament with their gloves on, and in a very careless attitude, stretching out the left hand. You should always put forth the right hand when taking either the bread or the cup; and you should take off your hats if you have them on, and partake of the consecrated emblems with reverence, and remember that you do it in commemoration of the death, sufferings, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who will yet rule and reign on this earth, King of kings and Lord of lords. Would I partake of the sacrament with my hat or gloves on? No; I would take them off, and let my soul ascend in prayer and thanksgiving to my heavenly Father that I had been permitted to partake of the ordinance of the House of God.

I am happy in believing that I am associated with a people in the majority of whose minds such feelings and desires predominate, and to whom the few hints I have dropped will be sufficient in regard to the carelessness to which I have referred. We have the principles of eternal life in our midst, and we practice them in our lives, and when the world witness the good actions of this people, it should be a testimony that they are of God. I say it is a testimony to the world of the truths of High Heaven revealed through this people, and it will bring this generation to judgment unless they listen to and obey the principles we teach. Do I know that? I do. The world may scout at it, and say things that are calculated to hurt our feelings, but that will not alter the truth. We offer the words of eternal life to the people, and if they will receive them they are welcome, but if they will not our testimony will prove unto them a savor of death unto death, instead of life unto life.

That which is good tends to exalt us and to increase in us knowledge, power, understanding, and everything worth possessing, while that which is evil tends to destruction, and if its practice be persisted in it will lead to dissolution and even the loss of our own identity. This is the reward of the wicked; as the prophet has said, “The wicked will come to a full stop,” but the blessing of the righteous is the same as that pronounced upon Abraham—to their increase there will be no end. This is the blessing conferred upon the Saints in their ordinations and endowments under the authority of the Holy Priesthood of the Son of God—the Melchizedek Priesthood, which is without beginning of years or end of days, without father, without mother, without descent, eternal, in the Heavens. That authority and priesthood have been again restored to the earth, and men are once more empowered to administer in the ordinances of the holy gospel. There is no authority of the kind upon the face of the earth except through that channel. None of the sects and denominations of the world possess that authority. It has not existed upon the earth for many hundreds of years. Do I know that this is true? I do, and you may obtain that knowledge upon the same principle that I obtained it—by working righteousness and obeying the ordinances of the gospel as appointed by Jehovah. Has not the Lord a right to prescribe the method by which we may approach Him; and, when He has done it, shall we scout at the idea and say some other way will do as well? Verily, no other way will answer as well. Let us, therefore, take heed how we prescribe a path for the Lord to walk in, or subvert the ways of truth which the Lord has revealed for the guidance of the children of men. We have no right to do it. It is for us who have received this knowledge to walk therein with fearfulness and trembling, and yet with joyful hearts, seeking to the Lord to guide and direct our steps, that we may always have His spirit to be with us to enable us to endure to the end, that we may make sure of our salvation in the world to come, and inherit thrones, dominions, and exaltations in the presence of the Father and the Son.

How few there are of all who have been on the face of the earth that will find eternal lives?—for strait is the gate and narrow the way that leads thereto. It is the privilege of the children of men to attain to this if they will be obedient to the require– ments of the gospel. But in this they can exercise their volition. They have been clothed upon with a tabernacle taken from the dust of the earth, and have become subject to the power of sin and death. They have come to pass through an earthly probation in order to be tempted and to prove whether they would be carried away by the wiles of Satan, and enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, or whether, faithful to their trust, their integrity, and their God, they would endure the trials of this life, and come forth in the resurrection clothed upon with immortality and eternal lives.

The world say we are exclusive because we do not hold communion or fellowship with the Sectarians. How can we do so when they scorn us and say we are a poor, ignorant, deluded set of people, without knowledge or intelligence? How can we, when we know that they and their leaders are blind, and that they will all fall into the ditch unless they repent of their evil deeds? We send forth our Elders to the nations of the earth to proclaim the principles of the gospel to the people, and to plead with them to turn from their evil ways, that they may be redeemed from the sin and iniquity which, like a flood, are overwhelming the nations. Yet, they call us uncharitable because we will not fellowship them. Far from being uncharitable, we exercise more charity than all the Christian world put together, for whilst they consign to perdition all who have not obeyed the gospel as they preach it, we believe that the great majority of all people who have ever lived on the face of the earth will be saved, and will enjoy a far greater glory than they ever anticipated. In this we are sustained by the testimony of the Scriptures, for the Apostle tells us that Jesus went to preach to the spirits in prison who were disobedient in the days of Noah, that they might live according to God in the spirit and be judged according to men in the flesh. If they who died disobedient to the gospel, having heard and rejected its principles, could be administered to by the Savior of the world, how much more reasonable is it to suppose that they who have lived according to the light they possessed, but yet died without a knowledge of the gospel, can enjoy the same privilege? How much more consistent it is to suppose this; and the dispensation of the fullness of times has opened up these great principles to the understandings of the Latter-day Saints. Do not say, then, that we are uncharitable. We believe not only that they who have died without the gospel may be saved, but we believe that they who rejected the gospel, who were disobedient in the days of Noah may be saved also.

We have become the happy recipients of this knowledge, the knowledge that leads to life and exaltation in the presence of our Father, through yielding obedience to the gospel He has revealed in our day. Herein we differ with the Sectarian world. We differ also in our Church organization. In the Sectarian churches they place bishops at the head. I do not know that it matters, when they are altogether wrong; but I mention this to show that it is not the order of God. In His Church there is—firstly, Apostles, and afterwards helps of various kinds, the Bishops being those who administer in temporal things, and belonging to the lesser Priesthood. The Sectarians, however, do not understand the two orders of Priesthood—the Melchizedek and Aaronic. They substitute one thing for another—such, for instance, as sprinkling and pouring for baptism. They have perverted the principles of truth, and changed the ordinances of the gospel, and if the Lord does not hold them in derision now He will by and by, for He is not the author of such confusion. He has established His kingdom and has set His house in order, and has conferred His authority upon His servants, and told them to go forth and administer in the ordinances of salvation for the edification of the true and living Church. Then let us have respect to these things and live our religion, shun all associations with the wicked and ungodly, and walk faithfully before the Lord our God all our days, that we may be entitled to dwell in that holy city whose streets will be paved with gold and whose maker and founder is God.

This is especially applicable to our young people, for Satan uses the wicked and ungodly to allure them into forbidden paths, and to captivate their hearts by fine dresses, nice deportment, smooth speeches, lively manners, and so on. I would say to my young sisters, that one of these boys or Elders, who is ready to stand forth for the defense of Israel, to go and preach to the nations, work in the canyon, or do anything he may be required to do, though he may be dressed in homespun and appear rather uncouth, is worth more than a thousand smooth-tongued, hypocritical deceivers, who seek your society only to lead you astray. Be careful, my young sisters, of the associations you form, and do not let your minds be captivated by the giddy and worthless, or the first thing you know you will wake up in darkness, having made shipwreck of your faith through forsaking the ordinances of the House of God. How can you who have received these ordinances go and fellowship such persons and their practices? If you associate with the wicked and ungodly you will cut yourselves off from eternal lives and exaltation in the presence of our Father, for the wicked can never lead you there—no, never. As far as they lead you it will be in the ways of misery, death, and destruction. Parents should be careful to preserve their children in the ways of truth and righteousness, and in the purity of our most holy faith, that they may be faithful in their day and generation.

If I were in the place of a great many of our young men, I would not go out on the road to different places, as many of them do, just for the sake of earning a little money. They too often fall into vile company, and learn to profane the name of the Deity. There is too much of it here in the midst of the Saints. I am sorry to say that some who profess to be Latter-day Saints so far forget themselves as to use the name of the Lord in vain, thus breaking the commandment, which says, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain.” Instead of the brethren being so heedless, thoughtless, and reckless as to profane the name of the Lord, they should hold it in the highest reverence. I would say to all, never speak irreverently of baptism or of any of the ordinances of the House of God. I have heard people, if they happened to fall into the water, say that they were baptized, and they would laugh over it and speak very irreverently. All such things tend to evil. Do not indulge in such levity. I remember once, before I was in the Church, being at a party given by one of my neighbors. One of the guests was a Latter-day Saint Elder. He said he was anxious to dance off some of his superstition and sectarianism. It chanced that they had a very poor fiddler and a very poor fiddle, and the strings kept breaking. This Elder, thinking, I suppose, to tickle our ears, who were not in the Church, proposed that we should lay hands on the fiddle. How do you suppose it struck upon my mind? Said I to myself—“You are a poor, miserable hypocrite; you do not believe your religion, and you blaspheme against God by professing to do so.” That man’s name was William Smith, and although a brother of the Prophet Joseph, and one of the Twelve Apostles, he has gone into darkness. Yet I have heard him speak when he had the spirit of the Lord with him, and I have been much pleased with his remarks. But by persisting in such an irreverent course a man’s mind is gradually darkened, and, if not forsaken, it will finally lead to his overthrow and destruction.

I speak these things by way of exhortation to my young brethren and sisters that they may not depart nor go astray from light and knowledge, but seek after that which is good continually, and so order their course as to be blameless before the Lord their God. I would not wish to make men offenders for a word. God is merciful, and we can forgive our brethren and sisters as long as they manifest a desire to do good. Let us try to be a pattern worthy the imitation of all, through our lives, be more perfect in our intercourse one with another, and do nothing offensive in the sight of God, but live so that we may ever have the guidance of His holy Spirit, which is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday, August 11th, 1867.

I have long looked forward with joyful anticipations to the time, when I should again meet with the people of God in these mountains, and have the privilege of standing before them. I feel very thankful to my Father in heaven for this great privilege. I have been absent from this city and place over three years, and have performed one of the longest missions of my life. I feel thankful to God that you gave me this privilege, and that I have had the opportunity of adding one more lengthy mission to the long catalogue of missions which I have taken abroad among the nations. It is a great satisfaction to me to have the privilege of being numbered with this people, and to have my name enrolled among those who profess to be Latter-day Saints. With them is safety; with them are joy, peace, and satisfaction. And I feel to say, as one said in old times—that with this people I desire to live, and, if it is necessary to die, I desire to have the privilege of dying with them. But I do not know whether it will be necessary for all of us to die, perhaps there may be some who will escape this curse in some measure, and who may meet with a change equivalent to that of death.

I have been abroad for the purpose of doing good, that was the only object I had in view in leaving this Territory three years ago last spring. Whether I have done much good or not remains for the day of judgment to reveal; it is not altogether for me to judge in relation to this matter. We are well assured that our Father, who reigns in yonder heavens, keeps a journal, or, in other words, a record—a great record in which He records the doings of the children of men. We know, from a certain declaration of Jesus in the Book of Mormon, concerning the records of heaven, that the acts and doings of all men are recorded by the Father in that book, and the time is fast hastening when I, as an individual, and all others, must be brought before the Judge of all the earth, and our acts and doings here, in this short space of time appointed to us as a probation, will be read before us, or if not read they will be perfectly remembered by us and by those who sit in judgment, so that a righteous judgment will be rendered on our heads, and we will receive the reward of our doings, whether they be good or evil. I have enjoyed myself remarkably well on this mission. I hope that some good has been done, and that the Lord will remember the good that I have intended to do, even though it may not have been fully accomplished. He knows the desire of my heart has been to fulfil the numerous missions which I have taken during the last thirty-seven years of my life.

Since I came home, I have contrasted the present condition of myself and this people with what existed when I first became acquainted with this gospel. Then we were a little handful of people—there were, perhaps, not a hundred persons in all the States who had received the truth. I received it about five months after the organization of this Church, and, although but a boy, was immediately called to the ministry. In my inexperience I went forth, with gladness of heart, to bear my humble testimony to what I knew to be true. You may ask me if I had a knowledge before I commenced preaching this gospel. I answer, yes. I went forth from a farming occupation in the eastern part of the State of New York, and traveled alone between two hundred and three hundred miles, for the purpose of beholding the Prophet Joseph Smith. I found him in Fayette, Seneca County, New York, at the house of father Whitmer, where this Church was organized with only six members. In that house I found not only Joseph, the Prophet, but David Whitmer, John Whitmer, Christian Whitmer, and many of those witnesses whose names are recorded in the Book of Mormon. Those were happy days to me. To see a prophet of the living God, to look on a man whom the Lord had raised up to bring forth one of the most glorious records that ever saluted the ears of mortal man, was to me almost equal to beholding the face of an holy angel! Yet, when I took that journey, and first beheld his countenance, I did not certainly know that he was a prophet. I believed him to be such because of the purity of the doctrine that I had heard preached which he had brought forth. I knew it was a scriptural doctrine, agreeing in every respect with the ancient gospel. For although but a boy, I had already become acquainted, in some measure, with the doctrines of the various religious sects of the day, but none of them satisfied me, none of them seemed to coincide with the word of God. I stood aloof from all, until I heard this, when my mind became fully satisfied that God had raised up a people to proclaim the gospel in all its ancient beauty and simplicity, with power to administer in its ordinances. That was a great satisfaction, so far as faith was concerned, but still I sought for a knowledge. I felt as though I was not qualified to stand before the people, and tell them that the Book of Mormon was a divine revelation, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, unless I had a stronger testimony than that afforded by ancient prophets. However great my assurance might be, it seemed to me, that to know for myself, it required a witness independent of the testimony of others. I sought for this witness. I did not receive it immediately, but when the Lord saw the integrity of my heart and the anxiety of my mind—when He saw that I was willing to travel hundreds of miles for the sake of learning the principles of the truth, He gave me a testimony for myself, which conferred upon me the most perfect knowledge that Joseph Smith was a true prophet, and that this book, called the Book of Mormon, was in reality a Divine revelation, and that God had once more, in reality, spoken to the human family. What joy this knowledge gave me! No language that I am acquainted with could describe the sensations I experienced when I received a knowledge from Heaven of the truth of this work.

In that early day the prophet Joseph said to me that the Lord had revealed that twelve men were to be chosen as Apostles. A manuscript revelation to this effect, given in 1829—before the rise of this Church—was laid before me, and I read it. Joseph said to me, although I was young, weak, inexperienced, especially in public speaking, and ignorant of many important things which we now all understand, that I should be one of this Twelve. It seemed to me a very great saying. I looked upon the Twelve Apostles who lived in ancient days with a great deal of reverence—as being almost superhuman. They were, indeed, great men—not by virtue of the flesh, nor their own natural capacities, but they were great because God called them. When Joseph told me that I would be one of the Twelve, I knew all things were possible with God, but it seemed to me that I would have to be altogether changed to occupy such a great position in the Church and Kingdom of our God.

But I will pass over the first years of the organization of the Church and come down to the time when the Twelve were chosen. It was in the year 1835. In the preceding year a few of us, by commandment and revelation from God, went up to the State of Missouri in company with the Prophet Joseph Smith. By the direction of Joseph I was requested to stay in Clay County for a few months, to visit the Saints scattered through those regions, to preach to and comfort them, and to lay before them the manuscript revelations, for they were not then fully acquainted with all the revelations which had been given. After having accomplished this work, and proclaimed the gospel to many branches of the Church in the western part of Missouri, I returned again a thousand miles to the State of Ohio, preaching by the way, suffering much from the chills, and the fever and ague, while passing through those low sickly countries, wading swamps and sloughs, lying down on the prairies in the hot sun, fifteen or twenty miles from any habitation, and having a hearty shake of the ague, then a violent fever, thus wandering along for months before getting back to Kirtland, Ohio, where the Prophet lived. In the meantime, however, I built up some few branches of the Church, and then started for the capital of the State of Ohio—the city of Columbus. I entered the city, a stranger, on foot, and alone, not knowing that there was a Latter-day Saint within many miles, but, while passing along the crowded streets, I caught a glimpse of the countenance of a man who passed, and whirling around instantly, I went after him, and inquired of him if he knew whether there were any people called “Mormons” in the city of Columbus. Said he: “I am one of that people, and the only one that resides in the city.” I looked upon this as a great marvel. “How is it,” said I, “that here in this great and populous city, where hundreds are passing to and fro, that I should be influenced to turn and accost the only Latter-day Saint residing here.” I look upon it as a revelation, as a manifestation of the power of God in my behalf. He took me to his house, and, when there, presented me with a paper published by our people in Kirtland. In that paper I saw an advertisement, in which br. Pratt was requested to be at Kirtland on such a day and at such an hour, to attend meeting in the Temple, that he might be ready in take his departure with the Twelve who had been chosen. The day and hour designated were right at hand; the Twelve were chosen, and were soon to start on their first mission as a Council. I had been traveling among strangers for months, and had not seen the paper.

I saw that I had not time to reach Kirtland on foot, as I had been accustomed to travel, and consequently could not thus comply with the request; but, with a little assistance, I got into the very first stage that went out, and started post-haste for Kirtland, and landed at Willoughby, or what was then called Chagim, three miles from Kirtland, to which I traveled on foot, reaching there on Sunday morning at the very hour appointed for the meeting, which I entered, valise in hand, not having had time to deposit it by the way. There I met with Joseph, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, Martin Harris, and others of the witnesses to the Book of Mormon, besides several of the Twelve who had been chosen and ordained a short time previous. They were meeting on that day in order to be fully organized and qualified for their first mission as a council. And, strange to relate, it had been prophesied in that meeting, and in prior meetings, I would be there on that day. They had predicted this, although they had not heard of me for some time, and did not know where I was. They knew I had been in Missouri, and that I had started from there, several months before, but the Lord poured out the spirit of prophecy upon them, and they predicted I would be there at that meeting. When they saw me walk into the meeting, many of the Saints could scarcely believe their own eyes, the prediction was fulfilled before them so perfectly. I look at these things as miraculous manifestations of the Spirit of God.

I was ordained, and went forth with the Council of the Twelve. We performed an extended mission through the eastern States, built up churches, and returned again to Kirtland.

It is not my intention to give many items of our history. I merely touch upon these points, as they present themselves to my mind. I have continued, from that day until the present, to bear testimony to that which I know to be true. I do not speak enthusiastically when I say I KNOW. It is not a spirit of excitement which prompts me to declare these things, but I testify now, to that which I know by revelation to me from heaven, as I have testified to hundreds and thousands of people, both in America, in England, and on the Continent in Europe. I know this great work which you, Latter-day Saints, have received, to be the work of Almighty God. I have the same certainty that I have that you are now sitting on these seats. This religion is not a whim; it is not a wild enthusiastic creed, invented by human wisdom, but the origin of this Church is divine. This book, called the Book of Mormon, God gave, by the inspiration of His holy Spirit, to Joseph Smith, whom you and I believe, and not only believe, but know to be, a prophet. This book I consider the choicest book communicated to the children of men for many centuries. The choicest! Why do I say the choicest? Are there not many useful and interesting books of great value, containing much information and many things of importance, that have been sought out by the judgment, skill, and learning of men? Yes; but among all those which have appeared since the first century of the Christian era, there is one common characteristic—viz., they were written by the wisdom of man. No doubt, in many respects, though unknown to their authors, they were measurably dictated by the inspiration of the Spirit of the living God. But God Himself is the author of the Book of Mormon. He inspired the ideas it contains, and gave them by the Urim and Thummim. He sent forth His angel from heaven, clothed in brightness and glory, to chosen witnesses, commanding them to declare to all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that this precious book was a divine revelation. How great, then, is the importance of this work!

It was a very interesting period of my life, when but nineteen years of age, to visit the place where this Church was organized—the room of old father Whitmer—where the Lord spoke to His servant Joseph and others, as printed in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. In that same room a revelation, through the prophet Joseph, was given to me, November 4th, 1830, which is also printed. That house will, no doubt, be celebrated for ages to come, as the one chosen by the Lord in which to make known the first elements of the organization of His Kingdom in the latter days.

But there are many wonderful things connected with this dispensation—not only in the manifestations of the Spirit of God to His servants in the many revelations that were given to individuals, in healing the sick, in casting out devils, in restoring the blind to their sight, in making the deaf to hear, and in causing the lame man to leap as a hart—but what is still more wonderful, the gathering of the people from distant nations. It is a wonder to me to look upon the great sea of faces now before me in this bowery. Twenty years ago on the twenty-first day of July, I stood solitary and alone on this great city plot, near the place where now stands bishop Hunter’s house, being the first man of the Latter-day Saints that ever stood on this ground: this was in the afternoon of the twenty-first day of July, 1847. Brother Erastus Snow entered the valley with me in the afternoon. We traveled down to the southeast of the city. Br. Erastus lost his coat off his horse, and went back to hunt it up, and told me if I wanted to look over the country he would wait for me at the mouth of what we now call Emigration Canyon. I started from where we parted, and came up and stood on the bank of City Creek. I gazed on the surrounding scenery with peculiar feelings in my heart. I felt as though it was the place for which we had so long sought. Brother Brigham had requested me to proceed on and search out the road. Several of the brethren had been taken sick at Yellow Creek, and they appointed me and a small company to go on and see if we could find anything of Salt Lake Valley or a country suitable for a location. What did I see when I came into this valley? I saw some few green bushes on yonder bench, but saw but little life throughout the valley, except a certain insect that was afterwards called a cricket. I saw them cropping the few isolated bushes, and gnawing everything green around them. The land on yonder bench was all parched up, and the soil, as we went down still further, also dry and baked; but as we neared the waters we could see there was a little moisture round the banks. It was really a solitary place, and is well described by the prophet David in the 107th Psalm. He exclaims in this beautiful language: “O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hands of the enemy; And gathered them out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north, and from the south.” But David describes the country to which this people were to be gathered. He calls it a dreary desolate land. “They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.” Are there not many sitting on these seats who can reflect back to the time when they wandered over the solitary plains, the arid deserts, and rugged mountains? Are there not here some of the pioneers who were numbered among the one hundred and forty-three who traveled fifteen hundred miles from Nauvoo and a thousand from our Winter Quarters on the Missouri River, who can bear testimony that we did “wander in the wilderness in a solitary way?” Oh, how solitary it was except for the red men, buffalo, a few antelope, some elk, deer, and howling wolves! It was indeed solitary; no road broken for us, no bridges across the streams; we were unable to tell what latitude or longitude we were in only by taking astronomical observations—getting the altitude of the sun, moon, or stars, and determining our latitude and longitude to find out where we were, as sea captains do on the great deep. And thus we continued, month after month, to wander in this solitary way, in this wilderness, as it were, and when we entered these valleys we found no city already built for us. David said that the people who should be gathered from all lands would “find no city to dwell in”—no city already prepared for them.

Did we have any suffering, affliction, hunger, thirst, and fatigue? I can bear testimony that the pioneers, and many others who followed in their track that season, can look back to that period of their lives as to a time when they experienced the fulfillment of David’s words—“Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainteth in them. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.” This was literally fulfilled, for we were faithful in calling on the Lord; we bowed before Him in the morning, we humbled ourselves before Him in the evening, and we prostrated ourselves before Him in our secret places. Some of us went out upon the hills by ourselves, and called upon the Lord, according to the order of the Holy Priesthood, which order many of you who have received your endowments understand. Many times we were thirsty, and our souls were ready to faint within us, but we came forth by the direction of the Almighty. His hand was with us, He heard our cries, our prayers came up before Him, and He delivered us from all our afflictions. Yet we found no city to dwell in, no splendid houses, mansions, and palaces, and everything conducive to happiness and comfort, as our emigration from foreign countries find in these times.

Finding no city to dwell in, the Lord permitted us to prepare a city for habitation. I have stated that the Lord had accomplished wonders—great wonders—besides healing the sick and doing those things already named, and one of those great wonders is the city of Great Salt Lake. It is a miracle to my eyes, it is a miracle to the Latter-day Saints who dwell within it, it is a miracle to all the inhabitants of the Territory, it is a miracle to all our enemies scattered abroad, and a wonder to all the nations of the earth who have read its description. Let me tell a secret that some of you, perhaps, have not fully understood. Do you know, Latter-day Saints, that this city is already celebrated in distant nations, across the sea, as one of the most beautiful cities upon the American Continent? It is even so. What renders it beautiful? It is not because all the houses have been joined house to house, and story piled on story. No; that does not add to the beauty of a city. That is after the fashion of old Babylon, or like the cities of the nations. They, it is true, build some very superb buildings, of the most beautiful and costly materials—granite and marble stone, magnificent in style, and adorned with all the beauties of modern architecture. We see this in the cities of the eastern states, in old England, on the Continent of Europe, and wherever modern civilization extends; but what is all this when compared to the beauty of our habitations? When emerging from Parley’s Canyon in the stage, I put my head out of the window to look for the city of Great Salt Lake, but it was so completely shrouded in trees that I could scarcely get a glimpse of it. Now and then I caught sight of a chimney peeping out above the stately shade trees and smiling orchards; I could also see this great tabernacle that you are now building, towering up, like a little mountain; but it was impossible to get a full view of the city generally, it was so completely covered with orchards and ornamental shade trees. I thought to myself that I never saw a grander sight. Where did these trees come from? You brought them down from the mountains, then little saplings; many of you brought them on your shoulders, others piled them on their wagons, and then you set them out on land that had the appearance of being a parched desert, and in soil that to all human appearance was unproductive. And during the twenty years that have rolled over your heads, you have beautified this city, and made it a paradise. It surpasses all the cities of the east in beauty, and your industry is spoken of abroad as something wonderful and marvelous. For a people without capital driven from their former homes, having nothing, as it were, but bone and sinew, to bring to pass the marvels we now behold, is considered without a parallel.

But David says, that this people, gathered from all nations, who would find no city to dwell in, should finally prepare a city for habitation. Thank you, brethren, for having fulfilled the prophecy. Many other things, in this same Psalm, are now being fulfilled. The inspired psalmist predicts that the Lord would cause waters to break out in the wilderness, and in the desert springs of water, and that the thirsty ground should become pools of water. Has this been fulfilled? What aspect is presented over the country, for miles and miles around, when you irrigate your farming lands? Do you cast your eyes over them sometimes, and see standing pools of water? If you do you behold the fulfillment of the psalm. In the twenty-ninth chapter of Isaiah—the very place where this book (the Book of Mormon) is spoken of, and the marvelous work that should be accomplished by its means, we also read that a forest “shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest.” David also says, that you were not only to make a city for habitation, but you were to plant vineyards, sow fields, and eat the increase thereof, and he would not suffer your cattle to decrease.

I have been gone about three years, and I would like to inquire of those who keep cattle, whether they are on the increase in this Territory? I think if they were to answer they would say they are. Brother Kimball says the Territory is perfectly alive with them, and I have no doubt that the hills, mountains, and valleys are sprinkled over with them, and that they are on the increase. This is what David says—“He suffers not their cattle to decrease;” and he also informs us that that barren, thirsty land, that solitary place, that wilderness through which His people should be led, should become, as it were, a fruitful field—this you know has been literally fulfilled. We are further informed that “blessed are they who sow beside all waters and send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.” How do you farm in this land? You answer, by the side of the water streams. They do not farm in this way in the old countries, but wherever they find a beautiful piece of soil, whether on mountain or plain, they convert it into a farm, it is no matter if it be many miles from the water. But Isaiah saw that this people would be put in possession of a land where it would be necessary to “sow beside all waters,” and in passing up and down this Territory it is universally the case that all our farming lands are located alongside the water streams which come out of the mountains.

Do you want a blessing, brethren? If you do, Isaiah has given you one, for he exclaims, “Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.” David also declares, in the Psalm already referred to, that “He setteth the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.” What does the Psalmist mean? Does he mean to say that the families of a poor man who has been gathered should increase like a flock? This is what he predicts; why do the world find fault with it? Are there not some faultfinders? I hope not. Br. Kimball says they are all dead; if so, it is to be hoped that we will be troubled with them no more.

We should rejoice to think that God has brought us into this desert country, and made it so fruitful, like the Garden of Eden, where the poor man, who in the old countries could scarcely live, has, in the course of the twenty years, not only got flocks and herds, but “families” (for David actually puts in the plural) “like a flock.” To go around these valleys, and occasionally count the families of a poor man, is like counting a flock of sheep. Gentiles (we merely repeat the name they have given themselves) feel like finding fault with us in regard to this matter, but if we are satisfied, why should they find fault? If the poor man has been lifted up on high, just as David said he should be, and if the Lord has made him to have families like a flock, why should you find fault with this poor man? Is he not better off here than in the old countries, where for twelve or sixteen hours daily labor he received only eight shillings per week, for himself and family—and was scarcely able to keep body and soul together—living and dying in the most squalid poverty?

I cannot see any harm in the people coming to this distant land, and gathering around them flocks, and herds, and fields, and each multiplying his own families, till they resemble a flock. All seem to feel tolerably well about it. The wives of these poor men have smiling faces, and seem happy. I do not know but some of them quarrel, but that does not prove that the principle is not good and true. Monogamist families also quarrel sometimes, but you would not do away with marriage, and say that a man ought not to have one wife, because they pull hair occasionally. Why find fault, then, with the poor man David speaks about, whose families should be like a flock, because now and then one gets up a quarrel? The system is good; the quarrel is no part of the system, but is a violation of it, and is the introduction of discord into that which the Lord intended to harmonize. Plurality of wives is something a little different from what our fathers have taught us, and it will take us a little while to learn this ancient scriptural order. You would not find fault with a little child because it did not learn the alphabet, spelling lessons, and get into reading in one day. Let all have a chance to learn by experience, and by that which God has revealed in ancient and modern times, to rule, govern, and control these great flocks and families so that they may be worthy to rule in the Kingdom of God.

There are many curious things written in the ancient prophecies and in the writings of the Psalmist. The people abroad in the world generally think a great deal of what David said. There are some churches so pious that they would not have a hymn, composed in modern times, sung by their congregations. They would think their chapels were polluted by singing a hymn composed by any poet or poetess in these days. You may think I am misrepresenting them, but I am not. You go to Scotland if you wish to see the truth of these words. Will the Scotch Presbyterians permit hymns of their own composition to be sung in their sanctuaries? No; what do they substitute? The Psalms of David—the man after God’s own heart, who was so righteous when but a boy that God was with him, and who, long before he was raised to the throne of Israel, and while yet a youth, as it were, had eight wives, and into whose bosom God afterwards gave all the wives of his master Saul. This man knew how to make psalms, for he made them by inspiration for the Scotch Church to sing; he under– stood it, and when he looked upon and realized what a flock of wives and children he had, he no doubt felt a glow of pleasure in anticipation of the time when the same order should be established among that people who were to be gathered from all lands. When have any people ever fulfilled these ancient prophecies if this people are not doing it now.

Go back, now, historians, and tell us what people have ever fulfilled these sayings, except the Latter-day Saints. Did the ancient church ever fulfil these prophecies? No; why not? Because the dispensation of gathering had not then come. They were commanded to build up churches in Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, and various parts of the earth, and when they had built up these churches they were permitted to stay at home. David says the people of God are to be gathered from all lands, and we see that it was not done by the ancient church. Now come down from the days of the introduction of Christianity into Palestine to the present period and place your finger, if you can, on a people who have fulfilled these prophecies. You can find nothing that has had the appearance of it until the appearance of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Since his day you can see what the Lord has done in sending abroad His missionaries, as swift messengers, to preach the gospel to all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, baptizing all who would repent, and building up churches to His holy name, then proclaiming in the ears of all the Saints, “Go from all these nations to the great western hemisphere, locate yourselves on the high portions of the North American Continent in the midst of the mountains, and be gathered in one, that you may fulfil the prophecies that have been uttered concerning you.” When we see this, we see God fulfilling that which He spake many long centuries ago. And the work is still rolling on, just as fast as the wheels of time can roll it. The Prophet Isaiah, in the 35th chapter, says “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.”

Latter-day Saints lift up your hearts and rejoice with joy unspeakable, for you are the very ones who have the privilege of fulfilling this, you see it directly before you. Has this prophecy been fulfilled here? Was there a wilderness here? Was there a desert here, and does it blossom as the rose? I was not here this spring, but I will venture to say that if I had been within three miles of this city, in April or May, I should have seen, for five or six square miles, peach, pear, plum, and apple trees all in bloom, literally making the wilderness to blossom as the rose. What a miracle compared with twenty years ago, when I stood, solitary and alone, by the side of City Creek, near this temple block, and surveyed the scene! The prophecy of Isaiah has been fulfilled, thanks be to Him who rules, controls, and guides all these things.

If there ever was a people that needed blessings, it seems to me that the Latter-day Saints are the ones. How much you have suffered in years past and gone! How great have been your trials for the truth’s sake! How great your exertions to gather out from among the nations of the earth! How great has been your toil in this desert country to fulfil these prophecies! God bless you, and your generations for evermore, and give you a hundred fold, besides these valleys, to make you and your posterity rejoice, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Remarks by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 21st, 1867.

I have been very much interested in the remarks made by br. Bywater this afternoon, and in fact I was very much interested in listening to the remarks made this morning. It is difficult for anybody to rise here and place themselves under the influence and dictation of the Spirit of God, and not advance ideas and principles that are calculated to enlighten the mind, expand the capacity, enlarge the understanding, and enable us to appreciate more fully the blessings of that life, light, truth, and intelligence which God has been pleased to manifest to us, in these last days, for our salvation and exaltation. It was said in former days, and may with equal propriety be said today, “Happy is that people whose God is the Lord,” and if we fall short of obtaining truth, light, and intelligence from Him, whatever our situation may otherwise be, it is very deplorable for us as rational, intelligent, eternal beings. The principles that are made known by the Lord and enunciated by His servants are eternal, and they are not only calculated to promote our happiness on the earth, but also our happiness hereafter; they go back to far distant times and show our associations with and relationship to God. They have a bearing on our present existence and happiness, and they look forward to something in the future that is really certain and tangible. When we talk about the world and the confusion, folly, and evil of its inhabitants, we look at them as they are, we value them at their present worth. We do not expect to compare ourselves and our hopes with them and their hopes. We have come out from among the world, guided by the light of revelation, by the Spirit of eternal truth, by the everlasting gospel which God has sent among us. He has gathered us from the world, we are no longer of them, and we do not expect to compare ourselves with them; and what their ideas, views, and notions with regard to us may be, we care but very little, it is to us a matter of very little importance. We feel desirous to know what the will of our heavenly Father is, we feel desirous to comprehend what are the duties and responsibilities that devolve upon us, and we feel an emulation in our own bosoms to overcome the ignorance, evil, folly, and vanity with which we are surrounded; that, as the servants of God who have dedicated themselves to, and made a profession of faith in Him, we may participate in the Spirit that dwells in and with God; that we, as individuals, as cities, and as communities, in this land of Saints, may act as becomes the Saints of the Most High, walking in the paths of truth, virtue, holiness, and purity.

A remark was made by br. Bywater to the effect that perhaps one of the weakest arguments that could be adduced in support of any movement amongst us as a people, was one that touched our temporal affairs, or our pockets. If we were all perfect this would be a very weak argument, but we are not, we are very imperfect, we are surrounded by all the infirmities of human nature, and we exhibit them in the varied actions of life, and men have to be dealt with as they are, and not as if they were angels or the spirits of the just made perfect. We are surrounded with all our infirmities, weaknesses, and follies, and, until they are overcome, we have to be governed, more or less, on the principle that I have heard the President express. Says he, “I would like to lead this people a little faster, but, if they will not come up to my speed, I must make mine correspond with theirs.” If he did not do this he would soon be beyond the reach of the people, but he has got to be one with us, and we have got to be one with each other, and we must all seek to be one with the Lord.

We have been brought up in error, we have been born in sin and cradled in iniquity, we have sucked in superstition, folly, and vanity with our mother’s milk. We have scarcely imbibed one principle that is true and that will stand the test or scrutiny of eternal truth, and bear to be compared with the laws of life, as they emanate from God. The Lord has to deal with us as He best can, just as He does with the world. We talk sometimes about the world. What could any ruler do with a depraved, corrupt world, with men lost to every sense of propriety, honor, integrity, and truthfulness, men wallowing in vice, licentiousness, fraud, and corruption of every kind? What ruler could govern such a people? No one, unless he listened to correct principles. The Lord understood this very well when He commenced gathering people from among the nations of the earth by the preaching of the gospel. Says He, “My sheep hear my voice, and know me, and follow me, and a stranger will they not follow, because they know not the voice of a stranger.” God sent forth His servants to the world to declare the principles of truth. His sheep heard the voice of mercy and obeyed the gospel, and the same spirit and influence that operated upon them there, operates upon them here; hence it is that, under the auspices of the Spirit of God, we were gathered together; not in a political capacity, but in a religious capacity. Our moral sense was appealed to, our love of honesty, truth, and integrity was appealed to, the light of the gospel, as it existed in former days, was made manifest to us, we admired it, believed in, and obeyed it, and through obedience, we received a portion of the Spirit of God, and felt a disposition to listen to His laws and to be governed by the principles of truth. And yet how weak that feeling is still within us! How frequently those evil propensities and powers that operated upon us in former days still operate upon us, and our minds become befogged, beclouded, and dimmed by the darkness with which the enemy of truth seeks to inspire us! How little we appreciate our relationship to, and standing before God, and the destiny that is before us! It is very difficult for us to comprehend correct principles, and it is more difficult still to bring ourselves into subjection to, and to be governed by them. Hence we have to be treated not like men but like children. Yet, notwithstanding the weaknesses and infirmities of His creatures, neither God nor His servants feel like destroying them, cutting them off, and sending them to perdition. The Lord has never dealt with His people in that way; He is full of magnanimity, kindness, love, and regard for the human family. We read that the Savior, while upon the earth, “Was tempted in all points like unto us, yet without sin; therefore he is a faithful high priest, and knows how to deliver those who are tempted.” We have our weaknesses, our infirmities, follies, and foibles. It is the intention of the gospel to deliver us from these; it operates upon the mind and intelligence of man, that we may be led from strength to strength, from intelligence to intelligence, from knowledge to knowledge, from one degree of faith to another, victory over one evil and then over another, until we shall see as we are seen and know as we are known. If we make any little stumbles the Savior acts not as a foolish, vindictive man, to knock another man down. He is full of kindness, long-suffering, and forbearance, and treats everybody with kindness and courtesy. These are the feelings we wish to indulge in and be governed by; these are the principles, and this is the spirit that ought to actuate every elder in Israel, and by which he ought to govern his life and actions. Having gathered us together in the position we now occupy, we are prepared, more or less, to be governed in regard to other things; we know that the goal before us is one of the brightest that has ever attracted the attention of the human mind, one in which God calculates to elevate and exalt us, not only on the earth but in the heavens. God has commenced to establish His kingdom on the earth, and He will accomplish His own purposes in His own time, and bring to pass His designs with regard to a world lying in wickedness.

We sometimes reflect on the situation of the world, and feel as though we would be glad to see them destroyed. Now no right feeling man has a wish of this kind in his heart. We should be glad to see iniquity destroyed, but unfortunately the workers of iniquity would have to share in that catastrophe. We should be glad to see evil rooted out of the earth, and we know that if men will not submit to the law of God, by and by, however painful it may be, their destruction will be consummated, and we know, as has been referred to, that all governments and kingdoms having the elements of destruction within themselves, must necessarily dissolve, and we know that if we could have just laws, a just administration—if we could have the revelations of the great God for our guide, and men inspired by God for our rulers, if we could have what the Israelites prayed for and what the prophets have prophesied about, the Lord for our king, the Lord for our judge and lawgiver, and have Him to reign over us—there is no right thinking man on the earth, no matter what his principles may be, but what would appreciate such a system of things as that. But they despair of accomplishing it, and they may well despair, for with the materials that they have it would be impossible to bring about such a result. You may take a graft from any poor tree there is in existence, and graft it once, or ten thousand times, and it will still bear its like. But if you can get a better graft, and have that implanted there, then you may have a chance of having better fruit.

The Lord has commenced on this principle. He has revealed himself from the heavens, and has restored correct principles which are calculated to elevate, ennoble, and exalt the human mind, and having com– menced this, it will be like the little leaven Jesus speaks of—it will work and work until the whole lump is leavened, and has become indoctrinated or inducted into the family of God, and become heirs of Him and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, having a relationship to our Heavenly Father that will live and exist “while life and thought and being last or immortality endures.” It is upon this principle, and upon no other, that the knowledge of God will ever cover the earth as the waters cover the deep.

This is the work that lies before the Saints of God, but it will not be done all at once, it will be the work of time and progress, and will require a continual warfare with evil, corruption, error, and vice, in all their varied forms. It is the greatest blessing that can be possessed by this or any other people on the face of the earth, to have the word of God among them, and then it is a great blessing when men can appreciate that word, and honor God and His servants, and obey His laws. This is what we are seeking to attain—to bring our passions, thoughts, reflections, and feelings, and everything pertaining to us, in subjection to the law of God, that as wise children, under the guidance of our Heavenly Father, we may be able to fulfil our destiny on the earth, whatever that may be, and prepare ourselves for an everlasting inheritance in the celestial kingdom of our God.

The fact is, God has commenced to regenerate the world, but the world does not know it, and we, sometimes, hardly understand it. We become captivated and carried away by every little foible and folly that we see around us. We can only understand these things as we live our religion, and as the Spirit of God reveals them to us, and if we want to know more we must seek for more of the Spirit of God, which gives wisdom, light, and intelligence, and enables us to see things as they are and as they ought to be. If men are living in the enjoyment of that Spirit there is no difficulty about false doctrines or errors of any kind, or evil passions, for it will lead them into truth, and will enable them to overcome all that is evil, and if we enjoy that Spirit we shall feel better and happier, and we shall not see so many faults in our neighbors, or in the Priesthood, or anything associated with the Kingdom of God, for as the light of God, the revelations of the Most High, inspires the hearts of the Saints, they will be one with each other, with the servants of God, with God our Heavenly Father, and with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Jesus prayed most devoutly for this when about leaving the earth. Said he, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word, that they all may be one.” This is the kind of feeling we should cherish.

With regard to the world. I know there is a feeling that President Young is illiberal in his remarks sometimes, and that we ought to feel more like catering to their prejudices and feelings. I do not think so. I think it is one of the greatest blessings we can have to have somebody to tell us when we are wrong; and does President Young, or do any men of intelligence in this Church and Kingdom, have feelings of enmity towards the world? I do not think they have. I have seen President Young travel thousands and thousands of miles, without purse or scrip, to preach the gospel of salvation to the world. Does that show that he is an enemy to the world? There is no man of reflection and good judgment but what would say to the re– verse. We have come out from among the world, for the express purpose of serving God and keeping His commandments, building up Zion, and establishing His Kingdom upon the earth. Are there not men in the world who seek to do right and try to be just and equitable in their acts? Yes, and there are a great many who seek to do wrong, who are full of lasciviousness, corruption, and evil; a great many who would seek to lead us down the paths of death and destruction. And shall not the shepherd who stands on the walls of Zion lift up his warning voice? What is the good of a shepherd if he does not do that? Who does not know that combinations have been entered into, from time to time, right here in our midst, for the purpose of undermining the virtue of this people? Who does not know that the public prints in the east have been very profuse in their recommendations to send out fine fast young men to Utah? What for? To corrupt our virtue and to bring us down to their own level. Who does not know that we have had organizations in our midst, plotting night after night, to effect the political and social destruction of this people, and seeking to undermine their virtue? Are we—the servants of God—to sit still and not lift a warning voice in relation to these things? Are we to go hand and glove with the world? No, we are not of the world; God has chosen us out of the world to be His people, that we may be subject to His laws and bow to His authority. Do we plot against the virtue of any man? God forbid! Is there any man on the face of the earth who can bring a charge of this kind against the elders of Israel? I defy them. We sustain all virtuous principles here and everywhere in the world where our lot may be cast. Did we ever go, as elders, or as messengers of any kind among the nations of the earth, and interfere with the rights and privileges of the people, or seek to overturn the government of any nation? Never. We were always subject to the law, authority, rule, and dominion prevailing in the nations in which we have sojourned. What right have others, then, to interfere with us? None. Shall we allow them to do it? No, in the name of Israel’s God we will not. [The congregation said, amen.] We will root out the workers of iniquity, and maintain purity and virtue. When men come among us who are honorable and virtuous we will treat them accordingly; but when men come among us and seek to destroy our virtue, supplant our institutions, and try to put a sword to the neck of the good, honest, and virtuous, in the name of Israel’s God we will oppose them with all the might God shall give to us. [The congregation said, amen.] These are our principles. What good honorable man in the world would not sanction them? There are none but what would. Every virtuous man and woman would submit to principles of this kind, and say it is right.

There is another point to which I would refer here: that all men are not depraved, as it is said by some, but the natural instinct of man, as President Young has remarked, is to do good.

May God help us to do right and keep His commandments, that we may be saved in His kingdom, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered in the Bowery, Salt Lake City, July 21, 1867.

It has been very interesting to me, and no doubt it has to all who have been present, to listen to the remarks of our brethren this morning, in relation to the principles of the Gospel as taught by us, and their experience in this work. While Brother Lawrence was speaking in relation to our position in Nauvoo, my mind reverted to the time when we left there, and to the reluctance displayed by many of our people to cross the river and take their journey westward. It required a great amount of faith on the part of the people, to venture into an unexplored and desert country to attempt again to build up homes, and to perform the labors enjoined upon us by God, our Heavenly Father. There was a cry of exultation went up throughout all that country when we were broken up, and the hope was indulged in by all who were inimical to us, that the solution of the Mormon problem had been arrived at, and that the subject of Mormonism might henceforth be dismissed from every mind. We had gone forth into the wilderness, and it was not at all likely that we would ever trouble civilization again. It was naturally supposed, by those who knew but little of us, that we must be quite as bad as we had been represented to be; and if we were, of course we had nobody to steal from in the wilderness but ourselves; nobody to aggress and prey upon but ourselves, and these being our characteristics, as they believed, they very naturally came to the conclusion that we would quarrel one with another, and the result would be our extermination through our own quarrels, or that we should fall an easy prey to the Indians. How these anticipations have been realized, the lapse of twenty-one years has proved. For a number of years after leaving Nauvoo we were not deemed particularly worthy of notice. Men’s minds were attracted in other directions, and our operations here, being so far removed from all communication with them, were almost overlooked. But time has wrought great changes, not only with us and in our position, but also in the position and feelings of the world by which we are surrounded. Instead of being regarded as a people scarcely worthy of notice, we now, through the blessings of our Heavenly Father, inhabit a large Territory, and if we are alluded to at all by the world, it is in a national capacity. Have these changes been accidental and unlooked for? Did no one anticipate such results as we now behold being wrought out? Or were they anticipated years and years ago by those most familiar with the genius and organization of the kingdom of God? Those who are not familiar with our early history have but to read the utterances of those who were engaged in the founding of this work, to become convinced that they were anticipated long ago by those who contemplated the future growth and development of the kingdom of God. There is no feature connected with our circumstances today that has not been familiar for years to the minds of those who have contemplated the future of this work. When the church was organized, and a small house would hold all its members, predictions were indulged in that the circumstances of today but partially fulfil, and years will yet have to elapse before they are completely fulfilled. Our Heavenly Father poured out his spirit upon his servants in the beginning, which enabled them to comprehend the work he had established on the earth, and through the spirit of prophecy and revelation they could plainly see the great results which would be wrought out through the faithfulness of the people of God. Can we now see the limit of this work? Is the horizon of our vision bounded by those things actually transpiring around us, or do we still stretch forward to a future, for this people, too glorious for description? I do not suppose there is one here who has ever thought on this great subject and attempted to grasp the circumstances by which we are surrounded, that has not stretched forward in delightful anticipation of the glorious future that awaits the people of God, if they are only faithful to the truth that he has committed unto them. Would to God that all the inhabitants of the earth could see and comprehend these things! Would to God that they would divest themselves of their prejudices and preconceived ideas, and that they would calmly look truth in the face and reflect upon the work that God, our Heavenly Father, is performing in the midst of the nations of the earth! If they would do this, they might avoid a great many difficulties into which they will otherwise be inevitably involved. It is no more, nor no less, true today, than it was thirty-seven years ago, that God has stretched forth his hand to accomplish a great and a mighty work, that shall stand forever, and shall not be given into the hands of another people; but it will go on increasing and spreading abroad, until it has accomplished that for which it was destined by our Almighty Father. I say it is as true now as it was then, and no more true today than then, and they who paid heed to it then have never had cause to regret doing so; and they who give heed to it today will never have cause to regret it in the future. To us who are familiar with this work, and understand the operations of the spirit, and can see the design of God, our Heavenly Father, it seems strange that mankind should be so indifferent to so great a work as this in which we are engaged. Yet it is so. You would imagine that men going forth with the proclamation that the elders bear would receive everywhere that attention that the importance of their proclamation demands, at least until men were satisfied in their own minds of the truth or falsity of the message they bear. But this is not the case. No man ever calmly sat down with a prayerful heart to ex– amine the claims of this work, popularly termed Mormonism, who did not rise from the investigation convinced that there was a power, an influence and a spirit accompanying this work, that he had never met with before. Are they who investigate the ones who fight against this work, and persecute and slay the servants of God? No; they who do this are the ignorant, who have never investigated, or, having investigated and embraced it, have afterwards apostatized, and have thus become two-fold more the children of hell, through rejecting the truth. God our Heavenly Father has commenced a great and mighty work, and has given the strongest kind of evidence in favor of it, if the inhabitants of the earth would only receive it; but their condemnation will consist in their rejection of this work and the evidence of its truth which is spread before them. The whole history of this people, from the commencement until the present time, affords abundant evidence of the divinity of the work in which we are engaged. When our elders go forth into the world men cry aloud for miracles, for some supernatural manifestation of power, that will convince them that we are the people we profess to be Jesus said, “A wicked and an adulterous generation seek a sign, but no sign shall be given them save the sign of the prophet Jonah.” But God, our Heavenly Father, has nevertheless left his handwriting, as it were, to be seen by all the nations of the earth on the work that he has established. Divinity is marked in every feature of this great work; in every step of its progress, from its commencement until the present time, we see divinity exhibited, and the power of God manifested in its preservation, growth and development. What is it that brings this people from the nations of the earth, binds them together, and makes a unity of the people of the various nationalities here assembled together? Is it the power of man? Is it delusion? Or, is it a manifestation of the restoration of that power bestowed upon men in ancient days, and which has been so long withdrawn from the earth? Why is it that we love one another? Is it as the Apostle John said, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren?” We love one another because we have bowed in obedience to the truth which God has revealed, and through the reception of the Holy Spirit of promise we have the love of God in our hearts. If mankind loved the truth and would examine these things, they would see something desirable about this work, and they would be prompted to investigate. But the difficulty now is, as it has been in every age when God has attempted to establish his work upon the earth—men in general are blinded by the traditions of their fathers. This, and the love of ease, and popularity, and other worldly objects that surround them, prevent men from seeing the work of God in its true light, and blinds them to their highest interests. They cannot see how they are going to receive any benefit from this work. That which is material is right before them, and they can understand the material advantages accruing to them through not obeying this work; but the advantages and blessings that would result from obedience are hidden from their sight, being discernible only by the light of the Spirit of God. Yet there is this peculiar feature about the work of God today, more especially than at any other time since the days of Enoch, that they who embrace it not only receive the Spirit of God, with its gifts, but they also receive blessings of a temporal nature, which they would never receive outside of it. Those who have joined the Church, as a mass, have been benefited temporally, though at the time of rendering obedience, they probably could not see how advantages of this nature could result. They could see that their names would be cast out as evil, that they would be hated of all men, persecuted and probably driven from place to place, but how they would be blessed temporally they could not see. But God, our Heavenly Father, has held in reserve until these days great and glorious blessings for his people, who are faithful to the truth. He has reserved for his Saints the kingdom and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heavens. Not something beyond the bounds of time and space, not something that we will inherit in eternity alone; but he has also temporal advantages to bestow upon his people here. A great many people imagine that we hold these out as inducements to get people to join the Church; but they who join the Church for the love of these things, and with a desire to obtain them, are invariably disappointed. If people join the Church of God with any other motive than to embrace the truth and to be associated with the people of God, and to receive the spirit of the Gospel, they are invariably disappointed; but when they come in for the love of the truth, willing to take upon them the cross of Christ, and endure all the persecutions incident to the life of a Saint, submit, to the contumely and privation that in the providence of God they may be called to endure, God thus tests their faith, and if they continue faithful he will bestow upon them every blessing promised to the most faithful.

The work in which we are engaged differs in some respects from the work in which the Apostles were engaged in the days of Jesus Christ. Many things operated against them that we have not to contend with. They had to scatter out and preach the Gospel in various places; they could not gather together with the same facility that we can. But God, our Heavenly Father, reserved this—the land of promise—for the especial purpose of building up his kingdom in the latter days. As the “Book of Mormon” informs us, it has been hid from the eyes of the generations of men for this purpose. If it had not been thus hidden the nations of the earth would have overrun the land until there would have been no foothold found for the establishment of the kingdom of God upon it. But the Lord concealed it, from the days of the flood, from the eyes of men, excepting those whom he led hither; as we are informed by the “Book of Mormon” that no nation after the flood, knew anything about this land; although I believe it is said in the Norwegian Antiquarian researches, that this land was visited by the Icelanders in the eleventh century. But there is nothing authentic in this. But be that as it may, this land was kept secret until Columbus was moved upon by the Spirit of God, to go forth and penetrate the western ocean. Then the land was settled and a government was formed under the protecting aegis of liberty, and a place was found for the establishment of the kingdom of God, to which the Saints from every nation under Heaven could gather together. Hence we are surrounded by many more favorable circumstances than they who preceded us in the work of God in the days of Jesus and the Apostles. They did not possess the advantages that we enjoy; but we have them, and our Heavenly Father intends that we shall possess them, and that we shall build up his kingdom on the earth, establish righteousness and bring about that improvement alluded to by brother Jesse N. Smith, in his remarks. Our circumstances, then, being different, we can indulge in anticipations no other people have ever been able to indulge in, unless it be the people of Enoch and the Nephites, to whom Jesus appeared on this Continent.

Those who investigate the Gospel with a desire to keep the commandments of God, as I have remarked, rise from its investigation with convictions of its truth, for an honest man cannot go to the Lord in the name of Jesus Christ, and ask Him respecting this Gospel without receiving a knowledge for himself that it is true. In my preaching to the world, I have many times dared them to this test, that if they would go in honesty before the Lord and ask Him in the name of Jesus Christ to show to them the truth of this Gospel, I would pledge myself that the Lord would show them and they would become convinced that the principles we taught were indeed the principles of life and salvation. No person ever investigated this Gospel with that spirit without being convinced of its truth, because our Heavenly Father bestows upon everyone who embraces it with the right spirit a knowledge of the truth. What a glorious privilege it is to have this knowledge bestowed upon us. This testimony emboldens us to declare to the inhabitants of the earth, no matter to what nation we may be sent, that if they will embrace the truth, as it is taught by the Elders of this Church, they shall know for themselves that this is the work of God. This testimony it is the privilege of all to possess. It is this that binds us together, and gives the Priesthood influence over the Saints of God. My brethren and sisters, it is only by faithfulness that we can retain this knowledge. A man may be an Apostle and may have had the administration of holy angels, and the heavens opened to his view, and behold the things of eternity, but if he is not faithful himself, pursuing a right and proper course before God, he cannot retain his standing in this Church and keep that knowledge God has given him undimmed by error; but errors will creep into his heart and false spirits take possession of him, and sooner or later he will become alienated from the work of God. We should everyone be careful on these points. This is the work of God, and there is a well-established principle upon which we can remain connected with it, and that is by being true and faithful to the principles which God our Heavenly Father has revealed. We cannot grieve the Spirit of God with impunity; we cannot indulge in frivolity nor in anything that is wrong without driving that spirit from us with its holy and sweet influence. We should seek, therefore, as individuals, whether Apostles, High Priests, Seventies, High Councilors, Elders, Priests, Teachers, Deacons or members of the Church, to have the spirit of our holy religion continually resting upon us. How can we retain this? Can we retain it by being negligent and indifferent to its claims? Do men gather earthly riches around them by being negligent? We all know that, as a rule, the man who is the most diligent in business is he who gains the greatest amount of profit for his labor; we are proving this every day in earthly business, and if necessary in earthly business, it is equally so in the things of the kingdom of God. The men and women who most diligently keep the commandments of God, offer up prayers in sincerity, not with their lips, but with their hearts, making it a rule to live near the Lord, are they who retain the light of the Holy Spirit; and they are they who, when persecution or affliction comes, feel that God is near to them; and that when they pray He is not afar off, but He hears their prayers and pours consolation, peace, and every good gift upon them, and they can rejoice from morning to night among the changing vicissitudes to which we are exposed in this mortal life. My brethren and sisters, we are commanded not to give the whole of our attention to the accumulation of earthly things; we are commanded also to lay up treasures in heaven. We are required to build up Zion on the earth; then let us take a course that will ensure to us the blessing and favor of God our Heavenly Father, that our prayers and thanksgiving may be acceptable before Him. We should do this, especially when we reflect upon the nature of the work in which we are engaged, and the nature of the opposition with which we have to contend. We have the whole world to contend with to a certain extent, or rather, we have to defend ourselves against the whole world; they are combating us. There are probably thousands of honest men and women in the world who manifest no disposition to persecute or oppose us; but this is not the case with the majority. There is a spirit of opposition to this work gone abroad in the world; and, as in the beginning, we had a township to meet and contend with, afterwards a county and counties, then a State, and ultimately we had a nation, so to speak, in arms against us; so in the future we will have the whole world to contend with. Not only this nation, but every nation on the face of the earth will manifest greater or less opposition to us as a people, and we will have a thousand things to contend with. Why? Because Satan has influence over the hearts of the children of men; he has power with them, and so long as there is a foot of this earth upon which he can maintain foothold, so long may we expect warfare, and find difficulties to contend with, and it will only be by the power of God manifested in our behalf that we will overcome. This warfare will not be a contest with cannons, rifles, or earthly weapons of war, so much as a moral warfare. We are engaged in a great moral warfare; it is by the exercise of moral force that we are going to achieve the victories that God our heavenly Father has promised us. We may be threatened, as we have been, with weapons of war, and it will doubtless be necessary, so long as we have an existence on the earth, to be prepared for every contingency. This will no doubt be necessary, but the day is probably far distant when we will have to shoulder weapons and engage in actual warfare. I look for a moral contest, a moral triumph, and moral victories, gained by the force of truth, and the exercise of those Godlike qualities with which we have been endowed by our heavenly Father. And when the great victory is achieved, there will be no blood to mourn over, no sorrow to be indulged in, and nothing to prevent us from building the Temples of God, as was the case with David, because he was a man of blood. I anticipate that we will be free from this, and that we, like Solomon, can go forward and build the Temples of God according to His commandments. While brother Henry W. Lawrence was talking about the Temple in Nauvoo, I felt to echo the sentiment I have heard expressed by President Young respecting that Temple. I am glad it is destroyed; I am glad that it was burned and purified by fire from the pollution our enemies inflicted upon it, and I am glad there is nothing of it left; and I would prefer that this Temple in course of erection here, should never be completed, and that we should never build another, than to see those holy places built by God’s commands, pass into the hands of our enemies and be defiled by them.

May God bless you, my brethren and sisters, and enable us to be faithful and true in keeping His commandments, is my prayer for Christ’s sake. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, June 30th, 1867.

We have heard good instruction and good news from our brethren in the south and in the east, and we hear good news concerning Zion. But this is not good to the world, for Zion and the spirit of Zion are not loved by the wicked. There is good news, and it may be summed up by saying that God is carrying on His work most admirably. He has commenced His work in the last days, for the last time; and into this work He will gather all things. We are here in these mountains. Accidentally? Perhaps so. If we had Brother George A. Smith to tell the story, he would say we came here because we were obliged to come, and we stay here because there is no other place to which we can go. We have built cities in this mountainous region, because there was no other place where we could do so. We have not got through with our work here yet. The people have hardly commenced to realize the beauty, excellence, and glory that will yet crown this city. I do not know that I will live in the flesh to see what I saw in vision when I came here. I see some things, but a great deal more has yet to be accomplished. We go abroad and preach to the people and gather them home to Zion, and it appears to be the feelings of a great many that when they get here they have done all that the Lord requires of them—their mission is out, and they are then ready to go and work for themselves. I heard of one man who came here twenty years ago, who stayed a few years and got more property than he ever had before, then sold it, and went to California, feeling and believing that he had worked long enough for the Lord, and that henceforth he would work for himself. The last I heard of him he was in poverty, distress, and disgrace. Loved of the Lord? No; if the Lord did not hate him, he did not love him. Angels did not love him, Saints did not love him, and the devil despised him, as he does all apostates.

On this particular point I said a little a Sunday or two ago. I will now take the liberty of saying a little more. If there is a despicable character on the face of the earth, it is an apostate from this Church. He is a traitor who has deceived his best friends, betrayed his trust, and forfeited every principle of honor that God placed within him. They may think they are respected, but they are not. They are disgraced in their own eyes. There is not much honesty within them; they have forfeited their heaven, sold their birth– right, and betrayed their friends. What will the devil do with such characters? Will he have them in his kingdom? Yes, he will be obliged to, because he is an apostate himself. He apostatized from the Celestial Kingdom, and was thrust down to hell. Yet, when apostates get to his kingdom, he will say—“I do not like you, for you are just as mean as I am. I was a traitor and a liar, and I am yet. I despise myself and every character that betrays his trust.” That is all I wish to say on that point. Let apostates go.

A word now to the Elders of Israel, especially to the young elders. There are a great many young men born and brought up in this Church, and if they do not go to the nations of the earth to preach they are not, therefore, obliged to make shipwreck of their good education and the faith they have received. Brother Pitkin was talking about young men being ruined through acquiring bad habits and forming bad associations here. If we had sent such young men to preach they would, in all probability, have disgraced themselves and the cause; for I am satisfied that if any man or woman, old or young, wished to be honest, upright, truthful, and virtuous, there is no community on the face of the earth that honors and seeks to promote every holy principle to such an extent as this does. Do you know it? If you do not, just go into the world and mingle with the people, and you will soon find it out.

If there are any ladies and gentlemen present who have not joined the Church, I wish to say a few words to them. Are men or women honest with themselves and their God when they refuse or neglect to search diligently to know the truth of the latter-day work? I could not be, with the sensibility God has blessed me with. A man or woman desirous of knowing the truth, upon hearing the gospel of the Son of God proclaimed in truth and simplicity, should ask the Father, in the name of Jesus, if this is true. If they do not take this course, they may try and argue themselves into the belief that they are as honest as any man or woman can be on the face of the earth; but they are not, they are careless as to their own best interests. Before I heard the gospel I searched diligently to know and understand whatever could be learned among the sectarians respecting God and the plan of salvation. It was so with the majority of the Latter-day Saints. But very little can be learned among Christian professors; they are ignorant about God and His kingdom, and the design He had in view in the formation of the earth and peopling it with His creatures. The Christian world are deficient in these matters; and many among them who believed the Bible was true have felt this, and Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, and other great Reformers and revivalists have felt this, and have had the spirit of conviction upon them that God was going to reveal something or other to His creatures. My brother Joseph once said to me (and we were both Methodists at the time), “Brother Brigham, there is not a Bible Christian in the world; what will become of the people?” For many years no person saw a smile on his countenance, in consequence of the burden of the Lord being upon him, and realizing that the inhabitants of the earth had all gone out of the way and had turned every man to his own views. I am not speaking now of the world morally, but of their ignorance of the gospel of the Son of God and of the way to be saved in the celestial kingdom of our Father. There was not a Bible Christian on the face of the earth who was known to us. I cannot say what is to be found in the frozen regions of the north, or a little beyond; if any nook or corner among the icebergs contains an Apostle, I do not know it, but I suppose none have been able to find one. No people on this earth had the Priesthood of the Son of God at their command or within their grasp, and there was no delegation from God to the children of men.

Now, we come proclaiming that the Lord has spoken from Heaven, and has sent His angels to administer to the children of men. If you ask “where is my proof?” my reply is, I am a witness. Have we any more witnesses? Yes, here is this whole people. What else has brought them together? Do you think they have been gathered for the sake of making money, or for raising a political kingdom? Try it, you statesmen and philosophers, and see if you can gather a people together as we came here. How did we come here? We came comparatively naked and barefoot, driven from our homes into these mountains, robbed of our horses and cattle, and our houses rifled by mobs. Were we sustained by any government? Did England put forth her hand to sustain us, or did France donate anything for the assistance of this poor people? No, not anything. Did the Government of the United States? No, but I will tell you what they did do—they imposed a trifling tax upon us. When they were at war with Mexico they said, “Now, you Mormons are going into the wilderness, but we will prove whether you are loyal or not—we want five hundred of your men.” Did we give them? Yes, we took the men from their wagons, from their aged fathers and mothers, their wives and children, and they went to fight the battles of the United States. Who helped us here? The Lord Almighty, and He has fed and clothed and sustained us, and given us the ability to gather around us the comforts of life. And now we declare that the principles we preach are the principles of the gospel of the Son of God, and no man nor nation beneath the Heavens can contradict or confute what I say. And here are my witnesses—some few thousands in this congregation, who would rise and testify by the power of the Holy Ghost that this is the gospel of life and salvation. Can men and women be honest who let this pass by as a thing of nought, and say—“These poor despised ‘Mormons’ and their religion are not worthy of our notice, they are beneath our dignity and refinement.” Stop! Pause and think! Do you know what refinement is? Do you know what belongs to honor and greatness? If you do, you will never make use of such expressions. Those who are honorable will honor their being, and prepare according to the best of their ability and knowledge, and the revelations God has given, to preserve their existence and identity, and to dwell forever in the presence of the Father and the Son. Every person who is honorable and loves truth will do this. I do not want men to come to me or my brethren for testimony as to the truth of this work; but let them take the Scriptures of divine truth, and there the path is pointed out to them as plainly as ever a guideboard indicated the right path to the weary traveler. There they are directed to go, not to Brothers Brigham, Heber, or Daniel, to any apostle or elder in Israel, but to the Father in the name of Jesus, and ask for the information they need. Can they who take this course in honesty and sincerity receive information? Will the Lord turn away from the honest heart seeking for truth? No, He will not; He will prove to them, by the revelations of His Spirit, the facts in the case. And when the mind is open to the revelations of the Lord it comprehends them quicker and keener than anything that is seen by the natural eye. It is not what we see with our eyes—they may be deceived—but what is revealed by the Lord from Heaven is sure and steadfast, and abides forever. We do not want the people to rely on human testimony, although that cannot be confuted and destroyed; still, there is a more sure word of prophecy that all may gain if they will seek it earnestly before the Lord. This is to my friends or my enemies who do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and in the gospel which He has revealed in these days. Now, mark my words, if you are honest to yourselves you will inquire as to its truth. You are invited to inquire, and it is your duty to do so, of the Father in the name of Jesus, if these things are so. “Well,” say a great many, “when Jesus was on the earth he wrought miracles.” Very true, and have we not done so? You read all the history of the world, laying aside the Book of Mormon containing the history of the people who once inhabited this continent, and you cannot produce anything that will compare with the labors of this people in these mountains. Everything is thrown into the shade when compared with it. Have we any witnesses with regard to the healing of the sick by the power of God? Plenty of them. “O,” say you, “we do not know anything about that.” We do not want you to know anything about it until you learn for your– selves. Miracles, or these extraordinary manifestations of the power of God, are not for the unbeliever; they are to console the Saints, and to strengthen and confirm the faith of those who love, fear, and serve God, and not for outsiders. When Jesus was spoken to with regard to miracles, he said, “An evil and an adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the Prophet Jonas,” and this principle is as true with regard to individuals as to generations. Here is the truth—God has spoken from the heavens, calling upon the inhabitants of the earth to repent, and we call upon them to repent. Is there anything immoral or in the least unchristianlike in this? Not in the least. We also call upon all men to be baptized for the remission of their sins. Is this a heresy, is it immoral or unchristianlike? No, everybody will agree that it is not in the least. Then we say to all, if you have been in the habit of lying, stealing, or committing any sin whatever, do it no more, but live righteously and godly as long as you stay on the earth. Who can complain of this?

Now, the sermon which I design preaching to the ladies comes right before me. It is said—“If it were not for your obnoxious doctrine of plurality of wives we could believe in the rest very well.” It is not that. That is not the touchstone at all, but it is because our wives and daughters cannot be seduced; it is because this people are strictly moral, virtuous, and truthful. Now, taking the history of creation as given by Moses, let me ask the question—“Mother Eve, did you not partake of the forbidden fruit, as also did Adam, and thus bring sin and iniquity into the world?” “O, yes,” says mother Eve. Then, why cannot you bear the affliction of it? Why not say—“If I was the cause of bringing evil into the world, I will firmly bear all that God puts upon me, and maintain His word and His law, and so work out my salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God working within me?” I ask this question of you, mother Eves, everyone of you. If you are not sanctified and prepared, you ought to be sanctifying and preparing yourselves for the blessings in store for you when it will be said of you, this is Eve. Why? Because you are the mother of all living. You might as well prepare first as last. If you wish to be Eves and mothers of human families you ought to bear the burden. But you say this is cruel. No, it is not cruel at all. Is there a passion in man that he cannot subdue for the sake of the gospel of salvation, that he may be crowned with glory, immortality, and eternal lives? Shame on the elder who, if duty calls, cannot go and preach the gospel until he winds up his earthly career and never permit a female to kiss him. I do not wish to say much upon this subject, but I say, woe to you Eves if you proclaim or entertain feelings against this doctrine! Woe to every female in this Church who says, “I will not submit to the doctrine that God has revealed.” You will wake up by and by and say, “I have lost the crown and exaltation I might have gained had I only been faithful to my covenants and the revelations which God gave. I might have been crowned as well as you, but now I must go to another kingdom.” Be careful, O, ye mothers in Israel, and do not teach your daughters in future, as many of them have been taught, to marry out of Israel. Woe to you who do it; you will lose your crowns as sure as God lives. Be careful! “Well,” but say you, “these men, these elders of Israel, have it all their own way.” That is not so, and we are not going to have it all our own way, unless our way is to do just right. And the man and woman who set up their will against the providence of God, will be found wanting when accounts are squared. They will have to say, “the summer is past, the harvest is ended, and we have not received our crowns.” Will you think of this, sisters, you who are not married as well as you who are? I have a good many daughters, but it would be better for every one of my daughters, and for every female in this Church, to marry men who have proved themselves to be men of God, no matter how many wives they have, than to take these miserable characters who are running around here. For myself, I desire to please God, whether it is ever to see another wife or child while I live or not. Have I proved it? Yes, God, the heavens, and the Saints know it. When Joseph called upon me and my brethren here, we were always ready. We made it a point ever to be ready to leave fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers, wives and children to go and preach the gospel to a perishing world, and save as many as would hearken to our counsel. We have proved this years ago. We have been willing to leave all for the sake of the gospel, and therein the Lord has made us rich. But who is going to complain about it?

I want the daughters of Israel, both old and young, to remember that part of my sermon intended especially for them; and I want our friends who come here, who are not of us, to hear what the Latter-day Saints have to say. If we have the words of eternal life for you, and you will not receive them at our hands, we want you to be left without excuse. The Lord has spoken from the heavens; He has sent His delegation to the earth, and He has commissioned men on the earth to preach this gospel and to bring people into the Church. If they disobey they must take the consequence; it is they and the Lord for it. As we have always told them, the gospel of Jesus which we believe and preach, which they call “Mormonism,” is the doctrine of life and salvation, and if they do not believe it, they can pray to the Lord and ask Him for knowledge. All this they can do if they please. We do our duty in telling them what they should do, and the result is with them and their God. May God bless you. Amen.

Discourse by President Daniel H. Wells, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, June 30th, 1867.

I have been pleased whilst listening to the remarks of br. Eldredge. The recital of his reasons for receiving the principles of the gospel forcibly reminded me of the days of Joseph, and of the effect which those principles had on my mind as I heard them proclaimed by the servant of the Lord. Many of the principles which he taught were in the world—they were not new, yet it seemed as though they had never been thought of, comprehended, or understood by the children of men; at least, they had not been by me. I did not know anything about God my heavenly Father, nor the connection which existed between Him and the children of men, nor the object He had in view in sending them through this earthly probation, until I learned it from the prophet; and I apprehend that this is, to a very great extent, the case with the world today. I had no more confidence in Joseph Smith being a prophet, or in his knowing anything about religion, than I have now in a juggler or a wandering mountebank. I knew nothing at all about Joseph, except what I had heard from his enemies or read in the papers.

It was not very far—only two or three counties—from where I was born, in the State of New York, that this work took its rise. I had frequently heard through the religious papers of the miracles that had been performed by the “Mormons,” and I supposed the whole affair was a great humbug, that the “Mormons” were fanatics and very bad people. The days of my youth were days of religious excitement—the days of revivals, which so pervaded that section of country at that time—and I can well apprehend the effect these things must have had on the mind of Joseph; he was a young man, I was but a boy, and I know how those revivals affected young minds in the neighborhood in which I lived. Some of those preachers would hold their protracted meetings for days and weeks, and sometimes for a month, one meeting after another, every day and every evening, getting around the young with their influences, and concentrating their prayers, perhaps, on a single individual, and praying for no other, until he would say he had got religion and was converted. Suffice it to say, that I was disgusted with it, and did not believe in any of it, and rested my chance, so far as religion was concerned, on trying to do that which was right as near as I could, and running the risk.

In this frame of mind I was introduced to Joseph Smith, by Sidney Rigdon, who remarked, at the time, that he was the man who was talked about so much. He was a fine looking man; he did not say much to me nor I to him. Time passed along, and for years after I was occasionally thrown into his society, and frequently heard him speak; and, though I did not at first believe that he was inspired or that he was more than a man of great natural ability, I soon learned that he knew more about religion and the things of God and eternity than any man I had ever heard talk. I read the Book of Mormon and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants without their having any particular effect on my mind. I did not get the principles from either of these sources, but I obtained them from Joseph, and it seemed to me that he advanced principles that neither he nor any other man could have obtained except from the Source of all wisdom—the Lord himself. I soon discovered that he was not what the world termed a well-read or an educated man; then where could he have got this knowledge and understanding, that so far surpassed all I had ever witnessed, unless it had come from Heaven? It commended itself to my understanding and my sober judgment, and although I admitted nothing, and did not embrace the gospel, but stood aloof, yet the words and principles which I heard from him had their effect on my mind.

I had been a reader of the Scriptures, and had learned a great deal by heart in my youth in the Sunday school. I had read a great many religious publications, and had a tolerable idea of what the sects of the day believed with regard to the principles of salvation. I had investigated and had been raised according to orthodox notions, and in my early youth I believed in the “Trinity.” I investigated the principles of the Unitarians, who did not believe in the “Trinity,” and also the doctrines of the Universalists, and I believed about as much in Universalism at the time I was introduced to Joseph as in any of the religions of the day, if not a little more, but had not united myself with any church organization, because I was not fully satisfied. I heard Joseph Smith state at one time in Nauvoo that whether “Mormonism” was right or wrong, the people were just as well without as with the ordinances taught and administered by the sectarians of the day. That was exactly what I thought, though I did not comprehend so much then in relation to the ordinances of the gospel, and those authorized to administer in them, as I afterwards learned. And although my understanding of these things may have been of slow growth, yet I can say and feel that it is grounded in the truth of heaven; for with the few keys I received from the servants of God I obtained corroborating testimony from the Scriptures, which I have read from that time until now with an understanding that I never had before; and even now, whenever I search the Scriptures, I find things that are new to me, that I never understood nor comprehended before, although I have been familiar with them from my youth.

When I first heard Joseph Smith enunciate the principle of baptism for the dead, and the method of administering it, I was astonished that no person had ever thought of that before, it was so plainly laid down in the Scriptures. The principle of acting by proxy was just as plain to me as the noonday sun the moment it was explained to me, but I never thought of it until that time. When I heard these principles my heart leaped for joy, and although I was not a praying man I prayed inwardly that whatever else I might do, I might never be left to deny the principles of truth which the prophet was revealing. That was the inward conviction of my soul. Still I did not join the Church, and I did not know that I ever would; I was not fully satisfied. Some things were made very manifest to me, others I could not comprehend. He preached a funeral sermon once, in which the doctrine of eternal judgment was dwelt upon considerably; this I received, and many a time in Council have I heard him develop the principle so plainly that it would have been a sin against light and knowledge for me to have rejected it, therefore I treasured it up in my own heart. Many and many a time he would go right along developing principle without ever alluding to the Scriptures, while my own knowledge of them would bring passage after passage to my mind in corroboration of that which he was advancing.

When he said it was the privilege of the Latter-day Saints to be baptized for their dead, I remembered the words of Paul, “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?” And when he spoke upon the principle of preaching to the spirits in prison, it flashed across my mind, as quick as lightning, that the Savior did that between the time of His crucifixion and resurrection. The analogy of the thing struck me with such force that I could not get it out of my mind. And so scripture after scripture and testimony after testimony come to my mind, proving that the principles he advanced were true. But had I ever thought of them, or had the Christian world for ages? No, not until Joseph revealed them. The Catholics, even for praying for the deliverance of the dead from purgatory, were scouted and ridiculed, yet this principle of administering for the spirits in prison was unfolded to my mind, and in and of itself was great and glorious. Said I, if they who were disobedient could be administered to by the Savior of the world, how much more reasonable is it to suppose that they can be administered for, who have not been disobedient, but who have died without a knowledge of the gospel? This seemed reasonable and consistent to me, and the principle was sustained by the Scriptures of divine truth which I had been taught to believe from my youth up. When the apostle used the expression—“If the dead rise not, then why are ye baptized for the dead,” he was instructing the Church at Corinth on the principle of the resurrection, some of them apparently having been imbued with the doctrine of the Sadducees who denied the resurrection of the dead. I saw the reason and propriety of the expression. I never had comprehended it before; I did not know God, nor His Son Jesus Christ, nor the relationship that we, His children, bear to Him. That is the condition of the Christian world at the present day. They do not comprehend God, themselves, their past, nor their future.

These principles have come to us by revelation through the Prophet Joseph. There may be those here who have not received these principles; it will do no harm to talk upon that awhile, and it may not harm those who have. They are incontrovertible. Arguments to sustain them can be adduced if necessary, but I do not think they need it. Still it has a tendency to open up the mind and prepare it to receive those principles which have been made manifest in this our day for the salvation and exaltation of mankind. It showed to me that there was a work to be done, and that the time, so long talked of for its accomplishment, was hastening on. I saw that there was a necessity for it, for truly all people seemed to me to be blinded concerning the things of God. Like the Jews at the appearance of the Savior, they multiplied words, made long prayers, made great pretensions in religious matters, but their hearts were far from God. The fact of some of the Jews denying the resurrection, after hearing the Savior and his Apostles elucidate it so clearly, proves to me that they were nearly if not quite as ignorant with regard to the things of God as the Christian world at the present day. They read the Scriptures without understanding, they administered in the ordinances without power, and they changed the ordinances, substituting one thing for another, thinking the change would, doubtless, answer the same purpose and suit their convenience a little better.

It was thus that schisms crept into the church, and men began to reason themselves out of the principles of their most holy faith, as was touched upon here a short time ago by the President. I can see how this parity of reasoning would carry men off. To illustrate for a moment. We say that Jesus died for all mankind, that his blood was shed for everybody, but will this save them unless they comply with the requirements of the gospel? Why, no. Some say that the doctrine of one being born to be saved and of another being born to be damned would set that aside. That is the extreme view. Others come along and say, “If men’s salvation depends upon their actions, where is the need of the atonement, for with all the efficacy of the atonement men cannot be saved without repenting of evil, and if they do this they will be saved anyhow.”

This is fallacious reasoning. Jesus died that all might live. As we read in the Scriptures, “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” Every son and daughter of Adam may be saved if they will live according to the principles of the gospel. Salvation is within the reach of every human being, because the restitution is as good as the fall. Here is the platform, and if men are not saved it is their own fault. The plan of salvation devised by our Father in heaven is amply sufficient to reach the whole of the human family. He will be justified and we condemned, if we do not receive the principles of the gospel. We can receive the principles of the gospel with its virtues and the attributes of God, or we can go on in the practice of evil until we go down to death and destruction, if we choose.

Here comes another man, however, who reasons that the virtues and attributes of God are what make God, and that without these attributes He would not be God, hence that the attributes alone are God. Do you not see how fallacious this reasoning is? What is a principle without being acted upon? It is no more than the iron in the ore, it is inert and dead. Of what benefit are principles in the abstract, however good they may be? They are of no benefit to humanity unless manifested through organized intelligence. Food when appropriated to its natural use imparts vigor to the system, but unappropriated it is comparatively worthless. The same is true of water and other beverages—they are good to quench thirst if rightly used, otherwise they are of little value. By partaking of the Spirit of God, our thirst for knowledge will be satisfied, and it will be within us as a well of water springing up to eternal lives. But if we partake not of that Spirit we will sink, and our course will be continually downward. Hence we see, that in and of itself, the attribute is no more than the iron in the ore, to be beneficial it must be developed by use. If there is a disposition in me to live according to good and true principles, they are bound to elevate and exalt me, just the same as the growth of a child is promoted by proper supplies of nutritious food, whereas if it did not partake of this food it would starve and die. It is just so in spiritual matters. It is not in those matters themselves, but in the individual, and the capacity of the individual who receives and applies them to his own use, and practices upon them, that they are calculated in their nature to elevate and exalt him.

Such views as I have referred to, do away with God entirely; they do away with the Savior and the virtue of the atonement. They are worse than infidelity. They turn things completely around. Men advancing them say if such things had been so and so, other things would have been so and so. For instance, “What would have been the condition of the world of mankind if the Savior had not died?” I do not know anything at all about it. It was in the plan devised in the councils of the Gods before man was brought forth to inherit the earth. One came with, and as a consequence of, the other. I do not know what the condition of man would have been if the Savior had not died. I do not suppose man would have been here if that had not been part of the arrangement. It is not a supposable case with me. I take things as they are. The Lord has arranged it, and if I do not like His arrangement it will not make any difference to Him, though with mankind generally it might. It is for me to submit to the arrangement as I find it, having faith and confidence that it is the best and the only way for us, as the children of God, to walk in, that we may obtain salvation and exaltation in His kingdom.

Do you suppose that our heavenly Father would have sent us through this probation of sin, trial, misery, and death, if it would have been as well for us to have stayed in our spiritual state in the eternal world? I do not suppose any such thing, but I believe there is a wise purpose in sending us to pass through this mortal state, and that was so well understood by our spirits that they were willing to come and run all risks, and descend below all things, that they might have the privilege of rising above all things. The principle of the thing is plain, beautiful, and correct to my mind. I begin to understand my origin and the pur– pose of God my Father in sending me to this state of existence, and the relationship in which I stand to Him.

To those called to mourn the departed who have died in the faith, these principles are a source of great consolation; their contemplation causes the heart to bound with joy and exultation, and to rejoice in God and the holy gospel which He has revealed. You can bear testimony to this as well as I can. You had no knowledge pertaining to the principles of salvation, the knowledge of God and things pertaining to eternal life, until you received it through the gospel. The sectarians of the Christian world, although they are professedly engaged in the promulgation of these things, are as ignorant in relation to them as the beasts that perish. They do not know anything about the principles of salvation, and they are so prejudiced that they will not be taught; they ignore the only source whence they can be obtained in these days, because it is unpopular, and they will be damned, because great is the sin of unbelief. As it was with the Jews in the days of the Savior, so it is now with the Christian world. Light is offered them, and they reject it, and this will be their condemnation. It was said anciently that no good thing could come out of Nazareth, and today the Christians say that no good thing can come from the “Mormons” or from Joseph Smith. By and by they will find that a great many good things can come from just such a source.

That is the way the Lord works. He takes the poor weak things of the earth to confound those who are wise and mighty in their own estimation. God will have the glory, it is His right. He will accomplish His work and His purposes in His own due time. It is His right to do so, and to have the glory and the honor of it. If the Lord were to choose those who are great and wise, according to the notions of the world, they would want to dispute with Him because of their great attainments, and they would claim the honor for this and for that, and would say that such a man should be canonized because of his holy and righteous life, and great honor should be paid to another because of his learning, and because he has divulged so many things. If the Lord were to reveal principles of truth to such men they would claim the honor, and would make merchandise of the gospel. Some may inquire how I know this? I know it by what they have done and are doing. They are selling men’s souls and their own for filthy lucre’s sake. There is a scramble among the clergy for the loaves and fishes. They will take children and make ministers of the gospel of them without any authorized ordination, and whether the Lord wants them or not, no matter whether their minds are touched with the principles of truth or not, provided they become learned in the law and have Rev. or D.D. appended to their names. Such things are abominable in the sight of Heaven! It is not likely that the Lord would avail Himself of such people to make known His law to the children of men. There is no room in such hearts for Him to make an impression upon. It is a great deal more likely that He would select such a one as Joseph Smith, who was free from tradition, and on whose mind He could make an impression as easily as He could with a pen on a piece of white paper—an honest, sincere soul, seeking the way of eternal life. It is far more reasonable to me to suppose that the Lord could make an impression on such natures, than that He could on learned doctors of the law.

The prophet has said that when this thing came forth, the poor and the meek of the earth should rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. They do, they have rejoiced in Him. This gospel commends itself to their understanding, whether it does to the understanding of the rich and learned or not. They whose understandings have been touched with the principles of salvation have enjoyed a great privilege, and our elders who go forth can teach the whole world the way of life and salvation. It is that which makes them bold to stand up in any place, for they know that if the people will heed their teachings they can lead them into the celestial Kingdom of God. I was bold to declare this to the elders while abroad in the nations, in order to strengthen and encourage them, for they know more than any other set of men on the face of the earth, pertaining to the things of God and eternal life. Therefore I encourage them to stand up in all confidence, trusting in God, and declare the things they had received, and I assured congregation after congregation, when attending conference where the elders were, that if they would listen to the teachings and principles which the elders would unfold to them, they would lead them into the celestial Kingdom of God.

It becomes the Latter-day Saints, then, to live so that they may show by their good works that they do believe in these glorious principles, and that they will cleave to them with full purpose of heart. This course will increase faith, which is the source and root of power; it will give confidence in God and in the principles of the gospel. When a man has gone before the Lord and prayed for the recovery of the sick, and his prayer has been answered, can he not go a second time with more confidence? Most assuredly; and if he continues to live a pure and virtuous life, keeping himself from the contaminations of the wicked and ungodly, he will go on step by step, continually increasing in faith in God and the things of eternal life. The world is full of sin, iniquity, contamination, and everything that is calculated to destroy man’s existence here on the earth. And what does Christianity, in its present phase, accomplish for the redemption of the human family? Has not wickedness continued to increase, until now it pervades all classes of society, and it is impossible to stem the torrent? Look at those who are numbered with the Christian world, they are but a small portion of the people on the face of the earth, and then, again, how few of them believe, or even profess to believe in the principles of Christianity. There are a few sects, but a great number of people do not join themselves to any of them, though, as I have already said, they are just as well without. Then, how uncharitable in those few sectarians to believe that they are the only ones in the way of eternal life! The “Mormons” are sometimes accused of being uncharitable, but the fact is, “Mormonism” will save all who can be saved.

Then a large portion of the sectarian world do not believe in many of the principles I have referred to pertaining to the plan of salvation. For instance, they do not believe that anything can be done for a man after death, although he may have died without a knowledge of the gospel. Look what myriads would be debarred from salvation through this alone, according to popular religious notions. There are the Baptist and Presbyterian churches, that number but a few thousands on the earth, and yet according to their theories nearly everybody but themselves must be damned and go to hell. It is the same with the Catholics. Take them all combined, and there are but a few millions on the earth who call themselves Christians, and yet, in their midst and numbered with them, except in Catholic countries, are the old and the young, and, in fact, a majority of all classes, who never attach themselves to any church, and these latter, according to the doctrine of their orthodox brethren, will be damned. In Catholic countries the majority of the women belong to the church, and the children, too, until they reach maturity, when they become infidel, and when, instead of attending church on a Sunday morning, they spend their time in restaurants. In the afternoon, males and females all spend their time in enjoyment, going to balls, races, restaurants, &c. In countries where the Protestants and Dissenters prevail they make more profession in relation to the observance of the Sabbath. A great many faithfully attend church, while others stay at home or go out riding, or on excursions, or otherwise enjoy themselves.

I have heard men standing at the corners of streets praying for their sinful brethren—for one who had been on an excursion, perhaps, spending his time on the Sabbath in pleasure; and for mercy on another man who had been beating his wife; pleading for the Lord to have mercy on this and on that class of what they termed sinners, and saying that all these would be consigned to eternal torments unless He did have mercy on them, though they are denominated Christians, in the general classifications, and that all but the few who believed as they did, whether such ever heard the contracted creeds taught by them or not, would be doomed to hell to suffer through all eternity; and this they say because of their illiberal ideas and uncharitable notions. But the gospel of Jesus teaches us, that while those sinners whom they prayed for must repent of their sins and do right, as well as those who, like the Pharisees, prayed for them at the street corners, all the human family who ever did, do now, or will yet live upon the earth, may be saved if they will obey the principles of the gospel, except such as have been “once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,” for “if they shall fall away” it is impossible “to renew them again unto repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” But to all will the gospel be preached, if they are in the flesh that they may act for themselves, and if they are in the spirit world, that they may be administered for in this world, “that they may be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.” This shows that, after all, the principles which the “Mormons” have embraced are calculated to save more of the human family than any other known to men on the earth. Then how can they call us uncharitable? They cannot without injustice.

May God bless us and help us to be faithful, and to pass along from knowledge to knowledge, and from virtue to virtue, practicing those things through our lives which are calculated to exalt us eventually in the presence of our heavenly Father, which is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, June 23rd, 1867.

The Latter-day Saints believe in the doctrine that was taught by the prophets, by Jesus, and by his Apostles. Much has been said and written concerning the Church that was organized in the days of the incarnation of the Savior, and there has been a great deal of speculation as to the faith of that Church and the doings of its members. To tell what this religion, which we call the gospel of salvation, comprises, would require more than a lifetime. It would take more than our lifetime to learn it, and if it were learned by us we should not have time to tell it. In it is incorporated all the wisdom and knowledge that have ever been imparted to man, and when man has passed through the little space of time called life, he will find that he has only just commenced to learn the principles of this great salvation. In the early days of the Christian Church we understand that there was a good deal of speculation among its members with regard to their belief and practice, and the propagation of these speculative ideas created divisions and schisms. Even in the days of the Apostles there was evidently considerable division, for we read that some were for Paul, some for Apollos, and others for Cephas. The people in those days had their favorites, who taught them peculiar doctrines not generally received and promulgated. The Apostles had the truth, and thought that they were so established in it in their day that they really had the power to unite the Church together in all temporal matters, as Jesus prayed they might be, but they found themselves mistaken. Have we any proof of this? Yes; you recollect reading that the Apostles assembled themselves together to break bread and to administer; and they did administer from house, and from congregation to congregation, the words of life and the ordinances of the gospel. They thought they had power to make the people of one heart and one mind with regard to temporal things, and that they could amalgamate the feelings of the people sufficiently to organize them as one family. And the people sold their possessions and laid the price at the Apostles’ feet, and they had all things in common. There is no doubt that this is a correct doctrine, and can be practiced to the benefit of a community at large, if believed and understood. But who has got the doctrine; who has eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to believe? Who has the authority and the capability to organize such a society? The Apostles thought they had, but when Ananias and Sapphira fell dead because they had lied, not only to man but to the Holy Ghost, in saying they had laid their all at the feet of the Apostles when they had only laid part there, a great fear fell upon the people, and they dispersed. Have we any history that the people ever assembled in a like capacity afterwards? I think you cannot find it. After the days of the Apostles, when the Council of Nice was called, they then and there determined what they considered to be correct and scriptural and what they would lay aside, but that sure word of prophecy which Jesus had shed forth into the hearts of those who believed on him seemed to be so mixed up and interwoven with darkness and unbelief, that they could not come to understanding and receive the full testimony of Jesus. So the old Christians lived, and so they spent their days down to the days of the Reformation.

If we have eyes to see, we can un– derstand at once, the difficulties that the Apostles had to encounter. If the people had lived according to the gospel that was delivered to them, the Apostles would have had power to accomplish a great deal more than they did, although there can be no doubt but they were mistaken with regard to the time of the winding up scene, thinking it was much nearer than it really was, and they might have made mistakes in other respects. Many of the difficulties they had to encounter, we are not troubled with. We have not only the sure word of prophecy delivered in the days of the Apostles, but we actually have that surer word of prophecy delivered to us through the Prophet Joseph, that in the last days the Lord would gather Israel, build up Zion, and establish His kingdom upon the earth. This is a more sure word of prophecy than was delivered in the days of the Apostles, and is a greater work than they had to perform.

The few hints that I have dropped clearly show, I think, to all who are acquainted with its history, how these schisms and divisions have been introduced into the Christian world. For more than seventeen hundred years the Christian nations have been struggling, striving, praying, and seeking to know and understand the mind and will of God. Why have they not had it? Can you tell me why it is there has not been a succession of the Apostleship from one to another through all these seventeen centuries, by which the people might have been led, guided, and directed, and have received wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to enable them to build up the Kingdom of God, and to give counsel concerning it until the whole earth should be enveloped in the knowledge of God? “O, yes, it was the apostasy.” Very true, if it had not been for those schisms such might not have been the case. I have taken the liberty of telling the Latter-day Saints in this and other places something with regard to the Apostles in this our day. It is true that we have a greater assurance of the Kingdom and the power of God being upon the earth than was possessed by the Apostles anciently, and yet right here in the Quorum of the Twelve, if you ask one of its members what he believes with regard to the Deity, he will tell you that he believes in those great and holy principles which seem to be exhibited to man for his perfection and enjoyment in time and in eternity. But do you believe in the existence of a personage called God? “No, I do not,” says this Apostle. So you see there are schisms in our day. Do you think there was any in the days of the Apostles? Yes, worse than this. They were a great deal more tenacious than we are.

We have another one in the Quorum of the Twelve who believes that infants actually have the spirits of some who have formerly lived on the earth, and that this is their resurrection, which is a doctrine so absurd and foolish that I cannot find language to express my sentiments in relation to it. It is as ridiculous as to say that God—the Being whom we worship—is principle without personage. I worship a person. I believe in the resurrection, and I believe the resurrection was exhibited to perfection in the person of the Savior, who rose on the third day after his burial. This is not all, we have another one of these Apostles, right in this Quorum of the Twelve, who, I understand, for fifteen years, has been preaching on the sly in the chimney corner to the brethren and sisters with whom he has had influence, that the Savior was nothing more than a good man, and that his death had nothing to do with your salvation or mine. The question might arise, if the ancient Apostles believed doctrines as absurd as these, why were they not handed down to after generations that they might avoid the dilemma, the vortex, the whirlpool of destruction and folly? We will not say what they did or did not believe and teach, but they did differ one from another, and they would not visit each other. This was not through the perfection of the gospel, but through the weakness of man.

The principles of the gospel are perfect, but are the Apostles who teach it perfect? No, they are not. Now, bringing the two together, what they taught is not for me to say, but it is enough to say this, that through the weaknesses in the lives of the Apostles many were caused to err. Our historians and ministers tell us that the church went into the wilderness, but they were in the wilderness all the time. They had the way marked out to get out of the wilderness and go straightforward into the Kingdom of God, but they took various paths, and the two substantial churches that remain—a remnant from the apostles, that divided, are now called the Holy Catholic Church and the Greek Church. You recollect reading in the Revelation of John what the angel said to John, when he was on the Isle of Patmos, about the Seven Churches. What was the matter with those Churches? They were not living according to the light that had been exhibited. Do the Latter-day Saints live according to the light that has been exhibited to them? No, they do not. Did the ancient saints live according to the revelations given through the Savior and written by the Apostles, and the revelations given through the Apostles, and left on record for the Saints to read? No, they did not. We may say there is some difference between the days of Jesus and the Apostles and these days. Then, Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature;” proffer this gospel to all the inhabitants of the earth. That was a day of scattering and dispersion for those who believed in the Savior. When we come to discriminate between the former and the Latter-day Saints we shall find there was a little difference in their callings and duties, and in many points that we may say pertain to our temporal lives. Not in the doctrine of baptism, the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, nor in the gifts of the gospel. There is no difference in these things, but there is a difference in regard to the temporal duties devolving upon us. In those days the command was “Go to the nations of the earth;” in these days it is “Come from the nations of the earth.” Do you not see the difference? Read the revelations in the Book of Doctrines and Covenants given through Joseph, and you will find that the burden of the gathering of the House of Israel, the building up of Zion, and the sanctifying of the people, and the preparing for the coming of the Son of Man is upon the elders of this church.

Soon after the death of Jesus the word He gave to His Apostles was to go and preach the gospel to the nations, that all might be benefited thereby; but now, it is to gather up the House of Israel, and the fulness of the Gentiles, and bring them home to Zion, and to the lands of their fathers, that they may receive their inheritances on the lands given to them of the Lord in ancient days. So you see there is some difference between the duties and callings of the Saints in former and in latter days. When the Lord called upon Joseph he was but a boy—a child, only about fourteen years of age. He was not filled with traditions; his mind was not made up to this, that, or the other. I very well recollect the reformation which took place in the country among the various denominations of Christians—the Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and others—when Joseph was a boy. Joseph’s mother, one of his brothers, and one, if not two, of his sisters were members of the Presbyterian Church, and on this account the Presbyterians hung to the family with great tenacity. And in the midst of these revivals among the religious bodies, the invitation, “Come and join our church,” was often extended to Joseph, but more particularly from the Presbyterians. Joseph was naturally inclined to be religious, and being young, and surrounded with this excitement, no wonder that he became seriously impressed with the necessity of serving the Lord. But as the cry on every hand was, “Lo, here is Christ,” and “Lo, there!” Said he, “Lord, teach me, that I may know for myself, who among these are right.” And what was the answer? “They are all out of the way; they have gone astray, and there is none that doeth good, no not one.” When he found out that none were right, he began to inquire of the Lord what was right, and he learned for himself. Was he aware of what was going to be done? By no means. He did not know what the Lord was going to do with him, although He had informed him that the Christian churches were all wrong, because they had not the Holy Priesthood, and had strayed from the holy commandments of the Lord, precisely as the children of Israel did. They were the children of promise, of whom the Lord had said—“They shall be called by my name, and I will save them;” and for generations he had striven to do so. When pursued by the hosts of Pharaoh He had delivered them from Egyptian bondage; He had destroyed the Hittites and other heathen nations, and had given them possession of the land of Canaan, and in every way had tried to bless them; yet they would not be blessed, and in the Prophet Isaiah’s writings we read that they had transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances, and broken the everlasting covenants. Do you think the Gentile Christian nations have rebelled? I know they have. Take, for instance, the sayings of Jesus of Nazareth, the Savior of the world, as found in this book—the Bible. He commanded His Apostles to go to all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, and he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. How many methods of baptism were practiced in those days? Just as many as there were saviors—one. How many methods of laying on of hands for the Holy Ghost? One. How many methods of obtaining the spirit of prophecy and the gifts of healing and the discerning of spirits? One. One God, one faith, and one Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and one only. Well, the Apostles went and preached this gospel, yet one would vary a little on one point, and another on another, and those who took the gospel and ran here and there would introduce items of doctrine that were altogether imaginary. Do we find any curious ideas advanced in our day? Yes, I can relate a circumstance that I once heard myself, from one of the first elders in this church. He was preaching to the people on the principle of adultery, and told them that, according to the law of the Lord, whosoever commits adultery shall have his blood shed. But the idea striking him that millions had committed this crime whose blood had never been shed, he thought this could not be correct, and so to improve it he said if their blood was not shed in this life it would be in the resurrection. What an absurdity! There is no blood there. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. Does not this show to you how these little things will creep into the Church? Have we the power and authority and the method of detecting every such error? We have. Do you know what they are? Some of you do, and if you do not I shall not tell you today. But we are in possession of the means by which to detect every error that comes into the church, and to decide satisfactorily on every point, and to decide what is and what is not true.

The gospel is a fountain of truth, and truth is what we are after. We have embraced the truth—namely, the gospel of the son of God. Its first principles are to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, to repent of our sins, then go down into the waters of baptism for the remission of our sins, and have hands laid upon us for the reception of the Holy Ghost, which will lead us into all truth. If there are any of my friends or enemies here who do not know what “Mormonism” is, I am telling them. We believe in God our Father. This leads me right to another point that I have not much time to talk about. I recollect preaching once in the old bowery with regard to our Father and God, the Being we worship and whom we think so much of. There was a Baptist minister present; he was staying at my house. He was a kind, friendly man, and was on his way to the gold mines. He was sitting beside me. I wanted to leave him in a puzzle. I would not tell him, but brought him right to the point, and there left him. When we got home, said he, “Oh! brother Young, you came right to the point exactly, and I did pray that you might tell us what kind of a being God is.” I replied, “I left you in a puzzle on purpose for you to guess it. You have read it frequently, and you can hardly read the Bible at all without reading precisely what kind of a being our Father is.” Said he, “I am not aware that I know anything about it.” I asked him if he could tell me what kind of a being Adam was. “Oh! Adam was a man like I am.” I asked him if he believed in the history of the creation, as given in Genesis by Moses, for if he did he would find that God said to His associates, “Let us go down and make man in our own image and likeness.” He believed the history given by Moses, and had read the passage to which I referred. “Then,” said I, “you must believe that Adam was created in the exact image of the Father.” He had never thought of that in his life. I told him I had read that many times to Christians and to Christian ministers, but they would not believe what was in the Bible. Says Jesus, “Whosoever has seen me has seen the Father.” He is the Being the Latter-day Saints worship; He is a man-God. Can you get a better term than that—a God-man? It is said that Jesus is the only begotten of the Father. It is strange that people cannot understand it, but they cannot unless they are told. How can we know unless we are told, and how can we tell the people unless the Lord tells us to do so? Faith comes by hearing the word of God declared, and this must be declared by those having authority. This character whom we serve is God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Father of our spirits, if the Apostle tells the truth; if he has not, who can correct him unless they have a revelation from the heavens? I have had a great many ministers tell me that I must understand that spiritually. I have told them that I read and understood it just as it was, and if it was not right, and they could give the correct meaning (which it was impossible for them to do without revelation), they were under condemnation before the Lord if they did not do so. That would stop them.

Our Lord Jesus Christ—the Savior, who has redeemed the world and all things pertaining to it, is the only begotten of the Father pertaining to the flesh. He is our elder brother, and the heir of the family, and as such we worship him. He has tasted death for every man, and has paid the debt contracted by our first parents. What about this? I am not going to tell this, for I have a few more ideas with regard to the Christian world that I wish to lay before you. Why have they wandered so far from the path of truth and rectitude? Because they left the Priesthood and have had no guide, no leader, no means of finding out what is true and what is not true. It is said the Priesthood was taken from the Church, but it is not so, the Church went from the Priesthood, and continued to travel in the wilderness, turned from the commandments of the Lord, and instituted other ordinances. There are a great many churches that do not believe in ordinances at all, and there are some called Christians who do not believe in the blood of the Savior, and that he, himself, was nothing more nor less than a good man. If they believe in the baby resurrection, or that a person who had committed adultery would have his blood shed in the resurrection, it would be just as consistent as to believe what they do believe. These ideas are all wrong.

The Christian world struggled on until the days of the Reformation. But what of the Reformation? Nothing, only it shows that there were some few among them who had courage to come out against the orthodox principles ordained, published, and proclaimed by the Priests. They had an idea in their minds that the Lord was going to do something for the people, but they could not tell what. There was a spirit upon them that prompted them to declare against the wickedness of those professing to be Christians. Did they profess to know enough to take the truth and leave the error? No; down to the days of my youth the Christians did not know any better than to renounce any doctrine that the Church believed from which they came. This is more or less the case with every denomination on the face of the earth. Some who call themselves Christians are very tenacious with regard to the Universalians, yet the latter possess many excellent ideas and good truths. Have the Catholics? Yes, a great many very excellent truths. Have the Protestants? Yes, from first to last. Has the infidel? Yes, he has a good deal of truth; and truth is all over the earth. The earth could not stand but for the light and truth it contains. The people could not abide were it not that truth holds them. It is the Fountain of truth that feeds, clothes, and gives light and intelligence to the inhabitants of the earth, no matter whether they are saints or sinners. Do you think there is any truth in hell? Yes, a great deal, and where truth is there we calculate the Lord has a right to be. You will not find the Lord where there is no truth. The devil had truth in his mouth as well as lies when he came to mother Eve. Said he, “If you will eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you will see as the gods see.” That was just as true as anything that ever was spoken on the face of the earth. She did eat, her eyes were opened, and she saw good and evil. She gave of the fruit to her husband, and he ate too. What would have been the consequence if he had not done so? They would have been separated, and where would we have been? I am glad he did eat. I am glad the fruit was given to mother Eve, that she ate of it, and that her eyes were opened, and that my eyes are opened, that I have tasted the sweet as well as the bitter, and that I understand the difference between good and evil.

When the Lord called upon His servant Joseph, after leading him along for years until he got the plates, from a portion of which the Book of Mormon was translated, “By and by,” said he, “you are going to organize my church and establish my kingdom. I am going to have a church on the earth. All these churches you have inquired about are wrong; they have truth amongst them, but not the Priesthood. They lack a guide to direct the affairs of the Kingdom of God on the earth—that is the keys of the priesthood of the Son of God.” This tells the story. We possess the Priesthood. The Lord sent John to ordain Joseph to the Aaronic Priesthood, and when he commenced to baptize people he sent a greater power—Peter, James, and John, who ordained him to the apostleship, which is the highest office pertaining to the Kingdom of God that any man can possess on the face of the earth, for it holds the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and has power to dispense the blessings of the kingdom. This priesthood is that which the Christian world do not possess, for they have taken leave of the kingdom and the priesthood. Joseph bestowed this priesthood upon others, and this Church possesses it and its power, which enables us to detect all error, and to know what is true.

There are other things I wanted to talk about, not pertaining to the Kingdom of God on the earth, but to the faith of this people before God, but I shall leave this for the present, as I feel that I have talked as long as is prudent for me. May the Lord God of Israel bless you, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, June 16th, 1867.

These words—“If ye are not one ye are not mine”—are the words of the Savior, through the prophet Joseph, and given to us. This is a principle about which you have heard bro. Robert Williams say a good deal in his way of talking. His mind is like the minds of a great many, both in this Church and out of it, with regard to temporal things. If they had the privilege of dictating the affairs of this people, or of any other, they would divide the substance of the rich among the poor, and make all what they call equal. But the question would arise with me at once, how long would they remain equal? Make the rich and the poor of this community, or of any other, equal by the distribution of their earthly substance, and how long would it be before a certain portion of them, would be calling upon the other portion, for something with which to sustain themselves? The cry would soon be—“I have no bread, no house, no team, no farm; I have nothing.” And in a very few years, at the most, large properties would thus pass from the hands of such individuals, and would be distributed among those who know how to accumulate wealth and to preserve it when accumulated. We should be one, there is no doubt of that, but the very men and women who would take the property of the rich and dispose of it to their own advantage, would spurn from their presence and disregard every word of counsel given by those who know how to accumulate and preserve, and they would say, “We know as much as you, and we can dictate our own affairs.” So they can, until they make themselves poor and have to be helped by others.

The capacity of the inhabitants of the earth to dictate their temporal affairs, is a matter that has occupied a certain portion of my time and reflection. Now, politically, we as a government enjoy the extent of the franchise granted to us by our Constitution, and that is all we can ask for; but who knows and understands how to dictate and guide in wisdom for the benefit of the whole community? Very few. And take the inhabitants of the earth from first to last, there is not one man in ten, neither is there one in twenty, and probably not one in forty, who is capable of guiding himself through life, so as to accumulate the necessaries and comforts of life for himself and family, and go to the grave independent, leaving a comfortable living for his wife and family, with instructions to enable them to pass through life judiciously, wisely, and prudently. Politically and financially there is not one man in forty capable of pursuing the course I have indicated. Then in a moral point of view, take our young men, who are easily operated upon, do they know how to guide their steps so that a good life may crown their last days? No, they do not. Do the young ladies know the course to take to preserve themselves in honor? They do not, any more than the young men. They have to be watched like an infant running around the house, that knows no better than to take the carving knife or fork and fall upon it and put out its eyes. And it is so with the middle aged as well as with the young—they have to be looked after and cared for. And when this people become one, it will be one in the Lord. They will not look alike. We will not all have grey, blue, or black eyes. Our features will differ one from another, and in our acts, dispositions, and efforts to accumulate, distribute, and dispose of our time, talents, wealth, and whatever the Lord gives to us, in our journey through life, we will differ just as much as in our features. The point that the Lord wishes to bring us to is to obey His counsel and observe His word. Then everyone will be dictated so that we can act as a family. Then if br. Robert wanted a pair of boots, pants, a coat, or a hat, or a dress for his wife or child, he could have it, but only in the order of God, and not until he can be dictated by the Priesthood.

I am talking with regard to our temporal affairs—of being so dictated, guided, and directed, that every man’s time and talents will amount to all he could wish and desire. Are the Latter-day Saints in this situation? Partially so. Can they be dictated? Yes, in some things. You take these very men and women who want to make us all equal, and they tell us that we are covetous, because we have horses, carriages, houses, lands, and money. Have the poor got greedy eyes? Are they covetous and penurious? I shall go a little too far if I am not careful. I must guard myself, because the Lord has chosen the poor of this world. But what kind of poor? Now the poor may be divided into three classes. In the first, place there is the Lord’s poor, of which you may pick up one here and another there, one in a city, two in a family. Is there any other kind? Yes, you come across a certain class that may be called the Devil’s poor. Is there any other class? Yes, there is another class, who, long before I ever mentioned them, were denominated poor devils. Hence we have the Lord’s poor, the devil’s poor, and poor devils.

We have plenty of men in this community whom we have gathered from England, Scotland, France, Germany, and the islands of the sea. They have believed the truth and received it, and we have sent for them here that they may live their religion. But if Jesus tells the truth, there is a certain class of people who receive the truth without the love of it. When such characters gather—and there are plenty of them here—they would just as soon fellowship, deal, and associate with, and hold in close communion the poor miserable sharks that follow us, as they would with the best Saint here, and they do not know the difference. Why is this? Because, although they have embraced the gospel and know it is, true, they have not received the spirit of Christ.

When we come to the doctrines that we preach, as contained in the Bible, and lay them before the people, the whole Christian world cannot gainsay a word of them. I have read many and many a time out of the prophecies, and the sayings of the Savior and His apostles that the Bible contains, until they who lis– tened have got up and declared they would hear no more from that wicked book, believing it to be the Book of Mormon. Priests and deacons have declared they would hear no more from that vile record. I have said, “Does not this agree with your faith and feelings?” “No, it does not, and if we had it in our houses, we would take the tongs and put it in the fire.” “Well,” I have replied, “the book I have been reading from is the Holy Bible, the Old and New Testaments, translated by order of King James.” But they did not know what those records contained. When we come to the doctrines contained in this book the Christians cannot gainsay them; they are struck dumb and silent as night, or rage in anger. Truth overcomes error, and when it is set before the people, the honest receive it. I wonder if there are any elders here who ever had a minister, deacon, or so-called Christian say to them, “If you will perform such and such miracles I will believe.” I have had that said to me a great many times; it always shocked me. I would say to them: “You have not read the Bible, I think.” “Oh, yes, we have,” they would say, “we are Bible scholars.” “Well, then, I will ask you a question. Did you ever read in your Bible anything like this—’A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas?’” “We do not know that we ever did.” I would turn to the passage and show it to them. Still, men have believed because they have seen a miracle wrought. They cannot withstand that by argument, because they see the truth mathematically demonstrated. Do such characters endure? No; they come here and then turn away from their God, from the angels, from the holy prophecies of the Lord Jesus, from their brethren and benefactors who brought them here from the land of oppression, where they could not own so much as a chicken, and where almost all they could get was a morsel of bread. Yet they come here and turn away from their brethren and the covenants they have made, and are traitors to God and heaven, and to the good in the heavens and on the earth. Are there men who came here in this way who have got rich? Yes, there are men now in this city who came here poor, naked, and barefoot, and willing to take a spade and go a ditching for me, or for anybody else who would furnish them a little bread, and now they are rich. They have made their wealth out of this people who constitute the kingdom of God, and they are using it to build up the kingdom of the devil. What are we to say to them? I would say, let them alone severely. The man who will apostatize from the truth, forsake his God and his religion, is a traitor to everything there is in heaven, earth, and hell. There is no soundness, goodness, truth, or virtue in him; nothing but darkness and corruption, and down to hell he will go. This may grate on the delicate ears of some, and they may think it is a pretty hard sentence, still it is true.

When apostates in this city or Territory crave your gold, silver, fine flour, and your substance, refuse them. Tell them they have the same privilege to earn bread that you have, and if they will work for and earn it, like honest men and women, they are free to do so, but not to pluck it from the pockets of the honest and poor. Let the Latter-day Saints give their substance to men who will pay their tithing, help to support the elders in their preaching to us, donate to the families here whose husbands and fathers have gone to preach the gospel to the na– tions, and let the apostates alone. If I were to ask you honestly and sincerely, and in the character of a Christian, and then a little stronger, in the name of the Lord God of Israel, will you let apostates alone and trade with them no more, what would the Saints say?

How many of the Latter-day Saints would say—“I would as soon trade with this man as that man, or spend my money in this store as in that store, even though they pay tithing, and do good with their means?” Those men and women in whom this feeling exists must get rid of it, or they will not be numbered with those who are of one heart and of one mind. Now, remember that! I will promise those who feel in their hearts that they would sooner trade with an apostate or with a corrupt outsider, than with a brother, if the former would sell them a shawl a dollar cheaper, and persist in such a course of things, that they will never enter in at the strait gate, nor be numbered with those who are sanctified and prepared to enjoy the celestial presence of God our Father and of Jesus the Redeemer. I promise you this in the name of the Lord God of Israel.

You may say it is hard that I should dictate you in your temporal affairs. Is it not my privilege to dictate you? Is it not my privilege to give this people counsel to direct them so that their labors will build up the Kingdom of God instead of the kingdom of the devil? I will quote you a little Scripture, if you wish, the words of an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ to me. You may think that I saw him in vision, and it was a vision given right in broad daylight. Said he—“Never spend another day to build up a Gentile city, but spend your days, dollars, and dimes for the upbuilding of the Zion of God upon the earth, to promote peace and righteousness and to prepare for the coming of the Son of Man, and he who does not abide this law will suffer loss.”

That is a saying of one of the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said it to me. Do you want to know his name? It is not recorded in the New Testament among the apostles, but it was an apostle whom the Lord called and ordained in this my day, and in the day of a good portion of this congregation, and his name was Joseph Smith, junior. These words were delivered to me in July, 1833, in the town of Kirtland, Geauga County, State of Ohio. The word to the elders who were there was: “Never, from this time henceforth, do you spend one day or one hour to sustain the kingdoms of this world or the kingdoms of the devil, but sustain the Kingdom of God to your uttermost.” Now, if I were to ask the elders of Israel to abide this, what would be the reply of some amongst us? The language in the hearts of some would be—“It is none of your business where I trade.” I will promise those who feel thus that they will never enter the celestial Kingdom of our Father and God. That is my business. It is my business to preach the truth to the people, and it will be my business by and by to testify for the just and to bear witness against the ungodly. It is your privilege to do as you please. Just please yourselves; but when you do so, will you please bear the results and not whine over them.

It is the way with thousands and thousands, when they burn their fingers they will turn round and complain of somebody else, when they themselves are the only ones to blame. How natural is it for some to endeavor to blame others for the troubles their own follies have induced! It is a trick of the devil. You never see Saints take this course. When they do wrong they do not try to lay the responsibility on their neighbor, or on some brother or sister. The Saint is ready to acknowledge his fault, to bear the responsibility, and to kiss the rod and reverence the hand that corrects him. But you hear those who are not Saints continually complaining. It is so, to a great extent, with our newcomers. When they come here they look for perfection. They say this is Zion. And so it is; but if we go to the Scriptures we shall find that the Zion of God is composed of the pure in heart. Brethren and sisters, have you Zion within you? If Jesus Christ is not in you, the apostle says, “then are ye reprobates.” If the Zion of God is not within the bosom of you who profess to be Latter-day Saints take care that you are not reprobates. Be careful that no man takes advantage of you, leads you astray, and causes you to leave the Church and Kingdom of God, apostatize, and go down to hell. If you have Jesus and the Kingdom of God within you, then the Zion of God is here.

Our brethren and sisters, when they gather here, are apt to find fault and to say this is not right and that is not right, and this brother or that sister has done wrong, and they do not believe that he or she can be a Latter-day Saint in reality and do such things. The people come here from the east and the west, from the north and the south, with all their traditions, which impede their progress in the truth and are difficult to lay aside. Yet they will pass judgment on the acts of their brethren and sisters. I want to ask who made them the judges of the servants and handmaidens of the Almighty, who, shoulder to shoulder, have borne off this kingdom for more than a third of a century? Thousands upon whom the yoke of Christ has rested so long, and who have borne off the kingdom, are judged and found fault with, by some who probably were baptized last summer or but a short time ago. You know that this is so, you are witnesses to the truth of what I am saying, for you hear it yourselves. Now, who are they who will be one with Christ? If I were to tell the truth just as it is, it might not be congenial to the feelings of some of my hearers, for truth is not always pleasant when it relates to our own dear selves. You take some of those characters to whom I have referred today, who want us all to be of one heart and of one mind, and they think we cannot be so unless we all have the same number of houses, farms, carriages, and horses, and the same amount in greenbacks. There are plenty in this Church who entertain such a notion, and I do not say but there are good men who, if they had the power, would dictate in this manner, and in doing so they would exercise all the judgment they are masters of, but let such characters guide and dictate, and they would soon accomplish the overthrow of this Church and people. This is not what the Lord meant when He said: “Be ye of one heart and of one mind.” He meant that we must be one in observing His word and in carrying out His counsel, and not to divide our worldly substance so that a temporary equality might be made among the rich and the poor.

You take these very characters who are so anxious for the poor, and what would they tell us? Just what they told us back yonder—“Sell your feather beds, your gold rings, earrings, breast pins, necklaces, your silver teaspoons or tablespoons, or anything valuable that you have in the world, to help the poor.” I re– collect once the people wanted to sell their jewelry to help the poor; I told them that would not help them. The people wanted to sell such things so that they might be able to bring into camp three, ten, or a hundred bushels of corn meal. Then they would sit down and eat it up, and they would have nothing with which to buy another hundred bushels of meal, and would be just where they started. My advice was for them to keep their jewelry and valuables, and to set the poor to work—setting out orchards, splitting rails, digging ditches, making fences, or anything useful, and so enable them to buy meal and flour and the necessaries of life.

A great many good men would say to me—“Br. Brigham, you have a gold ring on your finger, why not give it to the poor?” Because to do so would make them worse off. Go to work and get a gold ring, then you will have yours and I will have mine. That will adorn your body. Not that I care anything about a gold ring. I do not have a gold ring on my finger perhaps once in a year.

You who are poor and want me to sell that ring, go to work and I will dictate you how to make yourselves comfortable, and how to adorn your bodies and become delightful. But no, in many instances you would say—“We will not have your counsel, we want your money and your property.” This is not what the Lord wants of us.

There was a certain class of men called Socialists, or Communists, organized, I believe, in France. I remember there was a very smart man, by the name of M. Cabot, came over with a company of several hundreds. When they came to America they found the City of Nauvoo deserted and forsaken by the “Mormons,” who had been driven away. They set themselves down there where we had built our fine houses, and made our farms and gardens, and made ourselves rich by the labor of our own hands, and they had to send back year by year to France for money to assist them to sustain themselves. We went there naked and barefoot, and had wisdom enough, under the dictation of the Prophet, to build up a beautiful city and temple by our own economy and industry without owing a cent for it. We came to these mountains naked and barefoot. Are you not speaking figuratively? Yes, I am, for it was only the figure that got here, for, comparatively, we left ourselves behind. We lived on rawhide as long we could get it, but when it came to the wolf beef it was pretty tough. We lived, however, and built a fort, and built our houses inside the fort. Then we commenced our gardens, we planted our corn, wheat, rye, buckwheat, oats, potatoes, beets, carrots, onions, parsnips, and we planted our peach and apple seeds, and we got grapes and strawberries, and currants from the mountains. The seeds grew, and so did the Latter-day Saints, and we are here today.

I am not infrequently asked the question—“What induced you to come to this desert sterile country?” Sometimes my answer is—“We came here to get rid of the so-called Christians.” This is somewhat of a stumbling block to them; they do not know how to understand it. They could understand it if they had been with us and had seen the Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians leading on the mob to rob, plunder, and destroy, as I have seen them. Do you think we came here of our own choice? No; we would have stayed in those rich valleys and prairies back yonder if we could have had the privilege of inheriting the land for which we had paid the government our gold and silver, but we could not, so we came here because we were obliged to. And now we are gathering, gathering. Did you ever read in the New Testament that the Kingdom of Heaven in the last days would be like a net cast into the sea which should gather all kinds—the good and the bad? If this is not a proof to the inhabitants of the earth that this is the Kingdom of God, why there is abundance of other evidence to prove it. But this is one true evidence to all the inhabitants of the earth—we are gathering the good and the bad of all kinds. The good, I expect, will improve until they are gathered into the garner, and the bad will be cast away, thrust overboard.

Now, I want to come back to a subject upon which I have already touched. I want to hit somebody or other. Will you remember it? Never, from this time henceforth and forever, sustain a man, men, a people, a community, or anybody that operates against or forsakes the Kingdom of God. Do you know what I call them, or have you forgotten what I said about the poor of this world? The Lord has chosen them, it is true, but He has not chosen the devil’s poor nor the poor devils. They who forsake or operate against the Kingdom of God are what I call poor, miserable devils. That is a harsh expression, especially to come from the pulpit, but I built this stand to say just what I pleased in it. Who among the people of the world can dictate for themselves? They want to be talked to, guided, directed, pampered, and caressed like little children. This people also do. How many are there here who, if they had stayed in their native land, would ever have owned a chicken or a sixpence, who have now a good house, farm, garden, orchard, and a car– riage to ride in? There are hundreds.

Shall I make an application of this? If you please I will. The Lord owns the heavens and the earth, all things are His, and He delights to give them to His children, and He would much sooner that they should enjoy the good things of the earth than that they should not do so, if they would use them for the accomplishment of His purposes. It would cheer and comfort His heart to see all the Latter-day Saints combined in their efforts to promote His kingdom instead of promoting the kingdoms of this world. But we are but children, and the Lord is merciful, gracious, and long-suffering to His people and to all the inhabitants of the earth. We are all His children—saint or sinner, it makes no difference. Every son and daughter of Adam and Eve that ever came on this earth is the offspring of that God who lives in the heavens whom we serve and acknowledge. How merciful He is to His children! To see the wicked flourish like a green bay tree, and see the nations of the earth that oppose Him, set at naught all His counsel and will have none of His reproof, and spurn His servants, yet see how merciful He is to them. But let me say that the time is now at hand when the chastening hand of the Almighty will be upon the nations of the earth. He has commenced His work. Through His kind providences He has ordained that it should commence here where it commenced in the morning of creation. On this continent He will wind up His work; from here He will send the gospel of Jesus Christ to the uttermost parts of the earth, and woe to the nation that rejects it, and that persecutes and slays His servants; they will have to pay the debt.

I can make a just comparison between the nations of the earth and the children of Israel. Of all the hundreds of thousands who left Egypt, and who were over twenty years of age, who crossed the Red Sea, and traveled in the wilderness, two only were permitted to go into the land of Canaan. This was in consequence of their transgressions, and the Lord cut them off in the flesh that He might save them in the day of the Lord Jesus. So it will be with all the nations of the earth. Some few will be saved, but, to use scripture terms, very few will escape the punishment of the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. The Lord is merciful, but, when He comes to His Kingdom on the earth, He will banish traitors from His presence, and they will be sons of perdition. Every apostate who ever received this gospel in faith, and had the Spirit of it, will have to repent in sackcloth and ashes, and sacrifice all he possesses, or be a son of perdition, go down to hell, and there dwell with the damned; and those who persecute and destroy the people of God, and shed the blood of innocence, will be judged accordingly.

Now, if you will please to hearken and hear, you Latter-day Saints, do not spend another dollar with an apostate, neither in this city nor in any other. Will we purchase from outsiders? Yes, and call them ladies and gentlemen, because many of them are the friends of God if they did but know it. There are plenty in the world who want to be, but very few come here except these apostates, who would sap the fountain of the Kingdom of God, and destroy all that was virtuous and truthful on the earth, like many others who never come into the Church. Let them alone. Will you sell them your wheat? No, sir; if you do—but re– member you can do just as you please. I will not injure you, nor speak, nor even think evil of you, but my prayer will ever be—“O, God, the eternal Father, I ask Thee, in the name of Thy Son Jesus Christ, to save the righteous, and let the wicked and the ungodly go to their place and share the reward of their doings.” I will lift my heart to God in your behalf who feel to build up the kingdoms of this world. You say this is harsh. No, it is not, it is good policy, to say nothing about religion. Is it not good policy to trade with and support our friends? If you go to London, Paris, the German States, or even in America, do you ever hear a Catholic found fault with for trading at a store owned by a Catholic? And the same is true with regard to the Church of England, Methodists, or any other society. It is good policy and economy to sustain each other. Then why is it not so with the Latter-day Saints? It is so, and we will do it, so help us God. We are here because there was no other place on the face of the earth where we could go and be safe; but here we are all right, and here the Lord designs that we should stay. By and by we shall hear the locomotive whistle, screaming through our valleys, dragging in its train our brethren and sisters, and taking away the apostates. “Will not our enemies overslaugh us when we get the railroad?” No, ladies and gentlemen. Do you want to know what will take every apostate and corrupt hearted man and woman from our midst? Live so that the fire of God may be in you and around about you and burn them out. But if we mingle, fellowship, shake hands with, and think they are as good as anybody, the Lord says: All right; you may try it until you are tired. But the Lord has said that He will gather the pure in heart; they shall come by thousands, and “the chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall jostle one another in the broadways, they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings.” I do not know what the prophet referred to here unless it was one of those engines. But the Lord will gather up His people, and fill the land of Zion with those who love and serve Him, and will waste away the wicked and the ungodly.

I can say to you, Latter-day Saints, I will guide you in the way of truth if you will be guided, and I will tell you how to save yourselves spiritually and temporally.

May the Lord bless you. Amen.

Remarks by Elder George A. Smith, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, June 2nd, 1867.

It is certainly good to receive instructions from fathers in Israel, and the kind of instruction which is most desirable is that pertaining to our everyday life, for a great share of the unhappiness and misery of the world is the result of ignorance. Many people do not know how to enjoy the blessings they receive. When they have comforts around them they make themselves miserable longing for something in the distance and beyond their reach; something imaginary, and often not really necessary. It is the duty of every person to cultivate the spirit of contentment, and, no matter what our condition in life may be, we should be sure to do right, be contented, and trust in God to improve it. When we are placed in uncomfortable circumstances—for instance, when we lack the necessaries and comforts of life, we are apt to give way to a spirit of discontentment, when, peradventure, if we understood the providences of the Almighty we should find that they are to give us an experience we could not otherwise attain to, and which is necessary to prepare us for the performance of greater duties which may be required of us.

President Kimball’s remarks in relation to going with his boys, and teaching them how to work, were excellent; and one of the greatest blessings that a man has bestowed upon him on earth is that of being with his family. A great many do not appreciate it, but the privilege of being with one’s family, and teaching them the principles of truth and how to become useful in life, cannot be too highly prized. The Presidency and numbers of the elders have so many responsibilities of a public nature resting upon them, that they are deprived, to a great extent, of that association with their families which is necessary to enable them to instruct them personally, consequently they have to leave it to others. President Kimball told us that if he hired a man to work for him he had to show him which was the top end of a straw. My family, once during my absence, employed a man to work in the garden. They gave him a lot of cabbages, turnips, onions, and carrots to set out for the raising of seed. He set everyone of them into the ground with the roots up. When the ladies came to see what was done, they gave him a lecture on the subject that he remembered, and he learned to do such work properly. A great many of our people have been gathered from the various nations of Europe, and while there the majority of them were operatives in factories, or engaged in different mechanical pursuits, and never planted an onion, carrot, turnip, or parsnip in their lives, and have no idea of the process, consequently, when they gather here, where almost every man is under the necessity of raising his own food, they have to learn the method of doing so.

President Kimball has been urging us strongly to store our bins with wheat and flour. This may sound like strange counsel to those who, during most of their lives, have been in the habit of receiving their wages every Saturday, and, then, without further care, laying in their week’s provisions. But in this country, where we are liable to seasons of scarcity, it is requisite to prepare for such emergencies; hence the counsel to store up food is frequently given, and is absolutely necessary. Yet, as a people, we are apt to neglect it, for the sun rises and sets, the seasons come and go with unfailing regularity, and we expect that every year will bring plenty; yet we have had years of scarcity, and may have again, and we are not safe unless we provide against them, and be prepared for a day of hunger. Hence, in this respect and in many others, the Latter-day Saints have many things to learn.

Many men do not know how to be comfortable in their families; they are cross and crabbed with their wives, and think it is necessary to scold and find fault with almost everything they do. Now, you can do a good deal more with a person without finding fault than with; the man that is pleasant with, and never says a cross word to his family, governs them the best, as a general thing. Women, too, who talk pleasant and comforting words to their husbands, and never find fault, always have the most influence with them. And yet we find men and women who, in their family relations, seem to think that the rod and a disposition to be cross and crabbed, to scold, and find fault, and threaten, is the best policy, whereas the right policy is directly opposite. We should overcome with love and affection, guide with kindness, and teach and instruct by good example and self government, for the man who can govern his own temper, rule his own passions, and regulate his own conduct, will have more influence over others ten thousand times than he will who is feared and dreaded, and consequently hated. The question arises in the world—“How is it that Brigham Young can control so easily so many Latter-day Saints?” And “How was it that Joseph Smith could send his brethren all over the world, and bring so many people together, without ever seeing them?” It is by the power of that magic which wins hearts; by the power of those eternal principles of salvation which exist in God and in his faithful servants. Every man knows that in Brigham Young he has a friend and a father, and that when he counsels, instructs, corrects, or reproves, it is with the spirit of a father to his children—he corrects them for their own good; hence every person fears to do wrong and desires to do right, and, so far as this principle extends, Israel is governed by love and charity, by that strong bond of eternal truth which will make peace throughout the earth.

How are the nations of the earth governed? Generally through fear or self-interest. What is it that props the French Empire? A million of bayonets. What holds the autocrats of Europe on their thrones? The fear of death, for if any attempt be made to overthrow them death would be the inevitable doom of the conspirators. Is that the principle by which governments can stand? No; the only principles by which they can be permanently sustained is the love of truth, honor, and integrity, and these virtues should be honored and observed by the sovereign more than by anybody else, and that superior love of truth would enable him to control every person in his empire, for virtue reigning triumphant would frown down vice, and would thus lay the foundation for an empire that would be lasting.

When one sovereign gets more bayonets than the others, blood and slaughter result, and downfall follows. How will it be in the Kingdom of God? It will be governed by peace, truth, and order, and truth will eventually govern the world. Men will be taught correct principles, and they will then govern themselves. That is the secret of “Mormonism.” President Young teaches the Saints correct principles, and the Saints govern themselves.

I bear my testimony to the truth of the counsel and instruction that we have received this morning, and I trust they will be treasured up in good and honest hearts, and that men and women will consider these things and realize that we have one great interest, which is to build up Zion, sustain the principles of salvation, walk humbly before the Lord, remember our prayers, and deal honestly and justly with each other. If a man owes another let him discharge his obligations honorably; if circumstances beyond his control prevent him doing according to agreement, let him go to his creditor and show to him the real circum– stances of the case, and that it is absolutely out of his power, and not become a man’s enemy because he is your creditor. It frequently happens, I notice, that in the dealings of brethren one with another, when pay day comes men are not so pleasant and agreeable as when they are trying to obtain the credit. This is wrong. In all cases our word should be our bond, certain and sure, and nothing short of that which is beyond the ordinary course of events should prevent us fulfilling it.

By pursuing this course of events we shall increase confidence in our midst, build each other up, and build up Zion. Let us not build on borrowed capital, but learn to live within our means, and teach our children the beauties of industry, prudence, and frugality, that we may all be prepared and qualified to magnify our callings. Thus the rising generation will be prepared to bear the burden and carry off the kingdom; the work will increase, and truth will spread until it covers the whole earth.

I feel thankful for the privilege of bearing my testimony. I pray that the blessings of heaven may rest upon you, and that the peace of God may be upon all Israel. I heartily unite with br. Kimball in praying for the recovery of his son, and for prosperity and blessings upon all Israel; which may God grant, for Jesus sake. Amen.