Discourse by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered June 27, 1875, in the Second Ward Schoolhouse, Salt Lake City, at the Funeral Services of John Houseman, Aged Six Years, and Willie Franklin, Aged Four Years, Sons of William and Ann Wheeler, Burned to Death at Wanship, Summit County, U. T., June 24, 1875.

I am entirely dependent this morning upon the Spirit of the Lord to guide and direct me in what I may say upon this painful occasion. Those who have assembled here—Brother and Sister Wheeler, and their friends who mourn with them, are dependent upon the same source for comfort in their serious bereavement; and in fact we are all dependent upon the blessing and Spirit of the Lord in all the labors of life, and I hope that, in our services this morning, a large measure of that Spirit will be imparted unto us.

I feel disposed to read the first chapter of Job as a preliminary to any remarks I may make. [The speaker read the first chapter of the Book of Job.] We also see in reading the history of Job that the devil did not finish with him there, as it seems the devil had another conversation with the Lord on this subject, in which he informed the Lord that a man would give anything for his life and that if he, the devil, touched Job’s flesh, he would certainly curse God. And it seems from reading this history that the Lord put Job into the hands of the devil, to do as he pleased with him, only to spare his life. Of course the history is familiar to you all who have read the Bible, and you are aware that the devil smote Job, and he was covered with boils from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, so that he was in great distress, trouble and tribulation, yet in the midst of it all he did not sin, but acknowledged the hand of the Lord.

I may say with regard to the case which has brought us together this morning, it is a little similar to that of Job. We meet with some strange things in the history of our lives in the dispensations and dealings of God with men. In the case before us we are called to mourn the loss of two children taken from Brother and Sister Wheeler, we may say as suddenly and, in one sense of the word, as miraculously, as were the sons and daughters of Job. His affliction consisted not only in the loss of two children, but of all his children and also of all the possessions that he had, yet still, under all this he said—“Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither; the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

I know very well it is hard for any person to be called to pass through the scenes that we sometimes are called to pass through in this life, it is so in the case before us this morning. The loss of these little children, taken away as they were, is certainly painful, not only to the parents, but to every person who reflects; and it is a very hard matter for any of us to enter into and appreciate the depth of sorrow which parents feel on occasions like this, it is difficult to bring the matter home to our own hearts unless we have been called to pass through similar affliction and sorrow. At the same time there is no doubt that we all sympathize with our friends when called to pass through trials and bereavement. And I will here say to Brother and Sister Wheeler, and to all my friends, there are a great many worse things in this world than the case we are now called to mourn.

Our children are taken away from us in infancy and childhood, and they are taken away as Job’s were, in one sense of the word, through the dispensations of Providence, causing us severe trials. This we will acknowledge; but, as I have already said, there are many things in this world that are far more painful and afflicting than to have our children burned to death. My friends may ask—“What is Brother Woodruff driving at in this remark?” I will tell you. I have lived in these valleys twenty-seven years, since the pioneers came here. I have seen a whole generation of men and women grow up in these valleys of the mountains, and they have become parents. I have seen some, I will not say a great many, but I have seen some young men, I say nothing about maidens, who have met with untimely deaths and who have gone to the grave disgraced, and a dishonor to themselves and to their parents. Circumstances of this kind are far more painful to any parent in the world than it is for their children to meet with sudden death by accident or any other way. I do not make these remarks to apply to Brother and Sister Wheeler, for none of us know what course our children will take. We set good examples before them, and we strive to teach them righteous principles, but when they come to years of accountability they have their agency and they act for themselves.

Many things are transpiring in the earth today which we should regard as great calamities and as grievous to be borne if we had to pass through them. Think of these late earthquakes in South America, eight thousand people out of ten thousand in one city sunk in the earth in a few moments. And then, the tremendous floods that are sweeping over France and other parts of the earth, causing the death of hundreds and thousands of men, women and children. All these things are in fulfillment of the revelations of God, and of the judgments which he has promised should come upon the earth in the last days. One of the purposes which the Lord has in view in gathering his Saints to the valleys of the mountains is that they may not share in the sins or partake of the plagues of Babylon; therefore we have reason to rejoice before the Lord because of his mercies and blessings unto us. And with regard to a case like this before us this morning—the loss of those children—I want to say a few words for the consolation of those who are sorrowing. In the first place these children are innocent before the Lord; as to their death and the cause thereof, that is in the hands of God, and we should not complain of the Lord or his dispensations any more than Job did. These children have been taken away very suddenly, and in such a manner as to cause great sorrow and distress to their parents, but there is this consolation connected with the matter—they are innocent, they are not in transgression. They have paid the law of death which God passed on Adam and all his posterity; but when their spirits left their bodies and got into the spirit world their trouble and affliction were over. Their death was a very painful one, but their suffering is now over, and in a few years from now they will come forth out of their graves in the morning of the resurrection, not marred by fire or any element, but clothed with glory, immortality and eternal life, in eternal beauty and bloom, and they will be given into the hands of their parents, and they will receive them in the family organization of the celestial world, and their parents will have them forever. They will live as long as their God lives. This, to Latter-day Saints, who believe in the resurrection, should be a source of comfort and consolation.

Why our children are taken from us it is not for me to say, for God never revealed it unto me. We are all burying them. I have buried one-third of the children that have been given unto me. I have had some thirty children born to me, and ten of them are buried, all of them young. The question may arise with me and with you—“Why has the Lord taken away my children?” But that is not for me to tell, because I do not know; it is in the hands of the Lord, and it has been so from the creation of the world all the way down. Children are taken away in their infancy, and they go to the spirit world. They come here and fulfill the object of their coming, that is, they tabernacle in the flesh. They come to receive a probation and an inheritance on the earth; they obtain a body or tabernacle, and that tabernacle will be preserved for them, and in the morning of the resurrection the spirits and bodies will be reunited, and as here we find children of various ages in a family, from the infant at the mother’s breast to manhood, so will it be in the family organization in the celestial world. Our children will be restored to us as they are laid down if we, their parents, keep the faith and prove ourselves worthy to obtain eternal life; and if we do not so prove ourselves our children will still be preserved, and will inherit celestial glory. This is my view in regard to all infants who die, whether they are born to Jew or Gentile, righteous or wicked. They come from their eternal Father and their eternal Mother unto whom they were born in the eternal world, and they will be restored to their eternal parentage; and all parents who have received children here according to the order of God and the holy priesthood, no matter in what age they may have lived, will claim those children in the morning of the resurrection, and they will be given unto them and they will grace their family organizations in the celestial world.

With regard to the future state of those who die in infancy I do not feel authorized to say much. There has been a great deal of theory, and many views have been expressed on this subject, but there are many things connected with it which the Lord has probably never revealed to any of the Prophets or patriarchs who ever ap– peared on the earth. There are some things which have not been revealed to man, but are held in the bosom of God our Father, and it may be that the condition after death of those who die in infancy is among the things which God has never revealed; but it is sufficient for me to know that our children are saved, and that if we ourselves keep the faith and do our duty before the Lord, if we keep the celestial law, we shall be preserved by that law, and our children will be given unto us there, as they have been given here in this world of sorrow, affliction, pain and distress. It has no doubt been a marvel many times, in the minds of men and women, why God ever placed men and women in such a world as this, why he causes his children to pass through sorrow and affliction here in the body. The Lord has revealed something to us concerning this matter, and we have learned enough about it to know that this thing is necessary. We know that we are created in the image of God, both male and female; and whoever goes back into the presence of God our eternal Father, will find that he is a noble man, a noble God, tabernacled in a form similar to ours, for we are created after his own image; they will also learn that he has placed us here that we may pass through a state of probation and experience, the same as he himself did in his day of mortality. And time and again it has been revealed in the revelations of God given in our day, as well as in the Bible and Book of Mormon, that these things are necessary in order to enable us to comprehend good and evil, and to be prepared for glory and blessings when we receive them. As the Apostle argues very strongly in the Book of Mormon—“If we never taste the bitter how will we know how to comprehend the sweet? If we never partake of pain how can we prize ease? And if we never pass through affliction, how can we comprehend glory, exaltation and eternal blessings?”

The Lord has said concerning Jesus, that he descended below all things that he might rise above all things, and comprehend all things. No man descended lower than the Savior of the world. Born in a stable, cradled in a manger, he traveled from there to the cross through suffering, mingled with blood, to a throne of grace; and in all his life there was nothing of an earthly nature that seemed to be worth possessing. His whole life was passed in poverty, suffering, pain, affliction, labor, prayer, mourning and sorrow, until he gave up the ghost on the cross. Still he was God’s firstborn son and the Redeemer of the world. The question might be asked why the Lord suffered his Son to come here and to live and die as he did. When we get into the spirit world, and the veil is withdrawn, we shall then perhaps understand the whys and wherefores of all these things. In the dispensations and providences of God to man it seems that we are born to suffer pain, affliction, sorrows and trials; this is what God has decreed that the human family shall pass through; and if we make a right use of this probation, the experience it brings will eventually prove a great blessing to us, and when we receive immortality and eternal life, exaltation, kingdoms, thrones, principalities and powers with all the blessings of the fulness of the Gospel of Christ, we shall understand and comprehend why we were called to pass through a continual warfare during the few years we spent in the flesh.

It certainly does require a good deal of the Spirit of the Lord to give comfort and consolation to a father and mother mourning for the loss of their children; and without the Gospel of Christ the separation by death is one of the most gloomy subjects it is possible to contemplate; but just as soon as we obtain the Gospel and learn the principle of the resurrection, the gloom, sorrow and suffering occasioned by death are, in a great measure, taken away. I have often thought that, to see a dead body, and to see that body laid in the grave and covered with earth, is one of the most gloomy things on earth; without the Gospel it is like taking a leap in the dark. But as quick as we obtain the Gospel, as soon as the spirit of man is enlightened by the inspiration of the Almighty, he can exclaim with one of old—“Oh grave, where is thy victory, Oh death, where is thy sting? The sting of death is sin, and the gift of God is eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The resurrection of the dead presents itself before the enlightened mind of man, and he has a foundation for his spirit to rest upon. That is the position of the Latter-day Saints today. We do know for ourselves, we are not in the dark with regard to this matter; God has revealed it to us, and we do understand the principle of the resurrection of the dead, and that the Gospel brings life and immortality to light. We have received the Gospel, and if we are true to the principles of that Gospel as long as we live, we shall be made partakers of immortality, exaltation and glory.

I know very well that the loss of their children in this terrible manner is a sad affliction to brother and sister Wheeler. It was a sad affliction for Job when his children and possessions were taken from him in an hour, but yet he had sense or knowledge enough to understand and say that when he came into the world he possessed neither children, houses, lands, horses, oxen, camels nor asses, but that all his wealth had been given to him by the Lord, and that the Lord had taken them away and blessed be his holy name. I will say to our mourning friends, your children are taken away and you cannot help it, we cannot any of us help it; there is no censure to be given to parents when they do the best they can. A mother should not be censured because she cannot save her sick child, and we have to leave these things in the hands of God. It will be but a little time until they will be restored to us; in a little time brother and sister Wheeler will again have the children whose loss they now mourn.

With regard to the growth, glory, or exaltation of children in the life to come, God has not revealed anything on that subject to me, either about your children, mine or anybody else’s, any further than we know they are saved. And I feel that we have to put our trust in the Lord in these afflictions, we have to lean upon his arm and to look to him for comfort and consolation. We do not mourn under these afflictions as those who have no hope; we do not mourn the loss of our children as though we were never going to see them again, because we know better. The Lord has taught us better, and so has the Gospel; the revelations of Jesus Christ have shown us that they will be restored to us in the resurrection of the just. And I will here say with regard to the Gospel of Christ, that it is one of the greatest mysteries under the heavens to me why there are so few of the human family, whether in the Christian, Pagan or Jewish world, who take any interest in eternal things, in the state of man after death. If we read the Bible we learn that Noah, filled with revelation, and with the Gospel in his hand, although he labored a hundred and twenty years, could not get a solitary soul except his own family to go with him for salvation. It was similar in the days of the Patriarchs and Prophets, and if we come down to the days of Christ, we find that his testimony was rejected by the rabbis, high priests and the great mass of the people, and he chose for his Apostles twelve poor fishermen, and they and very few of the people, comparatively speaking, were all that received the teachings of Jesus and followed him through the regeneration; while the whole Jewish nation, with these few exceptions, were ready to put their Shiloh to death, and he was the person upon whom the salvation of the whole house of Israel depended. It is just so today. The great majority of the people reject the words of life and salvation which are proclaimed unto them. God, in these last days revealed the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Joseph Smith by the teachings of angels out of heaven, and its principles are made known to the world, and there has never been a congregation of Gentiles, from that day to this, to whom the Elders of Israel have borne record of these things, but what the Spirit of God has also borne record of the truth of their testimony; and herein lies the condemnation of this generation, for “light has come into the world, but men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil.” I ask, in the name of God and humanity, why is it that intelligent beings, made in the image of God, take no interest in their condition after death? They know they are going to die, and, if they have any sense or reflection, they know they will live after the death of their mortal bodies; still men will sell their eternal interest for money, for a few hundred or a few thousand dollars they will sell all the interest they have in the eternal world; in fact, they take no interest in their eternal welfare. Their cry is—“Give me gold, silver and honors the few years I spend here, and eternal life may go where it pleases, I have no interest in that.” I ask again, why is it that the human family take no interest in these things? We have preached over forty years. I have been engaged in that work over that time, and have proclaimed the words of eternal life to millions of people, and have traveled more than a hundred thousand miles in so doing, and, as the Prophet has said, I have found one of a family and two of a city who have had eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand, and they have been gathered up from the various nations of the earth into the mountains of Israel, and here today we have a little handful of people, out of the twelve hundred millions who dwell upon the earth, who feel an interest in building up the Zion and kingdom of God upon the earth, and who are desirous of being saved in that kingdom.

Now I would rather be poor all the days of my life, I would rather go through poverty and affliction, it matters not how severe, even to the sacrifice of my own life, than lose salvation and eternal life, because I have faith in it and always had. I always have had faith in the Bible and in the revelations of God since I was a boy like these sitting on these seats, eight or ten years old, when I went to the Presbyterian Sunday school and read about Jesus Christ. I believed then that he was the Savior of the world; I believed that the Old and New Testament was true. I believe it today. What would it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul? What will a man give in exchange for his soul? When he comes into the presence of God he can’t buy it. This is the position of the world. There is none of us going to live but a little while; we shall all pass away soon, and our eternal destiny depends upon the few days, weeks, months or years that we spend here in the flesh. Do you not think it will pay a man or a woman to keep the commandments of God? It will, and when we enjoy the Holy Spirit, when we are trying to live our religion here on the earth, we are the happiest people on God’s footstool, no matter what our circumstances may be. I do not care whether we are rich or poor, whether in happiness or affliction, if a man is living his religion and enjoys the favor and Spirit of God, it makes no difference to him what takes place on the earth. There may be earthquakes, war, fire or sword in the land, but he feels that it is all right with him. That is the way I feel today.

With regard to the Gospel of Christ, it is a thing that we should all labor to maintain the few years that we spend here. When I get through with this life and go into the spirit world, I do not want to miss what I have in anticipation. I have always desired to see the Savior, Father Adam, Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and those old Prophets we read about in the Bible. I desired this before I heard this Gospel, I desire it today; and I do not wish to miss this, for nothing in this world would pay me for such a sacrifice. But I know that it requires constant warfare, labor and faithfulness before the Lord in order for us to keep in fellowship with the Holy Spirit, and to live in such a manner that we may obtain these blessings. Jesus says—“Strait is the gate and narrow the way that leads to eternal lives, and few there are who find it, while broad is the way that leads to death, and many there be who go in thereat.” The road to death is broad enough to catch the whole world, and they do not like to walk in the strait and narrow one, they do not like to keep the celestial law. I have met with professed ministers of the Gospel, in my travels, at whose tables I have eaten and drank, and I have given them the Book of Mormon and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and have talked to and labored with them, and I have known some of them spend days and days in this warfare, trying to decide which to do, whether to receive the Gospel of Christ and take the reproach of the world, or reject it; and I may say that in nine cases out of ten they have come to the conclusion to reject it. When I visited Fox Island the first time, I went to the house of Mr. Newton, a Baptist minister; and I stayed with him. But first I went to his church and heard him preach, and when he got through I wanted to bear record of the Gospel, for I had a message to that people, and I appointed a meeting for four o’clock in the afternoon, and I preached the Gospel to them, and Mr. Newton took me to his home and I gave him the Book of Mormon and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and for ten days that man walked about his room until midnight trying to decide what he should do. The Spirit of the Lord bore record to him that my testimony was true, and he felt that if he obeyed the Gospel which I had proclaimed unto him he would lose his good name and honor among men, but that if he did not receive it, he would be damned. Finally he rejected it, and the consequence was that he became a vagabond, and a miserable outcast. I baptized all his flock who owned any portion of the meetinghouse, and if he had embraced the Gospel and been gathered with them he would have been here and saved in the kingdom of God, instead of the vagabond that he has since become. I merely mention this to show how the minds of some men are acted upon by the tidings of the Gospel. Some of them feel that it would be a great reproach to obey that Gospel and to keep the commandments of God. Bless your souls, we who obey the Gospel of Christ are all in good company. Whenever you are persecuted for righteousness sake, said Jesus, rejoice and be exceeding glad for so persecuted they the Prophets and Apostles which were before you.

I will say to all, whether in the church or in the world, it will pay you to keep the commandments of God. Here is a man who has a wife that he thinks a great deal of; they have lovely children, and the ties of affection bind them closely. Now should not such a man have respect enough for God to keep his commandments and so secure to himself his wife and his children in the celestial world after the resurrection? But you cannot get worldlings to believe in such a principle; the people, as I said before, have not interest enough in the things of the kingdom of God to be willing to keep the commandments of God.

I say to the Latter-day Saints, we should be faithful to our God. We are blessed above all the people that breathe the breath of life upon the earth, and we are blessed above all other dispensations and generations of men, for the Lord has put into our hands the power to build up his Zion upon the earth, never more to be thrown down, and this is what no other generation has ever been called to do. But although this is the mission of the Latter-day Saints, we have a continual warfare to wage—a warfare with the powers of darkness, and a warfare with ourselves. The ancients had a similar experience to pass through—they had their day of trials, troubles and tribulations. Enoch labored three hundred and sixty-five years in building up Zion, and he had the opposition of the whole world. But the Lord blessed him so that he maintained his ground for that length of time, and gathered together a few out of the nations of the earth, and they were sanctified before the Lord, and he had to take them away, and the saying went forth—“Zion is fled.” So you may trace down all the Prophets. Read the history of Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah and others, and you will find that it was a warfare with them all the way through. And so with Jesus and the Apostles. But all those dispensations have passed and gone into the spirit world, and they have their eyes upon us, and in fact God our heavenly Father and all under him—the whole heavenly host, have their eyes turned towards the Latter-day Saints, because this is the great dispensation of which Adam, Enoch and all the ancient patriarchs and Prophets have spoken, in which shall take place the final redemption of the House of Israel, the restoration of their kingdom, the rebuilding of their city and Temple, the restoration of their oracles and Priesthood, of the Urim and Thummim, and the preparation for the final winding up scene in the last days; all these things will take place in the dispensation in which we are permitted to live.

Let us, then, try and fulfill and perform our duties as good Latter-day Saints. Let us bear with each other’s faults, and bear the yoke of Christ, live our religion and keep the commandments of God. Let us try and bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Let us set them good examples and teach them good principles while they are young. They are given to us by our heavenly Father; they are our kingdom, they are the foundation of our exaltation and glory; they are plants of renown, and we should strive to bear them up before the Lord, and teach them to pray to, and to have faith in, the Lord as far as we can, that when we are passed and gone and they succeed us on this stage of action, they may bear off the great latter-day work and kingdom of God upon the earth. I do not believe that the day is very far distant when the revelations which God has given concerning the last days will have their fulfillment. I believe there are many children now living in the mountains of Israel who will never taste of death, that is, they will dwell on the earth at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. I will acknowledge that there is a great deal to be done, and the Lord has not revealed to man the day or the hour, but he has revealed the generation; and the fig trees are now putting forth their leaves in the eyes of all the nations, indicating the near approach of the second coming of the Son of Man. It is my faith that hundreds and thousands of the children that have been given to us will be alive in the flesh when Christ comes in the clouds of heaven in power and great glory. The Lord will not disappoint the inhabitants of the earth in these last days in regard to his second coming, any more than he has with regard to other great events and dispensations.

We live in a very important age and generation; we live in the day and time when God has set his hand to fulfill a measure of prophecy and revelation to man, in the great dispensation of all dispensations. As an individual I do not believe that many more years will roll over the heads of the inhabitants of the earth before the resurrection will be upon them, and then these children, which we are called to bury today, will come forth from their graves, clothed with glory, immortality and eternal life. You may ask why I believe this. I believe it because the revelations of God say so. I read the Scriptures, and I believe that the revelations and prophecies therein contained mean what they say, and I also believe that the saying of every Prophet or Apostle spoken under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost will have its fulfillment, and, as Paul said, no prophecy of Scripture hath any private interpretation, but holy men of old spake as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost. They spake the mind and word of the Lord, and none of their sayings will fail to be fulfilled, for the Lord has said—“Though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not fail, but shall be fulfilled.” That is the way I read prophecy and revelation.

The Jews will be moved upon by and by, and they will return to the land of their fathers, and they will rebuild Jerusalem. These Lamanites here will receive the Gospel of Christ in fulfillment of the revelations of God. The Prophets which have been shut up in the north country with the nine and a half tribes led away by Shalmaneser, King of Assyria, thousands of years ago, will come in remembrance before God; they will smite the rocks and mountains of ice will flow down before them, and those long lost tribes will come forth in your day and mine, if we live a few years longer, and they will be crowned under the hands of the children of Ephraim—the Elders of Israel who dwell in the land of Zion. And by and by the testimony of the Gospel will be sealed among the Gentiles, and the Gospel will turn to the whole house of Israel, and the judgments of God will back up the testimony of the Elders of this Church, and the Lord will send messengers who will go forth and reap down the earth. The unbeliever may say that what we term judgments have always prevailed more or less among the nations, and that God has nothing to do with them, they are all natural. Well, if they have always prevailed, they will prevail to a greater extent in these last days than ever before, until everything that God has spoken shall have come to pass. Judgments await the world, and they await this nation, and the day is at hand when the Lord will sweep the earth as with a besom of destruction. In the vision which the Lord gave to Enoch, he saw the heavens weeping over the earth because of the fall of man; and when Enoch asked the Lord—“When will the earth rest from under the curse of sin?” the Lord told him that in the last days the earth should rest, for then it should be redeemed from the sin, wickedness and abominations that were upon it. The earth is now pretty near ripe, and when ripened the Lord will cut them off. These things are before the Latter-day Saints, but the world do not believe in them any more than they believed in the message of Noah or Lot.

Brethren and sisters, let us read the revelations of God for ourselves, and when we read them, let us believe them, and try to live in such a way that we may be ready for whatever dispensation the Lord may have in store for us, and so that we can acknowledge his hand as Job did, and not find any fault with him because of his providences toward us. If we cannot comprehend them now, we shall be able to do so in a little while. The Lord may have purposes in view in his dealings with us that we do not understand; I presume he has. In fact, the whole of the dealings of God to man are a mystery. There is a veil over the world, and it is ordained of God that it should be so, for if it were not so, and if men could comprehend eternal things, as God comprehends them, there is no man on the earth, no matter how wicked he may be, but what would be willing to keep the commandments of God, and to pass through anything that God ordained, for therein he would see there was salvation and eternal life. But God has an order in these matters, as he revealed unto Joseph Smith. He said unto Joseph—“I will prove you whether you will abide in my covenant; if you are not willing to abide in my covenant even unto death, you are not worthy of me.” And it is so with the Saints. If they are not willing to abide in the covenants they have made with God, even unto death if necessary, they are not worthy of him. Jesus laid down his life to redeem the world, and passed through suffering and affliction all his life in order that he might fulfill the mission which was given him. So it is with us. The Lord says—“I am going to prove the children of men.” There are a few individuals in this dispensation who will inherit celestial glory, and a few in other dispensations; but before they receive their exaltation they will have to pass through and submit to whatever dispensation God may decree. But for all this they will receive their reward—they will become Gods, they will inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities and powers through the endless ages of eternity, and to their increase there will be no end, and the heart of man has never conceived of the glory that is in store for the sons and daughters of God who keep the celestial law. And yet God has a veil over all in regard to these things. The whole world will be judged according to the deeds done in the body, and they will inherit kingdoms according to the laws which they have kept, every man being preserved by the law which he has observed, and all will be saved in some glory, except the sons of perdition.

Now, brethren and sisters, the Gospel of Christ is before us. We are all passing along, and it will only be a little time before a good many of us will be on the other side of the veil. Our friends are passing off every day, and we look in vain for many with whom we have been familiar in years that are past. If I go into a congregation of ten thousand and enquire for the Saints I knew in Kirtland, and request them to lift up their hands, it will be like a standard bearer on the mountains, there is only here and there one. You ask a congregation how many of them knew Joseph Smith, and it is only here and there one, they are passing away to the other side of the veil. It is so with us all, we are hastening to the end of life’s journey, and a good many of us are on the downward grade. I ask that what little time I live, I may keep the faith and have the fellowship of the Holy Spirit and of the Saints of God, that when I get through I may be satisfied with life, satisfied with my acts, that I may receive a welcome into the Kingdom of God. That is all I ask and all I labor for. As for riches and wealth, I do not want them if they will damn me. I would like to have enough to clothe, shoe and feed my wives and children, and to make them comfortable, if I can get it honestly before the Lord; but I would rather myself and them all be in poverty than to have wealth and be destroyed. Riches are dangerous unless we can use them so as not to destroy us; if we cannot use them to the glory of God and for the building up of his Kingdom, we are better without them. I do not expect to live a great many years longer. The young, the middle-aged and the old are dying off. For many years of my life the gospel of Jesus Christ has been a consolation to me. I have spent a good deal more than half of my life in laboring in this Church. I labored to find this Church, I may say, from my childhood up, and many a midnight hour have I pled with the Lord, in the wilderness, in the woods, and in my mill, and under various circumstances, that the Lord would let me find a people who contended for the faith once delivered to the Saints. I desired this from reading the Bible, and from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, for in the pages of that sacred book I learned that a people once lived upon the earth who had communion with God, and they had power to command the elements, and they obeyed them; they conversed with angels, and had the gifts and graces of a religion which had power and salvation in it. I could not find this on the face of the earth. I prayed to the Lord to let me live to find such a people, and he promised that I should, and I have lived to find them. I have seen the faces of Prophets and inspired men, and it has been a great consolation to me. I have my failings and imperfections, and I expect that we are all subject to them, more or less. I want to overcome them, because I desire to partake of eternal life. I also desire this for the Saints of God and for the honest and meek of the earth everywhere.

I have labored many years, and traveled without purse and scrip, preached without money and without price, for the purpose of saving my fellow men. I labor on Mount Zion to try and save the dead; I spend a good deal of time in this. It is a consolation to me, I pray God my heavenly Father to bless you and all the Latter-day Saints, and that he will give us enough of his Holy Spirit to keep us in the path of duty and rectitude, virtue and righteousness, that we may be justified before him. I pray my heavenly Father that he will bless Brother and Sister Wheeler in their bereavement, and give them his Holy Spirit, that, when they lie down at night and rise in the morning and miss their children they may feel to commit themselves into the hands of the Lord, and realize that their separation from their little ones is not forever, but that in a little while they will be restored to them. This applies to us all in the loss of our children. We lay them away in the grave, but they will come forth in the morning of the resurrection, and if we are faithful to the truth, we shall receive them and rejoice with them; and when we have passed through the sorrows of mortality and have the joy and glory of the celestial kingdom conferred upon us we shall then know that the afflictions of mortality have prepared us for and enabled us to appreciate the blessings which God has in store for the faithful.

May God bless us, and give us his Spirit, for Jesus’ sake, Amen.

Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, April 11, 1875.

If the congregation will give their attention I will read a few passages from the last chapter of Isaiah, commencing in the middle of the 18th verse. [The speaker read from the 18th verse, commencing—“It shall come,” &c., unto the end of the 20th verse.]

There are some very great and important events predicted in these few lines which I have read, concerning the gathering of all nations and tongues, but more especially the gathering of the house of Israel, a sign being promised—that when that period shall arrive, in the purposes of God, a sign shall be given to the children of men, that they may know when these great events are to take place. In this passage we are not told what the sign shall be, we merely have it promised; but we would naturally draw the conclusion that it will be something of a peculiar character, something that can be distinguished by the nations, kindred and tongues of the earth preparatory to the great gathering that is promised in the Scriptures of truth, “I will set a sign among them.” And after setting this sign he will send missionaries to Tubal, to Javan, to the isles that are afar off, “to Tarshish, Pul and Lud, and to them that draw the bow.” And it is said concerning the missionaries who are thus sent forth, that “they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.” Then, when the sign is set, the missionaries are sent forth and the glory of God begins to be declared among the Gentiles, the Lord will bring about the gathering of his people Israel, bringing them upon horses, in chariots, in litters, upon swift beasts and upon mules to his holy mountain in Jerusalem; and he will gather all nations and tongues when that dispensation shall come.

The Lord has set that sign; the Lord has sent forth the messengers here spoken of to the various nations, as predicted, and already the voice of these messengers is heard in the uttermost parts of the earth, declaring the word of the Lord among the Gentiles, preparing them for the great event predicted by the mouth of Isaiah the Prophet.

Do this people desire to know what the sign predicted by the mouth of Isaiah means? Do you wish to know the nature of that sign? Let me refer you to the words of the everlasting God that have been uttered from the heavens, declared in this record brought forth in the last days, the Book of Mormon. Let us refer to a prediction uttered by the mouth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, when he appeared personally upon this great western continent, and taught the ancient nations of America. He has told us by his own mouth what the sign should be for the gathering of all the dispersed of his people, the house of Israel. I will read the words of our Savior to the ancient inhabitants of this western continent. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, all these things”—the things which he had been speaking about to the multitude—“shall surely come, as the voice of the Father hath commanded me. Then shall this covenant which the Father hath covenanted with his people be fulfilled; and then shall Jerusalem begin to be inhabited with my people, and it shall be the land of their inheritance. And verily I say unto you, I will give you a sign that you may know the time when these things shall be about to take place, that I shall gather in from their long dispersion, my people, O house of Israel, and shall establish again among them my Zion. And behold this is the thing which I will give unto you for a sign, for verily I say unto you that when these things which I declare unto you, and which I shall declare unto you hereafter, of myself, and by the power of the Holy Ghost, which shall be given unto you of the Father, shall be made known unto the Gentiles”—that is, when this book, called the Book of Mormon, should be made known unto the Gentiles—“that they may know concerning this, my people, who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, and concerning this, my people, who shall be scattered by them in the latter days. Verily I say unto you when these things shall be made known unto them of the Father, and shall come forth of the Father from them unto you.”

Now, such is the sign. First, this work will be made known to the Gentiles, and will come forth from the Gentiles unto the Indians. “For it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father, that these things might come forth from them unto a remnant of your seed, that the covenant of the Father may be fulfilled which he has covenanted with his people, O house of Israel. Therefore when these works, and the works which shall be wrought among you hereafter”—that is, the works which were performed during the first three or four centuries of the Christian era on the American continent, recorded in their records called the Book of Mormon—“when these works and the works which shall be wrought among you hereafter shall come forth from the Gentiles unto your seed, which shall dwindle in unbelief because of iniquity.”

Now this dwindling in unbelief of the American Indians is very evident even to the antiquarians of our country, all of whom will admit that once a civilized nation dwelt on this continent. No learned man living disputes this. Why do they suppose any such thing? The ruins of their ancient cities, palaces and temples, proclaim in the ears of all living that once there dwelt on this hemisphere a great and powerful people, who were civilized and understood the art of constructing beautiful and substantial buildings. But now, O! how degraded, fallen and sunk into the very depths of darkness are the descendants of that once great, powerful and exalted people! “They shall dwindle in unbelief because of iniquity;” because they rejected the Gospel. In the fourth century of the Christian era they apostatized from the religion of their fathers; they were cursed by the Almighty, a skin of darkness came upon them; they were cursed in all that they set their hands to do, and the withering curse of the Almighty has been upon them from generation to generation, until the present day. They were to dwindle in unbelief because of iniquity.

“For thus it behooveth the Father that it should come forth from the Gentiles, that he may show forth his power to the Gentiles, for this cause, that the Gentiles, if they will not harden their hearts, that they may repent, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and know of the truth of my doctrine that they may be numbered among my people, O house of Israel.”

Such is the object of bringing this work forth to the Gentiles first. That is why God prepared the way for a great and powerful nation, free from all other nations under heaven, to be established here on this continent. The great purpose which God had in view was to set up a kingdom in the latter days in which there should be full and complete religious liberty and freedom of conscience, that the kingdom might go forth unto the ends of the earth; “and when these things shall come to pass, that thy seed”—the American Indians—“shall begin to know these things. It shall be a sign unto them, that they may know that the work of the Father hath already commenced, unto the fulfilling of the covenant which he hath made unto the people, who are of the house of Israel.”

Now then, here is a prediction in Isaiah, that before the Lord gathers Israel he would set up a sign, showing not only to us but to all people, nations and tongues in the four quarters of the earth that he is about to gather together all the people of the house of Israel. That sign is when these American Indians shall begin to know the Gospel taught and practiced by their ancient fathers. “When that day shall come it shall come to pass that kings shall shut their mouths, for that which had not been told them shall they see, that which they had not heard shall they consider; for in that day, for my sake, shall the Father work a work which shall be a great and marvelous work among them; and there shall be among them which will not believe it, although a man shall declare it unto them. But behold, the life of my servant is in mine hand,” &c.

We will now pass on to the next page. “And then shall the work of the Father commence at that day, even when this Gospel shall be preached unto the remnant of this people”—unto the Indians—“verily I say unto you, at that day shall the work of the Father commence among all the dispersed of my people, yea even the tribes which have been lost, which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem, yea the work shall commence among all the dispersed of my people, with the Father to prepare the way whereby they may come unto me; that they may call upon the Father in my name, and then shall the work commence with the Father among all nations in preparing the way whereby his people may be gathered home to the land of their inheritance. And they shall not go out in haste, nor go by flight, for I will go before them saith the Father, and I will be their rearward.”

Forty-five years have passed away since God brought forth this sign, the Book of Mormon, and sent missionaries to the nations—to Tarshish, Pul, Lud, Tubal, Javan, and to the islands afar off, that have not heard his name neither have seen his glory and these missionaries have declared his glory among the Gentiles. Forty-five years of proclamation to the nations of the Gentiles! Forty-five years of warning to all nations and tongues! Now after so long a period has elapsed since God brought forth this wonderful sign, he has begun to work among the remnants of the house of Israel, the American Indians, upon this continent, by his own power. What is it that has stirred them up to believe in this work? Has it been your exertion? Not altogether; yet, no doubt, you, in some small degree, as far as your faith would permit, have helped on the work among these wild tribes. You have sought to recover them, you have fed and clothed them to some extent; you have told them occasionally about the records of their fathers; you have tried to bring them to repentance; but, after years of labor, you have said—“Alas! Alas for them! What can be done to reclaim a people so far fallen into the depths of ignorance and corruption?” Your hearts have been almost discouraged so far as your own labors were concerned. But how soon and how marvelously, when the time had come, has the Lord our God begun to operate upon them as nations and as tribes, bringing them in from hundreds of miles distant to inquire after the Elders of this Church. What for? What do they want with the Elders? They want to be baptized. Who told them to come and be baptized? They say that men came to them in their dreams, and spoke to them in their own language, and told them that away yonder was a people who had authority from God to baptize them; but that they must repent of their sins, cease their evil habits and lay aside the traditions of their fathers, for they were false; that they must cease to roam over the face of the land, robbing and plundering, and learn to live as the white people.

Who are these men who have been to the Indians and told them to repent of their sins, and be baptized by the “Mormons?” They are men who obtained the promise of the Lord, upwards of eighteen centuries ago, that they should be instruments in his hands of bringing about the redemption of their descendants. The Lord God promised them the privilege of working for and in behalf of their descendants in the latter days; and they have begun the work. All this was foretold in this record, the Book of Mormon.

Now I will read a little for the benefit of the Latter-day Saints, for though they have this record lying upon their shelves. I fear there are some who are careless about reading its contents, and perhaps do not understand the signs of the times, and the fulfillment of the purposes of God, which are here so clearly set forth. Jesus appeared on this American Continent soon after his resurrection, three different times that are recorded, and how many other times that are not recorded, I do not know. But he showed himself to them and brake bread with them. But the third time he came to the Twelve whom he had chosen on this land—as he was about to leave them he put a very important question to them. He said unto his twelve disciples, speaking unto them one by one—“What is it that you desire of me, after that I am gone unto the Father?” And they all spake save it were three—“We desire that after we have lived unto the age of men, that our ministry, wherein thou hast called us, may have an end, and that we may speedily come to thee in thy kingdom.” And he said unto them—“Blessed are ye because ye have desired this thing of me; therefore after that ye are seventy-two years old ye shall come unto me in my kingdom; and with me ye shall find rest.” And when he had spoken these words unto the nine, he then turns to the three and said unto them—“What will ye that I shall do unto you, when I am gone to the Father?” And they sorrowed in their hearts, for they dare not speak unto him the thing which they desired. And he said unto them—“Behold, I know your thoughts, and you have desired the thing which John, my beloved, who was with me in my ministry, before I was lifted up by the Jews, desired of me. Therefore more blessed are ye, for ye shall never taste of death.” These three men had the promise that they should never taste death; “but,” said the Savior unto them—“ye shall live to behold all the doings of the Father unto the children of men, even until all things shall be fulfilled according to the will of the Father, when I come in my glory with the powers of heaven. And ye shall never endure the pains of death; but when I shall come in my glory ye shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to immortality; and then shall ye be blessed in the kingdom of my Father. And again, ye shall not have pain while ye shall dwell in the flesh, neither sorrow save it be for the sins of the world; and all this will I do because of the thing which ye have desired of me, for ye have desired that ye may bring the souls of men unto me, while the world shall stand. And for this cause ye shall have fulness of joy; and ye shall sit down in the kingdom of my Father; yea, your joy shall be full, even as the Father hath given me fulness of joy; and ye shall be even as I am, and I am even as the Father; and the Father and I are one; And the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and the Father giveth the Holy Ghost unto the children of men, because of me.”

What a glorious promise was made to these three men! Did they receive any change? Yes, they did; not to immortality however, but a change sufficient was wrought in their bodies that death should not have power over them. But let us read a little further, it is very interesting. “And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he touched every one of them with his finger save it were the three who were to tarry;” that is, he touched the nine who were to preach until they were seventy-two years old and who were then to be taken home to God, “and then he departed. And behold, the heavens were opened, and they (the three) were caught up into heaven, and saw and heard unspeakable things. And it was forbidden them that they should utter; neither was it given unto them power that they could utter the things which they saw and heard; And whether they were in the body or out of the body, they could not tell; for it did seem unto them like a transfiguration of them.” That is the way that they received their partial change. “But it came to pass that they did again minister upon the face of the earth; nevertheless they did not minister of the things which they had heard and seen, because of the commandment which was given them in heaven.”

Now these men lived in the first century of the Christian era on this continent; and when that generation all passed away they also lived in the second century of the Christian era, and ministered to the ancient inhabitants on this land. And when the second century had all passed off the stage of action they also lived in the third century; and in the fourth century the Lord took these three men from the midst of the remnant of Israel on this land. Where did he take them? I do not know, it is not revealed. Why did he take them away? Because of the apostasy of the people, because the people were unworthy of the ministration of such great and holy men; because they sought to kill them; because they cast them into dens of wild beasts twice; and these men of God played with these wild beasts as a child would play with a suckling lamb, and received no harm from them. They cast them three times into a furnace of fire, and they came forth therefrom and received no hurt. They dug deep pits in the earth and cast them therein, supposing that they would perish; but by the power of the word of God that was in them, they smote the earth in the name of the Lord, and were delivered from these pits. And thus they went forth performing signs, wonders and miracles among this remnant of Israel, until their wickedness became so great that the Lord commanded them to depart out of their midst. And the remnant of Israel, from that day to the present—between fourteen and fifteen centuries—have been dwindling in unbelief, in ignorance, and in all the darkness which now surrounds them; but notwithstanding their darkness and misery, the three Nephites, for many generations, have not administered to them, because of the commandment of the Almighty to them.

But are they always to remain silent? Are there no more manifestations to come from these three men? Are they never again to remember the remnants of the House of Israel on this land? Let us read the promise. “Behold, I was about to write the names of those who were never to taste of death, but the Lord forbade; therefore I write them not, for they are hid from the world. But behold I have seen them.” Mormon saw them nearly four centuries after they were caught up into heaven, and after they received their partial change. Mormon saw them and they administered unto him. He says—“Behold, I have seen them, and they have ministered unto me. And behold they will be among the Gentiles, and the Gentiles shall know them not.” They will, no doubt, call them poor deluded Mormons, and say that they ought to be hooted out of society, and that they ought to be persecuted, afflicted, and hated by all people. “They will be among the Gentiles and the Gentiles shall know them not. They will also be among the Jews, and the Jews shall know them not. And it shall come to pass when the Lord seeth fit in his wisdom that they shall minister unto all the scattered tribes of Israel, and unto all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, and shall bring out of them unto Jesus many souls, that their desire may be fulfilled, and also because of the convincing power of God which is in them. And they are as the angels of God, and if they shall pray unto the Father in the name of Jesus they can show themselves unto whatsoever man it seemeth them good. Therefore, great and marvelous works shall be wrought by them, before the great and coming day when all people must surely stand before the judgment seat of Christ; Yea even among the Gentiles shall there be a great and a marvelous work wrought by them, before that judgment day.”

Now, having read these things, let us come back again to this spiritual movement that we hear of among the remnants of Jacob, in these western deserts, in the northwest hundreds of miles, in the west and in the southwest. It is not confined to hundreds, but thousands testify that men have appeared individually in dreams, speaking their own language and, as Brother Hyde said last Tuesday, these men tell their descendants what their duties are, what they should do, and how they should hunt up this people, repent of their sins, be bap– tized, etc. And the parties who have been thus instructed time and time again, have fulfilled the commandments that they received, and some of them have come hundreds of miles to be baptized, and they are now desirous of laying aside their savage disposition, their roaming habits, and they want to learn to cultivate the earth, to lay down their weapons of war, cease stealing and to become a peaceable good people.

The work thus commenced will not stop here. The Book of Mormon says—“When thy seed shall begin to know these things, it shall be a sign unto them, that they may know that the work of the Father hath already commenced unto the fulfilling of his covenant which he hath made with his people who are of the House of Israel.” This remnant, the American Indians, do not comprise all Israel, they are but a small remnant of one single tribe, namely the descendants of that Joseph who was carried into Egypt. Away in yonder north countries, where I do not know, but away in those regions are ten tribes of the house of Israel. How do you know they are in the north country? Because this Bible has told us that in the latter days they should come out of the north country, and if they were not in the north country they could not come from there. Jeremiah says in his thirty-first chapter—“Behold I will bring them from the north, the blind and the lame with them, and the woman with child; they shall come, a great company out of the north countries.” Where will they go to? Will they go immediately to Palestine, where they formerly had their inheritance? No. Jeremiah tells us where they will go; he tells us there is to be a place called Zion before these tribes come out of the north countries, and when they come with a great company, the blind and the lame with them, and the Lord God leads them with supplication and with tears and with prayers, bringing them forth from those dreary, desolate, cold arctic regions: when that day shall come there shall be a Zion prepared to receive these ten tribes, before they finally go back to Palestine. Is there anything in the Scriptures about this? Yes. In the same chapter of Jeremiah we read that “they shall come and sing in the height of Zion.” Zion, then, will have to be built up before they come; Zion will have to be reared somewhere and prepared to receive them; and it will be a holy place, and it will be a holy people who will build up Zion, so much so that the Lord will bring these ten tribes in to the height of Zion, into the midst of it.

What will then take place? They shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for the wheat, the wine, the oil, for the young of the flock; their souls shall be as a watered garden, and they shall not sorrow anymore at all. Why? Because they have got among a good people, where there is no need to sorrow; they have come up into a land that is choice above all other lands, a land that brings forth wheat, and grapes for the producing of wine, where flocks, herds, &c., are multiplied, and their souls will be like a watered garden, and all the sorrows they have experienced for twenty-five hundred years, in the cold regions of the north, will be done away; and they will not sorrow anymore at all.

This same thing is predicted in the sixteenth chapter, as well as in the thirty-first of Jeremiah. The Lord says in the sixteenth chapter—“Behold the days shall come when it shall no more be said the Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;” but instead of that saying, there will be another more glorious saying, namely, that “the Lord liveth who brought up the children of Israel from the north country, and from all other countries whither he has driven them.” But will that do away the former saying—“The Lord liveth who brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt?” Yes. Some may suppose that as the Jews retain that saying to this day it never would be done away. The Jews, wherever they may be scattered, whether in Christian lands, or among the heathens where they are anxious to convert them to idolatry, say, “We worship that God who brought up our fathers out of the land of Egypt, and wrought signs, wonders and mighty deeds in bringing them forth, leading them through the waters of the mighty deep into the Promised Land, Palestine.” But notwithstanding they have retained this saying, it will be one day done away, superseded by the manifestations of God’s power in bringing Israel from the north country and all other countries whither they have been scattered, and gathering them to their own land. The Israel of the latter day has got to cross the sea dry-shod, just as ancient Israel did. It is thus predicted in the eleventh chapter of Isaiah. After saying that the Lord would lift up an ensign for the nations, he declares, “I will gather the outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth, and I will cause them to pass through the river in its seven streams, and I will smite the tongue of the Egyptian sea, and an highway shall be cast up unto Israel that was left from Assyria, like as it was to Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt.” They shall go over dry-shod. They will not have to refer back three or four thousand years to the miracles wrought anciently by the God they worship, but they will tell of things wrought in their own day, which have taken place while they themselves live. “The Lord liveth that brought up Israel out of the north country; the Lord liveth who, in our day, smote the tongue of the Egyptian sea, and also the river Nile in its seven mouths; the Lord liveth who, in our day, cast up a highway in the midst of the great deep, for his chosen to come over.”

Now I will quote a parallel prophecy, delivered to Joseph Smith, one of the greatest Prophets who has lived on the earth in any generation, save it be our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Some forty-three years ago, in speaking of the lost ten tribes of Israel, the Lord says—“They who are in the north countries shall come in remembrance before the Lord; and their prophets shall hear his voice, and shall no longer stay themselves; and they shall smite the rocks, and the ice shall flow down at their presence. And an highway shall be cast up in the midst of the great deep. Their enemies shall become a prey unto them, And in the barren deserts there shall come forth pools of living water; and the parched ground shall no longer be a thirsty land. And they shall bring forth their rich treasures unto the children of Ephraim, my servants. And the boundaries of the everlasting hills shall tremble at their presence.” To show that they come with power, they come on a highway cast up for them; the ice feels the power of God and flows down, making room for them; and the barren deserts of the north, wherever they may go and need water, will yield forth pools of living water to quench their thirst. As they come to sing in the height of Zion, the everlasting hills, this great Rocky Mountain range, extending from the arctic regions south to the central portions of America, will tremble beneath the power of God at the approach of that people. Then will be fulfilled the saying of David, that the mountains shall skip like rams, and the little hills like lambs, before his people. The very trees of the field will clap like hands, as the Psalmist David has said. Then will be fulfilled the passage that was quoted yesterday by brother Woodruff—“Sing O heavens, be joyful O earth, and break forth into singing O mountains, for the Lord hath redeemed his people,” &c. And when they get to Zion they will begin to say—“The place is too strait for me, give place to me that I may dwell;” then the saying will go forth—“Behold I was a captive. Zion was a captive, moving to and fro, tossed to and fro, and not comforted. Behold I was left alone.” But where have this great company been, where has this mighty host come from? They have come from their hiding place in the north country; they have been led thence by the Prophets of the Most High God, the Lord going before their camp, talking with them out of the cloud, as he talked in ancient days with the camp of Israel, uttering his voice before his army, for his camp will be very great. So says the Prophet Joel, and his prophecy will be fulfilled. When they return to Zion to sing in the height thereof, “They will fall down there and be crowned with glory by the hands of the servants of the Lord, even the children of Ephraim.”

Now what does this mean? A people that have had such mighty power, a people before whose camp the Lord of hosts has been seen, and his glory by day and by night; a people before whom the mountains and the hills tremble and flee; shall a people of that description fall down and be crowned by another people? Who are this other people, that is, these highly favored children of Ephraim? What particular blessing has the Lord for Ephraim? He holds the birthright. “Ephraim is my firstborn,” saith the Lord in the 31st chapter of Jeremiah. The firstborn in the great latter-day work, holding the keys of blessings for all the twelve tribes of Israel. God has an order in his kingdom. Certain blessings can be received in one way; other blessings are ordained to be received in another form, by certain authorities that are appointed, and who hold the keys pertaining to these blessings. God did not take away the birthright of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, and transfer it to the heads of the sons of Joseph for a purpose that was of no particular account; but he transferred the birthright from Reuben to Joseph that they might hold it as the firstborn among all the tribes of Israel, to bless them in the latter days.

How long will they who come from the north countries tarry in the heights of Zion? Some time. They have got to raise wheat, cultivate the grape, wine and oil, raise flocks and herds, and their souls will have to become as a watered garden. They will dwell in Zion a good while, and during that time, there will be twelve thousand chosen out of each of these ten tribes, besides twelve thousand that will be chosen from Judah, Joseph, and the remaining tribes, one hundred and forty-four thousand in all. Chosen for what? To be sealed in their foreheads. For what purpose? So that the power of death and pestilence and plague that will go forth in those days sweeping over the nations of the earth will have no power over them. These parties who are sealed in their foreheads will go forth among all people, nations and tongues, and gather up and hunt out the house of Israel, wherever they are scattered, and bring as many as they possibly can into the Church of the firstborn, preparatory to the great day of the coming of the Lord. One hundred and forty-four thousand missionaries! Quite a host. All this has got to take place. There are persons in this congregation who will be in the midst of Zion, when the ten tribes come to Zion from the north countries, and will assist in bestowing the blessings promised by the Almighty upon the heads of the tribes of Israel. There are servants of God in the midst of this congregation who will lay their hands upon many of each of these twelve thousand, chosen out of the ten tribes, and set them apart as missionaries to visit the nations of the earth and hunt up the remnants of the seed of Jacob.

Having spoken concerning the gathering of the ten tribes, I will refer again to their Prophets. “Their Prophets shall hear his voice.” Do not think that we are the only people who will have Prophets. God is determined to raise up Prophets among that people, but he will not bestow upon them all the fulness of the blessings of the Priesthood. The fulness will be reserved to be given to them after they come to Zion. But Prophets will be among them while in the north, and a portion of the Priesthood will be there; and John the Revelator will be there, teaching, instructing and preparing them for this great work; for to him were given the keys for the gathering of Israel, at the time when he ate that little book while on the Isle of Patmos. At that time, John was a very old man; but the Lord told him that he must yet prophesy before many kingdoms, and nations, and peoples, and tongues, and he has got that mission to perform, and in the last days the spirit and power of Elias will attend his administrations among these ten tribes, and he will assist in preparing them to return to this land. Whether missionaries will be sent from Zion to hunt up these dispersed tribes in the north I do not know; but one thing I do know, from that which is reported by those who have tried to find a passage to the pole, that there is a warmer country off there, and that birds of passage go north to find a warmer climate. That I know from the writings of intelligent men who have been on voyages of discovery. And I know, furthermore, that they have crossed by means of dogs and sledges a certain portion of this great band of ice and have come to an open sea, which proves that there is a warmer country further north. There is a tract of country around the pole, some seven or eight hundred miles in diameter, that no man among the nations that we are acquainted with, has ever explored. But how much of that land may be fit for habitation I am not prepared to say, for I do not know. I know it would be a very easy matter for the Lord God, by the aid of great mountain ranges encircling them around about, to produce a band of ice which would prevent other nations and people very easily reaching them. I also know that it would be a very easy matter for the Lord God to cause deep and extensive valleys, very deep in comparison with high ranges of mountains around them, where the temperature would be comparatively mild, the same as in these mountains here. We see all the rigors of an arctic winter on our eastern ranges of mountains, while at the same time here are deep valleys in which there is a comparatively warm climate, which makes me think of that which was spoken by the mouth of Isaiah the Prophet in referring to the latter-day work. He says that “when it shall hail, coming down upon the forests, the city shall be low in a low place,” where the climate is warm.

Let me say a few more words in regard to certain things that have already taken place, predicted in the Book of Mormon by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, when he appeared on this western hemisphere and taught this remnant of Israel. He told them of certain events which should transpire before the remnants of Joseph should be converted. He says—“Verily, verily, I say unto you that I have other sheep which are not of this land”—meaning America—“neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister. For they of whom I speak are they who have not as yet heard my voice; neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them. But I have received a commandment of the Father that I shall go unto them, and that they shall hear my voice, and shall be numbered among my sheep, that there may be one fold and one shepherd; therefore I go to show myself unto them.” After leaving this continent, he went to the lost tribes and placed one measure of leaven in the meal that was in that country, having already planted a little leaven among the Jews at Jerusalem, and another little portion of leaven here in America, after which he goes to the lost tribes, and plants leaven in the third mess of meal, and left it to work. He says—“I command you that ye shall write these sayings after I am gone, that if it so be that my people at Jerusalem, they who have seen me and been with me in my ministry, do not ask the Father in my name, that they may receive a knowledge of you by the Holy Ghost, and also of the other tribes which they know not of, these sayings which ye shall write shall be kept and shall be manifested unto the Gentiles, that through the fulness of the Gentiles, the remnant of their seed, who shall be scattered forth upon the face of the earth because of their unbelief, may be brought in, or may be brought to a knowledge of me, their Redeemer. And then will I gather them in from the four quarters of the earth; and I will fulfill the covenant which the Father hath made unto all the people of the house of Israel.”

Now I want you to take particular notice of the following paragraph, or a portion of it, which I will read. “But wo, saith the Father, unto the unbelieving of the Gentiles”—having reference more particularly to the Gentiles of this great nation—“for notwithstanding they have come forth upon the face of this land, and have scattered my people who are of the house of Israel; and my people who are of the house of Israel have been cast out from among them, and have been trodden under foot by them; And because of the mercies of the Father unto the Gentiles, and the judgments of the Father upon my people who are of the house of Israel, verily, verily, I say unto you, that after all this, and I have caused my people who are of the house of Israel to be smitten, and to be afflicted, and to be slain, and to be cast out from among them”—just as our forefathers have done for two or three generations past in smiting, destroying, casting out and driving the poor American Indians—“thus commanded the Father that I should say unto you: At that day when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel”—meaning sinning against this fulness of the Gospel, that is the Book of Mor– mon, when it shall be sent forth in the latter days—“when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations; and if they shall do all these things, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my gospel from among them.”

This prophecy has been fulfilled. It was delivered and in print before there was any Latter-day Saint Church in existence. Now how did Joseph Smith, a farmer’s boy, know naturally anything about the Lord’s taking this work—the Book of Mormon—and this people who believe in the fullness of the Gospel and the bringing of them out from this Gentile nation to these solitary regions? How did he know this so far back as the year 1830? How did he know this before the Church was organized with six members? Yet it has all come to pass. How unlikely it was for such a thing to come to pass, if there was no God in it! If the Gentiles should reject this Gospel which the Lord has brought forth by his power; “and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, peoples, kindreds and tongues, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, deceits, mischiefs, hypocrisy, murders and whoredoms, and shall reject the fulness of my Gospel, Behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my Gospel from among them.”

For twenty-seven years the Lord has been fulfilling this directly before the eyes of all this nation. Little did they think when they came upon us in Nauvoo, and drove us out from our homes and firesides and told us to flee away beyond this great chain of rocky mountains, that they were fulfilling this great prophecy uttered before this people had an existence. “I will bring the fulness of my Gospel from among them;” and mark the next sentence—“and then I will remember my covenant.” When? When he gets the people out from the midst of this nation. “Then I will remember my covenant which I made unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my Gospel unto them.” Has it been fulfilled? Yes. It is over a quarter of a century since the Lord brought us out, and laid a foundation for us to live here; and we have been enabled by his power to erect towns villages and cities, to open up farms, and begin to live, and we have got a broad foundation laid; and now, the next thing is—“I will bring the fulness of my Gospel unto thee, O house of Israel;” that is, unto the Indians; in other words—they shall come unto a knowledge of the fulness of my Gospel. “Yet if the Gentiles will repent and return unto me, saith the Father, behold they shall be numbered among my people, the house of Israel.”

That is the only hope that we Gentiles have. No hope for us whatever, no hope for this great and powerful nation, only by being numbered with these poor, degraded, despised, outcast, dark, and benighted Indians. Are you willing to be numbered with them? In what respect? Not to come down to their customs and habits, their uncleanness, filth, wickedness, darkness and ignorance; but be numbered with them in the inheritance of this great continent, which was given to them by promise, the same as Palestine was given to Abraham and Isaac. God gave it by the mouth of Jacob, who pronounced it upon the head of his son Joseph, it was promised that he should have a separate land from that given to Abraham and Isaac. Read it in the 49th chapter of Genesis. The Lord gave North and South America to these Indians, nearly six hundred years before Christ. And he promised that the Gentiles, in the latter days, who should come upon the face of this land, if they would repent when this Gospel should come forth unto them, they should have the privilege of receiving their inheritance in common with this remnant of Israel—these Indians. But if they did not repent there is another decree. And what is that? “They shall be utterly cut off from among my people.” Thus it is predicted and you have read it for forty-five years. In another place the Lord says—“If they will not repent, behold I will cut off the cities of their land, I will throw down all their strongholds, and I will cut off their horses out of the midst of them, and I will execute vengeance and fury upon them such as they have not heard of.” In another place, which I have not time to turn to and read, it says—“And it shall come to pass that every soul that will not repent of their sins and come unto my beloved son, will I cut off from among my people, O, house of Israel, and it shall be done unto them even as Moses has said, they shall be cut off from among my people.”

Now Moses has told us of that time, and it is repeated again in the 3rd chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, that the Lord would raise up a Prophet, and it should come to pass that every soul that would not hear that Prophet should be cut off from among the people. We are told that that Prophet was Jesus, and we believe it. Jesus Christ was that Pro– phet, and the day is to come, as sure as the Lord lives in yonder heavens, when every soul that will not repent, and receive his work, will be literally cut off from among the people, just as Moses has predicted. And it shall come to pass that “kings shall shut their mouths, for that which had not been told them shall they see, and that which they have not heard shall they behold,” a marvelous work and a wonder, a work that the Lord would perform in the latter days. A strange work, a strange act, so-called by Isaiah the Prophet.

O that I had time to go into the numerous prophecies in the Book of Mormon, and point out the desolations that are to come upon this nation and this generation, if they do not repent! But every jot and every tittle that has not been fulfilled since the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, will be fulfilled to the very letter. Zion will arise, clothed with the glory of her God; the Lord will be her defense; he will be her shield and her buckler; and the power of his own right hand will protect his people. And it shall come to pass that every nation, and every kindred and tongue and people that will fight against the people of God, and against his Zion, will perish out of the earth, and all nations that “fight against Mount Zion shall become as the dream of a night vision. Like a hungry man who dreams and thinks that he eats, but he wakes and his soul has appetite;” so, in the latter days, it shall be with not only one nation but all the nations that fight against Mount Zion. God has stretched forth his hand to exert the powers of the heavens, and he will fulfill and accomplish his work; and there is no power beneath the heavens that can stay his almighty hand. Amen.

Remarks by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered at the Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, on Friday Afternoon, April 9, 1875.

We have abundantly proved in our experience that if we do not sustain ourselves, no other people will sustain us, and that we must be united, as was said this morning, in our temporal as well as in our spiritual affairs; and that if we would build up and strengthen ourselves in the earth, it must be by union of effort, and by concentrating our means in a way that shall produce the best results for the work with which we are identified. Cooperation, or a union of effort, has been proved in our experience, when properly carried out, to be most successful. With small means and limited incomes we can accomplish, by wisely uniting our efforts, great results, and to bring about greater union should be our continual effort. As has been said, there may be failures and mismanagement occasionally, but the principle itself is a true one, and it recommends itself to every reflecting mind. We, however, in our mercantile operations in this city and Territory, have been more than ordinarily successful. I have heard reproaches indulged in, or rather reflections cast, upon our general cooperative institution. I think it has been one of the most successful establishments and institutions that we ever have had among us, and I do not know that it has been equaled anywhere, when we reflect that in the short space of three years those who in– vested their means in that institution made one hundred per cent—doubled their original stock; and when the financial crisis came in the east—the panic as it was termed, and many strong houses went down before it, our institution was able to withstand the storm, and tide over, and has met every dollar of its indebtedness promptly, or at least to the satisfaction of its creditors. We have been subjected to a great deal of expense in various ways; but the experience of the past few years enables us to see now how this expense can be curtailed; and profiting by this wisdom and experience, as a community we should take the necessary steps to establish, or rather to arrange it so that it will give the greatest satisfaction. A good deal might be said on this subject in this connection, but as we shall have a meeting very shortly in relation to our cooperative business affairs, probably that would be the proper place for remarks of this character. But I would say, as one individual, to all the Saints—Let us by every means in our power, that is, by collecting the little means that we have, seek to build up and strengthen these institutions in our midst, and they will prove profitable to us, and be a great blessing to the entire community and to Zion.

At this afternoon’s session of the Conference the authorities of the Church will be presented, and it is desirable that there should be a general attendance of the members of the Church, as far as they can possibly come.

To refer again to this subject of cooperation. We have seen its good effects in the settlements throughout the entire Territory. I consider that if it had not been for our institution regulating prices and governing and controlling the mercantile interests of this Territory, we should have lost, by having to pay high prices, thousands and thousands of dollars that we have saved. In Brigham City particularly, judging by accounts that we have heard, have the principles of cooperation been exceedingly beneficial to the people, because of the perfection to which they have been carried out. The great difficulty with us heretofore has been that, as a people, we have not had capital to achieve any very great results. No one man, until quite recently, has had sufficient means to carry on any great undertaking; but by the masses of the people uniting under a cooperative plan, and putting their funds in the hands of those who are judicious and good business men, we can establish every kind of manufacture that is necessary in this country to make us self-sustaining. The manufacture of iron into hollow-ware, and everything of this character that is made of iron; the manufacture of rails for our railroads, of woolen goods of the best character, the establishment of sheep and cattle herds, of cheese factories and tanneries, and of every branch of manufacture that is adapted to our climate and Territory can be carried on upon this principle, and efforts should be made by us as a people to establish and make them successful. I took down with me, when I went to Washington last fall, a suit of clothes manufactured here in this Territory—the wool was grown here, the cloth was made at President Young’s factory, and the clothes were made by our tailors. There was a good deal of discussion in the early part of the session concerning the resumption of specie payments. I remarked to a good many of my friends that if I were a believer, as some of them were, in the power of the General Government to make laws respecting such matters, I should be in favor of making a law that would prevent the importation into this country of anything that we could make ourselves; and I believe that specie payments will be postponed until there is a stop to the extravagance which reigns throughout the country. The stream of gold which ought to be setting in the direction of the United States, in consequence of the multiplicity of our productions and the greatness of our trade, is constantly flowing toward Europe; and while this is the case, we may struggle in vain to get back to specie payments. That which is true concerning a nation is true concerning us as a Territory. If we would be independent, if we would keep the circulating medium in abundance in our midst, we must stop the stream that is flowing from the Territory, and every dollar that we spend here in sustaining a home institution, for making clothes, paying the cloth manufacturer for his cloth, the wool grower for his wool, the tanner for his leather, or the shoemaker for making that leather into shoes and boots, is that much saved to the entire community. One very prominent free trade member of the House, during a discussion on this subject last session, remarked that the suit of clothes he had on cost him but a comparative small amount, and that he had them sent from Canada. Someone replied, by way of joke, that he had probably bought a secondhand suit; but there is no doubt the clothes were new. But suppose they cost less in Canada than the same suit would in the States, cannot you and everybody see, without lengthy reflection, that that money all went into foreign hands, and did not benefit the people of this country? The producer of the wool, the manufacturer of the cloth, and the maker of the clothes in Canada received the benefit. But supposing that thirty-five or forty dollars had been paid for that suit of clothes in the United States, or in the community where the purchaser lived, you can readily perceive that by the circulation of that money in his immediate vicinity, he, himself, if he were in any business, would receive the benefit of the expenditure, and that the extra cost would not be an entire loss to him like paying it out to a foreign community. And so it is with our own manufactures. We talk about brooms and about cheese, butter and other things which can be brought from the east at lower figures than we can produce them; but it is better for us to pay twenty-five per cent more, and I do not know but even a larger percentage, for our home productions, than to send the money away to a distant community where it is circulated and we receive no benefit from it. If we bought homemade cheese, and had to pay ten or fifteen cents a pound more for it (which, however, we are not required to do) than if it were brought from abroad, it is not an entire loss to the community, for we all derive some benefit from the means so spent, because it is circulated amongst us, and if we have anything to sell we get prices in proportion for it, and thus we sustain ourselves. Men may say that such and such things can be bought cheaper abroad than they can be bought at home, and therefore it is better to buy them; but I say that it is suicidal for any community to pursue such a policy, and we, with the experience that we have had in this country on these points for upwards of a quarter of a century, should begin to learn wisdom, and begin to foster home manufactures and home institutions. Our cooper– ative institutions should take into consideration the people’s good, and, if there is ink, matches, cloth, leather or anything else to sell that is manufactured in this country, they should give the preference every time to the home manufactured article so far as possible, and endeavor to stimulate and foster home production and not operate against it.

By this means we build ourselves up, and the people themselves, where they are ignorant, will soon perceive the propriety and the advantage of taking this course; whereas if we pursue the old and opposite course we shall be impoverished and stripped of our means, and, having no branches of home manufacture, we shall continue to be a poor, dependent, helpless people.

Remarks by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered at the Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, on Friday Afternoon, April 9, 1875.

We have abundantly proved in our experience that if we do not sustain ourselves, no other people will sustain us, and that we must be united, as was said this morning, in our temporal as well as in our spiritual affairs; and that if we would build up and strengthen ourselves in the earth, it must be by union of effort, and by concentrating our means in a way that shall produce the best results for the work with which we are identified. Cooperation, or a union of effort, has been proved in our experience, when properly carried out, to be most successful. With small means and limited incomes we can accomplish, by wisely uniting our efforts, great results, and to bring about greater union should be our continual effort. As has been said, there may be failures and mismanagement occasionally, but the principle itself is a true one, and it recommends itself to every reflecting mind. We, however, in our mercantile operations in this city and Territory, have been more than ordinarily successful. I have heard reproaches indulged in, or rather reflections cast, upon our general cooperative institution. I think it has been one of the most successful establishments and institutions that we ever have had among us, and I do not know that it has been equaled anywhere, when we reflect that in the short space of three years those who in– vested their means in that institution made one hundred per cent—doubled their original stock; and when the financial crisis came in the east—the panic as it was termed, and many strong houses went down before it, our institution was able to withstand the storm, and tide over, and has met every dollar of its indebtedness promptly, or at least to the satisfaction of its creditors. We have been subjected to a great deal of expense in various ways; but the experience of the past few years enables us to see now how this expense can be curtailed; and profiting by this wisdom and experience, as a community we should take the necessary steps to establish, or rather to arrange it so that it will give the greatest satisfaction. A good deal might be said on this subject in this connection, but as we shall have a meeting very shortly in relation to our cooperative business affairs, probably that would be the proper place for remarks of this character. But I would say, as one individual, to all the Saints—Let us by every means in our power, that is, by collecting the little means that we have, seek to build up and strengthen these institutions in our midst, and they will prove profitable to us, and be a great blessing to the entire community and to Zion.

At this afternoon’s session of the Conference the authorities of the Church will be presented, and it is desirable that there should be a general attendance of the members of the Church, as far as they can possibly come.

To refer again to this subject of cooperation. We have seen its good effects in the settlements throughout the entire Territory. I consider that if it had not been for our institution regulating prices and governing and controlling the mercantile interests of this Territory, we should have lost, by having to pay high prices, thousands and thousands of dollars that we have saved. In Brigham City particularly, judging by accounts that we have heard, have the principles of cooperation been exceedingly beneficial to the people, because of the perfection to which they have been carried out. The great difficulty with us heretofore has been that, as a people, we have not had capital to achieve any very great results. No one man, until quite recently, has had sufficient means to carry on any great undertaking; but by the masses of the people uniting under a cooperative plan, and putting their funds in the hands of those who are judicious and good business men, we can establish every kind of manufacture that is necessary in this country to make us self-sustaining. The manufacture of iron into hollow-ware, and everything of this character that is made of iron; the manufacture of rails for our railroads, of woolen goods of the best character, the establishment of sheep and cattle herds, of cheese factories and tanneries, and of every branch of manufacture that is adapted to our climate and Territory can be carried on upon this principle, and efforts should be made by us as a people to establish and make them successful. I took down with me, when I went to Washington last fall, a suit of clothes manufactured here in this Territory—the wool was grown here, the cloth was made at President Young’s factory, and the clothes were made by our tailors. There was a good deal of discussion in the early part of the session concerning the resumption of specie payments. I remarked to a good many of my friends that if I were a believer, as some of them were, in the power of the General Government to make laws respecting such matters, I should be in favor of making a law that would prevent the importation into this country of anything that we could make ourselves; and I believe that specie payments will be postponed until there is a stop to the extravagance which reigns throughout the country. The stream of gold which ought to be setting in the direction of the United States, in consequence of the multiplicity of our productions and the greatness of our trade, is constantly flowing toward Europe; and while this is the case, we may struggle in vain to get back to specie payments. That which is true concerning a nation is true concerning us as a Territory. If we would be independent, if we would keep the circulating medium in abundance in our midst, we must stop the stream that is flowing from the Territory, and every dollar that we spend here in sustaining a home institution, for making clothes, paying the cloth manufacturer for his cloth, the wool grower for his wool, the tanner for his leather, or the shoemaker for making that leather into shoes and boots, is that much saved to the entire community. One very prominent free trade member of the House, during a discussion on this subject last session, remarked that the suit of clothes he had on cost him but a comparative small amount, and that he had them sent from Canada. Someone replied, by way of joke, that he had probably bought a secondhand suit; but there is no doubt the clothes were new. But suppose they cost less in Canada than the same suit would in the States, cannot you and everybody see, without lengthy reflection, that that money all went into foreign hands, and did not benefit the people of this country? The producer of the wool, the manufacturer of the cloth, and the maker of the clothes in Canada received the benefit. But supposing that thirty-five or forty dollars had been paid for that suit of clothes in the United States, or in the community where the purchaser lived, you can readily perceive that by the circulation of that money in his immediate vicinity, he, himself, if he were in any business, would receive the benefit of the expenditure, and that the extra cost would not be an entire loss to him like paying it out to a foreign community. And so it is with our own manufactures. We talk about brooms and about cheese, butter and other things which can be brought from the east at lower figures than we can produce them; but it is better for us to pay twenty-five per cent more, and I do not know but even a larger percentage, for our home productions, than to send the money away to a distant community where it is circulated and we receive no benefit from it. If we bought homemade cheese, and had to pay ten or fifteen cents a pound more for it (which, however, we are not required to do) than if it were brought from abroad, it is not an entire loss to the community, for we all derive some benefit from the means so spent, because it is circulated amongst us, and if we have anything to sell we get prices in proportion for it, and thus we sustain ourselves. Men may say that such and such things can be bought cheaper abroad than they can be bought at home, and therefore it is better to buy them; but I say that it is suicidal for any community to pursue such a policy, and we, with the experience that we have had in this country on these points for upwards of a quarter of a century, should begin to learn wisdom, and begin to foster home manufactures and home institutions. Our cooper– ative institutions should take into consideration the people’s good, and, if there is ink, matches, cloth, leather or anything else to sell that is manufactured in this country, they should give the preference every time to the home manufactured article so far as possible, and endeavor to stimulate and foster home production and not operate against it.

By this means we build ourselves up, and the people themselves, where they are ignorant, will soon perceive the propriety and the advantage of taking this course; whereas if we pursue the old and opposite course we shall be impoverished and stripped of our means, and, having no branches of home manufacture, we shall continue to be a poor, dependent, helpless people.

Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered at the Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Thursday Afternoon, April 8, 1875.

There have been a number of items of interest touched upon by the brethren who have spoken during this Conference, and as it is a time when we meet together for the purpose of receiving general instructions, it seems to me very desirable that the time should be occupied in dwelling upon principles which immediately pertain to our condition and present circumstances. In the remarks which I shall make this afternoon, I trust I shall be led to speak upon those things which immediately concern us, and which pertain to our daily lives.

I rejoice exceedingly in this opportunity, that is, the opportunity of being present at Conference. I believe that I can appreciate it better than I could possibly have done had I been here all the time during the winter. I have, however, during my absence, enjoyed myself better than I could have expected. I have felt that the Lord has been with us as a people, that his power has been manifested in our behalf, and that, so far as the prospects of Zion in the future are concerned, we have abundant reason to be thankful and rejoice. I know that the hope is indulged in in many quarters that the Latter-day Saints are fast losing that faith for which they have been noted, and by the operation of which they have been enabled to accomplish the labors that have devolved upon them in the past in this country as pioneers, and as pioneers in the religious world. I am quite willing, myself, if it is any satisfaction to any individual to entertain this idea, that he should do so; but for myself, and I believe I speak the sentiments of the people, I never, in my life, saw greater cause for rejoicing in the cause of God than I do today. I am not in the least discouraged, but, on the contrary, I feel exceedingly encouraged. I know, it seems to me, better than I ever knew, that God is with this people, that he hearkens to their prayers, and that he watches over them. It is true that there are influences operating upon us at the present time that we have only recently had to contend with, they are comparatively new influences and, to a certain extent, the Latter-day Saints are unaccustomed to them, especially the rising generation. But it has been taught us from the beginning that Zion is to become a great power in the earth, and that she will triumph; but I cannot conceive how Zion can become that which we have expected, or that it will achieve the destiny predicted concerning it, unless it be by passing through ordeals such as those we already have to encounter, and others, still greater, that are yet in the future, by which Zion will show its superiority over every institution and power that exists on the face of the earth.

I have expected for years that the seclusion which we sought in coming to these mountains would be terminated. Everything in the predictions of the holy Prophets concerning the work of God in the last days conveyed this idea to my mind. I looked upon our retreat here as a temporary one, for I well knew from the character of the people and their achievements that, in a short time, we should have the world trooping to us; we should be like a city set on a hill, we could not be hid, and that the eyes of men would be attracted Zionward, therefore I have not been disappointed in witnessing that which we see around us today. It has come probably in some form that I had not looked for, because I could only take a general view, the details I did not understand, but that we should pass through ordeals that should test us, test our faith, test our institutions, test the character of our doctrines, test the practical value of everything connected with us, I never had a doubt; and so far as the future is concerned I look forward to an increase rather than a decrease of these things, to an increase of tests, a multiplication of ordeals that will be calculated in their very nature to test and try us and the system with which we are identified to the perfect satisfaction of everyone connected with it. How else could we expect that Zion should become a power in the earth? How else could we expect that that respect should be accorded to Zion which we are led to believe will be the case? How else will the wisdom and power that God will bestow upon his people be made clear in the eyes of this nation and of the nations of the earth only by these practical tests, by these trials, by surmounting these difficulties, and by showing a capacity to meet, grapple with and overcome every emergency and contingency that may arise? Can we achieve that distinction which is inevitably in store for us as a people if the predictions of the Prophets be fulfilled short of such an experience as this? I think not. The enemies of this work may indulge in whatever anticipations of our discomfiture or downfall they please, but as for us, let us take a practical, sensible view of the work with which we are identified, and prepare ourselves accordingly, so that when the hour of trial shall come, be it severe or not, we may be prepared therefore, having strength and faith sufficient to endure it, and to bear witness unto all men that we have not cherished this faith in vain.

There is this peculiarity about this work, that no power that has yet arrayed itself against it has succeeded in its attempts to gain advantage over it. It is true there have been seemingly temporary successes; there have been times when mobs and violent men have achieved a temporary success and when they have flattered themselves with the idea that their designs against this work have been successful. But one peculiarity has ever marked the career of this people, that is, that events in our history which have seemed to be deadly blows against us and the work in which we are engaged, have turned out to be magnificent successes for us as a community. Trace our history from the beginning, peruse it care– fully, draw the lessons from it which I believe are intended to be conveyed by it, and what do you see? The Church and Zion of God emerging from the difficulties, trouble and seeming disaster sought to be brought upon it by its enemies, brighter, stronger, more firmly planted, more united than it was when the difficulty commenced, or the trouble was first visited upon us. The loss of houses and lands, expulsion from homes that were dearly bought, had no such effect upon this people, produced no such thrill and such deathlike sorrow in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints as did the martyrdom of our beloved Prophet and Patriarch; had we lost our dearest friends; had we lost everything that we valued on earth, it seems to me it would not have compared with the poignant sorrow, the deep, heartfelt anguish that prostrated this people in the depths of humility when the news of the cruel murder of their beloved leaders reached them; yet deadly as that blow was, to all human appearance prostrating the entire people, who felt that they had lost those who stood nearest to God and nearest to them, God in his mercy, out of that great affliction brought forth a great triumph and raised up a man to take the place of the Prophet, who has been in some respects like Elisha following Elijah, possessing, as Elisha desired it might be the case with him, a double portion of the spirit that rested down on his master, Elijah. And God has led us, God has prospered us, and God gave us success that seemed to be commensurate with the depth of our anguish and sorrow, and lifted us up from the depths of humility into which we had sunk, and placed us upon the heights of gladness and joy, and caused us to rejoice as we could not have done probably under other circumstances. And so, when we were driven out of civilization so-called; when we wended our weary way through the wilderness, not knowing where we were going, it seemed as though the last blow had been struck and we had been left a prey to internal dissensions or to the violence of the savages. But God in his mercy, out of that seemingly great affliction, has brought forth great blessing and glory to us, and has honored us, has enriched us, has raised us up and endowed us with blessings that we could not have had where we lived; so that that great blow aimed at us by our enemies has been overruled to be the means of great and wonderful blessings to us, and as an entire people we rejoice today in the possession of a land that God has given unto us, to which he led us and which he designated by the finger of inspiration as the land which we should occupy, and which we this day possess despite all the machinations of the wicked and their efforts to strip us of all power herein. Until this day he has given unto us the supremacy in this land, from north to south, from east to west, and he has made it productive and fertile for our sakes. When we reflect upon our history since we came here; when we think of the many plots and schemes, of the many men who have lent themselves to these plots, who have done all in their power against and to entrap this people; when we reflect upon it all, so far as I am concerned, I am filled with amazement, and with thanksgiving to God our Eternal Father for his goodness and mercy unto us as a people. I know, as well as I know that I live, that no human power could have saved us time and time again as we have been rescued; that there is no wisdom of man that was equal to the emergencies in which we have been placed; but God, in his infinite mercy and wisdom, in his kindness and watchcare over us as a people, has, at the very moment when salvation was needed, stretched forth his Almighty arm. He has rescued us from the grasp of the destroyer when it seemed as though destruction was inevitable and we could not escape. The last five years have been as fruitful, probably, as any period in our history in events of this character. Time and time again has it seemed as though destruction was sure to come upon us, as though there were no way possible for us to escape; but God has heard our supplications and has opened the way of deliverance in a most wonderful manner, and has rescued us from the grasp of those who would destroy us. Others may not see the hand of God in these things; they may say that these things come about from and are the results of natural causes, but those who have prayed to God, whose hearts have been drawn out in supplication to him and who have waited tremblingly for the salvation which he has promised, have seen and they cannot but acknowledge the hand of God in these deliverances, because, as I have said, they have watched, waited and prayed anxiously and earnestly in the name of Jesus for deliverance, and when it has come their faith has been strengthened and their joy increased in the Holy One of Israel; because he has heard and answered their prayers: and today the Latter-day Saints are the people of all people upon the face of the earth who know that God lives, because he hears and answers their prayers. And he, it seems, is determined to have a people upon the earth who will be compelled to put their trust in him and not in man, because man’s power would utterly fail to save them, and no power but his can do it. When I look at all these things it is a matter of surprise to me that men cannot see the hand of God in this work. Yet there are many whose hearts have been touched by the evidences of God’s favor unto us, and they have been surprised and have expressed their wonder that we have been so signally delivered as we have been.

Now there is a great future in store for us as a people. God has said so, and his words cannot fail in being fulfilled. There is a destiny in store for this people that few can comprehend. We have to teach the world lesson after lesson that they have entirely forgotten, or that they never knew. We have to teach them and show them by our example that there is such a thing as living faith, that there is such a thing as trusting in God, being saved by him, that there is such a power as faith in the land, and that prayer, when offered in faith, is effectual in reaching him. We have to show the nations of the earth that God with a small people can accomplish wonderful results. When I think of our numbers, how few we are—we are a great people in some respects, but in numbers we are few and feeble—yet with this few people what is God doing in the earth! What a name he is gaining for his people, his servants! You may travel throughout the earth, in every land, among every people, and let it be known that you are a Latter-day Saint, and you will find that the fame of the people has preceded you, and you will find yourselves distinguished from everybody else. It is exceedingly wonderful that a people so small, numerically so insignificant, a people not wealthy, but it may be said poor, are so noted in the earth. Yet this is the fact, that God intends to make us still more so, he intends to give us a name and a place among the nations of the earth that shall be distinguished above all other people. We are accused, you know, of being disloyal. This has been a story told of us, a charge repeated against us from the very beginning, because men have thought it would be most effective in destroying our influence. The idea prevails in many quarters that we are scarcely as true to the government as we should be. I have heard it stated that were it not for these troops at Camp Douglas, Utah Territory would rebel. By such nonsense as this do men who oppose us seek to deceive the world at large respecting us and our motives and feelings. I have had occasion frequently to talk upon this subject. I have told men that, from my early boyhood, I have been taught to believe that the constitution of the United States was revealed of God, and that the destiny in store for the Latter-day Saints was to uphold constitutional government upon this land; and, that being the case, how could it be reconcilable with the idea that we were disloyal to the Government? But there is a class of men who consider everybody disloyal who does not dance to their tunes, and who does not re-echo the sentiments which they express and seem to entertain. We have a class of men among us here who talk about the one-man power and the tyranny that exist in the Utah Territory, but at the same time if an official were to come here and associate with citizens of this Territory, “Mormon” citizens I mean, they would put him under a ban and brand him as disloyal and unfit to hold an official position under the Government. And why? For years here it has been considered by certain officials as one of the best recommendations to the favor of those in power to hate and abuse the “Mor– mon” people of Utah Territory; and if a man were to dare to associate with “Mormons,” were to speak kindly of or to associate with them, and to treat them as he would other people he would be ostracized and banished, so far as association with them is concerned a non-intercourse act would be passed immediately. And these very individuals talk about the intolerance of the Mormons.

We have these things to contend with, we have these lies to live down, and as far as we are concerned, let them always be lies; let no man have it in his power to say that the Latter-day Saints are an intolerant, proscriptive or an unjust people. Never let this be said of us with truth; but if it be said, let our enemies continue to lie about us until they are tired of it, or until the world become sickened with the falsehoods that are told concerning us. And for us, let us pursue the path that God has marked out, being liberal, truthful, upright, dealing fairly, honestly and tolerantly with every man, so that every class of men who come into our midst may learn that we have received a religion that admits of toleration in the broadest sense of the word.

It has been a matter of considerable satisfaction to me to state that in Utah Territory our pulpits, stands, tabernacles and meetinghouses have always been open to every sect and denomination to come and preach their peculiar views, creeds and doctrines, and that our people have turned out in large congregations to listen to speakers or preachers of other denominations advancing their doctrines; and that not only have congregations of adults been furnished, but the children of the Sunday schools have frequently been assembled in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, that they might pur– posely hear and become familiar with the ideas and views entertained by other religious denominations. This stands out in marked contrast with the practice of almost every other sect, and it gives the falsehood to the stories which have been so frequently told about us.

Now respecting all these things that we are passing through, I recognize the hand of God in them all. I think that we have learned lessons of late that have been profitable to us. For instance, we now know and, while the recollection of the past few years is vivid in our minds we shall continue to know, how to value a just man who sits as a judge, and it may be that it will be so impressed upon us, that when power shall come into our midst, and come it will, as inevitably as the sun rises in the morning over the eastern hills so sure will power come unto us; but when it does come I trust that the recollection of the past will be vivid in our minds and that we will always seek to deal justly and fairly with all who may seek justice at our hands. It has been said that when we acquire power we shall be intolerant, as other sects have been. The Puritans, who fled from England because of religious persecution became, in turn, themselves the persecutors when they had the power. Roger Williams fled from them and took refuge in what is now Rhode Island. They persecuted the Quakers and others who came within their borders with an intolerance that was quite equal to, if it did not exceed, the intolerance to which they themselves had been the victims. And it has been said concerning us, that if we had the power, we would probably tread in the same path, that persecution would only harden us and make us deal with others with a severity which we would not know anything about had we ourselves not been victims beforehand. But I think that God in his mercy will strip us if there be any vestige of this about us; I hope he will, at any rate. If we achieve the destiny that is in store for us, certainly to maintain that character and to retain that power, it will be necessary that we should be just, upright, forbearing and tolerant, and that we should be willing that every man in this broad land should worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, whether his god be the workmanship of his own hands, whether it be the sun, the moon, some animal, or the God of heaven, with Jesus his Son, that we shall be willing that every man should worship God according to his own feelings upon the subject, so long as he does not interfere with us, or with others. I think we have learned this lesson in part. I think the lessons that have been impressed upon us have had an effect in this direction, at least they have had the effect to broaden us; and every lesson of this kind will have such a result as this with us as a people, and on this account I am thankful for them.

I am thankful today that we are not a State. There have been times when I have wished exceedingly that we might be released from territorial vassalage and be incorporated in the Union as a sovereign state. I have desired, and labored for it; but this last winter I have been exceedingly thankful that Utah was a territory and not a state. We are told to acknowledge the hand of God in all things, and I do not see why we should not acknowledge it in being kept in this condition of tutelage and vassalage as well as in anything else. But it may be asked—“Why do you think our condition better as a territory than as a state?” When I heard of events in Louisiana, the federal troops maintaining a government there, against which I was informed, and as I believed, the mass of the people revolted, I thought to myself—Better be an insignificant territory than a state if we cannot have the right of choosing our own rulers and have them act in the offices to which they are elected. Thanks to our insignificance federal troops have not interfered with us here; but if we had been a State, with two votes in the Senate, a vote or two in the House, and electoral votes in the Presidential Election there might have been a temptation to have done with Utah as with other states. But we had no vote; our delegate in Congress had no vote; we had no senatorial representation; we had no vote at the Presidential Election, and this denial to us of our rights, by keeping us in a Territorial condition, has thus far helped to save us. With such a feeling as there has been in this city and territory, for contesting elections, when they have been overwhelmingly on one side—twenty thousand and upward against two or three thousand; when men will contest elections under such circumstances, and endeavor by unjust means to wrest the power out of the hands of the people and defeat the will of the majority; when they will do this, as has been done in this Territory, it would not need a very strong pretext to have them to go farther, to have them appeal for Federal interference, and to try and induce the government to say—“Those whom you call the minority are the majority, they have been unjustly dealt with; affidavits have come here showing that the polls have not been managed properly, the ballots have not been deposited as they should be, and we must decide against you “Mormons” and the men whom you have elected, and put your opponents into power.” I do not say that this is the case in Louisiana, I do not pretend to decide upon that question, it admits of a good deal of argument; but I have been told by members of Congress who visited there—the Committee sent by Congress to investigate matters, that if the federal troops had been withdrawn from Louisiana this winter twenty-four hours would not have elapsed until the McEnery government would have been put in power, and the whole difficulty would have been solved. But the presence of federal troops maintained a government that could not be maintained in and of itself. What is the use, then, of being a State government if the Federal government is to interfere in this manner in State affairs? And with the causes that exist in Utah Territory to make interference popular and a thing to be approved of by thousands, a State government would not be so desirable. I have, therefore, so far as my own feelings have been concerned, been very much pleased at being a territory. I have seen the hand of God and his wisdom in this thing, when if my wish or my will could have been gratified we should have been a State long ago.

The Lord, in his mercy, will preserve us from these evils; in his overruling wisdom and providence he will deliver us until the time shall come for us to be a state if that be his will, and I doubt not that we shall be surprised at it ourselves. I have come to the conclusion, as one individual, that I shall not be anxious on this subject in the future, and shall leave it to the overruling providence of God to bring about when it shall seem good unto him.

As to some of the States in the South they are in such a condition that we, if we were in the same, should think our lot dreadful. I have heard stories of usurpation and tyranny by officials in those states that have caused me to think that, notwithstanding all that we have had to endure in Utah Territory, our lot has been a fortunate one compared with that of others. They have drunk the cup of humiliation to its very dregs. You know there was a time here when it seemed as though every effort was made to bring us under military rule in this Territory, and when the provocations endured by the people here come to be read in history surprise will arise in the mind of the reader, and admiration for the people who so patiently endured the wrongs that were imposed upon them, especially when it is remembered what power we hold here. Why, think of it, a few years ago a Governor came to this Territory immediately after a long and bloody Indian war, in which our citizens were massacred, their property stolen, their settlements robbed and their stock driven off; and immediately after that war a Governor came here who prohibited the militia, every able-bodied man in the Territory, from bearing arms—a most unheard of tyrannical exercise of power; and then a Secretary, while acting governor, afterwards repeated the same proclamation. And this people have borne it patiently and never lifted their hands against these contemptible tyrants. It was doubtless hoped that we would commit some overt act to provoke trouble, so that the federal troops could be brought in and be placed under the control of these officials, who for once in their lives happened to hold position. Not only this, but on one occasion when certain citizens met together as a company, to celebrate the fact of their band having got a new set of instruments a federal judge committed them to a military prison for violating this proclamation, as though a proclamation of the Governor was law! With as great propriety might an Executive claim that he has the power to restore the curfew, and say—“You must have your fires extinguished by eight o’clock at night, or we will put you in a military prison; and you must rise in the morning at the tap of the bell, or we will treat you as criminals.” If a Governor’s proclamation is law, and is to be respected as such, where will it end? Will it end with the imprisonment of men who act as militia men? No; if such acts of usurpation continue, no citizen will be safe, and they will end in the overthrow of liberty and constitutional right wherever permitted.

We have borne these things, and we have borne others, the recollection of which, were I to recite them to you, would make our blood boil. It is not necessary that I should do so; but in talking thus do we talk disloyally? American citizens have the right to talk about officials who trample upon their rights in this manner; we all have the right to question the acts of men in power; it is a right given to us, and the man is not worthy of the name of freeman who will not thus criticize acts of oppression and, in a proper manner, resent them and show his abhorrence of them. It is because they are violative of the fundamental principles of our government that I thus talk about them: and in any other Territory than this they would have provoked a storm of indignation that would have overwhelmed their authors. One of the lessons we have to learn is to have patience, but not to stop remonstrating, not stop talking, not stop appealing, not hold our tongues and let our children grow up with the belief that these things are right. No, proclaim against them, let it be known that they are wrong, that they are contrary to the law of the land, to the Constitution and to the principles of our government; let this be known, and let our children understand what is right, and all men recognize the fact that we understand our rights, whether they are denied to us or not.

I expect to see the day when the Latter-day Saints will be the people to maintain constitutional government on this land. Men everywhere should know that we believe in constitutional principles, and that we expect that it will be our destiny to maintain them. That the prediction will be fulfilled that was made forty-four years ago the seventh of last March, wherein God said to Joseph Smith—“Ye hear of wars in foreign lands; but behold I say unto you, they are nigh, even at your doors, and not many years hence ye shall hear of wars in your own lands;” but the revelation goes on to say that the day will come among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor, must needs flee unto Zion for safety. A portion of that revelation has been fulfilled, the remainder will be. The causes are in operation to bring it about. We are not alone in the thought that the republic is drifting steadily in that direction; that we are leaving the old constitutional landmarks, and that the time is not far distant when there will be trouble in consequence of it, when there will be civil broils and strife; and, to escape them, we believe, men will be compelled to flee to the “Mormons,” despised as they are now. Does this seem incredible? Why, look you, today, throughout our Union, the Latter-day Saints are the most lightly taxed of any people upon the face of this continent. I do not know a community as free from debt as we are. There are one or two States I believe free from debt, but they have had to tax heavily to free themselves. But as a Territory we have never been in debt, and although we have had many temptations to drift in that direction, not a bond belonging to the Territory has ever been issued; not a dollar is owing that cannot be paid. Our cities are out of debt; our counties are out of debt, and I hope they will continue so. Our legislators, county courts and city officers will doubtless take special pains to keep down expenses and let us be burdened as little as possible with taxation, so that we may be a happy and a free people. Let taxes accumulate, and there is a constant temptation for officers to steal your taxes; there must be men elected to take care of your taxes, and there will be hundreds of leaks by which your means will go without benefit to the community, therefore, let us be a lightly taxed people. We are that today, and that is one evidence of the good government there is in this Territory. We have peace here, and we should have little or no litigation if it were not forced upon us, and our courts, so far as litigation is concerned, would have very little to do from the Latter-day Saints; we would settle our difficulties by arbitration, and prevent litigation and money being spent therein. All the tendencies of this people are towards peace, and their aim is to preserve peaceful relations with each other and with the outside world, and we have shown this all the day long.

What is the case elsewhere? Why corruption stalks through the land, and taxation and debt are increasing. It is considered a light thing for a man to get his hand into the government treasury; that is all right, and if so he steal the funds of a city, county or State, they do not call it stealing, however: O no, that is a vulgar name; it will do for the man who robs his neighbor’s hen roost, but they have more fashionable language for the acts to which I refer.

Men in public life, under the present reign of extravagance, cannot meet their expenses, therefore they are exposed to temptation and are led to take advantage of their position. This is not always the case, there are many exceptions; but this is the case too frequently, and good men mourn over and regret it, and they would like to stem the tide and arrest this downward tendency.

This is a lesson that we have to profit by; our officials must be careful, and we must maintain a standard of honesty that does not exist anywhere else. It will not do for the idea to prevail that because a man has an office he has the right to enrich himself from that office. This has not been the case in this Territory thus far; and we may reasonably expect it will not be.

Now, my brethren and sisters, let us live for the destiny that is in store for us. Let us remember that God has a great future for this people, and that how soon it will be granted unto us depends upon ourselves. If we were prepared for it I know that that time would soon come, and we should have opportunities given us of doing good that we do not have today. But I am told that one of the effects of this ordeal through which we are passing, is that there are some young men, and possibly young women, who yield to certain temptations. Young men, who formerly would have been ashamed to be seen smoking on the streets or entering a billiard, a gambling, or a drinking saloon, are now seen in such places, and they do not scruple to use the name of God in vain, or to swear and be profane, and there are some who seem to imagine that it is an evidence of independence and smartness to indulge in these things; and it may be that they go a little further and are guilty of other acts of greater turpitude than these.

No man loses credit by being true to his principles. If he is a Latter-day Saint, let him act out his principles wherever he goes. If he does not believe in drinking intoxicating drinks, let him refrain from doing so everywhere; if he does not smoke, refrain from smoking; if he does not swear—which no man ought to do—let him refrain from it, no matter where he is, and let him be true to the principles of his religion always and under all circumstances, and he will gain influence that he would not have otherwise. Let us as a people take a course of this kind. But there is this tendency—“O, we must be like somebody else.” You can see that tendency at the present time in many things besides men’s conduct. There are men here who would change our city and make it like places they know. They would cut down our streets until they would not be fifty feet wide, and cut down our city blocks until they were like other city blocks, and would narrow our sidewalks, cut down our shade trees, and completely change the character of everything there is about us. They would rob the city of every distinctive feature, and fill the city with nest holes of vice. You can see this tendency here to imitate and do as somebody else does, instead of ourselves being the standard; instead of recollecting that God has chosen us and placed his name upon us, that he has called us to be his Saints, and that it is our duty to maintain our principles, and carry them out in our lives, doing that which is right, regardless of whether it may suit other people or not. It is our duty to have some mind of our own, and if we have a good thing not to be willing to part with it because other people make sport of it. I like our city, our sidewalks and the width of our streets; others may not, but that is the pattern and plan upon which the city was laid out. I would like to see everything connected with our city—and I speak of this because it is a case in point, and I merely speak of it to illustrate everything else—I would like to see us carry out that which is right ourselves. If we have ideas of our own, cling to them, and not abandon them, because they do not happen to be popular. And so with our practices. A man who does not smoke is not any worse for it; he is no less a gentleman when he goes into company because of that. He is no less a gentleman because he does not drink or because he does not swear, because he does not go into a gambling house or a house of ill fame; and how can a man who calls himself a Latter-day Saint, think that he is any more of a gentleman or any better a man because he can do these things when he, in and of himself, knows they are wrong. God has taught us that it is not good for us to do these things; he has given us counsel, he has given us a word of wisdom, and the man who thus disregards the word of God and his counsel does not show very great respect to him, and I do not imagine that God is going to show very great respect to him.

Let us be true to our principles; men admire sincerity, truth and uprightness, and they admire a Latter-day Saint who abides by his principles much more than they admire one who is not true to that which he professes; and you will never lose anything by telling who you are and what you are in a respectful manner, and maintaining that which is right. Of course we need not be bigoted or offensive, or run to any extremes.

May God bless you, my brethren and sisters, fill you with the Holy Spirit, and with desires to teach your children the ways of righteousness, and enable you to bring up a gener– ation that is healthy, pure, virtuous and full of integrity in this land which God has given unto us. That he may thus bless and preserve us is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered at the Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Thursday Morning, April 8, 1875.

[Continued From Page 376, Vol. 17.] We talk sometimes about the Priesthood. Who are we? Who are these Latter-day Saints before me today? Are they not the Priesthood? Are you not, really and truly, a kingdom of Priests? Do you not belong to the First Presidency, the Twelve, the High Priests, the High Council, the Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons, or hold some office in the Church and kingdom of God? Is not this really and truly a fact? To a very great extent it is, not exclusively or entirely. Have you not received this Priesthood? Are you not responsible to God to carry out his purposes and designs, so far as they have been committed unto you, in relation to the building up and establishing of his kingdom and the introduction of righteousness upon the earth? Are you not engaged in these things? If you are not you ought to be, this is your calling and profession. What shall we do then? Humble ourselves before God, every one of us. We all need it. Humble yourselves, repent of your sins, and evils, and waywardness, of your iniquities, falsehood, covetousness, pride, haughtiness and corruptions of every kind, and lay them aside, and become men of truth, integrity, virtue, purity and honor, that your hearts and spirits and feelings may be pure before God. Say to the Lord—“Search me, oh God, and prove me, and if there is any way of wickedness within me bid it depart, and let me live my religion, honor my God, walk in obedience to his laws, magnify my Priesthood, and prepare myself and my posterity for an inheritance in the kingdom of God. Let me associate myself with those men of God who have gone before, and with God, and with Jesus, who is the Mediator of the New Covenant, that, all combined, we may roll on the work of God, and accomplish his purposes here upon the earth.”

Why, some of these men you heard Elder Hyde talking about here the other day are beginning to visit the Lamanites. Somebody asked me why they did not come to some of us. Said I—“I do not know, but I think that if I was the father of these folks I should go to them first, seek after them first.” But no matter, let them operate and us operate, and God operate, and don’t let us stand in the way of God. Let us humble ourselves; let us reverence the Priesthood and honor those who are keeping the command– ments of God and managing the affairs of his Church and kingdom on the earth. Let us operate also with the living Priesthood of all ages; with Adam, Seth, Enoch, Noah, Melchizedek, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the Prophets, Jesus, his Apostles, with Ether, Jared and his brother—Lehi, Alma, Moroni, Mormon, the Prophets and Apostles on this continent, and men that have held the same Priesthood that we do, and with them help our heavenly Father to establish and roll on this kingdom; to save the living and the dead and bring in everlasting righteousness, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered at the Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City Thursday Morning, April 8, 1875.

We have met together, as is our wont, on this Conference occasion, to speak and to hear, to deliberate, to reflect, and to teach principles and doctrines that are calculated to benefit and bless, to comfort, cheer and direct the Saints of the Most High, here and throughout the world. But in our meetings, and in our teachings and instructions we need, today as much as we ever did, to be under the guidance and direction of the Almighty. There is no man living, and there never was a man living, who was capable of teaching the things of God only as he was taught, instructed and directed by the spirit of revelation proceeding from the Almighty. And then there are no people competent to receive true intelligence and to form a correct judgment in relation to the sacred principles of eternal life, unless they are under the influence of the same spirit, and hence speakers and hearers are all in the hands of the Almighty.

We are met together for the purpose of trying to benefit each other, old and young, and the generation thus now lives, the generations that have lived, and those who will live hereafter; for there is something in the Gospel of the Son of God that is wide and expansive, and that extends to all circumstances and situations in life. It embraces the past, the present and the future, and in its principles we, both as individuals and as a community, are immediately interested; and so in fact are all the world, if they could only comprehend the situation. We occupy a peculiar position among the nations of the earth. Our faith and its doctrines and principles are different from those of any other religious body in many particulars; our prospects, our hopes of the future, and our ideas respecting man’s present and past differ very materially from the ideas on the same subjects which are entertained by other people. We are not the originators of the peculiar ideas that we believe in, or of the peculiar doctrines which we inculcate. We happen to live in an age of the world when, in the economy of God, certain principles have to be introduced for the accomplishment of his purposes, as a part of the great work he has been engaged in from the time before the world was framed, or “the morning stars sang together for joy.” Certain events have to be brought about; certain circumstances have to transpire; certain doctrines have to be made known, that we may operate in our day with the Almighty in the accomplishment of his designs. The principles of salvation are not so narrow and contracted as some men suppose. God is not contracted in his ideas, feelings, or general dealings with the human family. The Scriptures say that “we are all his offspring,” no matter who we are, or when or where we lived upon the earth. God is the God and Father of all flesh, and consequently he feels interested in the welfare of all humanity, no matter of what age, clime, nation or people; and he has seen proper in the last days, in which we live, to reveal certain principles which were revealed in former ages to other peoples and under other circumstances; and as it was in former days, so in these—he has given these revelations to man for the accomplishment of his designs upon the earth; hence these revelations are of great importance, and while we are called to take an active part in bringing to pass certain events in the program of the Almighty, we are as much dependent upon him for guidance, sustenance, intelligence and protection as any other people, and before we get through we shall find out that it is not in man to direct his own steps. We are all of us dependent, for all things, upon our heavenly Father. We are only an integral part of, and are operating in and with others, according to our intelligence, in our sphere, in the great plan which God organized before the world was, and in which all mankind, of all ages and nations, are deeply interested.

We talk about the Gospel of the Son of God, and there are many curious ideas and theories prevalent among mankind in relation to it. The Gospel is not something new, or that never existed until Jesus Christ came upon the earth; but it is an eternal principle, and it has a Priesthood associated with it which, like the Gospel itself, is without beginning of days or end of years. When God organized the world he had in his mind certain ideas and plans which he calculated to bring about in relation to the inhabitants who should live upon it; and the first great commandment that was given to them was to “be fruitful, multiply, and to replenish the earth, to have dominion over the beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, and everything that creeps upon the face of the earth.” Man was created in the image of God, and he was the offspring of Deity himself, and consequently made in his likeness; and being made in that likeness, he was a son of God, and the very object of his being planted upon the earth was that he might multiply. Why? That the spirits which had existed with their heavenly Father might have tabernacles to inhabit and become mortal, and, through the possession of these tabernacles and the plan of salvation, that they might be raised to greater dignity, glory and exaltation than it would be possible for them to enjoy without these; and hence, though a man was made a little lower than the angels, the time will come when he will be a little higher than many angels, for the Apostle says, in speaking of those who had received the Gospel, “Know ye not that ye shall judge angels?” God had a purpose, therefore, in the organization of this earth, and in the placing of man upon it, and he has never deviated one hair to the right or to the left in regard to man and his destiny from that time until the present. He is eternal and unchangeable, and so are his ideas in regard to the world that we inhabit and mankind who live upon it; and he has been seeking, from the commencement of creation to the present time, to benefit mankind, just as much as it was in his power to accomplish, consistent with certain laws governing and regulating the same, that he could not violate any more than we can.

There are certain ideas that men entertain pertaining to the world that we live in, that it is enough for them if they have only something to eat, drink and wear. These ideas, of a sensual nature, men seem to be governed by to a very great extent. Jesus, in his day, said to the people, and to his disciples especially—“Take no thought for the morrow, what ye shall eat, what ye shall drink, or wherewithal ye shall be clothed, for after all these things do the Gentiles seek.” That is the acme of their zeal, energy, struggles, perseverance and thought. “What shall we eat, what shall we drink, and wherewithal shall we be clothed?” Said Jesus—“Consider the lilies of the field they toil not, neither do they spin, and yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” God takes care of the beasts and the fowls, the creeping things, and of everything that lives and moves upon the earth; he regularly provides for them their breakfast, dinner and supper, and if he did not do it they would have to go without. He provides for us also, and has taken care of us from our birth up to the present time, and we are not so independent as many of us think we are in very many particulars. Witness, for instance, our breathing. We breathe what we call the breath of life; is it by any action of ours? God made us and planted that principle within us, and sleeping or waking our lungs continue to play. There is some– thing remarkable about it. I have sometimes gazed upon an old man, just on the verge of eternity, perhaps seventy, eighty, or ninety years of age, and I have watched the beating of his pulse, the drawing of the breath and the sight of the eye. His breath has been inhaled all the years of his life, not through any agency or volition of his own, but simply by the organism which God made and gave to him. Our pulse beats in the same way, from hour to hour, minute to minute, and our blood flows from the heart to the extreme parts of the system simply by the energy and vitality which God imparts. When we come to examine ourselves we are not so independent after all. What have we to do with the functions of digestion, and many other things connected with the human system? In God we live, in God we move, and from God we have our being, and let him withdraw the breath of life and the pulse stops beating, and in a short time we become helpless, inanimate clay. We are not very independent, we are all of us in the hands of God, and when he withdraws the vital power we go to decay.

God is watching over us, and he is watching over his people. We realize that we possess certain faculties and powers of mind, and these and the power of conveying them to the brain, or thought and reflection, comes from God; we are indebted to him for every power we have, and so are all the inhabitants of the earth; and as I have already said, he has been seeking to benefit the human family just as much as lay in his power, from the beginning until the present time.

The first thing was—“Multiply and replenish the earth.” Then, by and by, through the power of Satan, who I suppose was a necessary influ– ence to be used, or he would not have been there, men’s minds got estranged from God, and every imagination of the thoughts of their hearts was evil and it was necessary that they should be cut off and that God should commence another seed, and that those men who lived at that time should not have the power to propagate their species in unrighteousness and entail misery upon their posterity. Why so? Because man is a dual being, possessed of a body and a spirit, having to do with time and eternity. Whether we think about and reflect upon, or believe it or not, it makes no difference. We existed before we came here; we exist here in another form from what we did then, and we shall live in another and different sphere when we leave here, whether we believe it or not; and no action of ours can alter it, and no matter what our thoughts and reflections on this subject may be, they will not change the course of the Great Jehovah in regard to man.

Well, when God found that the people were transgressing his laws continually, and that they were raising up a posterity who followed in the same path, to prevent justice being done to spirits unborn by those who were in the flesh, he cut them off and raised up another seed; and change has succeeded change, and God has dealt with nations and with individuals according to his wisdom for the best good of the human family. He raised up Abraham, and Moses; and by and by Jesus came to accomplish certain objects, and to restore the Gospel, which had been lost in consequence of transgression. Jesus preached the Gospel. Was it right? Yes. Why did it not continue? I do not know, but it did not continue, and the Prophets said it would not, and one of them prophesied that a certain power would seek to make war with the Saints of God, and that it would prevail against them, and that they would be given into his hands until a time, and times, and the dividing of a time. And then other events had to transpire, and other plans and principles had to be introduced, and by and by the time came for the restoration of the Gospel again, and Joseph Smith was raised up, and through him the revelations of God and the Priesthood were restored, the same Priesthood that Jesus had, and which existed upon the earth long before his day. There was nothing new about it. Why, Adam, before he left the earth, gathered his people together in the Valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman, and the curtain of eternity was unfolded before him, and he gazed upon all events pertaining to his descendants, which should transpire in every subsequent period of time, and he prophesied to them. He saw the flood and its desolating influence; he saw the introduction again of a people in the days of Noah; he saw their departure from the right path. He saw Abraham, Moses and the Prophets make their appearance and witnessed the results of their acts; he saw nations rise and fall; he saw the time when Jesus would come and restore the Gospel and when he would preach that Gospel to those who perished in the days of Noah; and in fact he saw everything that should transpire upon the earth, until the winding up scene. He was acquainted with the day in which we live and the circumstances with which we are surrounded. Many other men have possessed a portion of the same power, influence, knowledge and intelligence, and they have obtained it from the same source.

There have been many peculiar circumstances connected with the past history of mankind. Enoch, for instance, occupied a peculiar position in his day, before the flood, when the imaginations of the hearts of the people were evil. In that day God endowed men with the spirit of revelation and prophecy, and they went forth and proclaimed to the people the same Gospel that we are proclaiming now. And Enoch gathered together his people and they were taught of God by the everlasting Priesthood, which holds the keys of the mysteries of the revelations of God, and which has done so in every age of the world whenever it has existed. Those men were taught of God; but they could not stop the evil nor stem the march and progress of iniquity, but they could gather together those who would be obedient to the revelations of God, and they did gather them together, and Enoch and his city being perfected, and the world doomed to destruction, the Lord moved them out of the way, and the rumor went forth—“Zion is fled.” They were taken up out of the way of the world into the keeping of the Almighty. Then came the Flood, then came many other events, and finally Joseph Smith came, through whom God revealed the principles by which he governs the world. Joseph knew nothing about these things until the Lord revealed them. There was nothing particular about him, he was a man like the balance of us. But the Lord, for certain reasons of his own, I suppose, selected him to be his mouthpiece to the nations in this age of the world. Perhaps Joseph, as well as many others, was set apart to a certain office before the world was. Christ was the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. Abraham was set apart to his office, and a great many others in the same way; and Joseph Smith came to do his work.

What was that work? Why things seemed to be changed around in a great measure here from what they were in early days. God said to Adam—“Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.” What does he say now? He says—“Build Temples! Build Temples!!” What for? “To accomplish certain purposes that I had in my mind before the world was; that you may operate for yourselves, that you may be instructed therein in the laws of life—the laws pertaining to your bodies and to your spirits; the laws pertaining to the living and the dead.” Principles in which all mankind that have ever lived or that ever will live are interested. The Lord took Lehi and his family, and planted them upon this continent, and they increased and spread abroad, and the Lord revealed unto them his law; and after Jesus left the Continent of Asia, he came here and organized his Church and made the people acquainted with the principles of truth, as he did on the other continent, only more so, for they had more light, revelation and intelligence here than there, and they lived in union and harmony here for more than two hundred years. They had all things in common one with another, and covetousness was in a great measure destroyed. The great secret of their success in this direction was that “they dealt justly one with another.”

Well, these various Priesthoods that have existed, and these Prophets that have lived, such for instance as Nephi, Alma, Lehi, Mahoni, Moroni, Mormon and others, were taught and instructed in the principles of life and the laws of God, and they have left their testimony on record, and we have it here, in the Book of Mormon. They administered here in time, and they are all administering in eternity, and they are operating and cooperating with us and with the Almighty for the accomplishment of his purposes upon the earth. We talk sometimes about cooperation; but the plan of salvation, if you please, is a grand Cooperative Scheme, as expansive as the heavens and as wide as eternity; it penetrates through all time, extends through all ages, and reaches men in every position, living or dead; they who have lived, we who now live, and they who will live hereafter are all working together in this grand cooperative plan, and we cannot be made perfect without our progenitors, neither can they be perfected without us, and they are as much dependent upon us as we are dependent upon them. We can build Temples, they cannot; it is not their province to administer in them at present, but it is ours, and we are called upon to do so. They are interested in our welfare, they are our fathers, we are their children; they are laboring there, we here, for our mutual salvation and exaltation in the kingdom of God. The plan of salvation is no isolated affair; it is not narrow and circumscribed like the man I have heard of, who prayed—“God bless me and my wife, my son John and his wife, us four and no more, Amen;” but it is as high as heaven, as deep as hell and as wide as the universal creation; it extends to the time that is past and to the eternities that are to come. The living and the dead so-called in Christ are all working for the accomplishment of the same great objects and purposes. Don’t you think that they, behind the veil, feel as much interested in the work as we do? Read the little glimpse given by John in the Revelation, where he speaks about the souls of those before the altar, who prayed day and night that he would avenge them of their adversaries; and again, when the time came when Babylon was cast down there was rejoicing among the angels in heaven. This gives us some faint idea of the feelings entertained by those on the other side of the veil in relation to events here.

Don’t you think that Adam, the father of us all, feels interested in the welfare of his children? I think he does. Don’t you think that Enoch feels interested in the welfare of his people? I guess he does. Don’t you think that Noah does? Yes, and even some of the Prophets, in speaking about events in the future, tell of a time when Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands to God. Are they not all interested? Yes. Are not all of you interested in your posterity? Yes, you are. Does the Gospel show you how to take care of them? It does. Does it enable you to bless your posterity as Jacob did? It does, and to seal blessings upon their heads. Does it give you promises pertaining to the future? It does, pertaining to you and your posterity. And are not all of these men engaged with us in the same object? Yes, and they are just as much interested as we are, and ten thousand times more, because they know more; and they have been operating in the various ages, and when they were permitted they have come forth and communicated the will of God to man. And when Joseph Smith was raised up as a Prophet of God, Mormon, Moroni, Nephi and others of the ancient Prophets who formerly lived on this Continent, and Peter and John and others who lived on the Asiatic Continent, came to him and communicated to him certain principles pertaining to the Gospel of the Son of God. Why? Because they held the keys of the various dispensations, and conferred them upon him, and he upon us. He was indebted to God; and we are indebted to God and to him for all the intelligence that we have on these subjects. Who in this generation knew anything about Temples and their uses until Joseph revealed it? Nobody. Who knew anything about baptism for the dead until then? Nobody. Who knew anything about the past or the future? Why, when I commenced to preach this Gospel, years ago, it was enough to damn anybody to even mention the principle of revelation. In this enlightened age we were so far ahead of God that we could have a religion without him, and could go to heaven without him; we did not want any revelation from, or communication with, God. But the Gospel brings us into communication with God, and makes us one with him and with those who have operated before; and those holy men of God who have lived in the various ages feel interested in our welfare, and they are watching over us, and we are better taken care of than many of us think for. Many of us are careless, thoughtless, heedless, reckless, unbelieving and full of doubts and anxiety; but God has given his angels charge concerning us lest we should dash our foot against a stone. God’s bowels of mercy have been extended to us in spite of our waywardness, folly, weakness, corruption and imbecility.

We have an organization that was planned and ordained by the Almighty. We have the First Presidency—President Brigham Young, set apart by God to occupy the position that he does, and his Counsel. Who told men about such an organization as this? God. What did we know about it till then? Nothing. Who knew about the organization of the Twelve? Nobody. Who knew about an organization of High Priests? Nobody, yet they had them in various ages of the world, according to the record that we have. Who knew about an organization of Seventies, and of the various Quorums of the Priesthood, and the duties that should devolve upon them? Nobody. Who knew about the organization of Bishops? Nobody. Have they not got Bishops? Yes, but they are not in the right place, and they are not bishops, they call them so, but they are not bishops. I remember introducing brother Hunter to a gentleman in Provo. “Mr. So and So,” said I, “this is Bishop Hunter, our presiding Bishop here. In England you have your lords spiritual, but,” said I, “this is our lord temporal, and he attends to the affairs of our bread and cheese,” &c. But elsewhere their bishops are made spiritual officers, which Bishops were never intended for. Who knew anything about other organizations of the Priesthood that we have, such as Elders, Priests, Teachers, Deacons, and their various duties? Nobody. Where did this originate? With God. Where is the pattern? In the heavens. When will this Priesthood cease? Never. It originated with God, and when we get through with the affairs of time you will find just the same organization, the same Priesthood, the same power, the same principles that exist here. Why? Because the things which exist in the Church of God here are patterns of those which exist in the heavens. God said to Moses—“See that thou make all things according to the pattern that I showed thee in the mount.” The pattern that we have is a pattern of that which exists in the heavens, the organization of the Priesthood that will exist throughout eternity. And these are heavenly things committed to us in the flesh for our benefit, and for the benefit of the world that we live in. It is not to save or bless me or my family alone, or you and your family alone; but it is to bless and save all who will avail themselves thereof, who have ever lived, and all who live now or ever will live.

When the purposes of God in regard to the earth shall have been fulfilled, the earth will resume its former paradisiacal glory, and go on to be celestialized. To help on this good time we are requested to introduce certain principles, and we have heard a good deal said about the United Order. Who would not want to be united with an order like this that I speak of? The order into which we are now requested to enter is a very, very, very little portion of the other, that is all; but as we show by our acts that we cannot, or will not, be one in temporal things, how can we be one in spiritual things? Says Jesus—“If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things?” But we do believe in these principles, and we are governed by them to a certain extent, and we are desirous to do what is right, and God desires to help us. What shall we do then? Why, keep his commandments, and obey the counsels of his servants, and esteem it a privilege to be one with them.

[Continued on Page 1, Vol. 18.]

Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered at the Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Thursday Morning, April 8, 1875.

[Continued From Page 376, Vol. 17.] We talk sometimes about the Priesthood. Who are we? Who are these Latter-day Saints before me today? Are they not the Priesthood? Are you not, really and truly, a kingdom of Priests? Do you not belong to the First Presidency, the Twelve, the High Priests, the High Council, the Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons, or hold some office in the Church and kingdom of God? Is not this really and truly a fact? To a very great extent it is, not exclusively or entirely. Have you not received this Priesthood? Are you not responsible to God to carry out his purposes and designs, so far as they have been committed unto you, in relation to the building up and establishing of his kingdom and the introduction of righteousness upon the earth? Are you not engaged in these things? If you are not you ought to be, this is your calling and profession. What shall we do then? Humble ourselves before God, every one of us. We all need it. Humble yourselves, repent of your sins, and evils, and waywardness, of your iniquities, falsehood, covetousness, pride, haughtiness and corruptions of every kind, and lay them aside, and become men of truth, integrity, virtue, purity and honor, that your hearts and spirits and feelings may be pure before God. Say to the Lord—“Search me, oh God, and prove me, and if there is any way of wickedness within me bid it depart, and let me live my religion, honor my God, walk in obedience to his laws, magnify my Priesthood, and prepare myself and my posterity for an inheritance in the kingdom of God. Let me associate myself with those men of God who have gone before, and with God, and with Jesus, who is the Mediator of the New Covenant, that, all combined, we may roll on the work of God, and accomplish his purposes here upon the earth.”

Why, some of these men you heard Elder Hyde talking about here the other day are beginning to visit the Lamanites. Somebody asked me why they did not come to some of us. Said I—“I do not know, but I think that if I was the father of these folks I should go to them first, seek after them first.” But no matter, let them operate and us operate, and God operate, and don’t let us stand in the way of God. Let us humble ourselves; let us reverence the Priesthood and honor those who are keeping the command– ments of God and managing the affairs of his Church and kingdom on the earth. Let us operate also with the living Priesthood of all ages; with Adam, Seth, Enoch, Noah, Melchizedek, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the Prophets, Jesus, his Apostles, with Ether, Jared and his brother—Lehi, Alma, Moroni, Mormon, the Prophets and Apostles on this continent, and men that have held the same Priesthood that we do, and with them help our heavenly Father to establish and roll on this kingdom; to save the living and the dead and bring in everlasting righteousness, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered at the Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Thursday Afternoon, April 8, 1875.

There have been a number of items of interest touched upon by the brethren who have spoken during this Conference, and as it is a time when we meet together for the purpose of receiving general instructions, it seems to me very desirable that the time should be occupied in dwelling upon principles which immediately pertain to our condition and present circumstances. In the remarks which I shall make this afternoon, I trust I shall be led to speak upon those things which immediately concern us, and which pertain to our daily lives.

I rejoice exceedingly in this opportunity, that is, the opportunity of being present at Conference. I believe that I can appreciate it better than I could possibly have done had I been here all the time during the winter. I have, however, during my absence, enjoyed myself better than I could have expected. I have felt that the Lord has been with us as a people, that his power has been manifested in our behalf, and that, so far as the prospects of Zion in the future are concerned, we have abundant reason to be thankful and rejoice. I know that the hope is indulged in in many quarters that the Latter-day Saints are fast losing that faith for which they have been noted, and by the operation of which they have been enabled to accomplish the labors that have devolved upon them in the past in this country as pioneers, and as pioneers in the religious world. I am quite willing, myself, if it is any satisfaction to any individual to entertain this idea, that he should do so; but for myself, and I believe I speak the sentiments of the people, I never, in my life, saw greater cause for rejoicing in the cause of God than I do today. I am not in the least discouraged, but, on the contrary, I feel exceedingly encouraged. I know, it seems to me, better than I ever knew, that God is with this people, that he hearkens to their prayers, and that he watches over them. It is true that there are influences operating upon us at the present time that we have only recently had to contend with, they are comparatively new influences and, to a certain extent, the Latter-day Saints are unaccustomed to them, especially the rising generation. But it has been taught us from the beginning that Zion is to become a great power in the earth, and that she will triumph; but I cannot conceive how Zion can become that which we have expected, or that it will achieve the destiny predicted concerning it, unless it be by passing through ordeals such as those we already have to encounter, and others, still greater, that are yet in the future, by which Zion will show its superiority over every institution and power that exists on the face of the earth.

I have expected for years that the seclusion which we sought in coming to these mountains would be terminated. Everything in the predictions of the holy Prophets concerning the work of God in the last days conveyed this idea to my mind. I looked upon our retreat here as a temporary one, for I well knew from the character of the people and their achievements that, in a short time, we should have the world trooping to us; we should be like a city set on a hill, we could not be hid, and that the eyes of men would be attracted Zionward, therefore I have not been disappointed in witnessing that which we see around us today. It has come probably in some form that I had not looked for, because I could only take a general view, the details I did not understand, but that we should pass through ordeals that should test us, test our faith, test our institutions, test the character of our doctrines, test the practical value of everything connected with us, I never had a doubt; and so far as the future is concerned I look forward to an increase rather than a decrease of these things, to an increase of tests, a multiplication of ordeals that will be calculated in their very nature to test and try us and the system with which we are identified to the perfect satisfaction of everyone connected with it. How else could we expect that Zion should become a power in the earth? How else could we expect that that respect should be accorded to Zion which we are led to believe will be the case? How else will the wisdom and power that God will bestow upon his people be made clear in the eyes of this nation and of the nations of the earth only by these practical tests, by these trials, by surmounting these difficulties, and by showing a capacity to meet, grapple with and overcome every emergency and contingency that may arise? Can we achieve that distinction which is inevitably in store for us as a people if the predictions of the Prophets be fulfilled short of such an experience as this? I think not. The enemies of this work may indulge in whatever anticipations of our discomfiture or downfall they please, but as for us, let us take a practical, sensible view of the work with which we are identified, and prepare ourselves accordingly, so that when the hour of trial shall come, be it severe or not, we may be prepared therefore, having strength and faith sufficient to endure it, and to bear witness unto all men that we have not cherished this faith in vain.

There is this peculiarity about this work, that no power that has yet arrayed itself against it has succeeded in its attempts to gain advantage over it. It is true there have been seemingly temporary successes; there have been times when mobs and violent men have achieved a temporary success and when they have flattered themselves with the idea that their designs against this work have been successful. But one peculiarity has ever marked the career of this people, that is, that events in our history which have seemed to be deadly blows against us and the work in which we are engaged, have turned out to be magnificent successes for us as a community. Trace our history from the beginning, peruse it care– fully, draw the lessons from it which I believe are intended to be conveyed by it, and what do you see? The Church and Zion of God emerging from the difficulties, trouble and seeming disaster sought to be brought upon it by its enemies, brighter, stronger, more firmly planted, more united than it was when the difficulty commenced, or the trouble was first visited upon us. The loss of houses and lands, expulsion from homes that were dearly bought, had no such effect upon this people, produced no such thrill and such deathlike sorrow in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints as did the martyrdom of our beloved Prophet and Patriarch; had we lost our dearest friends; had we lost everything that we valued on earth, it seems to me it would not have compared with the poignant sorrow, the deep, heartfelt anguish that prostrated this people in the depths of humility when the news of the cruel murder of their beloved leaders reached them; yet deadly as that blow was, to all human appearance prostrating the entire people, who felt that they had lost those who stood nearest to God and nearest to them, God in his mercy, out of that great affliction brought forth a great triumph and raised up a man to take the place of the Prophet, who has been in some respects like Elisha following Elijah, possessing, as Elisha desired it might be the case with him, a double portion of the spirit that rested down on his master, Elijah. And God has led us, God has prospered us, and God gave us success that seemed to be commensurate with the depth of our anguish and sorrow, and lifted us up from the depths of humility into which we had sunk, and placed us upon the heights of gladness and joy, and caused us to rejoice as we could not have done probably under other circumstances. And so, when we were driven out of civilization so-called; when we wended our weary way through the wilderness, not knowing where we were going, it seemed as though the last blow had been struck and we had been left a prey to internal dissensions or to the violence of the savages. But God in his mercy, out of that seemingly great affliction, has brought forth great blessing and glory to us, and has honored us, has enriched us, has raised us up and endowed us with blessings that we could not have had where we lived; so that that great blow aimed at us by our enemies has been overruled to be the means of great and wonderful blessings to us, and as an entire people we rejoice today in the possession of a land that God has given unto us, to which he led us and which he designated by the finger of inspiration as the land which we should occupy, and which we this day possess despite all the machinations of the wicked and their efforts to strip us of all power herein. Until this day he has given unto us the supremacy in this land, from north to south, from east to west, and he has made it productive and fertile for our sakes. When we reflect upon our history since we came here; when we think of the many plots and schemes, of the many men who have lent themselves to these plots, who have done all in their power against and to entrap this people; when we reflect upon it all, so far as I am concerned, I am filled with amazement, and with thanksgiving to God our Eternal Father for his goodness and mercy unto us as a people. I know, as well as I know that I live, that no human power could have saved us time and time again as we have been rescued; that there is no wisdom of man that was equal to the emergencies in which we have been placed; but God, in his infinite mercy and wisdom, in his kindness and watchcare over us as a people, has, at the very moment when salvation was needed, stretched forth his Almighty arm. He has rescued us from the grasp of the destroyer when it seemed as though destruction was inevitable and we could not escape. The last five years have been as fruitful, probably, as any period in our history in events of this character. Time and time again has it seemed as though destruction was sure to come upon us, as though there were no way possible for us to escape; but God has heard our supplications and has opened the way of deliverance in a most wonderful manner, and has rescued us from the grasp of those who would destroy us. Others may not see the hand of God in these things; they may say that these things come about from and are the results of natural causes, but those who have prayed to God, whose hearts have been drawn out in supplication to him and who have waited tremblingly for the salvation which he has promised, have seen and they cannot but acknowledge the hand of God in these deliverances, because, as I have said, they have watched, waited and prayed anxiously and earnestly in the name of Jesus for deliverance, and when it has come their faith has been strengthened and their joy increased in the Holy One of Israel; because he has heard and answered their prayers: and today the Latter-day Saints are the people of all people upon the face of the earth who know that God lives, because he hears and answers their prayers. And he, it seems, is determined to have a people upon the earth who will be compelled to put their trust in him and not in man, because man’s power would utterly fail to save them, and no power but his can do it. When I look at all these things it is a matter of surprise to me that men cannot see the hand of God in this work. Yet there are many whose hearts have been touched by the evidences of God’s favor unto us, and they have been surprised and have expressed their wonder that we have been so signally delivered as we have been.

Now there is a great future in store for us as a people. God has said so, and his words cannot fail in being fulfilled. There is a destiny in store for this people that few can comprehend. We have to teach the world lesson after lesson that they have entirely forgotten, or that they never knew. We have to teach them and show them by our example that there is such a thing as living faith, that there is such a thing as trusting in God, being saved by him, that there is such a power as faith in the land, and that prayer, when offered in faith, is effectual in reaching him. We have to show the nations of the earth that God with a small people can accomplish wonderful results. When I think of our numbers, how few we are—we are a great people in some respects, but in numbers we are few and feeble—yet with this few people what is God doing in the earth! What a name he is gaining for his people, his servants! You may travel throughout the earth, in every land, among every people, and let it be known that you are a Latter-day Saint, and you will find that the fame of the people has preceded you, and you will find yourselves distinguished from everybody else. It is exceedingly wonderful that a people so small, numerically so insignificant, a people not wealthy, but it may be said poor, are so noted in the earth. Yet this is the fact, that God intends to make us still more so, he intends to give us a name and a place among the nations of the earth that shall be distinguished above all other people. We are accused, you know, of being disloyal. This has been a story told of us, a charge repeated against us from the very beginning, because men have thought it would be most effective in destroying our influence. The idea prevails in many quarters that we are scarcely as true to the government as we should be. I have heard it stated that were it not for these troops at Camp Douglas, Utah Territory would rebel. By such nonsense as this do men who oppose us seek to deceive the world at large respecting us and our motives and feelings. I have had occasion frequently to talk upon this subject. I have told men that, from my early boyhood, I have been taught to believe that the constitution of the United States was revealed of God, and that the destiny in store for the Latter-day Saints was to uphold constitutional government upon this land; and, that being the case, how could it be reconcilable with the idea that we were disloyal to the Government? But there is a class of men who consider everybody disloyal who does not dance to their tunes, and who does not re-echo the sentiments which they express and seem to entertain. We have a class of men among us here who talk about the one-man power and the tyranny that exist in the Utah Territory, but at the same time if an official were to come here and associate with citizens of this Territory, “Mormon” citizens I mean, they would put him under a ban and brand him as disloyal and unfit to hold an official position under the Government. And why? For years here it has been considered by certain officials as one of the best recommendations to the favor of those in power to hate and abuse the “Mor– mon” people of Utah Territory; and if a man were to dare to associate with “Mormons,” were to speak kindly of or to associate with them, and to treat them as he would other people he would be ostracized and banished, so far as association with them is concerned a non-intercourse act would be passed immediately. And these very individuals talk about the intolerance of the Mormons.

We have these things to contend with, we have these lies to live down, and as far as we are concerned, let them always be lies; let no man have it in his power to say that the Latter-day Saints are an intolerant, proscriptive or an unjust people. Never let this be said of us with truth; but if it be said, let our enemies continue to lie about us until they are tired of it, or until the world become sickened with the falsehoods that are told concerning us. And for us, let us pursue the path that God has marked out, being liberal, truthful, upright, dealing fairly, honestly and tolerantly with every man, so that every class of men who come into our midst may learn that we have received a religion that admits of toleration in the broadest sense of the word.

It has been a matter of considerable satisfaction to me to state that in Utah Territory our pulpits, stands, tabernacles and meetinghouses have always been open to every sect and denomination to come and preach their peculiar views, creeds and doctrines, and that our people have turned out in large congregations to listen to speakers or preachers of other denominations advancing their doctrines; and that not only have congregations of adults been furnished, but the children of the Sunday schools have frequently been assembled in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, that they might pur– posely hear and become familiar with the ideas and views entertained by other religious denominations. This stands out in marked contrast with the practice of almost every other sect, and it gives the falsehood to the stories which have been so frequently told about us.

Now respecting all these things that we are passing through, I recognize the hand of God in them all. I think that we have learned lessons of late that have been profitable to us. For instance, we now know and, while the recollection of the past few years is vivid in our minds we shall continue to know, how to value a just man who sits as a judge, and it may be that it will be so impressed upon us, that when power shall come into our midst, and come it will, as inevitably as the sun rises in the morning over the eastern hills so sure will power come unto us; but when it does come I trust that the recollection of the past will be vivid in our minds and that we will always seek to deal justly and fairly with all who may seek justice at our hands. It has been said that when we acquire power we shall be intolerant, as other sects have been. The Puritans, who fled from England because of religious persecution became, in turn, themselves the persecutors when they had the power. Roger Williams fled from them and took refuge in what is now Rhode Island. They persecuted the Quakers and others who came within their borders with an intolerance that was quite equal to, if it did not exceed, the intolerance to which they themselves had been the victims. And it has been said concerning us, that if we had the power, we would probably tread in the same path, that persecution would only harden us and make us deal with others with a severity which we would not know anything about had we ourselves not been victims beforehand. But I think that God in his mercy will strip us if there be any vestige of this about us; I hope he will, at any rate. If we achieve the destiny that is in store for us, certainly to maintain that character and to retain that power, it will be necessary that we should be just, upright, forbearing and tolerant, and that we should be willing that every man in this broad land should worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, whether his god be the workmanship of his own hands, whether it be the sun, the moon, some animal, or the God of heaven, with Jesus his Son, that we shall be willing that every man should worship God according to his own feelings upon the subject, so long as he does not interfere with us, or with others. I think we have learned this lesson in part. I think the lessons that have been impressed upon us have had an effect in this direction, at least they have had the effect to broaden us; and every lesson of this kind will have such a result as this with us as a people, and on this account I am thankful for them.

I am thankful today that we are not a State. There have been times when I have wished exceedingly that we might be released from territorial vassalage and be incorporated in the Union as a sovereign state. I have desired, and labored for it; but this last winter I have been exceedingly thankful that Utah was a territory and not a state. We are told to acknowledge the hand of God in all things, and I do not see why we should not acknowledge it in being kept in this condition of tutelage and vassalage as well as in anything else. But it may be asked—“Why do you think our condition better as a territory than as a state?” When I heard of events in Louisiana, the federal troops maintaining a government there, against which I was informed, and as I believed, the mass of the people revolted, I thought to myself—Better be an insignificant territory than a state if we cannot have the right of choosing our own rulers and have them act in the offices to which they are elected. Thanks to our insignificance federal troops have not interfered with us here; but if we had been a State, with two votes in the Senate, a vote or two in the House, and electoral votes in the Presidential Election there might have been a temptation to have done with Utah as with other states. But we had no vote; our delegate in Congress had no vote; we had no senatorial representation; we had no vote at the Presidential Election, and this denial to us of our rights, by keeping us in a Territorial condition, has thus far helped to save us. With such a feeling as there has been in this city and territory, for contesting elections, when they have been overwhelmingly on one side—twenty thousand and upward against two or three thousand; when men will contest elections under such circumstances, and endeavor by unjust means to wrest the power out of the hands of the people and defeat the will of the majority; when they will do this, as has been done in this Territory, it would not need a very strong pretext to have them to go farther, to have them appeal for Federal interference, and to try and induce the government to say—“Those whom you call the minority are the majority, they have been unjustly dealt with; affidavits have come here showing that the polls have not been managed properly, the ballots have not been deposited as they should be, and we must decide against you “Mormons” and the men whom you have elected, and put your opponents into power.” I do not say that this is the case in Louisiana, I do not pretend to decide upon that question, it admits of a good deal of argument; but I have been told by members of Congress who visited there—the Committee sent by Congress to investigate matters, that if the federal troops had been withdrawn from Louisiana this winter twenty-four hours would not have elapsed until the McEnery government would have been put in power, and the whole difficulty would have been solved. But the presence of federal troops maintained a government that could not be maintained in and of itself. What is the use, then, of being a State government if the Federal government is to interfere in this manner in State affairs? And with the causes that exist in Utah Territory to make interference popular and a thing to be approved of by thousands, a State government would not be so desirable. I have, therefore, so far as my own feelings have been concerned, been very much pleased at being a territory. I have seen the hand of God and his wisdom in this thing, when if my wish or my will could have been gratified we should have been a State long ago.

The Lord, in his mercy, will preserve us from these evils; in his overruling wisdom and providence he will deliver us until the time shall come for us to be a state if that be his will, and I doubt not that we shall be surprised at it ourselves. I have come to the conclusion, as one individual, that I shall not be anxious on this subject in the future, and shall leave it to the overruling providence of God to bring about when it shall seem good unto him.

As to some of the States in the South they are in such a condition that we, if we were in the same, should think our lot dreadful. I have heard stories of usurpation and tyranny by officials in those states that have caused me to think that, notwithstanding all that we have had to endure in Utah Territory, our lot has been a fortunate one compared with that of others. They have drunk the cup of humiliation to its very dregs. You know there was a time here when it seemed as though every effort was made to bring us under military rule in this Territory, and when the provocations endured by the people here come to be read in history surprise will arise in the mind of the reader, and admiration for the people who so patiently endured the wrongs that were imposed upon them, especially when it is remembered what power we hold here. Why, think of it, a few years ago a Governor came to this Territory immediately after a long and bloody Indian war, in which our citizens were massacred, their property stolen, their settlements robbed and their stock driven off; and immediately after that war a Governor came here who prohibited the militia, every able-bodied man in the Territory, from bearing arms—a most unheard of tyrannical exercise of power; and then a Secretary, while acting governor, afterwards repeated the same proclamation. And this people have borne it patiently and never lifted their hands against these contemptible tyrants. It was doubtless hoped that we would commit some overt act to provoke trouble, so that the federal troops could be brought in and be placed under the control of these officials, who for once in their lives happened to hold position. Not only this, but on one occasion when certain citizens met together as a company, to celebrate the fact of their band having got a new set of instruments a federal judge committed them to a military prison for violating this proclamation, as though a proclamation of the Governor was law! With as great propriety might an Executive claim that he has the power to restore the curfew, and say—“You must have your fires extinguished by eight o’clock at night, or we will put you in a military prison; and you must rise in the morning at the tap of the bell, or we will treat you as criminals.” If a Governor’s proclamation is law, and is to be respected as such, where will it end? Will it end with the imprisonment of men who act as militia men? No; if such acts of usurpation continue, no citizen will be safe, and they will end in the overthrow of liberty and constitutional right wherever permitted.

We have borne these things, and we have borne others, the recollection of which, were I to recite them to you, would make our blood boil. It is not necessary that I should do so; but in talking thus do we talk disloyally? American citizens have the right to talk about officials who trample upon their rights in this manner; we all have the right to question the acts of men in power; it is a right given to us, and the man is not worthy of the name of freeman who will not thus criticize acts of oppression and, in a proper manner, resent them and show his abhorrence of them. It is because they are violative of the fundamental principles of our government that I thus talk about them: and in any other Territory than this they would have provoked a storm of indignation that would have overwhelmed their authors. One of the lessons we have to learn is to have patience, but not to stop remonstrating, not stop talking, not stop appealing, not hold our tongues and let our children grow up with the belief that these things are right. No, proclaim against them, let it be known that they are wrong, that they are contrary to the law of the land, to the Constitution and to the principles of our government; let this be known, and let our children understand what is right, and all men recognize the fact that we understand our rights, whether they are denied to us or not.

I expect to see the day when the Latter-day Saints will be the people to maintain constitutional government on this land. Men everywhere should know that we believe in constitutional principles, and that we expect that it will be our destiny to maintain them. That the prediction will be fulfilled that was made forty-four years ago the seventh of last March, wherein God said to Joseph Smith—“Ye hear of wars in foreign lands; but behold I say unto you, they are nigh, even at your doors, and not many years hence ye shall hear of wars in your own lands;” but the revelation goes on to say that the day will come among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor, must needs flee unto Zion for safety. A portion of that revelation has been fulfilled, the remainder will be. The causes are in operation to bring it about. We are not alone in the thought that the republic is drifting steadily in that direction; that we are leaving the old constitutional landmarks, and that the time is not far distant when there will be trouble in consequence of it, when there will be civil broils and strife; and, to escape them, we believe, men will be compelled to flee to the “Mormons,” despised as they are now. Does this seem incredible? Why, look you, today, throughout our Union, the Latter-day Saints are the most lightly taxed of any people upon the face of this continent. I do not know a community as free from debt as we are. There are one or two States I believe free from debt, but they have had to tax heavily to free themselves. But as a Territory we have never been in debt, and although we have had many temptations to drift in that direction, not a bond belonging to the Territory has ever been issued; not a dollar is owing that cannot be paid. Our cities are out of debt; our counties are out of debt, and I hope they will continue so. Our legislators, county courts and city officers will doubtless take special pains to keep down expenses and let us be burdened as little as possible with taxation, so that we may be a happy and a free people. Let taxes accumulate, and there is a constant temptation for officers to steal your taxes; there must be men elected to take care of your taxes, and there will be hundreds of leaks by which your means will go without benefit to the community, therefore, let us be a lightly taxed people. We are that today, and that is one evidence of the good government there is in this Territory. We have peace here, and we should have little or no litigation if it were not forced upon us, and our courts, so far as litigation is concerned, would have very little to do from the Latter-day Saints; we would settle our difficulties by arbitration, and prevent litigation and money being spent therein. All the tendencies of this people are towards peace, and their aim is to preserve peaceful relations with each other and with the outside world, and we have shown this all the day long.

What is the case elsewhere? Why corruption stalks through the land, and taxation and debt are increasing. It is considered a light thing for a man to get his hand into the government treasury; that is all right, and if so he steal the funds of a city, county or State, they do not call it stealing, however: O no, that is a vulgar name; it will do for the man who robs his neighbor’s hen roost, but they have more fashionable language for the acts to which I refer.

Men in public life, under the present reign of extravagance, cannot meet their expenses, therefore they are exposed to temptation and are led to take advantage of their position. This is not always the case, there are many exceptions; but this is the case too frequently, and good men mourn over and regret it, and they would like to stem the tide and arrest this downward tendency.

This is a lesson that we have to profit by; our officials must be careful, and we must maintain a standard of honesty that does not exist anywhere else. It will not do for the idea to prevail that because a man has an office he has the right to enrich himself from that office. This has not been the case in this Territory thus far; and we may reasonably expect it will not be.

Now, my brethren and sisters, let us live for the destiny that is in store for us. Let us remember that God has a great future for this people, and that how soon it will be granted unto us depends upon ourselves. If we were prepared for it I know that that time would soon come, and we should have opportunities given us of doing good that we do not have today. But I am told that one of the effects of this ordeal through which we are passing, is that there are some young men, and possibly young women, who yield to certain temptations. Young men, who formerly would have been ashamed to be seen smoking on the streets or entering a billiard, a gambling, or a drinking saloon, are now seen in such places, and they do not scruple to use the name of God in vain, or to swear and be profane, and there are some who seem to imagine that it is an evidence of independence and smartness to indulge in these things; and it may be that they go a little further and are guilty of other acts of greater turpitude than these.

No man loses credit by being true to his principles. If he is a Latter-day Saint, let him act out his principles wherever he goes. If he does not believe in drinking intoxicating drinks, let him refrain from doing so everywhere; if he does not smoke, refrain from smoking; if he does not swear—which no man ought to do—let him refrain from it, no matter where he is, and let him be true to the principles of his religion always and under all circumstances, and he will gain influence that he would not have otherwise. Let us as a people take a course of this kind. But there is this tendency—“O, we must be like somebody else.” You can see that tendency at the present time in many things besides men’s conduct. There are men here who would change our city and make it like places they know. They would cut down our streets until they would not be fifty feet wide, and cut down our city blocks until they were like other city blocks, and would narrow our sidewalks, cut down our shade trees, and completely change the character of everything there is about us. They would rob the city of every distinctive feature, and fill the city with nest holes of vice. You can see this tendency here to imitate and do as somebody else does, instead of ourselves being the standard; instead of recollecting that God has chosen us and placed his name upon us, that he has called us to be his Saints, and that it is our duty to maintain our principles, and carry them out in our lives, doing that which is right, regardless of whether it may suit other people or not. It is our duty to have some mind of our own, and if we have a good thing not to be willing to part with it because other people make sport of it. I like our city, our sidewalks and the width of our streets; others may not, but that is the pattern and plan upon which the city was laid out. I would like to see everything connected with our city—and I speak of this because it is a case in point, and I merely speak of it to illustrate everything else—I would like to see us carry out that which is right ourselves. If we have ideas of our own, cling to them, and not abandon them, because they do not happen to be popular. And so with our practices. A man who does not smoke is not any worse for it; he is no less a gentleman when he goes into company because of that. He is no less a gentleman because he does not drink or because he does not swear, because he does not go into a gambling house or a house of ill fame; and how can a man who calls himself a Latter-day Saint, think that he is any more of a gentleman or any better a man because he can do these things when he, in and of himself, knows they are wrong. God has taught us that it is not good for us to do these things; he has given us counsel, he has given us a word of wisdom, and the man who thus disregards the word of God and his counsel does not show very great respect to him, and I do not imagine that God is going to show very great respect to him.

Let us be true to our principles; men admire sincerity, truth and uprightness, and they admire a Latter-day Saint who abides by his principles much more than they admire one who is not true to that which he professes; and you will never lose anything by telling who you are and what you are in a respectful manner, and maintaining that which is right. Of course we need not be bigoted or offensive, or run to any extremes.

May God bless you, my brethren and sisters, fill you with the Holy Spirit, and with desires to teach your children the ways of righteousness, and enable you to bring up a gener– ation that is healthy, pure, virtuous and full of integrity in this land which God has given unto us. That he may thus bless and preserve us is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by Elder Erastus Snow, delivered at the Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Wednesday Afternoon, April 7, 1875.

If I can be heard I desire to make myself understood, for I have a few reflections to present to the people. I love this people, because I am persuaded that the very great majority of them are seeking after truth. We desire to improve and to pursue the path that will lead us onward and upward in the scale of being, to develop the powers within us that pertain to the Godhead, created as we are in his image, bearing in mind this injunction of one of the Apostles—“Let this same mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, when he found himself in the form of God, thought it no robbery to be equal with him.” No other people that I have any knowledge of upon the earth have such faith, such aspirations, such hope for the future as the Latter-day Saints possess, as is taught us in the sacred books of our holy religion, and as was taught us by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and which are manifested by the Holy Ghost in us. We look for greater things than any other people; and we must labor to develop within ourselves and within our children the gifts and powers that are within us, and which are embraced in our faith. Anything, therefore, that serves to stultify us in anywise tend downward rather than upward.

The subject of self-reliance was spoken of this morning, in our individual capacity and in our family relationships; yesterday brother Wells gave us some very excellent instructions, some beautiful truths, touching national or political economy, portraying the necessity that exists for nations, or communities like ours, becoming self-sustaining, self-reliant, and taking a course to be free from bondage and oppression and of being needlessly beholden to others, and, instead of letting our eyes wander to the ends of the earth, lusting after everything we see or hear of, educating and training ourselves to so curtail our wants that we can supply them by our own industry. What is true of nations and communities is true of individuals, and the principles applicable in one case are so in the other; and unless these principles are appreciated and applied in our individual and family capacity, they will not be in our larger national capacities. As communities, that which stands chiefly in our way is the pride of life—the natural ambition that is within us, which in and of itself is a godlike and noble principle, prompting us to go forward and to imitate those who are higher and further advanced than ourselves. It is this which stimulates nations, communities, families and individuals to improve. But there is a true line of demarcation which we should learn to tread, and, as far as in us lies, we should neither vary to the right hand nor to the left from that true line; if we do we shall receive the reward of our error.

To say that we are not mutually dependent upon each other, is to say that which is not strictly true; and I believe that our Father has organized us and society so that we should be mutually dependent, in order to cherish those principles of friendship, love, charity and brotherly kindness, and those noble social qualities that make us feel that we are one family, the children of one parent, and tending to one common end, and that we are in duty bound to work for each other as well as for ourselves. But the Lord requires no man or set of men to sacrifice themselves for others entirely, nor does he justify any man or people in leaning entirely upon others and doing nothing for themselves. In all the works of God we see this principle predominant. He has made ample provision upon this earth for all the inhabitants thereof to become self-sustaining, by using the bounties and gifts which he has bestowed upon them, and putting forth their hands and appropriating to their use the elements of life and prosperity with which they are surrounded; and though he permits the birds of the air and the fowls to prey a little upon our crops, and to pick the berries that grow in the mountains, yet even these have to arouse themselves from their nests and go in quest of their food, and all God’s creatures on the earth are required to exercise the powers and faculties they possess to avail themselves of the bounties which heaven has so plentifully placed upon the earth for their sustenance. Industry is required of us, and coupled with industry, frugality and economy, without which the rewards of industry are squandered and lost. Industry, frugality and economy are parts and portions of our faith and holy religion. We are dependent upon our Father and God for our being, and all our faculties; for the earth, our dwelling place, and the elements around us; but, in order to avail ourselves of these blessings, he requires us to use the faculties we possess, to be industrious, economical and prudent, and to exemplify that charity and brotherly love which pertain to our holy religion. The Lord has said that the idler shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer. One of the rules of the United Order says—“Thou shalt pay thy brother for that which thou hast of him;” and those rules not only make it obligatory to pay or discharge our present indebtedness, as fast as in us lies, but henceforth to contract no debt beyond our ability to pay, or without having a reasonable prospect before us of fulfilling our engagements. These principles become necessary not only to be spoken of, but to be treasured and lived up to in order to preserve and maintain confidence between us as brethren, and to entitle us to the consideration of friends and brethren to assist us when our time of adversity shall come.

Those who are entitled either to free education, free meals, free clothing, or to be freely housed, entertained, comforted and blessed, are those who are industrious, prudent, frugal, using the faculties they possess, but who, through sickness, misfortune, or old age, are unable to minister to their own wants; or children of tender age who require the care of parents, friends or guardians. To all others it may be said—Bear your own burdens; and we may also quote the words of the Apostle Paul, when he says—“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ;” also in another place the same author says—“Let every man bear his own burden.” Both are true and correct when we understand how to apply them correctly. Let all men and all women bear their own burdens according to their strength, and when that fails let somebody else take hold and help them and so fulfill the law of Christ. So let every father and mother begin the work of education with their offspring, and teach them to bear their own burdens at the earliest practicable day, and let them begin to learn and receive this practical education of which our President gave us such illustrations this forenoon, such an education, both physical and mental, as shall fit them for all the practical duties of life. Let no mother, in her misplaced sympathy and her love, and her anxiety to serve her offspring, wear herself needlessly out in waiting upon them when they are able to wait upon themselves; but make such provision as is necessary, which children are not able to make themselves, and teach them to wait upon and serve themselves, and also repay their father and mother for the labor bestowed upon them. Let them have a place for their hats, bonnets and clothing to be hung up in, and instead of going round the house after them, picking up their shoes and other things, take them and, if necessary, spank them, and make John understand that it is his duty to hang up his hat, and Sally to put her sunbonnet in its proper place. And when they want a drink, let them understand that there is the cup and there is the pump, and teach them to help themselves, and bring a drink to mother, instead of mother waiting upon them; and so commence and so continue that practical education. And when they are able to begin to hoe the potatoes and sow the onions, teach them how to do it instead of doing it all yourselves, and leaving them to lie in the shade or to run round the streets, wearing out shoe leather and learning mischief. If you are too old and feeble to take the lead in the performance of these several labors, take your rocking chair into the shade under a tree somewhere, and sit and give directions and tell James or John what to do and how to do it.

This practical education has been before this people all the days of our lives; or I will say that our President and leader has kept prominently before us the great and important lessons of self-reliance. His doctrine has always been that the best way to relieve the poor is to show them how to help themselves. To continue to hand out your food and your substance to the beggar who comes to your doors without putting him in a position to help himself and to supply his own wants is to encourage him in folly and wickedness, and is throwing away the blessings of heaven which God has placed in your hands. Shall we not feed the hungry? Yes. Shall we not receive the stranger into our gates? Yes. If any come along who are weary, hungry, without money and need relief, shall we minister to their wants? Yes. Shall we feed them? Yes. Shall we give them rest? Yes. Warm them by our fires? Yes. Let them stay and rest themselves under our roof? Yes. How long? Until they are able to begin and do something to help themselves. And supposing, when they have stayed one night and had their suppers, and their breakfast next morning, then dinner, and supper again, and then stay another night, and finally, finding that they fare very well, they want to stop altogether, then we should say, “Here is a spade, go and dig that ditch,” or, “take this axe and cut that wood,” “take this team and haul a load of wood,” or put them to something by which they may use their powers and minister to their own wants; and if they demur at this then say—“Well, you can go without eating until you are willing to hoe the potatoes; you can go out and cut your own wood, make your own fires and camp where you please, you cannot have shelter longer under my roof, the good things which God has given me are to bless and happify my fellow man, not to encourage vagrancy and idleness.”

These are no new principles before the Latter-day Saints. Our motto is “The Hive of Deseret,” and here is the place for the working bees, the place where they sting the drones to death. There has been a tendency with some of us for a few years past to try and live by our wits, or with as little physical labor as possible, and to watch the corners of the streets and various places for some advantage, or some way or other by which we may obtain something for nothing; and some succeed—they find some unsuspecting person ignorant of the value of things, and they obtain something for nothing, something that is valuable for that which possesses very little value. I speak not in reference to legitimate trading. There is a legitimate trade and traffic recognized by all right thinking men of the world everywhere. A legiti– mate interchange of commodities is profitable to all and makes all better off, and it is as necessary to the prosperity of any people as any other class of labor. In my present remarks I refer to that class the members of which, in common California parlance, are called bummers and hoodlums. Some among us have been in the habit of giving way to this spirit too much, and when the reacting comes we are repaid for our folly. We are in the habit too, of allowing ambition to prompt us to make improvements and to build for ourselves convenient and tasteful habitations; to adorn our persons, and those of our families. This is all noble and good, but in our efforts in this direction some of us overreach ourselves, that is, we go beyond the means which are legitimately at our command. We run a little too fast and we stumble, and by and by we find that there is an accumulation of debts upon us.

The credit system has always seemed to me to be an evil to mankind in general. To the capitalists, who accumulate so much means that they cannot take care of it, the credit system is a benefit, for they trust it to others to speculate upon, and so distribute it more or less through the community. In this respect the credit system may not be altogether without benefit to the world at large. But as for our community, composed mainly of laboring people, of comparatively small means, depending upon our industry, economy and frugality for all that we have and for all that we expect to have, I am persuaded that the credit system is and always has been a positive evil, though there may be even among us exceptional cases. But I am satisfied in my own mind that it is better for us to pay as we go, instead of obtaining credit from either brethren or strangers, and so endanger our freedom. We have done this too much, and in a great many instances our possessions are mortgaged to pay for our past follies. We have ceased to be free, we are in bondage, for debt is a yoke of bondage to all those who are brought under it, though some wear it much lighter than others. Some adopt the philosophy—“Let those worry whom I owe,” while others adopt the philosophy of worrying because they owe, and they are greatly troubled about procuring the means to pay their debts. It is for the benefit of this class I speak, the other class is to be shunned. Let those who are troubled about paying their debts take warning and, having once had their fingers in the fire, be careful about putting them in again; and let all who still have them in the fire, and feel the smart, be as prompt and diligent as possible in freeing themselves from this yoke of bondage, and discharging their debts. This credit system involves us all more or less. Our great mercantile institution, in attempting to supply the wants of this great community, is under the necessity of resorting to the common credit system of the commercial world; and our several cooperative associations in the settlements throughout the Territory wish to avail themselves of the same privileges, and ask for time. They want goods on credit. And then in our individual and family relationship we adopt the same principle, and we think it hard if our home merchants do not extend to us the same privilege; and the wife and child are teasing the husband and father for this, that and the other from the stores, whether he has the means to pay for it or not.

What is the remedy for all this? To my mind the proper remedy for this is for us to educate ourselves into the feeling that we can do without things until we are able to pay for them; that if we need a hat we will try and make one out of bamboo, straw, leaves, or imitate the Indians and use the covering that nature has provided for us. If we need shoes and cannot pay for them, that we will patch up the old ones, or, if we can’t do that, we will find some buckskin, or go barefoot, for barefoot came we into the world, and it mattereth not whether we have any shoes when we go out. If our clothes are getting scarce, hunt up the old ones and patch them up and make them last until we have earned enough to buy some new ones.

But says the wife, or perhaps the husband, and if not they, then the sons and daughters—“Neighbor so and so has got a new bonnet, and my playmate yonder has got a new hat, and somebody else has a new pair of boots and I do not see why I am not just as good as they are;” and says the wife—“my children are just as good as the neighbors’ children, and if they can have new hats, shoes or clothing, mine shall, and if father has not the means to pay for them he must run in debt for them at the store.”

This is not the doctrine, or the system of education I would inculcate among this people, for it tends to bondage, and downward rather than upward, because it leads to dishonesty; for when we are in debt the tempter tempts us to resort to dishonorable, unrighteous means to free ourselves therefrom. And furthermore, if we will indulge in every lust of the eye and yield to the pride of life, and seek to gratify them beyond our legitimate means, the tempter prompts us to resort to lying, swindling, thieving and all manner of mischief to supply and gratify these wants. It is an old and truthful adage that honesty is the best policy. I would apply it to nations, communities and individuals.

In days of commercial prosperity, when capital is being diffused, and men of means use both capital and credit for great achievements, such as building railroads, towns, cities, factories, mills, etc., then is the time we are allured on to excesses. Prosperous times, high interest, big dividends and great bargains stimulate others to seek after the same things, and not infrequently resort to unjustifiable means to acquire them. It is not best for us to go out into the mountains to hunt nuggets of gold; it is far better for us to go out and find a few raspberries, or a place to sow some onions or to plant some potatoes. These would supply our wants in a moderate way, without crazing our brain. But nuggets of gold turn the heads of many to leave their legitimate pursuit and follow a phantom. Nuggets of gold are not to be met with very often, and where one person finds one, ten thousand spend months hunting for them but never find one. But ten thousand might sow onions and plant potatoes and perhaps not more than one, unless through folly and neglect, would fail to reap the fruit of his labors. It is not great dividends that are going to make either the United Order, or any of our cooperative associations prosperous, permanent and successful, but honesty and straightforward business habits, and contentment with reasonable profits and rewards for our labors.

The last year or two has been a time of pecuniary stress, not only throughout this community, but more or less in all parts of the land, though perhaps the effects of the reaction of this overtrading is felt in this community after it has been felt and measurably overcome in the great central marts of commerce. This community, on the outskirts of this great credit system, is now feeling the pressure of that reaction. What should we do to afford relief? It is not to be expected that either our banks or our great trading institutions can bear this strain alone; they have not been brought into this condition by their own acts which they could have well remedied, it has been by the acts of this whole community in overtrading, overliving, exceeding their legitimate bounds in every respect, and the weight and strain of this reaction centers upon these great central institutions which we lean upon. They must not go down, for if they do, we go with them, and we all suffer. We must commence to remedy the evil where the evil commenced, and that is at home, by retrenchment. Every man and every woman must pay their debts as soon as possible, and instead of hunting around for opportunities to contract new ones they must hunt around for means to pay their old ones, and let every dollar be used for that purpose before new debts are contracted; and do without the sugar, tea, coffee, boots, hats, bonnets, ribbons and clothing until the old scores are wiped out.

God bless you. Amen.