Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 6, 1861.

We have always had larger congregations on such occasions as this than we have had buildings to accommodate; and had it not been that I requested the brethren of the city to tarry at home, so as to give room to these who should come from a distance, the house would have been crowded to overflowing, and there would have been a large congregation outside. I do not know that, this side of the day of rest that we are looking for, we shall ever have a building large enough to accommodate our congregations. When we have overcome the enemy to righteousness and have a thousand years to work unmolested, I think that we then can build a room that will contain as many people as can hear the speaker’s voice. We have the privilege, it is true, of assembling in the open air, where most of our Conferences have been held.

We now enjoy the anniversary of our General Conference. The Church is thirty-one years old today. It seems but a short time—but a few days, since there were only six mem– bers in this Church. It seems but a short time since I desired most fervently to see someone who was a foreigner baptized into this Church. I well remember how anxious I was that an English preacher belonging to the Independents, and with whom I was acquainted, should come into the Church, that he could go to his native land and preach the Gospel there. What were the feelings of the few, thirty-one years ago today?

Brother Kimball observed in his remarks, that he could recollect the history of this Church from its beginning, and understood the persecutions against this people. The Book of Mormon was translated near where we then resided, as we might say, in our own neighborhood. It was translated about as far from where brother Kimball then lived as it is from here to Little Cottonwood; and where Joseph first discovered the plates was about as far from where I then lived as it is from here to Provo. Here we would have considered the discoverer of those plates and the translator of the Book of Mormon as one of our neighbors. We are in the habit here of traveling more frequently and further than we were there. From the time that Joseph had his first revelation, in the neighborhood where brother Kimball and I then lived, appears but a few days. Since then this people have passed through, experienced, and learned a great deal.

If there is a person in the midst of the Latter-day Saints—one who has named the name of Christ as a Latter-day Saint, that can ask for any more literal testimony than we have, I do not know what he would ask. He might wish to see some person that had power to bring fire down from heaven. Should such a person appear, the exercise of that power would by no means prove that he was a messenger of salvation. Or suppose that I should see a man capable of raising the dead every hour in a day, could I merely for that believe he was sent of God? No. Some may think it strange, but should I see a man come along here and cast his cane on the floor, and it became a serpent and ran out of the door, would I anymore believe that man to be sent of God? No, I would not. Were I to see a person fill the air with living creatures, turn the dust into life, or the river Jordan into blood, do you suppose I would any more for that consider that man sent of God? Not in the least. There is but one witness—one testimony, pertaining to the evidence of the Gospel of the Son of God, and that is the Spirit that he diffused among his disciples. Do his will, and we shall know whether he speaks by the authority of the Father or of himself. Do as he commands us to do, and we shall know of the doctrine, whether it is of God or not. It is only by the revelations of the Spirit that we can know the things of God.

Suppose that we should see a man capable of raising the dead and he should say, “Consequently, I ought to be the leader of the Church—the legitimate heir that God has appointed to perform his work in the last days,” would I for that believe him? No. I have never seen the day, since I arrived at the years of discretion, when it would have made any difference in my feelings. Almost one of the first things I read in the Bible was that Saul, in his darkness and unbelief, called on the Witch of Endor for a revelation, and she had power to raise Samuel from the dead. What proof was that that she was a Saint of God? If the people want anymore witness than they have, I do not know what they would call for. Seek for the Spirit of Truth, and that will bring all things to your remembrance that Jesus spake and performed—all that has been, is, and that which is to come, so far as may be necessary. That is the Spirit by which Joseph spoke.

I am thankful that we live to see this day, and have the privilege of assembling ourselves in these valleys. We are not now mingling in the turmoils of strife, warring, and contention, that we would have been obliged to have mingled in, had not the Lord suffered us to have been driven to these mountains—one of the greatest blessings that could have been visited upon us. It has been designed for many generations to hide up the Saints in the last days until the indignation of the Almighty be over. His wrath will be poured out upon the nations of the earth. We see the nations steadily driving along to the precipice. The Lord has spoken from the heavens, and he is about to fulfil the prophecies of his ancient and modern Prophets. He will bring the nations into judgment, and deal with them and make a full end of them. Do you wish to see it done today? Are you prepared for the crisis that will eventually come? No.

I have frequently thought upon the preparation that is necessary. Suppose the word should come, “Return and build up the Center Stake of Zion,” are we ready for it? No. I have often alluded to our mechanics. We have not a mechanic that would know how to lay the first stone for the foundation of the wall around the New Jerusalem, to say nothing about the temples of our God. Are you prepared for the day of vengeance to come, when the Lord will consume the wicked by the brightness of his coming? No. Then do not be too anxious for the Lord to hasten his work. Let our anxiety be centered upon this one thing, the sanctification of our own hearts, the purifying of our own affections, the preparing of ourselves for the approach of the events that are hastening upon us. This should be our concern, this should be our study, this should be our daily prayer, and not to be in a hurry to see the overthrow of the wicked. Be careful; for if they were all to be overthrown at once, how many would there be left that are called Saints? Not as many as I would have remain. We are prepared for the day that is approaching: let us then prepare ourselves for the presence of our Master—for the coming of the Son of Man. The wicked and the ungodly are preparing for their own utter overthrow, and the nation in which we live is doing so as fast as the wheels of time can roll, and ere long sudden destruction will come upon them. Seek not to hasten it, but be satisfied to let the Lord have his own time and way, and be patient. Seek to have the Spirit of Christ, that we may wait patiently the time of the Lord, and prepare ourselves for the times that are coming. This is our duty.

We are blessed in these mountains. This is the best place on the earth for the Latter-day Saints. Search the history of all the nations, and every geographical position on the face of the earth, and you cannot find another situation so well adapted for the Saints as are these mountains. Here is the place in which the Lord designed to hide his people. Be thankful for it; be true to your covenants; be faithful, each and every one. How frequently we hear from each other, “Be ready to receive the truth. If it is contrary to our feelings—let it be ever so opposite to our own feelings or affections—receive the words of counsel from those who are appointed to lead us.” How my heart longs to see the brethren and sisters in a condition that when the words of truth and virtue—righteous words of counsel—are poured upon them, they will meet like drops of water meeting each other. How I long to see the brethren, when they hear the words of truth poured upon them, ready to receive those words because they are perfectly congenial to their feelings, and every soul exclaim, “Those words savor of the Spirit that is in me; they are my delight, my meat, and my drink; they are the streams of eternal life. How congenial they are, instead of their being contrary to my feelings.”

If I or any other man give counsel that meets with opposition, that intrudes upon the affections, meditations, and feelings of the people, and is harsh to their ears, bitter to their souls, it is either not the words of truth, or they have not the fountain of life within them, one of the two. If the Lord speaks from the heavens, reveals his will, and it comes in contact with our feelings and notions of things, or with our judgments, we are destitute of that fountain of truth which we should possess. If our hearts are filled with the Spirit of truth, with the Spirit of the Lord, no matter what the true words from heaven are, when God speaks, all his subjects shout “Hallelujah! Praise God! We are ready to receive those words, for they are true.”

Much has been said in regard to the Government in which we live. We say that it is the best form of human government upon the earth. The laws and institutions are good, but how can a republican government stand? Did you ever ask yourselves this question? I wonder whether our great men of the nation have ever asked themselves this question. The heads of different departments—governors, judges, cabinet officers, senators, representatives, presidents—I wonder whether they ever ask themselves the question, “How can a republican government stand?” There is only one way for it to stand. It can endure; but how? It can endure, as the government of heaven endures, upon the eternal rock of truth and virtue; and that is the only basis upon which any government can endure. Let the people become corrupt, let them begin to deceive each other, and they will all deceive themselves, as our Government has. When we made application to the General Government for a restoration of our property and rights in Missouri, if Martin Van Buren had said, “Yes, I will restore your lands to you, and will defend you in the possession of your rights, if I have power; and if I have not, my name shall not remain as President of the United States,” he could have reinstated us in our rights. A few words from the General Government to the Government of Missouri would have restored to us our lands and stayed the operations of the mob. If Van Buren had said, “Be still, or I will chasten you and keep sacred the oath of my office,” we should not have been mobbed, and the nation would not have been as it is today.

Our present President, what is his strength? It is like a rope of sand, or like a rope made of water. He is as weak as water. What can he do? Very little. Has he power to execute the laws? No. I am an American-born citizen—born under the Green Mountains in Vermont, from whose summits you can look down upon the Atlantic States; and I feel chagrined and mortified when I reflect upon the condition of my nation. Of late, at times, I have almost wished that I had been born in a foreign nation. I feel disgraced in having been born under a government that has so little power, disposition, and influence for truth and right; but I cannot help it. What is the cause of their weakness and imbecility? They have left the paths of truth and virtue, they have joined themselves to falsehood, they have made lies their refuge, they have turned aside the innocent from their rights, and justified the iniquitous doers. They have justified thieving and lying and every species of debauchery; they have fostered those who have purloined money out of the public treasury—those who have plundered the coffers of the people, and have said, “Let it be so; you secrete my faults, you assist me to plunder and deceive, and I am with you to cover up your iniquity.” Shame, shame on the rulers of the nation! I feel myself disgraced to hail such men as my countrymen, though I think I shall live through it. I will endure it as well as I can; but the corruption, the iniquity, and the deception of men in high places no man can tell.

I have previously related one little circumstance, which occurred not long ago, illustrative of the mode in which payment of claims against the Government is sometimes secured. A certain gentleman had attended many sessions of Congress, trying to get payment of a claim due to widows and orphans; but could not. In a short time, the claim was adjusted. Brother George A. Smith, when in Washington, saw a gentleman who had been years in endeavoring to get a claim allowed and paid; one thousand dollars more to grease the wheels, and through it went—the claim was paid. We have long been trying to get our claims paid for expenditures in quelling Indian disturbances in 1853. When the appropriation had reached the last move to be made, it could not go. “What is the matter?” “Somebody is throwing sand on the axletree, and the wheel is stuck.” “What must be done?” “Thirteen hundred dollars must grease it.” It then moved through—the appropriation was made. It is so all the time—every day. These instances are comparatively of little moment, and I merely allude to them to show how minutely corruption prevails where justice should exist.

These corruptions flow very naturally from the indebtedness contracted to attain power. In elections, the successful become indebted to their friends; and they promise them the patronage of the President, that they shall be sent as a minister to such or such a country, or be appointed a judge here or there, or a governor yonder. They cannot obtain their election without paying largely for it, both in promises and money; and to recover the means, they must either become thieves or repudiate their debts. “Such a one owes me so much for contributing to his election, and he will not pay me.” It often happens that he cannot, unless he steals it.

The whole Government is gone; it is as weak as water. I heard Joseph Smith say, nearly thirty years ago, “They shall have mobbing to their heart’s content, if they do not redress the wrongs of the Latter-day Saints.” Mobs will not decrease, but will increase until the whole Government becomes a mob, and eventually it will be State against State, city against city, neighborhood against neighborhood, Methodists against Methodists, and so on. Probably you remember reading, not a week ago, an account of a Conference being held in Baltimore, in the course of which they seceded from their fellow churches in the free States. It will be the same with other denominations of professing Christians, and it will be Christian against Christian, and man against man; and those who will not take up the sword against their neighbors must flee to Zion.

Where is Zion? Let us be prepared to receive the honorable men of the earth—those who are good. Are there any good people among them? Yes, hundreds and thousands and thousands right in our Government, rotten as it is; but they are so priest-ridden that they have no mind of their own—they have not strength and fortitude. And I ask you, and I can appeal to your own experience, place any of us back in the midst of our old neighbors, would it not be hard to break out and say, “We are Latter-day Saints and followers of Joseph Smith; we believe ‘Mormonism:’ good bye?” There are hundreds and thousands in this situation in the States, who desire to see truth, righteousness, and right prevail; but they have not strength and power of mind to break loose and say, “We will be for God and none else.” They follow the customs of their fathers, and more or less cling to the faith and religion of their fathers. They are bound down with priestcraft. I look forward to the days when their bands will be broken. I pray this people to do right. Purify yourselves, sanctify yourselves, and prepare to receive those persons into everlasting habitations. It is time to close our forenoon meeting. This afternoon, probably, we will take up the business of the Conference, and continue our meeting; and when we are through and wish to adjourn, we will do so. We all feel like praying for the prosperity of the kingdom. The whole body is continually seeking the welfare of each individual part. The eye wishes the foot well, the foot wishes the head well, and will walk to get food for the head and stomach, and they are united, and we shall become more and more united. And I pray that the Lord will pour out his grace on his sons and daughters, and I pray the Saints to improve upon it until we are sanctified. God bless you! Amen.

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 6, 1861.

I am glad to see you, and the feelings within me are God bless you, peace be multiplied upon the Saints; and those that are not Saints, may they be blessed with that which they love to that degree that they cannot stay in this land. (A voice in the stand—“And I say amen.”)

I do respect and love good men and women. It has been natural to me all the days of my life to do this; and the more of the Good Spirit that dwells in a man, the more that love of those that are good accumulates in him. I often speak by figures, and so did Jesus in his day. He said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” Again, he says, “If a man abideth not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and they are cast into the fire, and they are burned.” When a branch withers and dies, the avenues of the sap and nourishment from the root is cut off, and the branch is cut off after it ceases to live and draw nourishment from the roots.

No branch is cut off from the tree while it is bearing fruit and cleaves to the tree. We cleave to the vine by our works of righteousness, and by our works of unrighteousness we become dead and unfruitful; then it is necessary that the unfruitful branch should be taken away, and another branch that is more fruitful should be grafted in. We should all be one, like unto a tree, and receive intelligence from heaven as the tree receives its nourishment from the roots.

My prayer is from time to time, Father, baptize the Presidency into one spirit, and let them partake of the same element; and then, Father, baptize the Twelve, and the Seventies, and every officer in the Church and kingdom of God, and also every Branch connected to them, that we may all be baptized into one spirit; then we need not fear earth or hell.

Brother Wells was speaking of the extension of our settlements, that every inch of ground that is consecrated to God and the use of his Saints is redeemed from the power of Satan. That is verily true; and when the people of our settlements act like one man in all things that are revealed unto them, it will truly be so. But I presume, brethren, you will find many devils in all these places; and they will be there until they are cast into hell with all those that forget God and turn away from him. It is for us to keep them out of our own bodies. If we do that, they will not trouble us much. Resist the Devil, and the Scripture says he will flee from you; that is, he will stand back a little until he can get a better chance at some future time to make an attack upon you. That it is his business, and it is ours to avoid him and keep him far from us. Our calling is to do right, and to teach righteousness and virtue, industry and economy, that we may gain power over the world, over the flesh, and over the Devil, and over all that is combined to overthrow this work. Do you think they will overthrow it? They may overthrow many of you, but they will never overthrow this Church while the world stands. But when a man loses that Good Spirit, he looks upon this work as the world look upon it. He sees no beauty in it; he is opposed to it in his heart.

As for the condition of the nations that brother Wells has been speaking of, we shall never secede from the Constitution of the United States. We shall not stop on the way of progress, but we shall make preparations for future events. The South will secede from the North, and the North will secede from us, and God will make this people free as fast as we are able to bear it. They send their poor miserable creatures here to rule us. Why, it would be upon the same principle that this Church and authority should send some poor curse to rule me and my family in my own house. We need good men that are capable of ruling us, and we have them in our midst. Take any man there is here, and I would rather have him come and rule me and this people than have any of those poor creatures that come here. What do they know? Nothing, only to come here and undertake to lead this people astray and pollute them. They would pollute everyone, if they had the power, or everyone that would yield to them. We have to submit to this, and to bear it with patience. But let me tell you, the yoke is now off our neck, and it is on theirs, and the bow key is in.

The day is not far distant when you will see us as free as the air we breathe, and we will be ruled by those men whom God Almighty appoints. I live above the law, and I am above them, and mean to keep so by doing right, as the Lord requires us through those who dictate and lead us.

President Young is our leader, and has been all the time since the death of Joseph Smith the Prophet. He can govern this people with his hands in his pockets, and they are not governed one whit by the men that are sent here. I want to tell it, and I want they should know I tell it. We are going to be ruled by our Father in heaven, and the agents he sends and appoints for us, from this day henceforth and forever.

Let us all go to work and culti– vate the earth, beautify and adorn it with trees and shrubs and plants that never die. Let us preserve and sustain, and make ourselves independent both for clothing and for food, and also for herds and flocks; and we will be free, and our enemies will not trouble us much more. I am a witness to what the nation has done to the people of the Saints for thirty years past. They have killed some of the best men that ever lived, and the whole nation sanctioned it, thinking they had got rid of the worst men that ever were upon the earth. I know this to be true. They now look upon President Young as they looked upon Joseph Smith as one of the greatest curses that could come upon the earth. They have driven us, robbed and plundered us; and when we sought for redress, they said our cause was just, but they could do nothing for us. Let a man come into my house or into yours, and serve us as the United States have served this people, and would there not be a scrambling? We would soon decide whether the cause was just or not. I can do it in a family capacity; but Territories and States have not got as much governing power as a man ought to have in his family. I do not wish to say any more at this time. Amen.

Remarks by Elder George A. Smith, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 6, 1861.

I arise before you to offer a few remarks, and to preach from a text. I do not know that you will find it recorded in any particular volume, and it is not exactly possible for me to tell the chapter and verse, but it will be found in the Gospel according to Saint Brigham—Sectarian religion, sectarian God, and the democracy of our country compared together.

We find in the Methodist discipline that the God worshipped by John Wesley’s followers was a very singular being, without body or parts. In the platforms of the Presbyterians, Baptists, and other denominations, it is declared that he has neither body, parts, nor passions. This is John Knox’s old platform. I never was very much posted in these systems of piety, but I remember, when quite young, looking at the book containing the articles of their faith, and wondering what sort of a being it was that had neither body, parts, nor passions, and I might perhaps, with propriety, add principles or power.

Lindley Murray says a substantive is the name of anything that exists; but if a being had no body, parts, or passions, its existence could only be imaginary. I suppose it would be a noun, but not really a substantive. I understand a substantive, according to Kirkham, to be the name of a substance.

The God that Moses saw wrote with his finger upon the tables of stone. (See Ex., ch. 31, v. 18.) The God that Jacob saw walked with him. Jacob was, no doubt, an expert wrestler, and in the habit of throwing anybody that came along (See Genesis, chap. 32). He was wandering about one night, and met a stranger, with whom he wrestled all night; and when he found he could not throw him, he said, You are something more than a man, or I could throw you. But I will not let thee go, except thou bless me; for thou art more than mortal, or I could throw thee. And Jacob said, I will call the name of the place Peniel, for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. The God with whom Jacob wrestled had some body and some parts. I need not go to investigate this subject, only to say that the God worshipped by the sectarian world is not the being that wrestled with Jacob.

We also learn from the old book that the Lord created man in his own image and in his express likeness. Man possesses body and parts: the result is, he is a being in the express image of the Father. The Father of the God that the sectarians worship is not the being who created man. But this imaginary deity, or myth of nothing at all, whose center is said to be everywhere, and whose circumference is nowhere (I have heard it described in that language), which is worshipped by the sectarian world, can simply be expressed by using the words of the Methodist discipline and the creeds generally, and with the addition of two or three other words, without body, parts, or passions; then add principles or power. What is the result of worshipping such a being? It is a most indescribable religious confusion—a confusion that our language is inadequate to express. One of the old Prophets says—“Woe to the multitude of many people, that make a noise.”

I once went to a Methodist camp meeting, and heard some thousands of men and women praying, shouting, screeching all at once. At that time I looked round, and thought of the words of the Prophet—“Woe to the multitude of many people, that make a noise like the noise of a sea.” It was like a perfect bedlam of confusion. About midnight I got tired of the noise, and thought I would go away. I had tied my horse about a quarter of a mile from the camp. When I went to get him, he had broke the girth of the saddle, drawn the halter so tightly that I had to cut it and to lead him some distance before I could quiet him so as to ride him.

This will give you an idea of the confusion that can be created by a thousand voices in the extreme of enthusiasm and confusion of a Methodist camp meeting. The different sects differ about almost everything that pertains to their religion.

Harper’s Magazine tells the following story—

“A Mormon Elder from Salt Lake, by the name of Randall, not many years ago, while on a visit to his friends in the State of Ohio, was requested to attend a Campbellite meeting—a society to which his relatives belonged. He went, and listened to an eloquent discourse. The preacher was more charitable than many of the clergy of other denominations; and, in the course of his remarks, said that each denomination or branch of the church formed a link in the chain with which Satan will be bound, and thus usher in the reign of peace. After the sermon was ended, many of the brethren expressed their approbation of the discourse, and bore testimony to the truth of what the preacher had said. Finally, the friends of the Mormon Elder requested him to speak. He hesitated. But, after much solicitation, he arose and said—“I believe what your preacher has said in regard to the different denominations—that they each form a link in the chain with which Satan will be bound; and when bound, both Satan and chain will be cast into the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, according to the testimony of John the Revelator;” and sat down. He was not called on again.

But now for the second part of my text—the Democracy of our country. I was reading the remarks of a gentleman, who was insisting that the young men of our country should learn to spout—that is, to make a speech on politics, and be prepared to take the stump. A gentleman commenting on it says gold will ruin the country and destroy the Union. The people being the government, having no recognized head, and having to express itself through the belly, if you please, it takes a long time; and by the time the sentiment comes to the head, it is so confused and divided that the fact is, it would have you to suppose that the greater portion of the brains were in the boots! Read the proceedings of Congress for the last year, and you will see one constant stew. Every man that could get the opportunity would get up and pronounce a solemn speech, or have it printed at the public expense—at any rate, to send home to his constituents, to let them know that he did or must say something to prevent the dissolution of the Union, without ever reflecting upon or seeing the real cause of the difficulty. It is a species of maddening fury that rolls along like the waves of the sea—a kind of universal confusion. Take, for instance, those who have been the most devoted to the Constitution of the United States, and they, like the ancients who shouted “Great is the goddess Diana of the Ephesians!” would shout “Great is the Constitution!” “A great and glorious thing is the Union!” And every step they would take, every single effort they would make, would be to tread on the rights of others. What is the matter? What causes all this confusion? Why, those men who are placed in authority, from the President down, looked silently on, and saw the laws trampled underfoot, the Constitution violated, the rights of the innocent trifled with, the blood of innocence poured upon the ground like water, and the little insignificant body of people, the “damned Mormons,” as they pleased to call them, driven from their homes into the wilderness, and so peace was taken from their midst. Suppose you get the Christians now together and fetch them up here, and ask them to tell us which is the pure religion. Take, say a dozen of the leading sects, and let each one tell us which is the pure religion of Jesus Christ, and they would get up such a quarrel, such a confusion, such a hubbub, that it would be impossible to tell anything about it. Go to work and gather up the different factions of our country, politically, and let them undertake to tell what the matter is, and it would only have a tendency to show a specimen of that ignorance, stupidity, weakness, and universal confusion which reigns throughout the land. When the Latter-day Saints were driven from Jackson County, in 1833, Joseph Smith prophesied that if the people of the United States would not bring to justice that mob and protect the Saints, they should have mob upon mob, mob upon mob, until mob and power and mob rule should be all over the whole land, until no man’s life or property should be safe. This prophecy is being literally fulfilled.

The laws of the country are trampled upon with impunity, and there is nothing but a general and universal mob rule. There is really a combination of corruption which exceeds anything which the world has witnessed for generations.

Take, for instance, the officers of the army; go into any little detachment of the army, and they get together in solemn conclave, and condemn a whole lot of provisions—sell them for a mere trifle. Some of them will buy them in again, and pay twenty times as much as they sold for, and thus bleed Uncle Sam. Such men are in office every year. Men in office think it a fine thing to swindle the Government, which is only a miserable goose for them to pluck.

Now I will put the text together. The religious and political organizations of the country. Abe Lincoln, the present President of the United States, that was—at any rate he occupies the seat and claims the title, and presides over a portion of the Union at Washington in name—this man is the representative of the religious enthusiasm of the country. For the last thirty years there has been a constant stirring up and firm exertion on the part of the North to get up a crusade against slavery—to make the men who live in the Southern States turn over their slaves.

I was raised in the State of New York, and recollect the early movements in this matter. At that time a great many men held slaves. We drove our slaves to Virginia and sold them for the money, and got full pay. We immediately began to feel sorry for them, and began to feel that it was very wicked to keep negroes, seeing we had got the money for ours. Our State was free from slavery, and we desired all the Virginians to turn their negroes loose. We grew more and more conscientious about it. The pulpit took the lead—the Sunday schools and every other religious influence that could be brought to bear. Mr. Lincoln now is put into power by that priestly influence; and the presumption is, should he not find his hands full by the secession of the Southern States, the spirit of priestcraft would force him, in spite of his good wishes and intentions, to put to death, if it was in his power, every man that believes in the divine mission of Joseph Smith, or that bears testimony of the doctrines he preached.

There is no spirit more intolerant, cruel, and devilish than a spirit of religious persecution. It carries its cruelties to a greater extent; and when the civil authority becomes mingled with the religious, and that power is united, and the sword is placed in their hands, it is the most bloody weapon that was ever wielded. Infidelity is almost harmless, compared with it. The bloodthirsty power that has been exercised under such influence exceeds anything that history records. It is a union—a combination of civil and religious power in the hands of corrupt men, and that brought to bear, and turned loose upon us, with a determination to annihilate every Latter-day Saint. But God is our shield and our protector.

It was this influence that brought us trouble during the administration of Mr. Buchanan.

The Republican organs whipped Mr. Buchanan into the Utah war, and they then whipped him for getting into it; and they whipped him until he got out of it the best way he could, and then they whipped him awfully for getting out. They meant to keep him there until the work of destruction was done. But, thank the Lord, the Latter-day Saints yet live, and yet have an influence, and they are yet felt.

Now, brethren, this is the word of the Lord. And that contention which exists throughout the country, and which by its actual division is rendered powerless to injure us, is really our protection; God uses it to protect us. He has said, “The wicked shall slay the wicked.” The time shall come when the vengeance of the Almighty will fall upon the heads of those that have persecuted, slain, driven, and rejoiced over the destruction and affliction of the Saints. I know that this is the work of the Lord Almighty. I bear my testimony to it. And I say that if we were as we ought to be, if we would listen to the counsel of President Young as we ought to do, if we would obey his instructions as we ought to obey them, we should be the wealthiest people upon the face of the earth. I suppose, however, so far as the necessaries of life are concerned, we are so now. I presume you cannot find a community throughout the United States as large as ours but what the present distress, growing out of the present financial panic, from political disorganization, the failure of men to pay their debts, the refusal of the South to continue in the Union—among these influences you cannot find a community so large as this but what would be more or less actually in a state of suffering for want of bread. There is no Latter-day Saint in these mountains but what can get good bread, and eat that which is good and wholesome. Hence, I may say, we are the richest people; and if we had listened as we ought to have done for the last four years to the counsel of the Presidency, we should have possessed millions of property which we do not now. The fear there is in the breasts of many that the Presidency will exercise an influence over their business affairs, that would not give them as good a chance as they ought to have, has been all the while a plan to entangle our own feet, and has caused us to grope like blind men in the dark, and scramble for the picayunes when we might as well have picked up the eagles. I have been sorry for this. I know that a wise head to guide us in our movements in our different settlements—to tell us what we should cultivate, what kind of things we should improve in, and the advantages to be taken of the climate and productions of our several localities, and the way we should exercise our labor to produce the necessaries of life, is of vast importance to us. We have our brethren scattered all over the world, far and near, and many of them have been struggling for years to come to Zion. We should be awake while we are here, and try to release them from their bondage, for ere long the terrible storm will break loose; every man’s hand will be let loose upon his neighbor, and blood and distress, turmoil, sorrow, misery, war, and destruction will sweep the whole face of the earth as with the besom of destruction.

Let us, then, exert ourselves to deliver our brethren, that they may flee from the old barn like rats from a building on fire, and escape in time, and escape unhurt. Be wide awake and diligent in these things; and, when we are called upon to go after the poor, regard it as a most important mission. I do not want to bread. There is no Latter-day Saint go as teamsters, select some that are of no account. If you send out a team round which you expect to have gathered fifteen or twenty Saints to cross the Plains, send a man that will be a father to them, and teach them righteousness, and inspire them with good sentiments and exalted feelings. And you that go on such missions, remember you are sent to bring home the sheaves: therefore take care of them; strengthen and encourage them in regard to the things they should do and understand; stir up in their hearts a spirit of obedience, and they will come in here with the light of the Spirit of the Lord burning brightly within them, that their passage over the Plains may be a school to them of principle and doctrine and truth, that they may inherit all the blessings that are in store for them—blessings that will endure forever.

I believe I have got entirely from my text. Excuse me, and may the Lord bless you. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, March 17, 1861.

I wish to present to the people a saying of Solomon’s—“Open rebuke is better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” I want to say a few words upon the principle contained in this scripture. It is a matter that concerns all people, and is one of the most delicate points in the dispositions of the human family. The inhabitants of the earth are sensitive—their feelings are acute. Infringe upon their judgment, interrupt their tastes, and you disturb the equilibrium of the whole system. To receive a rebuke, to be chastised, to be interrupted in our course, is not pleasant to our feelings. Though we may have ten thousand wrongs that we understand, you know perfectly well that we do not like to have anyone tell us of them. It is one of the worst whirlpools, I may say, for the inhabitants of the earth to get into, and leads directly to destruction—casting down thrones and kingdoms—the very abhorrence we have to be rebuked. No matter what the king does, we as his subjects must say that the king does right and cannot do wrong. That you know very well to be the feelings and teachings of the nations of the earth. The king cannot do wrong, and of course he is not to be rebuked. And when he sends his princes, his ministers, his messengers, to perform duties for him, they say to the people to whom they go—“The king can do no wrong; his agents can do no wrong.” Observe, and you will now see this trait among the nations of the earth.

Who are willing to acknowledge that they are wrong? The feeling of the inhabitants of the earth has been and is—“I will receive no rebuke from you: my judgment, my will, my discretion, my wishes, my passions must reign supreme.” I do not much care what Solomon did in his day—how many individuals he rebuked; but I wish the inhabitants of the kingdom of God to learn, when they are rebuked by a friend, to receive that rebuke kindly, and kiss the rod, and reverence the hand that administers it—to learn that the rebuke of a friend is for our good. This principle is not practiced in other parts of the earth, though I will confine this remark to the civilized nations, more than to the barbarous. In the world the principle of rebuking is walked under foot. No matter what the character of a king is—no matter what the character of a President is—no matter what are the characters of rulers, governors, and other officers—“They can do no wrong,” and they wish to have it so understood. These are the feelings and these the teachings and belief, and not only the belief, but the practice. It is not so in this kingdom; it must not be so; it cannot be so; it has not been so; and I presume many a man has gone out of this Church, because he has been rebuked in his evil course. All such will have the supreme satisfaction, as brother George A. Smith remarked, last Sabbath, when they lift up their eyes in hell, of reflecting upon their former connection with this people, and saying, “We are abused.” What a comfort! What a satisfaction!

We wish the Elders of Israel to understand that when evil is presented, that evil must be rebuked. Could we attribute all the mistakes or evils that we see in men to total depravity, and conclude that there is nothing good within them? Not by any means. If we see one of our brethren out of the way in word or in deed, learn, in the first place, whether that person designs a wrong, or whether he has a desire to do good. Learn whether the spark of the Spirit of God is left within him; and when there is one particle of the light of God within him, and he wishes to do right, do not attribute that wrong word or deed to total depravity. It is a weakness—it is a fault—it is a want of better judgment—it is the want of revelation—it is the want of a correct understanding of things. Attribute it to his weakness; tell him of it kindly, fatherly, brotherly; take him by the hand and tell him the evil he must leave.

How many I have seen, when you tell them of a few of their faults, and say, “Why, brother, you are so and so: do you see how you have missed it here and there? Can you perceive that you have wanted better judgment? What a wrong you have committed in this or that!” who will be at once cast down in their feelings, and will say, “I believe I am good for nothing; I really think I am not worthy of a name in the kingdom of God.” You will hear wise men make this expression. Tell them that they have reported that which is false, not designedly; tell them that they have said thus and so to their friends, or that they have committed this or that act that is unwise, foolish, sinful in its nature; and you will see a wise man, perhaps, rise up and say, “If I am guilty of this, I am not worthy of a name in the kingdom of God.” That is a most unwise expression. Do you expect you are perfect? No. Do you expect to see people that are perfect? No, not for a great while. Do you expect that every trait of your character is perfect? I do not. You may expect this, that if I see a wrong in you, I shall tell you of it. I shall rebuke that wrong, and do it with all kind feelings. What do you say, High Councilors, Bishops, High Priests, and all the officers of the kingdom of God on the earth—will you rebuke a wrong? Yes, most of the Elders of Israel will, and too many will do so in the spirit of malice and personal enmity. When this Elder, and that Elder, and another Elder sees a man do wrong, but his wrong is with his neighbors, a little outside the Elder’s immediate path (the Elder says, “It does not directly infringe upon me, though he is doing wrong with his neighbors“), will he rebuke him? No; he waits until he infringes upon him, and then the Elder rises up in the malice of his heart, and rebukes him in the spirit of anger. That will do hurt: it is not the rebuke of a friend; it is the rebuke of one that has become an enemy.

When you see a person out of the way, no matter whom the injury is inflicted upon, rebuke the individual who commits the evil. Will this do good? Yes, if you rebuke in the spirit of the Gospel—in the spirit of meekness. Rebuke as a father should reprove his children, not as a tyrant rules his servants or slaves. Take this course with your brethren, and you will learn that “Open rebuke is better than secret love,” and that the wounds you make are better than the deceitful kisses of an enemy. This is a principle I have thought much upon. I have talked some about it, and have tried to comprehend the principle, and I have sought to have the people comprehend it. If your neighbor commits an evil upon another of your neighbors, you are under obligations to see that the person who has committed the evil be suitably chastised, as much so as though the wrong had been committed upon you. Now this is hard to believe; but if you wish to correct people, and lead them to life and salvation, what difference is it where the evil is committed, or upon whom? Is it not the duty of a minister of God to correct evil and take it from an individual or from the people, and place them upon saving ground, whenever an opportunity presents itself? It is the duty of every individual.

You need not wait until somebody infringes upon you—until he comes and intrudes upon your premises. If you see your neighbor John turn his horse into the wheatfield of your neighbor William, you pass along. That, I may say, is the road that too many of the Elders of Israel travel in, as well as the great majority of the world. “Oh, it is not my wheat; it is William’s: it is no matter of mine.” When you know that John has turned his horse into William’s wheat, or in any way disturbed his property, or berated his character, or done him an evil, will you wait until he commits an evil upon you? If you do, you are as sure to meet evil with evil as you are to breathe; you will meet wrong in a wrong spirit. But if you will meet evil when it does not personally concern you as an individual, but only as a member of community, you will feel all that fatherly kindness to John that an earthly parent does for his son, and will go to him and point out the wrong, and show him the correct path to walk in, and give him a suitable chastisement. But if you wait until he takes one of your poles from your fence—till he turns a horse or an ox into your wheat—until he picks up a stick of wood from your woodpile, and burns it, and you then meet him, you meet him in a spirit of wrath. You are indignant at such conduct, and you say that you will not put up with it. Is this true? I do not wish to say much about the matter, but I wish to have you understand that the principle of correcting the people—taking their wrongs from them, giving them true principles, instead of their imbibing wrong principles—errors, and practicing them in their lives, is the way for us to be purified and set right.

I have seen Elders covenant to sustain each other at all hazards, under all circumstances, and in all places. Now, what will this amount to? You make the covenant to sustain each other without any reservation whatever, and the first you know, one of the number has done wrong. You meet him, and he says, “You covenanted to sustain me, and that too with an uplifted hand; you promised, in the name of Israel’s God, to sustain me; and now do it. I will hold you to your covenant.” Another does wrong, and you wish to have him rebuked before your Quorum. Says he, “No; you have made a solemn vow that you will sustain me: now do it, or break your covenant.” It amounts to just this, and will lead from step to step in evil.

I have observed, many and many a time, a feeling among the people that “I will not receive this rebuke from you.” I have had quite a number of the brethren tell me—“Brother Brigham, I will not bear this rebuke from you.” My reply is, What are you going to do about it? I will chasten you until I am satisfied. I believe that I have proved to every person that my chastisements have not been in anger, malice, or wrath, but in the spirit of a father; and I believe that all good men I have chastened are satisfied of this fact. I do not know but that some have apostatized whom I have chastened, but they are very few. Once in a while you will find a person, that must have a severe chastisement, leave the kingdom of God; but this is very seldom.

True, there are degrees of feeling and degrees of chastisement, and you are led to chastise one man differently to what you do another. You may, figuratively speaking, pound one Elder over the head with a club, and he does not know but what you have handed him a straw dipped in molasses to suck. There are others, if you speak a word to them, or take up a straw and chasten them, whose hearts are broken; they are as tender in their feelings as an infant, and will melt like wax before the flame. You must not chasten them severely; you must chasten according to the spirit that is in the person. Some you may talk to all day long, and they do not know what you are talking about. There is a great variety. Treat people as they are.

When you consider that you are not worthy to belong to the kingdom of God, wait a moment. Would you like to be a Saint? “Yes; I would give anything in the world—yea, my life, to be a true Latter-day Saint.” What, and then say you are not worthy to have a name in the kingdom of God? That is the most unwise expression you have uttered. We are making Saints of just such characters. I expect to be made a Saint myself, though I have many weaknesses about me. I am going to get rid of them as fast as I can. Have I not a desire to do right? Yes; and the Gospel is designed to make us better and bring us to understanding. When you are rebuked by each other—when brethren meet you and say, “This is wrong in you,” you should receive it kindly, and express your thanks for the reproof, and acknowledge the wrong frankly, and admit that you may frequently do wrong when you do not know it, and say, “I wish you to enlighten my mind, to take me by the hand, and let me go along hand in hand, and strengthen and sustain each other.” What, in your weaknesses? Yes. Do you expect to see a perfect man? Not while you stay here.

To the capacity you are now in, as mortal beings, a certain degree of perfection belongs. Many attain to this, and they have as good desires to be Saints as ever the angel Gabriel had. Then, will you cast a person off for his weaknesses? No. Rebuke him for his weaknesses, and convince him of them, and point out the right path, and see whether he will not walk in it. This is the way I wish the Elders to treat each other. Do not be afraid, nor hesitate, if you can possess the Spirit of Christ, to meet your brother, or your wife, or child, and reprove a wrong in the spirit of meekness. Never be afraid to testify against evil, and you will remove the wrong and do good. But when you have the spirit of envy, and feel, “Such an individual has trampled upon my toes—he has sought to injure my character by speaking evil of me,” you are more or less out of the way. I wish all the Elders thought as I do about character; then they would never trouble themselves about what others said of it. But if you rightly gain influence, preserve that. And if you have been wrong, and that wrong is taken from you, it will create influence for you, and give you favor before God and with the Saints; but if you cling to the evil, it will deprive you of gaining that influence you desire.

I do not know but that kings of the earth would give half their kingdoms, if they could have the affections of their subjects: they know they have them not. No President of the late United States ever had the affections and sympathies of half his constituents. Rulers in the nations would give worlds, if they could have the influence of the people they preside over that I have in the midst of this people. They have not got it. And the man that is now inaugurated President of a part of the States of America would give half of his power, if he could have the influence among his constituents that I have in the midst of the kingdom of God. He cannot get it. Rebuke him, and he will resent it in a moment. Let one of his cabinet—I would not care if it was William H. Seward—go to the President and tell him that he is wrong, and he will at once resent it. He would say, “I think I know as well as you.” And perhaps he does know more than Mr. Seward, upon all points of sound intelligence. James Buchanan would resent it; and even as good a man as Washington was would resent it. He would believe that his dignity was infringed upon, if he had been told that he was in fault.

If you gain a righteous influence, preserve that as you would the apple of your eye. As for your good name before the people, if your brother tells you of your wrongs and shows your faults, what are you going to do about it? Your best plan will be, if you have done wrong, to repent and refrain from that wrong, and ask forgiveness of your brethren and of God, and do wrong no more, and you will regain your influence. If you have done wrong, though all creation says you have not, what does that amount to? Nothing; for they would all be wrong on that point.

Do not throw away a man or a woman, old or young. If they commit an evil today, and another tomorrow, but wish to be Saints and to be forgiven, do you forgive them, not only seven times, but seventy times seven in a day, if their hearts are fully set to do right. Let us make it a point to pass over their weaknesses and say, “God bless you in trying to be better in time to come,” and act as wise stewards in the kingdom of God.

I have spoken longer than I expected to, and wish brother Kimball to address you.

God bless you! Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, March 3, 1861.

There are a number of subjects I wish to say a few words upon, and I will first make a few remarks pertaining to the kingdom of God on the earth.

It is told us that the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof. It is also told us that ere long the Lord will possess the earth. Christians are exhorted to be faithful, for eventually Jesus will crown his brethren as kings and priests—not only the Twelve Apostles that brother Broderick referred to this morning, but also all that keep his commands and live faithfully to the requirements of the holy Gospel. We are exhorted to be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works. This is our tradition; it is the doctrine we have heard from our youth. Many of you are acquainted with the various doctrines of the Christian world. Some believe, “Once in grace, always in grace.” Others, “A Saint today, a sinner tomorrow, and next day again a Saint,” &c., &c. “The kingdom of God on the earth?” “Has not this kingdom been established long and long ago?” “Why does not the Lord Jesus come to take possession of the earth, as it is his?” These are questions that arise, especially in the minds of critics—of those who are inclined to be infidel in regard to revealed religion; and they inquire of the Christian, “Why does not your God do thus and so? Why does he delay? Why does he permit the enemy to hold possession of the dominion of the Savior?” with many other inquiries that rest in the minds of the people. Perhaps some of you have satisfactorily answered these questions to yourselves, and perhaps you have heard them satisfactorily answered to your minds and understanding by the Elders of Israel.

There is a reason for all this. I have not time this afternoon, and do not wish to confine myself, to say all that my mind would be led to say on the subject. I can say at once, If Jesus had taken the kingdom in the days when he was upon the earth, he would have spoiled the whole plan—he would have ruined the object for which he came into the world. If he had established his kingdom directly after the flood and reigned triumphantly on the earth, the earth could never have answered the ends of its creation—the inhabitants of the earth could not have been accountable. If he had to take possession of the earth at this present time, he would ruin his own scheme—thwart his own plans. It may be a mystery—it is with the many—why the Lord permits this and that, and dictates thus and so. This is for want of intelligence in the intelligent beings that are upon the earth. If they understood the object of the creation of this earth and the inhabitants upon it, these matters would be an easy and pleasing theme to their understandings; they would become natural principles to them, easy to be understood. They would comprehend the design of the Almighty in the formation of these intelligent beings, in the direction of them, the object of the creation of the earth, and the final issue in the end, when all that has been designed of this earth and all consigned to this earth have come upon it, and the work is completed—the winding-up scene has come, when Jesus shall have finished his work pertaining to man and his agency—you will then see that the kingdom will be taken possession of, and that very quickly.

Every mortal being must stand up as an intelligent, organized capacity, and choose or refuse the good, and thus act for himself. All must have that opportunity, no matter if all go into the depths of wickedness. Whether they sustain the kingdom of God and promote the Gospel of salvation, or not, the earth must remain in the hands of men, liable to be acted upon continually by a superior power and authority. Man’s independence must be held inviolate; it must be reserved to each and every individual: all must have the privilege of acting upon it. Until the last spirit that has been designed to come here and take a tabernacle has come upon the earth, the winding-up scene cannot come; I have not time to say what I would like to upon this subject, but will leave it to your own reflection.

Marvel not that the kingdom of God is not in its fulness. Marvel not that you see every man and woman subject to the passions that belong to fallen nature. There never was a Prophet on the earth but what was subject to passions, as we are. Every son and daughter of Adam that has come into this world has been subject to sin, and prone to wander. They must have their times and seasons; and when the day has come in which all things are to be gathered in one, the Lord will gather those things. When the day comes in which Jesus will take possession of the earth (he will take possession of it when the time comes that Satan will be ejected from the inheritance of the children—of the legal heirs), you will find that ejectment will be served, and it will be effectual. It will be effectual upon every tenant or occupant upon the premises of the Almighty, and they will be forthwith removed. But the time is not yet come—the work is not yet finished. Be patient—be coworkers with our Savior and Master until this work is accomplished, and we shall be blessed in our deeds.

I wish to make a few remarks to the brethren in this city in regard to reaching forth their hands and means to assist in gathering the poor Saints. At first, some deemed it inexpedient to call upon the people in this city to assist in sending teams for the Saints; but we have otherwise concluded. We expect that we have more power here than they have in any other place in all the Branches and associations of the Church of Jesus Christ upon the whole earth. We here see for the whole of them, we speak for the whole, and, comparatively speaking, we have more power than is possessed in any other part of the body. If we wish to have a great thing performed, we must take the lead. And when we feel that we are weak and feeble, incapable of doing this or that, with poverty staring us in the face, and the want of means is felt, let every person rise up and consider his calling and standing, and the design of the Almighty.

I will present a comparison from our mechanics. You will find mechanics here who can go to work and build a beautiful house, but they must have all the necessary tools and materials. Another can build a carriage, but he must have the necessary tools and materials. You can find a man who can build a steam engine, but he must have the tools and materials. But you find the mechanics that can go to with an old three-cornered file, a jackknife, a spike gimlet, and an inch augur, and build a wagon in a workmanlike manner, and you would say that he is a superior workman. As the fisherman says, “It is no trick to catch fish, if you have the tools and know how it is done.” It is no development of skill for us to preach the Gospel to the nations, if we have our pockets full of money, and Bible societies and tract societies and missionary societies gathering it for us to pay our expenses—scraping up for us the filthy lucre. I suppose that in such cases we should feel as others do. You know how some of those feel who can go from one side of the earth to the other, and have the privilege of gathering means to go with. The way they feel is shown forth very forcibly in an anecdote of a priest, after a collection had been made. He gathered up the money, and while putting it in his pocket gave out the hymn—“This is the God that I adore.”

You see Elders who start from here without purse or scrip, and cross the Plains with handcarts, and they have ingenuity enough to go from city to city, from country to country, from nation to nation, and circumscribe the earth. In that there is certain skill, talent, and ability, great zeal, or excellent good luck: you must attribute it to something. It would be no great affair for us to gather the Saints, if we had plenty of gold. How many times I have thought I would like a handy place to go to for gold with which to gather the Saints; but where would be our glory and reward, to go from here to Europe, and travel East to China and home again, having been preaching several years, with our pockets full of gold? Where, then, is your great ability? In your pockets—in the god so much adored. But take the men that can travel the earth over, preach the Gospel without purse or scrip, and then go to and lay their plans to gather the Saints. That looks like the work of angels. Does it not look like the work of beings superior to the common people? Do you know that we are called to this work?

If the Lord had called upon some great man, some rich man, some one of the prominent Bishops in the Roman Catholic Church or in the Church of England, or the Pope, to dig the plates out of the earth, and translate them, and publish the Book of Mormon, and then have furnished them with plenty of gold and other means to distribute to the disciples—plenty of wealth, honor, fame, and good name in the midst of the people—would there have been any particular manifestation of a superior being in all this? There would not. The Lord chose Joseph Smith, called upon him at fourteen years of age, gave him visions, and led him along, guided and directed him in his obscurity until he brought forth the plates and translated them, and Martin Harris was prevailed upon to sustain the printing of the Book of Mormon. All this was done in the depths of poverty, obscurity, and weakness. The Book has been translated, printed, and handed to the world; and every time that a man of letters, rhetoric, or profound worldly learning, comes into this Church and undertakes to preach the Gospel, relying upon his worldly wisdom, that man will fail. No matter where upon the earth he undertakes to start this kingdom according to the customs, feelings, fashions, and pride of the world, it will sink as sure as he undertakes it.

I recollect one remark that brother Joseph used to make frequently, when talking to the Elders. No matter what he set them to do, whether he wanted them to go to a foreign land on a mission, or to go into business, he would say, “When you commence, go in at the little end of the horn; for if you do not, but enter at the big end, you will either have to turn round and come out at the end you went in at, or go out at the small end and be squeezed nigh unto death.” Let an Elder hire the best halls in large cities to begin with, and go to lecturing, and it will take him a long time to raise a Branch of this Church. But let him begin among the poor of the earth—those who live in the cellars, and garrets, and back streets; “for,” says the Almighty, “I am going to take the weak things of the earth, and with them confound the wisdom of the wise.” You will see that trait in every step of “Mormonism.” God has chosen the obscure and weak, to bring them up and exalt them. Is not that the work of a God, the performance of this work without money and without price? The Gospel is sent to all the inhabitants of the earth—to the high and the low, the noble and the ignoble, the young and the old. “Here is the Gospel; you are welcome to it.” “Don’t you ask anything for it?” “Not a farthing. It has to go to the world without money and price.” Now, compare this with carrying the Gospel with your pockets full of money; and in the latter case where is your glory and honor?

As an instance, we have men who quarry rock out of the mountains; and we would say to those men, Can you go and quarry rock without the suitable instruments? Says one, “I must have so many picks and wedges, and I must have so many drills of different sizes, and so many sledges and hammers.” Another man says, “I am going to make the tools; I have the ability, and I will make the instruments from the ore in the mountain.” You remember what Nephi did. When he came to the sea, and prepared to build his barge, the Lord showed him the ore, and Nephi made the tools with which he formed his barge. He did not have to go back to Jerusalem to get tools. I would like to see a little more of that skill displayed here than I do at the present time. I am using this comparison to show that we, in our poverty, have this work to do.

As was observed this morning, in a wholesome, lovely, excellent discourse, we will have to go to work and get the gold out of the mountains to lay down, if we ever walk in streets paved with gold. The angels that now walk in their golden streets, and they have the tree of life within their paradise, had to obtain that gold and put it there. When we have streets paved with gold, we will have placed it there ourselves. When we enjoy a Zion in its beauty and glory, it will be when we have built it. If we enjoy the Zion that we now anticipate, it will be after we redeem and prepare it. If we live in the city of the New Jerusalem, it will be because we lay the foundation and build it. If we do not as individuals complete that work, we shall lay the foundation for our children and our children’s children, as Adam has. If we are to be saved in an ark, as Noah and his family were, it will be because we build it. If the Gospel is preached to the nations, it is because the Elders of Israel go in their poverty, without purse or scrip, to preach the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth.

If the Elders of Israel could see the true track and thread of faith, they never would say they could not do this or that, but would see at once that we are the head, the law-giving department. We are the eyes, the ears, the mouth; we dictate, and it is for us to lead out in every good work. If we build a Temple here, it will be because we need one; and if we really need one, go to work and build it. Will we count the cost? No. If I am going to build a temple, I am not going to sit down and count the cost. I care not what it will cost. So long as we are occupied in doing a good work, it keeps us out of mischief and unrighteousness, and at the same time enhances the value of our whole property, and beautifies our cities.

If we wish to send for the poor, gather up teams. “But,” say you, “I have not got any.” Then prepare yourselves to go as teamsters, to do anything and everything. As I have not time to make many remarks upon this, let me say to the Elders of Israel, and also the sisters, One-third or one– fourth of the time that is spent to procure a living would be sufficient, if your labor were rightly directed. People think they are going to get rich by hard work—by working sixteen hours out of the twenty-four; but it is not so. A great many of our brethren can hardly spend time to go to meeting. Six days is more time than we need to labor. Sixteen hours out of twenty-four is more time than we need to labor, or even ten hours, if that labor is rightly directed. If we labor, let us labor to advantage, so as to accomplish what we design.

I wish to say to the brethren and Bishops here, When we concluded that we would call upon this city for help, we got all we asked for, and more. I say, Credit is due to them. Let me say to you, brethren, I am satisfied; the Spirit that is within me is satisfied. And one thing in particular let me say to you, In all your transactions in these public matters, do not do, unless you want to. As we say to the Saints, Do not pay Tithing, unless you want to; do not help to build up this Temple, unless you want to; do not put forth your hands to one day’s work, unless you want to; do not put forth your hands to help build the Seventies’ Hall, unless you want to. If you grudgingly put forth your means to help to gather the Saints, it will be a curse to you; it will mildew, and every effort you make will wither in your possession. If you do not wish to help, let it alone; but if you really want to help to gather the Saints, turn out with your teams, as you agree to. If you wish this Temple built, go to work and do all you can this season. Some say, “I do not like to do it, for we never began to build a Temple without the bells of hell beginning to ring.” I want to hear them ring again. All the tribes of hell will be on the move, if we uncover the walls of this Temple. But what do you think it will amount to? You have all the time seen what it has amounted to.

I can say, for my comfort and consolation, and for yours too, that we did build two temples, and commenced another. We completed a temple in Kirtland and in Nauvoo; and did not the bells of hell toll all the time we were building them? They did, every week and every day. For our consolation I will say, We are here and not there. You cannot ride from here to Carthage, in Hancock County, Illinois, before breakfast, if you try; and every one that now tries to come from Warsaw or Carthage to the headquarters of “Mormonism” will have to put more crackers in their pockets than they used to. What did they accomplish? They magnified the work of the Lord in the eyes of the nations. They are more afraid of our union than of any other power. They are afraid of the God that is within us. If that union and the power of God is with ten men, they fear that in them more than they fear a hundred thousand men that are not united. We are here, and I am satisfied.

In regard to the acts of this city in turning out teams, we shall send them this season to bring the poor across the Plains; and what will we do another season? Send a great many more. Will the way be hedged up by the wars and distress of nations? I neither know nor care. I am looking for the words of Joseph to be fulfilled. The time will come when men and women will be glad to catch what they can, roll up in a small bundle, and start for the mountains, without team or wagon. That day will shortly come. Hundreds of people in this house are my witnesses, who heard Joseph say, when asked whether we should ever have to leave Nauvoo, “The Saints will leave Nauvoo. I do not say they will be driven, as they were from Jackson County, Missouri, and from that State; but they will leave here and go to the mountains. And the next time the Saints remove, or are caused to remove, they will be turned out of the frying pan, not into the fire, but into the middle of the floor.” If this is not the middle of the floor, I do not know where you will find it. When we left Missouri, we were turned out of the frying pan into the fire; and the next time our enemies succeeded in their warring against us, they cast us into the middle of the floor. I think this is the middle of the floor. Can we look to the back side of it, or to the front side of it? I can look to the south and to the north, and it is a great way to the bed or to the table. I think we are in the middle of the floor. We are here, and not there. “Do you think there will be war, so that we cannot gather the Saints?” I do not know, nor do I care. They must come.

I want to say a few words to those of my brethren who are apt to prophesy evil. Some of the brethren are all the time foreseeing evil that the Saints are going to suffer, and saying that we are going to see harder times than ever before, and that the armies of the Un—hold on—the armies of the nations will yet gather against us. Let them gather: the Lord will perform his work. “But don’t you think we shall be afflicted again?” What if we are? I am not sorry that the army came here. “What are you sorry for?” I am sorry to see so many foolish persons in our midst. If I possessed the influence over this people that it is my right to possess in the midst of the Latter-day Saints, I would have made our enemies pay well for what they bought. But to see the sisters run with butter, eggs, and chickens, and the brethren with their flour and wheat, to their enemies who came here to cut their throats, or else make them renounce their religion, is what pains my heart. Our enemies are ruined, the gold is spent, and we are here where we can procure more. Who has made the money in what is called the “Utah War?” Mr. Floyd, Secretary of War, expected to make a large amount. When he started his crusade, I considered that he would make some five millions of dollars. He has probably done so, and he will lose the whole of it, and will become a stink and a by-word among his friends, and will rot; and very many of you will see it come to pass. This will also come to pass upon every one of those that came here to destroy “Mormonism,” as very many of you will see. The likeliest class that did come here were the gamblers, and they were most of them broke; and all who engaged in the crusade will be broken. When they undertook the job, they did not count the cost.

It is seldom I think of them; but when I get to talking about them, the times we have passed through come up, which were good times. I felt remarkably well through them all. “You, Brigham Young, are a Mormon; you believe in Joseph Smith, and you are not fit to live on the earth.” “You, John, Peter, and Paul, ought to be killed, because you believe in Jesus Christ.” How do you think I feel towards them? One of our sisters lay sick in bed in Far West; and when the mob came in there, one of them took a pitchfork and threatened to stab her with it. She said, “Stick it into me as quick as you please, for you will not do any great things in killing an old woman like me—one who is not able to get off from her bed.” When they hunted us into this desolate wilderness, if you will permit me to use a vulgar figure, I had to put on scores of old-fashioned Pennsylvania breechings; I had to keep putting on another, and another, to hold them within bounds. The Lord said, “Hold on.” He can fight our battles far better than we can. Anger towards them is a poor, miserable feeling; and I am trying to get rid of it. But to reflect on what they have done! Hundreds and hundreds of fathers, mothers, and children have been wasted by the wayside, through their hellish persecutions! I feel that I want to live until I see the earth emptied of such characters. Are all thus mean? No, only those that feel to persecute and destroy the kingdom of God from the earth.

I will tell you another prophecy of Joseph’s, of which both Jews and Gentiles are my witnesses. Joseph said that the bones of hundreds of the Missouri and Illinois mobocrats, who drove the Saints from those States, should bleach on the plains, and their flesh should be meat for wolves. Are you witnesses to that, in coming over the Plains? Yes, hundreds and hundreds of those characters that started to go to the gold mines, their flesh was meat for the wolves, and their bones are there bleaching today, so far as they have not been buried, or entirely rotted away. That is another prophecy of Joseph’s. I do not say that all who differ with us in matters of religion are mobocrats. No: there are as honest men in other churches as there are in ours.

Go into the world among the infidels and the Universalists: they are two good classes of men. Then visit the members of the Church of England, and the Roman Catholic Church, the Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Quakers, Shakers, &c.; and millions of them are as honest as we are. Shall I call them mobocrats? Who are the evildoers? Those who have had the light presented to them, and rejected it. I do not feel as I have represented towards all the children of men, only towards those who have hunted our lives from the beginning—who have hunted the life of every Saint from the beginning. But they have not the power, neither will they have it, to divide this kingdom. This Church will prosper and increase. You understand that, when I talk about those men, I talk about those who have been active, in what? In trying to bring destruction upon us. Have we injured them? No, we have not; at least, I have not, and I hope you have not. Have they any great reason for their usage to us? They have not. I will leave them in the hands of God; and when the time comes, as I have told you, for the present occupants and tenants to be disinherited, the writ of ejectment will be served, and they will be forthwith hoisted from their position, and Jesus will take possession. And, as has been observed this morning, though a terrific thought for all men to be under the control of one, that man will never live on the earth that will not control the inhabitants of the earth, until he can do it with justice and mercy. Do not be afraid: the enemies of God and his Christ will be divided and subdivided all the time, and Jesus will come to reign and rule. You say, “We all like the reign of Christ.” The wicked will not like the Savior half so well as you like me. He would tell them to go to their own place. I honor no other being in heaven and earth more than him; and no man can rule triumphantly until he rules in righteousness. Wherefore have no fears in the least. I will leave this subject.

We want to build this Temple. Now, brethren, shall we do so? Yes; and we will do all that is necessary. The Bishops talked over the matter, and thought sending teams from this city would prevent our putting forth our strength upon the walls of the Temple. But let me tell you that we can do far more on the Temple this year, if we touch it at all, than we could if we did not send our cattle and wagons East. Perhaps some of us cannot understand this, but I trust you will so live that you will see the time when you will understand that God rules in heaven, and does his pleasure upon the earth; and that the cattle upon a thousand hills are his; and that he will control all matters to your benefit, if we are coworkers with him, with a pure heart, and an eye single to the building up of his kingdom, and do what is wanted to be done; and that the more we do the more means we shall have. Let the wicked continue to fight and quarrel, and the Lord will open the path for us, and we can gather the poor Saints for a good while yet. No matter what is done among the States, the earth is the Lord’s, and He will dictate, govern, and control where he pleases; and by-and-by he will take possession of the whole farm—of the whole earth.

It is now time for us to wake up to business. We have had a pleasant winter, and have enjoyed ourselves in the dance, in concerts, and parties. I want to say to the Bishops, now wind up these amusements, and let us go to work. You have often been told that all the amusement Latter-day Saints enjoy, or will enjoy, we have to make. One of the most useful amusements we could have would be for the Seventies and High Priests to meet here, instead of in their small halls, and lecture. Which is the most delightful, to satisfy the wants of the natural body, or those of the intelligent part within us? Which is the most precious? Both.

Little boys play with their wagons, tops, marbles, &c.; little girls with their dolls, cradles, and skipping ropes. They are in the height of their enjoyment, while there sits the mother, whose mind comprehends all the children can enjoy, and then she can see enjoyment far beyond what they are then capable of enjoying. Perhaps her vision is open to see forward into the eternity before her, and that she will be able to preserve her identity in the future existence. Do you not see how easy it is for her to circumscribe all those little children can enjoy? Her feeling is, “I am delighted: it is a great satisfaction to see my children enjoy themselves.” But how would she like to engage in their plays? “It is my joy to see them enjoy themselves.” Do you like to get together in your parties? How are you looked upon by beings in the eternal worlds? Precisely as a mother looks upon her children when they are enjoying themselves and passing their time so kindly with each other. Says the mother, “I do delight in seeing my children enjoy themselves.” I also delight in enjoying myself with the brethren and sisters, and giving to my natural organization the food that the natural body requires. The body requires food, and the immortal spirit requires food; the whole organization requires something to feast upon, and we get up amusements to satisfy it. I say to the Bishops, Now wind up the dancing parties. What do you think, brother Woolley? What do you think, brother Hoagland? [”Yes.“] I presume all the rest feel the same.

I think we will stop dancing parties for a time. Now make your parties around your ploughs; see that your teams are where you can get them, and that your fences are in order, and have your teams and wagons ready to go East. And when you wish to enjoy yourselves with your brethren, you are welcome to this room, to lecture in and present any public business requisite to be done. We have much public work laid out to be done this season. We intend to make some improvements on this Tabernacle, and do something at the Temple, and build the Seventies’ Hall, besides lecture rooms, assembly rooms, &c., in this city; and if we are let alone, in thirty years we shall make quite a city of this place. We also expect to build a theater this season, as a place of amusement for the brethren and sisters. I am not going to have the devils make fun for me: they have fun that will keep them pretty busily occupied. I will never go to hell for fun; and if I have any fun, I wish my brethren and sisters to make it. God bless you! Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, February 17, 1861.

I wish to address myself particularly to the Elders of Israel, for their instruction, edification, and learning, that they may be profitable to themselves and others. I will appeal to the experience of every individual, when we do as well as we know how, honor our God, honor our calling, honor our Priesthood, honor our tabernacles, our being upon the earth, whether it is not the feeling of every heart to wish all persons to be just like ourselves—to wish the ideas and acts of our brethren to be precisely like ours; and yet we should not look upon ourselves as an infallible standard for others. It is no more natural for your lungs to expand and contract in breathing than it is for you to wish others to be like yourselves.

I wish the Elders of Israel to understand mankind as they are—to go to the people and take them as they are. Let an Elder go into the world to preach the Gospel of salvation, and he will find some individuals possessed of a great deal more ability than others. Stop with a family, when you are invited to tarry overnight, and you find them in great ignorance; their minds are low and groveling, as were the minds of their fathers before them; they have not been taught to cultivate the mental faculty that is within them, and they are dull and stupid. Step into another house, and you will discern that the minds of every member of that family are cultivated to the best of their ability and circumstances. You will find some portions of a community diligently studying the sciences of the day, others cultivating the arts, &c., each according to their tastes, means, or circumstances, while others seem to be under no cultivation of the mind: yet in all the various classes each wants his neighbor to be precisely like himself.

You see some persons who appear at meetings on the Sabbath and on other public occasions with their hair uncombed and their faces, hands, and clothing uncleanly. Have they no combs nor soap? They have, or can get them. How happens it that we behold such conduct? Probably the parents of those persons taught them that it was pride that prompted people to appear clean and decent. Perhaps their mothers taught them in their infancy that if they washed their faces, and combed and anointed their hair, and dressed themselves in comely apparel to appear before their fellow men, “Oh, you are full of pride!” Sisters, were not some of you taught in your youth that if you wore a silk dress, you did so purely through pride? Many of you were. I knew one sister in this Church who burned up several dresses when she became a Methodist, because she thought it not right for her to wear rich and costly clothing; that pride prompted costly dress, and in it she could not come before the Lord in humility. She also thought that if she gave her rich dresses away, others would commit the same sin that she would commit in wearing them; so she destroyed them.

To return to the Elders of Israel. An Elder visits a Branch, and, unless he is on his guard, he will begin to complain that the Presiding Elder of the Branch is not as he is, does not understand as he does, and does not conceive of the Gospel as he does. He will find himself saying to the members of the Branch—“You are in the dark; you need teaching; you ought to have a smart Elder here—a man of understanding—to teach you.” “Well, brother, will you stay and teach us?” Perhaps, through persuasion, he will stop, and what will he do? Break that Branch to pieces, and destroy their faith, if possible. Why? “You are not as I am!” Elders, look to this, and think of it. We wish you to reap some benefit from your experience.

When I rise here and tell you things that pertain to other nations and generations, and when others teach you things that pertain to other people, it does not profit you as much as it does for us to understand ourselves. Wherever we go, wherever our lot is cast, whoever we associate with, let the Elders have the principles of truth within them to prompt heavenly and holy desires to do good. Is it wisdom for each Elder to strive to mold and fashion all others precisely according to himself in all the views and notions he possesses? Is this the way? No, it is not. It is wisdom for the Elders of Israel to know how to treat others according to the ability they possess, and to treat their families according to the ability they possess. In visiting neighborhoods, you will find persons intelligent upon some points, and upon other points they may be ignorant. They may be very well informed upon certain principles per– taining to divinity, and upon others be ignorant. Their dispositions are also different from yours and others you associate with. What will you make of them? Good people—Saints, so far as in your power.

We are very apt, through our traditions, former associations, and notion of things and ideas, to attribute every act of man and every manifestation of mankind to an invisible source—the good or the evil. God is the author of all good; and yet, if you rightly understood yourselves, you would not directly attribute every good act you perform to our Father in heaven, nor to his Son Jesus Christ, nor to the Holy Ghost; neither would you attribute every evil act of a man or woman to the Devil or his spirits or influences; for man is organized by his Creator to act perfectly independently of all influences there are above or beneath. Those influences are always attending him, and are ready to dictate and direct—to lead him into truth or to lead him to destruction. But is he always guided by those influences in every act? He is not. It is ordained of God that we should act independently in and of ourselves, and the good is present when we need it. If we will ask for it, it is with us. If we yield to temptation, the evil is present, and nigh enough to lead every son and daughter of Adam to destruction, if they give way to it. But it is the design of the Almighty that we should act independently. Then, when you see a person endowed by the Holy Ghost, you need not expect him to look and act precisely as you do. Their religious sentiments will be alike, for the Holy Ghost does not introduce foolish traditions and the varied unwise notions that the inhabitants of the earth have.

A man will say, “If I believed that such a man or woman was a Saint, I should despair of all good.” Why? “Because their acts and lives are so different from mine.” Now, if you will reflect upon the traditions of the world, with which we are more or less encumbered, you will see manifest the trait I have referred to. If I am washed and made clean, if I am attired in comely garments, or there is anything extra upon me to beautify, it is considered by some as the height of folly and pride; it is looked upon as a sin of the deepest dye; and the feeling arises, “If I could believe such a gentleman or lady to be a Christian, I should despair of the good that is with me.” Why? “Because I have been taught that all this is pride.” I have known people who have lived in this Church, whom I should suppose had concluded it to be an unpardonable sin for them to go to meeting with clean faces and hands. What are the notions of most of the Christian world in regard to a Prophet? They would wish to see a man with his hair to his waist. Combed? No. He must never appear to use that frivolous, sinful article, a comb. That would be folly in the extreme. It would be sin, therefore, if he appears with his hair long, bushy, snarled, dirty, and hanging carelessly about his shoulders. Are his hands washed? No. His finger nails trimmed and clean? No; they are like dirty bird’s claws. Is he cheerful? No; for he must wear a long face, never suffer a smile to pass over his countenance, but go mourning all the day long; and it is, “O Lord, have mercy upon the people.” Present a Prophet to suit the notions of many of the sectarian world, and you have such a man as this. Will he have on a decent suit of clothes? No; he must have a sheepskin about his loins, and must wear a girdle as dirty and filthy as the rags upon our natives.

Others are trained and traditionated to appear with clean faces and dressed in decent attire—are taught to appear comely and beautiful. All of these classes act according to their faith and traditions, and each one of them says, “If you are not as I am, you are not right.” This is just as natural as it is to breathe vital air. I wish this trait in the Saints to be done away. I want the Elders of Israel to learn to take people as they are. How many do you see who have no influence over certain spirits in this Church? Do you know how to approach a man that is full of subtlety and self-will—with an idea that every man on earth is wrong but himself? Do you know how to operate to gain his affections and good will? Do you know how to attract that spirit and make it follow you? If you do not, you do not fully understand your duty, calling, and Priesthood. I wish the people to learn to have influence over themselves, and then learn to have influence with your fellow beings, that you may be able to attract the spirits in the intelligent beings around you, so that these spirits will follow you to be taught of you, and learn of you doctrine to lead them to life everlasting.

There is a certain trait in the Elders of Israel that I really want them to get rid of, for they are better off without than with it. Not that they are so very much to blame, or that I would condemn them; but, according to their traditions and nature, they think everybody ought to be like themselves. And when they chasten faulty brethren, they often chasten them, perhaps, beyond bounds. With some spirits a certain amount of chastisement is sufficient; and if you go beyond that, you may drive them to destruction—you may destroys them. You must learn to know when you have chastised enough.

Do you know how to chastise your children? When they do wrong, catch them in the act of doing wrong, if possible, and then switch them nicely, and tell them you have a good mind to whip them; tell them you will chasten them, if they do not stop such conduct. Do not let them know that they were whipped; but when you correct them, do it so that they will remember it more than twenty-four hours; and tell them that if they do not mind you, you will have to chasten them and whip them. Tell the brethren and sisters, “If you do not behave yourselves, I will chasten you by-and-by.” Never try to destroy a man. It is our mission to save the people, not to destroy them. The least, the most inferior spirit now upon the earth, in our capacity, is worth worlds.

When Oliver Cowdery felt to complain, and wanted a little more influence in the Church than Joseph, the Lord spoke to him through Joseph, and said to his servant Oliver, Suppose you should labor all your lifetime faithfully, and be the means of saving one soul, how great would be your joy in heaven over that soul that you were the means of saving! If to all eternity you could praise God, through being the means of saving one soul—I may say the least or most inferior intelligence upon the earth, pertaining to the human family—if you could be the means of saving one such person, how great would be your joy in the heavens! Then let us save many, and our joy will be great in proportion to the number of souls we save. Let us destroy none.

I asked some brethren, a few evenings ago while in council, if they would not do themselves the kindness from that time forth to live such lives that, when the books are opened, there is one source of gratitude to them to know that their debits do not overbalance their credits. I then asked them why not live so that when the books are opened there are no debits against them. It will be a pleasure to know that we have saved all the Father gave into our power. Jesus said that he lost none except the sons of perdition. He will lose none of his brethren, except sons of perdition. Let us save all the Father puts in our power. And when you are called to preside as Bishop, or to preach the Gospel on foreign missions, are called to travel through our settlements to regulate the affairs of the Saints, take a course to save every person. There is no man or woman within the pale of saving grace but that is worth saving. There is no intelligent being, except those who have sinned against the Holy Ghost, but that is worth, I may say, all the life of an Elder to save in the kingdom of God. Then let us take a course to understand men as they are, and not endeavor to make them precisely as we are, for this you cannot do. I am myself; you are yourselves. Let us learn how to approach each other, and how to get an influence over that intelligent portion that is within.

I am not going to drive a man or a woman to heaven. A great many think that they will be able to flog people into heaven, but this can never be done, for the intelligence in us is as independent as the Gods. People are not to be driven, and you can put into a gnat’s eye all the souls of the children of men that are driven into heaven by preaching hellfire. So learn wisdom, that when you behold your brethren in the depths of poverty, but striving to do right, they are as beloved as they would be if they were dressed in purple and fine linen. Take that intelligent course, and learn to instruct people until they increase in knowledge and understanding, until their traditions pass away, and they will become of one heart and mind in the principles of godliness.

If you are ever called upon to chasten a person, never chasten beyond the balm you have within you to bind up. I might call some of you to witness that I chasten you, but there is not a soul that I chasten but what I feel as though I could take them and put them in my bosom and carry them with me day by day. They deserve chastisement, but God forbid that I should chasten beyond the healing balm I have to save them and make better men of them. It is not my daily study to know what a Prophet meant in relation to things that occurred before the flood, or will occur after the millennium, how Adam set out his currant bushes, and in what part of the garden Eve was when she partook of the forbidden fruit; but I want to know how to lead you with that intelligence to enable you to live to an everlasting life, that you may be saved in the kingdom of God. I say again, Do not chasten beyond the balm you have within you. If you have the saving influence within you, it is well. When you have the chastening rod in your hands, ask God to give you wisdom to use it, that you may not use it to the destruction of an individual, but to his salvation. Can you save all? Yes, you can save all that will be saved. If people are not saved, it is because they are not disposed to be saved. They act for themselves, and act from choice.

Would I compel a person to be saved in the kingdom of God that chose to go to hell? No. If I had all the power of the Gods in the eternities, I would not save one soul in the kingdom of God that chose to stay out, neither will the Gods. All who wish to be saved and desire good I wish to be saved, and Jesus will lose none except the sons of perdition. I may be instrumental, in the providences of our God, of saving thousands and millions in the celestial kingdom that otherwise perhaps would not get there. We are to be like the good physician; and if we see the sick—those afflicted with pain and distress in the head, eyes, teeth, or in any of the limbs or other portion of the body, it is our duty to have the medicine—the remedy to administer to that pain, to heal, to cure, to rebuke the disease and save the sick like a good physician, and not kill them by dosing down the medicine as do some of our doctors. Administer the medicine in all mildness, and with good judgment and discretion. Seek until you learn the medicine to administer to each patient, and how much to give to each. There is just as much difference in the spiritual organization as you see in the temporal organization. You can see that eternal variety in both. You may go to a man taken with a fever, and if you treat him as you did a similar case last week, you may consign him to the grave. You ought to know better.

I could preach a sermon on doctoring the body, we have so many that do not understand it among those who profess to; but it is of no use. I would rather have the sisters wait upon me in sickness than many of those who profess to be physicians.

Elders of Israel, learn to be spiritual physicians. Carry the medicine with you to deal out to every patient as he needs it. If a patient has chills and fever in his spirit, you must carry the medicine to cure it; also for the erysipelas, or the dumb ague, or the rheumatism in the spirit, you must carry the medicine to heal. Thus learn, when you have chastened enough, to cease; and be sure you never chasten beyond the balm you carry in your portmanteau.

I will bring our forenoon meeting to a close. May God bless you! Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, February 17, 1861.

Brother Joseph W. Young, in his remarks, alluded to the intelligence to be dispensed to the people here—that which they do not get elsewhere. The brethren come here from the States and from the old countries: they gather from different parts of the world, expecting to learn the great mysteries—the secret things of our God. What do you learn, brothers and sisters? If you are good scholars, you learn to treat your neighbors as they should be treated, and to have the same affections for a person from Ireland or England as you do for one from your own native land. You come here to learn to drive oxen into a canyon, and return without sinning. You come here to learn that every person you see is a little different from you.

Brother Kimball most beautifully compared this people to a tree, remarking that we all receive nourishment from the same fountain. A tree shoots forth; it soon begins to have branches; but you cannot find two limbs precisely alike. A branch puts forth to bear fruit; the tree continues its course upwards; another branch starts out; and if it is a little different from the first branch, should it find fault and complain of the tree because of that difference in shape and capacity? You cannot find two twigs alike. You may examine any tree of the forest and see whether you can find any two leaves that are precisely alike. You cannot. Then you may go to a meadow, and see whether you can find two spears of grass just alike in shape and form. There are no two precisely alike. Examples of that endless variety are now before me.

The greatest lesson you can learn is to learn yourselves. When we learn ourselves, we learn our neighbors. When we know precisely how to deal with ourselves, we know how to deal with our neighbors. You have come here to learn this. You cannot learn it immediately, neither can all the philosophy of the age teach it to you: you have to come here to get a practical experience and to learn yourselves. You will then begin to learn more perfectly the things of God. No being can thoroughly learn himself, without understanding more or less of the things of God: neither can any being learn and understand the things of God, without learning himself: he must learn himself, or he never can learn God. This is a lesson to us; and you cannot learn that abroad which you can learn here.

How simple it appears, how trifling at the first thought, to the noble mind of man that is reaching after eternity and eternal things, to come here to learn to drive oxen, to learn to build houses, to learn to mingle his feelings with his neighbor and treat his neighbor as he is, and to learn that he must not expect every person around him to be precisely like himself; for we see that endless variety renders it impossible. Let every man learn to properly treat his fellow man, for this we come together to learn.

There are a great many other things that it is important to learn, and one in particular is to learn to live and operate on the principle brother Kimball spoke of, that “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.” I am a witness to what brother Kimball said. When I asked him to build a house in Nauvoo, he had not five dollars to begin with. Do you want to know how poor he was? I might tell you that he was as rich as I was, except, perhaps, in his feelings: in that respect I do not think that he was quite so rich as I was there, for I felt like asking no odds of anybody. He had not a farthing when he returned to Nauvoo from England. Upon our return, we found our families comparatively naked and barefoot as we had left them. Who was ready to step forth and help to administer to the comfort and relief of brother Kimball? A certain Apostle managed to take the fleece of the flock that we had raised. Would he let brother Kimball have a dress pattern for his wife Vilate? No. Sister Kimball had not a second dress, and yet brother Kimball could not get a dress pattern from his brother Apostle. He began to build a house, and when it was finished he owed no one. Suppose he had sat down and counted the cost.

There are words said to have been spoken by the Savior—“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he hath sufficient to finish it?” No matter whether he said this or not: it is only a question asked: he did not give it as his counsel or advice. I have built a great many houses, and never counted the cost before I built them. I never wanted to know anything about it. What is to be done? I want some rock. Go and get it. I want some lime. Go and get it. I want a mason: I hire him, and pay him to lay up the walls. I hire my carpenters and painters, and pay them. I want something to put on the walls. Get it and put it on: if it is a frame building, get the timber and put it up. In short, when I want a house, I go to work and put it up, and do not stop until it is done, and never count the cost. “The earth is the Lord’s,” with all its fulness.

When I hear of the brethren and sisters going after gold—the riches and wealth of the earth—I think that if they had it in the spirit world they could not do anything with it there. There are no merchants there with their merchandise—no grog shops there in which to spend money. Those who possess wealth must leave it here for the Saints, and the Saints will become heirs of it; and we wish the people to be ready to receive these and all blessings the Lord has in store for them. Be ready. We were ready when King James Buchanan sent his friends here to initiate us into Christianity. If we had not been ready, your heads and mine might have been cold ere today. We were ready, and we said, “Stop—stay your sad career, until you think.”

Did Thomas H. Benton aid in gathering the Saints? Yes, he was the mainspring and action of governments in driving us into these mountains. He obtained orders from President Polk to summon the militia of Missouri, and destroy every “Mormon” man, woman, and child, unless they turned out five hundred men to fight the battles of the United States in Mexico. He said that we were aliens to the Government, and to prove it he said—“Mr. President, make a requisition on that camp for five hundred men, and I will prove to you that they are traitors to our Government.” We turned out the men, and many of them are before me today; among whom is father Pettigrew—a man that ought to have been asked into the Cabinet to give the President counsel; but they asked him to travel on foot across the Plains to fight our country’s battles against Mexico. We turned out the men, and Mr. Benton was disappointed. He went to his grave in disgrace, and shame covered him. Was he a man of influence in his last days—in the latter portion of his career in public life? When he could not be President, nor be returned again to the Senate, after much exertion he succeeded in being elected a member of the House of Representatives, and at the close of his public career, because the hands of the clock in the Representatives Hall were turned back, and the hands of his watch did not agree with it when at twelve o’clock, said he, “Mr. Speaker, I am not a member of this legislative body.” The Speaker said, “Sergeant-at-Arms, show that gentleman to the door,” and there was scarcely a man in the House that so much as turned his eyes to look. The ground he walked on was disgraced by his step, and his acquaintances shunned him: and so it will be with others.

Brother Kimball says that King James will have to pay the debt he has contracted. He has more on his hands than he will settle for many generations. You will see the old man go down to the grave in disgrace. He has cast off his political friends, and they will all cast him off as a thing of naught, and he will become a hiss and a by-word, and has already.

The London Times speaks of the old man’s being incapable of magnifying the office bestowed upon him. They complain of him now; but, when he was minister from our Government to England, did they not in secret council induce him to pledge himself to destroy the “Mormons,” if they would assist in electing him President? Did they not connive with Buchanan to destroy the “Mormons” from the earth? Did they not send their armies to the north to head us in our retreat, provided King James succeeded in routing us from our homes? I spoke of this to Captain Van Vleit, when he was here. I merely ask these questions, that those who are acquainted with political moves may draw their conclusions upon the workings of governments. But the Lord has given his people power to elude the grasp of our enemies; for he led them in a way they knew not, turned them hither and thither, diverted the blow aimed at our heads, and brought disgrace and ruin on those who sought to bring ruin and destruction upon us. It will take them a great while to pay the debt they have contracted. That Government known as the United States has become like water spilled on the ground, and other governments will follow.

“Kings become nursing fathers,” indeed? Not King James: no. “Queens become nursing mothers?” Will Queen Victoria become a nursing mother to the Saints? I have not one word of fault to find with her as an individual; but the Government holds her; she is fettered. She is a good woman, but she will never nurse the Saints. Will the Queen of Spain? Never. But the kings and queens I am looking upon today will belong to that class; they will be the fathers and mothers to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. There are many sheep on the earth that we have not yet found. We consider ourselves the flock of God—the kingdom of God; and when you travel upon the islands of the sea and among the nations who have never heard the Gospel, you will learn that there are thousands and millions of the sheep that have not heard the voice of the Good Shepherd. They are to be entered into the fold, and we have it to do.

Remember that, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.” And I can say to the Bishops and brethren of this city, that, in rating teams to send to Florence, they have answered our expectations and more. We shall send and bring up the poor, and shall build, and continue to increase in our ability. Every time we put forth our ability to do good and build up the kingdom of God, according to the means the Lord bestows upon us, our means and ability will be doubled and trebled. Yes, we shall receive tenfold, and, as Joseph said, an hundredfold. Have we witnesses of this? Yes, plenty of witnesses. I will mention one little circumstance. When we were finishing the Temple in Nauvoo, the last year of our stay there, I rented a portion of ground in what was called the Church farm, which we afterwards deeded to sister Emma. Brother George D. Grant worked for me then, and planted the corn, sowed the oats, and said this, that, and the other must be attended to. They called for teams to haul for the Temple, and could not get them. Said I, Put my team on the Temple, if there is not a kernel of grain raised. I said I would trust in God for the increase, and I had as good corn as there was on the farm, though it was not touched from the time we put the seed in to the time of gathering. I proved the fact. I had faith.

The poor miserable apostates there prophesied, and the Gentiles prophesied, and all creation of wickedness seemed to agree that that Temple should not be finished; and I said that it should, and the house of Israel said that it should, and the angels and God said, “We will help you.” Many of you remember my setting my foot on the capstone and addressing the people. We completed the Temple, used it a short time, and were done with it. On the 5th or 6th of February, 1846, we committed the building into the hands of the Lord, and left it; and when we heard that it was burned, we were glad of it.

How many circumstances could I relate to the brethren that God does hold the purse strings of the world! Brother Kimball has slightly alluded to a circumstance, without mentioning the particulars. When brother Heber C. Kimball and I were on the way to England, and were left in a little place called Pleasant Garden, I know, as I know I live, that we had no more than thirteen dollars and fifty cents. This was all we had, that we knew anything about. In the course of the journey, we paid out just about eighty-six dollars, as near as I can recollect, for conveyance, food, and lodging, always finding just money enough in my trunk to pay each bill; and when we arrived at Kirtland Corners, we had just the York shilling left.

I might stand here and relate to the brethren incidents, until you would be tired of hearing. I merely wish to impress upon you the feeling that God holds your purse strings. You may hoard up your gold, keep your cattle on the ranges for the Indians to steal or the winters to destroy, and tie up your hearts as tight as you please; the Lord will let the Indians steal your cattle and thieves your purses—will let calamity come upon you, or permit you to roll in wealth until you go to your own place.

It has been told you that we want to bring the brethren here and give them their endowments, and then let them apostatize if they will, and have done with them. Those who are steadfast and faithful, we will teach to work in the adobie yard, in the quarry, &c.; and learn them to be cleanly and prudent, and teach them what their organization is, that they may understand the things of God.

May God bless you! Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, February 10, 1861.

I have no doubt with regard to the good work of the Lord, referred to by those who have spoken, and it will continue among the nations of the earth. The Lord will bring out the results to his own honor and glory; but are we ready?

The Lord has bestowed great knowledge and wisdom upon the inhabitants of the earth—much truth and knowledge in the arts and sciences. Those nations that deny their God and Savior will have those principles of intelligence taken from them. Are the Latter-day Saints prepared to receive them, enjoy them, and improve upon them, or will those principles have to go to some other kingdom? There is great wisdom in the world; their knowledge in mechanism and the exact sciences is very great. This wisdom will be taken from the wicked. Who will receive it? Is there a people upon the earth prepared to receive this knowledge and this wisdom? There should be. Is it reasonable to suppose that the wisdom God has bestowed upon the nations of the earth should continue upon it? Or should it be taken from the inhabitants of the earth and carried back from whence it came? My faith and my desire are that there should be a people upon the earth prepared to receive this wisdom. It should not be so forfeited as to be taken from the earth, for I question whether it would return again. There should be a people prepared to improve upon their knowledge and wisdom, for all knowledge and wisdom come from God. All true intelligence is the gift of God. He is the true fountain of all knowledge and wisdom.

The query arises in the minds of many with regard to their capability. Is there a principle inherent in the man that loves liquor to let it alone? Or is he compelled to follow his appetite? Is there ability in the man or woman that is inclined to handle that which is not their own, to resist that temptation and learn to be honest and honorable? Is this inherent in the people, or not? I have my own belief about it—my own views. I conceive that man is framed, formed, created, made, fashioned after the image of his God, with a germ in him of that independence that belongs to the Gods; and that independence is to be acted upon, to prepare every person that is exalted to enjoy the society of the sanctified, by a strict obedience to the principles of right. And each and every individual has the ability, the power, to overcome every passion within him, subdue every evil, and ride triumphantly over those passions.

“But,” says the man that is addicted to evil, “If I refrain for a day, the temptation haunts me; if I refrain for a week, I yet am inclined to sip at the poisonous cup. I could hardly endure to see my neighbor drinking the poison draught without joining with him: it is almost impossible for me to resist it.” This is folly in the extreme, for you deny your own senses. There is not a man on the earth but what denies his own judgment when he reasons with himself in this way. I can take or refuse, partake or reject, at my own will and pleasure. That power is inherent in every man and woman upon the earth, to a greater or less degree. In proportion to the intelligence people are endowed with, so do they possess the qualification for bettering their condition by improving their lives and receiving truth for error, light for darkness. And if they continue to overcome every temptation and every evil appetite, they will become masters of them, and will conquer at last, and be counted worthy to be crowned; otherwise they will miss the glory they anticipate.

Cannot people refrain from taking that which is not their own? Speaking of moral religion alone, they can. Cannot an individual, who is in the habit of taking the name of God in vain, resist that temptation? He can, if he chooses. If he cannot easily do so, let him do as a boy who came to this country with me said that he did. He was addicted to swearing; and got a piece of India-rubber to chew when tempted to swear. That person, I think, has not been heard to swear for years. No boy, in his youth, was more addicted to that habit than he was. He did not beat his brains out, but he acts as though he has more brains in his head than he used to have. I was brought up as strictly as any child ever ought to be, with regard to morality; yet, when I went into the world, I was addicted to swearing, through hearing others. I gave way to it, but it was easily overcome when my judgment and will decided to overcome it.

Now, brethren, are you prepared to receive the wisdom that God has bestowed upon the nations? You recollect that this forenoon, we had a few remarks from brother Simms, in which he stated that the greater portion of the inhabitants of the earth were inclined to do right. That is true. There is a monitor in every person that would reign there triumphantly, if permitted so to do, and lead to truth and virtue.

There is not a man living upon the earth but, when he hears the truth, is inclined to believe it and reject error. What prompts them to receive the evil? They yield to the temptation of that Evil One that lies in wait to deceive. The pride of the earth is in wickedness—in the abominations and corruptions of mankind. They delight themselves in their proneness to wander from their God and from the path of rectitude, and pride themselves in their iniquity of every kind. It has become the fashion of the nations of the earth to do evil.

Where is there a nation that acknowledges the Supreme God to be their President and their King? The best form of man-made government upon the earth is that of a nation now breaking to pieces. Have they ever acknowledged God? No. They spurned from their presence the man who would acknowledge that God should reign King of nations as well as King of Saints. Have we proof of this before us? We have. When Joseph Smith rose in the majesty of his calling before God, he saw what we are now hearing of through dispatches received from week to week. The nation is ruined, and will crumble to pieces. They will destroy themselves. Joseph rose up and said—“I will save them, if they will let me.” He stepped forth like a man and proffered his services to save the nation that is now breaking; and he would have saved it, if they had permitted him. What did they bestow upon him in return? They made a martyr of him—I would not like to say a savior, although he is our benefactor. He is the man through whom God has spoken and revealed some of the most glorious principles that ever were revealed to the children of men; yet I would not like to call him a savior, though in a certain capacity he was a God to us, and is to the nations of the earth, and will continue to be. He was not the Only Begotten of the Father, who died for the sins of the world; but he was the Prophet of the Lord, through whom God spoke to the nations and dictated laws by which they were to be governed to secure to themselves eternal life. And when he would have saved the people of the nation, they crowned him a martyr of Jesus. They performed an act that secures to him crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal lives. They succeeded in shedding his blood and that of the Patriarch Hyrum. They shed the blood of the innocent, and the nation said amen to it. Were they aware of it at the seat of Government? I have no doubt they as well knew of the plans for destroying the Prophet as did those in Carthage or in Warsaw, Illinois. It was planned by some of the leading men of the nation. I have said here once before, to the astonishment of many of our own countrymen, that there was a delegate from each State in the nation when Joseph was killed. These delegates held their council. What were they afraid of? You and me? No. They were afraid of those eternal principles God has revealed from the heavens; they trembled and quaked at the sound of them. Joseph would have saved the nation from ruin.

Some have inquired, “Will they patch up the old garment?” Let them apply their new cloth, if they please. Mr. Crittenden has reported a patch to put on the old garment. Let them put it on, and the rent will be made worse. Let them remain as they are, and the garment is worn out. Is the form of the Government ruined? Has its form become evil? No; but the administrators of the Government are evil. As we have said many times, it is the best form of human government man ever lived under; but it has as corrupt a set to administer it as God ever permitted to disgrace his footstool. There is the evil. Can they better the condition of our country? No; they will make it worse every time they attempt to do so. What is the difficulty? Brother Carrington says there is no noble-minded master-spirit to lead out—one whom the rest will follow. They are all master-spirits! They are all smart men! This is the difficulty. They used to have men whom they looked up to, though but very seldom. I can recollect almost every President of the United States. There never was a wise man that was much looked up to or revered until after his death: then the people could revere him—a Jefferson, a Monroe, an Adams, &c. The administration of Andrew Jackson was as good as that of anyone that ever occupied the presidential chair, and he had a great many enemies. What do you think of that, you gentlemen who are acquainted with the United, or rather the once United States—you who have age and experience? You remember the struggle at the election of Andrew Jackson, and so do I. I repeat that his administration was as good as that of any man that ever administered the government. Some of his opponents did not like him very well for some of his political moves. I liked his moves, only he did not go far enough in removing the deposits and spoiling the United States Bank. But the administration of King James Buchanan, what an administration!

Brother Carrington alluded to William H. Seward of New York. He is considered by many as one of the smartest men that ever was in this Government. Were it not that he had the advantages of the learning and wisdom of one of the best men in the Government—had he been a mechanic or farmer, I doubt whether he would have possessed an extra amount of knowledge. “What of his natural abilities?” I do not consider him a man of great ability. He came to Auburn, N.Y., to study law with a gentleman I well knew. That gentleman took him into his office and house a boy, and made a man of him. He was one of the most influential and best men in the country; he was a man of brain and heart, and he took all the pains possible to make something of the boy. After Mr. Seward had been with the Judge a few years, he began to be looked upon as one possessed of a considerable degree of smartness. What would he be, if he was the President? Judging from his late speech, as received in a dispatch, I would suppose that he hardly knew enough to find his way across the little city of Washington. The prospect of his lofty position appears to have nearly ruined his brain.

What is the difficulty with King James? His high position and exalted opinion of himself so addled and bewildered him, that he said, “I am the greatest man in the nation! I am the Chief Magistrate!!”

What shall we do with such men? Perhaps we may call them honorable men in the earth, in order not to hurt the feelings of some by speaking lightly of such talent in our nation. They are so wonderfully smart! That is the difficulty. Every man in Congress is so smart that he is looking to the presidential chair. The boys of West Point and the boys studying law in the nation have their eyes on the presidential chair. The general feeling is—“I am intending to sit there.” They are all looking to the presidential chair, and have been for years—the boy, the middle-aged Congressman, and the greyheaded Senator. The boy says—“I am the best council I can get. I am at West Point, and I shall soon graduate. Generals Washington, Taylor, and Jackson reached the chair of state, and I shall soon be there.” Could he be counseled by anybody? No. Every man is his own counselor, his own general, and his own governor. We used to say, when we were boys—“Hurrah! Every man for himself, and the Devil for us all!” and they will find it to be so.

They are too wise. They will prove, by their conduct, whether they are capable of forming and sustaining a government for the Southern States that have seceded. There is no more a United States. Can they amalgamate and form a government? No. Will they have ability to form a government and continue it? No, they will not. Hear it, Jew and Gentile. Suppose there is a division between the North and South, and the fifteen slave States try to form a permanent government, can they do it? I tell you they cannot. They are too smart. South Carolina is taking the lead, and says she—“We will sit as kings and queens, or revolt from you.” Says Georgia—“We have as smart men in our State as you have, and we will have a President for our State.” “But you cannot,” says South Carolina. How long will it be before some other State, perhaps New York, forms a separate government? And if a State has a right to secede, so has a Territory, and so has a county from a State or Territory, and a town from a county, and a family from a neighborhood, and you will have perfect anarchy.

King James is not so prompt now as he was three years ago, when he sent troops to Utah. South Carolina comes out and boldly declares her secession from the compact of States, and takes possession of all the public property within her borders, except Fort Sumter. There is no Latter-day Saint engaged in this act. One of the most contemptible of characters we ever had here could swear falsely in Washington, and the Government could receive his oath, and make it a basis, with other lies, of sending an army here. William Drummond went to Washington and swore that we were treasoners, and to many palpable falsehoods; and King James could act upon that and send an army here at an expense of, probably, fifty million dollars. Says King James—“Those lies are true.” “What! Receive a lie?” Yes, go and swear to a lie, and the Government can hear that and act upon it. But when South Carolina takes possession of the public funds, of the customhouse, of the arms, arsenal, dockyards, forts, cannon, &c.—“You must not coerce. Do not infringe upon them: they have the right to do this.” What a reign is the reign of King James! It is enough to astound and throw into the shade the wisdom of all nations upon the earth!

What will King Abraham do? I do not know, neither do I care. It is no difference what he does or what any of them do. Why? God will accomplish his own purposes, and they may do or not do; they may take the road that leads to the right, or they may take the road that leads to the left; and whichever road they do take, they will wish they had taken the other. King James pledged himself, at Cincinnati, that on his election to the presidential chair he would take the Island of Cuba, annex a portion of Mexico, and so obliterate the “Mormons,” that “Mormonism” should not be known at the end of his reign. These three things he pledged himself to his party to do. Some gentleman may say that I am mistaken. I am not mistaken; I am telling the truth, and you may believe it or not.

Did he take Cuba? He did not. Did he annex Mexico, or any portion of it? He did not. Did he destroy “Mormonism?” He did not. What has he done? Ruined the nation, at far as he had influence to do so. He began at the wrong end of the race: the course was marked out for him, but he ran the wrong way. He ought to have begun by taking Cuba, then annexed Mexico, or such portion of it as he wanted; and then he might have considered a little about “Mormonism.” If he had just reflected for a moment, he knew Joseph Smith. If he had reflected upon the career of Joseph and the career of this people, he would have seen at once that every time the enemies of this kingdom undertook to trample it under their feet and obliterate it from the earth, the more they spread it abroad and brought it into note and character. But he began at the wrong end, and he has wished, every step he has taken and everything he has done, that he had taken some other step and done something else. One reason of this is, that his will is such that he will ride over his friends and tread them in the dust, and not make the first apology to them. I attribute this to his ignorance. This is not wisdom; it is not greatness, nobility, or magnanimity; but it is sheer ignorance, willful ignorance, know-nothing ignorance; and that is the difficulty.

What will Abraham do? King James says that if Mr. Lincoln takes the oath of office, and enters into the administration of the Government with as great pleasure as he resigns his official duties, he will be a happy man. If I could advise King James, and have him take my counsel, it would be to resign tomorrow morning, and let Mr. Breckenridge be crowned king for three weeks, that another king might come before King Abraham to see what the administration of that king would be. I do not know of anything better that I could advise him.

“Mormonism” will live, and God will promote it; but shall we be prepared to be promoted with it? That is the question with me. It is in my thoughts by day and by night, Shall I be prepared for the things that are coming upon the earth? I will try to be; and if I have an evil appetite, I will overcome it. If I have a disposition to do that which is morally wrong, I will reject that disposition; I will subdue and overcome it. Will you? Then you who drink, lie, steal, or do anything that is morally wrong, or break the commandments of God in any way, or injure your fellow men, cease to do that evil and learn to do well.

I exhort the brethren not to boast over our enemies’ downfall. Boast not, brethren. God has come out of his hiding place, and has commenced to vex the nation that has rejected us, and he will vex it with a sore vexation. It will not be patched up—it never can come together again—but it will be sifted with a sieve of vanity, and in a short time it will be like water spilled on the ground, and like chaff upon the summer threshingfloor, until those wicked stewards are cut off. If our present happy form of government is sustained, which I believe it will be, it will be done by the people I am now looking upon, in connection with their brethren and their offspring. The present Constitution, with a few alterations of a trifling nature, is just as good as we want; and if it is sustained on this land of Joseph, it will be done by us and our posterity. Our national brethren do not know how to do it. They are not capable of controlling their own passions, to say nothing of ruling a nation. What is the reign of a king who cannot control his passions? Will not his subjects sorrow? Yes, they will feel the weight of his wrath, and their backs will ache, and their heads will ache, and they will receive the lash from a heavy hand.

We are serving a King who can control his passions; and who, as brother George Simms remarked in the forenoon, can be touched with the feelings of the infirmities of the weak. Who can be thus touched, except those who have suffered in like manner? None. And no being knows how to control or govern on earth, unless he has been a subject on an earth. No being is fit to rule, govern, and dictate, until he has been controlled, governed, and dictated—has yielded obedience to law, and proved himself worthy, by magnifying the law that was over him, to be master of that law. We are serving a King who wisely controls himself and his subjects. If we are permitted to rule, govern, and control, in the first place we must control our passions until they are in perfect subjection to us. When we have controlled one and got it perfectly mastered, we shall be prepared to control two; and if we can properly rule over two, we can reign over two thousand or over millions as well as two. If you can control one, you are then prepared to control your family; and if you are prepared to control a family, then you are able to control a city; and if a city, then a nation, upon the same principle. That is the way that God hath obtained his power, and that is the way that we shall obtain power.

A large share of the ingenuity of the world is taxed to invent weapons of war. What a set of fools! I wonder if they think that they will never die, unless they kill one another. Is there any danger of their living here forever? Not a bit of it. Let the people alone, and they will die of themselves, without killing them. But much of the skill, ingenuity, and ability of the Christian nations are now devoted to manufacturing instruments of death. May we be saved from the effects of them! As I often tell you, if we are faithful, the Lord will fight our battles much better than we can ourselves. We should be apt to get nervous in fighting battles, and sometimes get into corners where we might almost have to take a little gunpowder to encourage us—to nerve up our energy—or have to burn some under our noses to become a little used to it. When the Lord fights the battles of the Saints, he does it so effectually that nobody gets nervous but the enemy. We might become nervous, and perhaps give way to passion.

We are never going to destroy the enemies of God by the evil passions that are in us—never, no never. When those who profess to be Saints contend against the enemies of God through passion or selfwill, it is then man against man, evil against evil, the powers of darkness against the powers of darkness. But when men who are sanctified, purified, do anything, they will do it with a coolness as if conversing at their firesides with each other; they will do it with the power of the living God. If they are ever called to wipe out their enemies, they will do it without excitement; they have to do it by the power of the Gods, or not at all. They are not going to do it with wicked hands. Are we prepared to receive the blessings, and let the fighting alone? I do not believe much in fighting, and my faith is to escape such a calamity as to war and fight with either friends or enemies. I want to so have power with God, that he will govern and control and guide and direct the steps of our enemies, until they drive into the ditch. How easy it is for the Almighty to direct the steps of our enemies, until they fall off the precipice and are dashed in pieces, without the efforts of his servants.

Let us be faithful, live our religion, govern our passions, and boast not against our enemies because we live to see the commencement of the fulfillment of this prophecy in our day. The prophecies must be fulfilled. Boast not, then, over your enemies. One might say, “Is it not a delight for us to speak of fulfillment of prophecy?” Yes. If it delights your soul, speak to the Saints; but do not boast to the wicked and ungodly that the Lord is coming out of his hiding place to vex the nation. They will learn that soon enough. I have heard Joseph say, “You will see the sorrows and misery of the world and the misery that will be upon this land, until you will turn away and pray that your eyes may not be obliged to look upon it.” Said he, “There are men in this Council that will live to see the affliction that will come upon this nation, until their hearts sink within them.” He did not live here to see it, though he will see it. Can you endure the sight of it? No. Boast not over the misery of your fellow men. God will fulfil his purposes.

Be ready at all times and in all places to do your duty, and be the friends of God. Cease to mingle with the wicked. Many of our Elders seem to believe that Christ and Baal can yet be made friends. How many times Elders of Israel try to make me fellowship the Devil, or his imps, or his servants; also try to make you fellowship your enemies, to amalgamate the feelings of the Saints and the ungodly! It cannot be done; it never was done, and never can be accomplished. Christ and Baal never can be friends. One or the other must reign triumphantly on the earth, and I say that Jesus Christ shall reign, and I will help him; and Baal shall not reign here much longer—the Devil shall not have power much longer upon the land of Joseph. I will be the friend of God and his Son Jesus, my Savior. Let the Elders of Israel and all the Saints be the friends of Jesus and our Father in heaven, and cling to them. Now, take one side or the other. Either be for God, or else walk out and show that you are for the Devil and believe that he will come off conqueror, and that you are going to stick by him. Here are the two powers on the earth—the evil and the good, not to speak of the ten thousand paths they make through the earth, and the various spirits that go to and fro. It is the good and the evil. Will you have the good and refuse the evil? Then be moral Christians, as we frequently say, and was alluded to this morning. There are moral Christians among the heathen, among the Hindoos, and among all nations. God has laid a plan to save all such. His name be praised!

Can you learn a little, and treasure it up in good and honest hearts? Be honest before God and with yourselves, and let that monitor that God has placed within you take the preeminence; and when persons say they are inclined more to evil than good, tell them it is a falsehood. Until they sin away the day of grace, there is something in all persons that would delight to rise up and reject the evil and embrace the truth. There is not a person on the earth so vile but, when he looks into his own heart, honors the man of God and the woman of God—the virtuous and holy—and despises his comrades in iniquity who are like himself. There is not a man upon the earth, this side of saving grace, unless he has sinned so far that the Spirit of the Lord has ceased to strive with him and enlighten his mind, but delights in the good, in the truth, and in the virtuous, and despises his own comrades that are with him day by day. Look into the world and into the hearts of the people, and see what they see in their secret reflections, and they will manifest to you that they delight in and reverence that character that lives a virtuous and holy life. “What do you think of your comrades that drink, curse, swear, carouse, and follow all manner of abominations?” “My heart loathes them,” will be the reply, though they will not tell this only in a whisper in the ears of their fellow beings. But you speak into their hearts, and there it is; and every time they have the privilege of thinking and holding converse with themselves, there is the good that leads to happiness: the evil and misery you all know.

Let truth bear sway, and true integrity shed a charm around your whole being. Rise up for the right in the strength of your own ability. God has bestowed upon you the power to reject the evil and receive the truth; the good, the light, and the virtuous. Cleave to God with all your hearts, that we may be ready for the day that is fast approaching.

May the Lord bless us! Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, January 20, 1861.

It is a great blessing to be able to understand things aright; and how precious the gift of communication! How delightful it is to a person, whose mind is stored with rich ideas, to have power to communicate them to his fellows—to his family, friends, and acquaintances with whom he associates. I really think we do not fully appreciate this blessing and gift as we should. If I can communicate to the audience what I wish to, so that they can understand it perfectly, I shall be very glad—it will satisfy me.

Before me is a sea of faces, and, with but few exceptions, all are professedly Latter-day Saints belonging to the kingdom of God, and are numbered with the family of heaven. They are heirs of God, and are expecting to become joint heirs with Jesus Christ. Were I to ask these Latter-day Saints what they are willing to do to build up the kingdom of God, bear it off to the nations, gather the house of Israel and the honest in heart among the Gentiles, and redeem the Zion of our God, what would be their answer? “Anything we can do we are willing to do—anything we are counseled to do.” Would not every heart respond in this manner? It would. You are frequently told that the Latter-day Saints are as free to confess with the mouth as any people that ever was upon the earth. You are further told that they are willing to sacrifice everything for their religion, and to travel the earth around without purse or scrip; but will they do one thing that is essentially necessary? Yes, a great many will. Will they do one necessary duty that is devolving upon them, which is the starting point—the gate or way to all other duties; that is, seek unto the Lord their God with all their hearts? All are not willing to do this.

This people must be pure in heart. The necessity for this rests upon me day by day, week in and week out, year after year. This people must be sanctified, or they will not be prepared to meet their Lord and Master. This is first of all. It is taught us in all the revelations that we have received in various ways, according to the understanding and gift of communication in those who have communicated this principle to us. But the greatest and most important of all requirements of our Father in heaven and of his Son Jesus Christ, is, to his brethren or disciples, to believe in Jesus Christ, confess him, seek to him, cling to him, make friends with him. Take a course to open and keep open a communication with your Elder Brother or file leader—our Savior. Were I to draw a distinction in all the duties that are required of the children of men, from first to last, I would place first and foremost the duty of seeking unto the Lord our God until we open the path of communication from heaven to earth—from God to our own souls. Keep every avenue of your hearts clean and pure before him. You may inquire whether we would do away with the ordinances of the house of God. This leads you to them, and it is the only thing that can lead the people to a true knowledge of the reality of facts as they exist.

We are aware that the Christian world cling to this one item, passing by every one of the ordinances of the house of the Lord, treating every commandment with lightness. They will pick up perhaps one or two of the ordinances and a few of the commandments; but they are opposed to the residue, and look upon them as a thing of naught. Though the kingdom of God and all the attributes he has dispensed to the children of men are ours (he has placed them upon our heads by ordinances), yet if I should rise up here and tell you that I would rather have these than all the ordinances, the statement would need explanation. First of all, have the mind of Christ within you, and know that we are governed and controlled by his Spirit—by the Comforter, the Holy Ghost—by the influence of heaven; and this leads us to every one of the ordinances of the house of God; wherefore we by no means do them away.

Some of you may ask, “Is there a single ordinance to be dispensed with? Is there one of the commandments that God has enjoined upon the people, that he will excuse them from obeying?” Not one, no matter how trifling or small in our own estimation. No matter if we esteem them nonessential, or least or last of all the commandments of the house of God, we are under obligation to observe them. Nothing will lead us to them, short of the mind of Christ within us to lead us understandingly to observe them to our own benefit. This is what I want of the people, so that we may be prepared, each and all of us, for the things that are coming upon the earth.

We might mention a great many circumstances that are transpiring. We might refer to the prophecies and their fulfillment in these our own times; but this does not bear with so much weight upon my mind to tell the people what the Lord is doing and what he is going to do, as it does to urge the Latter-day Saints to faithfulness, to strict obedience, to every requirement of the Gospel of the Son of God, that we may be prepared for every event as it transpires, no matter whether the prophecies are fulfilled under our eyes or on the other side of the earth. No matter whether we live to see them fulfilled or fall to sleep before they are fulfilled, we must live prepared for the events that will take place preparatory to the coming of the Son of man.

I ask the people what they are willing to do? “All we want to know is what we should do.” My mind is continually exercised to urge the people to faithfulness, that they may have the Spirit of Christ; and being in possession of this mind, everything comes to us naturally. We understand these things we call natural. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. All things are natural, and all are spiritual. Every duty of life, no matter what it is, every requirement necessary to sustain and exalt man, is incorporated in the kingdom of God and in the ordinances of his house—in the duties God requires of his children. It is all in the Church and kingdom of our God. “What! Our labor?” Yes. I sometimes take the liberty of preaching upon economy to this people. Perhaps some are inclined to think that in so doing I transcend my own duties and obligations. I do not. I instruct the husbandman how to till his farm, because I know and understand the nature of the elements that produce grain better than he does. I know how he should prepare the elements for the seed to produce the increase which he desires in the things necessary to sustain himself and family. It is my duty to instruct my brethren, if I understand any branch of business better than they do. If I understand how to make myself comfortable—if I understand better than others do the organization of the elements God has given us ability to operate with for our benefit, it is my duty to instruct them. Here are the elements. They are not made in vain, but are made for the benefit, comfort, convenience, and happiness of God’s children.

There is an infinitude of elements; and if you know more than I do with regard to bringing them together and organizing them for the comfort and happiness of man, it is your duty to impart that knowledge to others. This may appear to some of the Saints as though it was out of the pale of our duty, not strictly incorporated in the ministry; and I want to inform all such that there is not a labor performed under the sun but what we have to render an account of it to our Father and God. There is not an act of man, in any case, in any circumstance, but what is by the gift of God. Every power, ability, capacity, and gift that man possesses is the gift of God; and man must render an account to him for the improvement he makes, no matter what the labor is. No element that we see, no part of the earth, no part or portion of the starry heavens, or of the deep above or below, but what is God’s creation. He organized it. Do we realize this, that every element that now is in existence, that we have any knowledge of, that we can conceive of, is organized by our Father in heaven, and is his property? It is his in time and in eternity. The earth and its fulness are his, and the heavens are his; the height, the depth, the length, and the breadth, all are his. Every capacity that the children of men possess is the gift of God.

Many might ask whether God is the author of sin and iniquity. I have told you many a time that everything is good, is perfect; everything is right, is lovely to look upon, to enjoy; for we received it from our Father and our God. Properly use it, and there is no gift, no blessing, no enjoyment, no happiness in the heavens or on the earth, but what belongs to our Father in heaven; and he is willing to bestow these blessings upon his children. But whence comes evil? It comes when we make an evil of a good. Speaking of the elements and the creation of God, in their nature they are as pure as the heavens. When we see the vanity that is around us, the magnanimity of the Deity, and contemplate the extent of his knowledge, we can enjoy him as supreme in every act, in every path of life, in every portion of life that belongs to the children of men, if we can understand things as they are. Was there ever a spear of grass, or a single grain upon this earth, or in any other kingdom, but what was produced by that beneficent Being? Not one. Behold the vanity and extent of his knowledge in the creation of the elements! Every element is His. The gold? Yes. “He organized and made it,” is a common term used. The silver? Yes. He made it. The diamond? Yes. And every other precious stone? Yes. The rude rock? Yes. The land and all are his. The earth that we walk upon, the air we breathe, and the water we drink are his creation. He organized them and placed them here for our good. Take all the elements that God has created, and do you think we use them, and not abuse them?

What do we see? All the elements that we have any knowledge of are the handiwork of our Father in heaven, and then you see poor, pusillanimous man rise up—a worm of the dust, whose breath is in his nostrils; and if God should say the word and withdraw his supporting hand, he is no more—and says, “This is mine.” He has a purse obtained through the blessings of God, and says, “This is mine.” He has a sack of silver, and says, “This is mine.” He builds a house, and calls it his house. He makes a farm, and says, “This is mine.” This poor, weak man does, who is not capable of making a spear of grass. He cannot sustain his own existence one moment without being dependent on God for the next breath, and yet he says, “These possessions are mine,” and he clings to them with the tenacity of death. This you see in mankind; they hold to the earth as though it was their all. You see this every day of your lives.

When I carefully scan the subject, we cannot, neither in this time nor in the spirit world, possess the least particle of element or our own beings, and call them ours, until we pass the ordeals the Gods have passed, and are crowned with crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal lives. And when we pass through the spirit world and hear the trump of Gabriel sound, and our bodies rise from the dust and again clothe our spirits, even then we are not our own. We have not passed through all the ordeals until the Father crowns a son and says, “You have passed so far in the progression of perfection that you can now become independent, and I will give you power to control and organize and govern and dictate the elements of eternities. There is a vast eternity stretched out before you; now organize as you will.” Not until then shall we possess one particle that is really our own, and yet we see people clinging to the earth.

I am going to reduce my remarks to practical life, and perhaps I shall introduce ideas that some would naturally take exceptions to. I, in the providence of God, am here before you again, and I wish to instruct this people. They say they are willing to do anything for salvation, to build up the kingdom of God on the earth. They are willing to forego everything they can, and undergo all that is possible, to save themselves and the children of men, and bring the day of peace and righteousness upon the earth. Then let all learn that the earth is not ours. Let us learn that these elements are put into our possession to work with and improve, and to determine whether we know how to improve upon them. We wish to see Zion built up—the earth beautified and prepared for the coming of the Son of Man. We are looking forth to the day when Zion will spring into existence and stand forth like a bride prepared to meet her husband, with all the beauty and glory that belong to the kingdom of God on the earth. We shall then see Zion in its beauty. We are looking for this. We look forward to the day when the Lord will prepare for the building of the New Jerusalem, preparatory to the city of Enoch’s going to be joined with it when it is built upon this earth. We are anticipating to enjoy that day, whether we sleep in death previous to that, or not. We look forward, with all the anticipation and confidence that children can possess in a parent that we shall be there when Jesus comes; and if we are not there, we will come with him: in either case we shall be there when he comes.

To think of all this, and then think of the course the Latter-day Saints are taking—the life they live! How do the brethren feel? Is there a feeling that, “This is mine, and that is mine?” Yes; it is as natural for them to say so as to breathe. They are of the earth, earthy. Can we school our own feelings and judgments, our hearts and dispositions, really to be the children of God, and ask our Father whether this is ours, or not which he puts into our possession? Do we ask him what we shall do with the abundance he has put into our possession? I am in possession of houses and lands—I have legally obtained them by my economy. The earth is here, and there is no end to the elements we are using day by day. We look to the right and to the left, and see poverty and distress, though there is less in this community than in any other upon the earth. We all see more or less a lack of wisdom and judgment in providing for the wants of the body; yet there is not that family in this community but what would feed a brother or sister that was hungry, and do so from day to day, so long as might be necessary. With all the lack of wisdom manifested by the people, and their covetousness, there is no community in the world that suffers so little as this.

Is distress among a people caused by the want of element? No. It is through want of ability to bring the elements home to our use and benefit. There is a great scarcity of gold, and you hear some brethren, throughout this Territory, complain of taxation. Really I want to say to all the brethren here, with the Bishops and representatives from different parts of this Territory, and to all the people, that your legislators are very easy—their hand is very light upon you, in the matter of taxation. “Well,” say some of the brethren, “I thought they were hard, rigid, extravagant in establishing a territorial tax of five mills on a dollar.” There must be in the neighborhood of eighty or ninety thousand persons in this Territory, and there are probably more than fifteen thousand men who are subject to taxation. How much tax money do you get? Shall I tell you how much coin was received in taxes last year? Less than twelve hundred dollars from some fifteen thousand men. Do you call this paying a heavy tax? Was this all they were taxed? No; the tax amounted to some twenty odd thousand dollars, and some complain and feel that they are hardly dealt with.

Some complain and say that the tithing is too hard on the people, while at the same time some of our legislators rise up and say, “Considering that we pay such a tax in tithing, we think the Church should make all our public improvements.” The whole amount of coin paid in on taxes last year was in the neighborhood of twelve hundred dollars. In what was the residue of the taxes paid? In wheat, chickens, eggs, butter, city scrip, county and territorial scrip, auditor’s warrants, labor, &c., &c. Is this hard on the people? No. Is there any lack of gold or silver here? These are matters I wish you to understand. How can you understand them in the kingdom of God? You cannot only through the light of revelation, just as you see anything else in truth and with the Spirit of truth, by which means only can you discern truth from error. I want you to learn by the Spirit of truth. There are a good many legislators here, and I want them to go home with these instructions, and put in practice some things they already understand. They are active men, men of wisdom, men of ability and good judgment, men of strong minds; and yet in some things they are more ignorant than children ought to be. The gold is not yours, nor the silver, nor the cattle that roam over these hills and plains; neither are they mine. They are put in our possession, but they belong to Him who owns the whole of them. All we want is the ability to convert them to our own benefit. There is no lack. Has there been a lack of money here? Some of the legislators have been opposed to taxation. I have a right to talk about these things, though I am not Governor, and do not sign nor veto bills passed by the Assembly. I ask again, Is there any lack of money? I will propound one other question—“Will five hundred thousand dollars cover the amount that has been paid by this people to the merchants during last year?” I presume not, though if you had the statistics before you, you would probably find this sum to be not far from the amount. Since 1849, we have probably paid to them at the rate of nearly a million of dollars each year. Is there any scarcity of money? No. Are you fearful that one man is going to get all the gold in the world and sift it to the four winds, so that it never can be gathered? You need have no such fear, for it cannot be destroyed. Are you fearful that all the silver is going to be destroyed, so that we cannot have it? Such fears are groundless, for you cannot destroy a particle of it. What is the difficulty? A want of judgment—a want of true knowledge pertaining to the earth and to the heavens, to the elements and their organization—a want of the power to master the elements, to handle them advantageously and make them useful, and devote them to our own comfort and happiness.

I frequently take the liberty to teach economy to the people. This is natural to me; it agrees with my feelings, experience, and faith. I do not know that during thirty years past I have worn a coat, hat, or garment of any kind, or owned a horse, carriage, &c., but what I asked the Lord whether I deserved it or not—Shall I use this? Is it mine to use, or not? If I had my will satisfied, I would not use a farthing’s worth of anything without its being put to the best use my judgment could dictate, increasing and multiplying it, and bringing forth those things that make men comfortable and happy, using my means in the fear of the Lord for the building up of his kingdom and glory upon the earth. My experience is that this people have too great a tenacity for the goods of this world, and the Enemy thinks he can get the advantage over them in this respect, and he is improving the time.

It is different with us now from what it was three years ago. Then it was, “What is the news from Bridger? From Echo Canyon? From the Plains?” We are not destroyed; but are the Latter-day Saints preparing themselves for the calamities that are coming upon the earth? Or are they covetous? There is no trait in the character of man but what the Devil, the opposer of all good, understands. Our common foe is an ingenious workman; he is a master at his business. Bunyan speaks of a city that was perfectly given up to idolatry, and needed only one devil to watch the whole of it; but one Saint, a poor old man walking through the streets, required a score of devils to watch him. The city was already in possession of the Evil One, and it needed no care or watching. There are scores of evil spirits here—spirits of the old Gadianton robbers, some of whom inhabited these mountains, and used to go into the South and afflict the Nephites. There are millions of those spirits in the mountains, and they are ready to make us covetous, if they can; they are ready to lead astray every man and woman that wishes to be a Latter-day Saint. This may seem strange to some of you, but you will see them. As soon as your spirits are unlocked from these tabernacles, you are in the spirit world, and you will there have to contend against evil spirits as we here have to contend against wicked persons.

This people lie down in carnal security, and complain of this and of that. You know that apostates, who rise up and deny their religion, complain of being oppressed, and find fault with this, that, and the other, and call this imperfect, and that imperfect, and the other imperfect. How many have complained of taxation? Go to Nebraska, Washington, and New Mexico. Is there a Territory that has as light taxes as this? Not one, so far as I know. A great many complain of the taxes in this city; but go to Chicago, St. Louis, or New York, or any other city in the States, and you will find the taxes greater, I think, without exception, than they are here. I know that taxation is complained of in those cities, and that too justly in many instances. In many places the people are taxed to that degree that they never can rise out of their poverty. In London, a watchmaker said to me, “When I earn ten pounds and receive it, eight pounds of it has to go for taxes, which leaves me only two pounds with which to pay my house rent, buy fuel, and feed and clothe my family.” They there complain of taxation, and it is right they should. What do they do with the revenue? In too many instances feed a horde of lazy officers, though I cannot accuse England of this so much as I can some other countries, so far as I know them. The taxation more or less goes in many countries to feed cutthroats, loafers, gamblers, blacklegs, &c. Many of the people who have immigrated to this Territory come from countries where they have been ground down by taxation. We are more lightly taxed than are the people in any other country, so far as I know.

But what I dislike most is, that when the officer requests the taxes, some will lie from morning until night to escape paying them. If any man ought of right to be exempted from paying his taxes, let him refer his case to the County Court and have his taxes remitted. There is a provision in the law for this. I tell you what I say to tax gatherers: I would sell every improvement, every ox, cow, mule, horse, sheep, hog, &c., but what I would have the taxes in the kinds prescribed by law. You may call that hard; but what would the cash portion be, compared to the money that is paid to these merchants? This is what I do not like. Go to a man, and he will declare that he cannot pay his taxes; then go into his house, and he has taught his family to lie; but begin to sell his cow, &c., and it will be, “Stop, Sally; go and bring out that old stocking.” I have proved this. That is what I do not like. I can put up with poverty. If I have only a little buttermilk and salt to my potatoes, I can be satisfied; but a liar I cannot be satisfied with.

Sell every house and every particle of property there is in the Territory, but what you have the proportion in gold and silver, and you will find that there is plenty of money; and it may far better go to do good than to go for nonsense. Much money is spent for paper shoes. Have you any? Yes; and I presume that more than one score of women in this congregation have on that kind of shoes. A large amount of money is paid for ribbons, ruffles, fringes, gewgaws, and baubles in general. These are unnecessary expenses, as they are not incurred particularly for the body’s comfort. I find no fault with them. I like to see women prettily dressed, as well as anybody; but save a portion of the money that is laid out for useless articles, and pay your taxes.

What I am saying is for the benefit of the community. Some of our legislators would vote down every particle of tax, if they had the power. Are they conscientious in this? Yes. But are they wise? No. They have no wisdom on this subject; they do not understand national affairs.

Some complain and say that they are taxed by tithing. We ask no tithing of any man. In this we are as independent as the Lord is. I say, Do not pay another dollar in tithing unless you want to. And to those who say that tithing should defray all classes of public expenditure, I will say, If you will put into my hands one-twentieth instead of one-tenth, I will pay every dollar of expenses for territorial, county, and city purposes. But do I, as Trustee-in-Trust, receive one-fiftieth, or one-hundredth? No. I do not get the tithing on the tithing that is due, and which it is my province to dictate. Are you afraid that I will make a bad use of it? I have plenty of money for my private use. You may wish to know how I get it. I believe I will tell you how I get some of it. A great many of these Elders of Israel, soon after courting these young ladies, and old ladies, and middle-aged ladies, and having them sealed to them, want to have a bill of divorce. I have told them, from the beginning, that sealing men and women for time and all eternity is one of the ordinances of the house of God, and that I never wanted a farthing for sealing them, nor for officiating in any of the ordinances of God’s house; but when you ask for a bill of divorce, I intend that you shall pay for it. That keeps me in spending money, besides enabling me to give hundreds of dollars to the poor, and buy butter, eggs, and little notions for women and children, and otherwise use it where it does good.

You may think this is a singular feature in the Gospel, but I cannot exactly say that it is in the Gospel. Hear it, O ye Elders of Israel; and ye sisters, hear it: There is no ecclesiastical law that you know anything about, to free a wife from a man to whom she has been sealed, if he honors his Priesthood. I do not want you to run after bills of divorce. I would rather be without the money you pay for them. I know where there is plenty of gold. The earth is full of it, and the heavens are full of every good thing; and the heavens and the earth are created for us: therefore be prudent and not covetous; do not cling to property because it is in your possession. Do I own a house? No. I am in possession of houses. I left a good many houses that were in my possession in Nauvoo. I left a number in like manner in Kirtland. I did not leave many houses in Missouri, but I left a number of pieces of land, and there they remain. I received nothing for them, neither do I want anything. Why? Because the Lord has blest me with ability to bring forth the elements and organize them for my own convenience; and if I was stripped and kicked out now, I would be richer in ten years than I ever was. When the gold or silver dollar goes into my pocket, it is not mine: the Lord in his providence places it there, and it is for Him to say what I shall do with it. Do you practice this course? If you do, you do not complain. If our legislators understood this, they would never complain for the people. You ask why I take up this subject. That you may be instructed—that a legislator may not be so unwise as to introduce a bill that taxes be paid in anything that cannot be sold for money.

The people are not as they used to be in regard to tithing. In the days of Joseph, when a horse was brought in for tithing, he was pretty sure to be hipped, or ringboned, or have the poll evil, or perhaps had passed the routine of horse diseases until he had become used up. The question would be, “What do you want for him?” “Thirty dollars in tithing and thirty in cash.” What was he really worth? Five dollars, perhaps. They would perhaps bring in a cow after the wolves had eaten off three of her teats, and she had not had a calf for six years past; and if she had a calf, and you ventured to milk her, she would kick a quid of tobacco out of your mouth. These are specimens of the kind of tithing we used to get. If you give anything for the building up of the kingdom of God, give the best you have. What is the best thing you have to devote to the kingdom of God? It is the talents God has given you. How many? Every one of them. What beautiful talents! What a beautiful gift! It is more precious than fine gold that I can stand here and give you my ideas, and you can rise up and tell me what you think and feel, and thus exchange our ideas. It is one of the precious gifts bestowed upon human beings. Let us devote every qualification we are in possession of to the building up of God’s kingdom, and you will accomplish the whole of it.

A few Sabbaths ago, brother Wells was strenuously talking to you in regard to temperance. No man has a right on the earth, and certainly not in this kingdom, to spend his means and time in drunkenness. Every moment of time belongs to the Lord, and the people demand it. Here are young men stepping on to the stage of action, of whom you have never heard an evil. And every little while one begins to come into note, and it seems as though he had dropped from unfathomable space. “Who is he?” “Such a brother’s son.” “I never heard of him.” What are my calculations? That he is a good man—that he is not a rowdy in the streets. A host are growing up in this way: they spring up like lovely plants, trees, or flowers. Now, young brothers and sisters, is there anything against your characters? Not anything. If you were in possession of all the wealth in the world, it is not worth so much to you as your good characters. Preserve them. If you have a happy influence with your brethren and sisters, preserve it, for it is more choice than fine gold. How many times have I told the Elders, “When you go on missions, be careful to preserve your Godlike dignity and integrity.” I have an experience that is probably equal to that of any man in this kingdom, and no person can say, man nor woman, but that in the dark hour my angelic character has been preserved; and it is more precious to me than all the riches of the earth. The name of king or emperor has always sunk into insignificance when I contrasted it with the character of a man of God—of a person who holds the destinies of men in his hands, and the issues of life and death, and can dispense them to the people. Such a man should preserve himself like a God, or an angel of God.

Hear it, men and women, young and old. Preserve yourselves, and be ready to do what is required at your hands. And Elders of Israel, when you say you are ready and willing to dedicate all to God, never be covetous and selfish; never shrink back at anything you are called to do; but by the help of God become sons of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. If you revolt in your feelings against the ordinances and commandments of God, and against the counsel given you by his servants, and continue to do so, you may become angels to the Devil, and it will be through your own conduct. But by the help of God you can be prepared to dwell in the presence of the Father and the Son, and be crowned with him with crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal lives.

I have given you some of my views in regard to tithing, taxation, and yielding willingly to every requirement for building up the kingdom and for the salvation of the people. May God help every one of us to live up to our profession, that we may be saved in his kingdom. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, October 21, 1860.

We wish the Saints to distinctly understand that the remarks just made by brother Hyde do not pertain to doctrine, are not commandments, and have nothing to do with the ordinances of the house of God. He has given us some of his views and reflections. Suppose them to be true, and what of them? Suppose they are not true, and what of it? They have nothing to do with the doctrines and faith of this people. Whether they are true or not is about as immaterial as to know whether it is going to rain tomorrow or next week. If it rains, all we can do is to say, Let it rain; if it does not rain, all we have to do is to prepare to do the best we can with the dust: that is all there is of it. It is no matter whether those views and reflections are true or false.

According to the Scriptures, as they have come to us, we most assuredly believe that the measure we receive at the hands of our enemies will be measured to them again. But whether the wicked seek to corrupt the Church of God or not, the Saints will inherit every good thing. This is not saying that we are Saints. I have not yet come to that, though I firmly believe that we are trying to be Saints. Those that overcome and sit down with Jesus in his Father’s kingdom will possess all things: no good thing will be withheld from them.

Man is the lord of this earth, not woman. It is frequently told you that all the creatures of God, except man, will abide and honor the law under which they are placed. The vegetable, mineral, and animal kingdoms, except man, will abide the law by which they were made, and will be prepared to dwell on the new earth, in the midst of the new heavens that will be reorganized—the earth that we now inhabit. Man is the transgressor. Eve was the first to partake of the forbidden fruit, and the man was disposed to follow her, and did follow her; consequently, sin is in the world, and when redemption comes it must come by man. When we speak of law and the transgression of law, we refer to the law of God to man.

I doubt whether it can be found, from the revelations that are given and the facts as they exist, that there is a female in all the regions of hell. We are complained of for having more wives than one. I don’t begin to have as many as I shall have by and by, nor you either, if you are faithful. I am not the one that will dispose of them, but the Almighty to whom they belong; and it is His right to dispose of us and of all his creatures and creations.

I assuredly believe that all brother Hyde has said in regard to the restoration of the Saints to their inheritances, &c., will come to pass. And I believe, furthermore, if the men who have driven us—the counties, States, and the General Government of the United States, proffer to take me back to the land of my inheritance, I shall refuse to go by their hands. I think I shall say, You can go to hell: I came here without any of your assistance, and I shall return again on the bounty of God, asking no assistance from you. That is my belief. I also believe that the gold and the silver belong to the faithful, and not to those who oppose the work of God. The horses and the chariots belong to the faithful, and not to the wicked. I believe they will be hungry, naked, and barefooted, while we are well fed, well clad, and ride in our carriages. I do not intend to be brought under obligations to or any alliances with the wicked, nor to have any affinity with them in heaven or on earth, nor to go to hell to have any with them there. I expect to individually own enough horses, wagons, carriages, oxen, cows, sheep, and everything this people will need in going back to Jackson County, Missouri, and ask no assistance of those who have driven and persecuted us. They may think that I have a poor opinion of them; but I cannot be as contemptible in their opinion as they are in mine, for the reason that they do not know enough. They, like us, were formed in the image of Him who has created us sons and daughters of the Almighty; but they have disgraced their being and violated every blessing that pertains to their organization. They remain for the wrath of God to rest upon them, and it will rest upon them. I have no particular allusions to those who have been here, though you may stir them up together (those who have been here and those who have not), and with few exceptions, they will all appear of the same color. With few exceptions, they are all alike, for those who are not for us are against us.

Every intelligent person under the heavens that does not, when informed, acknowledge that Joseph Smith, Jun., is a Prophet of God, is in darkness, and is opposed to us and to Jesus and his kingdom on the earth. What do you suppose I think of them? They cannot conceive their own degradation. If they could, they would turn away from their wickedness. I know them, but they do not know me. We live in an atmosphere they do not approach; they have not ability to see the path we walk in. Would I treat them as badly as they would treat us? No. They would murder us in a moment, if they had the power, unless we would renounce our religion. But they are trifling with their own existence, when they measure arms with the Almighty. All the day long we have extended to our enemies the hand of mercy and charity. We would offer to them life and salvation. What would they offer to us? Death and damnation, if they had the power; but they have not the power, and never will have.

From the day that Joseph brought forth the records of the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the power of God, until the day of his death, they said that he was seeking to bring down the wrath of the Lamanites upon the whites. They have driven us among the Lamanites, whom they were continually trying to keep us from mingling with. Why did they do this? God had decreed that they should, and they could not help it; and they will keep teasing and worrying and contending and fighting with one another, until the prophecy be fulfilled concerning the sons of Jacob, who will rise up and go through among the Gentiles like a lion through the forest. And who can stand before them? No one. Jew and Gentile, hear it; you are bringing upon your heads the very things you are trying to avoid, like the Government of the United States, which is striving with all its might, and calling to its aid the best wisdom of the nation to preserve its existence. Everything they do divides them until they will be split asunder and shivered to pieces. So they would do with this work.

They succeeded in killing Joseph, but he had finished his work. He was a servant of God, and gave us the Book of Mormon. He said the Bible was right in the main, but, through the translators and others, many precious portions were suppressed, and several other portions were wrongly translated; and now his testimony is in force, for he has sealed it with his blood. As I have frequently told them, no man in this dispensation will enter the courts of heaven, without the approbation of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Jun. Who has made this so? Have I? Have this people? Have the world? No; but the Lord Jehovah has decreed it. If I ever pass into the heavenly courts, it will be by the consent of the Prophet Joseph. If you ever pass through the gates into the Holy City, you will do so upon his certificate that you are worthy to pass. Can you pass without his inspection? No; neither can any person in this dispensation, which is the dispensation of the fulness of times. In this generation, and in all the generations that are to come, everyone will have to undergo the scrutiny of this Prophet. They say that they killed Joseph, and they will yet come with their hats under their arms and bend to him; but what good will it do them, unless they repent? They can come in a certain way and find favor, but will they? No. We paid for lands in Missouri that the wicked now possess. The United States could rise up and say, “You Mormons, come back, and we will defend you in your rights.” But will they do this? No, but they will spend their millions to deprive us of our just rights. They might do a great many good things: they might forsake their meanness, if they had a mind to.

If this people will do right and keep the law of the Lord, he will bring them back to the lands of their inheritances. The question might be asked, “Have you lands to return to?” Yes, I have lands in Missouri—lands in a number of places—farms that I am the rightful owner of. I am the rightful owner of lands in Illinois. Did I occupy them? No. Why? Did I observe the laws? Yes: I lived so entirely above them, that to me they were comparatively beneath my feet. “Why could you not live in Missouri or Illinois?” I believed that Joseph Smith, Jun., was and is a Prophet, and that Jesus Christ is coming to cleanse the earth from pollution and gather the Saints from the four quarters of the world. Because I believed in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, and in the doctrine he taught, and because I practiced that doctrine; and if you say that you believe this doctrine and do not practice it, you can be a good Christian.

The administrators of the Government of the United States violated every principle of the Constitution in the very act of making a war upon their own subjects; and if the laws of Congress were carried out, they would be treated as traitors to the Government. I was in Missouri through the troubles. Did this people transgress the law of that State or of the United States? Did they do anything to justly bring the wrath of that State or of the Government upon them? No. This people observed the laws of Missouri and the law of God more strictly than any other class, and yet the State authorities could issue their orders to exterminate the “Mormons”—to drive or destroy them—every man, woman, and child of them. Suppose the Constitution of that State had been carried out to the letter, every man that had anything to do with that mobbing—at least those in authority, with the Governor at their head, would have been hung.

Every man that used his influence to send an army here, if the Constitution is carried out (and the day will come, as the Lord lives, when we shall be able to carry it out), will be at the disposal of the hemp, if we say so. The day will come, as sure as the sun now shines and the Lord Almighty leads us through, as he has spoken from the heavens, when this people will return to the land of their inheritance. Perhaps these parents will not return, but their children will return and inherit the land promised to their fathers, and all the powers of hell and earth cannot prevent it. If we live our religion, we will enjoy this blessing, either in this life or in the next. That is the consolation the Saints have. If we lay down these tabernacles to rest in the grave, by-and-by we will take them up again, purified from all inbred corruption and made whole from every power of Satan in our flesh.

Our bodies are now mortal. In the resurrection there will be a reunion of the spirits and bodies, and they will walk, talk, eat, drink, and enjoy. Those who have passed these ordeals are society for angels—for the Gods, and are the ones who will come into the Temple of the Lord that is to be built in the latter days, when saviors shall come up upon Mount Zion, and will say, “Here, my children, I want this and this done. Here are the names of such and such ones, of our fathers, and mothers—our ancestors; we will bring them up. Go forth, you who have not passed the ordeals of death and the resurrection—you who live in the flesh, and attend to the ordinances for those who have died without the law.” Those who are resurrected will thus dictate in the Temple. When the Saints pass through death, they cannot officiate in this sinful world, but they will dictate those who are here. “Go, now, and be baptized for the honorable—for those who would have received the law of God and the true religion, if they had lived; be baptized for the heathen—for all who were honest; officiate for them, and save them, and bring them up. Be baptized for them, anointed for them, washed and sealed for them, and fulfil all the ordinances which cannot be dispensed with.” They will all be performed for the living and the dead upon Mount Zion.

We can receive the truth, live in it, and enjoy its benefits, or we can reject it: that we have power to do. This generation have power to reject the Gospel, and they are very fervent in so doing. They are as perfectly enthusiastic in that course as any people that ever lived. Nation after nation has had the Gospel offered to them, the fulness of the Gospel has been preached to them, and they have studiously rejected it. This was the first nation blessed with the Gospel in our day, and have they not been fervent to reject it by towns, cities, counties, states, and the nation? They are as determined to reject the Gospel as they are to live and overcome the kingdom of God. Will they overcome that kingdom? No. Every time they persecute and try to overcome this people, they elevate us, weaken their own hands, and strengthen the hands and the arms of this people. And every time they undertake to lessen our number, they increase it. And when they try to destroy the faith and virtue of this people, the Lord strengthens the feeble knees, and confirms the wavering in faith and power in God, in light, and intelligence. Righteousness and power with God increase in this people in proportion as the Devil struggles to destroy it.

We cannot help being Saints; we cannot prevent the rolling forth of the work of God: in and of ourselves we have no power to control our own minds and passions; but the grace of God is sufficient to give us perfect victory. The power of the Lord our God helps us, and the Devil and his emissaries help us—the one on the one hand, the other on the other hand. We have power to receive the truth or reject it, and we have power to reject the evil or receive it.

This is the kingdom of God, and the people have not been preserved by my wisdom, but by the wisdom and power and knowledge of God. He knows how to weaken the armies of the Philistines. They may come here by tens of thousands, and multiply that number by ten and make it hundreds of thousands, and He can make them destroy themselves, until they melt away like the snow upon the mountains in summer. He can also strengthen this people or weaken them at his pleasure. And if they are faithful to the covenants they have entered into with their God, they will multiply and wax strong, until not a dog in all the mountains of Ephraim, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, and from Hudson’s Bay to Cape Horn, dare open his mouth or raise his voice against the anointed of the Lord. Don’t you pity our nation? I do. They have not enough knowledge to act according to their own laws. The officers they send here do not know enough to act according to the laws they were sent to magnify. The nation is becoming imbecile and weak; they are unstable as water; they do not seem to have the wisdom of a child; and every move they make they manifest their weakness before the world, and put themselves to shame before each other. I have said enough about this matter, though I have only dropped a few hints.

I began with brother Hyde’s remarks, and I will end with them. He has not been teaching you doctrine. Whether those things he has been speaking about are true or not, who cares? Who cares who takes us back to the land of our inheritance? I have told you my feelings on the subject. If they want to take us back today, I say, No; I came here without their aid, and I ask no assistance from them. All I ask of them, or ever have, is, when any of them leave this Territory, to pay their honest debts and not steal. Some few come to me, when they are about to leave, and say—“I am going to this or that place; anything I can do for you, Governor Young, I am at your service.” My reply is, I have one thing to ask of you and of all creation—namely, When you speak of this people, speak the truth, and do not lie about them. Will they do that? Some will, and some will not; some will publish a lie from east to west, from north to south. If you would give a dollar a line for publishing the truth, as a general thing you cannot get editors to publish it. Now, lie and be d——d, the whole of you; I ask no favors of you.

God bless the humble in heart, and those who promote truth and righteousness upon the earth; and let the wrath of the Almighty be upon the wicked and ungodly. Amen.