Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 16, 1860.

In the forenoon, brother Hooper asked—“What will not people do for gold?” I will answer the question. They will not serve God with a pure heart; you cannot hire them to do this. If they serve God, it will be by their own free will and choice. Persons can be hired to preach for money, but it does not follow that such preaching is doing God service.

As I mentioned this morning, when the god of this world is hoisted, the priest from the pulpit and the pious deacon and the people worship at its shrine. All the churches and all the world run after gold.

The arts and sciences are somewhat advanced among the Christian nations; but as to a true knowledge of things as they are in eternity, there never were nations more ignorant. According to my definition of the word, a people are heathenish that do not know things as they ought. The Christian world, so called, are heathens as to their knowledge of the salvation of God. If those nations that we call heathen were civilized as we are, intelligent as we are, we would not call them heathen. The civilized world term those heathen who do not follow their customs, who are not educated as they are, and who do not worship according to the modern Christian form of worship. Without doubt, much of the display and pretended knowledge and wisdom that were presented to the Japanese visitors by the senators, representatives, and great men of our nation, were offensive to them; and perhaps they looked upon the inhabitants of the United States as a poor, miserable, degraded, abominable people, not fit to live upon the earth. Pass from Japan to China, then to India, then westerly across Asia, and probably those people view our nation in much the same light. And when you arrive in the Christian nations, they esteem themselves wiser and far in advance of those they call heathen.

The women in Christendom cannot successfully compete, in spinning and weaving, with those in the East Indies and some other heathen nations. And arts and sciences, in the so-called heathen nations, in many respects excel the attainments of the Christian nations. Then pass in review the ancient heathen nations—examine their architecture and their other productions in the mechanical departments, as to this day exhibited in their works and ruins, and all the boasted knowledge of Christendom in those branches fades in comparison. The civilized world have a tolerably good understanding of the art of navigation, but father Noah knew more about it than do all the mariners now upon the earth. Abraham knew more about astronomy and true philosophy than does all Christendom. The civilized nations know how to make machinery, put up telegraph wires, &c., &c.; and in nearly all branches, they are trying to cheat each other; and finally they will learn that they have been cheat– ing themselves for the golden god—the Mammon of this world.

The world is drunk, but not with wine or strong drink; and our country is the most drunken of all. They are deluding themselves; they are drunk with party fanaticism; they are high-minded, heady, and senseless, and are fast going to destruction. As brother Heber has stated, the Lord Almighty will empty the earth of the wickedness that has dwelt upon it for so many hundreds of years: it will not be suffered to dwell upon it much longer. The wicked will go to their place, and the Almighty will gather his Saints and raise up a people who know their right hands from their left, which Christendom does not know, so far as pertains to the plan of salvation.

Serve your God, but not for gold. Strive to be righteous, not for any speculation, but because righteousness is lovely, pure, holy, beautiful, and exalting: it is designed to make the soul happy and full of joy, to the extent of the whole capacity of man, filling him with light, glory, and intelligence. If you cannot love it for that, do not undertake to be righteous. A man cannot be a Saint at the same time that he loves sin and rolls it under his tongue as a sweet morsel, any more than an Elder can do good on a mission while his heart is set upon riches, planning to bring home merchandise. The Elders cannot accomplish both these things at once; and in trying to do so they have missed their aim, for they have neither got rich nor magnified their calling and priesthood.

I can say amen to what brother Heber has said. Those who now go forth upon missions will feel more of the power of God than they ever had, and will speak as men having authority, asking no odds of the wicked. I said, in Nauvoo, that we were going to leave our possessions. We did so, and God has been and is our helper, and is on our right and left, and round about us like a wall of fire to defend this people, if they serve him with an undivided heart. Will our enemies be saved? No. They have had the Gospel preached to them year after year, and have rejected it. What are they? Comparatively nothing. Where are they? Nowhere. Who are they? Nobody; and as they ripen in iniquity they will depart to the place prepared for them, and be as though they had never been. Can you so much as hire them to serve God? No: but go into the East Indies and you can hire hundreds to profess to serve God, by paying them so much a day. Christian ministers are said to build up their churches there by hiring the natives to be sprinkled and have their names written in the church records. There is a gentleman now in our city who has been blamed by missionaries, both in Europe and America, for writing the truth about their operations in Africa. They had not made as many converts as they had lost missionaries on the African soil.

We want the Elders of Israel to preach the Gospel without purse or scrip, and to trust in God for their food, raiment, and lodging. If you have not a second shirt with you, do not be fretting about it, but trust in God for some person to give you another; for you will not have anything without the Lord pleases, neither food nor raiment; and what he wants you to have he will bring about. Then trust in the Lord, going forth in his name. I will leave the matter of gathering means to the Bishops.

“How much, brother Brigham, do you want gathered to enable the Missionaries to reach their fields of labor and assist their families during their absence? Will five dollars do? for we are very poor in our Ward: we cannot give much.” You are a poor Bishop. We want your hundreds and thousands; and what is not needed now, we will save for the Elders next spring; and when we bind burdens for you, you shall not be able to truthfully say that we will not reach out our little fingers to lift them. You may bring two or three of your best men, and I will give more than they all; I will put forth my whole hand. If any man in this kingdom will give me two-thirds of what my property is worth, I will sell it to him and give every dime of the money towards gathering the poor, and in ten years from now I will be far richer than I am now. I would like to devote every dollar I am worth to preaching the Gospel and gathering the poor, to show the people what God is willing to do for his servants, though he be possessed of weaknesses. Bring the man or woman, who has labored for me, that can say in truth that I have oppressed the hireling in his wages. No living being can in truth say that I have; but I have fed and clothed hundreds and thousands who have not labored for me.

I shall keep the plan of assisting our Missionaries from here before the people until we learn that it is the best policy. I do not, on this account, wish the people abroad to omit paying their Tithing and doing all they can; but I wish to dictate the Church means in a way that will benefit the kingdom of God; for I will gather the poor and build up Zion, while the course of others wastes and destroys. Doubtless many of the Elders think that they are smarter than I am. As brother Kimball has said, some of the knowing ones marveled when we were called to the Apostleship. It was indeed a mystery to me; but when I considered what consummate blockheads they were, I did not deem it so great a wonder. When they would meet brother Kimball and myself, their looks expressed, “What a pity!” Then I would think, You may, perhaps, make tolerably good men after a while; but I guess that you will tumble out by-and-by, just as they did: they could not stay in the Gospel net, they were so big and grew so fast; they became larger than the ship and slid overboard.

I ask no odds of the enemies of truth, neither have we from the beginning. Let us so live that God and angels are with us, and all is right; and if we do not, it matters not what becomes of us, nor how quickly we are overthrown as a people. Let all hearts be fervent in their covenants, and glorify their Father who is in heaven, with their spirits and bodies, which are his. Let our most earnest desire be to bring forth and build up the kingdom of God upon the earth, save the house of Israel and all the honest among the Gentiles, and fill the whole earth with the light, glory, power, and knowledge of God, and be prepared to enjoy it; which may Jesus grant. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 16, 1860.

I can say amen to what brother Pratt has just said. I think I can with propriety say to him and a great many of the Elders of Israel that they may dismiss those little doubts that brother Pratt has spoken of in regard to proving faithful. You who are in the Church and have been a long time faithful, the Lord will never suffer to so fall away that you cannot be saved. I hardly know of a man who has been in the Church fifteen, twenty, or twenty-five years and longer, but what had better be thankful that that time is past, and not wish to live it over again, for fear he would not do as well. True, some of the brethren have taken missteps—have dealt amiss in some instances, and have not done so well as they could, had they lived so as to have known more; but I am satisfied with them, if they will continue to learn and improve upon their gifts and become perfect; otherwise, I shall not be satisfied, either with myself or with my brethren, the Elders of Israel. The knowledge we now have in our possession is sufficient to guide and direct us step by step, day by day, until we are made perfect before the Lord our Father. If we do not take a course to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, and attain to perfection, I do not intend to be satisfied with either myself or anyone who comes short of this.

When I came into the meeting, brother Pratt was speaking upon the principle of covetousness, which is idolatry. This a matter that ought to be understood, though it is as impossible to make those understand who are not seeking to know, as it is to make blind people understand the difference between colors. It is a hard matter to so bring some to their understanding that they will comprehend, recollect, and practice correct principles. Preaching the word to Saint or sinner is of but little moment, unless there is a place in the hearts of the hearers to receive it; otherwise it is to them like sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. To enjoy the light and power of the Holy Ghost day by day is prayed for by brother Pratt; but the preacher does not need it any more than the hearers. The preacher needs the power of the Holy Ghost to deal out to each heart a word in due season, and the hearers need the Holy Ghost to bring forth the fruits of the preached word of God to his glory.

We need not refer to the traditions of the fathers with regard to the manifestations of the covetousness we see so much of. Observe the customs and habits, not of the fathers, but of the children—our brethren and sisters here. We see men, from twenty years up to old age, who are entirely overcome by their desire to obtain gold. It is asserted that there are 75,000 people at Pike’s Peak. What business have they there? Simply to worship the god of this world. He was said to be there, and they flocked there to worship him. A little gold dust was found near Pike’s Peak; the golden god—the god of this world—was hoisted, and what is the result? Priests and people, the old and young, rich and poor, wise and foolish, noble and ignoble, are all running after this god.

Are all who profess to be Latter-day Saints entirely free from this Mammon worship? No. You have heard “Oppression!” sounded from Maine to Texas, from Texas to California, then to Washington Territory, in the British Provinces in America, in England, and all over the world—“Great oppression in Utah!” because we exhort the people not to be such fools as to run after the golden image; and sometimes we tell them that we will cut them off from the Church, if they do. This has caused this great outcry. Some who have come here this season expressly to enjoy the privilege of their religion are not satisfied, but want to go where there is more money. Money is their god. Go—go after it and worship it as much as you please, and trouble us not. Go your way rejoicing as much as you can; but you will have sorrow in that course. Instead of bettering your condition, you will make it a great deal worse. Your spirits will sink into darkness and wretchedness, and you will go your way mourning instead of rejoicing.

It is reported that thousands of persons will soon be on Strawberry Creek, a little east of the South Pass. What are they after? Someone, they say, has found sand with a little gold dust in it. There is their god again, and hosts are coming running after it. The world is after riches; riches is the god they worship. It is a marvel that they do not discover the emptiness of earthly riches, when hundreds are going out like a candle burnt down in the socket. We know that we are here, and how soon we shall go hence we know not. Perhaps some of us may be called from this life before tomorrow morning, and some, perhaps, before sunset will pass into the spirit world. But that does not lessen the appetite for gold. I do not know that a miser’s appetite for gold would be lessened in the least degree, if he knew that he would be required to leave it tomorrow.

Such riches can give no real enjoyment. There is no happiness in gold, not the least. It is very convenient as an article of exchange, in purchasing what we need; and instead of finding comfort and happiness in gold, you exchange it to obtain happiness, or that which may conduce to it. There is no real wealth in gold. People talk about being wealthy—about being rich; but place the richest banking company in the world upon a barren rock, with their gold piled around them, with no possible chance of exchanging it, and destitute of the creature comforts; and they would be poor indeed. Where then is their joy, their comfort, their great wealth? They have none.

What constitutes health, wealth, joy, and peace? In the first place, good pure air is the greatest sustainer of animal life. Other elements of life we can dispense with for a time, but this seems to be essential every moment; hence the necessity of well ventilated dwelling houses, especially the rooms occupied for sleeping. You can live without water and food longer than you can without air, and water is of more importance than meat and bread. In what, then, consists your riches? In being comfortably clad, comfortably sheltered, and suitably provided with food. Gold, where those comforts could not be obtained, would avail nothing. But the greatest of all comforts are the words of eternal life: they also comprise the greatest of all riches. The greatest riches that can be bestowed upon man is eternal life—the power to sustain ourselves and preserve our identity before our God, though this is not esteemed riches by the world. You may assemble such men as Dick Turpin of England, Joaquin of California, and Joseph C. Hare of the United States, and let them hoist the golden flag, and you will see priest and people running after them, and they will call them fine gentlemen, give them of their substance, and their daughters to wives.

We have the real wealth here. We have not much gold and silver here, but we have the good, fine flour, good wheat, horses, cattle, beef, pork, vegetables, fruit, sheep, and wool, and good wives to manufacture the wool into clothing. This is real wealth. This people is a rich people. We are the wealthiest people, in what constitutes true wealth, and in proportion to our number, that there are in any other part of our country: we have the comforts of life.

I will now inform the Latter-day Saints in this Territory that I wish them to fit out our Missionaries, who are going into the world to preach, with means to go to their fields of labor, and then sustain their families when they are gone. That is the text I wish to lay before the people. If I do not preach upon it this morning, I may this afternoon. I was with the Bishops last Thursday evening, and I requested them to notify the brethren to come here prepared to donate their half-eagles, eagles, fifty dollar pieces, horses, mules, wagons, wheat by the twenty and hundred bushels, and other available means, that we may send these brethren away rejoicing; and then we will give them a promise that we will provide for their families after they are gone, so far as they are unable to provide for themselves.

You may inquire, “What has hap– pened? Is there anything new under the sun? Are the Church and kingdom of God becoming different from what they were?” All this can be explained to you—only give us time. I think that the brethren were required to go and preach “without purse and scrip,” and that is what I am now trying to get them to do—to go “without purse and scrip,” and not beg the poor Saints to death. Let us support the Elders, instead of making the poor do it. We are able to send these men out to preach the Gospel, and they may go “without purse or scrip.” It may be asked, “What do you say to the following words of Paul?—’Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. I have showed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, and so remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” When the Elders are on Missions, I want them to let speculation alone. I call trading, begging, and borrowing, and laying plans to come home wealthy, speculation. The Elders of Israel have not magnified their callings as they should have done. Had they known things as they really are, and seen them as they are in the bosom of eternity, they would rather have suffered their right hands to be cut off, or their heads to be severed from their bodies, than do as some have done.

“The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.” All the gold and silver are in the hands of the Lord. When he is so disposed, gold cannot be found; and when he is disposed, the surface of the earth is full of it. There may be gold here; but, to find it, the persons will have to ride over my faith. No doubt many of the Elders are hunting to find gold. I was going to say that I would rather they would find hell; for they would, if they found gold. Every man that prays to find it here virtually prays that the Devil may have power over the kingdom of God to destroy it from the earth. Perhaps some of these very men will give a sixpence, shilling, or a dollar to the Elders who are going out to preach. Such men know no more than those Elders who go out on missions to gather gold to administer to their nonsensical appetites; but it goes from them, and they know not where it goes. Every Saint should understand that the Lord will bring forth to us the gold when we need it. We now want shoes, boots, hats, bonnets, dresses, coats, food, and comfortable houses, to enable us to live long on the earth, with wisdom to know how to use all creature comforts.

The means which you donate for supporting our Missions shall be entered in the book of the law of the Lord, that the record thereof may go down to your posterity. It will not be put into our pockets, nor used for other purposes—at least, not with my knowledge or consent. I shall throw this business into the hands of the Bishops. The good Bishop will get a liberal donation, while the others will not get much. “As is the priests, so are the people;” and as is the Bishop, so is his Ward. Let the Bishops commence at the intermission to receive donations, and continue so to do until a week from tonight. With these means we expect to send the Elders directly to their fields of labor.

It is my business to control the disbursements of the Tithing paid by the Saints, and not the business of every Elder in the kingdom who thinks the Tithing belongs to him. In the English Mission, where comparatively but little was done, fifty-four thousand dollars of the Tithing money has been expended by the Elders during the last two years. This has been kept from my knowledge until recently; but I have now got hold of the rope, and I will search out every secret act pertaining to this matter. The money that has been spent on those Elders ought to have been used to gather the poor and pay the debts previously contracted in their emigration. Elders have expended hundreds of thousands of dollars of Church funds, and have left me hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay. The motto of many seems to have been—“Not one cent will we let the Trustee-in-Trust have, if we can keep it out of his hands.” I am going to search into this course until it is stopped. It is the business of the Elders to preach the Gospel and gather the poor. If they do not do this, they will come home shorn of their strength. You may wonder why I have not sooner spoken of this. I could not get it in shape to do so until now, and have had to groan under it. My Counselors and immediate associates know how I have felt, ever since I have been in this Valley, with regard to the way in which the work is carried on abroad.

The Lord takes one man, whom he knows to be just and righteous, and places in his path an abundance of possessions—houses and lands, cattle, and every good thing that can be bestowed upon an individual, while many of his brethren and neighbors around him imagine that he has obtained his possessions by deceiving, by oppressing the poor, and keeping back the wages of the hireling, and they undertake to get rich by dishonesty. This is the case with many of the Elders of Israel, and herein they make a great mistake. “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor riches to men of wisdom,” but to those whom God favors. You may ask me for proof of this. It is ready, were it wise to produce it. May the Lord bless you! Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 9, 1860.

The instructions, faith, revelations, and Scriptures that have been given from the earliest ages to the present—all the past that has come within my notice—all that is now transpiring among the nations of the earth, so far as we can see and understand—all the privileges that men can enjoy, that are allotted to the intelligent beings now before me, with the rest of mankind, and much more than all this, continually occupy my mind, feelings, sympathies, and judgment. We enjoy the greatest blessings and privileges of any people we are acquainted with.

What causes this people to do as they do? It is written, “But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” It is a spirit that causes this people to do what they do—to leave their native countries, to leave their fathers and mothers, brethren and sisters, and take up their line of march and travel thousands of miles to this distant country; and then, when selected for missions, to again leave their fathers, mothers, and friends, and travel back to their native lands, or to some other place, wherever they are appointed to go. We cannot behold that spirit and influence with our natural eyes. The results alone are known.

What causes the inhabitants of the earth to do as they do—those who do not believe in the Christian religion? You remember that a few years ago Mr. Sutter, in California, hired some of our brethren, who had been in the Mormon Battalion, to dig a millrace, in which they found gold. The news spread rapidly; and now, in the States, how many places you can find forsaken! Good farms, mechanic shops, stores, and other good situations for men to live in and make themselves comfortable, are deserted, having been sold or mortgaged for a few hundred dollars with which to go and get gold. Then try to number the widows and orphans who have been left in a state of destitution; then count the bones that are bleaching on the prairies between the frontiers of the Eastern States and California, and is not this conduct as great a mystery as it is to see our Elders do as they do? There is also a spirit that prompts this craving for gold.

There is a spirit that prompts the nations to prepare for war, desolation, and bloodshed—to waste each other away. Do they realize it? No—no more than a wicked man realizes the propriety of an Elder’s taking his line of march to Europe to preach the Gospel. The Spirit of the Gospel that is in the hearts of believers prompts them to do as they do, and the spirit of the enemy that is in the wicked prompts them to do as they do and is it not a mystery? Verily we can say that man is a mystery to himself—that he does not understand himself. When he understands himself, he will understand much about his Creator—his Father and God.

The greatest desire in the bosom of our Father Adam, or in his faithful children who are coworkers with God our Father in heaven, is to save the inhabitants of the earth. Many spirits have gone forth into the world—very many, as also the Holy Spirit of the Gospel to lead this people and all the human family, who will receive it, back into the presence of our Father and God. It has been the greatest desire of the faithful to see their relatives and friends follow that good Spirit, that they may return to the presence of their Father and God.

Brother Hooper has stated that he has charity. Every good man has; but there are only a few men on the earth who understand the charity that fills the bosom of our Savior. We should have charity; we should do all we can to reclaim the lost sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, and bring them back to be saved in the presence of our Father and God. If we do this, our charity will extend to the utmost extent that it is designed for the charity of God to extend in the midst of this people. But I have no love or charity for a wicked and corrupt scoundrel, who commits iniquity with his eyes wide open, though I pity and regret the condition of the human family in their ignorance. They would come to the light, but for one thing—their deeds are evil, and they do not mean to have them reproved. They would be rebuked, and they will not bear it; and so they pass on, and will, until they are punished.

May God bless the righteous and sustain his cause. He will do so. The wicked cannot do anything against the truth. Every move they make to crush the kingdom of God will be attended with the signal blessings of the Almighty for its further extension and ultimate triumph. All their efforts will result in the overthrow of sin and iniquity, and the increase of righteousness and the kingdom of God upon the earth, until “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ.” “Shall we see this in the flesh?” Yes. “Before we receive new bodies?” I do not know, though I expect to see all this in the flesh. Whether in this or in a new body, God being my helper, I shall contend for the righteousness of God and the rights of his Saints, and contend manfully, until we gain possession of our relatives, friends, neighbors, country, the nations of the earth, and the earth, to purify it and prepare it for the habitation of angels. That is our business. May the Lord help us to accomplish this purpose! Amen.

Instructions by President Brigham Young made in the Bowery, and in the Historian’s Office, Great Salt Lake City, September 9, 1860.

If I have the Spirit of the Lord sufficiently, I may have a word for each and all classes present; though in a few remarks I by no means expect to comprehend all the duties that devolve upon the Saints. Here are newcomers who, for the first time, have the privilege of assembling with the Saints at the gathering place; some of them perhaps have been here one Sabbath, and others two. You have traveled thousands of miles to be assembled with the Saints. Here is another class of persons who have been living here for years, and who also need teaching. And here is still another class that needs teaching, perhaps, more than unbelievers. I refer to the Elders who are about to start on their missions.

We say to them, Go forth and preach the Gospel, gain an experience, learn wisdom, and walk humbly before your God, that you may receive the Holy Ghost to guide and direct you, and teach you all things past, present, and to come. I cannot say that this is sufficient to say to them, for it is not.

We say to the citizens of these valleys who have lived here and are going to stay here, Seek unto the Lord your God with all your hearts, ye Latter-day Saints, and so live, that the Holy Ghost will be your constant companion. It will teach you all things; it will bring to your remembrance past things that you have forgotten, things that are now present, and show you the providences of God, the dealings of the Lord with his people, his designs in organizing the world and in peopling it, &c. You Latter-day Saints, live humbly and live your religion faithfully, that you may enjoy the spirit of revelation to a fulness.

We say to the newcomers, If you will live your religion—live to the light that was given to you when you embraced the truth, you will enjoy the same Spirit you then received, and there is not the least danger but what in so doing you will be Saints at home and abroad, in the morning and in the evening, enjoying the light of the Holy Spirit; and the Holy Ghost will be your constant companion, teaching you all things, which will constantly suffice for you.

For unbelievers we will quote from the Scriptures—“Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” Again—“Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.” I will now give my scripture—“Whosoever confesseth that Joseph Smith was sent of God to reveal the holy Gospel to the children of men, and lay the foundation for gathering Israel, and building up the kingdom of God on the earth, that spirit is of God;” and every spirit that does not confess that God has sent Joseph Smith, and revealed the everlasting Gospel to and through him, is of Antichrist, no matter whether it is found in a pulpit or on a throne, nor how much divinity it may profess, nor what it professes with regard to revealed religion and the account that is given of the Savior and his Father in the Bible. They may say that they acknowledge Him until doomsday, and he will never own them, nor bestow the Holy Spirit upon them, and they will never have visions of eternity opened to them, unless they acknowledge that Joseph Smith is sent of God. Such people I call unbelievers. They tell about believing in Jesus Christ, but they might as well talk about birds understanding the Hebrew language. This statement is no more positive than true.

The spirit that confesses that this is the kingdom of God and his Church has the Spirit that fills the heavenly worlds, and every other spirit is of Antichrist. All whom I call unbelievers, if they will repent of their sins, obey the requirements in the New Testament, be baptized for the remission of sins by a man who holds the key and authority to lead them into the waters of baptism, and receive the laying on of hands for the Holy Ghost, shall receive a witness that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and that he was sent of God to build up his kingdom in this last dispensation. You will receive a Spirit that will bring all things to your remembrance, past, present, and to come, teaching you all things necessary for you to understand. There are but a few in this generation who will do this. “Will one to a thousand?” Doubtful. “One to ten thousand, or a hundred thousand?” I hope so. Of the Latter-day Saints there will be many who will not so live their religion as to fully enjoy the Holy Ghost. The Latter-day Saints are like children who have to be taught continually, and still, like children, they handle, figuratively speaking, razors, glasses, cups, sau– cers, &c., contrary to the teachings that are given them.

Those Elders about to start on their missions will declare before this congregation and before the whole world that they do know, by the power of God, that Joseph Smith is a true Prophet of God, and that this is the work of God; that God has set to his hand to gather Israel: but let them neglect their duty and get into darkness, and they will lose this Spirit and testimony. They do not see this with their natural eyes, for it is spiritually discerned, as all things of God are. Let them do wrong and lose the Spirit, and by-and-by they apostatize and declare that they do not know “Mormonism” to be true, and think that they never did. How many are there of this class? Brethren, live your religion. As a mischievous child needs constant watching to keep it from falling into the fire, or otherwise injuring itself, so you need watching, warning, teaching, and admonishing all the time; you need to be continually teased to your duty.

A spirit prompts both the good and the evil: an invisible influence seems to be shed abroad upon all nations. Let us seek unto the Lord, that we may be prompted by a good spirit. It matters not what your neighbors do, look to your God with all your heart, instead of watching your neighbors, and there will be no danger of your leaving the true path. If they will only live up to it, there has already been enough taught the brethren who have lived here for years to prepare them to enter into the strait gate and into the New Jerusalem, and be prepared to enjoy the society of the holy angels.

No other people are under the obligations to God that we are, who have been privileged to meet here Sabbath after Sabbath. We have the privilege of being gathered—the privilege of the law of the celestial kingdom, of receiving revelation, of enjoying the keys and power of the blessings of the Priesthood as sons of God. What other people have these privileges? No other that we have any knowledge of. This brings us under deep obligation to one another, to angels, to Jesus, and to God our Father. We have to live close to the Lord, in order to have his Spirit to learn and understand what he requires of us. You hear some say—“I wish I had influence and power, and were in a situation to do good!” Is there a man in this community deprived of the privilege of doing all the good his heart can desire? You can every day live to promote the cause of our God, and your whole lives can be filled with doing good.

The travels and labors of the Elders about to go on missions will throw them into positions which will cause them to seek unto the Lord. They need to live their religion, to go forth with pure hearts and clean hands, and then preach the Gospel by the power of God sent down from heaven. They should touch not and taste not of sin, and when they return they should come pure and clean, ready to meet the Saints with open countenances. To all appearance, the Elders on missions have been in the habit of making their pockets a matter of more consideration than the souls of men. I am not going to suffer this any longer.

I want every Elder to make his calculations to get rich here, and not go abroad to get riches from the Saints there. Plan and operate here to make as much property as you please; and if you can put it in a shape to gather the Saints, do so; and when you are abroad use every sovereign to emigrate the poor. You may have one shirt on and one at the washerwoman’s, and decent and comfortable clothing; but what you obtain over this must be used to gather the poor. “May I obtain money enough to come home?” Yes. “How many coats and pantaloons may we bring, and how many trunks packed with clothing of the most expensive kinds, for our wives and children?” I utterly forbid this practice. I forbid your bringing or sending home silk dresses and the like. Send and bring home the poor. I forbid your coming home in your carriages; I forbid your going out preachers and coming home merchants, but come home bringing your sheaves with you—the souls of the children of men—spirits clothed in tabernacles. I forbid the Elders of Israel coming home as they have; but men, women, and children must be all the property, means, wealth, glory, and power that they bring home.

O ye gentiles, let me tell you that every Elder will do as I have told him, when he learns that the opposite course is wrong. And let me tell you that you will see the day when you will wish that you were “Mormon” Elders. By-and-by the Elders of Israel will have gold and silver for plates, cups, saucers, &c.; and when we have adorned and furnished our houses we will have gold and silver to pave our streets, and their enemies will be in hell, unable to raise a decent fiddler there, or any liquor, for it will all burn up, and every decent fiddler will go into a decent kingdom: we will have them. We are going to have the kingdom of God and the fulness thereof, and all the heights and depths of glory, power, and knowledge; and we shall have fathers and mothers, and wives and children.

Brother Cannon remarked that people wondered how many wives and children I had. He may inform them that I shall have wives and children by the million, and glory, and riches, and power, and dominion, and kingdom after kingdom, and reign triumphantly. “What will you do with all those who have sought to kill you?” Make them soap boilers and kitchen flunkeys. We are not going to send them into hell fire, for it takes a good Latter-day Saint apostatized to get down into that deep (did I say bottomless?) pit. A person, to become an angel of the Devil, has first to be a good Saint, and then deny the Lord who bought him.

Do you query why we give endowments to A., B., and C.? It is to make devils of those who will deny the faith, for that is also necessary, as a host of devils will be needed. We also want Saints, angels, holy ones, and those that are exalted to the highest glory—we want them to inherit kingdoms that number millions on millions.

Brother Hooper stated that he had charity. My charity is that God has provided for his children, the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, where all who have lived according to the best light they had will have better kingdoms than ever entered into their hearts to conceive. That is the charity of God in his plans to save his people. Will the Latter-day Saints so live that they can enjoy the fulness of the heights, depths, glory, and intelligence in which the Father and the Son dwell? If they do not, they must go into another kingdom. He has designed that we should become Gods—the sons of God—fathers of eternal lives, like Abraham. This is the promise he received—to be the father of endless lives, that his posterity and generation should never cease, in time nor eternity.

Some may think that the restrictions upon our Missionaries are greater than they should be; but if they learn to be practical men, they will learn that my system is the best. Send Elders forth to attend to the business of the churches—to the spiritual and the financial departments, and to preside over them, and the care and toil are very laborious. But if, at the same time, their minds are upon speculation, and they lay awake at night to calculate how they are going to speculate—how many teams they need to bring a lot of goods across the Plains, &c., the labor becomes so severe as to nearly drive them crazy: it at least causes them to have but little spiritual strength when they return; and I really think it best to relieve them from this extra burden. To study, plan, and labor to be merchants, and to bring home silks, satins, velvet, &c., for their wives and children, is a great burden; and we wish to relieve them from that, and let them come home, bringing the poor with them.

If Elders go and fill their missions, they have enough to do; and if they at the same time study to be merchants and to speculate, it will crush them into weakness and poverty. Those who have mixed speculation with preaching, and have thereby oppressed and hedged up the emigration of the poor, upon their return seem to have no spirit left for anything except speculation. Your best plan, if you wish to make money, is to make it here at the gathering place. This is the place for you to accumulate property—to make your families comfortable, that when you go on your missions you can go stript for the race and harnessed for the battle, for the work before you, and have nothing else in your hearts.

If the Lord ever revealed anything to me, he has shown me that the Elders of Israel must let speculation alone and attend to the duties of their calling, otherwise they will have little or no power in their missions or upon their return. It commenced long ago in England, and those who have practiced it are in poverty; and it is high time that it was put a stop to, which I am going to do, God and good brethren being my helpers.

I am in earnest in this matter, and God will sustain me in it. Quit sending or bringing silks, satins, and furbelows for your wives to flaunt in. I am strongly opposed to it.

Some may inquire whether I did not make money when on missions. If I did, it has been expended to gather the poor. When I returned from England, I had but one sovereign left when I reached home. Brother Joseph asked me what I was going to do for a living. I told him that I was going to borrow fifteen cents to put with my sovereign to buy a barrel of flour, visit my friends, and when that flour was eaten I should be ready to do what the Lord required. I went on my mission to England, performed its duties, and returned with clean hands and a pure heart; and all who desire to honor God and their holy calling to the Priesthood must pursue this course.

From this time forth every man that goes on a mission with a view to speculation will be overtaken by poverty, for speculation is no part of the duties devolving upon the Elders. They should practice the strictest economy, especially while on their missions. I have not sought for riches, nor placed my affections upon the things of this world. I do not at home any more than I did abroad. When I obtain money and other property, I study to dispose of it to the best advantage for promoting the cause in which we are engaged. And I tell you, in the name of Israel’s God, that it is my counsel and imperative command that our Missionaries let speculation alone, and preach the Gospel, and so live that when you blow the Gospel trump your words will be like melted lead in the hearts of the people, and not return unto you void, that you may glory and do good in the labor to which God has called you. Do not operate as some have, but let your minds and energies be devoted to the business on which you are sent.

Publications have been issued from the Liverpool Office and crowded upon the people, seemingly regardless of the wants or ability of the brethren, and creating what is known as the “Book Debt,” the very sound of which is disagreeable; lithographed and engraved likenesses of Elders have been forced upon Conferences; and in some instances the money on hand in London and Liverpool has been taken and used by the Elders to the estimated amount of the publications and likenesses, a large portion of which remain lumbering storerooms as dead stock, except where sold out of the way as waste paper. Brethren have been obliged to take more or less copies of publications, whether they could use them, or afford to pay for them, or not; and this very system of forcing publications upon the brethren and Conferences has prevented hundreds and thousands of the Saints from emigrating, turned a great deal of money from its legitimate channel, and left us useless articles instead of the money the Church or the people should have had. Put thousands of pounds into the hands of an Elder in this manner, and it will go from him without his being able to tell where or how it has gone: it seems impossible for him to keep it or its value; it slips away.

There are thousands of pounds’ worth of books, &c., now lying useless in the Liverpool Office, that have been paid for with Tithing money, which ought to have been used for emigrating the poor, paying debts, and otherwise carrying on the work, in accordance with counsel from here: but instead of this, the books lie use– less in the Office. And a few have tried to get rich, but all their riches seem to have had the wings of the morning and have flown far from them.

How many in Utah pay Tithing on their money? Comparatively very few. Probably we do not get one dollar to a thousand on cash Tithing. And if horses, oxen, or cows could be sold for money, probably but few of them would be turned in on Tithing; and if wheat could be sold for money, we should get no wheat except from a very few. But we get along and are not dead yet; and we shall live and do well, while others will be dead and in their graves. The humble will live, their spirits will be buoyant, and they will live to a great age.

You Elders who are selected to go on missions, be virtuous and holy before the Lord your God, that you may be filled with his Spirit. And when you reach your respective fields of labor in the States, in England, or elsewhere, do not begin to pull down your predecessors. So far as their conduct will permit speak of them as your brethren, and as men who have done the best they knew how. Testify that you know them to be good men, when you know that they have been doing according to their best judgment and understanding; and do not say hard words about your predecessors in the vineyard. Not one who does this will gain anything by it. Do not discourage, deride, or bring anything against any of your predecessors to lessen the character of anyone who has done the best he knew how. You have not heard me say that I disfellowship them, for I believe that they have not intended to do a wrong thing in all that is past. All that I blame them for is because I believe that they could or should have known better. I consider that having lived till now, they should so live as to have the Holy Ghost within them continually, to guide them in the way of life.

We are so organized that we need preaching to all the time. This is because of our weaknesses, and we shall have to bear with one another until we become stronger and wiser. Until then, we will travel and preach and do all the good we can. And those that put their shoulders to the wheel, with a desire and determination to preach the Gospel, save souls, and aid in whatever they are called upon to do for the rolling forth of this great work, will live the longest, have the most gold and silver, and enjoy more eternities of happiness and exaltation than those who do nothing but grumble and find fault with what others do and say.

It is not necessary, in crossing the Plains, for our Missionaries to travel on foot and carry their valises; and we wish you to be provided to cross the Plains comfortably, and to take prudent care of your bodies while absent and to come home as comfortably as you can: but do not get money from the poor Saints to buy a carriage with. I have traveled and preached a great deal, and had to live, and I have always had a large family to support. I have had to borrow money to come home with, and I do not remember that I ever brought any money home, but what it has gone directly to relieve the Prophet of his burdens. He used to ask me how I managed to support myself and family. I told him that I made a sixpence go, perhaps, as far as some would make a quarter of a dollar go—that I had done what I could, and the Lord had done the rest, and that was all I knew about it. Of course there are some things I know, and many that I do not; but I do know that Heber C. Kimball and myself used 86 dollars in board and other expenses when tra– velling on a mission, and that when we started we had but 13 dollars, 50 cents. And I do know that I once took a five-dollar bill out of my pocket, when we were raising money for brother Joseph, and threw it in, and that the next day I had just as much as I had before I gave away the five dollars. I do know that when I went to pay some money that I owed, after giving some away to the poor, I had just as much when I came to pay my debts as I had before I gave any to the poor. I do know that I handed out a half-eagle to a poor man in my office, and then found two half-eagles in my pocket that I never put there. And I also do know that I never hungered or thirsted for property.

Some may say—“Brother Brigham, you are boasting, and you may be tried.” I may be tried; but if I am, I pray God to give me strength to bear the trial. I feel under the most positive and strict obligation to make every penny go as far as I can towards preaching the Gospel, gathering Israel, and doing good. I do not lust after property; and I wish my brethren could see my heart as I see theirs. I know the hearts of my brethren who are around me, whether I chasten them or not. You act out what is naturally in you, and I can tell, by the acts, by the faces, and by the doings of men, what is in their hearts. We are here, and we have the kingdom of God to build up as the Lord directs, and carry out his requirements in all things.

The Saints abroad are required to pay their Tithing, but they have been made to donate and pay so much that they have felt that the cords were drawn pretty tight. Of late we have let the strings loose, and the people in the European Missions have become slack in regard to paying even their Tithing. This is a natural result, and I expected it. The brethren will now exhort them to renew their good works in again paying Tithing, and we must have a correct account of it, and must have the privilege of directing its expenditure for gathering the Saints and building up the kingdom. We wish to hurry and gather the brethren, that they may receive their endowments, and either remain Saints or apostatize; and those who continue faithful may be taught to more and more honor their faith and cooperate in building up the kingdom of God on the earth.

I have detained you long enough. God bless you! Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 2, 1860.

Are our minds framed to receive and profit by those communications which the Lord would give through his servants? We are so constituted that we can receive but little at a time, though there is quite a diversity in men as to their capacity for learning, and also in regard to retaining what they learn. Some comprehend their lessons quickly, while others are not so gifted. I have also noticed that some children commit their lessons quickly and well; but ask them the meaning and intent of what they have committed, and they cannot answer you; while others pay more attention to the intent and meaning of what they learn. Such is the case with all persons, no matter what their age; and some are capacitated to receive more and faster than others.

When the Latter-day Saints and those who believed in the coming of the Messiah, and those who believed in him when he came, and those who have believed in him since he came, see eternal things by the vision of their minds being opened. They will consider it a great mystery why all people did not understand the things of God. They are so easy to be understood and so congenial to our capacities and situation on the earth—so admirably adapted to our nature. That mankind do not understand the things of God is marvelous to an enlightened person, and that what truth they do learn they wish to have it understood that it is by their own wisdom: the wisdom that comes from God they do not desire.

We observe in some of the Latter-day Saints a dull stupidity in regard to learning the things that pertain to life. For persons to understand themselves, their own organization, they must understand the character of that Being who has organized them, or they never can understand their own organization. This mankind are unwilling to admit. No person can follow the thread of his own existence, without inseparably connecting it with the Father—the Supreme Being who dwells in eternity. We are inseparably connected, and must be, to that eternal Being who produced us. You will therefore readily understand that without the principle and Spirit of revelation, it will be impossible to communicate these principles to the people.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the opening avenue—the open gate in the road or way from earth to heaven, through which direct revelation comes to the children of men in their various capacities, according to their callings and standing in the society in which they live. The Gospel of salvation is a portion of the law that pertains to the kingdom where God resides; and the ordinances pertaining to the holy Priesthood are the means by which the children of men find access to the way of life, wherein they can extend their travels until they return to the presence of their Father and God. This no person will dispute, who has faith in the character of the Deity. They will acknowledge that God is true, that his system of salvation is correct, that his law is just, that he is equal in all his ways, and that the ordinances of his house are true and faithful; but when you speak of the Gospel as preached by the Elders of this Church, the query arises in a moment, “Is this true?” Yes, as you have often heard stated, it is a fact that earth and hell cannot deny. The sound of this Gospel carries conviction to every heart that has heard it; it carries an influence and power that no other sound has. But, though they are thus convicted, yet they will query, “Is it true?” If it were not that the conviction of the Almighty pervades even the sound of “Mormonism,” you would not see armies arrayed against this people.

This is the most moral people upon the face of all the earth, with all the rascality there is in a few. The Gospel net gathers both good and bad. We have both here. But this people, as a people, are the most circumspect and moral people that now live. It has been said that we are a low, groveling, lawless people. There is not a man in our Government, who has a good sound heart and brain, but what will say that we are the most law-abiding people in the United States.

All, so far as they have heard, are convinced that the work in which we are engaged is true—that it is the Gospel of salvation—the voice of God from the heavens to all people. Hear it, O ye inhabitants of the earth! The Lord has again spoken from the heavens, and revealed the holy Priesthood, to save the children of men from impending ruin. Though this is true, they fancy that they can devise systems by which they can save themselves, enter into the gate of rest, and secure to themselves that eternal repose the heart aches for all through life. There may be some exceptions to this general truth, but the existence of a Supreme Being is universally acknowledged by man. This is to be found in the lowest of the heathen nations, and they worship according to the best knowledge they have. The inhabitants of Hindostan, Japan, &c., are devotional people, though they worship before images, not knowing better. The aborigines of this country also worship according to their traditions, as do all the heathen nations. They make their graven images of brass, wood, silver, and gold to represent the Deity they seek to please. The Roman Catholic Church uses paintings and images of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary; but ask them if they worship these pictures and images, and they will tell you, “No: the picture or image only represents to the eye the Being we worship.” So it is with the worship of the heathen nations: they will tell you they “do not worship the inanimate image, but that the God they worship is in eternity. We do not see him, but our fathers have taught us many things which we wish to retain in memory.” You present to your children the image or picture of the Savior, or any good being, and teach them to imitate his example, and by this means strive to create the best possible impression upon their young minds. And which is best—to do this, or to present them a pack of cards and teach them the use of them? Then do not depreciate the heathen worship, nor the brethren of our former Christian faith; for the majority of them worship according to the best knowledge they have. Intelligent beings are organized to become Gods, even the sons of God, to dwell in the presence of the Gods, and become associated with the highest intelligences that dwell in eternity. We are now in the school, and must practice upon what we receive. Wickedness now dwells upon the earth; but as we are exhorted from time to time by words, deeds, and examples, and by the faith of the good, let us continue in this labor of love until we overcome the evil that is within ourselves. With all the rest of the good that you can commit to memory, be sure to recollect that the Gospel of salvation is expressly designed to make Saints of sinners, to overcome evil with good, to make holy, good men of wicked, bad men, and to make better men of good. Wherein we are wicked, wherein we have evil passions, the Gospel will aid us in overcoming evil. It gives us the influence, the power, the knowledge, the wisdom, and the understanding to overcome our weaknesses and to purify ourselves before the Lord our God. How often we have heard it said that “a Saint will be a Saint, a devil will be a devil, and the wicked will be wicked!” People should understand that there is no man born upon the face of the earth but what can be saved in the kingdom of God, if he is disposed to be. There is not a word to contradict this in all the sacred writings. When the wicked man forsakes his wickedness, though he has rolled it under his tongue as a sweet morsel, he can be saved. If God has foreordained certain men to certain ends, it is because he knew all things from eternity, as in the case of Pharaoh, who he knew would do wickedly; consequently, selected him to be put upon the throne. “You are determined to be wicked and to carry out the schemes of the Devil; therefore I will use you to promote my kingdom on the earth and to exalt me among men, for I know that you will do all you can against my children, against my work, and against my grace to save the children of men.” God raised him to the throne of Egypt because he foresaw that in this position he could use him to the greatest advantage to His cause—not because he was foreordained to that position.

There are no persons without evil passions to embitter their lives. Mankind are revengeful, passionate, hateful, and devilish in their dispositions. This we inherit through the fall, and the grace of God is designed to enable us to overcome it. The grace of God is bestowed upon all, and the kingdom of God is planted on the earth expressly to enable mankind to overcome the evil that is in them, and to save all. If the Latter-day Saints live their religion, they will forsake iniquity and overcome the evil that the enemy of all righteousness causes to rise within them, until every passion and appetite is as perfectly under their own control as a patient animal they hold by the bit.

Ye wise men, ye great philosophers, do you comprehend and know what is the origin of the intelligence we behold? Where did it spring from? Who is the author of our existence? Who has brought us forth upon the earth and given us this intelligence, creating us erect, given us ability to learn and to continue to learn to all eternity, and to reach forth for the hidden things that are in the future? Can the wise men of the day define this intelligence? Can the chemist analyze it? No; it cannot be searched out by human wisdom. We must admit that God is true, that his law is just, that his kingdom is just and pure, and that it is now set up upon the earth, or there can be no being saved in his presence. We are his children. This is obvious, and is easy to be understood by those who can only understand simple facts. We are his offspring, and to him we shall return. This being so, we should so live as to be counted worthy to be again received into the family of heaven, to be participants of all the glory, excellency, and power that pertain to the family of God in eternity, and to be joined with those who sing hallelujah to his name in mansions of bliss. Let the wicked world pass on and the inhabitants of the earth rail, and let the wicked imagine a vain thing and the heathen rage and run to and fro; yet knowledge will increase, and they cannot prevent it. The kingdom of God and the ordinances of his house are again restored, and we are made happy participants thereof. Praise his holy name, then, brethren and sisters, and acknowledge his hand in all things, improving your talents, and making yourselves worthy to receive more. The kings, queens, nobles, and great men of the earth will yet bow to the Gospel, though not until they are obliged to.

We have not much history of the wise men of the east after they saw the star and found the child Jesus. He had not lived two years before an edict was sent forth to slay all the children in certain regions, under such an age, thinking that the child Jesus would be caught among them and slain. But Joseph was warned in a dream to escape with the young child. Where then were the wise men who came to worship him? They had gone their way, and were still. There are many wise men of this day who feel so influenced; they would worship with the Saints, but will not endure the opposition they must receive, if they should do so. Never was the kingdom of God so privileged as it is now. The children of Israel had the Gospel and the kingdom in their possession, but they were so wicked and ungodly that only Joshua and Caleb, of all the adult males who went out of Egypt, were left to go over and possess the promised land. They were prospered and slew their enemies; but after a while they went into bondage, were again made free, and again went into bondage. Did they enjoy the privileges that we do? No. We can travel and preach from island to island, and from nation to nation, and can travel and preach in our own nation, for God has prepared the way. We are blessed more than all the people on the face of the earth, and are therefore under the deepest obligations to praise and serve God. It matters little, though we have many times left our houses and other possessions, having been driven from them by our enemies; for the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof; the gold and the silver they are taking from the earth are all in his hands to dispose of at his pleasure. He sets up kingdoms and casts them down at his pleasure. The fulness of the earth is in his hands, but it cannot be enjoyed, in the full sense of the term, without enjoying it in connection with his kingdom. When put to its proper use, gold, instead of being made a god of, will be made into dishes, and all things will be prepared for Jesus to reign and rule and live here, for he is the heir of this earth. The gold will also be used for paving streets for us to walk upon: all the faithful will have the privilege of walking the golden streets of the New Jerusalem.

I feel that this is the best day I ever saw; and were I to give vent to my feelings, I should jump and shout, like a Methodist, Hallelujah! God reigns; his kingdom is upon the earth, and he will save the remnant in the latter days. I feel happy. “Mormonism” has made me all I am, and the grace, the power, and the wisdom of God will make me all that I ever will be, either in time or in eternity. Do you think that I suffer affliction? No; for I am happy when in a house, or in the mountains, or wherever I chance to be. Our religion measures, weighs, and circumscribes all the wisdom in the world—all that God has ever revealed to man. God has revealed all the truth that is now in the possession of the world, whether it be scientific or religious. The whole world are under obligation to him for what they know and enjoy; they are indebted to him for it all, and I acknowledge him in all things. Is it not reasonable and highly commendable to worship Him, unto whom every knee shall bow, with a pure heart and conscience uncontaminated by the sins of the world?

The greatest weakness, ignorance, and foolishness of the human family are exhibited in their denying the Savior, denying the hand of God, and not submitting to his supremacy on the earth. O fools, and slow of heart to believe. Let the few who have received the truth live to it strictly, daily, hourly, and momentarily, so that they can receive more and more, and grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth. That is my prayer for you constantly to my Father and God, in the name of Jesus.

That we may be blessed, let us do our duty, gather the house of Israel, redeem and build up Zion, see Jerusalem established, and Jesus reign triumphantly upon the earth; which is my desire, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 2, 1860.

I will say a few words to those who have lately arrived.

The Spirit of the Gospel which they received in their native countries caused them to rejoice, lighted the lamp of devotion within them, and created in their hearts a love of truth. When people receive the Holy Ghost, or the Gospel evidenced by the Spirit of truth, they in a degree feel and realize the glory of Zion. The commandment has gone forth for the Saints to gather and build up Zion. They very readily receive the impression that the gathering place is Zion, that the gathered are actually living in Zion, that the evil influences abroad in the world and which afflicted them there will cease to afflict them here, that they will enjoy the sweet communion of the holy ones upon the earth, and that their sorrows and all that afflicts them will have passed away.

I wish to inform you, brethren and sisters, who have just arrived in these valleys, that all your trials hitherto are but trifling in comparison to the trials you will now be called to meet and pass through. How many of you will continue faithful—preserve yourselves in your integrity and in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ? You have come here expressly to be assembled with the Saints; your object in gathering was to forsake the wickedness that is in the world and to mingle with those who serve God with an undivided heart, and you expect to be faithful; but let me inform you that you will not all prove faithful; some of you will apostatize. Can you tell who? You reply, “No:” but the first you are aware, some of you will be off to California, perhaps, with the words—“To Cache or Carson, we don’t care a d—which,” on your wagon covers, as they were on the wagon covers of some who started for Carson last spring. Some of you will be tempted above what you will bear—will tamely submit to darkness and its powers—to the evil influences of wicked spirits—will forsake the faith, and the Devil will get the advantage of you.

Your troubles have just commenced; you are on the threshold of the department wherein you will have fiery trials, such as you have never had. Some who have been here for years will come around you and say—“Well, brother, or sister, how do you do? Do you like the country and people?” “I don’t know. I guess I shall; I should like to have some things a little different; but this is a good people.” “Well,” says an old brother who has been laboring in the Church for years to save the people, “I don’t know about it; I understand that A. says thus and so. I don’t know about it; a few days ago, I saw a brother, who seems to be a good brother, talking with the President; he seems to be in close communion with the heads of the Church, and is all the time stealing horses. I really do not know about this.” Very likely the Lord has suffered this old “Mormon” to stay in the Church thus long to get some of you to apostatize; and when he succeeds, you will go to hell together. Thus you will be led step by step to deny the faith, and to reduce the light that was in you to total darkness.

One will reflect—“I do not know about brother John; there are some things in his character that look dark to me, and, according to the religion I have embraced, I do not understand them; and there is James, if his conduct corresponds with the Gospel as I have heard it preached in my native country, I do not know about it; I will look more narrowly into this;” and the first you know you will retire to rest without praying in your family. And when you rise in the morning you are meditating upon what John and James are doing—that you just saw one of them taking a pole from his neighbor’s fence, and you say, “I don’t know about this; this is rather a dark affair among the Latter-day Saints who have assembled here from among all nations to serve God! Well, wife, have you got your breakfast ready? Come on, family; breakfast is ready; gather round the table.” The wife’s heart sinks, for she had been accustomed to hear this man pray; but there is no prayer this morning. A short blessing is asked, the breakfast is eaten, and the man looks off to John, James, Dick, Harry, the Devil, and hell; and by-and-by away he goes, another apostate.

God gathers his people to school them. While you were in England, France, and other foreign countries, were you prepared to receive the oracles from heaven? No. Are you prepared now? No. Are those who have been in the Church twenty, twenty-five, or thirty years prepared to have the visions of eternity opened to them? No. To hear the voice of the angel Gabriel? No. How can you be prepared, if you let little, frivolous, trifling afflictions and temptations overcome you and turn you away? The Lord has brought you here to try every fiber of your hearts, even as Abraham was tried in all things, to prove whether you are friends of God. And when you see anyone do wrong, you should say, “That is nothing to me; he is in the hands of God, and will have to answer to Him, and I for myself.” And when you see persons about to give way to temptation, you should say to your families, “Let us pray to the Lord to give them strength and power to overcome the temptations of the evil ones, that they may remain here, instead of apostatizing.”

Some of you will do as I have stated; but if you will be faithful to your covenants, you will not only be saviors to yourselves and to your wives and children, but also to your neighbors. When you see a neighbor begin to slip, pray for him that he may have the Spirit of the Gospel as he once had. And if you feel this Spirit within yourselves, pray for an increase of that light you received when you first received the Gospel, and you will save yourself and house.

Yet, after all the labor that will be performed by the Elders of Israel in traveling to the utmost parts of the earth, in gathering out the people from all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, and gathering them home to Zion and Jerusalem, and perhaps other places the Lord will appoint for the gathering of the people in the latter days; and after all the preaching, faith, and toil that will be wrought by the servants of God, when Christ comes, there will be five foolish virgins and five wise.

My exhortation to every man, woman, and child that has named the name of Christ—my positive command to you, which I urge upon you, and which it is your imperative duty to hearken to and obey, is to so live every moment that there will not be a dark spot upon your lives—that you can say every night, “The last is the best day I have ever lived. God be praised that I have been enabled to so live this day that I can go to sleep with a clear conscience.” In short, so live that when you wake in the spirit world you can truthfully say, “I could not better my mortal life, were I to live it over again.” I exhort you, for the sake of the house of Israel, for the sake of Zion which we are to build up, to so live, from this time, henceforth, and forever, that your characters may with pleasure be scrutinized by holy beings. Live godly lives, which you cannot do without living moral lives.

A man can commit sin, and return to the Lord and receive forgiveness; but who has the assurance that he will have power to repent? Who has the right and privilege granted unto him to swear, or to take that which is not his own and make use of it for himself? I know of no such right. Who has a right to commit adultery? If anyone has such a permit from the Almighty, bring it forth and let us read it to the congregation, that we may know it. Who has a right to bear false witness? Who has a right to defile himself by getting drunk? If you have this right, let us see it. If you have a right to disgrace your wives and children in the eyes of the people, and God says it is just and true, bring out your authority and let us see it. I know of no person who has a right to sin.

“Brother Brigham, don’t you sometimes sin?” If I do, it is none of your business; and the whole of you are not smart enough to catch me in a wrong. Look back at my life since I have been preaching the Gospel, and point out, if you can, the iniquity I have committed. “Have you not taken the name of God in vain?” Not the first time have I ever used the name of my Savior, or the name of a holy angel, or the name of the mother of Jesus, or the name of our Father in heaven with trifling feelings. “Have you not taken that which was not your own?” No; and I have not been able to get half of what is my own. I am going to have much more than I now have—not twice or thrice, but a hundredfold more. I never yet felt that I had license to commit a sin; and if I have not, who has?

Some may imagine that I am boasting: you may call it what you please. God has preserved my feet and tongue, and I am here today, though not so good as I ought to be; and you are not so good as you ought to be: there is a chance for us all to be much better. Where is there a boy in this community who has the right to disgrace his father by sin? Where is the daughter who has the right to disgrace her mother by defiling herself? Have you such a license, young women? Have you such a license, young men? If you cannot show your license to commit sin, we shall consider you impostors, and that you have no right and do not belong to our society. We will disfellowship all such men and women, whether old or young: they are already disfellowshipped in my feelings.

You newcomers are here expressly to mingle your faith with the faithful, and your acts with those who perform the acts of righteousness—to bring together to Zion, from every nation, kingdom, tongue, and people, the good, and the strength, power, and wisdom of God that has been dispensed to the nations—to take hold with us who have been trying to purify ourselves and the people. It is your duty to take hold with us with your might to exalt righteousness. Look to God for grace to purify yourselves, instead of looking at your brethren. You who wish to be numbered with the wise virgins, keep your vessels full of oil; do not let it burn out, and lie down and sleep, thinking that you can get a supply of oil when you wake. Be careful that you are not caught with your vessels empty: keep them full, and your hearts full of the Holy Spirit. Cease not to do good. By so doing you will be numbered with the wise virgins.

This is the best country in the world for raising Saints, though many things will cause it to appear strange to you for a time. People here procure livelihoods differently, in many respects, from what you have been accustomed to in your native lands. Many of you have been used to receiving your wages at the end of the week—then only barely sufficient to provide for your wants during the coming week. How did you manage in cases of sickness, when you could not work? I presume some of you nearly starved. Here there as yet has been no starving. Some do not know what they will do here: you cannot starve to death, as many do in countries you have come from.

Find shelter for your families, and do not be in a panic, nor fret; and when a person meets you and says, “Brother, I want to hire a little help,” perhaps you are a collier and never worked above ground, or a silk weaver and never worked at anything else, and you ask what he wants done. When he tells you, you may not know how to do it, but you can learn. If a person wants the silk weaver to take the spade and dig a ditch, let the weaver say, “I don’t know how, but I can learn; fetch on your spade.” Take the first job of work offered, and earn a bushel of wheat or a bushel of potatoes; and when that job is done, another will be ready. Do not be anxious to get great wages. Go to work and say nothing about wages, but feel that “this is Zion; and what can I do to build it up, without asking any man to pay me one dollar?” Let that be your chief joy and delight, and you will never lack for work, food, or raiment. The Lord has all these things for those willing characters.

“But,” says one, “some are very poor.” That is because they are not liberal enough in their feelings. I remember a question being asked of Aaron Lake, in Canada. He went into a house, and by way of introduction was asked, “Can a man rise by falling, or gain by losing?” He thought a moment, and replied, “Yes.” You say, “There are some here who are poor and destitute.” That is because they refuse to fall that they may rise, to become poor that they may become rich, or to humble themselves that they may receive the righteousness of God in their hearts to dictate them day by day. Do you think that the Lord will suffer his people to be hungry and starve to death, to go naked and freeze to death, or to go houseless, if they serve him with an undivided heart? He never will—never, no, never.

This people have been driven from place to place, to give them expanded hearts to receive the blessings of the Lord, and that the wicked might fill the cup of their iniquity and receive their reward, and the right was theirs. So soon as we are prepared to receive his blessings, the warfare is over; but that will not be just yet. We yet have to contend for every inch of ground, for the Devil has power and possession on the earth, and he does not mean to give it up. But, God, angels, and good men being my helpers, I will never cease to contend, inch by inch, until we gain the ground and possess the kingdom. That is my feeling and faith, and we will accomplish it. I will prophesy, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that we will possess the kingdom of God upon the whole earth, and possess the earth. Do you believe it? [Many voices: “Yes.“] That is as true as it is that the sun now shines.

God bless you! Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt City, August 26, 1860.

I will read a portion of the vision Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon had concerning various kingdoms that God has prepared for his subjects—

“And the glory of the celestial is one, even as the glory of the sun is one. And the glory of the terrestrial is one, even as the glory of the moon is one. And the glory of the telestial is one, even as the glory of the stars is one; for as one star differs from another star in glory, even so differs one from another in glory in the telestial world; For these are they who are of Paul, and of Apollos, and of Cephas. These are they who say they are some of one, and some of another—some of Christ and some of John, and some of Moses, and some of Elias, and some of Esaias, and some of Isaiah, and some of Enoch; But received not the gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus, neither the prophets, neither the everlasting covenant. Last of all, these all are they who will not be gathered with the saints, to be caught up unto the church of the Firstborn, and received into the cloud. These are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie. These are they who suffer the wrath of God on the earth. These are they who suffer the vengeance of eternal fire. These are they who are cast down to hell and suffer the wrath of Almighty God, until the fulness of times, when Christ shall have subdued all enemies under his feet, and shall have perfected his work; When he shall deliver up the kingdom, and present it unto the Father, spotless, saying, I have overcome and have trodden the wine-press alone, even the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. Then shall he be crowned with the crown of his glory, to sit on the throne of his power to reign forever and ever. But behold, and lo, we saw the glory and the inhabitants of the telestial world, that they were as innumerable as the stars in the firmament of heaven, or as the sand upon the seashore; And heard the voice of the Lord saying: These all shall bow the knee, and every tongue shall confess to him who sits upon the throne forever and ever; For they shall be judged according to their works, and every man shall receive according to his own works, his own dominion, in the mansions which are prepared; And they shall be servants of the Most High; but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end. This is the end of the vision which we saw, which we were commanded to write while we were yet in the Spirit.” (Doc. and Cov., sec. xcii., par. 7.)

I do not know that I have any particular desire to dwell upon this any more than any other subject of the Gospel, although this subject, in the abstract, occupies more of my affection, adoration, and heartfelt gratitude to our Father and God than any other that has ever been revealed to my knowledge, from the days of Adam to the present.

Looking at the human family—the millions of intelligent beings who have come upon this earth from the days of Adam until now, and those that must still come in the course of events—the question naturally arises, What are they created for? What is the object of their being? None of them have power to produce themselves. Jesus Christ is the heir of this vast family. He said that he had power to lay down his life and take it up again; but he had no more power to produce his life, in the beginning of his existence, than we have. Every human being is endowed, more or less, with eternal intelligence, with the germ of life everlasting, of glory immortal; and then, when I view the human family as they are, with the traditions of the fathers, what the Bible has taught, what the priest has taught, and what kings and rulers have introduced and fastened upon their people, through traditions and customs, and contemplate the variety now existing and that has existed upon the earth, the marks of these finites, and what is their end, I can truly say that, in my estimation, no other revelation so glorious was ever given. You may read the character of the Deity as portrayed in all that has ever been revealed, until you come to this vision, in relation to his justice, his judgment, his power, his life, his glory, his excellence, his goodness, his mercy, and the fulness of every gift, of every trait, of every principle inherent in the character of the Supreme Being, and it is not equal in magnitude, in my reflections, to that which God revealed to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon in the vision from which I have read.

We are far advanced in the things of the kingdom of God. To say nothing about any other principle or doctrine that has ever been revealed, the transcending glory, excellency, wisdom, goodness, virtue, and power that God has revealed in this vision far outweigh all the Christian tenets, doctrines, and systems they have drawn from the Bible. No cistern, to use a figure, hewn by man, can hold water; and every human doctrine and principle, professing to point the way of salvation, fades away. The doctrine God has revealed here is more precious to me, and is worth more than all the doctrines of Christendom.

We may read that the Lord will turn the wicked into hell, and all the nations that forget God; but, so far as the Bible and priests are concerned, the world are left in the dark upon what this vision reveals. Fatality is sealed on the world by the priests as an everlasting inheritance and legacy, from which they never can be delivered. Their doom is to dwell in a lake of fire and brimstone. God has created this intelligence to preserve it. If the world, with its present feelings, believed this vision, they would say—“Our condition will be so far better than we had anticipated, that we will continue our course; for we love the world and the things of the world, and we will roll sin as a sweet morsel under our tongues, and delight in all the iniquity we have indulged in from youth, and continue to imbibe the erroneous principles taught by the fathers and others, and will pass on from day to day; for our condition is to be so far better than our priests have taught us.” It would have been better for them had they never been born, were it not so.

Were the wicked, in their sins, under the necessity of walking into the presence of the Father and Son, hand in hand with those who believe that all will be saved—that Jesus will leave none, their condition would be more excruciating and unendurable than to dwell in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. The fatalist’s doctrine consigns to hell the infant not a span long, while the adulterer, whoremonger, thief, liar, false swearer, murderer, and every other abominable character, if they but repent on the gallows or their deathbeds, are, by the same doctrine, forced into the presence of the Father and the Son, which, could they enter there, would be a hell to them.

The kingdoms that God has prepared are innumerable. Each and every intelligent being will be judged according to the deeds done in the body, according to his works, faith, desires, and honesty or dishonesty before God; every trait of his character will receive its just merit or demerit, and he will be judged according to the law of heaven as revealed; and God has prepared places suited to every class. The Savior said to his disciples—“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” How many kingdoms there are has not been told to us: they are innumerable. The disciples of Jesus were to dwell with him. Where will the rest go? Into kingdoms prepared for them, where they will live and endure. Jesus will bring forth, by his own redemption, every son and daughter of Adam, except the sons of perdition, who will be cast into hell. Others will suffer the wrath of God—will suffer all the Lord can demand at their hands, or justice can require of them; and when they have suffered the wrath of God till the utmost farthing is paid, they will be brought out of prison. Is this dangerous doctrine to preach? Some consider it dangerous; but it is true that every person who does not sin away the day of grace, and become an angel to the Devil, will be brought forth to inherit a kingdom of glory.

The sectarian world, as we call them, is a professed church of God, without the Priesthood. Sectarians have not the Priesthood; but all of them who live according to the best light and intelligence they can obtain through faithfulness to what they believe, as taught unto them, will receive a kingdom and glory that will far transcend all their expectations, imaginations, or visions in their most excited moments, whether in their falling-down power, jumping power, or squawling power. All they have ever desired or anticipated they will receive, and far more; but they cannot dwell with the Father and Son, unless they go through those ordeals that are ordained for the Church of the Firstborn. The ordinances of the house of God are expressly for the Church of the Firstborn.

“Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; and he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name,” &c. This is the law of the celestial kingdom, and those who hearken to this law, and embrace its truths in their faith, and live them in their lives, will be brought to enjoy the presence of the Son, and will dwell with him and the Father. And all the residue, who do not sin against the Holy Ghost, will be punished according to their deeds, and will receive according to their works, whether it be little or much, good or bad. Jesus will redeem the last and least of the sons of Adam, except the sons of perdition, who will be held in reserve for another time. They will become angels of the Devil.

What say you, ye Latter-day Saints? Is not this the most glorious thought that ever was revealed to mortal man? Let the Elders of this Church go forth and preach that every person who does not become as they are will have to suffer the wrath of God, and go down to hell to dwell in a lake that burns with brimstone and fire, “where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched,” and I would not give the ashes of a rye straw for all they will do. It is good for nothing: there is no life in it—there is no soul in it.

This intelligence must endure. We must preserve our identity before the Lord, who has sent his Son and angels, and is sending the Holy Ghost, and his ministers, and revelations, to comfort, cheer, guide, and direct the affairs of his kingdom on the earth. Shall we dwindle out in our faith and in those blessings God bestows on us at this time? No. Let us live to increase them. Let us so live, that when we receive our bodies in the resurrection, we will be received in the presence of the Father and the Son. This kingdom is designed expressly to prepare the people to dwell with God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ, and all the world beside will receive according to their works upon the earth. This is a joy that is unspeakable: it is a glory beyond the capacity of our minds at the present time to appreciate. It is a great joy to me.

Sometimes I feel as though I would like to dwell upon these principles, they are so delightful; but I do not feel like preaching or talking much this morning. The glory and intelligence that God has prepared for the faithful, and for every other being that is worthy to receive, expand, extend, and comprehend, no man knoweth. Should not this fill every heart with peace and joy that there is no end to the progress of knowledge? Let us continue to prepare ourselves to dwell with Him in eternal burnings.

May the Lord bless the people! Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 26th, 1860.

We enjoy great blessings and privileges, and ought to appreciate them. No people on the earth enjoy that peace and tranquility that we do in these mountains; and no people have so much reason to be truly thankful and grateful, and to acknowledge the hand of God in all things, as we have. We have the words of life: the law of life is committed unto us—the Priesthood of the Son of God, which is after the power of an endless life. We are in the happy and peaceable possession of it.

We have great reason to be truly thankful that we are in these mountains. I have said so from the time we first came here. When our enemies learned that we were going to locate in these mountains, they said that we never could be driven from them, and they told the truth. If we ever go from them, we shall go voluntarily. They said that they would drive us from Ohio, from Missouri, and from Illinois, and they did so; but they cannot drive us from these mountains we now inhabit. All we have to do is to do right, walk humbly before God, deal justly one with another and with the whole human family, and let our worst wish toward our worst enemies be that we may see the time when they will be obliged to do right. I never did wish anything worse upon them than they should do right, pay their debts, deal justly, and walk humbly one with another. This is the worst wish I have towards those who are now here and have tried to shed our blood for money, and that when they leave the Territory they do not steal anything. I despair of inducing them not to lie about us.

All the nations are fast approaching the brink of ruin. Search the most enlightened nations now dwelling on the earth, and you will learn that they live upon fiction, delight in shadow, run after error, greedily drink down falsehood, and hate truth. This is particularly the case with the nation in which we live, as everyone knows, who is acquainted with its religious, political, and moral classes. There are individual exceptions; but, taking the nations of the world as nations, they do not believe the truth; they are after falsehood and lies, and say to themselves—“The world goes on—the morning comes as usual, and is followed by the evening. We live day after day, and all things are about as they were yesterday.” How long will they continue so? They think that all things are going to remain as they were since the fathers fell asleep, that Christ is not coming, and that the prophecies will not be fulfilled, except it may be spiritually.

Search history, from the days of Enoch, when he built a city which was taken from the earth; pass on to Noah who built an ark and floated on the water over a drowning world, and to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; read the writings of Moses, and of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the lesser Prophets, down to the time of John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah, or until Mary and Elizabeth rejoiced together that the Messiah was to be born; then read the writings of the disciples of the Lord Jesus, and search history from that day to this, and you will learn that when the nations have for years turned much of their attention to manufacturing instruments of death, they have sooner or later used those instruments.

Our nation, England, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, and other nations have for years exercised their inventive skill, and expended much means in inventing and fabricating instruments of death. Upon his return, brother Hooper presented to me a rifle, for which it is almost claimed that it will kill people while it is hanging up, and without powder and ball; and brother George Q. Cannon brought a brace of pistols, each of which can be fired twelve times instead of six. From the authority of all history, the deadly weapons now stored up and being manufactured will be used until the people are wasted away, and there is no help for it. The spirit of revolution goes on through the nations: it never goes back.

We are in these mountains, and in the enjoyment of peace and plenty. Are there any who have not enough bread? Some complain of living poorly; but what hinders such persons from living well? Have you not plenty of breadstuff? Yes, you have the best of flour, and can have plenty of good cornmeal. You also have rye, barley, and oats. Who prevents your keeping a cow and having butter and milk? Can you not raise potatoes, squashes, turnips, onions, cabbages, and every other kind of produce that you can use? What hinders your keeping a pig and having a little pork? Nobody hinders you: you can have all these things, if you are so disposed, and live well. Who can disturb you? Nobody but yourselves. You can quarrel with each other, rail against each other, and make life disagreeable, if you are so disposed; otherwise you may have an agreeable life here, and the peace of God will rest upon you.

We are the best people in the world, and have the greatest reason to be thankful because of our location and situation. Let us love one another, and love God supremely. It is written, “Love your enemies.” Brother Erastus Snow was going to correct Paul for trying to excuse himself. I do not think the term was any more misapplied than when the Apostles wrote, “Love your enemies;” for I do not believe a word of that. “Love your enemies!” What, love hell? When people do that, they get where devils are. If it had been written, “Love the spirits God has placed in tabernacles, and try to reclaim them and do them good, and pray for those who despitefully use you,” I would feed and clothe them, take peculiar care of them, and place them where they would not hurt anybody. You may think that I am disputing the Bible. If you understood what the Lord means when he talks about loving his children, you would understand that he does not love them as they are now; for he hates and is angry with the wicked. He dislikes their wicked acts, but he loves his children, because he has organized them, and he wishes to see them obedient.

Many of you are acquainted with brother John Smith, the Patriarch, who went to the States last year after his friends. He has just come into the Bowery. The companies are all well. They want some flour, and we can send it to them. Brother Kimball will send his team this time, and there is no necessity for calling upon the Bishops. We have heard from the last company. On the fourth of August they were on Wood River: their cattle looked well, and the company was making good progress. They had been eleven days out from Florence, and had traveled 170 miles. A few cattle have died in some of the companies; and if any of the brethren, who have relatives or friends in the companies still out, wish to assist them, they can do so by sending out their teams and helping them in.

God bless you! Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in Provo, August 26, 1860.

I am happy in the privilege of again meeting with you. I am well in spirit and in body. I never was better in my spirit than I am this afternoon. The day I now enjoy is the best day of my life; these days are the best days I ever lived, and I expect them to grow better. The many reasons I might give for this I will omit.

It is some time since we met with you here. Next Sabbath, I think, it will be twenty-six months since I was upon this stand. Our circumstances then were very different from what they are today. Since then, some of our relatives and friends have been consigned to the silent tomb; but there is a goodly number of us still living, and the favorable circumstances under which we are today should influence every heart to rejoice. If we could but understand and see things as they are—comprehend the dealings of the Lord—the workings of his kingdom, it would be a matter of great joy and rejoicing to us; but as yet we only see and understand in part, though it is our privilege to so live that we may know things pertaining to our conduct here as they are understood by more intelligent beings. Let us faithfully improve upon what we do understand.

Can you discern and understand the dealings of the Lord with this people from the beginning? If we can understand this, it is indeed a matter of great rejoicing to us. All intelligent beings who are crowned with crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal lives must pass through every ordeal appointed for intelligent beings to pass through, to gain their glory and exaltation. Every calamity that can come upon mortal beings will be suffered to come upon the few, to prepare them to enjoy the presence of the Lord. If we obtain the glory that Abraham obtained, we must do so by the same means that he did. If we are ever prepared to enjoy the society of Enoch, Noah, Melchizedek, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, or of their faithful children, and of the faithful Prophets and Apostles, we must pass through the same experience, and gain the knowledge, intelligence, and endowments that will prepare us to enter into the celestial kingdom of our Father and God. How many of the Latter-day Saints will endure all these things, and be prepared to enjoy the presence of the Father and the Son? You can answer that question at your leisure. Every trial and experience you have passed through is necessary for your salvation.

The greatest trial this people are under the necessity of bearing is to hold fellowship with false brethren. Which would you choose—to leave your homes, as this people have done in many instances, and suffer yourselves to be driven, and seek new homes, and make new acquaintances in a strange country, or to live in your houses and upon your possessions, and be surrounded with false brethren? That question can be readily answered by every Saint. I can see those in this congregation who were in Missouri when thousands were ready and anxious to kill the few Saints then there; but the Saints would rather suffer all that was suffered there and in other States, than be obliged to live with thieves—with those who would swear falsely against them, and deceive, and be guilty of every kind of abomination. They would rather leave their homes, seek new locations, and make new possessions, than be under the necessity of mingling with, of eating bread and drinking water in the name of Israel’s God, and fellowshipping the ungodly—the wretches who would destroy them from the earth.

Some may think that they have passed through severe trials during the few years past; but so far as my own experience and knowledge go, I have passed through no scenes of trial or sorrow. I have never felt better in my life than I have during two or three years past. I do not know that I have had wicked, unrighteous, or ungodly feelings pertaining to the whole matter, though I may have felt desirous at times to lay righteousness to the line and judgment to the plummet and sweep away the refuge of lies; but that would have only gratified that which pertains to the natural man. I am confident it would not have satisfied that immortal part within us that is pure and holy, but partakes more or less of the weaknesses incident to the fallen portion. I have sometimes had feelings of this kind—“Draw your swords, ye Elders of Israel, and never sheathe them so long as you have an enemy upon the earth.” I sometimes felt before the move, like taking the sword and slaying my enemies, until they were wasted away. But the Lord did not design this, and we have remained in peace and quietness.

Do you see persons who have been in this Church for years, drinking the deathly draught put to their mouths by the wicked? Yes. Have you not seen them forfeit their right and title to the kingdom of God upon the earth, and yield to a paltry, foolish, fallen disposition to do evil? Yes; wives have been called to weep and mourn for their children and husbands, husbands for their wives and children, and children for their parents. The parable of the Savior still holds good—the net still gathers good and bad. There are families here whose husbands and fathers are now preaching the Gospel. They will return by-and-by, and will bring their sheaves with them. Those who have been converted through their labors will follow them, and there will be a few who will be steadfast and live their religion, but not all who are gathered from the nations; for the Gospel net will gather good and bad, and will continue so to do as long as the fishermen cast their net into the sea. Still, a righteous person will never be discouraged, but will constantly contend against his evil passions, and against evil in his family and neighborhood; and the Lord will utterly cleanse his thrashingfloor as with the besom of destruction.

Be not discouraged, for it is a joyful time. Do you have peace and plenty? Yes. We have all the time enjoyed peace and plenty in Great Salt Lake City. Great peace have those who love the law of the Gospel, and nothing shall offend them. Great joy have they who love our Lord Jesus Christ; and great peace do those enjoy who delight in working the works of righteousness. Let the blessings of heaven attend you, is my prayer continually. Be faithful, ye Saints. Contend against evil, and cease not to take every measure to do away with all the evil that is in your midst until God shall sanctify a people and prepare them to dwell in his presence.

Marvel not that we have what are called troubles: marvel not that our enemies seek to destroy us and the kingdom of God from the earth. These persecutions are to prepare the humble and faithful to dwell in the presence of God the Father and his Son, while the vast multitudes of the earth must dwell in the kingdoms prepared for them, but cannot dwell in his presence. If you expect to gain the glory you anticipate, never grieve, nor sorrow, nor mourn at the providences of God when they cause you to suffer, or to part with every earthly object you have. If they cause fathers and mothers to separate from their children, and husbands from their wives, it matters not: God is our Father, and the offspring of Adam are our brothers and sisters. Who is my father, mother, sister, and brother? Those who do the will of my Father in heaven.

God bless you! Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 19, 1860.

When the preaching is very dry, the Bowery is generally thinly attended; but when the preaching is full of marrow and good things, the Bowery will be full of people. This reminds me of an anecdote. A Presbyterian priest invited an Indian preacher to occupy his pulpit; and when the Indian was through preaching, the priest asked him why the people kept awake during his preaching, remarking that they invariably fell asleep while he was preaching. “I will tell you,” said the Indian: “You feed them with a silver dish and silver spoon; you rap the dish with the spoon, and the ringing sounds put the people to sleep. But the Indian takes his wooden bowl and ladle, and lades out the rich, nourishing succotash to the people, which makes them wide awake, and they want a little more.”

Brother George Q. Cannon has been in the States during two years past, and has done all he could to do good to the people of Utah. He has been faithful, has traveled from place to place, and has accomplished all he possibly could; and what he has not accomplished others have.

You know the history of “Mormonism;” and if this is not the Lord’s work, we had better quit it, for we should derive no benefit from remaining in it. If this is the Church of Christ, God will take care of his people and carry on this work. Brother Cannon stated that one gentleman he conversed with said that there is a power in this work beyond the power of Brigham Young. If we did not know this, we should quickly scatter. All that any man can do is to do his duty. No one possesses power in himself to bear off the work of God and build up the Lord’s kingdom. It is his work, and the Lord will accomplish it by the means he will employ. Brother Cannon has been successful, in the hands of God, in doing good; and so have others. Brothers Hooper and Eldredge have done good.

Brother Eldredge stated that he was not sent on a mission this time. He was not, but I was thankful that he took it in his head to go. We did not know whom to call upon to go and transact business for us in the States. He had crossed the Plains for us so often that I would not call upon him to go, but I was pleased and thankful when he concluded to go and proffered to attend to our business. He has always transacted our business to our satisfaction. I do not know that he has ever dropped a stitch in the net he has woven for us in his business transactions, and that is almost more than I can say of any other man. He has had my faith and prayers, the same as though he had been called. I was determined, if he did go, that he should make the first step towards it. He went, has done good, and all is well; and so have others done good: they have made themselves useful.

While brother Cannon was speaking of the trouble the Gentiles have in providing for their poor, I thought, if they would take my counsel, that I could tell them a better way than they practice. They raise large amounts of means for supporting their poor. It is given to them; they use it up, and are where they were at first. Had they wisdom, they would appoint a man to take charge of the poor and take them into Kansas or Nebraska, or some other locality where land is cheap, and teach them to support themselves. Set the men to ploughing and the women to planting, with a good farmer to show them how, and in a little while they will be able to sustain themselves. Let each Ward of a city do this, until all the able poor are provided with farms and know how to raise their bread; then let them get a few sheep, and manufacture the wool into good, warm, and comfortable clothing, and then raise flax and manufacture it. By pursuing this course, in a few years there would be but few poor in the United States.

The reason we have no poor who are able to work is because we plan to set every person to work at some profitable employment, and teach them to maintain themselves. If a person is not able to take care of himself, we will take care of him. How? Ever since I left my father I have had some of his family to provide for. Ever since I have been in this Church I have never suffered a relative to be maintained by the Church. But some men and women cast their children and other relatives upon the Church. If one has an aged sister who cannot maintain herself, he passes her over to the Church; or if an aged father or mother, why, “let the Church or brother Brigham take care of them and provide for them.” It is a disgrace to every man and woman that has sense enough to live, not to take care of their own relatives, their own poor, and plan for them to do something they are able to do. There are some blind people here who more than maintain themselves. Some old ladies cannot do hard work, but they can darn stockings and do other light work.

There is yet much to be done by the Bishops in these matters, though I have not so much occasion to preach to the Bishops on this subject as I used to have. We have been removing and appointing others who do better. We intend to do this until we have fathers for the people. If a Bishop will act to the extent of his calling and office, and magnify it, there will not be an individual in his Ward that is not employed to the best advantage. He would see that all lived as they should, walking humbly with their God, attending to their prayers, observing the Sabbath day to keep it holy, and ceasing to swear and steal. There would not be a person in his Ward that he does not know, and he would be acquainted with their circumstances, conduct, and feelings. That will be the case by-and-by. We are improving; and by-and-by we shall be quite a well-behaved family, and can hail each other with delight as brethren and sisters, and the Lord will own and bless us as his children.

We are all, both Jew and Gentile, of one common Parent, though now we are divided into various tongues and people having a great diversity of sectional feelings. I am pleased to see national feelings passing away in this community. The spirit of wisdom is so increasing that I think a national feeling is constantly growing less and less in the midst of this Church, though we can still see it in some. If you have the Spirit of God to a fulness, and your eyes are open to see things as they are, you will find that we are but one nation and family—but one people—but one flesh—but one blood, no matter where born.

Put forth your ability to learn as fast as you can, and gather all the strength of mind and principle of faith you possibly can, and then distribute your knowledge to the people. Give them virtue, knowledge, principle, truth, godliness. The Lord is gathering those principles home to Zion from among the wicked nations, and is leaving them in darkness. What a pity it would be for the Lord to gather out all the good, and we be found unworthy of it. We shall be worthy of it, if we live for it; and may the Lord help us so to do!

God bless you! Amen.