Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered at a Special Conference Held in Brigham City, Box Elder County, for the Purpose of Organizing a Stake of Zion in Said County, on Sunday Afternoon, August 19, 1877.

Previous to attending to the business to be presented to the congregation this afternoon, I feel to exhort the Latter-day Saints before me to try to realize the sacredness of the ordinance that is now being administered to them, which was introduced by our Savior, that his disciples might witness to the Father that they were truly his followers. On the last time that our Lord met with his disciples, previous to his being betrayed, he administered to them the sacrament. Instead of eating as at other times, he took the bread and blessed and brake it and gave to his disciples, saying to them that he should require of them to meet together to break bread in remembrance of his body, that would suffer for them and for the sins of the world. So when he had blessed and broken the bread, he administered the same to them, saying, “take, eat; this is my body.” When his disciples had eaten, he then took the cup of wine and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” He came here to redeem fallen man, he being the heir of the family that receive bodies on this earth, that they, through obedience to his requirements and commandments and the ordinances of his house; may be sanctified and prepared to return unto the presence of the Father and there sit down with Jesus, where he will administer to them again in fulfillment of his saying to them, “I will not drink, henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until the day when I drink it anew, with you, in my Father’s kingdom.”

I would exhort my brethren and sisters to receive this ordinance every Sabbath, when they meet together, as is our practice; not following the customs of others, for with some denominations this is administered once a month, with others once in three months, with others never, they not believing in outward ordinances. This is the way with the Christian sects; they teach that portion of the Bible which seemeth right unto them and add such doctrines, views and opinions as suit their own creeds.

We are in the habit of partaking of the contents of the cup each Sabbath when we meet together, and I do pray you my brethren and sisters to contemplate this ordinance thoroughly, and seek unto the Lord with all your hearts that you may obtain the promised blessings by obedience to it. Teach its observance to your children; impress upon them its necessity. Its observance is as necessary to our salvation as any other of the ordinances and commandments that have been instituted in order that the people may be sanctified, that Jesus may bless them and give unto them his spirit, and guide and direct them that they may secure unto themselves life eternal. Impress the sacredness of this important ordinance upon the minds of your children. Many of you who are aged, have witnessed the strength and power of tradition, whether it be correct or false. The power of tradition upon the minds of the inhabitants of the earth is most potent, I might say it is almost almighty. We know the way of life, we have the keys of life in our possession; and if we do not take the pains to train our children, to teach and instruct them concerning these revealed truths, the condemnation will be upon us, as parents, or at least in a great measure. We do not want this sin to rest upon us; we want the people, each and every one to understand their duty and then discharge that duty fearlessly, without favor or hope of earthly reward, having in view the doing of the Father’s will alone and the receiving of the heavenly reward.

Let me here call the special attention of the mothers to what I am going to say: If you mothers will live your religion, then in the love and fear of God teach your children constantly and thoroughly in the way of life and salvation, training them up in the way they should go, when they are old they will not depart from it. I promise you this, it is as true as the shining sun, it is an eternal truth. In this duty we fail; we do not bring up our children in the way they should go, or there would be no turning away, wandering here and there from the society of the Saints. We let our children do too much as they have a mind to; if they want this or that their wishes must be gratified; if they want to go here or there, the mother, in very many instances, is too ready to urge upon the father directly or indirectly, the necessity of accommodating the young mind to the path of folly.

By some it is very well understood that in the days of ancient Israel while in the land of Palestine they were not blessed so profusely as we are with the crystal streams from the mountains. They were in the habit of drinking a great deal of wine, and among the few who have continued to inhabit that land, this habit I believe has been kept up to the present time. It is a wine country. But the Lord has said to us it mattereth not what we partake of when we administer the cup to the people, inasmuch as we do it with an eye single to the glory of God; it is then acceptable to him. Consequently we use water as though it were wine; for we are commanded to drink not of wine for this sacred purpose except it be made by our own hands.

In some of our wards and settlements the administering of the sacrament has been introduced in the Sunday schools. It is very pleasing and gratifying to the spirit that I possess, for the parents to see that their children attend Sunday school and receive the proper instruction with regard to their faith. After the Sunday school is over, let the parents take the pains to bring their children to meeting. This would be very pleasing to me. An idea seems to have gone abroad among the parents, and consequently descends to the children, that when the little ones have been to Sunday school, the remainder of the day is for them to enjoy themselves the best way they can. No more duties, no more obligations to attend meeting. They have been to the Sunday school and the mothers and probably the fathers think this is sufficient. But if we do our duty, each and every one of us, and as communities, and perform the duties required of us, we will see that our children attended all the preaching meetings and meetings for instruction, which it is proper for them to attend, where they, as well as the parents can be taught pertaining to God and to his religion on the earth, for the salvation of the human family. If my brethren and sisters will accept of this exhortation and try to carry it out in their lives, my heart will say to them, “God bless you, peace be with you, love be multiplied upon you.”

We will now attend to the business before us pertaining to the organization of this Stake of Zion in this county of Box Elder. When the people are fully organized we shall expect them strictly to attend to the duties devolving upon them. Brother Franklin D. Richards, in his remarks has drawn out the thread of the organization of the Priesthood and the duties devolving upon the Bishops and upon the Priests, Teachers and Deacons in advancing the faith of the Gospel and seeing that there is no iniquity among the people. We expect this will be carried out. There are many things wherein the people will need instructing, they will receive these instructions from time to time, adding instruction to instruction with regard to the faith, ordinances and commandments of the house of God; our faith in the religion we possess or hope to possess, and in the faith we should possess in the name of our Savior and through him in the Father. And we expect to see an exhibition thereof that will be brighter, that will be more beautiful, more permanent and lasting throughout all the organizations of the Stakes of Zion, than we have heretofore seen. We have a multitude of traditions to overcome, and when this people called Latter-day Saints will be free from these traditions, so that they can take hold of the Gospel and build up the kingdom according to the pattern, I am not able to say; but I hope the time will soon come. I can say I am encouraged, I think there is an improvement, I can perceive a growth in the knowledge of God among the Latter-day Saints. And yet I see many old members of the Church, fathers in the Church and kingdom of God, of long standing, who have been teachers and have been taught, and have exercised themselves in the different duties of the Priesthood, and also in municipal affairs among this people, to direct, to counsel; and yet they seem to have no brightness within them concerning the Priesthood; no knowledge with regard to the dealings of God with his children. We see this; but still on the whole there is an increase of faith, of knowledge, of wisdom, of understanding. When we get to understand all knowledge, all wisdom, that it is necessary for us to understand in the flesh, we will be like clay in the hands of the potter, willing to be molded and fashioned according to the will of him who has called us to this great and glorious work, of purifying ourselves and our fellow beings, and of preparing the nations of the earth for the glory that awaits them through obedience. Here is mystery, here are the hidden mysteries that God has reserved for the latter times, and they are coming forth; the work we have upon us is an immense one, it is great, powerful and divine; it is an almighty work. And with regard to the conduct of this people—if an angel should come here and speak his feelings as plainly as I do, I think he would say, “O, Latter-day Saints! Why don’t you see, why don’t you open your eyes and behold the great work resting upon you and that you have entered into? You are blind, you are stupid, you are in the dark, in the mist and fog, wandering to and fro like the boat upon the water without sail, rudder or oar; and you know not whither you are going.” But we run first this way, and then that way, turning here and turning there, strewing our ways to strangers and doing that which we should not do. I will refer to a little incident.

I used to travel this road running through here several times during the season. I recollect, not many years ago, there was a little gold found in Montana. The inhabitants of Utah, called Latter-day Saints, took everything that the Lord caused the earth to bring forth that they could pack in their wagons, and carried it away to those who would not even speak a good word for them. Brother Staines referred to and related facts to us yesterday. He told us that there were a great many people in these mountains, and a great many had been here, who had become acquainted with this people, whom they acknowledged to be an industrious and honest people; that some had said to him they would rather trust themselves with the people of Utah than any other community, feeling safer with them. But when the hue and cry was raised that the “Mormons” were rising against the law, and against the rules and regulations and all that is good pertaining to the society of this great republic and were in open rebellion, where could be found the man to open his mouth or to write a word saying, “This is false, it is not true.” Did you find or hear of any such men? But very few, and they will be blessed for so doing. Are we at all astonished at the silence of the great majority under such circumstances? No. It has always been so; it is so now, and will continue to be so; for there is no union, no affiliation, no fellowship between Christ and Baal. Baal will fight the Savior, the enemy will fight against the law of God, and he will never give up the contest until he is taken and bound and cast into “the bottomless pit.” And these honorable men, these good men who with their families have received the blessings from the hands of this people; those to whom we have given our substance, our flour and breadstuffs, our money and whatever we had, were there any of them who opened their mouths in justification of the innocent, the pure and good, and denounced the falsehoods and the slanders of those that raised the cry against us? If there were any I do not know it. But they say to the liars, “Lie on about those ‘Mormons,’ we like to hear it.” Whilst on the other hand these Latter-day Saints are giving everything that the Lord bestows upon them just as fast as they receive it; not resting satisfied until they hand everything over to the laps and hands of our enemies. A great many will say, “But we are not your enemies.” Why then do you not speak out and tell the truth about us?

Regarding the brethren carrying their substance north to Montana, I will say I knew a man who undertook to head off all this, by trying to organize the Elders of Israel into a society to raise an influence by which they might control the northern market; but no, they rebelled against it. But what I was going to mention, go into the northern settlements, and you would see the wagons by hundreds and thousands hauling off the provisions to those who would never speak a word in our favor. Yes, we are generous enough to feed them, and clothe them, and give them money. And then, when the enemy would raise persecution against the Latter-day Saints, they can sit and laugh at it. All the merchants among us we have made rich. Do you know of any that brought money here? If you do, you know more than I do, and I think I am as well acquainted with them as anyone. Who brought capital here and spent that capital? They came here poor, and made their capital, but they never lifted their voice in behalf of anyone; but they laugh and sheer around the corner and in their sleeve when they see the storm of trouble coming upon the Latter-day Saints. I will not tell their doom, they will find it out quick enough; a good many have found it already. Our persecutors too who die, and they keep dying, their end is sorrow, both priests and people.

There is a good deal of money spent. I know of one man who spent many thousands of dollars trying to organize the Elders in such a manner that they could hold the control of the market. But no. Wild as the deer upon the mountains, running by day and by night, ofttimes under the shades of night, to get away from this and other towns, lugging off the blessings that God had poured into their laps. We have counseled the people to save their grain. Supposing we had a few million bushels of grain on hand, would it do us any hurt? To say the least, we certainly might as well have kept it, for we got nothing for it; we did not even pay for the transportation of our substance.

Will famine come? Yes! Will plagues come? Yes! Will distress come upon the nations? Yes, and upon this nation, and that, too, before a great while. When they made war upon us some eighteen years ago, how it pleased and tickled the masses who thought that now destruction was to overtake the Latter-day Saints. I told many, and sent word to Congress saying, that it would prove the opening wedge for the struggle of war between the North and South. But some gentlemen took the liberty of saying, time after time, “No, no, that cannot be.” Said I, “It will be so, and I tell it to you in the name of Israel’s God.” And when the press delight in publishing such falsehoods about the Latter-day Saints as they have done, and the people delight to read them, you will see real trouble crop out in and among themselves. Is there power enough in the Federal Government to put down mobocracy. No! And it is a truth that they whom the Lord makes weak are weak indeed; and those whom the Lord makes strong are strong indeed. Strength was given to the North in the last struggle, and the South suffered extremely. But the time will come when the North will be weaker than the South was, and they will have no power to muster their forces against the tide of folly that will come upon them, that they bring upon themselves, and they themselves must receive the results.

But say the Latter-day Saints, “How are we living?” If you were to hear an angel talk to you, and tell just what he sees and understands, you would say, that is as sharp preaching as brother Brigham’s; his words are sharper than brother Brigham’s. And they would be. And still we are improving a little; but oh! what improvement we have yet to make in order to acquire such victory over ourselves as to bring ourselves into perfect subjection to the law of Christ. Let us take heed, and teach our children by precept and example to love and serve the Lord. What a glorious sight was presented to us yesterday on our arrival at your depot, to witness the hosts of children that lined the sidewalks. You have here in this little city the buds, the beginning of a nation. Be careful my brethren and my sisters how you conduct yourselves. See that you bring yourselves in subjection to the law of Christ, and then teach your children in the spirit of love and affection the way of life, so that they will not stray away from you, becoming heady and high-minded, wandering after the foolish fashions of the world, the pleasures of the world; but let them make their delight in that which is virtuous and true, for this is more pleasurable than all the vanities of the world. Real wisdom is real pleasure; real wisdom, prudence, and understanding, is real comfort.

(The Presidency of the Stake were then unanimously elected—namely, Oliver G. Snow as President, and Elijah A. Box and Isaac Smith as his counselors, who also received their ordinations. Elder William Box was ordained a Patriarch. The names of the members of the High Council were presented, and that of the President of the High Priests’ Quorum, together with the names of the Bishops of the several Wards, all of which were unanimously sustained. The President then continued:)

I have a few words to say to the Latter-day Saints concerning these young men we have called to preside over the people of this Stake of Zion. They are young—they have not the experience that older men have; but if they do not possess more wisdom than a good many of our old experienced men, I am sorry. There are a good many that do not profit by the experience they have got, they do not know how to do so. I want to tell you the reason why we have made the selection of brother Oliver G. Snow to preside here. He is the son of brother Lorenzo Snow, who has hitherto presided here. By appointing brother Oliver to this position, I think he will be under his father’s care, and where he can get the wisdom his father possesses. And I will say to the credit of the people here, they have done well. And brother Lorenzo Snow, who has had charge of you, has set the best example for the literal building up of the kingdom of God of any of our presiding Elders. There is one man in the South who I think will come up to this standard, and continue on. But brother Snow has led the people and guided them and counseled them in the way that they should go, apparently without their knowing anything about it, until he got them into the harness; and I like this very much.

Our motive is to make every man and woman to know just as much as we do; this is the plan of the Gospel, and this is what I would like to do. I would like all the Latter-day Saints to come up to this standard, and know as much as I do, and then just as much more as they can learn, and if they can get ahead of me, all right. I can then have the privilege of following after them. If they keep up close to me, so that they will understand as I do the workings of the Spirit, they will do a good deal better than they do now. But the beauty and excellency of the wisdom that God has revealed to us is to fill everybody with wisdom, bringing them up to the highest standard of knowledge and wisdom, purifying us and preparing us to enter into the highest state of glory, knowledge and power, that we may become fit associates of the Gods and be prepared to dwell with them. This I say is the beauty and glory of the great knowledge that God has revealed unto the Latter-day Saints. You may ask in what particular? In every particular. For the knowledge men possess of every science, every art, every study there is, and every branch of mechanism known to men, they are indebted to the Lord. True men may have been taught it by his fellow man and he may have discovered much himself; but all originated with God our Heavenly Father, through his agents to the children of men. The faith and philosophy of our religion comprehends all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and I wish I was able to say a little better than I am, endures all things. But we must endure all things that we cannot help, enduring patiently until we are counted worthy to be free.

I want to say this with regard to brother Oliver G. Snow; virtually we leave brother Lorenzo to overlook you. Can you understand this? If you cannot you cannot see as I do. Brother Snow has exhibited splendid talent in what he has done towards making this people self-sustaining. Shall I give you my ideas in brief with regard to business and business transactions. Here for instance is a businessman, a merchant, comes to our neighborhood, with a stock of goods; he sells them at from two to ten hundred percent above what they cost. As a matter of course he soon becomes wealthy, and after a time he will be called a millionaire, when perhaps he was not worth a dollar when he commenced to trade. You will hear many say of such a person, what a nice man he is, and what a great financier he is! My feeling of such a man is he is a great cheat, a deceiver, a liar! He imposes on the people, he takes that which does not belong to him, and is a living monument of falsehood. Such a man is not a financier! The financier is he that brings the lumber from the Canyons and shapes it for the use of his fellow man, employing mechanics and laborers to produce from the elements and the crude material everything necessary for the sustenance and comfort of man; one who builds tanneries to work up the hides instead of letting them rot and waste or be sent out of the country to be made into leather and then brought back in the shape of boots and shoes; and that can take the wool, the furs and straw and convert the same into cloth, into hats and bonnets, and that will plant out mulberry trees and raise the silk, and thus give employment to men, women and children, as you have commenced to do here, bringing the elements into successful use for the benefit of man, and reclaiming a barren wilderness, converting it into a fruitful field, making it to blossom as the rose; such a man I would call a financier, a benefactor of his fellow man. But the great majority of men who have amassed great wealth have done it at the expense of their fellows, on the principle that the doctors, the lawyers and the merchants acquire theirs. Such men are impositions on the community, and they ought to be taken and put to some honorable labor such as raising potatoes, raising grain, cattle and sheep, and performing other useful and necessary labors for the good of mankind. Amen.

Address by President Brigham Young, delivered to the Sunday School Children, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, July 24, 1877.

If I can have quiet and the strict attention of the congregation I think all can hear me. The children, as well as those of older growth and manhood, will please cease their talking one to another, cease the rubbing of feet on the floor, cease to make noise. I have a few words for the children. The larger portion of this congregation have been born in this Territory; they know nothing of the outside world; they know but little in comparison as to the cause of their birth and education within the valleys of these mountains. A short recital of the reasons, why these children before me were born here instead of being born in the States, I can give to you, and will endeavor to do so in a few words.

In 1830, forty-seven years ago last March, the Book of Mormon was printed and bound. Joseph Smith had received revelation, and plates on which were engraved characters from which the book was translated. Before the book was printed, before Joseph had the privilege of testifying to the truth of the latter-day work, persecution was raised against him. On the 6th day of April of the same year the Church of Jesus Christ was organized. Persecution increased and continued to increase. He left the State of New York and went to the State of Ohio. The Gospel was preached there and many received it. A settlement was formed, but Joseph had not the privilege of staying there long before they hunted him so deter– minedly that he was forced to leave Kirtland and the State of Ohio. He then went to Missouri. In the year 1838, in the month of March, in company with a number of brethren, myself included, Joseph arrived at Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri. We had not the privilege of staying there more than for a few months before the cry was raised against Joseph Smith, that he was guilty of high treason. This aroused the people and the government of the State; and in October, thirty-five hundred of the militia of the State of Missouri were marched against a few of us in Far West. They succeeded in taking Joseph and Hyrum and sixty-five others and putting them in prison. When Joseph had his trial, the great accusation against him was that he believed in the fulfillment of prophecy—the prophecies that had been made by Prophets of old and contained in Holy Writ. When Judge King asked Joseph if he believed the predictions of Daniel the Prophet, that in the latter days the God of heaven would set up a kingdom which should succeed and finally rule and hold dominion over all other kingdoms, Joseph replied that he did believe this scripture as well as the rest. This was considered treason! Joseph’s lawyer turned to Judge King and said, “Judge, I think you had better write it down that the Bible is high treason,” and this was all they found against him. But the mob continued until they drove the Latter-day Saints out of the State of Missouri. We were told if we remained there the people would be upon us. What we were guilty of we did not know, only that we believed in the Bible and the fulfillment of prophecy, or, in other words, in the literal reading of the word of God. They succeeded, after killing many of the Latter-day Saints—men, women, and children, cruelly mas– sacring them, in driving us out of the State to the State of Illinois, where the people received us with open arms, especially the inhabitants of the city of Quincy; for which kindness the hearts of our people who passed through these scenes have ever been lifted to God, petitioning for blessings upon them. And they have been blessed. We lived in the State of Illinois a few years; and here, as elsewhere, persecution overtook us. It came from Missouri, centering itself upon Joseph, and fastened itself upon others. We lived in Illinois from 1839 to 1845, by which time they again succeeded in kindling the spirit of persecution against Joseph and the Latter-day Saints. Treason! Treason! Treason! they cried, calling us murderers, thieves, liars, adulterers, and the worst people on the earth. And this was done by the priests, those pious dispensers of the Christian religion whose charity was supposed to be extended to all men, Christian and heathen; they were joined by drunkards, gamblers, thieves, liars, in crying against the Latter-day Saints. They took Joseph and Hyrum, and as a guarantee for their safety, Governor Thomas Ford pledged the faith of the State of Illinois. They were imprisoned, on the pretense of safe keeping, because the mob was so enraged and violent. The Governor left them in the hands of the mob, who entered the prison and shot them dead. John Taylor, who is present with us to day, was in the prison too, and was also shot, and was confined to his bed for several months afterwards. After the mob had committed these murders they came upon us and burned our houses and our grain. When the brethren would go out to put out the fire, the mob would lie concealed under fences, and in the darkness of the night, they would shoot them. At last they succeeded in driving us from the State of Illinois.

Three congressmen came in the Fall of 1845, and had a Conference with the Twelve and others; they were desirous that we should leave the United States. We told them we would do so, we had stayed long enough with them; we agreed to leave the State of Illinois in consequence of that religious prejudice against us that we could not stay in peace any longer. These men said the people were prejudiced against us. Stephen A. Douglas, one of the three, had been acquainted with us. He said, “I know you, I knew Joseph Smith; he was a good man,” and this people was a good people; but the prejudices of the priests and the ungodly are such that, said he, “Gentlemen, you cannot stay here and live in peace.” We agreed to leave. We completed our Temple far enough to give endowments to many. We left Nauvoo in February, 1846. There remained behind a few of the very poor, the sick and the aged, who suffered again from the violence of the mob: they were whipped and beaten, and had their houses burned. We traveled west, stopping in places, building settlements, where we left the poor who could not travel any further with the company. Exactly thirty years today, myself, with others, came out of what we named Emigration Canyon; we crossed the Big and Little mountains, and came down the valley about three quarters of a mile south of this. We located, and we looked about, and finally we came and camped between the two forks of City Creek, one of which ran southwest and the other west. Here we planted our standard on this Temple block and the one above it; here we pitched our camps and determined that here we would settle and stop. Still our brethren who tarried by the way were toiling through poverty and distress. At one time, I was told, they would have perished from starvation, had not the Lord sent quails among them. These birds flew against their wagons, and they either killed or stunned themselves, and the brethren and sisters gathered them up, which furnished them with food for days, until they made their way in the wilderness.

Children, we are the pioneers of this country, with one exception, west of the Mississippi River; we established the first printing press in every State from here to the Pacific Ocean, and we were the first to establish libraries, and the first to establish good schools; we were the first to plant out orchards and to improve the desert country, making it like the garden of Eden.

I will not prolong this recital; but will ask the children if they can now understand why they were born here in this far off land? You might just as well have been born in Missouri or Illinois, if your parents had been treated as they should have been. If let alone to enjoy the rights and liberties in common with our fellow men, we would have beautified the land, made it an Eden and adorned it with everything desirable. But we were not allowed to stay there to possess the homes we had made; and consequently we are here and this has been your birthplace. And now that we are here, we are followed by a set of men who are ready to reenact the scenes that we have already passed through. But we are now where we can keep and preserve ourselves in the possession of our homes and property. They drove us to the fastnesses of the Rocky Mountains, and it will be a hard matter to dispossess us again; it will prove a job, if undertaken, that they would be glad to let out before they get fairly into it. But still they are after us; and when you hear of this and that with regard to myself, being guilty of this and that wrong; I would have you look at those who make these accusations, look at certain characters we have and have had in our midst who are called ministers of justice, ministers of the law; they are bosom companions of thieves, liars and murderers; but the honorable and upright they hate because their deeds are evil; and they believe they have a mission, but it is a hard one to accomplish.

You can now understand, my children, why you were born in Utah, and not in either Missouri or Illinois. If they had let us alone we would have made those lands an Eden, and we would have molested or hurt no one. For there are no people that preserve the laws of our government as well as the Latter-day Saints.

Now, permit me to cast one reflection before closing this part of my address. You have been reading of the great and alarming “uprising of the Mormons!” What a terrible time they are experiencing in Utah! etc.

Wonderful! Wonderful! You have seen your fathers, who are farmers, go to their farms, and those who are mechanics, to their workshops, and our merchants to their place of business, without molesting any person, and what a terrible state of affairs this is. You have read, too, in our late papers about the uprising of the railroad strikers, which has really taken place; does it not seem singular to you why these characters, who are so afraid of trouble, do not go east and lend their aid and moral influence to quell the riot? You can understand that if we had been let alone we would have done justice and preserved the laws. Who pay their taxes as well as do the Latter-day Saints? No people. Who honor so well the laws of our govern– ment? No other people. This is the speech that brother George Q. Cannon was expected to have made. He wanted me to make it and I have to make the two speeches in one.

Now, a few words of counsel to the children. Do you feel, children, that you can remain patient and endure my talk a little longer? I think you can. A few words of counsel to you, to you that understand what I am saying, I hope you will observe what I say and remember it, and carry it out in your lives. The first is to love the Lord your God with all your hearts. And the next is to honor your parents, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God has given us. Observe, children, and hearken. You are taught to worship the Lord, so are the children of the Christian world. They have their Sunday schools, and churches and meetinghouses, and their ministers and teachers who instruct the children. You go to them and ask them if they know anything about that Holy Being whom they worship, and whom they call God. Not that the comprehension of children is equal to that of the aged philosopher, but still you have some understanding. Children, when you ask the ministers of Christendom whom they worship, they will tell you, “Oh, we worship God!” Who is that God? Can you tell us where he lives? The answer is, “No.” Can you tell us anything about his character? He is a personage without any body at all; he has neither body nor parts, he has no head, he has no ears, he has no eyes to see, he has no nose to smell, no mouth to speak, no arms to handle anything, nor a body to which these arms can be attached; he has no legs, he therefore cannot walk; and finally they say, to sum him up to our entire satisfaction, he is a personage without body, parts or passions.

Now, little children, can you conceive what kind of a being this is? You say, “It’s nothing at all.” That is just what it is; it is a myth; it is nothing to look at, nothing to adore, nothing to worship, nothing to admire, nothing to appeal to for help. He has no arms to either handle us or our enemies; he has no legs, he can neither walk to them nor to us; he has no eyes to behold their follies or ours. And this is the god that the Christian world worship, and teach their children to worship.

Now, children, remember this. We teach you that our Father in heaven is a personage of tabernacle, just as much as I am who stand before you today, and he has all the parts and passions of a perfect man, and his body is composed of flesh and bones, but not of blood. He, therefore, has eyes to see, and his eyes are upon all the works of his hands; he has ears, which are open to hear the prayers of little children, and he loves you, and knows you, for you are all his offspring; and his knowledge of you is so minute that, to use the language of the ancients, not a hair of your head falls to the ground unnoticed. This is the kind of God we worship. Children, call upon him in your childhood and youth, for from such as you he has said he will not turn away. Ask the Father to protect you; always ask him, in the name of Jesus, for his spirit. The youth, the child, those who are partially grown, as well as the aged, cease not to call upon God with all your hearts. Remember this. Obey your parents, honor them and seek to do them good. And parents, seek to honor your children; bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Teach them truth and not error; teach them to love and serve God; teach them to believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God and the Savior of the world, who is a personage of tabernacle. He was to all appearance like other men, and he was the express image of the Father. If he were here, today, as he appeared at Jerusalem, he would pass through this Congregation, and no one would suppose but what he was an ordinary stranger visiting us. Children, believe in this character, he is the Savior of the world, and the Father has appointed him to act in his exalted position. It is not my business nor yours to question the Father why he appointed this Jesus to be the Savior of the world. If you do not now fully comprehend this, the time will come when you will. Remember, too, the great principle of improvement. Learn! Learn! Learn! Continue to learn, to study by observation and from good books! Listen to the instruction of your parents, and of your brethren who hold the holy Priesthood, and they will teach you the ways of happiness and of life eternal. If any of you are so unfortunate as to have parents who wander into by and forbidden paths, and who do things that are wrong, follow not after them, but honor them and be kind to them, and teach them by example the better way. Study the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, read the sermons that are published in the Deseret News, as well as all the standard works of the Church. Such reading will afford you instruction and improvement; but novels allure the mind and are without profit.

Little girls, permit me to ask you, Won’t you be so kind and so good as to take those pins or the india-rubber cords out of the back of the skirts of your dresses, so that you will look comely. They make you look uncomely, to see your dresses drawn around you, showing your form. Mothers ought to be ashamed of teaching their children such things. Dress your children and yourselves in that comely, angelic manner that, were an angel to visit you, you would not feel ashamed. I am very pleased to say that there are some of our girls, and numbered among them are some of my own, whom you could not get to adopt these follies. Ask your mothers, then, to make your clothes suitable and becoming; and keep your hair smooth and nice. The hair is given to the female for adornment; and therefore let the ladies, young and old, adorn their heads with their hair. Mothers should study and children should study to preserve the skin of the children from being ruined by dirt, and the heat of a scorching sun, and to keep themselves clean and pure; but children, now remember, study those books that teach you the way of life and salvation.

You see that the infant and the children die. How many of you witness the infant lying in its little coffin, and here lie the child and the youth; they pass away in death. And again, here are the middle-aged, many of them pass away into eternity; the old people must die. And the world is but a span.

Are we going to cease to exist? No, this world is only a preparatory place to gain a knowledge of God, that we may be prepared to enter into a higher state of existence and glory, and grow up unto Christ our living head. Learn the ways of the Lord in your youth, and continue therein all the days of your life, that you may be prepared for that higher state of glory that awaits the faithful children of our God.

I have said enough to answer my own feelings, for this occasion, and perhaps to satisfy you. I say to all, God bless you, my children, my little ones. I love you, I am a great lover of children and innocence and purity, and I am a hater of iniquity, just as much so as the Lord, and perhaps more than I should be. I do not know this. I think very frequently, in looking upon the actions of men, that I do not have compassion enough; but when I see the wolf among the lambs I am after them, to see that they do not destroy the lambs. And when you are told that you do not know anything about “Mormonism,” you may know it is wrong; you know something of it every day. I would have given worlds if I could have known the truth in my childhood, as I now hear it. I had a great desire to know it, and the priests were after me from the time I was eight years of age. I was infidel to their creeds, but not to the Bible, not to God, not to holiness, but to the creeds of the children of men I was infidel, and am to this day. I say, God bless you, my children. I give all of you an invitation to attend the meetings on the Sabbath day, to hear the preaching and to worship God, and to spend the Sabbath day prudently in the love and fear of God. Try to adopt in your whole lives that code of morals which our religion teaches, and which we urge upon the people. God bless you. Amen.

Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered at Farmington, on Sunday Morning, June 17, 1877.

The following passage is found in the Doctrine and Covenants, page 266, new edition—

“Which priesthood continueth in the church of God in all generations, and is without beginning of days or end of years. And the Lord confirmed a priesthood also upon Aaron and his seed, throughout all their generations, which priesthood also continueth and abideth forever with the priesthood which is after the holiest order of God. And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God. Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest. And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh; For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.”

There are some ideas associated with these principles which I will briefly refer to. We have assembled here to more perfectly organize the Church of God in this place; to establish a Stake; to select, appoint and set apart the necessary officers there for. Our President has been moved upon to call upon the Twelve to go through the Territory and attend to these matters, in accordance with a revelation which makes it the duty of the Twelve “to ordain and set in order all the officers of the Church;” to see that the Church is “righted up” in all its various departments, and in the organization of its various quorums; where it is necessary that Stakes should be organized organize them; and to see that all the quorums and officers be placed in their proper position so that they will work harmoniously and according to the revelations and order of God. The growth of the Church and the changes continually taking place render it necessary that this work to which we have been called be attended to. It is very desirable and necessary, too, that every man should understand his true position in the Church; that he may the better magnify his calling, and attend to every duty devolving upon him. In the organization of a Stake of Zion, as revealed, there should be a President with two Counselors, to preside over all the officers, authorities and people of that Stake. There should also be a High Council con– sisting of Twelve Councilors presided over by the President of the Stake and his two Counselors. There should also be a High Priests’ Quorum, with a President and two Counselors to preside over all the High Priests in the Stake.

The Elders’ Quorum should be composed of ninety-six Elders, presided over by a President and two Counselors, and when more than ninety-six, other quorums should be organized.

The Priests’ Quorum should be composed of forty-eight, presided over by a Bishop. The Teachers’ Quorum should be composed of twenty-four, and the Deacons of twelve, each with their respective Presidents and Counselors. The Bishop necessarily presides over the whole of the lesser Priesthood in his Ward, and they are under his special guidance and direction, while he is presided over by the Presidency of the Stake, and the Presidents of the Stakes, in their turn are presided over by the First Presidency and the Twelve; thus all are amenable to proper authority in their various organizations and there is no schism in the body. All Bishops should be properly ordained with their Counselors, in order to be qualified to act efficiently in their offices, and to be qualified to sit as common judges in Israel.

We have frequently heard that “Order is heaven’s first law.” In no earthly government is there so much order evinced as in the Church and kingdom of God, and for that we are indebted to the revelations of God. The office of the Priesthood is really to rule and govern in that government which is recognized as the Lord’s, whether it be in heaven or on the earth. And as the Lord has restored the everlasting Gospel and the keys of the everlasting Priesthood which administers in time and eternity, when we elect officers to fill positions in this Church we choose men whose authority through their faithfulness will hold good not only on this earth, but in the heavens, and not only now but hereafter. And when these things are carried out to their fullest extent, then will “the will of God be done on earth is in heaven,” and the meek will rejoice in the administration of his rule.

If I had time I might refer to accounts given of various men who stood at the head of the Priesthood in the different ages of the world, showing how it has been handed down from one to another, agreeably to the will of God, for the accomplishment of his purposes and the benefit of the human family. He has given unto us a very good and perfect organization; quite as perfect I think, and I am prepared to say, as any organization that ever existed upon the face of the earth. And it is indeed reasonable that such an organization should now exist, for we are living in what is called the dispensation of the fullness of times; and it embraces all other dispensations that ever did exist on the earth. It embraces also all the powers and privileges, rights, keys and Priesthoods ever known to man.

In relation to organizations, there has been a great deal of carelessness exhibited in many instances; we have failed to sense the importance of the serious responsibilities that attaches itself to this Priesthood, this delegated power of heaven. We have found more or less confusion among the churches wherever we have gone; and hence the wisdom manifested by the President in requesting a more perfect organization seems the more to be appreciated, because of the necessity that exists for improvement. Says the Lord, “Without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the Priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto man in the flesh; for without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.” The Lord having given unto us this divine law and revealed certain principles unto us, he expects us to govern ourselves accordingly; that every ordinance in connection with the Priesthood may be administered properly and in accordance with his law. We find many departures however from this law. In the bishopric we find many irregularities. In some instances we have found that a Bishop has no Counselors, in others he has had one Counselor perhaps, and sometimes we have found the Bishop with two Counselors, but he himself not ordained to the office, but had only been appointed, and in some instances we have found that the Counselors have not been properly authorized and qualified to act in their calling. Whereas there is a law regulating these things which we hope to comply with. Every Bishop should be first ordained a High Priest, and then set apart to the Bishopric by the proper authority; and the Bishop’s Counselors, if not already ordained to the High Priesthood should be, and then set apart to act in their capacity, as first and second Counselors to the Bishop. These three then form a quorum, and a court and are qualified to sit in judgment upon all matters that may come before the Bishop, as a common judge in Israel which pertains to his Ward. They are then properly authorized to act in this capacity, and they ought to be upheld and sustained in the position they occupy, and in all of their doings, inasmuch as they are characterized by righteousness and sound judgment, and as the Scriptures say, with humility and faith, and long-suffering and wisdom, and according to the principles laid down in the book of Doctrine and Covenants, which the Spirit of God would dictate to men occupying such a position.

And then if there is an appeal from this court it goes to the High Council which is also composed of High Priests, set apart to this office, by the First Presidency or the Twelve, to be presided over by the Presidency of the Stake. For the lack of this more perfect organization all kinds of confusion has prevailed among the brethren in many instances; all kinds of little differences are taken to the High Council, which ought to be taken to the Bishop’s court. People sometimes quarrel about little things, very trivial affairs that do not represent more than ten or twenty dollars in monetary matters, and they are not satisfied unless the High Council try such cases. And what is the result? Instead of having these little matters settled by the Teachers or Bishops in their own Wards, they occupy the time of the fifteen men composing the Council, besides their own and that of the witnesses, who generally number from five to fifteen. But these men work for nothing and board themselves, and therefore it costs the disputants nothing for the adjudication of their differences, whereas in such cases the High Council would prefer to put their hands in their pockets and pay the amount in dispute rather than listen to their nonsense. And it would seem that some men are so inconsiderate, that they would impose upon them, because they are willing to give their time.

Such cases should not come before the High Council; they more properly belong to the lesser Priesthood, to the Priests and Teachers and to the Bishop’s court.

Such men do not realize their position before God and their brethren. If men have differences they should try to settle them amicably among themselves. But if they cannot do this, let them take the first steps as directed in the Church Covenants, let them then come together as brethren having a claim upon the Spirit and power of God which would attend them if they lived their religion, and then, provided the Priests and Teachers did their duty and were filled with wisdom and the spirit of their office and calling, ninety-nine cases out of every hundred might be satisfactorily settled without either troubling the Bishop’s court or the High Council. But because these duties of the lesser Priesthood are not faithfully performed or sufficiently estimated, they are not carried out according to the laws laid down for our government and thus many of these differences and difficulties exist in our midst.

When the Church is organized in all its various departments with the President at the head, the Twelve in their place, the High Priests, Seventies and Elders in theirs, together with the Bishops and lesser Priesthood, the local aids and governments each acting in their appointed sphere and calling, and all operated upon and influenced by the Holy Spirit, then the whole becomes as the body of a man, sound and complete in all its members, and everything moves harmoniously and pleasantly along. For the body, we are told, has not one member but many: “And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee; nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you;” but every man in his place acting in his office and calling. And there is as much devolving upon the Priests, the Teachers and Deacons and those of the lesser Priesthood as there is upon any other members of the Church. When they do not fulfill their duties, what is the result? People go to the Twelve, or to the First Presidency, they pass the more immediate authorities, and confusion and disorder exist, and valuable time is occupied almost needlessly, and those who will work may work until they are broken down ready to cease their earthly labors, and all this for the want of men’s knowing their duties and doing them.

But while we are contending over little things what becomes of us? We are losing sight of our callings, we forget that this kingdom was established upon the earth for the purpose of introducing righteousness and the laws and principles of truth, the laws of heaven upon the earth, and of blessing mankind and of saving the living and the dead. We forget what we are here for, and what the kingdom of God is established for. It is not for you or for me or anybody else alone; it is the interests of the world and the salvation of mankind. We are expected, every one of us, to perform the various duties and responsibilities devolving upon us. If we neglect them are we not guilty before God? Whence come the difficulties that we have in our midst? Because as I have said in many instances the Priesthood do not perform their duties, are not vigilant and faithful. The Teachers sometimes come to visit us and sometimes they do not. I do not know how it is with you, but they rarely visit me. When they do come, am I pleased to see them? Yes. I call my family together, and then addressing the Teachers I say to them; “Brethren, we are all very glad to see you, we are ready to listen to you and if you have any instructions for us we shall be happy to hear you.” These are my feelings with regard to men who act as Teachers. And are they prepared to teach me? Yes. If I have been negligent or careless, they will inquire into it; and the same with the members of my family. Or are there ill feelings existing among any of the members of the household; or between them and our neighbors. If so, they should find out. It is their business to know whether I and my family are living our religion or not; and the same with everybody else’s family in the Church. But how is it now? They come perhaps once in three months, or nine months as the case may be. And when they do come they have a few words and questions which, to say the least, are very formal. Is that the spirit and calling of a Teacher? No! They should be full of the light and revelation of God, quick to discover everything and know everybody and their standing in their jurisdiction. And they would too if they performed their duties and were faithful to the welfare of the people. What is the result? The wards are not attended to. What follows? We have drinking in our midst. Yes, Elders and High Priests and Seventies are tempted to drink and humiliate themselves before God and the people. We have others that break the Sabbath, and others that swear and blaspheme the name of God. We have others that lie and cheat. And who pays any attention to it? Some think it would not be polite to attend to some of these matters; but I tell you God will take hold of them by and by, and they will know whether he will be polite or not. If a man does wrong, let him be held accountable for that wrong, no matter who he may be. If he cheats, bring him up; if he lies, let him be treated as a liar; if he breaks the Sabbath bring him to an account for it; let the proper officers of the Church see that they do their duty, or God will not hold them guiltless. Let all the Elders, the Priests, Teachers and Deacons and other officers thoroughly and faithfully perform their duties, and then we will see whether there is any power in the Priesthood or not; then we will know whether the blessings of the Lord attend the ordinances or not; then we will know that God rules in Israel, and that the honest in heart, the truthful and those who love righteousness are in reality his people, and that they will maintain the right and purge the Church from evil of every kind. We do not want to become partakers of other men’s sins; the First Presidency will not, neither will the Twelve; the Bishops should not, for God will require it at their hands.

God intends to build up a Church here after the pattern of the one that exists in heaven; and to come down and associate himself with man upon the earth. Are we prepared? No. Shall we be by the course we are going? Never, while the world stands. Therefore we are going forth and wherever we find things disorganized, we organize them, and then call upon the various organizations to perform their duties in fidelity, honesty and faithfulness, that every man may be felt after to the utmost extremity of the Territory, that it may be known what they are doing, whether they are for God and the principles of truth or not. We do not want any more “Good Lord and good devil;” the line will be drawn and we will know who is for the kingdom and who is not. If we do not those things which are required at our hands, what is the use of our profession? Why should men who do not want to do right, who break the Sabbath, who steal, defraud and impose upon their neighbors, why should they court the fellowship of the Saints? Do you think they will get into the kingdom of God? No. We read of ten virgins, five of whom were wise and five were foolish; and I think both the wise and the foolish ones got into rather a bad condition—they went to sleep. By and by, at midnight, the cry was heard, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.” Then they all awakened, rubbed their eyes a little, I suppose, looked around for their lamps, some of which contained oil and some were empty. Those who had no oil in their lamps went to those who had, requesting them to give them of their oil, for their lamps had gone out. But those who had oil had none to spare, and the foolish were told to go to those who sold oil and buy. When the bridegroom came those who were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the others did not, and—that’s all. We might as well look at these things squarely and see how we stand, and what our position is before the Lord. “Be not deceived. God is not mocked; that which a man sows he will reap; if we sow to the flesh, we shall of the flesh reap corruption; if we sow to the spirit, we shall reap life everlasting.”

Why should men who do not want to do right stop in our midst? If I did not want to be a Latter-day Saint, I would say, “Gentlemen, I will leave you, success to you.” But then I do not know what I might do or might not do were I in such a condition. At any rate, why do men palm themselves upon the community as Latter-day Saints, when they are not? And we hear of them grumbling and growling about the Priesthood. If the Priesthood are such rascals, why do they not leave them, and seek more congenial society?

When these organizations are completed there will be a President with two Counselors, and they will preside over all other Councils in the Stake. And it will be expected that all the others under their presidency will listen to their counsels; and it will be expected that they will listen to the instructions of President Young and the Twelve. And it is then expected that the Priests, Teachers and Deacons will hearken to and obey the counsel of their Bishop; and it will be expected that the people will listen to the voice of their Priests and Teachers and those whose business it is to look after their interest and welfare. We are now approaching a very important stage in the history of this latter-day work; we may try to dig around our duties and responsibilities, but we have to meet them. We have got to walk according to the laws of God, or abide by the result for not doing it. God expects these things at our hands, and they are things which we have a right to expect from one another; it is expected that we all will do our duty, and God the Father of Jesus, and all the eternal Priesthood in the heavens expect the Presidency, the Twelve, the Presidents of Stakes, the High Priests, High Councils, the Seventies and Elders, the Bishops, Priests, Teachers and Deacons and all the Priesthood and all the people to be governed by the law of God, and to help faithfully to build Zion and establish the kingdom of God that we may be one in all things temporal and spiritual; that we may be welded and united together on earth and not only on the earth but in the heavens also. This is what the whole thing points to, that the Priesthood on the earth should operate and cooperate with the Priesthood of heaven in the accomplishment of the purposes of God. We are building Temples that we may labor therein for ourselves and also become saviors on Mount Zion. How can we operate with the Priesthood of heaven unless we are governed by the Priesthood God has given us on the earth? We cannot do it; we must be governed by the laws and principles he has revealed top our guidance, and for our salva– tion. And that God may help us to do his will and perform the work given us to do, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered at a Special Conference Held at Farmington, for the Purpose of Organizing a Stake of Zion for the County of Davis, on Sunday Afternoon, June 17, 1877.

I esteem it a privilege to meet with the Latter-day Saints. I have visited Farmington many times, and I can say that, as a general thing in attending your meetings, I have felt much of the peace and blessings that flow from heaven to this people.

I have no doubt that the majority of the people called Latter-day Saints desire really to be Saints; were it not for this I might feel partially discouraged. The people who are honest, who are seeking to know and to understand the truth, they are the ones who, so far as their faith and good works, and their influence and ability are concerned, sustain the kingdom that God has commenced to establish on the earth. When we consider the condition of the Latter-day Saints, and see how many there are who seem to have their eyes fixed upon the things of this world, things that are not lasting, but that perish in the handling, and how anxious they are to obtain them, how do you think I feel about it? We see many of the Elders of Israel desirous of becoming wealthy, and they adopt any course that they think will bring them riches, which to me is as unwise as anything can be—to see men of wisdom, men that seem to have an understanding of the world and of the things of God, searching after minerals throughout these mountains; they traverse the hills, and they dig here and there, and keep digging and picking, and rolling the rocks from morning till night. This chain of mountains has been followed from the north to the south, and its various spurs have been prospected, and what do they find? Just enough to allure them, and to finally lead them from the faith, and at last to make them miserable and poor. Ask the brethren why they do this, and the ready reply will be, “Is it not my privilege to find a gold mine, or a silver mine, as well as others?” As far as I am concerned I would say, “Yes, certainly it is your privilege, if you can find one.” But do you know how to find such a mine? No, you do not. These treasures that are in the earth are carefully watched, they can be removed from place to place according to the good pleasure of Him who made them and owns them. He has his messengers at his service, and it is just as easy for an angel to remove the minerals from any part of one of these mountains to another, as it is for you and me to walk up and down this hall. This, however, is not understood by the Christian world, nor by us as a people. There are certain circumstances that a number of my brethren and sisters have heard me relate, that will demonstrate this so positively, that none need doubt the truth of what I say.

I presume there are some present who have heard me narrate a circumstance with regard to the discovery of a gold mine in Little Cottonwood Canyon, and I will here say that the specimens taken from it, which I have in my possession today, are as fine specimens of gold as ever were found on this continent. A man whom some of you will well know, brought to me a most beautiful nugget. I told him to let the mine alone.

When General Conner came here, he did considerable prospecting; and in hunting through the Cottonwoods, he had an inkling that there was gold there. Porter, as we generally call him, came to me one day, saying, “They have struck within four inches of my lode, what shall I do?” He was carried away with the idea that he must do something. I therefore told him to go with the other brethren interested, and make his claim. When he got through talking, I said to him, “Porter, you ought to know better; you have seen and heard things which I have not, and are a man of long experience in this Church. I want to tell you one thing; they may strike within four inches of that lode as many times as they have a mind to, and they will not find it.” They hunted and hunted, hundreds of them did; and I had the pleasure of laughing at him a little, for when he went there again, he could not find it himself. (Laughter.)

Sometimes I take the liberty of talking a little further with regard to such things. Orin P. Rockwell is an eyewitness to some powers of removing the treasures of the earth. He was with certain parties that lived nearby where the plates were found that contain the records of the Book of Mormon. There were a great many treasures hid up by the Nephites. Porter was with them one night where there were treasures, and they could find them easy enough, but they could not obtain them.

I will tell you a story which will be marvelous to most of you. It was told me by Porter, whom I would believe just as quickly as any man that lives. When he tells a thing he understands, he will tell it just as he knows it; he is a man that does not lie. He said that on this night, when they were engaged hunting for this old treasure, they dug around the end of a chest for some twenty inches. The chest was about three feet square. One man who was determined to have the contents of that chest, took his pick and struck into the lid of it, and split through into the chest. The blow took off a piece of the lid, which a certain lady kept in her possession until she died. That chest of money went into the bank. Porter describes it so [making a rumbling sound]; he says this is just as true as the heavens are. I have heard others tell the same story. I relate this because it is marvelous to you. But to those who understand these things, it is not marvelous.

You hear a great deal said about finding money. There is no difficulty at all in finding money, but there are a great many people who do not know what to do with it when they do find it. This is the great defect with the human family. I could relate many very singular circumstances. I lived right in the country where the plates were found from which the Book of Mormon was translated, and I know a great many things pertaining to that country. I believe I will take the liberty to tell you of another circumstance that will be as marvelous as anything can be. This is an incident in the life of Oliver Cowdery, but he did not take the liberty of telling such things in meeting as I take. I tell these things to you, and I have a motive for doing so. I want to carry them to the ears of my brethren and sisters, and to the children also, that they may grow to an understanding of some things that seem to be entirely hidden from the human family. Oliver Cowdery went with the Prophet Joseph when he deposited these plates. Joseph did not translate all of the plates; there was a portion of them sealed, which you can learn from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. When Joseph got the plates, the angel instructed him to carry them back to the hill Cumorah, which he did. Oliver says that when Joseph and Oliver went there, the hill opened, and they walked into a cave, in which there was a large and spacious room. He says he did not think, at the time, whether they had the light of the sun or artificial light; but that it was just as light as day. They laid the plates on a table; it was a large table that stood in the room. Under this table there was a pile of plates as much as two feet high, and there were altogether in this room more plates than probably many wagon loads; they were piled up in the corners and along the walls. The first time they went there the sword of Laban hung upon the wall; but when they went again it had been taken down and laid upon the table across the gold plates; it was unsheathed, and on it was written these words: “This sword will never be sheathed again until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our God and his Christ.” I tell you this as coming not only from Oliver Cowdery, but others who were familiar with it, and who understood it just as well as we understand coming to this meeting, enjoying the day, and by and by we separate and go away, forgetting most of what is said, but remembering some things. So is it with other circumstances in life. I relate this to you, and I want you to understand it. I take this liberty of referring to those things so that they will not be forgotten and lost. Carlos Smith was a young man of as much veracity as any young man we had, and he was a witness to these things. Samuel Smith saw some things, Hyrum saw a good many things, but Joseph was the leader.

Now, you may think I am unwise in publicly telling these things, thinking perhaps I should preserve them in my own breast; but such is not my mind. I would like the people called Latter-day Saints to understand some little things with regard to the workings and dealings of the Lord with his people here upon the earth. I could relate to you a great many more, all of which are familiar to many of our brethren and sisters.

Now, should you go prospecting for gold or silver, you will find just enough to allure you and to destroy you. But it might be said, “Are not the earth and the treasures the property of the Lord who created them, and will he not, according to the promise, give them to his faithful disciples?” O yes, this is strictly correct; but you mark this—the man who is faithful to his calling and to this holy Priesthood, never goes hunting for gold or silver unless he is sent. Such men are found following their legitimate pursuits, working in their fields, in their workshops and gardens, making beautiful their habitations; in other words, engaged building up and assisting to establish the Zion of God on the earth, with their minds centered on the true riches and not upon the things of this world. People do not know it, but I know there is a seal set upon the treasures of earth; men are allowed to go so far and no farther. I have known places where there were treasures in abundance; but could men get them? No. You can read in the Book of Mormon of the ancient Nephites holding their treasures, and of their becoming slippery; so that after they had privately hid their money, on going to the place again, lo and behold it was not there, but was somewhere else, but they knew not where. The people do not understand this; I wish they did, for they would then do as I do, pay attention to the legitimate business that God has given them to perform. Do I run after mines or digging holes in the ground? No, not at all. It is like the will-o’-the wisp, a jack-o’-lantern. You ask our businessmen, or go to California, and inquire there whether it pays to hunt for gold. I will venture to say there never was a dollar taken from the mountains of California, neither from these mountains west, nor from out of this Territory, but what cost from ten to one hundred dollars. Do you believe that? It is said a great deal of money has been made here and there. Who has made it? Considerable lead has been taken from here, and a little silver; but when you count the time that has been spent, and after putting a fair valuation upon it, you will find what I say to be a fact, to say nothing of the lives and property that are lost. A little town directly west of here, some fifteen months ago, contained a certain number of men, who followed mining. We calculated their time at the rate of what was paid for common labor; and then we ascertained the amount realized from the treasure taken out of the earth, which was well known; and it was shown that they spent in the neighborhood of seven hundred dollars a day, and got in return about thirty. What they did get was just sufficient to allure them.

The Lord has permitted our enemies to come among us, who would destroy us if they could. They are only allowed to allure the minds of the foolish and those who lack judgment and who know not the things of God. But when we, as individuals and as a people, learn things as they are, we will find this fact—all truth is worthy and worth possessing, while all untruth is not worthy nor worth running after, nor working for, nor spending our lives for. The Gospel of life and salvation which God has revealed to us, incorporates all the systems there are. Every true principle and every true science, and every truth there is, are incorporated within the faith of the Latter-day Saints. This is something worth possessing, this is worth spending our time for; but the religions of the day, independent of their moral worth, are nothing but a myth, a shadow; there is no reality in them. But when you come to the philosophy of the religion of heaven, you have facts in your possession that are worth having, they are worthy the admiration of the wise, the prudent, the noble, the great and those that seek after the wisdom that comes from God, and the Latter-day Saints are in possession of this treasure! What are we doing? If we were the people of God, as we profess to be, there would not be a dissenting voice in all Israel in obeying the Priesthood. It was observed this morning by brother Cannon with regard to yielding obedience, that we were called upon to yield obedience because it was a command of God, and our faith demands obedience. To what? Why? Wherefore? Obedience to every principle of truth. What for? So that we may become possessors of all truth. Why should we do it? Because it gives us health, it gives us wealth, it gives us knowledge, it gives us power, it gives us beauty, it gives us excellency, it gives us treasures on the earth and treasures in heaven, it gives us a knowledge of God and of the love of God, it gives us fellowship with the Saints that are sanctified and glorified, and it gives us all things that will promote happiness and peace. These are the reasons why we do it. Should you take the other road, what do you get? Nothing. When persons turn away from the Gospel of the Son of God, what do they turn to? Nothing. And what do they turn from hereafter? All things worth possessing, everything that men and the Gods can possess in time and in eternity. Take the other road, and you get a shadow for the time being, and you may think you have the substance, but sooner or later you are left as a feather floating in the air, or worse than a ship upon the ocean, without compass or rudder, deprived of the light of the sun, the moon and the stars, tossed hither and thither until it sinks to rise no more. In order to yield obedience to the truth, you must love the truth and have the fear of God in your hearts. All who feel the true spirit of this latter-day work delight in the truth, they delight to hear the truth, and they delight to obey the truth; it is their delight to know the mind and will of God, that they may render obedience to it. This is the experience of every faithful man and woman in this Church. But take the experience of the apostates, and the experience of those who have risen up in opposition to the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Gospel brought forth and contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants and in the Book of Mormon, and the revelations that he was the honored instrument in the hands of God of revealing to the people; those that rise up in opposition to this, who are they and what is their end? You will hear one fact from them—“Brother——, have you enjoyed yourself since resigning ‘Mormonism?’ Now speak the truth. Come, tell us just as it is. Have you experienced joy and happiness since leaving the kingdom of God? Come, now, don’t lie!” Brother——answers, “I have not enjoyed one day’s peace since I left the Church.” This is the declaration of the apostates today, when they tell the truth about it. Look at their countenances—is there happiness depicted there? No, it is sorrow; they choose error instead of truth, they love darkness rather than light, and the end thereof, to use Scripture language, is death. The sorrow thereof they feel every day, for man’s spirit is operated upon continually. We are as independent in our organization as the Gods are, but still we are creatures of circumstances, influenced by the spirits and by the powers of eternity that are here and round about us. We are here and are operated upon by them in our organizations. This is the place where every man commences to acquire the germ of the independence that is enjoyed in the heavens. These influences, in comparison, are like the cooling breezes from the mountains that are so grateful to us, that revive and refresh us, that give us life. But on the other hand, here comes the miasma from the swamp, bringing disease and death, and without knowing we inhale the poisonous air, we become conscious of weakness, we feel that we are taking fever, that we are getting sick—we become a prey to the enemy, and death ensues. That is the difference between the two influences that operate continually on mankind. It is either enjoyment or suffering. All are subject to these elements in which we live. Here is the good operating, all the time telling men and women, before passing the ordeals of redemption, that they must repent, that then the light of Christ will be upon them from time to time, to operate upon their minds, teaching them—you are doing wrong, you are saying that which is not right, you have renounced the Book of Mormon, you have renounced the Doctrine and Covenants, you have re– nounced Joseph, your endowments, or Celestial Law. When they reveal the truth of their hearts, they will say, as Lyman E. Johnson said, at one of our Quorum meetings, after he had apostatized and tried to put Joseph out of the way. Lyman told the truth. He said, “Brethren—I will call you brethren—I will tell you the truth. If I could believe ‘Mormonism’—it is no matter whether it is true or not—but if I could believe ‘Mormonism’ as I did when I traveled with you and preached, if I possessed the world I would give it. I would give anything, I would suffer my right hand to be cut off, if I could believe it again. Then I was full of joy and gladness. My dreams were pleasant. When I awoke in the morning my spirit was cheerful. I was happy by day and by night, full of peace and joy and thanksgiving. But now it is darkness, pain, sorrow, misery in the extreme. I have never since seen a happy moment.”

Lyman E. Johnson belonged to the Quorum of the Twelve; he was the first man called when the Twelve were called; his name was first, Brigham Young’s second, and Heber C. Kimball’s third. The testimony that he gave of his bitter experience is the testimony that every apostate would give if they would tell the truth. But will they acknowledge it? No, because they do not want to tell the truth.

There is no enjoyment, no happiness, no comfort, there is no light to my path, for me there is no real pleasure or delight only in the observance of truth as it comes from God, obeying it in every sense of the word, and marching forward as a good faithful soldier in the discharge of every duty. The man or the woman—perhaps you may think it presumptuous in me, but I will pro– mise you that what I am going to say is the truth—who has embraced what is called “Mormonism,” but which is nothing more or less than the Everlasting Gospel of the Son of God, who when counseled by men of God holding the eternal Priesthood to do thus and so, and who will indulge in a spirit that will prompt him to say, “O yes, I think I will use my own judgment. I think I have discretion as well as you, and I will take my own course. I can attend to my own business as well and perhaps a little better than anyone else, and therefore I don’t need anyone to advise me.” I say the man or the woman that will do so, thereby taking to himself or to herself strength and wisdom to counsel themselves, unless they repent, turn round and do better, they will go into darkness, and sooner or later each person or persons will apostatize and go to destruction. Do you believe it? It is just as true as the sun that shines. Is it hard to believe? No, it is the easiest thing in the world to believe the truth. It is a great deal easier to believe truth than error. It is easier to defend the truth than to defend error. It is necessary that the religions and creeds of the Christian world be defended by the most able and learned students, in order to make them popular and to appear as true. But after these Christian students have been through academies and colleges; and the most famed seminaries in the world, and after they have studied and studied, spending a lifetime in the acquisition of a theological education, it takes but one of our boys, with the aid of the Bible and the little Catechism, to wind them up as you would an old clock. This has been the experience of many of our boys, and when they started out from their homes to preach the Gospel, they did not know that they could say anything at all about its principles; but when they have come in contact with those who have professed much and who have undertaken to disprove the Gospel as taught by the Latter-day Saints, their minds have become enlightened and passages of Scripture have come to them and they have discomfited their opponents, so that they have had nothing to say. I have done so many times myself, and that too with a few words; and the conversation would be turned to something else. With all their study and learning, and with all the philosophy and science there is brought to the aid of false theories, how easy it is to believe the truth! It is much easier than to disbelieve it. Truth commends itself to every honest person, it matters not how simply it is told, and when it is received it seems as though we had been acquainted with it all our lives. It is the testimony of the majority of the Latter-day Saints that when they first heard the Gospel preached, as contained in the Bible and Doctrine and Covenants, although entirely new to them, it seemed as though they already understood it, and that they must have been “Mormons” from the beginning.

Well, before I sit down I will present to the congregation the names of three of our brethren whom I shall recommend to form the presidency of this Stake of Zion, which will comprise Davis County, and the name of which will probably be Farmington Stake of Zion. (Here Pres. Young proposed the names of Wm. R. Smith of Centerville as President, and Christopher Layton of Kaysville as his first and Anson Call of Bountiful as his second Counselors). I know some of you wish it otherwise, or that someone else was chosen for President; but as we cannot suit everybody’s desire in a matter of this kind, we have to center on one, and I have felt to suggest the name of brother Smith. (Each name was put separately, and each vote was unanimous).

Before presenting the names of brethren to compose the High Council, which would be in order to do, I propose for President of the High Priests’ Quorum the name of Thomas S. Smith, who was once Bishop of this place. (Brother Smith was unanimously sustained; and brothers Thomas Steele and Job Welling were elected as his Counselors, without a single dissenting vote. The names of the brethren to act as members of the High Council were also presented and sustained in a similar manner).

The Wards will be organized hereafter; Bishops will be placed over them, with their two Counselors, all of whom will be ordained High Priests, if not already so ordained, and then be set apart to act in their several offices. They then will form a court; and then all the other quorums of Priesthood will be set in order. For what? Paul says, “For the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” But whether this will be the result here I do not know. All I know is that it should be so, and if everyone does his duty and lives his religion, it will be so. (The brethren chosen and elected to fill the several offices herein named, were then set apart to act therein. The President then continued—)

Just a few words to the Presidency of this Stake of Zion. It is now their duty to see that the officers within their jurisdiction perform their several duties, it is sufficient work for them too if they will attend to it. The High Council I hope will not have much business to do. I am told that there have only been three cases during the last twenty-three years, that have gone for trial before the High Council from Farmington. That is doing very well. To the now acting Bishops, who will be ordained Bishops, as well as to brother Hess, who I believe is the only ordained Bishop in the county, I will say that you will now be required to look after your several Wards more assiduously than heretofore; see that Teachers are diligent in the performance of their duties, and that all difficulties that may arise among the brethren of the Ward be settled, if possible, by the Teachers; and also see that all who claim membership in this Church observe the moral law of our religion. We shall not expect to hear of people breaking the Sabbath, and a hundred other things all of which are inconsistent with our holy callings, and opposed to the accomplishment of the work that the Father has given us to do. You are called upon now to make yourselves familiar with the revelations and commandments that have been given us of the Lord for our perfection, for our sanctification preparatory to our exaltation, and so live that our acts and conversations may conform to the same. We expect to see a radical change, a reformation, in the midst of this people, so that, when the proper authorities shall call upon you to do thus and so, everyone may be found willing and ready to respond, placing himself, with all he commands, for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God. This is in accordance with a revelation given to this Church before the law of Tithing was revealed; but in consequence of unbelief and imperfection on the part of the people it was not observed, and hence a law more adapted to their condition was given, namely, that of Tithing. You are called upon now to improve your ways, to seek with all earnestness for an increase of faith that you may live according to the higher laws, which is your privilege to do, and which is so necessary for our peace and comfort and for the good order of society and for the salvation of the Latter-day Saints. We shall look for this change, and I do not think we shall be disappointed; if at all, I believe it will prove a happy disappointment to all Israel, because of the great reformation that will be effected among the Latter-day Saints.

Brethren and sisters, we feel to bless you, we are blessing you all the time, and God is blessing you. See how he has tempered the elements; how he has held our enemies in check, and delivered us out of their grasp and power; how he has prospered us when we have confined our attention to our legitimate business; and I can say with all propriety that, if we had strictly followed the counsels that have been given from the commencement until today, instead of being in such poverty, as we are in one sense, we would be a self-sustaining, independent people, commanding millions just as easy as we now command thousands. But how unwise, how foolish some of our brethren are! I am ashamed of them, and their condition is deplorable. Instead of beautifying their homes and improving their farms, and helping to reclaim the community and build up the Zion of the latter days, they have done—what? Dug holes in the ground? and, I do not know how it is with you, but go to Salt Lake City, and you will find men whose experience and judgment should have taught them better reaping the results of their folly—their houses and lots mortgaged, their farm, also many are in this condition, and most of them will lose their property. They wanted a little more money, they allowed themselves to be allured and they lose all. I myself was the means of making several brethren by employing them, letting them have business to attend to until they became wealthy; and now they are in poverty. Whereas, if they had taken my counsel they could have added to their wealth and been in good comfortable circumstances today, success and prosperity would have attended them, peace and blessing would have been their portion, and they in turn would have been in a position to bless others of their brethren. This I say, with all confidence and assurance; but no, selfishness and covetousness blinded them, they wanted more and they coveted that which was not their own; and if they have not already sensed it, I can tell them that weeping, mourning and lamentation will overtake them, and this they bring upon themselves.

Let us take the course pointed out and we will avoid trouble; if we pay attention to our calling we will be blessed abundantly, both temporally and spiritually; and when it shall be said to the people, Let us do this or that, it will be done. We require nothing more of the people than the Lord requires of us. And what is that? It is this, “Son, give me thine heart.” Let us truly and in reality be servants of God, holding ourselves with all we have subject to the will of God, to be used, if necessary, for the building up of his kingdom on the earth. This is what the Lord requires, this is what the Priesthood require, and is the course I endeavor to pursue.

I say God bless you; I bless you. I say peace be with you. Brethren, one and all, be faithful, be diligent. We have all plenty to do; it remains for us to live so that by the light of the Holy Spirit, we can see the work before us. Do not let our minds run after gold and silver, nor upon houses and lands; what the Lord gives us take the very best care of, putting the same to a wise and proper use, or our hearts cannot be for the kingdom.

Never have I seen to so great an extent that willingness to labor for the cause of righteousness, as was witnessed in the Temple, at St. George, last winter. The Spirit of God pervaded the hearts of the brethren and sisters, and how willing they were to labor! This work will continue, and the brethren and sisters will go into the Temples of the Lord, to officiate for those who have died without the Gospel from the days of Father Adam to the winding-up scene, until every one is officiated for; who can or will receive the Gospel so that all may have the opportunity and privileges of life and salvation.

Don’t you think we have a work to perform? Yes, and it will take a thousand years to accomplish it. In the Temple last winter the brethren and sisters enjoyed themselves the best that they ever did in their lives. So they said. And our children, just old enough to work, how happy they were! They would exclaim, “I never knew anything about ‘Mormonism’ before!” If you were in the Temples of God working for the living and the dead, your eyes and hearts would not be after the fashions of the world, nor the wealth of the world. Yet the whole of this world’s wealth belongs to the Lord, and he can give to whomsoever he pleases. Amen.

Discourse by Elder Erastus Snow, delivered at Provo, on Sunday Afternoon, June 3, 1877.

The house is so crowded that in order for all to hear it will be advisable that each one keep as quiet as possible.

In my remarks yesterday forenoon I alluded briefly to the subject of the United Order, as I understood it. In the minds and feelings of some the United Order is a sensitive topic: but this is chiefly for the want of a proper understanding of the revelations of God, and the obligations of the Gospel which we have embraced, for the want of understanding what the Lord has purposed to accomplish through this Order. In one of the revelations contained in the Book of Covenants is to be found these words: “Except ye are one in your temporal affairs, how can ye be one in obtaining heavenly things?” This oneness referred to is variously understood, ofttimes construed according to the peculiar views and notions of men and women, who do not take the broad, comprehensive view, as the Lord does, and intended we should do, and who do not comprehend the revelations and the manner in which the Lord purposes to deal with his people.

Under the operations of the United Order the ancient Nephites were said to be the best and most prosperous people on the earth; it was said of them, as of no other people we read of, that there were neither rich nor poor among them; that they dwelt in peace and righteousness, and every man dealt honestly with his neighbor. The fact that every man dealt honestly with his neighbor, necessarily implies individual responsibility and stewardship. The Book of Mormon tells us further that after a period of one hundred and sixty-five years living in this state, there began again to be disunion, and they began to cease to have everything in common; a certain class began to wear jewelry and costly raiment; class distinctions began to spring up, some exalting themselves over their fellows, and they commenced to build up societies and associations and classes which were graded by their wealth. And thus they grew from bad to worse, until the judgment of God fell upon them to their utter destruction. Those who are inspired by the Holy Spirit to comprehend the dealings of God with his people, both ancient and modern, may be able to look forward to the future and behold a prosperous and happy people that shall be one in temporal things, and rich in the enjoyment of heavenly things, and among whom there will be no poor or rich, having all things common, so far as property is concerned, when no one will say “this is mine, and I have a right to do just as I please with it.”

And yet to my mind this state of things will not necessarily be incompatible with individual responsibility and stewardship. It will merely imply that advanced condition of the people, that will enable them to seek each other’s welfare, and build each other up instead of pulling each other down, in order that they may rise upon the ruins of their fellows. And that which they possess, or are stewards over, will be held in trust, from the Lord, accounted for to Him, and to His servants who shall be over them in the Lord. This state of things will be such as Brother Cannon referred to this morning; when there will be no temptation placed before the people to take advantage of their neighbor, because there will be nothing to be gained by it; there there will be no temptation to steal or plunder, for if they need anything for their personal comfort, it could be supplied them with all good feeling; and he that would take stealthily that which would be given to him freely and abundantly, would be a consummate fool, or grossly wicked. This state of things also presupposes a disposition on the part of all to do their duty; to be saints in very deed, to be industrious, to be frugal, using their gifts and talents for the common welfare, to be ready to serve where they are best fitted to serve; in a word, to be the servants and handmaidens of the Lord, instead of serving themselves and having a will of their own contrary to the will of heaven, and determined to follow that if they have to go to hell for doing it. We are, some of us, at times apt to think that this state of feeling is necessary to constitute us good democrats; in other words, unless we have this kind of feeling of “doing as we damn please”—you will please pardon the expression—we are not men, that this is the only way we can give expression to our manhood. To me this is worse than folly; it is ignorance of the true spirit of manhood. A Saint will say, “I have no will of my own, except to do the will of my Heavenly Father who has created me. True, he has given me an agency and this will, but he has given it to me to see what I will do with it, how I will use it; and I have been instructed from heaven sufficiently to know and understand that it is for my best interest to allow this will to be subservient to the will of my Father; it is best for me so to live and so to seek his face and favor, that I may know and learn what his will is concerning me, and that I may be ready to do it, holding my will in subjection to his.” “Well, then, how can you be an independent man? Surely you cannot be an independent man unless you resist everybody’s will but your own.” If good and evil is placed before us, does not the person who chooses the good and refuses the evil exhibit his agency and manhood as much as the man who chooses the evil and refuses the good? Or is the independence of manhood all on the side of the evildoer? I leave you to answer this question in your own mind. To me, I think the angels and saints and all good people have exercised their agency by choosing the good and refusing the evil; and in doing so they not only exhibit their independence and manhood as much, but show a much higher and greater nobility of character and disposition; and I leave the future to determine who are wise in the choice of their freedom and independence.

Joshua said to ancient Israel: “Choose ye this day whom ye will serve; if the Lord be God, serve him; if Baal, serve him. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” I think what we need to learn are the true principles that shall lead us to peace, to wealth and happiness in this world, and glory and exaltation in the world to come. And that if we can learn these principles, and receive them in good and honest hearts, and teach them as our faith, and practice them in our lives, we shall show our manhood, our independence and our agency as creditably before the angels and the Gods, as any wicked man can, in refusing the good and cleaving to the evil, exhibit his before the devil and his angels.

Now the Latter-day Saints are gathering from all nations and tongues, with divers customs and habits and traditions, and we have brought them with us, unfortunately we could not leave ourselves behind, while we gathered to Zion. Having brought ourselves along we have the labor of separating the follies of Babylon, the traditions of the fathers and every foolish way, learning something better as fast as we can; and this is the duty that is upon us. Many sermons would be necessary to teach us this lesson; we shall need the lesson often repeated before we can learn these principles and practice them thoroughly; we shall need a great deal of self-control, and a great deal of effort on the part of the brethren to help us, and by mutually assembling together, by doing business together, by learning correct principles and then living them. One thing is certain, that if God accomplishes with the Latter-day Saints what the prophets have foretold, and establishes his Zion, and he makes them a holy nation, a kingdom of priests, a peculiar people to himself, as he has promised, it will not be by our clinging to Babylon and to her foolish ways, and imitating the evil and foolish things of the world. But what we have proved and know to be good, hold fast to it; but lay aside that which tends to evil. We must become a people within and of ourselves, sooner or later, and learn to be self-reliant and self-sustaining; this we cannot do as individuals nor as an individual community, but by combining our energies as a whole, we may eventually arrive at this. To accomplish it requires a united effort, concerted action and perseverance, a long pull and a pull altogether. Disunion and pulling against each other will only retard it; we need never think we can truly enrich ourselves by plundering each other by carrying on merchandising, and importing the products of the labor of other men while our own brethren at home are idle, hungry, naked and destitute. Merchants and middlemen are necessary evils, their legitimate sphere is interchanging commodities between the producing classes. The Lord has taught us that by and by he will waste away the wicked and ungodly, or they will devour and destroy each other, when the righteous shall be gathered out through the preaching of the Gospel. And He designs his people to prepare while there is time, and while he gives them bread to sustain themselves. But if that time should come suddenly upon us in our present condition, who would be prepared for it? If the news was to reach us that Babylon was really going down, that a general war had overtaken her, causing distress of nations, and the closing up of her manufactories, and the struggle between capital and labor were again renewed, causing domestic and national trouble, and as a consequence we found our foreign supplies cut off, how many would begin to pray that Babylon might be spared a little longer? The sisters would begin to cast their eyes around to see where they were to get their pans and kettles, their stoves and articles of domestic use; the farmers would think it very hard that mowers and reapers, plows and harrows could no more be found on the market; and the mechanic would find too that his business was affected for the want of tools; and how the ladies would feel when they found that their hats and bonnets and fine apparel were no longer to be purchased. The real value of Provo Factory would then be appreciated, and it would not be considered transcending to say, that it was worth more to the county than all the merchants in Utah. It is true, it does not net as large dividends to the stockholders, as these merchants get who enrich themselves by encouraging the vanity and foolishness of the people. The Provo Factory takes the raw material produced at home, and converts it into the useful articles of clothing for the people, and that mainly by the labor of your own citizens. The same might be said correspondingly of every other branch of home industry. They ought to be encouraged by the masses of the people; they ought to be multiplied and increased among us by our united efforts, for they produce our wealth. What is wealth? Does it consist of gold and silver? No. Let this Territory be filled with gold, and war prevail outside and all intercourse be cut off, what would we do with it? It would be a medium of exchange, and as such would facilitate home trade; but nothing further. There is no real wealth in metallic or paper currency, in drafts, letters of credit, or any other representative of value. At best they are only the representatives of wealth, though convenient in carrying on our trade. But the real wealth may be summed up in a few words, to be the comforts of life; that is to say what is needed for us and our families and those depending upon us. How are these obtained? We might say money, when we have the money to exchange for them, and when these commodities are to be bought. But where do they come from? They are not in the market unless somebody has produced them; if in the shape of food, some farmer has raised it; if clothing, some manufactory has produced it; if boots and shoes, somebody did the work. It is the labor of men’s hands with the aid of machinery that produced these articles; if not by the labor of our community, by that of some other; and if we are dependent upon other people then are we their servants and they our masters. The Southern States in the late civil war were whipped by the Northern States, why? There may be some general reasons, but you may say, speaking on natural principles they were not sufficiently self-sustaining. They relied mainly upon their cotton, and a few other products of the earth, mainly fruits of their close labor; they had few manufacturing establishments. They sent the raw material to other States and countries, and these worked it up, sending back to them the manufactured articles. No nation under heaven can long thrive, and continue this state of things. Just as soon as their trade was interfered with, their domestic institutions broken into, and the country blockaded, preventing the export of their raw material, and the import of manufactured goods, they were brought to the verge of ruin.

This subject of home manufacture has become somewhat hackneyed. When will we cease to talk about it? When the necessity ceases to exist, when we will have learned to apply these principles in our daily lives and conduct. The greatest lack among us is the means to employ our idle hands. We should be able to afford every man, woman and child in our community profitable employment; were we able to do this, we would by wisely and prudently directing that labor become a thriftier, wealthier and happier people, of whom it might be said, there were no poor among us. Comparatively speaking, we can say now there is no abject poverty among us, yet we are far from enjoying that which is our privilege to enjoy, and that which we have comes from abroad and we are striving for money to pay for it. Crops are mortgaged or sold to our creditors in advance for articles of foreign manufacture. I was told that Sanpete County owed for sewing machines alone from forty to fifty thousand dollars; and I was told by brother Thatcher of Cache Valley, that forty thousand dollars would not clear the indebtedness for sewing machines. The irrepressible sewing machine agents have ravaged our country, imposing themselves upon every simpleton in the land, forcing their goods upon them. Tens of thousands of dollars are lying idle in the houses of the Latter-day Saints today in this article alone; almost every house you enter you can find a sewing machine noiseless and idle, but very seldom you hear it running; and all of which were purchased at enormous figures, and now the patent rights having expired, they can be bought for less than half the prices paid for them. And in this way many of our agricultural machines are obtained; we should be properly classified in our labor, so that our investments in agricultural and other machinery could be kept in constant use in the season thereof, and then well taken care of, as pro– perty ought to be, instead of allowing them to be exposed to the storms of winter, as many are, and get out of repair. Some have thought we need but few factories today; I may be mistaken, but I am under the impression that every factory in the Territory, except yours, before the last wool was brought into market, had to stop running for want of material. The wool that should have supplied them was shipped out of the country, gone abroad to afford other hands employment, and the goods brought back made up ready for wear, to sell to you. You not only buy back again your own product, but you buy the labor of foreign manufacturers, and pay the transportation both ways, all the expenses of the merchants or middlemen who handle the wool, and sell you the clothes, while your own wives and children are idle at home, and your own factories standing still for want of wool. Is this the way to get rich? The same may be said with regard to the manufacture of leather. Our hides and skins either rot upon the fences, or are gathered up and sold mostly to men who ship them to other countries to be tanned and worked up into harness and boots and shoes, which are brought back for you to wear; so that you are buying back your own hides and skins, in the shape of these manufactured articles, and paying the cost of the transportation and the profits of the middlemen, besides employing strangers, while our own bone and sinew too often are engaged either digging a hole in the ground or lounge around the street corners for something to turn up.

Dining the last sixteen years I have been engaged laboring and counseling and trying to assist my brethren in Southern Utah to become self-sustaining, and as much as they can to develop the resources of the country. We have begun a great variety of associations which are incorrectly called cooperative institutions, but in reality they are only combinations of capital. I have sought for the last six or eight years to start cooperative institutions; that is to say associations of laborers, workmen’s and workwomen’s associations, associations to derive benefits from a combined effort, and by the unity of labor accumulate material, manufacturing them into useful articles for the common good, and then to induce those who begin to gather together a little surplus of capital, to encourage these labor associations, by letting them have a little means to help them to start. But the great difficulty I have had to fight against has been the ignorance of the laborers, their inability to make their labor pay for itself, and their unwillingness to be put to the test. They prefer someone to raise the capital to be invested in the enterprises, and employ them and pay them big wages; and if we have not the money necessary, they would have us borrow it at big interest, and establish shoe shops, and woolen factories and other various branches of industry, fitted up with the latest improved machinery, and they will say, “Let us work by the day or piece, and be paid our wages every Saturday night; and then let us have a store to spend our money at, that we might do as our fathers used to do in the old countries we came from.” This is the spirit of the working classes of the old world, and I said before, unfortunately we brought ourselves with us when we emigrated to the new world. They do not seem to know that our capitalists are generally men who have lived closely, have walked instead of rode, and through the dint of perseverance and the study of economy, have accumulated a little means, and that such men are not willing to put their money at the mercy of laborers who have not sense enough to take care of it, or to preserve intact the capital invested, let alone increasing it. This, I say, is one of the great difficulties we have met with throughout this country, in attempting to start home industries. Everybody is willing that somebody else should furnish the means and assume the responsibility; in other words, “if you have anything to give us, we are willing to take it.” “If we work we must have from three to five dollars per day, whether you make anything out of the business or not; we would not want to work for any less, and when we have got it instead of buying articles of home production, we will buy those imported from foreign countries.” Do all the people feel and act like this? O, no; but I think nearly all of us have indulged more or less in that folly. There are not many of us that say by our acts “we desire to do away with the antagonism between capital and labor.” There are not many capitalists in our community; if we counted out a dozen, that would be about all. We are so evenly balanced, that it might even be said of us now, that we have neither rich nor poor among us. The little capital we have, compared with the many who think themselves poor, would be a mere breakfast spell if turned loose among a greedy horde; I include myself of course. When I say, greedy horde, I mean we are ignorant of the laws of life and true liberty, that which is needed among us for our own good. We should look and see how we can make ourselves useful in producing something, and not waste our time either in digging holes in the ground in the hopes of finding something, or laying in our nest with mouth wide open like young robins, for something to be dropped in. This is not the way to become a self-sustaining, wealthy and happy people. Will we form our associations and establish home industries? Will we tan the hides that come off our cattle and our sheep, and goats and other animals, making them into leather, and then work it up into boots and shoes and harness and so forth; or will we suffer them to be shipped out of the country for others to do it for us? Will the sisters ask their husbands and fathers to plant out mulberry trees along the water ditches where the willows are now growing, so that you may secure food for the silkworm? A little while ago we had lots of worms, but nothing to feed them. Let the sisters raise the worms, and commence their little associations for feeding them, that you may have silk to manufacture your ribbons and dresses. This climate is adapted to the silkworm, the growth of the mulberry, and the feeding of the worms, and the manufacture of the silk. Let us then have silk manufactures, let us all say, we will bless this enterprise with our faith; and let the men encourage the sisters by planting the trees for them and affording them every facility within their power. You may say, this is a hard way of getting silk. I assure the Latter-day Saints, that it will be harder by and by when Babylon goes down. We had better improve the time and use the elements now within our reach. Let us multiply our factories, and work up our wool at home, and cease employing spinners and weavers at distant parts of the world, while our own people are hunting for something to do, and crying “hard times,” or wasting their time hunting for minerals. I will venture to say that nine-tenths of the property under mortgage and to be sacrificed in Salt Lake City, and in fact throughout the Territory, is sacrificed at the shrine of this wildcat speculation. One of the best shares in any bank is a plowshare, and the best speculation we can go into, is to raise from the elements around us the things necessary to supply our daily wants. Everything produced at home, furnishes employment for idle hands, and stimulates the production of some other articles. Let home manufacture, and the production of raw material from the elements, be our watchword, that employment may be furnished our sons and daughters, and those who shall come unto us from distant lands. Let us too establish reasonable and consistent fashions within ourselves, and cease patronizing the fashions of the wicked world.

Now, referring to what we call the United Order, what is it? I will tell you. It is to live at home and sustain ourselves. It is not to hunt after capital as we would a fat goose to eat it up, and when eaten to hunt another the next day, for fat geese are not so plentiful. Our true policy is, learn how to produce and be sure to produce a little more than we consume; and if we only produce five cents a day in something more than we consume, we will soon be rich. But if we all consume five cents a day more than we produce, how long before we shall all be poor? We are poor already when we commence that system. It is a great lesson to impress upon the minds of this great people, gathered from all nations and tongues, to induce them to live at home and support themselves, to depend upon their labor for their subsistence, instead of hunting for somebody to devour. Many of the people may say, I do not want to be eaten up by the rich. I can tell you there is a heap of us for the rich to eat up, and there are not many rich to do it. My opinion is the scare is the other way, for, as I have said, the few rich among us are only a breakfast spell. How long do you think it would take if we were all producers, and converting the raw materials into useful articles, to become a self-sustaining people? And then if we heard of Babylon’s downfall, we would not of necessity lift up our hands and cry, “O Lord spare her a little longer, we are not ready for her to go down, we should suffer from the want of boots and shoes, and for our clothing, and our machinery, and so forth.” The United Order is designed to help us to be self-reliant and to teach us to understand what it costs to produce that which we consume. One of the chief obstacles in the way of our progress towards becoming a self-sustaining people is the lack of this understanding among the people. They cling to the habits and customs of Babylon that they have learned abroad—the laborer wishing to eat up the capitalist, and the capitalist constantly guarded for fear he should be drawn into close quarters, and then to succumb to the demands of operatives. This is the way of the world, and the warfare that is going on all the time; and why? Because they comprehend not how to promote their mutual interests; covetousness of capital on one hand, and covetousness of labor on the other, each trying to enrich itself at the expense of the other. Most of the Saints, when they embraced the Gospel, partook of its true spirit, opening their hearts and hands, and those who had it to spare, used their means to gather up the poor; and when they landed among us were generally on a common level. And hence the necessity of our labor, and through our labor accumulate capital instead of needless expenditures, exhausting the results of our labors and getting us into debt. Learn to live within our means that there may be a little increase, that we may have something wherewith to purchase improved machinery, and extend our industries until we shall be able to supply our every need. And that we may learn these lessons, and profit by them for the mutual benefit of the Saints, and the advancement of the Zion of our God, I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered at a Special Conference, at Logan, on Sunday Morning, May 20th, 1877.

I will read a few items from scripture spoken by Mormon, which will be found on the 484th page of the Book of Mormon, European edition—

“And now there cannot be written in this book even a hundredth part of the things which Jesus did truly teach unto the people; But behold the plates of Nephi do con– tain the more part of the things which he taught the people. And these things have I written, which are a lesser part of the things which he taught the people; and I have written them to the intent that they may be brought again unto this people, from the Gentiles, according to the words which Jesus hath spoken. And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be manifest unto them. And if it so be that they will not believe these things, then shall the greater things be withheld from them, unto their condemnation. Behold, I was about to write them, all which were engraved upon the plates of Nephi, but the Lord forbade it, saying: I will try the faith of my people. Therefore I, Mormon, do write the things which have been commanded me of the Lord.”

The reason why I have read these words is to show to the people more fully, or to impress upon their minds the way and manner in which the Lord deals with his people. It is within his power, if he see proper to do so, to pour out upon the people a vast amount of knowledge all at once, that their minds may be completely surfeited with the abundance of the knowledge communicated to them. But the Lord has not seen proper to thus deal with the Latter-day Saints. He has another object in view than this. He intends to instruct them little by little, here a little when it is needed, and there a little when it is needed; giving them a line upon this subject when it is necessary, and there a line upon another subject, leading them along, step by step, just as a wise, careful parent would his little children, until they become instructed in every principle that would be for their good. It is not because the Lord is not willing that his intelligent children should enjoy this greater amount of knowledge; it is not because he does not desire the human family to placed in possession of all the wisdom that their hearts are prepared to receive. He is willing, on his part, that the people should become very intelligent in regard to everything pertaining to their future welfare. He is willing that they should know more concerning himself, his attributes and their own, to learn concerning the glories of his kingdom and the mysteries thereof and everything that would be essential for their comfort and happiness in this world. This the Lord is willing to do in behalf of his children. But he knows far better than we do, what the people are prepared to receive, and what they are not prepared to receive; and we can see this illustrated by the words which I have read. Mormon informs us that he was about to write all the things which Jesus had taught, but the Lord expressly forbade it, and the reason, as given to Mormon for not permitting this was, that he intended to try the faith of his people in the latter days, and of whom he said that if they would believe these things and hearken, then should the greater things be made manifest to them; but if, on the other hand, they should not believe these few things, then should the greater things be withheld from them, to their condemnation.

This reminds me of a certain saying, given in 1829, before the rise of this Church. Hyrum Smith had left his home in Manchester, N.Y., and had gone down to Susquehanna, Penn., about a hundred miles, to visit his brother Joseph, the Prophet, who was then in the act of translating the Book of Mormon. When Hyrum arrived he felt very anxious to know about his calling and ministry—whether he could not go forth to preach these glorious things. It would be very natural for a person to feel very anxious about this, for the things contained in the manuscript, so far as he had become acquainted with them, were so glorious, that he wished everybody to know about them. As will be found on page 98 Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord told Hyrum not to be in a hurry. In other words, the Lord had his own time to ordain to the ministry, his own time to send forth missionaries among the people. “Don’t you be in a hurry in this matter.” But said the Lord to him, “I will tell you what you may do; you should study my word which has gone forth among the children of men, and also that which shall come forth, even that which is now being translated.” “Seek first to obtain my word, then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my spirit, which shall enable you to convince men of the truth.” Another lesson to be learned from this is, that Hyrum, instead of being in a great hurry in this matter, was required to store up the word of God in his mind, to be thoroughly acquainted with the Jewish record, as well as that which was then being translated, until he had obtained all that the Lord should grant to the children of men in the generation that was then living—1829. We may learn that the Lord did intend to give only about so much to the generation then living.

A great many have supposed that there must be a great lack on the part of the Latter-day Saints, because spiritual knowledge is not all the time being poured down from heaven, like a flood in their midst; some become doubtful and feel to murmur and complain one to another, carrying the idea among the people that God has forsaken Zion, that God has, in a measure, withdrawn his spirit from us: saying, “Where are the revelations such as were given in the days of Joseph? The Lord then poured out upon us of his spirit continually; we then received record after record, book after book, etc.” The reason is clearly defined here; the Lord, in his own time, will fulfill and accomplish his purposes, and he was determined, not only in these days, but he had the same determinations some fifteen centuries ago, when he talked with Mormon the Prophet, that a people who should live on the earth in the last days, should have just about so much information, and no more, as far as sacred records and books are concerned. Do not misunderstand me by this expression, and carry it to the other extreme, and say, that God determines to give about so much, and then shut down the gate and give no revelation at all. But he intended, so far as the great principles of the Gospel are concerned, the fundamental principles of salvation, that we should have the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Then he determined, still further, that there should be a sufficiency given from year to year, during the lifetime of the Prophet Joseph, to know how to properly organize the Church. These further revelations were published in the Doctrine and Covenants. These having been given as a pattern, for the commencement of the organization, the Lord has seen proper to withhold, for the time being, the giving of additional sacred records, that the Saints might show their faith. “I will try the faith of my people, I will see whether they will be obedient to my commandments, and the laws which I have revealed to them. If they will be faithful—if they will practice upon that which I have given, then shall the greater things be made manifest to them. But if they will not do this, they shall be withheld from them, to their condemnation.”

There will be a point, in the history of this people, when they will be counted worthy to receive all that knowledge and intelligence which the Lord has held in reserve for them, from before the foundation of the world. Such is the glorious destiny of this people, to be realized in due time. But our present work is to comply with that which God has already given, and which he may hereafter give, through the living oracles that he has placed within our midst.

Now the Lord has not shut down the gate; he has not closed up the spirit of inspiration, as all these people are witnesses. What man, unless he had been under the spirit of inspiration, and the wisdom that comes down from heaven, could have led forth this people from the midst of the wicked, and established them here in this mountain desert, and created the wonders we now behold? No man, however great might be his natural wisdom and ability, could have accomplished a work of this nature, unless aided by direct revelation. The Spirit of the living God, from the time of the death of Joseph to the present, has rested upon President B. Young, urging him forward, first to organize the people and lead them forth from the midst of their enemies, and, second, to establish them here in these mountains. He had not the experience, beforehand, to do this; he had never lived in a country where the people were accustomed to irrigate their farms; he had never lived in a country where the people necessarily were compelled to live compactly together, as we have to do here. But he had been accustomed to live in a country where the people spread abroad wherever they took a notion to; consequently it was just as new to him, when entering these valleys, as to the rest of us. And nothing but the Spirit of the living God, the inspirations of the Holy Ghost, could have enabled him to do what he has done, and to direct all this people throughout this Territory, in regard to their settlements, not only here, but wherever the Latter-day Saints have been located. Consequently, you perceive that God has not forsaken us, the spirit of revelation has been with us. But then it has not been wisdom in God, that all this revelation should be written and published; because many things the servants of God are inspired to do under one set of circumstances, would not be required of them, under a new condition of circumstances; hence, such revelations would not become a standing law for all future time. For instance, in order to form new settlements, the circumstances are very different from what they are after you have enlarged your settlements and become numerous in population, and other duties become necessary. Consequently the Lord has imparted a little here, and a little there, and instructed and counseled the people, through his servants, what should be done in the incipient stages, or in the forming of settlements, in this mountain region.

In the midst of all this continuous organization that has been going on, ever since the rise of the Church, it is not to be wondered at, that many things have been left apparently at loose ends, for the time being, in order that the people might prove themselves. Men have been sent, year after year, to form new settlements, and to do this kind of work, and that kind, without being specially ordained to accomplish those particular duties. What for? To see whether they would manifest that the Spirit of the living God was with them, and that they were worthy of ordination; and if so, then afterwards they should be ordained and set apart, as Bishops, as presidents of Stakes, etc. But one may inquire, “Why not perfect these organizations at once?” Because there is a day of calling, which is distinct from a day of choosing. And when the Lord has called his servants and appointed them to perform a certain work, if they manifest a willingness, on their part, to exercise the wisdom that comes from God, in the performance of their duties, then perhaps the day of choosing may come, and they be set apart and ordained, according to the law contained in the Book of Covenants. It means, at this present stage of the work, having toiled now about thirty years in these mountains, that the Lord is about to “right up” the people; and he has inspired him who presides over us, to organize us more fully. Let those be chosen who have fulfilled their appointments in faithfulness; let them be ordained, and have their counselors; let them act now in a higher sphere, with more power, because they have proven themselves faithful over a few things, therefore let them be made rulers over many things. This is after the order of heaven; this is after the order of that judgment that will be more fully carried out in the great day of the Lord. Things will pass along here in time, as a pattern of things in regard to his future kingdom. They will pass along for years, until, by and by, in the great judgment day, these persons will have gained an experience and knowledge that will qualify them to act efficiently in the duties and callings to which they have been called; and they will act, not as those who are ignorant, but as men who have had a practical experience, year after year, having used their stewardship to the glory of God.

Brother Erastus Snow spoke to us very plainly, last evening, in relation to all the officers, from the commencement of the Church down to the present time. When we have done all we can do, towards organizing as far as possible, according to the written law of God, as given to us in our weakness, have we completed the organization? By no means. The organization is only perfect as far as the people are prepared to receive it, and no further. To say that there will be a stated time, in the history of this Church, during its imperfections and weakness, when the organization will be perfect, and that there will be no further extension or addition to the organization, would be a mistake. Organization is to go on, step after step, from one degree to another, just as the people increase and grow in the knowledge of the principles and laws of the kingdom of God, and as their borders shall extend. For instance, to illustrate my ideas more fully upon this point. We read, in the Scriptures of truth, concerning the latter-day Zion; we read that Zion is to become a great people, “a small one to become a strong nation.” We also read that out of Zion shall go forth the law. We also read that Zion is to become so glorious, in times to come, that the nations that are afar will say to one another, “Surely Zion is the City of our God, for the Lord is there; his power is there, his glory is there,” etc. Now if there be a time, in the history of the latter-day Zion, that the power of God will be made manifest in their midst, so as to stir up the nations afar off, causing them to exclaim that Zion is truly the City of God; her laws are divine; let us become subject to her laws; do you suppose that we, with our present organization, after perfecting it as much as we can expect to, could be ready and prepared to send forth laws to foreign nations for their government? No. There would then be persons ordained and set apart for various purposes, not to bestow any new Priesthood, for it is all included in the everlasting and eternal Priesthood, after the order of the Son of God; but to set apart persons already holding the Priesthood in the great organization; to receive divine laws; or, in other words, to regulate the nations, according to the laws of Zion; that they may understand her laws, and know what the divine government is, by which they are to be governed; in other words, ministers or plenipotentiaries are to be sent forth to transact business among all nations and peoples who willingly shall become subject to the laws of Zion. As to the rebellious nations, there will be none left alive. As it is written, “that nation or kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish.” “Those nations shall be utterly wasted away;” consequently, the nations left, who are not totally destroyed will be anxious to be governed by the laws of Zion. Hence there will be an organization before the winding-up scene that will control the nations politically, giving them the privilege of remaining in their own land if they choose to do so, but subject to the laws of Zion.

I will not, however, confine the future organizations of the Church of God to the political matters of the nations. There is to be a more perfect organization between the living and the dead of all former dispensations, which organization is just as necessary as that which exists among the living, on this side of the grave. This organization will be fully completed, at a certain period, pointed to by the Prophet Daniel, who says, that he saw in a night vision, and beheld until the Ancient of Days came; and he describes his great and glorious appearance: his face was like a flaming fire, and the hair of his head was white as wool; his chariots were like unto chariots of fire, and thousand thousands ministered unto him and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; and the books were opened. And many things are to be accomplished when this great general assembly of immortal beings come from heaven, communicating with those who are mortal here upon the earth. In other words, every man in that immortal host, among those that shall come down from heaven, and every man among the mortal host will understand his place and calling in this great, grand organization of the Ancient of Days; and you will find no unbroken links there. The Ancient of Days is the father of all; he is our first progenitor, and when he shall reveal himself, to set in order all of his righteous sons and daughters, he will not forget those who have already passed through former dispensations. Every dispensation will be connected; and the last dispensation of the fullness of times will have given to them the keys and powers, knowledge, and understanding, and revelations to know how to weld every link, in order that the entire chain may be completed and made perfect.

Moreover let us now come back to the living. We are commanded to build Temples? Why? What is the great object of building Temples in this dispensation? It is to effect the accomplishment of the very work I have hinted at; the very work of organization that must be completed, by the time the Ancient of Days shall come; the very work that must be introduced, that the children may be more perfectly connected with the fathers of all the former dispensations; and that the Saints of all former dispensations may understand the work that is being done by their children on their behalf, so that when the heavens shall reveal them, they will find things ready to receive them. Before that time, I have no doubt, the generation will have passed away that were living in 1829; but all things will be added to those revelations that the Lord gave to that generation, namely, the records of the ancient Nephites; they existed in great numbers and are of great importance, records kept by their Kings, records of the history of the Nephites for over a thousand years, records of their proceedings and of the things that God had revealed to them, records that were secret, and not permitted to come forth in the days of weakness, records that revealed all things from the foundation of the world to the end thereof, records that were kept when Jesus administered to the Nephites, the ninety-ninth part of which was not written by Mormon, all of which are to come forth. What for? To teach the Latter-day Saints how to organize, how to be prepared for the things that are coming. Then we will know something about what is termed the United Order, when we get hold of these records of the experience of the Nephites for 165 years in the Order; the experience of the people of this great western hemisphere, from the northern to the southern extremity; they will have left some records of their acts and doings that cannot fail to be of great worth to the people of these latter times.

But first, says the Lord, “I will try my people; I will perfect them; I will see whether they will be obedient to my commandments; I will reveal to them little by little; I will give them line upon line; I will impart a little light upon this subject and upon the other subject: and if my people shall inquire of me, in relation to these things, then I will teach them still more, giving them another line and another precept, I will issue forth another commandment; but if they do not inquire of me, and their hearts be found full of covetousness, and they feel in their hearts to slight these things which I have given to them, then I will withhold the greater information; I will not let them know the law which I gave to the ancient Nephites; I will withhold many things calculated to benefit them, until they learn the things that they are already taught. But when they become obedient students, obedient men and women of God, obedient to my commandments, hearkening to the voice of my servants, giving heed to the whisperings of my spirit, doing away with covetousness, then I will reveal more; I will introduce more and more of the principles of the United Order, necessary to govern the people, and to prepare them for the great day of the Lord, which is to come.

In the beginning of the dispensation it is necessary that there should be chosen vessels, raised up on purpose to bear witness of the things of God, to lay the foundation, and to establish the Gospel in the earth. To do this, it is necessary that these witnesses, though inexperienced, should receive revelations and administration of angels, that they may testify, that there may be sufficient evidence, or sufficient number of witnesses sent forth, that the Lord may be justified, in the great day of judgment, in judging the people. But how dangerous it is for people to see heavenly visions, and receive the ministration of angels in their igno– rance. How dangerous for people in their ignorance to obey the Gospel! Yet shall we say that they shall not obey it, because they are very ignorant? No. Let them step forth with all their hearts and obey the Gospel, that they may be put in possession of the Holy Ghost; then if they will seek to cultivate their minds, cherishing that Spirit in their hearts and developing every principle of righteousness, and doing away every iniquitous practice, they shall receive more and more of the Holy Spirit, with its gifts. So in regard to these heavenly manifestations.

In the year 1829, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris were chosen as witnesses to behold the angel of God; to behold the plates in the hands of the angel; to gaze upon the ancient engravings, and to hear the voice of the Lord, at the same time, proclaiming to them, that the plates had been translated correctly, and commanding them to bear record of the same to all peoples, nations and tongues, to whom the work should be sent.

Now this was truly a great manifestation. But who was Oliver Cowdery? Who was David Whitmer? Who was Martin Harris? Poor, weak, frail men; two of them quite young, one of middle age. They had but very little experience; they knew nothing about the arrangement of the organization of the Priesthood, as we now know; they had no Teachers to visit them from week to week. Yet in the midst of all this ignorance, what a glorious manifestation they received from heaven! They lacked experience; they had not been prepared as Joseph was. He was prepared by a series of years of experience, in beholding visions and angels.

In the year 1823, the angel first came to him, telling him about the plates, also telling him that he would return one year afterwards, when he would give him further instruction. Why this delay? Why not commit to his charge the plates at once? It was because of his want of experience. It is true, he had previously received a heavenly vision some four years before, in which he had seen the face of God, the Father. But he lacked all other qualifications; he was left more or less to himself, and the angel was determined to impart to him experience, year after year, for the space of four years; during which, whenever Joseph needed chastisement he received it at the appointed time; his failings were corrected; he was shown wherever he had erred; and he was taught what to do: he was instructed little by little, until he learned, by practice, to do the will of God. Then the sacred records were committed to him; but not so with the three witnesses referred to, and hence they kept not the holy commandments as they ought to have done. They had too much knowledge for their limited experience. You recollect what the Lord has said upon this subject—Where much is given, much is required; and where but little is given, but little is required. Much was given to these three witnesses, and much was required at their hands. Hence a sin that they might commit would throw them into tenfold more darkness than any man who had never seen so great things. This accounts for their apostasy, not for their denying the truth, for they never did that; they held fast to the truth; they declared that the Book of Mormon was true and never denied their testimony. It is not a matter of mere faith with them; they knew it. But how great is the darkness in them that sin against so much light! The Lord told us, when we were living in the State of New York, to go to the Ohio; there to build a Temple to the name of the Most High. And there the Lord condescended to bestow upon his servants and people a great endowment, a blessing such as was not known among the children of men. And from thence they should go the nations of the earth and publish these things. We went to the Ohio; and after we had been sufficiently taught and instructed, the Lord commanded us through Joseph, to build a Temple, giving the pattern thereof, and the size thereof, the size of the inner and outer courts, the size of the several rooms and apartments, and the form of the pulpits and everything pertaining to it, was given by the inspiration of the Almighty that rested upon Joseph, and upon those associated with him.

When the Temple was built, the Lord did not see proper to reveal all the ordinances of the Endowments, such as we now understand. He revealed little by little. No rooms were prepared for washings; no special place prepared for the anointings, such as you understand, and such as you comprehend at the period of the history of the Church! Neither did we know the necessity of the washings, such as we now receive. It is true, our hands were washed, our faces and our feet. The Prophet Joseph was commanded to gird himself with a towel, doing this in the Temple. What for? That the first Elder might witness to our Father and God, that we were clean from the blood of that wicked generation, that then lived. We had gone forth according to our best ability, to publish glad tidings of great joy, for thousands of miles, upon this continent. After this we were called in, and this washing of hands and feet was to testify to God that we were clean from the blood of this generation. The holy anointing was placed upon the heads of his servants, but not the full development of the Endowments in the anointing. These administrations in the Kirtland Temple were revealed, little by little, corresponding with what I have already been saying, that the Lord does not give the fullness at once, but imparts to us according to his own will and pleasure. Great were the blessings received. We were commanded to seek to behold the face of the Lord; to seek after revelation; to seek after the spirit of prophecy, and the gifts of the Spirit; and many testify to what they saw. But yet they were inexperienced; they had not proven themselves in their religion long enough. They obtained blessings greater than some of them were prepared to receive. They perhaps might have been faithful if they had exercised the agency which God gave them. But how easily are mankind toppled first this way, then that way, and are led astray, even after the heavens were opened and chariots and horses of fire, as well as angels were seen: still many of these brethren apostatized.

Now perhaps some of you may say, “Withhold these things; do not send angels; do not bestow the gifts of prophecy, if by being so blessed we are in danger of apostatizing from our religion.” This is the other extreme; on the other hand, we are commanded to seek the face of the Lord always, that we may possess our souls in patience. Again, about three years after the organization of the Church, the Lord gave a revelation contained in the Doctrine and Covenants, saying, “It shall come to pass that every soul that comes to me, obeys my commandments, and hearkens to my voice, and calls upon my name shall see my face, and know that I am.” He has ordained that in his holy House, in a Temple built to his name, these great blessings shall be made manifest to his servants and people. He has told us also the privileges of these two Priesthoods. The privilege of the lesser Priesthood is to see angels. How should they seek after this blessing? By merely praying, and acting dishonestly, full of covetousness, and all manner of evils clinging about us because of our traditions? Is this the way to seek for so great blessings? It is by giving heed to the instructions and laws that pertain to the teaching of this lesser Priesthood; and when this is done, we may claim the ministrations of holy angels.

Again, what are the promises made to the high Priesthood of the order of the Son of God? We are told, in the revelation given on the 22dd and 23rd days of September, 1832, that without the ordinances of this high Priesthood the power of godliness could not be made manifest to men in the flesh. For, says the revelation, “Without this Priesthood, no man can behold the face of God the Father and live.” Again, says the revelation, “this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people, that they might behold the face of God. But they hardened their hearts, and could not endure his presence.”

Here then we perceive that one blessing of this high Priesthood is to behold the face of God the Father and live. And this blessing is, not merely for the persons holding the Priesthood, not merely for those who have been ordained, after the order of the Son of God; but every one that keeps “my commandments and obeys my voice,” etc. This is the privilege of the whole Church; it is the privilege of all the people of God, to sanctify themselves, to be obedient to his laws, and to behold his face, not only the face of Jesus, but of God the Father, and still live.

What means, says one, that passage in the Book of Moses, where the Lord, speaking to Moses, says, “Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me and live,” etc. This very passage is explained by new revelation. The Lord at that time became angry with the children of Israel, and he decreed that no man of that whole congregation should behold his face at that time. Hence the Lord said to Moses, “Thou shalt not behold my face as at other times.” How plain that little sentence of new revelation is, showing that Moses had, at other times, enjoyed that privilege, and that it was the privilege of the Children of Israel to become sanctified, and to behold the face of God; but at that time, in consequence of their wickedness, he in his anger, forbade them that privilege. Soon after, he made a decree that all that congregation should be left without this privilege, and he took his presence away from them, because of their transgressions and rebellions, that, had not the Lord withdrawn his presence from them, they might have been totally destroyed. The Lord desired to remember his covenants with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; for he promised them that he would bring up their seed to the promised land; and in order that he might do this he determined not to go up in their midst; for should he do so, he might break forth upon them, and utterly destroy them.

Now we have a promise given to us, that when we are redeemed, and permitted to return to our promised land, his presence shall go with us.

We have a promised land, as well as Israel. The Lord said, on the 2nd of January, 1831, “And I hold forth and deign to give unto you greater riches, even a land of promise, a land flowing with milk and honey, upon which there shall be no curse when the Lord cometh:

“And I will give it unto you for the land of your inheritance, if you will seek it with all your hearts.

“And this shall be my covenant with you, ye shall have it for the land of your inheritance, and for the inheritance of your children forever, while the earth shall stand, and ye shall possess it again in eternity, no more to pass away.” Here, then, was a covenant made, that the Latter-day Saints should have for their particular portion a promised land. We were commanded to purchase the land for the time being; for it was to be signally our land of promise, and our children’s land of promise, while the earth should stand, and then they should have it to all eternity.

We are at present cast out of that land, the same as the Israelites were in the land of Egypt, being away from their promised land. We are here in these mountain valleys. It is a goodly land which the Lord has pointed out for us. We are making preparation for our great redemption to go back to the promised land, the same as the Israelites are to gather back to their promised land. And a further promise is made unto us, in this connection, that when the time shall come, the Lord will raise up a man like unto Moses who shall deliver this people out of bondage, the same as the children of Israel, their fathers, were delivered. And he tells us that he will do this with a mighty hand and an out– stretched arm. And he also says, that his angels shall go before us, and also his presence. Here then is a promise made to the Latter-day Saints, that the presence of the Lord, as well as his angels, should go before their camp.

I mention these things to show you what the Lord intends to bestow upon you, that your hearts may not faint, while encountering the trials of reclaiming the desert country; that you in the midst of difficulties and tribulations may still have faith in regard to the promises of the future.

In another revelation given in an early period of the history of the Church, the Lord commanded his people to build unto him a House, promising that if they built a house unto his name, according to the commandment and pattern which should be given, and providing they suffered no unclean thing to enter it, so that it should not be defiled, the Lord himself would appear in it; his presence would be there; his glory would be there; and all that should go into that House, who were pure in heart, should see him. Here then you perceive that there are certain places appointed, and certain provisions to be complied with before the face of the Lord can be seen. He has said that his people are always to build unto his name a house. What for? That his name might be there; that his angels might be there; that his presence might be there; and that there the fullness of the holy Priesthood might be more fully revealed, and that there all the ordinances might be performed, that were ordained from before the foundation of the world. This is the object of Temples. It is to connect the children to the fathers: it is to bring about an organization between the living and the dead. It is seen that when the seventh angel shall sound his trumpet, preparatory to the coming of the Son of Man; when the Saints shall receive their inheritances and be made equal with him, they, the dead, as well as the living, receive their inheritances; that will be a perfect organization. When Adam, and Enoch, and his Zion, and all the righteous men before the flood, and all the holy patriarchs and Prophets of the eastern and western Continents, men who lived on the earth as strangers and pilgrims, but who through the eye of faith were permitted to behold, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, all things would be gathered in one that were in Christ, even all things which are in heaven and which are on the earth; I say that when all these receive their inheritances, this will be an organization that takes hold of eternity, that takes hold of the children of God in all ages, that unites all dispensations in one, that brings all the kingdoms, and authorities, and powers, of all other dispensations, and unites them in one; and upon whom knowledge like a flood will be poured out even upon the vast congregations of the Church of the Firstborn, the living and the dead, for the dead will then be living.

Ought not these things, Latter-day Saints, to stimulate every individual to be diligent in the work given him to do, lest he fall out by the way; lest his crown be taken from him and placed upon the head of another; lest the talent he may have hidden in the earth be taken from him and be given to him that hath more abundantly? How diligent we should be! How faithful in the performance of our several callings, and how willing to hearken to the counsels and instructions of those placed over us? By and by we will have Temples, with a great many things contained in them which we now have not; for with them, as with all other things, the Lord begins little by little; he does not reveal everything all at once. He gave the pattern of these things in Kirtland, Ohio, as the beginning; but there were not rooms for the washings, no rooms such as we have now, and such as were prepared in the Nauvoo Temple; and in other respects, there was something added to the Nauvoo Temple. Why? Because we had greater experience, and were prepared for greater things. There was no font in the basement story of the Kirtland Temple, for baptismal purposes in behalf of the dead. Why not? Because that principle was not revealed. But in the Nauvoo Temple this font was prepared, which was something in advance of the Kirtland Temple. We have, of late, constructed a Temple at St. George. Blessings have been administered in that Temple, that were totally unknown in the two former Temples, namely, endowments for the dead. Again, by and by, we will build a Temple in Jackson County, Missouri. Will it be built according to the pattern of our present Temples? No. There will be, according to the progress of this people, and the knowledge they receive, and the greatness of the work that is before them, many things, pertaining to the pattern, that will then be given, which will differ materially, or will be, at least, in addition to that which is in these Temples now built. I think if you will go and search in the Church Historian’s office, you will find a plan of a Temple, that is to be built in Jackson County, which will be very different from the little Temples we now build. By and by there will be a Temple built at Jerusalem. Who do you think is going to build it? You may think that it will be the unbelieving Jews who rejected the Savior. I believe that that which is contained on the 77th page of the Book of Mormon, as well as in many other places, in that same book, will be literally fulfilled. The Temple at Jerusalem will undoubtedly be built, by those who believe in the true Messiah. Its construction will be, in some respects different from the Temples now being built. It will contain the throne of the Lord, upon which he will, at times, personally sit, and will reign over the house of Israel forever. It may also contain twelve other thrones, on which the twelve ancient Apostles will sit, and judge the twelve tribes of Israel. It will, very likely, have an apartment, with a table, on which food and drink will be prepared, such as are suitable to the taste and happiness of immortal resurrected beings, thus fulfilling the words of Jesus—“Ye that have followed me in the regeneration shall eat and drink at my table, and sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Amen.

By Elder Orson Pratt, delivered on the Occasion of Dedicating the Temple Site at Logan, Cache County, Utah, on Friday, at 12 M. O’Clock, May 18, 1877.

O God, the Eternal Father, in the name of thy Son Jesus Christ, thy people and thy servants have met together upon this ground, for the purpose of dedicating the same unto the Lord our God, for building a house to thy name, even a Temple, wherein thy servants and thy handmaidens may receive such blessings as thou hast ordained to be bestowed upon thy people, that are pure in heart. We desire, our Father, that we may do this work with holiness of heart, that we may have the Spirit of the Lord our God to rest upon us, that we may dedicate and consecrate this place to be most holy—a sacred and holy place unto thee, whereon may be erected a Temple that shall be acceptable in thy sight. By virtue and authority of thy holy Priesthood, we do dedicate and consecrate this Temple site, and its immediate surroundings. We pray that it may be sanctified, that the foundation thereof may be steadfast, that it may be permanent, even as a rock.

We pray that thou wilt bless those who shall labor thereon; those that shall make the necessary excavation for the basement story; those that shall quarry the rock, either from the quarries of the mountains or of the valleys; those who shall be engaged thereon and have the superintendence of this place; those that shall shape and cut the rock and prepare them to be placed in their proper places on the building; those who shall be engaged in drawing the sand, the lime and the clay, and in working the mortar; and all those that shall be engaged in any way on the erection of the building, whether in cutting and preparing the timbers, in quarrying rock, or in whatever work they may be engaged, pertaining to the building of this Temple, that they may be preserved by thy power, that thy protection may be over them, that thy holy angels may be with them, and that they may labor with their mights upon the edifice, until it shall be finished, until it shall be prepared for a still further dedication; that it may be built according to the instructions and inspiration and revelations of thy Holy Spirit, that shall rest more especially upon the First Presidency of thy Church; that thou wilt reveal to them the pattern of this building, and all things appertaining to its entire construction, that the same may be given to them by the inspiration of thy Spirit; that thou wilt raise up those who shall be skilled workmen to adorn and beautify the various apartments, and beautify and adorn the pulpits that shall be made for the various orders and presidents of thy holy Priesthood, and for all the work that shall be placed upon this holy Temple; that for strength, and for grandeur, and for beauty, it may be a house which thou shalt delight in. For, O Lord, we know that thou hast promised to place thy name in the House that thy people build to thee, if they shall do the work with holiness of heart. But thou, O Lord, dwellest in heaven, in thy celestial abode, and thou art clothed with greatness, glory and power, but yet thou dost condescend to have holy places here upon the earth, where thou canst more fully manifest thyself to thy servants and handmaidens. We therefore pray that the house which thy people shall erect upon this spot may be a holy place, where the inhabitants of Logan, of Wellsville, of Hyrum, and of all the towns and counties round about, that shall assist in the work of building, may be abundantly blessed therein; that it may be a place, a holy place, a holy sanctuary to them; that those of thy people who shall seek thee in thy house, and shall offer their prayers and their supplications to thee, may be heard in heaven, thy dwelling place, and their petitions be answered to them, according to the righteousness of their hearts.

We pray that thy blessing may be upon all those upon whom thou hast laid this duty of erecting this Temple, that they may be stirred up with great energy and much faith, to devote their means, and their ability and talents, and all that thou hast given to them, to perform the work that thou hast, through thy servants, required at their hands; that they, when it is completed, may have a place in this House; that they may receive ordinances therein; that it may be a house wherein they can minister for themselves, in their washings, in their anointings, in their endowments, in their baptisms for their dead, in their confirmations, and in their sealing ordinances; that in all of these things thy people may accomplish the work which is required of them, in this House; and that records thereof may be kept, and that there may be a place in thy House for the holy records of thy Church—records that shall be acceptable in thy sight, records that shall be most holy, and stand to the justification of thy people who administer therein, and those who receive ordinances therein, whether for themselves or their dead; that out of all these books thy people may be judged, according to their works, according to that which they do, in thy name, with uprightness of heart.

Now, holy Father, we ask thee to bless this Temple site, this land on which this House shall be erected. Bless the elements thereof, that the same may be sanctified and purified and made holy. Bless the waters that come down from the mountains, whether they shall be conveyed in ditches, or aqueducts, or canals, that they may be blessed and made pure, for the purposes for which they shall be used, in thy holy Temple. We pray that thou wilt not only bless the place of the building, but all its surroundings; bless this plane or bench, and the streets around, and the shade trees which are for the purpose of ornamenting, that thy blessing may be upon them, that they may grow to beautify the place of this sanctuary, that there may be a place where thy people shall delight to congregate themselves, and wherein they shall delight to enter into holy communion in supplication to the Most High, and to hold holy converse one with another.

May thy blessing be upon all those of thy people who reside in this county and the surrounding counties, that shall do this work, that they may be blessed in their basket, and stores—blessed in their orchards and gardens, in their farms and fruits. Wilt thou, O Lord, restrain the coldness of the climate, the frosts and the snows, that they may not fall upon the earth out of season, that the earth may not fail to yield to thy people rich harvests, that they may reap and gather in great abundance? May thy blessings be upon all the labors of their hands, and grant that their flocks may be greatly increased and multiplied. Wilt thou bless their labors in their endeavors to beautify their habitations, and in planting out shade trees to make this a delightful place, upon this thy footstool?

O Lord, bless him whom thou hast inspired, even thy servant, President Brigham Young, to say to thy people, “Build to the Lord a house in this part of the Territory.” Bless him, O Lord, with long life; bless him with exceedingly great health and strength of body. Remove from him all the infirmities of old age. Grant, O Lord, that he may live to see this House erected, finished and set in order, according to thy righteous will, that within its walls he may rejoice in the midst of his brethren, and not only live to see the finishing of this Temple, but to behold the completion of the Temple to be erected in Salt Lake City, and the one commenced at Manti, in Sanpete County; that he may rejoice and be made glad in all thy goodness, and in beholding the beauty of the works of the hands of thy people, and thy blessings that shall be in their midst. Bless, O Lord, his generations after him, that they may rise up and be mighty men in the earth; that they may be clothed with the power and the spirit, so abundantly manifested upon their respected father; and may his descendants, in all generations, enjoy, even more abundantly, superior wisdom and knowledge and understanding from the heavens, to discern in their several callings all things which shall tend to the blessing and glory and future exaltation and progress of mankind on the earth; and that there never may be a time or period, in all the generations of this world, when he shall not be represented by a numerous posterity, who shall enjoy the fullness of the holy Priesthood, and the powers, blessings, and keys thereof.

Bless, O Lord, his Counselors and the Council of the Twelve Apostles, and bless all who preside, not only in this Stake of Zion, when it shall be more fully set in order, but in all the Stakes of Zion throughout these mountain regions. Bless this whole community, that they may be prepared to enter into thy House, when it shall be completed, with clean hands and pure hearts.

May blessings, and heavenly manifestations, and excellency of wisdom, and fullness of knowledge be the portion of thy Priesthood and of thy Saints, throughout all their dwelling places, but more especially in these holy places, appointed and dedicated unto thy great name, wherein thou wilt dwell among thy people forevermore. Hear, O Lord, these humble petitions of thy people, and mercifully accept the dedication of this ground, by thy servants. All of which we humbly do, and ask for, in the name of thy beloved Son, even Jesus Christ. Amen.

Remarks by Elder John Taylor, delivered on the Occasion of Dedicating the Temple Site at Logan, Cache County, Utah, on Friday, at 12 M. O’Clock, May 18, 1877.

I feel to rejoice to see the work of God progressing as it is today, and to witness the spirit and feeling that are being manifested among the Saints everywhere throughout the Territory for the advancement of His Church and Kingdom on the earth. In my visit south to attend Conference, I felt to rejoice exceedingly in seeing the Temple completed at St. George. It is a most beautiful building, pure and white as the driven snow, both outside and in. It is elegant in design, and there is a manifest propriety and adaptability in all its arrangements. The labor and finish exhibit talent and artistic skill of the highest order, and it is chaste, exquisite, appropriate, and beautiful in all its appointments.

Approaching from the north, with the black basaltic lava mountain frowning on the background, and the grim red sandstone nearer its base, relieved indeed by the beautiful city of St. George, with its shrubberies, its gardens and orchards, its vines, its trees and flowers, it stands as a chaste memorial, a sweet elysium, a haven of repose, in this beautiful oasis of the desert; and is a proud and lasting monument of its originator and designer, the fidelity of the architect, the skill of the mechanics, and the faith, self-denial, liberality and devotion of the Latter-day Saints.

When I visited that holy Temple, accompanied by my brethren who were with me, we experienced a sacred thrill of joy, and a solemn, reverential sensation. As we entered its sacred portals, we felt that we were standing on holy ground, and experienced, with one of old, “Surely this is the House of God, and the gate of heaven.” That is not simply a metaphorical expression, but a reality, for it is in that House, and it will be in the House to be built on this ground, that the most sacred ordinances of God are to be performed, which are associated with the interest and happiness of the human family, living and dead. I felt to rejoice in my heart that we had been thus far successful in the building of one temple to the name of our Father and God.

On our return from St. George, when we came to Manti, in Sanpete County, we found a place dedicated and set apart like this ground has been. Again I felt to rejoice to witness the spirit and feeling that were manifested among the brethren in that district of country; everybody seemed desirous to commence the work of building the Temple. When I heard of the one to be erected here my joy was still greater, and I am indeed very happy for the privilege of meeting with you, of taking part in this dedication, of listening to the prayer of Brother Pratt and the remarks of President Young, all of which were dictated by the Spirit of the living God, all of which have their meaning, and ought to influence our hearts and minds, and lead us to take a deep and abiding interest in the great and important things that are going on in our midst and around about us. They are things in which the angels and gods are interested, and in which God our Father is interested, and all the ancient prophets and holy men of God that have ever lived; all feel interested in these things which we are now engaged in, and all stand ready to approve of our works. If we go to work with all our hearts and with all our souls, we can accomplish it within the time the President has given us. Yes, I will venture to say we can do it in two-and-a-half years, instead of three-and-a-half years. If we can lay aside our narrow, contracted ideas, and feel that we are servants of the living God, that we are operating and cooperating with Him and with the holy Priesthood behind the veil for the accomplishment of this object, then the power and blessing of Almighty God will be upon us and be within us, and we will feel like giants refreshed with new wine, and the work of God will roll on, Zion will arise and shine, and the glory of God will rest upon her.

I say “Amen” to the prayer of Brother Pratt, and to the remarks of President Young, and I say God bless our President and his Counselors, God bless the Twelve, and God bless the Presidents and Bishops and every good man that fears him and keeps his commandments. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered on the Occasion of Dedicating the Temple Site at Logan, Cache County, Utah, on Friday, at 12 M. O’Clock, May 18, 1877.

Brethren, if you will give me your attention, I will say a few words to you. We have dedicated this spot of ground upon which we expect to erect a Temple, in which to administer the ordinances of the House of God. Into this house, when it is completed, we expect to enter to enjoy the blessings of the priesthood, and receive our washings, our anointings, our endowments, and our sealings; and the brethren will be sealed to brethren to connect the links and make perfect the chain from ourselves to Father Adam. This is the object of the Temple which we are about to commence building at this place. We require the brethren and the sisters to go to with their might and erect this Temple; and from the architect to the boy that carries the drinking water to the men that work on the building, we wish them to understand that wages are entirely out of the question. We are going to build this House for ourselves, and we shall expect the brethren and sisters, neighborhood after neighborhood, ward after ward, to turn out their proportion of men to come here and labor as they shall be notified by the proper authorities.

This may be called a temporal work, but it pertains to the salvation of ourselves as well as our friends who have passed behind the veil, and also to the generations that are to come after us. We can carry this Temple forward with our labor, without any burden to ourselves if our hearts are in the work, and we will be blessed abundantly in doing so. We will be better off in our temporal affairs when it is completed than when we commenced, or than we would be if we did not build it.

The time we enjoy is the Lord’s, but we have the permission to dictate its use according to our own good pleasure. When the brethren come to work on this Temple they may expect to be blessed of the Lord, in proportion to their faith. We feel to ask the brethren to go to as they may be called upon by those who shall be placed to take charge of the work, and complete the building in three years from next fall—I think it can be done within that time— that we may come up and commence to give endowments. This work can be done with all ease in that time if we are disposed to.

We pray for you continually, that you may be blessed. I feel to bless you according to the power and keys of the holy priesthood bestowed upon me, and my brethren with me, heart and hand, and all the Saints feel to say “Amen,” feel to bless each other, feel to do the work of the Lord, and dismiss the narrow, contracted, covetous feelings that are so interwoven with the feelings of our natures. It seems hard to get rid of them, but we must overcome them and unite ourselves together in the holy order of God, that we may be Saints of the Most High, with our interests, our faith and labors, that our hopes and the results of our labors may be concentrated in the salvation of the human family.

Brethren and Sisters, try to realize these things. Awake and lay these things to heart. Seek to the Lord to know his mind and will, and when you ascertain it also to have the will to do it.

God bless you, Amen.

Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, May 13, 1877.

I will read a few passages contained in a modern revelation, given through the prophet Joseph Smith, on the 22nd and the 23rd days of September, 1832—

And the Lord confirmed a priesthood also upon Aaron and his seed, throughout all their generations, which priesthood also continueth and abideth forever with the priesthood which is after the holiest order of God.

And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.

Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifested.

And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh;

For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.

Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God;

But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence; therefore, the Lord in his wrath, for his anger was kindled against them, swore that they should not enter into his rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fullness of his glory.

Therefore, he took Moses out of their midst, and the holy priesthood also;

And the lesser priesthood continued, which priesthood holdeth the key of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel.

It is not my design this morning to speak very lengthily, but it is my great desire, during the time I may speak, that I may have the faith and prayers of all the Latter-day Saints present, and of every person who desires to be edified and instructed. It is also my desire that I may have a portion of the Holy Spirit to rest upon me, that the words which I may speak may be instructive and edifying to those who hear. That is the object of speaking, the object of hearing—to be edified.

From the passages I have read, we learn that God, in all ages of the world, has had a Priesthood on the earth, that is, a Priesthood after the order of his Son, sometimes called the Priesthood after the order of Melchizedek; and that connected with this Priesthood, in all dispensations, there is a lesser Priesthood, called sometimes the Priesthood after the order of Aaron, or the Aaronic Priesthood, which is merely an appendage to the higher Priesthood of Melchizedek; in other words, it is included in the Priesthood of Melchizedek. It is more especially called the lesser Priesthood, because those holding it, and being in possession of no higher authority, can only obtain a certain portion or measure of the blessings that the Lord has in store for his people; it can proceed so far and no farther; it is limited in its nature, its power, its ordinances and its ministry. But when combined with the higher Priesthood after the order of Melchizedek, it then can receive all the blessings that are ordained of the Almighty to be bestowed upon his people in any dispensation. Like unto the Melchizedek Priesthood, it is everlasting in its nature, not given for time alone, to be exercised here for a few years upon the earth and then cease, but it continues forever, with the Priesthood which is after the holiest order of God.

The higher Priesthood after the order of the Son of God, we are told, in a modern revelation, holds the power to commune with the Church of the Firstborn that are in heaven, and that too not in a spiritual sense alone; or, as some would infer, to commune with them without receiving any revelation, to commune with them without beholding their personages; but in the literal sense, even the same as one man communes with another. It holds not only the power of the ministration of holy angels to be seen personally, but also the power of beholding the face of God the Father, that through the power and manifestations of the spirit of God and of his angels we may be prepared to enter into the presence of God the Father in the world to come, and enjoy continual communion with him, and be crowned with the glory of the celestial kingdom, to stand in our place and calling to all eternity, in connection with all those who hold the Priesthood in the eternal worlds.

The Priesthood of Aaron, being an appendage to the higher Priesthood, has power to administer in temporal ordinances, such as that of baptism for remission of sins, the administration of the Lord’s Supper, and in attending to temporal things for the benefit of the people of God. Among the privileges that are granted to this lesser Priesthood is to hold communion with holy angels that may be sent down from heaven.

In the early days of this Church the Lord, through a revelation, set forth the various appendages of the higher Priesthood, the duties of its several offices and their callings; also how they should officiate, and what ordinances they were permitted to administer, and what was not permitted to be administered by those holding it.

It seems that since these revelations were given, the Church, during its history, has passed through a variety of circumstances, wherein a perfect organization according to the rules and laws, as laid down by modern revelation, has not been entered into. Circumstances always did more or less to alter the condition of the people. Some, by virtue of their Priesthood have officiated, without being set apart, in certain callings that pertain to those who should be selected and set apart for that purpose. Let me here say, for the benefit of those who have not studied the Doctrine and Covenants of the Church, that if we have literal descendants of Aaron, they have the birthright, through their obedience to the Gospel of the Son of God, to the bishopric, which pertains to the lesser Priesthood. It is the presiding authority over the lesser Priesthood; they have the right to claim it, and to all the keys and powers pertaining to it, they have the right to be ordained and set apart to that calling and to officiate therein, and that too without the aid of two counselors. That is what we are taught in modern revelation. But as we have none at present, to our knowledge, that belong to the seed of Aaron, that has the right to this by lineage, the Lord has pointed out that those who are ordained to the higher Priesthood have the right, by virtue of this higher authority, to administer, when set apart by the First Presidency, or under their direction and according to their instruction, as Bishops to officiate in the Presidency of the lower Priesthood. This order has been followed ever since the Lord revealed these things to this Church. A Bishop must be ordained to the high Priesthood, and by authority of that Priesthood he may be set apart as a Bishop to preside over the lesser Priesthood, to exercise the functions thereof, with the exception of one condition, that is, he must have two counselors ordained from among the high Priests of the Church. These three persons must officiate in relation to all the ordinances that pertain to the lesser Priesthood, and to administer in temporal things, having a knowledge of them by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, as we are taught in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants.

Now what I wish to say in relation to this matter is this—In some portions of our Territory, instead of this organization having been carried out in all its perfection, we have acted, in some few instances, for the time being, by appointing a person to take that position, when he had not been previously set apart to that special calling. We might refer to persons in some few of our settlements, both north and south, who have acted as Bishops by virtue of appointment only, and not ordination.

I understand now that the Spirit of the Lord has manifested unto the President of the Church, who is the proper authority, for the Twelve to go forth and set in order and organize more perfectly the various Branches that are located throughout all the Territory, and in the adjoining Territories. And no doubt those few who are acting in the Bishopric without being ordained will receive their ordination, and there may be many changes, in order to introduce, in all its perfection, as far as we have knowledge and understanding, a more perfect organization throughout the Church in these mountains.

The object of this perfect organization is that we may be entitled to greater blessings therefrom; that we may be entitled to a greater fullness of the Holy Spirit; that everything may be dictated according to the mind and will of God, not only in spiritual things, but also in regard to our temporal matters; and also that every person may know his place, that his duties may be assigned to him, and by knowing what is required, that all may the more diligently seek after the Holy Ghost to direct them in their positions and callings, and have more faith, more assurance before God, to obtain confidence before the heavens, and before the brethren, in order that their ministry may benefit the people. You are well aware that we have been taught, for these many years, the great necessity of establishing a union in the midst of this people. Although we are the most united people upon the face of the earth, of which we have any knowledge, yet we are far from that perfection of unity which should characterize the Saints of the Most High God.

I can see, in this order which the President has laid before us, a beauty, a consistency, a plan which the Lord has revealed that will entitle the Latter-day Saints to greater blessings and privileges through which that union will be brought about which we have so long desired in our hearts.

We preach and declare to all people that God has raised up a kingdom to prepare the way before the coming of Christ. We declare to all men, wherever our missionaries go, that this is the grand preparation for the coming of our Lord and Savior to reign on the earth. When he does come, that part of the prayer which he taught us to utter will be fulfilled, namely, “Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.” Were we permitted to have the veil removed, according to the hymn just sung, namely that “the veil should be rent in twain,” and were we to behold the order that exists in yonder heavens in the midst of celestial hosts, we should there see a perfect union—no dissensions, no bitterness of feeling, no difference of ideas or opinion in regard to their duties, but all understanding as one, and all moving as one body to fulfill and accomplish the purposes of Jehovah.

Now, his will must be done on the earth as is done in heaven, in order that that prayer which has been offered up by his people ever since it was revealed, may be fulfilled to the very letter. Hence the great necessity of the Latter-day Saints preparing themselves by being united, even as the hosts of heaven are. For remember that the Apostle Paul says, “that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on the earth; even in him.” If then the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn are to come down out of heaven to dwell on the earth, how important it is that the Latter-day Saints should be prepared to join this grand company, being united as they are, having no feeling of dissension, no division in their midst, no evil or corruption of any nature; no covetousness, no feeling of individuality in regard to wealth, but having all upon the altar ready to subserve the purposes of the Most high in building up his kingdom upon the earth.

This, therefore, is the purpose of this more perfect organization which is being introduced among the Branches throughout the Territory of Utah; it is to entitle us to these great blessings promised in the word of God. It is not only to build a Temple, but many Temples, as the case may require. This is not the only duty of the Latter-day Saints, although this duty is one of great importance. But then is it not of still greater importance that we, as a people, when these Temples are built, and finished, and dedicated, should be prepared to enter into the courts of the same, to go in there with a perfect oneness and union of feeling? Can we expect in these holy Temples, which are to be dedicated and set apart to the name of the Lord, to receive the blessings promised in Temples, unless we are a people of one heart and one mind? I think not. I read, in one of the revelations contained in this book of Doctrine and Covenants, that when God commanded a Temple to be built in Jackson County, in the State of Missouri, he made this promise—“Wherefore,” said the Lord, “I commanded the people of that county, and the people around about in the settlements, to build a Temple unto my name, and inasmuch as my people build a Temple unto my name, and suffer no unclean thing to enter into it, that it be not defiled, behold I will come into it; I will be there, and my glory shall be there. And it shall come to pass, that every soul that shall come into that Temple, who is pure in heart, shall see my face.” This is one of the promises and privileges pertaining to the High Priesthood, after the order of the Son of God. This is one of the blessings, ordained for all dispensations from the earliest period to the closing up of the last dispensation of the fullness of times; that is, in all those dispensations the righteous were to be blessed with the powers, and keys, and blessings of the High Priesthood. For this purpose, they were to build Temples to his name. In these Temples, if they were pure in heart, they would have this privilege of beholding the face of God and without this Priesthood and the ordinances thereof, no man in the flesh could behold the face of God the Father and live.

We have accomplished a great work thus far. I feel, in connection with my brethren, to rejoice exceedingly in the work that the Lord our God has performed in the earth, through us his people. Truly he hath fulfilled that prophecy given in 1830—“The decree hath gone forth from the Father, that mine elect shall be gathered in from the four quarters of the earth to one place upon the face of the land.” This revelation was given before there was any gathering of the Latter-day Saints. You are my witnesses, and you are also witnesses to yourselves that the Lord has fulfilled this to the very letter. His elect from the four winds have come by thousands, and by tens of thousands, and have gathered to one place upon the face of this land. What has been the object of this gathering? It is to learn more perfectly of the ways of God, which we could not have learned in a scattered condition; in our native countries, while mixed up with the wicked and self-righteous. We are now partly isolated; and we have come from the ends of the earth, that by our united faith we may accomplish that which we could not have done by our own individual faith alone.

By and by, when this people shall have sanctified themselves before the Lord, and organized according to the laws and commandments of God, having been taught by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and by his servants that minister in their midst, carrying out the counsels and teachings they receive, they will become like unto one body, as it is written in the parable contained in the Book of Mormon, that the Lord will prune the vineyard, or take some of the branches away and graft them into another branch, etc.; he will make a change of the branches; he will prune the trees and dig about them, that the roots and the tops thereof may be kept equal. Understand that the roots and the tops thereof shall be made equal, so that the tops and branches may not overcome the roots by taking strength unto themselves. Why? That the tree may bring forth that fruit which is the most precious unto the Lord.

Therefore he is gathering us here, that we may become like unto one body, being sanctified, and become, as another revelation says, “as fair as the sun, as clear as the moon, that the banners of my people may be terrible unto all the nations of the earth.” Why terrible? Because of the power of the Lord which will be in the midst of his people, because of the manifestations of heaven unto his people, because the nations will hear that God is indeed in the midst of Zion. They will hear all these things, and the wicked will fear and tremble. They will fear because of their iniquity; fear and tremble, because of their wickedness; fear and tremble, because they have supported all manner of wickedness and corruption, division and strife, and abominations of every kind in their midst. Therefore restfulness will seize upon them, and they will know of a surety that the Lord God is in the midst of the people of Zion, that his power is there, that his spirit is there, and that he manifests himself there in great glory. Amen.