Discourse by President George Q. Cannon, delivered at the General Conference, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, April 3, 1881.

It is with great pleasure that I meet with you, my brethren and sisters, in Conference today. And though in some respects I am not feeling very eager to address so large a congregation as has assembled this afternoon, still we all know that if we can get the influence and assistance of the Spirit of the Lord, there is no difficulty in speaking or advancing such thoughts and suggestions as are suitable.

It seems to me that of all men I ought to be most thankful. I certainly feel exceedingly happy in being in your midst, in beholding your faces, in sharing in your meetings, in partaking of your spirit; I am thankful I have this privilege, for such I esteem it.

I have been absent, as you all know, for some sixteen weeks. During my absence I have enjoyed myself very much, that is, considering the circumstances. I have had excellent health, and I do not know that I ever felt better in my life, under the circumstances, than I have during the past winter. Of course there has been considerable discussion upon our cause and question, and considerable has been said about us; but so far as my individual feelings have been concerned, I have not been disabled, not for a single second. There is an excitement about this warfare, and the consciousness that victory will eventually perch upon our banners and that we are on the winning side, that makes such a contest pleasurable. I know this, that when everything is still—when the stream is quietly flowing along without a ripple—I begin to be uneasy. I expect you do. We have been accustomed now for so many years—in fact it may be said from the beginning—to contending with the turbulence of the elements; to battling with angry waves, that it seems to be the natural condition for us to be in. At any rate, we know when this is the case that somebody is a little disturbed about us, and that some think it necessary to be stirring up opposition against us. With the activity which prevails at home in the curious departments of the work, the zeal that is being manifested among the Saints by the leading men in the various Stakes of Zion: with the labors of the home missionaries, the Young Men’s and Young Women’s Mutual Improvement Associations, the Relief Societies, the Sunday Schools, and the various organizations which have taken shape in our midst, together with the union of the people, and the sending of missionaries abroad in such numbers with all these things at work, tending to consolidate the people, to make them of one heart and one mind, to preach the principles of truth, to declare to the inhabitants of the earth the salvation of our God, and to leave them without excuse for rejecting the truth; I say, with all these activities at home and abroad, together with the building of Temples—a great work which devolves upon us as a people; with all these things, it is no wonder to me that opposition should be fierce, and that there should be a great deal of talk about the “Mormons.” We have been taught from the beginning that this would be the case; the earliest teachings that I can remember were to this effect, leading me forward, as you were led forward, to anticipate just such things, just such a warfare as that in which we are involved. Year by year, as this work develops, as the purposes of God unfold, do we see the literal, the definite fulfillment of the predictions that were uttered years and years ago concerning the work of God.

The Prophet Joseph Smith’s name has been known for good and evil among all the inhabitants of the earth, being regarded by some as a man divinely inspired, a prophet of the living God, his words treasured up as the words of a prophet should be; and by others, he is looked upon as an impostor, an ignoramus, a man in fact too bad to live. This Joseph Smith, who is thus known and has this repute among various people, is gradually being lifted up and made prominent, and through his being lifted up and made prominent the name of our God, whose servant he was, is being glorified. Thus Joseph Smith, whose predictions were uttered fifty years ago, and from that time down until he sealed his testimony with his blood nearly 37 years ago—this Joseph Smith is being proved to be a prophet, not by the Latter-day Saints alone—for we are doing comparatively little towards the vindication of his prophetic views, of this divine calling; for we are a feeble people; we are a people few in num– ber, but the inhabitants of the earth, numerous as they are, by their words and acts, are establishing the divinity of his mission and proving that he is the man that we have testified he was from the beginning.

To me the ways of the Lord are very wonderful when I thus contemplate them. How wonderful are the Lord’s works! How wondrous are His doings in the midst of the inhabitants of the earth! How strangely, and by what singular means he brings to pass his great and glorious purposes, using men, using nations, using governments, as seems good to him, to effect his divine purposes! Those of us who have been brought up in this Church who can remember the days that are past, the days of our weakness, the days of our oppression, the days when we were a broken and a peeled people, can call to mind how unlikely it was that the teachings we have received concerning this work would ever be fulfilled. We had faith that they would be. But it required the eye of faith and a heart of faith to see or to comprehend that they would be, as they have been, developed through the years that have intervened until the present time. The fulfillment of these teachings and predictions has brought to us confirmation of our faith; brought to us more and more with the greatest impressiveness the truth of that which we were told, and which, as I have said, was so unlikely to be fulfilled.

In the beginning, this work, before it was an organized body, that is when it was in its embryo, when but a few men had any knowledge concerning the purposes of God connected with it, excited hatred and brought forth contention. An obscure young man, without worldly influence, without advantageous surroundings, declared that God had again spoken from the heavens and that angels had again descended to the earth; testified that the Church of Christ was about to be reestablished with its old powers, and that the everlasting Gospel, the old plan of salvation was to be again restored in its original purity, and with it the old authority, the everlasting Priesthood, by means of which men and women could be inducted into the Church of God by the administration of the old ordinances, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, with its attendant powers and blessings. The mere declaration of these things by a young man who was thus obscure, without influence, without the prestige of education or birth, immediately excited a fever in the neighborhood; an excitement was aroused, and men began to persecute him; they began to tell lies about him; they began to bring false charges against him. There was a restlessness begotten that could not be accounted for upon natural principles, or upon anything they could see with their natural eyes; it was entirely unaccountable. His family was calumniated; he was calumniated and slandered; every act of his life was turned over and made evil of, and charges of wrongdoing were hurled against him of which he was entirely innocent, and for which there was not even the color or semblance of truth.

On next Wednesday, fifty-one years will have elapsed since the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized. It then consisted of six members. Not very numerous; you can count them on your fingers. It might be thought that so insignificant a body of people would escape attention. Not so, however. The whole countryside was aroused. A terrible thing had taken place. This Joseph Smith had dared to organize a Church. He had found some gold plates, had a “golden Bible.” He had been a money digger; and he had done a great many things, and at last his audacity had culminated in the organization of a church. As I have said the whole countryside was in a flame.

“We cannot endure this; it is a disgrace to our city, our country, our township, to let such a vile fellow as he palm his impositions on the public. We must put a stop to it.”

The result was accusations, criminal accusations. Joseph Smith was brought before officers of the law upon every conceivable complaint. The papers heralded his disgrace throughout all the neighborhood, as far as they had circulation, determined to lie him down. There are certain fabulous attributes incorrectly ascribed to the creature called the octopus—or devil-fish. It is said that when it wants to devour its victims, it ejects an inky substance that fills the whole water around so that it can the more easily capture its prey. It was something in this manner that the press and pulpit endeavored to stifle the truth and to destroy those who testified that they had received it. The whole country was filled with every kind of slander. Human imagination was racked to invent stories. They said that Joseph Smith had tried to establish his divine calling by attempting to walk upon the water, with cunningly arranged planks placed a short distance beneath the surface of the water, but that, fortunately, he had been detected in his imposition. They said he had tried to raise the dead, and that the man whom he tried to raise nearly died, because the apparatus which he had arranged for him to get air became accidentally deranged. There was no end of stories told by ignorant people, vile people, deluded people, wicked people, and even by men who called themselves ministers of the Gospel. You cannot think of anything that was not told, that was not sworn to—any number of witnesses could be obtained to testify to the truth of these falsehoods. At the same time it was said it would only be a little while until the system of which he was the head would burst up. “We have only to wait a while and it will disappear.” But it did not disappear.

The Elders went forth regardless of the slanders, regardless of the falsehoods, regardless of the calumnies, preaching the word of God, preaching it in the spirit and power of God. Regardless of all these things they went—persecuted, derided, their names cast out as evil. Men considered it almost a disgrace to talk to them; if they received them into their houses their neighbors looked upon them as though they were entertaining lepers. “What, have you got a ‘Mormon’ in your house? Do you know what these people are?”

Traveling without purse or scrip, as their predecessors had done in primitive days of Gospel purity, from town to town, from village to village, from hamlet to hamlet, bearing all kinds of insults and persecutions and hardships, they traveled the land, lifting up their voices everywhere where they had the opportunity, testifying in all humility that God had again spoken from the heavens; that God had again restored the truth in its ancient purity and power; that God had restored the ordinances of the Gospel as they once existed upon the earth; and declaring unto the inhabitants of the earth that God is a hearer of prayers and that he will answer their petitions when they call upon him in faith. Thus they went, traveling through the United States and Canada, and afterwards crossing the ocean to the Old World, proclaiming there the same truths. A strange thing to be heard in Great Britain—Great Britain! Who had been sending out her missionaries by thousands to the remotest parts of the earth; who considered herself as dwelling in the blaze of Gospel truth, and occupying the foremost rank among civilized and enlightened nations! A strange thing for men from the wilds of America to come and preach to them the truth of heaven, to tell them the contents of their Bible. Presumptuous as it seemed, the Elders, nevertheless, did this. They had received the dispensation of the Gospel, and, like Paul, they felt it would be woe unto them if they did not preach it. And they went from land to land until every continent, almost every land, has been visited by them.

While the missionaries were thus engaged, the work at home did not cease. Persecution at home was not arrested. Mobs continued to gather together as they had done before the Elders crossed the ocean; and it was not then the cry that “these Mormons were introducing patriarchal marriage, which we think hurtful to our civilization;” that was not the charge. In the early days the charges urged against the Saints when they went out West to the limits of the Republic, were, that they believed in anointing and in laying hands upon the sick; that they believed in revelation; that they believed in prophets; that they listened to the counsels and teachings of those prophets. Was not this very dangerous? But this was not all. It sounds very queer in these days to think that one of the gravest charges made against the Latter-day Saints by the mob that drove them from their homes in Jackson County was that they were Yankees and abolitionists! Designing men, seeking for pretexts that would answer the purpose of inflaming the minds of ignorant people, seized and used this as a good ground upon which to base designs for expulsion. Missouri was a slave State, and the Latter-day Saints were in the main New England people; they who were not were from New York, Pennsylvania and other middle States. But they were known as Yankees, and, as their enemies asserted, abolitionists—a suitable people to be pounced upon and driven out. They were driven out from Jackson County, and finally, to get rid of them, Lilburn W. Boggs, governor and commander-in-chief of the militia of the State of Missouri, issued an exterminating order, threatening the Latter-day Saints with extermination unless they left the State. There was one alternative left to them if they remained in the State—apostasy. But Missouri’s favor was not so desirable to the Latter-day Saints as the favor of their God, and they chose to abandon their homes and they marched out of the State as best they could. Now, during all these years, and subsequently, when we were being mobbed, plundered, and driven, the Latter-day Saints had an abiding faith, based upon the revelations that God had given through brother Joseph Smith, that the day would come when we should be a great people, when our virtues would be recognized, when our patriotism would be vindicated, when our loyalty to truth and to the principles of virtue and of good government, of pure repub– licanism would be established and the work of God with which we are connected become universal. Brother Joseph had predicted this. The Elders, the Saints, the people old and young believed it with all their hearts. The hatred of mobs, the burning of houses, the destruction of property, the expulsion from homes never weakened their confidence in the truth of these predictions, and their eventual fulfillment. That feeling had been implanted there by the Almighty; the Spirit of God had borne testimony to it in their hearts, and they never doubted it. Hated by a township, they foresaw the time when they would be hated by a county; hated by a county, they foresaw the time when they would be hated by a State; hated by a State, they foresaw the time when they would be hated by men who constituted a party who, it might be said, were the representatives of the nation; hated by a nation, they foresaw the time when they would be hated by other nations, until, as I have said, their loyalty to truth, to virtue, to good government, to good order and everything that is pure, holy and Godlike, would be vindicated and established in the eyes of all men—by the nations at large, as well as their fellow citizens.

How unlikely a thing to have been when there were but six persons composing this church! Yet the revelations given previous to that organization, the word of God as it has come down to us embalmed in that sacred book which contains the revelations given through the Prophet Joseph Smith, foretells in plainness just such results as these that I have alluded to. The spirit of this work, its character, the results which should follow it were plainly mapped out beforehand as though all the events connected with it had already taken place and were written by the pen of the historian, instead of that of the prophet. The historian can delineate with no greater accuracy (though he may give more details) when he writes the history of this people and the results of the labors of the elders of this Church, than it has been written for half a century.

The inhabitants of the earth, contrary to their will, and despite their wishes, are contributing to establish the prophetic calling of Brother Joseph Smith, and to fulfill the revelations of God given through him. Hated as he has been; despised as he has been; derided as he has been, this is the result of their actions. The destiny of this people has been clearly foretold. Here are men whom I see around me, whose heads are whitened with years, whose bodies are frail and trembling, and women, too, who have been connected with this Church from its earliest days, who know of the truth of what I am stating, who know that there is nothing that they behold today that they did not behold by the spirit of prophecy and with the eye of faith years and years ago. And many things that are yet unfulfilled, that yet remain in the womb of time, to be yet brought forth. The destiny, as I have said, of the people, is written in heaven, it is enrolled in the archives of eternity. God has spoken it; the eternal fiat has gone forth, and it will never be revoked. We play our part; we figure as actors in these scenes. By and by others will come; the column of humanity will march on; the column from the eternal worlds will continue to descend. Myriads of the just are watching with, I might say, eagerness, the development of this work and they are doing their part, and unborn myriads are looking forward to the future of this work, small as it is today, insignificant as it is today. It is no enthusiasm or fanaticism that inspires these words; but it is the plain truth not half told; it is merely to hint of that which will be. For this is the work of the eternal Jehovah, the work spoken of by all the holy prophets since the world began; the great work that is to prepare the earth and its inhabitants for the coming of the Son of God. Who that reads this sacred book, the Bible, does not know that Prophets and Apostles, Seers and Revelators—all looked forward to the time when a great work should be done in the earth? They predicted it, they dwelt upon it, in inspired strains. Poets, too, who never laid claim to inspiration, have looked forward to the “golden age,” have dwelt with delightful language and, it may be said, with inspired pen, upon that great time that should come in the history of our race.

It is true as I have said, that from the beginning calumny and slander of every conceivable kind have been circulated concerning this work. It is so today. It goes the rounds of the country, and is believed in by the great masses of the people. The Latter-day Saints are looked upon by many as guilty of every conceivable crime. Their true characters are so befogged by misrepresentation, that strangers almost come into our borders as though they were about to enter a den of thieves—that is, strangers who do not know better. Murder, outrage, robbery, perjury, villainy of every kind is attributed to this people. Why should such a worldwide notoriety be given to a people who number no more than we? Why should such lengths be gone to in falsifying an innocent people? It might be thought that we, being so insignificant numerically, might escape notice; or at least such prominent notice; it might have been thought in the beginning that Brother Joseph Smith and his compeers would have escaped notice. It might be thought that when they were few in numbers and their influence did not extend beyond a township, that they might have escaped notice. But no, the world has seemed determined in a way that to the natural eye seems unaccountable, to uplift this people to importance, to give them a worldwide reputation, to advertise them throughout the earth. And why is this? The Latter-day Saints ought to understand it, and many of them do understand it. You know the powers that are at work—the same powers that blackened the Son of God, that made him appear so hideous that men in crucifying him thought they were doing God service—and were perfectly willing to have all the consequences fall upon them and their children; the same influence that caused an Isaiah to be sawn asunder, that caused a Daniel to be thrust into the lion’s den, and that caused the death of nearly all of the prophets, and that produced the martyrdom of eleven of the Twelve Apostles, according to tradition; it is that same influence that never rested until every inspired man was destroyed from the face of the earth, that is still busy. This Satanic power has kept at work slaying the servants of the Almighty, including the holiest being that ever trod the earth—the Son of God.

Is it not astonishing that the world cannot see these things? Think of the long list of martyrs, coming down through the ages from Abel; the best and the holiest men killed by their fellows, not because they thought them virtuous, not because they thought them holy, not because they looked upon them as pure; but because they were considered too dangerous to be suffered to live.

I wonder when I know that this has been the case that the world cannot see today, that the same spirit is abroad in the earth. It is not usual for wicked people to kill wicked people, that is, in the way the prophets and apostles were killed.

Here is a feeble people in these mountains who have come here fleeing from persecution, carrying with them when they left their native States and launched forth into an untrodden and unknown wilderness, a love for the principles of liberty for which their fathers, many of them, had fought. Notwithstanding their persecutions and the vile treatment they had received at the hands of their fellow citizens, they did not allow that feeling to dominate in their hearts; but loving the flag, the stars and stripes; loving the republic; loving the institutions of freedom, loving the Constitution, loving the laws, and carrying with them that love into the heart of the wilderness, and there laying the foundation of a great commonwealth they sought for admission as a State, and to have in that State every human right fully guarded and civil and religious liberty secured for people of every creed, and of no creeds, not seeking for alliance with Mexico, whose land they occupied, not seeking alliance with Great Britain, who was their neighbor on the north; not seeking alliance with the wild races, or endeavoring, or seeking to set up an independent republic, but their hearts going back fondly to the home of their fathers, to the land which their fathers had helped to redeem and make free, to the Constitution upon which the government of the land was founded, to the flag for which their fathers had fought and bled, they showed to the world that persecuted as they might be, hated as they might be, despised as they might be, and driven as they might be, they could not extinguish within them the love of liberty, the love of true republicanism. This was the testimony which this people bore to the inhabitants of the earth; and it might be thought, as I have said, that the people who had done this, working with unceasing toil to reclaim the waste places and make them habitable and beautiful and a fit abode for themselves and their children; sending out missionaries at untold sacrifice to the nations of the earth to proclaim the Gospel and gather in the honest from their own land and from the remotest nations of the earth; doing this for years, until gradually, as we see, the stately structure of a great commonwealth rises up around us; law executed; liberty preserved; the utmost freedom extended to every human being throughout the length and breadth of these mountain valleys; life and property as secure here as they ever were in any of the States of the Union; strangers coming in here before the railroad was built, weary and footsore, received with hospitable kindness. This tabernacle, after it was erected, and before this was erected, the old tabernacle, and before that was erected, the bowery, opened to preachers of every denomination, men of every creed united to proclaim their tenets, to give us their views; women protected throughout this land with such sacredness that they, old or young, beautiful or homely, could traverse every valley and pass through every town north and south, night or day, without hearing a word that would be improper, without ever witnessing a gesture that would annoy them; emigrants with their wagons coming in and leaving them in town unguarded, and not a thing harmed or taken—I say, it might be thought, viewing and witnessing these results—the virtue, the temperance, the good order, the frugality, the industry, the enterprise, the liberality, the honesty of the people, that somebody would think and say:

“What do all these attacks mean? Why is this crusade being waged against a people of this kind. Surely fifty millions of people with all the advantages of the age—the press, telegraph wires, pulpit, day and Sabbath schools, the wonderful improvements that are being brought out—everything in fact, in their power, including the wealth of the world at their command, surely these fifty millions of people should suffer a few thousands of people in Utah, to dwell in some degree of peace without constantly urging on the dogs of war against them; without hounding on every vile fellow in the nation to rob them and to engage in crusades against them, with the assurance that they will be justified in doing so.”

But no, this is not to be; it is not thus written; it is not the destiny of this people. We would never be the people God intends and designs us to be if we were to be let alone. The warfare must go on; it is an unceasing one; the powers are arrayed one against another, with God on one side and the Adversary on the other. The devil is not going to relinquish his ground. He has tried falsehood from the beginning, and tried it successfully in many instances. It has been said of him that he was a liar from the beginning; and it is certain he has not lost his old characteristics. He has succeeded by means of murder many times in the history of our race. He has contrived by this agency to maintain his foothold in the earth for a long time. He thinks, like men think who steal things and keep them for a long time, that he is the owner of the stolen property. The man who jumps another man’s land or claim, the longer he possesses it, the more assured he becomes that he ought to have it. Satan is imbued with this same idea; and he has recourse to the old method of warfare—lying; and lies are being circulated until the ear is tired listening to them. Every conceivable falsehood! Then he supplements lies with violence, and even murder has been resorted to. He thinks, if he can kill a man that puts an end to him; if he can kill a people that destroys them and their influence. But this time it is another sort of a work. God has spoken concerning this work; this is the last work that the Prophets or the Apostles have called the dispensation of the fullness of times. There was to be a time when Satan should have to recede inch by inch, step by step. That time has come. The column of the righteous, of the true is pressing onward; there is an irresistible power behind it. It will go forward gathering into its ranks the honest and virtuous from every nation; just as sure as we live this will be the case. It will gather people from every nation. It seems like a very strange thing to say, but on all proper occasions I say it with a great deal of pleasure, at home and from home, that I have been taught from early life that the day would come when republican institutions would be in danger in this nation and upon this continent, when, in fact, the republic would be so rent asunder by factions that there would be no stable government outside of the Latter-day Saints; and that it is their destiny as a people, to uphold constitutional government upon this land. Now, a great many people think this is a chimera of the brain; they think it folly to indulge in such an idea; but the day will come nevertheless. There are those in this congregation who will witness the time that the maintenance of true constitutional government upon this continent will be dependent upon this people, when it will have to be upheld by us.

We are battling all the time for human rights. We did so in the States before we were driven out; we have done so throughout these mountains, and are doing so today, contending for our rights. Even before the great tribunal of our nation, Congress, the contest is going on; for attempts are constantly being made to wrest from us our liberties, as citizens; and we are standing our ground as best we can, pleading for our rights, pleading for liberty of conscience, pleading for that freedom which belongs to the country, which God has guaranteed through the Constitution; not for ourselves alone, but for every creed, for every member of the human family. We do not want liberty for ourselves alone; we desire every man to have it: liberty for Ingersoll, and all who believe as he does; liberty for the followers of Muhammad and all who believe in the Koran; liberty for Beecher and for those of his way of thinking; and even Talmage who has talked so badly about us, we would have him enjoy liberty; yes, and permit him to say what he pleases about us, to take what view he pleases of our belief and practices, and to tell every– body what he thinks about them. We would give him the utmost liberty to do this, and every other man, to say what they please about us or about anybody else, as long as they do not interfere with the rights and the liberties of the people against whom they are opposed, protesting always, however, that men in criticizing others, should confine themselves strictly to the truth, or be held responsible to the laws for slanders and falsehood. All sects and all people should have this liberty, that is, liberty of conscience, liberty of speech and liberty of the press, as long as it does not degenerate into license, and interfere with the rights of others. We claim this for ourselves; we contend for it, and we shall contend for it, until it is gained.

Now, my brethren and sisters, I forgot that it is Sunday; I do not know, however, but what this is as good Gospel as I can declare; it is the Gospel of humanity; it is the Gospel of truth. And I hope that you will ever be true to these principles. It makes no difference really whether you will or not, so far as this great work is concerned; but it is a glorious reflection to know that we are striving to accomplish these ends.

When I look at the wonderful deliverance that has been wrought out for us, it is a subject of amazement to me. Still our enemies continue to plot and get up machinations. It is all right, let them have their agency, let them do as they please; it ought not to disturb us or cause us a moment’s uneasiness. Let them do as they please as long as they keep hands off.

I pray God to bless you and fill you with His Holy Spirit, and to bless His servants who may address us during this Conference, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered at the General Conference, Sunday Morning, April 3, 1881.

I think that all of us as Latter-day Saints should have our hearts filled with gratitude and thanksgiving to God our Heavenly Father for his mercies and blessings which we enjoy this day. It is certainly a source of much pleasure to me to have the privilege of meeting with so many of the Latter-day Saints, and with so many bearing the Holy Priesthood in this dispensation of God to man. I cannot but re– joice when I reflect upon the history of this people, and contemplate the dealings of God with us, how that He has protected us and sustained us and delivered us and made us a community in the land, and that too under adversity and opposition.

In tracing the history of the Prophets and Apostles of old, as well as those of our day, we find that there have been some very peculiar manifestations of the trust and con– fidence in God which they have exercised. Consider, for instance, the position of the Three Hebrews. They could afford to trust themselves in the hands of God; they could afford to meet whatever punishment or affliction or persecution which might be heaped upon them in consequence of their obeying the law of God. But they could not afford to bow down and worship the image which Nebuchadnezzar had caused to be set up, because it was contrary to the commandments of God. The history of the result of their refusing to obey the royal edict, commanding all Babylon to fall down and worship it, we are familiar with; also with the similar circumstance in which the Prophet Daniel figured. In any and every age of the world when God has called or commanded a man or a people to perform a certain work, they through determination and perseverance, and faith in him, have been enabled to accomplish it; and I do not know of a single instance wherein anything ennobling or exalting has been gained when his command has been shunned or willfully disobeyed. I will here mention the case of Jonah, which presents itself to my mind, when the Lord sent him to deliver a message to Ninevah. The requirement was a little too much for Jonah, and he thought he would try to avoid it; but after he had spent three days and nights in the belly of a whale, he thought, no doubt, that if ever he got to land he would unhesitatingly obey the commandments of the Lord. The result we know. We take our Savior, and also the Apostles who followed him; we read the history of what they suffered and passed through. All of the Apostles suffered death (excepting one, whom they could not destroy), including the Son of God himself, in order to seal their testimony with their blood; while the Savior had to suffer upon the cross, to fill the mission which he had been preordained to perform; which, by the way, is a very strange ensample to man, to see the Son of God, the Only Begotten of the Father on the earth, the Firstborn in the spirit world, a person of His high exaltation and glory, condescending to come forth to be born in a stable and cradled in a manger; and after he grew up, how he traveled about in adversity and suffering, never shrinking from any duty imposed upon him—it should certainly be a good ensample to all of his followers. And the Apostles themselves, because of their integrity to the truths of the Gospel which they had received through their Master, the Savior, they like him, suffered death, and thus sealed their testimony with their blood. They could perform no more than he could towards turning the hearts of the people to the truth; but they determined to risk whatever suffering, trouble or tribulation they were called to pass through for the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus, that they might receive eternal life.

I bring this home to ourselves. I bring it home to the Latter-day Saints; I bring it home to our day and generation. Many of us have been acquainted with our Prophet and Patriarch, Joseph and Hyrum Smith. We know their lives; we know the suffering and trouble they passed through. These men are true and faithful unto death. They could afford to do it; but they could not afford to deny the faith; they could not afford to shrink from the important message which God had given unto them, of establishing this Church and kingdom upon the earth, but they could afford to be true and faithful to the last moments of their lives, in advocating and defending the principles of the Gospel of the Son of God. I wish to say to our leading men, the Presidency of this Church, the Twelve Apostles, the Presidents of Stakes and their Counselors, the Bishops, the Seventies, the High Priests and Elders, and to all men bearing the Holy Priesthood, as well as to all who have entered into covenant with God, that we can, as individuals and as a people, afford to maintain our integrity in this our day and generation, regardless of consequences. We can afford to be true and faithful to God; we can afford to carry out every principle and commandment which God has given unto us; we can afford to do this, as much so as Prophets and Apostles and people of God of other dispensations and generations. And I would say to all Israel, there is not one soul of us who can afford to compromise one of the revelations or one of the commandments which God has committed to our charge. No man can afford to do this who is called of God to build up this Kingdom. We can afford, however, to meet the consequences, whatever they may be. And I would say to all present this day, that we should have, and that we have as much comfort, as much hope and as much cause to trust in God, and have received as much encouragement, by the overruling hand of Almighty God in our behalf, to go on magnifying our calling and to be true and faithful to every commandment which God has given unto us, as the people of any other generation had in their day; and for one I can say, “It is the kingdom of God or nothing for me and I am willing to risk the consequences. I know that I cannot afford to disobey any com– mandment which God has given to me, because there is no man who holds the Priesthood, and possessing the inspiration and the gifts of God and the light of truth, but would be ashamed both in the flesh and in the spirit world to meet his God, and to be obliged to acknowledge that he did not obey His commandments. And I will here say that whenever we do our duty, whenever we keep the commandments which have been made known to us, we will see the fulfillment of the promises which God has made to us with regard to this day, age and dispensation. There is no promise which God has made to us but what will be fulfilled to the very letter. I read these—the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and I regard them as eternal truths. I cannot find any revelations given from the days of Moses down to the days of Joseph Smith, nor from the days of Joseph to our day, by men who have spoken as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost, but what has been fulfilled to the very letter, as far as time would admit of. Though the heavens and the earth pass away, not one jot or tittle which will fall unfulfilled. When I read these solemn, these eternal declarations made through the mouth of Joseph Smith, my heart swells with gratitude and praise to God, my heavenly Father. I consider that the Doctrine and Covenants, our Testament, contains a code of the most solemn, the most Godlike proclamations ever made to the human family. I will refer to the “Vision” alone, as a revelation which gives more light, more truth, and more principle than any revelation contained in any other book we ever read. It makes plain to our understanding our present condition, where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going to. Any man may know through that revelation what his part and condition will be. For all men know what laws they keep, and the laws which men keep here will determine their position hereafter; they will be preserved by those laws and receive the blessings which belong to them.

I say again, the Latter-day Saints have every encouragement; their pathway is plain and inviting before them. And the nearer we adhere to the commandments of God, the more confident we shall become that God is our friend and that He is watching over us, and that his Son Jesus is our advocate, with the Father, that he is in the midst of this people, and that he will contend for the rights of his Saints, and will ward off every weapon which is formed against Zion. So far at least we have been sustained; the arm of Jehovah has been made bare in our behalf ever since we have been in these valleys, and all Israel whose eyes are open to see, and whose minds can comprehend the dealings of God with his people, know it. We have been sustained by the power of God from the beginning to this day, and nothing short of the power of God could have saved us and brought us through; and nothing but the power of God can preserve us, and nothing but his wisdom can pilot us safe to the high destiny which awaits us. Perhaps I may be permitted to say, we met with a good deal of persecution and oppression and suffering before we came to these valleys, and still the hand of oppression is stretched out against us, and the public mind everywhere within the pale of Christendom is more or less set on our destruction, and that because a certain Biblical principle—the patriarchal order of marriage is practiced by us. When Earl Rosborough was visiting this city, he inquired of President Taylor what excuse the State of Missouri had in driving ten thousand of this people beyond their borders into the State of Illinois; and what excuse the people of this nation had who took part in, and those who countenanced the persecution which we have endured, for persecuting us before the principle of patriarchal marriage was practiced by the Latter-day Saints. President Taylor replied, it was because we believed in revelation, because we believed in Prophets and Apostles, and because we believed in the ancient, the apostolic, the everlasting Gospel, with all its gifts and blessings. Then, said Earl Rosborough, “it would make no difference, as far as your being at variance with the Christian world is concerned, whether you practice plural marriage or not, unless you renounce all other principles you hold to that caused your persecution heretofore; you would be persecuted still.” I say the same today. The nation cares no more about our practicing the order of plural marriage than any other principle of the Gospel; it would make no difference with us today. Were we to compromise this principle by saying, we will renounce it, we would then have to renounce our belief in revelation from God, and our belief in the necessity of Prophets and Apostles, and the principle of the gathering, and then to do away with the idea and practice of building Temples in which to administer ordinances for the exaltation of the living and the redemption of the dead; and at last we would have to renounce our Church organization, and mix up and mingle with the world, and become part of them. Can we afford to do this? I tell you no, we cannot; but we can afford to keep the commandments of God. And I will here say, that we have been sustained by the hand of Jehovah in a marvelous and miraculous manner ever since we came to these valleys and proclaimed to the world our belief in the revelation of celestial or plural marriage; and I will say further, and in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior and Elder Brother, we shall be sustained from this time until he comes in the clouds of heaven, inasmuch as we shrink not from the performance of our duties. We have somebody to deal with besides man. The God of heaven holds our destiny; he holds the destiny of our nation and of all the nations, and he controls them. Therefore, I say to the Latter-day Saints, let us be faithful; let us keep the commandments; let us not renounce a single principle or command which God has given to us. Let us keep the word of wisdom. Let us pay our tithes and offerings. Let us obey the celestial law of God, that we may have our wives and children with us in the morning of the first resurrection; that we may come forth clothed with glory, immortality and eternal lives, with our wives and children bound to us in the family organization in the celestial world, to dwell with us throughout the endless ages of eternity, together with all the sons and daughters of Adam who shall have kept the commandments of God.

I pray that we may be able to do our duty in this world. I pray that we may not fear man who can only kill the body, but fear God who hath power to cast both body and soul into hell. I feel to say that there is no people under heaven who have so much cause to rejoice and to be grateful as the Latter-day Saints. There is no other people since the foundation of the world called to perform the work which you, Latter-day Saints, are called to perform. The God of heaven has given you the kingdom, the great and last kingdom, the only kingdom which has ever been set up on this earth to remain until the coming of the Son of Man. Although in its infancy, this work has a great and a mighty future; and as I have often said, the eyes of all the hosts of heaven are over us; the eyes of God Himself, and the eyes of all the Prophets and Apostles who have ever lived in the flesh are watching this people. They know that they are not neither can they be made perfect without you; and they fully understand that we cannot be made perfect without them. They understand the greatness, the extent, the power and the glory of this dispensation.

When I contemplate the fact that the few men and women dwelling in these mountain valleys have had committed to them this great and mighty work, I feel that of all people under heaven we ought to be the most grateful to our God; and that we ought to remember to keep our covenants, and humble ourselves before him, and labor with all our hearts to discharge faithfully the responsibilities which devolve upon us, and the duties which are required at our hands. For we can afford to do anything which God requires of us; but none of us can afford to do wrong. It would cost far more than this world with all its wealth is worth for the Latter-day Saints to do wrong and come under the disfavor of Almighty God. Our prayers, one and all, should be that of David’s—“Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.”

I pray God to bless this assembly of His people; and to bless the Presidency of the Church, the Apostles and all bearing the holy Priesthood, together with all who have entered into covenant with him. My earnest prayer is that the blessings of our God may be over us in time, that when we get through and shall pass behind the veil, we shall have done all that was required of us, and be prepared to dwell with the sanctified and the just made perfect through the blood of the Lamb. Amen.

Discourse by President Joseph F. Smith, delivered at Logan, Feb. 6, 1881

I desire an interest in the faith and prayers of my brethren and sisters who are present, that I may be able to speak under the influence of the good spirit, such things as will be encouraging to the faith of the Saints.

I rejoice always in the truth of the Gospel with which I have become acquainted; and although there may be many things with which I am unacquainted, yet that portion of the plan of salvation which I do understand is sufficient to convince me beyond the possibility of a doubt, that we are engaged in the great latter-day work of God Almighty, which is for the salvation of the human family, the establishment of the kingdom upon the earth preparatory to the coming of the Son of God in power and great glory, to take possession of the kingdom and of the world; to take the reins of government in His own hands, to judge and rule with righteousness, and with equity reprove for the meek of the earth, to the honor and glory of God, to the salvation and deliverance of His people, the downfall of Babylon, the destruction of the wicked and the overthrow of all man-made systems and organizations that are in conflict with the requirements of heaven and the laws of God. There is, to my mind, nothing lacking in proof or evidence of these facts, which have plainly been set forth in the Bible, in the Book of Mormon, and also in the revelations through the Prophet Joseph Smith; which last named are recorded in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. I am perfectly satisfied, as much so as I am that I breathe the breath of life, that these truths pertaining to the last dispensation and the great latter-day work have been revealed to us from God, and that we are in possession of truth, eternal truth that can never be uprooted or destroyed. It is true that we are but a handful of people in comparison to the vast multitude that are in the world, indeed we are few in comparison to the population of our own nation; for while we, as a community, number a few thousands, the nation numbers nearly half as many millions; and our nation is only a small portion of the human family. But yet it is not presumptuous, nor is it unreasonable or inconsistent, notwithstanding the paucity of our numbers, our supposed lack of intelligence pertain– ing to scientific matters, and our poverty as compared with the wealth of the world, for us to claim that we have received revelation from God, that the Almighty has spoken to the children of men with His own voice and by the voice of angels and ministering spirits, or personages whom He has sent to reveal His will to man. For it is in this way that God has ever revealed Himself to the nations of the earth. He calls a Prophet now and a Prophet hereafter, and He reveals himself to His servants the Prophets, and He makes known His will unto them, and it becomes their duty to proclaim the law and the will of the Almighty to the inhabitants of the earth, and to call others to the ministry, sending them forth that they may proclaim the Gospel to their neighbors and associates; and so the work of God has to work its way, spread and increase among the children of men, like the leaven, referred to by the Savior, that is placed in the measure of meal that works until the whole lump is leavened. So God has done in all ages of the world when He has undertaken to renew His covenant with the people; He has called certain men (who doubtless had been foreordained to come forth in certain ages to do a certain work) through whom He has made known to the nations and peoples of the earth His mind and will. When Jesus came to the earth He scarcely found faith among mankind; only John the Baptist holding a commission from God to minister in the first ordinances of the Gospel; John having been called and appointed of God and ordained by a holy angel to that ministry and Priesthood. A few that had listened to his testimony and teachings, and had been baptized by his baptism, with him, constituted all who were acknowledged of God upon the earth at the time of the coming of the Savior, And Jesus called unto Him twelve disciples, ordained them, commissioned them and sent them forth to preach the Gospel; but they sojourned with him for three years during his own ministry to receive instruction, to be taught of Him, to learn the ways of the Lord from the Great Head, that they might be qualified to go forth at the expiration of that time being witnesses of God, witnesses of the divine mission of their Lord and Master, and prepared to proclaim the Gospel to the inhabitants of the earth. After Jesus was crucified of man, he went in the spirit to the spirits that were in prison, who had been disobedient “when the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah,” that by his coming the Gospel might be taught unto them, their prison doors be opened, and liberty be proclaimed unto them, even the liberty of the Gospel, that they might live, through obedience to its requirements, according to God in the Spirit; and when the ordinances of the Gospel necessary for the redemption of the dead had been performed for and in their behalf upon the earth, that they might be judged according to man in the flesh. When Jesus had done this He again took up the body of flesh and bones which had been hung upon the cross, and pierced unto death and laid away in the tomb; that body which had passed through the portal of death and the ordeal of the grave, he again brought forth from death unto life. Thus he conquered death and gained the victory over the grave and brought about the resurrection from the dead through the power of the Gospel and the holy Priesthood. Shortly after He visited His disciples, when He breathed upon them, saying unto them; “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” He also commissioned them to go forth and preach the Gospel to every creature. Then He departed from them, and they went forth and testified of Jesus Christ, and proclaimed the Gospel to the world, with power and with the demonstration of the Spirit of God. These chosen disciples of Christ suffered ignominious deaths from the first to the last, with the single exception of the Apostle John, who we are informed, was preserved from the power of his enemies, from their attempts to destroy his life, for a wise purpose of God, to fulfil the promise of the Savior unto him; and yet, notwithstanding this promise, it is believed by the Christian world that he died a natural death after wicked men had attempted several times in vain to destroy his life. Notwithstanding, the disciples of Jesus, excepting John the Revelator, suffered ignominious deaths, they sowed the seed of the Gospel among, and conferred the Priesthood upon men, which remained for several generations upon the earth, but the time came when Paganism was engrafted into Christianity, and at last Christianity was converted into Paganism rather than converting the Pagans. And subsequently the Priesthood was taken from among men, this authority was recalled into the heavens, and the world was left without the Priesthood—without the power of God—without the Church and Kingdom of God. There were tens of thousands that hearkened to the teachings of the disciples and yielded obedience to the Gospel; and they suffered persecution such as the people of God in this generation have never begun to suffer. Some of the Latter-day Saints who were associated with this Church in its early history, and suffered the persecutions in Ohio, in Missouri and Illinois, thought that their persecution was very great, even greater than that of any other people. But this is not so, for this people have never begun to endure the persecution that was inflicted upon the former day Saints, those who received the testimony of the Apostles. People in former days believed that they were doing God service to burn those Saints to death, to whip and to spear them to death, to drag them until they were torn to pieces and otherwise to torture and destroy them, and, indeed, in some instances they sewed up the believers in cloths and in sacks, which they covered with pitch or tar and then set on fire to light the streets of imperial Rome! In ancient days it was considered lawful to perpetrate these barbarities upon those who professed to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. They were driven from place to place; they were hunted down as wild beasts, and otherwise suffered persecution such as this people have never begun to suffer, and as I earnestly hope and pray they never will be subjected to.

But it was under such circumstances the Gospel was proclaimed among the people. In this way were the believers in Christ treated, being esteemed as worthless, refuse, unfit to live, and worthy only of the most cruel and ignominious deaths. The same feelings existed, and do today exist, in the hearts of some people toward the Latter-day Saints. But the Lord Almighty has prepared the way for the coming forth of the kingdom of God in this dispensation by establishing the republican government of the United States; a government affording the widest liberty and the greatest free– dom to man that has ever been known to exist among men, outside of those governed by the direct communication of heaven. It was part of the design of the Almighty when He influenced our fathers to leave the old world and come to this continent; He had a hand in the establishment of this government; He inspired the framers of the Constitution and the fathers of this nation to contend for their liberties; and He did this upon natural principles, that the way might be prepared, and that it might be possible for Him to establish His kingdom upon the earth, no more to be thrown down. And when the way was prepared and the time fully come for the restoration of the Gospel, God revealed Himself to Joseph Smith, giving to him certain promises concerning the coming forth of the Gospel and the establishment of His kingdom in the last days. And subsequently God sent messengers to him and ordained him to the Priesthood, or conferred on him the rights, powers, keys and authority of the holy Priesthood, to act as His representative in establishing the Gospel of the kingdom once more among men, and for the last time, also to restore the Priesthood to earth, that man might again officiate in the name and authority of God, for the salvation of the living and the dead. He had to call one man to this office, who afterwards, as Jesus did, called and set apart twelve others, together with Seventies, High Priests, Elders, Bishops, Priests, Teachers and Deacons, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ, that all may come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to the fulness of the measure of the stature of Christ Jesus; that we might come to a oneness in the knowledge of the truth, that the world might be leavened with the leaven of truth, that all mankind might have the privilege of bearing the Gospel and of being gathered into the fold and family of Christ.

In the space of about fifty years, I suppose, we have gathered from first to last into the fold of this Church, some three or four hundred thousand people. It may seem to some that this would indicate that we had made very slow progress in half a century; having succeeded in gathering into this Church only between three and four hundred thousand people; and that today we do not number more than 150,000 to 200,000 members all told, in good standing; that is, taking all that can be called Saints in America, in Europe, in Australia, and upon the islands of the sea; wherever this Gospel is preached, or people acknowledge membership in this Church, all told, perhaps, we do not number more than 200,000 members in good standing. It may seem that we are making haste slowly; that we are not progressing very rapidly. It might seem to some of us that we ought to have accomplished a great deal more in the fifty years past since the organization of this Church. I confess that I believe with all my heart, that as a people we might have made far greater progress in the accomplishment of the purposes and will of God than we have, if we had only done as we should. In my humble opinion, and I express it as my firm conviction and belief, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints might have numbered today many times more than it does, if those who have embraced the Gospel had remained true and all had been as faithful as they should have been. The progress of the work of God does and will depend greatly upon the righteousness of the people, the faithfulness of the Priesthood in keeping His commandments, honoring His laws, and laboring for the accomplishment of the purposes of God upon the earth, instead of self-aggrandizement. I will venture, as my opinion, that the Latter-day Saints through their follies, their neglect of proper example, their carelessness respecting their duties, not to mention greater sins, and the evil resulting therefrom, have prevented the conversion of as many people as have been converted unto God. There are today perhaps nearly as many that have apostatized as are now in good standing in the Church; many of whom were honest but have been deceived and led away from the truth, many others, I admit, have turned away because of their own sins. Others again have left the Church because they were unable to distinguish between the actions of their foolish brethren and the principles of eternal truth, and in that way have allowed themselves to go into darkness and turn away from the Kingdom. In almost every place you go, where the Gospel is being preached, you may find scores and scores of people that once belonged to the Church, how are they today? Are they members of this Church? No; they are apostates, in darkness, knowing not the truth, for the light they had is gone out and darkness has taken the place thereof, and they are now under the power of darkness or Satan and cannot help themselves.

And again, there are many people who have come among us, who, if they had found that perfection in the conduct and character of Latter-day Saints which they expected to find among those professing to be Saints, if they had found more of the fruits of righteousness in the midst of this people and less of their follies and weaknesses, they would no doubt have been constrained to yield obedience to the Gospel; whereas they only became hardened in seeing the weakness and imperfection of many so-called Latter-day Saints, concluding that they, judging them by their acts, are not much better than other professing Christians. And in this way many that might have been brought to a knowledge of the truth, have been discouraged, disappointed and deceived, because they failed to discover or feel as they might and should have done, if all the fruits of the Gospel had abounded as they should, that power of the Priesthood and efficacy of the Gospel which should be exhibited in the midst of the people of God.

Now, am I finding fault with the Latter-day Saints? If I should find fault with you of course I would be finding fault with myself. I acknowledge that I have not lived up to the standard as I should have done. I have not possessed that power, that inspiration, that knowledge of truth, that close communion with God and with the Holy Ghost, that I might or ought to have done. Therefore if there is blame attached to the Church I am willing to acknowledge and share my proportion of that blame. Nevertheless, what I say in regard to this matter I believe to be the truth. I will give you, if you wish, and I think I had better do so, one or two simple and undeniable proofs of my assertion. Excuse me if I refer to things which may be considered quite common; I am not here to teach you new doctrine, I am endeavoring to teach you truths, which we have been taught for the last fifty years.

I will refer you to the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, to that simple principle called the Word of Wisdom. How many of this congregation have kept this law? And how many do keep it today? It would perhaps not astonish you very much were I to say that there were members of the Church of forty years standing and upwards, who take their tea, coffee, tobacco, etc., just as though God had not some forty-eight years ago, revealed the Word of Wisdom. I can point out men and women that have been in this Church some twenty-five or thirty years, that are no nearer keeping the commandments of God, in this respect, than they were twenty-five or thirty years ago, and some of them not so near. If I were pressed on this point I could call the names of some individuals in proof of what I say. We have not lived up to the privileges nor kept the laws of God as given unto us. What is the result? Is it not that when we preach these principles we preach them in word only and not in the demonstration of the power of God? Certainly not in the demonstration and power of example, but with the words of our lips which proceed not from the heart. And that is not all. In the Book of Mormon it is recorded that Christ commanded the people to call upon God in His name, morning and evening with their families. Similar instruction is given in the Doctrine and Covenants, and the same principle is inculcated in the Bible. God has said that He will be sought after by His people; and Jesus said that we must knock in order that the door might be opened unto us; and that we should seek in order to find, and ask in order to receive. And, yet, how many heads of families in the Church fail to meet with their families to call upon God in family prayer? How many Saints neglect this duty? It is a duty, it is the word of the Lord to the Saints, that they should meet with their families morning and evening, and call upon God in His name. This principle is part of the Gospel, it was taught by the Savior on the eastern, and also on the western, continent: and, simple as it may appear, it is absolutely necessary that the Latter-day Saints should come together in the family capacity, and kneeling around the family altar, call upon God for His blessings morning and evening. And they need not confine themselves to morning and evening prayer, for it is their privilege to enter into their closets and call upon Him in secret, that He might reward them openly.

Again, it is written that God is angry with those who will not acknowledge His hand in all things. How many of the Latter-day Saints whom God has blessed with the riches of this world, with houses, lands, flocks, herds, gold and silver, have forgotten to acknowledge His hand in the bestowal of the wealth they possess, and have been blinded by the gifts conferred upon them, and in that blindness have forgotten the Giver? Having an abundance, the rich are too apt to feel that they do not have to kneel down and ask God to give them houses and daily bread, for they have palaces and wealth. They say, we have these things; we have no need to ask for them, nor to thank God for them, for they are ours; we have gained them by our own industry and ability. Thus God is left out of the question. But God has said, “I love them that love me, and those that seek me early shall find me;” therefore He will be inquired of by His people, and He requires that they shall acknowledge Him in all things; yet we often forget to acknowledge Him in His greatest mercies. When the blow of an enemy that has been aimed at our destruction is warded off by the wise counsel perhaps of the holy Priesthood, we say, “We outwitted them; we did it, we circumscribed the cunning and craft of our enemy: we did this, and we did that, and we did the other thing;” it is great I with some of us, and God is not acknowledged by such at all. There is too much of this spirit amongst us, I am sorry to say.

God requires one-tenth of our increase to be put into his storehouse; and this is given as a standing law to all of the Stakes of Zion. And has said that unless all observe this law to keep it holy and by this law sanctify the land of Zion unto Him, etc., that this land shall not be a land of Zion unto us. And yet, how many of us have neglected to observe this law? We profess to believe it, but how many have neglected to obey it in full? If the Savior were to come today, who will judge us not after the sight of the eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of the ears, but with righteousness, and with equity and by the knowledge of eternal truth, and the balance of eternal justice, how many would he find who really have paid one-tenth of their increase in compliance with this law? There are some people that do it, but when you take out these that do keep this law according to the strict letter and spirit of it, you will find that in comparison to the whole they are few. The people pay a portion of their tithing. President Young frequently charged the people with not paying one tenth of their tithings. I presume that was an extreme view. I believe the people are doing better than that, now at least; but at the same time I believe that a very large proportion of us pay only a portion of the tenth of that which God puts into our hands.

Now, why do I refer to these things? I leave it to you—to conscientious men and women—it would not become me to say that Brother Jones or Brother Smith, or any other individual is the person that is delinquent in his duty; but it behooves me to speak on the principle in general terms, and I think I am very near the truth in relation to this matter. I will leave that for you, however, to say in your hearts, whether you pay an honest tithing before God, or whether you pay a portion of your tithing. God knows; we cannot deceive Him. Why do we not comply fully with this law? Simply because we lack wisdom, faith, understanding, and confidence in the promises of God. If we felt the fire of the Holy Spirit in our hearts; if we were conscientious in all our acts before God, this people would be raised to a higher plane; faith would be increased, good works would abound, and others, seeing our good works, would be led to glorify our Father in heaven. I will read a few instructions that were given to the ancient Saints. They are not new, therefore, they are very old instructions, They are applicable, however, to us, although spoken to the former-day Saints, for the key by which the blessings are obtained is given to us”Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” The meek shall inherit the earth. Shall the proud and the haughty and those that are lifted up in the vanity of their hearts? No; God has said that they shall be burned as stubble; that the day that is coming shall burn them up; that neither root nor branch of them shall be left, but they shall become as ashes beneath the feet of the righteous. But “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” Then as meekness is one of the requisite qualities of a Latter-day Saint, a Christian, a member of the Church of God upon the earth, except we are meek and lowly, we shall not receive the promised blessing. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” Shall they that are not merciful obtain mercy? No. Why? Because it is said elsewhere that the measure which we meet out shall be measured back to us again. And when it is measured back unto us it will be shaken down and pressed together, heaped up and running over. If we act, for instance, in regard to the law of tithing as I have mentioned, we shall be judged accordingly, and receive according to our works. If we forgive them that trespass against us, it shall be measured back unto us in mercy, etc. “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” Shall the corrupt see Him? No. Shall they be counted worthy to stand in His presence, and be called “blessed?” Certainly not. “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world.” Who? The peacemakers, the pure in heart, the meek, those that hunger and thirst after righteousness, the good, the honorable, the Godlike. “Ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt have lost his savor wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” “A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

That I understand to be the duty of a Latter-day Saint, “Let your light shine” that men shall see your good works. And if God has given a commandment, prove to the world that you believe it, by keeping it so that men, seeing your good works, may glorify your Father in heaven. If God has said that tobacco and strong drinks are not good for us, let us hearken to this warning and not defile our tabernacles by indulging in things that are injurious to our systems; and thus respect the word of God ourselves, and show a good example to others. When we can show to the world that we are saved from the sins of the world, they will see our good works and be constrained to glorify our Father in heaven. But when strangers come among us and witness drunkenness, hear profanity, see that some of us are dishonest and cheat each other, that so far some of us are no better than the people of Babylon; “the Pharisees and Sadducees” of the present age, at the same time professing to be the children of God; they justly say, “These people are hypocrites, they profess one thing and do another; they profess to be the children of God, but they are the children of the devil.” In other words, if we bring not forth the fruits of the Gospel, it will be set down as a natural and philosophic conclusion that we either do not have the Gospel, or if we do, we do not live it. For “a bitter fountain cannot send forth sweet water,” nor vice versa. And if, therefore, we are redeemed from sin through the atoning blood of the Savior—redeemed from the world—we will have power to establish the Kingdom of God upon the earth. There will be no swearing, no whoredom, there will be no crimes of infanticide or feticide. No such sins will be known among us, our children will be born in honorable wedlock under the ordinances of the holy Priesthood, and not illegitimate, to be denied the privileges of the congregations of Israel, until perhaps the tenth generation according to ancient law. But today, I am sorry to say it, some of these evils exist; we see them cropping out here and there once in a while. Yet, while this is the case, I say—and I say it without fear of successful contradiction—that the Latter-day Saints are the best people that I know of upon the face of the earth; a greater proportion of them are honest, honorable and virtuous, according to the light they possess and the ability they have, than the same proportion of the rest of mankind. But let us be more faithful and spread the kingdom and gather the people of God, and possess the land which He has given unto us, even the Zion of God—this land of Joseph.

May God help us to do so, is my prayer in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Discourse by Elder George G. Bywater, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Jan. 30th, 1881.

The appearance of the congregation before me awakens within my mind a number of pleasurable reflections. There is one unerring method of determining the value of all subjects, of all objects, of all matters pertaining to the interests of our common humanity; and that method is the rule by which the results are attained, and the determination of the character of those results, whether they be good or whether they be evil. And this method moreover is not only applicable in determining the various secular conditions and circumstances of mankind, but it is equally unerring in determining the higher phases and conditions of the life of man. It reaches upward into the realms of mind and invades, if you please, or spreads itself over the entire field of human thought, embracing not only our secular but our spiritual interests.

When Jesus of Nazareth, the Savior of mankind, was on the earth sojourning for a few brief years with the children of men, he gave expression to this most beautiful and highly philosophic rule: “For every tree is known by its fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. By their fruits ye shall know them.” It is the contempla– tion of the elementary principles embodied in this rule that has awakened within my mind the reflections I have referred to, while gazing upon this congregation seated in this beautiful place of worship. It is true that the spectacle presented before our minds when contemplating the surroundings of the people of the Latter-day Saints—the comforts of life they are enjoying, and the material blessings that they have become possessed of—does not alone determine the divine character of the spiritual philosophy, the system of principles and doctrine which constitute their faith. For when we travel in the world, and extend our observances over the great centers of what is called the civilized world of mankind, we can behold on every hand stupendous edifices, gorgeously denominated cathedrals draped in the most costly tapestry and finished in the most elaborate manner, bespeaking a high cultivation of art and a development of science in its most advanced stages, with every means improvised to render the object and purpose of those structures efficient to the ends designed. And a reference to these representations of man’s industry and skill, and to the exhibition of that wisdom, which is at once the standard of the intellectual growth and advancement of the race and age in which they were brought forth enables us to judge comparatively of the growth of wisdom, and the growth of intelligence which has become the heritage of our race, and which we inherit through the very mysterious and complex nature of our spiritual and physical constitutions. But that which imparts greater value to the physical labors of the Latter-day Saints, producing the unmistakable phenomena presented here today and in other places throughout the Territory of Utah, and wherever the Latter-day Saints are assembled together in their more scattered conditions of life, following the varied pursuits thereof, in developing the various branches of labor which have been developed in society, and which society demands the performance of, is the uninviting character and crude quality of their surroundings on one hand, and the indomitable energy awakened by the inspiration of their faith on the other hand, elucidating to a demonstration their faith to be the gift of God, and that their works, so far as they are the products of that faith, to be the works of righteousness. Therefore we lay claim to considerations of an equal character, to considerations of equal merit, to the respect and gracious judgments that are awarded to the builders of the various centers of civilization, and that are conferred upon those active agents and instrumentalities by which they have been established among men.

But that which actuates my mind, my brethren and sisters, and more especially on the present occasion, is the peculiar character and constitution of the faith we have espoused; and upon this subject, as I have been invited by my brethren to address you for a short time, I respectfully ask your attention.

What is it, I would ask, that constitutes the peculiarities that distinguish the people of Utah from the rest of the world of mankind, from the divisions of human society variously denominated Christian—Christian Presbyterians, Christian Episcopalians, and the Christians of the various denominational titles by which they respectively desire to be recognized as distinct and separate societies? I ask, what is it that marks so peculiarly the distinction between the Latter-day Saints and the rest of their fellow creatures? We claim them to be our fellow creatures, whether they are willing to claim us as their fellow creatures or not. We know we have proceeded from the same boundless, the same limitless, the same immutable source of life from which they sprang as also our forefathers, and indeed all the generations of the children of men, back to the border lines of ethnological territory and earliest dawn of human history. This distinction of which we speak may be stated in a very few words, however unacceptable that statement may be to those of our friends, or those who ought to be our friends, who differ from us. It is in this—that in the profession of Christianity we have accepted it as a whole; we have not regarded fractional Christianity, sectional Christianity, modern Christianity, as the embodiment of those principles and teachings which the great Founder of our faith came into this world incarnate to reveal, and which He left as a heavenly legacy to the children of men—children of the great common Father, with whom we, with Him, once existed, He being the first begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, the firstborn of many brethren. And we chose to accept Christianity in its complete and entire constitution; uninoculated by the precepts and doctrines of men, pure from heaven, unfolding to our understandings the incomparable plan of human redemption. We have accepted the Christian revelation as proclaimed by angels and inspired Prophets and Apostles and Evangelists of every degree. To us it is a modern revelation, and we accept it with all the obligations which it has imposed upon us as conditions of salvation; with all its constituted and organized officers; with all its divinely instituted ordinances, and with all its pure and heaven-born principles that it embodies. The truth and elements which go to make up that system of worship, that system of faith, that system of belief, or, in other words, that system of divine knowledge, possess in their nature every virtue requisite, and every element of worth, and every force and principle of energy that can reach man—man in his entirety, man as a whole, not some particular phase of his nature, as they are not designed to develop one particular characteristic of his being. The teachers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ are not evolutionists who choose to develop one particular characteristic to the extreme, and to suppress others to an abnormal condition, thereby producing results the most derogatory and pernicious in their government over the constitution of the being. We have embraced the Gospel which has been revealed for the express purpose of meeting man’s every want, and of furnishing an intellectual regime and mental discipline adequate to the unfoldment of every attribute and quality of man. In this constitutes the essential dif– ference, the distinctive discriminative features between the Latter-day Saints and the rest of the so-called Christian world. It is upon this ground that our friends differ from us; that our fellow men wage war against us. They, however, would tell you, no. They would say it is because we have institutions and practices that are antagonistic to the moral ethics of the age; that we support practices and lend our defense to doctrines that are repugnant to the moral sense of Christianity, to the enlightened races of mankind; that they do not at all oppose us on the ground that we believe the Bible, that we accept the doctrines of the Lord Jesus Christ—because we believe in prophecy and revelation—but that we have come in contact with would be customs and usages, with the popular interpretation of moral principles and moral conduct; and that, therefore, we have rendered ourselves obnoxious to the Christian world. And that, therefore, because we are in the minority, forsooth, it would be in good grace for us to abandon that which the majority so strenuously oppose and so persistently reject. And they claim that we must do it.

Now, my friends, I have stated in a very brief manner the feelings of the Christian world. I do not speak of any other phase of society, because the rest of the world of mankind are not in pursuit of divine knowledge; they are not searching for those principles which bring life and immortality to light; they are generally committed to the science of moneymaking; they have exerted and brought into play all the energies of their being to develop trade and commerce, and to engage in developing all of the secular interests of the world, not only of one nation, but so broad and expansive have become their ideas, that they have become purely international in their scope of utility; they have crossed the expanse of oceans and penetrated the continents, and taken into consideration the welfare of other races as well as of that of their own, financially, secularly. But the Christian world oppose us upon the ground of our being offensive to them because of our institutions. Now, my friends, brethren and sisters, it is a consolation to us when we read the pages of prophecy; when we open the sacred volume and pore over its historical pages and take a retrospective glance into the history of the past, and learn that similar charges were brought against the Founder of our faith, against Jesus of Nazareth, and also against His Apostles and Prophets and the Patriarchs; and that it is with the unbeliever in revelation, and with those who are influenced by proscribed principles and spirit of any age in which they lived to oppose progress, to oppose development in any direction.

There is one great difficulty in the way of progress and that is invested interests, not less so in religion than in the avenues of commerce and trade. Whenever there have been any great principles brought forth in the mechanical world, in any department of mechanism from the agricultural through all the ramifications of society, they have rarely escaped opposition. And, indeed, this obstruction in the way of progress, is not confined to mechanical pursuits. There is a spirit with large capitalists and men who have invested deeply and extensively their capital in the manufacture of any commodity, produced for the world’s market, which arrays itself against growth and progress made in any direction excepting only where it will especially benefit them. There is opposition; their invested interests stand in the way of progress; and it is not only in temporal affairs, but it is also in religion, in theology. One great reason why the doctrines of the Latter-day Saints are opposed by the so-called Christians, is, because they place at a discount their fractional faith, their fractional currency of belief, so to speak, and they do not wish to have their faith discounted; they do not wish to be placed in the unenviable light as to be regarded as only professing a fragmentary Christianity. And in this they only manifest the same envious traits that have marked the history of our race in all the great phases and stages of progress which the world has made.

I must here, my friends, make one remark in relation to the spirit of persecution that is in the world, and which, by the way, is a very anomalous phenomenon, very much so indeed. Christianity, in its fundamental principles, has running through it a broad vein of charity; and that spirit of mercy and love permeates every avenue of it, and thrills with sensitive pulsations through every brain, heart and vein of its unfeigned believers. There is no duty to be performed, no services rendered which the doctrine of the Christian revelations requires of its devotees, of its accepters, but that enjoins the administration of mercy and forbearance, and long-suffering, and gentleness, and tenderness, and meekness, and brotherly kindness, and all those excellencies and virtues which grace the character of an exemplary Christian. And I may here say, and I do so with feelings of shame and regret, that the bitterest persecutions that have ever been waged upon the world’s battle fields have been waged by men who have professed the doctrines of the meek and lowly Jesus. Yes, the most overwhelming torrents of human blood that have ever stained the world with its gory hue, have been let out by the violent hands of those who professed to administer in the sacred things of God, who professed to be inspired by the spirit of the Divine Master. And of all classes of men and women that I have ever met or that I have any knowledge of, theological and religious fanatics have been the most unreasonable, the most unapproachable, the worst of infidels to the Christian cause. This is a broad statement to make; it is, notwithstanding, made with due consideration. It has not been hurriedly pronounced, for I have given this matter some thought, some study and some little observation. And I am convinced my friends, that the ignorance and superstition that have produced the direst evils, the knowledge of which has been recorded upon the pages of history, have not been the legitimate outgrowth of the principles of Christianity, but of Christianity falsely so-called; they have been the product of unenlightened ideas, they have been the result of misguided zeal, that was not according to knowledge; and they have been too frequently manifested in directions and among communities where better results and more genteel and gracious things were expected to predominate.

Now, the history of the Latter-day Saints is one that has been before the world for a number of years in many of its phases, not probably in all its bearings, not in all its features; but there are many salient points in our history that indicate and that most unmistakably, to the impartial student of history, that the hostile attitude assumed by theological demagogues and their partisan adherents towards the Latter-day Saints is very similar to the conduct of the world towards the former-day Saints, and stands in offensive comparison with their parade of Christian benevolence and religious toleration. In this particular, history repeats itself. The revelations of truth have ever awakened the spirit of persecution in misbelievers. And our Lord Jesus Christ assigned a very acceptable reason why this is so. He says that “men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil.” Now, upon this point I do not wish to be understood by my brief quotation of this text that I consider mankind incorrigible, that the race is hopelessly sunken in depravity and sin. No, my brethren, I have more faith in the potency of the plan of redemption, and more faith in the remaining stamina and integrity of human nature itself, than to give up the hope that God will fail to fulfil His purposes in the creation of man. On the contrary, I believe that He will develop His heavenly designs in the Godlike combination of the attributes and qualities that constitute man a moral and spiritual being. I have faith that man will yet stand forth erect in the likeness of his Maker, in whose image he was first created. Man will then be filled with the glory of God, which is intelligence and truth; his divine origin will then be self-evident; and the truth of what the historian Moses has said of the genesis of man, will receive the concurrent sanction of science and religion.

We have received this Gospel from its first principles, through the varied stages of progress which it has made, and which has been made since its restoration in the dispensation in which we live, until today. And here we must confess that the verity of the Savior’s words have been most fully established, that the truth comes not to us in its fulness; comes not to us in its complete and entire character; but it comes to us as a beautiful little bud upon a choice and tender plant that blooms; it comes to us as a growing protuberance on the top of a stem; it comes to us presenting the appearance of something more to follow; it swells: it enlarges; the leaves that modestly and beautifully cover up the internal structure of that bud begin to open and expand through the vitalizing energies of the sun, whose radiating rays impart warmth and life and vigor to the growing plant. And it grows stronger and higher; it branches, and spreads, and opens more and more until the blossom is spread open to full view, and kisses the sunbeams as they descend through the vestibule of Nature’s laboratory into the sanctum sanctorum, if you please, where the formative principles and coordinating laws reside. The plant has passed through many stages of unfoldment from its germinal origin to its maturity—its maximum attainment. It has spent its energies in self-development and in elaborating provisions for a new existence. The environments change. The winter of its life has come. It passes into a season of rest, to be again called into new life and enlarged activity when spring time comes again. This exemplifies the great law of growth and progress in universal nature, not only in the “lily of the valley,” but in the realm of universal nature where God presides.

Now the Gospel has come to us something after the fashion pre– sented in this little figure, It was not given to us in its entirety; it came to us line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. We are, moreover, informed in holy writ, that Jesus, who was the likeness of the Father and the express image of His person, in whom dwelt the fulness of the Godhead bodily, that He did not receive of that fulness at first, but received grace for grace; He increased, He grew in knowledge and in favor with God and man; and He is the great prototype, the great exemplifier of our faith. And so has been the growth and faith of the Latter-day Saints.

When we received this faith, we received it in the simplicity of our hearts. We received it as a message from God, not comprehending it in its entirety any more than the child when he is conducted to school and placed in a primary class to receive his first lesson, is capable of understanding all at once the several courses of study and the various branches of knowledge which he has the capacity to acquire. No, my friends, he learns little by little; he learns first to distinguish between the various forms of the characters to which are attached specific and distinct sounds, and by which they are to be known. He learns to attach the proper value to each and all as they stand in relation to one another in the alphabet; and after mastering that, learns to arrange and rearrange and change and modify the relationship of those characters, producing various results according to the principles of orthography and orthoepy. Thus he acquires a knowledge of the language he speaks. So with every other branch of knowledge in like manner, the study of theology being no exception to the rule.

So far as our history is concerned; so far as the opposition which we have met in propagating this message of mercy, and of heralding forth to the world the glorious news and “glad tidings of great joy,” which shall be unto all people, namely, the plan of redemption, we anticipate opposition; it is nothing new; it is nothing marvelous when we understand human nature. Not at all. We sometimes speak unadvisedly; we sometimes marvel at things which happen, but of which, upon more deliberate reflection, we would not, because there is nothing strange in this. We see rivalry in all things, in all the various phases of society; we see competition and rivalry in the present crude and undeveloped state of human intellectuality, in the present—if I may be allowed the expression—immoral state of society; and I maintain that society is in an immoral state when the good of all is not contemplated, when the greatest good to the greatest number is not the dominant principle, is not the inspiring motive, is not the moving and propelling incentive urging men forward in the various concerns of life. I say again, that unless there is a motive which pervades all our actions, taking into contemplation the good of the whole and not of a part, society so conditioned is not, in a proper sense, in a moral condition. The condition of society contemplated in the Gospel embraces this expressed injunction, that we should help to bear each other’s burdens; that we should do unto others as we would have others do unto us. And requires, moreover, that whatever other gifts, whatever other qualities, whatever other characteristics may be distinguished in our conduct toward our fellow men, or whatever other features may disappear and subside in the rolling tides of the ages in the developing of our nature, assimilating it more and more in the image of God, that there are certain attributes that will never fail, namely, faith, hope, and charity. These will forever abide.

And when I consider these facts as inseparably connected with the system of salvation left by Jesus our elder brother, our Lord and Savior, what are we to think of the attitude of the Christian world toward us. How very uncharitable they are! How very unlike the Savior in His conduct, in the judicial murder of the crucifixion upon a Roman cross—“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Do our Christian friends feel so towards us? Do they who think we are deluded; that we are beguiled by false conceptions of righteousness, that we have been decoyed by some impure motives to the maintenance of institutions that are damning in their character upon man, do they exercise this forgiveness towards us? No, my friends. But as there is a kind of Christianity referred to in the Scriptures, whose propagandists appear in sheep’s clothing, garbed with all the sanctity of innocent lambs, but within are ravening wolves, we are confined to the Savior’s rule of judging men and things—“By their fruits ye shall know them.” But it is our duty to emulate the examples given us by Him in whom was no guile. When Jesus came into the world, did He seek to exterminate everybody? Or His followers, poor fishermen, Did they seek to destroy and institute persecution against those who differed from them in opinion? No. Have the Latter-day Saints exhibited this spirit towards the world? No, they have not; and we modestly and friendly challenge the universal world to cite us to any feature or trait that may be found in any chapter of our history wherein we have sought to wage war against man or woman because they did not believe as we did; to coerce them to the acceptance of our faith; to drag them into prison or drive them with the sword because we could not make disciples of them. No, my friends, such a disposition even is contrary to the genius of our faith. We have invited respectfully, the most competent expounders of the doctrines of the various sects when they have chanted to come among us, to enunciate their views from our pulpits and in our lecture rooms, to our own congregations. We have never closed our door against them, although we have been so very exclusive; although we are so peculiar a people, and so arbitrary in our priestly rule as charged by our liberal accusers. But when our missionary Elders have gone forth to the world, it has been a very rare thing, indeed, to meet with such a favor; and when such an opportunity has been proffered, we have known how to prize it. When ministers have opened the doors of their meetinghouses or churches, offering us the use of the same to preach to their assemblies, we have acknowledged most respectfully the receipt of such favors. Who do you think is the more charitable? Where are we to draw the line of demarcation between the charity of the “Mormons” and that of other dissenting Christian churches, and their feelings and sentiments towards us? It would not be a difficult thing to draw this line; but I forbear this afternoon.

I will simply say, it affords me pleasure to realize that God has thus far presided over our destinies; that we have been held, as it were, in the hollow of His hand. We have been a handful of people with the prejudices of an unbelieving generation running high tide against us. We have been looked upon as unworthy a passing notice. But a change has come over the vision of their minds. Now everybody is giving us notice. God has permitted us to gather strength, and that, too, in the face of the bitterest persecution and the fiercest opposition which we have had to contend with, and that which God has designed to develop and establish in the earth will triumph all the more by being thus opposed. The more the effects of resistance are brought to bear against it, like the shaking of the forest tree, very frequently promotes its growth: it disturbs its roots; it loosens the soil around it and it commences to put forth fresh energy, increasing in strength and size; and like the mustard tree, the more it is kicked the farther the seed is scattered.

Now this is the view I take of the results of opposition which we have had; and we have excellent precedents for believing this, not only in the day and age in which we live, but all past history contributes to the support of this belief and its supply of material is ample for the argument. Now, this is not only the case with reference to the truth itself, but it is a principle inherent in nature, that sometimes a bad cause is also fostered by the opposition it meets with. So that those of our friends whether here or elsewhere who suppose that opposing the truth will produce an arrest of its growth, and extinguish the life it contains, the vitality embodied in it, are simply poor readers of human history, are simply ignorant of the facts of history, and are ignorant of the various phases of human nature, as that human nature has been de– veloped in the varied schemes that have sprung into life during the centuries past and gone. But when we take these indestructible principles that outlive the ages; when we take a truth that is universally so, one that is a truism in its nature, and when we take our association of those truths together and constitute a system, and then undertake to wage war against that system, my friends, it is a very costly experiment; it is a losing game. For “truth though trampled to the earth will rise again.” You cannot destroy that which cannot die. You cannot put life out of that which is life itself. You cannot extinguish the power that is limitless in its resources. You cannot do it.

Now, I do not purpose occupying your time but a few moments longer. I have directed your thoughts over quite a breadth of ground in quite a rambling manner. I have not felt disposed to take a subject and direct your thoughts specially to it; for I am aware when subjects are spoken of, and questions are sprung, the mind involuntarily follows out and conducts itself through a series of reasons and deductions until it arrives at legitimate conclusions, satisfying itself or otherwise as the case may be; but I have brought up a number of questions showing the general character of the work in which we are engaged. I am convinced that God has directed our destiny, and that His hand is still over us for good; and that we are the happy recipients of many proofs of His divine favor. He has withheld from us the chastening rod of our enemies; He has dispelled the clouds which have gathered around us in sable thickness, and has shed forth the light of heaven upon us, which has caused our hearts to rejoice in the God of our salvation. We have received the doctrines of Jesus Christ: faith in Him; repentance of sins, and baptism for the remission of sins; and we have essayed and covenanted to live a new life in Christ Jesus; to seek to do good to all men, and evil to none; and like Daniel of old, to be faithful to the statutes and to the decrees and behests of Jehovah, the decrees of man against us notwithstanding; we having come to the conclusion in our own minds that God and a few good men form an overwhelming majority. And we shall see and yet learn that truth will triumph and prevail. But it may be—and we have promises moreover to that effect—that clouds of darkness will gather; that threatening storms will rise; that the impending dangers will be so imminent as to cause the countenance of some to pale and their knees to tremble and their faith to falter. But, then, the darkest hour is before the dawn of day. So shall we find that God, when He shall have been fully convinced of our integrity, having proven us as gold is purified through fire, will abide by the results of obedience to His covenants; that we shall come off more than conquerors through Him who loves us, even Jesus Christ our Savior.

May His Spirit and His grace sustain us in the discharge of every duty, in the developing of every divine institution and in maintaining every correct principle, and in promoting peace and righteousness upon the earth, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, January 9th, 1881.

I made some remarks yesterday afternoon, in answer to certain questions which have been put to me in relation to the principle of Tithing, and I thought this morning that I would make a few additional remarks on the same subject, and perhaps touch upon some other matters.

I read over yesterday certain questions which have been asked me pertaining to this matter; and I thought I would take the liberty of answering these questions to this Conference. Perhaps there may be some here today who were not here yesterday, and there may be some here today who do not read the Doctrine and Covenants, and who are not acquainted with some of the principles relating to this subject. Therefore I will read again that which was read yesterday afternoon, which will be found on the 418th page of the Doctrine and Covenants, new edition. There may be some who have not this edition, and I will say therefore that the same revelation will be found in section 107 of the old edition.

“Revelation given at Far West Missouri, July 8th, 1838, in answer to the question, O Lord, show unto thy servants how much thou requirest of the properties of the people for a tithing.

“Verily, thus saith the Lord, I require all their surplus property to be put into the hands of the bishop of my church of Zion, For the building of mine house, and for the laying the foundation of Zion and for the priesthood, and for the debts of the Presidency of my Church. And this shall be the beginning of the tithing of my people. And after that, those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord.

“Verily I say unto you, it shall come to pass that all those who gather unto the land of Zion shall be tithed of their surplus properties, and shall observe this law, or they shall not be found worthy to abide among you.

“And I say unto you, if my people observe not this law, to keep it holy, and by this law sanctify the land of Zion unto me, that my statutes and my judgments may be kept thereon, that it may be most holy, behold, verily I say unto you, it shall not be a land of Zion unto you. And this shall be an example unto all the stakes of Zion. Even so. Amen.”

The scriptures say that we shall receive line upon line and precept upon precept; and therefore it is necessary sometimes, to carry out these ideas in order that, where a people have been misinformed or have not judged or heard correctly, they may be put right in relation to all general leading principles. A feeling has more or less prevailed among the people that Tithing is a matter to be decided on exclusively by the individual paying it, and that if he pays it, all right; if he does not pay his Tithing, it is not quite so right, but it makes not so much difference. A good Saint perhaps, may be honorable and upright and honest in dealing; may be a tolerably good neighbor; he may be zealous to a certain extent, according to his ideas and notions in regard to the propagation of the word of truth; he may be active and energetic in many things, but if he does right in the main, Tithing is a matter of very little importance; it is only a temporary idea, it does not concern us much, it is only meant to meet the financial affairs associated with the Church—and that is a matter of very little importance.

Now it is proper that we should be correctly informed in relation to these matters, and as I stated yesterday, there is a great diversity of opinion existing among men, and even men in authority in the Church, say, Bishops and probably Presidents of Stakes and others, in relation to the principle of Tithing. Now, it is proper that we should have a correct view and a proper understanding of this principle. We are here to carry out the purposes and designs of God, and as I under– stand it we have been gathered together according to certain revelations which have been given for the establishment of His Church upon the earth, and that we, as a people, profess to be the Lord’s people, and under His guidance and direction. Each one, if he is living his religion, is supposed to have the spirit of light, of truth and intelligence within himself, the spirit of revelation, the Holy Ghost given unto him by the laying on of hands which, if he follows in all its guidings and dictates will lead him into all truth. Each man and each woman is placed in the position that they can draw nigh unto God through Jesus Christ: to have the light and intelligence of the Spirit of God imparted unto them; but because of the weakness of man, because of our many infirmities, and because of the powers of darkness and of the many influences that have been at work from the commencement of the world until the present time seeking to destroy, to uproot and to overturn the principles of eternal truth, and to lead men into error, darkness, confusion, and death, and because it is the way and order of God, He has ordained a holy Priesthood for the guidance, for the direction, and for the instruction of His people.

We are told that in ancient days God placed “in the church first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers;” and again, “He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.” For what? “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up unto him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.” That was the teaching of one of the old Apostles. Furthermore, the Lord has instituted in the Church in these last days the same Priesthood that formerly existed, and for the same purpose. We have, say, a First Presidency; then we have the Twelve; then we have High Priests; then we have Seventies; then we have High Councils, and Bishops and their Counselors; then we have Presidents of Stakes, each Stake in its form a compact body, with a President and his two Counselors, and Bishops operating in their place and presiding over their various Wards, and the High Councils operating in their place, with the Priests, Teachers and Deacons operating in theirs, all working and operating together. Then we have Relief Societies, and Mutual Improvement Societies, and our Sunday Schools, and Primary Associations, and all the various organizations and institutions which are organized for the instruction of the rising generation, male and female. Thus we have the various officers in the Church performing their several duties with honor, integrity and truthfulness before God, looking after the interest, the welfare and the happiness of those that are associated with and that are under their jurisdiction. Then these various Stakes, in their organizations, with their Presidents, are subject to the presiding authorities, and the Presidents thereof have to render an account to the Presidency of the Church; and the Presidency of the Church ought to be able at all times to render an account to their Heavenly Father.

This is an order, as I understand it, that is introduced by the Almighty, and by Him alone. It is not of man, nor did it proceed from man, neither can it progress nor be perfected by man without the direction of the Almighty. In fact, with all these helps, with all these organizations, with all these principles, owing to the weakness and infirmities of man, we find it difficult to preserve in purity those sacred institutions that God has given unto us, and we continually need the greatest care, humility, self-denial, perseverance, watchfulness and reliance upon God. We talk sometimes about free will; is that a correct principle? Yes; and it is a principle that has always existed, and proceeded from God, our Heavenly Father. When God revealed Himself to Joseph Smith it was optional whether he obeyed His counsel or not; I suppose, however, looking at things as they exist, and as they are in truth, God understood that he would do it, he having been selected for that purpose a long, long time ago; and that the Lord knew that he would adhere to those principles and would carry out the designs of Heaven as they should be communicated unto and required of him. We received the Gospel; was anyone forced to obey it? Was there any coercion in any possible way manifested toward us? Not that I know of. Was Oliver Cowdery, who was the second Elder in the Church, obliged to receive this Gospel? No, he was not. Was Hyrum Smith obliged to receive it? No, he was not. Were any of the witnesses to the Book of Mormon—the Whitmers and others? No. And after they did identify themselves with this Church, were they com– pelled to stay in it? No. Have any of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve, the Seventies, the High Priests, or the members of the High Councils, or the Presidents of the Seventies, or any class of men in this Church, been compelled to occupy the position to which they have been called? I do not know of any, do you? I know there was no coercion used with me further than the force of truth recommending itself to my mind, neither was there with you further than the power of truth operating upon your minds. And after you received the Gospel were you compelled to leave your homes to come here? No, you were not. In fact, it was your desire to come here, and you could not be kept back from coming, because you were impelled by the spirit which the Latter-day Gospel inspires to come to the land of Zion. If this is called compulsion, it is not the compulsion of man, but the operation of the Spirit of God, which you received through obedience to the Gospel.

We may here ask, in acting under the dominion or control of the Priesthood are any of you forced to do anything you do not want to? If you think you are in any possible way, I absolve you from it today, every one of you. These are my ideas about the rights of men. It is “all free grace and all free will,” as the poet has it. We have not been coerced to come into the Church, we are not coerced to remain in it. But we have taken upon ourselves a profession of faith in God, and as Latter-day Saints we believe that God has spoken, that the heavens have been opened, that the everlasting Gospel has been restored to man, and we believe that God has organized His Church by revelation, through his servant, Joseph Smith, in the form that we now have it. This is our faith. We cannot help that faith. I cannot help my faith, neither can you help yours. There was from the first, scriptural evidence adduced and a certain kind of reasoning used to enlighten our minds. We believed, after hearing the preaching of the Gospel, that it was our duty to be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of our sins, and to have hands laid upon our heads for the reception of the Holy Ghost. And when we received that Holy Ghost, which takes of the things of God, it showed them unto us; and then we were placed upon another footing from what we were before; and that Spirit has enlightened our minds in regard to those things of which I have spoken, as well as in regard to many others. If God has revealed unto us certain things can we help our faith in them, and can we help knowing this to be the Church and Kingdom of God? No. Can I? No. Can you? No. What would men have to do to deprive me of this faith? They would have to cut off my head, or in some other way to kill me; and then they could not change my faith, that would be impossible. If a man knows a thing, he knows it, and he cannot unknow it. There is one way whereby we can unknow these things, and that is by giving way to evil influences, to the powers of darkness, and by departing from the light of God; and then the light within us becomes darkness, and then “how great is that darkness.” But when you talk about controlling a man’s faith, it cannot be done; and I would say to people who are bent upon having me change my faith, all you have to do is to cut off my head, and even that would not do it, because I would still be myself entertaining the same faith in the next world. And there– fore, all that men could do toward accomplishing this object would be to destroy the body, but that principle which God has implanted in our hearts it would be impossible to destroy; hence says Jesus, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Now, speaking again of the organization which I have referred to, connected with it are laws which are calculated to lead us on from strength to strength, from knowledge to knowledge, and from intelligence to intelligence, until we shall all see as we are seen and know as we are known. And hence God has given for this purpose the various offices that exist in the Church and Kingdom of God. I would further ask, What is this Priesthood given us for? That we may be enabled to build up the Zion of our God. What for? To put down wrong and corruption, lasciviousness, lying, thieving, dishonesty and covetousness, with every kind of evil, and also to encourage faith, meekness, charity, purity, brotherly kindness, truthfulness, integrity, honesty, and everything that is calculated to exalt and ennoble mankind, that we may be the true and proper representatives of God our Father here upon the earth, that we may learn to know His will and do it; that His will may be done on earth as in heaven. And hence, Zion is spoken of as being the pure in heart.

When the disciples of our Lord asked Him to teach them how to pray, what did He say? “When you pray say, “Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come: Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we for– give our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.” Besides other things they were taught to pray that God’s kingdom might come. Why? That the earth might be delivered from oppression, cruelty, tyranny, from corruptions, infamy, licentiousness, debauchery, and all the evils that afflict humanity, and which have been introduced by the powers of darkness for the overthrow and destruction of the human family. Jesus stands forth as the great propitiator between God and man. He came here as the representative of His heavenly Father, He is our great High Priest, and he lives to intercede for us before the throne of God, who is also our Father, Jesus being our elder brother.

Now, then, God has gathered us together for a purpose, and that purpose is to build up Zion and to establish His kingdom on the earth and He could not do it in any other way that I know of than the way in which He is doing it; He may however have some other way, but if He has I am not acquainted with it. It is sufficient for us to know that He has chosen this way. Very well. We are taking hold and are doing a great many good things. I feel very much interested in the labors which are being performed. My heart is drawn out in many instances to many peoples and organizations that are engaged in trying to teach the people the ways of life. When I see the Twelve thus engaged, traveling about from place to place teaching the pure principles of the Gospel of peace, I feel like saying in my heart, God bless you, and God sustain you; and all Israel ought to have the same feeling. Then when I see our missionaries doing the same thing not only in our midst but elsewhere, seeking to promote the benefit of men, to introduce correct principles and to expose error, and to lead men to the truth and to gather them to Zion, I feel to say, God bless you in all your operations, and may the Spirit and blessing and power of God be with you; and all Israel ought to sustain such men who are engaged in such beneficial labors. Then when I see our Sunday Schools in operation, with our young men and women, and in many instances the aged men and aged women taking an interest in our youth and trying to train up the rising generations in the paths of life, I say to all such, God bless you and may His peace and blessing be upon all who are interested in the welfare of Israel. And again when I see our young men and young women associating themselves together for mutual instruction and edification, learning to comprehend correct principles and educating themselves to become efficient laborers in the work, the great, the important, the eternal work of God which He has committed to us—when I see our young men and women engaged in that way, I say to such, God bless you, and may the peace and the blessing of God be with you. And when I see our juveniles who are organized as Primary Associations, brought together and taught to sing the praises of God, and to comprehend the principles of the Gospel—and in many instances their parents scarcely sense the responsibility God placed upon them when He placed these precious jewels in their care, making them the fathers and mothers of lives—when I see our brethren and sisters engaged teaching these children to lisp the praises of God, and to honor and obey their parents and to do that which is right, I say God bless them. And when I see our Bishops engaged in doing the will of God, and exerting themselves to promote the welfare of His people over whom they preside, and seeking counsel from God and other sources, and doing all they can to build up Zion unselfishly, with pure hearts and clean hands, I say, God bless you and may the spirit and power of your office rest upon you, that you may magnify it and honor your God. And when I see the Seventies and Elders go among the nations of the earth, as many have done before, trying to benefit mankind, trying to snatch them from the fearful calamity that is near at hand, but people do not know it, when I see men going forth to accomplish the purposes of God and gather out His elect, I say to such, God bless you; and I feel desirous and hopeful that these men may be able to present the eternal truths of heaven in such a way that the honest in heart may see and admire them, and participate in the blessings resulting from obedience thereto.

We are here, then, to build up Zion. We have a temple going up here, and we have others in course of erection in other places. Now, while we have no disrespect for the world, no disrespect for the nations in which we live, or for the authorities thereof, if they act wisely, well; if they do not act wisely it is not so well. No matter about that; we can trust them in the hands of God. We are the friends of all men, and are the friends of this nation; we are the friends and supporters of the Constitution of this nation, we are the friends of right, of freedom and of good administration and good men everywhere, and that on the principle of which I spoke a while ago—on the principle of freedom, liberty, believe, and let believe, worship, and let others worship, worship as you please according to the dictates of conscience, and let others do the same. It is for us to be governed by correct principles, and as far as it lies in our power to extend to all men this right, and then maintain, on correct principles, our own rights, the rights of others and the rights of God. These are my feelings in relation to this matter. But the world do not comprehend our principles; they cannot. But we can afford to teach them the Gospel even if we are abused for doing it; we can deal justly with them, and then suffer their abuse. No matter. We can do all this and a good deal more, and also advocate the rights of men, look after our own interests and welfare, and the interest of the community we are associated with and sustain all just laws and correct principles. And then we can leave those men who violate correct principles in the hands of God. But they cannot comprehend these things, they do not possess that spirit which alone enables men to fulfil those principles, which are given by the Almighty for the benefit of the human family. We do understand them, I mean, those who are faithful to their profession, as Latter-day Saints; but some of us possess the spirit by which they are actuated, and I am sorry when I see it. But as a people we are not of the spirit of the world; we are here not to pattern after the follies of the world, but to build up Zion, the Church and Kingdom of God upon the earth; and God has given unto us a portion of His Spirit, that we may seek after Him, and seek to carry out His will, and He will continue to enlighten our mind, and we shall grow and increase, and our path will be as that of the just, growing brighter and brighter unto the perfect day. Do the world understand anything of the religion we have received? No. It is nothing new to say this; this was understood long, long ago.

“The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither indeed can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned;” and when they do not possess the spirit of truth, the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, by which alone they are understood, how can they comprehend them? Well, having said so much, let me come back to the question of Tithing.

The people were anxious at the time the revelation was given in Far West, to know what the Lord required as a Tithing from His Saints. I was there at the time; it was in 1838—quite a little time to look back to. Some time, however, before this revelation was given, God had revealed the principle of the United Order, which, as you know, the people could not abide; and when we come to think about it, it could hardly be expected that they could do so, they having been in the Church but a short time, taken out of the world, with all the prejudices and weaknesses that you and I have. But the time will come when we will obey these things as they are given by the revelations of God, and it will not be a hardship either; it will be a pleasure to those who are under the influence of the Lord. But like all other things, it will be “free will and free grace.”

Now, then, we come to this. Here is a command given; who to? Not to outsiders, not to men of the world, not to people who do not believe in God nor in His laws; but it is given directly to us who profess to have faith in Him, in His laws, and in His Priesthood. The question then is, what is our duty, as we have not obeyed the other law? I will remark here, incidentally, that when this law of Tithing was given, a great many people were gathering up to Far West and to that district of country, as we are to this country; but it would apply more to our early settlements than at the present time. This people thus gathering to Far West, were told that it was required of them to give their surplus property—I will read it.

“I require all their surplus property to be put into the hands of the bishop of my church of Zion, For the building of mine house, and for the laying the foundation of Zion, and for the priesthood, and for the debts of the Presidency of my Church. And this shall be the beginning of the tithing of my people.” What then? “And those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually, and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord.”

Now, here is a people, of whom we form a part, who met together to ask the Prophet of the Lord to inquire for them the will of the Lord concerning this matter of Tithing; and He gives it in these words:

“And this shall be a standing law unto them forever.”

I will ask, has the Lord ever annulled this? No. Then it stands in full force today to this people. Then again:

“Verily I say unto you, it shall come to pass that all those who gather unto the land of Zion shall be tithed of their surplus properties, and shall observe this law, or they shall not be found worthy to abide among you.”

That is very plain talk. Is there any compulsion about it? No; but if they do not do it they shall not be considered worthy to abide among you. What are we to make of it? As I said yesterday, I did not make it; President Young did not make it, neither did Joseph Smith make it; but by the request of the people he asked the Lord what His will was, and this was the answer; and this was given in 1838. And does it not seem strange that we do not comprehend it? I think it does sometimes. Here we have had the Doctrine and Covenants in our hands, which contain this revelation, since the year 1838; that is nearly forty-two years ago. We have had forty-two years to study this doctrine, and it is as plain as you can make it, and yet it would seem that we cannot understand it. Do we want to understand the laws of God? If we do, and will read these things under the influence of that spirit which I have referred to, I think that we will understand our duties without much trouble.

Now then, if Zion—we were talking about building up Zion—I am not going to enter into the whys and wherefores of these things, but will say it is a test to the people of God, or for us who profess to be, that we may know whether people will observe a certain specific law given by the Almighty or not, and thus have a proof of their fidelity and obedience. Now, if we abide this, all well and good; if not, it is written, “They shall not be found worthy to abide among you.” What will you do with them? I often think that there are a great many people who are not worthy to abide among us; don’t you? And then if God were to put judgment to the line, and righteousness to the plummet, most of us would be in a very poor fix. I will tell you what I think should be done, and that is why I am treating upon this subject today. I think the people ought to be instructed in these things, and then if they do not live up to them you will not then be held responsible to the authorities that preside over you. The Lord tells us that they shall not be worthy of a place among us. Do we want to alter that? Not one iota. Would I wish to be harsh to men that are ignorant? No, I would not; I would bear with them, and teach them and instruct them. And if I were a Bishop I should instruct my Teachers to do it; and then by and by, after they were fully informed, and had every opportunity to become acquainted with things, we might take final action in relation to their standing. I would not wish to enforce that law at present, until men were thoroughly informed. For instance, the case I referred to yesterday. There were two men; one paid $100 in tithing, the other paid $25 in tithing. Both of them owned about the same amount of property; but the first paid his tithing, the other did not. The second, however, paid some $75 in donations; but he did not pay his tithing, he only paid a quarter of it. That now may have arisen from ignorance with regard to the law. The last paid out as much money as the first; and he may have been wrongly taught. Some of the Bishops do not understand these things, and yet we have had this doctrine given unto us for forty-two years. Has a man a right to turn and change things as he pleases? I have not, and I do not believe any other man has. And if any Bishop or a President of a Stake or anybody else tells you that you can do as you please about the disposition you make of the means you pay, as long as you pay a certain amount, or you may pay it on Tithing or not, as you please, I tell you that he teaches false doctrine. But should we be hard with such people? No. If they have been under influences of this nature and been wrongly taught, I will say, as a certain party said to me who had been doing these things, “I will switch off and pay my Tithing according to the law.” You, Bishops and Presidents of Stakes, switch off and get the people to do things right. There is no commandment about donations, but there is about Tithing; and I am not at liberty to change this, neither any other man.

I will follow this subject a little further. We are talking about building up Zion. Here is where the thing applies itself with great force to me as well as to you, when you comprehend it as it exists and see it by the light of the Spirit of Truth. For it is written: “And I say unto you, if my people observe not this law, to keep it holy, and by this law sanctify the land of Zion unto me, that my statutes and my judgments may be kept thereon, that it may be most holy, behold, verily I say unto you, it shall not be a land of Zion unto you.” Well, we are talking about building up the land of Zion, which is one of the things we are here for. And God has said that if we do not obey this law, it shall not be a land of Zion unto us. Does this apply to us? I will read a little further: “And this shall be an ensample unto all the stakes of Zion.” Now, I speak these things for your information. I will go a little farther upon the subject. A person wrote me a letter, stating that a young man had applied to a certain Bishop for a recommend to get married. He asked him if he had paid his Tithing. He answered, No. “Well,” said the Bishop, “We are instructed not to give recommends to those who do not pay their Tithing.” “But,” said the young man, my father I suppose paid my Tithing for me.” If this was so, that would be very proper, especially in farming districts, where the grown sons assist in cultivating the farm, and the daughters, perhaps, assist in making the butter and cheese, etc. When the Tithing on the whole is paid, that is all straight enough, because what is made is the proceeds of the united labor of the family, and the family are all, of course, represented until they come to age. And then what? Why then comes another state of things. “Have you paid your Tithing since you left your father?” the young man was asked. No. Why? I have been careless and indifferent and I have not done what was right. Well, if you haven’t paid your Tithing, and you seem to have forgotten God, why is it that you want to get married according to the laws of God? Why not get married in some other way, seeing that you observe not the laws of God? Well, in the first place, my father and mother wish me to be married according to the laws of God; and then my intended wife’s father and mother want us to be married in that way; and again, the girl has told me that she will not have me unless we get married in that way. I will here remark, I think this very sensible and creditable on the part of the young lady; I think she acted very wisely, and I wish all our young sisters felt the same, and they ought to on a matter of such importance to them. Says the young man further: “I have a desire to keep the laws of God, for I was born in the Church, and I have grown up with such feelings, but I was not man enough to practice them. But if you give me the recommend I will try and do it in the future.” But the question is, under these circumstances, should the recommend be given? I could not do it, unless there was some visible manifestation on his part to mend his ways and to make up the thing he had been deficient in. “Why,” it may be asked, “Is it not better to have our sons married in the right way and be kind to them, than to see them go elsewhere to be married.” As I said yesterday, as I say today, if it were a son of mine I could not give him the recommend; and other men’s sons under the same circumstances are no better than mine. It is principle we are to be governed by. I am not here, you are not here to carry out our own designs, and feelings, and purposes. Why, Jesus himself did not come to do that. According to His own words, He came not to do his own will, but the will of his Father who sent Him. And we are here not to do our own will, but the will of the Father who also sent us, and who has called us to our holy and exalted calling. And what shall be done? Unless this young man could convince me, if I were a Bishop, that he was sincere in his heart and made some satisfactory attempt at fulfilling this law, I would not give him a recommend. What? Would Elders of Israel take men into the House of God, would you, because God has revealed some of the greatest blessings that can be conferred upon humanity, blessings which thousands and tens of thousands of good men sang about and prayed about and longed to receive, but who died without enjoying them, should we take a man, a man whom this Book says, shall not be worthy to abide amongst you, should we, I say, take him through the House of the Lord and confer and seal upon him blessings and lives eternal, and thrones and principalities and powers and dominions, and introduce him into the society of the highest intelligences that exist in the eternal worlds? I forbid you to do it in the name of the Lord. We cannot do it, we are not at liberty to do it, neither are we at liberty to use our judgment in regard to it either. If we bear with men in their weakness and infirmity and are obliged to carry a lot of men like so many automatons, the time will come and it must come when they will be shut out, they will not be found worthy to abide among you; they are not worthy now. But we have to bear with them until they are better informed; but until then they must do the best they can, for they cannot go into the House of the Lord, they cannot be sealed up to eternal lives, they cannot have part in the blessings which God has conferred upon us until they bring forth fruits meet for repentance.

I will take it in another point of view. We pay our Tithing and we pay Temple donations, we attend to the duties of the House of the Lord; we go forth and proclaim the Gospel of peace to the nations of the earth; we convert people, under the blessing of God, and they come to a knowledge of the principles of the Gospel, and we continue our labors to build up Zion; looking at it in this light, would it be just, after we have laid out our means, would it be in accordance with the principles of equity to grant this privilege to such men, a privilege which we have earned and, in a certain sense, paid for? It is generally the case that they are the first to rush forward and want certain blessings without earning them. Jesus said in His day that the “kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” These are some of that class who crowd in where they are not worthy to tread. These temporal matters they assume are of very little importance, they are of very little importance judging from the way that many of us labor; but they are of very great importance when weighed in the balances of truth, the principles of eternal life which God has revealed are of the utmost importance to the Saints, both to the living and the dead, to the myriads of men that have lived and that may live, these things are of vast importance.

I thought I would talk a little upon this subject this morning. I will now offer a few remarks upon another subject. We talk sometimes about justice; and I have noticed the spirit manifested among us sometimes, “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” This is something that really does not belong to us. We are full of infirmities. We pray to the Father to forgive our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us. How often do we sin against God? Many times, and ask His forgiveness. How often should I forgive my brother? I hear people say, “here is such and such a man, he has wronged me, and I cannot forgive him.” Then you have not the true spirit of the Gospel. “But he has acted so meanly towards me, he has injured my reputation, and he sought to do it.” Bless your soul, he cannot injure your reputation if it is good; on the contrary, by taking a correct course, according to the spirit of the Gospel, he that has traduced you will respect you and will be the sufferer, not you. It is our duty to forgive our brother seven times, yes, seventy times seven, when he turns to you and seeks your forgiveness; and we should forgive men in our hearts whether they ask our forgiveness or not. And what about our enemies? What shall we do with them? Offer them peace and forgive them the first time. And what then? Go again the second time and forgive them? Yes, if they ask forgiveness. And the third time? Yes; but the fourth time the Lord says thine enemy is in thine hand, do with him as seemeth thee good. You have then fulfilled the law; and even then, if you are merciful, it is said it shall be accounted to you for righteousness. This is the law of the Gospel.

I am desirous to see the people observe this law of Tithing, because it is a plain and direct command to us. Not that I care anything personally whether people pay their Tithing or not, and I do not think the Lord cares much himself. The gold and the silver are His, and so are the cattle upon a thousand hills; and to Him belongs power to command all things. And what we do possess of this world’s goods is given unto us to make a wise use of, because we cannot take them with us when we shall be called hence. It is for us, as Saints of the Most High, to be honest and upright and take a correct course, to be full of integrity and maintain correct principles everywhere and at all times. If our enemies cannot afford to treat us aright, we can afford to treat them aright. But we will not barter away our rights, but leave ourselves in the hands of God, and seek to Him for His guidance; and if we keep His commandments, God’s blessing will rest upon us. Therefore, in regard to this, it is not a matter of pecuniary interest that prompts me to speak to you; it is a test of faith which God has given unto us, and which affects us all and that for some reason known to God. But speaking of ourselves, it is positively stated, as before referred to, that those who do not observe this law shall not be considered worthy to abide among us; and further, that this shall be a standing law unto all the Stakes of Zion. Again, the Lord says: “If my people observe not this law, etc., it shall not be a land of Zion unto them.”

We have to build up Zion, and make it the praise of the whole earth; but to do this acceptably to God, we must be governed by the principles of purity and honesty; truthfulness and integrity and all the sterling virtues which God has pointed out for man to be governed by. And when the Saints arrive at this state of perfection, thus fulfilling this scripture with regard to the greatness and splendor of Zion, God will make His people not only the richest of all people in spiritual things, but also in temporal things.

God bless you, in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Sunday Afternoon, Jan. 2nd, 1881.

I am pleased to have another opportunity of meeting with you on this the first Sabbath of the New Year; and I will add to all the faithful, ten thousand more of them. For we, as Latter-day Saints, do not consider that our existence ends with time, as we generally term it, but that it reaches into eternity. And that while we are here in a state of probation to fulfil the various duties devolving upon us, as Saints of the living God; while we come into the world and exist in it for a time and then leave it, we have hopes and aspirations beyond the grave, and anticipate that, as ages and cycles shall pass along and generation succeeds generation, if we are true to our trust and live our religion, keeping the commandments of God and fulfilling the various covenants devolving upon us to attend to, that we shall associate with the just in the eternities to come! Therefore we are living, and hoping, and expecting, and planning, and contriving and operating, for the accomplishment of this object. We do not look upon the affairs of this life as those alone in which humanity is interested. We have been taught differently by those who have had communication with the Lord, and to whom he has revealed his will. We have been taught differently by the holy priesthood that we have in our midst; we have been taught differently by the Holy Spirit which we have received in God’s appointed way, according to his law; which spirit has enlightened our minds and given unto us an evidence and a testimony similar to that which we heard Brother Smith speak of that he knew this work to be of God. How did he know it? Through obedience to the law of God, by the reception of the Holy Ghost and through the union and communion that exists between God and his children upon the earth. This is a principle of certainty and testimony, and an evidence that we all have the privilege of enjoying for ourselves, and of knowing that God lives; of knowing that this is the Church of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God; and of knowing also that God lives and that he is our Father, and that we are his children; and of further knowing that, “when this earthly house of our tabernacle is dissolved,” we can feel like one of old, that “we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens,” waiting for us, and not for us only but for all who love the appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Were it not for this hope, were it not for this spirit, were it not for this intelligence that has been communicated unto us by the light of revelation and by the manifestation of the Spirit of God, through the revelations of God to man in these the last days, by the opening of the heavens, by the administration of holy angels, and by the revelations of the will of God to man; were it not for this we should not have been here today, this congregation would not have been assembled here as they are; the Latter-day Saints would not have been in this territory; nor would they have been anywhere else; for it is because God has seen fit in the fullness of times, according to the testimony given by the holy prophets, who have prophesied since the world was, according to the designs and eternal purposes of God pertaining to the inhabitants of the earth—those who now live, those who have lived and those who will live; were it not for the purposes of God pertaining to these things, and the communications of his will to us, we could not be, as I before stated, in the position we now occupy. But God having designed to accomplish his work in the interests of the people of the world, in this day and age, in the interest of the myriads who have passed out of the world, in the interest of the living and the dead, he has commenced his work for the salvation, for the redemption and for the exaltation of the human family, and hence things are as we see them among us today.

When we talk about the theories of men, they are matters of very little importance; when we reflect upon their ideas or views, they are really unimportant, but when we talk about the law of God, the plates of Jehovah and his designs pertaining to the world in which we live and its inhabitants, and to the inhabitants that have lived, and to all humanity, then we touch upon a subject that is grand, noble and sublime; one that enters into the recesses of the heart and that touches every fiber, and that causes our hopes and aspirations to reach within the veil, where Christ our forerunner has gone, and we feel convinced that there is an eternal fitness in all the laws, in all the truths, in all the ordinances, and in everything that God has revealed for the salvation and exaltation of the human family. We are here, and how did we come here? What was it that brought us here? Some hardly know; and then there are a great many who do understand this thing very well. We are here because we listened to the eternal truths of the gospel, and that gospel could not have been known unless it had been revealed. For no men nor any set of men, today, understand those principles which are calculated to exalt men in the celestial kingdom of God, nor could they comprehend them unless God had revealed them. And when we hear of the folly, the raving and ranting of ignorant men who know not God nor his laws, who would presume to dictate to Jehovah, who would teach something that they know nothing about; but being without revelation, are fitly represented in the Scriptures as “Knowing nothing but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed.” For instance, we have our cattle, our sheep and other animals which we raise and provide food for and feed and fatten them. What for? For the knife. How could we do it if they knew what we were doing it for? I do not think they would get very fat. Still, one of the old prophets, in speaking of these men who are without revelation says, “They know nothing but what they know naturally as brute beasts.” We certainly do not wish such men for our instructors.

Many men at the present day will tell us that they will believe nothing but what they can see with their eyes, handle with their hands and comprehend with their judgments. And what are they prepared for? I might here ask, What does man in reality know of God and of his laws, or of the proper fitness of things what does he know about that vitality that he himself is in possession of, or that which any other animal is in possession of? He knows nothing pertaining to it, nor can he impart it. When we talk about the wisdom of man, how far does it go? We learn a few of the laws of nature. Who gave these laws? Who originated or organized them? Who placed these eternal laws in nature? Who made the solar system, for instance, to move with that accuracy and punctuality according to exact rules and laws who made any portion of that system, gave it its original force or sustains it in its motion? Who planted in matter its exact and various laws? Can any of the learned and the wise of this day and age make anything of that kind or anything approaching to it? Who gives life and vitality to man? Does man give it? We are told that “there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth it understanding,” but without that what are we, although our organization may be complete in all its parts, yet without the spirit the body is lifeless, motionless and inanimate. What are we? At best but little specks in motion moving about in the world? Puffed up, in many instances, with things we profess to know, when really we know nothing only as God communicates it, and can understand nothing only as he makes it manifest. Can all the philosophers of today make a grain of wheat and give vitality to it, much less a world? Or can they make a simple blade of grass? It is not a big thing to ask a wise man to do, especially those who desire to ignore God in his works, but can the wisest of our philosophers do it? No, nor can they discover the secrets of life, nor the impulses which act upon all nature in all the varied operations. Who governs the planetary system? The great God, the same who causes our earth as well as other systems to revolve upon their axes, and provides for them, and has measured and given them their times and seasons, and their laws. Who is it that causes the blood to flow through our veins? He that has given and does give intelligence to man. Can anybody point out any of those vital principles and show that they originated independently of God? No, they cannot. And so it is through all creation, no matter what you touch pertaining to nature. When man discovers a law of nature either in the mineral, the animal, the vegetable or any other kingdom, he will find that it is governed by strict eternal and unchangeable and undeviating laws. And when men discover that, what do they find out? Something which God has placed there, something that has always existed. We talk sometimes about the great discoveries we have made. We will refer to gas, for instance; some of us can remember very well when there was no such thing known among us as gas for lighting purposes. Who originated the ele– ments of which it is composed? The great God; and that principle always existed. We speak about electricity and the uses to which it can be applied. Who originated that principle? “O, it was found out a few years ago and we found it very useful in communicating one with another; through its use we can send a message today from one part of the world to another, and can be in communication really with the world.” Well, we think we have done something very remarkable, in discovering something of that kind, and it really is a great discovery; but then that principle always existed, ever since the world was framed; the only thing that we can boast of is that we have discovered a certain principle which we did not know of before; and there are ten thousand other principles beyond, which we have not yet discovered; but when we do discover them we shall find them to be the same eternal laws of God. I am reminded sometimes of a little infant. You look at the body; it comes into the world; it has its common faculties. By and by it makes a discovery, it finds out that it has a hand, and it looks at it as much as to say, It is a very curious thing, and it is a remarkable discovery that I have made. Why, it always had a hand, but the baby did not always know it.

It has been remarked here by Bro. Penrose that all things are governed by law. This is so whether in the material world, or whether—I was going to say—in the immaterial world, but we do not know of such a thing; I will say therefore, the spiritual world, if you please. We are very singularly constituted, forming a combination of body and spirit. We learn a little about the bodies of men, but do we know about the spirits? We know from history of some things which have taken place in the past, but what do we know about things pertaining to the future? Who can comprehend God or his ways? One of old in speaking upon this subject says, “It is high as heaven; what canst thou do? Deeper than hell; what canst thou understand?” There are some prominent features which God has revealed to us; and there are ten thousands of principles which he has not revealed. Those principles that he has revealed to us, like everything else pertaining to the works and the designs of God, bring a degree of certainty, assurance, intelligence and satisfaction that nothing earthly can impart. The Saints themselves, do not, in many instances, understand the “whys” and the “wherefores” pertaining to these matters. We are taught to obey certain laws; we are taught to repent of our sins, and to have hands laid upon our heads for the reception of the Holy Ghost. Here is a law that God has appointed, just the same as he has regulated these other systems of which I speak, and with which we are more or less familiar. We have electricity floating around us in every direction. In order to make it subserve our desires we have to use it according to certain laws. At present we have to string up wire properly connecting it and use a battery and a machine made for the purpose, in order to convey our thoughts to others at a distance; and without first paying due regard to these or other appliances that perhaps might be substituted, we could not communicate. When you comply with the law governing this matter, that is, when you erect the poles, string the wire, make your battery and have the machine and the circuit complete, you may then convey your thoughts correctly over the wire by the means of electricity to others at a distance. You know they have been correctly sent because you can receive your answer back; and if necessary, have the message you sent repeated. Now the same principle is true in regard to the other things. And do the persons who operate the telegraph machine always understand all about the philosophy of it? No, but very few of them comparatively. Yet they learn to operate while somebody else does the thinking and prepares the machine and appliances for them for the purpose of introducing this mode of communicating. Now then, look at the principle that looks to many very simple associated with that way which God has ordained and appointed for man to become acquainted with him, and to be introduced to him and to his laws. How is it? Why the elder goes forth to preach, and what is he told to preach? Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost. Now these look to many as being very simple things, very simple; yet they are things which God has ordained, they are his laws, they were in former times, they are in this time. We cannot violate these and receive the blessings, and no other people can; I do not care who they are, they cannot do it. Let us go back to our experience. There are hundreds of you present who have received the spirit of the living God; how did you receive it? You say, an elder came along, and we heard him preach; he told me to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and to repent of my sins, and that he was authorized to baptize me for the remission of my sins, and he told me that if I did this that hands should then be laid upon my head and I should receive the Holy Ghost. This is the doctrine you heard. Then you had faith in God; you repented of your sins, your follies and wickedness, and you covenanted to fear God and keep his commandments, and to observe his laws. The elder then went forth and led you into the water, and he said, “Being commissioned of Jesus Christ I baptize you for the remission of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.” He then buried you in the water and raised and brought you out of it. After he did this, he laid his hands upon your head, and by the same authority he confirmed you a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and said, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.”

Now that is a very peculiar operation when you come to think upon it. Why is it thus? A man goes forth who has authority given him of Jesus Christ, he baptized you for the remission of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. There is something very peculiar about it. It looks very simple; but if that man had no such authority, then he was an impostor; and if the man or men who ordained that elder conferring on him this priesthood, had not the authority to do so, then he or they were impostors; and if God had not given revelation instructing Joseph Smith in relation to these things, how they were to be done, then Joseph Smith himself was an impostor, as well as the apostles and all men professing authority. These are self-evident facts. We as a people do not profess to have received any authority from any other source, from any man or set of men, or any church or any organization existing; and if God has not revealed it, then the whole thing is a falsehood and fiction, and there is nothing to it. Here is a picture [pointing to the ceiling] of the angel Moroni appearing unto Joseph Smith, revealing to him among other things the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated. We have another here [pointing to John the Baptist conferring upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery the Aaronic priesthood], and still another, representing Peter, James and John conferring upon Joseph Smith the Melchizedek priesthood. Very well. Are these things true? There are thousands of Latter-day Saints who will tell you they know it. We will come to these things by and by. But if these things were not so, then our faith is in vain, then we are dark and benighted as others are, then the things we believe in are a phantom and can avail us nothing, either pertaining to this world or the world to come; then the building of these temples amounts to nothing, if these things are a fiction, and everything we have done and are engaged in amounts to nothing. But if they are true, then there is nothing of so great importance to the world of mankind and to us, as the revelation of these truths to man in these last days, and pertaining also to our association therewith.

Now, when an elder lays his hands upon a man and confirms upon him the Holy Ghost, he tells him to receive it by virtue of the authority conferred upon him. What authority? Why God restored the authority of the holy priesthood by those who held the keys of that priesthood and who administer in time and in eternity, who hold that priesthood upon the earth, and who now hold it in the heavens. They came here to impart it to men, and did restore it to men. Very well, that being the case, man was again placed in communion with his God; not left any longer to guess and suppose and surmise and to think, but to know. For instance, I have myself been thousands of miles and hundreds of thousands to preach this Gospel; would I have gone if I had not known it to be true? No, I would not. There is nothing very pleasing in going forth to an unbelieving world to meet the errors and the prejudices of ages, and to oppose the false theories of men, to introduce the principles that are opposed and repudiated by the carnal mind, and by the corrupt everywhere; there is nothing very pleasant or inviting to be traduced and to have your name cast out as evil, no matter how honorable you may be, this has been the lot of the elders of this Church and is their lot today, by men who know not of what they speak, by men who are bigoted, superstitious and ignorant; men who comprehend not God nor his laws; but we know it, and I know the truths of which I speak, and bear testimony to it before you. If others do not know it, I cannot help it; I have obeyed the method appointed to receive these things, as you have had to do, to be initiated into the Church and kingdom, according to the laws which God has ordained. What I have done, then, all others in this Church have done; and the elders of Israel have been actuated by the same impulses, have obeyed the same doctrines and ordinances, and have administered the same ordinances to others. They are influenced by the same spirit, and they realized and knew for themselves of the things which they promulgated and taught. Is this con– fined to elders alone? No. To the apostles and presidents? No. To the seventies or high priests or elders, bishops, priests, teachers or deacons? No. This is a thing which pertains to all; all who are Latter-day Saints, all who have complied with the requirements and who have thus placed themselves in the condition to receive this knowledge; and you men who are before and around me today are witnesses of the truth of that which I say, because you yourselves did receive the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God which imparted to you a knowledge of the principles of the Gospel and placed you in communion with God your heavenly Father. And this Spirit has borne witness to our spirits as it has been said by one of old, “that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ.” We sometimes treat these things rather lightly, scarcely comprehending what we are doing; and I often think that our elders themselves hardly realize the significance of the situation they occupy when they say to him that believes, repents and is baptized, “Receive thou the Holy Ghost.” Is there a thing of more importance that we can think of anywhere than this which so many of us treat so lightly. The idea of a man, human and fallible, pronouncing the reception of the Holy Ghost upon his fellow man, and his fellow receiving that heavenly treasure, is one of the greatest manifestations of the faithfulness of God, in sanctioning the acts of his elders that it is possible for us to conceive of. He has said that through these ordinances he would confer the Holy Ghost; he has also fulfilled it, as the thousands who hear me today can bear record. Here is the thing that operated upon you and which was the means of bringing you here to this place, from many of the nations of the earth.

Some people find fault with us about these things. I have said frequently to men that I cannot help my faith and I am sure you cannot help it; no man living can control my faith, for I have received a portion of the Spirit of the Lord and I know it; and if you have received a portion of that same Spirit you know it, and you cannot unknow it—it is impossible, you cannot unknow it, unless you sin against God and, as the apostle said, grieve the Spirit, by which you were sealed; then it withdraws from you, then you will not know much about it, no more than some do who take this course against us. The apostle said, “Grieve not the Spirit of God, by which you are sealed to the day of redemption;” do not grieve it, do not sin against God, do not violate his laws, do not corrupt yourselves; do not corrupt your bodies, for are they not, as one has said, “the temples of the living God?” Do not allow your spirits to be contaminated and led astray from correct principles, but cleave unto God in all humility, fidelity, faithfulness; observing his laws and keeping his commandments. Why, then, let me ask, are you here? You are here because the elders of Israel visited the place where you lived in this nation, or in nations afar off, preaching the principles of the everlasting Gospel which had been restored; and you believed their testimony, and obeyed the Gospel, and received a knowledge of its divinity, and because of this you came here; and hence the elders, the apostles, the presidents, and all the various peoples and members being touched by the spark of that fire that dwells in the bosom of God, being enlight– ened by that Holy Spirit which is promised to those who obey his law, you left your homes, your friends, your associations, and came here to mingle with the Saints of the Most High, to unite with them and to assist in carrying out those purposes that God designs pertaining to the human family. Now in all this Joseph Smith and those associated with him—Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, Hyrum Smith, Sidney Rigdon and others—understood these principles; they commenced this work not of their own free will, and, yes, of their own free will, too; but they did not originate them. God originated them and they were instrumental in his hands in introducing them. These men having been ordained themselves, ordained others who went forth to proclaim that word of truth which they had received. And why did you come here? Because you received that testimony and believed it and obeyed it and received the Holy Ghost, and associated with those who believed the same principles. There was something that propelled you forward, you hardly knew why or how, but you were desirous to come to Zion. Why? Because you are living in the dispensation of the fulness of times, when God will gather together all things in one, and the keys of the gathering dispensation had been introduced; and because you had received of that spirit, and you never felt easy until you got here. Well, how was that? What operated upon you? The Spirit of God. Was it a something that was craving after wealth and position and power and aggrandizement, to have a great and honorable name? No, it was as you first were taught and as you afterwards comprehended, it was how to learn to save yourselves, to save your progenitors, to save your posterity; it was that you might obtain a knowledge of the laws of life, fulfil the measure of your creation, and that while you felt as a man among men upon the earth, you might, by and by, through obedience to pure principles, stand among the Gods as a God, in the eternal worlds, and be exalted through the power of the Gospel. This is why you came here, and are coming here, and being here, we brought our bodies with us. We have to eat and drink, we need clothing. The curse has not been removed from the earth yet, therefore we have “to eat our bread by the sweat of our brow.” We have to do in regard to these matters as others do; and being here, what then? Why a number of people make what may be termed a community. We are living on land, and that land, in a territorial capacity is part and parcel of the United States, and as a territory of the United States, we necessarily form an integral part of the United States; being men, and having bodies as other men, independent of our general feelings, thoughts, actions and sentiments, we have to live and move, to eat, to drink, to occupy farms, houses, cities, and lands; and to perform all the varied duties of citizens, associated with the body politic. What next? We have our religious duties to perform, and that is to fear God and to observe his laws.

What else? We build temples. What for? To administer the ordinances of God. What ordinances? Those that God has revealed, and those that the world know nothing about; and if they had the temples already built for them today they would not know any more what to do with them than that pitcher does; nor would we unless God had revealed it. Now we are going on quietly to attend to our duties, building our temples and administering in them. Here is Brother John L. Smith—how long Brother Smith have you been administering in the Temple at St. George? [Brother Smith: Four years, sir.] And for whom? For himself? Yes, a little, not much however, principally for others. For the welfare of whom? The living. Who else? Of the dead; that we may fulfil certain duties that God has called us to perform, to help in the accomplishment of his designs and purposes. And that as God has been pleased to restore to the earth the keys which Elijah held, who conferred his power upon others to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, that the fathers who existed upon the earth in generations gone past, and we who are now in existence and our children that are following after us, might be cemented and united together by eternal bonds which God has pointed out. That there might be an alliance and cooperation between those in the heavens and those on the earth; that there might be a welding, uniting, cementing principle; in which the priesthood in the heavens and on the earth are united, to carry out the great designs of our heavenly Father in the salvation and redemption of the living and the dead, and that we might operate for them on the earth while they are operating for us in the heavens. For it is written, that “They without us cannot be made perfect,” neither can we become perfect without them. We, then, are operating in our part and they in theirs; we on the earth, they in the heavens; and with God they are operating, and with Jesus Christ, who is the mediator of the new covenant, and with the ancient prophets and apostles of God, who lived before, who administered in time and in eternity, holding the everlasting priesthood, and who are all interested in the welfare of the world and the exaltation of man.

Well, now, what shall we do? Shall we go on with it? We will try to, the Lord being our helper. Some people say we are very wicked. Well, I do not think we are as good as we ought to be by a long way, but I do think we are very much better than they are. This is my opinion, with all our follies and all our weaknesses, and all our infirmities. And—well, I would not like to say what I know about them. God knows it. We will let that go. The Lord will judge men by their acts, and he will judge us and all others by our acts.

Now, we have a territorial form of government. I will come to that again. What shall we do? Observe the laws of men? I think that is a very easy thing to do. There is nothing very hard about that; if they will not interfere with us in religious matters, there is nothing very hard about keeping the laws of the land. Will we pay taxes? Yes. Will be loyal to the government? Yes. Will we sustain all good, honorable men that are rulers? Yes, and pray God to inspire them with wisdom, that they may be led in the right path. Will we fight with them and quarrel with them, and say hard words about them and misrepresent them as they do us? No, we will not. It would try me very much sometimes to have to tell the plain and unpalatable truth about them, of things which, without falsehood, I can say, I know for myself. Still, will they try to interfere with us? Yes. Who? All kinds of foolish people, ignorant; narrow-minded, degraded, wallowing in iniquity and besmeared with corruption of every kind; and yet they talk to us about our impurities. They have reason to talk a little, but not much. We are not what we should be by a long way; we ought to be a great deal better than we are. I pray that God may enable us to be so.

Well, we do not interfere with them. Whose religion do we interfere with? Nobody’s. I hope you do not, I know I do not; if they are satisfied with it, I am satisfied that they should have it. I believe in every man using the free exercise of his judgment and conscience, leaving the balance with God. I will tell people the truth; if they obey it, all right, if not, certainly I will not prosecute them or persecute them because of their views. But on the contrary, if anybody were to interfere in any way with the religious faith of anyone, I care not how foolish it might be, I would be among the first to stand forth in the defense of him whose rights were assailed; not because I believed in his religion at all; but because my sense of justice and equal rights would impel me to this action; for if I claim those rights myself I ought to respect them in others, holding as I do that it is the right of all men to believe in and worship as they please. And while there are thousands of highminded honorable men in this great nation who believe in and sustain the principles of freedom and equal rights, there are very many foolish, inconsiderate men who would recklessly tear down the temple of freedom erected by the fathers of this nation, and ruthlessly proscribe, prosecute and persecute all who cannot subscribe to their narrow erratic, unsupported ideas. But will you not conform to their ideas? No, I will not, the Lord being my helper, and then the people will not God being their helper. The Lord has revealed unto us the truth, and we know it, and we will stand by it and maintain it from this time forth, God being our helper; and all who believe in that say aye [the congregation said aye]. That is the feeling of the Latter-day Saints I know. But will we interfere with anybody? No! No! We will not. With their politics? Not much. For while we are interested in the welfare of the nation, we care very little about the present political issues. We think that a great and magnanimous nation, however, could well afford to let us alone, and would feel like endorsing General Grant’s axiom, “Let us have peace.” But then if people will interfere with us while we are pursuing the even tenor of our way, we will defend and protect ourselves from their assaults as best we may, and then we will commit them to God. We have not started this work, God commenced it, not us, and we are simply endeavoring to carry out his will and law. Will we do it? With the Lord’s help we will. Will we fight against authority? No. Will we oppose the principles of this government? No. We will sustain them. But if people will act foolishly we cannot help it. If this nation can stand the results of the violation of constitutional principles, we can. If they tear down the bulwarks of freedom and with impunity trample under foot the rights of men we cannot help it. If it is our turn, today, to suffer wrong, it will be somebody else’s tomorrow, national retrogressions are not often arrested. It behooves statesmen to pause in their career. The floodgates once opened who shall stay the torrent? We of all men would save the ship of state and would say to these national patricides avaunt! But if they will act foolishly and continue to do so until they subvert the principles of liberty, and thus destroy one of the best governments ever instituted on earth, then if forsaken by all else, the elders of this Church will rally round the Constitution, lift up the standard of freedom, which is being trodden under foot and bedrabbled by demagogues, and proclaim liberty to the world; equal rights, liberty and equality; freedom of conscience and of worship to all men everywhere. That is not a prophecy of mine; it is a prophecy of Joseph Smith’s, and I believe it very strongly. Will we oppose them? No. Let them go on in their own way and we will pray to God to turn the designs of wicked men, and if they will not repent and turn from their evil deeds, pray to him that they may be taken in their own trap, be caught in their own snare, and fall into the pit which they dig for us. Can you pray with a good conscience that this may befall them? Certainly. If men dig a pit for others they should not find fault if they fall into it themselves. And as sure as God lives they will do it, if they persevere in their iniquity, and as sure as we stand faithful to the principles of truth, God will stand by us, and the wrath of man will be made to praise him, and the remainder he will restrain; and they cannot help themselves. For both they and we are in the hands of God, and they can go no further than he permits them, neither can we. And we will try, as the friends of this nation and of humanity, to do right, and to sustain all correct principles, in the maintenance of justice and equal rights to all; cultivating peace, respecting law, sustaining our institutions, and praying that right, justice and equity may prevail throughout the land; and that the hands of all honorable men may be strengthened to preserve inviolable the God-given institutions of this great nation. Let us also try to fulfil all of our duties as fathers, and our duties as mothers, our duties as children and our duties as citizens of the United States, our duties as Presidents, our duties as Apostles, our duties as High Priests, our duties as Seventies, our duties as Elders and our duties as Priests, Teachers and Deacons, and our duties as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Let us humble ourselves before the Lord, live in the light of the Spirit of God, that the Holy Spirit which we have received may be in us “as a light that shines brighter and brighter until the perfect day.” And if we are faithful, God will stand by Israel; he will preserve his elect; he will listen to our prayers: and we will go to work by his help to build up Zion and establish the Kingdom of God upon the earth; and we and our posterity will never cease doing it until the “kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ; and he shall rule forever and forever;” and then throughout the endless ages of eternity among the Gods in the eternal worlds we will join in singing, “Blessing, and glory, and honor, and power, and might, and majesty, and dominion, be ascribed to him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever.” Even so. Amen.

Discourse by President George Q. Cannon, delivered at Tooele City, on Sunday, October 31, 1880.

We profess as a people, to be led by revelation, and I hope our professions are not in vain; in fact I know they are not. I know that this people, called Latter-day Saints, do have revelations, that they have the word of God given unto them as they need it, according to their faith and their diligence and their good desires before the Lord. And those who speak unto the Latter-day Saints are different in this respect from every other class of ministers that I know anything about. We do not cogitate in our private apartments or in our libraries or in our studies what shall be said to the people, and to frame discourses to deliver to them. It is right and proper that the Elders of this Church should try to inform themselves respecting the principles of the Gospel; but it would not be right, neither is it right for them to prepare their discourses and arrange before hand what they say to the people. We might tickle your ears, we might say pleasing things to you, we might give utterance to fine moral sentiments which you would think very beautiful; but they might not be what the people need. It requires the inspiration of the Almighty to take of the things of God to impart to the people. Without that I know it is useless for any Elder in this Church to attempt to teach, and that if he taught his teachings could not result in any possible good to those who listened.

President Taylor, Brother Lyman and myself were conversing yesterday upon the subject which this bears reference to, about the abundance of good things there is in the world which are pleasing to the inhabitants of the earth. I was reminded myself on going upon one occasion when upon a mission in England, at the invitation and earnest persuasion of some friends, to listen to a very eloquent man who was a Church of England minister, who had a great reputation for eloquence and ability. I never heard anything more beautiful than his lecture; it was full of moral sentiment and beautiful ideas, and was very interesting indeed to listen to. And one would have thought that a man with such sentiments would be capable of leading the people and teaching them and making them much better than they were. The world is full of such ideas and sentiments. You read books which are written by men who are not of this Church, and you many times find in them sentiments which you cannot help but admire; they are charming and they are true; you feel when you are reading them, that there is a great deal of truth in their doctrines, and then they are set forth so convincingly. If you visit their churches, doubtless, you will find men who are able to deliver sentiments of this character to the people. You take such a man as Henry Ward Beecher; he is noted for his eloquence and the good sense which characterizes many of his discourses. He is able to talk to the people in a most sensible way about a great many things. Such men you may sit and listen to, and be really pleased with many of their ideas. There are other noted men, who are also able to deliver moral truths in a charming manner; but what does this amount to? Does it make the world any better? To some extent it does. But there is something that all these men lack, and which the world lacks, that is the Priesthood of the Son of God and the power of God. There have been Elders of this Church who could not read, who have gone forth to preach; but they had in them the power of God, they had the inspiration of the Almighty, they had the everlasting Priesthood, by authority of which they were authorized and empowered to declare unto the people the principles of life and salvation. These men, although ignorant and unlearned, and not capable of teaching by their own wisdom, have been the means of bringing salvation to hundreds and thousands of souls, and of bringing them into the Church of Christ, and into a condition where they could receive the Holy Ghost.

This is the difference between this Church and the churches of men. It is not that they do not believe in good moral sentiments, and are not capable of teaching them; it is not that they are ignorant, for they have a great deal of what is called worldly wisdom; but it is that they are destitute of the power of God, the inspiration of the Almighty, and the gift of the Holy Ghost; therefore their teachings do not bring people to a knowledge of the truth.

I was very much impressed this morning when I arose. It was cold, but we were comfortably housed, in good quarters; we had good beds to sleep on. We were visitors here; and I could not help contrasting the feelings we have for one another, and the feelings which exist in the world. We are strangers to each other in some respects; we are not blood connections; in fact, there were but very few of us who were not strangers to each other, yet I certainly feel that I am among my brethren and sisters.

I do not suppose there are any Latter-day Saints in this house who would not share what they had, if they possessed but little, with the Elders who come in their midst. And if they had a good, comfortable place, they would prefer giving it to the brethren who visit them, than taking it themselves. There is that feeling of love begotten in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints that the world knows nothing about. And yet we are selfish, and have yet much to learn in this respect. But that love which we have for each other and for God and His cause, He has begotten in our hearts. We are united together through the love of the Gospel and the love of truth. We are united together as no other people in the world are. What is this done by—by preaching moral sentiments? By fine discourses? By dwelling upon thoughts which men have framed and put together in their private studies, by their own wisdom? No. All the books in the world could not have brought about such a condition of things as we witness in our midst and experience in our hearts. We might have read all the books which have been written by the learned of the world, if it were possible to do so, and then taken the Bible which is said to be the word of God, and read that, and we might have heard all of the wise men talk about these things, and about the wisdom and the sublimity of knowledge and the attractiveness of truth, and everything of this character, and what would it have amounted to? We see what it all amounts to in the world. They have texts, they have knowledge, they have wisdom, they have schools, they have colleges, they have access to all human knowledge there is, ancient and modern, and what does it amount to? They are divided up, they are split asunder, and are really ignorant concerning God. They are full of differences concerning points of doctrine; they contend over the smallest things, and difficulties which are irreconcilable are begotten in their minds. A man who has the spirit of God given unto him through obedience to the Gospel, and who is ordained to minister in the things of God, even if he can scarcely read, as I have said, goes forth among the people accompanied by the power of God, and searches out the honest in heart. He does not use flowery words, he does not deliver great swelling discourses; but he preaches the truth in simplicity, in meekness, he tells people what to do to be saved, and he has the authority from the Lord to administer the ordinances of salvation to the people; and when they repent humbly before God, and confess their sins, he baptizes them for the remission of their sins, and lays his hands upon their heads for the reception of the Holy Ghost; and they become new creatures. A change takes place; they become new creatures in Christ Jesus. They put away the old man and his deeds, and they become new; they receive of the Spirit which unites them together and makes them one; and all those beautiful thoughts, and those glorious truths, and those delightful moral sentiments which they hear and have heard outside this Church, they can understand and they can see which is true and which is untrue; they can distinguish between the two; and they are knit together in love one to the other.

This is the marvelous work, and a wonder concerning which Isaiah spoke. The Lord said, through that Prophet: “Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their hearts far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precepts of men: Therefore, behold, I proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.” The wisdom of the wise has perished in the presence of the Gospel declared by the Elders of this Church, and we, as a people, have been gathered out as a standing protest against the folly of the creeds of men, and as a standing protest against that which is called the wisdom of man. And the Lord has shown by the building up of this Church that he is able to do his own work in his own way. And he chooses his own instruments, through whom to accomplish it; and when we shall have finished our work, none of us will be able to take any glory to ourselves; no single son or daughter of Adam will be able to claim the least degree of credit to himself or herself when the work shall be accomplished. The Lord is determined that he shall have the glory; that his name will be praised for all that has been done, and that shall be done. If we were the learned, if we had the wisdom of the world, and if we were to accomplish these results through worldly wisdom or power, there might be an opportunity given unto us to take glory to ourselves; we might under such circumstances say, it was by our wisdom and by our ability that these things were accomplished. But as it is we cannot do that; and if we attempt it and continue to indulge in such a belief, the Spirit of God will leave us to ourselves, and our weakness will be made apparent not only to ourselves but unto all men with whom we associate. But God will have a tried and peculiar people. We have been tried to some extent, but not to the extent which we probably will be; there are many things in which we will be greatly tried before we get through. Every Latter-day Saint who gains a celestial glory will be tried to the very uttermost. If there is a point in our character that is weak and tender, you may depend upon it that the Lord will reach after that, and we will be tried at that spot, for the Lord will test us to the utmost before we can get through and receive that glory and exaltation which He has in store for us as a people. When we think about the character of the exaltation promised unto us, we can understand why this should be the case. What are we striving for? What are we aiming to obtains? Our constant prayer to God is that we may be considered worthy to receive celestial glory. That is the prayer of every one who belongs to the Church. Every man and every woman who prays unto the Father, who is in the habit of doing so, ex– presses that desire in his or her prayer—that we may be counted worthy to receive celestial glory and exaltation in the presence of God and the Lamb. What a great thing to ask! Do we take in, as a people and as individuals, the full purport of this request! When we talk about celestial glory, we talk of the condition of endless increase; if we obtain celestial glory in the fullest sense of the word, then we have wives and children in eternity, we have the power of endless lives granted unto us, the power of propagation that will endure through all eternity, all being fathers and mothers in eternity; fathers of fathers, and mothers of mothers, kings and queens, priests and priestesses, and shall I say more? Yes, all becoming gods. For this is the power of God; it is the power by which God presides over the universe, and fills the universe with power, and which we pray unto Him to bestow upon us. This being the case, do you think that we are going to attain unto these things without we show ourselves perfect before the Lord? Do you expect that God will save you and me and exalt us, and give unto us this inestimable, this indescribable glory, if we are full of sin, if we yield to temptation, and are not tested and are not tried in all these things? Do you imagine that God will do all this for us; can you conceive of such a result if we are imperfect and full of frailty, and continue to yield to temptation, and doing those things that are contrary to the mind and will of God? I cannot; I do not look upon God in that light. I think that He is a perfect and holy being, and that the words of Jesus which he spoke unto his disciples are intended for us: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” We, as a people and as individuals, should seek to attain to that perfection, to be as perfect in our sphere as God our Eternal Father is in His; and we cannot attain to that exaltation and glory which He has promised unto us, unless we are thus perfect.

I do not have any other view than this of the character of the salvation and exaltation that God has promised unto us; and I therefore do not expect that any man will ever enter into the Celestial kingdom of our God, until he is tested and proved in all things. Some men think they can slip around—I have heard such men talk—they think they are going to get into the celestial kingdom without obeying the law of celestial marriage. I do not have any such ideas about exaltation; and yet I am perfectly satisfied there are men who will be counted worthy of that glory who never had a wife; there are men probably in this world now, who will receive exaltation, who never had a wife at all, or probably had but one. But what is necessary for such a case? It must be perfection before God, and a proof of willingness on their part, if they had the opportunity. I will instance the case of a man whom you perhaps know by reputation, namely that of Elder Lorenzo D. Barnes. He was a faithful man in the Church, a man of zeal, a man of integrity, a man who did all in his power to magnify his holy Priesthood, and he died when upon a foreign mission before he had one wife. The Lord will judge that man, as he will all others, according to his works and the desires of his heart, because had he lived, and had had the opportunity, I am fully satisfied he would have obeyed that law. I do not doubt that he will receive exaltation in the presence of God. We have young men who die before they have had the opportunity to obey that law, and they will, doubtless, receive also, inasmuch as they were worthy; for the Lord, in His infinite wisdom and knowledge, understanding the worth of all men, will mete out to them accordingly. But if we live in the flesh, you may depend upon it we shall be tried in all things. If I have an appetite, if I have a passion, if I have an inclination which is in conflict with the law of God, if I do not subdue it and bring it into complete subjection to His law, I do not see how I can enter into celestial glory. I cannot conceive, with my views respecting God, and His wisdom and justice, and all His holy attributes, that I could ever enter into the celestial kingdom whilst in that condition. I must bring every appetite. I must bring every passion, I must bring every desire of my being into complete subjection to the will and mind and law of God, or I cannot receive the exaltation He has promised unto His faithful children. I say, I cannot, and I cannot see that anyone can. If there is anything about us—if there is selfishness in us, if there is a disposition in our hearts not to yield upon a certain point, or to have our own way and own will; and carry that will into effect in opposition to the will of God, we cannot in that condition receive exaltation at His right hand. And if we die in that condition, we will have in some other state of existence, to get rid of it, or we cannot get exaltation. That is my idea. If I value my life more than I do the will of God; if I value my wives or children more, or my earthly substance more than I do the will of God, then I am not in the condition to receive exaltation and glory. I will tell you what I think about these things, and the manner in which I view the life which is to come. If there is anything that stands between me and the will of God which would prevent me from doing that will perfectly as He requires of me, if there is anything which I love more than God, I am not in a condition to receive that glory. If I think more of my own life, if I think more of my own will, if I think more of a wife or child, or of all my wives and children, or of my property, or of my time, or of anything over which I have control or which belongs to me, and is part of me, than I do of God, then I am not in the condition to receive the exaltation; I am not worthy to receive it; I am not willing to bring everything I have or which belongs to me into complete subjection to Him, and to what He requires of me. When He says, Go, to go; when he says, Come, to come; to do that which he requires, or to refrain from doing so, as He may require; and to do this not only when He, himself, tells me I must do it; but to do it also through the voice of those whom He has chosen to hold control. For God has His mouthpiece on the earth; He has always had one when He has had a Church. He chooses one man who holds the keys of His kingdom; He chooses one man as revelator to His Church, to teach His people the mind and will of God concerning them, and His word through him is binding upon the people. Then he chooses others as helps, and they too have the power to counsel. “He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him who sent me,” as Jesus said, “If they receive you they receive me; if they receive you and me, they receive my Father who sent me.” This is the doctrine. And God has chosen His servants to minister to the people, to teach them and instruct them upon all those points, so that they may receive salvation and exaltation under the leadership of that Priesthood which He has restored, and which will bring us into the celestial kingdom. And as I said, it is not the wisdom of man; it is not the power of man; it is not the learning of man which does these things; it is not the learning of man which has gathered this people together, for the wisdom of the world combined would have failed to have gathered this people as they have been from nearly all of the civilized nations, and if all the combined wisdom of earth had tried to build up the Church which the Latter-day Saints have, their endeavors would have failed; they could not have done it. There is no power of man which could have reached you at your firesides and dwelling places and gathered you to Zion, as you were gathered. It required the power of God, and that power manifested through humble men—men despised by the world; nevertheless it accomplished the result. And that same Priesthood which has brought us here, and through the power of which we were inducted into this Church, and through the power of which we have been nourished and guided in the Church, that same Priesthood will continue to teach and direct us, until we shall be brought back into the presence of God our Father. It will be through the ordinances of that Priesthood administered to us, that these results will be accomplished—by binding wife to husband, children to parents, parents to parents—until the whole shall be bound together, from our father Adam to the last one born to the earth, and all the links be welded. It will be done by the sealing ordinance which God has restored, and if we ever get the full benefit of these things, we will have to do it in the way I have endeavored to describe.

I say to my sisters, you expect to receive exaltation in the presence of God. Will you obtain it if you do not bring your will into subjection to the will of God? No. Will you be cast off? If you do certain things, you will. But I think the women of this Church would have to do a great many bad things before their God would cast them off entirely. The Lord may feel after them, He will bring them through circumstances such as will eventually purify them. But no woman can enter into the celestial kingdom any more than a man whose will is in opposition to the will of God. When God speaks all must submit to it. It may not be pleasant to us; it may come in conflict with our traditions; it may not be that which will suit us if we had the choosing. There are a great many things which would not suit us if we had the choosing, according to our natural feelings, for these are often far from correct. But whatever feelings we may have which may be the result of tradition and false education, we must get rid of and be willing to do that which God requires at our hands. And it is the experience of the women of this Church who have done that—I speak now of plural marriage, for that is one of the most trying things—those who have submitted to this order, have reached a point where they enjoy true happiness, because in sacrificing their own will they have the consciousness of knowing that they have done the will of God; and in their supplications to Him they can ask Him in confidence for such blessings as they stand in need of. Where is the man or the woman who has been diligent in observing the requirements of God, who has failed upon any point upon which he has sought earnestly to God? If there are any, there must be something lacking, they have not that claim upon God which they would have if they had submitted perfectly to the requirements made of them.

Another point connected with our religion, which is trying to some people, is their fondness of carrying out their own will in relation to temporal affairs. “I want to manage my own affairs in my own way; I want to do that which is pleasing to me.” Is there a vein of selfishness running through our nature upon these points? I think to myself that that must be entirely conquered before we can receive that glory to which I have alluded. If I have property, it is my duty to take care of it; if I have means, it is my duty to husband it, and carefully use it in a way that shall be beneficial to others as well as myself. But there is still a higher duty devolving upon me and upon every member in this Church, and that is to do as we are told by the servants of God. For instance, if I am in business, if I am in the midst of some enterprise which requires my personal attention which the withdrawal of my personal supervision would cause to result in failure, and the servants of God should call upon me to let that drop, to go here or there, even if it should be at the sacrifice of all my worldly interests, it would be my duty as a Latter-day Saint, as one who is struggling for an exaltation in the presence of God and the Lamb, to drop that at the moment I am required, and to do as I am told. Or, if I have property that is needed for the work of God, for the establishment of the principles of the Gospel, it is my duty to give that which I shall be required to do, in order that the law of God, so far as that is concerned, shall be complied with. If I should not be willing to do this, then how can I witness to my Father that I am desirous of receiving celestial glory? You feel as I do, that it is necessary for our salvation and exaltation, that the men who hold the Apostleship should administer unto us the ordinances, in order that we may derive the full benefits which flow from them. If these men have a right to do this, and we recognize their power in administering these ordinances unto us, considering that if they administer them they will be bound and recorded in heaven, and that we shall have the benefit of them in the morning of the resurrection; if these are our feelings, shall we say that this same authority shall not dictate us in regard to these perishable things by which we are surrounded? It would be very unreasonable, indeed, for us to take a different view. Therefore, it follows, in my mind, as a natural consequence, that we must hold ourselves entirely subject to that authority which God has placed in this Church to lead and guide us. The steps we have already made to our present condition have taught us this. We have been led gradually from the waters of baptism until today, under the guidance of the holy Priesthood; and from the waters of baptism to the present time all the blessings we enjoy have come to us through the holy Priesthood, and the power which God has bestowed upon His humble servants; there is not a blessing which is of any value which we have not received through that medium. This being the case, it is a natural consequence that that Priesthood shall continue to exercise a power in dictating us as to what we shall do.

There was considerable said yesterday, about what a good lot of people you are; and while I would not like to mar the pleasure you may derive from the representations given of you, there is this to be said about Salt Lake City Temple District, of which you form a part, that there is not that disposition to build Temples, and forward the work of God, by the use and donation of means, which is observable in other Stakes, and in other Temple districts.

I tell you another thing we discovered upon examination of these things—for we examined them somewhat, but not so thoroughly as we might have done—we found that those who have paid the largest amount on Tithing in proportion to the number of souls, have done the most towards building Temples. We found that in St. George, where the people are all poor, that they paid more Tithing and more Temple donations in proportion to each soul than any other part of the Territory. We found that in Cache Valley, where the people are building a Temple, that they not only paid a good tithing but also a larger proportion of donations than any other part; showing that those who give the largest donations to Temple building are able to pay the most Tithing. These are facts which should be understood by us. The Lord has told us from the beginning, in all which has been spoken to us by his servants, and by that which has been written in the revelations, that he will bless those who are liberal in sustaining and supporting His work, that His blessings will rest down upon those who manifest faith. You look for instance—I do not know that it would be wrong for me to allude to the Twelve—you look to them, you see the way they have labored, in going here and there according to the directions of the servants of God who have presided over them; they have not stopped to inquire whether or not it would suit their worldly circumstances to take such a mission or to do such a work; they have never stopped to consider a moment whether their individual interests would be affected by their going; they have always been ready and on hand to go at call, and has not the Lord blessed them? Has He not opened up their way before them? Has he not given unto them his holy spirit, witnessing to them that their course has been pleasing in his sight? He certainly has, according to my view; and so he has all the faithful Elders of the body of the Priesthood. You look at the men who have been the most faithful in doing that which the Lord required at their hands, and you will agree with me that they are the men who have been blessed; and you look at the men who have paid their Tithing the most diligently, and you look at the women who have stood by and sustained their husbands’ hands under these circumstances, whether upon missions, making donations, on otherwise contributing to the forwarding of this work, and you will find that if they are not so well off, in a worldly sense, they are rich in faith, and as a rule they are better off in worldly circumstances than those who have been more selfish and niggardly in their labors and donations to the Church of God. You, sisters—and there are some I see in this congregation whom I have known abroad when preaching the Gospel—let me ask if you have not been blessed when you have entertained the Elders and been kind and liberal to them, as many of you have been? Have you not felt abundantly rewarded for it in the increase of the Holy Spirit, and the pleasure and peace and joy which have filled your hearts when you have taken this course? So with you, brethren, when you have done your duty towards the work. When you have helped the Elders, have you not felt a blessing come from God, and rest down upon you which has more than satisfied you? Certainly you have, and those who have been at home who have been liberal in parting with their means to assist in forwarding the interests of this work, have you not been blessed? Has not the Spirit of God witnessed to you that this is the course you should have taken? Certainly, this is the testimony of every faithful Latter-day Saint. God requires that we should be liberal in relation to these matters, for great essential blessings depend upon the building of Temples in our midst. We cannot have our dead redeemed, we cannot ourselves be prepared for the exaltation that awaits us unless we attend to these matters in accordance with the law of God respecting them. There are generations to be looked after. For 1,400 years, the people on this Continent were without the Gospel, and the power of the Priesthood, and, indeed, so far as that is concerned, it is nearly 1,800 years since the Priesthood was upon the earth; and the salvation of the unnumbered millions of people who have lived since that period will have to be cared for. Trace, if you can, your own genealogy back only for a few generations, and see how it spreads out on every point. For instance, for one mother we have two grandmothers, four great-grandmothers, and eight great-great-grandmothers, etc. And thus it spreads out like the branches of a tree, until all of the inhabitants of the earth will be brought in. God has chosen us from the various nations for this purpose. There are men in this Church from almost every race of men, and if representatives from all the races are not now, they will be in. God scattered the seed of Israel through all of the nations of the earth, so that in the great gathering of the last days He might be able to get representatives of all the families of men. And we are chosen for this purpose. The seed has been scattered among the nations; and when the descendants of Israel here, heard the sound of the Gospel, it was indeed the glad tidings of salvation to them. They knew the voice of the shepherd, it was like telling them something they had forgotten but always knew; they felt that it was something they had been waiting for, the sound thereof was most delightful to the soul. The reason that the sound of the Gospel had such an effect upon us was, because we were chosen from before the foundation of the world, for the express purpose of coming forth in this day to receive it and well may it be said that your lives have been hid with Christ. You have come forth in these last days to be instruments in His hands of bringing souls to a knowledge of the truth as his in Christ Jesus. In the Temples that shall be built, you will have the opportunity of standing therein, as saviors, upon Mount Zion. That is your calling; and it is your privilege to be saviors on Mount Zion. God is giving you the means and ability in order that you may have it in your power to accomplish these things—to build Temples. It is a great labor devolving upon us. God sent the Gospel to you and gathered you out from the nations of the earth by His wonderful power; even by bestowing the Holy Spirit in a miraculous way upon you. Through its influence you knew the truth when the Elder came to you, you knew the voice of the shepherd, you knew it to be the voice of glad tidings for which you had been waiting, and you obeyed it gladly, and have been gathered with the Saints of God. It is your duty now to rise up, all of you, and trace your genealogies, and begin to exercise the powers which belong to saviors of men, and when you do this in earnest, you will begin to comprehend how widespread, how numerous your ancestors are for whom Temple work has to be performed, in order that they may be brought into the fold; and when you get stopped, the Lord will reveal further information to you; and in this way the work of salvation and redemption will be accomplished, even from Father Adam down to the last one; or to speak more properly, down to the Prophet Joseph, who was the first of this dispensation. From Father Adam down to him, all being linked together by the sealing ordinances which God has restored, and the powers of which will be exercised in the Temples of God, all being united together as brethren and sisters, for we are all begotten of God. We are related to each other; we may not have the same blood in our veins now, but it will be found when we trace it back, that we are of the same family; hence it is that we love one another as we do, at least, that is one reason for it. It is true we have been scattered among Gentile nations, and are called Gentiles, but nevertheless we are of the pure seed, having come through Gentile lineage that we may be the means of saving them, and through our faithfulness we shall stand at their head. This is the blessing which rests upon us as descendants of Abraham.

It is a great privilege we have to take of our means and to put it in the Temples which we are building. It is a great privilege in this great latter-day dispensation which God has given us, a peculiar privilege; but when we are digging and delving and struggling with poverty and get our minds filled with darkness and unbelief, we forget it all and think our lot is hard, and the Priesthood is making hard requirements. When you are asked to pay Tithing, it is said that some want to know what is done with the Tithing. If such folks were to come into the council they would soon find out; they would find at any rate that the Apostles do not eat it nor consume it, they would find that it is handled with as much care as it is possible to handle such things, and that they feel accountable to God for the responsibility which rests upon them. But when the Saints get their minds engrossed with the cares of the world, they forget the blessings which God has bestowed upon them, and what he designs to do with them, and things which they ought not to think about come up in their minds. I look upon our condition as one of peculiar blessedness. I think all of us should be thankful that we are counted worthy to be members of this Church. To be a member of this Church is a great thing. I am very thankful to have my name numbered with the Latter-day Saints, to be a sharer in the blessings God has bestowed and promised unto us. We have the holy Priesthood, we have wives and children given unto us, and husbands, wives and children are sealed together by the eternal power of the holy Priesthood, the binding power which connects them together for time and eternity. When you think that you are chosen to be saviors to the children of men, to stand as a medium through whom salvation shall flow unto unnumbered thousands, what manner of people ought we to be? They pray for you today in the spirit world, as they have been no doubt from the beginning praying for their descendants, that they may be faithful to the truth. You cannot tell the interest felt in eternity for you, my brethren and sisters, by those of our dead who have gone before us. Their hearts yearn after us, their constant desire being that we may be faithful and maintain our integrity and be prepared to bring salvation to them, and redeem them by going forth and obeying every ordinance which God has established in the Church for the salvation of the living and the dead. You cannot be made perfect without them, neither can they be made perfect without you. It is for us, being in the flesh, to perform this work, and to educate our children the same way, that our young men and young women may feel that in laboring to build up Zion they are establishing the work of God, and, at the same time, laying a foundation for their own exaltation, in His presence, and for those of their ancestry and posterity. This is the feeling we should have. Instead of being oppressed in our feelings, and permitting ourselves to believe that these things are hard upon us, that it is hard to pay our Tithing, or to make donations, or to do this or that which may be required of us, we ought to feel it is a plea– sure and honor and a great privilege to be counted worthy to have the opportunity to do this. There are men in this Church who have felt that they could traverse the earth to get to see a servant of God who could baptize them. I have heard men say that they would have undertaken the labor of walking around the earth, if they, by doing so, would have been sure to meet a man of that kind. You have met men of that kind, men who have had authority to baptize you for the remission of sins, and by being baptized by such men your sins have been remitted in the sight of God, and of angels. You came forth from the waters of baptism clean and pure so far as these old sins are concerned, and you had the Holy Ghost sealed upon you by authority of the holy Priesthood, and you have been inducted into the kingdom. And yet some of us forget that we have been made the recipients of these blessings, our minds become darkened, and we forget all that God has done for us. Here we have men among us, through whom we can have the word of God when we want it; just think of it; men dwelling, as it were, so near to God, that you can have the counsel of Jehovah given to you about this matter and the other matter you may choose to hear about. This is within your reach. Who appreciates it? We begrudge a little Tithing or a little donation, and think it a wonderful sacrifice to fulfil such minor duties. If we were to devote our entire time, the labor of our bodies and spirits to the interests of this work, what would it be in view of what God has done for us? Is there a blessing you have desired of Him that he has not bestowed upon you when you have sought for it properly?

Brethren of Tooele, I said some plain things to you last evening. I hope they will be borne in mind; I hope that you will endeavor to so live that your prayers will avail with God, and so as to have a conscience void of offense before God and man. Why should we not have a heavenly influence dwelling upon us? Is there anything to be compared to it? Nothing. And God has placed it within our reach. It is like the drinking fountains we see in the city, you can drink at them until you are satisfied, and it matters not how thirsty you may be, and your drinking will not prevent my drinking, and your being filled will not prevent my getting filled. God has opened this fountain to us, the fountain of peace, the fountain of joy, the fountain of happiness, the fountain from which all can drink and all be filled, and it will not deprive anybody else from the same. Did you ever have anything to equal it? Did you ever taste anything that equals the taste of the Spirit of God—the sweetness, the heavenly joy and the peace which it brings to the soul? You who have partaken of it know that there is nothing so sweet. Honey to the natural taste is not to be compared to the sweetness of the Holy Spirit to the spirit of man. God has spread out this feast before us, and invites us to partake of it, to fill ourselves until we are perfectly satisfied. And He warns us against evil, and beseeches us to forsake sin. He wants us to be pure, he wants our young men to be pure and to have His Holy Spirit. He is willing to bestow His gifts upon us, but He will be sought unto in prayer and faith for His blessings. I am not talking about something theoretical, but something you know for yourselves. You had it after you joined the Church; you felt then as you never experienced before. Have you cherished that Spirit from that time to the present? If you have, the Gospel is indeed the power of God to you, and the sound thereof is full of glad tidings, and great joy, and the testimony of peace reigns in your hearts.

I pray God to bless you and fill you with His Spirit, that we may be full to overflowing, and that it may enable you to conquer every evil desire and bring all of your appetites into complete subjection to his mind and will, which is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered in the General Conference, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Oct. 10th, 1880.

I will make a few remarks while the Sacrament is being administered. It is gratifying to me to be able to state that now all the various organizations of the Church are provided for. For some time the Twelve have been operating in the capacity of a First Presidency, and it was very proper that they should have acted in that capacity. As you heard Brother Pratt state this morning, in referring to this subject, this was the course adopted at the time when the Prophet Joseph Smith left us. The Twelve then stepped forward into the position of the First Presidency, and operated for about three years in that capacity. And when President Young left us it was thought proper that the same course should be pursued. The Twelve, I believe, have in this respect magnified their calling and taken a course that is approved by the Lord, and I think also by the brethren, judging from the vote given here today.

Had it not been our duty to have the Church organized fully and completely in all its departments, I should have much preferred to have continued with the brethren of the Twelve, speaking of it merely as a matter of personal feeling. But there are questions arising in regard to these matters that are not for us to say how they shall be, or what course shall be pursued. When God has given us an order and has appointed an organization in his Church, with the various quorums of Priesthood as presented to us by revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith, I do not think that either the First Presidency, the Twelve, the High Priests, the Seventies, the Bishops, or anybody else, have a right to change or alter that plan which the Lord has introduced and established. And as you heard Brother Pratt state this morning, one duty devolving upon the Twelve is to see that the churches are organized correctly. And I think they are now thus organized throughout the land of Zion. The Churches generally are organized with Presidents of Stakes and their Counselors, with High Councils, with Bishops and their Counselors, and with the Lesser Priesthood, according to the order that is given us.

Then we have the High Priests, Seventies and Elders occupying their places according to their Priesthood, position, and standing in the Church. And the First Presidency seemed to be the only quorum that was deficient. And it is impossible for men acquainted with the order of the Holy Priesthood to ignore this quorum, as it is one of the principal councils of the Church. While the Twelve stand as a bulwark ready to protect, defend and maintain, to step forward and carry out the order of God’s Kingdom in times of necessity, such as above referred to, yet when everything is adjusted and matters assume their normal condition, then it is proper that the Quorum of the First Presidency, as well as all other quorums, should occupy the place assigned it by the Almighty.

These were the suggestions of the Spirit of the Lord to me. I expressed my feelings to the Twelve, who coincided with me, and, indeed, several of them had had the same feelings as those with which I was actuated. It is not with us, or ought not to be, a matter of place, position, or honor, although it is a great honor to be a servant of God; it is a great honor to hold the Priesthood of God; but while it is an honor to be God’s servants, holding His Priesthood, it is not honorable for any man or any set of men to seek for position in the Holy Priesthood. Jesus said, Ye have not called me, but I have called you. And as I said before, had I consulted my own personal feelings, I would have said, things are going on very pleasantly, smoothly and agreeably; and I have a number of good associates whom I respect and esteem, as my brethren, and I rejoice in their counsels. Let things remain as they are. But it is not for me to say, it is not for you to say, what we would individually prefer, but it is for us holding the Holy Priesthood; to see that all the organizations of that Priesthood are pre– served intact, and that everything in the Church and kingdom of God is organized according to the plan which He has revealed; therefore we have taken the course which you have been called upon to sanction by your votes today.

I would further remark that I have examined very carefully for some time past some of those principles you heard read over in the Priesthood meeting, and which were referred to in part, by Brother Pratt, this morning. And there are other principles associated with the Priesthood that we wish and hope to have thoroughly defined; so that every man will know his true position and the nature of the calling and responsibility and Priesthood with which he is endowed. It is very proper and very important that we should comprehend these things; every man in his place, and every woman in her place; but I more particularly refer to the Holy Priesthood, that every man may feel and realize the duties and responsibilities which rest upon him.

It is gratifying to me, and it is no doubt satisfactory to you, to see the unanimity and oneness of feeling and the united sentiment which have been manifested in our votes. Those votes being taken first in their quorum capacity, each quorum having voted affirmatively, then by the vote of the Presidents of the several quorums united, and afterwards by the vote of the quorums and people combined, men and women, among the many thousands assembled who have participated in this vote, having a full and free opportunity, uncontrolled by any influence other than the Spirit of God, to express their wishes and desires, there has not been, from all that we could discover, one dissenting vote.

You could not find the same unanimity anywhere upon the earth. Union is a principle that exists in the heavens, and so far as we manifest this feeling in all sincerity, so far do we exhibit our faith in God, in His Priesthood, and in His law as revealed to us. For our religion, our Priesthood and all the blessings and ordinances that we possess were not given us by any man or any combination of men; it was the Lord who revealed all of these things or we could not have been in possession of them. We have had an example here today of the unanimity which characterizes those possessed of the Spirit of the Gospel, and it ought to be a pattern for us in all of our affairs.

And now let me refer with pride to my brethren of the Twelve here, which I do by saying that while they as a quorum held the right by the vote of the people to act in the capacity of the First Presidency, yet when they found, as Brother Pratt expressed it this morning, that they had performed their work, they were willing to withdraw from that Presidency, and put it in the position that God had directed, and fall back into the place that they have always held, as the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I say it is with pride that I refer to this action and the feeling that prompted it. I very much question whether you could find the same personal exhibition of disinterested motives and self-abnegation, and the like readiness to renounce place and position in deference to principle, among the same number of men in any other place. They saw the necessity of this action; a motion was made in that Council; and the vote was unanimously adopted that the First Presidency be reorganized, and after– wards the brethren to fill this quorum, were selected. The next step was to present the matter to the Church, and it was laid before the Priesthood at a meeting, when there were present a representation of all the important authorities of the Church in the different Stakes in Zion. After having done that, lest some difficulty might exist somewhere, it was thought proper to pursue the course taken today—that each organization of the Priesthood, embracing all the quorums, should be seated in a quorum capacity by themselves, and separately have the opportunity of voting freely and fully without control of any kind, and of expressing their feelings, and finally, that the whole congregation should have the same opportunity. This is emphatically the voice of God, and the voice of the people; and this is the order that the Lord has instituted in Zion, as it was in former times among Israel. God gave his commandments; they were delivered by His Prophet to the people and submitted to them, and all Israel said, Amen. You have all done this by your votes; which vote, so far as we can learn, has been without a dissenting voice either among the separate quorums, or in the vote of the combined quorums and people. Now, continue to be united in everything as you are in this thing, and God will stand by you from this time henceforth and forever. And any man who opposes principles of this kind is an enemy of God, an enemy of the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth, an enemy to the people of God, and an enemy to the freedom and rights of man. The Lord has selected a Priesthood that He might among all Israel make known His mind and will through them, and that they might be His representatives upon the earth. And while He does this He does not wish men to be coerced or forced to do things contrary to their will. But where the Spirit of God is, there is union, harmony and liberty, and where it is not there is strife, confusion and bondage. Let us then seek to be one, honor our God, honor our religion, and keep the commandments of God, and seek to know His will, and then to do it.

I do not know but that I have spoken as long as I ought to. God bless you; God bless the Twelve; and God bless the Presidents of Stakes and their associates, and the Seventies and the High Priests, and the Elders, and the Bishops, and the Lesser Priesthood. And God bless the Relief Societies, and the Young People’s Mutual Improvement Associations, and all who love and fear God and keep his commandments. And may God bless the Sunday Schools and the Primary Associations and the educational interests, and all interested in the welfare of Zion, as well as all the good and virtuous, the honorable and high-minded everywhere, who are seeking to promote purity, holiness, and virtue on the earth. And God bless our singers and all who make music for us; and may the peace and blessing of God rest upon all Israel. And when you go to your homes, carry out the principles you have voted for, and God will bless you and your generations after you; and you shall be blessed in time, and through all eternity. And I bless you by virtue of the holy Priesthood, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered at the General Conference, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, Oct. 10th, 1880.

I have been asked by President Taylor to address the congregation this morning on a particular subject, in which we are all interested, namely, the divine authority of the Priesthood, divine callings, ordinances, etc.

We have in this Church several thousand male members who hold authority and power which they say is from heaven. If it be from heaven, as we testify, and have testified ever since the rise of the Church, then the Lord our God has manifested His power, and in His mercy has once more bestowed authority upon the children of men to administer His holy ordinances, and to occupy the positions to which we have severally been called. On the other hand, if the views of the world are correct—they do not consider us to have any authority—we are then on the same ground and platform with the rest of the religious world, there is no authority upon the earth. One or the other is true.

There never was a principle more clearly proven than that the inhabitants of the earth are destitute of all divine authority, among all religious denominations, whether Pagan, Mahometan or so-called Christian; the authority cannot be found throughout all the various denominations that have existed through the long period of time called the dark ages, until the Lord, in His mercy, has organized His Church again on the earth and bestowed that authority, and if He has not done it, as the world say He has not, there are no persons upon this whole earth that have any authority from the heavens; and therefore we are just as well off as the balance of them.

We are not indebted to man for the various authorities in this Church; this is our testimony. Man did not commence this work, man is not the originator of this work, neither is he the origin of the authority by which we administer. The Lord did not see proper to organize the authority of this Church all at once in all the various councils and authorities that, from time to time, have been ordained among this people; it was a gradual work. Authority was bestowed before there was any Church. First (not the authority of the Priesthood) but the authority to bring forth the plates of the Book of Mormon, and to translate them by the Urim and Thummim, by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. This was the first authority conferred upon the one whom the Lord chose to commence this great work. The authority of the Priesthood was not conferred upon him at that time, but He revealed unto him concerning the everlasting Gospel contained in the ancient records kept by the Nephites, or Israelites, upon this great Western Continent.

Joseph Smith, when he translated these records by the aid of the Urim and Thummim, had not yet received any Priesthood, so far as his temporal existence was concerned. But now, do not misunderstand me in regard to this position. He did hold the Priesthood before he came here upon the earth. I remarked that Joseph, so far as any ordination here in the flesh was concerned, held no Priesthood at the time that he brought forth the plates of the Book of Mormon and translated them; but he did hold the Priesthood, which was conferred upon him in the councils of eternity, before this world was formed. You will find this recorded in a sermon delivered by the Prophet Joseph, showing that not only he, but also all of the faithful that have received the Priesthood here in this life, were ordained before the foundation of the world. Consequently, they had the ordination; that ordination was after the order of Him who is from all eternity to all eternity, an everlasting Priesthood, without father, without mother, without beginning, without end; having been handed down from all eternity. That Priesthood was conferred upon Joseph Smith before he came here; he was among those that are spoken of in “The Pearl of Great Price,” whom the ancient Prophets saw in heaven. Moses saw them, and Abraham saw them, namely, the spirits that existed before the world was made; and they saw that among that vast number of spirits there were some choice ones, some that were noble in the sight of God, probably because of their integrity and steadfastness in upholding truth; among those noble ones were those whom the Lord chose before the foundation of the world to come forth upon the earth in their second estate, and to hold authority and power in the various dispensations, and to administer the plan of salvation to the human family. Abraham was among that number. The High Priests that lived from the days of Adam down to the flood were among that number, who were then chosen and then ordained, according to the foreknowledge of God. It is recorded in the Book of Alma regarding the Priesthood, that the ordinances of the Priesthood and the calling to the Priesthood were without beginning or end. There may be a beginning to the person who is called, but that Priesthood existed before that person was called, and there was no beginning to the calling, no beginning to the ordinances of the Priesthood, no beginning to the Priesthood itself, being handed down from all eternity, being in existence in all of the worlds that were worthy of having the Priesthood and authority from God. The reason for my making this observation is to clear up one point which may perhaps trouble the minds of some of the Latter-day Saints.

You have read in the revelation given on the 22nd day of September, 1832, that without the Priesthood and the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is not manifested unto men in the flesh. You have also read in that same revelation, that without the ordinances of that Priesthood and the power thereof to administer to the children of men no man could see the face of God the Father and live. When you read this plain saying your minds may have reverted back to the days when there was no Priesthood so far as ordination was concerned, on this earth, I mean the ordination that took place here. You find a little boy, Joseph Smith, calling upon the name of the Lord, in the spring of the year 1820, before he was not yet fifteen years of age; and the result of his calling upon the name of the Lord was that a pillar of fire appeared in the heavens above him, and it continued to descend and grow brighter and brighter, until it reached the top of the trees that were growing around about where he was praying; and so great was the glory of this light that this lad, this youth, this boy, seemed to feel almost fearful lest the trees themselves would be consumed by it. But it continued to descend until it rested upon this lad and immediately his mind was caught away from the surrounding objects, was swallowed up in a heavenly vision, in which he saw two glorious per– sonages, one was the Father, the other was the Son.

“No man without the Priesthood, can behold the face of the Father and live.”

Now, this has troubled the minds of some of the Latter-day Saints. “How is it, (say they) that Joseph lived, after having seen the face of the Father, after having heard the words of His mouth, after the Father had said unto him, ‘He is my beloved Son, hear ye him.’”

If you had thought upon this other subject, namely, that Joseph had been already ordained before this world was made—to what Priesthood? To the Priesthood after the Order of an Endless Life, a Priesthood that is everlasting, a Priesthood handed down, that had no beginning, a Priesthood after the holiest Order of God, a Priesthood that was after the Order of His Only Begotten Son. If you had only reflected that that same Priesthood had been conferred upon him in the councils of the holy ones before the world was made, and that he was ordained to come forth in this dispensation of the fulness of times to hold the keys of authority and power of that high and holy Priesthood—that he was ordained to come forth and perform the work that God intended to accomplish in the latter times, then the mystery would have been cleared up to your minds. He was not without the Priesthood in reality; but was a man chosen, a man ordained, a man appointed from before the foundation of this world, to come forth in the fulness of times to introduce the last dispensation among the children of men; to come in order to organize that kingdom, that was predicted by the ancient Prophets, that should stand forever; to come to fulfil the great and glorious work of preparation for the coming of the Son of God to reign in righteousness upon the earth; he could see the face of God the Father and live. But after having received this heavenly vision, after having brought forth the Book of Mormon, and translated it (the Lord having prepared a way by which the book could be printed), and having received the command of the Almighty to organize the Church, and having received the Priesthood reconfirmed upon him by Peter, James, and John, and prior to that having received the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood, on the 15th day of May, 1829—having all these preparations here in the flesh as well as having been preordained to this mission, he was prepared to begin the work that should be everlasting, or in other words, the establishment of the kingdom of God that should never again be taken away from the earth.

The Apostleship being conferred—the Aaronic Priesthood having been previously conferred—all the powers of the Priesthood rested upon this man, and he had the right to the authority to administer, not only in the introductory principles of the Gospel of the Son of God, by which people might be born into the kingdom, but also had the authority and the power from the heavens to administer in all the sacred ordinances of this kingdom, at least so far as the building up of the Church was concerned, and of officiating in the various offices of the Priesthood. After having conferred this authority and power, the Lord was prepared to give little by little, one portion or degree of Priesthood after another, until by and by, in accordance with the revelation given in June, 1829, He called twelve men to be Apostles, some three or four years after the revelation was given, when it was predicted that such should be the case. What did we know about the callings and duties of this council of the Twelve? Nothing, only as God revealed it through His servant Joseph.

After this Apostleship was given, some were faithful therein, others were not; some lost the authority of the Priesthood, others retained it, and the blessings of God were upon those that were faithful in their calling, while the curse of an offended God followed those who abused this sacred trust, and their Priesthood was taken from them and conferred upon others that were worthy of it. The Lord also, about the same time that He called the Twelve Apostles, was prepared to call Seventies to minister under the direction of the Twelve; and many were ordained to this Apostleship, and they were men who had proven themselves faithful before the Lord: and others were perhaps ordained who had not been fully proven, and therefore the opportunity was afforded them, acting upon the agency they had in common with all men, of proving themselves before God. Some of them were faithful, others were unfaithful; those that were unfaithful apostatized eventually and left the Church, while those that were faithful continued in their office and calling until many of them passed down to the tomb; and having magnified the good office and calling that had been conferred upon them, they will claim, in the eternal worlds the blessings appertaining to their several offices.

And what did we know about these Seventies and their particular calling? Were there specified duties assigned to that body of men anciently, whose call by the Savior is recorded in the New Testament? No, we were ignorant. The Prophet himself, the Twelve and all that had been called, knew nothing in relation to the duties of these Seventies until the Lord revealed what they were, and at the same time He pointed out the duties of the Presidency of the Seventies, both the duties of the seven men constituting the Presidency of all the Seventies, and also those of the seven men that were to preside over each Council of the Seventies. The Lord made manifest these things not all at once, but from time to time, as the people progressed and were counted worthy in His sight to receive further knowledge upon these things. You may ask, why it was that the Lord did not give the whole pattern at once, why He did not unfold everything all in a moment? It was because we were as little children then, and indeed I am of the opinion that many of us are little children still—and we could not bear all things at once; therefore He revealed unto us enough from time to time to set our minds reflecting; He revealed sufficient to cause us to be stirred up in our minds to pray unto Him; and when we prayed unto Him about any of the duties of the Priesthood, then He would reveal it. But He would be sought unto by His people before He would reveal a fulness of knowledge upon these important subjects. This seeking unto the Lord to obtain little by little, and precept by precept in the knowledge of the things of God, is just the way a wise parent would instruct his own sons. Our parents would not tell us all about the various branches of education when we were two or three, or four years old; but they taught us as children, giving us line upon line until we could understand more fully those things that pertained to a good education. So the Lord dealt with His people, as a wise, judicious, kindhearted parent, imparting just according to the faith of the Latter-day Saints, and according to His own mind and will, and good pleasure.

By and by, after the Church was organized and there being no Bishops the Lord saw that it was necessary to introduce some kind of a plan in relation to the property of His people in the State of New York. What did the Lord say to us under those circumstances, when we were not fully organized? Said He to the Church in the State of New York, in the General Conference, through the mouth of His servant Joseph, in a revelation given on the 2nd day of January, 1831, He said, Let my Church in this land flee out from the State of New York; let them go westward to the land of Kirtland, and join my people in the State of Ohio; let them do this immediately, lest their enemies come upon them, etc. The Lord understood what was in the hearts of the enemies of His people; He understood what they were doing in their secret councils, in their secret chambers to bring to pass the destruction of the Latter-day Saints that were in the States of New York and Pennsylvania. How shall this work be done? No Bishop to take charge of the properties. The Lord said, Let certain men among you in the State of New York be appointed to take charge of the properties of my people, that which you cannot dispose of or sell in time to flee out; let them have charge of it to sell it in after times for the benefit of the Church. Here, then, was a revelation appointing certain men without ordination, without the Bishopric, to handle properties, to do that which Bishops were afterwards required to perform. Now, here is a lesson for us. Because the Lord does one thing in the year 1831, and points out certain men according to the circumstances in which people are placed, that is no evidence that He will always continue the same order. The Lord deals with the children of men according to circumstances, and afterwards varies from that plan according to His own good will and pleasure. When these men had fulfilled their duties in relation to the properties of the Saints, and the Saints had gathered out from New York and Pennsylvania to the land of Kirtland, then it became necessary for a regular Bishop to be called and ordained, also his Counselors. Did the Lord point out that these Bishops should be taken from the High Priesthood? No.

“And again, I have called my servant Edward Partridge; and I give a commandment, that he should be appointed by the voice of the church, and ordained a bishop unto the church.” And with regard to choosing his Counselors, the Lord said they should be selected from the Elders of his Church. Why did He say the Elders? Because the High Priests at that time had not been ordained; that is, they had not been ordained under that name. Although the Apostleship had been conferred upon Joseph and Oliver, even they were called Elders; the word High Priest was not known among them to be understood and comprehended until a long time after Bishops were called; and that is the reason why the Lord said to Bishop Partridge, “select from the Elders of my Church.” “But,” says one who has read the Doctrine and Covenants, “you will find in the revelation given on the 6th of April, 1830, something about Bishops, High Priests, etc.”

[The speaker was here stopped that an important notice might be given out.]

I was saying that at the time that Bishop Partridge was called and ordained a Bishop, on the 4th of February, 1831, that at that time there were no High Priests, they were not known under that name, but were known under the name of the Apostleship, etc., and hence Elders were specified to be called as Counselors. I was also saying that in the revelation given on the 6th day of April, 1830, there was nothing said about High Priests at the time the revelation was given; neither about Bishops. But you will find two paragraphs in that revelation which mention them, which paragraphs were placed there several years after the revelation was given, which the Lord had a perfect right to do; and if it were necessary we might quote examples from Scripture to show that the Lord adds to any revelation when He sees proper, in order to make it more fully understood. For instance, you recollect that Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah a lengthy revelation regarding the king of Israel and the house of Israel. And that when the revelation was given to the king of Israel and after he “had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed.” Did the Lord give it over again? Yes, “and,” says the Scripture, “there were added besides unto them many like words,” not in the former revelation. If the Lord took that method in the days of Jeremiah, was there anything inconsistent in the Prophet Joseph, in years afterwards, adding the words, “Bishops and High Priests,” in order that the people might more fully understand? My motive in mentioning these things is that the people may understand the ways of the Lord. His ways are not as the ways of man, neither are His thoughts limited by our limited thoughts or conceptions. But He does as He pleases.

By and by the time came when the Lord saw proper to make manifest something in relation to the name and the authority and the power of this High Priesthood; showing us that it was after the order of His Only Begotten Son, that it holds the keys to power, etc., on the earth.

Well, after the first Bishop had been chosen, and two Elders selected by him to operate with him, his duties began to be more fully made manifest. I shall not have time on this occasion to point out the various duties that were assigned to Bishop Edward Partridge, in the land of Zion, in Jackson County, Missouri, and other duties devolving upon him while he yet remained at Kirtland. Perhaps it might be well enough, however, to just briefly touch upon his duties, that were more fully made manifest when he was required to go out from Kirtland about a day’s journey to the southeast, and organize the Colesville branch in the town of Thompson. The Lord told him how to organize the people, and that there was a man in the Church whose name was Leman Copley, who had a large tract of land, and he covenanted before God that if the Colesville Branch would go upon his land, they might have their inheritances, etc., and that they might enter into the Order of God, as should be pointed out by the voice of the Prophet. And when the Prophet Joseph went out to Thompson and undertook to organize the Branch according to this promise and covenant that was made, Bishop Par– tridge was there, and he had it pointed out to him how he should deal with that particular organization, that they should all be made equal, and should receive their stewardships, and should consecrate all of their property into the hands of the Bishop; and that was made a sample for all other churches throughout the Lord’s vineyard. You may judge whether we have kept it or not. And his duties were also made manifest in the latter part of the summer of 1831. And many of the first Elders were commanded to go west of Kirtland about one thousand miles; and the promise was that the land which the Lord intended to give to His people should be made known, and it should be told them where the city should be built. In the months of July and August of that year, the Lord pointed out more fully the duties of Bishop Partridge in regard to dividing the land, that is, the land that, had been purchased by the Church, dividing it out among the various families of the Saints. The first families, with the exception of some that had been baptized in that land, were faithful ones among the Colesville branch, one of the earliest organizations of the Church. They were commanded to flee from the town of Thompson, because this rich man had broken his covenant. They went up to Jackson County, and Bishop Partridge was commanded to divide off to them inheritances by the law of consecration.

Here then was a Bishop whose duties were made known and specified, and which were very different in their nature in many respects from our Ward Bishops. Can you not see the difference between these duties assigned to Edward Partridge, and the duties assigned to the several Ward Bishops of our Church? So far as the Ward Bishops’ duties go, they coincide perfectly with the duties that were assigned to this general Bishop. But there were a great many things required of him that are not required of Ward Bishops; quite different in their duties and in their callings.

In December, 1831, the Lord saw proper again to give another Bishop, his name was Newel K. Whitney. Was he merely a Bishop of a Ward, whose jurisdiction was limited to a little spot of ground that might be termed a place for the residence of a Ward Bishop? No; he was another general Bishop. Bishop Partridge having general jurisdiction in Jackson County, and in the regions round about; while the duties of Newel K. Whitney extended to the State of Ohio and the States of Pennsylvania and New York, and throughout all the Eastern countries, wherever the Church of God was organized.

Here were two Bishops, then, one having jurisdiction in the West, a thousand miles from the other; the other having jurisdiction in the East. Their duties were pointed out, but neither of them was a Presiding Bishop. But what were they? As was clearly shown by President Taylor at the Priesthood meeting on last evening, they were general Bishops. By and by, after the Church of God was driven from the State of Missouri, it became necessary to have a Presiding Bishop; and the Lord gave a revelation, saying:

“Let my servant Vinson Knight, and my servant Shadrach Roundy, and my servant Samuel H. Smith, be appointed as Presidents over the bishopric of my church.”

Here, then, is the first intimation that we have of a Presiding Bishop. Neither Bishop Partridge nor Newel K. Whitney at that time was a pre– siding Bishop, but each one held distinct jurisdiction, presiding in a distinct locality, neither presiding over the other. But when Vinson Knight, in years afterwards, was called, it was his duty to preside over all of the Bishops that were then appointed. Was there any general Bishop after the death of Bishop Partridge? Yes:

“Let my servant, George Miller, receive the bishopric which was conferred upon Edward Partridge, to receive the consecrations of my people,” etc.

He was ordained to the same calling, and called to the same Bishopric; not to the Presiding Bishopric, but to the same Bishopric conferred upon Edward Partridge, to receive the consecrations of the Lord’s Church, to administer to the poor and needy, etc. Here, then, were two distinct orders of Bishops, so far as their duties, jurisdiction and responsibilities were concerned, but as Bishops they held the same calling as others. By and by, in the process of time, as the Church increased and multiplied upon the earth, it became necessary that there should be local Bishops; hence arose Bishops over this town and over that town, not general Bishops, but Ward Bishops, the same as you have throughout your respective Stakes.

Now the duties of these three distinct callings of those that are termed Bishops are very different, so far as their duties are concerned. The jurisdiction of a Ward Bishop does not go beyond his Ward, unless he be particularly called to do so. He must be selected, must be appointed, and must be sent to some other place in order to have jurisdiction outside of his Ward in the capacity of a Bishop. The office of the Presiding Bishop still continues, but for some reason we have not at the present time, so far as I am aware, any traveling or general Bishop like Bishop Ed. Partridge, and like Bishop Newel K. Whitney, who afterwards did become a Presiding Bishop. A traveling Bishop in his jurisdiction would not be limited to a Ward; it would be his duty if so called and appointed to travel through the various Stakes of Zion to exhort the people to do their duty, to look after the temporal interests of the Church, to humble the rich and the proud and lift up the low and the meek of the earth.

There is another class of Bishops. We find in every Stake of Zion what is termed a Bishop’s Agent. Does he hold the Bishopric? He should have that office conferred upon him. Why? Because it is his duty to administer in temporal things. Does his jurisdiction extend beyond that of a Ward Bishop? It does. Why? By appointment, by selection, by being sent by the Presidency of the High Priesthood after the order of Melchizedek to administer in the special duties of his office in any or in all the Stakes of Zion, as the case may be according to the nature of his appointment, and by the authority of the Presiding Bishop. There are a great many things to be taken into consideration when we strive to understand the Book of Covenants according to the revelations that are therein given. Because God confined His servants to certain duties in the early rise of this Church, that is no proof or evidence that He will always work in the same channel. He will enlarge the borders of this kingdom; He will stretch forth the curtains of Zion; He will lengthen her cords and strengthen her Stakes and will multiply them not only throughout this mountain Territory, but throughout the United States, this land of Joseph: and they will be called the Stakes of the great City of Zion.

Let me here take the liberty to say to this congregation that the City of Zion when it is built in Jackson County, will not be called a Stake. We can find no mention in all the revelations that God has given, that the City of Zion is to be the Center Stake of Zion; the Lord never called it a Stake in any revelation that has been given. It is to be the headquarters, it is to be the place where the Son of Man will come and dwell, where He will have a Temple, in which Temple there will be a throne prepared where Jesus will dwell in the midst of His people; it will be the great central city, and the outward branches will be called Stakes wherever they shall be organized as such.

We cannot suppose, as I was saying, that when the Lord shall thus enlarge the borders of Zion and multiply her Stakes, that He will be obliged to confine Himself to those circumstances and that condition of things that existed when we were a little handful of people. We are swelling out, we are becoming numerous upon the face of the land; and the day will come when Isaiah’s prophecy, as contained in the 60th chapter, will be literally fulfilled, that is, a little one shall not only become a thousand, but the small one a strong nation. Are we then to be governed in all respects by those limited things that we were governed by in our childhood? Will there be no change of circumstances? Yes, as there is in the growth of grain, we have first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear, but these will all be in accordance with the development made by the progress of the kingdom as is explained in the blade, the ear and the full corn in the ear, and let me here prophesy on the strength of the revelations that were given through the Prophet Joseph, and through all the ancient Prophets, that the time will come when the Lord our God will so manifest His power that every soul upon the face of this great Western Continent that will not believe the Book of Mormon, that will not repent of his sins, that will not turn away from his iniquities, and that will not hearken to the voice of His Son, that it will be with such a one as Moses said, he shall be cut off from among the people. Do you believe it? It will be the case. And when that day comes that the Lord shall cut off such people, when the day comes that he will fulfil the revelations of Isaiah, as well as many other revelations that have been given, Zion will have to go forth in her strength and power, and the inhabitants of the nations that are afar off will say, “Surely, Zion is the city of our God, for the Lord is there, and His glory is there, and the power and the might of His terror is there,”—terror to the wicked, terror to those who commit sin: and many people will say “Come, let us be subject to her laws.” That will be after the Lord has broken up the nations, after He has destroyed and wasted them away, so far as the wicked portions are concerned. Those who are left will gladly acknowledge Zion, will acknowledge God and His people, and will acknowledge the laws that will be literally sent forth from Zion to the nations of the earth. Must we then be limited in all respects as we were limited in the early rise of the Church? No. New circumstances require new power, new knowledge, new additions, new strength and new Quorums; not to do away with the old, but additional in their na– ture. Men will hold authority and power to carry forth the laws of Zion to the remnants of this nation, and to foreign nations—ministers, or plenipotentiaries, if you please, to use a political term, will go forth to the nations of the earth with the laws of God. Now, this is a prophecy of my own, but it is a prophecy according to that which is written, according to that which God gave to His ancient and His modern Prophets.

I find that I shall not be able to continue my remarks as they present themselves to my mind, for there are numerous branches pertaining to this subject of the Priesthood, besides that of the Bishopric, and blessings pertaining to the two Priesthoods, upon which it would be very pleasing to my mind to dwell, that is, if I had the time and the strength of body to do so.

I would say, however, that in regard to the organization of the First Presidency, it was done soon after the rise of the Church. The Lord exhibited to us, by revelation, the order of things as it existed in former days, away back in the dispensation before the flood—the dispensation of the antediluvian Patriarchs and their order of government; and also the dispensation of the Patriarchs after the flood and their order of government, and which I dwelt upon some two or three days since. I say that in relation to these matters much might be said, and much might be said in regard to our privileges, the privileges of those holding these two Priesthoods. And much might be said of the First Presidency, which quorum presides over all the Church of God; and much might be said in relation to the duties of the Twelve, not only as a traveling High Council, but in regard to the setting in order of the various offices in Zion. We might talk a great deal about that. We, as the Twelve, have been fulfilling both of these duties, traveling abroad and sending abroad, and also setting in order the councils of the Priesthood in the midst of Zion, as the revelation required of us. In so doing, we have acted for a short time as a Presiding Council in the midst of the Church of God. We did so upon the death of the Prophet Joseph. The Spirit of God wrought upon his servants, that during our administration for some three or four years after the death of Brother Joseph, the First Presidency was not organized. Did the Council of the Twelve forget it? No. Did they ignore it? No; they all the time had their minds fixed upon the revelation which God had given showing that the Council of the First Presidency was the supreme Council and authority in the Church, and that the Twelve could not act in that supreme authority and power only as the First Presidency was made vacant. This Quorum was reorganized some three or four years after the death of the Prophet, and it continued organized until the year 1877, and upon the death of President Young, who was the President in the First Presidency, it then fell again upon the Twelve as formerly, and they have continued some three years and upwards occupying that position. Have they done right? Yes; they have done as they were required to do during the time being. And now, after having performed their duties, they still keep in mind the necessity of this First Quorum of all Quorums of the Church again being filled up, so that the revelations of God may be honored and we fulfil their requirements. Hence, the Council of the Apostles has taken into conside– ration this subject, and the question in our minds was, Have we sufficiently, as the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, magnified our office and calling, in setting in order the Church of the living God, in organizing the various Councils, or is there something lacking? Every time we thought upon the subject we saw that one Council, the most important of all, was still vacant. Could we ignore it? No. We therefore considered the propriety of organizing it at the present Conference; and Brother John Taylor, by the voice of his brethren, the Twelve, being the person holding the legal right to that office, as the President of the Twelve Apostles, was selected to occupy the position of the President of the whole Church. And he, according to the right and authority given to him, suggested his own Counselors. They were sanctioned by the Twelve Apostles; hence, the First Presidency again, so far as the Council of the Twelve is concerned, has been reorganized. We have fulfilled our duties, then, in relation to that revelation which says, it is given unto the Twelve Apostles to set in order all those offices that are named in that revelation, we, I say, have done it. And we have laid the subject before the Priesthood of all the various Quorums, as they were assembled in general council on last evening, and they with us have had the privilege of sanctioning this action, that that quorum be filled up and be complete. It now remains with the body of the people to give their sanction, males and females, as well as the Priesthood. And in order that this may be done according to the pattern which God has given through His servant Joseph, the Priesthood will be organized this afternoon in their respective Quorums, and this subject will be brought before them to be voted upon by each Quorum separately; and then the whole congregation will be called upon to sanction the same.

I would state that this change made a vacancy of three in the Quorum of the Apostles, and persons have been selected to fill this vacancy thus made; or, rather, two persons have been selected from among the High Priesthood to partially fill that vacancy in the Council of the Apostles. The third one has not yet been chosen to completely fill the vacancy in the Apostles’ Quorum; we, however, may be prepared to act on that today, and we may not.

Having said so much, in a very scattered manner, in regard to the Priesthood, and the dealings of God with us from time to time, I would state to my brethren and sisters, to the Latter-day Saints, I rejoice that the time has again come when our Quorums in the Church of God will be completed as given in the Doctrine and Covenants. I feel to rejoice in seeing this order carried out. There never has been a time, from the commencement of the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when the organization has been so complete as during the last two or three years. I trust that His great purposes will be carried out and fulfilled, until Zion shall become, as it is written in the Book of Mormon, in the parable of the vineyard, shall become one body and its branches shall be equal. Amen.

Discourse by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered at the General Conference, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Oct. 10th, 1880.

There are many times when I feel a great desire to speak to the people because I have things in my heart that I would like to say. I cannot say at the present time however, that I have any great desire to speak, still I will bear my testimony and express a few thoughts in my reflections that are upon me today.

I am happy and greatly pleased in what I have witnessed, and I feel that the heavens are pleased with our proceedings this day. I feel that they are right. The kingdom of God is onward; it is not backward. It is wisdom that we perform what we have done today.

The act of organizing the council of the first presidency of the church and kingdom of God, I have regarded as a most solemn scene, to See this mighty host of priesthood who are assembled in this house vote in such unanimity, and to see this vast congregation rise in a body with uplifted hands to heaven, it is like the rushing of many waters—there is power in it; there is power with this people; there is power with the priesthood and in the ordinances of the house of God. And what we have done today will have its effect, it will have its effect in the heavens and on the earth. The responsibility that we bear as elders of Israel, before the heavens and before the earth and before each other, is very great. We are called of God; we have been chosen, we have been ordained as men who have been called to bear the priesthood and to attend to the ordinances of the house of God, to preach the Gospel, to warn this generation, to build up Zion, to redeem the earth, to erect temples unto the name of the Most High God, to redeem the living and the dead, and to carry out those great purposes which have been foreordained before the world was. It is a great calling, it is a great responsibility: and I feel that we, as servants of God and as elders of Israel, that we should try in our minds to comprehend these things.

I reflect a good deal with regard to our position, as was described to us today by Brother Pratt. It has been my faith and belief from the time that I was made acquainted with the Gospel that no greater prophet than Joseph Smith ever lived on the face of the earth save Jesus Christ. He was raised up to stand at the head of this great dispensation—the greatest of all dispensations God has ever given to man. He remarked on several occasions when conversing with his brethren: “brethren you do not know me, you do not know who I am.” As I remarked at our priesthood meeting on Friday evening, I have heard him in my early days while conversing with the brethren, say, (at the same time smiting himself upon the breast) “I would to God that I could unbosom my feelings in the house of my friends.” Joseph Smith was ordained before he came here, the same as Jeremiah was. Said the Lord unto him, “Before you were begotten I knew you” etc.

So do I believe with regard to this people, so do I believe with regard to the apostles, the high priests, seventies and the elders of Israel bearing the holy priesthood, I believe they were ordained before they came here; and I believe the God of Israel has raised them up, and has watched over them from their youth, and has carried them through all the scenes of life both seen and unseen, and has prepared them as instruments in his hands to take this kingdom and bear it off. If this be so, what manner of men ought we to be? If anything under the heavens should humble men before the Lord and before one another, it should be the fact that we have been called of God.

I believe the eyes of the heavenly hosts are over this people; I believe they are watching the elders of Israel, the prophets and apostles and men who are called to bear off this kingdom. I believe they watch over us all with great interest.

I will here make a remark concerning my own feelings. After the death of Joseph Smith I saw and conversed with him many times in my dreams in the night season. On one occasion he and his brother Hyrum met me when on the sea going on a mission to England. I had Dan Jones with me. He received his mission from Joseph Smith before his death; and the prophet talked freely to me about the mission I was then going to perform. And he also talked to me with regard to the mission of the Twelve Apostles in the flesh, and he laid before me the work they had to perform; and he also spoke of the reward they would receive after death. And there were many other things he laid before me in his interview on that occasion. And when I awoke many of the things he had told me were taken from me, I could not comprehend them. I have had many interviews with Brother Joseph until the last 15 or 20 years of my life; I have not seen him for that length of time. But during my travels in the southern country last winter I had many interviews with President Young, and with Heber C. Kimball, and Geo. A. Smith, and Jedediah M. Grant, and many others who are dead. They attended our conference, they attended our meetings. And on one occasion, I saw Brother Brigham and Brother Heber ride in carriage ahead of the carriage in which I rode when I was on my way to attend conference; and they were dressed in the most priestly robes. When we arrived at our destination I asked President Young if he would preach to us. He said, “No, I have finished my testimony in the flesh I shall not talk to this people any more. But (said he) I have come to see you; I have come to watch over you, and to see what the people are doing. Then (said he) I want you to teach the people—and I want you to follow this counsel yourself—that they must labor and so live as to obtain the Holy Spirit, for without this you cannot build up the kingdom; without the spirit of God you are in danger of walking in the dark, and in danger of failing to accomplish your calling as apostles and as elders in the church and kingdom of God. And, said he, Brother Joseph taught me this principle. “And I will here say, I have heard him refer to that while he was living. But what I was going to say is this: the thought came to me that Brother Joseph had left the work of watching over this church and kingdom to others, and that he had gone ahead, and that he had left this work to men who have lived and labored with us since he left us. This idea manifested itself to me, that such men advance in the spirit world. And I believe myself that these men who have died and gone into the spirit world had this mission left with them, that is, a certain portion of them, to watch over the Latter-day Saints.

I feel myself as though we are blessed of the Lord, and that we ought to be satisfied. I feel that we should humble ourselves before God, that we should labor to magnify our callings, and honor this priesthood which we received before we came here while we live out the few days appointed to man in the flesh. And I do hope and pray God that we may magnify our priesthood and calling while we tarry here, so that when we get through our earthly mission and go into the spirit world, we may meet with Brothers Joseph and Brigham and Heber and the rest of the faithful men whom we knew and labored with while in the flesh, as well as Father Adam, Enoch, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets and apostles who have had their day and their time and their generation, and who have finished their work here below and gone home to glory. Do you not think they are interested about us? I tell you they are. And I desire when I die, and my spirit goes into the spirit world, to meet these men and to go where they are; and I wish to live in that way and manner so as to be worthy of this blessing. And when I say this of myself I wish it to apply to all Israel. It will not pay us to apostatize; neither will it pay us to sin, it costs ten thousand times more than it is worth from beginning to end. Therefore, let us be true and faithful to God. And inasmuch as we have voted today to sustain the presidency of this church and kingdom, let our prayers ascend night and morning into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, in behalf of the men who now stand at our head, and also in behalf of the apostles and in behalf of all the priesthood of God in their place and station. And inasmuch as we do this we will grow, we will advance, the Spirit of God will be poured out upon us which will reveal unto us the mind and the will of God concerning us. And Zion will continue to increase in power on the earth, and eventually accomplish all for which it is designed, which is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.