Discourse by President John Taylor and Elder Erastus Snow, delivered at Paris, Bear Lake, Sunday Morning, August 8th, 1880.

[It will be perceived that it is a long time since this discourse was delivered, and at a time when the Twelve Apostles were acting as First Presidency of the Church.]

I arise this morning to make a few remarks to you as I may be led and dictated by the Spirit of God. I am sorry that we have not more time to spend with you, but having a conference to attend at Manti, Sanpete, on next Saturday and Sunday, which is quite a long way from here, and in the meantime having business to attend to at home, we shall be obliged, in order to make connections with the train at Logan, to leave this place at the close of this meeting. I should, and so would my brethren with me, have been very much pleased to have visited you at your several settlements, but owing to these circumstances it will be impracticable to do so.

There are a few items to which I wish to call your attention. Yesterday we heard a very interesting discourse from Brother Snow in which he compared the climate, etc., of your valley with that of Southern Utah; and the remarks made will doubtless have the effect to dispel a good deal of the restlessness which I understand many have manifested because of the severity of your winters. And I would further remark in relation to these matters, that this is the Zion of our God; that we are gathered here not for the purpose of seeking to do our own wills or to carry out our own designs, our own ideas or theories; but to be subject to the law of God, to the order of God and to the priesthood of God; and that our greatest safety and happiness, under all circumstances, is in rendering strict obedience to His law, and to the counsels that may be given from time to time through the Holy priesthood. We are today a kingdom of priests holding to a very great extent the holy priesthood; and it is essential that we submit ourselves to the laws of that priesthood and be governed by them in all of our actions. The Seventies, for instance—that is, those who understand themselves—expect to be on hand at any time to go to all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. That would be no more than their duty, which is in keeping with the command of God to them. And as to whether they live in hot or cold countries is really a matter of very little importance to them, their calling being to preach the Gospel to every creature the world over. Then the High Priests have certain duties to perform, and if they are in an organized condition, as the people of this Stake are, for instance, their duties are to prepare themselves for certain events that may transpire and to be learning to preside. For the duties of the Melchizedek or High Priesthood have been in all ages of the world to preside. So says the Doctrine and Covenants, extracts from which I may read to you. But it is not because a man is a High Priest that he should necessarily preside until he is called to fulfil some of the duties and responsibilities devolving upon that Priesthood. And it is the duty of a President of the High Priests to get the members of his quorum under him together and to instruct them as to the duties of the presidency, so that in the event of any being called, say, to occupy the office of one of the Twelve Apostles who are High Priests, they would be prepared to enter upon such duty; or that in case they should be called to preside over a Stake, they would be prepared to enter upon the duties of that office; or if they should be called to be Counselors to the President of the Stake, they could act wisely and efficiently in that position; or if they should be called upon to be High Councilors, they would know how to act righteously and equitably in all cases, that they might be called upon to adjudicate. And then if they should be called to be Bishops or Bishop’s Counselors, as the case may be, they should be prepared to occupy these or any other offices that they might be called to officiate in. High Priests have those duties devolving upon them just as much as it devolves upon the Seventies to go to the nations to preach, and there is no such thing in the program as sitting and “singing ourselves away to everlasting bliss.” Or, if we are called to fill an office we should not feel at liberty to neglect its responsibilities and sit down and do nothing. The idea is that we are to magnify our office and calling, no matter what its duties may be.

Then, there are certain duties devolving upon the Bishops, and also upon the Presidents of Stakes. And, then, the Twelve, wherever they may be located, have also their particular duties, and especially is this the case in the present organization of the Church; the Twelve occupying the position of the First Presidency. I wish, for your information, to offer some few ideas on some of these leading points that you may understand something of the nature of the duties and responsibilities that devolve upon us to attend to.

It is not correct, to suppose that the whole duty of carrying this kingdom devolves upon the Twelve or the First Presidency, as the case may be, or upon the Presidents of the Stakes, or upon the High Priests, or upon the Seventies, or upon the Bishops, or upon any other officer in the Church and Kingdom of God; that to the contrary, all of us have our several duties to perform. And I may go farther in regard to the duties of men, and also in regard to those of women, all have their duties to perform before God. The organization of this Church and Kingdom is for the express purpose of putting every man in his place, and it is then expected that every man in that place will magnify his office and calling. For through the ordinances of the Gospel and the operations of the priesthood the blessings of God are manifested, and without the ordinances we cannot enjoy the fulness of these blessings among us, Latter-day Saints, nor could the Saints in any age of the world among any people that ever existed.

We are of the household of faith, the children of God. We are gathered together for the express purpose of being taught in the laws of life, so that we may comprehend the position that we occupy, and the duties and responsibilities which devolve upon us. And as I have before stated, we are not here simply to carry out our own designs or to suit our own feelings or wishes, or to aggrandize ourselves. Beyond this earth as it now is, beyond time, in the eternities that are to come we have a work to perform and we have to prepare in part for it while we are upon this earth; and God has called us together for this purpose. The whole world is wallowing in iniquity, corruption, wickedness and evil; and it is for us, in the first place, to rid ourselves of everything of that kind, and to feel that we are the children of God, that He is our Father, and that we are under His law, and that we have to be subject to His commands; and that He has ordained and organized and set apart a Priesthood for this purpose. And what is that Priesthood? It is the rule and government of God; whether on the earth or in the heavens; and is the means by which God has operated in all the ages of the world. There is an order in this, every man in his place, the First Presidency, or Twelve, as the case may be, in their place, the Presidents of Stakes in their places, the High Council in their places, the High Priesthood in their place, the Seventies in their place, the Elders in their place, the Presiding Bishop, with his Counselors, in his place, and the other Bishops in their place, and the Priests, Teachers and Deacons in their place, and every one feeling that they are the servants of the living God, and that they are clothed upon with the Holy Priesthood, and that they have a duty to perform in His kingdom—that they stand ready, at all times, to carry out anything that God may dictate through His regularly constituted authority in regard to themselves, their families, their neighborhoods wherein they live, or in the Church or the world, that their duty is to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth, to gather the people, to build temples, and to accomplish anything and everything that God requires, and that when we have built temples it is our duty to administer in them, that we may be the children of God, saviors upon Mount Zion, and be the blessed of the Lord of Hosts and our offspring with us. This is the position we occupy here upon the earth.

Now, I will read to you from the Doctrine and Covenants. In speaking of Priesthood we are told that, “There remain hereafter, in the due time of the Lord, other bishops to be set apart unto the church, to minister even according to the first; Wherefore they shall be high priests who are worthy, and they shall be appointed by the First Presidency of the Melchizedek Priesthood, except they be literal descendants of Aaron. And if they be the literal descendants of Aaron they have a legal right to the bishopric, if they are the firstborn among the sons of Aaron; For the firstborn holds the right of the presidency over this priesthood, and the keys and the authority of the same.

“No man has a legal right to this office, to hold the keys of this priesthood, except he be a literal descendant and the firstborn of Aaron.

“But, as a high priest of the Melchizedek Priesthood has authority to officiate in all the lesser offices he may officiate in the office of bishop when no literal descendant of Aaron can be found, provided he is called and set apart and ordained unto this power, under the hands of the First Presidency of the Melchizedek Priesthood.

“And a literal descendant of Aaron, also, must be designated by this Presidency, and found worthy, and anointed, and ordained under the hands of this Presidency, otherwise they are not legally authorized to officiate in their priesthood.”

“But, by virtue of the decree concerning their right to the priesthood descending from father to son, they may claim their anointing if at any time they can prove their lineage, or do ascertain it by revelation from the Lord under the hands of the above named Presidency.”

This is speaking more particularly in regard to the Bishops. I have not time, today, to enter into many details pertaining to this; but will simply draw your attention to one point, which is this: If we had among us a literal descendant of Aaron, who was the firstborn, he would have a right to the keys, or presiding authority of the Bishopric. But then he would have to be set apart and directed by the First Presidency, no matter what his or their claims might be, or how clear their proofs. The same would have to be acknowledged by the First Presidency. These claims of descent from Aaron would have to be acknowledged by the First Presidency, and, further, the claimant would have to be set apart to his Bishopric by them, the same as in the case of a High Priest of the Melchizedek Priesthood called to fill the same office. Thus, in either case, as a literal descendant of Aaron, or as a High Priest, the right to officiate is held first by authority of the Priesthood, and by appointment and ordination as above stated.

And, then, here is another thing I desire briefly to mention. A Bishop of this kind, holding the keys of this Priesthood, must be set apart by the First Presidency, and, should occasion arise, must also be tried by the First Presidency. This, however, does not apply to all Bishops, for there are a variety of Bishops, as for instance Bishop Partridge, who presided over the Land of Zion, and whose duty was to purchase land and divide it among the people, as their inheritances, and to take charge of the temporal affairs of the Church, not only in Zion but throughout all the western country, and also to sit as a common judge in Israel, and to preside in the capacity of Bishop, not to act as President over a district of country that was then called Zion, but as a general Bishop. George Miller was afterward appointed to the same Bishopric. Newel K. Whitney was appointed also as a general Bishop, and presided over Kirtland and all the churches in the eastern country. The calling of these men, you will perceive, was very different from that of a Bishop over one of the Wards of a Stake, for he can only preside over his own Ward; outside of that he has no jurisdiction. While the calling of the former was general, that of the latter is local. And there were Bishops’ agents appointed formerly. There was Sidney Gilbert; he was a Bishop’s agent appointed to assist Bishop Partridge in his duties; and Bishop Whitney also had his assistants or agents to assist him in his administrations, the one presiding as Bishop over the affairs of the Church in the west, the other presiding over the affairs of the Church in the east. But neither of them was presiding Bishop of the Church at that time. But you will find that afterwards George Miller was appointed to the same Bishopric that Edward Partridge held; and that Vinson Knight was appointed to the Presidency over the Bishopric, with Samuel H. Smith and Shadrach Roundy as his counselors.

I speak of these things to throw out some general ideas; and you will have to examine the Doctrine and Covenants for yourselves, and this will give to you the key how to arrive at the truth in relation to these principles.

Now, these general Bishops had to be appointed by the First Presidency; they had to be tried by the First Presidency as well as the Presiding Bishop, because they were general Bishops, and were appointed by the First Presidency. But Stake Bishops stand in another capacity. They have a presidency over them, and although it is proper for them (the Stake Presidency) to consult with the First Presidency of the Church, yet they preside over them, as well as over the affairs of their Stake. There is one thing associated with this matter that I will mention here, which is this. While you have a High Council in your Stake, and a presidency of your Stake, you also have Brother Charles C. Rich residing here, who is one of the First Council of the Church. And if I were a President of this Stake I should always confer with him about any matters of importance pertaining to the interests of the Church in the Stake over which I presided. Because the Twelve now hold the right of Presidency; and as he is one of the Twelve, it would be proper, and, indeed, I should consider it quite a privilege, if I was a president here, to apply to him for council in all matters pertaining to the interests of the Stake.

Now, I speak of this for your information, and by so doing you will avoid a great deal of trouble that you might otherwise fall into. Because Brother Rich is not only an Apostle, but you, in connection with the other Stakes, have voted for him as one of the First Presidency, and therefore he would be the proper person to counsel in any matters of that kind. And, then, if there should be anything not exactly clear to him, it would be his privilege to apply to his quorum to obtain their mind in regard to it; and when this course is adopted everything moves on harmoniously. Now, for instance, here is Brother Erastus Snow, he and Brother Brigham Young, under the counsel and direction of the First Presidency, will shortly take a mission into the southern portions of the Church, in Colorado and Arizona, and, perhaps, in New Mexico, to look after the interests of the community there. Over the settlements throughout those regions of country there are Presidents, and these Presidents preside over Stakes where Stakes are organized. Brother Snorer informs me there are two Stakes. He and Brother Brigham go clothed upon with the authority of the First Presidency to regulate, to set in order, and counsel in all matters pertaining to the interests of that people. Wherever they may go, no matter who presides, we should expect them to regard their counsel, and to be governed by them in all of their acts. Because the Twelve cannot go everywhere as a body, and the interests of the Church are being extended, and we are growing larger all the time; and Zion will continue to grow until the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ, and that as a matter of course means that if this is the kingdom of God and the Priesthood is the representation of that kingdom, the proper authorities of the holy Priesthood, wherever they go to represent the Priesthood, must be respected in their position; and as these brethren represent the First Presidency where they are going, they must be respected and their counsels adhered to as such.

Now if that would be proper for Brother Snow and Brother Brigham, it would also be proper for Brother Rich, for they all hold the same authority; and we expect them to represent to us things as they are, that we may be enabled to counsel and direct—and they always do counsel with us, and are glad to get our counsel. On the other hand, for instance, I am President of the Twelve Apostles, and by that means President of the Church at present. Well, say that Brother Rich or any member of the Quorum of the Twelve comes along, having something to offer or lay before the Council, I would say, such a man is an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I have a right to listen to his counsel or to whatever he has got to say, and at the same time pay due deference to it. For I am glad to have the counsel of my brethren, and they are always pleased to receive mine. That is the kind of feeling existing among us, and this same feeling should exist everywhere throughout the whole Church. It is not for a member of the High Council to say, “I am one of the prominent men, and I am going to show you how things are done here; and furthermore, I have my own ideas about things, and am going to try to carry them out.” It will not do for a president to say that; but it would be more in accordance with our calling for us to say, “O God, thou art our Father, and we are thy children. We are engaged in thy service; wilt thou, O Lord, show unto us thy will, that we may do it?” Not our own will; we do not want to do our will nor carry out our purposes, nor do anything for our personal aggrandizement, nor for that of our friends or anybody else; but to do that which is right and just and equitable before God and the holy angels and all honorable men. And then when we have done that, we do not ask any odds of the turbulent or dissatisfied, who are crying, good Lord and good devil, not knowing whose hands they may fall into. We do not care about their ideas; but we do care about having the smiles and approbation of our Heavenly Father and of all good men, so that when we get through and are called upon for an account of our stewardship, we may say, O God, we have done, so far as thou hast given us ability, the work thou hast placed in our hands. And then every member of the priesthood ought to feel just the same; not like some of our unruly horses when they get the bits in their mouths and run off, because they make a good deal of trouble for themselves and other people too. We should ever seek to operate together and be one according to the laws of the Holy Priesthood.

I now want to show something about this Priesthood, and will again read: “As a high priest of the Melchizedek Priesthood has authority to officiate in all the lesser offices he may officiate in the office of bishop where no literal descendant of Aaron can be found, provided he is called and set apart and ordained unto this power, under the hands of the First Presidency of the Melchizedek Priesthood.” There is where it comes in, and this applies primarily to the presiding Bishop; but I would say that it applies in a more extended view to High Priests who are ordained and set apart as Bishops, in the several Stakes of Zion, and who thus come under the supervision of those presidents of Stakes, and stand in the same relationship to them that the First Bishops did to the First Presidency of the Church. The First Presidency at that time presided over the Stake in Kirtland, over the High Council, over the Bishops and over all the organizations of the Stake, and were really the presidents of that Stake. But it will be seen that while they were presidents of the Stake and occupied the same position that presidents now do over the Stakes, they were at the same time presidents of the Church in all the world, whilst the authority of our present presidents of Stakes is confined to the limits of their several Stakes. And thus there is perfect order in all these things in relation to these matters.

I again quote: “There are, in the church, two priesthoods, namely, the Melchizedek and Aaronic, including the Levitical Priesthood.” Now I will make a statement or two about this. What is the Levitical Priesthood? There were in the days of Moses a tribe of the children of Israel set apart to officiate in some of the lesser duties of the Aaronic Priesthood, and their office was called the Levitical Priesthood. You High Priests, you Seventies and Bishops can examine these things from your Bible, and what the Bible does not tell you the Book of Covenants will, and you ought to be ac– quainted with this matter, it is your duty to investigate these things, to search in the records, to examine the revelations of God and make yourselves acquainted with principle, and laws, and governments, and all things calculated to promote the welfare of humanity.

“The office of an elder comes under the priesthood of Melchizedek. The Melchizedek Priesthood holds the right of presidency, and has power and authority over all the offices in the church in all ages of the world, to administer in spiritual things.”

“Well,” say you, “I thought that; that has been my idea, the Bishops should have all the temporal things to attend to.” We will read a little further. It is by taking up little old texts that mistakes are often made and incorrect ideas conveyed. We must take the whole thing to ascertain what is intended, and rightly divine the word of truth.

“The Presidency of the High Priesthood, after the order of Melchizedek, have a right to officiate in all the offices in the Church.”

Now, will you show me an office, or calling, or duty, or responsibility, temporal or spiritual, that does not come under this statement? From this I think this Presidency have something to do with the Bishops and temporal things as well as with the Melchizedek Priesthood and spiritual things, and with all things pertaining to the interests and welfare of Zion. That is the way I understand these matters. I could enter very elaborately into these questions, but I do not purpose to do so, there not being time. But this is the position they occupy.

“High priests after the order of the Melchizedek Priesthood have a right to officiate in their own stand– ing, under the direction of the presidency, in administering spiritual things, and also in the office of an elder, priest (of the Levitical order), teacher, deacon and member,” etc.

This shows really, in as few words as the matter could be conveyed to your understanding, the way that God has appointed for the governing of those affairs in His Church and Kingdom, without entering elaborately into detail.

When we have a Stake organization, as you have here, the Presidency of the Stake presides over all Bishops, High Councils, and all authorities of the Stake. The several Bishops preside over their respective wards and manage their affairs, under the direction of the Stake Presidency, who in their office and calling are responsible to the First Presidency of the Church. The Bishops are also under the direction of presiding Bishop Hunter in all affairs connected with the temporal interests of the Church. And Bishop Hunter is under the direction of the First Presidency, the Aaronic Priesthood being an appendage to the Melchizedek Priesthood. It is however, the special duty of the Aaronic Priesthood to attend to temporal matters; but then the First Presidency presides over all Bishops, all Presidents, all authorities, and lastly God presides over all.

Now we are sometimes fond, that is, some of us are, of talking about our authority. It is a thing I care very little about. I tell you what I want to do if I can. I want to know the will of God so that I may do it; and I do not want to dictate or domineer or exercise arbitrary control. Then again, all men ought to be under proper control to the Presidency and Priesthood presiding over them. If I were a Bishop I should want to know what the President of my Stake desired, and I should confer with him; and if there was anything in which Bishop Hunter was interested, I should want to know his mind.

I will read a little further with regard to this subject of priesthood:

“How long can rolling waters remain impure? What power shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints. Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen? Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men.”

Now, I wish you to take particular notice of this, you Elders, you High Priests, you Seventies, and you Priests, Teachers and Deacons, and all men holding the Priesthood; “That they do not learn this one lesson—That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness;” and not upon any other principle. And when anybody steps aside from that and acts upon a principle of unrighteousness, the result will be as is stated in the context, namely: “That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.” That is the result of wrongdoing; that is the result of perverting the authority that God has conferred upon us to our personal ends and to gratify our own ambition. “Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks, to persecute the saints, and to fight against God.” Can they thwart the purposes of God? No. They are as harmless as babies. He that sits in the heavens laughs at them, and all men holding the Priesthood of the Son of God, care nothing about their fulminations and the efforts they make to hinder the progress of truth in the earth, for all they can do, we know, will be overruled for our good. They are going the downward road that leads to death, and by and by they will have their reward. We would like to see it otherwise, but we cannot, that is one of the things they have to see to themselves; it belongs to us to be true to God and to our Priesthood, and all will be well with us.

Again, we quote, “We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion. Hence many are called, but few are chosen. No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth after– wards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy; That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death. Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the piesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven. The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.”

What a beautiful state of things God presents to us! Shall we try to live it? or shall we take our own way and pursue our own course? These things are beautiful when we reflect upon them. We all know they are true, and they are principles which recommend themselves to our hearts. Let us try then and live them.

There are other orders of the Priesthood; we have Elders, and they have their duties to perform, which I do not propose to talk about now. And we have our Priests, Teachers and Deacons, all of whom hold important positions, and all should seek to magnify their calling. And what should they do? I will tell you a circumstance that took place with me upwards of forty years ago. I was living in Canada at the time, and was a traveling Elder. I presided over a number of the churches in that district of country. A difficulty existed in a branch of the church, and steps were taken to have the matter brought before me for settlement. I thought very seriously about it, and thought it a very insignificant affair. Because we ought to soar above such things, and walk on a higher plane, for we are the children of God and should be willing to suffer wrong rather than do wrong; to yield a good deal to our brethren for the sake of peace and quietness, and to secure and promote good feelings among the Saints. At that time I did not have the experience I now have, and yet I do not know that I could do anything better than I did then. Before going to the trial I bowed before the Lord, and sought wisdom from him to conduct the affair aright, for I had the welfare of the people at heart. When we had assembled, I opened the meeting with prayer, and then called upon a number of those present to pray; they did so, and the Spirit of God rested upon us. I could perceive that a good feeling existed in the hearts of those who had come to present their grievances, and I told them to bring forward their case. But they said they had not anything to bring forward. The feelings and spirit they had been in possession of had left them, the Spirit of God had obliterated these feelings out of their hearts, and they knew it was right for them to forgive one another.

You Priests, Teachers and Deacons, seek unto the Lord, and he will bless you. And you, my brethren, when the Teachers visit you, do not think that you are High Priests and that they are only Teachers hardly worthy of your attention. They are your Teachers, and you should reverence them. And if you expect to be honored in your calling, you must honor them in theirs. When the Teachers come to visit me I am pleased to see them; and I call together the members of my family that may be in the house at the time, to hear what they have to say to us. And I tell them to talk freely and plainly to us, to myself, my wives and children; in other words, to do their duty as Teachers, and then I will help them to carry out their instructions. This is how I feel towards our Teachers. The eye cannot say to the ear, we have no need of thee; neither the head to the feet, I have no need of thee, for if one of the members suffer all the other members suffer with it; and if one member rejoice, all the other members partake of the same feeling. Consequently I feel in duty bound to attend to these things.

We have here our Relief Societies, and they have done a good work. And people are desirous to know something of these organizations. I was in Nauvoo at the time the Relief Society was organized by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and I was present on the occasion. At a late meeting of the Society held in Salt Lake City I was present, and I read from a record called the Book of the Law of the Lord, the minutes of that meeting. At that meeting the Prophet called Sister Emma to be an elect lady. That means that she was called to a certain work; and that was in fulfillment of a certain revelation concerning her. She was elected to preside over the Relief Society, and she was ordained to expound the Scriptures. In compliance with Brother Joseph’s request I set her apart, and also ordained Sister Whitney, wife of Bishop Newel K. Whitney, and Sister Cleveland, wife of Judge Cleveland, to be her counselors. Some of the sisters have thought that these sisters mentioned were, in this ordination, ordained to the priesthood. And for the information of all interested in this subject I will say, it is not the calling of these sisters to hold the Priesthood, only in connection with their husbands, they being one with their husbands. Sister Emma was elected to expound the Scriptures, and to preside over the Relief Society; then Sisters Whitney and Cleveland were ordained to the same office, and I think Sister Eliza R. Snow to be secretary. A short time ago I attended a meeting in Salt Lake City, where Sister Snow and Sister Whitney were set apart. I happened to be the only member of the Twelve in town at the time, the other members of the Quorum being unavoidably absent. I went to this meeting and set apart Sister Whitney and Sister Snow who were two of those I set apart some forty years ago, in Nauvoo. And after I had done so, they reminded me of the coincidence. At this meeting, however, Sister Snow was set apart to preside over the Relief Societies in the land of Zion, and Sister Whitney her counselor, with Sister Zina D. Young, her other counselor. I speak of this for the information of the Sisters, although I presume they may have read of it in their paper, the Exponent.

With regard to those Societies, I will say, they have done a good work and are a great assistance to our Bishops, as well as being peculiarly adapted to console, bless, and encourage those of their sisters who need their care, and also to visit the sick, as well as to counsel and instruct the younger women in the things pertaining to their calling as children and Saints of the Most High. I am happy to say that we have a great many honorable and noble women engaged in these labors of love, and the Lord blesses them in their labors, and I bless them in the name of the Lord. And I say to our sisters, continue to be diligent and faithful in seeking the well-being and happiness of your sex, instruct and train your own daughters in the fear of God, and teach your sisters to do likewise, that we may be the blessed of the Lord and our offspring with us.

Our young people’s Improvement Associations are very creditable institutions, and the fruits of the labors of those engaged in this work are already manifesting themselves. I feel in my heart to say, God bless the young men and young women of Israel; let it be the desire of your hearts to imitate the virtues of your parents and of all good men and women, keeping your bodies and spirits pure before God and man.

Then, we have our Sunday Schools; and many of our brethren and sisters in this direction are doing a good work. I would advise the superintendents of Sunday Schools to endeavor to collect the best talent they can to teach and instruct our children. What greater or more honorable work can we be engaged in than in teaching the children the principles of salvation? You that are diligent and that give your hearts to these things God will bless, and the day will come when the youth of Israel will rise up and call you blessed.

Then with regard to our common schools, let us try to instruct our youth as best we can, and get the best of teachers, men and women of intelligence and education who are not only moral, but good Latter-day Saints; men and women who are not only capable of imparting to our children the rudiments of education, but who are also capable of teaching them the laws of God as he has revealed them for our guidance. And when you get good teachers you should appreciate them, and you should cooperate with them in their endeavors to teach our youth; and then see that they are properly remunerated for their services.

Some people talk about the great ignorance of the “Mormons.” In regard to education we are the peers of the United States. We, it is true, do not possess such notable academies and universities as may be found in the great centers of our nation, but official figures show our educational status to be above that of the average of the United States. And I may add, that our grade of literacy is higher than that of the nation. When we take into consideration the fact that we have not received one penny from any outside source, while the leading institutions of learning have realized millions, yes scores of millions of dollars to enable them to educate their youth. This is something that we have a right to be proud of. Then let us continue to encourage education; and let our trustees be alive to supply the schoolhouses with all the necessary charts and books; let them not feel niggardly in regard to these things. And above all, let everything we do conspire to advance the interests of the Church and Kingdom of God upon the earth.

I feel like saying, God bless you, my brethren and sisters. And God bless Brother Budge, who is doing a good work in England, and who, by the way, will be back among you very shortly. And God bless Brother Hart and Brother Osmond, and the High Council, and the Bishops and their counselors, and may God bless the Elders and the Seventies, and the High Priests, together with the Relief Societies and Mutual Improvement Associations; and may God bless all men who love Israel and who are desirous to keep the commandments of God; and the Lord help us to be true to our religion, and true to our God, and true to our integrity, that we may be saved ultimately in the Celestial Kingdom of God. I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Elder Erastus Snow Then made the following Remarks: I feel that we have had a feast of fat things this morning; that the remarks made by President Taylor have been replete with genuine truths, and full of instruction and counsel, and that blessing will abide with all those who permit these instructions to find place in their hearts and understandings.

While President Taylor was treating upon the order of the Priesthood, the history of which has been given in the Bible through Moses, and also in certain revelations given unto this Church through the Prophet Joseph Smith, he awakened a train of reflection that carried the mind back from the time of Moses to that of Abraham, Noah, Enoch and Adam. Adam was the first man appointed of God as the ruler of the earth; to him it was said, thou shalt have dominion over the earth and over the things therein. And as he began to multiply and replenish the earth, and as his children and their families increased in the land, there was a right of dominion given; it was called the birthright, and it belongs to the firstborn of the sons. And this seems to have been an order existing in the heavens even before Adam. For it is written of Jesus, the Lamb of God; that he was the firstborn of many brethren. Moreover, his rights of dominion as the firstborn continued with him because he loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore was he anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows. But notwithstanding his birthright, had he not loved righteousness and hated iniquity, and exercised his rights and his dominion in connection with the powers of heaven and the principles of righteousness, he would not have been chosen nor have received this anointing with the oil of gladness above his fellows. But because he did exercise it rightly and pleased his Father, he was chosen, as was his right to have been, or, I will say, his privilege rather, because he honored his birthright, and, therefore, he was anointed above his fellows, and became the Chief Apostle, the High Priest of our profession, the Son, the mediator between us and the Father.

The same principle fell upon Adam’s children; and hence Cain, being the firstborn of his father’s family, according to the Bible account, might have been the head of this Priesthood, under his father, holding the right by birth; but instead of exercising his birthright on the principles of righteousness, and in accord with the powers of heaven, he was befogged and understood not his true position; and his offering was not accepted. But Abel, his younger brother, who was meek and lowly of heart, and who sought the inspiration of the Spirit, was led to bring as his offering the firstlings of his flock, which were a true representation of the Lamb of God; and besides, the offering was made in the true spirit of his ministry and priesthood, therefore it pleased the Father, and he accepted it. Then when Cain found that his offering was not accepted, and his brother, Abel’s was accepted, Satan tempted him, and entered into him and led him into the way of all apostates—he became possessed with the spirit of murder. I mention it as the first apostasy of which we have record after the fall of man, through it Cain lost his privilege as firstborn, and the blessing fell on one more worthy, and the rights of the priesthood passed to the next son of Adam, which according to Bible record was Seth, who magnified the Priesthood, honored his birthright, and held the blessing of the Priesthood, which was sealed upon him by his father; and from him it descended upon the righteous of his posterity.

There are many instances, from that time forward, of which the scriptures speak of this birthright continuing among the descendants of Seth, until it came to Noah and his sons, of which sons Shem received the blessings pertaining to the priesthood. Abraham came through Shem, and the Savior came through this lineage; and through this blessing of Noah upon Shem, the Priesthood continued through his seed; while the offspring of Ham inherited a curse, and it was because, as a revelation teaches, some of the blood of Cain became mingled with that of Ham’s family, and hence they inherited that curse.

Now we will pass by the places in the Bible which speak of this birthright until we come to Isaac, the son of Abraham, and to Jacob, the son of Isaac, who bought the birthright of his brother Esau. From the story that is told of Rebekah helping her son Jacob to get the first blessing from his father Isaac, on purpose to secure the birthright from his brother Esau, really would be inclined to think that deceit, dishonesty and unrighteous means were employed to secure it, and they perhaps wonder why it should be so. This was really not the case; it is only made to appear so in the eyes of those who do not understand the dealings of God with man, and the workings of the Holy Spirit to bring about His purposes. There was neither unrighteousness in Rebekah nor in Jacob in this matter; but on the contrary, there was the wisdom of the Almighty, showing forth his providences in guiding them in such a manner as to bring about his purposes, in influencing Esau to transfer his birthright to Jacob, that He might ratify and confirm it upon the head of Jacob; knowing as He did that Jacob and his seed were, and would be, more deserving of the birthright, and would magnify it in its true spirit. While Esau did not sense nor appreciate his condition and birthright; he did not respect it as he should have done, neither did be hearken to the counsels of his father and mother. On the contrary, he went his own way with a stubborn will, and followed his own passions and inclinations and took to wife one of the daughters of the Canaanites whom the Lord had not blessed; and he therefore rendered himself unacceptable to God and to his father and mother. He gave himself to wild pursuits—to hunting, and to following the ways of the Canaanites, and displeased the Lord and his parents, and was not worthy of this right of seniority. The Lord therefore saw fit to take it from him, and the mother was moved upon to help the younger son to bring about the purpose of the Lord, in securing to himself the blessing through the legitimate channel of the Priesthood. And as you know, his father was induced to bless him and confirm this blessing upon him.

Now, whilst all these instances in Scripture recognize the right called the birthright, that has descended from the beginning, the same principle is exhibited in all those instances set forth in the revelation read by President Taylor—that none can hold these rights of the Priest– hood except in connection with the powers of heaven, and cannot be exercised only on the principles of righteousness; and all who fail to exercise these rights on the principles of righteousness and in connection with the powers of heaven subject to its counsels and directions and laws, forfeit their birthright, and the right passes to another.

We have another instance of this kind in Reuben, the eldest of the twelve sons of Jacob. We find that the birthright passed from him. He committed a transgression which offended the Lord and offended his father, and it was of such a character that it could not be passed over with impunity; and the birthright was taken from him and given to the sons of Joseph. We find it explained in Chronicles, that because Reuben defiled his father’s bed, the birthright was taken from him and given to the sons of Joseph; and the Priesthood was reckoned after that lineage, though Judah prevailed above his brethren to this extent, that through him came the Chief Ruler of Israel, while unto Ephraim, the son of Joseph, was given the keys of the Priesthood—or those rights that apply to the birthright. Of the two sons of Joseph—Ephraim and Manassah, the Lord said, Manassah shall be great, but Ephraim shall be greater than he; and he shall become a multitude in the earth. And when the patriarch was blessing Joseph’s two sons, though he was blind, he was careful to cross his hands in blessing the boys. Joseph observing what his father was doing, informed him that he was putting his right hand on the head of the younger boy, but the old man replied, I know it, my son. The Spirit of the Lord prompted him to do as he did—to confer the greater blessing upon Ephraim, the younger brother. It was for this reason that God spake through the mouth of Jeremiah concerning the gathering of Israel: “I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.” That is according to his purposes. He acknowledged and re-confirmed this birthright upon Ephraim the younger of the two sons of Joseph, when he referred to the dispensation of the fullness of times and the ushering in of its great work—when the Lord should set his hand to gather His people, and be a father to Israel, even to Ephraim His firstborn.

Now, the Levitical Priesthood referred to was not a new Priesthood. We do not understand it to be an order of the Priesthood instituted at the time Israel was in the wilderness of Sinai, but that it had been from the beginning a part of the Holy Priesthood, an appendage, or a subdivision, or branch of the same Priesthood. The rights of this descended from father to son, among the firstborn, unless the firstborn failed to appreciate it and exercise it in righteousness. In that event it passed to one of the others.

We see the same principle set forth when the Lord commanded Moses to take the tribe of Levi and set them apart to be Priests. He told them the reason. Now, said He, I have claimed the firstborn of all the families of Israel as my own. When I sent forth my angel to smite the firstborn of the sons of Egypt, I caused mine angel to pass by the families of Israel, that he smite not their firstborn. In remembrance of this He instituted the ordinance called the Passover, to preserve in the minds of the Israelites, the occasion when the Lord passed over their firstborn, while the firstborn of the sons of Egypt He caused to be slain. For this rea– son, He said, I have consecrated the firstborn as mine own; and now, said He to Moses, I will take from the tribes of Israel the house of Levi, and you shall consecrate them to officiate, etc. This principle has continued from the beginning. We see it exemplified in the calling of the Lamb of God, who was the firstborn among many brethren, and was in all things obedient to his Father; who loved righteousness and hated iniquity, and was therefore chosen and anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows. So in after years, those who in like manner exercised their birthright in connection with the powers of heaven, and on the principles of virtue, integrity and righteousness had these rights confirmed upon him. But in no case, when acting unrighteously, were they chosen to receive the confirmation of the ordinances of the Priesthood. In the days of Eli, who permitted his sons, who were heirs of the Priesthood, to set bad examples and work iniquities in Israel, God held the father responsible for their course, and He destroyed both Eli and his sons, and raised up another in his place.

The article read in your hearing from the Doctrine and Covenants, shows most clearly that the rights and blessings and keys of this Priesthood can only be held and exercised in connection with the powers of heaven and on the principles of righteousness. It is most beautiful to contemplate. It is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.

And that God may enable us to preserve these things in our hearts, and that we may attain to all that He has prepared for us, is my earnest prayer, in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Discourse by Elder Erastus Snow, delivered at Paris, Bear Lake, Saturday Afternoon, August 7th, 1880.

President Taylor referred in his remarks this morning to myself as coming from the far South, and as traveling extensively through the country; and I feel led in my feelings to make some remarks on the south country, and also the north, and perhaps on some other portions of the country through which I have traveled.

Two years ago this summer I visited the greater portion of the Territory of Arizona; that is, I, with others, passed through the northwestern portions of the Territory, along near the eastern boundaries, southward to the extreme southeastern portions of the Territory, returning through Tucson; crossed the desert to the Gila, then crossed Salt River and up through the Tonta Basin and over the Nookhoon to the Little Colorado, and obtained a very general understanding of the country and the condition and facilities of the Territory; and also the western portions of New Mexico. Last summer I also visited the south part of Colorado; I passed along the line of railroads from Ogden to Cheyenne, thence passing south through Colorado, on the east side of the mountains to Denver, and thence to Pueblo, on the Arkansas; thence southeast to the Rio Grande Del Norte, and down that stream to the New Mexico line. It is in contemplation that myself and a few other brethren will visit, during the coming fall, the southeastern counties of this Territory—those new counties, Emery and San Juan, which have been recently organized, and the lower valleys on Grand River, and from Grand River to the San Juan and its tributaries, and the settlements which our people are forming upon those streams, and probably we shall extend our travels further into New Mexico, and visit our new settlements on the head waters of the Little Colorado, and the tributaries of the Gila, along the borders of New Mexico and Arizona.

The chief object of our visits is to learn the facilities of the country, and to look after the flock of Christ, and also to hunt after any that might have strayed away, and when found to try to gather them to some fold, where we can place some shepherd over them who will endeavor to feed them with the bread of life, and keep them from being entirely lost, or torn by wolves. We shall visit the new settlements as fast as practicable, and the older ones also, to labor among the people according to our calling, to teach the people their duty, and to organize them as shall be necessary, and to set in order all things necessary for their development and growth, and to maintain the union and fellowship of the Saints, and respect for the Gospel and the order and government of His Church and Kingdom.

There seems to be a necessity for the Latter-day Saints to gather together, and then to scatter a little, and then to gather a little, and so on; in other words, something after the fashion of the bees: they go out of the hive empty and return with their legs and wings laden with honey and bee bread. Now, if all can do this, we shall continue to thrive in the hive of Deseret; but if, on the other hand, we scatter and waste and destroy the good we have, we had better remain in the hive until we shall have learned our duty better.

There is a tendency with some to want to get away from the restraint of the Priesthood and the earnest teachings and admonitions of the Gospel and the wholesome government that is maintained among the Saints, in order to enjoy greater liberties, not greater liberties to serve the Lord, for there is nobody in anywise restricted. Some are desirous of greater liberties than they think they enjoy among us in occupying the country and getting possession of the land and accumulating stock, and desire a greater range. Now, this feeling ought not to take possession of us too much, because if we indulge it too much we are liable to become darkened in our mind measurably, and lose the spirit of the Gospel. But when we are called and sent out to labor, either to preach the Gospel in foreign countries, or to gather the poor from distant lands, or sent to locate in any distant place with a view of helping to establish towns and villages and settlements, and building up and organizing and helping to maintain good order and wholesome government, and to extend the spirit of the Gospel—when we are called upon to assist in establishing these new settlements, it is right that we should respond; it is as legitimate labor as any other branch of labor in building the Church and Kingdom of God upon the earth. But we ought to guard against a restless spirit of changing locality merely for its own sake, and moving to and fro in search of something better. This restless feeling is not good, nor will it tend as a rule to happiness and permanent good and prosperity to those who possess it. We are not all alike. Some become attached to whatever place they call their home; wherever they labor and build up a home they gather around them the comforts of life, and feel settled in that place, and attached to their surroundings; while others seem hard to settle down and make any place seem like home for any length of time. To me this spirit has always appeared strange, so contrary to my nature and disposition. Notwithstanding, as has been remarked, I travel among the people as much as, or more than any of my brethren of the Apostles of late years—perhaps for the last twenty years—still my home has been in St. George. Having had the care of the churches in the southern part of the Territory, to a great extent, I have been obliged to travel a great deal; but this has been from a sense of duty, and not because I have felt tired of home and wanted to move about from place to place. And I may add, that in all my travels, the thought of seeking a new or better place for myself or family has never entered my heart, no matter how many good places I may find; it is for others and not myself; it is to search out places where we can plant colonies of Latter-day Saints, where the sons and daughters of the Saints who are growing up in the older settlements, and who desire soon to spread out where they can make homes and form new settlements, where we can plant nurseries of Latter-day Saints. But it is not, as I said, to seek locations for myself or for my own family, only such portions of them as ought to go out and begin to operate for themselves, and make themselves homes. I am not one of that shifting sort of men. The lot that was assigned to me in Salt Lake City at the time the pioneers entered Salt Lake Valley, I retained until I was sent to St. George, and then I transferred it back to Pres. Young from whom I received it. I have never felt to change since I located in St. George; and if I had been located upon a barren rock, I would have packed soil enough to make a beautiful home of it. And, by the way, I believe the home I have made has cost me as much labor as if I had hauled the earth on to it. I have had to manufacture a great deal of what is now there; and so I may say it has been so with the greater part of our town and “Dixie” County. Naturally to look at it, it was a very forbidding country when we first settled there. We were not allured to that region by the green fields, the fine extensive meadows such as you have here. The grass which we see upon the surrounding hills, inviting the flocks and herds to eat, and the flowing crystal streams of pure water which make music, sweet and enchanting to the ear, as they wend their way through your valleys to the lake beyond, is in marked contrast to the natural facilities of our southern home. Why, if I were to tell you half the truth, the most of you would never want to go south to live; but we are not in the habit of picturing the unpleasant features of the country, but rather of speaking the best we can about it, feeling that we have need to do it. And there are some who have had faith enough and stamina enough in them to speak well of the country, and nothing short of faith and Mormon grit could do it; while we were doing this we did not forget to ask the blessing of God upon the land, and I need hardly say that it has been through His blessing that we have been prospered and enabled to make beautiful homes out of the once forbidding, sterile wastes.

We were sent there to raise cotton when our nation was thrown into anarchy through a civil war, and when it had become a question with all Israel, “Shirts or no shirts?” It was shirts we were after; we went to make cotton farms, and it was anything else but an inviting cotton region. As I have said, no extensive fields made the eye glad, but everything looked as though the whole country had been thrown together in an irregular broken manner. The water had to be raised from the low channels in which it flowed, in quicksand bottoms by means of long and expensive canals, in order to get it upon the bench lands. But now through the blessing of the Lord, and hard knocks, we have a very fine city, inhabited by a pretty good people. I will say, however, that the country is not so very much changed from what it was when we went there, excepting in a few places where the people have made inviting homes; but the homes which have been made are the more precious because of the labor it has cost to make them; and they are prized more highly on that account than they otherwise would be. You may ask me, if I am beating up for volunteers for that country? No, not at all; and yet the southern people would welcome most heartily any of the brethren and sisters from Bear Lake or any other section of the country who may feel desirous of locating among us, to share with us the rocks and sands and the cactus and lizards. I say, we shall welcome them most heartily; and then while they would have to take their share, and maybe more, of this natural product of our southern climate, they would also share with those who labor for their kindred and friends and their own exaltation, in the Temple which our Father has graciously and in His indescribable providence located among us, and permitted us to build, with the help of the Saints generally throughout the Territory. We feel that there is a wise providence overruling this. It is in such a country that the wicked have no desire for what they see around. They have passed through it, and as a general thing are satisfied not to come back again, there being nothing to induce them to do so. And this being the case St. George is a peaceful home of the Saints, and as a rule a very good spirit prevails there. Sometimes a little too much of the spirit of wine because the grape is a staple article among us, and foolish persons some– times indulge too freely in the wine which is manufactured from that fruit. And it is one of the labors that we have upon us, to teach the people how to use the things which God gives us in a proper way and not abuse them, to control their appetites, and not allow wine to bring evil into the community. And we feel in this labor that we have succeeded to a goodly degree, there being much less of this kind of indulgence practiced among the people now than there has been since we settled and improved the country.

Now, touching the climate and soil and general facilities of the country through which I have traveled in Arizona, and along the borders of New Mexico, when compared with this region of country, it is a desert; that is, the facilities for agricultural purposes are far less than in Utah, and you know pretty well what they are in Utah. It is more of a grazing region. There is a lack of mountain streams, for the hills are generally low; they do not tower up in the clouds, and are not capped with snow as they are in this northern country. The main range of the Rocky Mountains falls off about the time you reach the New Mexican line, and the hills then become lower, and the streams are not so numerous. The facilities most attractive to my mind are along the continental divide, in the eastern portion of Arizona and the western portion of New Mexico. The northeastern portion of Arizona is watered by the Little Colorado and its tributaries, and the farming region is on the head waters of this stream, but it is not extensive; there are, however, facilities for small settlements, and extensive ranges for sheep and cattle. The garden of Arizona, so far as agricultural facilities are concerned, is on Salt River, after it emerges from the mountains and where our people are locating, at Mesa City and Jonesville. The country along Salt River is being occupied by people from various parts of the world, who are not of us. These two settlements of our people are doing very well, so I understand and there are facilities for many more in the same region. The climate is warm; the summer is long, scarcely any winter at all, and scarcely any frosts. But in that immediate vicinity there is not range for stock; that is, there is not very extensive growth of grass. The range is mostly in the hills, in the northeastern and southeastern parts of the Territory, on the headwaters of the Gila and its tributaries, the San Pedro and Black and White rivers; and also are many facilities for small agricultural settlements. The climate generally is milder than this, and consequently more pleasant. The eastern and northern portions are temperate, neither very hot nor very cold. In the southern portion, as I have said, the summer is long and warm; it is decidedly a hot and a dry country.

The country I visited last summer, further to the east and northeast, the upper valleys, or valleys on the Rio Grand del Norte, which are in Southern Colorado, and run into New Mexico, is a fine agricultural and grazing country. Fine mountain streams come out of the foothills to the broad valleys and open plains. This region affords facilities for flourishing settlements, as well as for flocks and herds; and the climate is as cool as that of Bear Lake and the other elevated valleys of Utah, and if not so severe winters as in Cache and Bear Lake valleys, at least something approaching them. There are facilities for many fine, flourishing settlements in that region of country; and we are establishing some colonies in that, consisting mostly of emigrants from the Southern States, with a few from Utah, to counsel and instruct them in the art of irrigating the soil and establishing settlements after the order of Zion. We find ourselves under the necessity of sending a few more to that region, and a few others to different localities, to assist in establishing and maintaining our new settlements.

But now, I return to this lovely valley of Bear Lake—lovely indeed it has seemed to me whenever I have visited it; but it must be remembered that I have never visited it only when it was covered with green. Still, I understand that the country is covered for many months in the year with the white mantle, and for this reason many of you complain of the long winters. But if it were not for the hard, cold winters and the melted snows, you would not have these beautiful meadows and green hills; you certainly have to thank the snows for this blessing. But I have no doubt you will say, that you could do with a little less snow and a little shorter winters and take a little less grain and meadow. Well, I think I would do so too. If I had the choosing of climates, I should not choose that in which I should have to cut hay three months in the summer, and be six or eight months feeding it out in the winter. I think with you I could get along with a little less snow, if I had to sacrifice a little of the rich meadow, and at the same time, correspondingly less mosquitoes and flies. And talking about flies, you cannot begin to show flies like we can in St. George; and they are not this common horse fly, they are the pesky house fly that is ever ready to contend with you for your meal.

Now, if I lived in Bear Lake valley, I believe I should look upon it as a very choice place to make my home; and if once I settled down, I should not think of moving away, or speaking of it as a very bad country to live in. I have made it a rule never to forsake old friends in order to take up with new ones; or to lay aside an old wife for the sake of getting a new one. The same rule would apply to my living in this northern country; once I settled down I should not think of moving away unless duty called me, and in that case of course I should drop everything and go without a whimper. I see on this stand an old friend in Brother John Nebeker, who moved down to our “Dixie” country, and after living there some time, returned to Bear Lake. I do not know how he feels about it, whether or not he is ready to make his home with us again in St. George. [Bro. Nebeker: Not yet, Bro. Snow. Laughter.] I would say to you who are doing well, let well enough alone, go on and stick to what you have got. I think I can see a chance to make some beautiful places where you have not more than half done it. It is now some fourteen years since I was here; some of you will remember it was when President Young came here, accompanied by General Chetlain and others. I took in the situation at that time; I mapped it out in my mind, and I have retained a pretty good understanding of the region of country. It may not become me to suggest to you who have had fifteen or twenty years’ experience here, but it strikes me that your faith has not been fully developed; I am inclined to think that you can do something besides raising calves, hay, wheat, oats and potatoes, and making butter and cheese—and here let me not forget to give you the credit of filling up the country with young men and women, which is a noticeable feature of the growth and wealth of the people. You have a big country here; so much, in fact, that you hardly know what to do with it. You try to enrich it all, and you skim it over, but you may depend that you have facilities here for a much heavier population than you have got; and upon the whole it is a healthy region. There may be some diseases peculiar to this cold region, and some feel, and that truly, that a warmer climate might tend to lengthen out their days, as well as add to their bodily comfort. I believe there is no objection on the part of anybody that such persons should try a warmer climate as may feel inclined to do it. There is no disposition to chain or fasten anybody to this country who may feel that they crave, and their health and comfort require a warmer climate. If there be such, I can assure them I have traveled through many other regions where there are facilities for making nice, comfortable, happy homes, and where the climate is milder; in fact, a person may suit himself with almost any climate he may choose between here and the Mexican line—in Southern Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. But as I remarked in the beginning, we ought to study contentment, and not indulge in a restless spirit, for change for its own sake, without having a good and sufficient reason, or without having some duty assigned to us where we may labor with better advantage to accomplish greater good in the building up of Zion, or in extending our borders and establishing and maintaining righteousness in the earth; and wherever our lot is cast, whether it be in Cache Valley, or Bear Lake Valley, whether in a warm or a cold climate, or whether in a hot climate, we should as much as possible try to content ourselves and adapt ourselves to the surrounding circumstances, always doing the most good we can.

Respecting the relative conveniences of St. George, for instance, and the surroundings of that country, as compared with this northern country, I have this to say, and I speak sincerely as I view it, and verily believe it, that in our efforts to subdue the country, and having to contend with difficulties and hardships, in order to plant our settlements there, making our roads and getting building material, and controlling the waters and the quicksands, and in having to meet and overcome obstacles which are peculiar to that country, we have worn out a great many good people, a great many good men have succumbed under the hardships we have had to endure; and I was counting up the number of families in the little city of St. George, whose husband and father had passed away under these circumstances, and I found that there were no less than between thirty and forty widows there, besides quite a number who have left and returned North, having buried their husbands down there. This is not the result of any contagion, or violent sickness, or any special disease, for we have had none; we have no prevailing disease, and it is not naturally an unhealthy country by any means. There is here and there a locality where they, having neglected common sanitary rules, have perhaps suffered from chills and fever, or ague. Diseases of this kind, which are incident to hot climates, have been experienced where they have allowed water to stand in pools. In St. George, however we have not been troubled with it. Washington and Santa Clara have, but it has arisen from defective sanitary measures. Naturally, I think our Southern country is quite as healthy as the general average of places in Utah. And when I speak of the number of men who have worn themselves out in helping to subdue the barrenness of the land, I might have said they have been mostly hale, hearty men, who went there in their prime, that wore themselves out with constant work in making homes for themselves and families. They have fallen a prey to exposure and labor both summer and winter, and to poor fare. But after saying this, I am happy to say also, that I think we have passed the crisis in this respect. We have learned wisdom by the things we have suffered: the comforts of life are being increased around us, and we are making up our minds now not to kill ourselves trying to live as fast as we have done in times past.

Now, I have said on different occasions, which it is as well for the youth of our large towns, our railroad towns and cities, where emigrants are dropped by the shipload, and where there is a redundancy of labor and surplus workmen, who are seeking for something to do and cannot find it, and are idling away their time and are waiting for something to turn up, and waiting for some easy chair, some clerkship, some place to make a living without working much—and I may say this class of people are abounding among us, and they receive an unfavorable education, and are contracting habits which are not good; I have said, and do say, that it is better for such to enter into swarms and form material for new colonies, to help to establish new places, and make new roads to the timber, get out farms, build mills, and subdue the elements, as their fathers did when they first settled this country. But in saying this to the surplus population of our older towns and railroad centers, we do not wish to apply it to these regions, where you have an abundance of room, needing, in fact, a much heavier population. I am persuaded that the people of this valley will be healthier, happier, and will enjoy more facilities and comforts when their population is treble to what it is today. Three times the population you now have can handle the facilities which you do much easier than the present population can handle them, and to better advantage and to better profit to all. And you will have better roads, and better farms, and better houses, and better mills, and better schools, your cities will be much better built up and improved, and your property more valuable, and everything will conduce to your comfort and growth, than under existing circumstances.

I was favorably struck with Garden City as I passed through it; I was favorably impressed with St. Charles as I passed through it. These are beautiful locations. I was particularly pleased with one thing I saw in Garden City, which was the long canal from Swan Creek. In this cold climate, where the seasons are short, it is important in irrigating, that the water should run slow and as long as possible before it is put on to the land, in order that it might get warmed, because it has a much more salutary effect on young crops than where it is cold and chilly direct from the canyon; and I am persuaded that a good deal of your small grain is injured in this way. Brother Thatcher took it upon himself to speak a little upon this practical question, and you will pardon me for doing the same. Though you farmers may think you know more than I do about it, you will all agree with me in this, that any suggestion I may make will not harm you, as you can do as you please about adopting it. But I know the difference between the effect of cold and warm water in agriculture in making things to grow; when you wish to rush the growth of your plants or crops in warm weather, the one is far preferable to the other. And if you wish to raise fruits and plants which are delicate and tender, of course you can get on to your warm, gravelly soil, and there put on your manure; and if you can use warm water, and have the benefit of the canyon breezes to prevent frost, you can raise a great deal of fruit. You now raise a great deal of small fruit, such as strawberries, raspberries, currants and gooseberries; and what is there to hinder you raising plums and many varieties of choice apples, such as we cannot grow in St. George? That country is really too hot for growing apples. I raise apples, but they are not as good as the same variety raised in Salt Lake City. I am persuaded that this Northern region could beat us on apples, but we could beat you on pears and peaches, apricots and some other fruits. I should advise you to keep trying, and if your trees kill down once in a while, keep replacing them, and make the land as warm as possible, and put on the water warm, but not when the plants can stand it without; and then, do not leave it on late in the fall, thus keeping the plant growing late in the season, for when this is done the first severe frost that comes generally takes them off. I will leave this subject to Brother John Nebeker, who is abundantly able to continue it, and who, by doing so, might greatly benefit the people of this Northern country.

I would like to offer a little advice to your board of trade. You have one I suppose? (A voice: Yes, sir) Of course, in giving you my reflections in this as in other matters you are at liberty to please yourself about accepting it. You are here in a comparatively solid position, you can have things about your own way, that is, if you choose to be united. You are not mixed up as they are in Salt Lake City and in Ogden, you can control the trade of this whole region of country, not only in marketing your own produce but in the buying of your merchandise, wagons, carriages, machinery, and everything you have to import which you could get from first hands and at first cost and thereby save to yourselves the profits now made by middlemen. And in marketing your produce you can do likewise, but then you would have to control the business among yourselves, and give it your hearty support, and be resolved that you will operate together. Now, you are enriching men every year by your trade, and you are doing it by being divided, every man being for himself undertaking to market his own produce and to buy his own plows, rakes, mowers and reapers, and hauling his own produce to market and then doing the largest part of his trading with stores in which he is not interested, and his own cooperative store doing but a small languishing business. The great bulk of the business of this Territory is handled by outsiders at a distance from your settlements both as to importations and as to marketing your produce. You haul to market your butter and eggs, and the merchants dictate to you the price which they will pay, and you cannot help yourselves. In this way they grow rich on the profits, while you remain poor comparatively speaking, that is, you do not enjoy the benefits of your own labor and produce to the extent you might, if you were properly united. Your board of trade and cooperative stores throughout the county ought to work together and enter upon a system to handle your own produce in bulk; and then in buying wagons and agricultural machinery, etc.; instead of every man buying a single wagon or farming implement, this organization would deal direct with the manufacturers by the carload, at manufacturers’ prices, having them shipped to Evanston, the nearest point, instead of Salt Lake. I think the same also in relation to your stock. I understand you were making some efforts in this direction—the handling of your stock and marketing it. Every step you take in this direction will tend to consolidate the interests of the people and increase your common comforts, and will at the same time have the tendency to keep at arms length Jews and Gentiles, who may be hunting chances to pick up what little money you have to spare, or to make what money they can out of you. The more you concentrate your business relations and the greater degree of confidence you beget one for another, thereby having and increasing a desire to build each other up, the less you will be troubled with sharpers who thrust themselves into your towns and neighborhoods wherever there is evidence of the existence of money. I feel that this is our duty as a people, to adopt this cooperative manner of doing our business, in order to protect ourselves against the spirit of greed, and our children to a great degree from the contaminating influences that Gentiles, as a general thing, carry with them wherever they have located among our people. We have been taught for years to sustain Zion’s Cooperative Mercantile Institution: and our local merchants should buy of them. But in all probability, if you were combined in this valley in your business relations, instead of every little store in every settlement in this valley being obliged to send to Salt Lake or Ogden for supplies of merchandise, it would be a matter of necessity to have a center here such as they have in Ogden and Logan, only on a smaller scale, in which you might do your wholesale business direct, and so arrange it that the parent co-op will ship to you most of the articles you need direct, which you need only go to the city to “sort up,” instead of going for all of your supplies. I think this would naturally come to be the result of a thorough union and combination of labor and interests in this valley; and I think too, that your isolated position eminently fits you for building up such home trade.

I am pleased to learn of the goodly degree of fellowship which prevails in your settlements, and that there are but little apostasy and opposing influences to contend with. You have been highly favored of the Lord in that which you have enjoyed, from the early settlement of this valley, the presence and counsels and labors of President Charles C. Rich, whom I regard as one of the wisest and most prudent counselors in Israel, a father indeed in the midst of his people; and the blessing of God has attended his ministrations among you, as is evidenced in the condition of the people generally.

My heart feels to bless the people, and to invoke the blessing of the Lord upon the land and upon the elements, that they may be made to conduce to your happiness and comfort; and that while you reap the fruits of the Father’s mercy and goodness, your hearts may be ever found to acknowledge Him as our benefactor and friend, and to appreciate His blessings. I trust that President Taylor and the brethren who are with you may be able to impart such words of counsel and consolation as your circumstances require; and that soon you will have in your midst again President Budge—that is, if we succeed in getting our mind upon the right man to take his place. He has been doing an excellent work in Europe, and we do not want to release him until we can replace him with a suitable man.

Your local Priesthood in your several wards and settlements, I doubt not, are earnestly seeking to learn their duty and to qualify themselves to magnify their callings; and if the people give them their faith and prayers and confidence and support, you will steadily advance in good works, in faith and wisdom; and I trust you will improve also in your educational interests. I suspect what is common in our new settlements, that you may seem behind in this respect, or at least you are not as far advanced in the condition of your schools as is desirable; and for the reason that there are more or less of the people who are so much absorbed in the cares of life, in making themselves homes, in order to be able to withstand the rigors of the climate, that they cannot bestow the attention and care to the training of their children which they ought to. I suppose they are willing to build schoolhouses, however, because they serve a triple purpose; first, for dancing; second, for school purposes; and third, for religious worship. Perhaps I ought to reverse it, but you can if you choose. People are willing to help to build schoolhouses for triple purposes. And when they have done this, they think that the Trustees should find teachers for them to teach their children who are not large enough to work; and these are often sent to school to be kept out of the way.

Now brethren and sisters, I do not mean, in making these remarks, to charge any of you harshly; and it may be I do not give you the credit which you are entitled to. I only speak what I find to be quite common in our new settlements throughout the country where I travel, and I feel the necessity of appealing to the good sense of the fathers and mothers; and to say to the Bishops and the Elders and Trustees particularly—and here let me say, that our Trustees should be chosen from our most energetic men—men who will fill the office, who will give it their most earnest consideration, who will seek to make everything comfortable around the schoolroom, men who will take an interest in the welfare of the children, and who will look to the wants and encouragement of the teachers, and who will also see that good and suitable books are provided, especially the Bible and Book of Mormon. Now, do not be afraid to see the good books which God has given unto us in the hands of your school children; do not be afraid of the teacher who will open school by prayer, and who will encourage faith in God, and morality, and everything that makes people good citizens. And I beseech the people generally to encourage the combined efforts of the County Superintendent and the Trustees and schoolteachers in establishing good schools in your midst; and that you will also sustain all the other good institutions, such as the Relief Society, the Mutual Improvement Associations, and your Sabbath Schools, and also those who act as Superintendents and Teachers in the Sabbath School. And do not, my brethren and sisters, consider it a little calling to act as a Sunday School Teacher; for when faithfully acting in this capacity you are sowing seeds in the minds of the youth which must sooner or later produce the natural fruit; and thus prepare men and women to carry on the work which their fathers have begun, and in which some of them have worn themselves out.

That God may bless the people of these valleys, and that their children may grow up to perpetuate their names with honor to themselves and glory to God, is my earnest prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered in the Tabernacle, at Logan, Sunday Morning, August 1st, 1880.

It is a common saying with us, that the Lord has set his hand to build up his kingdom; but, notwithstanding, it is a true and a very interesting one. Let us turn our minds which way we will, as men of God, as Elders in Israel, if we enjoy any portion of the Spirit of the Lord, we cannot help seeing the hand of the Lord in his works in these mountains and in the earth. It is a difficult matter, many times, for men of the world to understand the literal fulfillment of revelation; in fact, some of our leading men, men of wisdom, men who have enjoyed a good portion of the Spirit of the Lord—it has been difficult for them to understand the fulfillment of prophecy. In conversation with persons with regard to the affairs of our nation, I remember President Young telling them that there would be a division in our nation between the North and South. “But,” said they, “that cannot be; the stability of our government is of too durable a nature to even permit of any such thing.” This is the way that our leading men felt before the rebellion; this is the way, as a general thing, that leading men feel today. They cannot comprehend, it is not in their hearts to believe in the fulfillment of prophecy; they cannot understand how it is that any power or wisdom that God can exercise, can bring to pass the prophecies that remain to be fulfilled. We had examples of this, as I have said. But the crisis came; a four years’ war was waged, which laid in the grave a million and a half of the strength of our nation, and, as I have often said, and which I believe is true, cost them a debt which they will never live to pay. They could not comprehend this until it was over. It is so with our nation today; they cannot comprehend, notwithstanding the mighty evidence that is rolling before them like the waves of the sea, one event after another in their fulfillment; but they cannot realize how the Lord can make use of the elements known to mankind to bring about the destruction of a nation like ours. When Brother John Morgan was speaking, I was reminded of a certain spirit that arose in the hearts of men a few years ago, incited through the oppression of capital against labor. A few men rose up in Pittsburgh and other places in Pennsylvania, and in three days destroyed some twenty million dollars worth of railroad property. When this element once rises, what power has law, what power have the officers of the law or the government to control it? It cannot be controlled by human power. As Latter-day Saints, we can in a measure understand, when we come to reflect that God rules and overrules and can do anything he has a mind to with regard to the fulfillment of these events. I believe the Bible; I believe the Book of Mormon; I believe the Doctrine and Covenants, and I believe that the predictions they contain will in their fulfillment roll upon our heads, and upon the heads of this nation, and upon the heads of the people of Zion, and the judgment of God, that have been proclaimed in the hearing of the people for the last fifty years, through the mouth of Joseph Smith and of Brigham Young and the apostles and the elders of Israel, by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost—not one jot or tittle of what has been declared will fall to the ground unfulfilled, and the Latter-day Saints ought to be prepared for them. I know many of these things look dark when men look upon them with the natural vision, and as a consequence doubt and unbelief follow; but when you look upon them with your mind enlightened by the Spirit of God, the spirit of inspiration and revelation, we then are able to understand them, and how easy it is for God to bring to pass the predictions of his servants.

The Lord, in a revelation given to Orson Hyde and William McClellan in the early days of the Church, in sending them out to preach the Gospel, told them that when they preached they should speak as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and that if they did not have the Holy Spirit to direct them, they were told not to teach. “And,” said the Lord, “when you do speak as you are moved upon by the Holy Ghost, your words are the words of God, they are scripture, and they are the mind of the Lord to the people.” (Sec. 68.) Many have an idea that it is something very strange for men nowadays to have revelation, and that nobody should have revelation excepting Brother Taylor. Here, my brethren and sisters, you are upholding the quorum of the Twelve twice a year in General Conference, besides doing so at your quarterly conference, as prophets, seers and revelators, and you pray for them twice a day, and perhaps oftener, and should it be anything very strange if they should receive a revelation? How strange, indeed! There are in this Church some six thousand seventies, and four thousand high priests, and four thousand elders, who hold the Melchizedek priesthood, which is after the order of the Son of God, besides many thousands of priests holding the Aaronic priesthood, and I would like to ask, if it was wrong to desire revelation? What business have we with this priesthood, if we have not power to receive revelation? What is the priesthood given for? If we do not have revelation, it is because we do not live as we should live, because we do not magnify our priesthood as we ought to; if we did we would not be without revelation, none would be barren or unfruitful. We have one man who holds the keys of the kingdom of God upon the earth, and it is his business to give the word of the Lord for the guidance of the Church. But here we have apostles and men of God, holding the holy priesthood, acting in behalf of the Church in different parts of this Territory, and also in different parts of the earth; and we have men, say, acting as Church agents in Europe, part of whose business it is to charter ships for the transit across the ocean of tens of thousands of the people of God; is it the right of such men to have revelation from the Lord to guide them in their operations? Yes, it is; and no man should undertake to act in positions affecting the interests of Zion, unless he lives so as to be guided and directed by revelations of God. And every man who presides over a temple should live day by day in the revelations of Jesus Christ. And every seventy, and every high priest, and every man bearing the holy priesthood should live in that way to get revelation to guide and direct him in his labors. This idea that no man has any right to call upon God and receive revelation is wrong, and it has been wrong wherever it has existed in any age of the world. As was said of old, when a complaint was made concerning certain of the elders prophesying in the Camp of Israel, so say I: “I would to God that all were prophets;” because the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus.

With regard to prophesying, I wish to say, that we have a great many times the revelations of God given unto us through his spirit, when we do not comprehend what revelation is. How many of you have had the still small voice of the spirit whisper things to you, and when you have followed the dictations of that spirit it has become in you a principle of revelation. I would not be here today if I had not listened to the whisperings of that still small voice which has guided me in my journeyings; I never could have passed through the dangerous scenes and incidents of my life had I not followed the whisperings of the spirit of the Lord to me. And with regard to our preaching I will say, that as apostles of God and as men appointed to lead and guide Israel, we have a great many things presented to our minds that at the time appear to be beyond our comprehension. Brother Heber C. Kimball, for instance, was a natural prophet; he would at times give utterance to things when preaching under the influence of the holy Spirit that would frighten himself and has many times been known to say after he had finished preaching, “What have I said?” I am reminded of a circumstance which occurred in the early settlement of Utah, at a time when we were all in very destitute circumstances, without the shadow of any reasonable hope for seeing better times. At such a time Brother Kimball in preaching one day told the congregation that many months would not pass before we would be able to buy goods in Salt Lake City as cheaply as they could be bought in New York City. When Brother Kimball had said this he actually felt frightened for he could not see how it could come to pass, but it was spoken under the influence of the Holy Ghost, and therefore it was revelation. I was thinking today of a time many years ago, when President Young and several brethren of the Twelve, were in Logan; it was a time when a railroad up to this region was not even dreamed of, the time when Brothers Ezra T. Benson and Peter Maughan presided here; when at a meeting President Young called upon me to talk to the people assembled. The night before, however, we had been met by a long line of children and young people, from three up to twenty years of age; they had come out to meet the prophet, and presented a fine sight. While talking to the people I felt led to speak to the children and young people; and I told them that I wanted them to remember the visit which the president was making them because the day would come when they were grown up, when they would talk to one another and say, that on such a day President Young and party visited us, and we were told then that we should see the day when a temple should be built in this place, from the top of which we would be able to survey the country around which would be occupied by ten thousand of our people; and you will say that this was told to us when brother Benson and brother Maughan presided here. We never thought of building a temple here at that time, it had never entered into the heart of man to do so. Brother Benson and Maughan have been for some years now in the spirit world. Today you are engaged building a temple which will be completed and dedicated; and when this shall be done these young people will have the opportunity of going to the top of the building and will then see what I promised to you in those early days.

I mention this to show you how things are presented to our minds and given utterance to in our public teachings about which, at the time, we have little or no idea.

When in the western country, many years ago, before we came to the Rocky Mountains, I had a dream. I dreamed of being in these mountains, and of seeing a large fine looking temple erected in one of these valleys which was built of cut granite stone, I saw that temple dedicated, and I attended the dedicatory services, and I saw a good many men that are living today in the midst of this people. And I saw them called of God and sent forth into the United States and to Babylon, or what is called the Christian world, to bind up the law and seal up the testimony against the nations of the earth, because they had re– jected the testimony of Jesus; and of the establishment of the kingdom of God upon the earth. When the foundation of that temple was laid I thought of my dream and a great many times since. And whenever President Young held a council of the brethren of the Twelve and talked of building the temple of adobe or brick, which was done I would say to myself, “No, you will never do it;” because I had seen it in my dream built of some other material. I mention these things to show you that things are manifested to the Latter-day Saints sometimes which we do not know anything about, only as they are given by the Spirit of God.

I will say to Israel who are here today, we should take hold of this work in earnest and build this temple and redeem the dead as well as the living; and have faith in God believing that this is the work of God which will roll on to its fulfillment in the earth. God will not disappoint you in these the last days; he will not disappoint the wicked, he will not disappoint the devils in hell, nor the angels of God in the heaven will not be disappointed with regard to the fulfillment of the revelations; whatever may be the unbelief of this generation it will make no difference with regard to the fulfillment of the revelations of God and the predictions of his servants.

When in the Tabernacle at Salt Lake City on the 24th of July, in looking upon the assembled multitude and in contemplating the magnitude and grandeur of the procession, I said to myself “What can be the feelings of the world?” What can be the feelings of our enemies who are laboring to “break up Mormonism,” and who have for these many years past indulged in the fond expectation, and have even gone so far as to predict year after year that in a few years more “Mormonism” will be done away. The world do not know what to do with “Mormonism;” the heads of our own nation and the kings of the earth are alike undecided, with regard to this handful of people that are growing up in these mountains. They see our union and the work already accomplished by us; they see the elements of prosperity and power manifested in this people, and although they do not say it themselves it is a fact, the spirit of fear to a degree is taking hold of them, they are afraid that the “Mormons” tell the truth when the say the God of heaven has set his hand again for the last time to establish his rule and government in the earth, which is destined to become a great kingdom and fill the whole earth. The great men of the earth are not ignorant of the existence of this people; they are studying our history, and they are watching the result of our labors. Although we are located in the interior of this mountain country, and so recently considered without the pale of civilization, the Latter-day Saints are not hid from view, their light is not under a bushel, but they are already known and talked of throughout all Christendom; and this Zion will continue to grow and no power will hinder it. Let us prepare ourselves and keep the faith, obey the commandments of God and exercise faith in these things; and let our prayers ascend into the ears of the God of Sabaoth day and night, for the fulfillment of these revelations and prophecies.

The Lamanites will fulfill all that God has said about them, and the Jews will fulfill and realize all that has been said respecting them and all that has been promised and pre– dicted upon their heads by their father Jacob and by the prophets. It was foretold by the prophet Moses that they should be driven and despised by their enemies, and that they should be cursed of God, and that his curse should follow them until Christ came; and that they would reject him, and then they would be scattered as corn is sifted in a sieve, etc. But hear it all Israel, after your sorrow and pain and distress and after the days of your tribulation, your great Eloheim will stretch out his hand and gather you from every nation wherever you are driven, and he will bring you home to your own land, and you shall rebuild, your temple and city, and you shall be delivered by Shiloh when he comes. That will be fulfilled; and all that God has said with regard to the ten tribes of Israel, strange as it may appear, will come to pass. They will, as has been said concerning them, smite the rock and the mountains of ice will flow before them, and a great highway will be cast up, and their enemies will become a prey to them; and their records, and their choice treasures they will bring with them to Zion. These things are as true as God lives.

When I contemplate the condition of our nation, and see that wickedness and abominations are increasing, so much so that the whole heavens groan and weep over the abominations of this nation and the nations of the earth, I ask myself the question, can the American nation escape? The answer comes, No; its destruction, as well as the destruction of the world, is sure; just as sure as the Lord cut off and destroyed the two great and prosperous nations that once inhabited this continent of North and South America, because of their wickedness, so will he them destroy, and sooner or later they will reap the fruits of their own wicked acts, and be numbered among the past.

I cannot help it; I would to God they would repent, that their eyes might be opened to see their condition; but the devil has power over them; he rules the children of men, he holds Babylon in his own hand, and leads the people whithersover he will. There are changes awaiting us, they are even nigh at our very doors, and I know it by the revelations of Jesus Christ; I know it by the visions of heaven; I know it by the administrations of angels, and I know it by the inspiration of heaven, that is given to all men who seek the Lord; and the hand of God will not stay these things. We have no time to lose.

I pray God’s blessing upon the men working on the temple, and his blessing upon the Saints, that their hearts may be inclined to build them. If you knew and understood the feelings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and those of his brethren associated with him, and the feelings of the millions of the human family who are shut up in their prison houses we would not tire, we would labor with all our might until the building was finished and dedicated, and then we would labor for the redemption of our dead. Ask Bishop Hunter if he ever expects to meet with his friends and associate with those who have passed away, unless he redeems them in the flesh, and he will tell you, no. He could not mingle with them if he did not redeem them in the flesh. I know the same, too.

I pray God to bless you, and to pour out his spirit upon my brethren of the quorum of the Twelve, that we may walk in the light and be guided aright in all our ministra– tions. And I tell you again; God will not disappoint you; this kingdom will never go backward, neither will it ever be given into the hands of another people; but it will rest upon the shoulders of our sons and daughters when Christ comes in the clouds of heaven. We have no time to throw away, or spend in the foolish things of the flesh; what time is at our disposal should be used in building up the Zion of God, and in preparing ourselves and our families for the things that await us. Oh, I wish many times that the veil was lifted off the face of the Latter-day Saints; I wish we could see and know the things of God as they do who are laboring for the salvation of the human family who are in the spirit world; for if this were so, this whole people, with very few, if any, exceptions, would lose all interest in the riches of the world, and instead thereof their whole desires and labors would be directed to redeem their dead, to perform faithfully the work and mission given us on earth; so that when we ourselves should pass behind the veil and meet with Joseph and the ancient apostles, and others who are watching over us and who are deeply interested in our labors, we might feel satisfied in having done our duty.

This is how I feel, this is my faith. I read the Bible, the Book of Mormon and the Book of Covenants, and I look for everything contained in them to be fulfilled. We are making history day by day, and we are fulfilling the events which they predicted would transpire in the latter days. Isaiah, when he saw in vision this people in the mountains, exclaims:

“Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.

“But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.

“Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.”

In the own due time of the Lord all things spoken by the prophets will be literally fulfilled.

I pray God to help us to do our duty and to help us to feel interested in our labors in the flesh. And as a closing remark, seeing that this is election time, I will say, do not, my brethren, allow the spirit of contention and dissension to creep in among you. I am ashamed of some of our people who, instead of using their powers and influence in endeavoring to unite the people, go to work and raise strife, and the result is that in some of our cities an opposition ticket is gotten up, and our own people in these places divide one against the other. I say, shame on the elder or man holding the priesthood, the authority delegated to him by high heaven, who will do this thing; the heavens are displeased with such a man, and unless he repents he will certainly be found numbered with those who are arrayed against God and his kingdom on the earth. We have the whole world against us, besides many evil spirits to contend with, and we certainly should not divide one against another.

May God bless Israel, is my prayer, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered at Ogden Tabernacle, on Sunday, March 21st, 1880.

It affords me pleasure to have the opportunity of being with the Saints of this place today. I came here to attend your Primary meeting of the juveniles; and as I was here, I thought I would stay over Sunday and talk to the fathers and mothers a little. And I would state, as is generally understood by you all, that we do not have our discourses arranged for us, or marked out particularly. Our ideas are to present ourselves before the people, and to seek for the influence of the Spirit of the Lord, that such things may be communicated as may be advantageous and interesting to those who hear. And, therefore, when we meet together in an assembly like this we ought all of us, both speaker and hearer, to feel that we are in the hands of our Heavenly Father, and to seek for the aid of his Holy Spirit, that the speaker may speak correctly and understandingly, and in a manner that shall be calculated to promote the welfare of the people, and that the people themselves may also be prepared to receive such things as may be communicated.

We occupy a peculiar position on the earth at the present time, per– haps a little different from that of any other people that have existed on the earth—our thoughts, our ideas our principles, our organization, our doctrines, our ordinances, and everything connected with our religious matters are different from those of other people; and it is our opinion, and not only our opinion, but a certainty—in fact, it amounts to knowledge among a great many of the Latter-day Saints, that the influences and principles that we have received have been communicated to us by the Almighty. We were not the originators of the principles we believe in; neither was Joseph nor Hyrum Smith, nor President Brigham Young, nor the Twelve; neither was any individual nor any people associated with the priesthood or the organization of the Church at the present time. We believe that these things have been communicated to us by the Lord; that they are in strict harmony with principles that have existed heretofore, to a certain extent, with this difference however, that in the various dispensations that have existed upon the earth since its formation, each one has had its peculiar role to fulfil, with certain duties devolving upon those operating to attend to. We are living in the dispensation which is emphatically called the dispensation of the fulness of times, which we are informed from the scriptures has been “spoken of by all the holy prophets since the world was;” and this being the case, the dispensation in which we live embraces necessarily all that was contained in any and all of the other dispensations that have existed in all the ages preceding ours; and that consequently whatever organizations, manifestations, revelations or communications that have ever come from God to the human family in their times and dispensations, we may consistently expect to be embodied in this one. And, therefore, in some respects, as I stated before, the dispensation or time in which we live differs in many particulars from those in which God has communicated to man.

We have, for instance, what is called the patriarchal dispensation, which existed before and after the flood. And those patriarchs and men of God that lived in those remote ages had communications with the Almighty, and they also had the Gospel. And they not only received revelations pertaining to their own day and age, but also in regard to the future. And hence we are told that Adam, three years before his death, gathered together a great many of his people and the prominent authorities of the holy priesthood, and he blessed them, and being filled with the Holy Ghost, predicted whatsoever should befall his posterity unto the latest dispensation, including all the leading events that should transpire in the different ages of time, even until the winding up scene, associated with this our earth; embracing those things that have been and are to be brought forth in this the present dispensation. And, in fact, this dispensation, we are told, has been “spoken of by all the holy prophets since the world was.” And, therefore, it must of necessity have been associated with the teachings of Adam, of Seth, of Enoch, of Methuselah, and of Noah, Abraham, Moses and many other prominent characters that held communication with the Lord, and who had revealed unto them his purposes and designs in the days in which they lived. Many people listened to the principles of truth in their day. Enoch was a remarkable man and had a special mission to the people in his day, and he was full of the spirit of prophecy and revelation; he also had a Church organization as we have to a certain extent, and he preached to the people and forewarned them of certain events that should transpire upon the earth. And the wicked were angry with them, as they are sometimes with us; they did not like their teachings and operations, and they conspired against them, and great numbers of their enemies assembled for the purpose of destroying them. And Enoch was clothed upon by the power and spirit and revelation of God. And whilst under the inspiration of the Almighty he uttered his prophecies, and his enemies and the people generally trembled at the power of his words; and the earth shook, and the people fled from his presence afar off, and were not able to injure him; for God was with him. And Enoch, with the united labors of the elders of his day, gathered the people together who hearkened to his words and believed the message sent to them, in the same manner as you have been gathered together. They built up a city which was called Zion; and the people who inhabited it were under the inspira– tion of the Lord for a great number of years; receiving instruction, guidance and direction from him. And finally, as wickedness grew and increased, and as the testimony went forth among them, the good, the virtuous, the honorable, the pure and those who desired to fear God and work righteousness assembled themselves together, constituting the city of Zion; and the others became more corrupt. And Enoch and his brethren prophesied unto the people about the calamities that should overtake them, that the world was to be destroyed by a flood; and there were provisions made for the continuance of the human family, and it was made known to Methuselah that his seed should be the medium through which should be perpetuated the human family upon the earth. And Methuselah was so very desirous to have this thing fulfilled that Noah, his grandson, who was the son of Lamech, was ordained by Methuselah when he was ten years old.

The people, we learn, grew to be so corrupt that “the imaginations of the thoughts of their hearts were only evil, and that continually;” and we are told that it even repented the Lord that he had made man. But the servants of God went forth preaching the Gospel of life and salvation to this wicked people, and warned them of the destruction that was coming upon the earth. Before this great calamity took place Enoch and his city were translated.

The power of translation was a principle that existed in the Church in that dispensation. There is something very peculiar in these things. Some people, who are not in the Church, might ask me where I got my evidence from. To the Latter-day Saints I would say, we get it by revelation. We do not believe that, say some. That we cannot help. I am speaking now to those who do believe so, to those who are believers in God, and who are believers in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and who believe in the revelations which the Lord has given and in those he continues to communicate. It is to those people I am speaking today on these points.

The Bible does not give us a very extensive history of these matters; in fact, it is very, very brief. Referring to that great man, Enoch, it tells us that he was not for God took him; and that is all. This is a very short history for so important a subject.

After that the flood came, which was a terrible calamity, to overtake the inhabitants of the earth; and they were swept away according to the prophecy—cut off from the earth, deprived of life and existence, and shut up in prison.

After some thousands of years Jesus came, associated with another dispensation. And when he appeared on the earth and had got through with his ministry, and had suffered in the flesh and was quickened by the spirit, “he went and preached to the spirits in prison” who were, as stated, “sometime disobedient in the days of Noah.” And hence thousands of people that had suffered the wrath of God for so long a time had the opportunity of listening to the principles of the Gospel in another dispensation that Jesus came to proclaim. And when he had got through with his mission on the earth to those who lived, he went then to preach to those who had been dead, and I might properly say were damned for so many years. And what was the special mission he had to proclaim? He came “to preach the gospel to the poor, to open the eyes of the blind, to set at liberty those that were bound, and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God.” That was part of his mission; the whole of his mission, however, has not yet been fulfilled. But he came to liberate the prisoners, which he did in the spirit, when he got through with his mission on the earth.

On the back of that Noah steps forward in a prominent position, and he had his work to perform, which he did perform, and began to raise up another seed; and they lived also in what may be termed a patriarchal dispensation. And among them were many of his leading posterity. There was Melchizedek, for instance, who was called the King of Salem and the Prince of Peace, of whom Paul makes some curious remarks, among which was that Christ was a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. If he was, then of course Melchizedek was a priest after the order of Christ. And as Christ introduced the Gospel, so Melchizedek had the Gospel, and had and held and administered in the same priesthood that Jesus did. And we read too, according to some men’s ideas, a very singular thing concerning him, that “he was without father and mother, and without beginning of days or end of years, and abideth a priest continually.” He must be, indeed, a very singular man, to be without father and without mother and without descent, and yet that he should be a priest forever. Well, how is it? You generally understand it; but I will inform those who do not that the Apostle Paul referred to the priesthood that Melchizedek held, and that they had what was termed the Aaronic or Levitical priesthood in their day, that is, the day in which Saul lived; and that a man to be a priest had to be a literal descendant of Aaron and of the tribe of Levi; and he had to be able to prove his lineage, tracing his descent back to the time when this priesthood was given by Moses in the wilderness. But the Melchizedek priesthood was different from that, it had nothing to do particularly with either father or mother, it being without descent, and, therefore, people holding it were not altogether dependent upon their father or mother or descent for this authority; but that priesthood is an everlasting priesthood, administering in time and in eternity. And this is what Paul referred to by way of contradistinction to the Aaronic priesthood which then existed.

Associated with this priesthood there were certain powers and privileges. These Abraham possessed and enjoyed. Some people think that he was a kind of a shepherd with very few more ideas than a mushroom; that he lived in the dark ages and did not comprehend much; that he was not intelligent and had a species of what we term nowadays “old fogyism.” But if we examine into his character and the position he occupied, and if we understand something about the principles he promulgated, we shall find that he was another character entirely. In giving his history he tells us that “He sought for the blessings of the Father and the right whereunto he should be ordained to administer the same.” He further says—“Having been myself a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a great follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge, and to be a father of many nations, a prince of peace; and desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God I became a rightful heir; a high priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers; it was conferred upon me from the fathers; it came down from the fathers, from the beginning of time. Yea, even from the beginning, or before the foundations of the earth, to the present time, even the right of the firstborn, on the first man, who was Adam, or first father, through the fathers unto me.” Times and Seasons, vol. iii, p. 704. His father, however, was an idolater; but had probably possessed a record of his genealogy, for Abraham in his record continues—“I shall endeavor hereafter to delineate the chronology, running back from myself to the beginning of the creation, for the records have come into my hands, which I hold until the present time.” And having found out that he had a right to the priesthood, he, therefore, sought an ordination, and he was ordained by Melchizedek to the Melchizedek priesthood. And the Lord gave unto him certain privileges and powers that were very great; not only did he have an ordination in the way I refer to, but he sought more information from the Lord. And the Lord communicated with him and gave him a Urim and Thummim by which he was enabled to interpret, to read and comprehend the mind and will and the laws and purposes of God. And, furthermore, I would state that he went still further. He asked God for certain blessings and privileges and powers which belonged to him and which he considered were within his reach, and which were his privilege to obtain. And the Lord revealed himself to him and communicated unto him certain eternal principles—that no man can comprehend unless God does reveal them—and many other things—the motion of the planets, and the planetary system of the earth on which we live, and the sun and the moon and the stars and the various bodies that compose our solar system; and then of other suns, and other heavenly bodies and the laws governing them. Abraham wrote those things, and was well versed in those great principles; and some men affirm today that he was the founder of certain abstruse principles which they allege are discovered in what is called the Great Pyramid of Egypt—principles that not only pertain to the planetary systems but to events yet to transpire on the earth. I am not going to say anything about the truth or the untruth of these latter statements, as I have not investigated them sufficiently to comprehend them; but I merely give the opinion of a great many men respecting him and the intelligence he possessed. But suffice it to say, that the Lord himself instructed Abraham in things pertaining to this and other worlds, and that he in his day possessed more light and intelligence on the principles alluded to than all the combined wisdom of the world of today.

Now, this was the kind of a man that Abraham was. And his heart and feelings and affections were drawn out after God. And God blessed him and said unto him, “That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thee and thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven,” &c. And further the Lord told him, “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my word.” And hence he occupied a very important position. And, as I before said, being a patriarch he had the gospel and the priesthood belonging to it, namely, the Melchizedek priesthood.

I do not propose today to show how these things have all been literally fulfilled that are here spoken of; that I will leave for you to hunt up for yourselves. But the promises made to that man of God have been literally fulfilled, even to the present day to the coming forth of this work with which we are associated.

Now, that was a peculiar dispensation; it was under the dispensation that was introduced, say by Noah, or the one that he was, I was going to say, founder of; he was not the founder of it, but he was the one preserved by the Almighty from the wreck of the world, in which he had lived for upwards of 600 years to introduce it. And Abraham was one of the prominent actors in operating and carrying out the purposes of God in that dispensation, and there were a great many others too that were in possession of the same kind of intelligence; but he was one of the most prominent, therefore I have referred more particularly to him.

Then, there was another dispensation followed, called the Mosaic dispensation. Moses was made use of as an instrument to deliver the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage. It had been predicted that the descendants of Israel should go into bondage and be confined there for 400 years, and that they should be delivered by the power of God. And Moses was the man chosen of the Lord to perform that work; and he was indebted to the Lord for the instruction and the intelligence he received. We read in the Bible that on a certain occasion he saw a burning bush, and the bush, we learn, was not consumed; and on going towards it he heard the voice of the Lord speaking unto him, telling him to take his shoes from off his feet, for the place whereon he stood was holy ground. He did as he was commanded. The Lord then told him that he had a work for him to perform, which was that he should go down to Egypt where he had been reared from his youth, and where he had been taught according to the learning of the Egyptians to deliver this people Israel out of their bondage. You that are acquainted with your Bible know the history of it. The account is lengthy and I shall not attempt to enter into it. Suffice it to say, he succeeded in delivering the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage. He had the power, when his people reached the Red Sea, to smite the sea and cause the waters to divide, thereby making a way of escape from their pursuers, the Egyptians. He led them into the wilderness where they had to depend entirely upon the mercies of God for their sustenance. But having been in bondage for so long a time it was difficult for them to comprehend many things that were communicated to them; and, we are told, they began to long for the leeks and the onions. We, in our day, would think that their taste was not so very delicate; but that was their desire, many of them feeling that they would rather go back to Egypt than to suffer the trials that seemed to await them. And the Lord manifested himself to them in many marvelous ways, and Moses who was their leader and who had been especially appointed by the Lord, went up to the mount, and the Lord gave unto him certain commandments which he wrote with his own finger, upon tables of stone which were prepared for that purpose, Moses was away from the people for some time conversing with and receiving communications from the Almighty, and when he came down he found that the people whom he had led out of Egypt and to whom the manifestations of the Lord had been shown, had made a golden calf and were worshipping it—about the same as we do sometimes, and we profess to be a much more enlightened people than they were—and they said, “These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt.” On seeing this wickedness on the part of his people he became angry, and he threw the tables of stone to the ground and broke them. Afterwards other stones were prepared and the same laws written on them. And the Lord was desirous that they as a people should be faithful in the observance of his laws, that they should be governed by the principles of the Gospel which Moses taught them. This is a singular idea to some people; they think there was no Gospel until Jesus came. Well, we cannot help that, but Paul understood it better. He tells us that Moses preached the Gospel to them in the wilderness, but the word preached did not profit them, etc., wherefore the law was added because of transgression. Added to what? To the Gospel. Paul understood this if men in this age do not. And Moses did himself get into the presence of God, and he also led seventy elders who were so instructed and prepared that they could go into the presence of God to communicate with him; but the people were afraid of God, and when the Lord appeared to them on Mount Sinai, when they heard the thunders and saw the lightning and felt the mountain quake, they said to Moses, do not let the Lord speak to us any more lest we his people die; but do thou speak to us and be mouthpiece. They were not prepared to come into the presence of the Lord; they were not sufficiently pure, neither did they understand the laws and principles which God had communicated. But they murmured and murmured and that continually—the same as we do, we see something of the same spirit, we are found sometimes murmuring against God, or at least against some of the revelations he has given unto us, or against the priesthood, and in many instances without cause. And what had God done for them? He brought them out from the midst of Egypt, from a state of servitude and vassalage, and delivered them from the hands of their oppressors, and when the Egyptians pursued them, he opened the waters of the Red Sea and let them pass through in safety; but swallowed up their enemies who pursued them. Then when they were short of food he supplied them with angel’s food, manna. That was all the harm he had done to them—just about as much as many others who murmur. They murmured against God for bringing them away, and against Moses for being the instrument in doing it. Whereas God was trying to fulfill the promises he had made with Abraham, their father; and he was making use of Moses as his instrument to deliver the people from that bondage with which they had been oppressed for so long a time; but because of their transgressions, their wickedness and their rebelliousness, the law was added or given unto them, which was a law of carnal commandments and ordinances, of which a later writer in speaking of it says, “neither we nor our fathers were able to bear.”

Well, he placed them in another position, and gave unto them the Gospel, but as they could not endure the greater light he gave them a lesser light in the form of a law of carnal commandments and ordinances. Hence that dispensation is therefore called the Mosaic dispensation; and Moses was the instrument made use of by the Almighty to introduce it, and it was revealed to him upon the mountain. And that law of carnal commandments and ordinances seemed to suit them a little better than the Gospel; they loved these carnal commandments better than the light, the truth, the revelation and spirit that was associated with the Gospel. And they could not come into the presence of God. If you remember, certain men at one time went running to Moses to complain of certain other men whom they said were prophesying; and Moses said to them, would to God that all the Lord’s people were prophets; would to God that all could be inspired with that spirit of revelation that flows from him. Says the Prophet Joel, in speaking of the glory of the latter-day, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And upon the servants and the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit,” etc. Now, they had a dispensation then called the Mosaic dispensation; and associated with that was a sprinkling of the Gospel. Once in a while the light of the day star would dawn upon the people, foretelling some things in which they and their children were interested; and that was manifest through certain men among them who were peculiarly inspired by God. But they did not have then a regularly ordained organization of the Melchizedek Priesthood as we have it. If a man received these things in those days he received it from God. A young man came to me to ask me some questions on this subject, and I will here mention one thing I told him. These prophets had the Melchizedek Priesthood, but they did not have it in the regular organized form as we have it. Hence when Elijah was about to be translated—for that spirit and power was yet with him; it had not left the earth after Enoch’s day, for many were translated besides him and his city—there were certain prophets scattered up and down among Israel, and as Elijah and Elisha were traveling together, Elijah said to Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee, for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel. But Elisha said as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they went on together. And at Bethel the sons of the prophets at that place came forth unto Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. At this place Elijah wanted Elisha to tarry, saying that the Lord had sent him to a place called Jericho; but Elisha made the same answer. Elijah at this place made the same request of his companion, saying the Lord had sent him on to Jordan; but Elisha would not be separated from his master. And they went on to Jordan together; and when they came to that stream, Elijah took off his mantle, wrapped it together and smote the water which divided, so that they went over on dry ground. And when they had passed over, Elijah asked Elisha what he could do for him before he should be taken away. Elisha, knowing that he had something to do and that he was about to be left alone, and that he might be the better prepared to perform the work before him, requested Elijah to let a double portion of his spirit rest upon him. But could Elijah grant his request? No, he could not. What answer did Elijah make him? He said, thou hast asked a hard thing; nevertheless, if thou seest me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not it shall not be so. How did Elijah know that? Because he knew that the Melchizedek Priesthood holds the keys of the mysteries and the revelations of God; and that if he could see him as he ascended, it would be an evidence to him that the Lord had granted his request, although he himself had not power to grant it, Elisha would then know that his prayer was heard. Those other prophets, who knew that Elijah was to be translated, went and stood to view the event afar off; I do not suppose that they saw anything of Elijah as he was being taken up into heaven. But he was taken up, and Elisha saw the manner in which he went, and cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof.” And how did he see them? God had conferred upon him that priesthood by which he was enabled to see them. Elijah threw down his mantle as he ascended, which Elisha took up and started off alone, his “head” having been translated. But he had received the answer to his prayer; and approaching the banks of the Jordan, with the mantle that had been left him he smote the waters saying, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” And when he did so they parted as they had done at the command of Elijah, and Elisha passed over. And God was with him, manifesting his power through him, as he had done through his predecessor. I speak of this as a certain principle and I speak of it now for the information of you elders, that they did not have then an organized Melchizedek Priesthood, but that if it was conferred upon individuals, they did not have the power to confer it upon others, unless through special command of the Lord. And Elijah knew that if Elisha could see him when he was ascending, that his prayer would be answered. Why? Because the Melchizedek Priesthood holds the keys of the mysteries and the revelations of God.

This is a principle on that point; and it may be of use to you elders, that you may comprehend the position, that they occupied. That was associated in part with the Mosaic dispensation, but only in part. But when Jesus came he introduced the Melchizedek priesthood in an organized form, and restored the Gospel. But those men did not restore the Gospel. But let me show you that are acquainted with the history of the Book of Mormon, they had a great many more revelations in regard to these things upon this continent than they had upon the continent of Asia. And they had the Gospel and administered in the ordinances and talked about the coming of Christ, still they administered in the laws of Moses until the coming of Christ; and yet at the same time they did have the Gospel and an organization of that Gospel in part and ordinances among them different from what they had on the other continent before Christ came. You that are acquainted with the Book of Mormon will find these things in it; and if you have not found them, hunt them up, and you will find what I say in relation to this matter is true.

Very well. When Jesus came he had been looked forward to by all the prophets since the world was, and it had been prophesied about him that he would come to redeem the world and offer himself as a sacrifice, as an atonement for the sins of the world, of which there were many shadows and types. I will refer back again to Moses, and then I will refer to the sacrament. Moses, as I stated, had the Gospel when he went among the children of Israel. There were many signs and wonders poured out among them and many calamities overtook the Egyptians. And Moses went from time to time into the presence of Pharaoh telling him what should take place, and among the rest he said that if they did not let Israel go, the firstborn of the Egyptians should be slain. And he told the people that dwelt in the land Goshen—the children of Israel—that they were to kill a lamb and sprinkle the blood of the lamb upon their door posts, and that when the destroying angels passed through, their children should escape death. And it happened precisely as had been told them—while the firstborn of the Egyptians was destroyed, the children of the Hebrews were preserved. Now, that was called the Passover among the children of Israel, and it was continued among them year after year, and the day on which it was kept was called the day of the Passover.

When Jesus was upon the earth he sent his disciples to go and prepare a place that they might hold the passover together. “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” What was it they were doing? It was partaking of the passover of the sprinkling of that blood which was typical of the shedding of the blood of the Lamb of God upon Calvary. And the breaking of that bread was typical of his broken body. And they offered in former times the blood of bullocks and of rams, goats, etc., as sacrifices. And all this, as Paul says, had reference unto the shedding of the blood of Christ; and was typical of that of which he was the great ante-type when he came to fulfil all these things. Very well, what was that? Did they have the passover then? Yes. They looked forward from that passover to the time when Christ should come and shed his blood to atone for the sins of the world. And we look back to the time when he did it, and we partake of this sacrament—this bread and water, which we use instead of wine—in commemoration, in token of what he has done for us. And we are told by the apostles, that as often as we eat and drink of this, we show forth the Lord’s death until he come again. And let me say to you Latter-day Saints, while we are doing this, there is something very important connected with it, and we ought to be careful that we do not partake of these emblems to our condemnation. Do you ever quarrel with your brethren, or act in such a way as to get up feelings, and perhaps speak harsh words one about another, and in other ways do that which is wrong, and then meet together in solemn mockery before God and eat and drink condemnation to your souls? We want to be careful about these things; and hence we should understand that when we bring our gift to the altar, and there remember that we have ought against our brother, we should first go and be reconciled to him and then come and offer our gift. Not come in any kind of hypocrisy, but come with clean hands and pure hearts and feel to say “O God search me and try me and prove me, and if there is any way of wickedness in me, let it depart, and let me be thy true representative upon the earth and let me partake of the spirit that dwelleth in Christ, and live in the enjoyment of that upon the earth; that when he comes again I, with my brethren, may meet him with clean hands and pure hearts.” And I would say to the teachers who go around to visit their brethren, when you find ill feeling of any kind, it is your duty to root it out, and to see that there is no hardness and no contention or strife among the people who come to participate in this sacred ordinance.

Well, so far as the gospel is concerned, that dispensation was introduced to the world first by John the Baptist, who was the forerunner of Jesus. And when the Savior came John knew it, and on seeing him he exclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.” And when people were flocking to John to be baptized of him, Jesus came also as a candidate for baptism. But John told him that he (John) had need to be baptized of him. But the Savior told him to suffer it to be so, then “to fulfil all righteousness.” And he was baptized of him. Well, that dispensation continued for a long while after, and it began to decline and disappear; but there were a great many men in different parts who listened to the principles of the Gospel of the Son of God. But by and by it began to fade away, both upon the Asiatic continent and upon this continent. It was prophesied that it would, and that there should a certain power arise who should seek to make war with the Saints of God and that it should overcome them; and this power should seek to change times and seasons and things, and they should be given into his hands until a time and times and the dividing of a time. These things were fulfilled—the Church of God fell into darkness and the priesthood was taken from them, and they had instead something in the form of a bogus priesthood and a bogus creed instead of the true principles which Jesus introduced among men. That was on the continent of Asia. On this continent they seemed the same pretty much; but they had an unparalleled scene of prosperity and joy in the Gospel of the Son of God after he came; and it grew and spread and prevailed throughout the land. And as it was in their love for one another that no one said that ought he possessed was his own; but, they had all things common among them. We are told of these things more elaborately in some other places which might be introduced, but which I do not wish to enter into now. On this continent they remained in this condition for two hundred years; and they dealt justly one with another, and dwelt together in peace. I wish we could do that always. By and by they fell into darkness, and the result was, as recorded in the Book of Mormon, to which I again refer you to read and investigate.

Then what next? Were things to go on in that way forever? No; the dispensation of the fullness of times has got to be restored to introduce all that has been spoken of by all the holy prophets since the world was. The Apostle John, when banished to the Isle of Patmos says that he saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people. What do you mean? The same Gospel that Adam had, the same Gospel that Seth had, the same Gospel that Enoch had, the same Gospel that Noah had, the same Gospel that Abraham had, the same Gospel that Jesus had; the Gospel that brings life and immortality to light, and that places men in communion with their Heavenly Father—the everlasting Gospel. And who introduced it? God himself came to earth with his son Jesus and manifested himself to the prophet Joseph, and, pointing to his Son, said, “This is My Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, Hear Him!” Jesus from that hour was to be his instructor. What then? Then came Moroni, who had charge of the records of the people on this continent, who came and delivered them to Joseph Smith. What next? Then came John the Baptist and laid his hands upon his head and upon the head of Oliver Cowdery, and said, Upon you my fellow servants, I lay my hands and confer upon you the Aaronic priesthood, which shall never be removed again from the earth until the sons of Levi shall offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord. Why did John come? Because he held the keys of that priesthood and was the last that held them in that dispensation. And then Peter, James and John came and laid their hands upon his head and ordained him to the office of the Melchizedek priesthood. Why? Because they had held that priesthood themselves and they were the ones that held the keys of that priesthood; and when they left, the keys of that priesthood were taken with them and they came having it in their charge to confer it upon Joseph Smith. What else? Then Elijah appeared in the Temple at Kirtland and conferred upon them the blessings that were spoken of pertaining to him. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the com– ing of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” The prophet conferred upon him those keys; and hence we try to do these things. And people wonder why we are building our temples. It is that the hearts of the fathers may be turned to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers. And if Jesus saw it necessary after being put to death in the flesh to go and preach to the spirits in prison that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, it was also necessary that provisions should be made for men who had died without the Gospel, without a knowledge of the principles of eternal truth, that we might be baptized for them, as the Scriptures say, according to the flesh, that they may live according to God in the spirit. Why is it you are so willing to build temples? You would squeeze your dollar in many other things, but when it comes to that you say, “I want to do it.” And it is so throughout Israel. I suppose we have as many as five hundred men engaged in this work. And the brethren feel willing to do it. Why? Because you want to secure certain blessings for yourselves; and, then, you want to look after your friends, that the hearts of the fathers may be turned to the children, etc. We are operating upon the earth because we have the power; and they are operating in the heavens because they have the power; and as the Scripture says, they without us cannot be made perfect, neither we without them. And neither they nor we could operate in these things unless those keys had been restored and things put in the position they are today. Then we will build our temples, won’t we? I think we will, and then administer in them. Were we to talk to the world about a great many of the things I have referred to today, we would have to bring up evidence to prove the truth of them. I am talking to Latter-day Saints, however, today; and you ought to know of them, if you do not; and if you are not acquainted with them “search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life,” and you will find all these things I have mentioned.

Now, then, all of these dispensations had to be restored. Then comes Moses. Why? because he held the keys of the gathering dispensation: And he conferred upon Joseph Smith the power to gather Israel from the four quarters of the earth, and also the ten tribes. But the latter have not come yet; but people are hunting them up, and they will be found by and by; when the time comes, and the mountains will flow down at their presence, and a highway will be cast up, and they will come to a knowledge of the people. But they could not come without the restoration of the keys I have referred to.

Now, here are all these different dispensations, and there is one I have not mentioned. We are told to build up Zion, shall we do it? I tell you in the name of Israel’s God we will do it with the help of the Almighty; we cannot do it without, but with his help we will do it. We will build up the Zion of our God, and help to roll on the work which God has commenced. And those children you saw here the other day, [referring to a general conference meeting of the children of Weber Stake] many of them will live to participate in these things. And we will endeavor to train them in the fear of God that their tender hearts may be rooted in the principles of truth; and they be led to acknowledge the God of their fathers. Having said so much I will pass on to something else.

Here we are. We are organized under the direction of the Almighty; and as I before said, not according to our ideas and notions, but according to the word and will and revelations and law of God. And none of us can do anything only as God permits us. What are we going to do? We are going to build up Zion. What then? When Zion is built up—and it is not built up yet; but it will be built up; and when that is done Jerusalem that is spoken of shall be built—and we are a long way from that—but when that is built up and the glory of God shall rest upon it, upon every dwelling of Mount Zion as it did in former times—then we will build up our Zion after the pattern that God will show us, and we will be governed by his law and submit to his authority and be governed by the holy priesthood and by the word and will of God. And then when the time comes that these calamities we read of shall overtake the earth, those that are prepared will have the power of translation, as they had in former times, and the city will be translated. And Zion that is on the earth will rise, and the Zion above will descend, as we are told, and we will meet and fall on each other’s necks and embrace and kiss each other. And thus the purposes of God to a certain extent will then be fulfilled. But there are a great many things to be brought about before that time. And we are here in an organized capacity trying to prepare ourselves for all the providences of the Almighty. We are trying to instill into the hearts of the people the principles of honesty, truth and integrity, and remove covetousness and iniquity of every kind. Never mind the world nor what they can say or do, for they can only do what the Lord permits them. We will then continue to do as we have done only a great deal more abundantly. We will send out the Gospel to them, and continue to advocate the principles of truth, and to organize ourselves according to the order of God, and seek to be one—for if we are not one we are not the Lord’s and never can be, worlds without end. Hear it, you Latter-day Saints! And do not be figuring for yourselves and for your own aggrandizement; but feel to say in your hearts, “What can I do to help to build up Zion. I am here, and everything that I have got is upon the altar, and I am prepared to do the will of God no matter what it may be, or where it sends me, to the ends of the earth or not.” But we are not doing that yet; we are too much after our own affairs and drinking into the spirit of the world, and yielding and catering to that feeling and influence. Now, while we wish the world well and would desire to promote their happiness, we cannot be governed by their practices nor be under their influences. God is the Lord our God; he is to be our king and lawgiver, and he must rule over us. We must not permit ourselves to conform to the ideas, notions, dogmas, theories nor the wickedness that exists in the world, and of which there is too much already among us. But to the contrary, battle against these evils, continuing the warfare until we purge them from us, and call upon the Lord to assist us, and to lead us in the paths of life, and to enable us to comprehend to some degree the position we occupy to him, and the magnitude of that priesthood that has been conferred upon us.

What will you do with the world? I was talking with a gentleman lately who thought because of certain inimical legislation that had been manifested towards us, that we should feel at enmity against our government. I told him that he was laboring under a very great mistake; that there was not a more loyal, patriotic feeling people in the United States than the Latter-day Saints are. But have they not done so and so to you? Yes, but the Lord has guided us, and we can put our trust in him and wait his time. We are not in a hurry; he will bring things about in his own way, and will abundantly fulfil the words of the Psalmist—“Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee, the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.” Some men seem to think that we are going to be swallowed up; but we are not very much alarmed about it. We have been “swallowed up” a great many times, but they have generally managed to vomit us up again. [Laughter.] Among the legislators of our nation and throughout the land, there are many high-minded, honorable men, who desire to see all men protected in their rights, but because there are a great many who are not and who feel otherwise, and who do not understand us, should we entertain feelings of enmity? What was the message that Jesus came to perform? “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature; he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved,” etc. What have we been told to do? To go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature; he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved he that believeth not shall be damned. We go and offer the message of life and salvation. How many of these greyheaded men whom I see around me today that have traveled thousands of miles in order to promote the welfare of the human family. I have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles myself. And did he ever forsake me? Never; he was always true to his word. And when you elders have gone forth he has been true to you. And when people have believed, repented and obeyed the message you bore to them, and you laid your hands upon them to confirm them members in this Church, and said, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost;” they received it. Is not that proof that God has been with you? Yes, it is. Will he not be with us to the end? Yes. What is our message to the people? Peace on earth and good will to man, and seek to promote the welfare and happiness of the human family, in every possible way that we can. And we ought to feel to endure as Jesus did the contumely of sinners until the Lord shall say: “Stop, it is enough.” They will have hard enough times of it. Do we need to seek or injure anybody? No. Is that our mission? No; but to seek to promote the welfare of all men.

Well, we are here in a political capacity as well. We are an integral part of the United States—a very small part. What shall we do? Why live so that no man can bring any reproach against us; treat all men right, deal honestly with one another, and with all men, and be true to God and your religion. If we do this then we have a claim upon God; then we shall be blessed of the Lord and our offspring with us; then the Almighty will smile upon us, and then we shall advance from wisdom to wisdom, from intelligence to intelligence and knowledge to knowledge, until we shall see as we are seen and know as we are known. And we will go on performing the work God has placed upon us; and we will continue to teach and instruct and educate and elevate our children; and also teach all men who will be taught by us, the principles of life; and by and by God will work with us in a more powerful manner than he has done yet; and thousands upon thousands will flock to the standard of Zion, and many will come and say, “we do not know much about your religion, but you are an honorable people and execute justice and we want to be governed by those principles and be under their influence; and if we cannot endorse your religious views, we seek your protection and want to be one with you.” You will find hundreds and thousands of people will yet come in this way, and many are pretty near it now. But we are not prepared; we sometimes pull and haul, and talk and get hard feelings and seek to tear in pieces and destroy, and carry out our own ideas and will. I have no will of my own; I do not want a will of my own; I want to know the will of God, and then do it. Don’t you? We ought to do it; and let our own feelings and judgment be emerged in the will of God, and seek to carry out his purposes. As seventies go forth and be ready to go to the ends of the earth at the drop of the hat, when required to fulfil any mission that may devolve upon you, or that you may be called to, and consider this your mission of life, you seventies, do you hear it? I tell you that this is the will of God concerning you, and not to consider how you can fix yourselves and make yourselves comfortable; but attend to the other first, and be on hand to do that, and then it will be all right.

May God help us to do right and keep his commandments, that we may have his spirit to be with us and live in the enjoyment of the same, and be saved in his kingdom, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered at Kaysville, on Sunday Afternoon, March 1st, 1880.

We have been voting for our officers and for those holding places in the Church and kingdom of God in this stake of Zion. And it is well for us sometimes to understand what we do in relation to these matters. We hold up our right hand when voting in token before God that we will sustain those for whom we vote; and if we cannot feel to sustain them we ought not to hold up our hands, because to do this, would be to act the part of hypocrites. And the question naturally arises, how far shall we sustain them? Or in other words, how far are we at liberty to depart from this covenant which we make before each other and before our God? For when we lift up our hands in this way, it is in token to God that we are sincere in what we do, and that we will sustain the parties we vote for. This is the way I look at these things. How far then should we sustain them, and how far should we not? This is a matter of serious importance to us; if we agree to do a thing and do not do it, we become covenant breakers and violators of our obligations, which are, perhaps, as solemn and binding as anything we can enter into.

We frequently pass by many of those important things which we have engaged to abide by, and sometimes begin to whisper by way of complaining or finding fault one with another after we have entered into solemn obligations that we will not do it. What is meant by sustaining a person? Do we understand it? It is a very simple thing to me; I do not know how it is with you. For instance, if a man be a teacher, and I vote that I will sustain him in his position, when he visits me in an official capacity I will welcome him and treat him with consideration, kindness and respect, and if I need counsel I will ask it at his hand, and I will do everything I can to sustain him. That would be proper and a principle of righteousness, and I would not say anything derogatory to his character. If that is not correct I have it yet to learn. And then if anybody in my presence were to whisper something about him disparaging to his reputation, I would say, Look here! are you a Saint? Yes. Did you not hold up your hand to sustain him? Yes. Then why do you not do it? Now, I would call an action of that kind sustaining him. If any man make an attack upon his reputation—for all men’s reputations are of importance to them—I would defend him in some such way. When we vote for men in the solemn way in which we do, shall we abide by our covenants? Or shall we violate them? If we violate them we become covenant breakers. We break our faith before God and our brethren, in regard to the acts of men whom we have covenanted to sustain. But supposing he should do something wrong, supposing he should be found lying or cheating, or defrauding somebody; or stealing or anything else, or even become impure in his habits, would you still sustain him? It would be my duty then to talk with him as I would with anybody else, and tell him that I had understood that things were thus and so, and that under these circumstances I could not sustain him; and if I found that I had been misinformed I would withdraw the charge; but if not it would then be my duty to see that justice was administered to him, that he was brought before the proper tribunal to answer for the things he had done; and in the absence of that I would have no business to talk about him.

It is well for us to get at some of these little things; they are matters, however, of a good deal of importance. What I have said with regard to a teacher, would apply to the priest and the deacon.

Then, again, we have bishops. We vote for them; and they hold a portion of the priesthood which renders their duties many times very unpleasant; that is naturally they would be unpleasant; but no duty ought to be unpleasant to the servants of God. Now, supposing the bishop should do something that is wrong, what would be our duty? It would be to go to him and say, “Bishop, I have reason to believe that things are thus and so, evidence having been presented to me, and it is of such a character that I am inclined to think that you have been taking a wrong course, and therefore I have come to talk to you, yourself, about the matter.” Who ought to do this? Anybody. What, would not his position deprive us of that right of approaching him? No. Supposing you had been injured by him, or somebody else had been injured by him, or something had occurred that caused you to entertain feelings against him it would be much better to probe the thing to the bottom and have it straightened out than to foster it and allow it to corrode and interfere with your peace and happiness, because you have covenanted to sustain him; on the other hand, we cannot sustain anything that is unrighteous, impure or unholy. We go to him and say, Bishop so and so, I have come to see you on unpleasant business—you may be polite about it or you may not—but people can always afford to be polite; I have learned thus and so; I hope I am misinformed, can you explain that to me? If the matter could be explained to your satisfaction you would be glad of it; but whether it could be or not you would have the satisfaction of knowing that you had performed your duty. If not, however, and the matter be of such a character as to call for an investigation, it would be proper that it be inquired into by the proper authorities. Then you are free, and you have not violated any covenant. If any covenants have been violated, it is he that is guilty, and it is for him to account for his acts to the Lord and his brethren; and if no wrong shall be found in him, there is no good man but what would be pleased to see such a man acquitted. But while we seek equity and justice on the one hand, on the other we must not interfere with the rights of anybody; no matter who it is that indulges in iniquity, their iniquity will find them out sooner or later. And it is better for us instead of talking to this one and the other, if wrong exists, to go direct to the persons themselves and have it adjusted, then bring it up according to the rules laid down governing such matters. Then the doer of the wrong is accountable for the wrong, not somebody else. Then when he is dealt with by the Church, whether he be a teacher, priest, deacon, bishop or anybody else, you are free from all responsibility afterwards of sustaining that man. And until the proper course has been taken with such a person, we should be very careful what course we pursue in relation to this kind of thing, so that we do not violate our covenants.

There is an uneasy feeling existing among some people: they can see plenty of wrong all around if they have a mind to; and some will apostatize because somebody else has done wrong. What a foolish course that is to pursue! If we follow God’s plan we can bring the sin right home to the man who has done the wrong; and if he did not repent of it, he would have to be cut off. But the devil would say, “I would not stop in a church where there were such folks.” He would first influence a number of the people to do wrong, and then he would try to get the others to leave the Church because some of the members were doing wrong. That however would be foolish, and contrary to the order of God.

The Lord has placed in his Church Apostles and Prophets, High Priests, Seventies, Elders, etc., what for? For the perfecting of the Saints. Are we all perfect to begin with? No. These various officers are for perfecting of the Saints. What else? For the work of the ministry; that men might be qualified and informed and be full of intelligence, wisdom and light, and learn to proclaim the principles of eternal truth and to bring out from the treasury of God things new and old, things calculated to promote the welfare of the people. Now, then, these offices having been placed in the Church, every man ought to be respected in his office. I know some of you think we can respect some, and some we cannot respect; we can respect some of the prominent authorities—I do not know who they are, do you? You remember when Jesus was upon the earth, some of his followers were contending, as to who was the greatest: and he took a little child and placed it in their midst, he said, “he that can be most like this little child, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” And I will tell you more than that, that the teacher, or deacon that fulfills his duties is a great deal more honorable than a president or any of the twelve that does not. And there are duties and responsibilities devolving on all of us pertaining to these matters; and we ought to be very careful in all our acts that we do not transgress the laws of God.

In a few remarks yesterday I referred to the various officers of the Church, and to some of the leading duties that devolve upon them to attend to. There are duties devolving upon all of us which we cannot ignore. Duties as Apostles, duties as presidents of stakes, duties as bishops, duties as high councilors, duties pertaining to all the various officers in the Church. Well, can any man that has received the holy priesthood, and who comprehends the position he occupies before God—which very few of us can do—can he afford to neglect any of those duties? I think not. We call this organization that we are associated with, the church and kingdom of God. Is it the Church of God? Yes. Then it is God’s church is it not? Yes. Who is at the head of it? The Lord ought to be, and we ought to be subject to him. Who? Why every one of us; myself, say, and all the Twelve, the presidents of stakes, the bishops, the high priests, the elders, the seventies, the high councilors, and all men in the Church ought to feel that we are the church of God, in the Church of God and subject to the law of God. We talk about a priesthood; who are the Priesthood, and what is it? As I understand it, it is the rule and the government of God, whether it exists in the heavens or on the earth; whether we refer to the things of time or to the things of eternity; whether we refer to spiritual things or to temporal things, they are, or ought to be, under the guidance and dominion of God. How and from whom did we receive our authority? Let us go back for a while, and who could we find anywhere upon the earth that had authority even to proclaim the Gospel, or to administer in the ordinances of the Gospel? Could we find anybody? No, we could not. I could not in my younger days—and I sought diligently for it, but I could not find anybody who possessed it. What, not among the religious professors of the world? Nowhere among the learned, the intelligent, the scientific? No, nowhere. Very well, how did we come at a know– ledge of this? God revealed it to his servant Joseph Smith. And when he did so, he did not say much about it himself. The first thing he did when he appeared to Joseph was to introduce his Son; pointing unto him, he said: “This is My Beloved Son, Hear Him!” And what did the Son say? We have his teachings in the Gospel, in his communications with the Nephites and others. Then there were others who held the priesthood with him; who held it on the earth and who now hold it in eternity, and who held the keys of this priesthood; and those several parties came and conferred the keys which they held upon him, but not until the Lord had come and given them permission to do so. Hence we got our Aaronic priesthood through that means, and we got our Melchizedek priesthood through that means, and any office or ordinance that any of you have received, you received it through that medium, or you have received none at all. Very well, what does it lead us to? To those whom we call sons of God. Just as it was said on former occasions, “Now are we sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” Very well, we are the sons of God then, the chosen of God, the elect of God, called by him, set apart by him, through the medium of this holy priesthood of which I have spoken. And if we have received any office, or calling, or authority, or any power to administer in any of the ordinances, we have received that from the hand of God, and we can only perform these ordinances according to the priesthood we are permitted to possess. For instance, an elder cannot perform the labor of an apostle; a bishop cannot perform the labor of an apostle; and a bishop, as a bishop, outside of other things, has not authority to lay on hands to impart the gift of the Holy Ghost; whatever he may do in that capacity it is through the Melchizedek priesthood which he holds, and he could not do it without. Can a priest lay hands upon people and say “Receive ye the Holy Ghost?” No, it does not belong to him to do it. Well, then, men are necessarily confined to operate within the limits and authority of the various offices of the priesthood to which they are called and ordained—an elder to perform the office of an elder, a priest to perform the office of a priest. In early days it was quite common for a priest to go out and preach the Gospel and baptize people for the remission of sins, and then call upon an elder to lay hands upon them to confirm them members of the Church, for the priest did not have the power to do it. And while the priest could baptize, a teacher or a deacon could not, not having the authority to do it; if they were to do it, it would not amount to anything. There is strict order about these things associated with the Church and kingdom of God. Well, then, on the other hand, if we perform our duties, each one of us in our proper position, God gives us power to accomplish the object we have in view, no matter what it is, or what priesthood we hold; no matter whether it is the president of the Church, or the president of the stake, a bishop, a high councilor, a high priest, a seventy, or an elder, priest, teacher or deacon; no matter what, if they perform duties with an eye single to the glory of God, he will sustain them in their operations and administrations.

Now, I will refer to a principle which is perhaps one of the greatest manifestations of the power and goodness of God that exists in this Church, and at the same time one that is as little noticed; but one wherein God does manifest himself in a most remarkable manner in the view of all reflecting, intelligent men. For instance, the elders go forth to preach the Gospel; they call upon people to repent and to be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of their sins. Did you ever think what the name meant? If a man go in the name of another person, he goes by the authority of that person. If an agent, say of Z. C. M. I., or any other firm, go in the name of this firm, it is expected that he has credentials from the firm he represents. Or, if a governor comes here, he is first appointed by the proper authorities—nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate of the United States, and he comes with proper credentials to act as governor of this Territory; he comes in the name or by the authority of the United States; and the government of the United States feels itself bound to back up his acts, the same as a mercantile firm would feel obligated to acknowledge the acts of its agents.

Now, then, the Lord has commenced his Church here upon the earth. He has conferred upon men his holy Melchizedek priesthood; he has told them to go forth and preach and call upon the people to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus, for the remission of sins, and they should receive the Holy Ghost. You all know about these things, it is not necessary to talk much about them.

Very well; now, then, this elder goes forth in the name of God, does he not? That is the way I understand it—by the authority of the Lord, and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, he preaches this doctrine to the people. “Now,” says he, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the Holy Ghost.” A priest could not say, You shall receive the Holy Ghost; a teacher or a deacon could not say it, neither could a bishop say it by virtue of his bishopric, but he could by virtue of the high priesthood he holds. Now, then, let any of these men go to work and lay hands on anybody for the gift of the Holy Ghost; and they might as well do anything else, it would not amount to anything. But an elder, or anyone holding the proper authority, comes along, and takes the candidate for baptism and, after baptizing him, he lays his hands upon his head and says: “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by virtue of the holy priesthood conferred upon me, I lay my hands upon your head and confirm you a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and I say unto you, receive ye the Holy Ghost.” Did you ever think of that? It is quite a significant thing, is it not? And you do it in the name of Jesus Christ and by authority which God has given you. You lay your hands upon the individual who has been baptized for the remission of sins, and say, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost,” and he receives it. If that is not so, tell me, will you, you that have had hands laid upon your heads by the elders of this Church. You know what I say is true. Now, I propose to show a certain principle, namely, that God is true to the covenants which he makes with us, and that there is no violation of the law or promises on his part. God will bless a teacher of this Church when he goes forth in the performance of his duties among the people; he will bless a bishop in his administration, and others in the discharge of their several duties, no matter what their priesthood may be. But here is an important item: there are some of these things which I have referred to that some cannot do—they cannot lay hands upon them to impart unto them the Holy Ghost. If an elder can, he does it by and through the authority of Jesus Christ, through the medium of the holy priesthood conferred upon him by those holding authority. And when he performs this act, the recipients having complied with the requirements—faith, repentance and baptism—when he lays his hands upon their heads, God sanctions his action by imparting the Holy Ghost. Thus proving that God is true to his agreement; and through that means we become the sons of God and belong to the household of faith, and to us properly belong the covenants and blessings associated therewith. These are the initiatory steps. And we have a witness within ourselves, each one of us, in regard to those great principles that God has revealed to the human family. Now, then, are we the sons of God? Is he our Father? Yes. Have we received his Spirit, whereby we are enabled to cry, “Abba, Father,” or “my Father?” Yes. What have we done since we received it? We do not like to look at some of our acts when we think of these things; we would rather we could blot them out from our memories, but we cannot; they are there. And when we reflect upon our follies, our imperfections and our iniquities of various kinds, how do we feel? We do not feel pleasant about it. God has conferred upon us the greatest treasure and the greatest boon he could bestow upon the human family, but we have received the treasure in earthen vessels. We often do things we ought not to do, and leave undone things we ought to do; and how often have we grieved the Spirit of God within us! He has done more for us than this. He has placed us here in his Church and kingdom; he has gathered us together; he has organized us according to the laws and order of the holy priesthood. He has united us to our wives, and our wives to their husbands, with an everlasting covenant that cannot be broken. But we break it sometimes, don’t we? He has shown us how and in what way our wives may be united with us in the eternities to come, and how we may have our children sealed to us and be one with us in time and in eternity, and has poured blessings upon many of our heads that will exist while time shall last and eternity endure. It was said of Jesus, that to his government and dominion there should be no end. And the same has been said of a great many more; and yet we will allow little things to separate us from our God, and from our brethren, and from our wives and then our wives from their husbands, and break up, and rant and rear and destroy, until we hardly know whether it is us or somebody else. Sometimes we hardly know whether we are in the Church and kingdom of God or not, until in many instances the light within us becomes darkness, and then, oh, how great is that darkness! It is necessary that we should study well and watch well the path of our feet. We are here laying the foundation for eternity, and for no other purpose. We are here that we may receive bodies, that in our bodies and spirits, and through them and through the powers of the priesthood and the everlasting Gospel, we may gain a position by and by, among the Gods in the eternal worlds, and with them possess a glory and dominion and authority, power and exaltation that has hardly entered into our hearts to conceive of. And yet, we will fritter away our privileges, treat lightly the things of God, disregard the counsels of God and the priesthood of God, and wander in by and forbidden paths, and lose sight of these great and glorious principles that God has revealed for the salvation of the human family.

Referring to the principle of union, we ought to be one. We have things come up quite frequently, say, in a legislative capacity and otherwise, and our legislators and others enter into certain measures, but the people will not be sufficiently united to carry them out. And there seems to be a spirit, more or less among the people like this: some will brusquely and thoughtlessly say, “I will be damned if I don’t have my own way.” All right. I will tell you another thing: you will be damned if you do, unless your way is the way that God will sanction.

Let me speak of some other things associated with this. If we had perfect union, what is there we could not accomplish? And yet God has done a great deal for us. We have for instance, one man in Congress to represent our interests; only one man, and he has not a vote at that. And in a great many instances the combined powers of the United States have been plotting against us, and it is today seeking our overthrow. And why? Because we dare believe in God, and because we dare keep his commandments, miserably as we do it, and the little we do of it. We do not do much, but the little we do, produces this kind of feeling; because this world is opposed to God and to his laws and to his church and kingdom. And what have they done hitherto? You could not get a man anywhere in the United States that knows anything of the workings of government or affairs brought in operation against us, but what believed that we would have been destroyed and swept off the earth long ago. But we are still here. Why? Not because you and I had fulfilled all our covenants and observed the laws of God; but it is because God knows and remembers that we are but flesh, but weak, fallen humanity; he remembers we are but dust; it is because he feels kindly and graciously toward us, and has said that it is his business to take care of his Saints, and to fight our battles for us. It is not because of what we have done, for we have not done much. And if God had not sustained us and turned away and restrained the wrath of man, we would not have been here today. Now, this is a fact. Well, God is kind to us; do not let us treat him so thoughtlessly; do not let us treat his ordinances lightly; but rather let us reverence and esteem those men upon whom God has placed his holy priesthood, and let us try by our faith and prayers and by our acts, to sustain them in all particulars as we agreed to do when we held up our hands. And then I ask no odds of the combined powers of the whole world, for God is on our side, and as long as we maintain our position before him, I will risk the balance. He holds the nations in his hands, and he will say to them, as he did to the waves of the mighty ocean—“Hitherto shalt thou go and no farther, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed.” And they cannot help themselves. We are in the hands of God, and they are. And I am afraid sometimes, when I see the follies of my brethren; I tremble for the result; but God is gracious and kind. Do not let us be ungrateful, but let us try to remember the blessing with which we are surrounded, the benefits he confers upon us—the light of the holy Gospel, our present and eternal associations; and remember that we are placed here as representatives of God upon the earth, to operate with prophets and apostles and men of God who lived and died and are now behind the veil, to operate with them in the accomplishment of the purposes of God, pertaining to the earth whereon we stand. We are living in an eventful time, in the dispensation of the fullness of times, the period in which God has said he would gather together all things in one, whether they be things in heaven or things on the earth; and therefore, he has organized us as we are.

When Jesus was here he felt the importance of the things I am now speaking of; and when he was about to leave his disciples he knew what the powers of darkness were, for he battled with them; and, indeed he was able to do so, having been anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows. But notwithstanding this and the fact of his being the Only Begotten of the Father, yet, when he came to wrestle with the difficulties he had to cope with, he sweat great drops of blood, and said, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; I shrink to encounter the things I have to cope with, but nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.” Now, we have to pass through a variety of things; many of us are tried and tempted, and we get harsh and hard feelings against one another. And it reminds me of your teams when going down hill with a heavy load. When the load begins to crowd on to the horses, you will frequently see one snap at his mate, and the other will prick up his ears and snap back again. And why? A little while before, perhaps, and they were playing with each other. Because the load crowds on them. Well, when the load begins to crowd, do not snap at your brethren, but let them feel that you are their friends, and pull together. Says Jesus, with reference to his disciples, “Father, I pray that these may be one, I in them and thou in me; that that spirit, O God that dwells in thee and that thou hast imparted unto me, might also dwell in them, and that their hearts may be united together by the bonds of eternal life and fellowship and priesthood; that they may feel after one another’s welfare and seek to promote one another’s happiness, we having drunk of that river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of our God;” that it may arise and flow and bubble in our hearts, and that its vivifying streams may be felt wherever we go, and that the influence and light and power and spirit and intelligence of God may be with us, that we may be one, according to the prayer of our Lord, “as I Father, am in thee, and thou in me, that the world may know that thou hast sent me,” These principles are as eternal as the heavens. Do they exist in heaven? Yes. You read the first chapter of Genesis pertaining to these matters; and how is it?

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

He had nobody around him to rise up and say, had you not better put it off for a little while, or otherwise change things, or to intimate that they were not prepared for what was done. No, they knew better. I suppose it would be more correct to render it, “And the Gods said, Let there be light, etc.” But to us you know there is only one God; and he said, let there be light, and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good. It was made according to eternal principles, according to the strictest principles of intelligence and philosophy; and when it was made, it was declared good.

In the councils of the Gods in the eternal worlds there was no confusion—I rather think there were no politicians there, no one to get up any feelings of animosity. Things were agreed upon, and when this was done they were carried out. When agreed upon God would say, let so and so be done, and it was done. Now, we see that there was perfect unanimity; but there was not always unanimity in heaven even. What, not in heaven? No, not until one-third part was cast out; and I do not think that it was for doing any good. Sometimes I think we will have to cast out quite a number too, in order to get things in the right shape. Satan was cast out, and those that adhered to him who rebelled against God in the eternal worlds. Well, everything has not been altogether pure in heaven; but they straightened them out as well as they could, as we do here sometimes, and as we do not do here very often.

And when we talk about the heavens, there will be a new heaven as well as a new earth. You know, we read that there will be a new heaven and a new earth, wherein righteous– ness will dwell.

Well, we are here struggling and trying to introduce correct principles, and to advance not only the interests of the Church of God, but the kingdom of God, for God will have a kingdom. I hope you will not tell it to anybody if I tell you something—God will have a kingdom, and he will have rule and dominion, for this earth belongs to him and he will possess it, and his Saints will inherit it at last. We did not use to be afraid of talking about these things. In former times they told us that the Saints of the Most High should finally take the kingdom and the greatness of the kingdom, which should be given to the Saints of the Most High God. Do you believe it? I happen to be one who believes it. And I prophesy that it will be fulfilled. But we are a sorry lot of people to do a thing of that kind, are we not? We have not made much progress yet in the race; we are only preparing for it, many of us cannot do what Brother Joseph F. Smith was talking about yesterday, that is making a sacrifice and feel that we are for God and his kingdom. But we can hardly get out of it. I tell you how some of us feel—“God bless me and my wife, my son John and his wife, us four and no more, Amen.” That feeling is a long way from the other. God feels interested in the welfare of the whole human family. What, of the Saints? Yes, and the others too. But the others do not have the priesthood. The others, if they ever obtain a celestial glory, will have to obtain it through the Latter-day Saints. What manner of people ought we to be? A little different from what we are. We think it troublesome sometimes to pay our tithing; we think it troublesome sometimes to pray in our families; we think it troublesome sometimes to feed the poor and take care of the destitute. Well, suppose we were to change places a little while with them, how would you feel then? You would feel that it was much better to give than to receive. We want our feelings and sympathies drawn out. And God has placed us where we are, in order that we may be preserved to receive instructions from his hands. We have in our school operations what we call our normal schools, to prepare teachers to teach others. Now, the Lord has a normal school in Utah. He is preparing us in a variety of ways—sometimes we have not enough snow in the winter season, and consequently a scarcity of water in the summer; sometimes too much rain, and at other times not enough; we have some wise and some unwise, and we have some rich and some poor. Yes, we have some who are poor among us, and why? We would not know what it was to see persons in those circumstances if we did not have some among us, and then, the opportunity is afforded us to show our kindness, and to develop within us that fellow feeling we sometimes talk about. But we do not want to call them poor, for some of them are just as good as we are, and some perhaps a little better than many of us. If good people are suffering for the common necessaries of life, the scriptures say, “If a man having this world’s goods see his brother in need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” And in regard to those matters, we ought to look to the wants of everybody; that, however, more particularly devolves upon the bishops and the brethren of the Aaronic priesthood. Do not let us make paupers of them; but let us treat them as brethren and sisters, as good, honorable men and women; let us see that they are provided for. I have seen some people who would get down upon their knees and pray most heartily for God to feed the poor and clothe the naked. Now, I would never ask the Lord to do a thing that I would not do. If we have them among us, suppose we go at it and relieve them. I do not think we have much of that to do here; but, enough, perhaps, to draw forth your good feelings and sympathies. And if people sustain misfortune of any kind, look after them and bestow upon them those things necessary for their welfare and happiness. And God will bless us in so doing. I would a great deal rather that you would take, say a sack of flour, some beef, a hundred of sugar, some butter and cheese, and clothing and fuel, and such comforts and conveniences of life, and thus try to make people feel happy than all the prayers you could offer up to the Lord about it; and he would rather see it too; that is the proper way to do things. In receiving blessings ourselves, try to distribute them, and God will bless and guide us in the ways of peace.

Perhaps I am occupying too much time. I do not care much about making a big discourse; I am talking in a plain, easy way, and I think you understand it. And if there is a widow, or an orphan, or any destitute persons, or anyone who has to struggle hard, look after them, and do not try to make paupers of them; but what you do for them, do it in a kind, good feeling, making them to feel and realize that you are their friends. And then, let us try to do away with all our little difficulties—husbands with their wives. Why will you complain about your wives? Because they will get cross. Are you not cross? “Yes; but my wife is not as kind as she used to be.” Well, try to get along with her, and treat her kindly; and be kind to one another. If you live in this way while here in the flesh, you will be glad to meet one another in the eternal worlds. Cultivate every good principle, and live in his fear day by day, and he will take care of us, and he will bless and multiply our flocks and herds, our lands and everything we have.

I will tell you a secret. If we could only prepare ourselves to do the will of God and keep his commandments and live our religion so that God could trust us with more means than we have, he would so order things, and that too by natural ways, that our desires in that direction would be fully gratified. But we are not prepared for it; it would only destroy us, and lead us to the devil; and the Lord knows it. At the same time we cannot complain in this regard; the Lord has treated us very well. I do not know of a people anywhere that are better off as a whole than we are. It is true we do not have the amount of wealth among us that may be found in older countries; but then we do not have the poverty, the suffering and distress that may be found elsewhere. It is for us to introduce principles that will obviate all these difficulties, and that will prepare us to receive blessings from God, and to administer the same wisely.

Another thing. We are building temples. Are we doing pretty well? Yes. Do you find fault? No. I have nothing to say about it; I think the people are doing very well especially in some districts in the north and south, indeed, I think more than they are able to do. But they could not do what they have already done and what they are doing without the assistance and blessing of the Almighty. They are building two beautiful edifices. What for? Is it a matter of speculation? Yes, one of the greatest speculations ever conceived of. It is for the salvation of the human family; it is for the redemption of the living and salvation of the dead. It is for the accomplishment of the purposes of God pertaining to the inhabitants of the earth, our forefathers, and then, all we can attain to after that. In those things we are doing very, very well; and I feel to bless the people because of their liberality in relation to those matters, especially those of the districts I have referred to.

Well, now, I do not know that I should detain you much longer. What shall we do? Keep our covenants, sustain Brother Smith; and let Brother Smith act in a way that will be worthy of being sustained. And then sustain your bishops, and let them also so act as to be worthy of your esteem. And sustain their counselors, and hearken to their counsels and advice. They are seeking to do you good; and to build up your interests. And then sustain your teachers, and your deacons and your priests, and do all you can to lift them up that they may be enabled to do a good work in their day and generation, and benefit you and your generations after you. And then there are others. You have your Relief Societies, and I am glad always to speak a word in behalf of them. Our sisters are one with us; and we are operating together in trying to build up the kingdom of God. I would say to the sisters I would watch after the youth and after the interests of the sisters, and try to introduce everything good and praiseworthy, and try to do all you can to promote the welfare of your sons and daughters; and God will bless you as he has done, and more abundantly. I was pleased to hear a compliment that was made to our Young people’s Mutual Improvement Associations. It is gratifying to parents and to all who have the interests of Zion at heart, to hear of, and to see our young men and women grow up in the fear of God. Some, as is the case everywhere, are inclined to be a little rude and thoughtless. It is our privilege, and the privilege of the youth, to improve, and to cultivate our morals and manners so that if it should ever be our pleasure to mingle with the angels, we should find the most happy and enjoyable society. Let us learn to treat one another with kindness and courtesy, and let the young cultivate the fear of God. I tell you what I used to do when quite a young boy. I made it a practice to go and call upon the Lord; it was before there was any “Mormonism.” And many scores of times have I gone into fields behind the bushes, and also into hay lofts to call upon God to guide me and keep me from evil and to lead me in the paths of righteousness. Did I feel happy? Yes, for I had a portion of the Spirit of God with me. How much better in this respect it is for our youth. I had parents who feared God, but they, any more than anyone else, did not know anything at all about the true plan of salvation, for it had not been revealed. I used to go to the Church of England; and many of you present used to go too; and we used to say that we were all “miserable sinners.” We also confessed every Sunday that we had “done the things we ought not to have done, and left undone the things which we ought to have done.” This was all very true. The teach– ers themselves did not know any better, neither did we. But I used to take pleasure in calling upon the Lord to lead me in the right way. I did not have the helps that you have. You have the benefit of your Mutual Improvement Societies. Attend them, and seek to cultivate intelligence of every kind; and above all, reverence and respect your parents, they who have watched over you and taken care of you, they who have educated you and fed and clothed you and felt an interest in your welfare.

And in regard to all of our opera– tions, brethren and sisters, let us ever try to do right, and let us try to invent something whereby we can be self sustaining; let us purchase from our own people, and above all let us try to make our own goods and supply our own wants and necessities. Let us try and carry these principles out, for they are true and correct. And if there is anything good and praiseworthy, let us seek after it; and shun everything that tends to misery, degradation and death.

God bless you, and lead you in the paths of life. Amen.

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered In the 14th Ward Assembly Rooms, Salt Lake City, Feb. 8, 1880.

We are met here today, as we frequently have to do, to pay the last tribute of respect to the departed dead. Time with all its changes and mutations brings us face to face very frequently with the kind of thing that is now presented before us. We come into the world, we struggle a little while with the affairs incident to human nature, and by and by the struggles of the present are over. The weary wheels of life stand still and we go into another state of existence. As wise, prudent and intelligent men it behooves us really to comprehend the true position we occupy in relation to the past, in relation to the present, as well as to the future.

Speaking of the past, we all of us have had our ideas about a pre-existence. We consider that God is Father of the spirits of all flesh, not only of those that fear him, but of those who do not fear him, and who disobey His laws. He is the father of the spirits of all, and as is spoken of in the Scriptures, “We are His offspring” and emanated from him. We came into this world to attend to certain things which are designed by the Almighty and which in the program of the Lord it was necessary that we should take our part in. We had very little to do with our coming here; all things move along naturally. But we have something to do, however, with our affairs while we are here, in a state of probation. But about our leaving, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, or more than that even, we have little to do with it.

There are certain inscrutable purposes associated with the divine program which men generally do not comprehend. We know a very little of the world in which we live, and of its inhabitants. But what and how little do we know in relation to the past, or in regard to anything pertaining to the future? Who can comprehend the purposes of God pertaining to the organization of the earth, say to commence with, and the peopling of it, and the maintaining of it, or in regard to the position of the nations and their destiny; or in regard to the world itself and the various changes yet to transpire upon it. And then, who of us knows anything definite pertaining to ourselves, or about the impulses by which we are governed and actuated, or of the powers of darkness, or the powers of light, as the case may be, with which we are surrounded? How many of us comprehend these things? Very few indeed. It is the design of God, as I understand it, in our coming here, to give unto us bodies, that the spirits that were created before, might have tabernacles wherein they might live and exist, and move and act, as corporeal substances, if you please; and that according to certain inscrutable laws of God pertaining to the human family and the future destiny of man, and the world in which we live; that through the union of the body and spirit, and their obedience to certain laws which the great Eloheim has given for the guidance of His people, that they might be more exalted, more dignified, more glorious than it would be possible for them to be, had they not come here to sojourn in these tabernacles, and combat with the various evils to which the flesh is heir.

Under these circumstances, from time to time, he has made known his will to men. He has in different ages raised up men with whom he communicated, and to whom he revealed his will, and under certain circumstances to whom he committed his law, and he has made them his mouthpiece to the human family, and through them has revealed life and its principles, and has unveiled the heavens and given man a knowledge of the future, and has shown his condemnation, or evinced his hatred to evil and iniquity of every kind, and has shown through them the evil effects of pursuing this course. These men, in the different ages in which they lived, warned the people and the nations in regard to evil, and have tried to incite them to good, and held out to them the principle of lives, eternal lives hereafter to be obtained in the celestial, terrestrial or telestial kingdoms. These men and these principles, which have been introduced by the Almighty, have had their effect more or less among the human family. But there has been associated with this a spirit of antagonism to God, to virtue, to truth, to purity, to holiness, and to those principles that were calculated to elevate and exalt humanity through time and through the eternities that are to come. Thus two influences have been at work among the nations and among the various peoples of the earth in the different ages. Sometimes it seems mysterious to the human family that things should be as they have been. They do not comprehend the meaning or the purposes or designs, or even the law of God. In fact, some of these laws have not been made known generally to mankind. Permit me to say there are eternal laws that exist with the Gods in the eternal worlds, and from which they cannot depart, and to which they are bound in all their acts, I was going to say as we are, but I will say not as we are, but as we ought to be, subject to the law of God in all our acts, and that it is absolutely necessary that men should be placed in a state of trial, in a state of probation. It was just as necessary that Satan, if you please, should exercise his power as that God should exercise his. This is a thing that is not always understood by men, and, in fact, they understand very little about it. We are told, however, that “It must needs be that there is an opposition in all things,” good and evil, light and darkness, happiness and misery, corruption and incorruption, life and death, heaven and hell.

We talk about a futurity and about heaven, of which men have certain vague ideas. Some think heaven is beyond the bounds of time and space. It is a kind of poetic thought, which sounds very well; but where is such a place? When we reflect upon it in our sober moments, we naturally conclude that it is nowhere. But men have entertained singular notions and ideas pertaining to the future, many of which have been erratic, foolish and ignorant; and the fact is, it is impossible for man, unaided by the revelations of God, to comprehend anything about him. Job says: “Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell, what canst thou know?”

We are told emphatically that no man knows the things of God but by the Spirit of God. And how are they to become acquainted with these things, unless they are in possession of that light and that spirit which is capable of imparting to them that intelligence? A knowledge of God is out of the ken of uninspired humanity. Who can draw aside the veil of the invisible world? Who can penetrate into the future and look, as some men have, through the dark vista of future ages and see the purposes of God roll on with all their majesty and glory to consummation; of which, they nor we, nor anybody can know anything about, except by and under the influence of that spirit? They cannot know it; it is out of their reach.

Well, what then in regard to the things of men? We see men bickering and quarreling over religious matters, over things really that they are just as ignorant of as babes are. They contend about certain principles, dogmas and theories, and get up debates about them, ofttimes causing troubles in families, and neighborhoods; often persecuting one another and even putting one another to death concerning things that they knew nothing about themselves. This is all very foolish.

How does God feel towards the human family? He feels that they are his children. What, all? Yes; the white, the black, the red, the Jew, the Gentile, the heathen, the Christian and all classes and grades of men; he feels interested in all, he has done so from the beginning, and will continue to do so to the end. He will do all that lies in his power for the benefit, blessing, and exaltation of the human family, both in time and eternity, consonant with those laws and those eternal principles that I have referred to: from which he himself cannot deviate. We sometimes get up feelings about parties that do not think as we do, and do not believe as we do, and we are apt to cast aspersions upon them. Why, these are their affairs. What! Would you allow everybody to worship as they please? Certainly. What? If you knew they were in error? Certainly. I would not wish to control the human mind; I would not control the actions of men. God does not do it, he leaves them to their own agency to combat with the trials, temptations, adversities and evils of every kind that are in the world, to which humanity is, or can be incident. He put within their reach, however, certain principles and would like to lead them to himself if they would be led. If not, he then does the very best with them that he can. In some instances he has had to come out, as it is said, “in his fierce wrath,” upon the peoples and upon the nations of the earth; and many other things have been in his program; because this life, with its few years is only comparatively, as it were, a few moments in the estimation of Jehovah. It is but a span, a dream, or a tale, that is told and passed away. But in regard to the eternities that are to come, and the realities we have to do with hereafter, that is another affair. I have heard men talk about the cruelty of God, just like some foolish people talk about their fathers. Who knows anything about God? Did you ever see him? Some think it was very cruel in him to destroy the world at the flood. How do they know but that it was the greatest boon he could confer upon that wicked people? How do they know but that it was one of the richest blessings he could pour out upon their heads in sweeping them off the earth and sending them into another existence and then shutting them up in prison after that. How do you know? Certainly you do not know that it is not the case.

Let us reason for a few moments and look at things about as they are; I will tell them as they are and as they were. Satan before the days of the flood obtained the ascendancy over many men and brought them under his rule and dominion. He started in with Cain and made a murderer of him the very first thing he did and taught him many principles of evil, and he was called the great Master Mahan. Under the influence and power of Satan he operated to thwart the designs of God and to stop the purposes of Jehovah. Satan first started in the heavens, but was cast out and succeeded in obtaining a great ascendancy over the minds of the people; whom he caused to corrupt themselves, leading them into evil, folly, vanity and corruptions of every kind, so much so we are told that the “imaginations and thoughts of their hearts were only evil and that continually.” What had to be done then? There were other parties interested besides those upon the earth. There were innumerable hosts of spirits in the heavens that had to come and take tabernacles. Was it proper and righteous, was it equitable, was it according to the principles of justice that those that were pure with their Father in the heavens should come and take bodies and be forced to enter into tabernacles, that were the offspring of those corrupt beings who were then peopling the earth? If I or you had been there should we not have spoken to our Father and said, “Father, do you see the corruptions that exist upon the face of the earth?” “Yes, I know it.” “Is it just that we should have to go into these corrupt, contaminated, evil, wicked bodies to receive our earthly parentage from them; and be subject to that power and iniquity in all its phases for thousands or millions of years to come?” “No,” says He, “it is not, and I will sweep them away, I will destroy them; they possess the power, while living to propagate their species, but I will deprive them of that power. I will send in the floods upon them, and then I will shut them up in prison.” Did he do it? He did. But before He did it, he had the Gospel preached to them as it is now being preached, and men clothed upon with the priesthood were sent forth among the peoples to proclaim to them the great principles of life, and they had the Gospel and the revelations of God and communion with their heavenly Father. Enoch was a preacher of righteousness, and numerous Elders at that time were sent forth among the peo– ple and proclaimed the principles of eternal truth and gathered the people together so that every man who would fear God and obey his law and be governed by the principles of righteousness, might have the full blessings of the everlasting Gospel; and He gathered them together before destruction came. They were gathered unto Zion, and that Zion was caught up, by the power of God, away from the earth, and then the avenging hand of God came upon the corrupt inhabitants that were left because of their iniquities. Would it be proper to allow corruptions and wickedness to predominate, and the powers of Satan to have the presiding influence, and God to be left out of the question? No. Therefore He accomplished what He did. Did He injure them? No; they would only have lived a few years longer anyhow; but He did not want them to perpetuate that kind of folly, wickedness, and corruption that then prevailed, and said “I will stop it,” and he stopped it. Now, what about the future of such people. We may have curious ideas about them. Some think that they are going to remain in hell forever and ever. But they were in the hands of God, and He did right by them. By and by when Jesus came, what did he do? As soon as He got through with His short mission upon the earth, “He was put to death in the flesh, and was quickened by the Spirit, and went and preached unto the spirits in prison, which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah;” that they might be placed on the same plane and in the same position that others were; that they might obtain their proper status in the eternal worlds, and be rewarded with all that was possible for them to enjoy, according to the eternal laws and inscrutable justice of Jehovah. Thus justice was satisfied, the law vindicated, the wicked punished, the unborn and pure protected and provided for, and finally, the imprisoned released from their bondage and salvation extended to the prisoners. Was there anything wrong in that. “Yes,” says the ignoramus who does not know anything about it, “it was very cruel.” Well, the greatest cruelty there is about such men is that they are cruelly ignorant and do not know what they are talking about.

Now in regard to other things. The Gospel has been sent from time to time among the people. And what does it do? It brings life and immortality to light. Has God ever given up his idea in relation to the inhabitants of the earth? No; but He has in the different ages given certain laws and principles to certain classes of individuals. It is said that God has made of one blood all nations of the earth, yet there are certain classes of men among the nations just as much as there are certain classes of metals. Everything is not gold, everything is not silver, everything is not brass; everything is not iron; all hold their proper position and have their relative value. So in regard to the heavens. There are bodies celestial, there are bodies terrestrial, there are bodies telestial. We are told there is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, another glory of the stars, and that as one star differs from another star in glory so also shall it be in the resurrection. This distinction arises from the acts of men, as it is said “Ye are servants to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey.”

Now what are we here for? What are the things we profess to do? I will ask what did Jesus seek to do when he was here? Did he come to curse mankind? No, but to bless them; he came to seek and to save those that were lost; He came to unfold the principles of eternal truth, to bring life and immortality to light by the Gospel. He came, according to the eternal decree of the Almighty, to offer his life as a sacrifice, as an atonement for the sins of the human family. He came to introduce principles that emanated from God to organize his church upon the earth, and to endow his disciples with authority that they might go forth as His messengers to proclaim the principles of eternal truth to the human family. Hence says he, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” This is one of those eternal decrees that you cannot get away from. And then we talk about the damnation of hell; and people have as strange notions about that as they have about other things. I have read statements from men which were really terrible when depicting the state of the damned. It is bad enough, but it is not the kind of thing they represent. I remember, too, reading a piece of poetry, which ran something like this:

“Infinite years in torment must I spend, And never, never, never have an end. Ah! must I lie, in ruinous despair, As many years as atoms in the air; When these are past as many thousand more, As grains of sand upon the ocean shore. When all these doleful years are spent in pain, And multiplied by millions yet again Till numbers drown the thought, could I suppose That then my dismal years would have a close, This would afford a hope; but ah! I shiver To ponder on this dreadful word, forever; I in this burning gulf blaspheming lie, Time is no more, but vast eternity.” This may be poetic. It is certainly grim and terrible; but it is not true. Is there justice? Yes. Eternal justice? Yes. These men that I have referred to suffered eternal justice; they were destroyed by the Almighty, and at last were saved again by the Almighty. Have we eternal punishment? Yes. What is it? It is God’s punishment. Are there everlasting prisons? Yes. What are they? God’s prisons. Do people stay in them forever? No. Not in all of them. We have prisons upon the earth, penitentiaries, in which to confine people for one, five, ten or twenty years, as the case may be; and when their time expires they come out; but the prison is there still. Is it an everlasting prison? You may call it so if you please; but people do not stay in it always. Has God a way to manage his affairs? Certainly; the Judge of all the earth ought to be at least as capable in the management of his affairs, as mortal men are in theirs.

We have come upon this stage of action, and are called to preach. And God has revealed his will, and some people seem to be very angry about it. Joseph Smith had revelations from God. Do I know it? Yes, I do. Could he help it? Suppose the Lord were to speak to any of you, could you help it? Or if an angel were to come to you, could you help it? No, you could not. Now, you might do what they tell you, or not; that is optional. If you did what they told you, however, the world and the devil would say you were a fool; and they have always said so in every age of the world; and the devil and the world have always been opposed to God and his law, and they would persecute you as they persecuted him. Very well, do we have need to fight? I do not. I thank God for the light and intelligence he has revealed unto us, through the medium of the everlasting Gospel. Could we have it if God had not revealed it? No. Who knew that God lived? Nobody until Joseph Smith came, and the Lord spoke to him pointing out to him his son, saying, “This is my beloved Son, hear him.” Who knew anything about it? Nobody on the wide earth. Could he have helped it if he wanted to? I do not think he wanted to much; I do not think anybody need want to much, if God would condescend to reveal his will; I do not think they would be very desirous for him to hold his peace. It is true a number of the children of Israel did when they heard the thunderings on Mount Sinai. They said to Moses, speak to us; but do not let the Lord speak to us, lest we die. The fact is, they were not prepared for it.

Now then, this Gospel is introduced for what? To spread life and salvation to the world. God blessed Abraham in the same way. What for? In thee and thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. I will give unto you my law, I will reveal unto you the principles of eternal truth; I will open the mysteries of heaven to your view, and you shall gaze upon me and upon my purposes. I will instruct you in the principles of life and salvation, and I will tell you what to do with those principles when I shall have committed them to you. As he spake unto Moses, he told him to select a man to be his mouthpiece; and said, Moses shall be a God unto you, and I will speak through him. That is it. Now, he has done the same in this day, and restored the same principles, and has sent forth a message to the nations of the earth, and gathered together men who had the manhood, integrity and desire to carry out the purposes of God, and who would be valiant for those principles which he had revealed; and he prepared them for his purpose; and if he had not sustained them they would not be here today. Are these men enemies to the world? If teaching men the truth is enmity, they have done that; if going without purse or scrip, traveling among the nations to proclaim to them the glad tidings of salvation is enmity, they may possess it. But impelled by the spirit of eternal truth and enlightened by the spirit of the Almighty and comprehending the position they occupied, they have gone forth among the people of the earth and proclaimed to them the glad tidings of salvation, and God has taken care of them. Very well. Anything great about this? No; it is simply performing a duty. I have traveled hundreds and thousands of miles in this way myself, trusting in God. Was I ever forsaken? No. Did I ever need anything? No, not that I did not get. Did I ever have to go hungry, naked or destitute? No, the Lord always provided and raised up means in every kind of way, and I did not beg either. I would like anybody to tell me when I ever begged anything from them either here or anywhere else. But I have begged of the Lord, for my religion teaches me to go to him.

Now then, we have a work to do. Do we wish to vilify anybody in our midst? No. Do we see wicked, corrupt and abominable men among us? Yes. What will we do with them? Leave them in the hands of God, he will manage them; it is for us to do right, to work righteousness and pursue a course right before the Lord.

I see that time is passing. My mind has been led rather discursively on some of these matters, arising partly from circumstances with which we are surrounded. How is it with this young man here? Well, I wish it were otherwise; I wish he had lived a very good Saint, which, however, he did not do. We have not come here to indulge in any kind of false sentimentality. He was a drunkard; that is a truth and many of you know it. When you have said that, can you say anything worse? That is bad enough, but I do not know anything evil about the young man further than that. I knew his father. I baptized him thousands of miles away from here, in the neighborhood of 40 years of ago, when he was a much younger man than he (his son) is now. His father lived up to the Gospel, and died strong in the faith; and his mother has been a very good woman, so far as I know; I have never known anything against her. This boy has caused her a great deal of trouble; and I have been sorry for him. Well, should we tell things? Yes, always; that day is not far distant when the coverings will be taken from the face of all people, and we shall all stand naked, as it were, before God—both you and I and this young man. Well this boy—I call him a boy, he is a young man, and is a nephew of mine by marriage; and I would not want to say anything about him on that account, neither would I falsify the young man on that account; but let us tell things and understand them as they are. Let me call the attention of the youth present. Would you like to be lying in this position, under these circumstances? You would not? Then let us look at things as they are. What next? We will do the best we can; and what is it? There is a curious saying that Paul made on a certain occasion, in speaking about the Jews and the Gentiles:

“What advantage hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?

“Much every way: chiefly, that unto them were committed the oracles of God.

“Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever,” etc.

Is it a sorrowful thing to see our youth pass away as he has done? Yes. He did not die drunk? No, but that was the cause of it. We may as well talk honestly about him. What next? He has gone. Has he hurt anybody? No, only by his example. Has he hurt his mother? Yes. I do not think he did sin while his father was living; but since then he has caused his mother many a sorrowful hour. Did I feel sorry when he died? No. Why? Because I knew it was much better for him to leave the earth than to be in the position he has been.

Now, what about the future in relation to these things! What advantage has the Jew over the Gentile? Much every way. Their’s were the fathers; and unto that people were committed the oracles of God. Their’s were the fathers—we have fathers that are living in the eternal worlds; fathers that are interested in our welfare; fathers that are associated with the beings that exist behind the veil; fathers who are operating with us in trying to bring about the great purposes of God and the salvation of the human family. Can anything be done? Yes, and all that can be done will be done, but the future has got to be left with the Almighty in regard to these matters. But we can do a great deal according to principles that God has revealed to us, and these things will be done, as far as they can be.

I would say, I do not utter these things to cause any unpleasant feeling in the bosom of the family; they cannot help it. If I could have helped it, I would; if the mother could have helped it, she would; if the sister could have helped it, she would; if the friends could have helped it, they would. But we cannot control circumstances.

We are now talking not to the dead, but to the living. I would say, Let us avoid these evils, they lead down to death; let us seek to live our religion, to obey the laws of God and keep his commandments. And in regard to the future, we leave that in the hands of the Almighty who doeth all things well; and we will do all we can to promote the comfort of the living and the dead. We are doing a great deal for the accomplishment of this object; we are building temples and administering in them, and we are doing it in obedience to the law of God, and in consonance with the feeling of the patriarchs and apostles and men of God who have lived before. And we will try to go on and live our religion and keep the commandments of God that we may rejoice together hereafter. And I would say to the mother, Let your heart be comforted for you shall be blessed both in time and in eternity. And I say unto all of you, Live your religion, keep the commandments of God, for in that only there is safety. God bless you in time and in eternity. Amen.

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered in the Tabernacle at Provo, November 30th, 1879.

We have heard a good many great and important truths uttered by those who have addressed us since the commencement of this conference. We have these conferences appointed for the purpose of adjusting and regulating any matters that may arise in the several Stakes, and for teaching and instructing the people on all matters pertaining to their welfare relative to this world as well as the world to come.

My brethren of the Twelve and myself have been traveling around considerably lately among the people. We have visited some of the most prominent Stakes and attended their conferences; among which are the Stakes of Sanpete and Cache Valley—two of the most prominent of the Territory—in which temples are being built. We thought we would like to visit them and see the condition of affairs; how they were progressing, what advancement they were making in these important labors, and then if they needed assistance of any kind we could render it intelligently after enquiring into their position. We found in both of these places that the people had been very faithful, diligent and liberal in the prosecution of this work, that is, in building temples to the name of the Lord, that they may go and administer therein and attend to the ordinances of God’s house for themselves, and receive those blessings which God has to confer upon His people, and administer not only for themselves, the living, but also for the dead. We found that a very large amount of means had been used in both of these valleys, including the districts around, appointed to assist them in the erection of these temples, and they are building up splendid edifices in both places. The one in Cache Valley is built of hard rock, a species of marble, that will make a very strong wall. There is, however, mixed up with it in different places, some very fine sandstone, which they have to bring from quite a distance. They have raised the walls of that Temple about fifty-five feet and are still persevering. We found also that they were pro– secuting their work very assiduously in Sanpete. They have beautiful sandstone there of a light color, easy to hew, which will make a beautiful structure when completed, almost equal to ours in Salt Lake City, with this difference, it is simply dressed outside. Hence things are progressing rapidly, which evinces a good desire among the Saints to carry out the purposes which God has designed and which they have engaged along with us to perform.

In visiting these places we felt a desire to see the people that lived in the settlements around. We made an attempt to this end before, but could not accomplish it because of the pressure of circumstances that required our attention in the city; but this time, being at liberty, we visited all the principal settlements in Sanpete and Cache Valley, which are quite numerous. We thought it was proper, seeing they have as good meetinghouses as you have here. They have a much larger meetinghouse in Cache valley than you have here, and I think the one in Ephraim, Sanpete, is larger than this—yet they could neither accommodate all the people, nor get them together, and you could not here. We could take some of the houses in which we have attended meetings, and put most of the people who are seated in the body of this tabernacle into them. If the Saints wanted to attend conference they could not find room, and consequently we thought it better to visit them at their homes, see how they were situated, feel after their spirits and let them feel ours; converse with them, preach to them and see what they were doing.

We found that in these temple districts, whilst they had been very energetic and very generous in their feelings in contributing to the work, they needed some considerable assistance, and we felt it to be our duty to assist them out of the general fund of the Church, the same as we do in Salt Lake City; but of course not to the same extent.

They were working in union in a kind of united order; but not of course fixed up in that order. But as we are operating together in the interests of the Church and Kingdom of God, we deemed it quite proper that those places should receive the necessary assistance; and we thought also that that kind of feeling and spirit would also be satisfactory to our brethren of the priesthood and to the Saints generally throughout the Territory, for we are one, or ought to be one in our endeavors to build up the Church and Kingdom of God. Having enjoyed ourselves very much in preaching and in mingling among the Saints in the places where we have visited, we thought we would come to you and do likewise—not particularly to talk to you, because you doubtless have enough of preaching, and perhaps a little more than you can attend to; but in some places the people do not have the same opportunity that you do here in Provo, for we sometimes slide by many settlements on the road, and it appears in some instances as though they were neglected. We thought in coming among you we would bring our own carriages as we used to in former years, and go by the highway and visit the folks at their own homes, go into the highways and byways and try to meet with all the Saints, for we are all one, all having been baptized into the one baptism and ought to partake of the same spirit and be governed by those glorious principles which God has revealed for the teaching and exaltation of the human family. Be– sides there are a great many circumstances, transpiring from time to time, which render it necessary that we should be conversant with one another’s feelings; that we should understand the mind and will of the Lord, and that, we should be prepared to operate with Him in the interests of the human family, in the establishment of Zion and in the building up of the Kingdom of God on the earth. I always take pleasure in preaching the Gospel—I have done a great deal of it—and my brethren of the Twelve feel the same. There is nothing I take greater pleasure in than in proclaiming the Gospel to the nations of the earth, and in mingling among and preaching to the Saints of God. Although I cannot now go abroad, yet I can, and so can my brethren of the Twelve, associate with you—for they feel as I do in relation to this matter; we can visit the Saints at home and talk to them on the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

There are a great many things associated also with this Kingdom that it is proper should be presented to us from time to time, that we may be enabled to act and to operate together and be one in our feelings religious, one in our feelings social, and one in our feelings political; for all these things are mixed up and intimately connected with the position we occupy as the Saints of the Most High God in the building up of His Zion here upon the earth. There are things spiritual, there are things denominated temporal, there are things also spoken of as being eternal in their nature, and all these subjects, in all their various ramifications, demand more or less of our attention. For instance, we are gathered together here as a peculiar people in these valleys of the mountains. We are gathered here because we embraced the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and because of the revealing of that Gospel to Joseph Smith, and because after having embraced it, we partook of its spirit, and because there was associated therewith the principle of gathering. We are gathered here under peculiar circumstances. But our first object was simple obedience to the Gospel. There are circumstances growing out of this, over which we seem to have very little control, by being gathered together in the position we now occupy, and composing part of this nation, there are certain political duties that seem to force themselves upon us. We came here simply on religious principles to start with, because we had faith in God, because we had faith in the restoration of the everlasting Gospel; because we had faith in the gathering together of the people; because we had faith in the ordinances of the Gospel of the Son of God; because we had faith in the organization of the Church and Kingdom of God, and the various offices pertaining thereunto throughout all the ramifications of the Church. We came together therefore in a Church capacity: but being gathered together as a people, we brought our bodies with us, that is we brought our souls, if you please, for the spirit and the body, we are told, is the soul of man. We brought ourselves here and being here we naturally form an integral part of the United States, and have become part of what is termed the body politic of the government. But we could not help that, and I do not know that we want to help it.

We became then organized in a territorial capacity and part and par– cel of the government of the United States; this follows as a natural consequence.

There are a great many Saints here gathered together. I do not know the number; it is estimated by some to be from 150,000 to 200, 000. How many there are I am not prepared to say. No matter, however, about that: but we have gathered ourselves here. Now, then, it is necessary we should be under some government. Being here in the United States, we, of course, became part of that government, and, as a necessary consequence, according to the customs and usages of this government, we were admitted as a Territory. Under these circumstances, the government send out certain officers; for instance, a governor is appointed and selected by the President of the United States, and then sanctioned by the Senate, and he receives his commission from the administration of the government of the United States, and he comes here as their representative. Then we have U.S. judges, a secretary, a marshal and civil officers, according to the usages that exist among people situated as we are in the Territories of the United States. There are so many representatives of the government who are properly appointed and authorized according to the form and usage that obtain generally in the country and in the administration of the affairs of this nation. We therefore come under this government and are subject to its laws and receive its officers. They come among us, which is very right they should do, according to the forms and usages that exist in the United States; and it is our duty to treat them properly, as it is their duty to treat us properly; the duty in this regard is reciprocal. We need the protection of law wherever we are, or under whatsoever circumstances we may be placed; and in placing ourselves in this position we are only doing just the same as others of our fellow citizens similarly situated are doing. This is a matter which has grown out of our religious ideas. Our religion prompted us to come together; and being together we have become a body of men, and being on territory belonging to the United States, it becomes necessary that we should be subject to its laws and usages, according to the provisions made and stipulations entered into under its jurisdiction and government. These things are all plain matters of fact, there is nothing extraneous or uncommon about them. Further, as American citizens we have certain rights, and others have certain rights. All men in the United States possess certain rights which are guaranteed to them by its Constitution. Again we have our legislative officers, provided for by act of Congress and passed by the general government of the United States. We have our probate courts, also our justices of the peace, our selectmen and the various organizations and laws pertaining to education, to public schools, and all things as they exist in other Territories. But notwithstanding all this there is one thing wherein we are very unpleasantly situated, which difficulty arises from the peculiar position we occupy in regard to our religion. There is nothing else that I know of. I have been in this Church a great many years, and lived in this nation a great many years, and have been a citizen for a great many years; but there is nothing that I know of excepting that one thing, that could in any wise be considered objectionable, and that is in relation to our views pertaining to plural marriage; there is nothing else in all our acts that any man in any part of world can or would attempt to find fault with. No man can justly say this people have been disloyal to the Government of the United States, if they say so they say something that is not true, and a great many of them when they do say it know they are telling falsehoods. We are not turbulent, we do not create any difficulty, we do not get up mobs, we do not interfere with anybody’s rights, socially, religiously, politically or any other way. We do not interfere with a man because his religious views are not as ours; but on the other hand, so far as we have the authority we protect all men. But there are some things we have occasion to find fault with because of men wishing to trespass upon our rights. We think this wrong, contrary to comity, good faith and correct principles, and consequently we speak about it, and that is right, we have the right to do that. If any man, either in a religious, political or social capacity, trespass upon the rights of common humanity, we have as much right to express our feelings and to defend our rights as any other set of men have under the same circumstances, and no just man would seek to deprive us of this liberty.

Now then, so far so good. While we would respect all honorable men, and would treat them justly and equitably, we do not, we cannot respect these miserable men who respect no man’s rights, who would turn and give you evil for good, traduce your character and circulate falsehoods about you and seek to injure you—we cannot look upon them as honorable men. They are not so treated among any people; especially those miserable sneaks who would go round our houses and take advantage of certain circumstances and become informers and implicate you in crime under guise of friendship. All such men in any country are despised, and would be looked upon as scoundrels not fit to associate with honorable people. There is no one more contemptible than a spy. He is looked upon as the scum of society and the filthiest dregs of a community anywhere. We do not want to associate with such, we cannot, our natural feelings revolt at it, and while we respect honorable men everywhere, we say to such characters, “O my soul, come not thou into their secret, unto their assembly, mine honor be not thou united!” These are our feelings about such individuals.

In regard to our religious matters wherein our social relations are concerned—for these are as much religious matters with us as anything instituted among men. Our marriage system is one of the greatest principles that God ever developed to the human family, whether men believe it or not. But there are many who are not acquainted with these things as we are; they do not understand God nor his revelations; and they really, if it came to the point, should have nothing to say against us in relation to these matters. But they do not understand it, neither do they wish to understand it; because there are a great many very corrupt men devoid of principle, and they care not what becomes of their future if they can only accomplish their present objects.

Now then, did we seek this principle? No, we did not. Did we ask God that we might have a plurality of wives? No, we did not. Was it a matter of our choice? No. The same God that revealed to Joseph Smith the first principles of the Gospel also revealed unto him the doctrine of plural marriage; it was presented to us as a doctrine to be believed in and be governed by. Could we help it? What had we to do with it? It is a command of God; and the question is, Shall I, after having embraced the Gospel of the Son of God, and entered into covenant with Him to observe His laws and be governed by the revelations of His will; shall I, because of something that is distasteful to me, set up my will and judgment against His, and say, “Why, I shall be despised, I shall be hated;” shall I, because of a feeling of that kind violate the laws of God? No, I cannot do it; neither can you who believe in the revelation. God gave it to His servant Joseph Smith and he declared it unto us. Now, how was it? The first thing that was done, when the word of God came to us to do it—for there was a time after this revelation was given when we were not permitted to teach this doctrine publicly; but as soon as we were instructed to do so, Prof. Orson Pratt was sent to Washington to publish a paper, at the seat of government, and there proclaim our sentiments on plural marriage to this nation and to the world. This mission he fulfilled—publishing a paper called the Seer, and lecturing in a hall hired for that purpose, several times a week. Was there anything underhanded about this, or low, or anything antagonistic to the interest of this nation or any other nation? It was merely proclaiming certain principles pertaining to eternal lives and covenants that should exist through eternity, in our sexual relations pertaining to our association in this world and the world to come. Did we interfere with the rights of others? No; and if we had any revelations, it was not for us to oppose them. But others do not know anything about these things, consequently they cannot comprehend our position. Have we done anything covertly? Not until we were forced to. Some few years ago, I remember being brought before a court to give evidence in a case. I was asked if I believed in keeping the laws of the United States. I answered, “Yes, I believe in keeping them all but one.” “What one is that?” “It is that one in relation to plurality of wives.” “Why don’t you believe in keeping that?” “Because I believe it is at variance with the genius and spirit of our institutions—it is a violation of the Constitution of the United States, and it is contrary to the law of God.á°µ Now this is plain. You could not tell your feelings much plainer. This was before the Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of that law. “Well,” said a man to me, “Are you prepared to abide the consequences.” “Always,” said I, “everywhere.” That is straightforward, and in saying this, I only expressed the feelings of thousands of my brethren and sisters. Well, then, whose business is it? If I do a thing and am prepared to abide the penalty, whose business is it? Do I interfere with the friends or government of the United States? No. They have passed a law for political effect which is really intended as a trap for us. One would think that a great and magnanimous nation of fifty millions, could afford to allow a few thousand people to work out a social problem, without fear of contamination. They do not understand us, we wish them no harm. Many of them know this; but they cannot always control circumstances, and many of the members of Congress who were not willing to do anything of this sort, were crowded on by religious bigotry that prevailed among their people, just the same as others were in the days of Jesus. In his day he and his followers were maligned as we are. If he ever did any good, how was it represented? “Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.” And if we do any good somebody else must have the praise instead of us; but if there is any harm done, as, for instance, the trouble among the Indians, “it is the Mormons that do it!” I suppose if there are any storms, shipwrecks, wars or bloodshed, in Timbuctoo, among the Zulus, Chinese, Japanese, or Europeans, the Mormons will be represented as having had a hand in them. What position does this place us in? Do we wish to be governed by the laws of the United States and sustain its institutions? Yes, we do. But while we are doing this, many infamous men are misrepresenting us. But there are many honorable men who have other feelings. I have seen many of them not only in this nation but other nations, who possess more liberal and generous feelings, men of position and of all conditions in life. And among the honorable men of earth I find there are a great many who look upon us as having been cruelly treated by those who ought to be our friends. Well, now what shall we do under those circumstances? Having passed a law on purpose to entrap us they would now complain because we do not run right into the trap and say “take us and put us in prison.” We are not such big fools yet, we have very different ideas to those. If they are ignoring principles that God has revealed to us we cannot help it. If they do not believe our statements we cannot have confidence in theirs; but one thing we do know, we are a thousand times more virtuous, a thousand times more pure, in our actions than they are in theirs. There is not a country in the world today where virtue and the rights, privileges, honor and chastity of the female portion of the community are more strongly protected than in this Territory. Now, that is a fact.

The question then arises what shall we do? We are under the painful necessity of protecting ourselves as best we may. How did they do in other times—how did they do in Rome? We are not so badly off as some people were in former ages. It is said that Christians had to dwell in caves, and that they were hunted and dragged from these places of concealment by government spies and put into the arena, where thousands and tens of thousands of people would go to see them devoured by wild beasts, and I have no doubt that many of our pious Christians would like to see a scene of that kind. What shall we do? God has given unto us a law. Shall we obey it? We are placed—not by acts of our own—in a position where we cannot help ourselves. We are between the hands of God and the hands of the Government of the United States. God has laid upon us a command for us to keep, He has commanded us to enter into these covenants with each other pertaining to time and eternity, and has revealed this law through the holy priesthood and the regularly constituted channels which He has appointed for conveying this information, and we, having been baptized into one baptism and partaken of the same spirit, know for ourselves that these things are true. I know they are true, if nobody else does. I know it myself. I cannot help knowing it, and all the edicts and laws of Congress and legislators and decisions of courts could not change my opinion. I know that it is from God, and therefore bear testimony of it. Now, can I help it? No. The question resolves itself into this: having received a command from God to do a certain thing and a command from the State not to do it, the question is what shall we do? Daniel had a political trap set for him, as we have had for us. An edict was passed forbidding him to pray to his God under penalty of death; he went and opened his window and prayed in the sight of the community, hence he violated that decree with death staring him in the face. He knew this law was irrevocable, but he was determined to obey the commandment of God and he did. They cast him into a den of lions, and he played with them as a child would play with kittens. There was something to try Daniel’s faith in this but God took care of him.

But there is another feature manifested in this. We notice that King Darius, the victim of a political plot, was very solicitous for the welfare of Daniel, for early in the morning he went to the lion’s cave and cried, “O Daniel, is the God in whom thou trusteth able to deliver thee?” When Daniel replied, “O King, live forever, the God in whom I trust has sent his angel and has delivered me from the jaws of the lions,” etc. I do not think from the reading of the President’s message, that if any of us were cast into the lion’s den or into prison, that Mr. Hayes would manifest the interest about us that Darius did about Daniel; but then we must remember this difference, that the first of these is a Christian; the latter was a heathen. But outside of these things, I feel to proclaim against the vices of the age, whether in this nation or others; for we as a nation are fast descending as low as the most degenerate and corrupt nations of Europe, and are practicing infamies which have been the overthrow and ruin of many mighty cities, nations and empires, and which are now the loathsome, unnatural, disgusting, damning sins of Christendom. The standing law of God is, be fruitful and multiply; but these reformers are “swift to shed blood,” even the blood of innocence; and with their prenatal murders and other crimes, are slaying their thousands and tens of thousands with impunity, to say nothing of that other loathsome, disgusting, filthy institution of modern Christendom “the social evil,” as well as other infamous practices. We must protest against feticide, infanticide, and other abominable practices of Christendom being forced upon us, either in the shape of legislative enactment, judicial decision or any other adjunct of so called civilization. We are American citizens and are not yet deprived of the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Men express surprise sometimes at the action of the grand jury who sat upon, as I am informed, about 200 cases of polygamy and only found bills against three. Why, human nature with all its infirmities is not sunk so low as at the bidding of an official satrap to find indictments to order, without evidence and testimony, and there are very few, in view of the above facts, who are sunk so low as to condemn men for marrying wives and supporting their children, while at the same time they know that their accusers and persecutors are violating every principle of chastity, and murdering their own offspring. Many men may be very corrupt, and indulge in the vices and crimes of the age; but all are not hypocrites. Despotic laws require a despot, and not even packed juries will always carry them out. Now, it becomes a question for us to decide whether we shall observe the laws of God or the commands of men. If I had to answer I would answer as I did before the court. When I made that answer this question had not then been decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. Since then they have sanctioned that law, hence we are placed in a position a good deal like the Christians were in the days of Rome, and the Christians now assume the position of the then heathen.

What shall we do? Shall we trust in God or in the arm of flesh? Shall we give up our religion and our God and be governed by the practices that exist in the nation which are contrary to the laws of God? All who are in favor of abiding by the laws of God hold up their right hand (The congregation voted unanimously). We find the same feeling throughout the Territory.

We wish no disrespect to the government, for after all I do not suppose we could get any better treatment from any other Christian nation than we do from our own, but this is not saying much for them. It is a poor thing when so great and magnanimous a nation cannot afford to allow 200,000 people to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences.

But have we resisted anything else? No. Have I? No. Have you? I presume not. I expect these kind of things—the opposition and corruption of men and the world, under the instigation of the devil, who is the enemy of the Saints. What then? Do I expect to give up my religion to the devil? I think not. What shall we do then? Shall we abuse the people of the United States? No. Shall we abuse the President of the United States? No. Yet I am sorry that he is not a little more magnanimous; I am sorry he does not possess a little more of these feelings that actuated the founders of this government; I am not sorry for the Saints, for it is quite necessary that we should have to pass through a variety of things in order that, like ancient Saints, we may be made perfect through suffering. “For it became him, for whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” “He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Shall we forsake the institutions of this country because of the acts of those men? No, we will cleave to them and sustain them. Shall we deprive other men of their political rights? No, we will not. Shall we deprive any man of his social rights? No, we will not. Shall we deprive any men of their religious rights? No, we will not. They may do as they please in Washington and other places; but we will do right towards all men. Our motto is, Freedom, Liberty and Rights of Conscience to all people; as Brother Parley P. Pratt has it in one of his poems:

“Indian, Muslim, Greek or Jew, Freedom’s banner waves for you.”

This is the kind of feeling we entertain in regard to this subject. We all have faults, and perhaps this government is one of the best governments we could have in the world; and we will sustain it. And then, we will contend for our rights legally, properly, orderly and constitutionally. And then, we will watch those miserable hounds that come sneaking into our midst, and tell them to leave; we do not want a lot of dogs among us. Honorable and decent men, men that will do right we will maintain all the time. But this nation is laying the axe at the root of the tree and they then will crumble to pieces by and by. If they can stand it we can. If they can afford to treat us in this way, they will soon treat others in the same way. And they will tear away one plank of liberty after another, until the whole, fabric will totter and fall; and many other nations will be cast down and empires destroyed; and this nation will have to suffer as others will. And it will be as Joseph Smith once said, “When all others forsake the Constitution, the Elders of this Church will rally around the standard and save its tattered shreds.” We will come to its rescue and proclaim liberty to all men.

What shall we do about many other things? Let them alone; “Let the potsherds of the earth contend with the potsherds of the earth.” The God who rules in the heavens is watching over their movements as well as ours, they are in his hands as we are—he will put a hook in their jaws and lead them in the way they dreamed not of. He will say to them as he did to the proud waves of the surging ocean—“hither shalt thou come, and no farther: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed.” But it is for us to cleave to God and observe his laws and keep his commandments; and then we need fear no evil that may come upon us, “for God will make the wrath of man to praise him, and the remainder he will restrain.” And God will bless and protect Israel; he will lead us forth in the paths of life—not all of us, for as we have heard, we are not all of us doing just right. But he will accomplish his purposes and roll forth his work and build up his kingdom and establish Zion, and bring to pass all the things spoken of by the holy prophets since the world began.

Now then, having talked a little upon this principle, I will speak about some other things associated with our affairs here, in a Stake capacity, or as Saints, say, for I generally talk more to the whole people than I do to the people of a Stake. There are a few things that I wish to draw your attention to. You have got a Stake organization, you have a president and his counselors, who stand in the same position to you as the First Presidency to the Church. I think you heard something about that this morning. Pray for them. Have they weaknesses? Yes. Have you? Yes. Have I Yes. We are in possession of a rich and glorious treasure; but it is contained in earthen vessels. We all have our weaknesses and infirmities; but we will pray for those that are appointed to preside over us, that God may bless them. And when we bow with our family, with our wives and children around us we will ask God to bless them and inspire them with wisdom, that they may manage well all things committed to their care. We will not find fault with them, but ask God, if we think a false step has been made, to lead them in the right path. And we will make things right if we do this, whether they want them or not, for God will control them by His Spirit for our good.

And then, we have bishops among us. We will treat them courteously. Have they weaknesses? Yes, they are men just like we are. “What,” say you, “have you weaknesses?” Yes, lots of them. I wish I had not sometimes, and then again I don’t wish so. “Do you ask the people to pray for you? Yes, and pray also for my brethren of the Twelve that they may be guided by the inspirations of the Most High, and be led and that they may lead others in the paths of life; that we may magnify the calling God has given unto us and honor it and do good among men, and help to build up His Zion. This work devolves upon you in your sphere as much as upon President Smoot and his counselors and the several bishops. Everyone has his duties to perform; and if we all do them we will do pretty well. Listen then, to their counsels. You have a High Council, sustain them in like manner, that in all their judgments and counsels they may do right. And I would say both to the Bishops in their capacity, as common judges in Israel, and to the High Council as a High Council, deal justly in the sight of God; do not bring into deliberations any of your own private notions or feelings. Do not, in the name of God, seek to pervert judgment or justice. I would not give five straws for a man—he is not fit to be a high councilor—if he would not apply the same judgment to his own brother or son as he would to anybody else. We need to ask God to give us wisdom in the management and direction of these affairs, and then we ought to have another principle more thoroughly enforced than it is among us. We have people going to law one with another sometimes, and that before the ungodly, and the Elders of Israel sanction it. God will hold you to an account, I tell you, and He will bring you up standing when you don’t dream of it, and all they that like to go to law, in the name of God they shall have enough of it until they are sick and weary—for it will bring them down to poverty, ruin, misery and death, unless they turn around speedily and repent. Let us honor the institutions that God has given unto us, honor the Priesthood, honor our own courts of justice, and treat all men everywhere with proper respect, but we do not want to go to law with the ungodly.

There are other things I wish to speak about pertaining to the interests of this community. We should educate our children properly. I am very glad to find you have one very good institution in this place. You have got those at the head of it that know God, and who instill into the minds of their pupils correct principles and the fear of the Lord, and teach them the principles of life; that they, when they go forth to teach others, may teach them the same principles that these our brethren teach them—that correct principles may spread, grow and increase, and that while they are obtaining an education in regard to science and the various branches of secular education, they may always have before their minds the fear of God. Well, would you seek for knowledge? Yes, as I would for a hidden treasure. Would you like the people to be acquainted with the arts and sciences, etc.? Yes. We want to so educate our children, and if necessary make sacrifices ourselves for that purpose, in order that they may be men and women capable of coping intellectually with any persons that live upon the earth. We are seeking after these things, we are anxious to promote the welfare of all people in regard to these matters, especially those associated with us, that our children may grow up not only in the fear of God, but possess intelligence of every kind. Now, these are our feelings in relation to these matters, and by-and-by, if we do this and keep doing it, how will it be? It will not be long before we will be as far ahead of the world in regard to the arts, sciences, mechanism and every principle of intelligence that exists upon the face of the earth, as we are in religious matters today. Some of our little boys five and six, seven and eight years old know very well how to cope with men that profess generally to be wise men on religious subjects. Some few days ago I attended a Sabbath School exhibition in the 17th Ward of Salt Lake City, and witnessed there more intelligence displayed by the children, male and female, in regard to religious matters, than I have ever seen exhibited anywhere in the whole Gentile world wherever I have traveled. I was reminded of a saying of the Savior’s that “Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise.” Let us train up our children in the right way. That reminds me of another thing, that is our Sabbath Schools. You have them here, how extensively you are engaged in them I am not prepared to say, but it is a good institution worthy of our best efforts, and I would say let us encourage them, let our young and middle aged men that are talented engage in them, that our children may be brought up in the fear of God. The school that Brother Maeser and Brother Hardy are engaged in, in this place, I consider a model institution, and I say God bless them and let the blessing and Spirit of God be with them. Continue in your labors as you are doing, and your names will be known in Israel and be handed down to posterity as some of the great men of Zion. Let our brethren, too, be interested in these Sunday Schools, and let us get men that fear God—you young men and Elders of Israel who have the Spirit of the Lord—teach the children and instill the principles of life and salvation into their minds. And then there are other things that are very praiseworthy institutions, one of which is the Female Relief Societies. Our Sisters are engaged with us in trying to do a good work. Shall we despise them in their labors? No. Who are they? Part of ourselves. Do they hold the priesthood? Yes, in connection with their husbands and they are one with their husbands, but the husband is the head. And women are so constituted that they are much better prepared to feel after the welfare of families than men are. They can sympathize with the sisters, for they are one with them. I remember a certain lady said to me in talking about some things, “You never was a grandmother.” “No.” said I, “I never was. I never had that experience.” “Well, then, you cannot enter into the feelings of a grandmother.” No, and I never was a wife, and therefore I could not enter into the feelings of a wife. But a wife can enter into a wife’s feelings and into a mother’s feelings and they can sympathize with the sisters, and pour in the oil and wine and they can teach the sisters correct principles, teach them cleanliness, kindness and sisterly sympathetic feelings. They are doing this to a great extent, therefore I say God bless the sisters. They are one with us in seeking to promote the welfare of Israel. They tell me I was chairman when the first Ladies’ Relief Society was organized in Nauvoo; perhaps I was, I do not remember, however, but I am pleased to cooperate with the sisters. I desire to see them prosecute their labors and try to train up young women to be good mothers, good housekeepers good wives, and to cultivate the fear of God and to teach their own children to walk in the paths of life.

Then we have our Young Men and Young Womens’ Mutual Improvement Associations. These are very good institutions. How much better it is to see our youth engaged in the fear of God, meeting together and talking over the things of God, meditating upon them, teaching one another good, virtuous, holy principles, than to see them associated with corruptions and treading in the paths that leads down to death. How much better to teach purity, holiness, virtue, and intelligence, making them honorable men and women, than to see them take a different course. I have been asked sometimes if there was the priesthood associated with this. No; not particularly; but it is one of those helps spoken of in the Scriptures. A bishop will not object to being helped by the Relief Societies. Will he object to them visiting the poor? Will he object to any man or any woman seeking to promote peace, order, virtue, and righteousness? No. Who are they? Some are Elders, some are Seventies, some High Priests, and all belong to the several quorums of the priesthood. These associations are a very creditable thing, in advance, say of our Sunday school operations. It is leading on to knowledge, or what we term theology and science, and every principle of intelligence. We have a great many good, highminded, honorable young men and women, and I say God bless you in your labors.

You, bishops, I say to you, encourage all these things among you, sanction and protect them, and do all you can to foster them.

With regard to our political organization, I would say, we must be united. Who, I ask, should dictate us? If I was here in Provo, and had to do with such matters, the first thing I would do would be to confer with President Smoot to ascertain whom he would recommend for such and such offices.

“But,” say some, that would in– terfere with my freedom. I think Watts says:

“I would be walking with the wise. That I may wiser grow.”

Well then,

I would not be walking with the fools, Lest I a fool should grow.

But I would seek from men of experience and judgment advice as to the best course to pursue. And as to your freedom have as much as you please, that is, freedom to do right, not wrong. It is very necessary that we be united; and anybody that seeks to divide the people is not the friend of God or man, neither is God his friend; and if he continue to interfere with the happiness and union of the people of God, He will not hold him guiltless; but He will remove him out of his place. There is a providence in many of these things. People wonder sometimes why we have sickness amongst us. The Apostle Paul in writing to the Corinthians, in referring to divisions that existed among them, together with their unworthiness, when partaking of the Lord’s supper, says, “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.” Do you believe a principle of that kind? I do. Let us fear God then, honor Him, and keep His commandments.

Another thing, we want the brethren to do, and that is to cultivate a right feeling towards the sisters, and towards their wives especially. God has given them to us; treat them well and kindly. If they have weaknesses—which doubtless they have—we should bear with them, they are the weaker vessel, and we ought to be strong, and a strong man ought not to be much afraid of a weak woman. We ought to have them in our affections, and instead of returning evil for evil, be kind to them; and if your wives chide you, render to them kindness in return and love them, and say, this is not exactly right; let us be friends. And they will turn round and reciprocate that kind of feeling. And then make their homes as comfortable as you can, and lighten their household duties as far as it may be in your power to do so; and do all you can to unite your efforts together as families. And wives, comfort your husbands; speak kind words, and make their homes a heaven. And neighbors, don’t bite and devour one another, don’t tear in pieces one another’s character, but be united in all things.

“Nay, speak no ill, a kindly world Can never leave a sting behind.”

Let us learn to speak kindly of each other, and if we cannot say something good of our brother or our sister, let us hold our tongue. And if our brother sin against us, tell him of his fault when you and he are alone; and then when you are made acquainted with your wrong, confess it and repent, and try to do better. And let us live together as brethren and sisters and as Saints of God. And do not forget to call upon the Lord in your family circles, dedicating yourselves and all you have to God every day of your lives; and seek to do right, and cultivate the spirit of union and love, and the peace and blessing of the Living God will be with us, and He will lead us in the paths of life; and we shall be sustained and upheld by all the holy angels and the ancient patriarchs and men of God, and the veil will become thinner between us and our God, and we will approach nearer to him, and our souls will magnify the Lord of hosts.

Brethren and sisters, God bless you, and lead you in the paths of life, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by Elder C. W. Penrose, delivered in the Tabernacle, Provo, Saturday Morning, November 29th, 1879.

I feel thankful to meet with the Latter-day Saints in this house to participate in the enjoyment of this Conference; for it is really enjoyment to me to listen to the instructions imparted to the Saints by the power of the Holy Ghost through the covenants of God. It is not supposed that when we come together as we do this morning, that we wish to be treated to the views and opinions of men. The Lord has instructed his servants to speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and it has been shown to us that it is our privilege when we assemble on such occasions to receive instructions, not in the enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in the demonstration and power of the Holy Ghost; and this will be the case when we assemble in the right way and unite our faith and our attention and our spiritual energy so as to call down upon us the blessings of the Almighty, and to have the presence of those influences, those ministering spirits who are sent forth to minister to the heirs of salvation. It is our privilege in these public gatherings appointed for the worship of God, to have the presence of these holy ones in our midst, and to have the power of the Almighty to rest upon both speaker and hearer, that we may be fed and nourished by the bread of life that comes down from heaven, and that when we part and go to our respective callings and places of abode we may each carry with us “a live coal from the altar.”

We meet here today to manifest that we are willing to sustain the brethren appointed of God in their several callings and offices of the holy priesthood. It may seem rather a dry and formal matter to some of the people to come together and lift up their hands to sustain the authorities of the Church, but it is a necessary duty and, if we look at it properly, we shall take pleasure therein. It may seem a little monotonous, but, as I have said, it is necessary, for it was designed by the Almighty in the organization of this Church, that the voice of the people should respond to the voice of the Lord. It is the voice of the Lord and the voice of the people together in this Church that sanctions all things therein. In the rise of the Church the Lord gave a revelation which said that “all things shall be done by common consent.” And the Lord designs that every individual member shall take an interest therein, shall bear a part of the responsibility, and shall take upon him or her the spirit of the Church, and be an active living member of the body. It is designed that this Church shall be alive in its parts; that every individual particle shall be influenced by the spirit thereof. When the human body is in a healthy condition, the spirit that dwells therein animates every portion; but when the body gets into an unhealthy condition, there are parts of it through which the spirit does not circulate. So with the Church that the Lord has established upon the earth. There are plenty of dead forms in the world; religious institutions that are not alive, but are forms without the power. The Lord is building up a society, a kingdom, if you will, which he designs to animate by his power in every part of it. And this is necessary for the good of the whole that every individual member of the Church may be inspired by the spirit that dwells in the body, and that the inspiration thereof may not only rest upon the twelve apostles, upon the various presidents of Stakes and the bishops who take charge of the various wards, and upon the teachers who minister among the people, but that it may go to every individual member of the Church, that the whole body may be filled with life, and all be in unison with the highest powers. Therefore, we are called together from time to time to manifest our willingness to sustain the men presiding over us, through whom comes the word of the Lord to us in an organized capacity. It is our privilege individually to receive the word of the Lord direct. The twelve apostles stand to communicate the word of the Lord to the Church as a whole. The word of the Lord to the Church comes through its presidency. In the various stakes it comes through the authorities appointed there, and is given to the wards through the bishops. But it is our privilege also to receive the word of the Lord direct to ourselves each in our individual sphere and capacity, for we hold a relationship to God as individuals, as well as a community. It is our privilege if we live aright, each one for himself to receive direct from the fountain of life, intelligence, wisdom and knowledge for our individual guidance, inspiration to direct us in all things that we are called upon to perform. The father of a family has a right to receive the inspiration of the Holy Ghost to direct him in all things pertaining to his household, to give words of wisdom and counsel to his wives and his children and all within the sphere of his authority and influence. It is the privilege of every mother to have the spirit of the Lord to direct her in the course she shall take with her children. And it is the privilege of every boy and girl, who has been baptized into the Church, to receive the Holy Ghost for their guidance, so that the whole Church may be quickened, bodily and spiritually, with that life that comes from above; so that God may be able to impress us as individuals with desires and intelligence for the accomplishment of his purposes. And we should so live as to be in harmony with the authorities of the Church; in harmony with those who preside over us, that we may be able to see as they see, and act as they desire us to act when they give us the word of the Lord. But we cannot do that unless we possess this spirit. And not only should we be in harmony with those men, but with the powers behind the veil; and we should be so tuned that our whole natures will be in perfect accord with the influences that come from on high, and be sensitive to the impressions God intends to make upon us.

We sustain our brethren of the twelve, as prophets, seers, and revelators; and I have heard it remarked by some brethren, that they could not see any need of doing so, and that holding up their hands does not make those men prophets, seers and revelators. That is true enough as far as it goes. But by sustaining these brethren in our customary way, we manifest to God and the powers behind the veil, who work with the brethren in the flesh that we are willing to receive any revelation that the higher powers may see fit to communicate through them in that capacity. We have a great deal of principle and doctrine given to us through the means of the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, etc., with which we ought to make ourselves thoroughly familiar. At the same time we have men presiding over us in this Church through whom the word of the Lord will come in our present circumstances for our guidance and for the guidance of the whole Church in its onward march, as the exigencies of the case may require. And when we lift up our hands to heaven to sustain them, we manifest that we hold ourselves in readiness to receive the word of the Lord whenever he sees fit to impart it to us. They are the legal channels; they are the appointed receptacles to receive the words of the Lord for us as an organized body; and by lifting up our hands to heaven in this way, we show to God and to angels, that we are ready at any time, if the Lord has a word of revelation to communicate to us, to receive it, no matter how it may come; whether by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, or otherwise; by means of the Urim and Thummim, if he sees fit to restore it to the Church, which he will do as sure as we are gathered here today, and a man will stand up like unto Moses, who will communicate the word of the Lord unto us, line upon line and precept upon precept, until God brings forth everything needed for the building up of his work; and the things kept hidden from the foundation of the world will be brought forth, and all the ancient records that have been lost will be brought to light, by men through whom God shall operate by means of the Urim and Thummim as well as by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. We manifest to him by our uplifted hands that we will receive his word by inspiration, by the Urim and Thummim, or by revelation, or the ministration of angels, or in any way he may be pleased to communicate. It is fitting then that we should do this. We do not know when the Lord may have some new word for us. I am sorry to say we do not all know what is placed on record, for we do not often read it. Nevertheless the Lord may see fit to impart to us something not placed on record, and we should be ready and willing to receive every word of counsel, or instruction, or command, or rebuke that he may see fit to impart. It is necessary also that we should show to our brethren who are called to these various offices that we are willing to sustain them. For they have not called themselves, neither do they run for office; we are not office seekers in this Church. It is very generally the case that a man who seeks an office is not a fit and proper person to occupy it. But we are willing to receive any appointment or calling the Lord may see fit to place us in; we are on hand, we are ready; but we are not office seekers. As I have said the men whom we voted to sustain this morning, the presidency of the stake, bishops, home missionaries, etc., did not call themselves, but have been called to act in those positions; and they are not paid for it either, that is in worldly wealth. Of course they are blessed and paid, as every man is paid when doing good, in the blessings pertaining to his calling. For every man called to occupy any position can, if he seeks aright, obtain the spirit of that calling, and in that there is peace and joy and satisfaction, so that he is paid in his labors in any office which he may be called to fill. But our brethren do not thrust themselves forward to seek for position. Somebody else calls them, and we, today, manifest our willingness to sustain them in those callings, and to give them the benefit of our faith and prayers, and to assure them that so far as we are placed under their counsel we will accept it and act upon it. So this is a good work we do. It does not take a great deal of time or labor and it is a fitting duty for Latter-day Saints to perform, and I feel that we are privileged in so doing.

As the children of God, we need to rally around our brethren who are acting in the various offices in this Church, and be one with them and not only manifest this by lifting up our hands, but by really sustaining them in the positions they are called to fill, so far as lies within our power, each one taking an interest in these things, each one feeling that he has a part in this matter. For this work does not rest altogether upon those required to act in official positions, but upon every individual called by the name of Latter-day Saint. Some people think that the sphere of labor they are called to occupy, is not a great one, that if they were called to occupy some office in the Church they could accomplish more good and have something more to live for. But I think we shall discover that if we are all anxious to fill our sphere of action, we can find ample opportunity for the exercise of those powers with which God has endowed as; every man and woman can find a sphere of usefulness if they are desirous; each one can find his or her own place, and we will all come to it by and by. I believe it to be one of the powers and authorities of this priesthood that God has revealed from heaven, to find out the place for which every individual in the church is adapted, and to get them into place.

“A place for everything, and Everything in its place.”

And the time will come when the Lord shall have established his Church perfectly upon the earth, and all things move in their proper course, that God will find a place adapted to every person, in which each will have more joy than in any other place and be able to do more good to the community than in any other. And we can find this measurably today if we are desirous to do so. For there is an ample sphere of labor for every man, and also for every woman, in this Church. Every man in this house, this morning, whether bishop, teacher, or missionary to preach the Gospel, can find something to do for the exercise of the powers with which he is endowed, magnifying his office or calling in the priesthood—for we nearly all have some portion of the priesthood. If we seek for the spirit of that calling, we shall find plenty of opportunity for the exercise of its duties. But the great difficulty is, many of us are content simply to be ordained to the priesthood. “I am a high priest, or seventy, or an elder, as the case may be, and am satisfied with my calling; and do not seek for anything further.” Now, my brethren, there are privileges and powers pertaining to these callings—and we can read about them here in this book (Doctrine and Covenants), and what the various duties are of these different callings in the priesthood. The powers of the Aaronic priesthood reach out a great way, for we are told that that priesthood holds the keys of the ministration of angels. I wonder how many there are who obtain such a blessing as this? I do not know whether we are fit for communion with the higher powers, the beings sent forth to “minister unto the heirs of salvation.” But we read that the Melchizedek priesthood contains greater powers than that. It not only holds the keys of the ministration of angels, but of communion with the heavenly Jerusalem, the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn with Jesus Christ the Mediator of the new covenant and God the highest and holiest of all. And the time will come when under this priesthood to those who hold this authority and calling, and have the spirit of it and minister in that spirit and obtain the power thereof, the Lord will unveil his face and they shall gaze upon his glory. That time will come, for there is no word of the Lord revealed but what will come to pass. It may not come in the time and season we expect it, or when we are looking for it; but we may be assured that everything that God has promised by the power of the Holy Ghost through his servants will come to pass in his due time. The time will come when the servants of the living God will purify themselves before him until they will be fit to receive these blessings. When that holy temple is built in Zion God will take away the veil from the eyes of his servants; and the day is yet to dawn when the sons of Moses and Aaron, having become sanctified to the renewing of their bodies, will administer in that holy house, and the veil will be taken away, and they will gaze upon the glories of that world now unseen, and upon the faces of beings now to them invisible; but it will be when they have purified themselves from the evils of this world, and are really the servants of the living God, and temples of the Holy Ghost.

We can get a measure of the spirit of this calling today, and by the power thereof we can have communion with our Father. Not only through the living oracles in a Church capacity, but as individual members of the Church we can come near unto the Lord, so that there will be no barrier between us and him, and so that his Spirit can come upon us freely, and the light of God can illuminate our souls and so direct us that we may have the life and strength of this eternal priesthood. For this priesthood is a reality and not a mere name; it is not a mere calling in word, but an office which confers upon us power and influence that comes from the Almighty. I know that men holding the priesthood, and who magnify it and receive the spirit and power of it, are different from other men, their influence and motives are different, their feelings are different and the spirit and influence they carry with them are different. Such men can go forth in the midst of the wicked, enwrapped in the power and influence of their priesthood, like the garments they wear, and be separate from the world, and they can carry an influence in the world which other men cannot carry. There is force in it, there is power and salvation in it; and every man called to hold this priesthood should be a minister of salvation in the midst of the earth. If he is not called to minister abroad in the world, he can be a minister of peace and righteousness at home; he can strengthen the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees, and drive away doubt from the skeptical mind; bear testimony to the truth which he has received and understands and wherever he goes he can carry the Spirit and blessing of God that will build the people together, and thus help to build up the kingdom of God. And he will not spread contention or encourage any spirit which would prompt men to speak evil of each other; he will not encourage anything that savors of contention and strife and disunion, but, on the contrary, will encourage all that tends to unite the people together. And any man holding the priesthood has power to do that much in the sphere which he is called to occupy. And also of speaking a word in due season, and of standing in his calling and of being a representative of the Most High God.

And the sisters, too, have also a good, wide sphere. I was pleased to see that the presidency of the Relief Society was presented and sustained at this Conference. The sisters are one with the brethren in their labors, and have duties peculiar to themselves, in carrying on the work which God has given them to do. It has been well said, that “Man is not without the woman, nor the woman without the man, in the Lord.“ And we shall find that through all eternity the sexes go together, and that the female portion of God’s children have a part and a lot in this matter as well as the male. These Relief Societies give opportunity for our sisters to do much good, and even those who do not belong to the society have frequent opportunities for doing good. Every mother has a field of usefulness at home among her own children; this is her peculiar sphere. Do not let me be understood to mean that woman should be a fixture in the house, to be tied up to a table leg, or to a washtub. I think many of our sisters stay at home too much. If they would make it their business to take more outdoor exercise they would find it a relief to the monotony of household work. I do not believe that women should be tied up at home; but I say that home is woman’s peculiar sphere. She reigns there as queen; she can make that home comfortable, peaceful and pleasant for the husband, so that he would rather come there than any other place on earth; and that woman is foolish, I think, who does not do this. Women should make their homes as comfortable as they can, with the means at their command, that the husband, the children and all that belong to the family may be glad to come home to enjoy the society of the family circle. Right there is where a woman can exercise the great power God has given unto her. What a blessing it is when the Lord gives to a woman children, boys and girls born heirs to the covenant, heirs to the holy priesthood, that they may grow up with natural rights to the blessings of the priesthood; to become servants of the Most High; to become vessels for the Holy Spirit to dwell in; to become representatives of the Lord upon the earth; to become ministers of salvation for the living and the dead! What a sphere for the labors of these sisters, to train up the minds of their children in the fear of the Lord; to teach the boys good principles; to teach them as well as the girls to be virtuous, pure, chaste, and holy, for those that are unholy cannot receive the fullness of the blessing and power of God, that is, like those who keep themselves pure before him. And the brethren can plant these ideas in the minds of their boys, and if not fully at first, by and by they will be enabled to comprehend their full meaning. Fathers should take all the time they can in instructing their children but the mothers are with them so much more and have so much greater influence over them in a certain direction, and therefore they should seek to exercise their powers by training up their children in the way they should go. And we are not required to train them up by word and precept alone, but by example. If we do not want our children to use strong drink, it will not do for us to use it. Try therefore to set our children examples which we would feel perfectly willing that they should imitate. Our sisters can work in this way both by precept and example, and above all things by the spirit they carry; they can impress the minds of the young and rising generation so that they may grow up with a natural tendency to that which is holy. Let girls be brought up by a mother who is full of kindness and love and charity—which are much more beautiful adornments than the glittering show of jewelry; earthly jewels are nothing in comparison to those precious jewels of eternity, and all the finery that woman could put on is nothing to the adornment of the mind which peculiarly shines out in the mothers and daughters of Israel—let a mother be imbued with this good, kind, teachable spirit and she can surround her children with it, she can have that spirit in the home where she resides. And although she may have a great many cares and tribulations and trials which may tempt her to anger, yet, she can conquer all the passions that will rise up in her nature and subdue them, and can train up her children in the midst of these adverse circumstances, in the fear of God, and her tribulations will be turned to her good, and it will be easy for her children to walk in the way of God, and they will grow up with a natural repugnance for the things which are evil, and a natural desire to receive in their hearts everything that is good. The Lord is saying to the north, “Give up; and to the south, keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth.” He has brought us to this place from the nations of the earth that we may become a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people zealous of good works. This is why he has given unto us laws with regard to the marriage relations, that Israel shall not marry Gentiles; that Israel shall wed Israel; that the daughters of God shall marry the sons of God, etc., in order that our children may be heirs to the blessings pertaining to the everlasting covenant, that by and by there may be a race of men and women upon the earth who will be holy unto the Lord, born with natural desires in them to do right, which they have inherited from their parents, who shall train them up in the way they should go, with that holy atmosphere surrounding them, that they may be thoroughly under the influence of the spirit that comes from on high, that their whole natures may be sensitive to the whisperings of Almighty God, that they may grow up, his sons and daughters, and that it may be a mark of honor that such and such men were “born in Zion.” The Lord will give honor unto such people. And their sons will go to nations afar off and the earth will tremble under their voice, and evil spirits that are deceiving the sons of men will flee before them, for the power of the priesthood will be with them. And they will search out the seed of Israel wherever they preach to them the Gospel in their own tongue by the power of the Almighty—for this the gift of tongues was designed—and they will gather in the seed of Israel to the Zion of our God. And he will be their strength; he will go before them and be round about them. And our daughters will grow up pure and virtuous, and the angels of God will be round about them. And the Lord will multiply his people upon the earth until all things are fulfilled, his kingdom will be built up, the Lord Jesus Christ will come, and all that has been spoken by the prophets will be brought to pass.

Now, these things are right before us. God expects us to be a different kind of people from those in the world. He does not expect us to be of the world, worldly. We have come here to be separate from the world, that we may purge ourselves from the spirit of Babylon. We must have different motives from the world, we must not have the same desires as the Gentiles, for their hearts are set upon the things of this life. They worship the wealth of the world. I hope to see the time when every Latter-day Saint will have plenty, and the time will come when God will give unto his people all the wealth they desire, but that will be when they know how to use it aright, and when their hearts are right and set upon the law of the Lord and upon the counsel of his will, and when they will be willing to use it for his glory and the blessing of their race. We must remember we are Latter-day Saints, having come here to serve the Lord, to learn his ways and walk in his paths, and to unite ourselves together, that we may be a solid, compact body, a living body filled with the spirit of life and light that comes from God, ready at any moment, as individuals or as an organized church community to move forward in any direction required, that the word of God may be proclaimed, that Israel may be gathered and the Kingdom of God built up, and the power taken out of the hands of the wicked and vested in the hands of the servants of God, who will rule in righteousness in the midst of the earth.

I bear my testimony to this congregation, many of whom are strangers to me, and some of whom I have met, conversed with and labored with in foreign lands; I can say to you all that I know this work is true. I know by the revelation of the Holy Spirit that the Lord has commenced the great work of the latter days spoken of by the prophets. I know it will remain, and will prevail; though all the world rise up against it—as they will do some day, not only this nation, but others—and will say, “Let her be defiled.” But they know not the Lord, neither do they understand the counsels of his will. For he will say unto Zion, “Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thine hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.” Though all nations oppose, this work will roll onward to completion; for the power of God will be in our midst and we shall be able to accomplish with greater ease and facility everything we are directed to do. This kingdom will prevail, and this work will roll on and accomplish everything predicted. And the time will come when the pure and good of every clime will gather up to Zion; and the Temple will be built in the center city of Zion, the New Jerusalem, and the glory of God will rest upon it, and the purposes of God will be developed and his kingdom roll on, while the kingdoms of this world, with all their pomp and splendor, will be brought low; and God through his priesthood, will rule from the rivers to the ends of the earth. And Christ our Redeemer will come and bring his reward with him.

May God help us to be faithful in this work, so that when he shall come, we may as individuals and a church be purified and prepared to enter into the joy of our Lord to receive the fullness of the blessings of the Gospel of peace. Amen.

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered at American Fork, Friday, November 28th, 1879.

I have been much interested in the remarks made by Brother Joseph F. Smith this morning. They are true and are a part of the Gospel of life and salvation which embraces all truth. While he was speaking this passage of Scripture occurred to my mind. Jesus said, “Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”

There is not a principle associated with the Gospel of the Son of God but what is eternal in its nature and consequences, and we cannot with impunity trample upon any principle that is correct without having to suffer the penalty thereof before God and the holy angels, and in many instances before men. The principles of the Gospel being eternal, they were framed and originated with the Almighty in eternity before the world was, according to certain eternal laws, and hence the Gospel is called the everlasting Gospel. It is like God, without beginning of days or end of years, and, as the Lord says, “I am the Lord and I change not.” The Gospel is eternal and does not change; it is eternal in its principles and consequences.

And the angel who was to come in the last days flying in the midst of heaven was to proclaim the everlasting Gospel—the same Gospel that Adam had, the same Gospel that Noah had, the same Gospel that Abraham had, the same Gospel that the prophets had, the same Gospel that Jesus had, also the same Gospel that the Nephites had here upon this continent, and which Jesus revealed to them, and that they had indeed before he was in the flesh. It is the everlasting Gospel which brings life and immortality to light, and which enters into all the ramifications of human existence and to the existence of the Gods, and to the existence of this world and of all other worlds.

As Brother Joseph F. Smith has justly said, the first command given was, “Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowls of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

There is a principle of life associated with the Gospel—life temporal, life spiritual and life eternal. Hence men are called to be fathers of lives and women are called to be mothers of lives. We are fathers and mothers of lives. And there is something different associated with the order of God from any order of men that exists upon the earth.

When God created the earth and placed man upon it, and the fishes of the sea and the fowls of the air, and the grasses and plants and trees, etc., he placed in them the principle of life, or, in other words, the power of propagating their own species. And if it were not for that, what would you farmers do? Men can accomplish a great many things. They can build houses, railroads and steamboats, and can do a great many clever things whereby they can command, to a certain extent, the forces of nature; but they cannot give vitality to any of them. They cannot even furnish material to make a grain of sand, the wisest of them. But God has ordained that this principle of vitality exists within themselves. You take a single grain of wheat, for instance, and put it into the earth and you will see the principle of life begin to manifest itself, it is very small apparently, but contains within itself the power of increase. The same is also true with regard to the grasses, shrubs, plants and flowers, and the various things that exist in creation. They spread, they extend, and they have spread over the face of the earth as man has spread, and the rain descends and the sun shines and nature, as we term it, operates; but I would call it the power of God which operates according to eternal laws and principles that he has ordained. He gives vitality to all creation and sets life into motion and controls it, in the heavens as well as in the earth; not only among men, but among the beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, the fishes of the sea, and all the grasses, plants and flowers and herbs etc., everything possessing the principle of life within itself. You farmers know that, and hence you store up your different seeds and in the proper season take them and plant them and they grow and increase and spread; these things look very small. It is very little to look at a grain of wheat, but then if you don’t have it you never could raise wheat. Can you farmers make one solitary grain of wheat without the seed? It is apparently a small thing but you can’t do it. You can try it if you please, but you will not succeed. You cannot make a peppergrass seed; but if you take one of those seeds or a grain of wheat and sow it and water it you may by its increase spread it over all the face of the earth; but if you did not have the seed you could not accomplish anything. I do not care how smart you are or what rules of philosophy or science you may have come across, all I ask of you is to make a grain of oats or wheat. But then, we will stop at the wheat. If we cannot do that we are not so very important, are we? There needs a superior power to give this vitality. You look at it. You see today the trees are leafless, there are no flowers in bloom, everything is seared and withered and apparently gone to decay. By and by according to the principles of nature, or the laws of God, spring comes along, and the birds begin to sing and feel happy, the grass begins to shoot forth, the flowers begin to bud, the trees begin to blossom. And who gives this vitality and maintains it? God. Could you do much without him? No. Why, you cannot even make your grain to grow after it is provided for you without water. You try it sometimes but you make a poor out of it, and withal we need the revivifying heat of the sun. The grass begins to shoot up and by and by we have the wheat and corn, first the blade and ear and then full corn in the ear. We have apple trees, plum trees, and the various fruit trees budding, blossoming and bearing fruit, all these things are provided by whom? By the omnipotent, omniscient hand of the Almighty according to certain eternal laws that he has provided for man and for every creature that exists upon the face of the earth.

But we will come back to the things spoken of by Joseph F. Smith. This principle of life is the origin of our world, not only of this world, but of others; and this propagating and multiplying is ordained of the Almighty for the peopling of these worlds. And this production of life that I have briefly alluded to is another principle that exists to supply the want of another kind of life that exists here upon the earth. And without this there could be no world; all would be chaos, all would be darkness, all would be death, and the works of God would amount to nothing if it were not for this life and vitality.

Now, I want to speak further on a principle associated with this subject, that is, that in the providence of God, or according to the eternal laws of God and the eternal fitness of things as they exist with him in the eternal worlds and as they exist here upon the earth, all of us are or should be as much under the guidance and direction of God, and are as much obligated to listen to his law and be governed by his counsels and advice—and I should think a little more so—than we would be in making that grain of wheat to grow or ten thousand million of them to grow, for we could not do it without being governed by those laws requisite to produce the increase. Furthermore, we all are the offspring of God, are we not? I think the Scriptures read that, “We are all his offspring; that he is the God and Father of the spirits of all flesh;” and being the God and Father of the spirits of all flesh, and having made a world for all flesh to inhabit, and having made provision for the sustenance of that flesh, for their food, clothing, comfort, convenience and happiness, and given them intelligence and told them to go forth and manipulate the abundance of nature to their use, has he not a right to lead and direct us, to ask obedience to his law? Would not that be a legitimate right, when we reflect upon it? The world says, No, he has no right; I am my own master, etc. Some of the Latter-day Saints almost say the same thing; not quite, but they would like to get near it. “I am a free man; I will be damned if I don’t do as I please,” etc. Well, I will tell you another part of that story. You will be damned if you do act as you please unless you please to do and to keep the laws of God. We cannot violate his laws with impunity nor trample under foot these eternal principles which exist in all nature. If all nature is compelled to be governed by law or suffer loss, why not man?

Now, then, he has revealed unto us the Gospel. He has gathered us together from among the nations of the earth for the accomplishment of his purposes. For this he has used higher measures and more exalted principles than are associated with some of the lower orders of nature, some of these things that exist in nature. But who can comprehend them? The world with all its wisdom knows very little about them. The world with all its wisdom knows nothing about God. What is the acme of the perfection of knowledge that exists anywhere today? What is the highest step of the ladder they can reach? To discover some principles or laws of nature and become acquainted with them and then they make terrible blunders at that. But this is the acme of perfection that any philosopher or scientist or intelligent man professes to reach—to understand some of the laws of nature. But how much of these do they know? Why, in my time, in order to show how much they know and how little, I will mention some things that have not existed in my day. They did not know of the oil we burn in this room. I can remember that in some of the large cities of the earth all they had to light then was tallow or wax candles or whale oil, which was just about enough to make darkness visible. And after all the thousands of years that men have existed upon the earth they cannot even make the oil you burn today, and they did not have it when I was young. But did that principle that exists in the oil always exist? Yes. Why didn’t they find it out? Because they only understood a few of the principles of nature notwithstanding all their philosophy and intelligence. Again, who knew anything about gas in those days? I can remember the time when the streets and shops were first lighted up with gas. What did they have before? Tallow candles; those in common use we used to call dips. You old people know about this and whale oil, but you did not know anything about gas; but did not gas always exist? Yes. Why did they not know it? Because they were like us, didn’t know much. Again, what did they know about the power of steam? I can remember the time when there was no such thing as steamboats, when we who lived in England had to come to America in sailing vessels. They had, it is true, some small vessels that were used on the rivers propelled by steam, which they could not trust in the ocean, and a little time before that they had no steamers of any kind. And then what about our railroads? Did they know how to apply steam to locomotives? No. I remember riding on the first railroad that was built, and here is Brother Robinson, who was one of the conductors of that same railroad that ran between Liverpool and Manchester. I think he is now nearly the first railroad conductor, and the oldest living. Why didn’t men find out these things? We have had intelligent men and philosophers in all ages to the present time, but none could understand these things. Yet the principles are eternal in their nature and always existed, and all it needed was to bring them out. And when men discovered them they thought they were some great beings. And what did they discover? Simply something that God had already made long ago, only they didn’t know it. In talking about these things I am reminded of a little baby. You sisters have your babies, and you are aware how little they know at first, and we ourselves do not know very much; we are only babies of a bigger growth. One of the first things they find out is that they have a foot, and they try to put it in their mouth. They look at it in astonishment. Why, they always had that foot since their birth. Why didn’t they know it before? Another thing they find out they have a hand and they think what a curious thing it is, and they look at it and the motion of their fingers with astonishment, and they think they have made a great discovery. But there is not much difference between the world of mankind and the babies when we come to look at it. The child had nothing to do with the making of its hands, neither have we had anything to do with originating any of these principles. God made them, and we have simply discovered some of the powers of what is termed nature, and when we have found out a little of these things we take the glory to ourselves; we feel very much like the king of Babylon when he said, “Is not this Great Babylon that I have built?” The Lord, however, started him off to eat grass like an ox. He had to live on it until seven years had passed over him, when the Lord restored him to his natural state, and he then knew that there was a God who lived and ruled in the heavens and on the earth. It is for us to learn this lesson and to find out that there is a God who rules in heaven, and that he manages, directs and controls the affairs of the human family. We are not our own rulers; we are all the children of God; he is our Father and has a right to direct us, not only us, but has a perfect right to direct and control the affairs of all the human family that exists upon the face of the earth, for they are all his offspring. Now, he feels kindly towards them and knows what kind of people they are, and also what we are, and he would do everything he could for them even if in his almighty wisdom he has to kill them off in order to save them. He destroyed the antediluvian world on that account, because they were not filling the measure of their creation. They had corrupted themselves to such an extent that it would have been an injustice to the spirits in the eternal worlds if they had to come through such a corrupt lineage to be subject to all the trouble, incident thereunto, and therefore God destroyed them. He cut off the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in consequence of their corruptions, and by and by he will shake all the inhabitants of the earth, he will shake thrones and will overturn empires and desolate the land and lay millions of the human family in the dust. Plagues and pestilence will stalk through the earth because of the iniquities of men, because of some of these corruptions that Brother Joseph F. Smith has briefly hinted at, namely, the perversion of the laws of nature between the sexes, and the damnable murders that exist among men.

Not long ago, I was called upon by some intelligent, or those who profess to be intelligent men, who asked me something about polygamy. “How is it with you,” said I; “do you know that in this land of yours you are murdering hundreds of thousands of infants every year? Do you know that you have among you people who are considered the most fashionable and honorable that are murderers, who destroy the life that God has given before and after birth, and interfere with the laws of the Almighty. Do you know that they are doing that?” “Yes, we believe they are doing it.” “Do you know that you are wallowing in corruption and degradation, and that your social evils and other damnable corruptions that exist are spreading and permeating through all your society?” “Yes.” “Well, you please go and attend to your own affairs. It certainly does not look well for you who hail from these sinks of infamy and degradation to preach morality to us. Please attend to your own affairs first and get them straightened out before you come to correct us.” Yet these very people, these lascivious men sitting upon the bench and pleading in the courts will arraign honorable men for obeying a law of God. Will we obey it? In the name of Israel’s God we will. (The congregation said “Amen.“) We will carry out his purposes, we will obey his behests, we will, with his help, abide his law, and our persecutors cannot help themselves, for God will put a hook into their jaws and he will lead them whithersoever he will and put a stop to their career by and by. But he will look in kindness upon Zion and honor those who honor and obey his law.

Now these are my feelings in relation to these things. We ought to observe the laws of God. The Lord has taken a great deal of pains to bring us where we are and to give us the information we have. He came himself, accompanied by his Son Jesus, to the Prophet Joseph Smith. He didn’t send anybody but came himself, and introducing his Son, said: “This is My Beloved Son, Hear Him!” And he permitted the ancient prophets, apostles and men of God that existed in different ages to come and confer the keys of their several dispensations upon the prophet of the Lord, in order that he should be endowed and imbued with the power and Spirit of God, with the light of revelation and the eter– nal principles of the everlasting Gospel, and that the keys committed to him, might, through him, be conferred upon others, and that the principles of eternal truth as they exist in the heavens, might extend to the nations of the earth, that these degrading, loathsome, damning principles might cease, that his people might be gathered to Zion from the four corners of the earth, and learn his laws. Says Jesus in his parable of the good shepherd, “and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep he goeth before them and the sheep follow him; for they know his voice.” Now, he has brought us together here. Whose sheep are we? Says Jesus, “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. * * * Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” He has gathered us together here for what? To teach us his law through the medium of the Holy Priesthood. Jesus, in sending forth his disciples in former times said unto them, “He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.”

Now, God has ordained his Holy Priesthood upon the earth with presidents, apostles, bishops, high councils, seventies, high priests, and the order and organization of the Church and kingdom of God in its fulness and completeness, more complete perhaps, than it ever was since the world was framed. Why? Because it is the dispensation of the fulness of times, embracing all other times that have ever existed since the world was, and he has gathered us together for that purpose. Is it to sow and plant and try to make ourselves comfortable and to follow the customs of the world in their corruptions and to wallow in infamy and rob and plunder one another, acting deceitfully and impurely without any regard to virtue or any of the laws that govern the Church and kingdom of God? No. But that we might be a peculiar people full of the light of truth and intelligence and revelations of God; that we might be a people having no longer need of the oral law or the written law, but a people upon whose hearts the law of God shall be written and engraven as in characters of living fire, being under the inspiration and guidance of the Almighty, walking according to the principles of eternal truth, and being led in the paths of life; being united with God and his Son Jesus Christ and with the ancient patriarchs and apostles and men of God, operating with them in the building up of Zion, in establishing the kingdom of God upon the earth, and in spreading salvation to the ends of the earth. This is what he has brought us here for. And also that we might build temples to officiate in them for the living and the dead, and that we might go forth to the nations of the earth, carrying the glad tidings of peace; and that we might be as a city set upon a hill that cannot be hid; and that being in unison with God and the patriarchs and apostles, we might draw down the light and intelligence of heaven upon the earth to enable us to operate with them according to the principles of justice and equity and the laws of life and every principle connected with the salvation of the human family, and that we might go on from strength to strength from intelligence to intelligence, until we shall be capable of enjoying a celestial glory and shall be prepared to enter therein; and until all that shall be prepared to have a celestial glory shall enjoy that, and those who are prepared for the terrestrial glory to have that, and also the telestial to enjoy what belongs to them, and that we may cooperate with God in the eternal worlds and the intelligences of heaven for the accomplishment of this object. And that while they operate in the heavens, we may operate for them upon the earth. This is what we are here for as I understand it.

What else? Make settlements; break loose. Some of you are crying “give us room.” There is plenty of room, and in making these settlements we want to carry with us the principles of the Gospel and plant them in different places. We are sending out persons into the northeast of this Territory, and we want them to go filled with the Holy Ghost and the spirit of the living God. And we are sending some to Arizona, Colorado, Idaho and other places, and we will stretch out further and further. Zion’s cords shall be lengthened and her stakes shall be strengthened until her armies shall become mighty and numerous and until God shall say to the Gentiles, it is enough, and then God will give the government into our hands.

We have come to see you and to talk with you. We want to see you at your own homes. These railroads whisk us by at such a rapid rate that many times we have not time to stop and visit with you. But we thought this time we would come with our own carriages and visit the people in their own homes and talk with them and see how they feel and that they may judge of our feelings with regard to the building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth. You elders of Israel—and there are many in this congregation—let me ask you—Do you have prayers in your family? (Turning round and addressing Bishop Harrington, the speaker said): May I act as teacher for a little while?

The Bishop—Yes, we will be glad to have you.

The speaker—Well, then, I will repeat the question—Do you have prayers in your family? (A voice in the congregation. Yes.) And when you do, do you go through the operation like the guiding of a piece of machinery, or do you bow in meekness and with a sincere desire to seek the blessing of God upon you and your household? That is the way that we ought to do, and cultivate a spirit of devotion and trust in God, dedicating ourselves to him, and seeking his blessings.

Here is one brother says he does. But how is it with the balance of us? I am talking to all of you. Husbands, do you love your wives and treat them right, or do you think that you yourselves are some great Moguls who have a right to crowd upon them? They are given to you as a part of yourself, and you ought to treat them with all kindness, with mercy and long-suffering, and not be harsh and bitter, or in any way desirous to display your authority. Then, you wives, treat your husbands right, and try to make them happy and comfortable. Endeavor to make your homes a little heaven, and try to cherish the good Spirit of God. Then let us as parents train up our children in the fear of God and teach them the laws of life. If you do, we will have peace in our bosoms, peace in our families and peace in our surroundings. Have we any difficulty with our neighbors? Why, Gentiles strive to avoid that. Cannot we pass by some of these hard words, as the old man used to say when a child would come to a big word, “Pass it by, my dear, and call it a hard word.” When you come across a hard word, pass it by; don’t utter it.

Nay, speak no ill; A kindly word can never leave a sting behind. Let us treat one another with kindness and one another’s reputation with respect, and feel after one another’s welfare, treating everybody as we would like God to treat us. And then, when we come to the Lord, we can say, “Father, forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us;” for if we do not forgive our brother, how can we expect our heavenly Father to forgive us? If we have had any difficulty with our neighbor, let us endeavor to make it right. Say, “Brother or sister so and so, my conscience rather troubles me about something I said about you or did to you, or some deal I had in which I got the advantage of you, and I have come to make it right, for I am determined to do right, no matter what other people do.” And let us all seek after one another’s welfare. If we can help one another, let us do it—financially or socially—and don’t betray one another. Some people, some poor, miserable—I don’t care to say a hard word—I will call them sneaks, they will try, because a man has married a wife according to the laws of God, to bring an accusation against him. Such men will be damned and such women will be damned. Do you know that, when these miserable sneaks come into your house on every kind of pretence, perhaps to sell wagons or machinery of some kind, in the midst of their conversation they are known to ask such questions as, “how many wives has your husband got?” Poor, low miserable sneaks. Kick them out of your house, have nothing to do with such low, infernal trash. While we treat good men aright, kick such villains out of your house, they have no business among decent people. We do not want them. Tell them to attend to their own affairs and let our business alone. Tell them to go back where they came from, we do not want them among decent people. These are my feelings. That’s saying a pretty hard word. It is such a word, though, as suits such people, for there is no decent word that’s appropriate for such contemptible beings.

Be true to one another, respect another’s reputation. And then, you elders, treat one another as gentlemen with courtesy and kindness. And you ladies treat one another as ladies, and, old gentlemen, treat ladies as ladies, and you, old ladies, treat the gentlemen as gentlemen.

I feel to tell a little story about Bishop Hunter. Most of you know Dr. Sprague. He was sent by President Young to see brother Hunter, when on the frontier many years ago. The doctor had a squeaky kind of a voice. He says (imitating the doctor), “Does Brother Hunter live here?” Bishop Hunter replied (the speaker imitating the Bishop’s voice), “My name is Hunter.” Doctor Sprague: “President Young has sent me to see if you were sick, and if so he wanted me to administer to you.” Bishop Hunter: “Physician heal thyself:” Doctor Sprague: “Well, sir, I feel just like two clap boards stuck together.” Then he says, “Is this your old woman, Brother Hunter.” Bishop Hunter: “This is Mrs. Hunter. Mrs. Hunter is a lady, she is not an old woman, sir.” When you meet with women, treat them as ladies, and have everybody else do the same. We can afford to treat everybody right, that is, every decent body, but these sneaks we do not want anything to do with—poor miserable beings who go around pretending to do business, but whose real purpose is to obtain information that they may inform upon you, to whom? To men who are as wicked, treacherous, lascivious and degraded as the devil in hell. What for? To destroy you. Will you receive such miserable sneaks in your midst? Tell them to go about their business.

Let us live our religion, keep the commandments of God, pursue a right course, and God will bless us. I ask God the eternal Father to bless you and lead you in the paths of life. I say to you, respect the counsels of those over you; Brother Smoot as your president; listen to him, listen to the counsels of the bishop and pray for him. And then your president and bishops should pray for the people. Treat one another with kindness and courtesy, and let us all feel we are the sons and daughters of God, living our religion and obeying his commandments, following the counsels of the holy priesthood, and seek for the blessings of God upon us and upon our posterity. Never mind what other people do. We will go on and take a course in everything calculated to promote the happiness of the human family, and Zion will grow and spread until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, and the laws that God has introduced will prevail and his will be done upon the earth as it is done in heaven, and every creature be heard to say, “Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb for ever and ever,” and we will join in the universal chorus. God help us to be faithful in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered at Mount Pleasant, November 12th, 1879.

Through the kind providence of our heavenly Father we are permitted, on this pleasant day, to assemble here in this comfortable house, for the purpose of worshiping God, and hearing instruction as the Lord may see proper, in his kindness and wisdom, to pour out his spirit, and make manifest the truth to us. It is a pleasing thing for the human mind, to contemplate that it has some object to worship; that there is a being, far exalted above us, who dwells in the heavens, who is worthy of all adoration and praise; and that we are his children, in possession of a portion of his attributes.

The world which we inhabit is a fallen creation, a fallen world, shut out from the presence of our Father, the being whom we worship, so that we cannot behold his face, nor the glory of his presence. It is for a wise purpose, that we are placed here, in this fallen condition. It seems to be so, as far as we have been made acquainted with the purposes of the great Jehovah. It seems to be the ordeal, through which all intelligent beings must pass, in order to gain that fullness of exaltation, in the presence of God, which is promised in his word.

We were not always in the condition we are now in. We are only placed here for a few years, and are adapted to our present condition. A long time before you and I came here upon this stage of action, we had an intelligent existence; we dwelt in a better world than this, and a world that had been redeemed, a world that had been sanctified and glorified; in other words, a world that had been made celestial, just as we are in hopes that our present world will, at some future period, be exalted to the celestial glory, and become the habitation of celestial beings. That world we occupied, before we came here, was celestial; our Father had his dwelling place there, or, at least, one of his dwelling places; and we were surrounded by our Father’s glory, we were familiar with his countenance, familiar with the beautiful mansions that were there—familiar with all the glory that existed there, so far as we were capable of comprehending. There was no veil drawn between us and our Father, no veil drawn between us and the associates of our Father, who were also celestial beings, many of them having been redeemed from a world more ancient than ours. We had a long experience, I suppose, in that world; at least, we know from that which our Father has revealed to us, that we were born there; that this intelligent being that has power to discern, power to reflect, power to reason—that this intelligent being was born in that previous estate.

These were some of the first revelations given in this last dispensation. The Lord did not wait several years, before he revealed unto us, in some measure, concerning our condition before we came here. Hence, it was away back in the year 1830, that this doctrine of the pre-existence of man was revealed, in greater fullness, than it was given in the Book of Mormon. There are two or three places in the Book of Mormon that reveal the pre-existence of man; but not in such great plainness, as was given soon after the publication of that Book, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, before the Saints began to gather, informing us that we were in reality the children of our Father and God; that we had a pre-existence in which we had learned many very important principles, connected with spiritual existence, before taking bodies of flesh and bones, which was also necessary to afford us a still greater experience. Now, in this plan that God has devised for the advancement of these intelligent beings—by passing them through various stages of existence, under different circumstances, and in different conditions—he gives them experience that they never could have gained, had they remained in the presence of the Father, in that world which was celestial; in other words, we were his offspring in that world, our spiritual bodies not having flesh and bones, but being in the image of the Father and Son—his own sons and daughters. He had a great desire that we should be educated and taught. He could teach us a great many things in that world as we teach our children; he could impart to us a great many things—for there were as many truths in existence in that day as are in existence now; but truths were taught to us, as we were capable of understanding them. The Lord felt anxious that we might come up and eventually be made like him, as it is written in the New Testament, “who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.” I have no doubt before we came into this world, we had a great anxiety, that we might be brought up in the same way he was instructed and taught, and led along, passing through different conditions of existence, that we finally might be counted worthy to be exalted at his right hand, and receive the fullness of his celestial glory the same that he is in possession of and that we might have all his attributes, dwelling within us, as separate individuals and personages, that he might exalt us like unto himself. Now, there is a great deal to be comprehended, when we are told that we are children who will become like our Father; that we were like him in our first stage and condition of existence. We were there, as it were, children without a fullness of knowledge; many experiences had not yet been given to us; but we were like him in our general outline—the outline of our persons; our general form was like him, “after his image” etc. It is thus written in the Book of Mormon, in that great vision to the brother of Jared, in which the Lord condescended to take the veil off his eyes. The brother of Jared had gone up into the mountain, and had moulten out of a rock sixteen small stones, which he carried up into the top of the mount. He went there with an object in view; the object was to get the Lord to touch the stones that they might shine forth in darkness in the eight vessels, (which had been built to convey him and his brother across the great waters) one to be placed at each end of each of the vessels. It would naturally increase the faith of the brother of Jared, to believe it possible that he might see the finger of the Lord. He was going to pray that God would touch the stones, the same as we pray for the Lord to put forth his finger and touch the particles of oil, when we dedicate it, for sacred purposes. If we pray in faith, we must suppose that the finger touches the oil. And Jared prayed in faith. He did not know but what it might be his privilege to see his finger. He did see it; it appeared to him like the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood. But his faith was too great for his nervous system; for when he saw the finger of the Lord, he fell to the earth through fear. And the Lord looked unto him and asked him why he had fallen. He answered and said, “I saw the finger of the Lord, and I feared lest he should smite me; for I knew not that the Lord had flesh and blood.” He did not know but what his imperfections were so great, that the Lord would smite him; but he was commanded to arise. The Lord then asked him, “Sawest thou more than this?” And he answered: “Nay; Lord, show thyself unto me.” Here was a prayer that extended a little further. The Lord wanted to see what amount of faith he had, and he put another question to him, “Believest thou the words which I shall speak?” And he answered, “Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie.” And when the brother of Jared had manifested his faith, the Lord condescended to show his whole personage to him, and said, “Seest thou that ye are created after mine own image. Behold, this body, which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit, and man have I created after the body of my spirit.”

Here the pre-existence of man was taught in the Book of Mormon. All men in the beginning were created after the image of this body which he was then shewing. All the human family that then existed, and that would exist in future time upon the earth, were created in the beginning, after the image of that body; that is, that body which he showed was not a body of flesh and bones, but a pure spiritual body, organized out of pure spiritual substance, filled with light and truth. He informed this great man of God, that he was prepared, from before the foundation of the world, to redeem his people. “Behold,” says he, “I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have light, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name.”

Here, then, was a great deal of information given to us, concerning the formation of the human spirit, the formation of men—the formation of their persons, and their individualities, before the foundation of this world.

It was after this was given, and the Book of Mormon was published, that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints arose. But the Lord, thinking that we had not sufficient understanding of this pre-existence, began to tell us (in the month of June 1830, only a few months after the organization of the Church) more about these things. He told us about the spiritual creation, something we did not comprehend before. We used to read the first and second chapters of Genesis which give an account of the works of the Almighty, but did not distinguish between the spiritual work and the temporal work of Christ. Although there are some things in King James’ translation that give us a little distinction between the two creations, yet we did not comprehend it. The light shone, in some measure, in darkness, but so dark were our minds, through tradition, that we did not comprehend the light—or the few feeble glimmerings of light, contained in these first and second chapters, of the uninspired translation. But our heavenly Father inspired his servant Joseph Smith, to translate several chapters more in the Book of Genesis, in December 1830, which gave a more full account, down to the days of the flood. He told us a great many important principles, principles that he did not give, so far as the historical matter was concerned, in the Book of Mormon. They were an addition in some respects, and therefore, they were new to us, who lived in the early rise of the Church, and calculated to give us great joy.

In these two creations that took place in the beginning, represented as the beginning of this creation—not absolutely the beginning of all the creations of God; for his works are without beginning and without end, they never cease, nor does his word cease; he speaks to us, so far as this creation is concerned, according to our natural ideas and understanding. He says, “all things I have created by the word of my power, which is the power of my Spirit—I created them firstly spiritual and secondly temporal, which is the beginning of my work; and again firstly temporal, and secondly spiritual, which is the last of my work, speaking unto you that you may naturally understand; but unto myself my works have no end neither beginning.”

We learn, therefore, when speaking of this spiritual creation, that not only all the children of men, of all generations, and of all ages, were created spiritually in heaven, but that fish and fowls, and beasts, and all animated things, having life, were first made spiritual in heaven, on the fifth and sixth days, before bodies of flesh were prepared for them on the earth; and that there was no flesh upon the earth until the morning of the seventh day. On that morning God made the first fleshly tabernacle and took man’s spirit and put within it, and man became a living soul—the first flesh upon the earth—the first man also. Though it was the seventh day, no flesh but this one tabernacle was yet formed. No fish, fowl and beast was as yet permitted to have a body of flesh. The second chapter of Genesis, (new translation) informs us that the spirits of fowls were created in heaven, the spirits of fish and cattle, and all things that dwell upon the earth, had their pre-existence. They were created in heaven, the spiritual part of them; not their flesh and bones. We are also told in this inspired translation, that these living trees which we behold—for God has given life unto all things—had their spiritual existence in heaven before their temporal existence; every herb and every tree, before it was planted out on the earth, that is, the spiritual part of it, the life of it, that which, in other words, animates that which gives power to the vegetable to bring forth fruit after its likeness—the spiritual part existed in heaven. It was a spiritual creation first. We are also told that the earth was organized in a spiritual form, that is, that portion that gives life to the earth. We read about the earth’s dying, and that it shall be quickened again. What is it that will make the earth die? It will be the withdrawing of the spiritual portion from it, that which gives it life—that which animates it, and causes it to bring forth fruit; that which quickens the earth is the Spirit of God. That spiritual creation existed before the temporal was formed. This was the beginning of the first part of his work, pertaining to this creation. On the seventh day he began the temporal portion. There was not yet a man to till the ground, “and the gods formed man from the dust of the ground, and took his spirit—that is the man’s spirit—and put it into him and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.” This we read in the 2nd chapter of Genesis, and you will find it recorded on the 6th and 35th pages of the new edition of the Pearl of Great Price.

Abraham also obtained a knowledge of the spiritual creation, as well as the temporal. In giving a history of the creation, he speaks of the formation of man out of the ground, how he took man’s spirit that was created in heaven and put it within the body of man, and man became a living soul—the first flesh upon the earth, as recorded in the second of Genesis. Now, we have been in the habit of thinking that the various kinds of animals that have lived, according to geologists, were the first flesh on the earth, and we go away back millions of ages to see that these lower formations of life existed before man. But the Lord gives us different information from this. He shows us that among all the animated creatures of flesh, man was the first that was ever placed upon the earth in this temporal condition, contradicting the theories of geologists—that is, so far as placing man on the earth in this present probation is concerned. What may have taken place millions of ages before the world was organized temporally for man to inhabit is not revealed; but, so far as this present change is concerned, that took place about six thousand years ago, man was the first being that came upon the earth and inhabited a body of flesh and bones. Afterwards, on the seventh day, out of the ground the Lord God created the beasts of the field. Go back to the first chapter of Genesis, and you will find that the beasts, etc., were formed on the sixth day or period, and that on the seventh there was no flesh on the earth, and having created man as the first flesh upon the earth, God then created, out of the ground, the beasts of the field.

Here is the second part of the beginning of his work: firstly, spiritual—the beasts created in heaven; then, secondly, temporal—their bodies formed out of the ground, their spirits being put within these bodies, and the beasts became living souls. As it was with the birds of the air, so with the fish of the sea, and so with all animated creatures pertaining to this world. This is the history of the generations of the heavens and the earth, on the day that the Lord God created them; and the Lord has seen proper to reveal this great information in the first of Genesis, and in the Book of Abraham.

Now, let us consider the condition of the temporal work, for it is needful for us to understand these things, that we may advance in the know– ledge of God, in the knowledge of truth, in this great school of experience. Let us try to understand, then, the nature of the temporal work; for it was formed in the manner specified in this revelation. Was there any death in this creation after the temporal was formed, before the fall? No. Were any birds of the air subject to death? No. Were any of the fishes of the sea? No. Were there any animals placed on the earth in their temporal condition their bodies being formed and adapted to the spirit that came from heaven—were any subject to death? No. Were they ferocious? No. To every animal that God had granted life he had given every green herb of the field for meat, whether it was the lion, the leopard, the wolf, or whatever animal may have existed upon the face of the earth. There was no such thing as one animal destroying another—fighting and quarrelling were unknown among the beasts of the field. A little child, if there had been any, could have played, so far as any danger was concerned, with these animals, and they feasted upon the green herbs which were given to the beasts for their sustenance. By and by, a garden was made eastward in Eden, in which the Lord planted a great many beautiful trees. This was purely a temporal work, and that Garden would have existed until today if death had not come into the world through the fall of our first parents.

How different was the second or temporal work, that existed in the beginning of the great work of creation, from the present order of things! Now we see, and according to history we learn, that all creation are at enmity one with another in their natural state. Hence we find the lions with teeth, probably con– structed since the fall, and adapted to devour their prey. I do not believe they had such teeth in the beginning. They had teeth with which they ate “straw like the ox.” But everything was changed in a great measure, in this beautiful temporal creation; and the beasts began to fight, and quarrel, and devour each other; and man began to be ferocious, like the beasts, desirous to kill his fellow man. We see him at this early stage in our race, seeking the blood of his fellows, and entering into secret combinations to kill, and destroy, and rob one another of their position and property, and to be at enmity one against another. The Lord in the midst of this fallen condition of his temporal work, has permitted it to continue for about, 6,000 years. But mankind have been devising a multitude of measures, by which they reform one another; but after they get pretty well reformed they rise up again and devour one another by wholesale. While they are engaged in reforming each other, they are making weapons of destruction to destroy one another. Enmity prevails, and has prevailed, for the last 6,000 years, with the exception of now and then a dispensation, being introduced, wherein this fallen nature of ours becomes, in a great measure, changed through obedience to the plan of salvation which God has revealed; and then we begin to love our fellow men, are filled with love and kindness like, in some measure, our heavenly Father, going forth and proclaiming to them the Gospel of peace, and trying to do them good, and redeem them, and reclaim them; and we succeed, now and then, in bringing some to a higher state; they are born of God, and become new creatures in Christ, being filled with that superior power, that exists in that celestial world, where we formerly resided. It comes down from the Father, and from the Son, and enters into the hearts of the sons and daughters of God, and they are made new creatures; they begin to love that which is good, and hate that which is evil, and begin to perfect themselves in their various dispensations, according to the light and knowledge sent down from heaven for their perfection.

Notwithstanding so many dispensations, and the world has continued so long under the power of Satan, now is the time when the Lord our God has begun to send forth a proclamation of redemption, to lift us up out of this low fallen condition in which we have been placed, and our fathers before us, for so long a time; and it so happens that we are living very near the period when the earth will be restored from its fallen condition to that same temporal condition in which it existed before the fall, when there was no enmity existing between mankind. I say, the day is now almost at hand when the Lord is going to begin the last of his work, which will be to make this earth again temporal—or in other words, to remove, in some measure, the curse—to restore it back to the temporal condition in which it was when he first organized it and before sin contaminated it.

In order to accomplish this work, he is working, according to his own will and pleasure, among the nations, raising up a kingdom, a nucleus, by taking them “one of a city and two of a family,” gathering them out from every nation to the land of Zion and planting the truth in their hearts; they become more and more instructed and learn more and more of the ways of the Lord, preparatory to the organization of this world again in its temporal beauty and perfection as it was when it first issued forth in its temporal form from the hands of the Almighty.

There is one thing connected with the temporal form of the earth which I did not mention; I will refer to it now. While this earth existed in its more perfect temporal form, Adam and Eve were placed upon it, and they were immortal, just like all the beasts and just like the fishes of the sea; death had not yet come upon any of them; all things were immortal so far as this creation was concerned. The first pairs, the beginning of his temporal work, were not subject to death. And another thing, they were not to be shut out from the presence of the Almighty. They could behold his countenance, they could hear his voice. Those who then existed—could converse with him freely. There was no veil between them and the Lord. Now, when the more perfect temporal condition shall be restored again, in the last of his work, and the Lord shall begin to remodel this earth, to transfigure it, and get it prepared for the righteous, the veil will be taken away, in a measure; we shall behold the face of the Lord again; we shall be able to associate with immortal beings again; and we shall be able to enjoy a great many blessings that were introduced in the beginning, which were lost through the fall. The Lord Jesus Christ will be here, a part of the time, to instruct us, and those ancient patriarchs, Adam included, will come down out of their ancient celestial world, where they were first made spiritual. They are coming upon this creation; and they will have their homesteads here; and they will frequently, no doubt, take great joy in gathering together their faithful children, from the day of their own probation to the one hundredth generation. It will be some pleasure for one of our ancestors that was born a hundred generations ago to say, “Come, my children, you that are here in the flesh that have not as yet become immortal, you that dwell upon the face of this earth, partially redeemed—come, I have some glorious tidings to communicate to you. I have something that you are not in possession of, knowledge you have not gained, because we have been up in yonder celestial world; we have been dwelling in the presence of our Father and God. We were restored there in the dispensation in which we died and in which we were translated, and we have learned a great many things that the children of mortality do not know anything about. Come, gather yourselves together, that you may behold your former fathers, your fathers’ fathers and so on, until you extend back for a hundred generations. Hear the instructions that they shall impart to you. They will tell you about the celestial kingdom, and the higher glory thereof, and the blessings that are to be enjoyed by those that attain to the fulness of that kingdom.” Will not this be encouraging to those that are yet mortal, during the millennium? I think it will. Then will the knowledge of the fathers, the knowledge of the earth, and of the things of God, and the knowledge of that which is celestial, and great, and glorious, and far beyond the comprehension of imperfect beings as we now are in our fallen state—then that knowledge will be opened up to the minds of the children of men, during their respective generations here upon the earth, during the great sabbath of creation. What is all this for? It is to prepare their children, during the millennium that they may have this earth made celestial, like unto the more ancient one, that they, with this creation, may be crowned with the presence of God the Father, and his Son Jesus Christ. We gain this knowledge and information by degrees. Our children are educated and taught, until the heavens become familiar with them; the Lord becomes familiar with them; his countenance becomes familiar to all the righteous of the earth. Before we can fully understand the nature of a still greater change than that which has been wrought upon the temporal creation, during the millennium, we begin to expect it, and look for it, and by and by, when evil fruit again appears in the Lord’s vineyard, and the earth is corrupted by the sons of perdition, and some of his people begin to reject the heavenly light, and deny their God—when this period of time shall come the earth will be spared only for a little season, and the end will come, and the great white throne will appear, and God will sit upon the throne, and utter forth his voice and our temporal heaven will flee away; and this earth although it will be so greatly blessed, although it is so far redeemed, although it is inhabited by the righteous for a thousand years, yet, because it will become contaminated, and because it has been so corrupted in the past, in consequence of the fall of man, it will have to die and undergo a greater change, than all these changes of which I have spoken.

But what says the revelation, called the “Olive Leaf,” given Dec. 27th, 1832, on this subject? We are told in this that the earth shall die, and pass away, but it shall be quickened again, for God shall quicken the earth upon which we live. It will become a new earth; but will be prepared more perfectly than it was under the three other conditions in which it was placed; first its spiritual creation, secondly its temporal, in which its spiritual and temporal were combined. The next condition is that of restoring it from the fall back to a temporal condition, and then a still greater change, like unto the death of our bodies, when our bodies crumble back to mother earth and pass themselves among the elements. So it will be with this earth. It will crumble, or in other words, the elements will be separated asunder, and the world will pass away from his presence. What next? Another great change to be wrought. The same elements, constituting the earth, and the atmosphere will be brought together again, in such a manner and way, that the new earth will look like unto a sea of glass, and those who are worthy of the celestial glory will inhabit it forever. What will be the condition of the people who dwell upon that glorious celestial world? They will have the presence of God the Father with them. They will be permitted to dwell where he is. He will light up that world; they will have no need of the rays of the sun, as we now have, neither of the moon, nor stars, so far as light is concerned, for the Lord God will be their light and their glory from that time henceforth and forever. In this new creation the tree of life will flourish and grow. All beings that partake of the fruit of the tree of life will be constituted, so that they will live forever and ever.

These are the different conditions of this creation given in a general outline. We are now living near the close of 6,000 years during which time evil and wickedness have prevailed. The devil has had great power and dominion over the generations of the earth; and the earth itself has groaned under the load of sin and corruption which has been upon its face. Enoch when enveloped in the vision of the Almighty, beheld and heard the earth groan under this load of wickedness, crying out to the Lord, saying—“When will my creator sanctify me, that righteousness may abide upon my face. When shall I rest from all the wickedness that has gone out of me.” He was informed that there was a day of rest coming for old mother earth—for he was grieved in his heart for the earth itself, as well as the inhabitants thereof; for he saw how the earth was afflicted, until she groaned to be relieved. But the time will come, when it will be sanctified. We are living near that period of time. It is for this purpose you have come to these mountains. It is for this purpose you have received the spirit of truth, the Holy Ghost, the comforter, to sanctify you, and prepare you to take part in this great work of the latter days, which God has decreed from the beginning should come to pass in its time and season.

You have come from the nations abroad, to be instructed in the ways of the Lord, to be taught in the ordinances that pertain to the great and last dispensation of the fullness of times—ordinances that did not pertain to any former dispensation—ordinances that were not made known to any former people, but ordinances and principles that pertain to the exaltation and glory of the world which we inhabit.

This being then the present condition of our earth, the present condition of the Latter-day Saints, and the work that is before them, to prepare them for the coming of the Lord, and for the redemption of the earth, what manner of persons ought you and I to be, to prepare for so great a change which is to come, over the face of this creation? How ought we to act and conduct ourselves? How careful we ought to be in our doings, in all our conversations, in all our ways, to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, to have an eye single to his glory, to keep his commandments in all things, to obey him with full purpose of heart, that we may be visited with more and more of that heavenly divine spirit, the Comforter, the Holy Ghost which we had confirmed upon us, by authority, through the laying on of hands. That Comforter should be nourished and cherished in our hearts. We should not grieve it. We should listen to its whisperings, and we should seek after more light, and knowledge, and truth. We must not expect the Holy Spirit to impart the future knowledge that will be necessary for the advancement of Latter-day Saints without any exertion of the mind on our part. In all things the Lord requires man as an agent to exert his faculties in order to obtain any blessing, of whatever nature it may be, whether it be the spirit of vision or the spirit of translating, or any other gift. We cannot let our minds remain dormant, taking no thought, expecting to be filled with the spirit of translation, or the spirit of inspiration, or revelation, or vision; but there must be an exertion of the mind, there must be an exercise of the agency of man and woman, in order that we may reach out after these great and glorious gifts, promised to us. And by and by, we will, after a school of ex– perience has been given to us, find ourselves advanced to that degree, that the Lord will condescend to visit us by his angels—visit us by heavenly communications—visit us by visions—visit us more fully by the spirit of revelation that the words of Isaiah may be fulfilled to the very letter. When speaking of the latter-day Zion, he says, “thy children shall all be taught of the Lord”—not, being under the necessity of being taught by man, but all shall know the Lord from the least of them unto the greatest of them. This is the promise. All the children will be taught from on high, like the Nephite children in ancient days. We know how it was with them. The power of the Holy Ghost descended upon them, filling them, and encircling them round about, by a pillar of fire, and their tongues were loosed, even the tongues of babes and sucklings uttered forth great and marvelous things far greater than that which Jesus had taught to them. The Lord operated upon them, to utter forth his knowledge, so that their fathers marveled exceedingly. So great was the power and intelligence of Almighty God, manifested through these little babes, that no man was permitted to write the words they spoke, no man was permitted to utter them, no man was permitted to hand down these things to future generations; they were things too great, too glorious, too holy, too far advanced for the children of this world. Hence they were hidden up from the world.

May God assist us, and pour out his Holy Spirit upon us is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.