Remarks by Elder George A. Smith, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 8, 1862.

Brethren, there is a subject which has been spoken of during this Conference in regard to the mission to the cotton growing district of our Territory, to which I desire to again call your attention.

We have been instructed in the principles of the kingdom to a wonderful extent during this Conference. The instructions which we have received have been of a character that they may be reduced to practice by every person whose feelings are so disposed.

The President remarked that he desired to strengthen the missions to the cotton country by sending down two hundred more families. It will be recollected that a request was made last year for the brethren to volunteer to go on that important mission. There were a few who came up and gave in their names, but the great mass of the brethren did not feel to do so. They were aware that it was the wish of the Presidency that certain things should be done, but they seemed as though they needed taking by the ears and shaking to make them sensible of the great importance that ought to be attached to this mission. It appeared as if some of the brethren (to use a figurative expression) had become fastened to the earth with tremendous roots, so that it was with considerable difficulty that they could be got up, but they had to be taken up root and branch.

We, as a Conference, voted that the President should call, but none of us felt like volunteering. [President B. Young: I volunteered, on the condition that the people would consent to it.] Yes, the President volunteered, but it is well known that the Presidency are required here; most of the time they must be present to superintend the building of the Temple and direct the affairs of the Church in all the world, but the Elders are set apart to go into all the earth and labor as directed by the Presidency. It is also well known that the master builder has influence and power here and that he understands how the foundation, the walls, the timbers, the roof, and all connected with the Temple of our God should be put together. It is likewise well known that the Presidency never ask men to do a service except that their labors are required in that new position. One particular remark which I wish to make is, that notwithstanding the unprecedented high water in Washington County and the damage and disappointment consequent upon the flood, the settlements made by the last year’s mission have proved a decided success. That mission has proven the nature of the climate more perfectly than it had before, it has tested the soil, and accomplished many other things of immense advantage and worth. It was stated by many that the mission would prove a failure, that there was no country there, but the truth is, that the elements, including the water, the soil and all that surround them are actually aching for the brethren to combine them together and make them into good cotton and other choice productions of a mild climate; all these elements are ready to render aid to build up Zion.

I consider that we should feel ready and willing to do anything that may be required of us, to lend our exertions to establish the kingdom of God permanently upon the earth.

When the people first settled in San Pete Valley some were discouraged, they never thought that wheat could be produced in such a country as that; they did not believe that anything would grow there; the white-colored soil alarmed them, but it is now the granary of the mountains. Now, there has recently been just such a feeling in regard to Washington County, but the past year’s experience has demonstrated more fully that most excellent cotton, sugar cane, grapes, peaches and many other commodities of life can be successfully raised there in that desert-looking country.

There are quite a number of men who have remarked to me that they would willingly go if they were called on. I wish to say to such brethren that they are called on now, and I sincerely wish that two hundred brethren would volunteer today by giving in their names to me at the Historian’s office. By going this fall you have all winter to prepare, and the advantage can be taken of the early spring season, thus giving the brethren an excellent opportunity to raise a crop of cotton the first year. By sowing wheat in October tolerable crops can be raised, and by planting corn early in March two crops can be raised in one year, or one good crop of cotton. The fact, in brief, is, that so far as the country has been tried it has proven a success, and many of the brethren have said that the country is a great deal better than they expected to find it.

I hope all that has been said by the brethren in reference to the culture of hemp, flax, indigo, and in fact all that will tend to build up Zion will be attended to, for let it be remembered that it is coming to this necessity of producing for ourselves or to go without, and the question resolves itself into the simple proposition, “Clothes or no clothes.” We must make our own woolen, flax, hemp, and cotton goods or we must go naked. We cannot get these articles much longer from the States, according to the present prospect. The vengeance of the Almighty is sweeping the land with the besom of destruction; millions of men are forsaking their industrial pursuits for the purpose of destroying each other. Let us each and all attend to this, that the beauty of our garments may be the beauty of the workmanship of our own hands, or we shall find ourselves without many of the necessaries of life altogether.

May God bless the people, in the name of Jesus: Amen.

Remarks by Elder Orson Hyde, made at the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, October 7, 1862.

I do not wish to monopolize the time to the exclusion of my brethren, and I do not design to detain you long, still a few remarks, perhaps may not be unacceptable. I thank my Heavenly Father for the privilege and blessing of meeting with the Saints, and for allowing my spirit to mingle with yours, to increase each other’s joy.

The words of edification and instruction we have had from our brethren are truly cheering to all of us, and I trust that the spirit of the living God may continue to abide with us, that wherein we have received an increase of light and truth we may carry it to our homes, and revive the work of the Lord in our towns and villages, and in short carry this feeling and influence to every quarter and part of the kingdom of God. Truly the remarks made this morning were cheering and good. The spirit of the Lord is calculated to remove everything that may be in the heart which is opposed to that which is good, to Godliness and peace.

Much is said about the tribes of Israel from which most of us are supposed to have descended. With some there is quite a feeling of choice in regard to the tribe from which they sprang, but let me say that whether we sprang from Judah, Ephraim, Manasseh, or from a family of Gentile origin, that of all these tribes and classes, whoever receive the Gospel and are molded and fashioned by the spirit of the living God, will be entitled to a place in the kingdom of our Heavenly Father. Hence it is written “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.” And again it is written, “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.”—Col. i. 16 and iii. 10, 11.

I feel that in these two particulars we are distinguished from the world, while we are made one by being baptized into one spirit and all embracing the one faith, becoming members of one body, having one common father, even the King of Heaven. And by submitting to be guided by his spirit, and obeying the precepts that are given by him in our daily deportment we are transported into the image of that lovely being of whom it is said, that at his name every knee shall bow and every tongue confess.

Brethren, I feel happy and childlike in your presence today, and I intend to continue in well doing that I may ever have the Spirit of the Lord to guide me aright. If, by my labors, I can make others feel as well as I feel myself, it is the joy of my heart, it is that for which I labor and toil. I feel at many times that I would rather sit down and muse in silence than to speak.

When I think of our friends in the east I feel sorrowful; their condition is deplorable. I have no enmity towards anyone, but my general feeling is, Heaven bless the Saints and may Heaven destroy every influence that is arraigned against Zion. And the Lord will do this; and I will prophesy in the name of the Lord God of Hosts that if we continue to walk in the light of truth, to labor to build up Zion, that cup of trembling spoken of by the Prophet Isaiah shall never return to your lips nor to our habitations, but we will float along increasing in power and strength from day to day, continually rejoicing in the truths of our holy religion.

God bless you all forever: Amen.

Discourse by Elder Orson Hyde, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, October 7, 1862.

Brethren and sisters, being invited to address you, I cheerfully arise to make a few remarks, for I truly feel thankful for the privilege I enjoy of speaking to you this morning. Be patient, my friends, I will start on as high a key as I can so as not to break down. I feel thankful for the opportunity of meeting with the Saints in General Conference, and of mingling my testimony with this vast number of Saints in endeavoring to advance the interests of the kingdom of God, according to the intelligence I possess; and I feel truly thankful to the Lord for the experience I have had. I do not know that I can feel thankful for all the experience I have had, but suffice it to say that I am spared by our heavenly Father.

I do not at present know what I shall select for the foundation of my remarks. Sometimes I take my text from the spelling book, sometimes from the Bible, also from the Book of Mormon, and from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, besides another Book which seems to be above all other books—the Book of Nature; one page above and the other beneath. There we behold the finger of God; it is plain and legible to every heart that is inspired of the Almighty, that is filled with the love of God, and burning with the light of truth.

On this occasion there is a scripture that occurs to my mind, where our Savior in his parables puts forth a sentiment like this, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.”—Matt. xiii., 44. The Savior taught a great deal in parables, and the servants of God in these days teach by parables and comparisons in order that we may understand the more clearly, and that we may take a larger view of things than we should or could from the plain, simple statement of facts in common language.

Now, brethren and sisters, we are all seeking the kingdom of our God, we are seeking to become heirs of that kingdom, to be lawful and loyal subjects of the same. With this a question arises, whether we shall attain to a place in that kingdom at any less cost than did those I have quoted the Scripture about in your hearing. The man purchased the field and hid his treasure there. He went silently, lest, if he made a great bluster, some other individual might go and steal the march upon him and purchase the field of treasure, then the bargain would have been complete; but no, he was wide awake, and sold all that he had and purchased that field, for he was determined to have that treasure. It took all that he had to purchase it, but the treasure concealed there was far beyond the cost of purchase in value, and in purchasing it he knew that it would increase in time and throughout all eternity, for that treasure was the kingdom of God, and salvation to that man’s soul.

A question comes up in the minds of some; I have frequently heard persons say, “What becomes of our Tithing? And what is the propriety of paying so much? The calls come from this quarter and calls from that; and what are we doing when we are buying that field in which the treasure lies concealed?” Did we ever think, when responding to the calls on the right and on the left, that we were purchasing that field, and that having gone to the extent of our power and ability in that transaction, that there is our deed and title to the kingdom of God, signed, sealed, and delivered?

Look back upon our privations that we have undergone, and there is joy and gladness, there is hope which is full of immortality. The kingdom is ours. We have purchased it, and by it our salvation is secured, by faithfulness in the kingdom. Now do we expect to get something for nothing? If we do, the transaction is not suspended upon an even balance. To expect something for nothing is just what many in our community want to do in their trading and trafficking, and putting on prices that are far above the standard. You naturally call such persons dishonest, and such they truly are. If you expect to gain the kingdom of our God without purchasing it by your labors, with me the question is, Will you not be mistaken in your calculation?

This parable to which I have invited your attention is a good lesson for all of us, and we should endeavor to so conduct ourselves as to show that with us the kingdom of God is all in all. This parable is an ensample for us to copy and adopt. A word to the wise is sufficient on this subject. You have considered this matter having read about it, and by reciting it over it may be of service to you. It is no matter what that man did, or what the other said, so far as the field spoken of is concerned, for I do not suppose the purchaser gave him any trouble whether he paid out his money for this, that, or the other. It was the field that he paid it for; he wished to have the field containing the treasure. It is not the price we pay for the kingdom, it is the kingdom of God we are bound to purchase at any price.

Enough upon that subject. As short sermons seem to be the order of the day, I may be allowed to touch upon that which will benefit myself, that which will increase our faith and tend to our education and good, that we may go to our homes rejoicing in the truth and in the privileges of the new and everlasting covenant.

Now with regard to the poor, I have a few words to say. I have a text about sending to the Missouri River to bring home the poor. The Lord says, “Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.”—Psalm xli., 1, 2. Such an one will be blessed of the Lord for sending out his beasts, and for taking the poor, even the stranger to his house; his light shall shine in darkness, and shall appear as at the noonday. Now then we have considered the poor, we have sent our teams, our oxen and all that was necessary to bring them to our houses. And I will here observe that I wish, that inasmuch as they have come to our mountain home, to the threshold of Zion, that every man would so conduct himself as to meet with the approving smile of Heaven, then their light would break forth and shine in the darkness as resplendently as the noonday sun. We all want our brethren and sisters at home; then let us lend a helping hand. Now just go down there to the public square and see what you can do. Take the poor home to your houses, and God Almighty bless you from this time henceforth and forever. It is our imperative duty to walk in the light, to see that our pathway is clear and plain before us, and let us so live that it may be clear.

Bishops, allow me to say a word to you. In the vicinity where I have been laboring for the last two-years-and-a-half, I have seen the evil of spreading out so far. We are and have seemed to be anxious to take up all the land that we could find, and then keep putting in seed until the first we put in is ripe and ready for harvesting. This has been the case with all of us, more or less, in fact it has been so much so that neither man nor woman has had time to clean out the filth and bedbugs, so much so that they have got the upper hand of us. We talk of subduing nations, of becoming kings and priests unto God, but amidst all our great talk we have not subdued the vermin with which we are pestered in our newly created homes. We sometimes talk about messengers coming from heaven to visit us, but I doubt whether the angels will come to commune with us until we are in a different situation.

I will now go back to the wheat field, and speak a little of that. The brethren in our section thought they would not plant so much grain but let the ground rest. In process of time the wheat came up in large quantities; we had water plenty, and we had such immense crops that we had not men enough to reap the grain that was raised, and hence we had all the work to do ourselves. We did all we could, but much of the grain has gone back into the earth because we had not help enough to gather it. Our wives and sisters volunteered to assist their husbands and fathers, and they did all they could. We hear a great deal of talk about women’s rights at times, but if you will come down to Sanpete you will see women’s rights conventions, and they take especial pleasure in doing as they like.

To return to the subject of grain, I can truly say that we can sustain our present population and all the emigration that is coming this year. We have this to say of our blessings in return for sending all our teams to gather the poor; no we did not send them quite all, there was one yoke of oxen left to five farms, after filling up the bill for the Missouri River. In addition to these we had a few first-class horse teams, and thus we managed to put in a little grain, but a great deal of it grew without our doing anything to it ourselves, and thus the Lord blessed us with the desires of our hearts, and with a rich reward for what we had done towards the gathering of his people.

We are now showing that we can raise fruit down there, and by-and-by I may have the satisfaction of eating the fruit of my own raising in Sanpete, for I have no doubt but our apple trees will produce good fruit in due time.

Our teams are now returning; I met some of them as I was coming to Conference, and I felt to say the Lord be praised, you have performed a good mission, and the Lord has blessed our labors and also the labors of those who have been out on the plains. I feel that the crops that have been raised in such great abundance with so little labor have been by the goodness of the Almighty, and I feel that we have worked ourselves almost into life everlasting.

You may think that I am going into a great many things, but I do not expect to hit them all, but I shall touch a few of them as they come up before me. I want to say to the Bishops, that it is their business to direct the energies of the Saints, and where they see a man who is inclined to spread out and sow some forty or fifty acres of wheat, I want them to tell such men to go to work and build good houses. Tell the blacksmiths to go to blacksmithing, the carpenter to his trade, and every other mechanic to his business, and do not let us be as we have been heretofore. When a man has wanted anything doing by a mechanic it has been almost impossible to get it done. For instance, I would go to a blacksmith’s shop and say I want a horse shod, “Oh,” says the smith, “I can’t, I must go and cut my grain, or I must go and irrigate it;” and there are perhaps half-a-dozen men that are in this manner cut short of their labor, by one man refusing to work at his trade, and all men being determined to be farmers. Then I say let the blacksmith attend to his blacksmithing and let him charge a reasonable price for his labor, and not, as has been the custom, charge three or four prices. Let the joiner do likewise, working constantly at that which will most conduce to the building up of Zion, and let the farmer raise the grain. Where you find a man who has plenty of grain to serve him from three to five years, and plenty of teams and wagons too, tell him to go to work and build for his family a comfortable dwelling house, and point out to him that he is in this way finding employment for the mechanics, making his family comfortable and building up Zion. Teach each man to work at his trade and calling, and let the farmer take hold with his might of that which is his profession, but have a little time to breathe and rest. As it is now, we go into the garden and we work like Sam Hill, leaving no time for rest. “By-the-by that means me,” but I must hew to the line, no matter who is hit. (A voice: Never mind yourself, just go ahead.)

Now then for the flax. Have we got it on hand that we can make our own ropes? No, only a very little in comparison to the demand. We have a rope factory, and we have hemp growing in our county, and we have made many attempts to raise flax, and we do raise a little but we never use it. It is either left in the sun till the coat is burnt off, or we allow it to be trampled down in the yard by the cattle. In this country we cannot rot the flax in the dews, we must put it into water, a shallow pond is the most suitable, so far as I understand the matter. Now, it is better for each of us to raise about ten acres of wheat, and then devote the rest of our time to the flax and hemp. I was raised to wear a tow frock, but the tow would wear off in a short time. If we would raise some and devote a little time to the proper culture of it, attend to each department in its season, the rotting, the hetcheling and the spinning and weaving we should be much better off than we now are. But no, it takes us the whole time, and it seems that we must devote the entire season to raise and take care of our grain, and especially the wheat. The time has now come for us to classify our labor and change our policy. I believe I have said as much as is necessary on these subjects, as I wish to say a few things concerning the times and seasons.

Now concerning the times and seasons in which we live. The Lord says by the mouth of Isaiah, “Thus saith thy Lord the Lord, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again: But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over.”—Isaiah li. 22 and 23. What are you going to do with this text, my friends? I will put it into the hands of them that have afflicted thee. What was that army up here for? They were sent as agents of the Almighty to take away this cup of trembling, which had afflicted us for so many years, and they carried it away with them down yonder, and they then began to drink of it and have been drinking of it ever since. Do you know that there was a kind of tremor with some of us at that time? But I tell you what it is, the nerves have become settled, and those who sought to make us drink the dregs are drinking them now, and they will continue to do so until the dregs are all drunk out. I have no feeling against anyone, and I regret exceedingly that these of whom I speak should have brought upon themselves these terrible calamities which now afflict our once happy country.

If I understand the spirit that I am of, those that do the will of God will not hereafter feel that pitta-pat of trembling which they have been accustomed to feel, for the Lord says, “I will take it away from them,” and he has done it, and we feel it. If they have not got the cup full yet, and do not get it in 1863, all I can say is I will wait till they do, for the Almighty will make them that have afflicted his people drink the dregs of that bitter cup of trembling. And this is not all, I can look very far into the future, but as far as I can see it is a dark and gloomy picture. I could not but be forcibly struck with the remarks of brother Young in relation to the nation growing more guilty and more corrupt, therefore are they being scourged so severely. The Prophet and Revelator John says, “And I heard a great voice out of the temple say to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image. And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.”—Rev. xvi. 1—7.

Did not the enemies of the Lord attempt to feed the martyrs Joseph and Hyrum Smith with the flesh of their brethren? Look at the testimony of Hyrum Smith. Now they have set the example of war, of cruelty, and it will come double upon their own heads; but, says the Lord, upon my house shall it begin. And now these afflictions have been rolled off from our shoulders onto them, and they will be sorely punished for their iniquity. These things will come to pass. I need not predict anything about these calamities, greater men than I am have predicted in reference to these things, therefore I only need to bear my testimony to the truth of that which has been predicted. In the fierceness of the battle the fainting soldier will bow down to slake his parched thirst with the blood of his fellow. If this has not transpired it may in the future, for the horrors of war will be terrible to contemplate. Many curious things lie hid in the future which will astonish the world.

It is now a great time for digging gold; and this reminds me that I had a dream, in which I learned how to dig gold. I saw the gold wherever I went, lying about on the ground; I could pick it up in the night, but in the day time it could not be seen by anybody. While contemplating this, the Spirit said unto me, “Don’t you know that light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not?” Now here it is, in the form or shape of a reward that cometh to the faithful, and with our purified gold we are called upon to buy that field, even the kingdom of God. Never ask yourselves what the seller of that field does with the price of it; this is nothing to you or me. And if there are liabilities upon the President of this Church let us raise them from his shoulder, and let the servants of God go as free as the lark of the morning.

Brethren and sisters, I do not wish to occupy more than my share of the time, therefore my remarks I bequeath to you with the best feelings of my soul, and I feel that if the services of such an humble individual as myself can be of use, I shall feel ever ready to render this service.

God bless you forever. Amen.

Remarks by Elder Charles C. Rich, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1862.

I feel great pleasure in meeting with the brethren and sisters, having just returned from a mission. I do not speak of this because of a feeling that I am now relieved from a mission, for I feel that I have been on a mission all the time, and I expect to remain a Missionary from this time henceforth and forever. This is the height of my ambition, that I may have the pleasure of laboring to build up the kingdom of God on the earth.

The instructions we have had today have been joyful to my heart, for they are those principles that are calculated to save, to exalt and to prepare us to dwell with the Gods in the eternal worlds. I have often said that of all the people upon the face of the earth the Saints of the Most High God have the greatest reason to be thankful. This is my feeling and has been ever since I embraced the Gospel; and the longer I live, the more I see and experience, the more I feel and know that we are the favored people of the Lord. If we can appreciate this as it is, it will lead us continually to take that course that will be right and proper in the sight of Heaven.

While I have been absent from this Territory I have been laboring wherever my lot has been cast to convince the inhabitants of the earth of the truth of the principles of our holy religion, and to point out to them the path of life, and how far I have been successful I shall leave for a higher power to judge.

I find that we are all like children, so far as knowledge is concerned: that is, we know nothing, excepting what we have learned from others or by observation, and inasmuch as we do not now know anything but that which we have learned, the prospect is that what we may know in the future we shall have to learn. We are in a school, one which our Father has prepared for us, and in which he designs to instruct us, to give us counsel and point out the course that we should take day by day, in order that we may be saved. If we adopt the principles that have been revealed they will bring to us happiness and an abiding joy, and that, too, at the time and in the place where we are in need.

One reason why I consider that we are so much more highly favored than other people is simply this, that in generations that are past and gone there was no man capable of rising up and pointing out the way of life and salvation—there was no man to dispense the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them that were willing to embrace the truth. But it is not so now, for the kingdom of God has been established upon the earth, a knowledge of the ordinances of the kingdom has also been committed to man upon the earth, and the keys of that kingdom have been given, and the principles which pertain to that kingdom can now be taught to us. We have now the power to embrace the principles of life, because they are presented to us by those having the authority to teach. The principles of our religion have emanated from our Father and God, with whom there is no variableness, nor the least shadow of turning; and these principles have been revealed for the express purpose that we might embrace and practice them and thereby bring about our own salvation and secure that happiness which is promised to the faithful sons and daughters of God.

When we are in the world and hear the sectarians teaching their peculiar dogmas about heaven, hell, and many other topics, their discourses sound empty, foolish, and incomprehensible. Their subjects are generally very distant; in fact altogether beyond this world. When we hear individuals talking about having a father and a mother we do not then understand them to be talking about anything that is very remote, but it is something that is right here with us, and so it is with the kingdom of God. When the servants of the Lord commence to teach the human family principles pertaining to that kingdom, it is brought right home to us, so that we can understand it in this present life. This is the way the Gospel came to us when it was first sounded in our ears; it was brought home to us, no matter what kind of place we were in, and it set before us salvation, not after this life particularly, but it offered salvation to us at the time we heard it. The kingdom of God being established on the earth, the salvation of that kingdom was announced in our ears, and we had the offer of its benefits. If we saw proper to embrace the doctrines presented, we had the privilege of doing so; and inasmuch as we adopted and do now adopt the principles of that kingdom it brings to us a present salvation; and if we do not have a present salvation it is for want of adopting the principles that have been revealed. This is a matter that we should inquire about, and see and know for ourselves whether we have adopted those principles which the Almighty has made known for our salvation. If we have adopted them in our lives, then we are in the path of life and truth, which gives us salvation all the time; but if we have not, then we do not partake of that present salvation which is offered.

When the Savior was upon the earth he told his disciples to pray that his kingdom might come and that his will might be done upon the earth as it is done in the heavens. We might with the same propriety ask in our prayers, that the will of God might be done upon the earth in our day as angels do it in heaven. Is there anything upon this earth that will prevent the establishment of the same principles and the imparting of the same blessings that are enjoyed in the eternal worlds? If there is, the prayer of the Savior which he taught his disciples could not be fulfilled, and we know that our Father in heaven would not set us to do that which could not be accomplished. We can adopt the principles of that kingdom and practice them in our lives, and this will make us precisely what we are praying for.

Happiness is what we are striving for in this life, and this is what we want in the life which is to come. That happiness is obtainable upon the principles of truth and right that have been and that will be revealed from heaven. As I before remarked, we are in a school, and it is our business to be industrious in that school. It is our business to work diligently to learn that which is taught in the school of Christ, to make ourselves acquainted with the principles of salvation as far as revealed unto us. I can say truly and bear testimony that the people have never had to wait for the knowledge of God; the time never has been when it has not been poured out faster than the people were ready to receive. Principles of light and truth have all the time been taught faster than the people were ready to adopt and practice them. It has always been the good pleasure of the Lord, and it is still his wish to enlighten our minds and enlarge our understandings in reference to the things of his kingdom, that we may have just conceptions of his ways, and understand correctly the principles that pertain to the development of all that wisdom and knowledge necessary for our present and future advancement in the principles of eternal life. We should endeavor to appreciate and continually feel thankful for the blessings bestowed upon us, and strive to improve upon all the gifts of God that are bestowed.

There are a great many people, and I have met with some of them, who are very anxious to know all about heaven, the other worlds, and all about the people that dwell in eternity; but I will tell you how I feel, it is that I want to discharge the duties that devolve upon me, and strive to comprehend the object and design of everything that is required of me. We should all seek for a knowledge of those duties that pertain to us at the present time, and we should practice principles that will bring present salvation, and we should labor to learn that which will be both for our present and future good.

What we have been told today is good and strictly true, and we ought to understand that we are as much in the midst of eternity as we ever shall be, and our chances and opportunities for gaining knowledge and salvation here are as good as they will ever be. We have all the opportunities of learning the principles of heaven just as good as we shall ever have. Then if we do not improve upon these opportunities we are certainly to blame, and we are injuring ourselves more than anybody else, and the time will come when, if we are deprived of any blessing, we shall blame ourselves only. We will have it to say that the blessings and salvation pertaining to the kingdom of God were presented and we despised them. Then we will find that the scripture is true which says, “Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant.” In view of this, then, it is for us to be awake to that which we have presented to us, to those principles which God has revealed from the heavens, for he has revealed them for the express purpose of having us practice them upon this earth. Those principles were not revealed with the intention that we should wait till we got to heaven, but everything is for us to practice in this life. Now, if we do not adopt the truth in this life, what is there to make us believe that we will adopt it in the life to come? I look upon our opportunities as being as good to know things in this life as they will be to know them in the life to come, for light and truth are before us, and they will only be before us there. We have no time to spare; all our opportunities should be laid hold of. If we have not adopted the principles of salvation in this life, there is no assurance that we shall adopt them in the life to come. What is there to make you and I think that we shall have power to apply them to ourselves hereafter? We ought to think of this, in order that we may be ready day by day for the performance of any duty required of us; we ought to know the principles so perfectly that we can apply them to the performance of every duty and feel and know that we are right—understand them for ourselves that we may be capable of applying them both in this life and in that which is to come. If we could do this, it would be a very good sign that we could apply these doctrines in the future life; but if we are to be told every day what we have to do, the probability is that we should be in the same situation in eternity.

We have the privilege of working out our salvation before God, and we have the opportunity of testing the practical workings of these principles, and in doing this our minds would expand to see the necessity of our words and our actions being right. Supposing the actions of every man and woman were right and in strict accordance with the doctrines of our religion, where would be the evil? If everybody always said and did right, the evils that we now find in the world would no more afflict the human family.

The evils that we do find grow out of two causes, and mostly out of one, and that one is ignorance. But there are some who are fast to do wrong; others do it ignorantly. There must be means adopted for teaching such persons the way of life, that where they do not know how to do right they may be taught; and then, when they are taught the right and embrace it with full purpose of heart, they can act upon the principles that are right and proper for them in this great school, in which we are being taught by the servants of God those duties that are required of us day by day, even those principles that will produce happiness, contentment and salvation. These things are being pointed out to us from week to week and from time to time, just as they have been this forenoon. How rich these instructions! They will be worth nothing unless we practice them in our lives. We read of a time when the knowledge of God shall cover the earth as the waters cover the great deep; and we live in a time when that knowledge is being taught by the Prophets of God, and when it is the privilege of all mankind to be exalted upon principles of obedience to the laws of heaven.

Why are we not divided and distracted as the world are? And especially the country round about us? The reason is, we are and have been taught correct principles. How easy it would be to put the world of mankind right, if they would be set right and if they would hearken to the voice of God. In this age, as in all others, the inhabitants of the earth have been told what would come upon them, but they heed not the warnings of the servants of God. When we view the kingdom of God in the heavens we view it as an eternal kingdom. This is its condition, because truth and nothing but the truth exists with the inhabitants; they are governed by it in all their actions. Let the same principles be with us, and we shall find that the effect produced will be a oneness of purpose; our labors will be to promote happiness upon the earth and our lives will be peaceful ones. It is a good sign for us to adopt those principles that we can test and prove to be good or bad. I am perfectly willing to trust all in this kingdom, and to look to the world to come for an exaltation with the sanctified, and I know that all will be right if I continue faithful.

I can bear testimony that the Saints of the Most High God have not been waiting for labor; there has always been sufficient laid out to occupy their attention, and if they have attended to their duties they have no time to complain of anybody else. There is nothing very difficult for us to do, but there is enough to keep us busy all the time. And there are a great many safeguards which our Father has placed in his Church for the purpose of taking care of the sheep and pointing out to us those individual duties which are daily required at our hands. We find Presidents, Bishops and counselors in every direction, ever ready to impart to us a word of comfort and consolation; and if we are not taught we are to blame ourselves and nobody else. God has always spoken through his anointed servants, through those holding his Priesthood and authority, and he will be obeyed; and it is our duty and the duty of all men to give heed to those instructions and to receive knowledge from God by his servants as well as by his Spirit, for unless we do enjoy that Spirit and be guided by its influences we shall lack the perfection we are destined to arrive at.

We have a great labor to perform, and we have a great enemy to meet and overcome, and therefore it will be well for us to take a safe course and do a few things right, for should we attempt to do many things and fail we shall be sorry for it. I feel to rejoice in the plan of salvation, and I rejoice to have the privilege of laboring to establish these principles upon the earth. The more we do the better we feel. While we see mankind going to ruin because of their wickedness, I rejoice in the prospect of seeing the kingdom of God rising in splendor and greatness, and I do feel that we have abundant reason to be thankful, for we have been led by the hand of the Almighty from the first organization of this Church.

It is our business as Saints to put away from us everything that is wrong, that tends to corrupt the people of God. We are called upon to honor our callings and to labor to perform what the Bishops and Authorities of the Church require of us. Evil will produce evil, and good will produce good, and a bitter fountain will produce bitter water, and so it is throughout all the ramifications of the kingdom to which we belong. I trust that we shall all so live as to secure happiness and obtain peace with ourselves, so that we may live in peace at home. I do not want to see any of us neglect our own welfare, but I wish to see every Saint live as a man of God, as one who is striving to secure eternal life in the kingdom of our heavenly Father.

If I understand the principles of life and salvation, and with this understanding should lay down this body, I should then continue the good work which I have commenced here. All that wisdom and knowledge which we have obtained we will carry with us to the spirit world, and this, you can readily perceive, would make just about such a heaven on the other side of the veil as we have made on this side. I do not think we would make it much different. Of course we will have to learn beyond the veil as much so as we have need of learning while here. Then, let us endeavor to feed upon those principles of life and salvation day by day, and labor to put them in practice while in this life, then we shall have joy, happiness, peace, and a present salvation right where we are. We have the power to prove these principles all the time, and we can bear testimony to their truth, for we experience their benefits and blessings in our everyday life.

Let us be faithful and love the truth more than we love anything else, for there is a fulness of it offered to us; and we ought to know that there are no other principles or system that has a fulness of truth to offer to us. Now, there is not any of us that would be satisfied with anything short of a fulness of all that knowledge and wisdom which are hid up in the eternal worlds. But we need not think of attaining that position upon any other principles than those offered to us by our heavenly Father, for if we do, we deceive ourselves and are preparing for ourselves disappointment, and at the great day of reckoning we shall find ourselves disappointed, simply because we have not adapted the principles that alone will secure what we want in time and in eternity.

I do not feel to occupy more than my share of the time, but I feel exceedingly well, and, as some of the brethren have remarked, I always intend to feel well, for I intend to do the best I can all the time. When I first embraced the Gospel, I had a testimony of its truth and I have had evidence increasing with me all the day long. I have often remarked to individuals that I would pursue the course that I was pursuing if there was no other life than this; I would do this because it brings the most good, the most happiness, more than anything else I know anything about. Let us be humble and faithful in keeping the commandments of God and in performing the labors that are allotted to us; and sanctify ourselves before God that we may constantly have within us the light of the Holy Spirit; be guided by his Priesthood, that when we come to lay down these bodies we may be prepared for that which is to be enjoyed on the other side of the veil, having been faithful and diligent on this side, which I pray may be the case, in the name of Jesus: Amen.

Discourse by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 27, 1862.

Brother Taylor gave us a very interesting discourse this morning upon the first principles of the Gospel, contrasting them with the religion of the Christian world, showing the authority by which they administered in different ages the ordinances of religion according to the traditions of their fathers. He remarked that the Elders of this Church went forth as the Apostles did in the days of the Savior, promising to the people, on conditions of obedience, the gift of the Holy Ghost; and he remarked that no other people would do that, because they do not possess the authority to do it.

I do not know that I can spend the few moments that I may speak here, better than to read a little on the authority that we have for pursuing this course. This portion that I am going to read, is the word of the Lord to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as to the whole world—

“Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the voice of him who dwells on high, and whose eyes are upon all men; yea, verily I say: Hearken ye people from afar; and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together. For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated. And the rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow; for their iniquities shall be spoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts shall be revealed. And the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days. And they shall go forth and none shall stay them, for I the Lord have commanded them.

“Behold, this is mine authority, and the authority of my servants, and my preface unto the book of my commandments, which I have given them to publish unto you, O inhabitants of the earth. Wherefore, fear and tremble, O ye people, for what I the Lord have decreed in them shall be fulfilled. And verily I say unto you, that they who go forth, bearing these tidings unto the inhabitants of the earth, to them is power given to seal both on earth and in heaven, the unbelieving and rebellious; Yea, verily, to seal them up unto the day when the wrath of God shall be poured out upon the wicked without measure—Unto the day when the Lord shall come to recompense unto every man according to his work, and measure to every man according to the measure which he has measured to his fellow man.

“Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth, that all that will hear may hear: Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh; And the anger of the Lord is kindled, and his sword is bathed in heaven, and it shall fall upon the inhabitants of the earth. And the arm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the day cometh that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles, shall be cut off from among the people; For they have strayed from mine ordinances, and they have broken mine everlasting covenant; They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall.

“Wherefore I, the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments; And also gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world; and all this that it might be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets—The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh—But that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world; That faith also might increase in the earth; That mine everlasting covenant might be established; That the fulness of my Gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers.

“Behold, I am God and have spoken it: these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding. And inasmuch as they erred it might be made known; And inasmuch as they sought wisdom they might be instructed; And inasmuch as they sinned they might be chastened, that they might repent; And inasmuch as they were humble they might be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive knowledge from time to time. And after having received the record of the Nephites, yea, even my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., might have power to translate through the mercy of God, by the power of God, the Book of Mormon. And also those to whom these commandments were given, might have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually—For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance; Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven; And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts.

“And again, verily I say unto you, O inhabitants of the earth: I the Lord am willing to make these things known unto all flesh; For I am no respecter of persons, and will that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion. And also the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment upon Idumea, or the world.

“Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled.

“What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but all shall be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same. For behold, and lo, the Lord is God, and the Spirit beareth record, and the record is true, and the truth abideth forever and ever. Amen.”—[See Doc. & Cov., pages 65-68.]

What do you think of that revelation, brethren? Does this look like a Yankee scheme, or something made up to cheat somebody? No, this is the word of the Lord; it is a sermon of itself. The Lord has sustained that revelation from that day to the present, and that is the reason why brother Taylor and the Elders of this Church go forth declaring the words of life, and they know that they have not taken this honor upon themselves, but that they were called of God as was Aaron. I do not care how illiterate an Elder in this Church is, if he has been faithful to his calling; it is a matter I care but little about if a man can neither read nor write, if he has been called and ordained to the Priesthood in this Church and kingdom by Joseph Smith, or any of those ordained by him to that Priesthood which was given unto the Prophet by Peter, James and John, who by commandment came and ordained him to the Melchizedek Priesthood. John the Baptist held the Aaronic Priesthood, and the authority commenced there, and by those men that held the keys of the kingdom of God in former dispensations. It is that authority that has inspired this; it is this that has inspired the Elders of Israel from the commencement to the present day.

Why should the Elders and people now think it strange that those messengers who have gone forth, shouldering their knapsacks and traveling thousands of miles to preach the Gospel, should be the especial objects of his favor? The Almighty has proven them all the day long, and he has been with them, and in fact there has never been any portion of the Priesthood officiating in sacred ordinances but God has been with them. In this revelation the Lord calls upon his servants, and says, “I, the Lord, am willing to make this known to the children of men, that I have called my servant Joseph, that the world may be left without excuse.”

Joseph Smith knew just as well as the Lord knew that he was called of God, and that he was called to perform a work for the redemption of man. Has he ever disappointed anybody when he has made a promise to them? Has he ever disappointed a Prophet or lawgiver in any age of the world? No, never. But he has declared that the heavens and the earth shall pass away, but his word shall never pass away, but that it shall all be fulfilled. It is just so in our day. All the words which the Lord has spoken through his servants will be fulfilled to the very letter, whether those words are in reference to the salvation of the righteous or the condemnation of the wicked. Christ had his mind upon this point when he said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”—Matthew xxiv, 35. Again, it is written, “For I will hasten my word to perform it;” and when the Lord spake through Isaiah upon this subject he said, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” The Elders go forth to preach the Gospel to the nations of the earth, knowing that the Lord will back up their word by the power and demonstration of the Holy Ghost.

There is but one Gospel, neither will there be any other for the salvation of this, nor of any other world that we know of; but this we do know that this Gospel preached in any age of the world will produce the same effect. We also know that any man who receives this Priesthood, and is faithful thereunto, will receive the same blessings and power in any and every age of the world. On this account and for this reason, Utah—the valleys of Deseret are being filled with the children of men. The Almighty has sent his servants to preach the Gospel; they have not gone upon their own authority: had they done so, they might have called upon the inhabitants of the earth till doomsday, and they would not have been successful, but this land would still have been a desert, occupied only by Indians and wild beasts. But the hand of God was with us, and hence we had no fear of telling the people our message, and now there are tens of thousands who know the truth as well as we do, for they have embraced the Gospel and received this testimony for themselves. There never was a man that embraced this Gospel, but has received this testimony of the truth, if he has done so in sincerity and in truth. The Lord has always been ready to redeem his promise, and in giving that testimony which was necessary for the establishing of them in the most holy faith.

The Lord has sustained us as a people in all places and under all circumstances. We have gone forth as sheep among wolves; among a people full of tradition and superstition, and we have had all these things to cope with in our administrations among the people, but the Lord was with us wherever we went, backing up our words by the testimony and power of the Holy Ghost, and the people to whom we administered received the same testimony as had been given unto us.

We are beginning to realize that the things which the Lord has promised unto us thirty years ago are now being fulfilled to the very letter. Is there much peace in the world of mankind? No, there is not: peace is fast being taken from the children of men. We are at peace in Utah, but let me tell you that the Lord has foretold by the revelations of Jesus Christ all these things that are now fulfilling before our eyes.

I copied a revelation more than twenty-five years ago, in which it is stated that war should be in the south and in the north, and that nation after nation would become embroiled in the tumult and excitement, until war should be poured out upon the whole earth, and that this war would commence at the rebellion of South Carolina, and that times should be such that every man who did not flee to Zion would have to take up the sword against his neighbor or against his brother. These things are beginning to be made manifest, but the end is not yet; but it will come, and that too much sooner than the world of mankind anticipate, and all those things spoken by the mouths of his Prophets will be fulfilled.

We are gathering together here for certain purposes understood and in the mind of the Lord, one of which is that we may be sanctified and prepared for the great work of the future. We have carried this work to the various nations of the earth, and the people to whom we have preached have thought of us saying that there was no other Gospel than that which we had to proclaim, as was clearly and demonstratively set forth today. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect in all its parts. The words of the Psalmist David will apply to our religion, where he says—“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.”

According to the vision of John the Revelator, there are to be “six hundred, threescore and six” false sects of religion: how many of these already exist is a matter of dispute among theologists, but I suppose that the number is nearly complete. Let me now ask if you think things look or indicate that these contending creeds are all of God. It is certainly not like the order carried out in the days of Christ and his Apostles. It is much more like the confusion of the Pharisees, Essenes, Herodians, Sadducees, and Stoics, for they had different creeds, principles and notions by which they were governed, and it is just so now with the sectarian world. It is composed of every sect and party that profess religion upon the face of the earth. But the honest in heart will be gathered out of all these creeds and systems and be brought home to Zion.

There have been thousands of men and women who have listened to the preaching of the Elders of this Church, who have not embraced it for fear of their good name; and there have been many clergymen who have listened attentively to the Elders of Israel, and they have spent days and nights in meditating upon the things of God, and studying what to do, realizing within themselves that if they received this testimony they would be dishonored in the eyes of the world. They fear becoming a hiss and a by-word among the children of men in this generation. Hence the majority of them have rejected it.

Many celebrated men have investigated this subject, and far more of them have had fears that it was true than that it was false. I visited folks in Long Island in 1837; I talked with one minister named Newton, in fact I stayed with him some twelve days and preached the Gospel to him. He attended meetings, and finally became so that he could neither eat, drink, nor sleep, he was so troubled about the Gospel; but instead of embracing it, sent after a minister who lived on the south side of the island, for the purpose of having me put down or silenced. I persevered and soon baptized most of the members of Mr. Newton’s church. Mr. Douglass, a Methodist minister of the south side of the island came, stayed a short time and then returned. I followed him home and succeeded in baptizing most of his church; and instead of these men getting any honor by opposing me they were both brought into disgrace. They lost their religion, their church, and members, and were really disgraced. When I was there last, one of them was in the Penitentiary for one of the worst crimes that a man can be guilty of, except murder, and the other was traveling the streets peddling small articles for his bread. The chastening hand of the Lord will always follow those that oppose the truth of Heaven as revealed through the Prophet of God. This is in accordance with the experience of all our Elders. The Holy Ghost has been with them to back up their words, and I can say for all that, we have not done a thing but it has been backed up by the power of the Almighty, so far as we have labored for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God.

In regard to holding office in the Priesthood, I can truly say that I never asked any man for any office in this Church, and I believe I never asked the Lord but once, and my asking the Lord came about in this way. I went up to Missouri in Zion’s Camp; I saw the Prophet every day, and I knew he was a Prophet of God. About this time I had a great anxiety to preach the Gospel; this desire increased upon me, and I finally resolved to ask the Lord to open my way, so I went down into a hickory grove and prayed, during which I asked him to give me the privilege to preach the Gospel. I prayed fervently to the Almighty to give me the privilege of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and when I got through praying I started for the place from whence I came, and I had not walked more than about forty rods before I met a High Priest, and the first thing he said to me was, “It is the will of the Lord that you go and preach the Gospel.” I told him I was ready and willing to do anything the Lord required of me; I was therefore ordained a Priest and sent to labor in Arkansas.

I will now name a circumstance which I have never named in public before. I went into Arkansas, traveled a hundred miles out of my way to see a man that had embraced the Gospel some time before I went there. He was full of wrath and indignation when I went in; he railed against Joseph Smith, Bishop Partridge, and Father Morley. The Lord showed me the night before that I had enemies in that town. I talked over my feelings with the brother who accompanied me, and he wanted to leave the town, but I said no, I would not go away, for I wanted to see what the Lord wanted of me. All the people were mad with rage, and we could not get anybody to preach to; in fact they were all full of rage till they were mad with it. For some time I could not see my way clearly, but we finally called upon an old man named Hubbard, and engaged to go and clear timber. During the short time that we were employed at that the Lord sent me three times to visit that old apostate, and each time when I went there I could only bear testimony to him of the truth of the Gospel. When I went the third time he followed me out of the house as full of wrath as the Devil, and he had not followed me more than about eight rods when he fell dead at my feet. This is a short story and a very singular one.

At that time I had not power to lay on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, only holding the Aaronic Priesthood, but the Lord sustained me and his work just as well as if I had been an Apostle. We baptized father Hubbard and his wife, after which we went on our way rejoicing. The Lord has fed and sustained his servants, and manifested his power according to circumstances, and so he will continue to do through life to all that are faithful and true to their covenants.

When the United States sent an army to this land for our destruction, the Lord had his eye upon us for good and he delivered us from all our enemies. The wicked have designed our destruction from the first organization of this Church and kingdom, but our leaders have been inspired by the gift and power of God. Who frustrated that army in their design? The Lord our God; and now the judgments that have come upon the nation in consequence of their treatment to this people, are a sore vexation to them, but it is the hand-dealing of the Almighty and we cannot help it. Every Elder in this Church who lives his religion knows that this which is now transpiring is according to the mind and foreshadowings of the Holy Spirit, and those out of the Church may know if they will. If persons will believe the Bible, the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and the Book of Mormon, they can therein learn the fate of the world, for it is there pointed out in great plainness. Who can stay this war that is devastating the whole nation both North and South? No human hand; it is out of the power of man, excepting by the repentance of the whole nation, for they have shed the blood of the Prophets, driven this Church and people from their midst, yes, the very people that hold the keys of salvation for the world they have banished from their midst, they have turned those keys that will seal their condemnation, and for this the Lord our God has taken peace out of their midst. Will there ever be any more peace among them? No, not until the earth is drenched with the blood of the inhabitants thereof. When the spirit of the Gospel leaves any people it leaves them in a worse condition than it found them, the spirit of ferocity, darkness and war will take hold of that people, and the time will come when every man that does not take his sword against his neighbor will have to go to Zion for safety.

These things sound strange in the ears of our neighbors of the nation with which we are connected, but let me tell you they are strictly true. Remember Christ’s words in regard to the temple, viz., “There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”—Matthew xxiv., 2. The Lord Jesus Christ is as truthful now as he was then, and no power can stay his hand. Have we any fears of the consequences of what will transpire? No, we have not, for we know that God is at the helm.

When this kingdom commenced it was like a mustard seed, very small, but the Lord has sustained it and he will continue to control it to the end of time. Although peace is being taken from the earth yet this kingdom will thrive and prosper until every kingdom and government shall be broken to pieces, and every power shall be subject to the God of heaven.

Here are Elders who are faithful and true who have preached the Gospel from Maine to Texas, and from the Atlantic to California, and the warning voice has been lifted in Europe and in the Islands of the Sea, and thousands have embraced it and been made to rejoice in the truth.

We know that this work is of God, and that it will roll forth and prosper though all the world oppose. War is only one of the troubles that the United States are going to receive; and I can further testify, that there is no nation that will escape the judgments of the Almighty. There is no ear but what has to be penetrated with the sound of the Gospel of Christ; and by-and-by the Elders of Israel will be taken from those nations where they are now preaching, and there will be another set of Missionaries sent amongst the people; there will be the voice of lightning, the noise of war, and of all those judgments which have been enumerated and prophesied of since the beginning of time, and they will go forth among the nations until the land is cleansed from the abominations that now reign upon the face of the earth.

When this Gospel was first proclaimed to the world, darkness covered the earth; and wherever this doctrine is preached by those having authority and it is rejected, that people become more dark than they were before, and go blindly along like the ox to the slaughter, and they will sooner or later be overtaken by the judgments of the Almighty.

This is the nature of our testimony, brethren and sisters, we know that this work is true; we also know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and the Bible could not have been fulfilled unless the Lord had raised up Prophets to declare the everlasting Gospel unto the children of men; he never could have brought his judgments upon the nations until he had raised up those Prophets who were ordained to come and warn the world. The Lord is now doing this work of warning, first by his servants and then by his judgments. In speaking of the kingdom of God I will here remark, that it is always alike, or in other words it is always governed by the same laws, by Apostles and Prophets, and you cannot have a Church of Christ without these officers; there never was such a church since the beginning of the world. If any person will show me a people that were acknowledged of God, who did not have Prophets to lead them, I will confess that to be something which I have not found.

Paul says, speaking of the Church of Christ, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.” Then, in another part of the writings of the same Apostle, he shows that with such an organization one part cannot say to the other, “I have no need of thee,” but that all are necessary in the Church of Christ. It is just so with the gifts and graces of the Gospel. A great many of you have seen men without some of their limbs, and just as quick as I come to a man who has lost an arm I see it. I remember once seeing a man in London without any legs, dragging along as best he could, and of course it was very inconvenient for him to travel; but I will tell you one thing which I never did see, I never saw any man going around without any head. A man can live without arms or without legs, but he cannot without a head, and it is precisely so with the Church of Christ; one is just as impossible as the other. No other order has been manifested in this our day. We have a Prophet to lead and govern this people; we also have pastors and teachers, the Holy Ghost and the revelations of Jesus Christ right from heaven unto us, and we are realizing every day the fulfilment of these things that are promised to the faithful.

Brethren and sisters, we ought to be truly thankful to our Father and God, for he has been merciful to us, he has bestowed upon us his Spirit so that our ears have been opened to hear and our hearts to understand and to rejoice in the good things of the kingdom of God. And how lamentable it is that so few in the present generation have embraced the fulness of the Gospel, perhaps not one in ten thousand have received the truth. The Jews have suffered long and grievously for their rebellion, and they will continue to suffer for some time yet, but woe unto the Gentiles when they reject the light that is offered, for when that stone, which is spoken of in Scripture, falls upon them they cannot escape the crushing power thereof, it will grind them to powder.

Let us be faithful, serve our God and trust in him, and then, through the influence of his Spirit we shall know the signs of the times, and be prepared and made meet for our Master’s use.

I ask that this may be our portion, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, June 19, 1862.

Brethren and sisters, you have all heard what has been said by President Young and others. I can say that I agree with them in all those things of which they have spoken. I have been very much annoyed, ever since I came into these mountains, by those thieves that have been prowling around and stealing our property. I cannot think what fathers are doing to allow their children to mingle with those who are known to be thieves, thereby creating a propensity to interfere with other men’s property. My father was not a religious man, but he always taught his children good morals and strict honesty: he also paid due respect to the religions of the day. He instructed them against lying, stealing, and every species of vice; and I presume that there are not many who have been more strictly educated in the principles of morality than I have.

When people sent their children to school in those days, they were taught, among other things, the Ten Commandments. The principles inculcated in those commandments were impressed upon their young and tender minds, such as, “Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not covet any of thy neighbor’s property. Thou shalt not bear false witness.” These and many other good principles were strongly enforced upon the children’s minds, and this prevented them from being led astray. In the Book of Doctrine and Covenants we have these things set forth in great plainness. Read the 5, 6, 7, and 8 paragraphs of a revelation, given February, 1831, which is as follows—

“And again, the elders, priests and teachers of this church shall teach the principles of my gospel, which are in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, in the which is the fulness of the gospel. And they shall observe the covenants and church articles to do them, and these shall be their teachings, as they shall be directed by the Spirit. And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the power of faith; and if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach. And all this ye shall observe to do as I have commanded concerning your teaching, until the fulness of my scriptures is given. And as ye shall lift up your voices by the Comforter, ye shall speak and prophesy as seemeth me good; For, behold, the Comforter knoweth all things, and beareth record of the Father and of the Son.

And now, behold, I speak unto the church. Thou shalt not kill; and he that kills shall not have forgiveness in this world, nor in the world to come.

And again, I say, thou shalt not kill; but he that killeth shall die. Thou shalt not steal; and he that stealeth and will not repent shall be cast out. Thou shalt not lie; he that lieth and will not repent shall be cast out. Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else. And he that looketh upon a woman to lust after her shall deny the faith, and shall not have the Spirit; and if he repents not he shall be cast out. Thou shalt not commit adultery; and he that committeth adultery, and repenteth not, shall be cast out. But he that has committed adultery and repents with all his heart, and forsaketh it, and doeth it no more, thou shalt forgive; But if he doeth it again, he shall not be forgiven, but shall be cast out. Thou shalt not speak evil of thy neighbor, nor do him any harm. Thou knowest my laws concerning these things are given in my scriptures; he that sinneth and repenteth not shall be cast out.

If thou lovest me thou shalt serve me and keep all my commandments. And behold, thou wilt remember the poor, and consecrate of thy properties for their support that which thou hast to impart unto them, with a covenant and a deed which cannot be broken. And inasmuch as ye impart of your substance unto the poor, ye will do it unto me; and they shall be laid before the bishop of my church and his counselors, two of the elders, or high priests, such as he shall appoint or has appointed and set apart for that purpose.”

In these days people act with their children as if they thought those wholesome doctrines were done away, and they are very ready in their ignorance to refer to Paul’s saying about leaving certain principles and going on to perfection; but the true doctrine is not to leave those principles which we first learned, but to bear them in mind, day by day, to do unto our neighbor as we would wish him to do unto us, and thus go on to perfection. This is the law and the prophets. These principles are in force upon us as much as they are upon others.

You may go and read the revela– tions which God gave through Joseph Smith, and you will there find repeated in each of them some of those good old principles. From the first organization of this Church until today, virtue, honesty, and the strictest morality have been taught in all the revelations given through Joseph Smith and his successor. Then, for men to introduce those hateful practices of lying, stealing, drunkenness, and other vices into our midst, at the same time professing to be Saints, I cannot but feel to despise their conduct, if I do not hate them. It is taking a course to defile this community. The tabernacles of men become corrupted by these wicked acts which they perform while under the control of the evil spirits which dictate them, and that tabernacle that is defiled I will destroy, saith the Lord God.

These are my feelings upon the subjects treated upon by President Young and Bishop Woolley. As was remarked, I may also ask, Do we fear our enemies in the world? I answer, No. I have more fear about those corrupt individuals who dwell in our midst.

Let us endeavor to live up to our privileges; then the world have nothing more to do with us than they have with the angel of God whom they never saw. Know ye not, brethren and sisters, that you are angels to the present generation as well as those behind the veil? You can read in the Scriptures that the Lord promised to make Peter and James ministers to his servant John, whom the Lord appointed to tarry on the earth until Jesus should come again. If Michael the archangel were to come, he would appear as did Peter, James, and John when they appeared to Joseph Smith. If we are the elect of God, we should be among that number who will assist to gather the Saints in the last days. It won’t be done again by angels that are said to have wings, but it will be accomplished by those that have hands and feet, and who travel about upon this earth. It is for us who are chosen to administer in the flesh, and men behind the veil minister to us.

I feel really glad in regard to what has taken place of late—that those characters that have been prowling around, annoying their neighbors and stealing from their best friends, have been removed out of our midst, and placed where they can no longer afflict the righteous. This people know enough to be righteous, honest, pure, and virtuous; and those who will not practice that which they know to be good will become habituated to folly and vice, just in the same way that men become habituated to using tobacco, to stealing, drinking, and lying.

Some have tried to hide their iniquities by saying they only stole from the Gentiles; but I contend that a man who will steal from a Gentile will steal from me, if he ever gets an opportunity. When the time comes that the Lord says, “Arise, and to your tents, O Israel;” then men must be pure inside and out; they must be for God, or they will have no part in the blessings conferred upon the righteous. We sometimes talk about cutting men off from the Church. Now, I want to know what is the use of retaining dead limbs upon a tree. If such limbs are allowed to continue, they impart death to the branches. Brother Brigham illustrated this subject very clearly.

We are all connected with the one tree; and if one member suffers, the others are affected. When we get intelligence, it is through the Father having revealed himself to Jesus, and Jesus to his chosen ones upon the earth.

In the beginning of this Church, Jesus sent Peter, James, and John, who committed the power unto Joseph; and then he engrafted it into us. But suppose the graft die, like many which we put into trees, then we have to cut out the graft and put in a new one, that the tree may thrive and prosper.

When I see dishonesty among this people, I feel sorrowful. If I find men out once, I will have nothing to do with them afterward; and there is no law in heaven or on the earth that requires me to mingle with them; but I am required to cleave to every honest, virtuous, and truthful man. This is the nature of the religion of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation.

Brethren, if any of us have erred in the past, let us do better in the future. Let those who have done wrong do wrong no more. Let us cast out all hatred, malice, and bad feelings from our hearts. We are very subject to be charged with falsehood—to get wrong impressions concerning our brethren. Although we may be men of God, judges in Israel, and have a right to the power which will enable us to judge between truth and error, the man that tells the truth and him that striveth to deceive, still we are apt and liable to be mistaken and to receive false impressions. For instance, we think a great deal of our children and of our wives, and we are apt to believe them in preference to men of God; and in this way we become charged with false impressions concerning our brethren. We should be very careful how we receive the report of one person concerning another, especially if that report be unfavorable. Brethren and sisters, it is our duty to tell the truth and to let falsehood and misrepresentation alone. These are my sentiments and feelings; and if ever I have gone contrary to this, I have gone wrong.

This is a doctrine you all believe in, as well as I. You came here with the feeling in your hearts, “If I can see a people living thus and so, all will be right.” But I want to know what it is to you or me whether another person does right or wrong. It is for us to do right, and never to suffer ourselves to be caught in a snare, or walking in the path of the ungodly. It matters not what another does, we should honor the Priesthood and work righteousness all the day long. This is the duty of every man in the Priesthood and every member in this kingdom; then all will go well with Israel, and our enemies will have no power over us. The world may combine against us, but the unalterable decree of the Almighty has gone forth—“I will fight your battles.” Have we not proven this? Yes, we have; and we shall prove it again and again.

God bless the upright, the humble, the pure, the poor, and the meek of his people; and may the time soon come when his kingdom shall triumph, and Jesus reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. Amen.

Remarks by President Daniel H. Wells, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, May 25, 1862.

I certainly feel it a privilege to listen to such instructions as we have had this morning. I feel that we are a favored people; and that we can have instructions continually poured out upon us day by day, and Sabbath by Sabbath, that are calculated in their nature to reform, to elevate and instruct the mind. The principles of our religion exercise an influence over the minds of the people which is calculated to lead them in the paths of virtue, truth, and sobriety, and in that way which will best conduce to their happiness here and hereafter. Many reflections pass through my mind when I look abroad throughout the length and breadth of this Territory, and view the position of the Latter-day Saints who are gathered in these valleys of the mountains; and when I consider the object and purpose that have brought them here and that are keeping them together, view the vastness of their desires before high Heaven, their wishes in regard to themselves and posterity, their strong faith and unison of purpose which have caused them to take the course they are now pursuing, I consider it is a sublime spectacle to behold. Think of a community of thousands and tens of thousands actuated by one and the same purpose, and that the most noble in its nature, and that they are using their exertions for the establishment of peace and righteousness upon the earth, continu– ally seeking to produce a oneness in all their manifestations towards each other, in their public instructions and in their daily walk and conversation, using their life to do those things that will exalt the human family and striving to walk sin and iniquity under their feet. The consideration of this subject causes very strange and yet good reflections to pass through my mind. When I look upon this people and consider the subject of their present and future progress, when I view the matter in this light, I conclude that the feeling and desire with the great majority is to have righteousness prevail; and I know that this feeling exists to a greater extent here than it does anywhere else upon the surface of this globe. As was remarked last Sunday, by brother Taylor, if sin and iniquity bear sway, although the people may have here and there good principle, something among them that is calculated to do good, here and there an item of essential doctrine, and occasionally a few good men who seek to sustain good principles to exalt virtue and truth, yet these are overbalanced by the wicked and ungodly, and hence that people cannot enjoy pure and unalloyed happiness.

There is no power but that of the Almighty that can sustain these Heavenly principles, and it can only be accomplished by drawing the people out from the nations and placing them where they can overbalance all wicked influences and have the predominance over the evil. This is our situation, and how does it become us to act as the repositories of these favors? Should we sink into sin and iniquity, or should we continue to improve in the knowledge of God and to increase in those principles which lead to exaltation? We should endeavor to eradicate evil from our midst. What is our prayer? Is it not that those who work wickedness may be rooted out, and that those who work righteousness may be left to inherit the land? But how often do we see in our own experience little departures from these principles of right? Men swayed this way and the other by the influence of evil, just as brother Cummings said, though it may be ever so slight, yet it gives the Enemy the advantage; it leads men astray, takes them into darkness and error. We can see the individual who is thus swayed as he becomes completely darkened in his mind, and finally we see him stray from the fold of Christ.

This is the way with some of our young men who have been brought up by good, pious and righteous parents; and it is also to be regretted that we sometimes see those fathers who have been long in the Church lead their children to do evil by their improper examples, and not, perhaps, designing to use that kind of influence which will lead their offspring to the commission of crime. But, I apprehend that when a child comes to maturity he will have to stand and act upon his own volition; when he comes to this state he has both the knowledge and the power to act for himself, and in that case the responsibility attaches to the child and not to the parents. How often do we see children following in the path of their parents? If the parents are industrious we naturally expect that the children will follow in that path, but if parents learn their children to do that which is not right, they are apt to grow up in sin. I believe that the child is naturally honest, but when this feeling to do wrong first penetrates the mind of the child it causes it to look and wonder in astonishment, and it can scarcely comprehend what the parents mean. I have thought frequently upon this subject, and I have seen circumstances where the child could not comprehend the evil or the cheat that was intended, when it would appear to be bereft of its senses and to be completely astonished when it comprehended what was intended by its parents. Now the child has the utmost confidence in its parents, and when it comes to maturity that confidence will be retained, provided the parents do not forfeit it. I believe that the child is astonished when it discovers any departure from truth on the part of its parents; I consider, therefore, that the responsibility, to a great extent, is with the Elders and those who are over the people in the community. If confidence be impaired in the parents, then all the children have to look to for instruction and guidance are those who hold authority among the people. I know there are people here who are lawless and who do not consider the rights of their neighbors, and it is as it was said anciently, “My people do not consider.” Parents do not consider that the eyes of their children are upon them, reading in their looks, acts, and words that which will be incorporated in their own nature and manifested in their future career. Children are continually watching, and they imitate everything they see, and, in fact, generally speaking, they are very great at imitation. Then, how circumspect and how careful should parents be to instill righteousness and holy principles into the young and tender minds of their children; remember to teach them principles of honor, teach them to avoid everything that has the appearance of evil, and let them be taught to look down with disdain upon those little peccadilloes and little nasty tricks that are sometimes indulged in. Some have been taught that certain little mean tricks are according to the way of the world, and, therefore, they have indulged in them. I despise such performances, and I like to see a man above that which will lead to dishonesty. Here are my brethren and sisters who have come from different parts of the world, and who have been traditionated to do a great many things that are contrary to the spirit of the Gospel, but we have had instructions in this kingdom to put away far from us all those practices that are contrary to the spirit and genius of our own religion. Who will act in this way when they can see very clearly that these little things will lead them on to still greater? It has been quite a common practice with some to steal the soap and the clothes of those for whom they were washing. Such practices are as common as anything that occurs in their lives; they have been trained up to such things all their days, and their fathers before them from generation to generation. Well, shall they carry on these little petty stealings in this generation, or shall they quit them and teach their children to do so too? Has not the Gospel placed them upon a platform where they can live without continuing in these evil practices? They doubtless have their apologies for these things in the old country where they are oppressed, and, as it were, trodden under foot of men, but here it is not so, for the Gospel will redeem them, exalt them, and bring them up to where they can live better without these practices than with them, and where they can leave these things off and have the confidence of their brethren and friends, so long as they do not attempt to drag these evil practices with them into the kingdom of God. I tell you the kingdom of God will do you but little good, unless you forsake all your evil ways and turn unto the Lord our God with full purpose of heart.

Let us not have such things hanging around us, nor permit ourselves to transmit any of them to our children, but let us purify our own hearts, and then let us set before them pure and holy examples. I speak of these things with a view to have the same remarks apply to all the evil influences with which the Devil has afflicted the world. I am aware that there are those both around us and amongst us that would be glad to see these kind of practices triumph just as they do in the world, and then the Enemy of all righteousness would have the people in his own hands just as he has in the world. But we have the privilege of overcoming those things, and have been placed in a position where we can combine our energies for the accomplishment of those which are required of us, ever seeking to do good, having had our hearts touched with those principles which have come from heaven. In this way we can rid ourselves of those evils which prevail within the rest of the world.

Let that father who sends his child to feed his horse in his neighbor’s pasture overnight and to bring him home before morning, consider what influence it will have upon his son in after life. Would it not make a thief of him? It would; and it would frame his mind for trespassing upon his neighbor whenever he might have the opportunity.

Man is the most independent being upon God’s footstool, for he has his free volition to do right or wrong; he has the power to reject the evil and choose the good if he chooses, and if he wants to consign himself to oblivion and go back to native element let him follow in the path of the ungodly; but, if, on the other hand, he wants to endure and dwell with God and holy angels, to have knowledge and power to understand all intelligence and finally become one of the Gods of eternity, let him take a course to produce that effect, and let him use his influence to bring to pass that which is calculated to exalt and bring him up finally upon the platform of the Gods of eternity.

We are here upon God’s footstool and we have all the privilege and the power to take either course—to take which road we please. Here through the goodness of God in these last days mankind have a privilege which they have not had for many generations that are past and gone. Here a man can live and pursue the path of righteousness, truth, and virtue and none dare forcibly drive him from the path of right, but, if, on the other hand, a man is not honest he can join with the wicked and ungodly. A man who has a disposition to do right can here prove his integrity in all the relations of life, in all the intercourse he has with men on the earth, he can increase his power to do good, and none will attempt to hinder him. This is a great privilege, and one that does not belong to all the people upon the face of the earth, but it accrues to the people of these Valleys because they have been gathered out from the nations and brought under the influences which prevail here. And where these principles are cherished and taught by the servants of God, where they are urged continually upon the attention of the people, where the people practice them and shun the evil and live for happiness and glory there is present peace; but if they take another course and neglect those principles of light and intelligence they will be led to ruin and be sub– jected to all kinds of disasters. We can see clearly that those who are supposed to be righteous can be so in the nations of the earth, though not so easily as they can here, for it is very easily to be seen that the influence of the good Spirit and the principles of eternal life cannot be used to the same extent there as in these valleys and mountains.

When Joseph was in Egypt he could preserve his integrity before Potipher and Pharaoh, and so it is with our Elders who go out from here to perform duties that may be assigned them among the nations of the earth; they can preserve their integrity, and by cleaving to those principles which they have learned while here they will have power over the Tempter, and they will return when they have accomplished their missions in peace and safety, for the Lord will preserve them from those evils which are calculated to lead them into disgrace. This is the advantage of those who go forth from the midst of this people; they have the faith and prayers of all Israel to shield them from the powers of darkness and from those influences which would otherwise lead them to commit sin; by these means are the Elders of this Church preserved when in the midst of wickedness. This is a great power that is upon the earth, and it is here because holy and righteous principles exist and are practiced among this people. These are some of the benefits derived from obedience to the fulness of the Gospel, and it becomes us as Saints of the Most High to strive to preserve ourselves pure and holy before him, to take hold of good and righteous principles like men and women of God, to labor to sustain our present existence, to sustain ourselves by drawing from the elements all those good things which he has placed within our reach, and thus become a really independent people, to be no longer dependent upon those who would gladly sell us for the cloth we have to wear. It becomes an experiment for us to sustain ourselves, though not exactly one that is liable to fail, but it is to see whether a righteous and holy people, coming out from the world, can draw from the elements that have been previously scattered around them for their own immediate sustenance and support, or whether they will forever be dependent upon those who would destroy them.

We have made good progress in these valleys of the mountains, and it is truly encouraging to look around and see what has been accomplished within fifteen years. Still there is a great deal more to be done. When ancient Israel went out of Egypt, a vast host of them, the Lord administered to their immediate necessities, and ordained that their clothing should not wear out, and in this way they were freed from labor while traveling in the wilderness; the Lord himself combined the elements for the benefit and support of that people. Now, we have been brought a far greater distance than they were, but the manna from heaven has not been showered out upon us as it was upon them. We have had to exert our intellect, to delve in the earth, and to a great extent we have succeeded in bringing from the elements our food and clothing. I think this is a far greater work than that which Moses brought about, and we are doing it without that mighty interposition which seemed to be necessary in the days of Moses, though the Lord has truly been prolific in blessing the earth since his people came to this country. What have the servants of God done since they came here? The first thing was to dedicate the earth, the air, the water, and the mountains, and this blessing has been poured out upon them and upon the people, and through the blessing of High Heaven, the earth has brought forth to the sustenance of his people. Is there not a dignity in this labor which we are performing? In endeavoring to bring from the elements things necessary for our support? I say there is, and there is an honor that accrues to the Latter-day Saint for their indefatigable exertions in this respect; it shows that they are alive to the work of the last days, that they are exerting themselves to build up a city and a kingdom wherein shall dwell righteousness, to the defiance of the Devil and his hosts. What a glorious sight it would be to see the united hosts of Israel present one mighty and unbroken phalanx against the wickedness of the world. If this were the case could the Devil or wicked men break such a band of united brethren? No; they would say come on, let the surges of opposition roll up against us, and still we will stand steadfast being of one heart and one mind. What is there that this people could not accomplish if they would preserve inviolate this integrity, and stand shoulder to shoulder in all the acts of their lives, to sustain one another and those that are placed to guide and dictate in the kingdom of God? There is nothing but what could be done by a union of this kind, for it is your privilege, and it is also the privilege of all the Latter-day Saints to be united in doing that which is good, and I am happy to say that this is the case to a great extent, but still the people might do more towards concentrating their energies for the welfare of Israel. There are a great many mean little acts manifest themselves yet, at this advanced day; these we should all seek to reject and begin anew with ourselves, and see that none of these things are traced to our bosom.

Brother Cummings does not pretend to train up his children to walk in these bye and forbidden paths of which I have been speaking, neither do I nor brother Brigham nor many others, still there are others that turn out vile and do those things that are wrong. But the time must come that righteousness must prevail, or else we have no privilege, no promise of the future, and in fact without it we have nothing that is any better than that which is possessed by anybody else, and we had better have stayed in the world and served the Devil at the places where we came from than to have come here for such a purpose. All those who feel like continuing in this way had a great deal better be somewhere else striving to introduce such evil practices as they have brought from the old world. A Gospel of salvation would reform every son and daughter of Adam, if they would let it, and it would bring them upon the platform of redemption, for the Gospel is redeeming in its qualities; it is ennobling in its nature, and it leads on to great and glorious results, and if we wish to be the recipients of its benefits it is for us to turn from the path which leads to destruction, and walk continually in the path of life. I truly feel an interest in this people, because they are of the class who are striving to do right; I feel proud to be associated with such a people as this, with all the follies which I cannot fellowship and which, in connection with others, I shall try to overcome, and to redeem this people from all evil. I say that we are a good people, and far the best people that live upon the earth, and let us try to get rid of things that are contrary to the spirit of the Gospel as fast as we can, and try to induce the people by whom we are surrounded to increase in the love of God, to hate that which is evil, and by the love which they have for the principles of holiness, cause them to hate iniquity and love righteousness. The presentation of these things to the minds of the people will do good, it will be a means of imparting to them the influences and principles by which we are inspired. In this way, perhaps, we may redeem some of them and bring them back to where they can have the honor, the glory and the peace which are the reward of the righteous, even of all who eschew evil and do good.

Let each and every one exercise their influence in this way, to promote holy and righteous principles upon the earth. Religion is glorious where it brings peace to the soul and contentment to the mind. Let us abide in those things and keep ourselves within the scope of those holy influences that do predominate and prevail in the midst of this people, and do not let us run here and there after things which do not concern us. If we want to be blest by those predominating principles and influences which the Lord has placed here, far from the power of the wicked, let us not by any act of our own throw ourselves outside of those influences. The moment we do it of our own volition we tread upon slippery places. Men may go away from here when they are sent by proper authority, when they are wanted to accomplish a certain purpose, and they can retain the Spirit of the Almighty, but when they go without being sent, of their own volition, then they have no assurance that their feet will not slip; they have not the faith of the people to help them; the angels have no charge to preserve them, and particularly those that leave and go into sin and iniquity, and are finally captivated by Satan. And, supposing they only go to Salmon River or California and return, perhaps having a little of the leaven of life, they return with the spirit of the world upon them. Have we any examples of this kind? If we have let us look at them, and from the lessons of the past let us look at the results of the future. I have seen them come back with a little gold, and it has almost invariably ruined them, nine cases out of ten this has been the result, and if they have not succeeded as well as they thought they ought to have done in the midst of the Saints, they are found with curses upon their lips, such as the inhabitants where they have been are accustomed to indulge in: they do not respect the Sabbath, they do not meet in the Tabernacle with the brethren to learn the word of the Lord, neither do they meet anywhere else for any good purpose, but they may be seen in the streets racing their horses, or cutting up some kind of useless folly, wasting their time till their money is gone, and then they have nothing to do but to go back and get more. They go, and perhaps get a less sum than they did the first time, but no matter whether they do or not they are never contented. This has been my experience, and this is the best, the fairest and the smoothest light in which I can view such cases and speak of them. This course of life, so far as it has an influence, disqualifies the young man from making a good, humble, faithful follower of Jesus; it disqualifies him from becoming a Saint of the Most High. This is my experience; you can look at the subject with your own eyes.

There are quite a number, and some good men among them, that want to know if it is counsel to go out on the road to trade. I tell them that I have no counsel of that kind to give, neither have I heard the President give such counsel to anyone. If I want to go out on the road to trade, taking butter and eggs and such like things, and my Bishop and President want me to go, then I should feel that I could be preserved. I should doubtless feel it to be a great burden, and as for seeking for such an opportunity it would be far from me, for I certainly would not wish to go unless I was wanted.

I mention this matter because many have asked me about it, and I have universally told them that I have no such counsel to give. It is a blessing to live in such a community as this, and I feel that it is not safe for anyone to use his own volition to go outside of this influence. This feeling is what has led my mind in this way, and I pray God to help us to stand upon this platform where we can be preserved from the influences of the wicked, and keep ourselves so that we cannot be led astray, nor be swayed to and fro by every wind of doctrine or example that comes along, but that we may seek for wisdom and knowledge, that our minds may be prepared to receive the teachings we hear from day to day.

May God help us to do right, and cause truth and good examples to sink deep into our hearts, that we may cultivate every virtuous and holy principle, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, May 18, 1862.

We have just heard that

“Angels from heaven, and truth from earth, Have met, and both have record borne.” We have also been hearing of things pertaining to the kingdom, of the events that are about to transpire, and that are transpiring in these last days.

Jesus said in his day, when speaking of a certain class of individuals, “Because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.”—Matt. xiii, 13. It has been so in almost every age, and it is so at the present time in the world, and to a certain extent among the Saints of the Most High God. It is difficult for us, sometimes, to see and comprehend, and to appreciate our privileges. Mankind have labored under this difficulty in every age of the world. We come into existence; we find ourselves surrounded with blessings; we entertain ideas in relation to the Great God who rules and overrules in the affairs of the universe, but we are more or less beclouded in our minds in relation to the great principles of eternal truth. It is so among the people in the world, and also among this people, although we see things more clearly and with a different vision, and understand things more correctly than the rest of the human family, yet we do not comprehend our true position and relationship to each other. If we do, we do not walk according to the light which is given unto us by the Spirit of eternal truth. What is more pleasant, naturally, for the mind of man to reflect upon than the things of the kingdom of God? The power, the wisdom and intelligence of the Great Eloheim in his works and designs, and our relationship to him, to the world, and to each other? How deep and sublime and incomprehensible to us, at present, is that wisdom and intelligence that governs this world and all others, that regulates the planetary system, that produces seed time and harvest, summer and winter, that causes all the vivifying influences that operate to supply the necessities of animal life in the myriads of the creatures of God, that spreads throughout the universe and fills all worlds as well as ours with life, being and existence. What could be more joyous and pleasing than for this and every other world to be under the control of that intelligence and wisdom that governs all animate or inanimate matter. In relation to this world, it has been a thing that the Prophets have delighted to dwell upon in days that are past and gone; it is a theme that the poets have sung about; they rejoiced in the prospect of the new heaven and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness; they have also delighted to dwell upon that which shall exist in the animal creation, where the stronger shall no longer press upon the weaker. They have also deplored the fallen condition of mankind generally; they have lamented over the evil passions and feelings that prevail among the human family. They have deplored the crime, the war, the bloodshed, and strife, and in their songs they have rejoiced in the prospect of the time coming when these things shall be done away, when the Lord shall take the government into his own hands, when the lion and the lamb shall lie down together, and the leopard become docile and harmless, and when there shall be nothing to hurt nor destroy in all the holy mountain of the Lord. But the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

Among the “Red Republicans” of France, as they are called, a great many of the leading and prominent infidels think that by their influence they will be enabled to bring about the millennial glory. They deprecate all those influences that lead to evil, and they would like another state of things to be introduced among the human family. In fact, as the President stated here not long ago, it is not natural for men to be evil. All men admire that which is good; all men admire virtue and truth, whether they possess them themselves or not, they still admire that which is good in others. You may go to the most wicked man that exists and talk to him upon this subject, and he will say at once, “I am not an example, but, such a man is and there are certain principles that I admire, and if I could see them carried out I should be glad.” Who does not admire the truth? And if men carry out good principles in their lives, all others admire both them and the principles. Who is there that does not admire virtue, no matter how lascivious they may be themselves? However dishonest the man may be himself, there is a feeling of admiration of honesty in others. This feeling prevails among the children of men. The only thing with them, and that which puzzles is, how shall the world be redeemed? How shall mankind be purified and correct prin– ciples be introduced among the human family? Men know that their hearts are evil, and they are ever ready to charge this upon others. The question now is, how shall good and godlike principles predominate among the human family? And how shall fraud and unrighteousness be put down and correct principles rise to the rescue of a fallen world? This is the problem that philosophers have tried to introduce, and that wise men in all ages have endeavored to solve. Great men in every age have tried to introduce something good—something that was calculated to do away with the evils that have existed; and to this end they have introduced something which they thought was more noble, more dignified, pure, and philanthropic, principles more holy than those that have prevailed. This subject has attracted the attention of all men, and the design of many of these philanthropists has been to lead mankind in the way of life; to introduce correct principles amongst a fallen world, to bring people to a state of truth, light, life, happiness and exaltation in this world or in the kingdom of God.

What is it that missionary institutions are put on foot for? To convert the heathen, that they may introduce among them correct principles, supposing that they have got them themselves, and that all the world may be brought under this Divine influence which they suppose they possess, and be civilized and evangelized and obtain an exaltation in the kingdom of our God. All kinds of societies have been organized in the world, which have had for their object the amelioration of the condition of the human family. For instance, almost all have seen that drunkenness was an evil, and hence men have introduced temperance societies, which are very good; but that does not constitute the kingdom of God, but it shows what feelings have inspired the human bosom, striking at the foundation of evil.

Another large class of men have supposed that war was a great evil, and so it is; and they have striven to introduce peace; and some of the most influential men in Europe have united together to form peace societies, but what do their efforts in this respect amount to? What have they accomplished? Nothing; there is nothing done; iniquity abounds just as much as it did before they tried to prevent it. Temperance societies have tried to make people sober, but people are as much given to intemperance as they were before the temperance societies were introduced. There does not seem to be any difference. Their agents have been sent forth, and their missionaries for years and years have been laboring to ameliorate the condition of mankind and to lead them to the knowledge of God, and what have they done? Let the world answer. What have they done among the heathen nations? What have they done among what are called Christians? The Peace Society—what has it done? Let the United States answer; let the present powers of Europe answer; let the world answer. Notwithstanding human exertions may have been very necessary in many of these moves to try to better the condition of the world, it must be acknowledged that they have signally failed, and that unless something more be done, a more powerful and a better kind of religion introduced, and a better kind of temperance, of philosophy, a better kind of morality, a more wise and liberal kind of government, and a better code of laws instituted, the world has got to go on as it has done, without any amendment; in fact it is getting worse and worse, instead of better and better. The great problem, it is presumed, will have to rest with us and the Almighty in relation to this matter. It requires something more potent, intelligent, powerful, and wise than anything that has existed heretofore among men to introduce that change which is so desirable. Man by searching cannot find it out. Man with the utmost stretch of his intelligence, is unable to comprehend or introduce the kingdom of God upon the earth, and all the earth, and all the various societies separate and combined have failed to introduce any principle commensurate with the wants of humanity, and in all respects calculated to ameliorate the condition of the human family, and to place them in the condition in which the Prophets have beheld them when wrapped in prophetic vision they beheld the opening glories of the kingdom of God. Who doubts the sincerity of many of the reformers, whether religious, social, moral or philosophical? No man. Many of these men have been sincere, noble, brave and ingenious, and have tried to stop the torrent of iniquity; but their means have not been commensurate to the end designed; iniquity, like the mountain snow when the sun shines upon it and the south wind blows, is loosed from its resting-place and comes down like a mighty avalanche breaking down all barriers, bursting all bonds and deluging and destroying all before it, leaving morality and religion aghast, destroying social order, deluging philosophy and proving that man alone may as well attempt to blow out the sun or stop the wheels of time, as in his pigmy efforts to regulate the world. How shall these things be accomplished?

I think we shall have to say as John Wesley said—

“Except the Lord conduct the plan, The best concerted scheme is vain, And never can succeed.”

I think that unless there is a more comprehensive philosophy than that which has entered into the brains of our learned men, that there can be none of that intelligence that dwells in the bosom of the Great God, to control and guide a man’s feelings and desires and to bring them into subjection to some law, by which all can be managed orderly and systematically. There is something in the designs of God and in all his operations that so far outstrip the operations of man in his most mighty efforts, for they are all puny, weak, and childlike. Look, for instance, at the embarrassments which the United States at present labor under in providing for their armies; at the difficulties they are placing themselves under. In a very short time, unless some change takes place, they will be bankrupt, and doubtless obliged to dishonor their contracts; and yet the United States are a wealthy and powerful nation. What is it they are running in debt for? To feed their armies and their navy. There is upwards of 30,000,000 of people in the United States, and about one million of them are engaged fighting each other, and the others are busy supplying their friends’ wants. It would really seem as if they were all bankrupt, notwithstanding all their financiering, their resources, and their wealth; and not only is that the case with them, but look at Great Britain and what they have tried to accomplish; with all their professed wisdom they have depended upon obtaining cotton from this land and now cannot do it. It is supposed that they can never get from under their indebtedness, which places a great part of the nation in a state of vassalage and poverty. What is the case with other nations? They are just the same or worse. They are maintaining their large standing armies to preserve their dignity and their pride in the midst of the proud spirited aristocrats of the old world. What does their present condition show? It shows there is a weakness and a want of union and of confidence one in another.

Let us look at the acts of the Almighty and compare them with the acts of men. Look at the human family: there is from 800,000,000 to 1,000,000,000 that inhabit the face of this earth, on the right hand and on the left, in the north and in the south; and who is it that provides their dinner, supper, and all their supplies? Why, it is the Great God—Him who hears the young ravens when they cry, whose wisdom is infinite and who is capable of taking care of the human family. Then look at the hills and valleys and the animal creation; the fish in the sea, the beasts of the forest, all teeming with life, and yet this intelligence which is in the Almighty, and the knowledge by which he controls all things, and which enables him to take care of and provide for all creation, the myriads and myriads of beings that fill the air and sea, and yet, notwithstanding they exist in countless numbers, his wisdom provides for all of them, and he is not bankrupt, but is still abundantly able to meet his engagements for fifty years to come just as well as he is today. Now contrast the difference between one thing and the other.

Well, it is not necessary to dwell long upon these things; enough perhaps may have been said to show the wisdom, the knowledge and the forethought of the Almighty. Now, what is it that we want? If we could have it and know how to obtain it, and if there was any way of accomplishing it, we want to get that wisdom which dwells in the bosom of God; that intelligence which governs the universe, that produces seedtime and harvest, and causes everything to progress in regular order, under the sanction of that care, forethought and comprehension and power that enables the Lord our God to provide for all of his creatures, to supply our wants; and this shows something of that beneficence that dwells in his bosom, that enables him to feel for the wants of his neighbors as for his own, and to seek after common welfare and interest. If we cannot get God to be interested in our cause, if he won’t put his hand to the wheel, we may despair of ever bringing about that thing that the Prophets have spoken about, just as much as Moses did in former days when Israel had sinned against God. After that the Lord led them by the pillar of fire by night and a cloudy pillar by day. If they had been faithful the Lord would have allowed them to accomplish their journey through the wilderness in a short time, but in consequence of their hardheartedness and their rebellion against the servants of God and the principles that he introduced, the Lord got angry, as he had a right to do, at the corruption and the prevarication and rebellion that prevailed among that people. For their hardheartedness he got angry with them and said, “I won’t go any longer with this people; you can go, Moses, but they won’t be governed by my advice, therefore you can take them along.” Moses knew very well that he could not do it, and therefore, he said, “Oh Lord, if thou go not up with us, let us not go. There are difficulties to contend with and the Philistines will be against us; we have got to depend upon thee to feed us with manna from heaven. We have had to depend upon thy wisdom thus far; we shall be swept from off the land if thou go not up with us, therefore carry us not up hence.”

This was the feeling of Moses when he stood in the midst of the rebellious children of Israel. Well, what is it that we are engaged to do now? Why, we are engaged in just the very thing that we have been singing about, viz.—

“Angels from heaven, and truth from earth, Have met and both have record borne.” God has sent his angels, and he has declared that he would introduce his kingdom and his government, and establish his dominion and authority according to the saying of one of the old Prophets, “The Lord is our king, the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver; and he shall reign over us.” That was the kind of feeling the people had in those days when they felt right, and this is the kind of feeling the people have in these days when they have the right Spirit; and this is the feeling that we profess to carry in our bosoms, and which we profess to carry out in our lives. We have generally been able to see through the fallacy and weakness of all human institutions. We believe that the Lord has revealed himself from the heavens, and that the manifestations of the power of the heavens have been revealed, and the intelligence that dwells in the bosom of the Almighty and the records that have been hid up for ages we have found; they have been developed and made known to us in connection with the revelations of the Spirit of the Most High God, for the purpose of establishing the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the earth, and bringing in a reign of righteousness, freedom and peace. These things have been introduced for the very purpose of developing and accomplishing those things that have been hid up in the bosom of Jehovah from before the commencement of this earth. He well understood his designs ere the morning stars sang together for joy; he knew what he was to accomplish years and years ago, before any of our fathers had an existence upon the earth; and for this reason the earth was organized and framed, and for this purpose we came here. God had designs generations ago to accomplish his purposes, and those purposes which he designed from the beginning will be accomplished in spite of all the combined influences of earth and hell. What was the object of our formation and the formation of the earth and of all intelligent beings upon it? God in his own due time, after the folly, strength, weakness and vanity of the human family have exhausted themselves, and after trying all their experiments, and all their wisdom being exerted to find out God, then the Almighty will show them that he can accomplish his purposes. It is our business to lean on the Lord and seek unto him for wisdom and intelligence. The Lord has opened up this work by opening the heavens, by communicating his will and unveiling his purposes and designs to the children of men, by the introduction of the Holy Priesthood and by the manifestation of his power, and by the marvelous deliverance which has been wrought for us, for our guidance; in this way he has given proof upon proof, and intelligence upon intelligence, and testimony upon testimony; and evidence upon evidence have been given to convince us of the position that we occupy and of the will of God that has been communicated unto us. The Spirit of inspiration has been given unto us, and we have had our testimony made as firm and sure as the Rock of Ages, upon the principles of eternal truth, and all this that our steps might not waver and that we might yield obedience to the laws of heaven and continue in the observation of the statutes. But, notwithstanding all our privileges and blessings, a great many of us seem to have ears to hear but hear not, hearts but we understand not, and although we are made partakers of the munificence and goodness of God, and notwithstanding his intelligence continues to be poured out upon us from day to day and from year to year, we seem to treat lightly the blessings he has showered out upon us. This is not the case with all; I believe the great majority of this people feel it in their hearts to do right, to keep the commandments of God and to yield obedience to his laws, and to magnify their high callings and help to build up his kingdom on the earth. This is the feeling and desire of the great majority of this people; and probably as others learn more and comprehend more, they will feel a stronger desire to walk in accordance with the commandments of God and fulfil all his behests.

If we could see and feel our position we should feel, when men surround us with their temptations, and tell us of privileges—we should feel something like a man that was building the Temple in former days, he said, “I am doing a great work, hinder me not: why should I come down?” If we as Elders, as Saints of the Most High, could comprehend the responsibilities that rest upon us, and the obligations that rest upon us, we should feel when these little things come in our way, and we should say, “Get thee behind me Satan.” We should feel as this man said, “I am doing a great work, and I, myself, and my family and all my interests, and in fact everything that I have are bound up in the kingdom of God. I am a servant of the Great Jehovah; God is my father, he has established his kingdom upon the earth. I am one of his servants, one of his Elders, and I am trying to help to build up his kingdom, and to introduce a reign of righteousness, to roll back the dark cloud that has overspread the world, and to do something that will tend to roll forth the Redeemer’s kingdom, and therefore I cannot condescend to the worldly vanity that I see around me.” This would be the feeling of all the Elders and of all Saints, if they felt right and realized their true positions and responsibilities, and they would feel, moreover, a good deal as all good men feel who know themselves and feel correctly their calling. They would likewise feel, that if men for generations past have been erring and going astray for want of the knowledge of the laws of God, and that if God called out men to carry the message of life and salvation to this generation, that they would go and try, if they died while trying, and thus enable mankind to approach God and to conduct themselves aright; and also teach their families the first principles of true government, that, peradventure, with the united efforts and cooperations of the Priesthood and the members of the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth, they might be able to introduce a reign of righteousness into the world. This would be the feeling that would exist. It is just as some men are over a picayune. Don’t you know how men will twist and pick and cringe to get hold of a dollar or two? If men would be as valiant in trying to pray to God to give them wisdom and power to control themselves and their thoughts and passions, then in all their business transactions, they would feel that they know themselves to be accepted of the Almighty. They would feel and know that they had ears to hear and hearts to understand and comprehend the mind and will of God; they would then feel ten thousand times more interest in the kingdom and to work for the spread of true and holy principles, and in all things pertaining to the great work in which they are engaged, than in those little temporal matters. Yet, notwithstanding all our experience, how anxious we are about the one and how careless about the other; yet our father is merciful and remembers that we are but poor, weak, erring creatures. He knows the things that are transpiring, and he comprehends all our faults and infirm– ities, and hence he is merciful unto us, and really we ought sometimes to be ashamed of our own acts.

Many of you have doubtless heard people talk, and say, “Why I thought I could get a living better, get more money and clothes and everything I needed.” Yes, this is the way many felt, and they came here to the gathering place of the Saints with a view to get rich, that they might eat and drink, get plenty of beer, spirits and wine, such as was made in the old countries and in the Eastern States, whereas men should come with a feeling to build up the kingdom of God. Not that you need be united with the Temperance Society, for our religion comprehends all that is good in that society. Is there a temperance society or principle necessary? We have it. Is there any good principle in the Peace Society? We have it with us; it is all comprehended in our holy religion.

Now, Jesus said to his disciples, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” In another place he says, when speaking to his disciples, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

Peace is the gift of God. Do you want peace? Go to God. Do you want peace in your families? Go to God. Do you want peace to brood over your families? If you do, live your religion, and the very peace of God will dwell and abide with you, for that is where peace comes from, and it don’t dwell anywhere else. We had peace societies in the world, it is true, for many years, but what have they done? Simply nothing; but peace is good, and I say seek for it, cherish it in your bosoms, in your neighborhoods, and wherever you go among your friends and associates, for they are good principles and dwell in the bosom of God, and if we only get that peace that dwells in the bosom of God all will be right.

Remember that it is a great deal better to suffer wrong than to do wrong. We have enlisted in this kingdom for the purpose of working righteousness, growing up in righteousness, and in purity that we might have a heaven in our families, in our city and neighborhoods, a Zion right in our midst, live in it ourselves and persuade everybody else to abide its holy laws. Philosophers have been seeking after and searching into philosophy. The Lord has revealed unto the great family of heaven and of earth, and he is continually communicating his will and giving us good principles. Others have been trying to understand the things of God by their various creeds and systems, but we have got all the truth combined, instead of having a multitude of systems. There is not a religion upon the face of the earth but has truth in it that is embraced in our religion, for it embraces all truth that has or will exist, so far as we can comprehend it. Consequently, our religion is something like the religion of Moses. You remember that Moses had a rod, and the magicians had rods; the magicians cast down their rods, and through some power and influence they became serpents. When Moses cast down his, through some power and influence superior to that of the magicians, it swallowed up theirs. We have cast down our rod, we have set up our standard, and it will swallow up all the rest.

Is there a true principle of science in the world? It is ours. Are there true principles of music, of mechanism, or of philosophy? If there are, they are all ours. Is there a true principle of government that exists in the world anywhere? It is ours, it is God’s; for every good and perfect gift that does exist in the world among men proceeds from the “Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” It is God that has given every good gift that the world ever did possess. He is the giver of all good principles, principles of law, of government and of everything else, and he is now gathering them together into one place, and withdrawing them from the world, and hence the misery and darkness that begin to prevail among the nations; and hence the light, life and intelligence that begin to manifest themselves among us.

But, again, in relation to government, who can govern the human family? The world have tried it, with all their great spirits, with all their power and authority, and what have they done among the nations of the earth? They have had misery pressed down, shaken together and running over. At the same time there have been many good principles among the nations of the earth; many good and equitable laws; and among the rest religion and politics have had a liberal share, and everything else that has had some good in it; but mankind have not been able to introduce the millennial reign, and who knows how the Lord and those to whom he will give wisdom, will govern mankind? It cannot be known; man never could and never will be able to govern his fellows, except the power, the wisdom, and the authority be given from heaven.

We have had a great deal of talk about Republican Governments, and look what a specimen we have before us. Look at the desolation and destruction that prevail through this once happy land. I ask the question, can man govern himself? No, he cannot; and unless the Lord takes the government and introduces correct principles, it cannot be done; the intelligence we have will never do it, and in fact nothing but the light and intelligence of the Most High will enable us to progress in the things of the kingdom of God; and how few there are that can govern themselves. What will enable you, brethren and sisters, to govern yourselves? The Spirit of God; and you cannot do it without the Spirit of the living God dwelling in you—you must have the light of revelation, or else you cannot do it. If you get the gift of the Holy Ghost and walk in the light of the countenance of the Lord you can govern yourselves and families, that is, if you retain it by your good works. You may govern people in a certain kind of way, as they have done in former days, but you will need the Spirit of the living God to dwell in your bosoms. What would be the effect of such a government? If carried out, it would be as we sing sometimes, that

“Every man in every place Will meet a brother and a friend.” When you get the Spirit of God, you feel full of kindness, charity, long-suffering, and you are willing all the day long to accord to every man that which you want yourself. You feel disposed all the day long to do unto all men as you would wish them to do unto you. What is it that will enable one man to govern his fellows aright? It is just as Joseph Smith said to a certain man who asked him, “How do you govern such a vast people as this?” “Oh,” says Joseph, “it is very easy.” “Why,” says the man, “but we find it very difficult.” “But,” said Joseph, “it is very easy, for I teach the people correct principles and they govern themselves;” and if correct principles will do this in one family they will in ten, in a hundred and in ten hundred thousand. How easy it is to govern the people in this way! It is just like the streams from City Creek; they spread through the valleys and through every lot and piece of lot. So it is with the government of God; the streams of life flow from the Great Fountain through the various channels which the Almighty has opened up, and they spread not only throughout this city but throughout the world, wherever there are any Saints that have yielded obedience to the commandments of God. The fountain is inexhaustible, and the rivers of life flow from the fountain unto the people.

The Lord said that his people should be willing in the day of his power, and this principle commands the influence of his good Spirit, connects with the fountain, with the intelligence that dwells in the bosom of God, it is that which lights and fills every bosom, and enters into every house, and every family and heart; all are made glad with the joys of the Spirit of God; under its benigning influence they are made to feel that the yoke of Christ is easy and his burden is light. This is the feeling that governs the Saints and controls them in all their acts, and this spirit has commenced to spread abroad and will continue to spread until the earth shall be full of the knowledge of God as the waters cover the great deep.

Some in speaking of war and troubles, will say are you not afraid? No, I am a servant of God, and this is enough, for Father is at the helm. It is for me to be as clay in the hands of the potter, to be pliable and walk in the light of the countenance of the Spirit of the Lord, and then no matter what comes. Let the lightnings flash and the earthquakes bellow, God is at the helm, and I feel like saying but little, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth and will continue his work until he has put all enemies under his feet, and his kingdom extends from the rivers to the ends of the earth.

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

Remarks by Elder George A. Smith, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, May 11, 1862.

It appears in the economy of Heaven that there are a variety of gifts. Gifts differ, as described by the Apostle to the Corinthians, in the 12th chapter of his First Epistle. He says—“For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.”

These gifts are very apparent in the organization of this people. We possess a great deal of zeal, and sometimes it has proved to be not according to knowledge. For instance, the third number of the Evening and Morning Star, which was published in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, by W. W. Phelps, held out the doctrine rather strongly that about nine or ten years would be sufficient to wind up the whole matter of the warning of the wicked nations and the gathering of the Saints preparatory to the coming of the Messiah. So zealous were some of the Elders at that time, and so certain that the Lord would shorten his work, that we expected long before this to see the mil– lennium in full blast; and yet, although these anticipations have not been fully realized, the work has progressed as rapidly as it possibly could without doing injury to itself. In order that this may be properly understood it may be well to consider the material of which this Church is composed. Its doctrines have been taught to every nation, kindred, and tongue, where the Elders have had an opportunity of preaching to the people, and those who have from time to time embraced the doctrines of the Saints have been gathered together, bringing with them all manner of prejudices, notions, and whims, and if too great a body of such material had been hurriedly brought together it might have been impossible (though some people say there is nothing impossible with the Almighty), but still I think that it might have been impossible to hold such an incongruous mass of materials together.

When the Elders were scattered among the Gentiles to preach repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, many would say how wonderfully these men preached! What smart men they were considered by those who heard them! These men acquired the ingenuity and the tact by which they handled the Scriptures with such ability that they were actually considered by the world to be very learned and talented men and some of them are known yet by the sobriquet of “Walking Bible!” And all these men in their way are shining and brilliant items of talent and wisdom; a comparatively ignorant man, if he is humble, can go and preach the Gospel, and proclaim by the power of the good Spirit the principles of life and salvation. An ignorant man, who goes forth from nation to nation to declare the truths which God in his mercy has revealed, generally goes forth in humility and faith, and, by diligence and perseverance, he picks up and gathers into the Church men of every imaginable tradition, of every habit, of every custom and of every nation; after which they go and make each man throw away part of his foolish traditions just as fast as possible, and teach him true principles instead thereof; make the people live together in a city, a country, and a State, and all pull together, as one well-organized community.

Now, I know really that we ought to be ashamed of our ignorance, and yet brother Musser has told us that we are a great deal ahead of the Western States. Really, if we are not we ought to be ashamed of ourselves. We have had wiser teachers, and not only have we had good tutors, but we have had practical lessons.

Mr. Trumbull, member of Congress from Illinois, made a remark at a meeting during the Mormon war, to this effect—“I have been to Nauvoo; I was there when the Mormons were there, and if the inhabitants and citizens of the United States were as intelligent and industrious and as thrifty as the Mormons were then, they would be a long way ahead of what they are now.” Lyman Trumbull is considerable authority upon this subject, he was Secretary of State in Illinois when we lived in Nauvoo, and no particular friend of ours. If we have not advanced as much as we might have done, we have scattered the truth abroad. The wisdom of our President has taken the poor from the distant nations of the earth, brought them here and made them rich. You pass through this Territory today and you strive to find the man or woman that cannot get bread for supper. You cannot do it. You find the man or woman that is destitute of clothing, if you can. Such destitution does not exist. You may search the world in vain for a similar people, and you will find that a people so universally comfortably situated do not exist; and yet, these are the people who were so poor, who have been several times robbed and plundered of all they possessed, and who then came into the most desert country in the world, and here they have acquired this abundance which surrounds everybody. A polity has been introduced that benefits everybody, instead of leaving us to lay our own plans, and be at the shrine of wickedness and corruption. When a poor man comes to a Bishop and says, “I am hungry, I want some bread.” The Bishop, like a Father, says—“Well, what can you do? We must find you some work, we must show you how to manage in this country so that you can get a living.” The Bishop might take the old Gentile plan, give the hungry man a dollar, which he would spend and do nothing to provide more, and thus he will be kept eternally poor, but instead of this he finds him work, the man’s way is opened, and, in a short time, he is rich, for he is able to live from his own exertions. Herein is manifested the wisdom of Heaven, which should be in the breast of every man in Zion, and it also shows the wisdom of that head which God has placed to guide us and make us a self-sustaining, independent people.

If we go down into the States now we find them engaged in a war, and I suppose that the language that is generally denominated the King’s English, fails to tell the extremes of folly, wickedness, corruption, and degradation that brought this war on. Tongue cannot tell it, the language we speak has not got words enough to describe it accurately. Friends and brothers are killing each other. It actually seems as though the vengeance of God was poured out upon them, and every time that either party suffer a defeat that party is filled with increased rage and vengeance, and they thirst for each other’s blood. Such are the facts in the case.

The Prophet said the Lord was about to sweep the earth with the besom of destruction, and in that day the wicked would slay the wicked. I cannot tell how fast things will go, but I feel astonished when I see how the work has progressed since its commencement in the year 1830. You go into a corn field where the stalks grow too rapidly and you find them weak, and a very slight wind will break them down. You look at the progress of nations when they grow too rapidly, you will perceive that they immediately fall to pieces. It was so with the Mahomedan empire; it swelled in eighty years from a solitary wanderer to an empire constituting about a third part of the then inhabited globe. It is not so with us. This people is rising gradually. You can find men who have gone forth and baptized their hundreds, but few who have baptized their thousands, and if all the numbers that have been baptized into this Church since its first organization were added together I do not suppose that there would be less than a million, and but few of these have remained to the present time, the rest have built up cities for the Gentiles, and have populated such towns as St. Louis, San Francisco, and in fact almost all of the cities of California and the Western States. The rest are still laboring to build up Zion, to spread abroad the fulness of the everlasting Gospel and to save all who will give heed to its teachings and the dictates of the Holy Spirit, while those who cannot “bear the sieve of vanity” are occasionally leaving the Church and going again to wallow in the wickedness of the world. There is now and then, one will go off and come back again, and they profess to be good brethren. They put me in mind of an anecdote. A wealthy parishioner sent his negro servant Jack to carry a sucking pig to his parson as a present for a Christmas roast, while on his way, Cuffy was called into a public house by one of his comrades to have a drink, and while quaffing his ale, some of his mischievous friends took the pig out of the basket and placed a puppy in its stead; Cuffy then went on his way and presented the basket to the parson, saying, “Sir, massa has sent you a present of a fine pig for a Christmas roast,” the rev. gentleman pleased with the prospect of a fine dinner, looked in the basket, and exclaimed, “pig, you black rascal, it is a puppy; tell your master not to insult me by sending me a puppy.” Cuffy, on his return home, called at the ale house for another glass, when his comrades slyly exchanged the pig for the puppy: when Jack got home, his master said, “what did the parson say for the fine present I sent him?” “Parson said the pig was a puppy, that you insult him to send him a puppy.” “Bring the basket to me.” He opened it, and exclaimed, “it is a pig, you black villain.” Cuffy in astonishment, and unable to account for what he saw, cried out, “Massa, I believe he can be a pig or a puppy just as he likes.” This is just the character of those men that act in this way, they can be pigs or puppies, Saints or apostates, just as they like, and I do feel that if such men will leave and stay away we will be contented with what we can raise independent of all those who are wandering abroad and trying to shake hands with the Devil. But I find that those who stay here, and do their duty and struggle to fulfil counsel, will increase in all that is good, while the others—pig and puppy—will all go to hell together. I know that we are very pious, and for want of better understanding make mistakes in reference to blessings. Joseph used very often to get up and bless the congregation in the name of the Lord; President Young does so sometimes in a very emphatic manner, but are these blessings appreciated?

Now I do not care how much wealth you pour into the laps of men, unless there is in their bosoms the Spirit of God they are unhappy. You may also fill a woman’s lap with riches, surround her with every imaginable comfort, and if she has not the Spirit of the Almighty within her, and the spirit of contentment she will be miserable. It is so with all of us; unless we have the spirit of contentment in our hearts we are miserable, and unless we can enjoy that spirit which brings happiness, inspires the soul and makes a heaven in every home, we shall be constantly uneasy. Watch the men who have gone abroad; if they become discontented the Spirit of the Most High leaves them, but if they do not get uneasy and unsettled in their minds they have no fear of death, but they rejoice in the enjoyment of the Spirit of the Lord and the spirit of mercy, then the light of revelation, peace, happiness and contentment are and forever will be their portion. So will it be with all of us. These are the blessings of the Lord unto his faithful people. If a man has all the wealth in creation, and has heaped upon him all the honors and powers that the world can give, his soul is discontented and miserable, unless he possesses the Spirit of Christ.

I recollect reading in Seers’ History of India of “an English envoy sent on a mission to Delhi about ten years before the emperor’s death, on being introduced into their imperial presence, was surprised to see a little old man, with a long silvery beard, dressed in plain white muslin, standing in the midst of a group of omrahs (Hindoo noblemen) whose rich robes sparkling with jewels, formed a striking contrast to the unostentatious appearance of their sovereign.” This Aurung-Zeb was remarkable for the simplicity of his habits and manners, which he constantly maintained amid the splendor of the most magnificent court in the world. He died at the advanced age of eighty-nine, in the fiftieth year of his reign. The very wealth and riches that were around him were misery to him, and the crimes that had put the other claimers to his throne into the grave, made him, in the midst of splendor miserably miserable.

Brethren, study to be content, and when we want to see if we can’t go off to California and get some more spices and some things that we cannot get here; to surround ourselves with sweet meats, let us just remember brother Musser’s remark—“Shake your head.” Emphatically, No; I love Zion better than all things else.

Now the facts are, the comforts of life depend upon the manner good things are used. You may get the choicest of this world’s goods; I don’t care if the wealth of the world is used to get the most delicious dishes for a man to live upon, in a short time they become sickening and nauseous and are actually injurious to the human system. Those who live in this way become weak and effeminate, and finally rendered entirely useless. For my own part, I say give me the good wheat and good plain living, then I shall have strength, and stand a good chance for good health and long life.

There was a United States Judge died here, and just before his death he said—“I have abused everything that is good, and know nothing that is good.” This is the condition of the world. But with proper exercise and care, and the common food that is produced within ourselves, is sufficient for us, and it is calculated to develop the mind and body of man, and to lay a foundation for a race of men that shall rule the world. Now this is no wild chimera of the brain, for we are laying the foundation for the redemption of the human race; we are laying a foundation to make a fraternity of brethren, and to secure to each and all happiness and peace. The Lord himself has laid the foundation; and if any man wants to go away from here, let him go, but let him remember that he will be unhappy wherever he is.

May the Lord bless us and enable us to inherit a spirit of contentment, that we may inherit celestial glory. Amen.

Remarks by President Daniel H. Wells, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, May 4, 1862.

I feel gratified, brethren and sisters, at the testimony which we have heard this morning from our brethren, who have been called to go upon Missions. I realize for one that it is an inestimable privilege which the Saints enjoy, to meet together under such favorable circumstances as we do here, to strengthen each other, to give our testimony to the truth of what we know.

These brethren have been called to go upon foreign missions, and it is a high and honorable calling to go forth as ambassadors of salvation; and they will be blessed in this calling, if they will keep themselves pure and spotless before the Lord, they will go in peace and return in safety. This blessing is for those who go and have to mingle among the wicked nations of the earth. While absent from home they are encircled with the prayers of the faithful Saints, and they are enshrouded with a mantle, so long as they preserve themselves pure and holy. We seal these blessings upon them whenever they go forth upon this great Mission. I say I feel to rejoice that we have the ability, the power and authority to send forth these messengers of salvation to those that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and I hope and trust and know that these brethren will be the means of accomplishing a good work upon the earth, and of establishing those principles which lead to life and salvation in the kingdom of God. They will gather the people together in these Valleys, for the Saints have no desire for the fellowship of the world. Some gather up here, it is true, for other objects than the worship of God, but they are not the right kind. There are those brethren and sisters who come here for the love of righteousness and they are the majority, and will doubtless remain in the majority, for this kingdom will never be thrown down nor given to another people. There are those who come here filled with the leaven of unrighteousness, having given way to the tempter until they got it planted in their own bosoms; they do not feel satisfied when they get here, for they have not purged out sufficient of this leaven of unrighteousness; they soon seem to prefer another kind of society; they feel uneasy unless they can be where wickedness abounds, where in secret, they can wallow in the wickedness of the world. I am glad, for one, that they have to go somewhere else to gratify their unhallowed, selfish propensities. They want to go to the eastern nations where they can wallow in the filth of the wicked. I am glad and rejoice that they have to go away, if they cannot be satisfied with the pure principles of the Gospel, and enjoy themselves in the fresh air of these mountains. Here we have peace and enjoy happiness and so can all the right-minded. We have contentment, and take pleasing and solid comfort in real enjoyment for we are placed upon a platform where we shall go forth conquering and to conquer; and here we can hoist the banner of righteousness and all can be shielded and protected beneath its folds; we can labor to redeem the earth, and cause it to bring forth from its elements and draw therefrom those things needful for our own comfort, and we can thus be delivered from the power of the oppressor.

Our brethren and sisters have been shamefully oppressed in their native countries; they have lived where their fathers before them lived, and so long as they continue in this way they are not and will not be able to gain one iota, nor to advance in the scale of intelligence; they have not taken one step to improve themselves or their children temporally or spiritually; they are bound as it were hand and foot, in those old countries. But when the Gospel goes forth and they receive it in good and honest hearts, these fetters are broken off, and they are then placed upon a platform upon which they can improve, in fact there is then nothing to prevent them improving and exalting themselves and gaining for themselves an influence in the midst of this people. They can gather up to Zion where they can gain a temporal support, and in due time become independent and happy, following the pursuits of truth and virtue. This is one great blessing which the Gospel brings to many poor persons in foreign countries as well as in our own land.

Well, brethren, we have great cause to rejoice in these things, and in all the blessings which flow from the Gospel of salvation. We have a pleasant, agreeable country, we enjoy freedom, we have communication with the heavens, and through that medium intelligence flows to the minds of the children of men. We have the authority of the Holy Priesthood which has been conferred upon the children of men from our Father and God. How it becomes us then to appreciate these blessings. We have no time for carelessness, but every hour and moment should be occupied to promote the interest of our Father’s kingdom upon the earth; to preserve the keys and power, which the Almighty has conferred upon us, pure and holy before him; to preserve ourselves and our influence before high Heaven, and then all will be well with us.

It is a new era in which we are living; and it is a new light that has dawned upon this people; and power and influence is increasing and will continue to increase among the people of God continually, for this is their destiny; and although they may not understand the growing influence and power of this mighty work in which we are engaged, still they are flowing in a steady stream unto this people. What is there for this people to accomplish and perform? It is their business to preserve this Priesthood untarnished, that wisdom may flow unto them through its holy influence, that they may know how to wield the power thereof for the best good of the kingdom of God. It becomes us well to understand this, that we may not unwisely wield the power that is and that will ere long be put into our hands. This is what the wicked nations have done with their power, but it will not do for us. No, for if we were to use it in this way, all the authority and power ever given would be taken away from us, as it is now being taken from them. But, if we are faithful, power and influence will continue to flow unto us until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ. Then let us step forth to do good, and whenever we have the opportunity let us assist in the great work which lies before us; and let us labor to preserve this power upon the earth, that there may be an ensign to the nations, and an emblem of righteousness to all people.

It is the inestimable privilege of this people, if they will receive and honor it, to establish the principles of righteousness and truth, and to establish that kingdom which shall stand forever and ever. It is our privilege to become pillars in that kingdom, to bring it forth, to honor and sustain it. It is a temporal work; everything is requisite for the kingdom of God that is needed for any other kingdom, except wickedness. We want to build up cities, and to cultivate and beautify the earth, and make the place of the Lord’s feet glorious. Every excellence, power, and blessing belongs to the Saints of the Most High God, if they will prove themselves worthy to receive them. We have means to perform foreign missions, to save the people; we have also means at home to bring forth the grain, to build up cities and temples, and to go forth upon the right and upon the left to protect the right, and to develop the resources of the land into which the Lord has brought us; to shield ourselves from the wicked and ungodly, and thwart them in all things. All these things have to be done. We have all missions to perform, some one kind and some another.

We have now before us a temporal work in building the Temple; and in order to do this, we have to make the State road passable for teams; and to do this, it is necessary to raise it in all the low places, to open the ditches and allow the water to run off. This is a temporal work that must be attended to, day by day, until it is completed. The stonecutters are lying idle for want of stone. We do not want the road lost now, after so much labor has been bestowed upon it.

There are a great many rumors afloat about the expeditions that have gone out from here, and I want to say that they are not worthy of your credit. And I want to say that it is all right with regard to those expeditions going forth, and will result for the benefit of this people. The people of this kingdom are minutemen, or should be, and they should be prepared to go as circumstances shall direct, and in this way we prove ourselves before God, that we are ready to do his will, and to do his bidding. The requisition was made by the proper authority at Washington, and was readily responded to, as has always been the case when a call has been made through the proper channel, and the compliance with this call will result in good. Our brethren will perform their duties and do honor to their country. It is our country; we are citizens of the American Government, and we have a right to act for the preservation of its institutions, and we have always done it whenever called upon, and we have shown ourselves ready to respond to our duty as good citizens, no matter for what usage we have received in return. This proves a weapon in the hands of this people for their defense. Let us feel contented to respond to every call that comes from the proper source, let us do it with full faith and confidence believing that it is right.

If there are those among us who want to go to the world, let them go till they get their fill, and we would rather they would do this than stay here and contaminate the Saints of the Most High.

Let our brethren who are going on missions keep themselves pure and unspotted from the world. We know that we can perform a mission in the world and mingle with them as far as shall be necessary, without partaking of their wickedness. Our Missionaries are obliged to mingle with them more or less; and, in fact, we are all in the world, but it does not prove that the Saints are obliged to mingle with the wicked and carry the wicked in their bosoms, but they can keep themselves upon the plat– form of virtue and cleave close unto the Lord.

Our brother, who was speaking, in his remarks conveyed the idea that he had a greater degree of the gifts of the Spirit and happiness therein before he came here than he has now. This is a mistake, in my opinion, for the power of God is manifest more strongly by contrast in the world, even as light shines in darkness. Here are the ordinances of the Church administered continually; and the healing power is not noticed here as much as in the world; if there is one case of healing in the world, it is a marvel, whereas, here it is so common an occurrence that a case of healing is less noticed or thought about. The Spirit of light penetrates into the world, where the darkness is such that it may be felt, but here it is swallowed up in the greater light.

This people are gaining influence and power with the Heavens, and they are enjoying more of the blessings of the Heavens than are enjoyed anywhere else upon the earth. I know when clouds spread over the wicked nations, this people feel it, even as the telegraphic wire is affected by approaching storms. When a cloud looms up over the people in the Valleys, it is felt to the utmost extremity of the earth. The Elders have borne this testimony time and again. They have frequently, when any great movement has been about to be made against us, known the designs of the enemies of this people; a knowledge of what they purposed doing has come as by a shock of electricity, and thus by the inspiration of the good Spirit they have known the intentions of those that concoct in secret against the welfare of the people of God; and, by the same Spirit of revelation have the Elders abroad known of any great and important movement at home. Through this same influence at home, here in Zion, has the President seen and known, even as he has understood a book that was open before him, what were the intentions of our enemies, and he has often told us their most secret combinations and devices; and the very extent of their hearts has been revealed to him, and, at the same time, their power of accomplishing what they have designed has been shown to him, and to what extent they could carry out their plans. He has always seemed to be forewarned, to enable him, I suppose, to take measures to thwart their unholy plans and wicked devices; and have they not been thwarted? You, yourselves, are witnesses of these things, and as this people improve and learn to preserve themselves pure before the Heavens, so will the gifts and graces of the kingdom be multiplied unto them, and as they get wisdom to operate for the benefit of the kingdom and for their own benefit so fast will they obtain the power to carry out their righteous intentions. We should not seek to have power any faster than we can use it for good.

Well, brethren, I bear my testimony, in addition to the testimony which has been borne here today, of Joseph Smith and of Brigham Young, that I know them to be good men, chosen of the Lord to perform a great work in the last days. I also bear my testimony to the truth of the Gospel which we have embraced; I know it is of God, and it will lead those that are faithful into his presence; and that they will ultimately triumph over all enemies and reign upon the earth; I know it will exalt all who are humble and faithful unto the end of their probation. I pray God to preserve you and me, and help us to be useful in our day and generation, and that we may make it our business to seek to build up his kingdom, and maintain that power which the Almighty is establishing upon the earth; let us labor to lift aloft the banner of peace and truth, and walk worthily before the Lord that we may receive the blessings which our religion will bring unto us, if faithful.

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