Substance of a Discourse by Elder Orson Hyde, delivered at Mount Pleasant, Sanpete County, Utah, on Sunday Morning, November 3, 1878, Said to Have Been the Last Delivered By Him While Living in the Flesh.

I am much gratified this morning, my brethren, sisters and friends, to meet with you in this Tabernacle in Mount Pleasant, in the capacity of a two day’s meeting. From the numbers present before me, I am led to conclude that a deep and abiding interest dwells in your hearts; and you have come here to increase your zeal, and add intelligence to your present stock of knowledge pertaining to the kingdom of God.

I hope and trust that you may not be disappointed; for it is, bona fide, my intention to lay open to your view, in plain, simple, and unmistakable language, the facts that are presented to my mind, for I desire all to hear and to understand, especially those who may not be fully conversant with the English language.

The government of the United States, on paper, is an institution approaching as near perfection as any government ever ordained by man; but when its administration drifts into the hands of unscrupulous and dishonest politicians, it becomes an engine of oppression and very unequal in its bearings. Any crack or deformity of the elegant mirror becomes the more conspicuous by contrast—so the cracks, splits, and crookedness in our general government become the more glaring and unwelcome in the eyes of the governed.

Great effort has been made to ferret out the guilty parties and bring them to punishment who were engaged in the horrid Mountain Meadow massacre. Had this been done in the spirit of justice and truth, free from that animus and extreme desire to criminate the whole Mormon Church, that effort would have been praiseworthy and highly commendable; but conducted as it has been thus far, it will go down to the shades, covering with odium the conductors of that campaign.

In contrast with the foregoing, I will now refer to the horrid massacre at Hawn’s Mill, in Missouri, wherein seventeen peaceable, quiet, and unoffending citizens, were shot down, in cold blood, and their bodies thrown into an old well; and for what? I am at the defiance of the whole world to show that it was for anything, except for the crime of being “Mormons.” I would here ask this government, how much military and judicial investigation was had to ferret out and bring to punishment the perpetrators of that bloody deed, to say nothing of the wholesale banishment of an entire community by force of arms, and the sequestration of their property and inheritances? How does this compare with the claims of the government to justice and equal rights?

Again, my hearers, I will refer you to the murderous assault made on Joseph and Hyrum Smith, John Taylor and Willard Richards, in Carthage jail. These men were untried and uncondemned, incarcerated within the walls of a strong prison, and no danger of escape; yet a band of disguised men, about one hundred and fifty in number, assaulted the prison and slew Joseph and Hyrum Smith, and seriously wounded John Taylor with musket rifle balls; and as every man is to be held innocent until proven guilty, they remain innocent, because never proven guilty, nor could they be proven guilty, by any truthful evidence.

It was said that some kind of legal proceedings were instituted in this tragic affair, yet not with a view to convict and punish, but with the intention to place a bar against all future proceedings that might be undertaken and prosecuted in good faith. Thus the Prophet of God and Patriarch of the Church were cruelly murdered, to the great grief of their numerous friends, and to the joy of a Christian nation.

Popular clamor crucified the Savior, and a popular outburst of indignation murdered the Prophet of God and his brother, and amid fire and storm, cannon balls, swords and bayonets, were the “Mormon” people compelled to flee into the wilderness. To the shame, dishonor and disgrace of the nation be it spoken; and when they ask the cause of the whirlwinds, tornadoes and cyclones, that sweep through the land, they are respectfully referred to Haun’s Mill, Carthage Jail and to the treatment generally of the “Mormons” in Missouri and Illinois for the true and faithful answer.

The Prophet Isaiah, 60th chapter, 12th verse, utters this strong sentiment: “For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.” They may ask, Are we to be so humiliated as to serve the “Mormons” whom we have despised, persecuted and rejected? They can take the other horn of the dilemma if they choose, and be utterly wasted. Wisdom however would suggest that our enemies move slowly and cautiously.

For one, I have no objection to any and all federal officers coming here to execute the laws, impartially in the spirit of justice and truth. I say, they have my cordial good will to do so. But when they come full of wrath, with a determination to immortalize their names by squelching out “Mormonism,” pandering to the prejudices of an ungodly age, I cannot find language sufficiently strong to express my disapproval and contempt for their administration—wresting laws from the known intention of the Legislature, and applying them by certain technical twists, to take the advantage of a people who labor day and night to conform to the revelations of God.

Polygamy is a subject that greatly agitates the public mind at the present day. Some men in their depraved zeal to pry into every secret of polygamy with a view to expose it, know no limit to their efforts to accomplish their hellish purpose. The Supreme Ruler above has not yet relinquished all his rights, nor indeed any of them, on our little planet to the sons of earth, though they hold a very precarious dominion by sufferance, “only he who letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.” Pestilence and famine, earthquake and wars, whirlwinds and cyclones, fires and floods, besides accidents innumerable are being called into requisition to remove all obstacles; “for the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.” The day of spiritualizing and daubing with untempered mortar has gone by. It is stubborn, self-evident facts that we have to grapple with, and should be set forth in a light that all may understand. Polygamy is a principle revealed from heaven with a commandment to enter into it practically. The principle is abundantly corroborated in the ancient scriptures, approved of God and sanctioned by all righteous men; and he who labors to overthrow this principle, fights against Jehovah and makes himself a shining target, courting the arrows of the Almighty upon his head, heart and country. Would to God, that I could, conscientiously, make an exception here of our wise and learned judges, attorneys, juries and marshals; but conscience forbids it. The same consequences will follow against the fighting against any commandment that God has given, or that he may give. The consequences of the judicial war waged against the late Brigham Young are not yet canceled; but the hand of the destroyer has already begun his work, though in a comparatively mild and gentle form. Churches of various denominations, that have always been barred against our preachers, are being opened by the hand of Providence as the cyclone that recently passed through Pennsylvania may be considered as a slight reminder; nor has Missouri altogether escaped. We are now living in the days of a “marvelous work and a wonder.” Our enemies are about to be checked up in their career of burning strange fire upon the altar of God.

The Elders of this Church, my brethren and sisters, have faithfully labored during the last half century in almost every nation on the globe, to warn the inhabitants of their duty and to tell them the consequences of their not complying with it. It is true, that by the help of the Lord, we made many converts, yet few in comparison to the numbers who rejected our message. We can, therefore, with propriety say, we are unprofitable servants; yet the Lord wishes to test our fidelity, our fortitude and our patience, knowing that the world would not be converted by the preaching of the Gospel, hence his design was to “send forth judgment unto victory;” and when the judgments of God wax hot in the land, many people will say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob,” and so they will “come like clouds and like doves to their windows,” and Zion’s gates be ever open, and Zion will not always be oppressed for their kings will yet “become our nursing fathers and their queens our nursing mothers.”

We shall not always, my hearers, be under the necessity of reasoning with the skeptical and technical unbeliever, to persuade him to be saved; for a power will be manifested in the land more potent than man’s reasoning.

I wish to ask you, my brethren and sisters, two important questions:

1st.—Why our unprecedently liberal harvest of grain this year? 2nd.—Why does the spirit of the Lord rest down upon our Elders, directing them to explore the eastern, southeastern and southern countries with the view of finding suitable places for new locations and settlements?

Ans. to first question—That we may be prepared to lay up a surplus against coming troubles.

Ans. to second—To open the way to receive the multitudes flocking to Zion, having heard that God is with us, and desiring to escape the scourges by enlisting under the aegis of “Mormon” protection; and shall we escape the scourges of the Almighty if we foolishly part with the surplus gifts that heaven has granted us in trust for other purposes, and that too, before the time? If the people of Utah will listen to wise counsels, there will be no famine here arising from the refusal of the soil to yield her fruits; but there may be danger of famine by the rapid increase of population from abroad, especially if the stores provided by the hand of Providence be foolishly parted with before they may be needed to meet this exigency. A word of caution to the wise virgins is sufficient; but bray a fool in a mortar, and he is a fool still. Under the profession of great piety and deep solicitude for the redemption of our children from the influence of “Mormonism,” many alleged charitable enterprises have been put on foot in the shape of opposition schools, to decoy them into their traps. They ensnare some of the children of our apostates, and some apostates who claim that they find better schools, and better teachers under the supervision of sectarian priests, than they do amongst the “Mormons.” This claim is made through a disposition to depreciate “Mormon” institutions and to elevate sectarianism. We have just as good institutions of learning and as competent teachers as any of our neighbors; but even allowing the children of this world to be wiser in their generation than the children of light, it is no reason that I should adopt them as my instructors. I now write a clumsy, illegible hand. Many men can write my name with much more style and elegance than I possibly can do; yet, if they should attach my name to a bond or promissory note for any amount, it would not be my signature and could create no binding obligation upon me; but the learned and accomplished gentleman who attached my name to the instrument might be proven guilty of forgery and subject himself to punishment. Jesus says: “Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.”

There is another important feature, my friends, connected with this subject that I cannot allow myself to omit. In the great rush of people to the Saints in the last days, all sorts, sizes, and of both sexes, will rush in upon us to escape the wrath of the elements, which will render a time of purification and cleansing, actually necessary. The chaff must be blown away, and they who laid us waste must go forth from us. The wicked and the ungodly must be far away. Now, what agencies must be employed to accomplish this important part of the program. It is out of my power to inform you as to what means may be called into requisition to effect this object. We know, however, that wind has something to do with the scattering of chaff. The departure of the ungodly from amongst the Saints may be voluntary in many cases. I have been informed by those who claim to know, that a certain lady in this Territory built up a large fire in the room where she lived, fancied that that fire was the most desirable and lovely place in all the world, and plastered herself with tar from head to foot, laid herself down on the fire, and literally roasted herself to a chip.

She was said to be an aged lady, and I presume that God can make even hell itself or any intermediate bad place look as inviting to a wicked person as a bit of cheese in a trap to a hungry mouse outside, but the majority of the departures will be involuntary. But suffice it to say that something will occur, in a providential way, that will cause sinners in Zion to tremble, and fearfulness to surprise the hypocrite. It will, probably, be something that will appear terrible to the unrighteous, and will be all the nerves of the righteous can endure.

In conclusion, I will here say to you my brethren and sisters and to the Saints generally: Set your houses in order and know that a right spirit has dominion over you and things and dwellings and over all things under your jurisdiction. Let the blood of the covenant be freely sprinkled on your door posts and lintels—a deep rooted union exist in your hearts and practiced in your lives—devote yourselves to earnest prayer in secret and in your families and allow not the cries of the poor to reach the ears of Jehovah against you. Omit not the duty of patronizing every institution or learning among the Saints, whether day or evening schools, or Sunday schools. Defeat not the designs of the Almighty by fooling away the fruits of the earth, knowing that we are placed here, not to do our own will, but the will of him by whose goodness we live; and we should be willing to be used in doing good, building temples, places of education and in learning to manufacture what we need.

Notwithstanding all the alleged improprieties of the Saints, and charges brought against us—the errors and wrongdoings of any of its members—the entire Church is a revelation from the eternal God to the world at large, and is their standard reared in the mountains and he who fights against it or against any of its acknowledged members, fights against his Maker and toucheth the apple of his own eye. Now, my brethren and sisters I bless you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

By President Brigham Young, at the Funeral of the Late President Daniel Spencer, on Thursday, December 10th, 1868, at the 13th Ward Assembly Rooms, Great Salt Lake City.

“Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord: yea, saith the spirit, henceforth they rest from their labors;” or, in other words, blessed are those who have received the Priesthood of the Son of God, and have honored it in their lives. Those who have honored their calling and Priesthood to the end die in the Lord, and their works do follow them. Our brother has lived faithful during his life, and has gone to his rest. We do not mourn as others do. We can truly say that we have a hope—a knowledge. The way of life and salvation has been revealed to us, giving us knowledge of the present and future. We rejoice. Shall we rejoice that we have the opportunity of paying the last respects due to this lifeless clay, which a few days ago was alive and active, full of spirit, attending the High Council, giving decisions full of knowledge? Yes, we will rejoice. It is a matter of rejoicing more than the day of his birth. It is true it is grievous to part with our friends. We are creatures of passion, of sympathy, of love, and it is painful for us to part with our friends. We would keep them in the mortal house, though they should suffer pain. Are we not selfish in this? Should we not rather rejoice at the departure of those whose lives have been devoted to doing good, to a good old age? Brother Spencer has lived beyond what is counted to be the common age of man some four or five years; his judgment was as active as it was twenty-five years ago. He has been faithful in this holy war. He instructed all with whom he met in the way of life. He never gave counsel but what marked the way to life everlasting.

I say to the wives and children and relations, we have more reason to rejoice for Daniel Spencer today, than on any day of his mortal life. He lives—he has gone on a mission. We are taking steps to the very place he has gone to. That which was made subject to sin through the fall, has fled to its eternal place. This is only a mystery to those who do not understand. But we have joy in the dissolution of the body. While the spirit remains in the body, it is liable to sin and overthrow. We are only preserved by the grace of God and our own faithfulness. Brother Spencer was, while in the body, subject to temptations and the vanities that are in the world. So with us. That silent clay is consigned to rest, and the spirit is free—gone to God who gave it. How far had he to go to get to the Lord? According to the ancients, he is dwelling there. David says, “If I were to flee to the uttermost parts of the earth, thou art there.” God is everywhere by His Spirit, and his spirit is free—it can see the Lord as well in this room as to travel millions of miles away. If he is watching us now, he has not the privilege of speaking to us. God has placed the spirits of the departed subject to bounds, and they are controlled by certain laws. They have not the privilege of joining with us in our mental exercises; yet brother Spencer is in the presence of the Lord. Shall we be in the presence of God, as brother Spencer is? Yes, if we are faithful, for we have the privilege of being crowned with immortality and eternal lives. All people have their guardian angels. Whether our departed dead guard us is not for me to say. I can say we have our guardian angels.

I say to the family of brother Spencer, there is no cause to mourn. This body is sown in mortality. This tabernacle is from the elements of the earth. We are of the earth, earthy, yet this tabernacle, through faithfulness whilst here in the flesh, has the promise of a glorious resurrection. If the spirit brought into subjection the whole man, bringing every portion of the flesh subject to the law of God, it has the promise of a resurrection. All the component parts of this body, which now lies before us, will be resurrected, and be prepared to enter into the presence of the Father and the Son. Some have supposed that it matters not what particles we receive again. In this they are mistaken. The parts which have been honored by the faithfulness of the spirit in this life will be joined in the life to come.

It has been the idea of many that the spirit goes directly to God who gave it. Does it remain there? Go on the great battlefield of the past, and if they could be seen the spirits of the slain are hovering around their dust. They stay about this earth until there is another call for them. The kingdom and place where brother Spencer is called to dwell, he will be in. Every departed spirit is subject to the laws that govern the spirit world. What do we gain by being faithful to the Gospel of the Son of God? We gain life and salvation. Salvation in this world and the world to come. When they leave the body those spirits are free from the power of the enemy. There are wicked men in the spirit world. Millions of them will have the privilege of receiving the Gospel in the spirit, that they may be judged according to men in the flesh, and no doubt but many will reject the Gospel there. Jesus went to preach to the spirits in prison. The faithful Elders who leave this world will preach to the spirits in the spirit world. In that world there are millions and millions to every Elder who leaves here, and yet every spirit will be preached to that has had a tabernacle on the earth and become accountable.

This is the plan of salvation. Jesus will never cease his work until all are brought up to the enjoyment of a kingdom in the mansions of his Father, where there are many kingdoms and many glories, to suit the works and faithfulness of all men that have lived on the earth. Some will obey the celestial law and receive of its glory, some will abide the terrestrial and some the telestial, and others will receive a glory. Our brother is living today, and is bright with intelligence to preach the Gospel in the spirit world. We know where his remains are. They are here. But where is his spirit? He is in the line of his duty, and prepared to do more good than if he were upon the earth. As quickly as the spirit is unlocked from this house of clay, it is free to travel with lightning speed to any planet, or fixed star, or to the uttermost part of the earth, or to the depths of the sea, according to the will of Him who dictates. Every faithful man’s labor will continue as long as the labor of Jesus, until all things are redeemed that can be re– deemed, and presented to the Father. There is a great work before us. We plant the seed in the ground and it comes forth, being warmed by the sun and nourished by the earth. By the same great laws of God the earth and its fullness have been produced, giving various degrees of intelligence. The Lord is raising a crop, and He will continue to labor until the work is finished.

May we all be faithful as brother Spencer was. I say to his family, God bless you. You have cause to rejoice. In 1840 he was ready to go into the grave with consumption, but he embraced the Gospel, health was restored to him, and he has lived to a good old age and has done a good work. May God bless you. Amen.

Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City June 24th, 1868.

ELDER JOHN TAYLOR

Were I to give way for my feelings at the present time I should not be able to address this congregation. I feel as, I suppose, most of you feel—sympathy with the deceased who now lies before us. When I speak of this as being my feeling, I am aware that I express the feeling of the generality of this people. In this bereavement that has afflicted us, we all participate. A wave of sorrow has rolled throughout the Territory, and feelings of sympathy and sorrow gush up from the fountains of every heart. We have met at this time to pay the last tribute of respect to no ordinary personage, but to a good man who was called and chosen, and faithful; who has spent a lifetime in the cause of God, in the establishment of the principles of truth and in trying to upbuild the Church and Kingdom of God on the earth; who has endeared himself by his acts of kindness, affection, integrity, truthfulness and probity to the hearts of thousands of Latter-day Saints, who feel to mourn at this time with no ordinary sorrow.

That he is esteemed and venerated by this people as a friend, a counselor and a father, this immense congregation, who have met on this inauspicious occasion, is abundant testimony and proof if any is wanting. But his life, his acts, his services, his self-abnegation, his devotion to the cause of truth, his perseverance in the ways of righteousness for so many years have left a testimony in the minds, feelings and hearts of all who now feel to mourn his departure from our midst. But we meet not at the present time particularly to eulogize the acts of bro. Kimball, who is one of the First Presidency, and who stands, or who has stood as one of the three prominent men that live on the face of the earth at the present time.

We do not mourn over him as over an individual in a private capacity; neither, when we reflect on the circumstances with which we are surrounded, and the gospel we believe in, do we mourn that he lies there as he is. For although to us he is absent and lifeless and inanimate, yet his spirit soars above clothed upon with immortality and eternal life. And as has been in possession of the principles of eternal truth, by and by, when the time shall roll around, that gospel and the principles of truth that he has so valiantly proclaimed for so many years, will resurrect that inanimate clay, and He who, on the earth proclaimed “I am the resurrection and the life,” will cause him again to be resuscitated, reanimated, revivified and glorified, and he will rejoice among the Saints of God worlds without end.

It is not then an ordinary occasion upon which we have met at the present time. It is not to talk particularly about our individual feeling and bereavement, although they are keen, poignant and afflictive; but we meet at the present time to perform a ceremony and to pay our last respects to the departed great one who lies before us. We do not mourn as those who have no hope; we do not sympathize with any fool– ish sympathy. We believe in those principles, that he, for so many years, has so strenuously advocated, and believing in them, we know that he has simply passed from one state of existence to another. It is customary for men to say “how have the great fallen!” But he has not fallen. It is true that he has gone to sleep for a little while. He sleeps in peace. He is resting from his labors and is no more beset with those afflictions with which human nature always has to contend: he has passed from this stage of action, he has got through with the toils, perplexities, cares and anxieties in regard to himself, his family, and in regard to the Church with which he was associated; and in regard to all sublunary things, and while mortals mourn “a man is dead,” angels proclaim “a child is born.”

We believe in another state of existence besides this; and it is not only a belief, but it is a fixed fact, and hence for a man of God to bid adieu to the things of this world is a matter of comparatively very small importance. When a man has fought the good fight; when he has finished his course; when he has been faithful, lived his religion and died as a man of God, what is there to mourn for? Why should we indeed be sorrowful? There is a church here on earth? There is a church also in heaven. He has migrated from one, and has passed into the other.

We have had leave us before Joseph, Hyrum, David Patten, Willard, Jedediah, and a mighty host of good, virtuous, pure, holy and honorable men. Some have died, as it were, naturally; others have been violently put to death. But no matter, they are each of them moving in his own sphere. Bro. Kimball has left us for a short time that he may unite with them. And whilst we are engaged carrying on the work of God, and advancing and maintaining those principles which he so diligently propagated and maintained while he was on the earth, he is gone to officiate in the heavens with Jesus, with Joseph and others for us. We are seeking to carry out his will, the will of our President and the will of our heavenly Father, that we may be found fit to associate with the just who are made perfect, and be prepared to join with the Church Triumphant in the heavens. It is this that our religion points us to all the time.

We embraced the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he who now lies before us was one of the first to proclaim it to thousands that are here. And what did that teach us? To repent of our sins, and, having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, to be baptized for the remission of our sins, to have hands laid upon us for the reception of the Holy Ghost and to gather together to Zion that we might be instructed in the ways of life; that we might know how to save ourselves—how to save the living, and how to redeem the dead; that we might not only possess a hope that blooms with immortality and eternal life; but that we might have a certainty, and evidence, a confidence that was beyond doubt or peradventure that we were preparing ourselves for a celestial inheritance in the kingdom of our God. And when a man goes to sleep as bro. Kimball has done, no matter how, he lays aside the cares of this world; the weary wheels of life stand still, the pulse ceases to beat, the body becomes cold, lifeless and inanimate; yet at the same time the spirit still exists, has gone to join those who have lived before; who now live and will live for evermore. He has trod the path that we have all to follow, for it is appointed to man once to die, and after that, we are told, the judgment. We have all to pass through the dark valley of the shadow of death, and as I said before, it matters little which way this occurs; but it does matter a great deal to us whether we are prepared to meet it or not; whether we have lived the life of the righteous; whether we have honored our profession; whether we have been faithful to our trust; whether we are prepared to associate with the spirits of the just made perfect, and whether when He, who has said “I am the resurrection and the life” shall sound the trump, we shall be prepared to come forth in the morning of the first resurrection.

Joseph Smith stands at the head of this dispensation. His brother Hyrum Smith was associated with him. They were both assassinated. No matter; they are gone. Brother Heber is now gone, and whilst we mourn the loss they rejoice at meeting one with whom they were associated before; for he was the friend of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, and he was the friend of God, and God is his friend and they are his friends. And as they associated together in time so they will in eternity. It behooves us then not to think so much about dying, but about our living, and to live in such a way that when we shall fall asleep, no matter when or how it may transpire, that our hearts may be pure before God. When I look upon a man like bro. Kimball, I feel like saying let my last end be like his. Let my life be as spotless, as holy and as pure that I may stand accepted before God and the holy angels. Our ambition ought to be to live our religion, to keep the commandments of God, to obey the counsel that those lips, now sil– ent and cold, have so often given to us; to honor our calling and profession, that we may be prepared to inherit eternal lives in the celestial kingdom of our God. May God help us to do so in the name of Jesus: Amen.

ELDER GEORGE A. SMITH

The occasion which has called us together is truly one of mourning; but our mourning is not as the mourning of those who have no hope. Our father, our brother, our President has fallen asleep. He has fallen asleep according to the promise that those who die unto the Lord should not die, but should fall asleep. Still, the circumstances with which we are surrounded cause us to feel keenly, deeply this bereavement of his company, of his counsel, of his support, of his society, and the benefit of that wisdom which ever flowed from his lips. Short is the journey from the cradle to the grave, and all of us are marching rapidly in that direction; and the present occasion is certainly calculated to inspire in our minds a desire that in all our lives and actions we may be prepared for that coming event, that we may be prepared to rest in peace, and in the morning of the first resurrection to inherit eternal life and celestial exaltation. The association which we have had with President Kimball has been of long standing. He entered the church early after its organization. In 1832, with President Brigham Young, he visited Kirtland, and made himself personally acquainted with the Prophet Joseph, whose bosom friend he was from the time of their first acquaintance until the day of his death. President Kimball was a man that seemed embarrassed when called upon to speak in public in the early part of his ministry. My first acquaintance with him was in 1833, when in company with President Young he moved his family to Kirtland. The Saints were then building the Kirtland Temple. He had but little means but he subscribed two hundred dollars and paid over the money. Efforts were being made to build another house, for school and other purposes, and he subscribed one hundred dollars for that also to buy the nails and glass. That was the first public meeting at which I ever saw Heber C. Kimball. When he was chosen one of the Twelve Apostles, and they were called into the stand to bear their first testimony as Apostles to the Saints, there was an embarrassment and a timidity about his appearance that was truly humble. And when he went abroad to preach, many felt almost afraid to have bro. Kimball preach because he had not as great a flow of language as some others. But it turned out, I am sorrow to say, that some of those who were the most eloquent seemed to be those who fell off by the way side. It was a dark hour around the Prophet in Kirtland, many having apostatized, and some of them prominent Elders, when bro. Kimball and some others were called upon to take a mission to England. He went abroad when some of the first Elders were covered with darkness, and apostasy ran rampant through the Church. He started almost penniless, made the trip across the ocean, introduced the gospel to England, and laid the foundation for the great work that has since been accomplished there, accompanied by Orson Hyde, Willard Richards and Joseph Fielding. Bro. Kimball and Hyde remained in England about one year, and in that time 1,500 were baptized there. It was strange the power and influence which he had over persons whom he had never before seen. On one occasion he went out five days to some towns which he had never visited before, and among people whom he had never seen and who had never seen him, yet in those five days he baptized 83 persons. It seemed that there were a power and influence with him beyond that which almost any other elder possessed. He returned home just in time to find the Saints in their troubles in Missouri. He had hardly got home until the clouds of mobocracy intensified by apostasy again gathered around the Prophet. In a short time after, Joseph was in prison and his counselors were in prison and all were closely guarded. During this time President Kimball visited the prison, the Judges and the Governor, and exerted himself to relieve the prisoners; and he had a peculiar influence with him, so that he could pass among our enemies unharmed when others were in danger. When the Saints were driven from Missouri, as soon as their feet were planted in Nauvoo, he built with his own hands a log cabin for his family, and started again to renew his mission to Great Britain, with President Young and others of his Quorum. It is not my intention to trace his history, but I have culled out these few circumstances to show you his integrity, his faithfulness, and his untiring labors to benefit mankind.

We are called now to mourn; but we do not mourn as those who have no hope. Brother Kimball was a man who was the son of nature. The literature he loved was the word of God. He was not a man to read novels. He studied the revelations of Jesus. His heart was filled with benevolence. His soul was filled with love; and he was always ready to give counsel to the weakest child that came in his way. Thousands and thousands will remember him with pleasure.

As we follow him to his last resting place, we must recollect that those men who stood side by side Joseph Smith the Prophet, who bore with him his burdens, and shared his troubles; who stood shoulder to shoulder with President Young while he faced the storm of apostasy, mob power and organized priestcraft, are rapidly passing away. Brother Kimball was foremost among them. Joseph loved him, and truly it may be said that bro. Kimball was a Herald of Grace. May we all so live that with our brother we may inherit the blessings of celestial grace, is my prayer in the name of Jesus: Amen.

ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON

The scene in which we are participating this day reminds us more strongly than any language can do how frail is mortal existence, and how slight a tenure we all have upon this life. Two weeks ago today, he, whose lifeless remains we now surround, was moving among us in this tabernacle; if not in the enjoyment of perfect health, yet in the enjoyment of such a degree of health as not to inspire us with any apprehensions as to his life. If we had been asked, How long is bro. Heber Kimball likely to live? The probable answer would have been, he is as likely to live ten or twenty years as any other period. But since then, two weeks, two brief, short weeks, have gone, and we have assembled ourselves together to pay our last respects to his memory. It seemed to me when I entered the building, and sat down and looked upon the congregation, that the greatest eloquence I could indulge in would be silence. Yet it is due to him that our voices should be heard in instruction to those who remain, and in testimony of his great worth; and if possible to spread before them, the great and glorious example which he has set for us, and which if we will but emulate and follow, will result in the attainment of the most glorious blessings of which mortal heart can conceive.

I have known bro. Heber from my childhood. To me he has been a father. I never was with him but what he had good counsel to give me. And when I speak this I speak what everyone who was acquainted with him might say. He was full of counsel, full of instruction, and he was always pointed in conveying his counsel in plainness to those to whom he imparted it.

Have we any cause, in reality, to mourn today? Have we any cause for grief and sorrow? When I stood by his bedside and saw his spirit take its departure, there was no death there; there was no gloom. I had seen but two persons die before, and they died by violence; but when I watched brother Heber I asked myself, Is this death? Is this that which men represent as a monster, and from which they shrink with affright? It seemed to me that bro. Heber was not dead, but that he had merely gone to sleep. He passed away as quietly and as gently as an infant falling asleep on its mother’s lap; not a movement of a limb; not a contortion of his countenance; and scarcely a sigh. The words of Jesus, through Joseph, were forcible brought to my mind—“they that die in me, their death shall be sweet unto them.” It was sweet with him. There was nothing repulsive, nothing dreadful or terrible in it, but on the contrary it was calm, peaceful and sweet. There were heavenly influen– ces there, as though angels were there, and no doubt they were, prepared to escort him hence to the society of those whom he loved and who loved him dearly. I thought of the joy there would be in the spirit land, when Joseph, and Hyrum, and David, and Willard, and Jedediah, and Parley would welcome him to their midst, and the thousands of others who have gone before, and like them have been faithful. What a welcome to their midst will brother Heber receive! To labor and toil with them in the spirit world in the great work in which we are engaged.

It is now twenty-four years lacking three days, since Joseph and Hyrum were taken away from us. Twenty-four years so fruitful in labor, so abundant in toil, so rich in experience! During that period bro. Heber has never wavered, never trembled. It may be said of him with as much truthfulness today, as was said by bro. Brigham on one occasion in Nauvoo, “his knees never trembled, his hands never shook.” He has been faithful to God; he has been true to his brethren; he has kept his covenants; he has died in the triumphs of the faith; and as the Savior has said, “that which is governed by law is preserved by law and perfected and sanctified by the same,” so will it be with him. He has gone to the paradise of God, there to await the time when this corruption shall put on incorruption, when this mortality shall put on immortality.

My brethren and sisters, here is an incentive to us to be faithful. Contrast the death of this man with the death of the apostate—the traitor. Contrast the future—as it is revealed to us in the revelations of Jesus Christ—of this man, with the future of the renegade from the truth, and the wicked and those who love not God and who keep not his commandments. Are there any incentives presented to us this day to be faithful? They are too numerous for me to dwell upon or mention. There is every reason why we should be faithful. It is easier to keep the commandments of God than it is to break them. It is easier to walk in the path of righteousness than it is to deviate from it. It is easier and more pleasant to love God than it is to break his commandments.

Then let us be true to God. Let us walk each day so that we may be worthy, when our life is ended, to associate with him whose spirit inhabited this tabernacle that lies here, and with others who have gone before, and with those who remain, that we may dwell together with them eternally in the heavens; which may God grant, for Christ’s sake, Amen.

PRESIDENT D. H. WELLS

It is a great calamity to humanity when a great and good man falls. Earth needs their services. Good men are too scarce. The loss is not so much to them as it is to us who remain—as it is to humanity who are still left to wield an influence against the wickedness which is on the earth, and to sustain holy and righteous principles which the Lord has revealed from the heavens for the guidance of man. Herein is the loss which we feel when such men as bro. Kimball are taken away. He has made his mark. He has earned imperishable fame, and he will live in the hearts of the good, the true and the faithful—in the hearts of the just; and he will be remembered by the wicked, for he has often invaded the realms of darkness and sustained holy and righteous princi– ples with all his might, power and influence, all the days of his life. It is true, for him we need not mourn, because he has passed to that home where Satan has no power. He has secured to himself a crown of eternal glory and righteousness in the celestial kingdom of our God. Not that he will come immediately unto this exaltation. The Savior of the world, himself, did not enter into his glory on the dissolution of his spirit and body; he went first to minister to the spirits in prison, being clothed with the holy priesthood. So with our brother and beloved friend, for he is still our friend, and, as has been well remarked, he was the friend of God and all good men. He is not lost. He has only gone to perform another portion of the mission which he has been engaged in all his life, to labor in another sphere for the good of mankind, for the welfare of the souls of men. But he has laid for himself a foundation that is imperishable, on which a superstructure of glory and exaltation will grow and increase throughout all eternity.

I do not stand here to eulogize our friend and brother today, but to satisfy my own feelings and pay a tribute of respect to his memory, for I loved him and he loved me, and he loved this people. He has friends also where he is gone. Who can answer the question whether they are more numerous than those who have assembled together today and those throughout this Territory? Who can say that they are not more numerous on yonder shore? Yet it matters not. Those who are faithful will yet be gathered with him and others, and come with him to a celestial glory, and with him dwell where there is no sorrow nor affliction. He rests from his labor, from the toil which surrounded him on the earth. This is, today, a source of consolation to his family and friends, to those who were intimately connected with him. They may be assured that he rests in peace. Let his example be followed; let his teachings be remembered; let us all live so that we may have a reasonable hope of meeting with him and being associated with him in a never ending future.

May God help us to be faithful unto the end, as he has been; to fight the good fight and keep the faith, that at last, with him and those who have gone before, we may be found worthy to walk the golden streets of that eternal city, whose builder and maker is God: Amen.

PRESIDENT B. YOUNG

I wish the people to be as still as possible, and not to whisper. I do not know that I can speak so that you can hear me; but if I can I have a few reflections to lay before you. We are called here on this very important occasion, and we can say truly that the day of this man’s death was far better to him than the day of his birth. I will relate to you my feelings concerning the departure of bro. Kimball. He was a man of as much integrity I presume as any man who ever lived on the earth. I have been personally acquainted with him forty-three years and I can testify that he has been a man of truth, a man of benevolence, a man that was to be trusted. Now he has gone and left us. I will say to his wives and his children that I have not felt one particle of death in his house nor about it, and through this scene we are now passing I have not felt one particle of the spirit of death. He has fallen asleep for a certain purpose—to be prepared for a glorious resurrection; and the same Heber C. Kimball, every component particle of his body, from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, will be resurrected, and he, in the flesh, will see God and converse with Him; and see his brethren and associate with them and they will enjoy a happy eternity together.

Bro. Kimball has had the privilege of living and dying in his own house in peace; and has not been followed up by mobs and massacred. I consider this a great consolation to his family and friends; and it is a great comfort to me to think that bro. Heber C. Kimball had the privilege of dying in peace. It is not a matter of regret; it is nothing that we should mourn for. It is a great cause of joy and rejoicing and comfort to his friends to know that a person has passed away in peace from this life, and has secured to himself a glorious resurrection. The earth and the fullness of the earth and all that pertains to this earth in an earthly capacity is no comparison with the glory, joy and peace and happiness of the soul that departs in peace. You may think I have reason to mourn. Bro. Heber C. Kimball has been my first counselor for almost twenty-four years. I am happy to state, it is a matter of great joy to me; this is the third counselor that has fallen asleep since I have stood to counsel this people—and they have died in the faith, full of hope; their lives were filled up with good works, full of faith, comfort, peace and joy to their brethren. I have looked over this matter. In the fourteen years that bro. Joseph presided over the Church, three of the prominent counselors he had apostatized. This was a matter of regret. Sidney Rigdon, F. G. Williams and William Law, whom many of this congrega– tion knew in Nauvoo, apostatized and left bro. Joseph. I have not been under the necessity of mourning and lamenting over the apostasy of any one of my counselors, and I hope I shall never have this to regret. I had rather bury them by the score than see one of them apostatize.

A great deal could be said concerning bro. Kimball, whose remains are here. He is not dead. His earthly tabernacle has fallen asleep to be prepared for this glorious resurrection that you and I live for. What can we say to one another? Live as he has lived; be as faithful as he has been; be as full of good works as his life has manifested to us. If we do so, our end will be peace and joy, and we will fall asleep as peacefully. I held my watch with one hand and fanned him with the other while he breathed his last.

For this family to mourn is perhaps natural; but they have not really the first cause to do so. How would you feel if you had a husband or a father that would lead you from the truth? I would to God that we would all follow him in his example in our faithfulness, and be as faithful as he was in his life. To his wives, his children, his friends, his brethren and sisters, to this family whom God has selected from the human family to be his sons and daughters, I say let us follow his example. He has gone to rest. We can say of him all that can be said of any good man. The Lord selected him and he has been faithful and this has made him a great man; just as you and I can become if we will live faithful to our God and our religion. There is no man but what can do good if he chooses; and if he be disposed to choose the good and refuse the evil. If any man choose the evil he will dwindle, especially if he has been called to the holy priesthood of the Son of God. Such a man will dwindle and falter, stumble and fall; and instead of becoming great and good, he will be lost in forgetfulness.

We pay our last respects unto bro. Kimball. I can say to the congregation we thank you for your attention. We are happy to see you here. It would be a pleasure to us if it would be prudent, and we had time, for you to see the corpse; but it would not be prudent and we have not the time. This, perhaps, will be a matter of regret to many of you; but you must put up with it. I want to say to everyone who wishes to see brother Heber again, live so that you will secure to yourselves a part in the first resurrection, and I promise you that you will meet him and shake hands with him. But if you do not live so, I can give you no such promise.

Now, my friends, I feel to bless you; and the family, the wives and children of bro. Heber C. Kimball. I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ. Will you receive the blessings which a father and husband has placed upon your heads? If you live for them you will enjoy them. I think he has never cursed one of his family; but his heart was full of blessings for them. He has blessed his brethren and sisters and neighbors and friends. His heart was full of blessings; but he was a scourge to the wicked and they feared him. Now, my friends, I cannot talk to you; my sore throat will not let me. But I feel to thank you for your kind attention here today, in paying our respects to the remains of bro. Kimball, and may God bless you: Amen.

Discourse by Elder Joseph F. Smith, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Feb. 17, 1867.

Very unexpectedly to me I have been asked to stand before you for a short time this afternoon; and although to me it is a great task to attempt to speak to so many, yet it is a pleasure to be able to express my feelings in relation to the truth. I do not know why it should be embarrassing or a task for me to rise before the Saints, for I feel, when I am in their midst, that I am in the midst of the people of God and my friends, whose faith is in common with, and whose desires to a great extent are the same as my own. I feel that I am in the midst of those who are praying to the same God, desiring the accomplishment of the same purposes and objects, and who are ever willing to lend their faith and prayers for the assistance of those who are called upon to officiate in the ministry, and who are not looking for a fault nor seeking to make one an offender for a word, but whose feelings are drawn out after the truth, and who desire to hear words that will be comforting, instructing and beneficial to us all. Why under these circumstances, one should feel embarrassed to rise up here is a little singular to me, and always has been. But it is so, unless he who speaks is filled with the Spirit of the Lord to such an extent that he cares for nothing but God and his approval.

I suppose that this embarrassment is, to some extent, owing to false notions—to pride, perhaps, and to feelings that are more or less common to us all, though not founded upon any correct principle. Why should we fear one another? Why should we fear to discharge the duties devolving upon us as the servants and people of God, under any circumstances or in any place? Why should we fear to stand up and speak the truth, although aware of our weakness and feeling our dependence on God? Have we not the promise that God will give us strength according to our day, and that he will help those who desire it to accomplish all the good that is in their hearts? God has made this promise, and it is our duty to go forward and engage in the work he requires of us, fearlessly and with a determination to carry it out regardless of man. God being our helper.

I have felt this way when traveling in the world, perhaps more so than it would be possible for me to feel here; for when one is thrown upon his own resources, or I may say upon God for assistance, he realizes that he has but few friends; he lives nearer to God, exercises more faith, is more diligent in prayer, and is, therefore, more alive to the duties devolving upon him than when associating in the midst of his friends. I have often reflected why I should tremble and fear to stand before the Saints, the Prophet, or the Apostles, and let them hear my voice, or to give expression to my thoughts. Again, I have thought was there anything in me, any secret feelings that were not right, or that I feared were not right, and for expressing which I would be censured; and even were this the case, how foundationless is such a fear, for were there any thoughts and reflections within me not of God, or not true, why should I be fearful to express them where they might be corrected? Would it not be better to express them and have them corrected, than to harbor, cling to, and reason upon them until I convinced myself that they were right, when to have them corrected would perhaps prove a very great trial to me, if not my overthrow.

When I look at and think of myself I do not know that I now entertain or have ever entertained a thought which I would be ashamed of my friends or the servants of God knowing. I desire so to live continually that my thoughts and feelings may be right before God, that my heart may be pure and open to the influences and dictations of the Holy Spirit, that I may be led wholly by the truth, and in the path that leads to eternal life. These should be the feelings of every Saint; if they are not mine, they should be, and when I look at and think of myself, I feel that this is the case. Yet we are all fallible and all liable to err, susceptible of prejudices and assailed by good and bad influences. In every condition of life we are more or less liable to be influenced and controlled in our thoughts and actions by the circumstances by which we are surrounded; the result is we are sometimes alive to the truth and faithful before the Lord, full of kindness, of friendship and love towards our brethren—the servants of God—and towards the work in which we are engaged; and sometimes we are lukewarm and indifferent about these things. I would love to see the time when we could so live in the enjoyment of the Holy Spirit, every moment of our lives, that no circumstance nor influence could be brought to bear against us that would change that even tenor which is inspired and called forth by the influences of the good Spirit.

Will this time ever be? While surrounded by so many imperfections, clothed in mortality, and subject to the weakness and failings of the flesh, will the time ever be when we as a people, with such glorious promises, privileges and rights, and with such inestimable blessings, shall enjoy the Spirit of God to the exclusion of every other influence that exists? Will we ever be able to enjoy the Spirit of the Lord, while in mortality, to such a degree that we can govern ourselves and not give way one moment to an evil thought or passion? I do not know; but this I do know, that we now have all that is necessary to enable us to attain to this perfection in the truth and the knowledge of God. If we have it not now, I do not believe we ever will. “Why,” inquires one, “what have we now?” We have the promise of Almighty God that he will give his Spirit to guide, strengthen, and assist every individual to accomplish all the good in his heart, if he will only come up to the standard he has established. Besides this promise which the Lord has made, we have the holy priesthood, a powerful auxiliary in our hands if used properly, to enable us to overcome the evils that surround us in the world. But when engaged in our daily avocations, or tried by poverty, sickness, enemies, false friends, or when we are spoken evil of, we too often forget that we hold the priesthood, that we are Elders in Israel—the servants of God—chosen to accomplish his great work in the last days. The result is we regard ourselves simply as men mixed up with and surrounded by sin, and we are apt to drink into the spirit around us, forget God, our callings, and the responsibilities resting upon us, and become like others, through giving way to evils which they practice.

I have seen individuals, of whom we might expect better things, give way to evils of this kind until I have heard them say, “What is religion?” “In what way is one religion better than another? Mormon, Jew, Catholic, Protestant, or any and all religious denominations in the world are all after the same thing, and there are good and bad in all, and there is about as much evil among the Latter-day Saints as among any other religious denomination.” “Why,” say they, “look at the Methodists, some of them are as pious, good and faithful and are as good citizens, neighbors and friends as any you will find among the Latter-day Saints or any other denomination; or go among the Catholics and you will find some as honest, virtuous, upright, and charitable as any you will find among the Latter-day Saints.” This being their opinion they decide that one is just as good as another. Now it is true that, so far as moral worth is concerned, we may find hundreds of thousands in the world who are honest, moral and upright to the best of their knowledge. I believe that among the inhabitants of the earth today, notwithstanding the vast amount of corruption and sin and the almost universal moral degradation, there are thousands of good, honest, well-meaning people.

So far as they have light and knowledge and understand the principles of truth, so far do thousands of the inhabitants of the earth today honor them in their lives. But that does not constitute them the people of God, neither does it argue that they have the holy priesthood, nor that the Gospel in its purity and fulness has been revealed to them; nothing of the kind. Then I say that they are wanting. Although I feel liberal in my heart towards mankind, and willing to accord this truth to the benefit of the honest in heart; yet I am compelled to acknowledge that they are lacking. And because there are good people out of this Church as well as in, that does not argue that we have not the priesthood, that God is not in communion with us, that we are not in fellowship with him, nor that we are not the people he has chosen, through whom to accomplish his great work in the latter days. It simply proves what the prophets and the servants of God have often said, that there are honest people in the world who are not in this Church, and for that reason the Gospel is preached to the nations, that the honest may be gathered into the fold and family of God, that they may take a part in the building up of his kingdom in the last days.

When you compare the systems, creeds, and governing principles among the sects and religious denominations in the world, where will you find one that is perfect, or that is calculated to lead men back to a unity of the faith and to God? Where will you find a system or a denomination of religious people in the world who have such principles embodied in their faith? You cannot find such a system, if you go beyond the pale of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “Well,” inquires one, “are those principles embodied in our faith? Is that principle of government here that is calculated to unite not only this Church but the whole human family in one faith? Are we not to some extent divided one against another, and have we not selfish thoughts and feelings, and do we not have strife in our midst, and do we love one another with a brotherly love and act under the influence of the good Spirit all the time?”

If we did act under its influence and followed its dictation continually, we would be one, and bickering, strife, and selfishness would be laid aside, and we would look after and be as zealous for our neighbor’s as for our own good. But we still see in our midst controversies, differences of thought and opinion, one up and another down, and the same thing regarded in a different light by different persons, &c. Why is this? Because the Gospel net has gathered in of every kind, and because we are only children in the school; because we have learned only the first letters, as it were, in the great Gospel plan, and that but imperfectly. And one cause of the diversity in our thoughts and reflections is that some have had greater experience and comprehend the truth more perfectly than others. But does this prove that the Gospel we have embraced does not contain those principles necessary to unite all mankind in the truth. No, it does not. What are these great principles that are calculated to unite the whole human family, and to cause them to worship the same God, adhere it the same counsel and be governed by the same voice? They are the principle of revelation, the power of God revealed to his people, the belief in the hearts of the people that it is God’s right to rule and dictate, and that it is not the right of any man to say it shall be thus and so; nor are the people required to obey these principles blindly—without knowledge.

When we learn the truth and understand what is for our greatest good, we will feel in our hearts that it is God’s right to rule and reign, and to say to us what shall be, and that it is our privilege to obey, and there will not be a feeling in our hearts contrary to his dictation. We will then feel that whatever is, is right; and in this we cannot then rightly be called superstitious, blind, or deluded, for that would be impossible because we will then be governed by higher light and intelligence—by that intelligence which convinces us that God lives, reigns, made the earth and all things it contains, that he is the Father of all, that we are his children, and that all things are in his hands. We will then comprehend this, and, consequently, will feel that it is his right to say and ours to do. But how is it today? We do not practically comprehend these facts to their full extent, our own selfish interests more or less blind us, we measurably stand in our own light and choke the channel of blessings from heaven, and cannot fully receive from the Giver of all good that blessing, exaltation, and glory that he is ever willing to bestow upon all who will acknowledge and love him and worship him in spirit and in truth.

This is a great and important work—one that we do not fully comprehend. When the Spirit of the Lord rests powerfully upon us, we realize it to some extent; but we do not always have that Spirit in such copious measure, and when we are left to ourselves we are weak, frail, and liable to err. This shows to us that we should be more faithful than we have ever been, and that day and night, wherever we are and under whatever circumstances we may be placed, in order to enjoy the Spirit of the Gospel we must live to God by observing truth, honoring his law, and ever manifest a vigorous determination to accomplish the work he has assigned us.

I thank the Lord that I have the privilege of being associated with this people; and, whatever men may say or do, I desire that the testimony of the truth may continue with me, that I may ever realize for myself that the Gospel has again been revealed to man on the earth.

It seems to me that today, or I may say this present moment is a moment of trial for this people. I have often heard the President say, in relation to our having been driven from our homes, hated and mistreated by our enemies and the enemies of truth, that we were not then particularly tried. I believe it. I believe that then we were more happy and better alive to the work we are engaged in than many are today. I believe, of the two, take the period when the Saints were driven from the State of Missouri, or subsequently, when we were driven from the State of Illinois, and compare it with the present day, that today is the day of trial for this people. When you go along the street, and meet a man or a woman, do you know whether he or she is a Latter-day Saint or not? There was a time when we could walk up and down the streets and tell by the very countenances of men whether they were Latter-day Saints, or not; but can you do it now? You cannot, unless you have greater discernment and more of the Spirit and power of God than I have. Why? Because many are trying as hard as they can to transform themselves into the very shape, character, and spirit of the world. Elders in Israel, young men, mothers and daughters in Israel are conforming to the world’s fashions until their very countenances indicate its spirit and character. This course is to the shame and disgrace of those who are so unwise. It is not so much in the settlements, but go where you will in this city and you can see some of these foolish ones. And when the line is drawn and the choice made, there are many, who we think today are in fellowship with the Lord, that will be left without the pale. Yet they are now going smoothly along, and we meet, shake hands and call each other brother. We meet here in this Tabernacle and partake of the Holy Sacrament together as brethren in the bonds of the covenant, and go smoothly along together; but it is not all gold that glitters. It is not all as it appears; the surface is deceptive, and while many think that it is no harm to pattern after the foolish, wicked, nonsensical notions and fashions of the world and the character of worldlings, taking them into our homes and making them our companions, and think that we are just as good Saints with as without them, by and by we will wake up to the astounding fact that we have been deceived and misled.

Why did God call us from the world and denounce it? Why did he say that none were good, and that the religious worship of the world was not acceptable to him, but was a mockery and an abomination in his sight? Why tell this to the Prophet and say to him, “I will make you an instrument in my hands to gather out my people from the world, that I may have a righteous and pure people who will worship me in spirit and in truth, and who will not draw near to me with their lips while their hearts are far from me?” It was because the world was corrupt and had gone after the fashions and follies of men; because the people were led by the doctrines of men, put their faith in man and made flesh their arm; and had forsaken God. They boasted of themselves, in their own strength, glory, might and power, and said that they cared not for God, as was manifested on an occasion during the late rebellion, in a convention that was called, I think at Chicago. A proposition was made that they conquer the South; someone proposed, “by the help of God;” but they unanimously voted that they would do it without the help of God, or not at all. They would have the glory of it themselves, they wanted none of the help of God to do it. God was out of the question with them, for they gloried in their own strength.

And the world, today, glory in their own wealth, power and knowledge, and for this they are an abomination in the sight of God; and he has raised up a Prophet and has put forth his hand for the last time to gather his people and to do his great and marvelous work. He is sending forth his missionaries to preach the Gospel to the nations of the earth, to gather out the honest and those who will serve him with full purpose of heart, that they may be gathered from the midst of the world’s wickedness and corruption, to a place where they can better serve the Lord and accomplish his purposes. Then, when we are gathered, when the Lord has delivered us from the hands of our enemies, brought us out of bondage with his outstretched arm and planted us in the midst of these mountains in peace and surrounded us with blessings, and has enriched the soil so that it yields its strength for our good, and has made of us a peculiar people—when the Lord has done this for us—today some will cringe and bow to the degrading fashions of the world, and court the society and habits of the wicked. Such conduct is a crying shame on those who, professing to be Latter-day Saints, act so unwisely. We profess to have forsaken the world and to live accordingly to the requirements of the Gospel, and it behooves us to walk worthily of so excellent a profession.

We cannot trifle with the things of God. Many talents have been committed to us; if we put them in a napkin and hide them in the earth, we shall be beaten with many stripes; but if we use them wisely, we shall receive great blessings and rewards. If we wish to see the work of God carried victoriously forward, if we wish to accomplish the purposes of the Almighty, and have a desire to carry out his will on the earth, that it may be done here as it is in heaven, we must live as we profess, be guided by the whisperings of his Spirit and the teachings and counsels of his servants. Who is there among us that does not feel an interest in the work of God. Those who do not will be cut short, they will loose their inheritance, and the rights and privileges guaranteed to man through his faithfulness.

It grieves me when I hear young men, who have been born and reared in this Church, speaking indifferently of the truth, and as apt to take up an argument against as in its favor. I thank the Lord that I have never been guilty of that to my knowledge; but I do not claim any particular credit on this account, for I was taught from my childhood that the great work in which we are engaged is true, and designed for the salvation of mankind. Until I was fifteen years old I did not know this, but I believed it, my heart was in it, and my feelings were enlisted, and any opposite influence, obstacle or power with which I came in contact, even in my childhood, roused me in a moment, and I felt that I was for the truth and the people of God.

When I was sent on my first mission, though only fifteen years of age, I began to learn and sense things for myself, I began to receive and bear testimony of the truth. In my weakness I endeavored to preach the Gospel, to tell people the truth, and to explain to them the way of life. This gave to me a knowledge and fixed my faith and feelings, and made them to me seemingly unchangeable. But we are changeable, weak and frail, we know not today what we may do or what may occur tomorrow. This is a frail, poor, low condition for the offspring of God to be in, yet it is our condition exactly. Notwithstanding this, men today will boast of their greatness, power, wealth, descent, associations, influence and honors, when the poor, insignificant, miserable things may be dead and food for worms tomorrow. That great thing that boasted of his influence, is proud and stands up in majesty today, may be food for worms tomorrow. O, the foolishness of man!

It is for the people called Latter-day Saints to make God their boast, to ascribe to him the honor and power, and to say within themselves, O Father, we are thine. That is the way all mortality should feel. They should feel that the earth and its fulness are God’s, that the gold and silver, the cattle on a thousand hills, the rich fields, the streams of water, the rivers, lakes, ocean, and all they contain are his. He made them; they are not ours, for he has not given them to us; we have not earned them; but when we have earned them, when we have proved faithful over a few things committed to us here, when we have proved wise stewards over the little things, when we have fought the good fight of faith, endured to the end and worked out our salvation, then the earth and its fulness will be given to the Saints of the Most High, and they shall possess it forever and ever. But it is not ours yet, neither is it man’s, neither will it be, until he has earned an inheritance upon it by his faithfulness, diligence, good precepts and examples, and by his endurance to the end in the truth, and not till then. And when we think that by simply bearing the name of Saint, or associating with good men and women, we shall secure an inheritance on this goodly earth, that will yet be purified and made like a sea of glass for a dwelling place for the just, we shall find that we have deceived ourselves, and will see the crown and inheritance designed for us taken away and given to this one or that one who lived on the earth when we did, but who, instead of having only the name of Saints, were Saints in very deed.

I was very much pleased with Brother Hyde’s discourse on this subject a few months ago; it was a most excellent description of things as they are and as they will be, and it was true. If we do not now know that it was so, we will have to learn; and if we are not willing to receive instruction and counsel, we will have to learn through experience and stern necessity, and be made to realize our condition and dependence on God.

In the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, when the latter, looking beyond the yawning gulf that separated him from Paradise, saw Lazarus enjoying bliss in Abraham’s bosom, and wanted an angel sent to warn his friends on earth, the Lord Jesus said, if they will not believe the Prophets and Apostles, neither would they believe though one should be raised from the dead. So in these days, if the Prophets, Apostles and Elders called of God and commissioned to preach the Gospel are not believed by the people, neither would they believe an angel, or one raised from the dead. I once felt that this was a pretty hard saying, but I am now convinced that it is true. I always, perhaps, conceded that it was true, yet at times I felt, would it not be possible for an angel to convince the people when we could not.

Since then I have seen and conversed with men, have known the feelings of their hearts and seen that they were just as full of the darkness of hell as they could be. So full and firmly rooted were they in darkness and ignorance and in a determination not to receive the truth that, though angels and ministering spirits had taught them, they would still have preferred to remain in ignorance and unbelief. I was forcibly reminded of this a short time ago, when in conversation with Alexander H. Smith. Do you suppose an angel would convince him? He said that no human testimony could convince him. Affliction and the chastisement of God might affect his body, but could not touch his heart; it is like adamant, and there are thousands and thousands in the same condition—shutting out the very possibility of truth’s reaching their understandings. They will not receive the testimony of men, yet they will quote and reiterate the testimonies of men whom we know to be as wicked and corrupt as the devil; but when Prophets and Apostles ordained under the hands of the Prophet Joseph, and who are carrying out the very plans and purposes made manifest through him, bear testimony of these things, their testimony is rejected, for they will not receive the testimony of men. It is simply this—we will not have the truth, we cannot bear it, and you cannot force it upon us—we do not want it.

This is a free country; the kingdom of God is a kingdom of freedom; the Gospel of the Son of God is the Gospel of liberty. Men can worship God, if they wish to, but, if not, they may go and worship stones, the sun, moon, stars, or anything else that they wish. We will protect and respect every man in his rights, so far as they do not interfere with the rights of others, for every man must answer for his own deeds.

I sometimes hear the Latter-day Saints instructed about the way they should treat strangers; they are told to extend to all men due respect and kindness. You would not be a Latter-day Saint if you did not; you would not manifest the Spirit of the Gospel did you not show them due kindness, and respect; but remember, at the same time, that you do not compromise yourselves. In trying to be kind and courteous to others, we sometimes place ourselves in their power, and as sure as we do, bad men will take advantage of it. How was the counsel given by the Savior to the Apostles, “Be ye therefore as wise as serpents, and as harmless as doves.” But this generation is wiser than the children of light—the Saints. Why? In one particular, because, when we embrace the Gospel we feel well, so thankful to the Lord, so full of gratitude, that we are thrown off our guard, suspect no evil, nor look for sin in any man, and so invite them into our circles, and, by and by they get the upper hand of us; we begin to loose faith and to think that the devil has not such an awkward cloven foot, that his horns and tail are not quite so long, nor he quite so deformed, black, and hideous as we thought. We have been deceived; we thought that the devil had long horns and tail, a cloven foot, and was black, hideous, and grinning; but when we find him out, he is a gentleman in black broad cloth, with a smooth tongue, pleasant countenance, high forehead, and so on; quite a good-looking fellow. That is the kind of a person we find the devil to be, and we will find him in more persons than one, and that too right in this city.

I feel well and thankful to have the privilege of being a Saint; and I hope, brethren and sisters, that anything good that is said to us we will feel like carrying out in our lives. It is our duty, and we should never fail to do so.

May God bless us and all Israel, and keep us in the paths of truth.

Notwithstanding what I have said here today about the vanity and foolishness amongst us, especially in Great Salt Lake City, yet I believe, as has been frequently said, that taking this people as a whole they are the best on the earth; and I believe that more good people can be found here that can be found in the same number anywhere else on the earth, and that if one-third, one-half, or two-thirds of this people should fall away and go astray, the number then remaining would be sufficient to carry off the work victoriously, for it is God’s work, and he has decreed that it shall be fulfilled according to the predictions of the Prophets. May God grant it, and help us all to be faithful, that we may be numbered among those who obtain a crown and inheritance, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, Elder George Q. Cannon, and President Heber C. Kimball, made November 29, 1864 at the funeral of J. S. Kimball, Son of President H. C. Kimball, who departed this life on 27 Nov. 1864.

After singing, prayer was offered up by Elder G. Q. CANNON, when President B. YOUNG arose and said: When we are called upon, to pay our last respects to the remains of our friends, and to consign to the tomb that which belongs to it, and to condole with the relations of the departed loved ones, we are brought face to face with one of the stern realities of our existence, and the moans and sorrows of the bereaved lacerate our feelings with anguish. To part with our children is very grievous; it overwhelms us with pain and sorrow; but we have this ordeal to meet and pass through. It might appear that we should become passive and unconcerned, when so common an occurrence as death overtakes our children and friends; that it would cease to excite gloomy and mournful feelings within us; this, however, is not the case, although the Saints are more moderate in their lamentations for the dead than the rest of the world. This moderation in their grief, arises from their superior knowledge of principles, which pertain to the inner life, and the immortality of the soul. “Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that bring glad tidings of good things, and that say unto Zion: Behold, thy God reigneth! As the dews of Carmel, so shall the knowledge of God descend upon them!” Again, it is written. “Thou shalt live together in love, in– somuch as thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die, and more especially for those that have not hope of a glorious resurrection. And it shall come to pass that those who die in me, shall not taste of death, for it shall be sweet unto them; And they that die not in me, wo unto them, for their death is bitter.”

While the sympathies of our hearts, are drawn out for those who mourn the loss of dear ones, at the same time it gives us comfort, and happiness, and rejoicing to see that the departed have made themselves so loved and respected as to call from their friends, such manifestations of love and respect. These displays of tenderness are more marked in those who live the nearest to the Lord, not so much by wild, ungovernable bursts of anguishes in cries and tears, as by a grief that is chaste and subdued, by the knowledge of the future state of the spirits of the departed, and the hope of the resurrection from the dead. We are not ignorant concerning them which are asleep, nor sorrow as others which have no hope: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” If we mortals are so sensitive at the loss of our friends, what must be the sensations of those who have passed from mortality to immortality—who are made holy, and drink at the fountain of all intelligence, and are filled with the glory and power of God in the heavens—who are sanctified and glorified—and who can see and understand the awful consequences of sin, and disobedience to the commandments of God—when their friends wander from the path of truth, until they are forever separated, both in this world and in the next? Their grief must be very intense, yet they no doubt possess corresponding in– telligence, power, and ability to overcome their sensations, and to submit patiently to all the dispensations that affect this and that existence with which they and we are so intimately connected. What must be the feelings of our Father in heaven, at the disobedience of his children! And what must be the feelings of our fathers, who are behind the veil, when their children despise the counsels of the Lord, and neglect their duties to themselves, and to the Kingdom of God upon the earth, for such a course will lead to their everlasting separation! The Lord says of Israel of old, “I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.” What love and sorrow is conveyed in this quotation!

We have hope, that when we are called to separate with our friends here, it is only for a short season, for we shall soon go to them. This hope, which is blooming with immortality and eternal life, is not enjoyed by the wicked world; hence, we do not mourn as they do, at the loss of our friends. It is very grievous to be robbed of our children by death; still it is right, and such afflictions are pregnant with good to the faithful. When we, as the people of God, perform our duties according to the best of our abilities, and are united therein, there is no circumstance that can transpire in this life, that will not be overruled for our best possible good. This we shall see by-and-by. When the Lord suffers children of all ages to be taken from us, it is for our good, and for theirs. Let us learn to receive the providences of God cheerfully, and with a kind submission, relying upon him, for our confidence, our hope and our all is in him, and all things shall work together for our good. I am well satisfied of this.

Questions are often asked, why our children die, why they are not permitted to live, to fill their earthly destiny, and become fathers and mothers of their race. Many are the physical causes, which lead to the death of our children and friends, before they have lived out the days allotted to them, that, in consequence of our ignorance of the laws of life and health, we are not yet able to overcome; neither have we yet attained to faith sufficient to overcome disease and death entirely in our families. But the Lord has not left us without consoling words for our comfort, when we lose our children, for it is written: “But behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten; Wherefore, they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me; For it is given unto them even as I will, according to mine own pleasure, that great things may be required at the hand of their fathers.”

It is hard for the mother of the deceased boy before us, to part with her son. It wrings from her heart bitter anguish, to see him committed to an untimely grave; but we ought not to allow any great sorrow, to wear upon our mortal tabernacles so as to waste them away, and cut us off from performing that good, which we otherwise might live to perform. Though we cannot altogether avoid grief under sore trials, yet we can overcome excessive sorrow, through faith in the Lord Jesus, and by calling upon the Father in his name—and that is all we can do. I can sympathize with brother Heber C. Kimball and his wives, in their bereavements, for they have lost many children, as well as others of our brethren and sisters. But, it is consoling to think, that when our children are taken from the earth in their infancy, they are safe, for they are redeemed, and of such is the Kingdom of heaven: they have the promise of a glorious resurrection, to share in glory with those, who are brought forth, to enjoy the blessings of the sanctified. This is a matter of rejoicing to us; and the reflection ought to comfort the mourners, on the present occasion. It gives me no less joy to think, that the inhabitants of the earth, will not have to suffer and endure, the wrath of an angry God to all eternity. It gives me exceedingly great joy to understand, that every child that has been taken from this mortality to the spiritual world, from the day that mother Eve bore her first child to this time, is an heir to the celestial Kingdom and glory of God; and to understand also that the inhabitants of the earth who have been deprived of the fullness of the Gospel—who have been deprived of the privileges which we enioy—will be judged, in equity and truth, according to the deeds done in the body, and that every person will receive, according to his merits or demerits. But when members of the Kingdom of God—we who have received an unction from the Holy One—are froward in our ways, and will not abide the laws He has given unto us, but will violate our covenants with our Heavenly Father, and with one another, we are the ones that will suffer in the next existence, if we do not repent, and retrace our steps before it is too late; it is not those who have lived and died without law.

As a general thing, yea, almost without exception, the children of parents who are members of this Church, are good, true, and faithful, and full of integrity. It is true, that, when they grow up to manhood, some of them turn away, and wander away from their parents; but, I do not think an instance can be pointed out, where a child has left his parents or parent, who has been trained according to the laws of the Gospel, with proper parental indulgence and restriction. If parents understood how to conduct themselves properly, towards their children, they would bind the affections of their children to them as firmly, speaking comparatively according to the intelligence they enjoy, as the affections of angels are bound to the Gods of eternity. The children of this people are good children. They have the same temptations to endure as others have, yet, almost without an exception, I can assure you that they are good, faithful and true. How important it is, that we should teach our children the way of life and salvation, preserve them in the truth and in their integrity! These noble, Godlike principles should be instilled in them in their youthful days, that when they grow up, they may never feel a disposition to deceive, or to commit iniquity, or turn away from the holy commandments of the Lord, but have power to control and govern themselves, subduing every inclination to evil, and every ungovernable temper, that they may secure to themselves eternal life. It is right to mourn over our dead. It is pleasing to the heavens when strong parental affection is manifested; it is justifiable before the heavens, for they are full of the affections and love that we only have in part, for ours is mixed with sin and impurity.

I can say to brother Heber C. Kimball and to his family, no matter whether your children exist in this life, or in the spirit world, they that put their trust in the Lord will never be destroyed; for the Lord will preserve his own, and the Psalmist has written, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” The seed of the righteous will never be found begging bread; for the Lord will provide for his people in the latter days. He has defended us so far, and has fought our battles, has led us to victory, and blessed us with houses and lands, with friends, and with an abundance of the comforts of life. We are filled with peace, joy and consolation. We mingle with those who love the truth, and this is one of the greatest boons that can be enjoyed by those who love the truth, and delight in it. We are not under the necessity of mingling with the ungodly; we may see them in our streets, and in our houses occasionally; but we are not obliged to fellowship their wickedness; we can keep ourselves perfectly aloof, from their wicked influences. We are not under the necessity, of hearing the name of the God we love and serve blasphemed, or of hearing good men spoken evil of and reviled; for, if we try to avoid witnessing such evils, we can do so for ourselves and for our children, and lead the latter forth in the knowledge of God. I say to this family, and to the brethren and sisters, who have met here to condole with them, may God bless you all. Do not be cast down, sister Ellen; but bear up as well as you can under this bereavement. To part with our children wrings our hearts. Then let us never conduct ourselves in that way towards them, that will cause us mourning when they are laid upon the bier; but let our treatment of our children be such, that, if they should be laid a lifeless corpse before us, we may feel happy and satisfied on that account.

Elder George Q. Cannon was then invited to speak, who said—

I do not know that I can add anything that will be any more consolatory to the mourners, than what has already been spoken. While listening to brother Brigham’s remarks there were some reflections that passed through my mind, which to me were consolatory and edifying. We are in reality, while in this mortality, aliens and strangers. We are far distant from our father’s house, living in a cold world far removed from those affections which we doubtless have experienced in the spirit world, and which we will again enjoy, if we are faithful to the trust reposed in us on the earth. In one of the revelations given to Enoch it is said: “And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shall you and all your city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we shall fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other; And there shall be my abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for the space of a thousand years shall the earth rest.” This quotation describes how happy will be the meeting of the faithful with their Father in heaven. Our old affections, of which we know but little at this time, will be revived, and we shall enjoy ourselves, with a joy that to us is inexpressible now. It is right that the ties should be strengthened between us and the spirit world. Everyone who departs from this mortal state of existence only adds another link to the chain of connection—another tie to draw us nearer to our Father and God, and to those intelligences which dwell in his presence. I have seen this illustrated by the Saints in foreign countries, sending their friends and relatives from Babylon to Zion. When they have sent their friends to Zion, they feel a greater interest in Zion than they ever did; for they have somebody there to meet, probably a son, a daughter, a father, a mother, or some friend who has preceded them to Zion, and it is astonishing the effect the departure of such a relative or friend has had on them; they feel more stimulated and encouraged, and look forward to going to Zion with feelings they did not have before. It is somewhat similar with us in this mortal condition. Those of us who have lost children, brothers and sisters and parents, feel an increased interest in the spirit world; the ties between such and the spirit world, have become binding, and we can contemplate, if not with delight, at least with no great sorrow, our removal from this state of existence to the next. In the providence of God it is right that these earthly ties should be weakened, to convince us that we are not in the condition the Lord wishes us to remain in. We are here in a state of temptation, sin, and sorrow, and he desires us to look forward to a better world—to a state of happiness far beyond that which we at present enjoy. As our friends continue to pass from this state to that better world, we who remain, feel an increased interest therein, and feel stimulated to look forward with increased joy to the time when we shall be united. I recollect that when I lost my mother in boyhood, I could contemplate death with pleasure. I reflected upon the idea of leaving this existence with feelings that were the opposite of dread; but, since I have grown up to manhood, and have taken upon me its duties and cares, and am surrounded with other ties and associations, those feelings of indifference to life are considerably weakened; yet, when I reflect upon my children, which I have yielded up to death, and my many friends who have gone behind the veil, I can think of death with different feelings than if I had no friends gone to that land, where the wicked cease to trouble. The Latter-day Saints have hopes and anticipations, which none besides them can indulge in; because we have a knowledge of the Gospel which buoys us up under these earthly afflictions, and assures us that we shall be united with our friends again. It is not a matter of doubt or speculation with us, but it is with us a matter of knowledge. God has given us the testimony of his Spirit, which bears witness to our spirits that we shall again be united with our departed friends after death. Our mortal tabernacles may sleep, but our spirits are eternal, and, if faithful here, we shall enjoy an immortality in the presence of God that will amply reward us for all that we may suffer on earth. May God bless and comfort brother Heber and sister Ellen, and his whole family, and all that pertains unto him, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

President Heber C. Kimball made the following remarks:

I will try to say a few words which I can do today better than I could yesterday, so intense was my sorrow for the loss of Joseph. This is the nineteenth child which I have buried, and if I continue to be faithful, as I have been thus far, I shall as sure be their eternal father as I am now their natural father.

It might be supposed that I should become used to the presence of the grim messenger, death, in my family, and not heed it so much; but the contrary is the case. My heart becomes more tender, the oftener it is wrung with sorrow and grief, for the loss of my children; and if I am getting used to it at all, it is in that way. Every child that I bury seems to be the best child I have got; but, when I think of it, I have concluded that, if it had been any other child but the one that is taken, I should have thought the same of that one. We are very apt not to appreciate the good in the living, and to magnify their faults; but, when dead, we forget their faults, and their virtue and goodness alone stand prominent. I should think this is more particularly so in the case of parents and children. I find that the older the child when taken away by death, the harder it is to part; for like the severing of a large limb from the trunk of a tree, the wound is larger, and mutilates the tree more than the severing of a smaller limb.

The longer our children live with us, the stronger grow the ties which bind us together. And I find that the more light and intelligence I get from heaven the more sensitive are my feelings; because light is sensitive, and if there were no light, there could be no sense. And the more I become like my Father in heaven, and like his son Jesus Christ, the more I love my children. I tried with all the power I had, to withstand the destroyer, which took possession of that boy; but I could not, and it had nearly overcome me with sorrow and affliction, until this morning, when I felt better. It does appear that when I place any reliance on a child, that child is taken from me. Sister Ellen’s hope was in that boy, to be a stay to her in her declining years, or perhaps when I was gone.

Joseph was a kindhearted, obedient, good boy. He was fourteen years of age the third day of last April, and was an excellent scholar; I took pride in having him carefully educated. When our boys have been educated, and go to foreign parts to preach the Gospel, they are then exceedingly happy that they had improved themselves and gained useful information. It is so when persons leave this state of existence to go into the spirit world; for it is the spirit that becomes informed; it is the spirit that receives the truth, and the teachings of the Holy Ghost which showeth it things to come. It is not this house which I am now instructing, but it is the persons who dwell in it; so it is not the earthly house of this tabernacle that is instructed, so much as it is the spirit that dwells within it. When we are instructed by the gifts and power of the Holy Ghost, that knowledge is conveyed to us from heaven, and we are being informed in this world by knowledge which pertains to the next existence, that we may become exalted and glorified, the same as a man rises from one degree of knowledge and learning to another in an earthly seminary of education. Then the education and training we give our children in this world are not lost; but they are so far fitted and prepared for advancement in the next. Some of my children are good scholars; I keep them at school, and I try to lead them in the path of truth; and I also instruct their mothers to teach their children to come unto God. If any of my wives place their reliance and hope upon a child, that child is sure to be taken away from them. The Lord designs that I shall be the head and leader of my family, to guide them into His presence; and he will take away every prop in order to place everything where it should be. That remark is just as good for every other family as it is for mine. The Lord will take away every prop that I put my trust in outside of himself. When I was baptized into Him I put Him on, and should live in him, and should not rely upon any other but him; I should cleave unto him, and my family should cleave unto me, that we may be all one in Him.

I have no love for this world, and if it were not for the cause of God which I have espoused, and my family, and the Church and Kingdom of God, I would not turn my hand over whether I lived or died. The bereavements I have suffered affect me in this way; nevertheless, Thy will be done, O Lord. Ellen has now lost three children; they are in heaven, and when she goes there, she will find them there, as sure as we shall find the Prophets and Apostles and Patriarchs of this Church, who have gone there, and are seated with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. There is a little army of my children gone before me, and will be there to welcome me when I go hence; and then look at the train that will follow after me! I believe that children behind the veil have more sympathy, care, and interest in the welfare of their friends in mortality than when they are here; and do they pray for father? Yes; just as much as I do. Can they approach the Lord more near than I can? Yes, and they no doubt pray, “O Lord God, I ask thee in the name of Jesus, to remember my good father, and my good brothers and sisters, who are still in mortality.”

Nineteen of my children are in the spirit world, and the parting with them has not given me as much sorrow, nor brought as many white hairs on my head, as those have done who now live. I have experienced this; others have experienced it, and will experience it in time to come; for they must have an experience in this as well as brother Heber. Am I an offcast because I am thus called to suffer? No; “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.” I know this day that I have favor with God; and I would not do anything that would deprive me of this for the world and all that is in it. I would rather leave the world this moment, than live to sin against God. I say to my family take care of your children. Ellen, take care of the two you have living, and be satisfied with them. Be contented, and never complain against the providences of God. So I say unto all my family. Never be cross with one another. Joseph was never cross, he was always pleasant to all persons. Eight years ago he came near dying; I was impressed to ordain him a High Priest. I ordained him, and I do know that that had a saving effect upon the boy, and God has had respect to him. He now lives in the spirit; and I have joy in all these things. I stood near him until he breathed his last; but I could not prevail. This proved to me that I was a poor, weak, frail creature, that I was nothing more than the grass, or as a flower of the field; for the wind passeth over it, and it is gone. I have not one particle of power on this earth, only as God gives it to me. It is the power of Almighty God. I cannot stay his hand, and I am in his hand. I never was more sensible of this in my life than I now am. And I never saw my weakness to the extent that I do now. And I never saw the day when I felt the necessity of living faithful to God more than I do now—that my eyes should be opened and I be filled with the Almighty power of God.

I can see before and behind, and all around. It is my privilege to see the head, the feet, and every member there is in the Church of God, and feel as they feel; if we all could do this what a heavenly people we should be. God would defend us. He will do it now, for the sake of the righteous that dwell in our midst. The Church of God will triumph, while those who are rebellious and disobedient will see sorrow. This is my testimony. Brother Brigham, I say with all my heart, God bless you and yours, that you may live, and that the great power of God may be in you and increase upon you; and so I say unto all the Elders of Israel, that we may be one. And may the peace of God be upon this congregation that has come to condole with us. I am comforted. Death is swallowed up in life.

May God bless you all for evermore. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Nov. 6, 1864.

It is the business of the Latter-day Saints to build up the Kingdom of God upon the earth, and by doing this they will be built up, as individuals and as a community. It is good to love and serve our God with an undivided heart and with a pure affection, making it the business of our lives to work righteousness, and to introduce everywhere in all the earth the Gospel of glad tidings and everlasting peace, to prepare the way for the coming of the Son of man to receive his bride. To hold communion with our Father and God, and to carry out his great designs in this last dispensation, ought to be sought after through every transaction of our lives, for no man, or community of men, can possibly serve God acceptably a portion of their time only, and themselves the remainder. If we are the servants and handmaidens of the Almighty at all, we are so every moment of our lives. It should be our constant desire and wish to know how to build up the Kingdom of God, and of necessity this Work calls forth an almost endless variety of talent, skill and labor.

In building the great and notable cities of the world, it required the genius of the architect, and the skill and labor of the artisan, in all their variety. In building up the cities of Zion, and an earthly kingdom unto God, it will require all the wisdom and skill and cunning workmanship that are displayed in the arts and sciences now known to man, and revelation from heaven for still further advancement in the knowledge of every handicraft and means of adornment, to beautify the cities and temples that will be built by the people of God in these last days. We expect to see the time when we shall not be at all inferior to any of the nations of the earth, in the production of works of art and in scientific skill and knowledge; even now there is incorporated within the pale of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, mechanical ingenuity that is equal to any to be found among the civilized nations of the world; and as our community grows in wealth and importance, and raw material sufficient is accumulated, and our necessities and wants increase, all this artistic skill and genius, which at present lies dormant, will be called into active use, for the bone, sinew and knowledge are here. Our first great object in life is to build up the Kingdom of God. If it is to sow wheat to sustain the people, be it so; our families want bread, as do also the families of the Elders who have gone abroad to preach the Gospel, and our mechanics; we are also under the necessity of producing many other articles of food, besides bread, to supply that variety of diet, which, in a great measure through our traditions, our nature craves. If it is to build cities and temples or to do the other labors which belong to the building up of the Kingdom of God, be it so; all this is right, everything in its time and season.

Brother Taylor has given us a very correct history and statement, with regard to the line of demarcation between the savage and the civilized. Civilization is simply the spirit of improvement, in learning and civil manners. The world may be said to have advanced in this so far as the arts and sciences are concerned; but, with these, they have mingled wicked ideas and practices, of which the heathen and barbarian would be ashamed, and of which they are entirely ignorant. We now live in the midst of the latter; they do not believe in making any improvements that will better their condition in the least. Their forefathers were once enlightened, and their knowledge was in advance of the knowledge of the present age. These natives belong to the house of Israel, and are embraced in the promises and covenants made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; but through their forefathers transgressing the law of God, and breaking their covenants made with God, he hid his face from them, and they were left alone to follow the devices of their own evil hearts, until the whole race has sunk deep into barbarism. It is written in the Book of Mormon: “And because of their cursing which was upon them they did become an idle people, full of mischief and subtlety, and did seek in the wilderness for beasts of prey.” The Lord has taken from this race any disposition for improvement even to this day; the best of them consider it a disgrace to work. Whatever drudgery is per– formed is done by their squaws, or by slaves captured from neighboring tribes or bands. Ask any of them to work; the reply is, “me big Indian, me no work.” This is their idea touching greatness. But their ancient Prophets have spoken good concerning them. It is prophesied by Nephi as follows: “For after the book [Book of Mormon] of which I have spoken shall come forth, and be written unto the Gentiles, and sealed up again unto the Lord, there shall be many which shall believe the words which are written; and they shall carry them forth unto the remnant of our seed [the present American Indians.] And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of the Jews. And the Gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among them; wherefore, they shall be restored to the knowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which was had among their fathers. And then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a white and delightsome people.” The laboring man, the ingenious, industrious, and prudent man, the man who lays himself out to advance the human family in every saving principle for happiness, for beauty, and excellency, for wisdom, power, greatness, and glory is the true benefactor of his race; he is the gentleman, the honorable, high-minded citizen of the world, and is worthy the society and admiration of the great and wise among all nations, though he may be destitute of wealth and title; he is a civilized man.

I wish to say a few words to our young men. My friends, it would give me great pleasure if you would mark my words well. As quick as you are old enough, learn to think for yourselves, and to look life’s stern realities fairly in the face, and learn to know yourselves, and your power and opportunities for doing good. When I was sixteen years of age, my father said to me, “You can now have your time; go and provide for yourself;” and a year had not passed away before I stopped running, jumping, wrestling and the laying out of my strength for naught; but when I was seventeen years of age, I laid out my strength in planing a board, or in cultivating the ground to raise something from it to benefit myself. I applied myself to those studies and pursuits of life that would commend me to every good person who should become acquainted with me although, like other young men, I was full of weakness, sin, darkness, and ignorance, and labored under disadvantages which the young men of this community have not to meet. I sought to use language on all occasions, that would be commendable, and to carry myself in society, in a way to gain for myself the respect of the moral and good among my neighbors. When I was invited to drink liquor, I said, as I would now say, “I am much obliged to you, but I do not use ardent spirits.” When young men pursue this course, they beget for themselves unbounded confidence in their friends and acquaintances; they can be trusted when money or property is committed to their care, because they are honest, economical, and prudent, and will do right; wherever or whenever you meet them, you will find them bearing the deportment of gentlemen, towards every person with whom they come in contact, whether old or young. We, of all people upon the earth, should know, as a community, the best how to regulate our morals, feelings, and passions. We should know how to train up our children in the ways of the Lord, that they may be a credit to us, as parents, and as citizens of the Kingdom of God.

It is a shame to a man, who is made after the image of God, not to have control over his tongue, in the moments of passion or rage; let him first overcome and govern his passion, and then trust himself to speak, whether he be in the presence of his family or alone. “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” When we speak, let us speak good words; when we think, think good thoughts; and when we act, perform good acts; until it shall become the delight of every man and woman to do good instead of evil, and to teach righteousness by example, and precept rather than unrighteousness. The men and women who pursue this course are entitled to all the blessings of heaven, both temporal and spiritual, and such blessings will be bestowed upon them as fast as they are prepared to properly apply, use, and enjoy them.

I will here say to parents, that kind words and loving actions towards children, will subdue their uneducated natures a great deal better than the rod, or, in other words, than physical punishment. Although it is written that, “The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame,” and, “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes;” these quotations refer to wise and prudent corrections. Children who have lived in the sunbeams of parental kindness and affection, when made aware of a parent’s displeasure, and receive a kind reproof from parental lips, are more thoroughly chastened, than by any physical punishment that could be applied to their persons. It is written, that the Lord “shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth.” And again it is written, “A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool’s back.” The rod of a parent’s mouth, when used in correction of a beloved child, is more potent in its effects, than the rod which is used on the fool’s back. When children are reared under the rod, which is for the fool’s back, it not infrequently occurs that they become so stupefied and lost to every high-toned feeling and sentiment, that though you bray them in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not their foolishness depart from them. Kind looks, kind actions, kind words, and a lovely, holy deportment towards them will bind our children to us with bands that cannot easily be broken; while abuse and unkindness will drive them from us, and break assunder every holy tie, that should bind them to us, and to the everlasting covenant in which we are all embraced. If my family, and my brethren and sisters, will not be obedient to me on the basis of kindness, and a commendable life before all men, and before the heavens, then farewell to all influence. Earthly kings and potentates obtain influence and power by terrorism, and maintain it by the same means. Had I to obtain power and influence in that way, I should never possess it in this world nor in the next.

Fathers who send their little boys and girls on the plains and ranges, to herd their cattle and sheep, and drag them out of bed very early in the morning, to go out in the cold and wet, perhaps without shoes and but scantily clad otherwise, are cruel to their offspring, and when their children arrive at years of maturity, they will leave the roof under which they have received such oppression, and free themselves from the control of parents, who have acted towards them, more like taskmasters than natural protectors. It is in this unnatural school that our thieves have their origin, and where they receive their first lessons in dishonesty and wild recklessness. Mark the path in which a number of our boys have traveled, from the time they were eight or ten years of age, to sixteen, eighteen and twenty. Have they been caressed and kindly treated by their parents, sent to school, and when at home taught to read good books, taught to pray themselves, and to hear their parents pray? Have they been accustomed to live and breathe in a peaceful, quiet, heavenly influence when at home? No. Then can you wonder that your children are wild, reckless and ungovernable? They care not for a name, or standing in society. Every noble aspiration is blunted; for they are made to go here or there, like mere machines, at the beck and call of tyrant parents, and are uncultivated and uncivilized. This picture will apply to a few of our young men. Let parents treat their children as they themselves would wish to be treated, and set an example before them that is worthy of you as Saints of God. Parents are responsible before the Lord, for the way in which they educate and train their children, for “Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.”

We are here chiefly for the purpose of encouraging the people of this Ward, to take out a portion of the waters of Weber, to irrigate the thousands of acres of excellent land, that is now lying waste around them. Counting the cost was a practice among the Jews, for, says Jesus, “which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.” But, counting the cost may possibly be done in such a way, that a man would not allow himself to perform the least duty of a public character, without first stopping to enquire whether it will pay, or how much it will cost him; and if he fails to see an immediate return of an immense interest for present outlays, he clutches his money or his property, and covets that which belongs to the Lord, and over which he is only a steward. It seldom happens, however, that the very excellent practice of counting the cost—excellent when employed at the proper time and on proper occasions—is called into requisition when human pride has to be pampered and satisfied, and thousands, in consequence of not foreseeing the result of present unwise expenditures, have found themselves in a state of insolvency, and while in this state they are robbed of their peace, and have bitterness and gall in the stead thereof. I would not have the Saints count the cost in the way the wicked, avaricious world do; for true Saints always have a fund of faith, to join with their labor and means, which should be taken into account, and no true Saint will be contented to be curtailed, within the limited bounda– ries which dollars and cents give. “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” It is also written, that, “By faith Noah, prepared an ark to the saving of his house.” That, “through faith,” the ancients, “subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens,” etc.

Should the brethren say that they cannot bring out the waters of Weber, I cannot believe them, until they have applied their faith, their means, and their labor, and then fail in the accomplishment of the work. I might inquire how much it will cost me and my company to make the present visit to Kaysville and Ogden City. Nobody will think of this expenditure; I shall not think of it; my brethren, who accompany me, will not think of it; it never comes into our minds what it costs us, but how much good we can do our brethren and sisters, in encouraging them to faithfully perform every duty of a public and private character; so, when the Saints are required to embark in any public enterprise, the word should not be, “can I do it,” or “am I able to do it? What will it cost, and will it pay, etc.?” but, “it is a work for the public good, and we can do it, by going at it with a will and determination, that will make every obstacle, imaginary and real, vanish away.”

When we say we cannot do a work, which is embraced within the limits of possibility, it will generally be found that we cannot do it, because we are unwilling to do it. If you bring out the Weber, at a cost of two hundred thousand dollars (I think however, that the work will not cost that), and you do not cultivate one acre more than is now under cultivation, and have all the water you need, you will probably get back the amount of your outlay in two years, and it may be in the first year. I have not made estimates on this; however, I am safe in saying that the increase of wealth to this ward will be immense. You can open a ditch large enough to supply your present wants, and afterwards you can enlarge it to carry sufficient water, to give water privileges to new land, on the route of the canal, that will more than pay for it three times over. We have the choice of two things: either to supply our farms and city lots with more water, by bringing out the large streams, or to contract our cultivated land. I say to the people of this neighborhood, and every other neighborhood in the Territory, that we cannot keep the grass on our ranges; it is eaten off; and the roots are died out, and weeds spring up in stead; let us bring out the waters of our large streams, and fence in our meadows and ranges, and produce abundance of rich and nutritious grasses, by watering the land, and judiciously grazing it, and keep our cattle within our own fields; and in this way people will gain wealth faster, than by having their cattle running wild, in the valleys and on the hills; we will also become richer in grain, fruit and vegetables, and we can better handle that which we have got; but, at present much of our wealth is out of our reach. I have hundreds of head of cattle, which I have raised in my barn yard, and cannot use this means to benefit myself, because it is out of my reach; then we have between twelve and fifteen hundred head of horses, worth over a hundred thousand dollars, and yet that property is in such a condition, that we could not realize one thousand dollars of available means from that whole band, and we are continually losing animals.

The Lord puts wealth into our hands, and we suffer it to waste, instead of laying it out to usury, and I have often said to the Latter-day Saints: let us see to it, how we use the mercies of the Lord, lest he should give us cursings, instead of blessings. God bless you Amen.

Sunday, Nov. 13, 1864. This people, the Latter-day Saints, are of one heart and mind respecting the spiritual things of the Kingdom of God; in temporal things they have not yet become so well united. Brother George Q. Cannon this morning referred to affairs that took place in Kirtland. Some of the leading men in Kirtland were much opposed to Joseph the Prophet meddling with temporal affairs; they did not believe that he was capable of dictating to the people upon temporal matters, thinking that his duty embraced spiritual things alone, and that the people should be left to attend to their temporal affairs, without any interference whatever from Prophets or Apostles. Men in authority there would contend with Joseph on this point; not openly, but in their little Councils. After a while the matter culminated into a public question; it became so public that it was in the mouth of almost every one. In a public meeting of the Saints, I said, “Ye Elders of Israel, Father Smith is present, the Prophet is present, and here are his counselors, here are also High Priests and Elders of Israel, now, will some of you draw the line of demarcation, between the spiritual and the temporal in the Kingdom of God, so that I may understand it?” Not one of them could do it. When I saw a man stand in the path before the Prophet to dictate him, I felt like hurling him out of the way, and branding him as a fool. I finally requested them either to draw the line of demarcation between spiritual and temporal things, or forever afterwards hold their peace on that subject.

I do not believe it is my prerogative to preach a doctrine I do not practice myself; neither is it the privilege of any other Elder of this Church; still we do it. I have frequently requested Legislators, Councilors, and other public men, never to oppose a principle or measure, they cannot improve. This is a general rule; but there may be exceptions.

I defy any man on earth to point out the path a Prophet of God should walk in, or point out his duty, and just how far he must go, in dictating temporal or spiritual things. Temporal and spiritual things are inseparably connected, and ever will be. The first act that Joseph Smith was called to do by the angel of God, was, to get the plates from the hill Cumorah, and then translate them, and he got Martin Harris and Oliver Cowdery to write for him. He would read the plates, by the aid of the Urim and Thummim, and they would write. They had to either raise their bread from the ground, or buy it, and they had to eat and drink, and sleep, and toil, and rest, while they were engaged in bringing forth the great Work of the last days. All these were temporal acts, directed by the spirit of revelation.

With regard to Joseph the Prophet being a financier, I will say this for his credit: if the Saints had gone forth with their whole heart, mind, and strength, as individuals and as a community, to perform the labor and the duties Joseph dictated, God would have blessed such to the people, they having done the best they could. I believe that, as much as I know that the sun shines. Joseph Smith never tolerated in the least, indolence, idleness, slothfulness, drunkenness, or anything of the kind wherein exists sin. There are brethren here who were personally acquainted with Joseph, and who have known him probably as long as I have. If ever Joseph got wrong, it was before the public, in the face and eyes of the people; but he never did a wrong in private that I ever knew of. In his private instructions to the Saints, the Angel Gabriel could not have given better instructions than he gave, and which he continued to do until his death. He gave as good counsel as the Savior did according to his knowledge; but as to his being as exemplary as Jesus was, I cannot say, for we know but little of the life of the Savior. When he entered on the ministry, he was thirty years of age, and he labored three years. We have only a few items of the life of the Savior, and of the Apostles; and we have but very little of the doings and sayings which transpired in the lives of the ancient Prophets. As to the character of the Savior, I have nothing to say, only that he is the Savior of the world, and was the best man that ever lived on this earth, and my firm conviction is, that Joseph Smith was as good a man, as any Prophet or Apostle that ever lived upon this earth, the Savior excepted. I wanted to say so much for brother Joseph.

I care not who plants and who waters, who trades here, or goes to that city, to trade and do business, who buys goods in the States, or sells them in these valleys, it is the Lord who gives to every man, that which he possesses on the earth; it is the free gift of God, whether we be Saints or sinners. “I returned, and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.” “Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.” Men are successful when the Lord blesses them, and strews their path with success to make them wealthy, this cometh to pass, not by the wisdom of man, but through the providences of the Almighty.

An Address delivered by Honorable George A. Smith, in Great Salt Lake City, July 4, 1861.

Fellow Citizens—the circumstances under which we are now assembled are those of no ordinary character. The display made on the present occasion and the vast assemblage on this ground indicate in a great degree, I might say perfectly, the result of liberty, of honest industry, and of adherence to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, of which we have been hearing, and the result of strict obedience to those declarations made by our fathers and transmitted down to their posterity.

Although we as a people are placed under circumstances entirely different from those of every other part of our common country, we were forced to come here unprepared, comparatively, for such an undertaking, and have had to contend with the sterile soil and inhospitable climate. We have had to encounter and overcome a great many difficulties arising from our isolated situation; but still we can here successfully pursue the arts of peace: we can enjoy the blessings of liberty.

While almost all the inhabitants of every portion of our common country from north to south, from the Rio Grande to the St. John’s, are engaged in fratricidal strife, and almost every city, town, village, and hamlet today echoes with the sound of fife and drum, calling men to war, we are all enjoying peace.

The procession today was a display of mechanical skill, of agricultural industry, a display of tools and ingenuity of almost every kind, and men at work with them. What little powder we burn is simply in honor of our country’s flag—not to destroy our fellow countrymen.

We have heard something of the hostile preparations that are going on in the Eastern States. I know of no language adequate to describe the true character of the present civil war. It is the height of folly—the extreme of madness, without a parallel in history; and it does seem like illustrating the maxim of Grecian mythology—“Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad!” North and South rushing to battle over an idea or whim, perfectly heedless as to the consequences.

It was the result of that spirit of oppression and violation of the principles of our national Constitution which drove us here; it is the natural result of the training, the education and the foolery with which priestcraft has blinded the people.

We are at the present time the only people in the United States that are willing to be governed by the Constitution, and to grant to all men the same liberties that we ourselves enjoy—the same privileges and protection which are in accordance with the guarantees in the Constitution and the laws of the United States made in accordance therewith. To be sure, there are a great many who pretend to honor the Constitution; but they are determined in the North and the South that they will fight each other, Constitution or no Constitution.

Now, if the Constitution of the United States was actually the supreme law of the land, we could go back to our possessions in Missouri and Illinois, and enjoy our religion, our property, and the blessings of peace and liberty, and our wives and children, in Jackson County, Missouri, and in Hancock County, Illinois, just as well as we can here, and none would dare to molest us. And until the Constitution becomes the supreme law of the land, no man or people having the misfortune to be unpopular can enjoy liberty, or even be protected outside of these mountains.

Now, brethren, are we not thankful that, at least, we can see the providence of the Almighty in suffering us to be driven into these valleys, where we can enjoy the sweets of true liberty—where none dare molest or make afraid? These are abundant reasons for us to be thankful.

I am aware that many of the school children in this vast assemblage have been detained long enough. I have been pleased with what I have seen and heard. I simply say a few words because my name was on the program for an address.

May the blessings of Israel’s God rest upon you all! Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1860.

I wish the people could realize that they walk, live, and abide in the presence of the Almighty. The faithful shall have eyes to see as they are seen, and you shall behold that you are in the midst of eternity and in the presence of holy beings, and be enabled ere long to enjoy their society and presence. You are greatly blessed. How many there are who say—“God bless you!” How many times it is said to the Saints—“I bless you, and may the Lord bless you!” You shall be blessed all the time. Good is poured out on the people, and we say Amen.

The brethren have done nobly in their contributions to the Missionary Fund, and we expect to continue to do nobly. How much do we expect to do for the kingdom of God? The talent, ability, and everything placed in the hands of this people shall be devoted to his cause and kingdom on the earth, in the name of the God of Israel. These are my feelings. As far as I have control, and as far as I have influence in this kingdom, all within its pales shall be devoted to its upbuilding. When Elders are called to go and preach, they go; and when we want means we shall have it.

Tomorrow morning we expect to meet you here again. When shall we meet to part no more? Never, never; no, never. That is a curious idea, and I have not time to give full explanations. We shall go and come; and when we are in the eternity, we shall be on this earth, which will be brought into the immediate presence of the Father and the Son. We shall inhabit different mansions, and worlds will continue to be made, formed, and organized, and messengers from this earth will be sent to others. This earth will become a celestial body—be like a sea of glass, or like a Urim and Thummim; and when you wish to know anything, you can look in this earth and see all the eternities of God. We shall make our home here, and go on our missions as we do now, but at greater than railroad speed.

It is time to close our meeting; and, by the power and right I have in the Priesthood of the Son of God, I bless the Saints of latter days. Amen.

Address by Elder Orson Pratt, Sen., July 4th, 1860.

I rise, not for the purpose of delivering a lengthy address before this assembly. I do not claim to be an orator, a statesmen, or a politician; but I am an American citizen, in common with you all; and I am proud of the name.

I look back upon my ancestors as American citizens also, not only from the foundation of this republic, but from the first settlement of this country. They were among the “Pilgrims” that landed upon our eastern shore seven generations ago.

We have listened to a very eloquent address on the rise of the American nation—on the achievement of our national Independence, in relation to establishing the great platform of American liberty—viz., the American Constitution.

Much might be said upon each of these topics. Much might be said in relation to the sufferings endured by the colonies before they achieved their independence. Much might be said in relation to the battles fought by our fathers to obtain that liberty which they and we their children enjoy. It is not my intention to dwell upon these subjects; but I will call your attention, upon this occasion, to some of the rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution of our country.

A few years sufficed to demonstrate the inadequacy of the “Articles of Confederation,” to obviate which the Constitution was established, conferring increased power upon the General Government. That its power might be clearly understood, Article X of the amendments was ratified as follows—“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” It will be perceived that there are no prohibitions upon citizens outside the boundaries of States.

In the Constitution we find certain rights and privileges guaranteed to ALL American citizens. We there find certain powers delegated to the General Government, and certain powers reserved in the respective State governments, or to American citizens.

We read, in the 4th section of the 4th article of the Constitution, words to this effect—“The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican form of government.” This one item in the Constitution is a power granted to the American Congress—to the American nation. They were limited by the Constitution in regard to the form of government that should be established upon American soil. They have not the right, by that Constitution, to organize a government upon any other than Republican principles. They have not the right to establish a monarchy upon this soil: the Constitution forbids or prohibits their doing so. In a national capacity, under the Constitution, they have not the right to guarantee any but a Republican form of government, which government of right emanates from the people to be governed. This is the very nature of a Republican form of government, as we American citizens understand it. It differs from various other governments whose history we have read. It differs from the Republican governments of past ages. We read that Republican governments existed in some of the ancient nations. They existed for a short period, and then ceased. But their forms and the forms of the governments now in the European nations are of a kind more or less different from the one with which we, as American citizens, are blest. It is not necessary, however, for me, in the few remarks I shall make, to dwell upon the various kingdoms and empires of the old world. Doubtless the citizens of Utah are sufficiently acquainted with the history of those nations to know that our American Government differs from them all in unreservedly granting to the people the power to govern themselves—the power to appoint their own officers—the power to enact their own laws; and Congress has no power granted by the Constitution to interfere with that system. But the Congress, the United States as a Union, are restricted in this particular; they are prohibited from granting any other than a Republican form of government upon the American continent.

Let us briefly turn our attention to the State Governments, and see if the Parent Government has fulfilled its pledge, in the Constitution, by granting Republican forms of government to the several States that have been admitted into our Union. Yes, they have permitted them to elect their own officers, enact their own laws, vote at Presidential elections, and have a representation in Congress, and a voice and vote in the governmental affairs of the nation.

How is it with the Territories? Is a Republican form of government extended to the Territories, according to the spirit and letter of the Constitution? In the first place, where can you find one item, from the beginning to the end, that grants to Congress the right to establish a Territorial government, unless petitioned by the people so to do? It cannot be found. And should citizens in a Territory petition Congress to grant to them a form of government, Congress are restricted to granting a form strictly and fully Republican. Some urge that a part of the 3rd section of Article IV—“The Congress shall have power to dispose of, and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the Territory or other property belonging to the United States,” gives Congress the right to legislate for American citizens who chance to reside in Territories. But the portion thus relied upon relates only to the disposition of Government property, and does not grant the power to dispose of the inhabitants that may dwell upon the public lands in Territories, as though the people thereof belonged to the United States as property.

My opinion is that Congress has no more power to exercise legislative jurisdiction over American citizens in Territories than it has over American citizens in States. In other words, that American citizens in Territories, equally with those in States, have the plainly guaranteed right to govern themselves. People from the various States settle upon the public domain; and shall simply crossing an air line in the same country prevent them from enjoying a Republican form of government, having a voice in the selection of their rulers, and the privilege of making their own laws without being subject to have them disapproved by Congress? If this is not the case in the treatment of Territories, I consider there is an infringement. It lies in the foundation—in the organization itself. And should the people living upon the public domain petition Congress to comply with certain conditions that were in vogue in the old monarchial nations of the world, and have their petitions granted according to its letter and spirit; they have no reason to complain. Still, it is assumed power in Congress to grant a territorial government.

But suppose we petition, in good faith, that Congress would notice that part of the Constitution that directs the giving of a Republican form of government, and we get something else, what shall we do then? It may suit the condition of the people, and it may not.

There are many rights that are named in the Constitution, and many that the Constitution says nothing about. These rights I shall not attempt to define. We have rights in regard to observing the Sabbath, and worshipping God according to the dictates of our conscience. We also have social and political rights guaranteed to us and to all the American people. All these might be taken up and reasoned upon; but you are acquainted with them.

If I were to petition Congress, I should petition that this old relic of the mother Government should be done away; and that when Congress granted a Government, they should grant a Republican instead of a monarchial one, and let all the people have the same privileges.

“But,” says one, “there is a great disparity in numbers.” What of that? Look at New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and many of the old States, where we find not only hundreds of thousands, but millions of inhabitants, and then look at Rhode Island, Delaware, and Maryland, and see the difference. If this disparity exists in States, why should it be brought up against a Territory? Those smaller States have the same representation in the Senate of the United States as the larger ones. Why, then, bring up this disparity of numbers? Some say we must not admit the Territories, because the disparity in Congress would be so great. It is all folly to bring up this argument.

Having said this much upon the rights guaranteed to American citizens, I will merely state that it is my opinion that it is the privilege of people settling upon the public domain to form a Republican “Provisional Government,” according to the feelings of the people, until Congress shall admit them into the Union.

Remarks by Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, January 29, 1860.

I will read a passage of Scripture to be found in Isaiah, 52nd chap., 8th verse—“Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.”

I will, this morning, take the words of the ancient Prophet as the foundation for a few remarks, applying them more directly to myself. And if they should be applicable to the congregation before me, I hope that they, together with myself, will be benefited by the same.

It is very evident from this passage of holy Scripture that there is a period of time to come in the last days, in which all the Elders of Israel and all the watchmen of Zion will understand alike, see alike, and have the same views in regard to doctrine and principles, and all division of sentiment will be entirely done away. Then that scripture will be fulfilled recorded in our Lord’s prayer, where he taught his disciples how to pray—“Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is done in heaven.”

When I reflect that in heaven there is a perfect union of spirit and feeling among the celestial throng—when I reflect that in that happy place there is no disunion one with another—no different views, but that all will have the same mind and feeling in regard to the things of God; and then reflect that the day is to come when the same order of things is to be established here upon the earth; and then look at the present condition of mankind, I am constrained to acknowledge that there must be a great revolution on the earth. Where are there two men abroad in the world that see eye to eye—that have the same view in regard to doctrine and principle—that are of the same mind? They can scarcely be found. I doubt whether they can be found in the world.

How is it among us, the Latter-day Saints? One thing is true in regard to some few of them—shall I say few? No. I will say many of them: they do actually, in the great fundamental principles of the doctrine of Jesus Christ, see eye to eye. I cannot suppose that in our infancy and childhood we can attain to all this great perfection in a moment, and be brought to see and understand alike. But there is one great heavenly standard or principle to which we must all come. What is that heavenly standard or principle? It is the restoration of the holy Priesthood, the living oracles of God, to the earth; and that Priesthood, dictated, governed, and directed by the power of revelation, through the gift of the Holy Ghost—that is the standard to which all the Latter-day Saints and the kingdom of God must come, in order to fulfil the prophecy I have read in your hearing.

It matters not how much information any man may have before he comes into this Church; it matters not how extensively he may be taught in the arts and sciences of the day—how extensively he may be taught in regard to various branches of learning; it matters not how much natural wisdom he may be qualified with; it matters not whether he has occupied a high station in the eyes of the world, or a low one; it matters not what his prior condition may have been, when he repents before God and enters into a covenant with the Father and the Son and with his brethren, and manifests before them, and the whole world that he forsakes the world and the wisdom thereof (that is, that which is called wisdom by the world)—that he is willing to forsake all things which are of the world that are inconsistent with the character of God, his attributes, his word, and his kingdom—that very moment he comes to that point and goes forward in baptism he becomes subject to a different power from what he had before been subject to. He becomes subject to a certain authority that is different; he becomes subject to an authority which has come from heaven—not an authority ordained of man—not an authority which has been originated by human wisdom or by the learning of mankind—not by inspired or uninspired books, for books never yet bestowed authority, whether inspired or uninspired.

The authority of Jesus Christ sent down from heaven, conferred upon man by his holy angels, or by those that may have previously received Divine authority, is the true and only standard here upon the face of our earth; and to this standard all people, nations, and tongues must come, or be eventually taken from the earth; for this is the only standard which will endure, and this is the only authority which is everlasting and eternal, and which will endure in time and throughout all eternity.

This brings to my mind a revelation which was given in a General Conference on the 2nd day of January, 1831, the Church then having been organized about nine months. All the Saints were gathered together from various little Branches that had been established in the house of Father Whitmer, whose sons became conspicuous in this last dispensation as being witnesses of the Book of Mormon—whose house also became conspicuous as the place where the Prophet Joseph Smith received many revelations and communications from heaven. In one small room of a log house, nearly all the Latter-day Saints (east of Ohio) were collected together. They desired the Prophet of the Lord to inquire of God and receive a revelation to guide and instruct the Church that were then present. Brother Joseph seated himself at the table. Brother Sidney Rigdon, who was at that time a member of the Church, having just arrived from the West, where he embraced the Gospel through the administration of some of the Elders, was requested to act as scribe in writing the revelation from the mouth of the Prophet Joseph. I will read a portion of this revelation—“And again I say unto you, let every man esteem his brother as himself. For what man among you having twelve sons, and is no respecter of them, and they serve him obediently, and he saith unto the one: Be thou clothed in robes and sit thou here; and to the other: Be thou clothed in rags and sit thou there—and looketh upon his sons and saith I am just? Behold, this I have given unto you as a parable, and it is even as I am. I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.”

This I consider is a very important item—Behold, “I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one, ye are not mine.”

This is very pointed, plain, and definite language, that no man can misunderstand.

Upon what principle are we to be one? It is by hearkening in all things to that eternal and everlasting Priesthood which has been conferred upon mortal man upon the earth. When I say that Priesthood, I mean the individual who holds the keys thereof. He is the standard—the living oracle to the Church.

“But,” says one, “suppose that we hearken to the word of God in the Old and New Testament—suppose that we hearken to the word of God in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants—suppose we hearken to the word of God in the Book of Mormon, and at the same time we feel disposed in our hearts to lay aside the living oracles, what then? I would answer, in the first place, that the premises are false. Why? The very moment that we set aside the living oracles we set aside the revelations of God. Why? Because the revelations of God command us plainly that we shall hearken to the living oracles. Hence, if we undertake to follow the written word, and at the same time do not give heed to the living oracles of God, the written word will condemn us: it shows that we do not follow it according to our profession. This is what I wish to bring home to myself as an individual; and if the same thing will suit any other person in the congregation, I hope that he will take it home to himself.

“But,” inquires one, “how is it that you are going to apply this to yourself?” I will tell you. But first let me quote from another revelation contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. Perhaps I had better read the passage which I wish now to bring to your understanding—“Behold, there shall be a record kept among you; and in it thou shalt be called a seer, a translator, a prophet, an apostle of Jesus Christ, an elder of the church through the will of God the Father, and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, Being inspired of the Holy Ghost to lay the foundation thereof, and to build it up unto the most holy faith. Which church was organized and established in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and thirty, in the fourth month, and on the sixth day of the month which is called April. Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me; For his word shall ye receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.”

Here, then, we perceive what is binding upon the Church of the living God, what was binding upon them thirty years ago, and what has been binding upon them ever since, from the day that it was given, until the day the Prophet was martyred, down until the year 1860, and until the present moment of time. All this time there have been a kingdom and Church of the living God on the earth, and a man placed at the head of that Church to govern, direct, counsel, preach, exhort, testify, and speak the truth to the people, and counsel them in the things pertaining to their duties and pertaining to the kingdom of God.

Now, then, let me get back again.

The great subject before me this morning is the words I have been repeating before you, and how they apply to myself. There have been a few things wherein I have done wrong, wherein I have disobeyed these instructions that are here laid down, wherein, no doubt, I have offended the Lord, and wherein I have, no doubt, grieved the feelings of my brethren; and inasmuch as I have done this, no doubt I have also brought at many times darkness upon my own mind. I want to make a confession today. I do not know that brother Brigham, or any of the rest of the Twelve who have come here this morning, except brother Benson, knew of my intentions. I did tell brother Benson I thought of making a confession this morning, but the others were not aware of this. There are a few things which have been a source of sorrow to myself, at different times, for many years.

Perhaps you may be desirous to know what they are. I will tell you. There are some points of doctrine which I have unfortunately thrown out before the people.

At the time I expressed those views, I did most sincerely believe that they were in accordance with the word of God. I did most sincerely suppose that I was justifying the truth. But I have since learned from my brethren that some of the doctrines I had advanced in the “Seer,” at Washington, were incorrect. Naturally being of a stubborn disposition, and having a kind of a self-will about me, and moreover supposing really and sincerely that I did understand what true doctrine was in relation to those points, I did not feel to yield to the judgment of my brethren, but believed they were in error. Now, was this right? No, it was not. Why? Because the Priesthood is the highest and only legitimate authority in the Church in these matters.

How is it about this? Have we not a right to make up our minds in relation to the things recorded in the word of God, and speak about them, whether the living oracles believe our views or not? We have not the right. Why? Because the mind of man is weak: one man may make up his mind in this way, and another man may make up his mind in another way, and a third individual may have his views; and thus every man is left to be his own authority, and is governed by his own judgment, which he takes as his standard.

Do you not perceive that this would, in a short time, cause a complete disunion and division of sentiment throughout the whole Church? That would never fulfil the words of my text—would never bring to pass the sayings of Isaiah, that their watchmen should lift up their voice, &c.

In this thing I have sinned; and for this I am willing to make my confession to the Saints. I ought to have yielded to the views of my brethren. I ought to have said, as Jesus did to his Father on a certain occasion, “Father, thy will be done.”

“You have made this confession,” says one; “and now we want to ask you a question on the subject: What do you believe concerning those points now?”

I will answer in the words of Paul—“I know nothing of myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.” So far as revelation from the heavens is concerned, I have had none in relation to those points of doctrine.

I will tell you what I have had revealed to me: I have had revealed to me that the Book of Mormon is from God; I have had revealed to me that the Book of Doctrine and Covenants is also from God; I have had revealed to me that this is the Church and kingdom of God; I have had revealed to me that this is the last dispensation of the fulness of times. These things are matters of knowledge with me: I know them to be true, and I do know about many things in relation to God and to future events. But, when I reflect upon the subject, I have very little knowledge concerning many things. What do I know, for instance, about much of what is revealed in the last book of the New Testament, called John’s Revelation? What do I know about much written in the book of Daniel? Some few things are quite plain: but what do I understand in relation to some few of the predictions in the 11th chapter of Daniel? I doubt whether there is a person, unless he has been favored with direct revelation from heaven, who knows but little about John’s Revelation. What do I know about many things in relation to the celestial kingdom? Has the celestial kingdom been opened to my mind? No. Have I gazed upon it in vision? No. Have I seen God sitting on his throne, surrounded by his holy angels? No. Have I knowledge of the laws and order and government and rule which regulate that kingdom? No. If the revelations seem to apparently convey this or that idea, still I may be entirely mistaken in regard to the meaning of those revelations.

There is one thing I will assure you of—God will never reveal anything to me, or to any other man, which will come in contact with the views and revelations which he gives to the man who holds the keys. We never need expect such a thing.

“But,” inquires one, “have you not felt anxious that the Church should follow your ideas as laid down in the Seer?” I have not. If I had, I should have preached them; I should have tried to reason with you to convince you of their apparent truth.

I have always been anxious the Church should be governed by him who has the right to govern it, to receive revelations, and to give counsel for its guidance, through whom correct doctrine comes and is unfolded to the children of men.

God placed Joseph Smith at the head of this Church; God has likewise placed Brigham Young at the head of this Church; and he has required you and me, male and female, to sustain those authorities thus placed over us in their position; and that authority is binding on all Quorums and individuals of Quorums. He has never released you nor me from those obligations. We are com– manded to give heed to their words in all things, and receive their words as from the mouth of God, in all patience and faith. When we do not this, we get into darkness. God has placed them where they are, and requires you and me to continue in our faith and patience to receive the truth at their hands. I am going to do it. I am going to repent. I arose this morning to unburden my feelings in regard to these matters.

What is repentance? Is it merely to say we will do thus and so, and then go and do directly to the contrary? When I say I am going to repent of these things, I mean that I am going from this time henceforth, through the grace of God assisting me, to try and show by my acts and by my words that I will uphold and support those whom I do know God has placed over me to govern, direct, and guide me in the things of this kingdom.

I do not know that I shall be able to carry out those views; but these are my present determinations. I pray that I may have grace and strength to perform this. I feel exceedingly weak in regard to these matters.

I know what I have got to conquer. I have to conquer my natural disposition and feelings, and bring them to bow to the authority God has instituted. I see no other way. That is the only way for me and the only way for you. I see no possibility for the words of my text to be fulfilled and brought to pass in any other manner. You cannot devise or imagine any other way. The world have tried for six thousand years to become united, and they never have been, and never will be able to do it, if they should continue to remain as nations, kingdoms, and peoples for six millions of years to come. They never can bring about this oneness of sentiment and feeling by each man being his own standard. No: it never was ordained by the Almighty to be brought about in that way.

The only way for us is to have a true standard, which must be from heaven—a standard ordained of God, which we can follow with the utmost confidence—a standard we can have faith in—a standard to which all human wisdom and human judgment must give way. Such a standard only will be eternal, and will prevail when all other standards will fail.

Do my ideas suit anybody else? It matters not whether they do or not: they suit me, and I am going to put the coat on. I am preaching to myself this morning. I did not come here to preach to the world, nor particularly to preach to the Saints; but I wanted to preach to myself, and see if I could not convert myself; and when I can get converted myself, perhaps I may do some good in preaching to the Saints and to the world.

Inasmuch as there may have been any feelings in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints that are now before me, I desire to do all in my power to bring about a complete reconciliation. I wish the whole Territory were here, and all the good people of England, and all the Saints that have ever seen any of my writings or read my views; I would say to them all, Brethren, I make a confession: I have sinned; I have been too stubborn; I have not yielded as I ought; I have done wrong, and I will try to do so no more. And if the whole kingdom of God can be reconciled with me, I shall be very glad. At least, I will do all I can to obtain their reconciliation.

These are my feelings to brother Brigham. I will make reconciliation to the Presidency, and to the Twelve, and to the Church, so far as it is in my power, so far as I have not yielded to my brethren.

I consider these to be true principles. However imperfect I may have been, it has nothing to do with the principles: the principles are from heaven. Amen.