Remarks by President Brigham Young, in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday, Dec. 23, 1866.

I will try to speak to the people. I shall need silence in the house, and the close attention of my hearers. I expect the faith of the Saints even without asking for it. The faithful will exercise faith, and pray always for all who are within the reach of mercy. The good desire good to all. I have words to say to the good, and also to the froward—to the righteous and to the unrighteous—to the Saint and the sinner.

I wish in the first place to address myself to those who profess to be Latter-day Saints upon the subject of the faith that we have embraced. As to the ordinances of the Gospel we are united, we are one; but I will inquire are we one in all temporal matters? Are we one, as we are exhorted to be by the Savior and by his disciples? Jesus prayed, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” We should very much dislike not to be acknowledged as the Saints of the Most High God, and the disciples of his Son Jesus Christ. Are we one, as the Savior prayed that his disciples might be? If we are, then are we a happy people; if we are, then are we a powerful and influential people. Jesus had power to do many miracles so-called; he changed water into wine, fed thousands upon a few loaves and fishes, and raised the dead.

If we were one, we should then prove to heaven, to God our Father, to Jesus Christ our elder brother, to the angels, to the good upon the earth, and to all mankind that we are the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. If we are not one, we are not in the true sense of the word the disciples of the Lord Jesus. What is necessary to constitute a Saint, or a disciple of Jesus? It is simply this: a strict obedience to all the requirements of the ordinances of the house of God, and to be one in all things as the Father and the Son are one, which will prepare every person for a life of usefulness, and fill them with joy, peace, life, intelligence, good feelings for themselves, for their friends, and for their enemies—good feelings for the world of mankind at large. This spirit of oneness fills them with good desires, with good hopes, and qualifies them to administer good to every person who has determined to cease to do evil and learn to do well. We are constantly taught to love and serve God, and keep his commandments. If we do this, then are we his disciples and preparing ourselves to accomplish a great and good work.

Are the people who are living in this mountainous country, who profess to be members of the Church of Christ, Latter-day Saints indeed? It is true they have left their former homes and friends and come to this distant land to enjoy the privilege of worshipping God according to the revelations He has given unto us, where no one could molest or make us afraid, or break us up as a community again, drive us from our homes, take possession of our farms and rob us of everything we possess. We are here for the purpose of enjoying the fruits of our labors, for the purpose of serving God with an undivided heart. Still, we are prone to wander and come short of faithfully fulfilling all our duties. We are, nevertheless, in these mountains. You inquire if we shall stay in these mountains. I answer yes, as long as we please to do the will of God, our Father in heaven. If we are pleased to turn away from the holy commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ, as ancient Israel did, every man turning to his own way, we shall be scattered and peeled, driven before our enemies and persecuted, until we learn to remember the Lord our God and are willing to walk in his ways.

“But,” says one, “I thought that we were to suffer persecution for righteousness’ sake.” I would to God that all our persecutions were for righteousness’ sake, instead of for our evil doings. Still, as I have often remarked, I never believed that the righteous have ever suffered as much as the wicked. Jesus Christ said to his disciples, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” I admit that the Saints anciently “were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; they wandered in deserts, and in the mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.” We are still further informed by historians that the Apostle Peter was crucified, head downwards; and John, the beloved disciple, was thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil, but escaped unhurt. Yet in all this suffering and persecution, they were blessed and comforted and rejoiced though in tribulation.

Since I embraced the Gospel, with many of my brethren, I have been broken up and compelled to leave my home five times, yet we live as a people, and are as comfortable and as well off as our neighbors who do not belong to the Church; and I do not know that our enemies hate us any more than they hate each other. The sufferings that have come upon the Latter-day Saints, through persecution, will not compare in severity with the sufferings which have come upon the wicked in our own day. I desire and pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that I may live so that the wicked and haters of good will not like me very well. It is impossible to unite Christ and Baal—their spirits cannot unite, their objects and purposes are entirely different; the one leads to eternal life and exaltation, the other to death and final destruction. I esteem the persecutions which we suffer as a light thing. We have an object in view, and that is to gain influence among all the inhabitants of the earth for the purpose of establishing the kingdom of God in its righteousness, power and glory, and to exalt the name of the Deity, and cause that name by which we live to be revered everywhere, that he may be honored, that his works may be honored, that we may be honored ourselves, and deport ourselves worthy of the character of his children.

Whoever lives a few years more will see suffering among the wicked until their hearts sicken. If I have one wish which is greater than another, it is, if I had the power, to make men do right; to make them stop their swearing, their lying, their deceiving, to stop trying to injure the innocent, and begin to be honest and upright in all their dealings with one another and honor the name of the Deity. This is the worst wish I have ever had in my heart towards my fellow beings. The great object of my life is to establish the kingdom of God upon the earth. The Latter-day Saints are one in their faith in the great leading doctrines of the Church, but are they one in their efforts to establish the kingdom of God, that must be established upon the earth in the latter days?

It may be asked what I mean by the kingdom of God. The Church of Jesus Christ has been established now for many years, and the kingdom of God has got to be established, even that kingdom which will circumscribe all the kingdoms of this world. It will yet give laws to every nation that exists upon the earth. This is the kingdom that Daniel, the prophet, saw should be set up in the last days. What Daniel saw should come to pass in the latter times is believed by nearly all the religious societies of Christendom. The only great difference between us and them is in the method of its establishment. The mother Church, in trying to establish it, expected that they had to make holy Catholic Christians of everybody who lived on the earth.

If the Latter-day Saints think, when the kingdom of God is estab– lished on the earth, that all the inhabitants of the earth will join the church called Latter-day Saints, they are egregiously mistaken. I presume there will be as many sects and parties then as now. Still, when the kingdom of God triumphs, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ, to the glory of the Father. Even the Jews will do it then; but will the Jews and Gentiles be obliged to belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? No; not by any means. Jesus said to his disciples, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: were it not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am, there ye may be also,” &c. There are mansions in sufficient numbers to suit the different classes of mankind, and a variety will always exist to all eternity, requiring a classification and an arrangement into societies and communities in the many mansions which are in the Lord’s house, and this will be so forever and ever. Then do not imagine that if the kingdom of God is established over the whole earth, that all the people will become Latter-day Saints. They will cease their persecutions against the Church of Jesus Christ, and they will be willing to acknowledge that the Lord is God, and that Jesus is the Savior of the world.

If the Latter-day Saints were one politically and financially, and in all their endeavors to build up the kingdom of God, there would be a great power in the midst of this people. There has been considerable said of late touching a class of men that are here who call themselves “Gentiles.” I do not know whether they are “Gentiles” or not; I have no doubt but that some of them are, but I do not think they know the meaning of the term they apply to themselves; but they are welcome to it if it pleases them. Much has been said and printed about the “Mormons” spoiling the “Gentiles” here, and bringing their lives and property into jeopardy. We know that hundreds of thousands of dollars go into their hands yearly from this community, which many of them freely spend to bring, if possible, swift destruction on the very people who have made them rich.

In yesterday’s Daily Telegraph you will see a card addressed to the authorities of the Church, and you will also see my answer to it. There is a class of men who are here to pick the pockets of the Latter-day Saints, and then use the means they get from us to bring about our destruction. They want my houses, and your houses, and the privilege of defiling our beds; and if there is any thing said or done about it, lying dispatches are sent to the General Government to get an army sent out here as quickly as possible, for “O dear, we are in danger; and need protection!” What are you in danger of? You have not the privilege of driving a stake on any lot of land you want for the purpose of claiming it, when it has been owned and improved for years. There is a lot opposite the theater that I took the fence off and rented to the City Council for a hay market. A man whom I now see in this congregation suggested its occupancy; said he, “why does not somebody go and sleep on it, and survey it in the morning and claim it.” If anybody had done so, undoubtedly he would have got a preemption right that would have lasted him as long as he would have wanted it. It is such men as these, who are striving with all their might to rob us of our homes, of our rights and privileges of the country which, by our industry, we have made—it is these men that we should cease to deal with. We should be of one heart and mind, and be determined not to put means in their power to create trouble for us, and bring us to sorrow. The laws of self-preservation demand this of us. Do I wish this to apply to all outsiders? I do not, for there are just as good men who do not belong to the Church, as those who do, as far as they know and understand. There are men with whom we deal who are gentlemen inside and out, men who would not steal my property, and rob me of every right and privilege which belongs to me as an American citizen. They would not insinuate themselves into my family and try to take from me my wife without a legal process, or my daughter without the consent of the parties concerned. These are the men with whom we should deal, and let alone those who are here to destroy the Latter-day Saints.

I was a little sorry, though I do not know that I ought to be, to see certain names attached to the card I have referred to, and I do not now believe that they mean, by attaching their names to it, what the document shows to the world. It shows that the persons, whose names are there signed, are in open opposition to the people called Latter-day Saints. Shall we foster such a band of men? No.

I understand there are a few men in Congress—and I am glad to think that they are very few—who go so far as to say that the Latter-day Saints never should be permitted to own a foot of land in America, and they will do all they can to deprive us of this privilege; and there are men here who entertain the same ideas, and they will do all they can to wrest our possessions from us. Men of this class have followed us like bloodhounds in all our wanderings as a people from the beginning to this day; and I have thought for some time that I should lift my voice to the Latter-day Saints to become sufficiently of one heart and of one mind to let this class of men severely alone. I say, from merchants, lawyers, editors, farmers, mechanics, and all individuals who will give succor to such a class of men and to the paper which they have published here, withdraw your support. If he is a lawyer, let him alone. If he is a merchant, pass by his store or place of business; serve the mechanic the same; and let every enemy of this people become satisfied that they cannot look to us for support while they, at the same time, are seeking with all their might to bring about our destruction. I am giving you my counsel upon this matter, that you have no deal or communication with men who would destroy you. For it is written, “He that receiveth you, receiveth me; and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me.”

You say you have dealt with your enemies, and they have treated you kindly, and you can get things cheaper from them than from your brethren, and you will spend your money where you please, etc. You have the privilege of doing so, and the result of such a course you can easily learn. Those very men you are dealing with are wishing and desiring with all their hearts that they had the power to destroy the influence of Brigham Young and his counselors, and the apostles and the elders of this Church: “If we had the power we would destroy them from the face of the earth.” Do they hate Brigham Young and his friends? They do. Are you a Saint, can you be a Saint, without their hating you as they hate me and my friends, and Jesus Christ and his Father? Are you so shortsighted and blind as to believe that you can be fellowshipped by the wicked, and be a Saint? If such is the case, you had better repent of your sins and be baptized forthwith, before the water freezes up. It is your privilege to trade where you please; but if you trade with your enemies, I will promise you that you will expose yourselves to wicked influences, and, finally, be cut off from the Church, without the necessity of our trying you for your fellowship because you trade at this store or at that store. We shall do no such thing as try you for your fellowship because you trade where you please. All men have power to do good, or to do evil; they have power to serve God or the devil, and we do not wish to deprive any person, Saint or sinner, of this liberty. We advise you; we give you good and safe counsel. You are at liberty to listen to good advice or not. You are at liberty to be guided by good counsel, if you will. If you observe it, blessings to you will be the result. If you abide not by it, you will walk in darkness. Neglect your duty to your God and your brethren and you will commit evils for which you will be tried for your fellowship and be severed from the Church.

We advise you to pass by the shops and stores of your enemies, and let them alone, but give your means into the hands of men who are honest men, honorable men, and upright men—men who will deal justly and truly with all. Shall we deal with the Jew? Yes. With those who call themselves Gentiles? Certainly. We calculate to continue to deal with them; but shall we mingle our spirits together, and be of their faith? No. We will have our religion, serve our God, and build up his kingdom on the earth; and our friends may have the privilege of eating and drinking and enjoying themselves as well as we, if they get it honestly.

Let the Latter-day Saints be agreed upon their temporal and financial interests. I will ask the question: Do you think the Father and the Son are agreed in their political views and their financial operations? Why every Christian in the world says yes, and we say yes; and we cannot be one, in the sense Jesus prayed for us to be, without this. Would you like to live at ease and get rich? Would you like to keep your homes in this city? I know you would. You can do so by being one in all things. There is much envy in the hearts of men with regard to this city. They want to possess it. They see it as the great emporium of the west—as the great nucleus of commercial wealth in the interior of America. Who will make it so? The Lord. But they do not know this. They imagine that this will be done solely by the industry of the “Mormons.” We could burn up this city, and lay it waste, and go to another district of country and make a city just as good as this, and as desirable, in a few years, by the help of the Lord. I have frequently wondered why our neighbors do not go and settle in some other place, and build up a great city the same as we have done; but no, they want the “Mormons” to build cities for them to possess. This we shall do no more for them, if I can help it. If we build cities we mean to possess them.

A word to the sisters. You run to this store and to that store, and you do not think that men who are used to and are acquainted with the tricks of trade know how to buy you. You want an article that has been sold, we will say, at two dollars at the other stores, you get it for two-thirds of what you would have to pay them. By means of this device, and a proper use of velvet lips, and a whine of sympathy, this sister and that brother is bought. “O it is hard that we cannot go and spend our money where we please.” You may go and trade where you please, I tell you, with the promise that, by and by, you will go out of the Church, and you will go to destruction. And why is this? Because light has come into the world, but if you are disposed to choose darkness rather than light, it will prove that your deeds are evil. Will you come to the light? I am holding it up before you. I am telling the Latter-day Saints how to make themselves useful in the world, how to make themselves happy and comfortable and secure, that they cannot be moved out of their place. But give your means to your enemies, and you lay a foundation for your perfect overthrow.

The Bishop of the 13th Ward tried to collect school taxes from some of the “Gentile” population. They refused to pay, and suits were commenced before the District Court. That court decided that we had no right to make a law to collect taxes to build schoolhouses. In any of our neighboring Territories an opposite decision would have been given; but here expounders of the law encourage outsiders not to pay a single dollar of taxes if they can help it, or do anything to improve the city, to erect public buildings, or to maintain public peace and good order. The policy of the traders to whom I have referred, is to get all the people’s money they possibly can, to send men to Wash– ington to howl for an army to come to Utah.

There is a gentleman present this afternoon who said, “we want an army here, not to injure the people, but to get our hands into the public pocket, and our arms too up to the shoulders. I want myself to get one hundred thousand dollars.” What else do they want an army here for? As a means of getting into my houses and into yours, to defile our beds and drive us from our homes. That they will never do again; it never will take place. If the Latter-day Saints will cease supporting such men, they will leave our borders without our buying them out at the rates they propose. They are already sold at an exceedingly cheap rate. There are gentlemen here who are men of honor, and they may be found even among the Jews.

Let me here say a word to the Jews. We do not want you to believe our doctrine. If any professing to be Jews should do so, it would prove that they are not Jews. A Jew cannot now believe in Jesus Christ. Brother Neibaur, who thinks he is a Jew, is a good Latter-day Saint; he has not any of the blood of Judah in his veins. The decree has gone forth from the Almighty that they cannot have the benefit of the atonement until they gather to Jerusalem, for they said, let his blood be upon us and upon our children, consequently, they cannot believe in him until his second coming. We have a great desire for their welfare, and are looking for the time soon to come when they will gather to Jerusalem, build up the city and the land of Palestine, and prepare for the coming of the Messiah. When he comes again he will not come as he did when the Jews rejected him; nei– ther will he appear first at Jerusalem when he makes his second appearance on the earth; but he will appear first on the land where he commenced his work in the beginning, and planted the garden of Eden, and that was done in the land of America.

When the Savior visits Jerusalem, and the Jews look upon him, and see the wounds in his hands and in his side and in his feet, they will then know that they have persecuted and put to death the true Messiah, and then they will acknowledge him, but not till then. They have confounded his first and second coming, expecting his first coming to be as a mighty prince instead of as a servant. They will go back by and by to Jerusalem and own their Lord and Master. We have no feelings against them. I wish they were all gentlemen, men of heart and brain, and knew precisely how the Lord looks upon them.

The Latter-day Saints, in all their travels, have not been as rebellious as the Children of Israel were. Here we are, and the kingdom of God has to be built up by us, and we have a warfare on hand. We have men in our midst who are as full of lies and enmity against this people as the air is full of matter, who are constantly trying to bring evil upon this community. We have the principles and powers of darkness to combat; they stalk abroad at noonday and in the night, and their influences are at work in secret chambers. We must contend against them.

I will return to our present condition of affairs. I do not think the Government of the United States collects one-hundredth part of the revenue which is due to them for liquor sold by importers and those who manufacture liquor here in this Territory, though I may be mistaken in this. The City Council manufacture liquor and they pay the revenue due on it to the Government, and I am of the opinion they are the only ones in this Territory who promptly do so.

I mean to hold this subject, of not supporting our enemies, before the people, until I get the Saints to build up the kingdom of God unitedly, and let our open and secret enemies alone. Let the Saints spend their money with those merchants who pay their taxes and seek to build up this place and develop the country. Let our enemies alone. “What, all the outsiders?” Not by any means. I trade with outsiders all the time. We trade with them abroad in the east, and by and by we shall trade with them in China and Japan, and with other nations of the world. Our course is upward and onward. “Mormonism” is not going to die out.

My counsel to the Latter-day Saints is to let all merchants alone who seek to do evil to this people. Those who will do well, deal righteously and justly, will be one with us in our financial affairs. There is nothing uncommon in this course. We see it carried out in almost every city in the Union. The Roman Catholics will deal with their friends in preference to their enemies. The same may be said of the Methodists, and of almost every religious sect in Christendom. The same also will apply to political factions. Do you not think that it would be impolitic for us to pursue an opposite course to this? Should we not be of one heart and mind in our temporal interests as well as in our spiritual? What interest have we upon the earth, only to build up the kingdom of God and share and enjoy the benefits arising from this labor? Have you any interest in the “Gentile” nations? Have you any interest in building up “Gentile” cities, as they are called? You have not. Your whole interest is embraced in building up the kingdom of God.

While I advise my brethren to withdraw all support from their enemies, I would have it distinctly understood that we deport ourselves in a friendly and neighborly manner towards our friends. This I calculate always to do; and I shall require something more of them by and by. We shall expect them to open their mouths and use their pens for the right, the just and the honorable. With them we will deal, and together build up settlements and cities, and produce peace and harmony in the country, instead of anarchy and war. I wish our friends to lift their voices against those vile wretches who are seeking to destroy an innocent and industrious people. We wish them to write, and send their testimony to these who will publish it to the world, that the Latter-day Saints are doing as near right as any people. There are some who do it, and more will do it by and by. We will be known and understood better than we have been. Sustain those who sustain this kingdom, and those that fight against it, cease to sustain them.

I am disposed to make a few remarks with regard to a circumstance that transpired here a short time ago; I refer to the death of Dr. Robinson. I have preached here a number of times since he was killed in the street, and have never referred to the subject here. Ex-Governor Weller was assisted in the investigation of this matter by the best counsel that could be got. The great drift of that investigation was to trace that murder to the pulpit of the Tabernacle. I sent word to them by those who I thought would tell them while they were in session where they sat day after day and week after week, not to cease their investigations until they had traced that murder to Brigham Young if it was possible. I also sent word to them to call upon Brigham Young for examination. There is a gentleman here this afternoon who has said that he knows all about it. If he does, why does he not tell of it; and privately he places the murder upon President Brigham Young. Why do you not testify to what you know before the Courts? If President Young is guilty of any such crime, trace it to him. There are some things that Brigham has said he would do; but has never happened to do them; and that is not all, he prays fervently, to his Father and God that he may never be brought into circumstances to be obliged to shed human blood. He never has yet been brought into such a position. Still, let me find a dog in my bedroom, I would not say that he would be very safe; I hope he will never get there. If I should find a dog in my buttery, or in my bedroom as some have, I fear they would give their last howl. I hope and pray they never will come there. If they jump my claims here, I shall be very apt to give them a pre-emption right that will last them to the last resurrection. I hope no man will ever venture so far as to tempt me to do such a thing. The Latter-day Saints will never again pull up stakes and give their possessions to their enemies. You think that you can get the Government to help you to do this. It will never be done worlds without end. (A unanimous amen.) We are going to live our religion, and be fervent in the service of our God.

I see a notice in the Daily Telegraph that they are going to send a detec– tive here to trace the murderers of Dr. Robinson. It is published to the world that the murdered man had no enemies only in the City Council. He had no enemies there. Were it not that there are many outsiders here today I would like the Saints to know how I feel about all such dastardly transactions. I will tell the Latter-day Saints that there are some things which transpire that I cannot think about. There are transactions that are too horrible for me to contemplate.

The massacre at Haun’s mill, and that of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, and the Mountain Meadow’s massacre, and the murder of Dr. Robinson are of this character. I cannot think that there are beings upon the earth who have any claim to the sentiments and feelings which dwell in the breasts of civilized men who could be guilty of such atrocities; and it is hard to suppose that even savages would be capable of performing such inhuman acts. To call a physician out of his bed in the night under the pretext of needing his services, and then brutally kill him in the dark, is horrible. “Have you any idea who did that horrible deed?” I have not the least idea in the world who could perpetrate such a crime. I say to all concerned, cease not your efforts until you find the murderers; and place the guilt where it belongs. I have not said this much before on that matter, and should not have spoken of it now, if the excitement which it created had not passed away. I do not care about the outsiders hearing this, as their opinion is neither here nor there to me; the Saints, however, are welcome to my views upon this matter. If the outsiders think that I am guilty of the crime, let them trace it to me and prove it on me.

If any man, woman, or child that ever lived has said that Brigham Young ever counseled them to commit crime of any description, they are liars in the face of heaven. If I am guilty of any such thing, let it be proved on me, and not go sneaking around insinuating that Brigham knows all about it. Infernal thieves will come into my public office and sit ten minutes, and then go out and lead thoughtless persons into the practice of thieving, saying: “It is all right; I have been up to see the President.” Such men will be damned. This will answer my mind for the present. This, however, is not all I shall say on this subject; but shall, so help me my Father in heaven, in the name of Jesus, continue my exertions until the Latter-day Saints shall cease supporting their enemies and learn to build up the kingdom of God. If the Latter-day Saints will live their religion, they will increase in political and commercial strength and influence, power and glory on this earth, until we shall be above and entirely out of the reach of those miserable creatures who are continually seeking our overthrow; and we shall go upward and onward, and rise, and continue to rise and increase, until the kingdom of God is fully established on the earth.

The genius of our religion is to have mercy upon all, do good to all, as far as they will let us do good to them. So far as any people will let the Lord do good to them, so far will he do it. We preach life and salvation to all. “But we will not have your doctrine, we will be Jews.” Be Jews; be honest Jews and live your religion that was given to you by Moses. Let every other religious sect do the same. Let the fraternity of the brotherhood keep their oaths and covenants and vows, and they will be honest, upright men, and gentlemen. May the Lord bless you. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, in the Bowery, G.S.L. City, August 19, 1866.

There is quite a number of subjects and little points that I wish to speak upon, and hope that I shall be able to set them forth in a manner which will answer my wishes.

In the first place, I will say with regard to our Delegate to Congress who has addressed you this afternoon, and this I will say for myself, that I am perfectly satisfied with his course while he has been absent on this mission as our Delegate to the seat of our government. I am satisfied that he has done all that we could expect of him, and I will say further, he has done more than we believed he could perform. Had we possessed the assurance which we now have of his ability, faithfulness and perseverance before he went to Washington, we might have anticipated all his labors and success. He told you the truth, when he said that his affliction, through the bereavement he has suffered, caused him to cleave to the Lord; and I can say of a truth, judging from the spirit which is in him, that the words Brother Stenhouse spoke concerning him this afternoon are true; he is a better man than when he left here for the city of Washington—he is a better man than ever he was before on the earth; he has more faith in God today than ever he had; he is sur– rounded with an influence that I never saw him possess before his travels and labors at Washington this last term. His labors are known to me. They were known to me when he was in Washington—both his conduct and his success were known to individuals here. We are glad to say of him that we are proud of his labors. We can say this safely in his presence, for he has enough of the Spirit of the Lord in him not to feel flattered. This I believe will satisfy all the Latter-day Saints, and very likely a great many others. Enough on this.

Brother Hooper and Brother Stenhouse have avoided, in their speaking this afternoon, an error that I committed last Sunday by mentioning names; and I will now ask the pardon of this congregation forever speaking a name when attached to such a vile character, as I mentioned last Sunday. We know by the power of the Spirit of God that it is true, that when men rise up against the Gospel of life and salvation, they will always commit themselves, and then they will commit themselves with one another to that degree that they cannot believe each other. This is the case with those more particularly who have arrayed themselves against us for a few years past. Their work they must perform. I do not wish to injure them. They must have their day. Their time and season are allotted to them, the same as to all men for good or for evil. They can do us no harm—they can do nothing against the truth. The Lord will make the wicked and the ungodly and their acts accomplish his design, for, “Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.” We need have no fears with regard to the outside world, if we will purify and cleanse the inside of the platter. If this people, the Latter-day Saints, who profess to know and understand the way of life and salvation, can sanctify themselves so that they are accepted of God our Father, and of Jesus Christ, his Son, our Elder Brother and Savior, then all is right everywhere. Rest assured that the omitting of that duty is all we need fear.

I wish to give my views with regard to that doctrine and practice which are so obnoxious to the outsiders—to those who do not believe. It is an old saying that a continual dropping will wear a stone, so a continual laboring will bring about the purposes of the Lord. They say that polygamy is obnoxious to the world. This is really not so; it is the name of it that they object to the most. In connection with this let us look at the Christian world, and I will refer to the ladies who compose a portion of this congregation. There are many ladies, probably, here, who have lived long in the outside world, previous to coming to Utah, and who are not entirely unacquainted with the usages of society there. You know that it is customary to admit a certain class of gentlemen to private parties and entertainments where they are greeted cordially and welcome. They are esteemed as gentlemen of grace, edu– cation and polished manners; they are adept in all the little extras of most refined society. They are great lovers of the fair sex, and their gallantry, fine appearance, and gentlemanly bearing too readily win for them the deepest admiration of the fair ones who may chance to cross their path. Yet it is not unknown, in the circles they frequent, that they are vile and corrupt, with regard to chastity. Yes, it is known that those beautiful gentlemen are libertines, that they do not respect female virtue any more than they do their old clothes, which they have worn and cast off. Yet, they are greeted with the most profound respect and deference, their great crimes against female chastity are winked at, and they are still permitted to frequent the best society to lead astray, and decoy from the paths of virtue, the unsuspecting and unwary female.

Take another view of this subject. Let anyone of the poor unfortunates, whom those unprincipled scoundrels have, by their hellish arts, seduced from the paths of virtue and honor, make her appearance in a select party where the ladies are fanning the vanity of those wicked men with their unmeaning and insincere adulations, and what would be the consequence? Instead of making the poor creature welcome, she would be spurned from their presence; unceremoniously cast out upon the cold world to be crushed down still deeper into the dark depths of crime and degradation, with none to reach forth a saving hand, or shed a tear of sympathy over the dreadful fate of the dishonored and lost one.

This is one of the inconsistencies of the refined society of the age. The defiler of the innocent is the one who should be branded with infamy and cast out from respectable society, and shunned as a pest, or as a contagious disease is shunned. The doors of respectable families should be closed against him, and he should be frowned upon by all high-minded and virtuous persons. Wealth, influence and position should not screen him from their righteous indignation. His sin is one of the blackest in the calendar of crime, and he should be cast down from the high pinnacle of respectability and consideration, to find his place among the worst of felons.

Every virtuous woman desires a husband to whom she can look for guidance and protection through this world. God has placed this desire in woman’s nature. It should be respected by the stronger sex. Any man who takes advantage of this, and humbles a daughter of Eve to rob her of her virtue, and cast her off dishonored and defiled, is her destroyer, and is responsible to God for the deed. If the refined Christian society of the nineteenth century will tolerate such a crime, God will not; but he will call the perpetrator to an account. He will be damned; in hell he will lift up his eyes, being in torment, until he has paid the uttermost farthing, and made a full atonement for his sins. It is this very class of men, though not all of them, who have set up such a howl against the doctrine of polygamy, which is so much despised and which was believed in and practiced by the ancients—by the very men who are held up to us as patterns of all the piety that was ever exhibited through man upon the face of the earth.

This matter was a little changed in the case of the Savior of the world, the Son of the living God. The man Joseph, the husband of Mary, did not, that we know of, have more than one wife, but Mary the wife of Joseph had another husband. On this account infidels have called the Savior a bastard. This is merely a human opinion upon one of the inscrutable doings of the Almighty. That very babe that was cradled in the manger, was begotten, not by Joseph, the husband of Mary, but by another Being. Do you inquire by whom? He was begotten by God our heavenly Father. This answer may suffice you—you need never inquire more upon that point. Jesus Christ is the only begotten of the Father, and he is the Savior of the world, and full of grace and truth. It is not polygamy that men fight against when they persecute this people; but, still, if we continue to be faithful to our God, he will defend us in doing what is right. If it is wrong for a man to have more than one wife at a time, the Lord will reveal it by and by, and he will put it away that it will not be known in the Church. I did not ask Him for the revelation upon this subject. When that revelation was first read to me by Joseph Smith, I plainly saw the great trials and the abuse of it that would be made by many of the Elders, and the trouble and the persecution that it would bring upon this whole people. But the Lord revealed it, and it was my business to accept it.

Now, we as Christians desire to be saved in the kingdom of God. We desire to attain to the possession of all the blessings there are for the most faithful man or people that ever lived upon the face of the earth, even him who is said to be the father of the faithful, Abraham of old. We wish to obtain all that father Abraham obtained. I wish here to say to the Elders of Israel, and to all the members of this Church and kingdom, that it is in the hearts of many of them to wish that the doctrine of polygamy was not taught and practiced by us. It may be hard for many, and especially for the ladies, yet it is no harder for them than it is for the gentlemen. It is the word of the Lord, and I wish to say to you, and all the world, that if you desire with all your hearts to obtain the blessings which Abraham obtained, you will be polygamists at least in your faith, or you will come short of enjoying the salvation and the glory which Abraham has obtained. This is as true as that God lives. You who wish that there were no such thing in existence, if you have in your hearts to say: “We will pass along in the Church without obeying or submitting to it in our faith or believing this order, because, for aught that we know, this community may be broken up yet, and we may have lucrative offices offered to us; we will not, therefore, be polygamists lest we should fail in obtaining some earthly honor, character, and office, etc.” The man that has that in his heart, and will continue to persist in pursuing that policy, will come short of dwelling in the presence of the Father and the Son, in celestial glory. The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy. Others attain unto a glory and may even be permitted to come into the presence of the Father and the Son; but they cannot reign as kings in glory, because they had blessings offered unto them, and they refused to accept them.

The Lord gave a revelation through Joseph Smith, His servant; and we have believed and practiced it. Now, then, it is said that this must be done away before we are permitted to receive our place as a State in the Union. It may be, or it may not be. One of the twin relics—slavery—they say, is abolished. I do not, however, wish to speak about this; but if slavery and oppression and ironhanded cruelty are not more felt by the blacks today than before, I am glad of it. My heart is pained for that unfortunate race of men. One twin relic having been strangled, the other, they say, must next be destroyed. It is they and God for it, and you will all find that out. It is not Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Daniel H. Wells and the Elders of Israel they are fighting against; but it is the Lord Almighty. What is the Lord going to do? He is going to do just as he pleases, and the world cannot help themselves.

I heard the revelation on polygamy, and I believed it with all my heart, and I know it is from God—I know that he revealed it from heaven; I know that it is true, and understand the bearings of it and why it is. “Do you think that we shall ever be admitted as a State into the Union without denying the principle of polygamy?” If we are not admitted until then, we shall never be admitted. These things will be just as the Lord will. Let us live to take just what he sends to us, and when our enemies rise up against us, we will meet them as we can, and exercise faith and pray for wisdom and power more than they have, and contend continually for the right. Go along, my children, saith the Lord, do all you can, and remember that your blessings come through your faith. Be faithful and cut the corners of your enemies where you can—get the advantage of them by faith and good works, take care of yourselves, and they will destroy themselves. Be what you should be, live as you should, and all will be well.

Who knows but the time will come when the inquiry will be made in Washington, by the President, by the Congressmen: “Are things any worse in Utah than in Washington: than they are in New York? Or in any State of the Union? Are they more unvirtuous, are they more disloyal to the Government? But then there is polygamy.” That has nothing in the least to do with our being loyal or disloyal, one way or the other. But is not the practice of polygamy a transgression of the law of the United States? How are we transgressing that law? In no other way than by obeying a revelation which God has given unto us touching a religious ordinance of his Church. And the anti-polygamy law has yet to be tested, as to its constitutionality, by the courts which have jurisdiction. By and by men will appear in the departments of the Government who will inquire into the validity of some laws and question their constitutionality. Marriage is a civil contract. You might as well make a law to say how many children a man shall have, as to make a law to say how many wives he shall have. It would be as sensible to make a law to say how many horses or oxen he shall possess, or how many cows his wife shall milk. If a woman wants to live with me as a wife, all right; but the law says you must not marry her, and own her as your wife openly. As the law stands, she can come home to me, not as my wife, you know; she can sweep my house, make my bed, help me to make the butter and cheese, and share in all my pleasure and wealth, but the ceremony of marriage must not be performed. This is what is practiced in the outside world from the President in his chair to the lowest dog-whipper on the street that has means to obtain. They have their mistresses, and thereby violate every principle of virtue, chastity and righteousness.

In the large cities of the east—New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Cincinnati, Albany, Boston, etc., clubs are formed, composed of young men of those cities who pass in society as bachelors. Instead of entering into the honorable state of marriage, they hire and support girls. If one of the young men in the club should get honorably married, he is at once rejected, and his name is erased from the roll. The members of those clubs have their girls here and there; but no binding contract exists between them, either for time or eternity—for this life or that which is to come. They are hired the same as you would hire a horse and chaise at a livery stable; you go out a few days for a ride, return again, put up your horse, pay down your money, and you are freed from all further responsibility. The Lord of heaven and earth frowns upon this sort of traffic. The constitution and every just law of the United States are opposed to it. All honorable ladies and gentlemen in North and South America, and in all the world, should be ready to raise their voices against it, in terms of indignation and disgust.

The last time I was in the city of Lowell there were fourteen thousand more females than males in that one city. That is many years ago. They live and die in a single state, and are forgotten. Have they filled the measure of their creation, and accomplished the design of heaven in bringing them upon the earth? No; they have not. Two thousand good, Godfearing men should go there, and take to themselves seven wives apiece. It is written in the Bible, “And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.” The Government of the United States do not intend that that prophecy shall be fulfilled, and the Lord Almighty means that it shall. Do you not think that the Lord will conquer? I think he will, and we are helping him. It is the decree of the Almighty, that in the last days seven women shall take hold of one man, &c., to be counseled and advised by him, being willing to spin their own wool, make their own clothing and do everything they can to earn their own living, if they can only bear his name to take away their reproach. What is this order for? It is for the resurrection; it is not for this world. I would not go across this bowery for polygamy, if it only pertained to this world. It is for the resurrection; and the Spirit of the Lord has come upon the people, and upon the ladies especially, to prepare the way for the fulfillment of his word. The female sex have been deceived so long, and been trodden under foot of man so long, that a spirit has come upon them, and they want a place, and a name, and a head; for the man is the head of the woman, to lead her into the celestial kingdom of our Father and God.

A great many people who have lived in this Territory for a time have testified to their friends at home that there is more peace, more real happiness and joy, more union and fellowship in the families of Utah, than can be found in their own neighborhoods and cities. They say that which is true. There is not a tenth part of the trouble in families in this city where there are many wives that there is where there is but one wife. I have more trouble and difficulties to settle with those who have but one companion than I have with those who have more than one, to counsel and advise them, and coax and persuade them to live their religion and do as they should do.

I have proved to my Father and God that I am willing to forsake wives and children, and labor all my life time to build up his kingdom and never enjoy the society of a companion while I live; that I did in my young days, and I feel the same today. By and by the word will be given to me and my brethren to arise from the dead in the first resurrection, and receive the keys thereof, and go and call forth the rest. That will be here in a little while. When a man comes upon the borders of three-score years and ten he begins to prepare and look to where he shall be buried; though he may live a little longer, the sands of life will soon be run out. There are now many in this congregation who will soon see the allotted number of years for man to live. I shall see it in less than five years more. Whether I shall live over that time is no matter to me, if I can do the work designed of the Lord for me to do.

I will here notice what Brother Joseph F. Smith was talking of this morning. It was said to Joseph Smith, the prophet, “according to your faith and the teachings of your Elders, nobody will be saved but you, Mormons; now, Mr. Smith, will all be damned but the Mormons?” Jos. Smith replied, “yes, and the most of them, unless they repent and do better.” To be damned is to be banished from, or be deprived of living in the presence of the Father and the Son. Who will live with him? Those whom I have already mentioned. They will come up and inherit the highest glory that is prepared for the faithful—those who live as father Abraham did, and improve upon every means of grace, and upon every privilege given to them of the Lord. What is going to become of the others? Brother Joseph F. Smith told us the truth this morning. None will become angels to the devil except those who have sinned against the Holy Ghost. There exists many intermediate states between the highest glory, where God the father dwells, and the lowest kingdom among these kingdoms which are not kingdoms of glory. “In my Father’s house are many mansions,” said Jesus. The mansions in his Father’s house are many, and they are ready to receive the people of this world who have lived according to the best light they have; and they contain all who have lived upon the earth from the beginning to this time, and they are capacious enough to receive all who will live to the end of time. John Wesley, and other great ecclesiastical reformers, could not attain to the same glory, by their own acts, while in the flesh that they would have done had the fullness of the Holy Priesthood been upon the earth in their day, and they had possessed all the glory and power and keys of it, and lived faithful to its requirements all their days. They cannot be crowned as Gods, even the Sons of God. Will they be saved? They will. In a kingdom? in a good kingdom? A kingdom full of glory, full of light and joy, more than ever entered into the heart of man to conceive. While they lived it never entered into their hearts to conceive of the glory they do or will enjoy. If they have committed wrongs, and repented of them, the blood of the Savior will cleanse them from all sin, except the sin against the Holy Ghost, which is a sin unto death. The Apostle John writes, “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that ye shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.”

I have endeavored to give you a few items relating to the celestial kingdom of God and to the other kingdoms which the Lord has prepared for his children. The Lamanites or Indians are just as much the children of our Father and God as we are. So also are the Africans. But we are also the children of adoption through obedience to the Gospel of his Son. Why are so many of the inhabitants of the earth cursed with a sin of blackness? It comes in consequence of their fathers rejecting the power of the Holy Priesthood, and the law of God. They will go down to death. And when all the rest of the children have received their blessings in the Holy Priesthood, then that curse will be removed from the seed of Cain, and they will then come up and possess the priesthood, and receive all the blessings which we now are entitled to. The volition of the creature is free; this is a law of their existence, and the Lord cannot violate his own law; were he to do that, he would cease to be God. He has placed life and death before his children, and it is for them to choose. If they choose life, they receive the blessings of life; if they chose death, they must abide the penalty. This is a law which has always existed from all eternity, and will continue to exist throughout all the eternities to come. Every intelligent being must have the power of choice, and God brings forth the results of the acts of his creatures to promote his kingdom and subserve his purposes in the salvation and exaltation of his children. If the Lord could have his own way, he would have all the human family to enter into his church and kingdom, receive the Holy Priesthood and come into the celestial kingdom of our Father and God, by the power of their own choice.

May the Lord bless you. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, in the Bowery, G.S.L. City, August 12, 1866.

I have a few words to say to the Latter-day Saints this afternoon, and if I had time, I have many I could say. I would exhort the Latter-day Saints to live in peace, to pursue a course that will effectually preserve the peace that is taught them in the Gospel of the Son of God, and avoid by every possible and righteous means entering into contention, quarreling, disputations, lawsuits, &c., &c.

You have heard from brother Geo. A. Smith this afternoon a little of the history of this Church and people, and the cause of their coming to these valleys. I am thankful that the rehearsal of those occurrences has ceased to irritate me as it did formerly. But we are here, and we wish to enjoy peace; we earnestly desire it, and we calculate to have it. We are where our enemies cannot come from Carthage and Warsaw before breakfast, and from Springfield in two days. We are so far off, and it is so inconvenient to bring this people to sorrow and affliction in the way it was formerly done, that they consider another plan necessary to be instituted. I wish to tell you what it is.

Brother George A. this afternoon has referred to the lawyers. Where the carcass is there will the eagles be gathered together, and it seems they think that there is one here to which they are gathering. I want them to live here; but I want them to plant their own potatoes and hoe them. It would appear that they think that a civilized community cannot live long together without contention and consequent lawsuits. I think that a community is civilized so far as it is free from contentions, lawsuits and litigation of every kind. We wish our friends to come here, and participate with us in the good things the Lord has provided for his people; but we do not want contention. When I hear men and women say that they will go to a Gentile court to have their difficulties adjusted, I think they will go to hell unless they refrain from such a spirit.

The law is made for the lawless and disobedient, not for the good, wise, just, and virtuous. Law is made for the maintenance of peace, not for the introduction of litigation and disorder.

What is the true relationship of lawyers to the law and to the community? They should be the true representatives of peace; it should be their business to promote it. I am now taking the liberty of discharging a duty I owe to the lawyers in telling them what their duty is. They read the law; they do or should understand the law of the United States, of the States, and of the Territories and cities in which they live, and whenever they have an opportunity of telling the people how to live in a way to avoid litigation, it is their duty so to do. Then if they wish to get a living, instead of picking people’s pockets, as is too commonly the case, let them have their stores, and bring on goods and trade, buy farms and follow the healthy and honorable professing of farming, and raise their own provisions, and stock enough for themselves and some to part with, and when their services are wanted in the law, give it as freely as we do the Gospel. It is said by lawyers, “We cannot spend our time without some remuneration.” You have no need to spend your time only in some way to produce means for your subsistence. You can give legal advice freely, and pursue an honorable and productive business for a living.

Once I had the pleasure of hearing of a lawyer in old Massachusetts, who attended strictly to his duty. He came into the western part of Massachusetts and bought him a farm. He was probably as sound a lawyer as Boston ever produced. They wanted to know why he went to farming instead of following the profession of the law. He replied, that according to the present practice a man could not answer the demands of his clients and be honest. When any of the people would come to him for advice, if he was ploughing in the field, he would stop his team and request them to tell him the truth, to state the case as it was, keeping nothing back on their side of the question. When he had heard their case he would advise them to settle the affair without going to law, telling them what was right and just. When they would ask him what he charged for his advice, he would receive nothing, his team had been resting while he had been conversing, and he would go to ploughing again. One lawyer has actually lived in the United States who did not depend upon the practice of the law for a living, but followed a legitimate business and gave legal advice freely to all who asked it. In pursuing this course he did not follow the practice of picking the pockets of the widow and the fatherless.

We have a few lawyers here, and I know the object of their being here. I object to their introducing litigation among this people. In some instances it may be necessary to sue men. We have some men in this community who are dishonest; they will run into debt, and will not pay their debts. What shall we do with such men? Shall we sue them? Yes; if they will not pay their debts and have the means to do so, sue them; turn them over to the law, which is made for such characters, but they should first be deprived of the fellowship of the Saints. A man who will not pay his honest debts is no Latter-day Saint, if he has the means to pay them. A man who will run into debt, when he has no prospect of paying it back again, does not understand the principles that should prevail in a well regulated community, or he is willfully dishonest. In this country no persons need run into debt to get bread to feed themselves and their families. There is no need to go into the second house in this Community to ask for food. Those who need can obtain food at the first house, in nearly every instance, at which they will apply. This community feed the poor and the hungry, and clothe the naked, and they will not let the stranger, or those in necessity, ask alms without responding to their calls, if it is in their power to relieve them. Consequently, there is no need of any person running into debt without a prospect of paying. Men in our community run into debt to our brethren, and if they are asked for the pay, they think it is not saint– like if they are asked to sell their stock or put themselves about in the least to pay their just debts. I have had to contend for, and defend men of business who have sought to do the community good in transacting business here, from being imposed upon in this way. But there is no need of further explanation regarding this; we all understand it; if there are strangers, or any who belong to the church, who do not understand it, watch the careers and lives of those who have been long in the church and who understand true principle, and see whether they pay their debts or not.

Now, I ask every man and woman who wishes an honorable name in the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth, if they have entertained any idea of going to law, to banish it from their minds at once. We have our Bishop’s courts; they can tell us what is right. We have our High Councils, and we have also our Selectmen here who are sustained by the suffrages of the people. If you are not satisfied with the decisions of the Bishop’s court and the High Council, call upon the Selectmen, and let them judge your case. We may be told that it is necessary for us to have a lawyer to present our case in a legal manner before the courts; but the less we have to do with this class of professional men the easier and cheaper will our difficulties be settled. When a lawyer is going to court with a case, if you ask him, “Do you calculate to be honest?”

“Certainly.”

“Just?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Truthful?”

“Most assuredly.”

“Do you expect, in presenting a case to the court, to do anything more than to present the facts in the case?”

“No.”

“Where do you get the facts which you present before the judge and jury?”

“From the witnesses.”

“Have you men of common sense on the jury?”

“Yes; the best we can find; they are men of good capacity and capable of judging right from wrong.”

Then what good does it do to reiterate the testimony of witnesses before the jury? It is an endeavor to make white black and black white, to make the jury believe that they do not know anything, but that “I know it all,” and “I tell you law,” &c. Lawyers will quote law that has been obsolete for years before a jury who may not be so well acquainted with the letter of the law, and this they will do to endeavor, if possible, to blind the eyes and confuse the minds of the judge and jury, to make out something that is different from the facts in the case. Is this the business and duty of a lawyer? It is not. His duty is to place facts before the court. The jury can hear the witnesses as well as the lawyer can, the judge can hear the witnesses as well as the lawyer can, and when the simple facts are told, then let just men decide.

It should be considered beneath the profession of a lawyer to endeavor to clear the guilty, and place the innocent in bonds or bring them into disrepute. I wish to say to that class of gentlemen who are here, that if they expect to break up this people by lawsuits, I think they will have a hard time. I will use my influence with every good man, whether he is in the church or out of it, never to think of going to law. What comes of litigation? Poverty and degradation to any community that will en– courage it. Will it build cities, open farms, build railroads, erect telegraph lines and improve a country? It will not; but it will bring any community to ruin. It draws hundreds of men within the circle of its influence, who crowd the courtrooms and spend days and weeks and months of their precious time for naught, time that should be employed in getting lumber from the canyons, in building houses and in providing comfortable means of subsistence for their families. Does it make peaceable, honest, and industrious citizens? It does not, but it engenders strife and habits of intemperance and idleness. Instead of crime being lessened by its influence, it only helps to swell the dark stream.

We have not been broken up, as has been anticipated, by military force, and now it is expected that a course of lawsuits will accomplish what the military failed to do. I will say one thing to my friends, or to my enemies as they may consider themselves (I myself am not an enemy to any man, yet I am an enemy to some actions), if you undertake to drive a stake in my garden with an intention to jump my claim, there will be a fight before you get it; if you come within an enclosure of mine with any such intent, I will send you home, God being my helper. You can occupy and build where you please, but let our claims alone. We have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in taking out the waters of our mountain streams, fencing in farms and improving the country, and we cannot tamely suffer strangers, who have not spent one day’s labor to make these improvements, to wrest our homesteads out of our hands. There is land enough in the country: go to and improve it, as we have improved our possessions; build cities, as we have done, and thus strive to reclaim the country from its wild state. Is it not a strange thing that men cannot see anything only what the “Mormons” possess; hence, I swear it, by the Gods of eternity, if we are obliged to leave this country, we will leave it as desolate as we found it, and we will hunt those who would compel us to leave to the last minute. Let us alone, and help us to build up cities and towns and villages in these mountains, instead of seeking to destroy the few industrious inhabitants that are here and have made the country. You cannot destroy this community; it never can be done. Remember that. And you men and women who think of going to Gentile law to have your difficulties adjusted, I would advise you to stop it, and let the lawyers go into other business.

We have plenty of good lawyers who belong to the Church, and there are more coming. I have some friends coming here, as eminent lawyers as Massachusetts can produce. I advised them to bring their capital and so invest it that they could live without depending upon litigation and the practice of the law. Ever since this Church was first organized until now we have had to manage and scheme to escape the toils and snares of our enemies. We have had to ask God for wisdom that we might know how to wind our way through the difficulties you have just heard Brother George A. Smith relate. Lawyers will plead law for the Latter-day Saints as well as for anybody else in the world if they can get their pay for it. I have seen too much of this for 34 years past. In the days of Joseph Smith lawyers would get together and hatch out a vexatious lawsuit; one would agree to defend him and another would agree to plead against him, and this with a view to get his money. Thousands, and tens of thousands of dollars have been collected to pay lawyers’ fees. “Brother Brigham, how much have you paid?” Not one farthing. I defied our enemies to get anything against me wherein I had in any way transgressed the laws of my country; and if they tried unlawfully, and with a design to put me in bonds, and to get money from me, they would have to run some risk. We have had to work and pray in order to get along when we had lawyers watching us all the time to get something against the leaders of this people whereby they could in some way bring a lawsuit against them.

Now, they suppose that they have got us safely on polygamy. What about that? I would say to Congress that if they will pass a law, making it death for any man to hold illicit intercourse with any woman but his lawful wife, we would meet them half way on that ground. It is not uncommon for men who have not been lawfully married to any woman, but who pass as old bachelors, to have children by several women. A recent case occurred in Europe which illustrates this point. Prince Christian of Holstein, who has recently married one of the daughters of Victoria, Queen of England, has what is termed a morganatic wife in Germany, by whom he has several children, yet the first lady in Europe, as Queen Victoria is called, with the knowledge of the fact that this Prince, who proposed for her daughter’s hand, was the father of several children by a woman, who to all intents and purposes was his wife, accepts him as a suitable match for her youthful daughter. The first Court in Europe is not shocked by an alliance of this kind, no more than is the first society of this country by similar occurrences in the cities east. Men may do as they please with women, have numerous children by them, and take as many liberties with them as if they were their wives, and yet not call them wives, and modern society smiles upon them. But whenever a man applies the sacred name of wife to the mother of his children, if he happen to have more than one, then the world professes to be wonderfully shocked at the idea. What inconsistency!

Such men will go to hell for ruining innocent women and increasing illegitimate children in the land. The community or nation that indulge in such practices will be damned. If I have wives, I take care of them, and I want my neighbors to let them and my daughters alone. Do you understand it? If you do not, and should undertake to infringe upon any of them, I will point my finger at you. Our young men, and we have many, live virtuous lives with regard to illicit communication with the sexes; they observe the law which has been given to this people. Ask the Lamanites if their women ever complained of being insulted by any of our men at any time, and they cannot produce an instance. How is it with the outsiders—mountaineers, trappers, hunters, soldiers, and other men who have been brought in contact with them. What will the Indians tell you about them? By mingling with those outsiders the Indians will soon be in the dust. Many of them have gone there already by mingling with the Gentiles; the seeds of death have been sown among them, and many of them are dying off; and they will continue to die through that cause. When our Elders go abroad to preach the Gospel, or when they remain at home, if they do not live according to the law of God, we sever them from the Church, and have no further fellowship with them.

The doctrine of plurality of wives was revealed to this people from heaven, and if heaven had revealed that we should have no wife at all, it would have been as faithfully ob– served as the present law, even if it should result in the depopulation of the world, according to the profession of the Shaking Quakers. But the Lord did not get his kingdom in that way. The kingdoms he possesses and rules over are his own progeny. Every man who is faithful and gets a salvation and glory, and becomes a king of kings and Lord of Lords, or a father of fathers, it will be by the increase of his own progeny. Our Father and God rules over his own children. Wherever there is a God in all the eternities possessing a kingdom and glory and power it is by means of his own progeny. I am not going to ask the people whether they believe it or not; and I do not want Brother Heber to do it either, for it is none of their business. When I tell the truth I do not ask anyone’s testimony to swear to it.

The economy of heaven is to gather in all, and save everybody who can be saved. Do we wish to destroy people? We do not, not even those ignorant, bloodthirsty Lamanites. Did we ever destroy? No; it is not our doctrine; but our doctrine is to build up and save life instead of destroying it. Is it necessary on any occasion and under any circumstances whatever? Yes, let a man meet me with a design to kill me, and I am going to get the first blow if I can. I have not come to die for the sins of the world as our Savior, Jesus Christ, did. It was necessary for him to be killed; but it is not necessary for me. It was not necessary for Joseph Smith to be killed, if the people had believed his testimony; but as the testator has sealed it with his blood, his testimony is in force on all the inhabitants of the earth, and wherever it goes those who reject it will be damned. Our doctrine is to preach the Gospel of life and salvation, and get every man, woman, and child to believe and embrace it, and live as near to its requirements as possible. That is the duty of the Elders of Israel, and it is our duty to preserve ourselves, our wives and children, whether we have many or few. Why does not our government make a law to say how many children a man shall have? They might as well do so as to make a law to say how many wives a man shall have.

There are a few in the Government who will listen to any testimony against us, no matter how false. The man who was referred to this morning has given testimony against us, respecting matters here, which is utterly false. After making such infamous statements, that man could not live here twenty-four hours, if it were not that we are Latter-day Saints who live here. By letting him alone, however, he will kill himself. There is also a man down the street who tried to exhibit the endowments to a party who was here. You will see what becomes of that man. Do not touch him. He has forfeited every right and title to eternal life; but let him alone, and you will see by and by what will become of him. His heart will ache, and so will the heart of every apostate that fights against Zion; they will destroy themselves. It is a mistaken idea that God destroys people, or that the Saints wish to destroy them. It is not so. The seeds of sin which are in them are sufficient to accomplish their destruction. Every government of the world has the seeds of its own destruction in itself.

I hope and trust and pray that the government of our country may remain, because it is so good; but if they cut off this, and cast out that, and institute another thing, they may destroy all the good it contains. This, I hope, they will not do; they cannot do it. I expect to see the day when the Elders of Israel will protect and sustain civil and religious liberty and every constitutional right bequeathed to us by our fathers, and spread those rights abroad in connection with the Gospel for the salvation of all nations. I shall see this whether I live or die.

May the Lord bless you. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, in Springville, Sunday, July 28, 1866.

Brother Ezra T. Benson’s remarks referring to our present difficulties with the Indians, and prospects of future difficulties, should be well considered by this people. As we have here an assemblage of the people from other settlements, I wish to impress them with the necessity of treating the Indians with kindness, and to refrain from harboring that revengeful, vindictive feeling that many indulge in. I am convinced that as long as we harbor in us such feelings towards them, so long they will be our enemies, and the Lord will suffer them to afflict us. I certainly believe that the present affliction, which has come upon us from the Indians, is a consequence of the wickedness which dwells in the hearts of some of our brethren. If the Elders of Israel had always treated the Lamanites as they should, I do not believe that we should have had any difficulty with them at all. This is my firm conviction, and my conclusion according to the light that is in me. I believe that the Lord permits them to chasten us at the present time to convince us that we have to overcome the vindictive feelings which we have harbored towards that poor, downtrodden branch of the house of Israel.

I spoke a harsh word here yesterday with regard to a man who professes to be a Latter-day Saint who has been guilty of killing an innocent Indian. I say today that he is just as much a murderer through killing that Indian, as he would have been had he shot down a white man. To slay an innocent person is murder according to the law of Moses. Not that we believe that the law of Moses should, in all its bearings, be observed by us; but we believe that it has been fulfilled in a great measure with regard to the law of sacrifice. The Lord said to Noah, before the law was given to Moses: “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.” Those who shed the blood of the innocent at the present day will have to pay the penalty here, or come short of receiving the glory and the peace which they anticipate receiving hereafter. This may appear very hard and unreasonable to some.

Brother Benson expressed himself as though some of the brethren felt like wiping out the Lamanites in these regions, root and branch. The evil passions that arise in our hearts would prompt us to do this, but we must bring them into subjection to the law of Christ.

I am told by Bishop Aaron Johnson that the Indians who formerly lived in this district, in Provo, on Peteetneet and round about Spanish Fork, have sent word that they wish to return to these settlements and live as they formerly did. Were they to come back again without the minds of the people being prepared, probably some of the Indians might get killed. I wish the people to take care of themselves—to not expose themselves to the ignorant Lamanites, without being prepared to defend themselves. When they come to live in your vicinity again, let them come in peace; and that they may come in peace and safety, and live with us as heretofore, it is necessary that all feelings of vengeance should be banished from our hearts. Do we wish to do right? You answer, yes. Then let the Lamanites come back to their homes, where they were born and brought up. This is the land that they and their fathers have walked over and called their own; and they have just as good a right to call it theirs today as any people have to call any land their own. They have buried their fathers and mothers and children here; this is their home, and we have taken possession of it, and occupy the land where they used to hunt the rabbit and, not a great while since, the buffalo, and the antelope were in these valleys in large herds when we first came here.

When we came here, they could catch fish in great abundance in the lake in the season thereof, and live upon them pretty much through the summer. But now their game has gone, and they are left to starve. It is our duty to feed them. The Lord has given us ability to cultivate the ground and reap bountiful harvests. We have an abundance of food for ourselves and for the stranger. It is our duty to feed these poor ignorant Indians; we are living on their possessions and at their homes.

The Lord has brought us here and it is all right. We are not intruders, but we are here by the providence of God. We should now use the Indians kindly, and deal with them so gently that we will win their hearts and affections to us more strongly than before; and the much good that has been done them, and the many kindnesses that have been shown them, will come up before them, and they will see that we are their friends. We could circumscribe their camps and kill every man, woman and child of them. This is what others have done, and if we were to do it, what better are we than the wicked and the ungodly? It is our duty to be better than them in our administrations of justice and our general conduct toward the Lamanites. It is not our duty to kill them; but it is our duty to save their lives and the lives of their children. We may not be able to foretell all things that will come to pass in the future, but we can tell when we deal righteously with one another.

If the people had taken the counsel which has been given with regard to the proper steps to be taken for the defense of life and property in new settlements, they would have been as secure from the depredations of Indians as the people are in the old settlements; but they would not build forts nor believe it necessary to follow the salutary counsels which have been continually given them. They have gone out unprotected with their wives and children to settle in the wilderness, exposing their lives and property to the attacks of the untutored, ungoverned and wild Indian. By their works shall ye know them, and by their works shall they be justified or condemned. Their works speak for them. We beg of them to secure themselves when they go into new places; they will not do it, until sorrow overtakes them, and they are obliged to mourn the loss of a father, a husband, a wife, a brother, a sister, a mother, a daughter, or a son who has been killed by the Indians.

Shall we do as the Lamanites do? No. I forbid it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ—I forbid any elder or member in this church slaying an innocent Lamanite, any more than he would slay an innocent white man; but treat them as they are in their degraded state. When a man undertakes to shoot an ignorant Indian, except in defense of life and property, he degrades himself to the level of the red man, and the portion of that Indian shall be his, and his generations shall be cut off from the earth.

We shall have an end of this Indian war; they are not going to slay us by any means, no; they will see the time they would rather defend this people than slay them. The present difficulties will end in the benefit of the Latter-day Saints, and the exaltation of the poor, ignorant Lamanites; and the person or persons who supply the Lamanites with powder and lead, and foster and encourage them in killing the Saints, will find that their iniquity will turn upon their own heads. Let the Indians live, and help them to live.

By and by they will be suing to us for mercy, and if they repent, according to the revelations given to us we are bound to forgive them. I would rather that a man repent than persist in his wickedness. Is there a heart here today that would desire to have a man damned rather than to be saved? I would rather all men would serve God. That heart that would rather have a man damned, and never come to the knowledge of the truth, is devoid of the Spirit of revelation that wishes all men to be saved. The spirit of Him who has redeemed us, cries upon all men to come unto him and be saved. Jesus Christ has redeemed the earth and all things belonging to it, and all mankind may receive salvation if they will come unto him and receive it.

If the Lamanites come in here, and there is any person who kills any of them, take that man and try him by law and let him receive the penalty. The law will slay him. If any of the Lamanites who return have been guilty of murdering our brethren, request them to keep a little to themselves, and not be too free in mixing among the people; we do not wish to see them, and let the friendly Indians get a slice of bread and carry it to them. If they get over it, so that they repent enough to go and bring in Black Hawk and his men and deliver them up to the law, then we will believe that they are sincere in their repentance. But they are ignorant. How is it with the whites? Let the spirit of war be let loose among the Elders of Israel, and they will become as wild as unbroken colts on the prairie. If this would be the case among this people, what may we expect of others? What may we expect of the degraded and ignorant Lamanites? Let us set an example for all mankind to follow in the high road to peace, love, union, fellowship, and confidence, restoring to the world that which has been lost. To close my few remarks, remem– ber that you must not slacken your hands in the least with regard to guarding the people and the stock day and night.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, in the Tabernacle, in G.S.L City, June 17, 1866.

The elders frequently refer to the kingdom of God, and to the ordinances thereof, and to this people and their duty and privilege to roll it forth and to maintain it until it shall triumph, and introduce peace and universal brotherhood over all the earth. I will inform all the elders of Israel and their wives and their children, and also those who are not of us but whose eyes are upon the results arising continually from its establishment among men, that when the kingdom of God is established, if each member of that kingdom singly and individually will do his or her duty it will take care of itself, for it is a living, self-moving, self-sustaining, independent and heaven-ordained establishment.

The priesthood of the Son of God in its operations comprises the kingdom of God, and I know of no form of expression that will better tell what that priesthood is than the language given to me by the Spirit, namely, that it is a pure system of government. If the people who subject themselves to be governed by it, will live strictly according to its pure system of laws and ordinances, they will harmonize in one, and the kingdom of God will steadily move on to the ultimate triumph of truth and the subjugation of wickedness everywhere on this earth.

The establishment of this kingdom is a standing fact—an established truth in the eyes of the rulers and people of all nations; it is like a city upon a hill that cannot be hid. Its great governing power is not confined to one man, or to ten, or a thousand men, but the Great architect, manager and superintendent, controller and dictator who guides this work is out of sight to our natural eyes. He lives on another planet; he is in another state of existence; he has passed the ordeals we are now passing through; he has received an experience, has suffered and enjoyed, and knows all that we know regarding the toils, sufferings, life, and death of this mortality, for he has passed through the whole of it, and has received his crown and exaltation, and holds the keys and the power of this kingdom; he sways his scepter, and does his will among the children of men, among Saints and among sinners, and brings forth results to suit his purpose among kingdoms and nations and empires, that all may redound to his glory and to the perfection of his work.

This kingdom is governed and controlled by him who knows all things; and he will bring forth the righteous, the just, the humble, and the meek of the earth, all those who serve him and keep his commandments to the enjoyment of the fulness of his glory. This kingdom or work is proffered to the whole of the human family, even to all who will accept it, upon the terms of strict obedience to all its ordinances and requirements, and to its organization of prophets and apostles, gifts and blessings and graces. All may receive it upon these simple terms, and become entitled to all its blessings and privileges. When all who constitute this kingdom are faithful to its requirements, it moves along; the old ship Zion will not stop; upon this we may be satisfied, and give ourselves no further trouble.

When we look abroad upon the world we see mankind running to the east and to the west, to the north and to the south, here and there. They are thrown upon the great ocean of human affairs, without compass, rudder, or pilot to guide their little barques to a safe haven of rest. They wander to and fro upon the earth; eyes have they, but they see not; ears, but they hear not; and they know not whither to go to find that joy and peace their hearts seek and long for. Their minds individually are confused and distracted, and they cannot see the way of safety when it is placed before them; yet here it is—this kingdom, a living miracle to all its beholders; this is admitted by and astonishes the world.

The great skill and ability of a single man in bearing off this people, and in giving this kingdom success as a nation and as a community is often referred to. This is a mistaken idea; but still the people who know not and understand not the things of God, will entertain it. They attribute the success of this work to human agency entirely; they are averse to giving the Lord Almighty the credit which justly and rightly belongs to him. The same disposition was manifested by the Scribes and Pharisees of old. In the 9th chapter of the gospel by John, we have an instance of this in the case of the man who was born blind, but whose eyes were opened by Jesus Christ. The neighbors and those who had seen him that was blind, said: “Is not this he that sat and begged?” They inquired how his eyes were opened. He told them and gave the credit of this great miracle to Jesus Christ. The Scribes and Pharisees were not willing to give the glory and credit of this miracle to the Savior; and because the man that was blind, and could now see, persisted that Jesus was a prophet and had opened his eyes, they cast him out.

If the Father of Jesus Christ were here, and should publicly feed the multitudes, and clothe them, and build their houses for them, they would not be willing to acknowledge God and give him the praise and glory and credit that is due to him. This arises from the spirit of opposition which is in the hearts of the children of men. It is the spirit and power of evil in opposition to the power of good that has forever existed, and ever will exist, and here is the warfare.

We are the subjects of the kingdom of God; if we observe its laws and ordinances and transgress none of them—neglect none of them—lay aside none of them—then the kingdom itself will bear off all its members to the haven of salvation and rest. We know this; it is our daily experience. How can the world know the things of God? They can read about them, but they cannot know them without the Spirit of God; “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” They know nothing about this kingdom; we do not expect them to know, and it is no marvel to us when we reflect upon all that is done by the power of Satan against it, for his power will be continually exerted against it through the agency of the ignorant and wicked of mankind.

How long will this opposition continue? Until Jesus comes to take the kingdom and destroys death and him that hath the power of death. Will evil all be destroyed? Yes, the evil which pertains to this earth; but still the same principle of evil will exist elsewhere. Pertaining to this earth death will be swallowed up in victory, and Jesus Christ will come and rule and reign over all nations as he does in the kingdom of the Saints. Until then, this evil power will be exerted to its uttermost to destroy and lead astray every man and woman who loves the truth. It is no matter to the devil what religion men profess or what they worship, how many sacraments they observe, or how many ordinances they pass through, so that they are not legally in the possession of the priesthood of the Son of God, and will not worship the true and living God in the manner he has directed. The devil does not care how much religion there is on the earth; he is a great preacher, and to all appearance a great gentleman, and it is necessary that he should be, and that all his co-workers should be as like their great leader and master as possible. They have forsaken the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. It is popular nowadays to be religious, it has become the seasoning to a great deal of rascality, hypocrisy and crime.

Here is the kingdom of God, and the Saints should understand, that, if they abide in this kingdom they will realize every promise made to them in its ordinances and covenants. There can be no safety or merit claimed in forsaking the true Church and kingdom of God; there is nothing excellent or praiseworthy in this act. What would you think of a person who would forsake a good staunch ship at sea in a storm and commit himself to the mercy of the raging elements? I should think the same of him as I would of these who forsake this Church. The devil has blinded their eyes to that degree that they recklessly and willfully plunge into sure and certain destruction. The devil and his servants give their sanction and support to anything that will lead astray the people, even if it is very like the kingdom of God, yet a little different to that order of things which the Lord has established in his Church for the salvation of mankind.

Paul writes to the Corinthians, “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.”

The same Apostle writes to the Ephesians upon the same subject, “He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers: For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” What kind of ministers do the modern Christian churches acknowledge? Are they apostles? No; they tell us apostles are done away. Are they prophets? No; they tell us prophets are no longer needed in the church in this enlightened age, in which, they say, all the people bask in the sunshine—in the full blaze of gospel light.

The kingdom of God on earth is a living, moving, effective institution, and is governed, controlled, dictated, and led by the invisible God whom we serve, who is an exalted living being, possessing body, parts and passions, who listens to the prayers of his Saints, is a reasonable, merciful, and intelligent being, who is filled with knowledge and wisdom, who is full of light and glory, and the foundations of whose throne are laid in eternal truth; whose personal form is perfect in proportion and beauty. He loves the good, and is angry with the wicked every day as it is written in the Scriptures. He hates the evil that is done by evildoers, and is merciful to the repenting sinner. He is beloved by all who know him for the attributes he possesses in and of himself, in common with all glorified beings who now dwell with him, and who will yet be glorified and crowned with crowns of glory, immortality and eternal lives. This kingdom of which we are citizens has life in itself; and if we individually and collectively do our duty, it will move on to intelligence, to glory, and to God. We do not have to carry off the kingdom, but, through our faithfulness, it giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

I have seen men who belonged to this kingdom, and who really thought that if they were not associated with it, it could not progress. One man especially, whom I now think of, who was peculiarly gifted in self-reliance and general ability. He said as much to the Prophet Joseph a number of times as to say that if he left this kingdom, it could not progress any further. I speak of Oliver Cowdery. He forsook it, and it still rolled on and still triumphed over every opposing foe, and bore off safely all those who clung to it. “How is it, brother Brigham, that you manage affairs, and dictate and guide and direct this kingdom as you do?” The secret is I know enough to let the kingdom of God alone, and it goes of its own accord.

When King David, together with all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand in number, arose to bring up the ark of God from the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah, they put it upon a new cart, and Uzzah and Ahio the sons of Abinadab drove the new cart. When they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God. Let the kingdom alone, the Lord steadies the ark; and if it does jostle, and appear to need steadying, if the way is a little sideling sometimes, and to all appearance threatens its overthrow, be careful how you stretch forth your hands to steady it; let us not be too officious in meddling with that which does not concern us; let it alone, it is the Lord’s work. I know enough to let the kingdom alone, and do my duty. It carries me, I do not carry the kingdom. I sail in the old ship Zion, and it bears me safely above the raging elements. I have my sphere of action and duties to perform on board of that ship; to faithfully perform them should be my constant and unceasing endeavor. If every bishop, every president, every person holding any portion of the holy priesthood, every person who holds a membership in this church and kingdom would take this course the kingdom would roll without our help.

Let each bishop attend faithfully to his ward, and see that every man and woman is well and faithfully and profitably employed, that the sick and aged are properly cared for that none suffer. Let each bishop be a tender and indulgent father to his ward, administering a word of comfort and encouragement here, a word of advice and counsel there, and a word of chastisement in another place, where needed, without partiality, wisely judging between man and man, caring for and seeking earnestly the welfare of all, watching over the flock of God with the eye of a true shepherd, that wolves and dogs may not enter among the flock to rend them. Let the presidents and apostles and elders do the work the Lord has set them to do, and obey the counsel which is given them, and the kingdom will continue to roll, to increase in strength, in importance, in magnitude and in power, in wisdom, intelligence, and glory; and no one need be concerned, for it is the kingdom which the Lord our God has established, and has sustained by his matchless wisdom and power from the beginning to this day. He called upon his servant Joseph Smith, Jun., when he was but a boy, to lay the foundation of his kingdom for the last time. Why did he call upon Joseph Smith to do it? Because he was disposed to do it. Was Joseph Smith the only person on earth who could have done this work? No doubt there were many others who, under the direction of the Lord, could have done that work; but the Lord selected the one that pleased him, and that is sufficient.

From the spirit and tenor of the ancient Scriptures and revelations which we have received, it is plainly set forth that there are men pre-appointed to perform certain works in their lifetime, and bring to pass certain ends and purposes in the economy of heaven. I believe that Jesus Christ was foreordained before the worlds were to perform the work he came to do; whom God “hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.” He was ordained to come to this world and redeem it, with mankind upon it and all things pertaining to it. “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” The Lord has ordained some men to the performance of good and some to the performance of evil. Pharaoh was ordained to do the worst which he performed. “For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.” The Lord fulfilled his purpose through the wickedness of Pharaoh, and the nations beheld his handiwork in bringing the children of Israel out of the wilderness. They had a crooked path to walk in, and it was made crooked through their disobedience, and hardheartedness. They rebelled against the Lord, and against his servant Moses; they would not submit to the ordinances of salvation which they had in their possession. After they had received many chastisements and many blessings and mercies from the hand of God, the children of those who left Egypt possessed the land of promise. These works were wrought by the hand of the Almighty, and so does he with all his people.

He has set up his kingdom among us, and the people had better look to it closely and see that each one is performing his and her duty faithfully. If we do this, then all will be well. Will the Latter-day Saints do this? I know not what they will do, but I fully believe that we are naturally a little rebellious, and that we are practically so; we are a little disposed to have our own way too much. There is a disposition among mankind generally that leads them to the extreme of being damned rather than to submit to anything only that which suits them, unless they are made to submit by the strong hand of the law.

As the world is now so were ancient Israel; they were ignorant of God’s righteousness, and went about to establish their own righteousness, not submitting themselves to the righteousness of God. We are too much disposed to believe and act like the world, not rendering that submission and humble obedience to the righteousness of God which would justly accord with our high profession. Many are disposed through their own wickedness “to do as I damned please,” and they are damned. The volition of the creature is free, to do good or to do evil; but we are responsible to God for our acts, as man is responsible to man if he breaks the laws which man enacts. When we boast of our independence to act, it would be well for us to remember that we are bounded by these limits; if we transcend them and violate the laws of God and man, we shall sooner or later be made to suffer the penalty, without any reference to our choice whether we are willing to suffer that penalty or not. Hence, true independence and freedom can only exist in doing right. It is written, “That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Every item will be recorded and all will be known when the books are opened.

We are acting upon our own responsibility and agency which God has given us, if we secretly violate the laws of righteousness, and our wicked works are in the dark while we maintain a pious and fair exterior; they are nevertheless known; and for every evil word and work which we commit, unless repented of we shall be brought into judgment and be made to pay the utmost farthing of the penalty. The Spirit of the Lord is in the hearts of all people to teach them to cleave to good, and to forsake evil. If they will listen to the whisperings of this Spirit when the Gospel of Jesus Christ is presented to them, whether by the voice of his ministers, or in the written word, their minds will be enlightened to understand it.

Before Joseph Smith made known what the Lord had revealed to him, before his name was even known among many of his neighbors, I knew that Jesus Christ had no true Church upon the earth. I read the Bible for myself; I was supposed to be an infidel and to content myself with a moral religion. When I was told to believe in Jesus Christ, and that was all that was required for salvation, I did not so understand the Bible. I understood from the Bible that when the Lord had a church upon the earth it was a system of ordinances, of laws and regulations to be obeyed, a society presided over and regulated by officers and ministers peculiar to itself to answer such and such purposes, and bring to pass such and such results, and I have not received a revelation to the contrary. Such a system answering the description given in the Bible I could not find on the earth, and I was not prepared to listen to the men who said “lo here” and “lo there,” who presented themselves, as they said, as true ministers of heaven. When I would ask the ministers of religion, if they were prepared to tell me how the kingdom of God should be built up; if that which is laid down in the new Testament is not the pattern, all the reply I could receive from them was; “but you know, my dear friend, that these things are done away.” They would tell me that ordinances were mere matters of ceremony, that belief in Jesus Christ was all-essential and all that was really necessary.

I could only think of the religious world as a mass of confusion; and when I visited England I saw it in its perfection. There I saw hundreds of men and women down upon their knees in the middle of the streets praying for sinners. In that country it rains often, and it is then very muddy. I would stop and listen to their cries for the power to come down upon them, etc., and concluded that that filled the bill exactly for sectarian religion as I looked upon it, no acknowledged ordinances, no standard, no beacon light, no compass or rudder to guide the ship of Zion. In one of their chapels, on one occasion, where a Latter-day Saint sister happened to be present, a young man was convicted of his sins, and cried out, saying: “What can I do to be saved?” That sister answered him, and said: “Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the Holy Ghost.” They put her downstairs in double-quick time.

Will the inhabitants of the earth receive the truth? They will not. Will the Latter-day Saints live the truth? You answer, “I mean to be a good Saint;” yet there are contention and abuse here and there. We are elders in this Church—ministers of God to perfect the people for the coming of the Son of man. Many of us have been in this Church for years, and yet we cannot live in peace and dwell together in union; and if we cannot do this, how can we sanctify the people; and if we cannot live and love each other as we should, be as neighbors as we should, serve the Lord together as we should, deal with each other as we should, fellowship each other as we should, how are we going to prepare the people for the coming of the Son of man? It is folly in the extreme to think of it, unless we set the pattern ourselves.

I believe it is our duty to imitate everything that is good, lovely, dignified, and praiseworthy. We ought to imitate the best speakers, and study to convey our ideas to each other in the best and choicest language, especially when we are dispensing the great truths of the Gospel of peace to the people. I generally use the best language I can command. We often hear people excuse themselves for their uncouth manners and offensive language, by remarking “I am no hypocrite,” thus taking to themselves credit for that which is really no credit to them. When evil arises within me let me throw a cloak over it, subdue it instead of acting it out upon the false presumption that I am honest and no hypocrite. Let not thy tongue give utterance to the evil that is in thine heart, but command thy tongue to be silent until good shall prevail over the evil, until thy wrath has passed away and the good spirit shall move thy tongue to blessings and words of kindness. So far I believe in being a hypocrite. This is practical with me. When my feelings are aroused to anger by the ill doings of others, I hold them as I would hold a wild horse, and I gain the victory. Some think and say that it makes them feel better when they are mad, as they call it, to give vent to their madness in abusive and unbecoming language. This, however, is a mistake. Instead of its making you feel better, it is making bad worse. When you think and say it makes you better you give credit to a falsehood. When the wrath and bitterness of the human heart are molded into words and hurled with violence at one another, without any check or hindrance, the fire has no sooner expended itself than it is again rekindled through some trifling course, until the course of nature if set on fire; “and it is set on fire of hell.”

If this practice is continued, it will lead to alienation between man and wife, parents and children, brethren and sisters, until there is no fellow– ship to be found in the hearts of the people for one another. How can we, and be consistent, with the same tongue bless God, even the Father, and curse man who is made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth should not proceed blessings and cursings, but bless and curse not. “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness and wisdom.” “The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

As I have often remarked on former occasions, confidence is lost from among mankind; men who are in authority, who sit at the head of nations, kingdoms and governments, all fear the knife of the assassin, and the torch of the incendiary. Wickedness has submerged the world, and confidence and good faith have fled. We are trying to restore the lost treasure to the world. Then, let me exhort the Latter-day Saints to live a life that is worthy of imitation. Envy not those who do better than you do; do not pursue them with malice, but try to shape and frame your life by theirs. We are trying to govern ourselves, and if we continue trying and faint not, we shall assuredly conquer. Let us from this time forth live so as to create confidence in all men with whom we deal and come in contact; and treasure up each particle of confidence we obtain as one of the most precious possessions mortals can possibly possess. When by my good actions I have created confidence in my neighbor towards me, I pray that I may never do anything that will destroy it. I have tried to do this, and have constantly endeavored to have it increase within me, that when my word is given it may be just as good as the word of an angel. Let us seek always to be guided by the spirit of truth in our utterances, that we may never say anything which we shall afterwards regret.

The psalmist inquires, “Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. In whose eyes a vile person is condemned; but he honoreth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not,” etc. Let every man honor his word that he has given to his neighbor, although it may be to his disadvantage and loss, yet in the future it will be to his gain. Preserve your honor, and your integrity, and ever cherish the confidence that men repose in you.

May the Lord bless you. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, June 3, 1866.

I wish the few remarks which I may now make to be comprehensive and instructive.

The subject upon which Brother Wells has spoken this afternoon is a very intricate one to define. It is very difficult to convey even the ideas which we may have respecting the operations of, to us, invisible spirits upon the hearts of the children of men; and it is very difficult to frame in the mind a system of thinking and reasoning upon this subject that is at all satisfactory. It is very difficult to form in the mind an even, and unbroken, and correct thread of ideas which will truthfully and satisfactorily explain the variations which we see in the motives and actions of mankind, and to understand the varied motives and feelings of the people, and what they design in performing such and such acts. There are some who have a correct and clear thread of ideas framed in their minds relating to this subject, but cannot convey them to their fellow beings. This is a weakness that I believe is inherent to a greater or less degree in each and every one of us.

The opposition which we find in the hearts of the children of men to the Gospel of life and salvation, Brother Wells has been setting before us this afternoon in a very able manner. Upon this subject I have my own reflections, and my own way of revealing those reflections to others.

The opposition which we see manifested against the truth in this our day has been manifested in every day and age of the world wherein the Gospel of the Son of God has been preached to the children of men. There is no difference today in this respect from what it was formerly. Our opponents tell us that were it not for the doctrine we believe, teach, and practice, there would be no difficulty—no strife between the Latter-day Saints and those who call themselves Gentiles. We are all Gentiles by birth who are not of Jewish descent. We who are called Latter-day Saints are Gentiles by birth—we are nationally so. The opposition which we have to meet is not because we believe in polygamy. That principle is not the real bone of contention, but it is the power of Satan against the power of Jesus Christ here upon this earth. It is no matter what the doctrines are; it is no matter by what name they are called, in what manner they are presented, or by whom they are believed; it is the power of God on the one hand, and the power of Satan on the other. We can see the workings of the two spirits upon the hearts and dispositions of the children of men. Opposition to the truth is made manifest by those who render themselves servants to obey false principles or false ideas, and their actions are directed by the power of Satan against the truth of heaven in the persons of those who love and advocate it.

We have been told that when error is introduced it is generally done in a most genteel, religious, scientific, and most refined and civilized manner. The servants of sin should appear polished and pious. It is necessary they should be learned, and be able to call to their assistance the accomplishments and elegancies of science and art, and the subtle, persuasive power of rhetoric. Jesus Christ describes this class of deceivers very forcibly in the following words—“But all their works they do to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.” This external polish is really necessary for them as a covering to make successful the introduction of false theories and false principles, and to cover up licentious and wicked lives.

The servants of God have truth, and nothing but truth, to present to the world, that the world may be sanctified by the truth. The truth needeth no polish to make it lovely and desirable to those who love it. The principles of truth and goodness, and of eternal lives and the power of God are from eternity to eternity. The principle of falsehood and wickedness, the power of the devil and the power of death are also from eternity to eternity. These two powers have ever existed and always will exist in all the eternities that are yet to come. Although in relation to this earth, some time in its future history there will be no death, and him that hath the power of death will be destroyed. It is written in the Book of Mormon, “For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad.”

When man is born into the world he is at once subject to the influences of life and death, and to the innumerable and varied vicissitudes which he meets in his passage from birth to the grave, to give him an experience which will prepare him to enter into and enjoy life everlasting. He is endowed with agency to choose either life or death, and must abide the consequences in the next life of the choice which he makes in this. Were it not that evil exists with good, man could not have been an agent unto himself. When the spirit of man enters the earthly tabernacle, it is as pure as an angel of God. When man, as a child, is brought forth to the light, and begins to live, move, and have a visible and an individual being in this world, he is brought in contact with the principle of evil—he receives the mark of sin, and as passes the usual stages from infancy to manhood, he learns to become disobedient to the requirements of heaven, disobedient to the laws of man, and disobedient to the laws of his own nature; he engenders the spirit of hatred, malice, wrath, strife, and all that class of evils which render him unfit to return again to the presence of his Father and God; but if he will obey the Gospel and walk in the ways of the Lord, his mortal existence and his proneness to sin, which he has inherited through the fall, become profitable and essentially ne– cessary to the full enjoyment of salvation and eternal life.

These ideas may be profitable to the Saints and aid them in understanding to some extent why things are as they are.

Then the opposition to the truth is not because we have no wife, because we have one wife or many wives; it is not because we are Socialists and have all things common; it is not because we believe in or practice this or that doctrine as individuals and as a people; but it is the spirit of him who is an enemy to all righteousness that is in the hearts of those who yield themselves to obey false principles. Paul, in his writing to the Romans, says, “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” When truth comes, error comes also. When the Gospel of the Son of God is introduced among the children of men, it comes with light and intelligence, with pure and holy principles. It embraces all morality, all virtue, all light, all intelligence, all greatness, and all goodness. It introduces a system of laws and ordinances, and a code of moral rectitude which, if obeyed by the human family, will lead them back to the presence of God. As we were exhorted this morning to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, be baptized for the remission of sins, receive the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, receive the spirit of prophecy, the spirit of discerning of spirits, the gift of healing, and, in short, all the gifts, and graces, and laws, and ordinances of the Gospel, which are for life and salvation. Now, the power of Satan is opposed to all this.

Now, let me state somewhat the reason why the devil appears as a gentleman when he presents himself to the children of men. The children of men have good principles dwelling within them. When their spirits came into this mortal flesh, they brought with them the love of all truth, virtue, and goodness; but the sin that has contaminated the mortal tabernacle through the fall creates what the Apostle Paul, when writing in Timothy, calls a “warfare.” When Joseph Smith first preached the Gospel to this generation the Spirit of God attended it, and that Spirit met an opposing spirit, which was the spirit of Satan, exerting his power to lead away mankind from the truth to everlasting ruin; while the Spirit of the Gospel, the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, sought to lead to exaltation and everlasting life. Here are the two powers in opposition to each other.

Now, remember that it is not because we are called “Mormons,” or Latter-day Saints, that we meet opposition; there is nothing odious in mere names and titles. Joseph Smith has as good a right to his name as John Smith has to his. There is nothing criminal in the simple name of Joseph Smith; yet, he being a servant of God and a preacher of righteousness, his name became odious to the wicked, and the three simple words, “Old Joe Smith,” were sufficient to arouse in their hearts every vindictive and bloodthirsty desire. It was not, however, this simple name that aroused the worst feelings of the human heart against those who loved and obeyed the truth; but it was the spirit of Satan working in the hearts of the children of disobedience against the truth. Why was Joseph Smith, and why are his brethren, so odious to those who are not of us? Because we have the words of eternal life to offer to the world. The devil is opposed to this, and offers resistance to the progress of the spirit of the Gospel by arousing the wicked, who are under his influence, to hate, and persecute, and annoy in every possible way, the true followers of the Lord Jesus.

Let me say to you, my friends (and if I have foes here I say it also to them), there is no spirit inhabiting a mortal tabernacle (that has not sinned away the day of grace), but what naturally loves and adores the truth, and would bless and honor all those who seek to walk in the way of the Lord, were it not for the influence and power of evil by which they are controlled. There is a constant warfare between the good and the evil. The mortal tabernacle is of the earth earthy, and came forth for the express purpose of being prepared to serve as a dwelling for the eternal spirit; and the spirit has come here for the express purpose of getting a tabernacle; and the sin that is in the fleshy tabernacle is against the good that is in the spirit. The Apostle Paul, when writing to the Romans, says, “For I delight in the law of God, after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.”

It is not the name of a man or the name of a sect which inspires this warfare, but it is a war which has always existed, and will always continue to exist, between the good and the bad, between the power of God and the power of the devil. To these who are not instructed in the things of God it appears to be a warfare between sects and parties. The votaries of the bad excuse themselves for their persecutions of the good by supposing that they, themselves, as individuals, or their nations, are about to suffer some great wrong from the upholders of the good. As an example of this I will quote from the Gospel according to St. Luke—“And the whole multitude of them arose, and led him (Jesus Christ) unto Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a king.” This is the cunning of the devil, and a means by which he leads down to destruction great numbers of the human family. He gets the political world to believe that they are, or are going to, be infringed upon; he makes the religious world believe that the sanctity and rights of their holy religion are in danger, and thus he gets them to make his cause their own; they are lashed into a frenzy of excitement and hatred against the Saints; every high-toned, honorable and truthful feeling of the human heart is blunted or entirely subdued in them; they plan for the destruction of God’s people, and, in many instances, the blood of the Saints—the blood of innocence—has been shed by their hands. It is written in the book of Revelation: “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels with him.”

Paul in view of the power of this great deceiver and his host exhorted the Saints anciently to, “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” A great number of those who oppose the truth, and mob and rob and kill the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, know not what they oppose, but they are moved to commit depredations against the people of God by men who are desperately wicked; these are among the bitterest enemies of the truth. The multitude in the days of Jesus cried out: “Crucify him.” The chief priests had delivered him up from envy. Pilate knew this; “But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them. When Pilate inquired what evil he had done, they cried out more exceedingly: crucify him.” They know not what they did.

Wherever the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been preached, either in these or in former days, it has met with a class of men to whom the truth looked lovely and Godlike, and the spirit within would prompt them to embrace it; but they find themselves so advantageously connected in the world, and have so many interests at stake if they should embrace it, they conclude that it will not do, and here comes the warfare again. Some few will overcome the reasonings of the flesh, and follow the dictates of the Spirit; while the great majority of this class of persons are won over by sordid considerations and cleave to their idols. The good spirit tries to overcome the wayward will of the flesh, and the flesh, aided by the cunning and power of the devil, maintains a strong warfare; but, notwithstanding this great power against which the spirit has to contend, the power of God is greater than the power of the wicked one; and unless the Saints sin against light and knowledge, and willfully neglect their plain and well understood duties, and the Spirit of God is grieved and it ceases to strive with them, the Spirit is sure to prevail over the flesh, and ultimately succeeds in sanctifying the tabernacle for a residence in the presence of God.

The spirit which inhabits these tabernacles naturally loves truth, it naturally loves light and intelligence, it naturally loves virtue, God and godliness; but being so closely united with the flesh their sympathies are blended, and their union being necessary to the possession of a fullness of joy to both, the spirit is indeed subject to be influenced by the sin that is in the mortal body, and to be overcome by it and by the power of the devil, unless it is constantly enlightened by that spirit which enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world, and by the power of the Holy Ghost which is imparted through the Gospel. In this, and this alone, consists the warfare between Christ and the devil.

It is not in my being called a Quaker, a Methodist, or a “Mormon” that is the true cause of contention between these two great powers—Christ and Belial; but it is in the fact that God has established His kingdom upon the earth and restored the Holy Priesthood, which gives men authority and power to administer in His name.

It has been told us this afternoon, and was this morning also, that we must be baptized in order to be saved. Much remains to be said on the means necessary to effect salvation in its completeness. We might as well say that a beautiful temple could be built and all its details completed and finished in a day, as to say that we can tell all we know about the plan of man’s salvation in a short hour and a half or in a day. It is plain to every enlightened person that the Lord has introduced fit and proper laws by which he will save His children and exalt them into his presence. If these laws are not obeyed by the human family, they cannot be saved, nor be exalted to the presence of God. What will become of all those who will not obey the laws of salvation? Will they be confined throughout an endless eternity in that bottomless pit, where their worm dieth not, and where their fire is not quenched?

It is necessary that men should become acquainted with the laws of God, and the ordinances of His kingdom, and receive of the power of the world to come in order to fit them to become angels of the devil, and that the devil may have full power over them; and these are the only ones who are cut off from every degree of salvation. Jesus said, “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”

He has been lifted up, and He will save every son and daughter of Adam and Eve, except the sons of perdition, in some kingdom where there shall be no more death, no more aches and pains to afflict and torment them; and let me assure you that none of those kingdoms will be any worse than the one we now inhabit. Jesus Christ will draw all men unto him, except those who contend against the power of God and against his kingdom until they have sealed their own damnation.

The adversary presents his principles and arguments in the most approved style, and in the most winning tone, attended with the most graceful attitudes; and he is very careful to ingratiate himself into the favor of the powerful and influential of mankind, uniting himself with popular parties, floating into offices of trust and emolument by pandering to popular feeling, though it should seriously wrong and oppress the innocent. Such characters put on the manners of an angel, appearing as nigh like angels of light as they possibly can, to deceive the innocent and the unwary. The good which they do, they do it to bring to pass an evil purpose upon the good and honest followers of Jesus Christ. Yet the little good, if any, that is in them, they have received from God. Lucifer, the son of the morning, has not got a good principle, does not say a good word, perform a good act, or present a good idea to any people upon this earth or any other earth that he has not received from that God whom you and I serve. Everything that is good, everything that is lovely and truthful, virtuous and kind, everything to be admired and desired by the pure in heart comes from God, our Father, who dwells in heaven. The most wicked person that ever dwelt upon the earth, the Lord supports; He gives to him the breath of life, and causes His sun to rise upon that poor miserable wretch, who would, if he had the power, destroy everything that is good. The Lord our God sends His rain upon the just and upon the unjust, and gives food and raiment to the good and to the evil; He parcels out the earth among his children, and his mercy and loving kindness are over all the works of his hands. Though the Lord is thus kind and merciful to all, yet he saith, “them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.”

In the days before Noah’s flood those who served God and kept his commandments were prepared to receive glory, immortality and eternal life, according to the law of the Gospel. When this law was given to the people in any age, the kingdom of God was established, and the devil and his hosts were made mad even as they are at this day.

We are told that if we would give up polygamy—which we know to be a doctrine revealed from heaven, and it is God and the world for it—but suppose this Church should give up this holy order of marriage, then would the devil, and all who are in league with him against the cause of God, re– joice that they had prevailed upon the Saints to refuse to obey one of the revelations and commandments of God to them. Would they be satisfied with this? No; but they would next want us to renounce Joseph Smith as a true prophet of God, then the Book of Mormon, then baptism for the remission of sins and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost. Then they would wish us to disclaim the gift of prophecy, and the other gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, on the ground that they are done away and no longer needed in our day, also prophets and apostles, etc.

They want us to yield all these points, transgress the laws God has revealed for the salvation of the world, and change all the ordinances of God’s house, and conform to the dogmas of modern Christianity and to the corruptions of the age. Will the Latter-day Saints do this? No; they will not to please anybody. Shall we have a warfare? We shall; we will war and contend for the right, and trust in our God until righteousness is established upon the earth, until peace shall reign everywhere, until the children of men shall lay down the weapons of their warfare and cease to exhaust their ability and ingenuity in forming weapons of destruction to slay their fellow men, until the minds and affections of mankind shall be turned unto the Lord their God, and their energies be directed to beautifying the earth and making it like the garden of Eden. We calculate to struggle on, and continue to exercise faith and enjoy our religion, keeping all the commandments of God, observing the ordinances of his house, trying to fulfill all his words, trusting in him, and we shall see what this course will come to.

I can tell the whole world that we shall preach the gospel of life and salvation and call upon the children of men to cease their wickedness and their warring against God and one another, and embrace those saving principles that will lead them to life here and to eternal life hereafter. We shall preach on, we shall struggle on until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ. To be gentle and kind, modest and truthful, to be full of faith and integrity, doing no wrong is of God; goodness sheds a halo of loveliness around every person who possesses it, making their countenances beam with light, and their society desirable because of its excellency. They are loved of God, of holy angels, and of all the good on earth, while they are hated, envied, admired and feared by the wicked.

What, then, is the mission of Satan, that common foe of all the children of men? It is to destroy and make desolate. When this house was built, every principle, every desire that prompted the putting of these materials together, had good for its object in making the people comfortable and happy. The desire to build cities, open farms, set out orchards and adorn and beautify the earth in every possible way is of God. But you say that those who do not believe in religion at all do that. Very good, are not their lives as much in the hands of God as yours and mine? Does He not prompt them day by day to do good, and blessed are they who resist not the Spirit. There is a spirit of truth gone forth to all the inhabitants of the world. The book of Job says, “But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” Again, it is written of Jesus, “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

There is that in all men which prompts them to do good and forsake evil; then there is another principle which prompts them to do evil and forsake the good. The few who have moral courage enough to yield obedience to the promptings of the Spirit of God, bringing themselves in subjection to his will, are the ones who compose the church and kingdom of God on the earth, so far as they have opportunity. Whatsoever is good is of God, no matter by whom possessed or presented. If the devil presents principles that are good and pure and lovely, they are not of him, but they are of God.

The devil delights in the work of destruction—to burn and lay waste and destroy the whole earth. He delights to convulse and throw into confusion the affairs of men, politically, religiously and morally, introducing war with its long train of dreadful consequences. It is evil which causeth all these miseries and all deformity to come upon the inhabitants of the earth. But that which is of God is pure, lovely, holy, and full of all excellency and truth, no matter where it is found, in hell, in heaven, upon the earth, or in the planets. Let us live in obedience to the good; let us live our religion.

I do not know that I have explained these things sufficiently clear to you. The thread of the whole subject is clearly defined in my mind. I know what the children of men are when they come upon the earth, and the influence that attends them, and the power of Satan who lives upon the earth by permission like the wicked and ungodly do. Will we live our religion? I hope so. It was asked me by a gentleman how I guided the people by revelation. I teach them to live so that the Spirit of revelation may make plain to them their duty day by day that they are able to guide themselves. To get this revelation it is necessary that the people live so that their spirits are as pure and clean as a piece of blank paper that lies on the desk before the inditer, ready to receive any mark the writer may make upon it. When you see the Latter-day Saints greedy, and covetous of the things of this world, do you think their minds are in a fit condition to be written upon by the pen of revelation? When people will live so that the Spirit of revelation will be with them day by day, they are then in the path of their duty; if they do not live according to this rule, they live beneath their duty and privileges. I hope and pray that we may all live up to our privileges. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 29, 1866.

You have heard what Elder Charles S. Kimball has said this afternoon relative to the general belief of the people in the old countries—That Brigham Young reads all letters before they leave this county, and if any are not written to suit him, they are destroyed by his order! In this way they account for so few letters reaching the members of the Church in distant lands from their friends here in Utah. I will now make a public request that the Saints hereafter cease to bring their letters to me, if there are any that have ever done such a thing; and I also request the postmasters throughout the Territory to stop sending all foreign letters to me for my inspection previous to mailing for abroad; that is, if they have ever done such a thing; and for this simple reason, that I have so much to do that I cannot possibly pay attention to such an extensive amount of reading. If any of you, or if any of the people in any part of the Territory have ever sent letters to me to read, previous to sending them to their friends abroad, be so kind as to take notice and cease to do this thing from this time henceforth. If any postmaster has ever sent me a single letter to read belonging to any person—Jew or Gentile, Saint or sinner—I request him never to do so again; for I have such an extensive correspondence of my own, that it is a very great labor for me to read and answer what I am obliged to do in my business and calling. People who suppose that I can see and read the foreign correspondence of this whole community, give me credit for an amount of physical and mental endurance which I do not possess.

Brother Charles has strongly requested those who have friends in the old country to write to them, and I would make the same request, that you write often to your fathers and mothers, and brothers and sisters and friends, and acquaintances and neighbors, whom you have left behind in those old countries. Tell them the truth with regard to the people here, and with regard to the country, and when you, who are going to that country, arrive there, tell the people the truth.

In this country there is ample opportunity for people to get rich, to gather up property, and accumulate and store up wealth, and the minds of the people are so occupied in this labor that they do not take time to write to their friends, and many not even to fulfill their promises to write. Some of those who have borrowed money of their friends in the old countries, and promised to work when they got to America and send it back again to them, have forgotten to do so. I am sorry to be obliged to say this. If I could have my way, every man who professes to be a Saint would act like a Saint. However, we are trying to be Saints. We have embraced the Gospel of the Son of God; we have embraced a marvelous work—a work which is a great wonder to all people. As the Prophet has said, “Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.”

The brethren have been testifying to the truth of this work, and there is not a man or a woman on this earth who receives the spirit of the Gospel but what can testify to its truth. We are the witnesses of this great work which the Lord has commenced in the latter days. Were you to ask me how it was that I embraced “Mormonism,” I should answer, for the simple reason that it embraces all truth in heaven and on earth, in the earth, under the earth, and in hell, if there be any truth there. There is no truth outside of it; there is no good outside of it; there is no virtue outside of it; there is nothing holy and honorable outside of it; for, wherever these principles are found among all the creations of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and his order and Priesthood, embrace them.

When we talk about making sacrifices for this work, the word to me is without meaning; for if a man desires to get a good name—a good character—if he wishes to make fast friends, if he wishes wealth, comfort, joy, and peace in all of his life here on the earth, let him embrace the truth and then live it. When the unbeliever has a realizing sense of his own condition, he lays down on his bed in sorrow, he wishes things were a little different; he lays down in sorrow, and wakes up in doubt, to live every hour and minute through the day in anxiety. There may be hours and minutes in which people forget themselves; but, when their minds dwell upon their situation and being in life, they are in doubt, they are in anxiety, darkness, and ignorance; they do not know who they are, what they are on the earth for; they know nothing of their pre-existence, or comparatively little of their present existence, only that they are here in the world, and by-and-by they will die and leave the world. Where they will go when they leave the world, they know not, and there are many who do not care. Some strive to be infidels to a great deal of that which is true, to that which it would be to their best interest to believe and know.

If you have truth, you have got what is called “Mormonism,” or, more properly, the Gospel of life and salvation. It is here, and it is nowhere else to the same extent that it is in the doctrine that this people say they have embraced. Do they know it all? In comparison to what we have yet to learn of the things of God, we are but babes and sucklings in the knowledge of God our Father, in the knowledge of his work and of the labor and the mission of our Lord Jesus Christ, that we profess to be so familiar with. If it can be said of us that we are children in the knowledge of God, we have progressed tolerably well.

It has been remarked this afternoon how difficult it is for our Elders to go forth and contend with the learning of the age. You heard the few remarks regarding the religions of the day, and the idea that generally prevails in Christian countries, that it requires men to be qualified, and learned, and eloquent to stand before the people to act as religious teachers. I will give you the reason why this is so. When a false theory has to be maintained, it requires to be set forth with much care; it requires study, and learning, and cunning sophistry to gild over a falsehood and give it the semblance of truth, and make it plausible and congenial to the feelings of the people; but the most simple and unlearned person can tell you the truth. A child can tell you the truth, in childlike language, while falsehood requires the lawyer and the priest to tell it to make it at all plausible; it requires a scholastic education to make falsehood pass for truth. Anciently, all the people, and the publicans, who heard Jesus, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, not being baptized of him. When a simple, honest-hearted man, sent of God with the truth to the world, shall question the most learned upholders of false theories, the gilding falls off, and falsehood, in all its deformity, stands naked and exposed. I have scores of times read from the Bible, and the people would declare that it was not the Christian Bible, but the “Mormon” Bible I was reading in; and to convince them to the contrary, would have to read the title page.

Men are educated to promulgate and sustain false theories to make money, and to create and uphold powerful sects. “And they teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance.” “Because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false doctrine, their churches have become corrupted, and their churches are lifted up; because of pride they are puffed up. They rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries; they rob the poor because of their fine clothing; and they persecute the meek and the poor in heart, because in their pride they are puffed up.” And all this because the fathers transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances, and broke the everlasting covenant delivered unto them. The truth is easily understood, and as easily told. The agriculturist and the mechanic can tell the truth, and become efficient ministers of it, by living faithfully in accordance with what they know of the Gospel; for in this way they obtain the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance. Education is a good thing, and blessed is the man who has it, and can use it for the dissemination of the Gospel without being puffed up with pride. “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things which are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.”

However good and useful a classical education may be in the possession of a good and wise man, yet it is not essentially necessary for him to have it to tell the simple truth which is given to mankind by the revelations of God, because it can be told by the simple and the unlearned. But if the profession of a lawyer is chosen by any person, he needs to be educated in all the learning of the age to be successful; for it is a hard thing for him to make a man appear innocent before a jury of his countrymen whom he knows to be guilty. It is a hard matter to make a jury of men endowed, not with great learning perhaps, but with hard sense, believe that white is black, and that black is white, as the case may be, to present the truth in such a way that they will believe it as a lie, and a lie in such a way that they will believe it as a truth. It requires a lawyer—a man who is well schooled in all that men know, to make things appear what they really are not.

That which will apply to law in this case will apply to a false religion. We take our young men who have been brought up in this community, and I care not whether they can read a chapter in the Bible or not, if they will repent and seek diligently for the Spirit of the Lord, and send them out into the world to preach the Gospel, and if they are faithful, they will be able, ere long, by the blessing of God, to confound the great and the wise of the age in matters of theology. “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.”

It was observed here this afternoon that it requires our boys to go into the world to preach the truth to know that “Mormonism” is true. The older portion of this community embraced the truth through the conviction of it, and prayed unto the Lord for the light of it, and they received the testimony of the Spirit of God; but our children do not know the greatness of their blessings and privileges. They are entitled to the Spirit of the Gospel from their mothers’ wombs; they have it with them all the time; they are born in it. We say that they are rude, that they are rough and unmanageable, etc.; they do not know that they possess the light of the Holy Spirit until they go out into the world and learn the great contrast—see the blackness of night, the thick darkness of error that has settled down like a great pall upon the moral and religious world. They hear their fathers pray, and they hear the Apostles and Prophets preach, but they cannot know that “Mormonism” is true for themselves until they have had the privilege of being placed in circumstances to exercise faith for themselves, and to pray to God for themselves for testimony and knowledge. Then they obtain the power of the Holy Spirit, which awakens their senses, and they know for themselves that God lives, for he hears and answers their prayers.

I could say something encouraging to parents, if they would heed. Let the father and mother, who are members of this Church and kingdom, take a righteous course, and strive with all their might never to do a wrong, but to do good all their lives; if they have one child or one hundred children, if they conduct themselves towards them as they should, binding them to the Lord by their faith and prayers, I care not where those children go, they are bound up to their parents by an everlasting tie, and no power of earth or hell can separate them from their parents in eternity; they will return again to the fountain from whence they sprang.

I am sorry that this people are worldly-minded; that they are in their feelings and affections glued to the world so much as they are. I am sorry to hear Elders of Israel use words, and manifest anger and impatience that are unbecoming. Men who are vessels of the holy Priesthood, who are charged with words of eternal life to the world, should strive continually in their words and actions and daily deportment to do honor to the great dignity of their calling and office as ministers and representatives of the Most High. We are trying to be Saints, and many of the brethren sin, and repent, and ask forgiveness, and intend to do better in the future, and perhaps tomorrow they lose their temper and swear at their oxen, etc. They love the world, and covet their fine horses; their affections are upon them, and upon their farms, upon their property, their houses and possessions, and in the same ratio that this is the case, the Holy Spirit of God—the spirit of their calling—forsakes them, and they are overcome with the spirit of the evil one, so that they have not strength to resist the weaknesses of their nature; and they swear and take the name of God in vain, are impatient with their families and often abuse them. Such things as these should not be among the servants of the Most High.

If we have possessions, it is because the Lord has given them to us, and it is our duty to see that everything we have is devoted to the advancement of truth, virtue, and holiness, to beauty and excellence; to redeem the earth, and adorn it with beautiful habitations, and orchards, and gardens, and farms, and cities, until it shall become like the garden of Eden. All that we possess belongs to the Lord, and we are the Lord’s, and we should never lust after that over which he has made us stewards, but we should use it profitably to the upbuilding of the Zion of our God, to send the Gospel to all the world, and to gather and feed the poor. I am thankful that I am able to say these few words. May God bless you. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, at the General Conference, Great Salt Lake City, Oct. 9, 1865.

I wish now to deliver a few short discourses to the Latter-day Saints, and it does not matter which of them I deliver first, because they are all of equal interest and importance to the Saints, and will be spread upon the pages of the Deseret News for them to read at their leisure in that order that may suit them.

The first item that presents itself to me is, to call upon these sisters—they forming an important element of the kingdom of God in the last days—to listen to the will of God concerning them, that they go to now and manufacture from straw, grass, or any other fitting material that grows in these valleys, their bonnets and hats, and cease to sell the barley, the oats, the wheat, etc., to buy imported ones, or when the wheat, and the oats, and the barley are all sold, get your husbands to run into debt for that which you can as well make yourselves as not. I am satisfied that we can make, from material grown in these valleys, bonnets and hats as beautiful to look upon as any that have ever been imported to this Territory. I am addressing myself to the ladies of the kingdom of God, to those who know how to keep their houses, furniture and beds pure and clean, who can cook food for their husbands and children in a way that it will be clean, tasteful and wholesome. The woman that can do this I call a lady. In this view I differ from the world generally; for the lady of the world is not supposed to know anything about what is going on in the kitchen; her highest ambition is to be sure and be in the fashion, at no matter what cost to her husband or father; she considers that she may as well be out of the world as out of the fashion.

There has been a great deal said upon the subject of Home Manufacturing; and the article of straw is the readiest to come at of any other material of which clothing is made. Now, my sisters, will you hearken to those who spend all their time to do you good, who traverse the world over to gather the Saints, to preach the Gospel, make believers and gather them together that they become Saints—will you hearken to this counsel and obey it? Rye should be sown in the spring, and cut in the proper season, and cured as it should be to make good straw for hats and bonnets, and our boys and girls should braid it, and have it made up, and save the immense amount of ready means which we have to pay out for that article alone. Will the sisters belonging to the kingdom of God do this? I might call for a vote of those who are present, and no doubt you would enter into a covenant to perform this duty, and many very likely would not give the matter another thought. I will not ask you to vote; but I will ask you to do this as a duty, and to commence right away in this city by wards, and form yourselves into societies for the accomplishment of this purpose, and see that the little boys and girls, instead of their running wild in the streets, throwing the dust and dirt into their hair and garments from morning until night, are brought into the house, their skins and clothes washed clean, their hair combed neatly, and they set to braiding straw. This will teach them to be industrious, and save them from contracting habits of indolence and slothfulness, and be the means of introducing an important branch of industry into our country. How much better this would be than to let our children waste their time in unnecessary play; they need time to study, time for recreation, and time to be engaged in some useful employment. It is the duty of parents to see that the time of their children is properly appropriated to pursuits of usefulness, profit, and advantage to themselves, to their parents or guardians, and to the kingdom of God at large, that they may grow up to become efficient and worthy citizens of that kingdom.

Bishops, will you see that enough rye is sown to supply the wants of the people of your wards, and see that the crop is harvested when it should be to make good straw for braiding? If you will do this, and the people will not avail themselves of making their own hats and bonnets, there is no complaint can be attached to you. I have raised crops of rye from year to year, and invited the people to use the straw for making bonnets and hats; but no; the merchants had imported bonnets, and our ladies preferred going to the stores and buying them. When will this people become Saints indeed? Not until they observe every counsel that is given to them of this kind, doing with their might the things that are required of them. I know it is the will of the Lord that this people should manufacture what they wear and consume; and, in addition to its being the will of the Lord, the liability of our being cut off from supplies, through being so far distant from the great manufacturing districts, teaches us that it is wisdom and true economy that we should adopt this course. The money which this community has expended in hats and bonnets for men, women, and children in the last year would bring scores and hundreds of the poor Saints from the old countries to these valleys of Utah. Is it wise in us, and pleasing to the Lord, for us to place the means he has blessed us with where it does not belong, while our sons and our daughters, instead of idling away their time or being employed in that which does not profit them or us, might be engaged in preserving such means among us to be applied in the further progress of the work of God?

My next discourse will be upon merchandising. We are here in these valleys of the mountains organized as a people; and we know how we came to be here; and we know the designs of God, and the designs of our enemies concerning us; we know the distinction which is drawn between this people and the world; these things we understand. Now, we propose to the Bishops, presiding Elders and leading members of the church, who are here assembled to represent the kingdom of God upon the earth, and to all those who are not here, who act in these capacities in the various places where there are Saints gathered together, to do their own merchandising and cease to give the wealth which the Lord has given us to those who would destroy the kingdom of God and scatter us to the four winds, if they had the power. Cease to buy from them the gewgaws and frivolous things they bring here to sell to us for our money and means—means that we should have to bring the poor here, to build our temples, our towers, ornament our public grounds and buildings, and to beautify our cities. For, as merchandising has been generally conducted here, instead of having our means to perform these public works, it has been borne away by our enemies by the million.

I wish the brethren, in all our settlements, to buy the goods they must have, and freight them with their own teams; and then let every one of the Latter-day Saints, male and female, decree in their hearts that they will buy of nobody else but their own faithful brethren, who will do good with the money they will thus obtain. I know it is the will of God that we should sustain ourselves, for, if we do not, we must perish, so far as receiving aid from any quarter, except God and ourselves. If we have not capital ourselves, there are plenty of honorable men whom our brethren can enter into partnership with, who would furnish and assist them whenever they should receive an intimation to that effect. I know it is our duty to save ourselves; the enemy of all righteousness, will do nothing to help us in that work, neither will his children; we have to preserve ourselves, for our enemies are determined to destroy us. I know it is the duty of this people to build up themselves; for our enemies will not build us up, but they will do their uttermost to tear us down. This will not apply to all; but there are enough to bark, and yelp, and growl, and snarl till the peaceable, good meaning man dare not open his mouth. We have thousands of warm-hearted friends who dare not say anything in favor of this people. We have friends in Congress who wish us to become a State in the Union; but they dare not tell of it. No, let them only say in their own districts that they would vote for Utah to become a State, and that would be their political grave, and they know it. If nobody will speak for us, let us speak for ourselves; if no person else will do anything for us, let us do something for ourselves. This is right; it is politically right, religiously right, nationally right, socially and morally right, and it is right in every sense of the word for us to sustain ourselves.

Let us save that money which we spend for bonnets and hats, and the trimmings that are upon them. You may ask me if I think my family will start out with a good example in this direction; I hope they will. If we will be diligent in this kind of economy, and make all we can within ourselves, and send out as little of our ready means as possible, it will place at our control means, which we do not now command, to gather thousands of the poor Saints.

What I am now about to say is on the subject of the use of tobacco. Let us raise our own tobacco, or quit using it. In the years ’49, ’50, ’51, ’52, and ’53, and so long as I kept myself posted respecting the amount expended yearly by this people at the stores for articles of merchandise, we spent upwards of 100,000 dollars a year for tobacco alone! We now spend considerably more than we did then. Let us save this ready means in our country by abstaining from the use of this narcotic, or raise it ourselves. By so doing we will have that amount of means to circulate in channels of usefulness and profit which will add to our strength, to our permanency, and to our influence and importance as a great people. But when we place hundreds of thousands of dollars in the hands of those who are not of us, whose homes are not with us, who spend nothing to build up our country, but come here merely to make fortunes to spend elsewhere, we give them so much of our strength, and we are proportionately weakened. This is poor economy, and is displeasing to the Lord, because it retards the development of His purposes.

I will not call upon you to enter into a covenant to do this, for some might break their covenants and that would be a sin, but I want what you do in this matter to be prompted by a desire to bring to pass some permanent profit and good to yourselves and to the cause which we represent. I want you to do it as I have done it myself. I have never made a covenant since I entered this Church only to do good and serve the Lord our God, and in every possible way aid in developing His purposes. The Lord gave me strength to lay aside tobacco, and it is very rarely indeed that I taste tea or coffee; yet I have no objection to aged persons, when they are fatigued and feel infirm, taking a little stimulus that will do them good. It is wrong to use narcotics, for the nervous system is destroyed or injured thereby; but we should maintain a healthy action of all the powers of the body, which should be devoted to the service of our Father and God in building up His kingdom on the earth.

Now, brethren, bishops, presiding elders, influential men, men of property and money, will you go to now and gather up the means in your settlements and set some good reliable men to merchandising in every settlement, men who, if they make anything, will devote it to the building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth. I care not how much a man makes, if he only devotes it to proper uses, or how rich he may be if he make a right application of his riches. It is the bad use that men make of their wealth which God objects to. Go to, my brethren, and prepare yourselves forthwith to import the goods you must have, and never admit of a store being started in your neighborhood again that you cannot control. It may be asked how can you prevent it? By never spending a dollar with any who will not aid in developing the country and in building it up.

It is the duty of this people to do their own merchandising, and, if I had the power, I would prevail upon them to take care of themselves, to provide for themselves, and use their means in a way to benefit and bless themselves, instead of pouring into the laps of those who will squander and make an ill use of it, who will use it to sustain the power of the enemy in his operations against the kingdom of God. This is right, and who can say aught against it? Nobody but a faultfinder or an accuser. As it has always been, and will be yet for some time, when the sons of God assemble together, Satan will be on hand as an accuser of the brethren, to find fault with those who are trying to do good. What I have said on this matter will answer my purpose.

There is another item which I will now notice, and until we learn such things I will promise you that we shall never inherit the Celestial Kingdom. We are gathered together for the purpose of learning what to do with this present life and with the present blessings bestowed upon us. If we do not learn these lessons, how can we expect to be trusted with the riches of eternity; for he that is faithful over a few things shall be made ruler over many things. The item I wish to refer to is the great loss which the people of this Territory suffer yearly in stock. I have talked about it heretofore many times, and tried to prevail upon the brethren to save their stock. When we are blessed with an increase of cattle, and we disregard this blessing which the Lord bestows upon us, we thereby incur His displeasure, and lay ourselves liable to punishment. What earthly father would bestow blessings upon a son with satisfaction and pleasure while that son would continue to squander them and gamble them away for nothing? After a time that father would withhold his favors, and bestow them upon the more worthy child. The Lord is more merciful than we are; but there may be a termination to His gifts, if we do not receive them with gratitude and take good care of them when we have them in our possession. Let the people take care of their cattle and horses, and the man who does not do it will lay himself liable to censure in the eyes of justice.

Listen to this advice, for here is economy. We have to gather the people, to send our Elders forth into the world to preach the Gospel to every creature; and when the people are gathered, there is probably not one family to fifty out of those who are brought here that knows anything about cultivating the earth, raising cattle, or doing anything to sustain themselves; we have to teach them this after they come here. We have importuned and plead with and instructed the people on these topics all the day long, rising early and continuing late until now; and many, a great many, have profited by our labors. The citizens of this city are tolerably comfortable; a great many of them have an abundance of fruit, and they enjoy it. It is very healthy for them and their children to eat in the season thereof, and it helps many to sustain their families pretty comfortable; and then they raise a few chickens, and they have one or two pigs in the pen, and a cow to give them milk and butter; though as the cows are now fed they are not very profitable to their owners.

I have lamented much that the people do not take the precaution to feed their cows. Let those who have cows in the city, sow a little lucerne seed in their gardens, say three or four rods square, and see that it is well cultivated, and you can feed your cows with a little of this two or three times a day, and take a little oats or wheat for your labor and get it chopped, and feed them a little of that everyday, and give them the weeds you pull out of the garden, and the slops from the kitchen. In this way it is not difficult to keep a cow the year round. But take a cow six or seven miles over Jordan for a few dry weeds, and be all day, or as long as she remains there, without water and without shade, when she returns to the river she fills herself with water and comes home looking very full, yet hungry enough to crop the currant bushes where she can reach them, and eat the weeds from under our fences. This is not right. Raise lucerne, plant a few hills of corn, and take off the outside leaves of your cabbages and give to her; sow your beets and carrots, and what you do not use for greens, save and give to the cow. Save everything that she will eat, and feed it to her in a way that she will relish it and eat it all up; feed it to her fresh, and not suffer it to rot about the kitchen and the doors to become a sickly nuisance to your children.

By taking this course, you can as well milk eight quarts of milk twice a day as two, according to the quality of the cow and the kind of feed you give her. Thus you have your milk and a little butter, and your meat of your own raising, and your eggs and chickens, and your fruit; and you have a living here off an acre and a quarter of land. Such a little farm well tilled and well managed, and the products of it economically applied, will do wonders towards keeping and educating a small family. Let the little children do their part, when they are not engaged in their studies, in knitting their stockings and mittens, braiding straw for their hats, or spinning yarn for their frocks and underclothing. If this people would strictly observe these simple principles of economy, they would soon become so rich that they would not have room sufficient to hold their abundance: their storehouses would run over with fullness, and their vats with new wine.

Now, cultivate your farms and gardens well, and drive your stock to where they can live through the winter, if you have not feed for them. Do not keep so many cattle, or, in other words, more than you can well provide for and make profitable to yourselves and to the kingdom of God. We have hundreds and thousands of fat cattle upon the ranges, and yet we have no beef to eat, or very little. Kill your cattle when they are fat, and salt down the meat, that you may have meat to eat in the winter and some to dispose of to your neighbors for their labor to extend your improvements. Lay up your meat, and not let it die on your hands. Such a course is not right. Cattle is made for our use, let us take care of them.

I have now a proposition to make to the Latter-day Saints; and here is the strength and power of Israel to listen to it. It is to send five hundred teams to the Missouri River next season—five hundred good teams, with four yoke of oxen forward of a good wagon, to bring all the poor who have a mind to come to these valleys. There are hundreds of the Saints who can get to the frontiers, but no further; and rather than leave their homes in the old countries and be left among strangers in a strange land, they stay at home. What do you say, shall we send down five hundred teams next season? [The Conference was unanimously in favor of this movement.] I would suggest that we take cattle and wagons from Utah. The wagons that are made in the east now are not so good as they were years ago. The demand has made good wagon timber scarce, and it is rather difficult now to get as good wagons as we got a few years ago. Before the time of starting, you will be furnished with a circular of instructions. May the Lord bless you. Amen.

Given by President Brigham Young, to the people of Box Elder and Cache Counties, Aug. 1-10, 1865.

I wish to present some counsel unto to the people on the subject of their temporal life and point out to them what is their true interest in regard to merchandising. I would propose to the brethren that they keep their grain until they can get money for it, then put that money into the hands of business men, and let them purchase goods with it, which the people can freight themselves, and thus let every ward in the Territory supply themselves from abroad with what they really require; by so doing, the people will have the handling of the means which the Lord has given them, and the greater portion of it will not go into the pockets of speculators to enrich and fatten strangers, but the large profits, which they have made and carried out of the country, will remain here to improve the country, and to improve our condition as a people. We sell our grain to the merchant, and receive our pay in goods. The grain he has bought of us, he sells to the army, or to mail contractors for a greatly increased price, which affords a large profit upon his goods, and upon the wheat which his goods have bought, and all this he gets in money.

Let the past ignorance and folly suffice us, and instead of giving away our strength for naught, let us enjoy the full benefit of our labors ourselves. Why not appoint in every ward of the Territory a good business man, who is filled with integrity and truth, to make contracts for the people of the ward, and let the convention prices be the rule or not sell? Why not draw money for our grain and spend it ourselves, instead of allowing those who have no interest with us to handle it for us and pocket fortunes which we should enjoy and lay out in redeeming the earth and in building up the kingdom of God in all the world? We can do this if we will.

We have yet much to learn, and we are learning little by little, and I do think that we shall yet come to understanding in sustaining ourselves, building up the kingdom of God, renovating the earth, keeping our enemies from our midst, sanctifying ourselves and the earth, that the latter may be finally celestialized to dwell in the presence of our Father and God. If we could all see and understand things as they are, we would heap up the riches of this world. What for? To gather the poor from among all nations, and buy out every foot of land that is for sale upon the continent of America. We should be the most industrious and the most economical of any people upon the face of the whole earth. We should waste nothing, but make everything in some way or other minister to our wants and independ– ence. Everything which we use to feed the life of man or beast, not a grain of it should be permitted to go to waste, but should be made to pass through the stomach of some animal; everything, also, which will fertilize our gardens and our fields should be sedulously saved and wisely husbanded, that nothing may be lost which contains the elements of food and raiment for man and sustenance for beast.

Time is allotted unto man wherein to labor and perform his work under the sun; if our time is properly employed and judiciously divided to our varied duties and labors, each man and woman performing his or her part faithfully, the land would be filled with real wealth, and there would be an abundance of means to prosecute every labor and every private and public improvement which we desire to make for our own comfort and convenience and that of our friends and neighbors and the community at large. Were we to pursue this course faithfully, and continue so to do, eternal permanency would be added to the general peace and freedom which we now enjoy, and we never would be brought into bondage again in any respect by the power of the enemy, but we would continue to live and serve the Lord until the earth would be sanctified and the saints inherit it forever and ever.

A few words upon the subject of example; and these I speak particularly to my brethren, the Elders of Israel, yet they will apply to all classes of mankind. It is a rule with me, and always has been, to request nothing of the people that I am not willing to do myself, to require no obedience of them that I am unwilling to yield. Experience has taught me, that example is the best method of preaching to any people. It is written—“Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, the scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.” If we teach righteousness, let us also practice righteousness in every sense of the word; if we teach morality let us be moral; let us see to it that we preserve ourselves within the bounds of all the good which we teach to others. I am sure this course will be good to live by and good to die by, and when we get through the journey of life here, what a consolation it will be to us to know that we have done as we have wished others to do by us in all respects. This is my doctrine.

Let us, as teachers of righteousness, not only teach the whole law of God, but do it ourselves. And when we pray, let us not ask our Heavenly Father to do that for us which we would not help Him to do were it in our power. When our brethren, who have the cause of God at heart pray, we invariably hear them ask Him to cleanse the earth from sin, and sanctify it and prepare it for the Lord to dwell upon. While we thus pray, we should be employed in sanctifying ourselves first, and then in redeeming and sanctifying the earth, for this the work we are called to perform, aided by the Almighty. We pray the Lord to preserve the righteous and to let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, and “O Lord defend thy people and fight their battles.” We should be prepared and be as ready and willing to defend ourselves as we are that the Lord should be ready and willing to defend us. We should be as ready and willing to fight our own battles as to have the Lord fight them for us. We should be just as willing to exercise the ability God has given to us to clothe ourselves, to build comfortable habitations for ourselves and our families, as He has been willing to bestow that ability upon us. We should be just as willing to learn to govern and control ourselves, and to abide in the truth, as we are to have the Lord assist us in doing so. When we fully perform our part, the Lord will not be backward in performing all that He has promised, if He should have to waste away and utterly destroy nations and kingdoms to do it.

We all believe that the Lord will fight our battles; but how? Will He do it while we are unconcerned and make no effort whatever for our own safety when an enemy is upon us? If we make no efforts to guard our towns, our houses, our cities, our wives and children, will the Lord guard them for us? He will not; but if we pursue the opposite course and arrive to help Him to accomplish His designs, then will He fight our battles. We are baptized for the remission of sins; but it would be quite as reasonable to expect remission of sins without baptism, as to expect the Lord to fight our battles without our taking every precaution to be prepared to defend ourselves. The Lord requires us to be quite as willing to fight our own battles as to have Him fight them for us. If we are not ready for an enemy when he comes upon us, we have not lived up to the requirements of Him who guides the ship of Zion, or who dictates the affairs of his kingdom.

The Lord has promised to provide for His Saints, to feed them and clothe them; but He expects them to plough and plant, sow and reap, and prepare their bread from the increase of the soil. It is just as reasonable to suppose that He will raise our grain and fruit for us while we are sunning ourselves, or lying in a state of inactivity in the shade—that He will grind our wheat and make it into cakes for us—as to expect that He will fight our battles when we will not make a motion towards preparing for self-defense against any enemy that may approach us. We cannot expect that the Lord will fight our battles if we sell our powder and lead and arms to the Indians, and leave ourselves unarmed and defenseless. If we do this, He will leave us to ourselves to suffer for this great neglect, as we should have to suffer for want of bread, if we did not take the proper precautions to raise it from the ground when it would be in our power to do so. If we wish to preserve ourselves from suffering cold in the winter, it is expected that we build houses and provide fuel. Now, the Lord will not do this for us, when we have the material all around us and the strength to perform the labor required. If we wish to keep our cattle from perishing, it is necessary to lay up fodder; the winter may be severe or it may be mild; but in taking the precaution of laying up fodder, we are prepared for either a mild or a severe winter. The Lord has endowed us with ability to gather from the elements around us every material which is necessary for food, raiment, and shelter. We know how to raise sheep, and how to manufacture their wool into cloth. We know how to raise flax, and cotton, and hemp, and silk, and how to make them contribute to our comfort. We know how to raise grain and fruit in abundance, and what to do with them when we have raised them; and we hope to know how to use weapons of defense as well as any other people or nation, if ever necessary, which I hope and pray will never be necessary. We should always be willing and ready to obey every good and wholesome law, whether it be to arm ourselves as the law directs, to train in the ranks, to labor with our hands, to preach the Gospel, to pray or to pay tithing; for those who obey in all things will enjoy the spirit and blessings of the kingdom of God in time and in eternity. Those who refuse to do their part for the maintenance of the public peace and the public security are not worthy of the fellowship of the Saints, and should be severed from the church.

It is required by the laws of the Territory of Utah of every male citizen from eighteen to forty-five to be armed and equipped and ready for any duty he may be called upon to perform as one of the militia of the county; and if any refuse to obey the laws of the land, I would try them before their bishops for that as readily as I would if they were to refuse to pay a just debt; and if they would not repent, I would sever them from the church, and give them over to the laws of the land. I do not know that there is one person in the Territory who would refuse to perform military duty; there are strangers in our midst; but I very much doubt if one could be found who would refuse to do military duty.

I look upon the Saints with delight; they are my pride; they are my glory; in fact, this is the family that our heavenly Father has selected as His chosen children, although many may yet leave it and go away; but here are my fathers, my mothers, my sisters, my brothers, here are my friends and associates, and here is my joy. I have never desired to be in any place only where the Saints live; I have never desired to associate with any other people. I know that we must become of one heart and one mind in all things, to fulfil the requirements of heaven in the building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth. We enjoy ourselves in our public amusements, but our greatest joy is to meet, as we have now met, to instruct each other in the principles and faith of the holy Gospel, that we may increase in faith, in knowledge, in understanding, and in the power of God to obtain all that is for us, and to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth as Jesus Christ did when He was upon the earth.

Prepare to die, is not the exhortation in this church and kingdom; but prepare to live is the word with us, and improve all we can in this life that we may be the better prepared to enjoy a better life hereafter, wherein we may enjoy a more exalted condition of intelligence, wisdom, light, knowledge, power, glory, and exaltation. Then let us seek to extend the present life to the uttermost, by observing every law of health, and by properly balancing labor, study, rest, and recreation, and thus prepare for a better life. Let us teach these principles to our children, that, in the morning of their days, they may be taught to lay the foundation of health and strength and constitution and power of life in their bodies. Let us teach them good manners, orderly conduct and good behavior in every respect; and as soon as they can understand what you mean, teach them to be strictly honest, truthful and virtuous, that they may grow up in Christ, their living head. Some of the brightest spirits who dwell in the bosom of the Father are making their appearance among this people, of whom the Lord will make a Royal Priesthood, a peculiar nation that He can own and bless, talk with, and associate with.

I wish to present before the people the subject of a telegraph wire through our settlements. It is a subject which is worthy of our attention, and an enterprise which, when completed, will be of immense benefit in many ways to our country. This work we can do almost entirely within ourselves. We can get the poles from the mountains, and plant them; the wires and insulators we shall be under the necessity of importing from abroad, and for which we must pay money. We can sell our grain and get the money. The freighting we can do ourselves.

Cache Valley should be strong enough to poll three thousand votes, and the people are well able to sustain a printing press. I think that sufficient news could be collected in Cache Valley to make a small sheet interesting, and I have no doubt talent sufficient to produce communications both instructive and amusing. I would also recommend the establishment in Logan of a machine shop for the general good of the people in this and the neighboring valleys.

We know the Gospel to be true by the spirit of revelation, “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save by the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but by the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” It is our privilege to live so as to know the voice of the good shepherd for ourselves, and to understand the will of God concerning us as individuals. When we live so as to enjoy the glory of our religion, then is our life a happy one, and our hope is bright that we shall secure to ourselves life everlasting in the presence of our Father and God.

The religion of Jesus Christ is a matter-of-fact religion, and taketh hold of the everyday duties and realities of this life. When people go to meeting in the so-called Christian world, they expect to hear the sayings of Jesus Christ explained and enlarged upon and dressed up and polished by the learning of men to make them fit for the ears of the professors of the 19th century; or, they expect to hear some of the dark sayings of the ancient prophets expounded, and how the Lord used to manifest himself to the people in the days of old, and how He spoke to them, and gave them dreams and visions and wonderful manifestations, and what a delightful thing it was for them to gather out from the wicked world and be organized by Him, and how they enjoyed themselves in their social capacity, and what good times they all had in ancient days; and thus they extol the ancients to the heavens, tell of the doings of Adam, of Enoch, of Noah, of Abraham, of the patriarchs, of the prophets, of Jesus and His Apostles; and go on to tell about the resurrection, and describe the mysteries and joys thereof on the one hand and the torments of the damned in that lake of fire and brimstone and bottomless pit to which they are to be consigned on the other, and who are going to have their hair sheared off, who are going to have their fingernails taken out, who are going to have their eyes dug out, and who are going to have their blood spilled, and their spirits spilled, etc. At the close of such a meeting the exclamation heard on all sides is, what a glorious meeting we have had, what a glorious sermon we have listened to; when I would not give the ashes of a rye straw for the whole of it as to the amount of real practical good it does the people, more than in a moral point of view.

When people are hungry they need substantial food; when they are thirsty they need substantial drink. Moses’ smiting the rock would not have benefited the people in the least, if water had not gushed out. It is the duty of the true minister of Christ to instruct the people of God how to get their food today, and to teach them by precept and example how to become an independent nation. How long shall we have the privilege of sending to New York, St. Louis, or other places to buy our goods? Babylon will surely fall. It may be said that we shall always be poor without commerce, we shall always be poor with it, unless we command it; and unless we can do this, we are better without it. Instead of sending our wealth abroad to purchase artificials, why not try to make them ourselves; or do without them? Why not continue our endeavors until we can manufacture cotton cloth as fine as these children are wearing today? Why not raise flax and prepare it with care, and continue our efforts until we can make linens of every description and quality? This home industry should be persevered in from year to year with the view to our ultimate independence of a foreign market. This is our duty. It is true we do not do it. Instead of our young ladies letting the time hang heavily upon their hands, or instead of being engaged in some useless and profitless employment, they would enjoy much more real peace of mind to be engaged in the production of some useful material of some kind, it may be of silk, of linen, of woollen, of straw, or of artificials and ornaments manufactured from paper, feathers, or other material produced at home.

Every effort of this kind made by our sisters has its weight in the struggle which we should all make to cut ourselves entirely loose from any dependence upon those who have no other aim in view but our final dismemberment as a society, and our utter overthrow as a people. The Lord requires this of us; it comes within the pale of our duty; and in addition to this, to live—for it is the first and foremost of all He requires of us—so that we shall know the voice of the good Shepherd always; to live so that we shall know the truth when we hear it, and our hearts shall say amen to it. If there are any who have never heard the Gospel until today, and wish to know how to serve God, begin by repenting of your sins, and by being baptized for the remission of them, and receive the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and ever after live so as to be able to say, “my conscience is void of offense towards God and man.”

The Lord rules in the heavens, and does His pleasure among men. I will here say, as the Lord lives, if this people will be faithful in the performance of every duty, they will never come upon a field of battle to fight their enemies. There is no man among them who trifles with the counsel given to him to be armed and equipped and ready for any emergency but what has lost the spirit of God more or less. If the Saints neglect to pray, and violate the day that is set apart for the worship of God, they will lose His spirit. If a man shall suffer himself to be overcome with anger, and curse and swear, taking the name of the Deity in vain, he cannot retain the Holy Spirit. In short, if a man shall do anything which he knows to be wrong, and repenteth not, he cannot enjoy the Holy Spirit, but will walk in darkness and ultimately deny the faith. Every good and wholesome law we should obey strictly, and do it with a good and honest heart. If we will pursue this course, the Lord Almighty will put hooks in the jaws of our enemies, and lead them whithersoever He will.

It is far better to die in a good cause than to live in a bad one; it is better to die doing good than to live doing evil. To the Saints of latter days who do their duty to the best of their knowledge, I promise peace; but I have no promise of God for those who do not do their duty. When I speak of our duty it applies to all, male and female. It is the right of the mother who labors in the kitchen, with her little prattling children around, to enjoy the Spirit of Christ, and to know her duty with regard to those children; but it is not her duty and privilege to dictate to her husband in his duties and business. If that mother or wife enjoys the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, she will never intrude upon the rights of her husband. It is the right and privilege of the husband to know his duty with regard to his wives and children, his flocks and his herds, his fields and his possessions; though I have seen women who, I thought, actually knew more about the business of life than their husbands themselves did, and were really more capable of directing a farm, the building of a house, and the management of flocks and herds, etc., than the men were; but if men were to live up to their privileges this would not be the case; for it is their right to claim the light of truth and that intelligence and knowledge necessary to enable them to carry on every branch of their business successfully.

It is the right and privilege of every Elder in Israel to enjoy the Holy Ghost, and the light of it, to know everything which concerns himself and his individual duties, but it is not his right and privilege to dictate his superior in office, nor to give him counsel, unless he is called upon to do so, then he may make suggestions; and if the people of a ward are living in the faithful performance of their several duties, their faith and their prayers will be concentrated before the Lord, in the name of Jesus, for and in behalf of their bishop, that he may know his business and be made fully capable to fulfil the duties of his calling to the honor of God and the salvation of the people. Wherever a man is ap– pointed to preside, he should preside in the dignity of his office, and be able to discriminate between his duties as a presiding officer in a branch, he being a high priest we will say, and the duties of the bishop. I am gratified to say that such a thing does exist in the midst of this people that one man can preside as a president and another as a bishop, in the same ward, and not quarrel with each other; each one has the privilege for himself of knowing his duty by the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if all presidents and bishops were inspired by this spirit, they never would have any difficulty, but they would see eye to eye. It is the duty and privilege of the Twelve Apostles to have the Holy Ghost for their constant companion, and live always in the Spirit of Revelation, to know their duty and understand their calling; this is also the duty and privilege of the First Presidency of the church.

In the setting forth of items of doctrine which pertain to the progress and further building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth, and the revealing of His mind and will, He has but one mouth through which to make known His will to His people. When the Lord wishes to give a revelation to His people, when He wishes to reveal new items of doctrine to them, or administer chastisement, He will do it through the man whom He has appointeth to that office and calling. The rest of the offices and callings of the church are helps and governments for the edifying of the body of Christ and the perfection of the Saints, etc., every president, bishop, elder, priest, teacher, deacon and member standing in his order and officiating in his standing and degree of priesthood as ministers of the words of life, as shepherds to watch over departments and sections of the flock of God in all the world, and as helps to strengthen the hands of the Presidency of the whole church. A sister who receives the gift of tongues is not thereby empowered to dictate her president, or the church. All gifts and endowments given of the Lord to members of His church are not given to control the church; but they are under the control and guidance of the priesthood, and are judged of by it. Some have erred upon this point, and have been led captive by the devil.

Whenever there is a disposition manifested in any of the members of this church to question the right of the President of the whole church to direct in all things, you see manifested the evidences of apostasy—of a spirit which, if encouraged, will lead to separation from the church and final destruction; wherever there is a disposition to operate against any legally appointed officer of this kingdom, no matter in what capacity he is called to act, if persisted in, it will be followed by the same results; they will “walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled; they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.”

In all our daily pursuits in life, of whatever nature and kind, Latter-day Saints, and especially those who hold important positions in the kingdom of God, should maintain a uniform and even temper, both when at home and when abroad. They should not suffer reverses and unpleasant circumstances to sour their natures and render them fretful and unsocial at home, speaking words full of bitterness and biting acrimony to their wives and children, creating gloom and sorrow in their habitations, making themselves feared rather than beloved by their families. Anger should never be permitted to rise in our bosoms, and words suggested by angry feelings should never be permitted to pass our lips. “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” “Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous;” but “The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.”

All that we possess and enjoy are the gifts of God to us, whether they be in earthly substance, physical constitution, or mental power; we are accountable to Him for the use we make of these precious gifts, and it is the imperative duty of all the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve to pay their tribute to Him who has created all things, and who is now pouring from the heavens instructions upon the people that they may know how to live here and return again into His presence. It is not our privilege to waste the Lord’s substance upon the lusts of the flesh, nor to devote one day of time to vanity and sin, or to any employment which will tend to death. We are willing to acknowledge that we receive all our blessings both temporal and spiritual, from the munificent hand of God; but we are not always willing that He should advise us how to use His blessings, when they are in our hands, in the best possible way to build up His kingdom on the earth. O, consistency, thou art one of the fairest jewels in the life of a Saint. We ask God to bless us with houses and lands, and possessions, chariots and horses, etc. When we plough our fields, and sow grain and plant vegetables, we pray to the Lord for good crops, to give us a great increase; and when we have gathered in the abundance which He has sent us until our barns are full and there is no room for more, then we ask no odds of the Lord, and are impatient and rebellious in our feelings, when dictated and advised as to how this fullness of the Lord’s blessings should be disposed of for the individual and general good of the community. This remark will not apply to all; but when the word of the Lord comes to the people, which it does all the time, every man and woman professing to be Latter-day Saints should say amen, and then straightway fulfil it to the letter.

We calculate to continue to visit and preach to the Saints until all shall see eye to eye upon this matter, and become of one heart and of one mind in all things, and become perfectly united in building up the kingdom of God upon the earth, and wipe out wickedness from the world. I thank God that I now live in a community where I can live from one year to another and not hear the name of God blasphemed, and all the butter and eggs and flour that the people take to Bannack and other places would not hire me to be obliged to listen to it. All may not feel as tenacious on this point as I do; some care not how much the names of God and of Jesus Christ are blasphemed in their presence, if they can only sell their butter and eggs; or, “only give me a dollar for your breakfast or dinner, and I care not how much you swear and curse in my house and in the presence of my family.” I would not hear the name of God blasphemed as some who profess to be Latter-day Saints do for all the gold that has been taken from the mines of California.

May the Lord bless His people. Amen.

Given by President Brigham Young, to the people, on his visit to Utah, Juab, and Sanpete Counties, in June and July, 1865.

The Latter-day Saints in these mountains are growing in grace and in favor with God and his servants, and we feel to bless them as parents, as children, as schoolteachers, as musicians, as singers, as Elders in Israel, and as Saints, in all their employments and honest pursuits. As soon as the people spread out from Great Salt Lake City to form a new settlement, we have visited them to instruct and encourage them; in this we feel satisfied that we have done our duty. We are still traveling from settlement to settlement, and have great joy in visiting and talking to the Saints, and in blessing them. When I leave home to visit the Saints, I leave all in the hands of God, and would not swerve from the fulfillment of my duties as a preacher of righteousness, and as the leader of this great people, if it should save my property from being burnt to ashes. This has been my course from the beginning.

It gives us great joy to see the public manifestations of welcome which the people give everywhere. The little children who take part in these demonstrations, dressed in their best, receive impressions they can never forget; time cannot wear them out; they are impressions of respect and honor to the leaders of Israel. It is a duty we owe to our children to educate and train them in every principle of honor and good manners, in a knowledge of God and his ways, and in popular school education. I am happy to hear the little children sing, and hope they are also learning to read and write, and are progressing in every useful branch of learning.

I feel happy; I feel at peace with all the inhabitants of the earth; I love my friends, and as for my enemies, I pray for them daily; and, if they do not believe I would do them good, let them call at my house, when they are hungry, and I will feed them; yea, I will do good to those who despitefully use and persecute me. I pray for them, and bless my friends all the time.

We are now located in the midst of these mountains, and are here because we were obliged to go somewhere. We were under the necessity of leaving our homes, and had to go somewhere. Before we left Nauvoo, three Members of Congress told us that if we would leave the United States, we should never be troubled by them again. We did leave the United States, and now Congressmen say, if you will renounce polygamy you shall be admitted unto the Union as an independent State and live with us. We shall live anyway, and increase, and spread, and prosper, and we shall know the most and be the best looking people there is on the earth. As for polygamy, or any other doctrine the Lord has revealed, it is not for me to change, alter, or renounce it; my business is to obey when the Lord commands, and this is the duty of all mankind.

The past of this people proves that we are better able to take care of ourselves than any other people now living. This fact stares the world in the face. When we first came to these mountains, as pioneers to develop their resources, we were poor, and had been scattered and peeled by our enemies, yet our trust was in God. We are now not only able to feed ourselves, but to feed thousands who travel through our settlements, and give them protection from the savage foe who otherwise would have infested this region and made it dangerous to travel. We must watch and pray, and look well to our walk and conversation, and live near to our God, that the love of this world may not choke the precious seed of truth, and feel ready, if necessary, to offer up all things, even life itself, for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. We must not love the world, nor the things of the world, until the world is sanctified and prepared to be presented to the Father with the Saints upon it; then they will inhabit it forever and ever.

We are living in a country where we are subject to be endangered by aggressions from a savage foe, and I would advise the people to dwell together in cities, and not in a scattered condition. When men and women cannot live together in a community, close enough for self-defense, it denotes a lack of fellowship and friendship, a lack of those brotherly and neighborly feelings which should exist in the bosoms of all true Saints. When I see men and women inclined to withdraw from the community, and children from their parents, I know that there is a spirit of alienation in them which they should not possess. There are persons who say they believe in Joseph the Prophet, in the Book of Mormon, in the gathering of the house of Israel, in the building up of Zion, and in all the blessings promised to the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth; but they do not like to be quite so nigh their neighbors; they want to be off on one side, from under the influence of city regulations, and from under the eye of their Bishop. When I see this feeling manifested, I fear those persons have never felt that brotherly feeling that belongs to the spirit of our religion; if they ever did have it, they certainly do not possess it when they entertain such desires. I would like to see a disposition manifested to live close to the meetinghouse, or to the schoolhouse, where the Saints can attend the public worship of God and can send their children to school, where they can live so that their children can associate together and form lasting friendships, that may serve them for good in a day to come, and where they can pass the dreary winter months in associations with people who are informed, and are capable of educating them in singing, in mathematics, spelling, and other branches of education; and when they want to recreate, that they can mingle together in the dance without having to go long distances through the snow and the cold; and that in the case of sickness or accident of any kind, they may be within the reach of sympathetic hearts and the hand of kindness and benevolence, being ever ready to receive kindness or to give it to their neighbors. Those who possess these desires manifest plainly the spirit of the Gospel.

This people are improving; they are improving in the cultivation of the soil, in the study of horticulture, both theoretically and practically, and in all matters that are calculated to multiply around them every substantial comfort of life. Yet we are im– perfect, we are weak, and we cannot see afar off, though I think we can see as through a glass darkly, and comprehend the outlines of many things; if we cannot see all the details, we can see the future of this people and the destiny of the nations. We should love the earth—we should love the works which God has made. This is correct; but we should love them in the Lord, as I think the majority of this people do; for what people would have done as this people have, were it not for the kingdom of heaven’s sake? They have forsaken their homes, and friends, and country to come up to these mountains to serve God and build up his kingdom on the earth.

We are doing well, notwithstanding all our failings and weaknesses; but the Lord would like to have us a little more diligent; he would like us to cleave a little more closely to the things of his kingdom, have more of his Spirit, and know more of him and of one another, that complete and perfect confidence may be restored. The confidence which should exist among all people is gone, and the wise men of the world are aware of this fact, but they are at a loss to know how to recover it. The Latter-day Saints alone know how to do this; they know how to sustain themselves and restore the confidence which has been lost. We are actually restoring this confidence. The people abroad who have confidence in our Elders, and in their testimony, are baptized in water according to the ancient pattern, and are born of the water, and are also born of the Spirit, and receive a testimony from the heavens for themselves. This is the only way in which confidence can be restored among men.

All men ought to understand that confidence is one of the most precious jewels that they can possibly possess on the earth, and when we have the confidence of a good man or woman, we never should allow ourselves to do an act that would in the least degree impair it. It is an absolute truth that the confidence of this people in the men God has placed to lead them is daily increasing, and the confidence of the heavens is increasing in us in the same ratio as our confidence increases in one another. It will not do to lie to and deceive one another; neither will it do to cease to chasten and reprove the people when it is necessary to do so. There is no people on the earth that can bear to be spoken to in the language of reproof, and have their faults laid open before them, as this people can. All who are in possession of the Holy Spirit of truth receive such reproofs as kindnesses, and are thankful. In this way we go on from truth to truth, and from light to light.

It is interesting to follow this people from the beginning of their existence—through all their drivings and persecutions up to the present time. It will be seen that they have steadily increased in numbers, in righteousness, and in power and influence up to this day. Note the increase of love, of joy, and of peace; our peace flows like a river: it is glorious. Hallelujah; praise the God of heaven, for He has spoken from the heavens and has called us to truth and virtue, and wishes to put into our possession the wisdom of eternity; this to us is a matter of great joy. If we will do right and seek the Lord with all our hearts, he will give unto us everything our hearts can desire. The earth is before us, heaven is before us, and the fullness of eternity is before us, and it is for us to live for all our hearts can desire in righteousness.

We have enemies; they are with us all the time, prompting the Saints to do wrong, that their minds may be darkened, and they be plunged into sorrow and grief. Are we ready to receive an enemy? We should be as ready to meet an enemy in one capacity as in another. Every time the enemy throws us off our guard, and we give way to temptation, he gains so much; he weakens us and strengthens himself; when we resist temptation, it strengthens the Saints and weakens the enemy. We should be ready for all emergencies at all times, in all places, and under all circumstances, meeting the enemy at the door, and not waiting until he takes possession of the house. We should at all times be well qualified by faith, by the power of the Holy Spirit of the Gospel which we possess, and be well fortified on every side—this we should do spiritually; this we should do temporally. If the enemy finds that we are prepared, he will be very apt to keep out of doors.

The earth is before us, and all the blessings of the earth. There is not a man who is called now to receive the blessings which pertain to the spiritual world, and the things of eternity, but what is first called to learn how to sustain his natural life here in this world. This life is worth as much as any life that any being can possess in time or in eternity. There is no life more precious to us in the eye of eternal wisdom and justice than the life which we now possess. Our first duty is to take care of this life; and in this duty we are, as a people, tolerably skillful.

I do not think that another community can be found anywhere more capable of taking care of themselves than are the Latter-day Saints. It is true that we do not raise our own tobacco: we might raise it if we would. We do not raise our tea; but we might raise it if we would, for tea raising, this is as good a country as China; and the coffee bean can be raised a short distance south of us. Our ladies wear imported silk, when in reality this is one of the finest silk countries in the world. The mulberry tree which produces the natural food of the silkworm, flourish on all our bench lands, and our climate is adapted to the healthy condition of the silkworm. I would recommend the planting and propagating of the mulberry tree as shade trees, and as ornamental trees; they also yield a great abundance of excellent fruit. Let our cities and gardens be adorned with trees that are both ornamental and useful. Our young ladies can be amused and profitably employed in feeding that useful insect, in winding and spinning their silk into sewing silk, and into yarn, which can be converted into silks and satins of the finest texture and quality; for we have in our community artisans who can do this work as well as it can be done in any country in the world. We can sustain ourselves; and as for such so-called luxuries as tea, coffee, tobacco and whiskey, we can produce them or do without them. When we produce our food and clothing in the country where we live, then are we so far independent of the speculating, moneymaking world outside, whereas, if we were to dig gold, and make this our business, then should we become slaves to the producers of food and clothing, and make fortunes for speculators and freighters; and instead of working to build up Zion and its interests, we should be laboring to build up Gentile institutions and Gentile interests. When this people are prepared to properly use the riches of this world for the building up of the kingdom of God, He is ready and willing to bestow them upon us. If the Latter-day Saints will walk up to their privileges, and exercise faith in the name of Jesus Christ, and live in the enjoyment of the fullness of the Holy Ghost constantly day by day, there is nothing on the face of the earth that they could ask for, that would not be given to them. The Lord is waiting to be very gracious unto this people, and to pour out upon them riches, honor, glory, and power, even that they may possess all things according to the promises He has made through His apostles and prophets.

I refer to this, having my eye particularly on the chastisement I gave the merchants last fall and spring Conferences. I said then, what I will say anywhere, for it is as true as the sun shines. Are our merchants honest? I could not be honest and do as they do; they make five hundred percent on some of their goods, and that, too, from an innocent, confiding, poor, industrious people. What do this people, who have been gathered from the manufacturing and rural districts of foreign countries, know about speculation? Nothing. Where they lived they worked by the day or by the week for so much, and then would buy so much bread and so much meat, &c., with their wages. Here, when they have a dollar instead of a farthing, they do not know what to do with it; but the merchants are ready to say give it to us for a piece of rag. If they do not repent they will go to hell. They have made fortunes out of the poor Saints. What do you think about them? I know how God looks at them, and I know how I look at them. They have got to devote the riches they have gathered from this poor people to the building up of the kingdom of God, or they and their riches will perish together. I mean this to apply to our merchants that are here, and to those who are scattered through the Territory. I am speaking of our Mormon merchants. When a Gentile merchant comes here he gives us to understand that he is here to make all the money he can out of the Mormons; we know how to take him; but when men come and say they are Latter-day Saints, brethren, Mormons, the people trust them as friends and are deceived and suffer through their avarice.

I like to see men get rich by their industry, prudence, management and economy, and then devote it to the building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth, and in gathering in the poor saints from the four corners of the earth; and I am pleased to say that our rich brethren are doing well. I have no fault to find with our brethren who are merchants, in regard to their deal with me as an individual; they are kind to me. I believe they would give me half they are worth, if I were to ask them for it.

The Lord will bestow riches and honor upon this people as fast as they can receive them and learn to take care of them in the Lord. We all have faults: fault could be found with our mechanics and with our common laborers, as well as with our merchants. Yet, notwithstanding all our faults, where is there as good a community of people upon the earth, or as good looking a one, or as wise and knowing a one as the Latter-day Saints in this Territory? Let us continue to improve until we are filled with the knowledge of the truth. We have yet much to learn. It is necessary that the people be taught how to live with each other, and enjoy each other’s society in peace, and in the light of the Holy Spirit of the gospel which we have embraced, that every minute of our lives may be a scene of peace. We should learn to live with our neighbors without contention, learning to do good to each other.

To build up the kingdom of God is our business; we have nothing else on hand. When will we see and understand the general principle of building up the kingdom of God on the earth? When shall we see the interest of the whole of God’s people sought by each person instead of an individual interest? The question in our minds ought to be, what will advance the general interests of our settlements and increase intelligence in the minds of the people. To do this should be our constant study in preference to how shall we secure that farm or that garden, or to saying, I want that house, and I do delight in that horse, and this carriage, &c., so much so that we cannot worship our God in public meeting or kneel down to pray in our families without the images of earthly possessions rising up in our minds to distract them and make our worship and our prayers unprofitable. Until a selfish, individual interest is banished from our minds, and we become interested in the general welfare, we shall never be able to magnify our Holy Priesthood as we should.

On tomorrow (June 27) it will be twenty-one years since Joseph Smith was killed, and from that time to this the Twelve have dictated, guided and directed the destinies of this great people. Can you not discern clearly that this kingdom grows? In a few years more those who composed the Church in the days of Joseph Smith will be found only one here and one there. It will soon be hard to find one who knew the Prophet Joseph. The kingdom has made rapid strides in advance, and prospered amazingly in the last twenty-one years. We have traveled abroad into the world—into the wide field—and have scattered the seed of truth broadcast, and gathered from the crude masses our brethren, our sisters, their children, and all those who have received the truth, and cemented them together by the power of the Holy Priesthood, into a great people. In this the hand of God is visible to all, in acknowledging the labors of His servants, and this people as His people. I can witness one fact, and so can others, that by paying attention to the building up of the kingdom of God alone we have got rich in the things of this world; and if any man can tell how we can get rich in any other way, he can do more than I can. We leave our business and our families and go out to preach the peaceable things of the kingdom, and pay attention to that, never thinking of our business or our families, except when we ask the Lord to bless our families in common with all the families of the Saints everywhere.

In my first administrations in the gospel, in the rise of this church when I went out to preach, I would leave my family and friends in the hands of the Lord, and I gave them no further thought, but my mind looked forward and my thoughts were, I am going among strangers, how can I present myself to that congregation to which I am going to speak this afternoon, this evening, or tomorrow morning; how can I draw their attention to the principles of the Holy Gospel, and engage their feelings to that degree that they will inquire about the truth and embrace it. I did not think about wife, children, home, native land or friends; but my thoughts were on the great work before me. This should be the state of our feelings continually. The prosperity of the kingdom is before us; we see it as we see one another in this congregation; we see the spread of the people and their increase. Thousands of children are born yearly in Utah; we have an immense immigration among us in this way; and still we are sending Elders abroad to gather in the honest in heart from foreign lands. Sixty Elders have gone out this spring, men of experience, character, ability, and good standing in society—men who can be depended upon.

The increase of our children, and their growing up to maturity, increases our responsibilities. More land must be brought into cultivation to supply their wants. This will press the necessity of digging canals to guide the waters of our large streams over the immense tracts of bench and bottom lands which now lie waste. We want our children to remain near us, where there is an abundance of land and water, and not go hundreds of miles away to seek homes. In these great public improvements the people should enter with heart and soul, and freely invest in them their surplus property and means, and thus prepare to locate the vast multitudes of our children which are growing up, and strengthen our hands, and solidify still more—make still more compact our present organized spiritual and national institutions. The river Jordan will be brought out and made to flow through a substantial canal to Great Salt Lake City. When this is done, it will not only serve as a means of irrigating, but it will form a means of transportation from the south end of Utah Lake to Great Salt Lake City. Thus we will keep laboring, and preaching, and gathering the people, and the Lord will keep blessing and sustaining us, until the land is full of Saints, and they begin to spread out, to hive forth, seeking for room to dwell, until the earth shall be full of the glory of the Lord and His Saints.

We are greatly blessed as a people. We have had peace here for many years. Today we are able to meet together to speak to each other, to strengthen and do each other good; and by forsaking our fields for a season, to gather together to worship our God, I can assure you that our crops will be better than they would be if we were to spend all our time in our fields. We may water and plant and toil, but we should never forget that it is God who gives the increase; and by meeting together, our health and spirits will be better, we will look better, and the things of this world will increase around us more, and we will know better how to enjoy them.

At Mount Pleasant, in San Pete County, an Elder wished to give out a notice for the brethren to water their wheat immediately, for it was suffering. I requested him to allow me to give out the notice for him, which he did; and I gave out the appointment, informing the saints that if they would place guards sufficient to keep their homes from Indian depredations, fires, &c., and the rest of the men, women, and children attend our meetings, I would promise them, in the name of Israel’s God, better crops than if they did otherwise. This was on Wednesday, and in the night there came a beautiful shower, and we continued to have showers, until at Manti, on Sunday, we were under the necessity of suspending our meeting in the Bowery, and repairing to the meetinghouse; the earth was thoroughly soaked, and vegetation was refreshed, and the people were satisfied. I notice this incident merely to show that if we will do our duty, and be faithful to our God, He will never be backward in dispensing His mercies liberally to us.

We should spend a portion of our time and means in training our children, and a most effective way is to do it by example. If we wish our children to be faithful to us, let us be faithful to God and to one another. If we wish them to be obedient to us, let us be obedient to our superiors. Parents should manifest before their children all that they wish to see exhibited in them. Whatever a husband requires of a wife, or of a child, in obedience, in meekness, in submission, manifest before them all that you require of them. Example is better than precept. When we present precepts they should correspond with our own example.

I say to fathers, mothers, and to the whole Priesthood of the Son of God, if we expect to sanctify ourselves and the earth upon which we tread, we must begin that work in our own hearts; let them be pure and holy, and devoted entirely to the service of God, then will the earth become sanctified and holy under our feet; we shall begin to spread abroad and enlarge our borders with greater power when we can conquer ourselves and be able to exercise a good influence over our friends and neighbors. We do many wrongs which we would not do if we knew better, and so it is with our children. You may remember it and lay it to heart, and if you wish, write it in your journals, that some of the best spirits that have ever been sent to earth are coming at the present time, comparatively speaking.

Solomon said, “He that spareth his rod hateth his son,” but instead of using the rod, I will teach my children by example and by precept. I will teach them every opportunity I have to cherish faith, to exercise patience, to be full of long-suffering and kindness. It is not by the whip or the rod that we can make obedient children; but it is by faith and by prayer, and by setting a good example before them. This is my belief. I expect to obtain the same as Abraham obtained by faith and prayer, also the same as Isaac and Jacob obtained; but there are few who live for the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob after they are sealed upon them. No blessing that is sealed upon us will do us any good, unless we live for it. Whereas, if we are faithful, there is nothing which is calculated to please the eye, to gladden the heart, to cheer and comfort the body and spirit of man, everything in the heavens, with the fullness of the earth, its pleasures and enjoyments, with perfect health, without pain, with appetites made pure, all this, and more that has not yet entered into the heart of man to conceive, the Lord has in store for His children. This earth, when it shall be made pure and holy, and sanctified and glorified and brought back into the presence of the Father and the Son, from whence it came at the time of the fall, will become celestial, and be the glorified habitation of the faithful of this portion of the great family of our Heavenly Father.

Abraham was faithful to the true God, he overthrew the idols of his father and obtained the Priesthood after the order of Melchizedek, which is after the order of the Son of God, and a promise that of the increase of his seed there should be no end; when you obtain the Holy Priesthood, which is after the order of Melchizedek, sealed upon you, and the promise that your seed shall be numerous as the stars in the firmament, or as the sands upon the seashore, and of your increase there shall be no end, you have then got the promise of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the blessings that were conferred upon them.

How many of the youth of our land are entitled to all the blessings of the kingdom of Heaven, without first receiving the law of adoption? When a man and woman have received their endowments and sealings, and then had children born to them afterwards, those children are legal heirs to the kingdom and to all its blessings and promises, and they are the only ones that are on this earth. Where is not a young man in our community who would not be willing to travel from here to England to be married right, if he understood things as they are; there is not a young woman in our community, who loves the gospel and wishes its blessings, that would be married in any other way; they would live unmarried until they could be married as they should be, if they lived until they were as old as Sarah before she had Isaac born to her. Many of our brethren have married off their children without taking this into consideration, and thinking it a matter of little of importance. I wish we all understood this in the light in which heaven understands it.

Those whom I once knew as little boys are growing out of my recollection; these young men know nothing but Mormonism. They are in some instances called wild and ungovernable; but these wild boys, properly guided and directed, will make the greatest men who have ever lived upon this earth; and I want them to throw aside their diffidence and come up and shake hands with me, and say, “How do you, brother Brigham,” for I feel warmly towards them. I say to our young men, be faithful, for you do not know what is before you, and abstain from bad company and bad habits. Let me say to the boys sixteen years old and even younger, make up your minds to mark out the path of rectitude for yourselves, and when evil is presented, let it pass by unnoticed by you, and preserve yourselves in truth, in righteousness, virtue and holiness before the Lord. You were born in the kingdom of God; it is to be built up; the earth has to be renovated, and the people sanctified, after they are gathered from the nations, and it requires considerable skill and ability to do this; let our young men prepare themselves to aid and do their part in this great work. I want you to remember this teaching with regard to our youth.

We are hated and despised as a people, and everyone who hates this people, hates the God of heaven; and when men lift their hands against the Latter-day Saints, they lift them against the Almighty. We are the men and women who will renovate the earth, redeem it, and restore all things through the strength of Him who has paid the debt for us, and who has been and is still willing to help us, and give unto us every blessing we need. Our religion is worth everything to us, and for it we should be willing to employ our time, our talent, our means, our energies, our lives.

Let the Latter-day Saints be separate from the ungodly, and learn to live within themselves; and let us cease to give to them the proceeds of our hard toil for that which does not profit us. Any man in this church and kingdom who will cater to a Gentile for a little money will be poor in time and in all eternity. To those who plead poverty, and contend that they must take wicked and corrupt men into their houses to board them, etc., for a living, I promise poverty, unless they repent, and turn from the error of their ways. So long as we will fellowship unholy and wicked persons, so long God and angels and holy men will not fellowship us.

May God bless you as parents, as children, as Elders in Israel, as musicians, and as sweet singers; may He bless your houses, your barns, your fields, your flocks, and your herds, your cities and the ranges around them, the mountains, the timber and the waters, and greatly comfort you, and enable you to pursue the journey of life so as to land safely in the haven of eternal rest. Amen.