A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, February 6, 1853.

The organization of man, I suppose, is one of the deepest and most profound studies for philosophers and theologians there is in nature. The organization of man, embracing all the attributes and powers of his physical and mental constitution, is considered a mystery by the wisest and most expert philosophers that have lived, and is a subject that daily occupies the thoughts and researches of the more intelligent portion of the children of men.

When we carefully notice the manner of our own reflections, it is a marvel and a wonder to us; and we are apt to say, What am I? Who am I? And for what was I made? Who is the author of my existence? Who laid the foundation of and planned this singular structure? It is a mystery how this wonderful machinery works, and how it is sustained to fulfil the purpose of its creation! In reality, however, there is no such thing as a mystery but to the ignorant. We may also say, there is no such thing, in reality, as a miracle, except to those who do not understand the “Alpha and Omega” of every phenomenon that is made manifest. To a person who thoroughly understands the reason of all things, and can trace from their effects to their true causes, mystery does not exist. Yet the physical and mental existence of man is a great mystery to him.

In the experience of our lives we are taught many principles that are worthy the attention of the most intelligent on earth. The first great principle that ought to occupy the attention of mankind, that should be understood by the child and the adult, and which is the mainspring of all action (whether people understand it or not), is the principle of improvement. The principle of increase, of exaltation, of adding to that we already possess, is the grand moving principle and cause of the actions of the children of men. No matter what their pursuits are, in what nation they were born, with what people they have been associated, what religion they profess, or what politics they hold, this is the mainspring of the actions of the people, embracing all the powers necessary in performing the duties of life.

This is the lesson we should study. The powers of our minds and bodies should be governed and controlled in that way that will secure to us an eternal increase. While the inhabitants of the earth are bestowing all their ability, both mental and physical, upon perishable objects, those who profess to be Latter-day Saints, who have the privilege of receiving and understanding the principles of the holy Gospel, are in duty bound to study and find out, and put in practice in their lives, those principles that are calculated to endure, and that tend to a continual increase in this, and in the world to come. All their earthly avocations should be framed upon this principle. This alone can insure to them an exaltation; this is the starting point, in this existence, to an endless progression. All the ideas, cogitations, and labors of man are circumscribed by and incorporated in this great principle of life.

When we duly reflect upon the cogitations of our own minds, when we look upon the people called Latter-day Saints, upon the earth on which we stand, and upon the mighty universe around us, by the light of the Spirit of truth in our minds, we marvel with astonishment. When the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world, illuminates the understanding, and exposes to view the true order of the works of the Framer of the Universe, so that they can contemplate the great first cause of all things, and then look upon the groveling pursuits of mortals, and their anxiety to obtain that which will perish, at the expense of the more enduring substance, every person must be struck with astonishment beyond measure.

The human family are like so many children that have just learned how to walk, in the eyes of a person whose mind has been opened by the light of the Holy Ghost. The sage, greyheaded grandfathers, and those of fewer years, but not of less experience and wisdom, have viewed the eagerness of children to possess mere trifles, and often something that would be their sure destruction if they obtained it. So it is with the inhabitants of the world. A company of little children at play is a perfect miniature picture of the life of man: “Give me this, and give me that; and I want to have the other thing;” still you are not willing I should possess it; and the parent knows that often its possession would be an injury. Or when one child sits down in a little chair, another one will cry because of it, without receiving the least injury. If you place a plate of apples or plums before a child of three or four years old, he will not be content with one, or two, or with as many as he can hold, but he will try to grasp the whole plate full with his little fingers, dropping one, and taking up another, until he has scattered and wasted them, and at last be contented to sit down and eat one, that is, if the rest of the children have not any but himself; or else cry, when he has as many as he can hold, because he cannot hold them all. The little girl will cry for the needle she sees her mother working with, and when she has got it, handle it to her injury; and the little boy will cry for the razor he sees his father using.

It is so with many of the brethren and sisters; they cry for the razor. These inconsistent desires of early childhood for trifling things, are exhibited in the human family, after they have arrived to maturer years. They may be reaching after things of weightier importance than the child, but when they are compared with eternal matters, they are just as trifling; and to the mind that is instructed, that has been touched with the light of eternal truth, they appear even more foolish than children, because we expect better things of them. As a general thing, the men of eighty years of age are as contracted in their minds, as to a knowledge of the true principles of life, and the end and purpose of their being, as little children only two and three years old are of the business that occupies the attention of the City Council or the Legislature of the State.

The thousand-and-one inconsistencies of childhood have their parallel in the actions, and doings of many of this people. Theatrical companies try to exhibit traits of human life; but a better stage cannot be than the world, nor better actors than men, to a man of understanding. It is pleasing and instructing to see certain characters personified upon the boards of a theater which is managed upon righteous principles. A prominent feature of the human world was most admirably portrayed by our performers the other evening, in the melodrama called “The Serious Family.” When the mother told the daughter to say to the friend of her husband, they had no spare rooms in the house, the daughter replied, “Shall I tell a lie?” “Yes,” answered the old dame, “if it is to promote our holy cause.” Do anything, no matter what, whether it is right or wrong, to gain the end we wish, is the language of unenlightened, unregenerate man. If the Lord Almighty should give the human family their desire in full, they would not keep the broad road to destruction, but they would go across lots, quick to hell.

It is not my intention to detain the meeting long this afternoon; but before I bring my remarks to a close, I wish to impress upon your minds some few prominent items of our religion. I can say truly that I am happy, and rejoice exceedingly, and am thankful beyond measure, that the items I wish to notice are in a great degree adhered to by this people as a whole. That I may bring the matter before our minds at once, I will repeat part of the “Mormon Creed,” viz., “Let every man mind his own business.” If this is observed, every man will have business sufficient on hand, so as not to afford time to trouble himself with the business of other people. You can now comprehend the whole discourse by the nature of the text.

While brother Erastus Snow was speaking, he made use of weedy gardens as a comparison, to apply to those who complained of other people’s gardens, while their own were neglected. I will refer to the same idea. There are plenty of evils about our neighbors; this no person will pretend to deny; but there is no man or woman on the earth, Saint or sinner, but what has plenty to do to watch the little evils that cling to human nature, and weed their own gardens. We are made subject to vanity, and it is right. We are made subject to the powers of evil, which is necessary to prove all things. We are apt to neglect our own feelings, passions, and undertakings, or in other words, to neglect to weed our own gardens, and while we are weeding our neighbor’s, before we are aware, weeds will start up and kill the good seeds in our own. This is the reason why we should most strictly attend to our own business.

I am happy to say that this people do increase in understanding, wisdom, patience, and faith. It appears to me much more easy for mankind to live without sin, than with it. We have been taught that it is contrary to nature to live without sin. If a man should spit in my face, it would be natural for me to knock him down, or in return spit in his face. But suppose one should injure me in person, or estate, and I should overlook it, and show mercy to the individual, it would cause him to reflect upon his conduct, and show him the true bearings of his unjust act, and make him ashamed of it much better than if I retaliated. If I were to pay him back in his own coin, I should render myself worthy of what I have received. If I bear an insult with meek patience, and do not return the injury, I have a decided advantage over my adversary. And if the person is susceptible of feeling such a rebuke, he will say, “I have done wrong; my con– science condemns me, and my neighbor, or my brother, did not retaliate.” It at once causes the evil doer to reflect, and he will say, “Why did I do it? The devil tempted me; I will go and confess my sin to my neighbor, for he is not disposed to return the wrong, and he is a better person than I am; and from henceforth I will mind my own business, and keep a guard upon my passions.” Is it not better in all such cases to be guided by that principle, than by the principle of retaliation?

To illustrate still further. Suppose A insults B, and B demands satisfaction, and they agree to fight; they meet and inflict upon each other blows and injuries, and whip each other right well. A, however, is the conqueror, and B retires vanquished, in shame and disgrace. He cannot any longer remain in the same neighborhood with his victorious enemy, and therefore concludes to sell out, and leave the place. Now suppose B had borne the first insult, or injury, and returned it only with good, instead of trying to do A an injury; A would have been completely conquered, and B would have escaped a sound whipping. Were we, one and all, to pursue the latter course, quarrels would soon cease in our community. As I said, if we keep our own gardens clear of weeds, our neighbors will take a pattern by us, and produce from their gardens greater quantities of fruit another year.

Now, brethren and sisters, receive the exhortation and counsel of brother Snow, and profit by it; and employ the rest of your lives in good thoughts, kind words, and good works. “Shall I sit down and read the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Covenants all the time?” says one. Yes, if you please, and when you have done, you may be nothing but a sectarian after all. It is your duty to study to know everything upon the face of the earth, in addition to reading those books. We should not only study good, and its effects upon our race, but also evil, and its consequences.

I make these remarks to lay the foundation for principle in the minds of the people; and if you do not yet understand what I would be at, I will try to illustrate it still further. For example, we will take a strict, religious, holy, down country, eastern Yankee, who would whip a beer barrel for working on Sunday, and never suffer a child to go into company of his age—never suffer him to have any associates, or permit him to do anything or know anything, only what the deacon, priests, or missionaries bring to the house; when that child attains to mature age, say eighteen or twenty years, he is very apt to steal away from his father and mother; and when he has broken his bands, you would think all hell was let loose, and that he would compass the world at once.

Now understand it—when parents whip their children for reading novels, and never let them go to the theater, or to any place of recreation and amusement, but bind them to the moral law, until duty becomes loathsome to them; when they are freed by age from the rigorous training of their parents, they are more fit for companions to devils, than to be the children of such religious parents.

If I do not learn what is in the world, from first to last, somebody will be wiser than I am. I intend to know the whole of it, both good and bad. Shall I practice evil? No; neither have I told you to practice it, but to learn by the light of truth every principle there is in existence in the world.

Still further. When I was young, I was kept within very strict bounds, and was not allowed to walk more than half-an-hour on Sunday for exercise. The proper and necessary gam– bols of youth having been denied me, makes me want active exercise and amusement now. I had not a chance to dance when I was young, and never heard the enchanting tones of the violin, until I was eleven years of age; and then I thought I was on the highway to hell, if I suffered myself to linger and listen to it. I shall not subject my little children to such a course of unnatural training, but they shall go to the dance, study music, read novels, and do anything else that will tend to expand their frames, add fire to their spirits, improve their minds, and make them feel free and untrammeled in body and mind. Let everything come in its season, place everything in the place designed for it, and do everything in its right time. And inasmuch as the Lord Almighty has designed us to know all that is in the earth, both the good and the evil, and to learn not only what is in heaven, but what is in hell, you need not expect ever to get through learning. Though I mean to learn all that is in heaven, earth, and hell. Do I need to commit iniquity to do it? No. If I were to go into the bowels of hell to find out what is there, that does not make it necessary that I should commit one evil, or blaspheme in any way the name of my Maker.

Do you not suppose the Lord is there, and knows all about it? I am satisfied of it. If He is not there, when the wicked inhabitants of the earth begin to inquire where they shall flee to escape from His presence, they will find a hiding place in hell. If the wicked wish to escape from His presence, they must go where He is not, where He does not live, where His influence does not preside. To find such a place is impossible, except they go beyond the bounds of time and space.

I have learned enough to be happy, when I am in the enjoyment of the blessings of the Lord. That is a great lesson for a man to learn. There are two things that make this people unhappy, if ever they are unhappy, viz., themselves, and the spirits that are around them. This, however, will more particularly apply to individuals. As a people, as a community, there is not its parallel to be found on the earth, for contentment and happiness. Will you make yourselves happy? You are greatly blessed of the Lord, all the day long, and should be happy; but we are apt to close our eyes against this fact, and fancy ourselves miserable, when we are actually blessed.

To make ourselves happy is incorporated in the great design of man’s existence. I have learned not to fret myself about that which I cannot help. If I can do good, I will do it; and if I cannot reach a thing, I will content myself to be without it. This makes me happy all the day long. I wish you to learn the same profitable lesson. Who hinders you from being happy? From praying, and serving the Lord as much as you please? Who hinders you from doing all the good in your power to do? Who is there here, to mar in any way the peace of any Saint that lives in these peaceful valleys? No one. It is for us to keep our own gardens clean, and see we do not harbor evil in our own hearts. Were we to look into our own hearts and seek diligently to do all the good in our power, and never commit another evil while we live, what is there to prevent us from being happy? I know there never lived a happier people, upon the earth, I might venture to say, because of the dispensation in which we live; it brings joy, comfort, and satisfaction to those who will receive it, that could not be realized by any people who have lived before us.

Do we expect to see our children grow up in darkness, and rebellion against the principles of the Gospel of Christ? Have you this thought to worry your minds? No. The an– cients had, and their souls were sometimes weighed down with sorrow on this account. They saw their children would leave the true Church, transgress the laws, change the ordinances, and break the everlasting covenant. This we have not to fear. God has seen fit in our day to bring forth the Priesthood again, even at the eleventh hour—at the end of summer—at the harvest time—at the gathering up of his sheep. At this time, or never, He has put forth His hand to send the Gospel to all nations, and gather the people together, and give to the chosen of the Lord the inheritance of the earth. Now what hinders our being a happy people? I do not see anything to hinder it.

I have a few words to say concerning our spiritual labors. I cannot, however, define any difference between temporal and spiritual labors. I call it spiritual to accommodate my language to the ideas of the people. Anything that pertains to the building up of the Lord’s kingdom on earth, whether it be in preaching the Gospel, or building Temples to His name, we have been taught to consider a spiritual work, though it evidently requires the strength of the natural body to perform it.

If the weather had been fine the past week, we should have been ready to have commenced excavating the earth for the foundation of the Temple. When we call upon the brethren, we wish them to be ready to obey the call. Probably a week from tomorrow we shall call upon them to commence this work. To satisfy those who may wish to know the size of the excavation, I will state that it will be about 250 feet from east to west, and from north to south a little less, and from 16 to 20 feet deep, we expect the mason work of the basement will be 24 feet high, 16 feet below the ground, and 8 feet above. That will require considerable labor.

We wish the excavation made, and everything prepared to lay the cornerstones on the 6th day of April next, if the Lord will; and if the Lord will not, I care not whether a stone is laid here, or in any other place; I care as little about it as the snowbirds in our fields. All that concerns me, is to do the work the Lord has for me today; and if the work is designed for tomorrow, I will prepare for it today, so as to be ready to perform it tomorrow with alacrity.

I need not say anything more about the Temple; we shall accomplish that work as expeditiously as we can. I might advance many profitable ideas pertaining to business, if the brethren who are men of business, and understand what is needed in our case, would listen, and profit by them.

I will say a word to the Seventies. Some of them have incorrect notions touching the Seventies’ Hall; and I wish them to understand, that the Temple must be the first thing in our thoughts; and if I want all the funds that have been collected for the Seventies’ Hall, for the erection of a Temple, I calculate to use them. The people need not expect us to give them the easy circumstances the noblemen of the Gentile nations enjoy, while there is so much for us to do for the public good. There is more before us to be done this year, than will take five to accomplish. We are not, however, going to do all things this year; we are not going to finish the Temple this year, but we will begin it. The Lord requires all we have to be devoted to His kingdom; and though it be but the widow’s mite, He can do as much with two mites as we can with millions of them.

May the Lord God of Israel bless you, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, January 16, 1853.

The plan of salvation, or, in other words, the redemption of fallen beings, is a subject that should occupy the attention of all intelligence that pertains to fallen beings. I do not like the term fallen beings, but I will say, subjected intelligence, which term suits me better—subjected to law, order, rule, and government. All intelligences are deeply engaged in this grand object; not, however, having a correct understanding of the true principle thereof, they wander to and fro, some to the right, and some to the left. There is not a person in this world, who is endowed with a common share of intellect, but is laboring with all his power for salvation. Men vary in their efforts to obtain that object, still their individual conclusions are, that they will ultimately secure it. The merchant, for instance, seeks with unwearied diligence, by night and by day, facing misfortunes with a determined and persevering resistance, enduring losses by sea and by land, with an unshaken patience, to amass a sufficient amount of wealth to enable him to settle calmly down in the midst of plenty in some opulent city, walk in the higher classes of society, and perchance receive a worldly title, or worldly honor, and enjoy a freedom from all anxiety of business, and constraint by poverty, throughout the remainder of his life. He then supposes he has obtained salvation.

Descend from the busy, wealth-seeking middle classes, to the humbler grade of society, and follow them in their various occupations and pursuits, and each one of them is seeking earnestly that which he imagines to be salvation. The poor, ragged, trembling mendicant, who is forced by hunger and cold to drag his feeble body from under some temporary shelter, to seek a bit of bread, or a coin from his more fortunate fellow mortal, if he can only obtain a few crusts of bread to satisfy the hunger-worm that gnaws his vitals, and a few coppers to pay his lodgings, he has attained to the summit of his expectations, to what he sought for salvation, and he is comparatively happy, but his happiness vanishes with the shades of night, and his misery comes with the morning light. From the matchmaker up to the tradesman, all have an end in view, which they suppose will bring to them salvation. King, courtier, commanders, officers, and common soldiers, the commodore, and sailor before the mast, the fair-skinned Christian, and the dark-skinned savage, all, in their respective grades and spheres of action, have a certain point in view, which, if they can obtain, they suppose will put them in possession of salvation.

The Latter-day Saint, who is far from the bosom of the Church, whose home is in distant climes, sighs, and earnestly prays each day of his life for the Lord to open his way, that he may mingle with his brethren in Zion, for he supposes that his happiness would then be complete, but in this his expectations will be in a measure vain, for happiness that is real and lasting in its nature cannot be enjoyed by mortals, for it is altogether out of keeping with this transitory state.

If a man’s capacity be limited to the things of this world, if he reach no further than he can see with his eyes, feel with his hands, and understand with the ability of the natural man, still he is as earnestly engaged in securing his salvation, as others are, who possess a superior intellect, and are also pursuing the path of salvation, in their estimation, though it result in nothing more than a good name, or the honors of this world. Each, according to his capacity—to the natural organization of the human system, which is liable to be operated upon by the circumstances and influences by which it is surrounded, is as eager to obtain that which he supposes is salvation, as I am to obtain salvation in the Eternal world.

The object of a true salvation, correctly and minutely understood, changes the course of mankind. Persons who are taught by their teachers, friends, and acquaintances, are traditionated, from their youth up, into the belief that there is no God, or intelligent beings, other than those that they see with the natural eye, or naturally comprehend; that there is no hereafter; that at death, all life and intelligence are annihilated. Such persons are as firm in their belief, and as strenuous in argument, in support of those doctrines, as others are in the belief of the existence of an Eternal God. The early customs and teachings of parents and friends, to a greater or less degree, influence the minds of children, but when they are disposed to inquire at the hands of Him who has eternal intelligence to impart to them, when their understandings are enlarged, when their minds are enlightened by the Spirit of truth, so that they can see things that are unseen by the natural eye, they may then be corrected in their doctrine and belief, and in their manner of life, but not until then.

How difficult it is to teach the natural man, who comprehends nothing more than that which he sees with the natural eye! How hard it is for him to believe! How difficult would be the task to make the philosopher, who, for many years, has argued himself into the belief that his spirit is no more after his body sleeps in the grave, believe that his intelligence came from eternity, and is as eternal, in its nature, as the elements, or as the Gods. Such doctrine by him would be considered vanity and foolishness, it would be entirely beyond his comprehension. It is difficult, indeed, to remove an opinion or belief into which he has argued himself from the mind of the natural man. Talk to him about angels, heavens, God, immortality, and eternal lives, and it is like sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal to his ears; it has no music to him; there is nothing in it that charms his senses, soothes his feelings, attracts his attention, or engages his affections, in the least; to him it is all vanity. To say that the human family are not seeking salvation, is contrary to my experience, and to the experience of every other person with whom I have any acquaintance. They are all for salvation, some in one way, and some in another; but all is darkness and confusion. If the Lord does not speak from heaven, and touch the eyes of their understanding by His Spirit, who can instruct or guide them to good? Who can give them words of eternal life? It is not in the power of man to do it; but when the Lord gives His Spirit to a person, or to a people, they can then hear, believe, and be instructed. An Elder of Israel may preach the principles of the Gospel, from first to last, as they were taught to him, to a congregation ignorant of them; but if he does not do it under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord, he cannot enlighten that congregation on those principles, it is impossible. Job said that, “There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” Unless we enjoy that understanding in this probation, we cannot grow or increase, we cannot be made acquainted with the principles of truth and righteousness so as to become exalted. Admit that the Spirit of the Lord should give us understanding, what would it prove to us? It would prove to me, at least, and what I may safely say to this congregation, that Zion is here. Whenever we are disposed to give ourselves perfectly to righteousness, to yield all the powers and faculties of the soul (which is the spirit and the body, and it is there where righteousness dwells); when we are swallowed up in the will of Him who has called us; when we enjoy the peace and the smiles of our Father in Heaven, the things of His Spirit, and all the blessings we are capacitated to receive and improve upon, then are we in Zion, that is Zion. What will produce the opposite? Hearkening and giving way to evil, nothing else will.

If a community of people are perfectly devoted to the cause of righteousness, truth, light, virtue, and every principle and attribute of the holy Gospel, we may say of that people, as the ancient Apostle said to his breth– ren, “Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates;” there is a throne for the Lord Almighty to sit and reign upon, there is a resting place for the Holy Ghost, there is a habitation of the Father and the Son. We are the temples of God, but when we are overcome of evil by yielding to temptation, we deprive ourselves of the privilege of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, taking up their abode and dwelling with us. We are the people, by our calling and profession, and ought to be by our daily works, of whom it should be truly said, “Ye are the temples of our God.” Let me ask, what is there to prevent any person in this congregation from being so blessed, and becoming a holy temple fit for the indwelling of the Holy Ghost? Has any being in heaven or on earth done aught to prevent you from becoming so blessed? No, but why the people are not so privileged I will leave you to judge. I would to God that every soul who professes to be a Latter-day Saint was of that character, a holy temple for the indwelling of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, but it is not so. Is there any individual within the sound of my voice today, that has received the Holy Ghost through the principles of the Gospel, and at the same time has not received a love for them? I will answer that question. Wait and see who it is that falls out by the way; who it is in whom the seed of truth has been sown, but has not taken root; and then you will know the individuals who have received the truth, but have never received a love of it—they do not love it for itself. What a delightful aspect would this community present if all men and women, old and young, were disposed to leave off their own sins and follies, and overlook those of their neighbors; if they would cease watching their neighbors for iniquity, and watch that they themselves might be free from it! If they were trying with all their powers to sanctify the Lord in their hearts, and would prove, by their actions, that they had received the truth and the love of it! If all individuals would watch themselves, that they do not speak against the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost, nor in short against any being in heaven or on earth. Strange as this may appear, there have been men in this Church that have done it, and probably will be again! If this people would be careful not to do anything to displease the spirits of those who have lived on the earth, and have been justified, and have gone to rest, and would so conduct themselves, that no reasonable being upon the face of the earth could find fault with them, what kind of society should we have? Why every man’s mouth would be filled with blessings, every man’s hand would be put forth to do good, and every woman and child in all their intercourse would be praising God, and blessing each other. Would not Zion be here? It would. What hinders you from doing this? What is the Lord or the people doing to cause this one and that one to commit sin with a high hand, in secret and in the open streets?

If Elders of Israel use language which is not proper for the lips of a Saint, such Elders are under condemnation, and the wrath of God abides upon them, those who do it have not the love of truth in their hearts, they do not love and honor the truth because it is the truth, but because it is powerful, and they wish to join with the strongest party. Do they love light because it is light? Virtue because it is virtue? Righteousness because it is righteousness? No. But these principles are almighty in their influence, and like the tornado in the forest, they sweep all before them, no argument can weigh against them, all the philoso– phy, knowledge, and wisdom of men may be set in array against them, but they are like chaff before a mighty wind, or like the morning dew before the sun in its strength such Elders embrace truth because it is all-powerful. When a man of God preaches the principles of the Gospel, all things give way before it, and some embrace it because it is so mighty. But by and by those characters will fall out by the way, because the soil has not depth to nourish the seeds of truth. They receive it, but not the love of it; it dies, and they turn away. If every person who has embraced the Gospel would love it as he loves his life, would not society wear a different aspect from that of the present?

I do not intend to enter into a detailed account of the acts of the people, they are themselves acquainted with them; people know how they themselves talk, and how their neighbors talk; how husband and wife agree in their own houses, and with their neighbors; and how parents and children dwell together. I need not tell these things, but if every heart were set upon doing right, we then should have Zion here. I will give you my reason for thinking so. It is because I have had it with me ever since I was baptized into this kingdom. I have not been without it from that day to this. I have, therefore, a good reason for the assertion I have made. I live and walk in Zion every day, and so do thousands of others in this Church and kingdom, they carry Zion with them, they have one of their own, and it is increasing, growing, and spreading continually. Suppose it spreads from heart to heart, from neighborhood to neighborhood, from city to city, and from nation to nation, how long would it be before the earth would become revolutionized, and the wheat gathered from among the tares? The wheat and tares, however, must grow together until harvest. I am not, there– fore, disposed to separate them yet, for if we pluck up the tares before the harvest, we may destroy some of the good seed, therefore let them grow together, and by and by the harvest will come.

There is another thing, brethren, which I wish you to keep constantly before your minds, that is with regard to your travels in life. You have read, in the Scriptures, that the children of men will be judged according to their works, whether they be good or bad. If a man’s days be filled up with good works, he will be rewarded accordingly. On the other hand, if his days be filled up with evil actions, he will receive according to those acts. This proves that we are in a state of exaltation, it proves that we can add to our knowledge, wisdom, and strength, and that we can add power to every attribute that God has given us. When will the people realize that this is the period of time in which they should commence to lay the foundation of their exaltation for time and eternity, that this is the time to conceive, and bring forth from the heart fruit to the honor and glory of God, as Jesus did—grow as he did from the child, become perfect, and be prepared to be raised to salvation? You will find that this probation is the place to increase upon every little we receive, for the Lord gives line upon line to the children of men. When He reveals the plan of salvation, then is the time to fill up our days with good works.

Let us fill up our days with usefulness, do good to each other, and cease from all evil. Let every evil person forsake his wickedness. If he be wicked in his words, or in his dealings, let him forsake those practices, and pursue a course of righteousness. Let every man and woman do this, and peace and joy will be the result.

A few words more upon the subject of the eternal existence of the soul. It is hard for mankind to comprehend that principle. The philosophers of the world will concede that the elements of which you and I are composed are eternal, yet they believe that there was a time when there was no God. They cannot comprehend how it is that God can be eternal. Let me ask this congregation, Can you realize the eternity of your own existence? Can you realize that the intelligence which you receive is eternal? I can comprehend this, just as well as I can that I am now in possession of it. It is as easy for me to comprehend that it will exist eternally, as that anything else will. I wish to impress upon your minds the reality that when the body which is organized for intelligence to dwell in, dies, and returns to its mother earth, all the feelings, sensibilities, faculties, and powers of the spirit are still alive, they never die, but in the absence of the body are more acute. They are organized for an eternal existence. If this congregation could comprehend that the intelligence that is in them is eternal in its nature and existence; if they could realize that when Saints pass through the veil, they are not dead, but have been laying the foundation in these tabernacles for exaltation, laying the foundation to become Gods, even the sons of God, and for crowns which they will yet receive—they would receive the truth in the love of it, live by it, and continue in it, until they receive all knowledge and wisdom, until they grow into eternity, and have the veil taken from before their eyes, to behold the handiworks of God among all people, His goings forth among the nations of the earth, and to discover the rule and law by which He governs. Then could they say of a truth, We acknowledge the hand of God in all things, all is right, Zion is here, in our own possession.

I have thus summed up, in a broken manner, that which I desired to speak. We are not able to comprehend all things, but we can continue to learn and grow, until all will be perfectly clear to our minds, which is a great privilege to enjoy—the blessing of an eternal increase. And the man or woman who lives worthily is now in a state of salvation.

Now, brethren, love the truth, and put a stop to every species of folly. How many there are who come to me to find fault with, and enter complaints against, their brethren, for some trifling thing, when I can see, in a moment, that they have received no intentional injury! They have no compassion on their brethren, but, having passed their judgment, insist that the criminal shall be punished. And why? Because he does not exactly come up to their standard of right and wrong! They feel to measure him by the “Iron Bedstead principle”—“if you are too long, you must be cut off; if too short, you must be stretched.” Now this is the height of folly. I find that I have enough to do to watch myself. It is as much as I can do to get right, deal right, and act right. If we all should do this, there would be no difficulty, but in every man’s mouth would be “May the Lord bless you.” I feel happy, as I always told you. Brother Kimball has known me thirty years, twenty one of which I have been in this Church; others have known me twenty years; and there are some here who knew me in England; I had Zion with me then, and I brought it with me to America again, and I now appeal to every man and woman if I have not had Zion with me from first entering into the Church, to the present time! Light cleaves to light, and truth to truth. May God bless you. Amen.

An Address by President Brigham Young, Delivered at the General Conference in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Oct. 9, 1852.

There is a matter of temporal business that I wish to lay before this Conference, and I embrace the present opportunity to do so. I have not very acute feelings upon the matter, but I have frequently known cases of difficulty and dissatisfaction come before me, which were calculated to annoy my feelings, and the feelings of this people. I feel very acutely, very exquisitely, upon certain subjects pertaining to their history, but on the present occasion I am quite careless and indifferent as to the subject I now propose to lay before the Conference. If we could obtain a hearing of all the male members of this community, or in other words, get all the inhabitants of these valleys together, that portion of them that can hear and understand, it would be better; but seeing that this cannot be done, we shall have to content ourselves by laying before this Conference the matter, pertaining practically to the actions of men, that we now wish to present. It is concerning the canyons, the wood, the timber, or whatever the canyons situated near these valleys produce.

Wood seems to be the first and most prominent product of the canyons. The situation of them is too well known to make it necessary for me to offer a description. I believe that there are some acts performed in these canyons, of which the actors are ashamed, and they would rather I would pass over these points, and the hard words they have made use of; they would much rather have them forgotten by all who have a knowledge of what they have done and said in the canyons.

There are a great many whose experience exceeds the experience of brother Hyde in this matter. His short experience, he says, teaches him, that if he had the power in his hands, he would decree that all men who go into the canyons for wood and timber should be saved. This may be the mind of others, and to them it may serve as an excuse for outraging the principles of righteousness, but to another class of men it would be no excuse at all. I believe it would be just as necessary for the boys, when they have mounted their sleds on the top of the hill, to curse, and swear, and fight, and quarrel, while they are riding down with all ease, and without any trouble, as it would be to curse, swear, and fight while drawing their sleds up the hill to enjoy another ride. You know, boys enjoy themselves very well while their sleds are traveling down the hill at a great speed; it is hurrah with them, and all is right; but in dragging their sleds up the hill, they fall down sometimes, and bump their heads, and bruise their knees against the hard snow, and they have no sooner recovered their foothold than down they go again, and so they get into confusion. Now it appears to me to be just as necessary for them to quarrel in riding down the hill, as it is for them to quarrel in drawing their sleds up the hill, as for any good it accomplishes in either case.

It is an uphill business to go into these canyons and get wood, to say the least of it. If I am able to present what I would like to present, and what I have previously had in my mind, and exhibit it in a few words, and in its true colors, I believe an expression upon it from this Conference will have a salutary influence upon the community; that is my opinion, and the reason why I now present the subject before you. I will call upon my brethren who sit here, to let their past experience answer a question, or perhaps more than one. Are you not dissatisfied, and is there not bitterness in your feelings, the moment you find a canyon put in the possession of an individual, and power given unto him to control the timber, wood, rock, grass, and, in short, all its facilities? Does there not something start up in your breast, that causes you to feel very uncomfortable? You may be ready on the right and on the left to say, “No, I am not aware that it affects me any.” This may be the case with a few, but while we find one here and another there of that class, do we not find multitudes of the other class that would be very irritable upon that subject—a facsimile of a roily fountain much disturbed, or like the troubled sea that casts up mire and dirt? Why I judge the matter in this light is because of what I have learned previously to this day, concerning the real feelings of the majority of the people touching this matter. There were a few instances, some two or three years ago, of the legislative council assigning canyons to individuals. Now it is in the hands of county officers to dispose of such matters. Are the people satisfied with these assignments? They are not. Could they be satisfied were they placed under different circumstances in relation to this matter? They could. Have we power as a people to introduce an order of things that will give general satisfaction? I will say, that it depends altogether upon circumstances. It can or it cannot be done, just as the people please.

I will relate a few circumstances or incidents that have taken place here, but I will not name particular places, nor individuals. Mr. B. goes into the canyons, without any leave or licence, and without even asking for a grant; he makes his way up a canyon, and finds, on each side of him, both firewood and fence poles. He climbs the mountain, for two or three miles, works a road, and gets to the timber, poles, and wood, at an expense of from one to five hundred dollars. He commences to get out poles, and keeps his men and teams laboring there from day to day. Now how long will he remain there before news will come into the city, that Mr. B. is getting timber and poles at such a point, and that it is a most excellent chance there? Well, some of the citizens will say, “Has brother B. worked a road up there?” “Yes.” “Can we get up with a team?” “Yes.” “Then let us go and get some wood and poles.” How long would it be before the eyes of a portion of the community would be turned directly to that spot? How long would it be before they would go to the very place where brother B.’s road branches off from the main road, and go up the mountain (of course they could see no other track than where Mr. B. was getting out his wood), and get poles, wood, and timber? They would not stop to look on the mountains around them, and make new roads for themselves. No, they can only get wood, poles, and timber where brother B. is getting them, after he has been at the trouble and expense of making a road. When they find brother B. there, he says, “You cannot come into this canyon, for I have worked the road myself, to facilitate the getting of my wood and poles here.” Another person comes along with twenty or thirty wagons. Mr. B. says to him, “Look yonder, there is plenty of timber, and as easy to get at as this that I call my own.” Friend H. replies, “But I will be damned if I don’t get wood where you get it.” Mr. B. says, “And I’ll be damned if you do go there.” This is the language of men who sit here before me today, and so near me that I could put my hand upon them. They go up in the canyon, and there quarrel with each other. Let friend S. once pass by the road that Mr. B. has made, and he may go on up the canyon ten miles, surrounded with wood, and not get a stick of timber, for he and friend H., with his train, and others, never can see and understand how they can get poles in any other place than where friend B. has made a good road leading to where he gets his. Is this so? You Elders of Israel will go into the canyons, and curse and swear—damn, and curse your oxen, and swear by Him who created you! I am telling the truth. Yes, you will rip, and curse, and swear, as bad as any pirates ever did.

Suppose these characters do as the old Quaker did when he whipped the man: he took off his coat, and said, “Religion, do thou lie there, until I whip this man.” The boys, or many of them, who go into the canyons with wagons and teams, do the same: they lay down their religion at the mouth of the canyon, saying, “Thou lie there, until I go for my load of wood.” I expect, in all probability, it was the case with Elder Hyde, for he never would have thought that he ought to be saved for going into the canyon once, if he had had his religion along with him.

I do not wish to say much upon this subject, I am not spirited in it, nor do I care much about it. I want to show to this community a plan by which these matters of business transactions can be brought to some kind of a system, to the better accommoda– tion of the public. We will suppose, when strangers come to these valleys, that they find land offices, canyon offices, timber offices, &c. They enter, and walk up before the clerk in the office, and inquire what facilities there are to get a living here. Out steps the landlord and says, “This valley and all the canyons belong to old General Harris, and to his heirs after him. That valley over yonder—Utah Valley, belongs to old General Wolf’s heirs; and there’s another valley, that belongs to another man; and I am here as the guardian of these heirs to all this property, I am here to dispose of it.” “We want to settle here,” say the people, “can we get any land?” “O yes,” the landlord replies, “lift up your eyes to the right, and to the left—do you see the grass?” “Yes.” “Do you see the lovely streams that gush from the mountains?” “Yes.” “Do you see this vast prairie before you?” “Yes.” “Look at the soil, it is rich and productive. We do not have winters here, as you do in the eastern countries, but your cattle can feed in these mountain valleys both winter and summer.” The landlord says again, “Lift up your eyes and look: this wood, land, and the grass that you see growing, and all these valleys, with all they contain, you are freely welcome to; go now, lay out your city plots and your farms, dig your ditches, and turn the streams whithersoever you will, for to all this you are welcome.” Would they not think he was one of the finest men that ever was? Would they not love such a landlord? The people inquire again, “What chance is there here for getting wood?” “O,” says he, “that is another thing, I will talk to you about that.” “We wish to know if we can get wood here to burn, to cook our food with, and to keep our houses warm; and upon what terms?” Says the landlord, “My hired servants are up in the Red Butte Canyon, or they may be in Canyon Creek Canyon, or over in the west mountains; I have got servants, and plenty of wood, this you can have on certain conditions.” “What are your conditions, good landlord?” “These are my conditions—you must take your teams into Red Butte, where you will find a gate, and a man living there, to him you will have to pay 25 cents for getting a load of wood.” “But how is the road after you get through the gate?” “O, it is a good road, and the wood, timber, rock, and everything else are first rate; and now you go and get a cord of good wood for 25 cents. Or you may go to the west mountains, there the canyons are all prepared for you, the roads are made, and I keep men there to see that they are kept in good repair, and all you have got to do is to pay 25 cents for the use of the road.” What would be the feelings of this people under such circumstances? Do you suppose they would feel as those do that have kept up a continual quarrelling, murmuring, and bickering, and have given way to wickedness? The canyons are precisely in the position I present them to you in this similitude; and you murmur at the council, at the legislative assembly, at the county court, and at everybody that wants to make these canyons convenient and passable to the community.

Again, I ask the question, what would be the feelings of this people, supposing they had come to these valleys under such circumstances? “The valleys, the grass, the soil, the water, and all the advantages you are welcome to, but I shall charge you 25 cents per load for your wood.” If you won’t answer the question, I will for you: every time you would meet with that landlord, it would be, “God bless you, you are the best man on earth;” and you would be ready to lick the dust off his feet; you would not say “God damn you, I will get wood where I please.” I am ashamed to repeat the language that is too often made use of, but I do it that the community may see how disgraceful it is, and frown upon every man that will allow himself to be degraded by the use of such filthy language; it is a disgrace to the wicked, to say nothing of Saints. Again upon this point, would you not take off your hats, and say, “Thank you,” every time you met that landlord? Yes, you would, and I know it. Well, supposing the legislative body in these valleys should say to some man, Take that canyon, and put a gate at the mouth of it, and make a good road to the wood and timber, and to defray the expense of this, lay a tax of 25 cents on every man that passes through with a team to get wood, timber, or anything else the canyon produces—could you bless that legislature, could you greet it with smiles and thanks, for doing that for this people? Or would you curse it?

If I had time to do so, and if it would be wisdom, I could demonstrate, by a mathematical calculation, definitely and truly, and you might take into the calculation Red Butte Canyon, and every other canyon that the people have been into—I could demonstrate that they have destroyed more horses, mules, harness, oxen, wagons, chains, and ox yokes, and other property, in getting out of these canyons what they have got, than what would lay a first rate turnpike road in every direction, as far as they have penetrated these canyons. Suppose we have a canyon here within one mile of us, open to all the people, I ask where is there a man that would work the road to the wood? He is not to be found in this community. If it were open and free to all, I might spend a thousand dollars there, and never get one load of wood. I have done just such things myself. I have gone to work and made roads to get wood, and have not been able to get it. I have cut it down, and piled it up, and still have not got it. I wonder if anybody else can say so. Have any of you piled up your wood, and when you have gone back could not find it? Some stories could be told of this kind, that would make professional thieves ashamed. It is not all of this community that possesses such spirits. A flock of sheep consisting of thousands must be clean indeed if some of them are not smutty. This is a large flock of sheep that have come up to these mountain valleys, and some of them have got taglocks hanging about them, or in other words, there are those that will do what you have heard exhibited to you today.

What shall be done with sheep that stink the flock so? We will take them, I was going to say, and cut off their tails two inches behind their ears; however, I will use a milder term, and say, cut off their ears. But instead of doing this, we will try to cleanse them; we will wash them with soap, that will come well nigh taking off the skin; we will then apply a little Scotch snuff, and a little tobacco, and wash them again until we make them clean. That is what I am doing now. Peradventure we shall find a few such sheep here in the flock, and a few that have got the itch; these are apt to spread the disease among those that are clean, for they will run along and rub themselves on others, until all are smitten with the disorder, and it would be hard to tell in which it originated.

I do not want to destroy the people, I want to wash them, and, if necessary, apply the Scotch snuff. If this community would let any man of sense, of calculation, of a good mind and judgment, sit down and make his calculations, with regard to their getting wood out of these canyons, they would see the advantage of taking the course the legislature has marked out, so clearly, that this whole people would speak out boldly and say, “You men having authority, look up every canyon in these valleys, and put them in the possession of individuals who will make good roads to the timber, that we may get there without breaking our wagons, or without breaking our limbs, destroying our property, and endangering our lives.” I say, every man of good sense would exclaim, “Put these canyons into the hands of individuals, with this proviso—make good roads, and keep them in good repair.”

To exhibit it to the people in another point of view. I will suppose a Gentile owns all these canyons, Uncle Sam, for instance. He determines he will work these canyons himself, work the roads, &c., and draw his revenue from them by the people’s getting their timber—should we not esteem it a blessing? We should. If it would be a blessing to him, or to any rich company of speculators, then why would it not be a blessing to us, to act upon the same principles ourselves? Could you tell any reason why not?

A great many here do not understand certain things that exist; I can tell you some of them. If any individual will come here and live, and find out how we do business, learn and understand our business transactions, he will see that exhibited that will prove to him a great many things he is not acquainted with. I will take one of the best individuals we have, and put him into the tithing office, put another into the stonecutter’s shop, and another in the joiner’s shop, and let them work there one or two years, when the books are examined they have taken up every farthing of their wages, and many have contracted considerable debts in that office, some are owing 800, 1,000, and some as high as 1,500 dollars. Now comes the decision. Suppose you owe that store across the road there 1,500 dollars, would you try to pay it? Yes, you would lie awake at nights to think how to pay those merchants that do not belong to the kingdom of God, you would offer them horses, and wagons, and oxen, to liquidate that debt. But that man who owes on the tithing books will say, “Just straighten that up for me, cancel that debt, for I want my name to look as good on the tithing books as the rest.” Would he say this to a Gentile? No, he would not. We never see such goodness, such kindness, such benevolence, such philanthropy in the persons who owe the tithing office anything.

Did you ever ask me to liquidate your debts? You may answer the question for yourselves. I shall not name anybody. But let one of these merchants ask for the payment of a debt, saying, “I am going away in September,” and you conclude that that debt must be paid—do you pay it? Yes, you will sell everything you have on earth, to pay it. But do you owe the tithing office anything? “O yes, and I am going to work it off; I know I owe about 1,500 dollars. But you know it won’t do to owe the Gentiles anything. Brother Brigham, can’t you lend me some money to pay a small debt on that store? Can you let me have a yoke of cattle, my family is suffering for want of wood?” You trace those cattle, and where are they gone to? Why, to pay the enemies of this people. You would take out of this Church the last dime of money, and every ox, and cow, and horse, and hand them all over to our enemies, and let the Church sink to the nethermost hell, for aught you care. That is the difficulty that exists here. If I have got your spectacles, or your shoes, or any other thing of yours, the common saying made use of is, “O, never mind, it is all in the family, you are a brother, it is all right.” I am telling you as it is in that tithing office. What did you hear read, last April Conference? That there were 48,000 dollars owing to the tithing office; yet do you try to pay that debt? No, but the word is, “Brother Brigham, trust me another thousand;” and you never will pay it on the face of the earth, and you think me rather hard because I scold you. These are the difficulties that are here among us.

There exists a double spirit, there is a false, hypocritical spirit in many of the people; it is bred in the flesh, and in the bones, it is received from their fathers and mothers, a hypocritical pretension to friendship, when the real thing itself does not exist in them, and never did; but they are destitute of the true knowledge of the principles of righteousness. I have frequently thought it was not good for a man to have around him too many friends. I have said to my brethren, heretofore, “Don’t love me quite so well as to take away all I have got. I want you to love me pretty well, I have plenty of flour now, and scores and scores of tons I can distribute, but do not take my soul out of me, do not love me quite to death. I am willing to be loved sincerely, but covet not that which I possess, under a false pretension of love to me.” There is that spirit among this people, but it is for want of knowledge, and a proper understanding. Did they possess these, there would be no difficulty in the case.

Now, for instance, a great many inquire, saying, “Why does not our Church keep a store here?” Many can answer that question, who have lived here for some years past; and you who make such an inquiry, would have known the reason, had you also lived here. You that have lived in Nauvoo, in Missouri, in Kirtland, Ohio, can you assign a reason why Joseph could not keep a store, and be a merchant? Let me just give you a few reasons, and there are men here who know how matters went in those days. Joseph goes to New York and buys 20,000 dollars’ worth of goods, comes into Kirtland and commences to trade. In comes one of the brethren, “Brother Joseph, let me have a frock pattern for my wife.” What if Joseph says, “No, I cannot without the money.” The consequence would be, “He is no Prophet,” says James. Pretty soon Thomas walks in. “Brother Joseph, will you trust me for a pair of boots?” “No, I cannot let them go without the money.” “Well,” says Thomas, “Brother Joseph is no Prophet; I have found that out, and I am glad of it.” After awhile, in comes Bill and sister Susan. Says Bill, “Brother Joseph, I want a shawl, I have not got the money, but I wish you to trust me a week or a fortnight.” Well, brother Joseph thinks the others have gone and apostatized, and he don’t know but these goods will make the whole Church do the same, so he lets Bill have a shawl. Bill walks off with it and meets a brother. “Well,” says he, “what do you think of brother Joseph?” “O he is a first-rate man, and I fully believe he is a Prophet. See here, he has trusted me this shawl.” Richard says, “I think I will go down and see if he won’t trust me some.” In walks Richard, “Brother Joseph, I want to trade about 20 dollars.” “Well,” says Joseph, “these goods will make the people apostatize; so over they go, they are of less value than the people.” Richard gets his goods. Another comes in the same way to make a trade of 25 dollars, and so it goes. Joseph was a first-rate fellow with them all the time, provided he never would ask them to pay him. In this way it is easy for us to trade away a first-rate store of goods, and be in debt for them.

And so you may trace it down through the history of this people. If any brethren came into the midst of them as merchants, I never knew one of them go into their stores and go out again satisfied, neither did you. If I had 100,000 dollars worth of goods in that store, owned by myself, or held by a “Mormon” company, in six months the goods would be gone, and we should not have 100 dollars to pay the debt. But let an infernal mobocrat come into our midst, though he brands Joseph Smith with the epithet of “false Prophet,” and calls the “Mormons” a damned set of thieves, and would see all Israel scorching in Tophet, you would give him the last picayune you could raise.

There is not a man who has been in this community a few years but knows I am telling the living truth. Do any of you hate me for it? Do any of you love me for it? It is all the same to me. Do you love the cause? “Yes,” every heart at once responds, “I love the cause, I love the Lord and my religion.” If I would only permit myself to swear, I would say, What the devil is the reason, then, you don’t live according to it? What keeps you from that? What is the reason you cannot pay me what you owe me, as well as your enemy. You continue to trade with the Almighty that way, and it will sink this whole people down to hell. You trade with the Almighty worse than you do with the devil. These things exist, and you know it. A man comes into this Church with a little property, and he must suffer them to pick him until he is as blind as brother Leonard is, that sits over there, or else the people will turn round and curse him, and sink him to the nethermost hell if possible. They have treated Edwin D. Woolley so, and others. Can they keep a store among this people? No, they must let them have the goods, and wait until they can pay them, if they ever do it at all.

They got up a quarrel, about a year ago, and every High Priest and Elder were going to cut Thomas Williams off from the Church, because he asked them to pay their just debts. I said to Thomas, “If they do not pay you as they agreed, arraign them before the High Council; I will be your lawyer, and they shall be cut off from the Church.” They had got it all cut and dried, that if he asked them to pay him, he should be cut off from the Church, but I told them that if they did not live up to their agreement, they should be cut off from the Church, and then be tried by the law of the land.

How has Thomas Williams behaved here? He has paid his tithing, and done good to this people; he has handed over nails, cotton cloth, and other necessary articles. When he brings in his goods, he pays his tithing on them honorably, yet he can be abused; and it is so with every man who comes into the midst of this people with goods, unless he pays them out at random to Tom, Dick, and the devil. Latter-day Saints cannot keep a store of goods, because they will not act as Latter-day Saints, but they will sustain their enemies. How much do you suppose you have paid into these Gentile stores within four months? Can you give a rough guess? I can tell you, if you do not know, for I know something about it. You have paid to them 300,000 dollars within the last six months. The brethren think that we are very hard with them if we ask for a little tithing. I wonder if we have received 30,000 dollars, which we should certainly have received in silver and gold, if the people had been faithful in paying their tithing on the money they have spent at these stores; the money has gone, from time to time, in gold and silver, by boxfuls, to the east. There is not a span of mules that could be found in this valley, able to draw the money, if it were all in silver, to the States, that this people have spent with these merchants within a few months past; they must therefore do business upon the principle of checks; in any other way it is a burden to them to get it over the plains. These are the difficulties that work against our living and doing as we should do.

I will now go back, and say to all the inhabitants of these valleys, if I had the power, and the people were willing to subscribe to that which would do them good, I would look up all the canyons containing wood and other facilities, put gates at the mouths of them, have good roads worked in them, so as to make the wood and the timber easy of access, and make the people pay for the roads and the keeping of them in good repair. If I was a Gentile, and I owned these canyons, and should make such a proposition, it would be so that I could hardly get down to this meetinghouse without some one crying out, “I move that we give that gentleman a vote of thanks;” another would second it, “For that is certainly a Gentile of the first class.” [The speaker made motions, such as bowing and scraping, as the poor serfs of foreign nations do, who subsist on the patrimony of a titled fellow mortal.] I make these motions to show this people how disgraceful it is; it is a disgrace to any community to act as they have done towards the measures of those who wish to do them good all the day long. If a Latter-day Saint wants to do good, why not bless him for it. But no, it is overlooked as a thing of naught. Now, if I do ape out a little of these feelings here, it is to show you how they look inside. I can see them in the people, I know what there is in the midst of them, I know what they have to contend against, and the difficulties and weaknesses they are subject to; it is the want of true knowledge and a sound understanding which causes them to act as they do; if it were not for that, if this people had the knowledge of angels, and then did as they do, they would be sent to hell before the rising of another sun; but as they are ignorant, and inasmuch as they desire to do good, God winks at their foibles, and hopes by it to bless them.

Now, I am going to have an expression from this Conference, with regard to the plan that we, as a community, shall adopt; not as a county, not as the Legislature of Utah, not as civil and military officers, but as officers and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and before I take the expression, if there is one man in this house who feels himself capable of showing a better method, or of producing a better plan to keep the people from running over each other, from breaking each other’s necks, and the necks of their horses, I will give him an opportunity of presenting that plan. In the first place, the feelings of individuals are—what advantage can I get by introducing this plan? I wish you to remember that all I can get by it is, to protect you against running over and trying to kill each other. We do not own the canyons, but the plan is—let them go into the hands of individuals who will make them easy of access, by paying them for their labor. Before I take an expression, I want to see if there is a man that can rise up and propose a better plan than I propose, which of course would be to our advantage to adopt in preference to mine. I have talked long enough upon this matter. The motion is, that we, as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the capacity of a General Conference assembled, and embracing the whole community in the midst of the mountains, recommend, and give it as our opinion, that the best method of disposing of the canyons is to put them in the hands of individuals to make good roads in them, and obtain their pay by taking toll from those who use the roads, at a gate erected for that purpose at the mouth of each canyon. Now, sisters, I want you to vote also, because women are the characters that rule the ballot box. If you are in favor of this motion, as Latter-day Saints, signify it by the uplifted hand. [Unanimous.]

Let the judges in the county of Great Salt Lake take due notice, and govern themselves accordingly. The same thing I say to the judges of any of the other counties of the territory, Take notice, and govern yourselves accordingly. Put these canyons into the hands of individuals who will make good roads into them, and let them take toll from the inhabitants that go there for wood, timber, and poles. Now this is my order for the judges to take due notice of; it does not come from the Governor, but from the President of the Church; you will not see any proclamation in the paper to this effect, but it is a mere declaration of the President of the Conference. Let these things go out to make the people satisfied, and feel contented to have the privilege of getting wood without breaking their necks and destroying their teams.

I want to occupy a few moments more, and talk about our contemplated temple. It has been moved, seconded, and carried by this Conference, that we build a temple here of the best material that America affords. If this is done, it will have to be built of platina; and I do not know that there is any of it to be got in this territory. It is purer, stronger, and is every way a better metal than pure gold. If we cannot get the platina, we must build a temple of pure gold; that is here, I know. But if the Conference want us to build a temple of pure gold, they will have to put into the tithing stores something besides old half-dead stinking cows, and old broken-kneed horses; or if they even put in all the good cattle they possess, will it build a temple of gold, of silver, or of brass? No, it will not.

I am inclined to offer a chemical argument with regard to the material for building a temple in our present circumstances. The best materials, I have mentioned, probably. Iron might be better than stone; the time will come when the Lord will bring for brass gold, for iron silver, and for stones iron, and for wood brass, to beautify His sanctuary, and make the place of His feet glorious. That will be, but it is not now. I thought, when I was at Iron County, and saw the iron mountains, that the iron was actually come instead of stone.

But for the chemical argument touching the material for the building of a temple in this city. It has been proposed, that we send to San Pete to get the rock. Some say it will cost too much, others say we cannot do it, and others say that we can. I, not being a practical chemist, but only a chemist in theory, shall have to use my own language, to express my ideas. You may bring the stone from San Pete, which is a beautiful specimen of rock, and erect a temple here with it; then you may take this sandstone that is found in abundance in the Red Butte Canyon, and build a temple of that; then you step over to the Emigration Canyon, and get this bastard marble, and build another of the same dimensions as that you have built of the red sandstone. Now you have got the San Pete rock temple, the red sandstone temple, and another built of limestone, or bastard marble I call it; then, right beside of that, another one of adobies, mixed with pebbles—take that clay, and these pebble stones that are so abundant here, and mix in with them straw, and build another temple of that composition, besides the three which are built of different kinds of rock, and let them stand together—which do you think will stand the longest? Being a chemist in theory, I should say, according to my mind, when the San Pete rock is washed into the Jordan, the other buildings will still be standing, and be in moderate condition. The red sandstone will go the next, and the other two still remain, the bastard marble or limestone will be in pretty good preservation; and when that is all decomposed and washed away into the Jordan, you will find that temple which is built of mud or adobies, as some call them, still remains, and in better condition than at the first day it was built.

You may ask any practical chemist, any man who knows, understands, and studies the elements, and he will corroborate these statements. This is a matter I want you to look at, to think and meditate upon. I do not talk about the expense of the building, and the time it would take to erect it, but its durability, and which is the best material within our reach to build it with. If you take this clay, which is to be found in abundance on these bottom lands, and mix with it these pebble rocks, and make adobies of the compound, it will petrify in the wall and become a solid rock in five hundred years, so as to be fit to cut into millstones to grind flour, while the other materials I have mentioned will have decomposed, and gone back to their native elements. I am chemist enough to know that much. My simple philosophy is this. The elements of which this terra firma is composed, are every moment either composing or decomposing. They commence to organize or to compose, and continue to grow until they arrive at their zenith of perfection, and then they begin to decompose. When you find a rock that has arrived at its greatest perfection, you may know that the work of decaying has begun. Let the practical chemist make his observations upon a portion of the matter of which this earth is com– posed; and he will find, that just as quick as it is at its perfection, that very instant it begins to decompose. We have proof of this. Go into Egypt, for instance, and you will find the monuments, towers, and pyramids, that were erected in the days of Joseph, and before he was sold into Egypt; they were built of what we call adobies, clay mixed up with straw; these fabrics, which have excited interest for so many ages, and are the wonder of modern nations, were built of this raw material. They have bid defiance to the wear of ages, and they still remain. But you cannot find a stone column that was reared in those times, for they are all decayed. Here we have actual proof that the matter which is the furthest advanced to a state of perfection, is the first to decompose, and go back into its native element, at which point it begins to be organized again, it begins to congeal, petrify, and harden into rock, which grows like a tree, but not so perceptibly.

Gold and silver grow, and so does every other kind of metal, the same as the hair upon my head, or the wheat in the field; they do not grow as fast, but they are all the time composing or decomposing. So much, then, for my views touching the material to be used in building a Temple upon this block. You may go to San Pete and get stone for it, and when five hundred years have elapsed you will not find a building. You may build of that red sandstone, and it will live out the San Pete rock, and the limestone will outlive that. But when you come to the adobies, they will outlive either of them, and be five hundred years better than the day they were first laid. This is a pretty strong argument in favor of a mud building.

How long has the city of Washington been built? What was there before my father entered into the revo– lutionary war? Where was the Capitol then? It was in Philadelphia sixty years ago, there was no such thing as a Capitol in Washington. Let me ask a question—is it built of rock? I never was there. [Voice, “Yes.”] It is built of rock. The House of Representatives was rebuilt in 1812, not more than forty years ago. Would any of you that have not been there, suppose that it would need patching up already to make it comfortable for the representatives of the nation? This, however, is the case, for within ten years past eighty thousand tons of putty have been used to putty up the places where the stone has decayed by the operation of the elements, and it has not yet been built forty years. I mention this, because I wish the Conference to know what they are doing when they commence to build a temple of stone. As for myself, I know enough about rock. If a man should undertake to put me up a stone house, I should wish him to build it of adobies instead, and then I should have a good house. We are talking about building one for the community, and I mention this about the Capitol to show you that the rock does not endure; the moment it becomes as hard as it is ever going to be, that moment it begins to decay. It may be a slow process in growing, or decomposing, yet it is doing the one or the other continually.

I have my own individual thoughts, of course, and these I express with regard to the temple. According to my present views, there is not marble in these mountains, or stone of any kind or quality, that I would rather have a building made of than adobies. As for the durability of such a building, the longer it stands the better it becomes; if it stands five thousand years, it increases in its strength until it comes to its highest perfection, be– fore it begins to decay. What do our “Mormon” boys say about trying to dig into one of those old Catholic cathedrals that are now standing in California? They say they might as well have undertaken to dig through the most solid rock you ever saw, as to dig through those adobie walls. Do you think they are decaying and falling down? No, they are growing better all the time, and so it is with the houses we live in. If they have good foundations, these houses that we live in will be better when they have stood fifty years than they are at this day. I will not say that it is so with a stone house, or with a brick house; for when you burn the clay to make brick, you destroy the life of it, it may last many years, but if the life is permitted to remain in it, it will last until it has become rock, and then begin to decay.

As for the temple, I will give you the nature of your vote with regard to it—the sum of it was, that those that dictate the building of it be left to do with it as they please. They will, anyhow. But I give it as my opinion that adobies are the best article to build it of. I do not fear the expense, neither do I care what you build it of; only when it is built, I want it to stand, and not fall down and decay in twenty or thirty years, like brother Taylor’s one would, that he was giving an exposition of; “that when we go within the veil into the heavenly world, we need not be ashamed of it, but when we look down upon it, it will be of solid rock:” but if it is built of San Pete rock, when he looks down to see it he will find it aint there, but it is gone, washed into the Jordan. It cannot remain, it must decay.

May the Lord bless you. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, Delivered at a Special Conference held in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, August 28, 1852.

The morning is far spent; but before we close the morning service, I would like to present before the Conference the names of a few Elders who have been selected to take missions.

I suppose the brethren understand the object of this special Conference. It is for the purpose of transacting business pertaining to foreign Missions and of giving the brethren an opportunity to cross the Plains before the cold weather. We shall send them out from this Conference.

I wish to say to the brethren, I am thankful, and I rejoice in the Lord my Savior, for his choice blessings which we enjoy. It was observed by brother Benson that brother Brigham has but one fear concerning this people. It is true.

I do not fear all the devils in hell, or all the mobs that could be raised; but if I have any fear, it is upon this ground—that the people, in their blessings, should forget the Lord their God. I do not see that this is the case with this people; but if there is danger to be anticipated, it is in the slackness of the people to remember the Lord, when the fostering hand of Providence is pouring out blessings upon them and round about them all the day long.

This has been in former times, when the blessings of the Lord have been poured out upon the people. It is written in the Bible, concerning ancient Israel, that they got fat and kicked against the Lord their God. You may understand the expression as you please. They forgot the Lord and began to trust in the wisdom of man. They forgot their prayers and the duties they owed to one another, and they fell back into a careless, carnal security, and became like the rest of the world.

This is the only ground on which I would have fear, were I to entertain any. As I have often said, and the same I can say again—it is too late in the day for this people ever to be cast off and disowned by the Lord. The work the Lord promised to do is too nigh accomplished, and he has promised to make a short work on the earth. This work has sometime since commenced; and if any of the people will not serve their God and do the work he has given them to do, they will be removed out of the way, and that speedily. It is too late in the day for this people to apostatize and the Priesthood to be taken again from the earth; so there is not much ground for fears even in this respect.

A few words to the Elders of Israel with regard to the building up of the kingdom of God. Suppose every man who has wanted to go out to preach (and almost every Elder has wanted to go)—suppose they had all gone six years ago last fall, and left Nauvoo entirely destitute of Elders, and attended diligently to preaching up to this time. Would there have been a place prepared for the gathering of the Saints from all the world? No. There would have been no place for the Elders to gather them to; there would have been no standard reared or rallying point for the people. Do you preach the gathering of Israel and the redemption of Zion? You do; and when you would have got through this, and found all the rest had been neglected, what would have been the situation of the Elders of Israel? Their mouths would be closed up and sealed; they would not have any more influence among the people than those doctors and philosophers in France spoken of by Elder Taylor: they came, they tarried; and if they paid for what they had, it was all right; they went, and no person cared for them. It would have been the same with the Elders of this Church.

The whole machinery is in operation and complete, that, when the Elders go forth to preach the Gospel, every man carries with him a two-edged sword, and pierces the hearts of the people by the spirit of the Gospel which he goes to proclaim. But if the work is in progress only in part, his sword is blunted at once; it has no edge, it is incomplete, and does not pierce the hearts of the people; consequently, he had better have stayed at home.

Why I make these remarks is, that we may understand that unless this work is in progress as a whole, it is not complete—we are found wanting, and not prepared to do the work we are called and sent to do. Now, it is just as necessary to come to these valleys, build houses, make fences, erect schoolhouses, rear up places of worship, and prepare for the gathering of Israel, as it is to go and preach to Israel to influence them to gather. The one is just as honorable and as acceptable in the sight of God as the other; and those that labor faithfully at home, will be crowned with those that labor faithfully abroad. Those who are selected to remain at home receive as those who are selected to go abroad.

It is unnecessary for me, for any of the Twelve, or for any of my brethren to rise up here to preach to the Elders to infuse the spirit of preaching in them; for we have had to hold them back with a cable rope, as it were, to keep them from going to preach. There is no lack of the spirit of the Gospel in the Elders of Israel; for we have been teased all the time to give them permission to go out and give vent to the spirit within them; but had we listened to them, you and I would not have had this commodious house to preach in this day. All the Elders would have been off preaching, and there would not have been enough left to have made the women and children comfortable.

What is to be done? Obey counsel. They do and how far? Enough to scare the whole world. Look at the spirit that is in the midst of this people and that overshadows them. What influence does this have upon the nations of the earth? It fills them with terror and awe; and when they reflect and reason, it fills them with astonishment, that there is a people on the earth, in the present confused, revolutionary state of the nations, that will hearken to counsel, and be of one heart and one mind. They are filled with fear and astonishment, and they dread the union that is among this people more than they dread the Lord Almighty upon his throne. This is a pretty positive proof that this people are willing to hearken to the counsels of heaven.

Brother Benson proclaims in our hearing that this spirit has increased since he left here last fall. It has, and I expect it has grown in his own bosom: it has in mine. What do you think about yourselves, brethren? Would you not be ready also to acknowledge that the same spirit is increasing in your bosoms—a spirit of love, and union, and of faith in your calling? I think there are a great many who can say, and say it truly, that this Spirit of the Lord has greatly increased in their hearts for six or eight months past, or for a year. Were it not so, we should not be found grow– ing in the knowledge of the truth. This is our labor, our business, and our calling—to grow in grace and in knowledge from day to day and from year to year.

I wish to say to this congregation, and I wish them to say to the families of the brethren who are not here today, and I would like all the inhabitants of these valleys to hear it—When our brethren who are on the Plains come with their families into this city, or into any of the settlements of the Latter-day Saints, sit down and calmly make a calculation in your own hearts, how you would wish a neighborhood of Latter-day Saints to receive you, if you had been journeying across the Plains this season. Ponder it over in your minds, and place yourselves in the situation of a pilgrim traveling across the Plains; and, after a hard and fatiguing summer’s work, now you have got home. Imagine yourselves at the doors of your brethren who have plenty. Here are their gardens groaning with the abundance of the products of the earth—with potatoes, beets, and cabbage. Here are milk and butter and fine flour in great quantities. Here are the tomatoes and garden vegetables of every description. Now, you say, I have got home, to my brethren’s door, and they have got plenty. What would you wish these brethren to do to you? Ask that same question to your neighbors, and get them to answer it. I can tell you what you would they should do to you. You would wish them to say, Come, brother or sister, into my garden, and help yourselves to some garden sauce; walk in here, and take and eat, and make yourselves glad. And if they turn round and say, Brother how shall I pay you for what I get? then you cannot hear that, for it is something that is altogether out of the question. The Lord gave it to us: now, come and help us to eat it. That do to the emigrant Saints, everyone of you. I know it is the will of the Lord you should do it; and I know, if he should speak to you himself, he would tell you the same thing. I tell you just as it is; and that is just as good, precisely, as though another came and told you. Then the brethren will feel joyful; their hearts will be made glad, and they will know that you are actually growing in the knowledge of the truth.

There are a great many coming. Brother Benson says all are coming, even the great granddaddies and great grandmammies, uncles and aunts—all are coming, and I am glad of it. I rejoice; for it puts us in a position that we can send out Elders from this place into all the world; whereas, before, our circumstances needed all the men we had here to prepare for the gathering of the Saints. Now the time has come that we can send out our little parties to gather up Israel and preach the Gospel to the nations before the end comes.

The reports we have heard from our brethren are favorable, cheering, and rejoicing to every heart. Those who are coming from the islands of the sea and from the old countries where the Elders have been sent—those from Pottawatomie and the States are coming home. For the present, this is the place of gathering; here the standard is reared for the Latter-day Saints from all nations, that they may spread out from this place and fill up other places, until the whole continent of America, which is the land of Zion, shall be peopled with the Saints of the Most High.

Question: When are we going back to Jackson County? Not until the Lord commands his people; and it is just as much as you and I can do to get ready to go when he does command us.

Brothers Benson and Grant have been successful in their missions. Brother Benson says some of the brethren were glad when he was mobbed. I was glad of it; for every mobbing difficulty will add glory upon the heads of the humble, faithful, and contrite in heart. It serves to prove and give them experience; it shows them the contrast between the one and the other. All this is preparatory for the Saints to enter into their rest, and for the wicked to receive their punishment. Brother Benson has been successful; and I thank the Lord Almighty that he turned the key here last fall, and caused a tremendous commotion among the political elements—earthquake, thundering, and lightning above and below the earth, with great excitement. This gathered a great many more Saints than if it had been fair weather all the time. This clashing and noise of the elements stirred up the people in Pottawatomie, and then they wanted to go to the mountains, like brother George A. Smith, in the latter days of Nauvoo: he wanted to go to the mountains, or to California, or to Oregon; he was not very particular. What for? Simply because he was obliged to go somewhere. The Saints who are coming now from Pottawatomie were obliged to leave for the valleys of the mountains. Why? Because they had to run somewhere. Do you suppose I am sorry because of persecution? No: I never was in my life; but I have thanked God a thousand times that the Devil is not yet bound; for if he had been, the Saints would have gone to sleep; and if there could be such a thing, they would have been blotted out of existence, with all their intelligence, and the earth have received them into its bowels. Light, knowledge, truth, wickedness of every kind, the works of the Almighty, and the works of the Devil, all conspire to roll on the great work that the Lord Jesus Christ is doing upon the earth—every person and power in their own order.

I do not wish to detain the congregation longer this morning. Brother Kimball set before you the object of the meeting, and I have hinted at it. We will now read over a few names that we have selected. May the Lord God of Israel bless you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, Delivered at a Special Conference held in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, August 28, 1852.

I want to say a few words to the congregation before we dismiss, for we shall be under the necessity of separating soon, and probably we shall hold another meeting this evening.

I have heard the exhortations of the brethren who have spoken today with joy. They seem to be in good spirit; and certainly—yea, most assuredly, there is the most novelty in “Mormonism” than there is in anything upon the face of the earth. It is musical; it pleases both the eye and the ear, and I may say every sense of the man.

When I heard the brethren exhorting those who are going out on missions, I wished them to impress one thing upon the minds of these Elders, for it is necessary that it should be uppermost there, which may be the means of preserving them from receiving stains on their characters, from which very probably they may never recover. If we get a blight upon our characters before the Lord, or in other words, lose ground and backslide by transgression, or in any other way, so that we are not up even with the brethren as we are now, we never can come up with them again. But this principle must be carried out by the Elders wherever they go, whatever they do, or wherever they are. One thing must be observed and be before them all the time in their meditations and in their practice, and that is, clean hands and pure hearts before God, angels, and men.

If the Elders cannot go with clean hands and pure hearts, they had better stay here and wash a little longer. Do not go thinking, when you arrive at the Missouri River, at the Mississippi, at the Ohio, or at the Atlantic, that then you will purify yourselves; but start from here with clean hands and pure hearts, and be pure from the crown of the head to the soles of your feet; then live so every hour. Go in that manner, and in that manner, labor, and return again as clean as a piece of pure white paper. This is the way to go; and if you do not do that, your hearts will ache. How can you do it? Is there a way? Yes. Do the Elders understand that way? They do. You cannot keep your own hands clean and your hearts pure without the help of the Lord; neither will he keep you pure without your own help.

Will you be liable to fall into temptation and be overtaken by sin? Yes, unless you live so as to have the revelation of Jesus Christ continually, not only to live in it today or while you are preaching, in a prayer meeting, or in a Conference; and when you are out of these meetings, when you are guarded more particularly by the Spirit, say that you can get along without the Holy Ghost. You must have it all the time—on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and every day through the week, and from year to year, from the time you leave home until you return; so that when you come back, you may not be afraid if the Lord Almighty should come into the midst of the Saints and reveal all the acts and doings and designs of your hearts in your missions; but be found clean like a piece of white paper. That is the way for the Elders to live in their ministry at home and abroad.

There are a great many things that could be said here, which would add to the comfort and consolation of us all—a great many principles that could be taught to the Elders, which they must learn when they go abroad. I will notice one thing with regard to learning. You will hear a great many Elders say, If I could go to preaching, I could become a man like many and others: I should receive knowledge and understanding; I should be noted—become a great man and a wise man. Many have such feelings, that they are greater who are in the world preaching the Gospel than those who remain here. It is a grand mistake; for if those who have lived with us all the time have not a knowledge of true principles—do not understand the root and foundation of the superstructure—are not filled with knowledge and understanding here, they need not appeal to the Gentile world for it. If they have not the foundation within themselves of talent and tact, they need not go abroad for the Spirit of the Lord to instruct them in things they cannot be instructed in here at home, and to obtain improvement where improvement cannot be made.

We may live here year after year, and store up knowledge all the time, and yet not have an opportunity of exhibiting it to others; but if I have knowledge by the Spirit of the Lord, I gain it at the fountain; and if not quite at the fountainhead, the nigher I am to that place, the more I get. Though I have not the privilege of exhibiting it to the people, it is on hand whenever the time comes it should be used. It is a vain idea to suppose that we can send Elders into the world who have not got good common sense, to make men of them. If they have good sense here, they will have it yonder; if they have good sense yonder, they will have good common sense here. Whether they are there or here does not alter the foundation that is in them. If the Elders have natural ability and have obtained great wisdom or learning, to go abroad gives them an opportunity to improve upon what they have.

I want to refer to the last speech made here. Brother Phelps feels very joyful, as the rest of us do. When we hear the glad tidings of salvation among the nations, it gives a spring to our feelings and fills us with unspeakable joy.

Perhaps in the case before us, as in others, we might say that men become children. We are children in the first place, then become men; and in the second place men become children in their understanding. As to the correctness of the exalted views that brother Phelps has of myself, I leave it to the congregation to decide for themselves; but to place me on a par with the personages he has named, who have overcome and entered into the presence of God, or even to compare me with Joseph Smith, our martyred Prophet, is too much; though I expect, if I am faithful, I shall be as great as they are now, and so can every other faithful man. But am I now to be compared with these exalted characters? Not at all—not even with Joseph; and he is at present inferior to others brother Phelps has named. But I expect, if I am faithful with yourselves, that I shall see the time with yourselves that we shall know how to prepare to organize an earth like this—know how to people that earth, how to redeem it, how to sanctify it, and how to glorify it, with those who live upon it who hearken to our counsels.

The Father and the Son have attained to this point already; I am on the way, and so are you, and every faithful servant of God.

One of the greatest queries on the minds of the Saints is to understand the nature, the principle of the foundation of our existence. To say nothing about what has been, if you will follow out that which is before you, you can learn all about it. I have a notion to tell you, though I have not time to say much about it now. I will, however, just tell to you the simple story relating to the exaltation of man in the celestial kingdom of God. We will take Joseph for instance: he is faithful to his calling—has filled his mission to this earth, and sealed his testimony with his blood; he has done the work his Father gave him to do, and will soon come to the resurrection. His spirit is waiting for the resurrection of the body, which will soon be. But has he the power to resurrect that body? He has not. Who has this power? Those that have already passed through the resurrection—who have been resurrected in their time and season by some person else, and have been appointed to that authority just as you Elders have with regard to your authority to baptize.

You have not the power to baptize yourselves, neither have you power to resurrect yourselves; and you could not legally baptize a second person for the remission of sins until some person first baptized you and ordained you to this authority. So with those that hold the keys of the resurrection to resurrect the Saints. Joseph will come up in his turn, receive his body again, and continue his mission in the eternal worlds until he carries it out to perfection, with all the rest of the faithful, to be made perfect with those who have lived before, and those who shall live after; and when the work is finished, and it is offered to the Father, then they will be crowned and receive keys and powers by which they will be capable of organizing worlds. What will they organize first? Were I to tell you, I should certainly spoil all the baby resurrection that Elder Hyde and others ever preached, as sure as the world.

After men have got their exaltations and their crowns—have become Gods, even the sons of God—are made Kings of kings and Lords of lords, they have the power then of propagating their species in spirit; and that is the first of their operations with regard to organizing a world. Power is then given to them to organize the elements, and then commence the organization of tabernacles. How can they do it? Have they to go to that earth? Yes, an Adam will have to go there, and he cannot do without Eve; he must have Eve to commence the work of generation, and they will go into the garden, and continue to eat and drink of the fruits of the corporeal world, until this greater matter is diffused sufficiently through their celestial bodies to enable them, according to the established laws, to produce mortal tabernacles for their spiritual children.

This is a key for you. The faithful will become Gods, even the sons of God; but this does not overthrow the idea that we have a father. Adam is my father (this I will explain to you at some future time); but it does not prove that he is not my father, if I become a God: it does not prove that I have not a father.

I am on the way to become one of those characters, and am nobody in the world but Brigham Young. I never have professed to be brother Joseph, but brother Brigham, trying to do good to this people. I am no better, nor any more important than another man who is trying to do good. If I am, I don’t know it. If I improve upon what the Lord has given me, and continue to improve, I shall become like those who have gone before me; I shall be exalted in the celestial kingdom, and be filled to overflowing with all the power I can wield; and all the keys of knowledge I can manage will be committed unto me. What do we want more? I shall be just like every other man—have all that I can, in my capacity, comprehend and manage.

I am on my way to this great exaltation. I expect to attain unto it. I am in the hands of the Lord, and never trouble myself about my salvation, or what the Lord will do with me hereafter. It is for me to do the will of God today, and, when tomorrow comes, to inquire what is his will concerning me; then do the will of my Father in the work he has appointed me to do, and that is enough for me. I am serving a God who will give me all I merit, when I come to receive my reward. This is what I have always thought; and if I still think so, it is enough for me.

I say to the brethren who are leaving home—When you go from home, leave everything you have got here: don’t take anything with you but the Lord and yourselves.

You will want horses to bear you over the Plains; but don’t carry your wives or your children in your hearts or in your affections with you one rod. Dedicate them to the Lord God of Israel, and leave them at home; and when you are in England, or among other nations, no matter where, when you pray for your families, pray for them as being in the Great Salt Lake Valley, and do not bring them close to you, as though they were in your carpetbag. Pray for them where they are. You must feel—If they live, all right; if they die, all right; if I die, all right; if I live, all right; for we are the Lord’s, and we shall soon meet again.

I wish to say to you that are left here, whose husbands and fathers are going away for a season—Don’t cling to them one particle, but let them go as cheerfully as you would give a weary traveler a cup of cold water. If you live, it is all right; and if you fall asleep before they return, it is all right. Don’t send your hearts after them one step, nor suffer your spirits to cling to them one moment. Then you wives in very deed will be blessed, and be helpmeets to your husbands.

But if a wife should yet cling round a husband’s neck and say, Oh, how I love you, dear husband! and keep him in her embraces, that woman is a dead weight to that man, and not a help to him. Women should be loyal to the cause of God, and help to build up his kingdom by their husbands, in assisting them to fulfil their missions; and if they do not do it, they are not helpmeets to their husbands. I know there are a great many here who have had an experience in these things. It is no matter if they are on the other side of the globe, apart, let them long for each other, and there will be a thread of communication between them; the man cannot be useful in his labors while she is all the time weeping and mourning every day of her life. Let a man suffer his mind to be drawn out all the time after his family, and he will become inactive in the work of the Lord.

When you leave, understand it, you have neither wife nor children: you have handed them all over to the Lord Jesus Christ. Let the brethren go and say, I will keep my eyes straight before me on the object of my mission, and not look behind me to my family; but I will accomplish my mission; and when I have done, it is all right. I am willing to go home, if the Lord wishes me to do so.

The time is far spent, and it is necessary for our meeting to be brought to a close. May the Lord bless you; and I say he does bless us. We are greatly blessed above all people upon the face of this earth. Let us be faithful to God and the covenant we have made. Amen.

A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, August 8, 1852.

I will read a revelation given to Joseph Smith, junior, and Sidney Rigdon. But previous to my doing so, and commencing upon the subject that I expect to lay before the people this morning, I will say to them, my understanding with regard to preaching the Gospel of Salvation is this: there is but one discourse to be preached to all the children of Adam; and that discourse should be believed by them, and lived up to. To commence, continue, and finish this Gospel sermon, will require all the time that is allotted to man, to the earth, and all things upon it, in their mortal state; that is my idea with regard to preaching. No man is able to set before a congregation all the items of the Gospel, in this life, and continue these items to their termination, for this mortal life is too short. It is inseparably connected, one part with the other, in all the doctrines that have been revealed to man, which are now called the various doctrines of Christianity, of which all the professors of religion believe a portion; but severally reject, or desire to reject, other portions of the truth; each sect or individual, taking to themselves portions of the Bible, portions of the doctrine of salvation, that are the most pleasing to them, rejecting all the rest, and mingling these doctrines with the tenets of men.

But let a Gospel sermon be preached, wherein all the principles of salvation are embodied, and we will ac– knowledge, at the end of the mortality of this earth, and all things created upon it—at the closing up scene, at the final consummation of all things that have been from the commencement of the creation of the world, and the peopling of it unto the latest generation of Adam and Eve, and the final finishing up of the work of Christ—I say, we shall acknowledge that there is the Gospel sermon, and that it could not be preached to finite beings in one short life.

I make these remarks for the purpose of extricating myself from the arduous task of undertaking to set before this congregation, every item of the doctrine of salvation, in all of their various significations, as they are presented in this life, and according to our understanding. I make these introductory remarks to free myself from the great task of finishing the discourse I shall commence. I did not expect to finish it; I do not expect to see the end of it, until the winding up scene. I do not even commence at the beginning of it; I only catch at it, where it comes to me, in the 19th century, for it has been before me; it is from eternity to eternity.

Christ is the author of this Gospel, of this earth, of men and women, of all the posterity of Adam and Eve, and of every living creature that lives upon the face of the earth, that flies in the heavens, that swims in the waters, or dwells in the field. Christ is the author of salvation to all this creation; to all things pertaining to this terrestrial globe we occupy.

This, however, would be contrary to our prejudices, to admit for a moment, that Christ, in his redeeming properties, has power to redeem any of the works of his hands—any other living creature, but the children of Adam and Eve—this would not be in accordance with our prepossessed feelings, and long-imbibed prejudices, perhaps; but he has redeemed the earth; he has redeemed mankind and every living thing that moves upon it; and he will finish his Gospel discourse when he overcomes his enemies, and puts his last enemy under his feet—when he destroys death, and him that hath the power of it—when he has raised up this kingdom, and finished his work which the Father gave him to do, and presents it to his Father, saying, “I have done the work, I have finished it; I have not only created the world, but I have redeemed it; I have watched over it, and I have given to those intelligent beings, that you have created by me, their agency, and it has been held with perfection to every creature of intelligence, to every grade of mankind; I have preserved inviolate their agency; I have watched over them, and overruled all their actions, and held in my hand the destinies of men; and I have finished up my Gospel sermon,” as he presents the finished work to his Father.

It takes just such a character as the Savior, to preach one Gospel discourse; and this was commenced with the commencement of all men upon this earth or any other; and it will never close until the winding up scene, and all is finished, and the kingdom is presented to the Father.

I expect only to look into some portions of it, as it comes to me in the 19th century of the Christian era.

I will now read a revelation that was given to Joseph Smith, junior, and Sidney Rigdon, called

A Vision.

“1. Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth, and rejoice ye inhabitants thereof, for the Lord is God, and beside him there is no Savior. Great is his wisdom, marvelous are his ways, and the extent of his doings none can find out. His purposes fail not, neither are there any who can stay his hand. From eternity to eternity he is the same, and his years never fail.

“2. For thus saith the Lord—I, the Lord, am merciful and gracious unto those who fear me, and delight to honor those who serve me in righteousness and in truth unto the end. Great shall be their reward and eternal shall be their glory. And to them will I reveal all mysteries, yea, all the hidden mysteries of my kingdom from days of old, and for ages to come, will I make known unto them the good pleasure of my will concerning all things pertaining to my kingdom. Yea, even the wonders of eternity shall they know, and things to come will I show them, even the things of many generations. And their wisdom shall be great, and their understanding reach to heaven; and before them the wisdom of the wise shalt perish, and the understanding of the prudent shall come to naught. For by my Spirit will I enlighten them, and by my power will I make known unto them the secrets of my will—yea, even those things which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor yet entered into the heart of man.

“3. We, Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon, being in the Spirit on the sixteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two—By the power of the Spirit our eyes were opened and our understandings were enlightened, so as to see and understand the things of God—Even those things which were from the beginning before the world was, which were ordained of the Fa– ther, through his Only Begotten Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, even from the beginning; Of whom we bear record; and the record which we bear is the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the Son, whom we saw and with whom we conversed in the heavenly vision. For while we were doing the work of translation, which the Lord had appointed unto us, we came to the twenty-ninth verse of the fifth chapter of John, which was given unto us as follows—Speaking of the resurrection of the dead, concerning those who shall hear the voice of the Son of Man: And shall come forth; they who have done good, in the resurrection of the just; and they who have done evil, in the resurrection of the unjust. Now this caused us to marvel, for it was given unto us of the Spirit. And while we meditated upon these things, the Lord touched the eyes of our understandings and they were opened, and the glory of the Lord shone round about. And we beheld the glory of the Son, on the right hand of the Father, and received of his fulness; And saw the holy angels, and them who are sanctified before his throne, worshipping God, and the Lamb, who worship him forever and ever. And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God. And this we saw also, and bear record, that an angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the Only Begotten Son whom the Father loved and who was in the bosom of the Father, was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son, And was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him—he was Lucifer, a son of the morning. And we beheld, and lo, he is fallen! is fallen, even a son of the morning! And while we were yet in the Spirit, the Lord commanded us that we should write the vision; for we beheld Satan, that old serpent, even the devil, who rebelled against God, and sought to take the kingdom of our God and his Christ—Wherefore, he maketh war with the saints of God, and encompasseth them round about. And we saw a vision of the sufferings of those with whom he made war and overcame, for thus came the voice of the Lord unto us:

“4. Thus saith the Lord concerning all those who know my power, and have been made partakers thereof, and suffered themselves through the power of the devil to be overcome, and to deny the truth and defy my power—They are they who are the sons of perdition, of whom I say that it had been better for them never to have been born; For they are vessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil and his angels in eternity; Concerning whom I have said there is no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come—Having denied the Holy Spirit after having received it, and having denied the Only Begotten Son of the Father, having crucified him unto themselves and put him to an open shame. These are they who shall go away into the lake of fire and brimstone, with the devil and his angels—And the only ones on whom the second death shall have any power; Yea, verily, the only ones who shall not be redeemed in the due time of the Lord, after the sufferings of his wrath. For all the rest shall be brought forth by the resurrection of the dead, through the triumph and the glory of the Lamb, who was slain, who was in the bosom of the Father before the worlds were made. And this is the gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us—That he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness; That through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him; Who glorifies the Father, and saves all the works of his hands, except those sons of perdition who deny the Son after the Father has revealed him. Wherefore, he saves all except them—they shall go away into everlasting punishment, which is endless punishment, which is eternal punishment, to reign with the devil and his angels in eternity, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched, which is their torment—And the end thereof, neither the place thereof, nor their torment, no man knows; Neither was it revealed, neither is, neither will be revealed unto man, except to them who are made partakers thereof; Nevertheless, I, the Lord, show it by vision unto many, but straightway shut it up again; Wherefore, the end, the width, the height, the depth, and the misery thereof, they understand not, neither any man except them who are ordained unto this condemnation. And we heard the voice, saying: Write the vision, for lo, this is the end of the vision of the sufferings of the ungodly.

“5. And again we bear record—for we saw and heard, and this is the testimony of the gospel of Christ concerning them who shall come forth in the resurrection of the just—They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given—That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power; And who overcome by faith, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true. They are they who are the church of the Firstborn. They are they into whose hands the Father has given all things—They are they who are priests and kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory; And are priests of the Most High, after the order of Melchizedek, which was after the order of Enoch, which was after the order of the Only Begotten Son. Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God—Wherefore, all things are theirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs and they are Christ’s and Christ is God’s. And they shall overcome all things. Wherefore, let no man glory in man, but rather let him glory in God, who shall subdue all enemies under his feet. These shall dwell in the presence of God and his Christ forever and ever. These are they whom he shall bring with him, when he shall come in the clouds of heaven to reign on the earth over his people. These are they who shall have part in the first resurrection. These are they who shall come forth in the resurrection of the just. These are they who are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly place, the holiest of all. These are they who have come to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of Enoch, and of the Firstborn. These are they whose names are written in heaven, where God and Christ are the judge of all. These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood. These are they whose bodies are celestial, whose glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God, the highest of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is written of as being typical.

“6. And again, we saw the terrestrial world, and behold and lo, these are they who are of the terrestrial, whose glory differs from that of the church of the Firstborn who have received the fulness of the Father, even as that of the moon differs from the sun in the firmament. Behold, these are they who died without law; And also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh; Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it. These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who are blinded by the craftiness of men. These are they who receive of his glory, but not of his fulness. These are they who receive of the presence of the Son, but not of the fulness of the Father. Wherefore, they are bodies terrestrial, and not bodies celestial, and differ in glory as the moon differs from the sun. These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; wherefore, they obtained not the crown over the kingdom of our God. And now this is the end of the vision which we saw of the terrestrial, that the Lord commanded us to write while we were yet in the Spirit.

“7. And again, we saw the glory of the telestial, which glory is that of the lesser, even as the glory of the stars differs from that of the glory of the moon in the firmament. These are they who received not the gospel of Christ, neither the testimony of Jesus. These are they who deny not the Holy Spirit. These are they who are thrust down to hell. These are they who shall not be redeemed from the devil until the last resurrection, until the Lord, even Christ the Lamb shall have finished his work. These are they who receive not of his fulness in the eternal world, but of the Holy Spirit through the ministration of the terrestrial; And the terrestrial through the ministration of the celestial. And also the telestial receive it of the administering of angels who are appointed to minister for them, or who are appointed to be ministering spirits for them; for they shall be heirs of salvation. And thus we saw in the heavenly vision, the glory of the telestial, which surpasses all understanding; And no man knows it except him to whom God has revealed it. And thus we saw the glory of the terrestrial which excels in all things the glory of the telestial, even in glory, and in power, and in might, and in dominion. And thus we saw the glory of the celestial, which excels in all things—where God, even the Father, reigns upon his throne forever and ever; Before whose throne all things bow in humble reverence, and give him glory forever and ever. They who dwell in his presence are the church of the Firstborn; and they see as they are seen, and know as they are known, having received of his fulness and of his grace; And he makes them equal in power, and in might, and in dominion. And the glory of the celestial is one, even as the glory of the sun is one. And the glory of the terrestrial is one, even as the glory of the moon is one. And the glory of the telestial is one, even as the glory of the stars is one; for as one star differs from another star in glory, even so differs one from another in glory in the telestial world; For these are they who are of Paul, and of Apollos, and of Cephas. These are they who say they are some of one and some of another—some of Christ and some of John, and some of Moses, and some of Elias, and some of Esaias, and some of Isaiah, and some of Enoch; But received not the gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus, nei– ther the prophets, neither the everlasting covenant. Last of all, these all are they who will not be gathered with the saints, to be caught up unto the church of the Firstborn, and received into the cloud. These are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie. These are they who suffer the wrath of God on the earth. These are they who suffer the vengeance of eternal fire. These are they who are cast down to hell and suffer the wrath of Almighty God, until the fulness of times, when Christ shall have subdued all enemies under his feet, and shall have perfected his work; When he shall deliver up the kingdom, and present it unto the Father spotless, saying: I have overcome and have trodden the winepress alone, even the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. Then shall he be crowned with the crown of his glory, to sit on the throne of his power to reign forever and ever. But behold, and lo, we saw the glory and the inhabitants of the telestial world, that they were as innumerable as the stars in the firmament of heaven, or as the sand upon the seashore; And heard the voice of the Lord, saying: These all shall bow the knee, and every tongue shall confess to him who sits upon the throne forever and ever; For they shall be judged according to their works, and every man shall receive according to his own works, his own dominion, in the mansions which are prepared; And they shalt be servants of the Most High; but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end. This is the end of the vision which we saw, which we were commanded to write while we were yet in the Spirit.

“8. But great and marvelous are the works of the Lord, and the mysteries of his kingdom which he showed unto us, which surpasses all understanding in glory, and in might, and in dominion; Which he commanded us we should not write while we were yet in the Spirit, and are not lawful for man to utter; Neither is man capable to make them known, for they are only to be seen and understood by the power of the Holy Spirit, which God bestows on those who love him, and purify themselves before him; To whom he grants this privilege of seeing and knowing for themselves; That through the power and manifestation of the Spirit, while in the flesh, they may be able to bear his presence in the world of glory. And to God and the Lamb be glory, and honor, and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

These are the words of the vision that were given to Joseph and Sidney. My mind rests upon this subject, upon this portion of the Gospel of salvation; and has done so, more or less, for a great many years. The circumstances that surround me, almost daily; things that I see and hear, cause my mind to reflect upon the situation of mankind; create in me an anxiety to find out—to learn why things are as they are; why it is that the Lord should build a globe like this earthly ball, and set it in motion—then people it with intelligent beings, and afterwards cast a veil over the whole, and hide Himself from His creation—conceal from them the wisdom, the glory, the truth, the excellency, the true principles of His character, and His design in forming the earth.

Why cast this veil over them, and leave them in total darkness—leave them to be carried away with erroneous doctrines, and exposed to every species of wickedness that would render them obnoxious to the presence of God, who placed them upon the face of this earth? My daily experience and observation cause me to en– quire into these things. Can I attribute all to the wisdom of Him that has organized this earth, and peopled it with intelligent beings, and see the people honestly desiring to do right all the day long, and would not lift hand or heel against the Almighty, but would rather have their heads taken from their bodies than dishonor him? And yet, we hear one crying on the right hand, this is the law of God, this is the right way; another upon the left, saying the same; another in the front; and another in the rear; and to every point of the compass, hundreds and thousands of them, and all differing one from another.

They do the best they can, I admit. See the inhabitants of the earth, how they differ in their prejudices, and in their religion. What is the religion of the day? What are all the civil laws and governments of the day? They are merely traditions, without a single exception. Do the people realize this—that it is the force of their education that makes right and wrong, with them? It is not the line which the Lord has drawn out; it is not the law which the Lord has given them; it is not the righteousness which is according to the character of Him who has created all things, and by His own law governs and controls all things; but by the prejudice of education—the prepossessed feeling that is begotten in the hearts of the children of men, by surrounding objects; they being creatures of circumstances, who are governed and controlled by them more or less. When they, thus, are led to differ one from another, it begets in them different feelings; it causes them to differ in principle, object, and pursuit; in their customs, religion, laws, and domestic affairs, in all human life; and yet everyone, of every nation there is under heaven, considers that they are the best people; that they are the most righteous; have the most intelligent and best of men for their priests and rulers, and are the nearest to the very thing the Lord Almighty requires of them. There is no nation upon this earth that does not entertain these sentiments.

Suppose a query arising in the minds of the different sects of the human family—“Do not the Latter-day Saints think they are the best people under the whole heavens, like ourselves?” Yes, exactly; I take that to myself. The Latter-day Saints have the same feelings as the rest of the people; they think also, that they have more wisdom and knowledge, and are the nearest right of any people upon the face of the earth.

Suppose you visit China, and mingle among the “celestial” beings there; you will find a people who hold in scorn and ridicule every other people, and especially those of Christendom. They consider themselves more holy, more righteous, more upright, more honest; filled with more intelligence; they consider themselves better educated; better in every respect, in all their civil and religious rites than any other nation under heaven.

Suppose you next visit Spain; there you will find the mother, and grandmother, and great-grandmother of all the Christian denominations upon the face of the earth—though these are but a scanty proportion of mankind, compared with all the inhabitants upon the face of the globe. I suppose not one twelfth, or one sixteenth part of the inhabitants of the earth, believe in Jesus Christ—and probably not one thirtieth part of them.

Take the mother of modern Christianity; go into Italy—to Rome, the seat of her government, and we find that they also consider themselves to be the best people in the world—the nearest the Lord and the path of right—more so than any other people upon the face of the earth.

Then visit the first Protestant church that was organized, and they consider themselves nearer right than their mother, or any of their sisters. You may thus follow it down to the last reformer upon the earth; and then step back to those we call heathen; to all that ever lived, from the place where Noah landed his ark, to the building of the tower of Babel; and in their dispersion, trace their footsteps to the islands and continents, under the whole heavens, and you cannot find a people that do not believe they are nearest right in their religion—more so than their neighbors—and have the best form of civil government.

Suppose you call upon the aborigines of our country, here, these wild Indians; we call them savages; we call them heathens. Let yourselves be divested of prejudice; let it be entirely forgotten and out of the question, together with all your education, and former notions of things, your religious tenets, &c., and let your minds be in open vision before the Almighty, seeing things as they are, you will find that that very people know just as much about the Lord as anybody else; like the rest of mankind, they step into a train of ideas and ordinances, peculiar to the prejudices of their education.

All this I admit; and I admit it upon the resources of my own knowledge that I have pertaining to the inhabitants of the earth; this, also, every person knows, who is acquainted with the different customs and religions of different countries.

Let me step over into England, and carry with me my Yankee notions and manners, and I should be a burlesque to them. Let an Englishman pass over into Scotland, and speak and act according to English customs, it would differ so far from them, that they would laugh at him. Let a Scotchman or an Englishman go to Ireland, and it would be just the same. This difference of feeling, sentiment, and custom, exists in those countries that are so near each other. If you go to France, you find that they walk over the customs and manners of England, as unworthy of their notice. Should you thus go, from one people to another, throughout all nations, you would find that they differ in their religions and national customs, according to the teachings of their mother, and the priest. In this manner the consciences of mankind are formed—by the education they receive. You know this to be true, by your own experience.

That which you once considered, perhaps, to be a nonessential in religion, you now consider to be very essential. That which you once esteemed to be unbecoming in society, has become so interwoven in your feelings, by being accustomed to it, that it ultimately appears quite rational to you.

When you survey the inhabitants of the world, you will find that the religious tenets of all nations have sprung from their education; consequently, if we should summon the whole earth before us, and strictly examine them, we should find that the nations of the earth, as far as they know and understand, are doing about the best they know how; they are just about as near right as they know how to be.

These tribes of Indians differ from one another in their sentiments and feelings; they war with each other, and try to destroy each other; and why do they do it? Why, “you are not as righteous as I am, and I want to bring you over to my holy faith.” You see these bands of Indians doing these things, and you spurn the idea. Suppose you extend the principle, and carry it among the greatest nations of the earth; and you would see Queen Victoria, one of the most powerful sovereigns, sitting at the head of one of the most powerful nations upon the earth, sending her forces among these “celestial” ones, battering down the walls of China, bombarding their cities, throwing confusion into their States, and destroying thousands of their people—extending their sway of empire over India. And why all this? “To subdue you heathens, and bring you over to our more enlightened customs and religion.”

Does one nation rise up to war with another without having motives, and those which they will substantiate as being good and sufficient? Will one people rise up to war with another people, except the motive that moves them is of a nature to justify them in their own minds and judgment for doing so? No. There is not a people upon the face of this earth that would do so; they all calculate to do that which seemeth good to them.

There are the Jews—and recollect that they are a very religious people to this day; a more religious people never lived than they, that is, the tribe of Judah, and the half tribe of Benjamin that were left in Jerusalem—they are as tenacious as any people can be, to this day, for the religion of their fathers; and where can you see them among the nations of the earth, without seeing a hunted, driven, and persecuted people? The laws of nations have been framed for the express purpose of killing and destroying them from the earth. Yes, in the midst of nations that profess to adhere to the doctrines of Christianity—that legislate, and make laws, and put them in force—laws have been made to exterminate them; then cry out against them, and raise mobs to persecute and destroy, and clear the earth of the Jews. Notwithstanding all this, will they forsake their religion? No. They have suffered themselves to be stoned in the streets of the cities, their houses to be burned over their heads; but will they forsake their religion? No; they will perish rather.

The Christians say they are wrong; and the “Holy Roman Catholic Church” would have killed every one of them, hundreds of years ago, had not God promised by His holy Prophets, that they should remain and multiply. They have been distributed, dispersed, scattered abroad among the nations of the earth, to fulfil that, and many more of the sayings of their Prophets: and they are as tenacious, this day, with regard to their religion, as in the days of Moses, and are as anxiously expecting, and looking for the Messiah.

Conscience is nothing else but the result of the education and traditions of the inhabitants of the earth. These are interwoven with their feelings, and are like a cloak that perfectly envelops them, in the capacity of societies, neighborhoods, people, or individuals; they frame that kind of government and religion, and pursue that course collectively or individually, that seemeth good to themselves.

When we look at the whole creation, and that, too, from the days of Adam, down to this time, what do we see? According to the reading of the Bible, the sayings of Jesus Christ, of all the ancient Prophets, and of the Apostles, every soul, every son and daughter of Adam and Eve, that have lived from the day of transgression to this time; and that will live from this time henceforth, so long as any of the posterity of Adam and Eve shall continue upon the earth, unless they know Jesus Christ, and his Father, and receive the Holy Ghost, and be prepared to dwell with the Father and the Son; become acquainted with them, and converse with them, they will all be damned; every soul of them will be sent to hell.

And what do we see on the back of this, I ask? We see that all Christendom are ready to pounce upon them that believe in Jesus Christ, and are trying to attain to this knowledge, and grind them down, and send them down, and continue to bear upon them, and crowd them down, down to the bottom of the “bottomless pit,” and throw upon them pig metal, and lead, to keep them down. This is what we see; and all creation may see it also, if they will open their eyes.

I shall not undertake to prove from the Bible everything I say, yet it is all there.

With regard to the peculiar and varied formations of the religions of the day, I will say, we can see in them the first strong lines of the religion of Christ drawn out, which have existed among them from the days of the apostasy from the true order, to the present day.

If you could just humble yourselves until your eyes should be enlightened by the Spirit of God, by the spirit of intelligence, you may understand things the world cannot see; and understand that it is the privilege of every person to know the exact situation of the inhabitants of the earth, for themselves. The ancient Apostles saw it; Jesus Christ knew all about it; and the Prophets before them prophesied, and wrote, and preached about what was then upon the earth, what had been, and what would be.

The inquiry might be made, “Can any person in the world prophesy, unless he possess the spirit of it?” No, they cannot. They may prophesy lies by the spirit of lies, by the inspiration of a lying spirit, but can they see and understand things in the fu– ture, so as to prophesy truly of things to come, unless they are endowed with the spirit of prophecy? No. Is this the privilege of every person? It is. Permit me to remark here—this very people called Latter-day Saints have got to be brought to the spot where they will be trained (if they have not been there already), where they will humble themselves, work righteousness, glorify God, and keep His commandments. If they have not got undivided feelings, they will be chastised until they have them; not only until every one of them shall see for themselves, and prophesy for themselves, have visions to themselves, but be made acquainted with all the principles and laws necessary for them to know, so as to supersede the necessity of anybody teaching them.

Is not the time to come when I shall not say to my neighbor, know the Lord, for he will know Him as well as I do? This is the very people that have to come to it, sooner or later. Can we come to it? We can. If you are industrious and faithful scholars in the school you have entered into, you shall get lessons one after another, and continue on until you can see and understand the spirit of prophecy and revelation, which can be understood according to a systematic principle, and can be demonstrated to a person’s understanding as scientifically as Professor Pratt, who sits directly behind me, can an astronomical problem.

I do not purpose to go into that, or to say anything to the brethren or to this people with regard to their daily walk and actions. I proposed to view the inhabitants of the earth and their situation, that you and I might understand that the Lord Almighty has a hand in all these matters; that the Lord is on the earth, and fills immensity; He is everywhere; He dictates governors and kings, and manages the whole affairs of the nations of the earth, and has from the days of Adam, and will until the winding up scene, and the work shall be finished.

There is only one Gospel sermon, recollect, brethren and sisters, and the time that is required to preach it is from the day of the fall, or from the day when Adam and his wife Eve came here upon this planet, and from that time until Jesus Christ has subdued the last enemy, which is death, and put all things under his feet, and wound up all things pertaining to this earth. Then the Gospel will have been preached, and brought up and presented, and the effects thereof, to the Father.

Now what shall we do with the inhabitants of the earth? Their true situation can be presented to your minds, if you will calmly reflect. Every person, whether they have traveled or not, if they are acquainted with the history of nations, can discover at once the variety there is of religions, customs, laws, and governments; and if you will apply your hearts, you can understand the cause of this variety of effects.

Again, there are the nations that have lived before us; what shall we do with them? And what is their situation in the other world? What have we now to say of them? I can tell it in short. We are preaching to them the Gospel of salvation—to the dead—through those who have lived in this dispensation; and it is a part and parcel of the great Gospel discourse, a little here and a little there, that is necessary for the nation unto whom given. With regard to doctrine, rules, customs, and many sacraments, they are meted out to the inhabitants of the earth severally as they stand in need, according to their situations and what is required of them.

You may ask, “What is meted out to us?” I answer, the ordinances, the sacraments that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted for the salvation of the Jews, for all the house of Israel, and then for the Gentiles. This is the Gospel—the plan of salvation the Lord has given to us. This is the kingdom the Lord has presented to us; the same he presented to the Apostles in the days of Jesus. Now it is for the people to become acquainted with these laws and ordinances of salvation, then apply them to their lives, and that will save as many in the celestial kingdom, in the presence of the Father and Son, as will strictly adhere to them. This we read in the sacred book; we have it before us all the time, that just as many as will believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ, live up to its requirements in their lives, and die in the faith, shall receive a crown of life with the Apostles, and all the faithful in Christ Jesus.

What next? I will tell you a practice of the Latter-day Saint Elders generally. For instance, I get up here, and preach the fulness of the Gospel, perhaps to individuals who never heard it before in their lives, and I close by saying, you that believe this which I have told you, shall be saved; and if you do not, you shall be damned. I leave the subject there. But, says one, “don’t the Bible say so?” You ought to explain yourself. “I only said what the Savior taught—he says, Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; and he that believeth not shall be damned. Don’t I say the same?” You leave it there, don’t you? “Yes; the Apostle left it there, and so do I.”

I wish to explain it a little more, according to the plain, simple, English language. The sum of this practice is this; when I preach a gospel sermon, and they don’t believe what I say, I straightway seal their damnation. Brethren, do you believe in such a thing as that? I do not; yet there are many of the Elders just so absurd.

I recollect, in England, sending an Elder to Bristol, to open a door there, and see if anybody would believe. He had a little more than thirty miles to walk; he starts off one morning, and arrives at Bristol; he preached the Gospel to them, and sealed them all up to damnation, and was back next morning. He was just as good a man, too, as we had. It was want of knowledge caused him to do so. I go and preach to the people, and tell them at the end of every sermon, he that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved; and he that believeth not, shall be damned. I continue preaching there day after day, week after week, and month after month, and yet nobody believes my testimony, that I know of, and I don’t see any signs of it. “What shall I do in this case, if I am sent to preach there?” you may inquire. You must continue to preach there, until those who sent you shall tell you to leave that field of labor; and if the people don’t manifest by their works, that they believe, as long as they come to hear me, I will continue to plead with them, until they bend their dispositions to the Gospel. Why? Because I must be patient with them, as the Lord is patient with me; as the Lord is merciful to me, I will be merciful to others; as He continues to be merciful to me, consequently I must continue in long-suffering to be merciful to others—patiently waiting, with all diligence, until the people will believe, and until they are prepared to become heirs to a celestial kingdom, or angels to the devil.

When the book of Mormon was first printed, it came to my hands in two or three weeks afterwards. Did I believe, on the first intimation of it? The man that brought it to me, told me the same things; says he, “This is the Gospel of salvation; a revelation the Lord has brought forth for the redemption of Israel; it is the Gospel; and according to Jesus Christ, and his Apostles, you must be baptized for the remission of sins, or you will be damned.” “Hold on,” says I. The mantle of my traditions was over me, to that degree, and my prepossessed feelings so interwoven with my nature, it was almost impossible for me to see at all; though I had beheld, all my life, that the traditions of the people was all the religion they had, I had got a mantle for myself. Says I, “Wait a little while; what is the doctrine of the book, and of the revelations the Lord has given? Let me apply my heart to them;” and after I had done this, I considered it to be my right to know for myself, as much as any man on earth.

I examined the matter studiously for two years before I made up my mind to receive that book. I knew it was true, as well as I knew that I could see with my eyes, or feel by the touch of my fingers, or be sensible of the demonstration of any sense. Had not this been the case, I never would have embraced it to this day; it would have all been without form or comeliness to me. I wished time sufficient to prove all things for myself.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ, must be preached to all nations for a witness and a testimony; for a sign that the day has come, the set time for the Lord to redeem Zion, and gather Israel, preparatory to the coming of the Son of Man. When this Gospel is preached to the people, some will believe, and some will not know whether to believe it, or not. This is the situation of the world; go forth among the people; go among your own neighbors, and you may see it; because the Lord has touched your understanding with the spirit of truth, it looks to you as though all the world will believe it, if they can only hear your testimony; you go and preach to them, but, to your astonishment, they seem perfectly uninterested; some go to sleep, and others are dreaming of their farms and possessions.

The Methodist will tell you, he has had the Gospel from his youth, and been brought up in the Methodist society; and so will the Quaker; and so will the Presbyterian; and so will the Shakers; for they say they are the only people, who are preparing for the Millennium. What is law here, is not there; and what is not there, is here. I have been used to this method of worship, or that; and have heard the good old tone, all the days of my life.

The Methodists come along and say, you may be baptized by pouring, or by sprinkling, or not at all, for there is nothing essential in it. Another man says, you can partake of the Lord’s Supper if you like, or let it alone, for it is nonessential; if you have only the good old tone, you are all right.

Now I ask a question: Who is there that can know the things of God; who can discern the truth from the error? Where is the man; where are the people now in the world that can do it? They do not exist. Let the best wisdom of the world be summoned to their aid, and they cannot know the things of God. Let a man be endowed with the revelations of Jesus Christ, and he will say at once they cannot tell—it is impossible. Let the just Judge sound his trump, what would he say? I can read it to you in this book. (Laying his hand on the Bible.)

He is compassionate to all the works of His hands, the plan of His redemption, and salvation, and mercy is stretched out over all; and His plans are to gather up, and bring together, and save all the inhabitants of the earth, with the exception of those who have received the Holy Ghost, and sinned against it. With this exception, all the world besides shall be saved. Is not this Universalism? It borders very close upon it.

I have preached portions of the doctrine of salvation to the people, when I traveled abroad. When I would take up this subject, the Universalists would run after me hundreds of miles, saying, “We are Universalists, where I live; we are troubled with the Methodists, and the various sects; won’t you come and use them up for us; we want them whipped out.”

It is only parts and portions of the Gospel that you hear; a little here, and a little there, scattered all over the world. Now let the hearts of the children of men be enlightened; let them be awakened to understand the designs of the Lord, in the salvation of man, and what will their voices echo one to another? I will tell you what would be the feeling of every heart; salvation, glory, hallelujah to God and the Lamb, forever and ever. Why? Because of His abundant mercy and compassion; because His wisdom has devised for us, that which we could not have devised for ourselves. That is what all creation would do.

I will take up another thread of my discourse, by observing, that a few men upon the earth, have found an item of truth, here and there, and incorporated it with their own wisdom, and taught the world that the Lord designs to save all mankind, no matter what they do. Another portion will catch at the Calvinistic principles; they hold that the Lord has foreordained this, that, and the other, and vigorously contend that the Lord did decree, and did foreordain whatsoever comes to pass, and away they run. Another comes along with free salvation to all; he has caught that principle, and away they all go, deprecating everything else, only the little particle each one has incorporated to himself.

It is this that makes the variance in the religious world. We see a party here, and a party there, crying, “Lo here, and lo there;” and the people are contending bitterly with each other, nation against nation, society against society, and man against man, each seeking to destroy the other, or bring them to this little particle of doctrine, that each one thinks is just right. It is right, as far as it goes.

Man is made an agent to himself before his God; he is organized for the express purpose, that he may become like his master. You recollect one of the Apostle’s sayings, that when we see Him, we shall be like Him; and again, we shall become Gods, even the sons of God. Do you read anywhere, that we shall possess all things? Jesus is the elder brother, and all the brethren shall come in for a share with him; for an equal share, according to their works and calling, and they shall be crowned with him. Do you read of any such thing as the Savior praying, that the Saints might be one with him, as he and the Father are one? The Bible is full of such doctrine, and there is no harm in it, as long as it agrees with the New Testament.

I will continue the point I am now at. The Lord created you and me for the purpose of becoming Gods like Himself; when we have been proved in our present capacity, and been faithful with all things He puts into our possession. We are created, we are born for the express purpose of growing up from the low estate of manhood, to become Gods like unto our Father in heaven. That is the truth about it, just as it is. The Lord has organized mankind for the express purpose of increasing in that intelligence and truth, which is with God, until he is capable of creating worlds on worlds, and becoming Gods, even the sons of God.

How many will become thus privileged? Those who honor the Father and the Son; those who receive the Holy Ghost, and magnify their calling, and are found pure and holy; they shall be crowned in the presence of the Father and the Son. Who else? Not anybody. What becomes of all the rest. Are you going to cast them down, and sink them to the bottom of the bottomless pit, to be angels to the devil? Who are his angels? No man nor woman, unless they receive the Gospel of salvation, and then deny it, and altogether turn away from it, sacrificing to themselves the Son of God afresh. They are the only ones who will suffer the wrath of God to all eternity.

How much does it take to prepare a man, or woman, or any being, to become angels to the devil, to suffer with him to all eternity? Just as much as it does to prepare a man to go into the celestial kingdom, into the presence of the Father and the Son, and to be made an heir to His kingdom, and all His glory, and be crowned with crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal lives. Now who will be damned to all eternity? Will any of the rest of mankind? No; not one of them.

The very heathen we were talking about; if they have a law, no matter who made it, and do the best they know how, they will have a glory which is beyond your imagination, by any description I might give; you cannot conceive of the least portion of the glory of God prepared for His beings, the workmanship of His hands; for these people who are seated before me, who are the sons and daughters, legitimately so, of our Father in heaven, they all sprung from Him; it hath not entered into the heart of man to conceive what He has prepared for them.

The Lord sent forth His Gospel to the people; He said, I will give it to my son Adam, from whom Methuselah received it; and Noah received it from Methuselah; and Melchizedek administered to Abraham. In the days of Noah, the people generally rejected it. All those who became acquainted with its principles, and thereby were made acquainted with, and tasted the power of salvation, and turned away therefrom, became angels to the devil.

Let us apply it directly to ourselves, who have received the truth, and tasted of the good word of God. Let me turn around with you and reject it, and teach our children that it is an untruth, teach the same to our neighbors, and that it is a burlesque to our senses; let us deny the Lord that bought us, what would be the result? Our children would grow up in unbelief, and the sin would rest upon our heads. Suppose we are faithful, and the people will not believe our testimony, we shall receive our reward, the same as though they did believe it.

Suppose the inhabitants of the earth were before me, those who have died, what shall we say of them? Have they gone to heaven, or to hell? There is a saying of a wise man in the Bible, like this: “Who knoweth the spirit of a man that goeth upward, or the spirit of the beast that goeth downward?” All have spirits, I should suppose, by this. Again, there is another saying, “The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away; and blessed be the name of the Lord.” Man dies, and his spirit goes to God who gave it. All these things are within the scope of the Gospel sermon; all these principles are embraced in this great Gospel discourse.

What shall we say without going to the Scriptures at all? Where do the spirits of this people go to, when they lay down their tabernacles? They go into the presence of God, and are at the pleasure of the Almighty. Do they go to the Father and the Son, and there be glorified? No; they do not. If a spirit goes to God who gave it, it does not stay there. We are all the time in the presence of the Lord, but our being in the presence of the Lord, does not make it follow that He is in our presence; the spirits of men are understood to go into the presence of the Lord, when they go into the spiritual world.

The Prophet lays down his body, he lays down his life, and his spirit goes to the world of spirits; the persecutor of the Prophet dies, and he goes to Hades; they both go to one place, and they are not to be separated yet. Now, understand, that this is part of the great sermon the Lord is preaching in his providence, the righteous and the wicked are together in Hades. If we go back to our mother country, we there find the righteous and the wicked.

If we go back to our mother country, the States, we there find the righteous, and we there find the wicked; if we go to California, we there find the righteous and the wicked, all dwelling together; and when we go beyond this veil, and leave our bodies which were taken from mother earth, and which must return; our spirits will pass beyond the veil; we go where both Saints and sinners go; they all go to one place. Does the devil have power over the spirits of just men? No. When he gets through with this earth, he is at the length of his chain. He only has permission to have power and dominion on this earth, pertaining to this mortal tabernacle; and when we step through the veil, all are in the presence of God. What did one of the ancients say? “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? and whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the earth; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” Where is the end of His power? He is omnipotent, and fills immensity by His agents, by His influence, by His Spirit, and by His ministers. We are in the presence of God there, as we are here. Does the enemy have power over the righteous? No. Where are the spirits of the ungodly? They are in prison. Where are the spirits of the righteous, the Prophets, and the Apostles? They are in prison, brethren; that is where they are.

Now let us notice a little experience, lest some of you should be startled at this idea. How do you feel, Saints, when you are filled with the power and love of God? You are just as happy as your bodies can bear. What would be your feelings, suppose you should be in prison, and filled with the power and love of God; would you be unhappy? No. I think prisons would palaces prove, if Jesus dwelt there. This is experience. I know it is a startling idea to say that the Prophet and the persecutor of the Prophet, all go to prison together. What is the condition of the righteous? They are in possession of the spirit of Jesus—the power of God, which is their heaven; Jesus will administer to them; angels will administer to them; and they have a privilege of seeing and understanding more than you or I have, in the flesh; but they have not got their bodies yet, consequently they are in prison. When will they be crowned, and brought into the presence of the Father and the Son? Not until they have got their bodies; this is their glory. What did the holy martyrs die for? Because of the promise of receiving bodies, glorified bodies, in the morning of the resurrection. For this they lived, and patiently suffered, and for this they died. In the presence of the Father, and the Son, they cannot dwell, and be crowned, until the work of the redemption of both body and spirit is completed. What is the condition of the wicked? They are in prison. Are they happy? No. They have stepped through the veil, to the place where the veil of the covering is taken from their understanding. They fully understand that they have persecuted the just and Holy One, and they feel the wrath of the Almighty resting upon them, having a terrible foreboding of the final consummation of their just sentence, to become angels to the devil; just as it is in this world, precisely.

Has the devil power to afflict, and cast the spirit into torment? No! We have gained the ascendancy over him. It is in this world only he has power to cause affliction and sickness, pain and distress, sorrow, anguish, and disappointment; but when we go there, behold! the enemy of Jesus has come to the end of his chain; he has finished his work of torment; he cannot come any further; we are beyond his reach, and the righteous sleep in peace, while the spirit is anxiously looking forward to the day when the Lord will say, “Awake my Saints, you have slept long enough;” for the trump of God shall sound, and the sleeping dust shall arise, and the absent spirits return, to be united with their bodies; and they will become personages of tabernacle, like the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ; yea Gods in eternity.

They look forward with great anxiety to that day, and their happiness will not be complete—their glory will not attain to the final consummation of its fulness, until they have entered into the immediate presence of the Father and the Son, to be crowned, as Jesus will be, when the work is finished. When it is wound up, the text is preached, in all its divisions, pertaining to the redemption of the world, and the final consummation of all things; then the Savior will present the work to the Father, saying, “Father, I have finished the work thou gavest me to do;” and the Son will give it up to the Father, and then be subject to Him, and then he will be crowned, and that is the time you and I will be crowned also.

We will notice, by this, that all the nations of the earth, with the exception of those who have apostatized from the Gospel salvation; every son and daughter of Adam, except those who have denied the Holy Ghost, after having received it, are placed in prison with the rest of them, with Prophets, Priests, and Saints. Suppose we quote a little Scripture on this point. Jesus died to redeem the world. Did his body lay in the tomb? Did his spirit leave his body? Yes. Where did his spirit go, you may inquire? I do not know that I can tell you any better than what the ancient Apostle has told it; he says he went to preach to the spirits in prison. Who are they to whom he went to preach? The people who lived in the antediluvian world. He preached the Gospel to them in the spirit, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh.

What shall we say of the people who live in the 19th century? When any of the Latter-day Elders or Apostles die, and leave this world, suffice it to say, that their spirits go to that prison, and preach the Gospel to those who have died without hearing it; and every spirit shall be judged precisely as though he lived in the flesh, when the fulness of the Gospel was upon the earth. This leads to the subject of the saving and redeeming powers possessed by the righteous; but we shall not have time this morning to treat upon it, suffice it to say, that saviors are coming up, in the last days, upon mount Zion.

This I say of every son and daughter of Adam, Prophets, Priests, and those that slew the Prophets, all go to prison; the Elders of this Church go there, and there continue their labors; and by and by you will see Zion redeemed, and saviors will come up upon mount Zion. The faithful Elders will come, and go forward in the ordinances of God, that our ancestors, and all who have died previous to the restoration of the Gospel in these last days, may be redeemed.

Now, ye Elders of Israel, when you say that John Wesley went to hell, say that Joseph Smith went there too. When you tell about Judas Iscariot going to hell, say that Jesus went there too. The world cannot see the whole of the Gospel sermon at one glance; they can only pick up a little here, and a little there. They that do understand it from the beginning to the end, know that is as straight as a line can be drawn. You cannot find a compass on the earth, that points, so directly, as the Gospel plan of salvation. It has a place for everything, and puts everything in its place. It divides, and subdivides, and gives to every portion of the human family, as circumstances require.

It is for us to get rid of that tradition in which we are incased, and bring up our children in the way they should go, that when they get old, they will not depart from it. It is your privilege and mine, to enjoy the visions of the Spirit of the Lord, everyone in his own order, just as the Lord has ordained it, that every man and woman may know for themselves, if they are doing right, according to the great plan of salvation. I have only touched a little of the great Gospel sermon, and the time has come, that we must close our meeting; so may the Lord God of Israel bless you, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, August 1, 1852.

As there is still a little time which may be occupied to our benefit this morning, I arise to improve it.

These are happy days to the Saints, and we should rejoice in them; they are the best days we ever saw; and in the midst of the sorrows and afflictions of this life, its trials and temp– tations, the buffetings of Satan, the weakness of the flesh, and the power of death which is sown in it, there is no necessity for any mortal man to live a single day without rejoicing, and being filled with gladness. I allude to the Saints, who have the privilege of receiving the Spirit of truth, and have been acquainted with the laws of the new covenant. There is no necessity of one of these passing a day without enjoying all the blessings his capacities are capable of receiving. Yet it is necessary that we should be tried, tempted, and buffeted, to make us feel the weaknesses of this mortal flesh. We all feel them; our systems are full of them, from the crown of the head to the soles of the feet; still, in the midst of all these weaknesses and frailties of human nature, it is the privilege of every person who has come to the knowledge of the truth, to rejoice in God, the rock of his salvation, all the day long. We rejoice because the Lord is ours, because we are sown in weakness for the express purpose of attaining to greater power and perfection. In everything the Saints may rejoice—in persecution, because it is necessary to purge them, and prepare the wicked for their doom; in sickness and in pain, though they are hard to bear, because we are thereby made acquainted with pain, with sorrow, and with every affliction that mortals can endure, for by contrast all things are demonstrated to our senses. We have reason to rejoice exceedingly that faith is in the world, that the Lord reigns, and does His pleasure among the inhabitants of the earth. Do you ask if I rejoice because the Devil has the advantage over the inhabitants of the earth, and has afflicted mankind? I most assuredly answer in the affirmative; I rejoice in this as much as in anything else. I rejoice because I am afflicted. I rejoice because I am poor. I rejoice because I am cast down. Why? Because I shall be lifted up again. I rejoice that I am poor, because I shall be made rich; that I am afflicted, because I shall be comforted, and prepared to enjoy the felicity of perfect happiness, for it is impossible to properly appreciate happiness, except by enduring the opposite.

I was glad to hear brother Babbit speak this morning. He wondered why he had been called to the stand to speak, and could not conceive of any other reason, except it was that the people might know whether he was in the faith or not. He guessed pretty nigh right. He has been gone some time, and travels to and fro in the earth, playing into law up to the eyes, mingling with the bustle of the wicked world. Has he got any faith? We think he has. I wanted to hear him speak, and to know what his feelings were, and if the root of the matter was in him; so we had him come before the public congregation, to exhibit it there. My reasons for pursuing such a course are known to myself; but one thing is certain, if we magnify our calling as Elders in Israel, we are the saviors of the children of men, instead of being their destroyers. We were ordained to save the people, and to save them in the manner the Lord has pointed out. The Savior came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance; and we preach to the people, and call upon them to be saved—not the righteous, but we call upon sinners; for those that are well, need no physician, but they that are sick. With those who are saved already, we have nothing to do. But it is those who are in sin and transgression, who are in darkness and in weakness, those who are wrapt up in the superstitions and false traditions of the nations that have lived and passed away, whom we must plead with and try to save; and if they begin to see, continue to anoint their eyes with truth, that they may see clearly; and put them in every possible condition we can place them in, to encourage them to call upon the Lord, and trust in Him alone; for those who will trust in the Lord will be made strong.

As for the weaknesses of human nature, we have plenty of them; weakness and sin are with us constantly; they are sown in the mortal body, and extend from the crown of the head to the soles of the feet. We need not go to our neighbors for sin, to palliate all our crimes, for we ourselves have plenty of it; we need not crave weakness from our fellow man, we have our own share of it; it is for us to trust in the Lord, and endeavor to deliver ourselves from the effects of sin, plead with every person to take the same course, and propose and plan every possible means to become friends of God, that we may thereby become friends of sinners, and receive a great reward in a day to come.

I am satisfied with the remarks of brother Babbitt and if we sum them all up, and make a close calculation upon the whole, looking over the lives of Prophets, Patriarchs, and Apostles; not overlooking the circumstance of Peter denying his Lord, or any of the old ancients faltering in their steps, transgressing, falling into weaknesses, turning away from the commandments of the Lord, or being overtaken in any fault whatever—sum up the whole, and add the weaknesses and sins of modern Prophets, Apostles, and Saints; then sum up all the weaknesses and sins of mankind, and bring them together, and you will find that it will never justify you nor me one moment in doing a wrong thing, in forsaking the Lord, and serving the devil, or any of his emissaries. Consequently, I feel to urge upon every person who has named the name of Christ, the necessity of his being faithful to the requirements of his religion, and of shunning all evil, as quick as he becomes acquainted with the principle by which he can discriminate between good and evil; and cleave unto the good, follow after it, pray for it, and cling to it by day and by night, if he wants to enjoy the blessings of a celestial kingdom. I wish this for myself and for my brethren. Never think that the Lord will permit you to commit a little sin here, and a little sin there; that He will permit you to lie a little, serve yourselves or somebody else a little, besides Him, because you have faith, and are a professed friend of God, and have a desire to see His kingdom prevail, thinking you will be saved at last. This throws a person, at least, upon the ground where he is liable to be overthrown by the enemy. It is a risky position to stand in, to say the least of it, for a Saint of God to say he can serve himself, or the enemy, or anything else in this world, for gold; those who do it, stand upon slippery ground, and if they are saved at all, it will be by the skin of their teeth; so I will not justify any person in pursuing such a course. Brother Babbit has to law it here, and law it there; though he may not feel justified in doing so, I rejoice to hear him declare that the root of the matter is in him. Would I not rather see him an almighty man before God, thundering out the truths of eternity, and living in the flame of revelation, than see him engaged in the paltry business of pettifogging? I thank the Lord for all the good and for all the faith there is in him. Brother Babbit is near to my heart, for notwithstanding all the faults of the brethren, I love them—the old, middle-aged, and young; if they have a particle of love in them for the truth, they are near to my heart. I wish to bind them to the Lord, and to His cause upon the earth, that they may secure to themselves salvation.

I am happy, and am made glad this day. If you wish to know what I think of brother Babbit, I will tell you. If we could keep him here a few months, and in our councils a few years, I think that he would despise litigation as he would the gates of hell. If we had him here, we would wrap him up in the Spirit and power of God, and send him to preach glad tidings to the nations of the earth, instead of his being engaged in the low and beggarly business of pettifogging. If he would dwell among us, doubtless he would despise it, for it is from hell, and it will go there.

We have heard good remarks, but let me forewarn you again, that the Elders in Israel need never flatter themselves that they can serve the devil, because they think the root of the matter is in them, for before they are aware, they will be led captive by him, and he will lead them down to hell. That is my exhortation, not only to the Elders in Israel, but to all Saints.

There is one thing in the sayings of brother Babbit, which I will refer to, in relation to the loyalty of this people. I am at the defiance of the rulers of the greatest nation on the earth, with the United States all put together, to produce a more loyal people than the Latter-day Saints. Have they, as a people, broken any law? No, they have not. Have the United States? Yes! They have trampled the Constitution under their feet with impunity, and ridden recklessly over all law, to persecute and drive this people. Admit, for argument’s sake, that the “Mormon” Elders have more wives than one, yet our enemies never have proved it. If I had forty wives in the United States, they did not know it, and could not substantiate it, neither did I ask any lawyer, judge, or magistrate for them. I live above the law, and so do this people. Do the laws of the United States require us to crouch and bow down to the miserable wretches who violate them? No. The broad law of the whole earth is that every person has the right to enjoy every mortal blessing, so far as he does not infringe upon the rights and privileges of others. It is also according to the acts of every legislative body throughout the Union, to enjoy all that you are capable of enjoying; but you are forbidden to infringe upon the rights, property, wife, or anything in the possession of your neighbor. I defy all the world to prove that we have infringed upon that law. You may circumscribe the whole earth, and pass through every Christian nation, so called, and what do you find? If you tell them a “Mormon” has two wives, they are shocked, and call it dreadful blasphemy; if you whisper such a thing into the ears of a Gentile who takes a fresh woman every night, he is thunderstruck with the enormity of the crime. The vile practice of violating female virtue with impunity is customary among the professed Christian nations of the world; this is therefore no marvel to them, but they are struck with amazement when they are told a man may have more lawful wives than one! What do you think of a woman having more husbands than one? This is not known to the law, yet it is done in the night, and considered by the majority of mankind to be all right. There are certain governments in the world, that give women license to open their doors and windows to carry on this abominable practice, under the cover of night. Five years ago the census of New York gave 15,000 prostitutes in that city. Is that law? Is that good order? Look at your Constitution, look at the Federal law, look at every wholesome principle, and they tell you that death is at your doors, corruption in your streets, and hell is all open, and gaping wide to enclose you in its fiery vortex. To talk about law and good order while such things exist, makes me righteously angry. Talk not to me about law.

Suppose that the things they are pleased to say about this people are true, do you suppose I care about it? I do not, for I ask no odds of them. This people have treated them kindly. Did we not pay for our land honorably when we settled in Missouri and other places? We have paid them millions of dollars for land, of which we have been basely robbed; and shall I crouch down, and say I dare not speak of it? I would rather have my head severed from my body in this room, than be compelled to be silent on this matter. I am a green mountain boy, I was born in the State of Vermont, and plead for my rights, and the rights of this people, upon the broad Constitution of the United States, which we shall certainly maintain, in spite of the poor, rotten, political curses that pretend to enforce the Constitution. I ask no odds of them. I will feed them, if they come hungry to my door, for they are flesh of my flesh. The King upon the throne, and the President in his chair, are the same to me as these poor emigrants, who are lying around my doors—when they are hungry, I feed them; when they are sick, I nurse them; the same as I would the President of the United States, or any of the kings of Europe, unless they were better men.

As for the pride that is in the world, I walk over it, it is beneath me. To see men who are called gentlemen of character, sense, taste, and ability, who pass through this city, and come bending with their recommendation, saying, “Governor Young this,” and “Governor Young that”—it makes me feel to loathe such hypocritical show, in my heart. I shall not say all I think about it. If they would come to me, and say, “Brigham, how are you?” or, “I want to speak to you, &c.,” with a good honest heart in them, instead of, “Governor Young,” “Governor Young,” in a canting tone, with hearts as black and deceitful as hell, they would command that esteem from me which is due to an honest man.

A blackleg is a polished rascal. If you go to the polished circles of society, you will find the greatest scape-graces and pickpockets concealed under the most polished gentlemen in appearance. A man never can be a polished scoundrel, until he can figure in polished society. It proves the truth of the saying, that it takes all the revelations of God, and every good principle in the world, to make a man perfectly ripe for hell.

You will not see in the nature of a man who has a soul in him, and who is filled with the Holy Ghost, a disposition to bow and scrape to every blackguard that may come in the shape and address of a gentleman. But if you are thirsty, hungry, or destitute, I will assist you. How many have I helped away to California, and given them bread and meat, notwithstanding they wanted to go to the devil; this made no difference to me; I have helped them, and told them to go, if they wished to. There is no tyranny here, but perfect liberty, which is a boon held sacred to all men. They have a right to come and go as they please. I do not ask you to be a “Mormon.” Can you point out one person who has entreated any of the emigrants to become “Mormons,” since they came into our midst? Since their arrival here, we have been kind and hospitable to them, and have not cared whether they have been “Mormons” or Methodists. They can come and hear preaching, if they think proper; but we shall never put them to any trouble because they are not “Mormons.”

You may say you do not believe in God. Well, it is your privilege to believe as you like; you can believe in the Methodists’ God, that has neither body, parts, nor passions (which amounts to nothing at all), if you please.

But one may say, “I belong to the holy Catholic Church.” You have a right to belong to what Church you please. Another may say he believes in and worships a white dog, for he has lived with the nations who have a tradition teaching them to do so. It is all right; you are as welcome to worship a white dog as the God I do, if it is your wish. I am perfectly willing you should serve the kind of a god you choose, or no god at all; and that you should enjoy all that is for you to enjoy.

There are some things, however, I am not willing you should do. For instance, I am not willing you should steal the money out of my pocket, and then cry, “Bad dog;” and get somebody to kill me. I am not willing you should enter my house to defile my bed, or endeavor to bring death upon an innocent people. I am not willing you should drive me and my brethren from our houses and farms, as has been the case in former times. There are scores of thousands, I may say hundreds of thousands, of acres of land in the United States, for which we have paid money, but which we cannot possess. I am not willing you should drive your cattle into my corn field, which has been done before my eyes, by men who have thought, “You are only poor damned Mormons anyhow, and we’ll tread you down.” I am willing every man should worship God as he pleases, and be happy. But the measure that has been meted to this people, will be measured to that people; and it will be heaped up, pressed down, and running over; and then as much again thrown in; all this good measure I am willing they should have when the Lord will. I shall not exult in the miseries that will come upon them, but weep over them; whereas I have seen a mob with their rifles pointed at me by hundreds, and could not be moved to tears, but I felt like Daniel of old,“I will worship my God, and pray with my windows open, if my life should be the penalty.” I would not be afraid if the whole artillery of the United States, with the best engineers that could be raised to manage it, were arrayed against me for righteousness’ sake, knowing that the God of heaven, in whom I trust, would not suffer a ball to touch me, if it was His will that I should yet live. This I have felt time and time again.

I do not desire to harass the feelings of the people by reiterating the past, but if you want these things buried up, treat us like men and human beings, and they will be forgotten, but if you still want to probe us with the hot iron of persecution, probe on.

We came here ourselves, unassisted by any power, but that of God, and walked through the Indian tribes as independent as I am this day. We dug our way through the canyons, and made the roads to this place; while at the same time five hundred of our most energetic men were fighting the battles of the United States in Mexico.

When our women and children were left on the banks of the Missouri, in a helpless condition, I said to one of the United States officers, who had been threatening those who were left behind—“While I am gone to find a home for my family, if you meddle with them, or insult them in the least, by the Gods of Eternity I will be on your track.” And had their threats been executed, I would have slain them, even though I should have had to go into the heart of Washington city to do it. Says he, “Mr. Young, you talk strangely.” “Well,” I said, “let my family alone;” for they wanted to persuade them back to the other side of the river, to afflict them still more.

Five hundred of our best men were then in the United States’ army, traversing the sandy deserts and scorching plains of the South, without shoes to their feet, or clothes to cover them.

There are scores in this congregation who can prove this declaration. On one occasion they traveled day and night for ninety miles, through the scorching sands, without one drop of water. And now, as payment for this arduous service, they try to taunt us by saying—“We don’t want to give you Mormons anything.” I care not if you should never give us one dime.

Now let me tell you the great killing story—“Governor Young has sixteen wives, and fourteen babies.” Now they did not see that sight; but the circumstance was as follows. I took some of my neighbors into the large carriage, and rode down to father Chase’s, to eat watermelons. When driving out of the gate in the evening, brother Babbit walks up, and I invited him into the carriage, and he rode up into the city with me, and I suppose he told the United States’ officers. That I believe is the way the story of sixteen wives and fourteen children first came into circulation. But this does not begin to be the extent of my possessions, for I am enlarging on the right hand and on the left, and shall soon be able, Abraham like, to muster the strength of my house, and take my rights, asking no favors of Judges or Secretaries.

Do you think we shall all die in Utah? If so, why have we not died ere this, when we dwelt in the midst of a people that cherished hostile feelings against the Latter-day Saints? Who delivered Joseph Smith from the hands of his enemies to the day of his death? It was God; though he was brought to the brink of death time and time again, and, to all human appearance, could not be delivered, and there was no probability of his being saved. When he was in jail in Missouri, and no person expected that he would ever escape from their hands, I had the faith of Abraham, and told the brethren, “As the Lord God liveth, he shall come out of their hands.” Though he had prophesied that he would not live to be forty years of age, yet we all cherished hopes that that would be a false prophecy, and we should keep him forever with us; we thought our faith would outreach it, but we were mistaken—he at last fell a martyr to his religion. I said, “It is all right; now the testimony is in full force; he has sealed it with his blood, and that makes it valid.”

I would be happy, exceedingly happy, to let our past experience and afflictions sleep forever; but the Lord will not suffer me to let them sleep. I would be willing to forget them, but I cannot. The Lord will never suffer this people to dwindle down, and be hid up in a corner; it cannot be; neither does He want any person to help them but Himself. Satan and the Lord never can shake hands, and He will let the nation know it; for He has got servants who will do His righteous will, and that faithfully. I would rather be chopped to pieces at night, and resurrected in the morning; each day throughout a period of threescore years and ten, than be deprived of speaking freely, or be afraid of doing so. I will speak for my rights. I would just as soon tell a government officer of his meanness and filthy conduct, as I would any other person; they are all alike to God, and to those who know His will.

I have studied the law, and say again, I defy the united authorities of the earth to show where this people have not been loyal, wherein they have not proved loyal, in Germany, in France, in England, or in the United States; for they are the best people upon the face of the earth to observe the law and keep order. I want to live perfectly above the law, and make it my servant, instead of its being my master. That is the way to live; to be humble before God, and observe the laws; for there is no necessity of breaking the laws in America, in keep– ing the commandments of God. When the law is our master, the yoke is hard to bear; but when it is our servant, it works easy; whereas, if it be our master, we are continually compelled and driven by it.

There is not a single constitution of any single state, much less the constitution of the Federal Government, that hinders a man from having two wives; and I defy all the lawyers of the United States to prove the contrary.

Let the past experience be buried in the land of forgetfulness, if the Lord will; but if this is done at all, it will be by showing kindness towards us in the future. If they wish us to forget the past, let them cease to make and circulate falsehoods about us, and let all the good people of the Government say—“Let us do this people good for the future, and not try to crush them down all the day long by continuing to persecute them.”

If we are a company of poor, ignorant, deluded creatures, why do not they show us a better example? Why not send the money to pay the expenses of our legislature, and the expenses of the expeditions against the Indians, as they do to other territories? Their present course towards us, put in language, is, “We will squeeze them still, and dig out their eyes if it be possible.” While they continue to pursue that course towards us, we shall continue to tell them of it. It makes me think of what an old farmer said in Boston, who had been in the habit of paying his merchant’s bills very punctually, but, from some cause, he did not continue to meet his payments as usual. The merchant sent for him, and said—“I have always found you to be a very honest man, why do you now lie to me?” The farmer replied—“Because I am pinched.” The merchant asked—“How hard should an honest man be pinched to make him lie?” The farmer replied—“Just pinch him till he lies.” They want to pinch us till we are led to do something to bring the whole nation down upon us, according to the plan of old Tom Benton, but, gentlemen, this cannot be done, for there is a God in Heaven, and He rules, thank His Holy Name; and we will be wise enough to keep His commandments, that we may be saved. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, Delivered at a Special Conference held in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, August 29, 1852.

While the sacrament is passing, I will take the liberty of making a few remarks.

Some truth has been referred to here, from the stand, with regard to the congregation. These, my brethren and sisters, are in the habit of being here one part of the Sabbath, to hear and understand for themselves. I should be happy to see this house as full every Sabbath in the afterpart of the day as it is this afternoon. It is a requirement of the Lord, which is both reasonable and pleasing to all those who are diligently doing his will. We have a comfortable house to meet in, where we can preach, sing, pray, exhort, and exercise ourselves in our several capacities, according to our calling, in the worship of God.

This is a great blessing. If we can realize it, it is one of the greatest blessings we can enjoy, to manifest to our Father in heaven—to witness to him that we do always remember the death and sufferings of his Son Jesus Christ, whom he sent into the world to redeem the world—to shed his own blood for our sins. If we could realize it, it is one of the greatest blessings we could enjoy, to come before the Lord, and before the angels, and before each other, to witness that we remember that the Lord Jesus Christ has died for us. This proves to the Father that we remember our covenants, that we love his Gospel, that we love to keep his commandments, and to honor the name of the Lord Jesus upon the earth. Let us try to do this. It is a blessing, a privilege, and a duty we should constantly attend to.

Instead of suffering our labors to occupy the Sabbath—instead of planning our business to infringe upon the first day of the week, we should do as little as possible; if it is necessary to cook food, do so; but even if that could be dispensed with, it would be better. As to keeping the Sabbath according to the Mosaic law, indeed, I do not; for it would be almost beyond my power. Still, under the new covenant, we should remember to preserve holy one day in the week as a day of rest—as a memorial of the rest of the Lord and the rest of the Saints; also for our temporal advantage, for it is instituted for the express purpose of benefiting man. It is written in this book (the Bible), that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. It is a blessing to him. As little labor as possible should be done upon that day: it should be set apart as a day of rest, to assemble together in the place appointed, according to the revelation, confessing our sins, bringing our tithes and offerings, and presenting ourselves before the Lord, there to commemorate the death and sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ.

These are institutions expressly for the benefit of man—not imposed upon him as by a taskmaster, in the form of a rigid discipline; but they are bestowed upon him as a blessing, a favor, and a mercy, for his express benefit. I trust I shall yet see the day when we shall be so situated, and attain to that knowledge and understanding, that every man and woman will observe and do their duty strictly—do that that is required of them—do no evil—when all will be peace and joy, and the earth be lighted up with the spirit of intelligence. You trust and hope for the same things; and if we are faithful, that time is near at hand.

It is true, most of the doctrine we believe comes in contact with all the prejudices and prepossessed feelings of the Christian world. In the practical part of our religion we do not differ from them in many respects. They pray, and so do we; they keep the Sabbath pretty tolerably well, and so do we; they say they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; so do we, and keep his commandments; and they call upon the Lord, probably, as faithfully. In some of the plain, practical duties of the Gospel, the religious world are very diligent; but to the doctrinal parts of the Gospel of salvation they are entire strangers.

In the commencement of the career of brother Joseph Smith, he had all the influence and talent of the sectarian world that were acquainted with his doings to cope with; he had them to contend with day and night. He labored faithfully, though in his youth, and almost entirely destitute of literary knowledge, with not many advantages of an earthly nature; yet the truth he revealed triumphed; the principles he put forth actually circumscribed the religious knowledge of all the Christian world. Almost every principle and every idea taught in the Gospel, that the world had preached and written so much about, he proved they were ignorant of. He taught the people how to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He also taught them how to repent. This was new to the world—to be informed that they did not know even how to repent. He taught them how to embrace the Gospel of salvation, what it was, and that these doctrines are essentially necessary for the salvation of the children of men.

There was no person, previous to this, to step forth and say it was absolutely necessary to observe these doctrines in order to be saved, and actually substantiate that doctrine from the Bible. No person could substantiate the doctrine, so as to place the truth of it beyond doubt and controversy, that it was necessary for a person to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is well known to this congregation that the whole Christian world were baffled, and not only baffled, but actually put to shame, upon true philosophy, and their mouths were closed in silence, by the infidel so called. It is well known to this congregation that those who did not believe the Bible—who did not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, by good reasoning would overcome and triumph over the whole Christian world, set them at naught, and hold them in derision.

The case is different now. Do they overcome the Elders of this Church? They do not; but they are like the frosted grass upon the prairie before the burning flame. An Elder of Israel overcomes them on the ground of their own philosophy, and drowns them in the sea of their own arguments. Could the Christian world do it? No. Brother Joseph told the people it was necessary to be baptized for the remission of sins, and proved it by the Bible: he proved it by his works; he proved it by thousands of witnesses in his day.

He also introduced the doctrine of the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and proved it from the Bible, by reason, by his own and the experience of thousands besides. You Elders of Israel, do you know whether these doctrines were borne off by you and others triumphantly? They have been successful among every people, nation, and kindred, and tongue, wherever they have been proclaimed. These doctrines are beyond the power of controversy and doubt; no caviler could confute or present the least argument which would prove successful in overthrowing the principles taught by the Elders of Israel.

Brother Joseph introduced a great many new doctrines. It was perfectly new to this generation, but in truth an old doctrine, to be baptized for the remission of sins—that it was absolutely necessary; and then receive the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and many other doctrines, though in reality they are old, yet true, and new to this benighted generation.

When the Elders first commenced preaching “Mormonism,” twenty years ago, they would take the Bible and prove every item of doctrine to the people beyond doubt and controversy. What did the priests say to you? Can you recollect what they said in the different States where this Gospel was first preached? What arguments were used against your position and the doctrines you believe? Yes: the priests would halloo from the pulpit, Joe Smith!—old Joe Smith!! That was their argument, to begin with. Impostor!—impostor!!—He is deluding the people!!!—he is deluding the people!!!!—Old Joe Smith, the money digger!—He is a necromancer!!—He is a fortuneteller!!!—A money digger!!!! Old Joe Smith!!!!! What a profound argument! There is no answering it. You know these are the arguments used against the doctrines preached by the Elders of this Church.

When you introduced the Book of Mormon, the argument used against it was, It is a deception! Joe Smith!!—Impostor!!! And these are the arguments that have been urged from beginning to end; but they could not bring one passage of Scripture or one substantial reason against the doctrine taught and believed by this Church.

What has been said to you? What has been said to me? If we will preach this doctrine, the people almost universally will follow us and say, “Don’t mention Joseph Smith—never mention the Book of Mormon or Zion, and all the people will follow you.” I said, It would not do them any good, if we were to listen to their requirements. What I have received from the Lord, I have received by Joseph Smith: he was the instrument made use of. If I drop him, I must drop these principles: they have not been revealed, declared, or explained by any other man since the days of the Apostles. If I lay down the Book of Mormon, I shall have to deny that Joseph is a Prophet; and if I lay down the doctrine and cease to preach the gathering of Israel and the building up of Zion, I must lay down the Bible; and consequently, I might as well go home as undertake to preach without these three items.

Did not your hearts used to tremble dreadfully, you old Elders in Israel, when you had to preach in new places? You would take up the Bible and quote Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, so as to surprise the people, and did not mention Joseph Smith. Did it not make you tremble, when you had to say that Joseph Smith was a Prophet—when you came to that point, and were obliged either to deny or to own him before the people?

Some are endowed with more moral courage than others. I know the spirits in men generally are inclined to weakness and diffidence; and all men more or less feel their own weakness and inability. The Elders of Israel especially feel the prejudices of the people bearing down upon their spirits; but when they once open their mouths and say that Joseph is a Prophet, such a flood of light at once comes upon them, that they are ready to ask no odds of all the world. But in preparing to make this declaration, their hearts tremble and their knees smite each other, almost like Belshazzar’s. After they have once started, they are independent enough.

I suppose some of you have an experience on this subject. One of our Elders with whom I was acquainted, after he was baptized, got cornered up, and was obliged to preach a sermon. He never had been able to say that he knew Joseph was a Prophet; but he was there in the meeting: the house was crowded with the congregation; the windows and doors full of people, and all around on the green waiting to hear a “Mormon” preacher. There were none there but this one man, and he was called upon to preach. He thought he would pray and dismiss the meeting. He never had known that Joseph Smith was a Prophet: that was the lion that lay in his path; and he could not get by him, nor round about him, nor dig under him, nor leap over him; and the lion he must meet: he must say Joseph, for better or worse. As soon as he got “Joseph” out, “is a Prophet” was the next; and from that, his tongue was loosened, and he continued talking until near sundown. The Lord pours out his Spirit upon a man when he testifies that which the Lord gives him to testify of. From that day to this, he has never been at a loss to know that Joseph was a Prophet. I assure you, his heart quaked; and that has been the case with many others.

When brother Joseph revealed the great mystery of being baptized for the dead, did not a great many of the Elders of Israel think then—“‘Mormonism’ cannot endure; it will be overcome.” Every item of doctrine brother Joseph has brought forth had to meet with opposition from the world. We all know that it comes in contact with sectarian influence and every other influence that is not direct from God.

When the Elders went forth, the priests supposed they could easily put them down; but when they undertook to substantiate the doctrine of baptism for the dead, were the priests successful in confuting their arguments? No. The doctrine has ridden triumphantly over all sectarianism (what I mean by sectarianism is false religion); and it is so far from being put to silence by all the rest of the world, that it is as popular, wherever you go, as any doctrine taught; it is as readily and as quickly believed.

You can understand, from the few remarks I make with regard to the Gospel, that many things which were revealed through Joseph came in contact with our own prejudices: we did not know how to understand them. I refer to myself for an instance: I never could be persuaded that God would send every person to a lake of fire and brimstone, to be tormented by the Devil, to all eternity, for any little sin he might commit—which was the doctrine handed down. After all, my traditions were such, that when the Vision came first to me, it was directly contrary and opposed to my former education. I said, Wait a little. I did not reject it; but I could not understand it. I then could feel what incorrect tradition had done for me. Suppose all that I have ever heard from my priest and parents—the way they taught me to read the Bible—had been true, my understanding would be diametrically opposed to the doctrine revealed in the Vision. I used to think and pray, to read and think, until I knew and fully understood it for myself, by the visions of the Holy Spirit. At first it actually came in contact with my own feelings, though I never could believe like the mass of the Christian world around me; but I did not know how nigh I believed, as they did. I found, however, that I was so nigh, I could shake hands with them any time I wished.

You heard brother Pratt state, this morning, that a revelation would be read this afternoon, which was given previous to Joseph’s death. It contains a doctrine a small portion of the world is opposed to; but I can deliver a prophecy upon it. Though that doctrine has not been practiced by the Elders, this people have believed in it for years.

The original copy of this revelation was burnt up. William Clayton was the man who wrote it from the mouth of the Prophet. In the meantime, it was in Bishop Whitney’s possession. He wished the privilege to copy it, which brother Joseph granted. Sister Emma burnt the original. The reason I mention this is because that the people who did know of the revelation suppose it is not now in existence.

The revelation will be read to you. The principle spoken upon by brother Pratt, this morning, we believe in. And I tell you—for I know it—it will sail over and ride triumphantly above all the prejudice and priestcraft of the day: it will be fostered and believed in by the more intelligent portion of the world as one of the best doctrines ever proclaimed to any people. Your hearts need not beat; you need not think that a mob is coming here to tread upon the sacred liberty which the Constitution of our country guarantees unto us, for it will not be. The world have known, long ago, even in brother Joseph’s days, that he had more wives than one. One of the Senators in Congress knew it very well. Did he oppose it? No: but he has been our friend all the day long, especially upon that subject. He said pointedly to his friends, “If the United States do not adopt that very method—let them continue as they now are—pursue the precise course they are now pursuing, and it will come to this—that their generations will not live until they are 30 years old. They are going to destruction; disease is spreading so fast among the inhabitants of the United States, that they are born rotten with it, and in a few years they are gone.” Said he, “Joseph has introduced the best plan for restoring and establishing strength and long life among men, of any man on the earth; and the Mormons are a very good and virtuous people.”

Many others are of the same mind: they are not ignorant of what we are doing in our social capacity. They have cried out, “Proclaim it.” But it would not do, a few years ago: everything must come in its time, as there is a time to all things. I am now ready to proclaim it.

This revelation has been in my possession many years; and who has known it? None but those who should know it. I keep a patent lock on my desk, and there does not anything leak out that should not.

It pleases me a little to think how anxious this people are for new revelation. I wish to ask you a question: Do this people know whether they have received any revelation since the death of Joseph, as a people? I can tell you that you receive them continually. I would be willing the Elders of Israel should understand one principle; and this I have taught often. This is also taught in the old and new Scriptures, or, in other words, in the former and latter Scriptures, the principle is set forth simply, which is this—When a man is called, as Joseph was, to be a Prophet, he writes his revelations. Joseph wrote a great many. He would, for instance, give a revelation to a man to go to Sanpete to labor; he would give revelations touching both temporal and spiritual things, in the building up of houses and cities, or in the proclamation of the Gospel to the world—all of which are necessary for the salvation and exaltation of the people of the Lord.

Now, brethren, the calling of an Apostle is to build up the kingdom of God in all the world: it is the Apostle that holds the keys of his power, and nobody else. If an Apostle magnifies his calling, he is the word of the Lord to this people all the time, or else he does not magnify his calling—either one or the other.

If he magnifies his calling, his words are the words of eternal life and salvation to those who hearken to them, just as much so as any written revelations contained in these three books (Bible, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants). There is nothing contained in these three books that is any more revelation than the words of an Apostle that is magnifying his calling.

I want you to understand it. If it was necessary to write them, we would write all the time. We would rather the people, however, would live so as to have revelations for themselves, and then do the work we are called to do: that is enough for us. Can any of you think of any revelations you have received that are not written? You can.

I preached a short sermon here, yesterday, with regard to exaltation. I spoke but a few minutes, and brother Pratt brought up the same subject. It is all connected with the great Gospel sermon; for we can but notice parts of it, when we undertake to speak to the people.

It is all connected with the exaltation of man, showing how he becomes exalted to be a king and a Priest—yea, even a God, like his Father in heaven. Without the doctrine that this revelation reveals, no man on earth ever could be exalted to be a God. Do you find out now, when you are exalted, what your work will be yonder? We read in the Scriptures that Jesus declared he is the First and the Last. It is written again in this book, by the Prophet Joseph, that he is the First and the Last—the Last and the First. This principle you see in all the works of the Lord. When a man commences the work of his exaltation, he begins at the last thing that will be completed. Our spirits, thousands of years ago, were first begotten; and at the consummation of all things, when the Savior has finished his work and presented it to the Father, he will be crowned.

None of you will receive your crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal lives before he receives his. He will be crowned first, and then we shall be crowned, everyone in his order; for the work is finished, and the spirit is complete in its organization with the tabernacle. The world is the first to be redeemed, and the people last to be crowned upon it. I leave these remarks with you, and we will now have the revelation read.

[Elder Thomas Bullock then read the revelation. See Supplement to Vol. XV of Millennial Star.]

A Speech by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, 1852, at the Anniversary of the 24th of July, 1847.

I wish to make a few remarks only, to this congregation, as the time allotted to us this morning, is far spent. The remarks which have been made previous to my rising are very good, as they are also true. They are things not fresh to the majority of this assembly, though there may be some present who are perhaps ignorant of them.

Suffice it to say, that five years ago this day, the Pioneers approached this valley, with their implements of husbandry, &c., which were represented by them in the procession today. We came for the purpose of finding a place to set our feet, where we could dwell in peace. That place we have found. If the Saints cannot enjoy that peace which is so dear to them here, I would say that I am ignorant of the spot on the earth where they can. Where could a place have been found where we might enjoy freedom of thought, freedom of speech, and freedom of worship? If not in these mountains, I am ignorant of the place.

We have enjoyed perfect peace here for five years; and I trust we shall for many fives to come. If the Saints are persecuted, it is for their good; if they are driven, it is for their good; consequently, when I reflect, I have nothing to fear in all the persecutions or hardships I may pass through in connection with this people, but the one thing, and that is, to stray from the religion I have embraced, and be forsaken of my God. If you or I should see that day, we shall see at once that the world will love its own; and affliction, persecutions, death, fire, and the sword, will cease to follow us.

If the Latter-day Saints magnify their calling, walk humbly before their God, do the things that are pleasing to their Father in heaven, and walk up to their duty in every respect, I am bold to say that not five years only, but scores of years, will pass away without the Saints ever being interrupted, or driven again from their possessions: thus far it is for our good.

I did not rise for the purpose of delivering an oration on this occasion, but to remind you of the blessings we now are privileged to enjoy. When we first approached this valley, there was not a man upon the face of the earth whoever had beheld these valleys of the mountains, or knew anything of the Great Basin, who knew that corn, or any other kind of grain could be raised here. Can you find the man who had any knowledge of the Great Basin, as it is called, that believed there could be an ear of corn ripened in it? There is not that man on the earth, when you have excepted the people called the Latter-day Saints. We came here and planted our garden seeds of various kinds, five years ago this day; they grew, but they did not ripen, though the buckwheat would have ripened, perhaps, had it been properly taken care of; some other grains also would have come to maturity, so as to have assisted a small colony to live here; they, however, lived; how? Shall I say by faith? Yes, partially so; for had they not had faith, they certainly never would have come to this place: it is the faith of the Latter-day Saints that brought them here.

There is a very mysterious principle that abides with this people; it is a mystery, and one of the greatest mysteries to the inhabitants of the earth that have been made acquainted by history, or by personal knowledge, with this people. And what makes it more singular, say they, by all our calculations we cannot conceive of it; it is so mysterious that it absolutely amounts to a miracle. What is this great mystery? It is that these Latter-day Saints are of one heart, and of one mind.

To Saint and sinner, believer and unbeliever, I wish here to offer one word of advice and counsel, by revealing the mystery that abides with this people called Latter-day Saints; it is the Spirit of the living God that leads them; it is the Spirit of the Almighty that binds them together; it is the influence of the Holy Ghost that makes them love each other like little children; it is the spirit of Jesus Christ that makes them willing to lay down their lives for the cause of Truth; and it was that same Spirit that caused Joseph our martyred Prophet to lay down his life for the testimony of what the Lord revealed to him. This mystery, the great mystery of “Mormonism,” is, that the Spirit of the Lord binds the hearts of the people together. Let the world look at it. This I say by way of exhortation, if you please. Let the inhabitants of the earth gaze upon this people, this wondrous people, for a magic power attends them; something mysterious hangs around them. What is it? It is not magnetism; it is something more wonderful; those that are present this day may truly say it is wonderful in the extreme. Who gives me power, that “at the pointing of my finger,” the hosts of Israel move, and at my request the inhabitants of this great Territory are displaced: at my command they are here? Who gives me that power? Let the world inquire. It is the God of heaven: it is the Spirit of the Holy Gospel; it is not of myself; it is the Lord Jesus Christ, trying to save the inhabitants of the earth.

The people are here; they endure. Did they bring their bread with them? No. Did they bring their meat with them? No. Did they bring that that sustained them until they raised it from the earth? They could not do it, for they were obliged to bring tools, ploughs, drag-chains, &c.; they were obliged to bring their wives and children in their wagons; five, and six, and eight, and in some wagons ten, people would get huddled together, to drive a thousand miles from all sustenance, and there plant themselves in the wilderness, where nothing met the eye but snowy peaks, and parched vales; and trust in the God of Israel to sustain them. Let the world ask the question—would the Methodists thus run the hazard of losing their lives for their religion? Would the Presbyterians, the Baptists, the Quakers, or their old mother, the Roman Catholic church, run the same risk? Would she venture thus in the wilderness? No. It is not very common to find a whole people on the earth, as in the case of the Latter-day Saints, who would do it; though single individuals might be found so enthusiastic as to sacrifice their lives, and run into a lion’s den, in proof of their faith in their religion. But where are the tens of thou– sands, and the scores of thousands, and the hundreds of thousands, who would lay down every principle of life and happiness, and everything that is desirable, pertaining to this world, for the principles of eternal life; and would go forth into the wilderness, having no other stay but the hand of God to lead them? They are not to be found!

We meet here and celebrate the day; five years we have been in this valley; and I will say to the newcomers, our brethren, or those who are not our brethren, three years ago last October, the first house was reared in this place. There was not a rod of fence, nor a house, except the old fort, and a little log cabin. Here we are now, spread out from the east to the west, measurably so, but more extensively to the north and south. Travel through the valleys, and scan the houses, and the farms, and see the improvements that have been made; take the back track of the “Mormons;” follow them from here to Nauvoo: from Nauvoo to Far West; then to Kirtland; and back to Missouri again to Jackson County; and all people will acknowledge that the “Mormons” have had enough to do to mind their own business, and make the improvements that have been performed by them! They have done nothing but mind their own business. Look at the improvements that have followed this people, in all their travels up to this place, for a testimony of their endurance, and unflinching industry.

I say to this community, be humble, be faithful to your God, true to His Church, benevolent to the strangers that may pass through our territory, and kind to all people; serving the Lord with all your might, trusting in him; but never fear the frowns of an enemy, nor be moved by the flatteries of friends or of enemies from the path of right. Serve your God; believe in Him, and never be ashamed of Him, and sustain your character before Him, for very soon we will meet in a larger congregation than this, and have a celebration far superior; we will celebrate our perfect and absolute deliverance from the power of the devil; we only celebrate now our deliverance from the good brick houses we have left, from our farms and lands, and from the graves of our fathers; we celebrate our perfect deliverance from these.

Our lives have been spared, and we are yet upon this planet; and by and by we will celebrate a perfect deliverance from all the powers of earth; and we will keep our eyes set upon the mark, and go forward to victory.

I say to the aged, to the middle-aged, and to the young—all be true to your God, true to your brethren, and kind to all, serving God with all your heart. And may He bless you for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, August 15, 1852.

I am confident I have the prayers of the Saints and the faith of those who have faith. It is seldom that I request the Saints to pray for me, for I judge them by myself with a righteous judgment. I always pray for the Saints, and suppose in return they pray for all the faithful; and consequently, I have my share of their prayers.

I recollect a statement that I made, last Sabbath, with regard to the Gospel—what a Gospel sermon is, how long it takes to preach it, and what it comprises; that it takes the same time to preach it that it does to accomplish the plan of salvation pertaining to the children of men.

I have never yet seen the time that I had wisdom, strength, and ability enough to preach a Gospel discourse—to commence it, and finish it, setting before the people the plan of salvation sufficiently full, that thereby they might be saved. But it is only given in portions—a little here, and a little there, by feeble man.

The subject that is before us today is in the great discourse. To understand the first principles of the Gospel—to rightly understand them, a man must have the wisdom that comes from above; he must be enlightened by the Holy Ghost; his mind must be in open vision: he must enjoy the blessings of salvation himself, in order to impart them to others.

In our capacity, we are privileged, in a spiritual point of view, precisely as we are in a temporal point of view. We have the privilege of learning and adding to the knowledge we have already obtained. We have a knowledge, for instance, of the rudiments of the English language. If we continue in our studies—in our exertions to acquire information, we obtain more knowledge; and if we continue still to persevere, we add still more to that, until we are perfect masters of the language.

Again, with regard to mechanism, in a certain sense, the same principle will hold good. We have the privilege of learning the arts and sciences that the learned among the Gentile nations understand; we have the privilege of becoming classical scholars—of commencing at the rudiments of all knowledge—of entering into the academics, we might say, of perfection. We might study, and add knowledge to knowledge, from the time that we are capable of knowing anything until we go down to the grave. If we enjoyed healthy bodies, so as not to wear upon the functions of the mind, there is no end to a man’s learning. This compares precisely with our situation pertaining to heavenly things.

The capacity of mankind in attaining to geometrical knowledge and the fine arts is great. All nations and people understand more or less of the knowledge pertaining to the arts and sciences. But when they leave those principles that are comprehended in the studies pursued by the natural man, and undertake to define their own persons, their own being, and to understand the propriety and wisdom of the creation, and bring forth to themselves or to others those principles that pertain to future knowledge, they are in the dark; there is a veil over them. The veil of the covering that is over the nations of the earth has beclouded their understandings, so that they are in thick darkness. This our experience teaches us—that when any uninspired person or persons (who pretend to) step beyond organized nature, which is visible to the natural eyes, there is a mystery—the hidden mystery—the deep and unsearchable mystery of creation.

We can see the natural man, we can behold our face in the glass; but can we tell what manner of person we are? Can we define the object of this organization—of this body? Can we circumscribe it? Can we fathom the depths, the propriety, the necessity, and the object of Divine wisdom; in our organization? It is a mystery to the wisest there is upon the earth. We see life and action: this we witness daily; ourselves, we act; we see others act. We have sight to see; our ears are organized to hear, our hands to feel, and all the system throughout seems to be perfectly framed to sense and understanding; and the mystery of it is such that the wisest of all the philosophers are ready to acknowledge, and exclaim, It is a mystery!—it is not to be fathomed or understood by man. When we advance into the future or recede into the past, either plunges a man into still greater mystery. It is a mystery that the world have sought after by their wisdom: they have studied diligently for the express purpose of becoming acquainted with these mysteries. Thousands and thousands have spent their whole lives in study—have sought after and read the comments and ideas of others with the utmost anxiety and fervency of intention, seeking to find that which others have not found—to learn that which has not been learned.

This Book, which is the Old and New Testament, preaches but one sermon from Genesis to Revelation. We commence and go through with this volume; then search all those books which have been rejected by the Christian nations as not canonical, and any other writings of Prophets and Apostles, and all good men—all revelations that have been set aside, and considered unnecessary—summon all the revelations that have been given from the days of Adam to the present time; and what is the sum of the whole of the teachings of Him who has created (the Supreme of the universe)—who has organized and planned and executed and brought into existence—all his teachings to his people? Simply this—Son, daughter, live before me, so that I can come and visit you; order your lives with that propriety, that I will not be disgraced to come and abide with you for a season; or, when I send my angels or my minister the Holy Ghost to reveal my mind and will to you, or to bless you with abiding comfort, that they may not be disgraced in your society.

I say, all the revelations of God teach simply this—Son, daughter, you are the workmanship of mine hands: walk and live before me in righteousness; let your conversation be chaste; let your daily deportment be according to my law; let your dealings one with another be in justice and equity; let my character be sacred in your mouth, and do not profane my holy name and trample upon mine authority; do not despise any of my sayings, for I will not be disgraced. I wish to send one of my servants to visit you. What for? That you may see and know as others have—that you may see as you are seen—that you may understand those principles pertaining more particularly to the kingdom you are in. You have descended below all things. I have, in my wisdom, reduced you; I have caused that you should drink of the dregs of the bitter cup. I have placed you in the depths of ignorance, and have surrounded you with weakness, to prove you. I have subjected you to all misery that can be endured. I have caused you to come upon this earth, where misery, and darkness, and every species of unbelief and wickedness reign, to prove you, that you may understand and know the good from the evil, and be capable of judging between these with a righteous judgment.

I have caused all this to be done; and now, son and daughter, the inhabitants of the whole earth that have lived from the days of Adam until now, the first and the last—the grand aim of all that I, the Lord, have revealed is to instruct you to live so that I can come and visit you, or send my angels, that they can enter into your habitations, walk and converse with you, and they not be disgraced. By so doing, you shall be made partakers of all knowledge and wisdom, power and glory that the sanctified or glorified beings enjoy. And this is, first of all, what the Lord wishes of the people.

What does our experience teach us—our eyes witness day by day? True, I may say, with many of you, I am not under the necessity of hearing the name of my God, whom I serve, my Father in heaven, blasphemed daily; I am not associated with those who blaspheme the name of the Father and the Son, and the character of the Holy Ghost; I do not associate with those who are liars, or adulterers, or whoremongers, or those who love and make a lie. You can say the same: yet, when we mingle among the wicked, what do we see and hear? What do these my brethren hear, that take the pains to go into the canyons to sell a little beer to the traveler? They hear the name of the Lord that bought them blasphemed. It would take all the teams you have in the country to draw gold enough to tempt me into such a situation.

Men are going crazed to attend the ferries, in order to amass a few paltry dollars. What do you hear there? You hear the name of the Lord Almighty, and his character, and his Son Jesus Christ, and his minister the Holy Ghost, blasphemed; and every servant of God upon the earth is cursed by them to the lowest regions. It is not all the gold of Ophir and California that could hire me to hear it for one month. These are my feelings.

Gold and silver will perish, but the name of the Almighty will remain forever. His character will not sink, nor the character of his Son, nor of his ministers, nor of any of his faithful servants who keep his commandments. Riches will perish, but they will endure. I say again, there is not gold enough lying east of the Rocky Mountains to bring me to one of these ferries and hear the blasphemies I should have to hear. But can we not hear it here? Yes—to the shame and disgrace of a few of those that call themselves Latter-day Saints. Is it so, that there is a man whose name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life that will take the name of the Deity in vain? I speak to you who are trifling with the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit of promise, to the shame of a few of the Elders of Israel.

The time will come when they will be cut off, though I am sorry to say that. I would rather say that while I am in the society of the Latter-day Saints, I might never hear the character of the Deity ridiculed and disgraced, and his name used in a light and trifling manner.

It is true, I do not hear it. If I were to hear that which other people say they hear—an Elder of Israel use the name of the Lord God in vain, I should cut him off from the Church; and if I could not get any help to cut him off, I would do it myself. Let me tell you, he must be a very ignorant man who can use the name of the Deity in vain, without having to repent forthwith.

While I was talking, last Sabbath, I wished that I could have strength of lungs to speak about one thousand years, and live without eating or resting. I thought in that time we should get pretty well through with a portion of the Gospel sermon.

I will now read a little in this book, called the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, pertaining to the subject we had before us last Sabbath. I will read a part of a short revelation, in order to exhibit some items of doctrine that are not generally understood, although it is before the people. All people who are disposed, have the privilege of reading this book for themselves; for it has been published to the world for some years. The Saints read it and have the privilege of understanding it, if they choose. Still, as I observed, we are in the school and keep learning, and we do not expect to cease learning while we live on earth; and when we pass through the veil, we expect still to continue to learn and increase our fund of information. That may appear a strange idea to some; but it is for the plain and simple reason that we are not capacitated to receive all knowledge at once. We must therefore receive a little here and a little there.

I will read in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, sec. 44—

“A commandment of God, and not of man, to Martin Harris, given (Manchester, New York, March, 1830) by Him who is eternal.”

I could give to the people the cause of this revelation, but if is not necessary. I may say a word upon it when I come to it in the revelation, which will explain all that is necessary. Those who are acquainted with Martin Harris know his natural turn and disposition: he wanted to learn all things at once, was continually in pursuit of knowledge, and neglected to act upon that which he had already received. That is his true character, as far as I have known him. The revelation reads as follows—

“I am Alpha and Omega, Christ the Lord; yea, even I am he, the beginning and the end, the Redeemer of the world. I, having accomplished and finished the will of him whose I am, even the Father, concerning me—having done this that I might subdue all things unto myself—Retaining all power, even to the destroying of Satan and his works at the end of the world, and the last great day of judgment, which I shall pass upon the inhabitants thereof, judging every man according to his works, and the deeds which he hath done.”

We read in the Bible, you recollect, that every man shall be judged according to his works; but it is almost impossible; or, I will say, it is a considerable task and quite a labor to get a community to understand these words as they read; when, in reality, to those that understand them, it is as plain to them as it is for this con– gregation to count how many fingers I am now holding up before you. If I hold up two fingers, you exclaim, There are two. But somebody will start up and say, No; there is but one; while another declares, There are four, and not one or two. Every person has a privilege of looking for themselves, and may know whether I hold up one, two, or four fingers. To a person who understands this saying it is just as easy for him to judge and know that mankind will be judged according to their works which they do in the body; and yet how hard it is to get the people to say it is so, and have them understand it.

“And surely every man must repent or suffer, for I, God, am endless. Wherefore, I revoke not the judgments which I shall pass, but woes shall go forth, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth, yea, to those who are found on my left hand. Nevertheless, it is not written that there shall be no end to this torment, but it is written endless torment.”

This revelation has been before the people, in this volume, since the year 1834, and yet how few have paid attention to it. Suppose I repeat a part of this last quotation—“Nevertheless, it is not written that there shall be no end to this torment; but it is written, Endless torment.”

“Again, it is written eternal damnation; wherefore it is more express than other scriptures, that it might work upon the hearts of the children of men, altogether for my name’s glory. Wherefore, I will explain unto you this mystery, for it is meet unto you to know even as mine apostles. I speak unto you that are chosen in this thing, even as one, that you may enter into my rest. For, behold, the mystery of godliness, how great is it! For, behold, I am endless, and the punishment which is given from my hand is endless punishment, for Endless is my name. Wherefore—Eternal punishment is God’s punishment. Endless punishment is God’s punishment.”

If I recollect right, I think there is no place in the Bible so explicit, with regard to this name of the Deity—“for Endless is my name.”

“Wherefore, I command you to repent, and keep the commandments which you have received by the hand of my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., in my name; And it is by my almighty power that you have received them; Therefore I command you to repent—repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore—how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not. For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent, they must suffer even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men. Wherefore, I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with my almighty power; and that you confess your sins, lest you suffer these punishments of which I have spoken, of which in the smallest, yea, even in the least degree you have tasted at the time I withdrew my Spirit.”

This language needs no particular explanation to those who ever knew Martin Harris.

“And I command you that you preach naught but repentance, and show not these things unto the world until it is wisdom in me. For they cannot bear meat now, but milk they must receive; wherefore, they must not know these things, lest they perish. Learn of me and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me. I am Jesus Christ; I came by the will of the Father, and I do his will.”

I want to connect this part of the revelation given to Martin Harris, with a few words in the revelation called the Vision—

“Thus saith the Lord concerning all those who know my power, and have been made partakers thereof, and suffered themselves through the power of the devil to be overcome, and to deny the truth and to defy my power—They are they who are the sons of perdition, of whom I say that it had been better for them never to have been born; For they are vessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil and his angels in eternity; Concerning whom I have said there is no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come—Having denied the Holy Spirit after having received it, and having denied the Only Begotten Son of the Father, having crucified him unto themselves and put him to an open shame. These are they who shall go away into the lake of fire and brimstone, with the devil and his angels—And the only ones on whom the second death shall have any power; Yea, verily, the only ones who shall not be redeemed in the due time of the Lord, after the sufferings of his wrath. For all the rest shall be brought forth by the resurrection of the dead, through the triumph and the glory of the Lamb, who was slain, who was in the bosom of the Father before the worlds were made.”

I wished to connect these two quotations, and refer directly to the situation of the world, believing that this can be made profitable like everything else. All the revelations that are given, and every revelation that was given, and every matter of fact or truth that is revealed to the chil– dren of men is for their benefit; and, if improved upon, in honesty and truth, in righteousness and humility, to the glory of God, and to their own honor, it is a lasting benefit; but if they should turn about and make an evil use of it, it always will be to their condemnation: consequently, it is for the inhabitants of the earth to know the blessings and the privileges the Lord has for them to enjoy. It was said by the Savior, when in the flesh, to the scribes and Pharisees and learned doctors of the law; and it will apply to every class and grade, and every individual in every community: “This is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, and men choose darkness rather than light.”

So it is; it always has been, and it always will be so: when light comes, if the people reject that light, it will condemn them, and will add to their sorrow and affliction. So it is with the inhabitants of the earth, at the present day, as much as it was in the days of the Savior, or in any other period of the world. Light comes into the world, but men choose darkness: when they do, it proves that their deeds are evil. This principle may prove beneficial to us and to every son and daughter of Adam who hear and have the privilege of hearing and of understanding for themselves.

When we take a view of the inhabitants of the earth, and look at ourselves, and contemplate our own situation and circumstances, we are satisfied that we, as a people, are favored above any other class upon the face of this globe. Our blessings are multiplied unto us more than any people. We have the privilege of knowing how to escape this world of sorrow and sin, to enter into the strait gate that was spoken of by the Savior, and obtain eternal life.

Is there any other people that know these principles—that have committed to them the keys of the holy Priesthood, by which they may save themselves, save their families, save their neighbors, and save all that will hear them? Where is that community? I do not know. So may this congregation exclaim, if the same inquiry was made of them: they can say, We do not know.

We are blessed, greatly blessed; and when we contemplate even upon our afflictions, the fact is, they appear to us not worth mentioning: they should never come into remembrance before us. We have the privilege of serving the Lord, of growing in grace, and obtaining that which the Lord has for us. This is the people the Lord designs should be prepared to enter in at the strait gate; for strait is the gate and narrow is the way, says Jesus, that leadeth to the endless lives. It is translated in King James’ version of the Old Testament, “That leadeth unto eternal life.” But in our late revelations it is rendered, “Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth to the endless lives, and few there be that find it.”

Were I to inquire of the Latter-day Saints if they are all expecting to enter in the strait gate spoken of by the Savior—if they are all going to inherit eternal lives, everyone would answer in the affirmative. I hope they will. It really would rejoice me, were it to be so; but I cannot believe for a moment that every person who receives this Gospel will be prepared to enter in at the strait gate and inherit eternal lives. But there is one fact, and that is undeniable—we cannot alter it, and that is, every man shall be judged according to his works, and every man will receive according to the extent of his capacity.

Every individual among the Latter-day Saints and among all professors of religion, and then among all the heathen upon the face of the earth, will be judged according to their works. Is this all? No. Every individual will also receive according to the extent of his capacity. The inquiry might arise, Are all individuals who receive the new and everlasting covenant, and by their acts submit to it—are they capable of receiving the glory to be revealed—the crowns of glory, of immortality, and eternal lives? You may answer that question yourselves. Pause a moment.

I will refer your minds to Abraham. He lived many years without children, and sought diligently of the Lord to know if his name should be blotted from the book—if it should become extinct. He was a righteous man, a good man, and conversed with his Lord, received revelations from above, and communed with heavenly beings; while his constant cry was, O Lord, shall my name stop here? You can read in the Bible how he obtained a promise, and his wife actually bore him a son in her old age. He obtained this promise—“Abraham my son, you shall have a posterity, and a great nation shall spring forth from your loins; you shall receive the desire of your heart. What can you desire, Abraham?” I want to know if this will be the end of my posterity? And is my name to stop here? No, says the Lord; to your posterity there shall be no end. You remember what the Apostle says concerning this matter. It is this—“His seed shall be like the sands upon the seashore, and like the stars in the firmament, for multitude; they cannot be numbered from this time henceforth and forever; they are endless, and still continue to increase and increase.”

Here is the very posterity of Abraham in this house. Nearly the whole of this congregation is composed of them; and they are on the increase, spreading forth on the right and on the left, according to the promise made to Abraham, and the blessings he was earnestly seeking for. I mention this to remind you of one fact: it is a great blessing, and one of the greatest that can be bestowed upon a mortal being, to receive the sanction of the Almighty, the voice of God to man, saying that he shall inherit eternal lives. The gift of eternal life is the greatest of all gifts that can be bestowed upon mankind.

When we step forth into other communities, or contemplate the past, and view our forefathers, what will be their situation? What their doom? I can tell you, and you will allow me to judge the matter; not, however, that I am going to judge them and pronounce sentence upon them; but their situation is plain to those who understand.

My father and grandfather—my ancestors were some of the most strict religionists that lived upon the earth. You no doubt can say the same about yours. Of my mother—she that bore me—I can say, no better woman ever lived in the world than she was. I have the feelings of a son towards her. I should have them—it is right; but I judge the matter pertaining to her from the principles and the spirit of the teachings I received from her.

Would she countenance one of her children in the least act that was wrong according to her traditions? No, not in the least degree. I was brought up so strict, so firm in the faith of the Christian religion by my parents, that if I had said, “Devil,” I believed I had sworn very wickedly, no matter on what occasion or under what circumstances this might occur. If I used the name of Devil, I should have certainly been chastised, and that severely. Would my father or mother allow any of their children to say, “Darn it?” Were they ever allowed to say, “I vow?” No. If we had said either of these words, we should have been whipped for it. I don’t say that we did not say such things when out of the sight of father and mother; but if by any means it came to their ears, we were sure to be chastised.

Did I ever hear a man swear in my father’s house? No, never in my life. I never heard my father or any person about his premises swear as much as to say, “Darn it,” or “Curse it,” or “the Devil.” So you see I was brought up pretty strictly. My mother, while she lived, taught her children all the time to honor the name of the Father and the Son, and to reverence the holy Book. She said, Read it, observe its precepts, and apply them to your lives as far as you can: do everything that is good; do nothing that is evil; and if you see any persons in distress, administer to their wants: never suffer anger to arise in your bosoms; for, if you do, you may be overcome by evil. I do not know that I ever wronged my neighbor, even to the value of a pin. I was taught, when a child, not to take a pin from the dooryard of a neighbor, but to carry it into the house and give it to some of the family. Never did my mother or father countenance any of their children in anything to wrong their neighbor or fellow being, even if they were injured by them. If they have injured me says my father, let me return good for evil, and leave it in the hand of the Lord; he will bless me for doing right and curse them for doing wrong.

I have merely mentioned my own parents and their teachings to their children to bring before your minds the thousands and millions and thousands of millions of the inhabitants of the earth who have lived and passed off this stage of action, and the millions that are now living, eating, drinking, and busily engaged in the almost endless pursuits of mortal life as we are, everyone moving according to his own capacity and according to his own views and notions of things; but they all alike breathe the free air and drink of the free water, and all are before the Lord. I bring up these little items to prepare the way for the question, “What are you going to do with all these inhabitants of the earth?”

The Methodists answer, “You must come to the anxious seat, or else be plunged into that lake of fire and brimstone, and there live forever, without any end to your torment, among devils employed in pitching you around, adding brimstone to fire and fire to brimstone. You are to stay there for millions and thousands of millions and millions of billions of years, and all the rest of it a man can think of in the shape of numbers. When you have lived there so many years, you are not any nearer the end of this awful torment than you were when it first began.”

This has appeared to me, from my childhood to this day, a piece of complete nonsense, to talk about the inhabitants of the earth being thus irretrievably lost—to talk of my father and mother, and yours, or our ancestors, who have lived faithfully according to the best light they had; but because they had not the everlasting covenant and the holy Priesthood in their midst, that they should go to hell and roast there to all eternity. It is nonsense to me; it always was, and is yet.

What are you going to do with them? I will tell you. Take the Methodists and every reformer, from the latest back to King James, who seceded from the authority of the Pope, and the hundreds and thousands that are now living upon the earth, and have lived and passed away, who profess no religion, but stand aloof from all parties—among those who are dead and those who are living, there are multitudes who have been and are as good as they know how to be.

Now, the point is to know what we are going to do with them. Are we going to send them to an endless hell? This wants a little explanation; for if I were to say that all go to hell, I should certainly tell the truth; and I can say, as I said last Sabbath, All go there, both Saint and sinner, in one sense of the word.

There are reasons for this, and it is for man to understand what they are, placing everything in its own place, classifying and putting all things where they belong, to make the doctrine of salvation complete. Foreordination, for instance, and free grace are both true doctrines; but they must be properly coupled together and correctly classified, so as to produce harmony between these two apparently opposite doctrines. We must know, when the Lord speaks, what he is talking about, and who he is talking about; all and considerably more of which is necessary to get a proper knowledge of the whole scheme of salvation.

I ask you again, what are we going to do with father and mother? Are we going to send them to perdition, and there let them welter in awful misery and endless torment? No; we are not going to do any such thing; but we will put them where they belong.

Now, understand, all spirits came from God, and they came pure from his presence, and were put into earthly tabernacles, which were organized for that express purpose; and so the spirit and the body became a living soul. If these souls should live, according to the law of heaven, God ordained that they should become temples prepared to inherit all things. I wish you to understand that all spirits are pure when they are put into these tabernacles; but we have not time to explain or set before you the reasons of the variation in appearance in the mortal tabernacles. There are causes for it. Our spirits fill the tabernacles organized for them; the body is a habitation for the spirit to dwell in; and if the spirit and the body both agree in keeping all the laws and all the commandments that the Lord reveals unto that tabernacle, it never shall be destroyed.

How many shall be preserved? All who do not deny and defy the power and character of the Son of God—all who do not sin against the Holy Ghost. Now, to return again. Here are the spirits which have come and taken possession of the tabernacles prepared; they have entered into their house; and you observe that these habitations of the spirits of men are scattered over the face of the earth, and they have come from the Lord pure in their spirits. These enter their tabernacles and are shut out from his presence and the knowledge of the Lord: they are ignorant, filled with unbelief, exposed to the unholy traditions of the fathers, which they have to grapple with, and all the wickedness that is in the world with which they have to contend.

With your mind’s eye look at the millions of them in all nations who are doing according to the best knowledge they possess. What! The Roman Catholics? Yes, and then every one of her daughters down to the latest Protestant Church that has been organized. They are all doing just as well as they can, and living according to the best light they have—a great many of them, though not all. What shall we do with them? They pass from the world, their spirits go into the spiritual world, and their bodies go back to their mother earth, and there sleep, while their spirits are before the Lord.

Are they happy? Every son and daughter of Adam who live according to the best light and knowledge they have, when they go into the spiritual world, are happy in proportion to their faithfulness. For instance, take a view of some of our late reformers; take the best specimen of reformers that we have, who are all the time full of glory and happiness and full of praise to the Lord—who meet together oft to sing and pray and preach and shout and give thanks to the Lord Almighty; and in a great many instances and in a great degree they enjoy much of a good spirit, which is the Spirit of the Lord, or the light of Christ, which lighteth the world.

Now, this may be singular to some. What! They enjoy the Spirit of the Lord? Yes, every man and woman, according to their faith and the knowledge they have in their possession. They enjoy the goodness of their Father in heaven. Do they receive the Spirit of the Lord? They do, and enjoy the light of it, and walk in it, and rejoice in it.

What will be their state hereafter? Every faithful Methodist that has lived up to and faithfully fulfilled the requirements of his religion, according to the best light he had, doing good to all and evil to none, injuring no person upon the earth, honoring his God as far he knew, will have as great a heaven as he ever anticipated in the flesh, and far greater. Every Presbyterian, and every Quaker, and every Baptist, and every Roman Catholic member—every reformer, of whatever class or grade, that lives according to the best light they have, and never have had an opportunity of receiving a greater light than the one in their possession, will have and enjoy all they live for.

I am telling you the truth as it is, and you may write it down if you please, and call it revelation if you will. But it has been revealed before I revealed it here today. This is the situation of Christendom after death.

You may go among the Pagans, or among all the nations there are, and they have their religion, their sacraments, and ceremonies, which are as sacred to them as ours are to us: they are just as precious and dear to them, though we call them heathen. They are idolatrous worshippers; yet their religion is as sacred to them as ours is to us. If they live according to the best light they have in their religion, God is God over all and the Father of us all; we are all the workmanship of his hands; and if they are ignorant, filled with superstition, and have the traditions of the fathers interwoven like a mantle around and over them, that they cannot see any light, so will they be judged; and if they have lived according to what they did possess, so they will receive hereafter.

And will it be glory, you may inquire? Yes. Glory, glory, glory to our merciful Father in heaven; for the least glory spoken of in this Vision given to Joseph Smith, junior, and Sidney Rigdon, cannot be described: it is so great and so exquisite that it is altogether beyond mortal perception.

They could not write it, neither describe it in language. The glory of the telestial world no man knows, except he partakes of it; and yet, in that world they differ in glory as the stars in the firmament differ one from the other. The terrestrial glory is greater still, and the celestial is the greatest of all; that is the glory of God the Father, where our Lord Jesus Christ reigns. Well, this people are privileged above all other people upon the earth: this community—this congregation now before me are the people whose blessings are far superior to the blessings of all the human family besides.

What manner of persons ought we to be? Should not all our lives be filled with praise, and glory, and hallelujahs to God and the Lamb, with good works and good feelings, being filled with the Spirit of God? If so, would there be any room for anger or contention from this time forth? There would not be one man or woman that could find time to talk about their neighbors or contend with a brother, but all hearts would be sanctified before the Lord, and every tongue would be speaking praise, and every hand would be put forth to do good and to seek to build up the kingdom of God; and they would never sin again. If we seek to build up this kingdom, hereafter the Lord will build us up. I don’t know that I shall get half through with what I want to say today. I wish to come back and look at ourselves in the next place.

How many glories and kingdoms will there be in eternity? You will see the same variety in eternity as you see in the world. For instance, you see here one class of men who have lived according to the best light they had. You may go among the heathen, or among the Christians, it is no matter; I will call them all Christians, or all heathens, if it will accommodate anybody’s feelings, for they don’t come much short of all being heathen. We will take the best men we can find among them—when they pass through the veil they are in happiness, they are in glory, they go among the disembodied spirits; but they do not go where there are resurrected bodies, for they cannot live there: a Prophet or an Apostle cannot live there. They also go into the spiritual world to live with spirits. Do they commune with the Father and Son? The Father communes with them as he pleases, through the means of angels, or otherwise the Son and the Holy Ghost. This is the situation of the Prophet, the Apostle, and all Saints before they receive their resurrected bodies; but they are looking forward to the time when they shall receive their bodies from the dust; and those that have been faithful, probably, will now soon get their resurrected bodies. Abraham has had his body long ago, and dwells with the Father and the Son, among all the Prophets and faithful Saints who received their resurrected bodies immediately after the resurrection of the Savior. They were then prepared to enter into the Father’s rest and be crowned with glory and eternal lives; but they were not prepared before.

No spirit of Saint or sinner, of the Prophet or him that kills the Prophet, is prepared for their final state: all pass through the veil from this state and go into the world of spirits; and there they dwell, waiting for their final destiny. It no doubt appears a singular idea to you that both Saint and sinner go to the same place and dwell together in the same world. You can see the same variety in this world. You see the Latter-day Saints, who have come into these valleys—they are by themselves as a community, yet they are in the same world with other communities. But I do not feel as though I am dwelling where there are six or eight kinds of religion or more, and, after all, no religion at all. I am not dwelling where there is cursing, and swearing, and horse racing, and gambling, and everything else that is calculated to disturb a peaceable community. Though I am in the same world where all this exists, I am not dwelling where it is, nor am I disturbed by it; but I am peaceable and serving the Lord.

You can see the variety here. The Presbyterians can go away by themselves and build cities and towns, and try to prohibit all other persons who are not Presbyterians from dwelling with them. The Methodists can do the same; the Baptists can do the same. We have the privilege of organizing society in this world as we please, in one sense. This is what Mr. Owen calls Socialism. He says mankind are controlled by circumstances, and others say that mankind govern and control circumstances. Both are true. We govern and control circumstances; but when we come into circumstances which the Lord controls, we are then controlled by circumstances. I and my brethren can go and settle down in a certain part; and if you choose, we can go into merchandising or stock raising; and if we choose, we can live without a family, like a Shaker. In this way we can control circumstances in a great degree, while there are circumstances over which we have no control. All this exhibits precisely the situation of the people hereafter: they control circumstances to a great degree, and sometimes circumstances control them. When they are in the world of spirits, there is the Prophet and the Patriarch; all righteous men are there, and all wicked men also are there.

What is going to be done with them? By-and-by Zion will be built up; Temples are going to be reared, and the holy Priesthood is going to take effect and rule, and every law of Christ will be obeyed, and he will govern and reign King of nations as he now does King of Saints. Pretty soon you will see Temples reared up, and the sons of Jacob will enter into the Temples of the Lord. What will they do there? They will do a great many things. When you see Zion redeemed and built up—when you see the people performing the ordinances of salvation for themselves and for others (and they will hereafter), you will see simply this (but I have not time this morning to tell you only a little part of it). About the time that the Temples of the Lord will be built and Zion is established—pretty nigh this time, you will see (those who are faithful enough), the first you know, there will be strangers in your midst, walking with you, talk– ing with you: they will enter into your houses and eat and drink with you, go to meeting with you, and begin to open your minds, as the Savior did the two disciples who walked out in the country in days of old.

About the time the Temples are ready, the strangers will be along and will converse with you, and will inquire of you, probably, if you understand the resurrection of the dead. You might say you have heard and read a great deal about it, but you do not properly understand it; and they will then open your minds and tell you the principles of the resurrection of the dead and how to save your friends: they will point out Scriptures in the Old and New Testament, in the Book of Mormon, and other revelations of God, saying, “Don’t you recollect reading so and so, that saviors should come up on Mount Zion?” &c.; and they will expound the Scriptures to you. You have got your Temples ready: now go forth and be baptized for those good people. There are your father and your mother—your ancestors for many generations back—the people that have lived upon the face of the earth since the Priesthood was taken away, thousands and millions of them, who have lived according to the best light and knowledge in their possession. They will expound the Scriptures to you, and open your minds, and teach you of the resurrection of the just and the unjust, of the doctrine of salvation: they will use the keys of the holy Priesthood, and unlock the door of knowledge, to let you look into the palace of truth. You will exclaim, That is all plain: why did I not understand it before? And you will begin to feel your hearts burn within you as they walk and talk with you.

You will enter into the Temple of the Lord and begin to offer up ordinances before the Lord for your dead. Says this or that man, I want to save such a person—I want to save my father; and he straightway goes forth in the ordinance of baptism, and is confirmed, and washed, and anointed, and ordained to the blessings of the holy Priesthood for his ancestors. Before this work is finished, a great many of the Elders of Israel in Mount Zion will become pillars in the Temple of God, to go no more out: they will eat and drink and sleep there; and they will often have occasion to say—“Somebody came into the Temple last night; we did not know who he was, but he was no doubt a brother, and told us a great many things we did not before understand. He gave us the names of a great many of our forefathers that are not on record, and he gave me my true lineage and the names of my forefathers for hundreds of years back. He said to me, You and I are connected in one family: there are the names of your ancestors; take them and write them down, and be baptized and confirmed, and save such and such ones, and receive of the blessings of the eternal Priesthood for such and such an individual, as you do for yourselves.” This is what we are going to do for the inhabitants of the earth. When I look at it, I do not want to rest a great deal, but be industrious all the day long. For when we come to think upon it, we have no time to lose, for it is a pretty laborious work.

I have a great feeling to just let the lash slide over onto some men a little. Do you think they would want to go to California to get gold, or run to the ferries, whence the name of the Almighty is blasphemed, if they properly understood these things—the way of life and salvation? You will enter into the Temple of the Lord, when by-and-by here come along brothers Joseph and Hyrum Smith, for instance; for they will be perfectly capable of coming and staying over night with you, and you not know who they are. Or suppose David Patten should come along, and shake hands with some of the Twelve, and want to stay all night with them and expound the Scriptures and reveal the hidden things of God. It will not be long before this will be so.

Suppose we are ready for it, and a great Temple is built at the central point, in Jackson County. Gentlemen, don’t be startled; for if we don’t go back there, our sons and daughters will; and a great Temple will be built upon the consecrated spot, and a great many more besides that. The land of Joseph is the land of Zion; and it takes North and South America to make the land of Joseph. Suppose we are ready to go into the Temples of God to officiate for our fathers and our grandfathers—for our ancestors back for hundreds of years, who are all looking to see what their children are doing upon the earth. The Lord says, I have sent the keys of Elijah the Prophet—I have imparted that doctrine to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts children to the fathers. Now, all you children, are you looking to the salvation of your fathers? Are you seeking diligently to redeem them that have died without the Gospel, inasmuch as they sought the Lord Almighty to obtain promises for you?—for our fathers did obtain promises that their seed should not be forgotten. O ye children of the fathers, look at these things. You are to enter into the Temples of the Lord and officiate for your forefathers.

Suppose we are ready to enter into the Temple to be baptized and attend to the ordinances for one hundred of our best forefathers, and Thomas should say to John, “John, take this affair and see to it; I want to go to this ferry to make a little money;” or “Joseph, you know the names of our ancestors better than I do; won’t you go and see to their salvation? I have not time myself; I want to build a bridge.” “James, are you ready to perform your duties for the dead?” “No; I want to go and keep a grocery.” And you know the language that is common to such places: the name of the Lord is blasphemed, and his servants are cursed with bitter oaths.

What do you think of it, gentlemen, Elders in Israel? What would money have to do with you, if you were now upon the threshold of eternity, and eternity open to you? Would you have the apostasy, as you have now? A little money is more to such persons than the salvation of all the sons and daughters of Adam. I wish I had a voice like ten thousand earthquakes, that all the world might hear and know the loving kindness of the Lord.

I am telling you things that are before me constantly. When men and women are reaching after the perishable things of this world, and will step out of the path of duty and endanger their salvation, it has been said that it hurts brother Brigham’s feelings. It is true, and I could even weep over such; and the angels weep over us to see our foolishness—that we are so giddy-headed as to run after the fading things of the world, and set our minds and feelings upon riches, and neglect our duty in preparing ourselves for the coming of the Son of man, for the coming of the ancient and modern Apostles and Prophets, for the redemption of Zion, and the redeeming of our dear friends in every age of the world when the Priesthood was not upon the earth.

Now, the inquiry on our minds is, Are all the world going to share in these blessings? Yes, all the world. Are there none going to be lost? Are there none going to suffer the wrath of the Almighty? I can say, in the first place, as I have said all my life, where I have been preaching, I never had the spirit to preach hell and damnation to the people. I have tried a great many times—I tried last Sabbath, and I have tried today to come to that point—the sufferings of the wicked. They will suffer, it seems; but I cannot get my heart upon anything else only salvation for the people. All nations are going to share in these blessings; all are incorporated in the redemption of the Savior. He has tasted death for every man: they are all in his power, and he saves them all, as he says, except the sons of perdition; and the Father has put all the creations upon this earth in his power. The earth itself, and mankind upon it, the brute beasts, the fish of the sea, and the fowls of heaven, the insects, and every creeping thing, with all things pertaining to this earthly ball—all are in the hands of the Savior, and he has redeemed them all. Who is there that is out of his power? I will tell you, in the first place, he has made man an agent to himself before the Lord, with all the rest that he has ordained, that mankind shall act for themselves, think for themselves, deal for themselves. They can choose the good and forsake the evil, or cleave to the evil and neglect the light and the good, just as they choose. Life and death are placed before them, and they have the privilege of choosing life or death. If they choose death, evil, and darkness, the time will come when those who are acquainted with the power of God will deny that power, and speak against the Holy Ghost, and commit the unpardonable sin. They then throw themselves out of the power of the Savior, and take to themselves power, and say, “I will not hearken to the Lord Jesus now; I will serve whom I please, and I defy the power of the Son of God.” They yield themselves servants to the Devil and become his angels. They are then out of the hands of the Savior, and can never dwell in heaven, worlds without end.

This will illustrate the idea. You have heard a great deal about having your names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. When we were Christians, according to the common acceptation of the word, we used to preach a great deal about getting our names written in that book. I will tell you how it is. The names of every son and daughter of Adam are already written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Is there ever a time when they will be taken out of it? Yes, when they become sons of perdition, and not till then. Every person has the privilege of retaining it there forever and ever. If they neglect that privilege, then their names will be erased, and not till then. All the names of the human family are written there, and the Lord will hold them there until they come to the knowledge of the truth, that they can rebel against him, and can sin against the Holy Ghost; then they will be thrust down to hell, and their names be blotted out from the Lamb’s Book of Life.

I want to have the brethren look at the work that is before us. Contemplate your blessings, and realize them. There is not a people who are blessed as we are. We have the words of eternal life, the holy Priesthood of the Son of God. We possess the keys of that Priesthood, and can prepare ourselves to become angels of God—yea, more, to become Saints of God—yea, more, to become Gods in eternity, and to be crowned with crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal life. And woe to them that neglect these things—that read them lightly! Woe to them that live among the world, and love riches, or anything better than they do the Author of our salvation!

These are some parts of the Gospel of redemption. Is it not a blessing? Is it not a great privilege for the in– habitants of the earth to know the truth as it is—to have it sounded in their ears, that they may go to hell and suffer the wrath of the Almighty; yet, if they have not had the privilege of receiving the holy Gospel, have not come to the knowledge of the truth, so as to sin against the Holy Ghost, the time will come, by the power and triumph of the Lamb, that he will bring them forth, when they have suffered his wrath according to the deeds done in the body. Is it not a great blessing?

I will tell you, brethren, and sisters, and friends, when I look at these things, I earnestly wish they could be understood by the universal world. I wish they could see and realize them, and behold the goodness, and severity, and kindness with that severity, and the love that the Almighty has for them. If they could know it, we should not wait for the rising of the sun again before every knee would bow before the Lord, from the east to the west, and from the north to the south, all over this globe, and every tongue confess before God the Father that Jesus is the Christ.

When they do know it and understand it, that is the time when the veil of the covering is taken from their eyes, and all flesh will see his glory together. Then every knee will bow, and every tongue confess, that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer, the Savior, and the rightful heir of this creation, and honor him as their kind benefactor, and praise him continually, though they are in the terrestrial world.

I feel to say, May the Lord bless you! It is with difficulty I talk to you this morning. My voice does not thunder, as it once did; and it would be misery for me to talk to a congregation, and they not hear me. It is with difficulty I preach. I should like if we could talk here one thousand years and not get tired, if we had the ability and power to do so. We will come to that by-and-by. May the Lord bless you and prepare you for the kingdom of rest. Amen.