Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 15, 1860.

The truth is the same when preached by one man as another. If an idolater should come here and present the truth, its being delivered by him would not make it any less true. What has been said today by brother James W. Cummings is the Gospel of Christ, and salvation to everyone that hears and obeys it. Is the Gospel the power of God unto salvation to everyone that heareth it? No; but he that heareth these words of mine and doeth them, says Jesus, the same shall be saved.

If I should preach the Gospel as Jesus did when he said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have com– manded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world”—well, now, he that believeth and is baptized—does that save the man? No. But there are ten thousand commandments that are connected to that. The Apostle says, Go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works.

This is for you and me to do, and we are required to do it today and tomorrow, next year and continually, and live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, and practice it in our lives, in our conversation, at our homes, and when we are abroad.

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: that is only one principle. Baptism alone will not save a man, but the fruits of righteousness will. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; and when you have taught them, and got them into the fold, then teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you to teach them. Teach them to do everything that pertains to righteousness, and to abstain from everything that is wicked.

When I was baptized, I had heard the Gospel and believed it. Then I went and submitted myself to it in humility. I began to pray before I was baptized. As soon as I heard this Gospel, I began to inquire of the Father, in the name of the Son, if it was true. I received a testimony of it, and bore testimony for months to my neighbors and to the inhabitants in the country where I lived, and told them it was true. A great many of them believed it; and as soon as we received it and had the authority, I administered to others. Many more received it, being baptized for the remission of sins. When I received the truth, I commenced a new life, and I have endeavored to live it from that day to this. Do I realize that I am a poor creature? I do, and the more light I have the more I see this; and the less light a man has the less he sees and knows his imperfections. The more light and knowledge a man has the more he sees he is nothing without God.

I am preaching the Gospel in connection with brother James Cummings. What he said is true; and if you observe and practice it, you shall know these things, whether he spoke of himself or whether he spoke of the doctrine of Christ. He talked about famine, and pestilence, and earthquakes, and hurricanes, and mighty winds, in the States. These things are raging in the countries where Joseph dwelt, and those that exulted in the death of Joseph and Hyrum, David and Parley, and hundreds of our fathers and mothers, and our brothers and sisters, will suffer for it. They said to the nation and to the army, Go there and make a desolation of that people, and as God liveth he will make a desolation of them. [The congregation responded, “Amen.“] God has revealed this to me, and I know it will come to pass. You may call this prophecy or anything else you please, it matters not to me. What I know I understand as well as anybody else. Have not they done this? They have practiced it upon us. God will put a hook in their jaws and lead them, and has done from that day to this, and he will continue to do so from this day henceforth and forever. He will lead the whole of the nations of the earth, and they cannot help themselves, and I know it.

The Eastern papers give a full account of the great winds, and the great destruction occasioned by them. Such winds are horrible that will lift off the road ten baggage trains loaded with from five to ten tons weight each, and smash them as a reed, and take off tops of houses, blow down chimneys, tearing them asunder, and burying them in the earth. Whole cities are laid desolate, and not a whole piece of furniture is to be found.

The Lord and his angels are at work to measure to the inhabitants of the earth as they measured to his people. This will be done, and they cannot help it. Jesus says, “With that measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” These words are true, and will never fail; they cannot be avoided, if God is just. He will not reap where he has not sown. If I reap where I have not sown, I reap another man’s crop. Where we sow the word of life, there we shall reap; and if we bring forth the fruits of righteousness, we shall reap to our joy, and shall be satisfied.

To him that hath he will give more, and from him that hath not he will take away that which he seemeth to have, and give it to him that will improve upon his talents. Let us be faithful and keep the commandments of God, and leave the event with him. The majority of this people are trying to do right, and are improving in righteousness to my certain knowledge. On the other hand, it gives me pain when I go into this place and that, and suppose I am talking to Latter-day Saints, and I find I am conversing with thieves and robbers; and here they are right in your midst. “How do you do, brother James, George, or Brigham? How glad I am to see you,” and at the same time they are laying the axe at the root of the kingdom of God to destroy it. They are in our midst. They are to be found in the grog shops and in all public places, watching and hearing what is said, and you and I and all the rest are sitting down to go to sleep.

I want to refer to what brother James has said this morning. He told you the truth. Receive it, practice it, live it, and enjoy it, that the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost may take up their abode with you. Where the Father takes up his abode, there will the Son be; and where the Father and the Son dwell, there will the Holy Ghost dwell also, because they are one. We should be one like unto them. A great many neglect their prayers. Should they do this? No. A great many women that live by themselves neglect their prayers, and God forsakes them, and Satan takes possession, and they have no power over themselves; the light of God leaves them, and they are stupified: when they hear they heed not, and when they see they believe not. Jesus says—“He that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a man that built his house upon a rock; when the winds blew and the floods came, it fell not, because it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, I will liken him unto a foolish man that built his house upon the sand; and when the winds blew and the floods came, it fell, because it was built upon the sand.” They go down to hell—to that which is beneath. That which is from God cometh from heaven.

I will not say much more about grain: you can do as you please. I might just as well say nothing about it, for I know none will listen to it but good Saints, men of God, and men that have an experience, and can see things as they are: they are the men that will save this people. If one to fifty proves a savior in the end, I shall think that things are much better than I expected to find them. And those who have not skill, power, and wisdom, and salvation enough to save themselves and families temporally, what are they going to do with the spirit? The spirit goes into the spirit world, and then has to be taken by some Bishop—some man that has power to feed them, to lead them, and teach them in the ways of salvation. We are not going, then, as some suppose, in a hurry.

God bless the righteous brethren, and your righteous wives and children, and your children’s children, forever. Can I say God bless the thief and the robber, the whore and the whoremonger, and those that love and make lies? No. I will leave them just where they are; for they will meet the demands of justice, and they will welter and wallow in that pit they have dug for themselves; and they cannot avoid it. I feel to bless every man I meet that is a good man; and if I was oil, I would run through him. But when I see a wicked man and woman running after the Gentiles to be contaminated with their cursed lies, I say, You have damnation enough in yourselves. I will not say a word to them. You poor miserable creatures, trying to bring desolation upon the people—upon the Israel of God, you are building a fire big enough to burn you up, and I know there will be an end of you some day. God bless the righteous, and peace be with you! And God bless the righteous throughout the world, and all those who believe in the words of Jesus Christ, and on the servants of the living God! Amen.

Discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, July 1, 1860.

I have been very much interested with the discourse we heard this forenoon. It is what I call practical religion; and you will understand my feelings when I tell you that I consider there is no religion of any kind that is of any use, except that which is practical.

I read in the Book of Mormon, Bible, and in the revelations that are given and written for our instruction and benefit, and for the benefit of the people who lived in past ages, that the Lord says, in speaking of those that have favor with him—the meek, the humble, and those that have a contrite spirit—that manifest their faith by their works and call upon him continually, I will administer to them and impart unto them my will. The Lord our God lives, and it is because he lives that we live; for if the Lord had been dead, we should have been dead. He certainly does exist and dwell in the heavens, and I am aware of it.

During my experience in the Church, I have been placed in many situations, and thousands of items have been presented to my mind that would be of great service to the people. I have called upon the Lord and asked him for a great many things, and he has heard and answered me; and I have endeavored to take a course that would give me favor with him, with his Son, and with the Holy Ghost, that I might have things brought to my remembrance—that I might have a knowledge of things present and things to come.

This is our privilege, brethren, and it is the privilege of all the men that live upon the earth. We are Saints, and we should all live in that manner that would insure us all the blessings that are promised to the faithful Saints. Every man that has received the Priesthood, whether an Apostle, Prophet, High Priest, Elder, Bishop, Priest, or Teacher—all should live as one man—be of one heart and one mind. In regard to those things we have heard with regard to living and practicing our religion, that we may be able to build up Zion and establish the New Jerusalem. Unless we are very diligent, we shall be very far behind the times when the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven, adorned as a bride for her husband. Now, I believe that Enoch went away from here on a piece of earth, but I do not believe that he remained idle all the time: they have been improving and cultivating the earth—they have been multiplying and increasing the inhabitants where they live. So it is with the lost tribes of Israel: they are not asleep. God speaks to them through their Prophets, and they are learning to be obedient and to be subject to the law of God.

It is the privilege of the Elders of Israel to rise by the power of God, by living the religion of Jesus Christ.

Brethren, go to work and adorn the earth, adorn your habitations, and improve in everything that is good, that you may be qualified hereafter to do a good work. I have worked in my day, and learned two mechanical trades—the potter’s and blacksmithing, and worked considerable as a carpenter; but I never saw a blacksmith yet that was perfect, or one that could not improve more and more in making edge tools and other things. In fact, I never saw a mechanic perfect in his business; for there is always an advancement, an improvement in blacksmithing, in machinery, and in every branch of business. I learned the potter’s art, as I have said, and have carried on the business. I always found that I could improve, and I never saw a journeyman but I could learn from. It is so in England and everywhere else. I saw new styles in Staffordshire, England, when I was there. I saw something there that was very beautiful, and superior to anything I had ever seen before. So it is in building, in manufacturing. This, you know, will apply to our sisters as well as to our Elders. In short, we should all try to improve in everything that is good. I never saw a better time than it is today to improve in everything that is good, and then continue the work tomorrow, the next day, and so on.

[Blessed the sacramental cup.]

I wish to talk about things that are present with us, that pertain to us. We are continually talking about being the saviors of men. Now, how is it possible for one of us—I will take myself for an example, and I will repeat—If I do not take a course to preserve myself and my family, my wives and children, to provide for, and feed and clothe a small family, I want to know what I can do for a large one. We have to learn this, and that if we cannot take a course to lay up wheat, corn, meat, and the comforts of life, make cloth for our families, we cannot make cloth nor provide for others. If we do not take a course to provide for those around us, can we provide for our friends? We cannot. Then here is the place for us to begin—right here in the mountains.

We are out of bread: we have none in the Tithing Office only what we have drawn from Iron, San Pete, and Box Elder counties. Are we not in a fine condition? Suppose the Lord should deal with us as he is dealing with the people in California and those in Missouri, what should we do? I saw it in the papers that they have got as beautiful straw as ever grew, but there is not a kernel of wheat in it. If this should be the case with us, or if the Lord should send a hailstorm to destroy our grain, would we not be in a bad situation, as a people?

I can tell you it is time for us to be humble, prayerful, to live our religion—not only those men who hold office—not merely those who are selected to lead prayer circles and to pray according to the holy order, but it is for all; and we should ask our Father to bless these mountains and valleys—to bless our crops, our herds, and flocks; for every soul of you knows that by them our natural lives exist. Then, supposing your wheat is preserved, and mine is cut off, and that there are three-fourths of this people without bread, gentlemen, you have got to divide with us until we are all out. Now don’t you see that it depends upon one man as much as another? Do you think I would like to lock up my drawers and bins, and tie up my sacks? No. And if any of you want to do it, we should not let you: we would talk to our Bishops, and let them open the bins and take out a little, and then pay you for it. We do not want it of you for nothing at such times; we want to pay you the gold and silver for your grain, or whatever we receive from you. Suppose that each of you had your hats full of gold and silver, it would not make bread; and if you put yeast in it, it would not rise.

I have seen the time when my hat full of gold would not buy a barrel of flour, and then again I have seen the time when it could be got for almost nothing. I contend that every man that holds the Priesthood ought to be a savior temporally as well as spiritually, for we are in duty bound to try to save our natural lives. I would not give much for a spirit without a body, because it takes the spirit and body to make the soul of man: the temporal and the spiritual must be united to make the man.

The Lord is beginning to pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon his people, and he is also pouring out his wrath upon the wicked, especially the Missourians and others in the States. Their cattle are dying with disease, their crops are being cut off; and while these things are taking place, you and I ought to be humble and faithful: we ought to be good stewards, and lay up stores for that time which is to come, and thereby prepare for a day of scarcity.

Brethren, do you believe that there will be thousands and hundreds of thousands that will flock to this people for bread, for meat, for clothing, and for the comforts of life? Such will be the case, and I do not know but it will come before we are ready for it. There has never been a greater prospect of grain than there is at the present time; but we cannot tell how it will be next year at this time. There are hundreds of men in this Church that would not have believed that this people would have been brought down to the scarcity of wheat they are now.

Where is the wheat we boasted about having? The army down at Camp Floyd have got three years’ provisions on hand; and in case of famine, they would have to feed us. But don’t you see they have got the power in their own hands? And we have placed that power in their possession. What do we find in the Bible upon this subject? “The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light.” They make preparation for that which is to come, more so than many of this people do.

Now, you know that you have tried to make it appear that brother Brigham has sold his grain to the army: but he says he has not, and I know he has not; neither have I. I have hauled wheat to the camp that the merchants have bought of this people, and I have got my pay for it. When I was on my last trip, it was reported that I was sending my wheat to Fort Hall; but I never sent any there. I do not suppose there is a man here that believes that President Young and myself have sold our wheat and flour, or provisions of any kind: but they seem to have a mind to make a scapegoat of us; but in this they have done wrong. If we had done as many of you have, you would not have had a mouthful; for there are many of you who do not raise any, and who have none but what you get from the Tithing Office and from private individuals. I have talked with brother Brigham, and he says that if this army were to go away, and another come in two years, this people would do just as they have done; but we must stick to them. It makes me feel, and it ought to make you feel. We put our grain into the hands of those men that should execute the law and see that we are protected. But they have come here to take your lives and mine; and if you would destroy all that kind of wickedness that has been introduced, live your religion, ye Elders of Israel, and honor your high callings.

I have done just as I have said: I have let my wheat out to my brethren. I could have had two dollars per bushel, but I would not have taken three dollars; and I still have some wheat in my bin.

I want to see the brethren and sisters engaged in home manufactures. My family are making cloth now, and it would be a good thing if all the people in this Territory would go to making cloth to clothe themselves with. What! says one, make cloth now, when there are plenty of goods? Yes; I am going to make more cloth this year than ever I did before. There are people in this congregation that I could point out who have decided to please themselves about making cloths and everything else; but I can tell you we have to learn to pursue that course that will make us independent. We must learn to keep our grain, take care of our stock, keep what we have got, and get what we can honestly; and we should never slacken in the principles of industry, in mechanism, or in the economy of life. Are you taking that course, brethren? Are you, brother Heber? I am: I can prove it. I never saw a time when it was more needed than it is now, and it will be more needed yet. Some will turn round and say, If you are just, you will teach us what God’s will is pertaining to us. The Lord has said that he will provide for his Saints, and nourish them, and send his angels to protect them. Don’t you see he is a jealous God? He is jealous of the nations of the earth, and he is going to scourge them for their iniquities.

These are my feelings, and these are things that I know, and I speak in soberness, in sincerity, and in truth. Am I going to bow down and let my enemies have power over me? No, sir; no person will prohibit or attempt to prohibit anyone doing right, except those that do not wish to keep the commandments of God—such, for instance, as the thief, the robber, the whore and whoremonger, and those that try to make all the lies they can.

Brethren, let us gird up our loins and be faithful in all things. Will you go naked and hungry? No, not if you will do right: there will be an abundance for all that do right. I have been as poor as the poorest of you. I have been so poor that I have seen many times when I had not a change of shirts. I have also been with brother Brigham when we were both very poor; and when you talk about going through troubles and trials, I think of what I have passed through for the Gospel’s sake, in connection with my brethren; but in the midst of those trials I have always been the happiest. What have we sacrificed? Nothing at all, when we consider that all belongs to our Father. Why do you want to get up in the meetings of the Saints and tell how you have sacrificed? Think of this in the future.

Have we not been among false brethren? Yes, we have suffered from that source. When Joseph had to flee, and there was hardly a person that you could trust, that was a trying time. You have left your homes, you have left nations of tyranny and oppression, and have come to these peaceful valleys, where the devils have been made subject to the Priesthood of the Most High.

So far as I am concerned, I can say that I have sacrificed ignorance to get light—I have sacrificed to overcome the Devil, and I will rise with those that rise and come off victorious. I consider that I have sacrificed nothing for God, but that the sacrifices I have made are for my own individual benefit, and to benefit the Almighty.

This is my testimony, and you know it as well as I do. Then do not talk about these sufferings. Do not go down to the grog shops and get drunk, fall and break your noses, and then tell how much you have suffered for the Gospel’s sake. Do not go without clothes when you might have plenty. Go to work and purchase a ewe sheep, and then you will soon have plenty; yes, you will soon have a large flock. Our chorister had but two sheep four years ago, and now he has a nice little flock, and has sold some; and you can do as well, if you will try—yes, every man and woman. How nice you look watching and taking care of a ewe sheep! Far better than you do with those little bonnets, for they are a cursed disgrace to the Saints; and all good men would say Amen.

Why don’t you raise sheep, and make your own dresses instead of putting on those rotten rags? Brother Brigham, Am I scolding? [President B. Young: “I don’t know.“] He says he don’t know; and if he don’t, how is it likely that you should?

O my Father and God, where is the honest man? I have lost confidence in the world, and in those that lay schemes of iniquity.

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, June 24, 1860.

I have no desire to detain you here and weary you, for there has been more said now than you can retain in your minds. All the items that have been advanced by brother Young are very good. When you reflect and take into consideration the religion of Jesus Christ, viewing it from the beginning to the present time, you can easily see that it is for you and I and every man upon the face of the earth to be wide awake to our duties, to be Saints, to be righteous, virtuous, pure, and holy men and women. It is all to be comprehended in the words of James the Apostle. He says, “Faith without works is dead, being alone.”

Now, our position is such that we are required to manifest that which is in us by our works. The following reasoning by the Apostle James is excellent upon this subject—“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James, chap. 2, verses 14-26.)

Can you tell me about anything that has been accomplished without works? It matters not how much faith you have got, except you have works with it. We read in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants that men can accomplish much by faith; but of course that faith must be accompanied by works. Whenever a man of God undertakes to do anything, he does it by the power of faith and works. Upon this principle the Lord brings about his purposes, and there never was anything of any moment accomplished upon any other principle. The Almighty has said that in the latter days he will send forth his angels to inflict punishment upon the wicked, and that a certain angel shall blow his trumpet, proclaiming that time shall be no more. An angel will also be sent forth to destroy the wicked, or, as the Scriptures say, “to reap down the earth.”

There is virtue in the words of a man of God; and when he rises to address the people, he tells them his message plainly, commands them to repent of their sins and to be baptized for the remission of them; after which he promises them the gift of the Holy Ghost. Then, when persons are received into the Church, they begin their lives anew, as though they had never sinned, and thus go on unto perfection.

We are told to work out our salvation by our faith, and with fear and trembling. And cannot you readily see that works are required at the beginning of our career, and from that time to the end of our lives? Where is there a man in the world that ever raised a crop of grain without works? If a man wishes to raise a crop of wheat, he first ploughs the ground, then he drags it; he next sows the wheat; and when the dry season comes on in this country, he irrigates it; when it is ripe he reaps it, hauls it home, stacks it; and when he gets ready, thrashes it, takes it to the fanning mill, from there to the grist mill, where it passes through the smutter; it is then ground, bolted, and taken home ready for use. And every process that the wheat passes through is controlled by works. And it is so with us: we are required to perform works of righteousness all the day long.

Brethren, you are required to be very diligent and cautious; and, as brother Joseph said, Be careful not to put in anything that will sour and destroy the good that you do. Take good care of all the good you get; increase in faith and in good works; for, as James says, “Faith without works is dead, being alone.”

Then go on with your works of righteousness; be diligent and faith– ful in all things committed to your charge. Let the Elders be at their posts, and be ready to administer in the ordinances of the house of God whenever duty requires it of them. If the Elders will be faithful, the power of God will attend them in their administrations; but if the people to whom they administer have not repented, they will not receive the remission of their sins, nor the gift of the Holy Ghost; for that Spirit will not dwell with that person who does not honor his calling, and who is not sincere and truly penitent before the Almighty. You may go to meeting and sit from one day’s end to another, and it will not profit you anything, if you do not perform the works of righteousness required by the law of heaven.

I can live my religion, whether at home or abroad, whether I sit here, preach to the people, or do anything else that pertains to my calling and position. If it is necessary for me to preach, I rejoice in doing it, or in the performance of any other duty. If I do not confess, I shall be condemned.

I have noticed that there are not many of those “counter-jumpers” come to meeting: the saloon keepers are not much better. It is hard times with them; there is not much money stirring now; the business is almost done on credit nowadays. What do you think I think of old greyheaded men who sell whiskey all the week, and then come to meeting on Sunday? I do not fellowship such men, be they young or old; I disfellowship them all. I cannot fellowship the old men who have loved it from their youth, and then go and give it to young men, and lead them to destroy their bodies and defile the earth. It is drunkenness that leads to whoredom and abominations of every kind, and brother John Alger, senior, who sits before me, knows it as well as I do. He knew me when I was a mere boy, and there was not a drunkard in all that district of country; but now they are nearly all drunkards in that part of the State; yes, men and women are leading each other to destruction. Then who can have any feelings against me for talking against these things?

I wish now to speak of works. Let us consider those principles and ordinances that lead to life. The doctrines we teach are good and wholesome, and every man and woman that will observe them will be saved; they will be at peace at home and abroad. Do you think it will inspire a man who is already honest to become a Latter-day Saint? No; I am just the same in that respect now as I was before I embraced the Gospel. I was honest then, and I am honest now, and brother Alger knows it. The man that will be dishonest with what we call Gentiles will rob me, if I give him an opportunity. You should be as honest with those comers and goers as you are with me. God has never given you the right to be dishonest. There are too many such characters in our midst. Sometimes I am sorry, sometimes I am glad, and sometimes I am ashamed of what I see and hear. How long will such things continue? Not many years, I can tell you. Our Father will sweep them from the land, and that man who is honest, although he does not profess religion at all, will be saved; but those who profess and do not possess the spirit of their profession, and who do not live up to their privileges, will be cast out. None can stand or endure the trying day, except those who are active and diligent in the discharge of their duties.

There are some people who think I am very hard, and occasionally pretty rough in my sayings; but I can tell you that I am not as severe as I ought to be, considering the persons and cases I have got to deal with. When I see people taking a course to lead them to destruction, I feel anxious to save them from falling. I know that I am a poor frail mortal, liable to err; but I know better than to cheat or rob a neighbor, and so does every man that has been baptized into this Church; but men give way to temptation. If men steal, they know they are doing wrong and sinning against God.

In regard to trials that brother Joseph was speaking of, I consider that I never had any that affected me; and if anybody ever rejoiced in tribulation, I did when I had to break up and go and make a new home. When the proper time comes, we shall all have the privilege of attending to the ordinance necessary for the salvation of our dead. My brothers and sisters and all my relatives almost died before the Gospel was revealed; and when we get a Temple built, I will go forth and be baptized for them, and bring them to enjoy that which is their right. At present I have to say to you, brethren and sisters, Live the life of the righteous, do that which is required for the benefit of the living, and the day will come when you can go through the ordinances of the house of God for the dead.

I am free to acknowledge that a great majority of this people are improving, and I am sorry to say that a few of them are retrograding. Some have become contaminated by associating with this army. They are responsible for this themselves, for God never suffered an army to come here to corrupt the people, but to try them—to prove them in this as well as in other things. It is true the army has been a curse to many, more so than any previous influence with which they have come in contact. We have to be tried, and this has been suffered, to see what we would do. Many who have come here would, if they had an opportunity, debauch our families—seduce our wives and daughters. There are some honorable exceptions to this, and those who would not do it here would not do it at home.

There are many enemies of ours that look upon us as the outcasts of all creation, because of our religion. I expect to see the day when they will have to come and be our servants, and they cannot avoid this.

This is the Church and kingdom of God, and the religion we have embraced is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it will ere long prevail over the whole world, and the wicked cannot prevent it. Do you think they believe it? Yes, the Congress of the United States have more trouble about us than they have about the whole world besides.

This is a day of judgment; hurricanes are passing over the land and terrifying the inhabitants of the earth; and this is not the end. Many persons who profess to know have been predicting that in the year 1861 more events of a marvelous character would take place than in any previous year; but whether this is the case or not, I know that the judgments of God will pass over the earth.

In conclusion, I feel to bless this land, these valleys, mountains, waters, also our herds and flocks; I feel to bless all the righteous, and predict judgments upon the wicked. Let the Elders who meet to pray after the holy order of the Priesthood ask the Father to hasten the consummation of his work, that the Saints may inherit the earth.

God bless you all forever! Amen.

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made in Kay’s Ward, June 13, 1860.

I have not much to say; but I feel as though I had a right in my calling, and by virtue of the holy Priesthood upon me, to bless you, and to pray the blessing of our Father and God to be with you, in connection with the blessing you have received from President Young. I feel to bless the earth, and to bless the seed you may place on the earth—you and your wives and your children, and your children’s children. I am aware that you are not fully aware of the great work that will yet spring from this people, and the great work of our Father that has to be accomplished in the latter day.

Brethren and sisters, let us go to work now and cultivate the earth. I see a great deal of land here that is vacated. I am glad of it, for some have tried to farm more than they could attend to well, and have made nothing. Let us cultivate well what we do cultivate—make gardens and adorn them, and build good houses and adorn them. What a blessing it is for this people to have the privilege of beautifying the earth and making it like it was in the beginning in the garden of Eden! It is not necessary to build such tremendous great houses, but houses that we can complete and plaster over head, and on the sides and all over, and make them beautiful.

We shall be blessed and stay in these mountains. You need not be disheartened, for we shall stay here, and all hell cannot help it. We have done as they told us, until we got into the mountains, and here we will do the will of our Father in heaven, he helping us. Let us prepare ourselves, that, when we go to Jackson County, we shall know how to do right, and make beautiful gardens, &c.

May God bless you! Amen.

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made at Willow Creek, June 12, 1860.

In all the days of my life, I never heard more plain preaching than I have heard today, taking it altogether. It is not such preaching as you hear all the time. A great many of you probably were professing Christians before you became “Mormons” and you have been used to what we call spiritual food. Good heavens, whoever partook of spiritual food in the flesh, except he first partook of natural food? The spirit is in the natural food, and no man receives it except he takes the natural food. It is the religion of Jesus Christ—it is the religion of the kingdom of God; and as far as I am concerned, I do not know anything about any religion that does not consist in faith and works. Faith without works is dead, being alone; so is the body dead without the spirit. The spirit and body are the soul of man. It is the spirit of man that prompts to improvement—to putting up good houses and good barns, planting fine orchards, and improving the country generally.

It appears that it would be impossible for me to live unless I gratified the feeling of improvement that is within me. When I first got married, I worked at the potter’s business, and not being fully employed, I would go and look at my hogpen, to see if I could make an improvement on it. I would tear it down and build it over again upon an improved principle. I dare venture to say that if you move some of your houses here, you will have an excellent rich garden spot. Improvement is the result of labor. Do you suppose this earth was organized and created without labor? No, no more than a piece of crockery ware is made without hands. We know that that pitcher was made by some being like unto us, and so it was with this earth.

After the earth was made, then there was a garden spot selected, and the Lord commanded some of his associates to go and plant it, and to cause all kinds of vegetation to grow, and fruits of every description. Some suppose the Lord commanded all these things to come out of the earth. Yes, he did, after the seeds were put in the earth; and he blessed the earth, and the vegetation that was in the earth. When all these things were done, the garden was beautified, and made pure, and clean and holy and sanctified; and then the next thing was to bring forth the animal creation; but the animals were not brought there until the vegetation was planted and grown. We often sing, “This earth was once a garden place,” where God our Father dwelt, and took possession and a stand that mankind will take who attain to that honor.

It is our duty to take the counsel that has been given us today by brother Brigham. It is as good doctrine as I ever heard in my life. It is choice—yea, more choice to us than all the jewels and gold and silver that you ever saw. This is a pretty place naturally; but now your roads and streets are occupied with your firewood, wagons, ploughs, harrows, stables, dunghills, and outhouses, and, in fact, everything else that ought not to be there. The religion of Jesus Christ, of angels, of Brigham, and of all good men is to take a care of and improve and adorn the earth as Adam did. When he planted the garden, he planted it with seeds he brought with him; and he also brought the animals from the earth he lived upon, where his Father dwelt.

We are not living our religion, and angels will not dwell with us until we take a different course. These mountains and valleys are the places for us, and all hell cannot get us out of them: if we do right, we shall not leave them until the Lord says, Go. It is the place for us to improve, and make mills, and beautify cities and gardens. How would you like it today, if you had a few pails of fine large strawberries to treat us with? I had strawberries to eat before I left home out of my own garden.

May God bless you in all your endeavors to beautify your city, in fertilizing your farms and gardens, and in adorning your lives with righteousness. Amen.

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made at Ogden City, June 12, 1860.

I can say, as President Young has said, God bless you, and peace from God our Father be with you always; and may peace be multiplied unto you, and to the whole house of Israel, and to the elect in all the world. I am not disposed to say much; I am not very well in health.

We have had a very pleasant journey. I think I can say with safety it has been one of the most pleasant journeys that I have ever taken. On all other journeys that I have ever traveled with the Saints, the companies have been strictly organized; but on this journey we have not been organized at all, and every man has been orderly in every respect. We have been into one of the most beautiful valleys in these mountains. Last Sabbath, at Logan, we met with, I suppose, about half as many people as there are here today—just as good a set of people as I ever beheld. A great many started to go there that were disaffected—those that were inclined to turn away from Mormonism. I supposed they were in Cache Valley; but they are not there: they went somewhere else. We do not know of any there but good people. And it is a good land: the people, and the mountains, and the valleys, and fountains of water are all good.

We still feel to bless Ogden City and the regions round about, and this people are going to be blessed mightily—I mean all the righteous—although there are a great many, perhaps, who are wicked—who are inclined to steal—to be dishonest. But the Lord God will bless the righteous all the time, and he will not forsake us; and the wicked will come to an end. This world will roll on, and the kingdom is established here in the tops of the mountains; and it never will be removed—no, not one hair’s breadth. We never shall go from these mountains until the Lord God calls us to go, or when we go back to the central place, in Jackson County, where the Lord God our Father planted his garden and commenced his work; and there he will finish it, and that day is near at hand. Therefore let your hearts be of good cheer, and let your souls rejoice, and cultivate the earth in hope, and enrich it, and make the earth like a garden, as our Father did; for when he comes, he will not make the garden for us, but he will cause his sons and daughters to do it—that is, those that are qualified for it; and those that are not qualified, of course, will be taken by them as apprentices to learn. “Mormonism” is true, and all persons that raise their hands against it will perish; and this is their end—they will go down to hell.

God bless you, brethren! Peace be with you, and peace be multiplied upon this people forever, and upon their children after them forever. Amen.

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made at Logan, Cache County, June 10, 1860.

I cordially agree with what has been said by President Young, and I know that every reasonable man does. The religion we believe in consists of faith and works. I would not give a dime for all the faith there is in this world without works. We believe or disbelieve what we hear. After we believed the testimony of the Elders who brought the intelligence that God had sent an holy angel, raised up a Prophet, &c., then we were required to repent. After we had repented, we went forth and were baptized in water for the remission of sins. Then we received the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, whose office it is to show us things to come and bring things to our remembrance. Then we received the holy Priesthood, shouldered our knapsacks, and started out to preach without purse or scrip. As soon as we believed, we began to work, and we have kept working all the time until now. By working, we receive the fruits of our labor.

Wheat cannot be produced unless the ground is prepared and the seed sown upon it. When it has attained to ripeness, it must then be reaped, thrashed, and taken to the mill to be ground; then it must be fermented, kneaded into dough, and baked into bread, before we can eat it. This is a good comparison. The religion of Christ cannot exist without works. “Faith without works is dead, being alone”—as much so as the body is dead without the spirit. Go and do what you have been told to do today. Our religion is a daily work; it is our duty to work continually.

I have traveled through many portions of the United States; I have lived in the best country there is in the United States; I have been to Europe; but I have never seen such a scenery in my life as I have seen in this valley. It is the best valley there is in the mountains, that we have seen; still I expect there are better valleys than this. I do not know but Sanpete is the next.

I never have had better feelings in seeing any country, and to see the people in it who have commenced to improve it. We are pretty well satisfied that they are Saints that live here. A great many people, when starting, said they were going to Cache Valley; but we do not find them here: they have gone to Carson Valley, or to some other place. I can say, Peace be to this valley; and peace be to the righteous; and sorrow and tribulation, weakness, and utter destruction from the angel of God waste away the wicked that will not repent. I pray that an Uncle Sam’s army may never come into this valley; and if they do not come near you, this valley will be one of the greatest granaries that ever was in the house of Israel.

I am calculating, if it continues to rain as it does today—that is, when it is wanted, that the Lord will receive some ten to twelve thousand bushels of grain here in his granary. If the people here will take the course to do as they have been told, listening to those men who have been appointed to preside over them, they will have one of the richest valleys in the world; and the Lord will temper it: he will temper your winters and your summers, and he will temper the people—help them to control their tempers, and the peace and blessing of the Lord will dwell here. I feel to pray all the time—“O Father, bless this people, bless this valley, bless these mountains, the fountains of water, and bless everything that pertains to this people,” that this place may be a place when Salt Lake fails of having wheat, that we may come here and get a little. I feel to bless Sanpete, that it may still continue to be a granary. It is, so far; and I feel as though this would be, and I am satisfied it will be, if you live right.

Brother Rix undertook to build a saw mill. He has the irons, and here are the timbers; you are sitting upon them. He would have had hundreds of bushels of wheat more, had he gone on and built that mill. You all want lumber; and I would now, if I were in his place, put up that mill.

Take upon you the yoke of Christ, and wear it, for it is easy, and the path of the righteous is plain. But when a man is wrong and neglects his duty, he is full of sorrow, he is uneasy, and unhappy all the day long. You know this. Peace be with you! And may God help you to do right, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made in Box Elder, June 7, 1860.

All that has been said by President Brigham Young is very precious to me. The righteous will root out wickedness, and I want to live to see it, for that time will give great consolation to the righteous. I wish to speak relative to a temporal salvation. If we do not have wisdom to take care of and save our own lives, it appears to me that it will be more difficult for us to attain to that principle necessary to save the spiritual life. As Elders of Israel, we must take a more judicious course, as relates to a family capacity and a Church compact, than we have yet taken. If we do not, I fear exceedingly for the result. Yet God is much more merciful than we are. He is determined to save those who will take a course to secure their election and heirship to eternal life. All such people will prevail. If they fail in their integrity and firmness to the cause of righteousness, and repent not, they will lose all they have already gained, all they have expected, and all that has ever been promised to them that overcome.

Let it not be said that any portion of the people of this Territory have not wheat enough to last them until harvest. Let them be sure to do one thing, if God permit it—secure well the coming harvest, and be sure to lay up enough to last one, two, or three years. When we have done this, we have time then to beautify our gardens, cities, palaces, and playgrounds, and more thoroughly school our children. It is hard to improve when there is no bread. When a man has no bread, and his neighbors have none, he must have horrible feelings. The day will come when millions of people will flock to us for bread, and thousands of them will be honest; they will be the elect of God: they will come to us for salvation, either to this place or to Jackson County.

Let us seek diligently to save ourselves, and also to save the whole house of Israel, and the house of Esau—that part of them that will repent, and they will repent only when they are obliged to—a great portion of them. A portion of this people have been rooted up six times, and as often left our possessions, because we were obliged to. It will be something like that in the saving of the house of Esau. But we shall not move from these mountains until the Lord tells us to, though Uncle Sam may request it as much as he has a mind to. We shall go when our Father and God tells us to, and stop where he tells us to stop.

Let us rise up in the strength and power of righteousness, and God will bless us as no people were ever blessed. Let us provide for our own wants as a people, and raise flax and wool, and every other thing that is requisite for temporal salvation and the preservation of the natural body, and this will aid us much in our endeavor to attain eternal salvation.

In connection with brother Brigham, I say, Peace be upon you all! Amen.

Remarks by Heber C. Kimball, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, June 3, 1860.

Brethren and sisters, I will try to speak a few words to you. I have spent the last three or four months in my room sick, and I will assure you that I feel grateful for this opportunity of addressing you. I have desired thousands of times that I might have the privilege of again meeting here with you to express my feelings and tell of my reflections. Brother George Halliday has been preaching to you this morning and expressing his feelings: it is all good. Although I have been sick and prostrate, more so than I ever was in my life, which originated with a hurt that I received in my side about a year ago, still I have been happy.

I have been very sick indeed, but I have never had the first feeling, from the day I was taken sick till now, that I should die. I never thought of such a thing; but I have been thinking of living, and as brother George has said, of living to God, of living the religion of Jesus Christ—the religion that you and I believe in, and which I have believed and verily known to be true for twenty-eight years—almost half of my life—that is half of the days that I have lived here in the flesh. I knew it then, for it was revealed to me from heaven by the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. By revelation it was made known to me that God had set up his kingdom in these last days, according to his word, and in fulfillment of his promises, even that kingdom which is to stand forever; and I also know that all people who dwell upon this earth will have to bow to it—yes, both the living and the dead. God has set to his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which are of the house of Israel, and to gather his elect from the four quarters of the earth. That kingdom is established with its authorities and powers agreeably to the will of God, and they are in the mountains, and all the combined powers of earth and hell can never get them out. They will never leave this land until the Lord God Almighty commands them to go, and then they will go where He directs them. You may set your hearts at rest upon this subject, for I have told you the truth about it, brethren and sisters; and you need not falter by the way, nor find fault about anything that transpires; for this kingdom will stand, whether you do or not. I want you to understand that this is my testimony: it is what I know. I am not telling what I believe, but I am telling you what I know.

I wish you to understand also that the United States will not overcome this kingdom, neither will Great Britain, nor all the powers of Europe combined, for it is that kingdom which is to stand forever. The seed has taken root, and all the powers of the earth cannot root it out. It is not merely established in America, but it has a place in Europe, and its principles will be sent to every kindred, tongue, and people, and to every island of the sea, and there are many thousands of them; and this Gospel will penetrate those islands.

Joseph Smith was a Prophet of the living God, for the Lord Almighty revealed it to me more than twenty-eight years ago; and I have never had a doubt upon my mind of the truth of my religion from that day to this. That man was sent to set up this kingdom, to organize it, and to give you a law, not for his benefit only, but for yours; and God spake through him. He has been killed, it is true—I mean his natural tabernacle: his house has been destroyed, but he liveth in the heavens. He dictates this Church and kingdom, and will continue to do so forever. Brigham Young is his legal administrator and successor, and Joseph speaks through him, and the angels that dwell in the heavens are assisting him; and I will say that if there are any of our enemies here, they need not try to overcome this work, for they cannot do it: they might as well try to overthrow the heavens or the throne of God—things which you know they could never accomplish. And I want to say that if there are any here who have come for this purpose, they had better go home again, and the quicker the better. If you do not do this, but continue to pursue an opposite course, the worse it will be for you, and the better for us.

Now, mark it, gentlemen, I am not dead yet; I live, and shall live to see our enemies, God’s enemies, and the enemies of Joseph, Brigham, and Heber overthrown by the power of God. Supposing I do not continue to live in this house, why I will get into another, and I will have a sharper sickle than I have now.

Brethren, this is the work of the Almighty God. Do the world believe it? No. Well, it is true, gentlemen; and the truth will prevail. I am bearing my testimony this morning, and it is for you to do the same thing when you have the opportunity. Those who have not laid a foundation for repentance had better not begin from dead works, but begin again, renew your repentance, and be baptized in water for the remission of sins, and do not forget to forsake them. Then you must receive the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost; and these ordinances must be administered by a man having authority. This is what all have to do, whether they be in America, Europe, Africa, or Asia, inasmuch as they love the truth and desire salvation in the celestial kingdom of our God, and all nations must bow to the scepter of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Brethren, do you suppose that a little sickness is going to affect my spirit? No, not, at all. I have never seen the day but my spirit has been as bright and as full of light as the sun in his meridian splendor; still, if it had been better for my spirit to have leaped out of my body and gone into another state of existence, I could have done it. You have prayed for me and interceded with the Father for me, and I thank you for it—for your mediation and intercession that I might live and continue with you and with President Brigham Young, and be a coworker with him in the cause of human redemption.

This work is true, and brother Brigham is our President—the legal successor of Joseph Smith, and God speaks through him as he spoke through brother Joseph. The world may wiggle and twist as much as they please. Suppose they should prevail as they did with Joseph Smith, would this work stop? No: if they were to kill a man every day, it would not affect it a particle. There will always be a head, and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the kingdom of God. The organization and authorities are complete, and the work will roll forth, and the more the world oppose it the more brilliant it will grow; and it will purge out those that have an apostate spirit, and those who remain will rejoice. A few of our people have gone to Carson Valley, but it will hurt them more than anyone else. It will weaken them in a similar manner to what I was weakened by my late sickness; and the more disease and death there is purged from the body of Christ, so much more brilliant and powerful it will become.

We are all in the hands of God, and he will lead us by his Spirit in the way of life, and he will lead our enemies in that way that will subserve the interests of the kingdom of God; and all those who have had their minds open for the last two years can see that the Almighty has done this. A little while ago we picked up our goods and moved away, and what did we do it for? We moved away to stay, and you know a man must be willing to die in order to live. Now, my sickness has been unto life, and I shall feel better when I get my strength than I have done for twenty years. Some of the brethren and sisters came in occasionally to see me, and nearly all of them said they were very sorry to find me so sick. I think brother Taylor said so. I replied that I was not, for I considered it was only resting my body, and it is about the first rest I have had for years.

Now, brethren, do not be alarmed, but let everything pass away that is corrupt: for the Almighty says that everything that can be shaken will be, and that which cannot be shaken will remain. The work of our God will move on, let the world do as they please, and they won’t be able to riddle out anything except that which ought to be riddled out. “Well, but,” says one, “Joseph’s successor has arisen.” I would not care if all the heirs to the Priesthood that are in the world were to arise, I know that President Brigham Young will lead this people till the time comes for a change. If the Lord wants another man to take the oversight of this people, he will know it, and in due time make it manifest. But is the Lord going to move upon a man to go and establish his kingdom among apostates? Why a man must be a fool to believe it. President Brigham Young is the man to lead this people, ladies and gentlemen; and he will lead them aright, and God will speak through him, and it will be like the trump of Jehovah. God will lead him, and it is for us to follow him and live our religion—to be one with him, as the members of a man’s body are one. If you live your religion, there are no dishonorable members in that body, for God says through Paul—“And those members of the body, which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.” God will turn all things to the glory of his people and for the good of them that do right.

I traveled and associated with Joseph Smith, the Prophet, almost from the beginning. This work first began in the State of New York, and shortly afterwards the few Saints who had received the Gospel moved to Kirtland, Ohio, at which place I first visited the Prophet Joseph. I went with the first mission to England, and when I returned and settled with the Saints in Missouri, I had not much rest, for I had not been there long before our enemies requested us to leave. I went there as a gentleman, and I came away as one, and I have so remained. I went with the Saints to Nauvoo, and from thence I went to England again, and from England back to Nauvoo. Then I had not been there long before they requested us to leave the State of Illinois. Well, we came along to Winter Quarters; and we found very good quarters: and from there we came to this Territory, and his Satanic Majesty has requested us to leave here: but we shan’t do it, and you may tell the whole world so, if you please, gentlemen. The old gentleman has requested us too many times to leave our homes. Heretofore we obeyed, because we were obliged to; but that day has gone by.

There was an army sent here, also certain gentlemen as judges and other civil officers, and many of them really thought that they were going to kill us all off, and they were very hot and rabid about it. But the Lord said, through his servant, “Keep them out in the snow, and they will cool off;” and they remained there until we said they might come in. They went to Cedar Valley and remained there, and they have been very civil. I never saw an army more civil than they have been, with the exception of a few of their officers. The civil officers were sent here to be our servants; but did they serve us? Yes, some of them served us like the Devil would. Excuse me for the expression.

I will now say that all those that rejoiced in the death of Joseph and Hyrum Smith partook of the spirit of their murderers. And further, the people between here and Nauvoo, who have mocked at us, will be brought into subjection, and be made to bow the knee to God and to this kingdom, and repent of their sins in the flesh, or they will meet them in another place. When I lay down this body I shall take a new one, and I shall be where they won’t like to see me. You need not try to step in between me and my President, for you cannot do it without hurting yourselves. My name is Faithful! My name is Integrity! And that too in my God and in his work; and I know that his work will roll on until his will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

May God bless you! Amen.

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, June 3, 1860.

Brethren, I am obliged to keep my head covered, for I am fearful of taking cold. I expect I am beginning to look strong again, but I am very weak. You may be assured that I am grateful, and rejoice that I live in this day. I am thankful that I live in this generation, and especially that I dwell in these mountains with you; for it is one of the happiest places that I ever saw, right here upon the tops of these mountains, and particularly if you can have the right kind of microscope—such a one as the Lord will give you.

I presume that you can all see what the world are at down yonder: they are beginning to have times as well as we, and they may well expect to have difficulties. I do not call those drivings, and what we used to call persecutions, difficulties. I never was more happy in my life than I was in Missouri and Illinois, when we were passing through those trying scenes; and I can say that I never felt better than I have for the last two or three years, although it has been very trying to some. Some of our friends think we are cowards; but we only act so when it is necessary; and then when it is not necessary to be such, we stand forth in our proper light; and it is always necessary for us to be men of God, holding the Priesthood in righteousness, doing right and always being ready to do good, and assist in rolling forward the great work. The Lord will help us, if we are willing to be guided by his Holy Spirit.

President Young was speaking to the Elders about coming into this stand to speak, preaching in the Wards, and telling the people honestly what is required of them. I can tell them the plain, simple principles of the Gospel—advise them to lay up their grain, and do all the good they can.

It has troubled and worried me more, perhaps, than anything that has transpired in these mountains, when I have considered how we were situated for grain. We are almost destitute, and our friends have got plenty; and they are capable of selling to us, and then they will have enough for themselves; for, as I told you this morning, they have got at least three years’ provisions on hand at Camp Floyd. It is true that it does not take very much grain to sustain a man and his wife and a few children, if he is prudent with it; but then it requires a certain quantity for every family, and when added together, we need a great deal of wheat and corn to sustain us here in these mountains.

I would rather see my family go very poorly clad than to see them without bread and meat; for there is nothing in the world that will make a woman so cross as to go hungry, and the men are much worse. I have not tried this much; but I have a few times sat down and eaten up all the food I had. I was not cross at that time, but I called upon my Heavenly Father to open the way whereby I might be fed and be nourished and cherished. I know that God is merciful and benevolent to his creatures; I know that the earth belongs to him, and that all power is his, both in heaven and upon the earth, and all the children of men are in his hands. We are all his children, every soul of us, not only the righteous but the wicked; and they all have their agency and the right to do as they please, but they are responsible for all their acts.

As we measure to others, so it will be measured to us again; and as we make up our beds, so we shall sleep, and we shall have to give an account to God for all the acts done in the body. When, for instance, you sin against President Young, you have got to make that right with him: I have no power to remit that sin. And when you sin against Jesus Christ, you have got to make that restitution to him which is necessary to gain forgiveness. When you sin against the Holy Ghost, you have got to make the atonement to him. And as we do to others, so it will be done to us, and the nation and the government that we look to for our rights.

We are born of the fathers who won our liberties. We are the children of that God who spake to our fathers, and gave them the law, and inspired them to write the Constitution of our country. And those who now sit in the judgment seat should remember that as they measure to us it will be measured to them again, and they cannot avoid it; and we may with safety apply the same to ourselves, for as we measure to each other, so will it be measured back to us. If we transgress a law, we must pay the penalty, for the Almighty requires this of every one of us. He will not force any man to keep his law; but all will find, when they wish to enter into the kingdom, that there is Mercy on one side of the door, and Justice on the other; and what Justice cannot claim, Mercy will.

With these views of the subject let us learn to take a course to do unto others as we would wish them to do unto us in like circumstances. Be honest and upright in all things; abstain from all lying and hypocrisy, root it out of your hearts, and work righteousness continually.

This is the religion of Jesus Christ as taught in these books—the Bible and the Book of Mormon, and it is in accordance with that which is in my breast and which is a better book, for it is life in Christ; and that living being that receives light and intelligence from the heavens through the revelations of the Holy Ghost is a living oracle. It is the living Oracle that is within us that will guide us in the way of life.

Now, you require brother Brigham to live in that manner that he can hold the oracles of God and be to you a living oracle—the mouthpiece of the Almighty, to communicate line upon line, and precept upon precept, and have the word of truth constantly on hand. Now, why should you require more of the head than of the other members? The Lord has said that upon those members that you consider the least honorable he has conferred the most honor; and he will confer upon every man and woman that honors the Priesthood, the Presidency, the Bishops, and all the members of the body. We cannot honor God except we honor his authority: there is no possible way of honoring the kingdom of God only by honoring its authorities.

If we take this course, we shall do well and be prospered in all things. I am satisfied that the majority of this people are improving, and it is for their sake that we are sustained. God takes hold of our enemies and controls them, and he has kept them at a distance and led them by his power, as a groom leads a horse by the bit. We have been praying and beseeching the Lord by night and by day to hold them, and he has done it. This is the way it is done, and this is the reason that we can go to work unmolested, and build up the kingdom of heaven, and do all that is required of us. Let us do that which is right. Act towards this Church in every respect just as you would like others to do by you.

Brethren, you need not be troubled in your minds, but be of good cheer and rejoice evermore. Bow down at night, plead with your Heavenly Father, ask him to bless this people—to bless the earth, the mountains, the waters—to bless your wives and children: ask him to bless the seed you put in the earth, and to turn away the storms, that we may have good crops. These things are required of you. You are commanded in this book (Doc. and Cov.) to do these things. There is not a day passes over my head but I bow before my Heavenly Father in secret and plead with him to bless you, to bless the Saints and the Elders abroad among the nations, to give his angels charge concerning them, that they may have power over every evil and over all the enemies of Christ. This is my prayer. I am pleading continually for the work of our Father to be carried on, and for his will to be done upon the earth as it is done in heaven.

Do you think that a Saint will steal poles, or go to a man’s wood pile and steal his firewood? Or do you believe that a Saint will lie and do that which will prejudice a man against his friends? This is the way Lucifer acts; and probably the last thing he did before he left heaven was to take the census; and we calculate that he will leave here soon, seeing that he has commenced to take the census.

Now, brethren, let us remember to pray—“Our Father, who art in heaven, thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Just think how they are in heaven, and then you can form an opinion of what we ought to be. Lucifer is not there now, for the Bible tells us that he was cast out and then things were set in order. Do you suppose they allow lying and stealing there? Do you suppose there are any hypocrites there? I want you to think of these things; for you will find, when you get into heaven, that all kinds of deceitfulness and every abomination will be done away; for they are honest there, and they watch over us: they are interested in our welfare, and they desire us to do good. They have just as strong a desire for our welfare as I have to see my sons do right.

There is nothing in this world that makes me feel worse or more sorrowful than to see my children taking an unwise course. I feel these things very sensitively, and I shall continue to feel so; for my soul and body and all that I possess delight in God and in his work, and to see you doing right. It is all the pride I have when I can see the Latter-day Saints doing their duty. I have no pride in clothing, in dress, or in any man, except he does the will of God; but I delight in walking humbly and faithfully before God, and setting a good example. When my wife pursues this course, I have pride in her—I adore her, as I would you, if you were all to do right, gentlemen, and no more. Why should I love a woman more than a man? They are no more to me than good men.

I am aware that this world is filled with hypocrisy, and I expect it will continue so until the end; but I shall soon leave this tenement and go into a better place. I do not know how long it will be, neither do I care: it does not trouble me one particle.

About two weeks previous to the death of brother Jedediah M. Grant, I dreamed that we were traveling, and we came to a beautiful stream of water. I thought I was going to cross it with him, and with the expectation and understanding that he would guard me across. He crossed the stream unobserved by me, and then I saw him running up the hill as fast as he could, and he got away from me and passed out of my sight. The stream kept rising and becoming more boisterous and apparently more dangerous; and so it continued till I awoke.

As for you Saints looking to the Government of the United States for quarters, I can tell you that you never will get any. Satan never will allow you any quarters, except he does it for the purpose of leading you into a worse snare; and therefore you need not look for anything of the kind. What! The Devil give the Saints any quarters? No, never: but if he has got the back pull upon us, he will hold us. We may whip and flog all we choose—if he has got a claim upon us, he won’t give us any quarters. Would you, if you got the advantage? You all say no. Well, then, if you have got the advantage, keep it. And if you will let the Devil alone, he cannot do much. But I can tell you that you need not look for much from this generation. They may yield to get a better hold of us, but I don’t ask any odds of them; and I pray to my Father and God, saying, “O Lord, preserve thy servant; preserve me in thy truth, that I may never sin against thee, nor against thy faithful servants, nor against angels, that I may be a coworker and be subject to them and to the power of God.”

I never saw the time that I was afraid of sickness, pain, or anguish. Still we are all liable to these things. I do not feel to boast. If I do, it is through mistake and a slip of the tongue. But I feel to bless the Presidency of this Church and the Priesthood generally, and all that believe on their words throughout the world. This work will roll on in spite of all opposition.

Go to work and take care of your grain; store up your wheat, so that the worms cannot get it. I have kept some wheat five years, and it is still good. Let us all take a course to preserve ourselves temporally and spiritually, and listen to what is said by the Priesthood.

I have heard that some of the brethren have found a great deal of fault with me for talking so much about wheat; but I can tell them that this won’t put wheat in their bins, nor flour in their sacks.

God bless us all—root out the wicked from among us, that we may be one. Amen.