Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, January 1, 1860.

Excuse me, brethren and sisters, if I appear before you with my head covered, as the day is cold and uncomfortable. I deem it necessary to adopt every means in my power to ward off death, and remain as long as possible in this state of existence. We cannot live too long, if we live our religion, worship the Lord our God in the way that pleases him, and continue to be his friends.

How can we be the friends of God? We are acquainted with but one way. We cannot approach his presence so as to see him in person, while in the flesh and unchanged; but we can approach him and see him in his representatives. Then, to become the friends of God, it is plain that we should be the friends of his legally authorized representatives on the earth—the men whom he has placed to lead his people—the men who hold the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

There are many, no doubt, who do not believe that the servants of God possess any greater power and authority from him than other men. Such persons have a perfect right to their belief, and must risk the consequences of it.

I know that President Brigham Young holds those keys and power to seal on earth and in heaven—to loose on earth and in heaven. I know also another thing—that I hold that authority in connection with him; and not only do I, but hundreds of others. All those who do should be one with him, the same as the branches are one with the trunk and the roots of a vine. For it is impossible for a branch to continue in the vine and bear fruit, if it is not one with the vine. I think you understand the simple and beautiful comparison used by Jesus Christ where he says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away and every branch that beareth fruit, he pruneth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” This applies particularly to this principle of oneness.

Jesus Christ spoke very frequently by comparison, and no doubt used that style of language because it is the most impressive. I speak a great deal by comparison, and know of no better way to express myself and make plain to my hearers the idea or principle that is on my mind.

What a pleasure it would be to us to see every Elder of Israel partaking freely of the Spirit and power of God, being clothed with the power and realizing the responsibility of his calling, and separating himself from the wickedness of the world, that we might be one in Christ, as he is one with the Father, that the Holy Ghost might take up his abode with us, and abide with us continually, showing us things to come, and bringing things to our remembrance.

All those who possess this Spirit cannot help becoming Prophets, and it would be as much in their nature to prophesy, as it is in the nature of the fountain of City Creek to give out its constant supply of water; and that fountain depends upon another for its supplies. So the Holy Ghost taketh of the things of the Father, and revealeth them unto us. There never was a fountain that had not itself a fountain from which it drew its supplies; and so it is with the creation of all things in heaven and in earth. It always was and always will be.

There are some people in our community who feel very much discouraged for fear we shall have to leave the valleys and flee into the mountains. Supposing we have to flee into the mountains, what of it? I care not. I would as readily go into the mountains as stay in the valleys, if it were the will of God. But we never shall be forced into such circumstances, if we do right. I have told you, President Young has told you, and hundreds of others have told you that we never should leave this country until the Lord wanted us to.

There was a man here a few days ago, who has been in the Church nearly as long as I have, who told me we should have to leave the valleys and flee into the mountains—into the secret chambers, and close our doors around us. I told him the mountains were nothing more than sloping masses of Mother Earth—that we were now in the chambers, and should not yet go on to the roof. You need not trouble yourselves upon that matter.

Let us be more diligent than ever in building and improving, in cultivating the earth, and raising from it wheat, corn, flax, cotton, fruit—everything necessary for our comfort and the sustenance of life—sheep, and cattle, and horses, and all kinds of useful animals. Cease to cultivate the earth, and it is impossible for us to exist in life. It supplies us food and clothing, silver and gold, and precious stones; yea, everything to comfort and bless our mortal existence—everything to adorn, beautify, and embellish. Let us, then, by a diligent and judicious cultivation of Mother Earth, and by a careful husbanding of her products, work our way into permanent independence as a people. Industry and true economy are the elements of the independence of any people. If every man in this kingdom would pursue this wise and profitable course, there would not exist among us much more trouble.

The United States and all the nations of the earth are about to have as much to do as they can attend to, without troubling us. Not many years will pass away before we will build our temple here, and the sons and daughters of the Almighty will enter into it and receive the endowments and blessings that are in store for the faithful. But do not expect that I shall prophesy that that house will be built without hands. Though the kingdom that was to be set up in the last days, according to the Prophet Daniel, was compared by him to a stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands, we cannot suppose that temples can be built without hands. The Prophet had reference, no doubt, in this comparison to a block of rock detached by an invisible power from a mountain side, which commenced in its rough and unpolished state to roll down to the plains beneath.

Joseph Smith, in his day, used similar comparison when speaking of men who are polished. He compared them to a smoothly polished stone, which, when set to rolling, would lose all its fine polish, and turn up marred and bruised, without even leaving a line to mark its course. On the other hand, set a stone to rolling that is unpolished and rough from the mountain side, and it will do great execution in its course, and leave a visible path behind it, and become smoother as it rolls. Joseph compared himself to a rough stone. What is the use of polishing stones for building purposes before they are taken out of the mountains?

It is not always the outward appearance that shows the true man. That man who has a good heart is very apt to manifest outwardly good fruits. There are thousands in this place who are nearly as good as they can be at the present time, though the next minute it is possible for them to be better.

People talk much about time and eternity, and they say they do not care so much for eternity as they do for time. And again, others say they do not care so much about time as they do about eternity. They do not think for a moment what they are talking about. What is time? (striking the pulpit.) That is all there is about it. That little circumstance of my striking the pulpit is in eternity. It is eternity on the right and on the left, behind and before, and the time being, as it appears to us, is the center of it. So we pass on from time to eternity every day we live. We are in eternity, in eternity. Civilized nations have divided a portion of eternity into seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, and years for their own convenience, to mark their passage through time.

The uncivilized, or savage tribes of men, the American Indians, for instance, have no other calendar than incidents in nature, such as the rising and setting of the sun—hence they count by so many sleeps; the full and dark of the moon—hence they count by so many moons. In short, the only idea we have of time is gathered from natural phenomena in eternity. We might introduce here a beautiful comparison of a ship in the middle of the Atlantic. Is it not a pathless waste of waters all around to the passengers on board, except on the frail timbers where they stand? So it is with eternity, with this difference—eternity is shoreless.

Let the brethren and sisters come to the conclusion that now is the time to set out anew, and then continue from this time henceforth and forever in doing right. If any of you have been in the practice of drinking spirituous liquors to excess, cease at once the wicked and destructive practice. If such a practice is committed, it has its time, and makes its mark on the broad face of eternity: if you cease the practice, no time is given to it, and it cannot leave its trace on eternity from that instant until you again commit the same wrong. This reasoning will apply to every other wrong committed by the children of men.

Let us spend time in doing right, and we shall receive in the Lord’s time right for right, grace for grace. If we do not associate with the wicked world any more than is unavoidably necessary for the time being, do you think they will have anything in common with us in eternity, or we with them? No. This is all I have to say now about time and eternity.

If we were to take the right course, it would not be long before we should be nearly independent of supplies from abroad. It would not be long ere we should be able to sustain ourselves independently, and then with greater ability bring about the purposes of our God; and this would make all men amenable to him and to his rule. A man will give all he has to save his natural existence for the time being; at the same time he can neglect with perfect impunity the things that pertain to his eternal existence and interests.

Is it not better for us with one accord to determine to be Saints indeed—to live our religion every moment by serving our God and keeping his commandments? How can a man keep the commandments of God and suffer himself to be dishonest, to be deceitful, to steal, and take the advantage of his neighbor in every possible way, and lie to him to gain a dollar? A man cannot both be a Saint and be dishonest. No doubt the dispositions of the parents have some influence in laying the foundation of the character of the child, morally and physically; and God, in one of his revelations to Joseph Smith, has said, “But behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten; Wherefore, they cannot sin, for power is not given to Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me; For it is given unto them even as I will, according to mine own pleasure, that great things may be required at the hands of their parents.” And Jesus said, “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

How do people become dishonest? By, in the first place, yielding to temptation, and suffering the spirit which is in them to become contaminated by the power of the evil one. Men become confirmed drunkards by nourishing a depraved appetite for spirituous liquor, and thus they become slaves to a destructive habit.

If men by their organizations were compelled to steal, to murder, and do a thousand other evils, they could not be held accountable, and the agency of man would be destroyed. Satan tempts men to evil, and they have power to resist the temptation. The more sin is cultivated, the stronger it grows, until it binds down men with strong chains.

Satan whispers in the ears of those who list to obey him, “Lie a little, deceive a little, take the advantage of your neighbor a little, drink whiskey a little: it will not harm you”—leading them along, as it were, with silken cords, until he binds them with his strong chains, and readily leads them down to destruction.

Do you inquire whom I mean? I mean those who are guilty. Are there any of this character here? Yes; I see some of them now. Are they to be seen disgracing themselves in the public streets? Yes: you may go down into “Whiskey Street,” and you can see them every day. How does it appear in the eyes of good men and in the eyes of God and angels, when they see those professing to be Saints and Elders in Israel, holding the Priesthood of God, drinking whiskey and swaggering with those who hate God and his people, who, if they had the power, would kill President Young, and me, and Daniel, and any of our friends who are determined to uphold and sustain righteousness?

The scene that occurred down that street on Christmas day is still fresh in our minds. O heavens! What a celebration of the day on which Christ the Savior of the world was born! O horrible example! For men professing to be Saints and friends of God, with murder in their hearts, to thirst for each other’s blood! The duty of the Seventies and Elders of this Church is plainly defined. I would separate all such unprofitable branches from the vine, and let them wither and be burned. I say unto you Seventies—ye authorities of the Church of God, You are not doing your duty if you do not do this.

President Young has cried unto you loud and long, ye Elders of Israel; and he has shaken his garments, and the responsibility is upon you. It seems as though you cannot prune the vineyard, in the righteousness of your calling, unless he shall step forward and do it at the peril of his own life. Hear this, ye Bishops and Elders, for I will tell you of it. Why do not you do your duty? “Why,” some of you, perhaps, can say in great truthfulness, “I was drunk myself last week, and dare not, for fear of being told of it.” Then go forward and repent of your sins before the people, and then step forward and separate; take the diseased sheep from the rest of the flock.

O ye Elders of Israel! How long are you going to sit under these things in tame inactivity and let the wickedness of the world debauch and lead away this people? How long shall we wait for you to go forward in the faithful performance of your duties? Shall we have to wait until the Spirit shall say, “Cut off the unprofitable servants?”

In the few remarks I have made, I have expressed my feelings very pointedly, and mean what I say.

I am now near sixty years of age, and I have no need of spirituous liquor. I do not use it. I feel much better without it than with it. Without it, I enjoy the natural exercise of the functions of my nature; whereas, were I to use it, the opposite would be the case.

I look upon men who keep whiskey shops, and vend it, in the same light as I do those who frequent such places, and get drunk, and swear, and wallow in the mire. A few days ago a drunkard was severed from the Church; and it will not be long before more of them will be, if they do not repent.

Would I suffer a wicked man to hire any house to sell whiskey in? No. If I did, the moment he went out of it I would put fire to it, and clean the whole thing out.

There are men whom we have nourished and cherished in our midst, and purchased their goods, and comforted them, invited them to our parties, and blessed them, and made them rich; and for the space of nine years and over they have been lurking like an adder in our path. Will I still feed them? Yes, when they are hungry and destitute. But will I cherish them to cut my throat? That is what you are doing. You are nourishing men who would cut our throats the very first opportunity. Why do you do it? Because they sell goods a little cheaper than they can be manufactured here. Let us send for our own goods, and raise in our own country, as much as possible, all the staple articles of our own consumption.

Let us love according to the order of God, according to the principles of righteousness and truth. It is not the tabernacle that I love, but the spirit that dwells in it—not the tenement, but the tenant. Why should I love the poor, sickly, frail body that is daily going back to the dust? Let us place our affections upon spiritual and heavenly things, that endure forever, and not upon things that are earthly and perish with the using; but let us regard them in the light for which they were created by the Great Creator and Ruler of the universe.

Money was not made to worship, but to be a convenience. You cannot eat it, but you can buy bread with it, which will keep you from starvation. When I was in London, I used to think I was well off if I could get two penny loaves a day and a little water. The pennies were of no use to me, only to buy the bread. So with all earthly things. As I have already said, Let us love heavenly things; let us place our affections upon the things that are eternal. I honor, love, and reverence the spirit of a good man who honors his calling. I do not care if he has but one eye, one arm, or one leg.

You may take away almost any member from the body, and the head can live, though it may not accomplish the same amount of good as it could if all the members were healthy and in active usefulness. The head is the mainspring of the body, the center of light and intelligence. Take away the head, and the natural body ceases to live and to be intelligent. If the man who leads us was destroyed, it would very materially affect the body. But if every one of this people should turn away but him, he holds the Priesthood and power of God just the same. All those who hold the Priesthood and honor their callings can put it upon others in every part of the earth where they may be in the discharge of their duties.

May God bless you, brethren! Peace be upon you! The peace and blessing of God be multiplied upon all the righteous here—upon all the righteous that are in the east, in the west, in the north, and in the south, throughout the extension of the whole earth! May this blessing be upon the righteous, and upon their righteous seed after them for ever!

May he help you to withdraw yourselves from unrighteousness and cleave to righteousness in time, and then you are eternally in it. May the Lord comfort the righteous, and help them to overcome the little evils. It is the little frivolous disputing and contention in families that creates the greatest difficulties and troubles, and hinders us from merging into the blessings of God, and from that communion with the Holy Ghost we might enjoy. Now, ye Elders of Israel, step forward and do as you have been told in righteousness and truth. If you are not righteous, repent and begin anew. Amen.

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 7, 1859.

I have been much gratified to hear the remarks of brother Turley. And I was exceedingly pleased to see him this morning. I naturally love him, for he is a true man. He is as true as gold that has a little dross in it. There is a good deal of the true metal in him. We all, more or less, partake of the world and the flesh and the Devil, and that is the dross which is in us.

Brother Brigham has given us a text upon oneness; and, in support of it, I would quote another portion of the words of Jesus when he says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman:” that is, he sprang from his Father, and was trained and nursed by him. “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

How is it possible for us to exist as true disciples of Christ without partaking of his attributes and the attributes of the Father? If a limb abide in the tree, and the tree in the root, they are one. Upon the same principle, the Father, his Son Jesus Christ, and his disciples are one. The Father gave up his Son to be sacrificed for the sins of the world, that he might draw all men unto him. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. And ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”

He called Apostles—Peter, James, John, and nine others, and committed unto them the keys of his salvation. He says to them—“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” Jesus Christ is the heir of the Father pertaining to this world, and we are his brethren.

Peter, James, and John committed the same keys to Joseph Smith in this last dispensation, and he committed them to his Twelve Apostles before his martyrdom, Brigham Young presiding over them, who is now our Prophet and leader, and holds the keys of the kingdom of God on the earth in the last days; and he will hold them forever; and Joseph holds those keys in the spirit world, and will continue to hold them—President Young holding them in connection with him, and every other man in his order and standing in this Church holding them in connection with President Young.

Again, Jesus says, “If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” It is the nourishment which flows from the true vine that preserves all those who remain in the vine, giving them eternal life. A branch that remains in the vine cannot be burned, but it endureth forever.

You expect our leader, his Council, the Twelve Apostles, and the Bishops to honor their callings because they are your leaders; but they are under no more responsibility to honor their calling, abide in the vine, and live their religion faithfully, than other departments of the Priesthood are. Unfaithfulness would lead to their destruction just as quick as it would lead to yours. It is necessary we should be one, as the branches are one in the vine, that we may partake of the nourishment that cometh from the Father, through the Son and the Holy Ghost, and through the different authorities in heaven and on earth.

I feel to thank God that the little branch that was down in San Bernardino is on its way here; and my prayer to God is that all the distant branches will gather themselves closer and closer together, and unite themselves as one man; and when they have done that, in the name of Israel’s God, we can rise above the world, the flesh, and the Devil; for they can then have nothing in common with us. Let us be one in principle, one in righteousness, one in heart and action, seeking in all the pursuits of our lives the chief interest of the kingdom of God; and in doing this we seek the individual interest of the whole, doing unto one another as we would wish others to do unto us under like circumstances; for upon this practice hang the law and the Prophets. Prophets and righteous men and women of all ages have clung to these principles as perfectly as they could in the flesh. That we may attain to the salvation they have gained, it is necessary we should pursue the same course they pursued to gain it.

If I do not wish a man to take the advantage of me, I should not take the advantage of him. If I do not want a man to steal from me, I should not steal from him. If I want my neighbor to hold my property sacred, I should hold his property sacred.

That which the world calls “Mormonism” is the kingdom of God—the kingdom which Daniel saw; and this kingdom Joseph Smith was sent by the Almighty to establish, with its Priesthood and authorities; and we shall prosper exceedingly, if we cleave to it, keeping ourselves pure and clean.

It is very painful to my feelings when men who hold the holy Priesthood in this Church set an example that is unworthy their high calling, and would influence simple men and women to go astray. Instead of being saviors of men, they destroy them, and will sooner or later have to account for their conduct for the injury they have done by an unwholesome and destructive example.

Let us wake up and keep the commandments of God more perfectly, cleansing our hands from evil actions and our hearts from unholy affections, keeping humble and lowly at the feet of Jesus. I find that I have to live near unto God, exercise all the faith in my possession, and practice all the integrity I can command. An Elder said yesterday, “When a man goes in secret before his God, he does not act the hypocrite; but often before men he will make a beautiful flowery prayer, to be heard of men.” When I was a Baptist, I learned some of their prayers to deliver in public, to tickle the ears of men, and have them say, “What a beautiful prayer that was!” I do not feel so now; but I feel to ask my Father and God for just what I need; and I find it very useful to say, “Father, I ask thee, in the name of Jesus, to teach me how to pray, and inspire me to ask for the things thou desirest to confer upon thy son.” When I go before the Father in this way, I notice I have a powerful spirit of prayer.

It has been said, “A man needs a portion of the Spirit to drive oxen.” [Voice in the stand: “Yes, a double portion of it.”] I know, as well as I know my name is Heber C. Kimball, that a spirit of kindness in a man will beget the same in his animal, in his child, or in persons over whom he exercises control. The Holy Ghost in the people of God will control not only our domestic animals, our families, our servants, and our handmaids, but it will control the armies of men that are in the world, the mountains, seas, streams of water, tempests, famines, and pestilence, and every destructive power, that they come not nigh unto us, just as much as we can keep sickness from us by the power of faith and prayer and good works. If we live our religion, we shall never suffer as the world suffers. We shall not be perplexed with famine and pestilence, with the caterpillar, and other destructive insects, which the Lord will send in the last days to afflict the wicked.

God will sustain us, if we will sustain him and be his friends. But how can you be his friends, except you are friends to his cause and to his servants? You cannot find favor with your God while you are opposed to his authority, or to the ordinances and regulations of his house.

This is the work and kingdom of God, and it will triumph over every opposing foe. Joseph Smith was ordained a Prophet of the Most High. His brother Hyrum was ordained a Prophet and Patriarch to hold the same Priesthood his father Joseph Smith, senior, held. Brother Brigham is Joseph Smith’s successor, and holds the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and every man who stands by him will stand while heaven and earth shall continue, and they will never lack for the comforts of life while the earth stands.

The Spirit of the Lord God was upon every Elder here yesterday, and my prayer is that it may increase upon all the people. If you had a fulness of that Spirit that President Young, brother Heber, brother Daniel, and hundreds of others in this community have got, the sutlers and followers of this army and these merchants would not get another kernel of wheat from us.

I fear you will bring yourselves unto want and sorrow, to hunger and nakedness, through your improvident and reckless procedure in relation to your breadstuffs, and not listening to what has been told you by your best friends. I know, as the Lord God liveth, the words which have been spoken by our President will surely be fulfilled; for his instructions are the words of God to this people.

I do not wish to dwell on this theme all the time; but I know thousands of this people have not bread to subsist upon for three months to come. In many portions of this Territory—the northern part of it for instance, they have not enough grain to last them until another harvest, and supply seed. Then, why do you go and dispose of that wheat when we are threatened with a scarcity? It is written in the New Testament, “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.”

“Well,” says one, “that means my wife and children; and if I provide for them, it is enough.” Yes; but a man has to provide “for his own,” and especially for those of his own house. Are you not of the family of Christ? Are you not required to provide for the household of faith to which you belong?

If there are members of that household that have not means to step for– ward and save themselves, it is our duty to support and encourage them, setting them an example worthy of imitation.

May God bless you. May the peace and blessing of our Father be upon you, in connection with the whole of Israel throughout the earth. Amen.

A Discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday, September 11, 1859.

Brethren and Sisters—I want to talk a little to you from actual duty. There are things upon my mind, not only now, but at many times, that trouble me. I am satisfied that I am pretty faithful in regard to warning this people to keep the commandments of God. All things that are good are for us to do according to the dictations of the Holy Ghost.

Brother Pratt was telling about the ten commandments, which are all very good. But I believe that there are at least as many commandments as there are words in the English language. Jesus and his disciples both said—“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

You believe in the living oracles of God that are appointed to communicate to us daily and hourly. These oracles are clothed upon with the holy Priesthood, which is given to enable us to receive revelations to guide and lead us aright every day.

We are instructed in the Scriptures to contend for that faith which was once delivered to the Saints, and which inspired them with dreams and visions, tongues and the interpretation thereof. Pray, tell me who is capable of interpreting an unknown tongue without inspiration? It cannot be done, except the person be dictated by the Holy Ghost. How can I discern that a man is wrong, or that he is corrupt, except I have the Spirit of revelation? I cannot do it. How can President Young discern that there is an evil designed against him, unless he has the Spirit of revelation? He cannot know it beforehand, except it is revealed to him.

Now, I assuredly know it to be true that angels are ministering spirits to minister to men who are heirs of salvation.

Now, God says, in another part of his word, that he will reason with us. But how will he do this, unless we are submissive like clay in the hands of the potter? He says he will do it before the world, the philosophers, the kings, and the nobles. He says he will do it before all these, if we will be subject to him. We have all been to see a theatrical performance; but you don’t see it, except you look. Well, a prompter is there; for sometimes the performers forget their pieces: then the prompter is ready to help them out, as he stands behind the veil. Just so it is with angels. They are not in sight; we do not see them; but in the very hour that we need them they are here as the ministers of the covenant to inspire and guide us aright. I know this, gentlemen, just as well as I know that I am here today: I know it by the senses that God has given me.

I have been led to touch upon this thing by the dictation of the Holy Spirit; but there are other things essential to our salvation.

Yes, I feel many times to weep and am sorrowful, and I can hardly sleep at night; and if I had Gabriel’s trump, I would speak to the Saints of all nations, and I would say, Gather! gather! and do not wait even for a handcart to be made. I feel this in my soul. Do the world believe it? Do the Latter-day Saints believe it? No. Many of them are lifeless, and have no energy at all.

Here is brother N. V. Jones: he expects to start on a foreign mission in a few days, and I believe he never felt so well in his life. He is going to wake up the people in Europe.

There are a great many of the Saints coming here this year—many of those men that have never gathered with us—men that have been wandering about in the States, and that have almost entirely lost the Spirit of the Lord; and there are some that have previously turned away—apostatized. They are coming back, and that one circumstance makes me think there is trouble near at hand. I never knew it to fail yet.

When I get up to speak here, I do not do it for the sake of hearing myself talk or to please myself, but to do my duty and please God, for I am his servant. I wish to exhort you to be faithful—to be diligent and watchful. There is nothing to prevent your living near to God and having the light of revelation constantly within you. If your eyes were single to the glory of God, you would see things as they are—you would know and understand your duty.

When I look through this Territory and see what there is in existence, and when I consider that it was given through Joseph Smith, by revelation, that we should let our garments be the workmanship of our own hands, and that we should take care of our grain, I feel sorrowful. You may take the people north of this city, in Davis County, in Ogden and Box Elder, and they have not got wheat enough to last them till next harvest, if they do not sell another bushel. If you were keeping the commandments, you would not sell a particle.

When the pioneers came here, President Young counseled the brethren respecting laying up their grain against a time of famine and sorrow. They were very short of provisions in Ogden last season: some of them had not a particle of breadstuff, and I had to lend the people flour. Bishop West told me that if I did not, the people would suffer much; and it is just so in Box Elder and Davis counties; and that is what is bearing so heavily upon my mind; and you will see sorrow yet, if you neglect the counsel of God through his servants. I fear you will.

Here is an army—probably 6,000 or 7,000, with the employees and attachees; and they have got to be fed. I have no objection to their having wheat and flour; but they cannot have mine, while my brethren may be without bread. Do you hear it? Listen, all ye ends of the earth! I will give you enough to keep you alive, gentlemen, just as you do when men start on the Plains. The Scriptures say—“He that does not provide for his own household has denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.”

Who are my brethren and sisters? You that have obeyed the same Gospel, received the same Holy Spirit and the same Priesthood that I have. You are connected with me by that Priesthood; you are connected with God; I am connected with you; I am also connected with President Young, in holding the keys and the Priesthood of the Almighty. And, O ye Elders of Israel and Saints of latter days, why do you not wake to these things? What do you suppose you will do when you have sold all your bread? Will gold or silver keep you alive? Will whiskey keep you alive? Or will any other liquor? Bread is the staff of life which God has spoken of in his word. Then why do you expend it for those things that you can do without, or that your wives and daughters can make? Will you still do it? I know we do it, and I cannot help or avoid it in my family. I presume it costs me about as much to supply my family and those that labor for me with coffee, tea, and sugar as most men in this community.

I have got considerable stock also; and all you that want my stock, make it known. I have many mules, horses, and cattle; and you can have them all, if you will furnish me the wheat. But if you do this, you will see the day when you will be sorry. I say to the President of this Stake of Zion, brother Daniel Spencer, and also to the Apostles, and to all Saints, Wake up, and lay up your grain, and let your finery go where it belongs; for that is where it will go, and you cannot avoid it.

How many friends am I going to get for telling these things? The friendship of every good Saint, and of God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ; and the angels will sustain me when I speak in the name of the Father and the Son, and by their authority. There are more in heaven for us than there are anywhere else against us; and there are millions more of men and women in heaven saved than there are people on the earth.

I have now done my duty. I have told of these things for years. Some inquire, “Why don’t President Young say more about them?” Simply because he has spoken and reiterated these things in your ears till he is ashamed. Do you think our enemies will get his wheat? No, they will not. If they were to go to him tomorrow, and offer him ten dollars per bushel, they would not get it. Neither will they get mine. But I will tell you what I have done: I have stepped forward and handed men bread when they wanted to leave the Church. But I would not do that now.

This is an important day in which we are living.

You may make what you please of this kind of preaching: it is the Gospel of salvation, and it has brought us into the fold of Christ; and let us take care of the sheep that are in the fold. We are here in the tops of the mountains, and here is where we shall stay, and all hell cannot get us out until the Lord God says, “Come out!” Now you may set your hearts at rest.

I am astonished, when I look upon the people of the United States, that they are not more friendly to us. They stand ready to debauch and destroy this people. They want the money—the gold and the silver, that the people have, and which you know is the god of this world; but I am not going to employ them. If I cannot raise more than five hundred dollars, I will send one of my boys; and if he has not money enough to purchase a load of goods, my team can live upon the Plains and haul part of a load for somebody else; for I am determined to transport my own goods, unless I can buy them as cheap here. Uncle Sam’s troops drove our men off the road from the stations they had located, when we calculated on running a daily express from here to the States and importing our own goods. Do you think I fear the world? Why should I? I have done nothing to be afraid of; and all the feelings that the wicked can have arise on account of our keeping their troops back at Bridger till they got cooled off; and we did that hand– somely. And then, when they came in, they were very tame; and they would not have been otherwise, if it had not been for some of our federal officials. The army has been so much more gentlemanly than some of those officials that have come to execute the law, that I am ashamed; and I give the army the credit for that much.

“Well, now,” says one, “you had better hold your tongue, Mr. Kimball.” I shall when I get ready. I have no feelings of hardness, nor disposition to hurt anyone. Some seem to have a spite against the gamblers; but, bless you, they are some of the best of the camp followers. I am ashamed of the acts of some of you Elders of the Church. You ought to be had in remembrance in the courts of heaven. Were they sent here to lead you into such practices? What were those judges sent here for? Not to teach this people, but to bring up those murderers and handle them, and to send all the thieves to prison, and punish them for their crimes. This is what you are sent for, you judges, and you marshals, and all the rest of you officials; and why don’t you do your duty? Now I wish there was a lawyer here to tell me whether I have committed treason or not!

For instance, here is Dr. Bernhisel—just as good a man as ever lived upon the earth. We have sent him four times to Washington. Did he go as our master? No; but he went as our servant to importune the Government of the United States for our rights. Bless you, the rights we ask are ours: they are mine: our fathers fought for them! Well, he went as our servant, and not as our master; and these judges are sent here by James Buchanan; and if they had done their duty, they would have had scores of you transgressors of the law in prison, and some on the scaf– fold. They should make you amenable to the laws of this Territory as well as those of the United States.

Gentlemen officials, you came to execute our laws. This is the way, as Mr. Hord said to me yesterday—“I am of your opinion, Mr. Kimball, when a man is among the Romans, he should do as the Romans do. When we go to the polls, go with the voice of the people.” “Yes,” said I; “and when we go to your States and Territories, we should do the same, and be subject to your laws, just as you should be subject to our laws; and so should all ministers that are sent to preach and administer justice and righteousness.”

Now, have I committed treason this afternoon? No, gentlemen, I have not. What do they want to kill us for? They are from the same father. Now, we want to obey the laws of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and get the Spirit of God; and because of this they are our enemies. It is the same as it was with the family of Jacob, and he was the friend of God; and because Joseph was in favor with God and with his father, his brethren hated him. It was particularly so with Joseph. His own brothers hated him; but the Lord honored him, and he lived to see his father and brethren bow down to him; and the king of Egypt honored him, and bowed to his wisdom. And so the nations will bow to this kingdom, sooner or later, and all hell cannot help it. Then, gentlemen, why don’t you make peace? You will be glad to make peace, for the wicked will see earthquakes, pestilence, and famine; for they have caused thousands of men, women, and children to go to premature graves. And Thomas H. Benton said, “Give them hell, and sweep them off the earth.” When we were in our wagons, Senator Benton advocated this.

I say to the Saints, Live your reli– gion, stop your murmuring, take care of your crops, lay up your grain. I shall do it.

Now, you women, go to work, as far as it is in your power to do it, and do not be constantly teasing your husbands to dispose of their grain. What better are you than I? I came here with good homemade calfskin boots on, and why can’t you be contented with homemade clothes as well as I? You are no better than I am, and I know you can do these things.

I try to carry out this counsel that I am giving to you; and not many years will pass away before you will see the result of these things, and you that are wise will go to work and act as though you believed what I say. My sorrow is that trouble will come upon you unawares, in consequence of your neglect of these counsels. I have no objections to your selling your grain, but I want you to sell it to your brethren, and not to those that will cut your throats. If you do not want to sustain me, sustain one another.

How do you look, you who hold the Priesthood, going through the streets drunk, and in company with those who are constantly planning for the destruction of this people? I mean you that are guilty of these offenses. Those that are not guilty know that my remarks are not for them.

God bless the righteous—the peacemaker! and God bless the honorable man that comes here and does unto us as he wishes us to do unto him. Come to me, ye men that do not profess to believe “Mormonism:” I am the lad to make you comfortable and happy. But let me live, do good, and work righteousness. I will do this, whether you are willing or not, God helping me.

I say, Peace be upon the righteous, and upon every man that is willing to do as he would like to be done by! But if you desire this blessing, don’t come here and interfere with our rights, when you are sent by the Government to see that murderers and robbers are brought to justice, and dealt with according to the laws. I want you to understand this now, for I am a lawyer, and I understand as much about it as any of you.

God bless you, in the name of Jesus Christ! Amen.

[After resuming his seat, President Kimball again arose and said]—I just want to say a few words to the Elders of Israel, and to the daughters of Zion. If you wish to manifest your faith, go and prove that you have faith by your works; for I would not give a dime for all the faith there is without works. Let each man go to with his might, and lay up his grain, and not preach about that which he is not doing himself. This is my religion. If you follow my counsel, God will bless you and increase you in the comforts of life; and let the world know it. This is all I have to say at present.

A Discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, on Sunday afternoon, August 28, 1859.

A great many things pass through my mind, not only here, but when I am about here, transacting business and attending to those things that devolve upon me: yes, there are thousands of principles and ideas come into my mind in my ruminating moments, and I frequently wish that I could send them, like the sound of Gabriel’s trumpet, to the hearts of the Latter-day Saints, and especially of the Elders of Israel that dwell in these valleys, and of all those who preside over the people of God in the North and in the South, in the United States, in South America, in Europe, and in all the nations of the earth, and of those on the islands of the sea, and finally, of all Saints.

How do you think I feel when I see the conduct of some of the Elders of Israel, who are guilty of cursing and swearing and getting drunk? I feel disgusted.

I wish the Saints abroad felt as I do. If they did, they would come to these valleys, if they had to come with handcarts, or pack their provisions upon their backs: they would gather to the headquarters of the Church, for there is the head of God’s government on the earth—the keys of power; and there is the authority, and every person that comes into this Church is connected with that authority.

This is upon the same principle that brother Pratt was speaking of this morning. He said the main trunk of the Church was in heaven; and I can tell you that that is not all, for the main root is in heaven, even in our Father and our God, and his Son Jesus Christ; and the moment that the Almighty sent Peter, James, and John, and ordained Joseph Smith an Apostle, the seed of that Priesthood and Church was planted: it was planted in him; and as he received it, he planted it first in one, and then in another; and this Gospel has gone forth into many parts of the earth. Still remember that this is one seed; that is, it all sprang from one, the same as one mustard seed will produce ten thousand, and then continue to multiply so long as it is planted; and so it is that this Priesthood has spread and increased in the world.

Now, we use figures as Jesus did; for said he, “I speak unto you by parables, but the world understand them not.” They do not understand the work of God; they do not know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet, or that Hyrum Smith was a Patriarch; neither do they comprehend that Brigham Young is an Apostle and a Prophet. If the people in Carthage or in Illinois had known these things, they never would have killed Joseph.

If William Law, William Marks, and hundreds of others had known that Joseph was a Prophet, they would not have betrayed him, nor tried to take away his life.

Do you suppose that the people would have killed Jesus, if they had known that he was the Son of God? In this dispensation they have killed Joseph and Hyrum and thousands of others. Yes, thousands of men, women, and children have gone to their graves prematurely, in consequence of the persecutions of some portions of the inhabitants of the United States; and many of those who did not participate in the actual persecutions said amen.

Do I know this? Yes, I do. I visited the cities of Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston, about the time of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, and I know that the majority of the people rejoiced in it: still it was a shock on many of the people. Even now there are apostates that are laying the foundation to kill many others.

How do you think I feel? Why, I feel precisely as Jesus felt under similar circumstances, and he said it would be better that such characters should have a millstone about their necks, and they be sunk to the bottom of the sea.

Some who profess to be Saints and even Elders will get drunk, fight, and swear most horribly. Their state and condition is much worse than that of those who do not understand the law of God, and who have not been educated in the principles of virtue, righteousness, purity, and holiness.

Brethren and sisters, if you feel willing to do as I do, you will stay at home and let the liquor go to hell, with those that corrupt themselves with it. The only wish I have to offer is, I wish there was a little more strychnine in it. I wish it for the sake of all those that will not forsake their evils; for, if I were in that position, I should wish I was where I could not sin any more.

The present state of our society is permitted for a wise purpose, and all things have transpired according to the will of God; but these evils and this looseness of character that have been brought in here were never designed for you and me. It was published in the papers, by Congressmen and judges and others in authority, that they would send a people here to improve our morals, and to change them; so that if we had a man to send to Congress, we might have a dozen candidates and as many parties, and finally be the same as they are in the House of Representatives. But, gentlemen, this will never be with the Latter-day Saints. If the United States ever admit us into the Union and give us a State Government, we will carry out the principles of union, justice, and righteousness in these mountains, according to the will of Heaven.

Some of my brethren think that I had better not say anything about the United States; but they will give us a State Government just as soon if I talk about them as if I never named them.

It is as I used to tell Dr. Bernhisel, when we sent him to Congress, about the time that plurality was preached, that the cats were not all out of the bag yet. I told him that the cats were going to have kittens, and then the kittens would have cats. But it is all right whether they give us a State Government or not. Still, if our Father in heaven designs that we should have a State Government, we shall have one, whether I say much or little about it; and when he intends to bring it about, he will change the minds of the President, Cabinet, and Senate, and House of Representatives; and he can do it as easily as I can change this pitcher from one side of the stand to the other, and I know it. He handles the nations of the earth, the President of the United States and his Cabinet, and he will finally handle the whole world for the good of his people.

This seems a good deal to believe. [Voice: I believe it.] You believe it! Bless your soul, I know it. “Mormonism” is right, and I am here telling James Buchanan what will be. I suppose you will say that the Lord never will do this. But the Lord can change Mr. Buchanan’s mind in five minutes, just as easily as I can change the potter’s vessel, or take a lump of clay and change it into more than one hundred and fifty different shapes.

You know that I am a potter by trade. Do you think the Lord can turn and twist you into as many shapes of mind as I can a piece of clay? I want you to be one—to be united in all things, that you may have the blessings of heaven upon you.

I can say that I feel cheerful; I feel well; I enjoy the good Spirit continually, and wish that every Saint enjoyed the same blessings to the same extent that I do. Whoever saw anyone misused by me? No one. When I speak plainly of the conduct of men, some will say that I mean them. All I have to say is that I mean those who are guilty.

I want you to remember that there are a great many steps to be taken in this kingdom; and if people will try to do right in all things, the Lord will bless and prosper them; and I feel in my heart to bless all good men, and all that have done good to this people. I bless those that have brought us goods—sugar, tea, coffee, &c.

Now, friends and neighbors—you that have come to bring us goods, you are God’s servants, and you shall be blest if you will continue to bring us goods.

Brethren, in regard to our friends that are here, I wish to say that they are the children of our Father and our God, and they have come here and brought their goods; and I will take the liberty of using a Yankee phrase, and say we were pretty ragged before they came here. Gentlemen, you have conferred a favor upon us, and no doubt many of our people will purchase goods from you. Now, when you get our money and our favor, do try and speak a good word for us; and when I come up and speak to you, don’t look as if you would bite my head off. I have never cheated you out of one dime, neither have I taught my brethren to do so. I treat all men honorably, and teach others to do likewise.

I will here give you merchants a little advice. Let our people have your goods at a reasonable price, and don’t have a dozen different prices for the same article in your stores. If you will pursue this course, you will gain confidence and secure custom; but if you don’t, you will lose it, for we shall turn merchants ourselves. You have done good in bringing goods here, and I wish you would bring from one to two thousand wagons next year, all heavily laden with such things as we require. Why? Because, when goods come here, they have to be sold; and if more were brought, they would come down in price, and we should be able to get about as much for one dollar as we can now get for three. I say, God bless you! for you rescued us from the sharks. You know that a shark is a fish that eats up all the other fish.

I am a backwoods Yankee, born in Vermont, in the mountains, and I don’t fear any man on the earth, and never did. If I continue to abide in the principles of truth, I shall go to a place where truth dwells unsullied. I am a friend to this people, for they are the people of God, and they will prosper in all their righteous undertakings.

We are blessed with plenty of all things necessary for our comfort this year, and we shall have enough next year, for I have no idea that these things can be taken out of the country. But I look for pretty keen times after that, and therefore I would recommend the brethren to buy goods and lay them away, and don’t sell them; for the time will come when many will be destitute of the necessary comforts of life.

Take your grain and lay it away against a day of famine. “But,” says someone, “he is repeating what he said a few Sundays ago.” Well, never mind how often I speak of these things: they are for your good. Some have tried to make you believe that you cannot keep your grain; but I say you can, if you choose, and preserve it for years.

I will relate a fact in relation to my own affairs. I have been removing a bin containing 1,200 bushels of my wheat that has lain in the basement story of a stone house three years, and a portion of it four years; and it is as good as it was when I had it put in there. I moved it because the brethren said it would spoil, and I thought I would put it in another bin, which I am doing; and, by the help of God, I intend to keep it. And I will say that if I had ten or fifty thousand dollars, I would lay it out in wheat.

Some are afraid of speculating in wheat; but I am not, for I shall live to see the day when I shall be able to feed many of you. Why, don’t you believe that wheat is the best property you can have on hand? Test it; try my words, and see if I tell the truth about it, as well as I do about other things. Many of you say you believe it; and if you do, repent of your sins and forsake them, and forever turn away from them, and then be baptized for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by the blessing of that Priesthood which is now upon the earth. But some say they do not believe it; therefore they won’t forsake their sins.

With regard to grain, I will say, If you do not lay it up and keep it, you will be sorry in a day to come; for you will see hard times, trying times, plagues, and famines, and bloodshed. Be advised and provide in time, and while you have the opportunity.

The Apostle James, in speaking of faith, says, “Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” That is the way I intend to show mine. I will lay up my grain, my cloth, and all the comforts of life, that my family may be comfortable—be made to rejoice and praise the Lord. I am sometimes joyful and sometimes sad, but I try so to live that I may always enjoy the Holy Spirit.

I have no doubt about the time coming when we shall feel the pangs of hunger and destitution; and when that time comes, what will be the state of things with the world? Just as well as I know what brother Pratt said today was true, and that it will come to pass, do I know that these things will be of which I have been speaking.

I see the course that is being taken here. Every few days a man or two has to die. What is the cause of this? It is the liquor and strychnine they take that fills them with the Devil. When I first heard of these things that have been occurring, I thought they proceeded from a few rowdy boys; but I learn that it is a few wicked men who are slaves to their appetites. It originates with drunkenness, whoring, and lying.

Now, are we not moralized? Have we not become highly civilized? There never were such things known in these valleys until the army came. I never knew of such drunkenness, whoring, or murder, until then. Every little while there is somebody shot. I am ashamed of such conduct in our streets.

Brethren, away to your labor, live your religion, and serve your God with full purpose of heart, and keep away from places where there is no good to be obtained. What are you down that street so much for? If you have not special business with them, do not associate with the wicked. Have I advised one of my children to go there? No, nor my wives either: they had better be at home cleaning their clothes, mending their stockings, and doing those things that are required of them. This is what they ought to be at. Every woman in these mountains, throughout these valleys, ought to be attending to these important duties. I never saw such things in the country I came from, and I did not know that there was so much sin and corruption as I now see in the world. I was honest, and I thought everybody else was honest. I am honest now, and virtuous and upright, and always have been; and this is what makes me bold.

I do not fear the face of man, or anything that lives on the earth. I only fear to do anything that would grieve my heavenly Father, as a child should fear to disobey his earthly parents. But there is not that care now that there was when I was a boy under age. When a son is eighteen or twenty-one years of age, he now says, I shall do as I please. This, however, is only in fulfillment of the words of the Apostle Paul, where he says, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (2 Timothy, 3rd chap., 1 to 7 verses.)

These are Paul’s words used when he was prophesying of the last days, and they have verily come to pass. Bless your souls, I never thought of being disobedient to my father and mother; and in the land where I was born I never heard of such a thing. I was born in Vermont, and brought up in Ontario County, in the State of New York, where I stayed until I embraced “Mormonism.” But times have changed wonderfully since I was a boy, and more especially since the revelation of the Gospel to Joseph Smith. The spirit of disobedience and, I may say, of every species of wickedness, has increased among the people.

From the time I embraced the Gospel, I have been knocked about considerably; but I am now here in the mountains, and I am ten times better off than I ever was before; and I have not got the means out of your hands, neither Saints nor sinners. I have had things stolen, and have had men come and confess it to me; but they never brought anything back yet. I told every man that came to me that I would forgive him, but I never told anyone that he could keep the article he had feloniously taken; and all such acts will stand against men, and I shall meet them at the bar of God, if I remain faithful. This is my religion, and these are my feelings respecting sinners who know what the law of God is.

Now I will speak a few words about Mr. Ethan Allen, the grandson of Colonel Ethan Allen, who was in the Revolutionary War. He came along with the troops that came here this season: he traveled with them, because there was a little danger from the Indians, and the officers advised him not to come through this city at all. But he told them that he was acquainted with President Brigham Young and with Heber C. Kimball; and said he, “I am going to see them, for I have been acquainted with Heber C. Kimball nearly forty years, and I am satisfied that they are as good men as I need wish to associate with.” The officers he was talking to said that he would find us to be “damned scoundrels.” But notwithstanding this, he came and spent several days with me, and visited President Young several times; and when he went away, he wept, and I felt to bless him: therefore I said, “Ethan, peace be with you! Peace and salvation attend you and your family!” I then told him to inquire of the Lord, and he would reveal to him a knowledge of the truth.

He said to me, “I have heard a great many things against your people; but I have found things just as I supposed I should. I find you are all doing right and feeling well.” “But,” says he, “Mr. Kimball, there are thousands of your old friends and neighbors that would have been glad to spill your blood, and they have expressed such sentiments both from the pulpit and from the press.”

I told him I knew it, and that I was just as good a man then as I am now, and now as I was then, and that I expected to continue to do good as long as heaven exists, and righteousness prevails, and God reigns. “Now,” said I, “tell such men to help themselves, if they can; for ‘Mormonism’ will prevail, and they cannot put it down, and I know it.”

I do not care what anybody writes, if they tell the truth—tell things just as I tell them, and that is just as they are. You cannot prejudice the world any more than they are now prejudiced. If you go to the Devil, you will have nobody to blame for it but yourselves. I do not mean the sectarian’s hell, but I mean the hell that the “Mormons” believe in, and that is a hell of torment.

When the wicked find that they are separated from their fathers and friends—from those that are saved, they will feel sorrowful and be in torment. Where are the wicked going? I do not know: the Lord may break off a piece of the earth, and let them slide. I do not know anything about a sectarian hell, but I know what God says about it—“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

Now, the extent of that damnation is not here revealed; but I believe that all will be saved that can be reached by the redemption of Jesus Christ; and there is a way to save everybody, except those that sin against the Holy Ghost, or shed innocent blood, or consent thereto; and they will be judged as brother Pratt said they would. If a man has shed innocent blood, he will have to pay the atonement, or he never can atone for his sin; therefore, at the day of judgment he will be judged according to men in the flesh, and condemned according to the law.

Repent of your sins now, and have them forgiven, and do not wait till after you leave this probation.

May the peace of God be with you! Peace be upon the righteous. But the wicked won’t prosper: they will wither and be forgotten; and though they may plot evils against this people from this time forth, they will be frustrated.

This is the kingdom of God, and that makes me so bold and fearless, because I know it; and I know it would go on and prosper, if they were to kill me and President Young; for we have 10,000 Elders in the United States and in this Territory, and about 12,000 in Europe; and therefore there is no fear of the work falling to the ground for want of men to represent it.

Brethren and sisters, be faithful, be humble and diligent, and the good Spirit of the Lord will attend you from this hour, and you will finally be saved in our Father’s kingdom; which I earnestly pray may be the happy lot of you and all good Saints, in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

Remarks made by President Heber C. Kimball, April 31, 1859.

It is some time since I have occupied much time in this stand. I want you, brethren, sisters, and friends, and all that live, to understand that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the kingdom of God, is the same today as it was thirty years ago.

I think it is twenty-seven or twenty-eight years since I came into this Church. My friends and relatives said it would come to naught probably in about a year. I told them it was a Church and kingdom which God had set up, and it never would come to naught; and I now say, it never will be overcome worlds without end. I know this just as well as I know I see you today. I knew it when I first became a member of this Church, but not so well as I do today. All the nations upon this earth will crumble back to their mother earth, but this Church will stand forever; so you may set your hearts at rest upon that point.

Things are as we see them to prove our integrity towards God and his cause; for everything that can be shaken and overthrown will not stand, and that which cannot be shaken will remain. And those who stand will be like the gleaning of grapes after the vintage is done. So it will be with this people. It mattereth not what takes place, for it cannot affect the truth, but makes it shine brighter and brighter in the eyes of those who cleave to it, and bring forth the fruits of righteousness.

Joseph Smith was a prophet of the Most High, and laid the foundation of this great Work, and established the holy Priesthood upon the earth, and God gave many revelations through him for our guidance. He said many a time while he was living, “I am laying the foundation, and you, Brother Brigham, and your brethren the Twelve Apostles, with those who are connected with you in the holy Priesthood, will rear a great and mighty fabric upon it; you will bear off the kingdom.” And so it will be. Wicked men and wicked spirits may bring into requisition all the wisdom and cunning they possess to devise plans to overthrow this kingdom, but all their deep-laid plots will fail. They cannot do a thing to hinder the progress of this Work, but everything they do will promote it and bring it more and more into notice, from this time henceforth and forever. I know it, and all hell cannot prevail against it; for Jesus says, “And upon this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.” It is the same church that he established in his day which he has renewed unto us, with the same Priesthood and the same authority, and the Lord God will back up this kingdom and cause it to spread like a thrifty plant, and bring about his great purposes by the hands of those who cleave to it.

You may think me too absolute in my language; but how can I be too positive in that which I know? Were I to say I know you are in this tabernacle, would any language be too absolute? Just as certainly do I know that this Work is true and cannot be overthrown by the world; although they may seek to kill, and destroy, and persecute the Saints of God to the death, they never will prevail against it.

It would be well for every one of us to live the religion we profess and let our light so shine that others may see our good works and be led to honor the Lord, and do unto one another as we would wish others to do unto us, and stick to the faith and principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As the Apostle Paul says in his epistle to the Hebrews, “Therefore (not) leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith towards God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection from the dead, and of eternal judgment.” But let us go on unto perfection, keeping our covenants and vows we have made with each other, with our God, and with the holy angels, and then we shall be blessed all the day long.

When a man backslides and loses the spirit of the Gospel, it is a hard case for that man to redeem himself and gain that communion with his God, with angels, and with the Holy Ghost, which he had in the beginning. Therefore, continue in the faith, progressing from grace to grace unto perfection. This is my exhortation and teaching unto you who profess the faith of Jesus Christ. Let us live our religion, repent and forsake all our sins, lie not, deceive not, steal not.

There is not a horse, ox, cow, sheep, or anything else that is stolen in this Territory, but what it is said the Mormons have done it. Though, doubtless, there are men who profess to be Latter-day Saints that are thieves. And as I said the other day to a person while talking on this matter, if a man will steal from a Gentile, he will steal from me, and vice versa. An honest man will be honest with all men.

This is the religion I have believed and practiced ever since I have been a member of this Church, and before I embraced any religious profession, I was taught this by my mother and teachers; for I came from a Christian country—from old Vermont—and they are all Christians there, of course. How can those of the New England States be otherwise who have held up so nobly for their Christianity? They are much extolled for their righteousness. I was there taught to be righteous, and I used to say, like many others there, it was pretty hard for a man to be a righteous man and get any property; for they, in that country, were a pack of knaves who would take the teeth out of your head if you did not keep your mouth shut. That was the kind of Christianity I was brought up amongst, and I came to these mountains to get among a people that worship the Lord God in spirit and in truth.

Then armies, merchants, gamblers, the scum of the Eastern States followed upon our trail; but this is no excuse for me to do wrong and be unrighteous. If the strangers who are passing through to California wish to trade with me, I will deal as righteously with them as with my brethren. This kind of religion I have practiced from my youth up.

As for the emigration this year that is passing through our country to California, let me tell you they are pretty fine fellows; they are as civil a set of men as I ever saw pass through these mountains; they mind their own business; they are not damning everybody and swearing they will kill the first Mormon they come across. Why is this? I expect all those kind of characters came with the army, and all the rest are civil men traveling west to find riches. May God bless them and help them to do right. There is not one of them but what will be blessed in doing unto others as they wish others to do unto them.

Would there be any trouble in this world if all would take that course? Would there be any war, mobs, confusion, desolation, poverty, and distress, as you now see it in the United States and in the old countries? One half of the population of the world is starving for the want of the actual necessaries of life, while the other is living in pomp, and splendor, and extravagance; still, we all come from the same Father and God. It is astonishing to see the wrangling and confusion of this world. I came here with my brethren to get rid of fighting and contention. I have been driven five times, and tamely submitted to be robbed of my home and possessions. I have but two articles now which I had when I was first married, except my wife; one is a tea canister of my own making, of brown earthenware, and the other is a chest made by President Brigham Young.

God bless you, peace be with you, brethren and sisters, and with all the righteous, wherever they be, in this Church or out of it, it mattereth not to me; for I love a good and virtuous man, of whatever profession, who would do to me as he would wish me to do by him. Even so. Amen.

A Discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, December 27, 1857.

You have all heard what has been said, and the design thereof has been to show you your situation.

There is not much profit in all the teachings that are given from this stand to a person who simply hears the sound and does not partake of the spirit and intent of that instruction; but the profit is to the man who heareth the word and observeth and receiveth the Spirit and power of God.

I bear my testimony to what has been said today, for it is good; and everyone that heareth and observeth what has been said by brother Brigham, brother Woodruff, and brother Snow shall be blest; for it is life to all who receive it, because truth is life.

If we treasure up those principles, and they adhere to us—that is, to the fountain of life that is within us, how can there be otherwise than a growing and increasing in the knowledge of God? It is upon the same principle that wheat increases, and upon the same principle that every kind of vegetation increases. How does wheat increase? It is because the element or germ of life is in the wheat. If the germ was not in each kernel, of course it would not increase.

If there is a fountain and the root of truth within us, then other principles of truth will adhere to them and connect themselves to that fountain that is within us. What will be the result in such a case? The fruits of righteousness will appear. A man has got to have the saving principles of life within him continually. If they do not dwell in him, he is not in a saveable condition, for there is no way to save a man only to plant within him the principles of life; for in the absence of those principles, he is like salt that has lost its saving power, and thenceforth is good for nothing.

You know that salt will not save meat when it has lost its saving principles, and it is just so with us: when a man sins to that degree that he rejects the truth and the principles of righteousness, he is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men.

So it will be eventually in the United States. After the truth is all gathered out, you will find that the rest will be destroyed. I do not mean that the land will be destroyed, but I refer to the wicked inhabitants, and the earth will be emptied, according to the words of the Prophet. Why will this be so? Because there are no saving principles there: the saving principles are with this Church, and there is no salvation in the absence of those principles.

I dwell upon these things because I wish every man to listen to them, and I want them to watch and nourish every word, and to cherish them as you would a crop of wheat. Let nothing come in between you and the word of God, and then you will do well and prosper.

I have got just such a wild notion in me, if you please to consider it so, that I believe we can raise everything that is raised in every other part of the earth. Why do I believe it? I believe it because I have got the Priesthood: it has been given to me and to you, and we are made saviors of men upon Mount Zion.

Well, then, if we have got the seed and principles of life within us, upon the same principle that the earth imparts nourishment to vegetation, we can impart life to others; and if we can save a man, upon the same principle we can save a woman and everything that is upon the earth. What do you go to work here for? I go to work to produce vegetables, grain, and all things that I and my family need, and I dictate my children, and show them a course for them to pursue.

We have dedicated this sacrament to the Father and to the Son, that the saving principles of life may be in it, and that, in partaking of it, we may become sanctified. We bless the water as well as the bread, and ask God to sanctify it and fill it with life and the principles of salvation. Do you not think that God can bless this land, so that we can raise anything here, as easily as he can bless the bread and water? Yes, he can. What makes me believe these things? It is because the people generally do not believe them; and they show by their works they do not. But I endeavor to prove by my works that I am a believer in these very doctrines which I am teaching to you.

The individuals who believed that it was not possible to raise fruit here have no currant bushes, no apple trees, no apricot trees, no peach trees, no plum trees; in fact, they have not got any fruit trees at all, from the fact that they did not believe that fruit could be raised; and their works have shown their faith. They have got most excellent faith, in their way, but it does not produce any fruit.

Those same individuals now believe that we can raise fruit up here in brother Brigham’s garden, and brother Heber’s, and brother Carrington’s, and those men that live up here on the poorest land there is in the valleys; and we certainly do produce some of the best fruit that is produced in these mountains. I never saw better peaches in my life, nor any larger ones, nor any that were more full of juice. Do you think I have got any dried peaches? Yes, I have got enough to last me two years, and I presume that brother Brigham has, and a great many others. How were they produced? They were produced by our actually going to work and raising the trees and nourishing and cherishing them.

I will ask some of you mothers a question, and you that deal in poultry. You know we have hens, and they lay eggs, and we have geese, and turkeys, and all other kinds of fowls; but they might lay eggs from now till doomsday, and if they did not keep those eggs warm, and nourish them, they never would produce a chicken; no, never. Do not you all understand that?

If you say you cannot raise fruit on that low land, I wish to say to you that I know better. All the reason why they have not raised fruit in the lower parts of the city is because they have not planted the trees! Upon the same principle, the people of San Pete said they could not raise fruit. It was because they never set out an apple tree, and for several years they never planted a cucumber, a watermelon, nor a squash, and of course they never raised one. I presume brother Snow will bear testimony to this. Some said they had faith; but their faith never produced watermelons, squashes, cucumbers, nor anything else. Now, works will produce faith, and works will produce good trees and good fruit.

We dedicate and consecrate the wine or water that we partake of in the sacrament, and we also dedicate the bread to the Lord; and it should be just so with everything: it should all be dedicated to the Lord; and upon all that we do and put our hands unto, we should ask his blessings. We should never meddle with anything on this earth that we cannot lay our hands upon and bless and dedicate and consecrate to the Lord, that it may be for the accomplishment of what it is designed, and produce the very effects that we desire.

I could talk about a great many simple things of this kind, but you laugh. When I talk about such things as cucumbers and watermelons, many laugh, and I hate to be laughed at when I am telling the honest truth and speaking of the simple things of the kingdom of God.

Bless you, this world was made out of small things. I was small, indeed, when I was in the loins of my father Adam; I must have been very small, and so must you, for you were all there: but here I am, a grown man, and, perhaps, nearly as large as Father Adam was. Perhaps I am not so large: I may have become degenerated; but be that as it may, I know that I am here.

Brethren, go and dedicate your gardens, and when you get a tree that you want to set out, dedicate the ground, the root, and the elements that you are going to place around it, and ask God to fill it with warmth and with power to vegetate. Dedicate the seed that you are going to put into the earth, and then dedicate the earth, and nourish it when it springs forth, especially in a cold soil; and do not say that it cannot be quickened, for I say it can. There can be substances such as bones, ashes, lime, old hats, and old boots and shoes, and everything that you can get into it will tend to quicken it; and why will this be the case? Because you have asked God to bless it, and because you have put works with your faith. By pursuing this course, you can produce apples and peaches on the low as well as on the high lands. Do I believe that the character and course of this people will cause the earth to produce things that require a warm climate? Yes—the earth will be like the people who inhabit it; and it is the duty of us all to go to work and practice accordingly.

Can you produce flax in this country? Can you produce it, unless you go to work and put in the seed? Can you produce wheat, unless you plough the land, put in the seed, and then irrigate it? Do I believe that this land will produce cotton? Yes, just as well as the land down in the southern country: God can change the climate for the benefit and salvation of his Saints.

There never was an ear of corn raised here till we came, and nobody would believe that we could raise any. Bridger offered brother Brigham a thousand dollars for an ear of corn raised in the valley. The mountaineers had not confidence enough in God to put the seed into the earth; but we have almost produced anything that we have tried, and there has been cotton raised up north in this valley. Bless you, it is colder up north than it is here. Can we raise madder here? Yes, every one can raise it in their gardens, and it can be raised as easily as your beds of flowers. I cannot remember the names of them; but it can be raised upon the same principle that your flowers are raised; and so can silk, only the tree is first raised, and the worm eats the leaves of the tree, and then produces the silk. I am going to talk about home manufacture, and I cannot get my mind upon anything else. You may take a hundred men who have got a hundred wives only, and let me tell you that not fifty years would roll around before they would revolutionize the whole world, if they were men of the right stripe. Why would they do this? Because they would be filled with the power of God, and the very earth that they walk upon would be quickened by them, and the mountains, the sage plains, and the pools of water would feel their power. If it were necessary, those men would control them just as much as Moses did when he struck the rock with the rod that God gave to him, and through the gift and power of God that was in Moses the rock was rent, and the water gushed forth.

Why was this miracle performed? Because it was necessary for the salvation of the children of Israel. Is it necessary that miracles should be performed now? Yes, it is necessary that the Lord should hear us and help us; and he will hear us and bless us, if we are humble and faithful; and he will bless the earth and all that dwell thereon; he will bless our herds, our flocks, our wives, and our children; and they will increase in proportion to our righteousness. These are my feelings in relation to these matters.

Brethren and sisters, let us go to work, everyone of us, and cultivate the earth; for it will not hurt any member of a family to assist in these things: it will not hurt the sisters to assist in making gardens; no, it will not hurt your delicate hands any more than it did in England. I know, and can now see hundreds that worked in the fields with their nice, delicate hands, and their striped petticoats, and it did not take above three yards to make one of those petticoats. I have seen you with your nice shoes and your bed gowns, or some would call them sacks, and your nice aprons tied around, and the apron would cause every pucker just as well as if they had been made in the dress.

This is home manufacture! It is a common occurrence, just as much so as it is for one day to follow another. Why cannot you pursue that course, just as you did in England, in Illinois, in Missouri, or in the Southern States, or in Massachusetts and in Vermont? Did the ladies work there? Yes, they did; they used to sow the onion seed, and then weed the onions, and attend to them, and bring them to maturity; and why is it not as well to do that now as to have to go into it five years hence, as brother Snow has been speaking of?

When the United States muster their forces, and the Devil combines his forces against us, then God will combine his forces against them. But we do not want women to go out and fight, but we want them to stay here and raise everything for our comfort and consolation. We can pursue a course that will make this whole land bring forth. You can have fruit on the low land as well as on the high; you can have fruit at San Pete as well as here. Why, brother Snow will acknowledge that they raise as good pumpkins there as we do here; but they never did till they had faith to plant the seed. Are they going to raise fruit there? Yes, they are; and if the ground is cold, they must stimulate it, but not with whiskey, for that will cost too much.

I intend to take a course to worship God acceptably, and I never saw greater necessity than there is at the present time for us to live our religion and be one; and this is not anything new with me, for I have seen it all the time. Then let us go to with our might and do all things that are required at our hands. Let us make all the cloth we can, and raise all the flax we can; and when we have raised it, let us make that into cloth, and then we shall be able to make every woman shine with homemade clothes, when they come into this congregation with their beautiful wool and linen dresses on, and their bonnets made out of straw that has grown on their own land. I have been thinking about this matter two or three days, for I have some straw on hand, and I have been thinking of advising my women to braid up the straw and have my boys’ hats made before the hot weather comes. I would rather see them do that ten thousand times than to see them go to parties, and then half the boys get drunk. That is not home manufacture, but that is death and destruction to this people.

Now, sisters, go to work and braid your straw, and have it ready when the summer comes. This whole people might have their heads covered with their own home-manufactured goods, and then they would not have to go to those stores and buy hats that are not worth a dime apiece. Suppose the boys were out two years, would not the sisters have to do some of these things then? Is it not better to have things of our own make than to give the merchant a dollar or two for them, and then not have them half so good?

Sisters, gather up the rags—those little fine pieces that you have throwing about, and sew them together, and make nice petticoats and aprons for the little girls, coverlets, &c., and then teach them to do it for themselves, that they may hereafter make good wives. I can tell you there are not one-half of the women that are fit for wives when they are married. They have not been instructed in home manufacture, and some of them have scarcely learned to wash the dishes properly or to take care of things about the house; and the young men are just as bad.

I am not talking to you, young women—I am talking to those that are married; for they ought to be instructors of those that are young. How long would it take a little girl to sit down and make herself a nice petticoat and to pick up some nice pieces to make herself an apron of? But you women who have not got anything to wear did not think of these things. You are now ready to say, “We have not got anything to wear; we have not got any patches, and therefore cannot make any patchwork.” Well, then, tear up your dresses and make some, for that is what a great many of you do. My desire is to stir up your minds to reflection in my simple way, that you may go and attend to some of these matters.

I do not care about the army over at Bridger, and in fact I have scarcely thought of them—at least not for a week past. Will they trouble us? No, they will not, not so as to root us up from this time henceforth and forever, provided we do right. When you are doing those things that I have been speaking of, you are keeping the commandments of brother Heber, the Twelve, and your Bishops. My mind is upon these things; I am led to them, and I will talk about them.

In our first start here, it was almost impossible to get any man to start a tannery, and now we have a great many. I have this from our shoemakers; and I feel to thank God that the gate is shut down, that a deal of the leather that is made here is the best, and that we cannot get their miserable stuff here any more. The Lord will now bless our labor; he will bless the fruits of the earth, he will bless our tanneries, he will bless our sheep, our flocks, and everything we undertake to handle and manage; and that is not all, for we will bless those things too, and we will dedicate and consecrate them to God, and we will ask God to fill the earth with the resurrecting power; for life is the resurrecting power, whether it is little or much, and it is that power which brings forth vegetation: it is the same power which brings forth food and raiment; and by the same power we shall be brought forth in the morning of the resurrection, only there will be more of it in exercise.

We should dedicate all those things to the Lord, with our bodies, our houses, our furniture, the earth that we cultivate, and the seed that we put into the earth; and we should bless the shovel, the hoe, the spade, the sheep, the horses, the cattle, the cows, and all that we possess; and then will not God multiply them unto us? Yes, he will, and we shall get heavier fleeces of wool and more of them. What! Can he bless the fleece? Yes, he can, as easily as he blesses the sheep.

I recollect being in England, in the town of Chadburn, Lancashire; and while there I felt as if my whole system was alive; I felt quickened by some unseen power. Brother Hyde was with me, and he knows that it is true; and I felt to pull off my shoes. We pulled off our hats, for we felt such a sacred and holy feeling. I told brother Joseph about it when I came home; and said he, “Brother Heber, that place was dedicated by one of the old Prophets, and it will always be filled with the spirit of life.” Does not that prove that we can bless the earth? Yes, it does, and we can; and you may call me crazy if you like; and I will say, Bang away, but that does not make me crazy. You may call me visionary, if you please; and I wish to God you were all visionary as those holy men were who dedicated those places in the days of Jesus and the Apostles. They are holy places, and they will be held sacred even as Jackson County; and there is not a man living there but at this day has the spirit of fear upon him and expects that he will have to march some day; and, to this day, no man has ventured to cultivate or build upon the Temple Block. Joseph the Prophet dedicated that land, and they feel the effects of that dedication; and the blessing will remain there, and all hell cannot get it off; and I shall yet see the day that I will go back there, with brother Brigham and with thousands and millions of others, and we will go precisely according to the dedication of the Prophet of the living God. Talk to me about my having any dubiety on my mind about these things being fulfilled! I am just as confident of it as I am that I am called to be a savior of men, and no power can hinder it.

If we do not receive these things, it is because we do not live for them. I want to do everything by the power of God and the inspiration of his Spirit. When I get a new wife, I always dedicate her to God, and this is the way I have done for years. I also make a practice of dedicating my children to the Lord, that they may grow up in his wisdom and increase in his power.

These are little things; but you need not laugh about them, and nobody but fools would laugh; for these things are our very existence.

I want to know of every man and woman, if you were going to place a sacred thing anywhere, and you were to put it in an unholy vessel, whether that vessel would not make it impure? Yes; and it will become unholy because of that cursed thing. If it is the most holy thing in existence, it will become corrupted by coming in contact with unholy things.

I am preaching these things to my brethren and sisters, that they may know, if they have not dedicated and consecrated their children to the Lord, that it has to be done. But you may inquire, “How shall we do it?” You will have to do it as brother Brigham and others have done when in Nauvoo. We had to take our children and wash and anoint them, and place the birthright and father’s blessing upon them in the house of God, and then have them sealed to us; and you will have to do just so.

If you do not take the right course to raise up a holy seed unto the Lord, but jangle and contend one with another, your children will not have so good a chance to get the blessings of celestial glory; but, in proportion as you bring yourselves into subjection, your children will receive the blessings of heaven.

Just as soon as spring opens, I am going to work to put into the earth every kind of seed, and I want my wives to take an interest in these things, in raising the flax and making the cloth. They take a mighty interest in wearing the cloth when it is made; and if they will do these things, the day will come that we will be as rich as we can desire in all things that this earth produces. Our Governor will be rich, and there is not a man on God Almighty’s earth that will begin to compare with him: he will swallow them all up in riches and blessings.

I am opposed to your nasty fashions and everything you wear for the sake of fashion. Did you ever see me with hermaphrodite pantaloons on? [Voice: “Fornication pantaloons.”] Our boys are weakening their backs and their kidneys by girting themselves up as they do; they are destroying the strength of their loins and taking a course to injure their posterity.

Now, just look at me. I have no hips projecting out; they are straight down with my sides. I am serious myself, although I can smile and laugh when I am serious; but these ridiculous fashions I despise, and God knows I despise anything that will tend to destroy the lives of my sisters. What is your existence worth to you? It is worth everything to your posterity; and you ought to consider their interest as well as your own.

There is not a woman in this congregation but would be as straight as I am, if she did not destroy her shape.

Bless your souls, I am talking about home manufacture. I was speaking about it last Sunday, and I would not have said a word about it now, but there were a good many who felt disposed to ridicule brother Lorenzo D. Young’s remarks; therefore I have spoken as I have. I want to know if some of them were not tried by what he said; for some of them were talking about cutting enough off their dresses to make frocks for babies and sending it to him. I wish they would send it to me—I would show them what I would do with it.

Some of you are taking a course like that of the Gentile world—namely, to weaken and destroy the human family, and they are going down to death as fast as they can. Shall we follow in their tracks? Some of them have come up into the tops of the mountains for the purpose of introducing their corrupt and damnable practices and customs.

You may take all such dresses and new fashions, and inquire into their origin, and you will find, as a general thing, they are produced by the whores of the great cities of the world—London, New York, and from Paris, and from all the Gentile cities. Now this is true, gentlemen, and brother Brigham, brother Taylor, and a great many others can bear witness of it.

There is a new fashion that our boys have got hold of, and Spanish bits and bridles, and then with their hermaphrodite pantaloons they look ridiculous. I will speak of my own boys, for they are like the rest, and have to take things rough-and-tumble as they come in this mountain life—to go into the woods, take hold of a lion’s beard, and tell him to stand still: their backs are like the women’s; they are cut nearly in two with these cursed fashions, so that they have but little strength left in them.

I understand those officers out yonder have got a good many women with them, and I do not believe there are twenty in the whole camp but what are whores, and they designed to come here to set you a pattern and to moralize this community. I say, Will they not feel pretty straight by next spring? I think they will feel considerably cooled off by next spring, and I have an idea that by that time they will feel disposed to quit their prostitution; and if they do not go away, we will make them march pretty quick. Those soldiers cannot rule ever us, nor their civil officers either, for they are the meanest of the corruption of the world. It makes me angry, but I will not sin about it; but I feel displeased at such things.

We shall prosper from this time forth. Now you may mark it, and you will see that those who will do right will prosper. I will tell you, if we cannot take a course to put iniquity out of our midst, and if men will take a course to demoralize themselves, we will draw the line and divide the evil from the good, and we will have those who corrupt themselves stay at home and let the pure in heart go out to war. And this is not all: I am opposed to any man’s going into these mountains to stand between us and our enemies that will get drunk. We do not want any man there but what we can lay our hands upon and dedicate to the Lord; and we do not want any there but who will do that which is right in the sight of God and man; but we want men that will pray and keep their covenants sacred. In short, we want men that are ac– ceptable in the sight of God: they are the men we want.

We want the home manufacturing men; and away with your trash and nonsense, for I am sick of it. I do not say but I have some traditions about me, for I know that I have; but I wish they were off far away. My desire is that I may do everything that is right from this time forth and forever; and I feel, as I heard brother Brigham say, a few days ago, that I am as independent of those little, nasty, wicked spirits as God is upon his throne, when I am right myself; and so is every other man.

It is true that we are the best people there are on the earth. But still there are a great many things I do not like to see; and one is—when men get up a party, I do not like to see drinking whiskey the very first thing that is introduced, and especially to go so far as to pollute themselves. Some of you might say, “Brother Kimball, your boys have been doing the same thing.” If they have, I do not fellowship them in that; but I disfellowship them for so doing, and so does brother Brigham and every other good man. I do not care whether it is a son or a wife that does wrong—I will not fellowship them in that wrong, for I am not partial. I care just as much about the English as the Irish or the Americans, and I guess I manifest it pretty well.

If you cannot obey those you have seen, how can you obey those you never saw? You never will see those whom brother Brigham and his brethren represent, unless you first obey those that you see every day. We are God’s representatives; and if you want to know whether you will ever go into the presence of God, I can tell you that you never will, unless you learn to obey your brethren. Then live to sustain the authorities of this kingdom by your works, and we shall live scores of years.

Brother Brigham never will die by the hand of an enemy, neither will I, nor any of you, if you will do your duty. Brother Brigham is just as secure as the roots of a tree, if every limb performs its duty. I tell you it is hard to tell things just as a man has them in his mind. For my own part, I have not got the language.

Now, if you are determined to destroy yourselves, I am perfectly willing, providing you do not destroy the fruit of your loins; but many of you are taking a course to destroy that by your ridiculous fashions.

Now, suppose that any of you were to take a tree and tie the limbs in a strait place, so that they were obliged to remain in it, will that tree be as thrifty as those that are loose? No, it will not; and if you do not believe it, go into my garden, and you will there see trees with the limbs crossing each other at various angles; and the consequence is that they are gnarly or diminutive in size, and very inferior in appearance, and perhaps they will never produce any fruit.

Do not desire your children or your children’s children to stop their growth, and do not you take a course to render them impotent and imbecile. I am talking to you, ladies; and then, again, I am talking to you, gentlemen, that wear those hermaphrodite pantaloons.

May the Lord God bless this people, and bless his servant that leads them; and I bless everything that sticks to him; and the blessings of salvation shall be with you; for I promise you these things in the name of Israel’s God. Amen.

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, December 20, 1857.

We have had some most excellent instructions from brother Wells; and inasmuch as this people take heed and then practice them, we, of all people now upon the face of this earth, or that ever were upon the earth, are the greatest and most blessed, or shall be. As he said, it is for each of us to live our religion individually. I cannot live your religion; I cannot perform your services; I cannot pray—that is, I cannot perform your prayers. I can pray for you, but I cannot perform your duties: it is impossible for me to do that. It is just as impossible for me to do that as to go to your separate houses—say some three or four thousand houses, and get your breakfasts for you, and attend to other domestic duties that you should perform each one for yourselves, individually and collectively. Do you not see that that would cause me to be much more active than any man could be in the flesh?

I merely bring this up as an illustration. I cannot live your religion anymore than I can go to your houses and get your breakfasts and then eat them for you. One of those things is just as nonsensical to me as the other. I merely bring that up as a comparison, and not for the purpose of creating laughter or levity. The reason I am led to refer to some of the most simple ideas is, that I may be able to come at the capacity of the most simple person, and then I am sure that all above that can understand.

We are here in the mountains a thousand miles from the Christian world—that is, the portion of the Christian world that we have come from, even the United States. I suppose there are as many as one or two hundred, and perhaps three hundred different Christian denominations; and every one of them differs, and every one of them is at variance one with the other; and every one of them, although they are at variance with one another, were all agreed in killing or in consenting to the death of Joseph Smith, either directly or indirectly.

I do not suppose there are any of the clergy of the present day, though there may be a few score, but what rejoiced the moment they heard that Joseph Smith’s blood was shed. “Thank God,” said they, “that we are liberated from that impostor, Joe Smith, who has caused us so much trouble and alarm.” Thank God, I say, that we are delivered from that Christian nation. Deliver me from their Christianity and from them.

It is the priests of the day who incite the people to anger against us, and the men that stand in authority are tied up in their feelings on account of the priests of the day; and of all the ungodly beings that God ever made, the priests of the present day are the most ungodly, and I know it; and they are the mainspring of all the mischief pertaining to this earth, as they are under the influence of the Devil; and, secondly, the editors, lawyers, and doctors, as they are under the influence of the priests. Thank the Lord God that we are a thousand miles from any of them and all of them. They cannot get here with steamboats, nor with ships, nor with railroads, nor with lightning rods: but we have a lightning rod or electric power that gives us intelligence. Our President knows their acts, and he can foresee future things, and he knows their evil designs; and he will have greater foreknowledge from this time forth, if this people will concentrate their faith and exertions; and if they do not, he will; and he will forestall and thwart them, and they can never trouble us to any great effect. Why? Because we are calculating to do right.

Am I not thankful that we are here in the tops of the mountains, a thousand miles from everybody, right in the center of America, in the chambers of the Lord? And God has led us here. They have killed Joseph, Hyrum, David, and Parley, four of the Prophets and Apostles; and they have killed and destroyed thousands of men, women, and children; and they have rejoiced at it—they have exulted at it—the priests in the pulpit and the whole nation. Well, who cares? I will tell you one thing, brethren: If this people will live and do as they are told, I do not care what course they take—I do not care how many ditches they dig, nor how many snares they lay—as the Lord God liveth, our enemies shall fall into the snares they prepare for us.

[The congregation responded—“Amen.“]

And it shall be visible to this people—as visible to them as it is that the sun ever sets out of our sight or ever rises again, or that water runs or grass grows; and they shall be a standing miracle before this people, from this time forth.

Now, I will prove these things upon natural principles. This kingdom, this Church, this people are his servants. Our Governor is God’s servant, and he will stand, and we never shall be ruled over by any of them again—never, no never, while we live faithful and keep the commandments of God and do as we are told, every man, woman, and child.

Arise and shine, for the light and glory of God is on you, if you will accept of it. It is upon us, and it is with us, and it is around us, and it is about us. What shall we do? Sit down now and begin to cry, this man saying—“I have got no hat, no cap, no pantaloons, no shirt, nor garments?” Sit down and cry about it, will you? Sit down and cry about it, sister, because you have not a dress nor bonnet, and many other things? Sit down and cry about it!

If you had taken a judicious course with your cotton yarn, and, instead of making rag carpets, had made some shirts and garments, it would have been to your interest; and if, instead of putting your wool into carpets, you had put it into dresses and blankets, it would have been to your interest. You have used much of your yarn in making carpets, and I would not give shucks for the whole of them.

I can tell you how to make a skirt or a quilt. You know you all have to have a bed quilt, puckered up into a quilt. Take your rags—the little square pieces, oblong pieces, and all other kinds of shapes, and sew them together until you get enough to make both sides, the same as you would a quilt, and then take the cotton that was in the old one and put it into the new one, instead of throwing it away. Would it not look well? I will tell you it would look like Joseph’s coat.

You need not laugh about it: it was no dishonor to him. They put it on him, thinking, probably, that it was a disgrace to him; but it was not: it was only fulfilling the word which was predicted of him. Would it be a disgrace to you? No. That woman who will take that course honors herself, her husband, and this people, and sets an example that is worthy of imitation.

Take those pieces and keep at work until you make a full garment of them, and then let us go to work as a people, as far as we have it in our power, and raise sheep, instead of killing and destroying them. Raise flax. I have not heard much of this flax raising. There has been a great deal of flax raised to procure seed to make linseed oil, but there has been none made; and there is, if it has not been disposed of, some three or four hundred bushels of flax seed in the Tithing Store. I have never heard of much being raised for any other purpose but for the seed. Perhaps some persons have dressed a little, but I have not heard much about it.

Brother Lorin Farr came up to see me a few evenings ago, and he said he had raised a crop of flax. It was not thought to be much; but he went to work with his men and gathered it and rotted it, and he has dressed it, and has got over one hundred pounds of beautiful flax, as good flax as he ever saw in the States, and good lint on it, better than he ever knew there.

How much will that hundred pounds of flax make when dressed? It will make about 125 yards of good cloth. A pound will make more than a yard.

After the flax is dressed and swingled, a woman takes it and hetchels it, and takes out the coarsest of the tow; then she hetchels it again, and gets another quality, not quite so coarse; then she hetchels it the third time, and that is fine. She will take that and make fine, beautiful linen, nice enough for any man to wear for the bosom of his shirt; and the rest she makes into tablecloths, towels, shirts, and good dresses, handsome enough for any lady.

When I married my wife, she was a spinner of both wool and flax, and wore woolen dresses for winter and linen for summer, and never put on a calico dress except to go to meeting, nor fine shoes. She would wear her coarse shoes until she got to the meetinghouse, and then she would change her shoes.

You may laugh at it, but I have seen it hundreds of times with as good women as you have got and as good women as ever lived. That is novel to a great many people, but I have seen these things.

I am telling some of these simple things, if you have a mind to call them so; or you may call them simple things that are seen in the latter days, that no person knows anything about—mysteries. That is a mystery that I have seen with my own eyes, and so have many who are in this congregation.

Women would come from Victor, a distance of three miles, to the town of Mendon, New York, where I lived; and I have seen them walk barefooted, until they came near where I lived, and then they would put on their white stockings and shoes to go into meeting; and when they came out of meeting and had passed off a little out of sight, they would pull off their shoes and stockings and go home barefooted, for the purpose of saving their fine shoes and the stockings which they had spun and knit out of flax. I am telling what I have seen and what I know.

A good many women are now in this Church who were brought up in that manner, and never were allowed to go to extravagance as people do now in many things.

Take a course to accumulate; return back, in regard to these matters, as it was in the beginning of our lives, to make our own clothing, our own shoes, and our own leather, and raise our own peaches and apples, cattle and horses, and everything else.

Now, do I not take a course to do this? I have not raised any flax yet, but I am going to try it the coming year, if I can find a man who understands it. Perhaps my gardener knows how to break flax; and I have three wives who know how to spin it, and they can teach the rest.

I am going to have a home manufacturing school in my family, and I am going to take those who understand this branch of business to teach the rest; and if there is one that is a dressmaker I will have her teach the rest to make their own dresses, knit their own stockings, and make their own caps and bonnets, and make the clothes for their own children, and let the beauty thereof be the workmanship of their own hand, according to the design God gave us; and if we take that course as a people, we are blessed above all other people upon the earth, and we shall eventually be a free people, an independent people.

I will tell you the day of our separation has come, and we are a free and an independent people, isolated a thousand miles from the Christian nation; and thanks be to our God forever. And we are the people of God, and this is the dwelling of King Emanuel, in these mountains, and he will gather all nations unto us—those that will be gathered; and those who will not, he will compel them.

The day has come when the people have got to bow the knee to God and pay tribute to him, every man and woman on this earth.

In regard to these matters, we should commence at home in our own families, by our own firesides. Let the improvement commence there, and then increase. It will not be long before we shall all be amalgamated into one spirit. These are my feelings.

Brother Hunter, our presiding Bishop, has to deal with these matters—home manufactures; for, in reality, it pertains to the calling of Bishops to deal in temporal affairs, to enable us to become an independent nation.

I am satisfied that we shall have a good season for crops the coming year, if we are faithful. But it will depend on our goodness, faithfulness, and oneness. I have told you a great many times that our faithfulness and goodness and oneness would have an effect upon the crops. It will have an effect upon our stock, and upon the earth, the air, the mountains, the valleys; and that is not all: it will extend to the uttermost parts of the earth. There is not a branch that belongs to this kingdom but will feel the power. I know that by experience, by knowledge, and by intelligence.

You cannot now find an Elder among the nations, even one who is in the uttermost parts of the earth, if he could speak, but what would say, “Brother Brigham, do you want me to come home?” He has not received the word directly from him, and will stick and hang until he gets the word; but he feels as though he wanted to come home. They feel it to the ends of the earth.

How does the earth feel, when righteous men and women are walking upon it, ploughing it, hoeing it, watering it, blessing it! I will tell you the earth feels it, and every part of the earth that is attached to it. It has power in it. Let us go to work and be an independent people.

Am I glad that that mountain is between us and the merchants? Yes, I am glad of it; for as long as we can get those stores to come in here, we shall buy those rotten goods.

I will tell you some facts. If these things that I have told you are facts, I will tell some more. I have, in this valley, bought individuals of my own family a dress every month in the year, and at the last winding-up scene they told me they had not a dress that was fit to wear. They would not last hardly as long as you were making them, the things we buy in the stores are so rotten. They have rotted on the shelves, and they have bought them for about one-quarter their worth, and put a price on them that should have been if they had been good articles. I know it by my own experience.

How long will a good linen dress last you? Did any of you ever wear one? We never saw anything else, much, worn in the country, in the summer season, in a farming country. I never had a broadcloth garment, that I recollect, till after I became a member of this Church. I wore woolen homemade in the winter, of our own make, that my mother and sister spun; and in the summer I wore tow pantaloons and a tow frock.

I remember very well when I had the first fine shirt. I went and bought six yards to make me two shirts, just previous to my getting me a wife, and my sister Abigail made it up. Take a good linen dress, and it will last a good and a careful woman two years, if not three; and then you may take a good woolen dress and put it upon a good woman, an honest woman, a clean woman, and a careful woman, and it will last her five years—I mean in the season of it. I presume there are hundreds of women here that would rise up and say, “That’s a fact.”

Well, as brother Lorenzo was speaking last Sunday (I put it into his mouth when he was talking about brother Brigham’s family and mine), I do not believe there are many families in these valleys that are more industrious at home than our families are. Take them in general, I do not believe there are any families in these mountains that make as many yards of homespun as they do. Our women have got, almost universally, two good woolen dresses apiece. I know that those two woolen dresses will wear out thirty calico dresses such as we buy here.

Just see what brother Brigham’s family has done. I am going to talk about our families. They have got good dresses which we have purchased for them. Is it right for them to wear them? Yes; they are just as worthy to wear them as any other women in this town. I say, Wear them out. Wear your bonnets and everything else, and make them last just as long as you can, and take good care of your domestic things, flannel, and everything else.

In our city there are a great many poor women—I am aware of that; and they will be eternally poor, for they waste everything they can get hold of; and they are nasty and filthy, for I see them dragging their dresses behind them; and though they are so poor that they cannot get up in the morning and wash their faces and hands before breakfast, yet they have got about eighteen or twenty inches of their dresses dragging in the mud. Now, you look, when you go out of this meeting, and see if you do not see several of them.

I am now talking about home manufactures. But if that is home manufacturing, I do not want that part. I am going to get rid of that. I cannot believe in it. I was speaking to a lady, the other day, about long dresses; and said she, “That’s the fashion Queen Victoria established.”

Said I, What has Queen Victoria to do over here? She had better get religion before she comes to set an example for our ladies, dragging their dresses in the mud. Well, they said she established it because she had such a big, squatty foot. You make a great deal worse squat than she does, dragging your clothes through the mud. Brother Lorenzo spoke of it, and I told him it belonged to the Bishop. It was his duty to lecture on this point.

My advice to you is, when you go home, tuck up that dress or cut it off.

I remarked to brother Lorenzo, a few days ago, when it was tremendously muddy, and a woman was walking through the mud, with her dress whopping over, and then stretching out, and then whopping over on the other side. You follow that woman home, and you will find that she has muddied her foot clear up to her legs. I am talking about the ridiculousness of such things; and if I can get you so ashamed that you will not come to meeting again with such long dresses, I shall be glad.

I can recollect, when I was a young man, I used to go with the ladies; and when they came to a mudhole, they would catch up their dresses and trip over. I like to see it. Say I, That is a decent woman; she is nice and clean.

Let us go to work and do as we are told. I will do it, as the Lord helps me. I shall go to with my might and begin to accumulate my own living, by the help of the Lord God and my brethren. And will this whole people do likewise, raise their own grain, their potatoes, and build good houses, and make themselves comfortable?

We shall live in peace, if we will only do right and take this course. And if we do not take it and have to go into the mountains, we have got to make our own clothing. I can take a little wheel on my back and a bundle of flax under my arms, and we can drive our sheep into the mountains, and my women can get into a tent and go to spinning. How nice that would look—sitting in the door of the tent, spinning. It would look a great deal better than it does to see them taking a course to bring distress upon this people, depending on the world for their rotten stuffs.

God bless you, brethren. God bless you, sisters, and make you happy and comfortable in your habitations, and your habitations all little heavens, and be in heaven at home and abroad; and let everyone be diligent in doing good. Amen.

A Discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, December 13, 1857.

Brother Spencer has given you most excellent doctrine. If the Father in heaven should come here and speak to us, he probably would not speak anything better to this people than what has been said this morning; for he would speak according to your capacities. The Gospel of salvation is very simple; but everything is constituted therein; everything is comprehended in the first principles of the doctrine of Christ. We have preached a great many times and used the words of Paul, where he tells us to leave the first principles of the doctrine of Christ and go on unto perfection. But if we do that we shall slide off the foundation, and would have to return and do our first works. There is the Father, and the Son, who was given up, that his blood might be shed upon Calvary, that our sins might be forgiven, on condition that we repent and forsake them.

“Well,” you say, “I believe: what shall I do to be saved?” Repent, every one of you, and then go and be buried in water, like unto Jesus Christ’s burial in the sepulchre, and you shall receive the remission of your sins. What next? Receive the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. These are some of the first principles of the Gospel.

Now, can we live our religion unless we are in possession of the Holy Ghost all the time? We cannot. First, there is the Father, then the Son, and then the Holy Ghost; and then come faith, repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins, and laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Do you not see, then, that it is just as necessary to lay aside the Holy Ghost as to lay aside any other principle of the Gospel? No man can please the Lord God, only as he is dictated by the Holy Ghost; and he will not stay with you unless you keep in view the Father and the Son. We partake of the sacrament every Sabbath to bear in remembrance the Son of God. Then, shall I say, leaving all these principles, go on unto perfection? No. They are the fundamental principles of our religion, the same as the 26 letters of the English alphabet are the roots of the written and printed form of our language.

Are these principles the celestial law? I know no other. And how can you keep the celestial law without the Holy Ghost? You cannot. When you partake of the sacrament, you do it in remembrance of Jesus Christ, and of the Father, and of the Holy Ghost, and in remembrance that you have forsaken your sins and been baptized for the remission of them. Some may say, “How long will it be before the celestial law will be put into force?” Never, until you put it into force and execute it on yourselves.

I will use a comparison. Here is the English alphabet, that you learned when in childhood, so that you were perfectly acquainted with the 26 letters: but do you leave that alphabet when you go on unto perfection in your education? No. But when you have learned those letters, you then learn how to join them to make syllables, words, and sentences, and go on till you can read the First Reader, and then the Second, and the Third, &c., and all by means of the same letters. You also learn geography and history, and rise from one class to another, and from one grade of exaltation to another. To gain all your knowledge in English literature, you must use the first principles of the language all the time. Do I exhort you to leave the first principles of the doctrine of Christ? No: but I want you to learn them more thoroughly, that you may keep them in view continually. There are some who do not understand the alphabet of “Mormonism,” and never did. Some that profess to be the smartest men and women in our midst know the least about it.

Brethren, we have all got to learn one thing, and that is, to be one with our leader; and this oneness should extend from the least member up to Prophet and Seer—every man standing in his order and place, just as the branches of a tree are one with the stock and root.

We will say there are a thousand limbs forming the top of a tree, and all have sprung out of one, or out of the body of the tree. From the main stock we will say that twelve limbs shoot out, and from them a thousand, which are dependent on the twelve limbs for their nourishment, as the twelve limbs are dependent upon the stock and roots for theirs. Should any of the twelve limbs be rotten in the pith or marrow, all the limbs receiving their sap and nourishment therefrom must be affected, more or less, with the same disorder, and they also affect the root. If the limbs are thrifty, they give to the roots a healthy action to gather more abundant nourishment for the whole tree.

Sometimes you may see a gardener cut off a whole top that is snarly and unhealthy, and insert thrifty grafts. You read in the Book of Mormon about the master of the vineyard taking thrifty grafts and putting them into the wild olive tree in the nethermost part of the vineyard, that it might bring forth good fruit. Brother Joseph was that man. Moroni, Peter, James, and John, and the angels of God came and placed their power upon him, and we grew out of the graft; and if we continue in the graft, we shall produce the same fruit.

In Nauvoo, about a year before we started to come here, do you not know the Gentiles were cut off entirely from the tree, that the new grafts might grow more thriftily in the tree? None can be saved unless they are grafted in as we were, by repentance, baptism, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. These are the grafting principles, and you are required to live up to them faithfully, going on to perfection.

My desire and prayer is to teach you in simplicity. Anything that cannot be understood is not worth a dime. Like the limbs of a thrifty tree moving in unison with the stock, so we should, when brother Brigham says move this way or that.

I am talking to the men that hold the Priesthood. And I cannot but think that the little boys before me will have that Priesthood which we hold, and many of them will see the day when they will have power to raise the dead. They will have power to do many things we do not have power to do.

As the leaves and branches of a tree administer to the roots, and we are depending upon them for support and strength, so the members of this Church are amenable or subject to the President of the Church, and, being subject, should administer to him. The tree cannot administer to the branches unless they administer to the roots.

According to the philosophy of the day, my blood passes through the heart, where it is refined or purified, and from thence it is sent back into the body by means of the veins and arteries, so that every portion of it partakes of the nourishment which the blood affords and is impregnated with the principles sent forth from the head and stomach. After the refined blood has penetrated every part, it returns again to headquarters to receive a fresh supply of nutritious principles. So it is with the sap that circulates through the limbs and branches of a tree: every branch and leaf becomes impregnated with the principle that is in the root. And so it ought to be with the kingdom of God: every member of it should partake of the principles of virtue and truth that are in the leader of that kingdom, and be as perfectly one with him.

Why do we see dead limbs on a tree? Because they refuse to receive the nourishment which the root affords. Why do people become dead to their own interests and the interests of the kingdom of God? Because they refuse to obey the will of God through their leaders: the gate of communication is shut down between them and the source of their life and strength in the way of life and salvation.

Can a child enjoy the Spirit of God who refuses to obey his father, who is a man of God? No. He partakes of the spirit of apostasy, which is the spirit of death. I will ask you women of good understanding, Did you ever disobey your husband and live in rebellion to him, but what you felt like the Devil? I have heard you say you never did. My wives acknowledge they cannot enjoy the enlivening Spirit of God when they rebel against my counsel; but their minds are as dark as Egypt. Why? Because I design to rule in righteousness.

The spirit of disobedience is the Spirit of apostasy; and if you do not look out, it will upset you, and you will go overboard before you are aware of it. Every branch should be interested for the root from whence it springs; for if the root perishes, the branch must perish also.

I hope you understand my meaning in the figures I have used. But there are many people here more ignorant than our little boys of five and six years of age. If they were not ignorant, they would not take the course they do. Do I allow my little boys to touch a thing that is not their own? No. Have they a right to touch a thing that belongs to me? Not without my sanction. Have you a right to interfere with the things of God? No—not without the consent of the man that presides over you. Has my wife a right to meddle with anything that belongs to me? Not without my consent; and over that which I have committed unto her she is a stewardess. Have I a right to call her to an account for what I have committed to her, to see whether she has taken good care of it? I have. There is not a thing on this earth that is given to us of God that is to be ours independently of him, and never will be, until we prove ourselves worthy.

There is a comparison in the Bible where it speaks of committing talents to men and of calling them to account. “I visited,” said the Lord, “one this year and another next year, until I visited the last one, and I reckoned with them and called them to an account of that which I had ceded up to them.” It is just so with us.

If I cede up any power to one of my boys, for instance, saying, Here is a horse, Heber, for you to use; I require you to take good care of him, and not abuse him. Why? Because I am going to call him back. Supposing the horse is not as good as when I gave it to him, then Heber is in debt to his father, and has to pay it.

We receive the Priesthood and power and authority. If we make a bad use of that Priesthood, do you not see that the day will come when God will reckon with us, and he will take it from us and give it to those who will make better use of it. My advice to my brethren is to rise up, from this time forth, and let your light shine, that others may see your good works and be led to glorify God.

How holy men ought to be who hold the authority of the Priesthood! And again, how pure and angelic females ought to be who are sent here to bear the souls of men! If you pollute those souls and bodies, God will call you to an account for it.

And these little boys, I want them to honor their calling. Here are lots of them. Have they the Priesthood on them? Yes. Have they all been ordained? Not directly; but their fathers have been, and that ordination tells on their seed after them. They are legal heirs to the Priesthood of God, without an ordination. They receive it from their fathers; and when they were blessed, their seed was blessed in their loins, like Abraham’s; and when that seed is committed to an angelic woman, she is accountable whether she degenerates that seed or not. It is for her to train up that child, and nourish it, and cherish it, and restore it to the Father as pure as it was when she received it.

If you have the Priesthood, you are in the same condition that I am. These things are serious to me; they are essential to me and to this people. After receiving the Priesthood, when a person receives his endowment, he is an heir to the Priesthood—an heir of God, and a joint heir with Jesus Christ; that is, he has commenced his heirship.

The Father waited until the meridian of time—that is, till the time was half up, before he came on the earth and begat in the flesh the Son of God, who was to be our Savior. Was every woman qualified to raise that child? No. You will find that Mary was of the Royal Priesthood, which is after the order of God; and he was particular who raised that child, that it might be trained according to his dictation. Should not we be cautious? I tell you we ought, and not fool and play with the things of God as a cat would with a mouse.

Many of you are trifling with your own existence—with your own salvation—not with mine. Brother Brigham, myself, brother Daniel, and the Twelve Apostles cannot grow or increase, only in proportion as the limbs and branches of this Priesthood and the whole tree increase. If it is a thrifty top, then the roots partake of that thriftiness, and they all grow together. That is what makes us take a course to cut off the dead limbs.

Jesus said to his disciples, “Ye are the salt of the earth: and if the salt loses its saving principle, it is then good for nothing, but to be cast out.” Instead of reading it just as it is, almost all of you read it just as it is not. Jesus meant to say, “If you have lost the saving principles, you Twelve Apostles, and you that believe in my servants the Twelve, you shall be like unto the salt that has lost its saving principles: it is henceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and trodden under foot of men.” Judas lost that saving principle, and they took him and killed him. It is said in the Bible that his bowels gushed out; but they actually kicked him until his bowels came out.

“I will suffer my bowels to be taken out before I will forfeit the covenant I have made with Him and my brethren.” Do you understand me? Judas was like salt that had lost its saving principles—good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men. It is just so with you men and women, if you do not honor your callings and cultivate the principles you have received. It is so with you, ye Elders of Israel, when you forfeit your covenants.

Brethren and sisters, as the Lord liveth, and as we live and exist in these mountains, let me tell you the world is ripe, and there are no saving principles within them, with a very few exceptions; and they will gather out, and the rest of mankind are ready for destruction, for they will have no salt to save them. I know the day is right at hand when men will forfeit their Priesthood and turn against us and against the covenants they have made, and they will be destroyed as Judas was.

Ye Elders, Apostles, Seventies, High Priests, Bishops, Priests, Teachers, and Deacons, never be guilty of that which you have been guilty of once before. If it were not for your ignorance, you would have been cut off from the earth; but, in consequence of your ignorance, I feel as though God would forgive you, if you will never do it again. But if you do it again, your time for repentance is past, and you do not again get pardon.

I do feel bad to think that men will enter into the new and everlasting covenant of our God, and then defile themselves with uncleanness. Is there a woman in this city that could have committed the sin of debauchery, if there had been no person to debauch her? No. Who is guilty? The man, who should have the saving principles of God Almighty in him; and he is the man who must pay the debt.

Again: If the woman would never consent, the man could not accomplish his vile purpose. You have been taught different all the day long. You have been taught, from your mother’s womb that these things are wrong. Would the Devil have power to make you tell a lie, if you did not yield to him? No. When you consent to it, the Devil then has seduced you, debauched you, just as much as a man goes to work and debauches a woman after she has consented to him. We are agents to refuse or to accept. Who is the most to blame? The man holding the Priesthood of God.

I talk about these things because I am led so to do. They may be considered small things, but they are the things that destroy this people—that is, all that will be destroyed. You can lose your saving principles as much as salt or sugar can. Sugar can be placed in a state that it will become sour—have no sweetness about it; and bread will become sour through the power of leaven put into it; and if the leaven was not sour, it could not sour the bread. When sugar becomes sour, it has lost the saving principles of sugar, just the same as salt. Be cautious that you do not receive filthy leaven. Stop your tattling, your lying, and mischief-making. You never saw persons that are trotting from house to house but what are apt to be tattlers, unless they are ordained and set apart to visit. You never saw a woman that is continually parading the streets but what was a tattler. Her face may be as smooth as an onion; but the beauty of a woman is in the spirit she possesses and in the principles of righteousness she cherishes.

You Elders of Israel, have you not entered into covenant that you never would betray one another? And you mothers of Israel, have you not entered into covenant not to speak against each other, or run about the neighborhood and talk about this one and that one, and about their husbands? Do you not despise such a woman as that? Yes, you do; and so do I, and so does every good man and angel, and so does Jesus Christ. He has told you not to do it.

I want you to understand that you make covenants with God, and not with us. We were present and committed those covenants to you, and you made them with God, and we were witnesses. When you got your endowments, did you not make a covenant not to speak against the anointed? And every woman that received this ordinance made a covenant with her husband that she would be true and faithful to him, be a guardian angel to him, and watch over his pillow by night and by day, and be true to her God and to the anointed.

I told you the other Sunday that I never made a practice of going to my President and speaking against anyone. I am cautious how I take a course to tell him this, that, and the other; for, if I am a man of truth, he is bound to believe me. Are there men that will come to me and try to injure somebody? Yes. Is it right, when you have sworn not to do it?

In Kirtland, Jared Carter, Dr. Cowdery, and others tried to ruin the Twelve in the eyes of Joseph. The very first mission the Twelve took, we went forth like men of God and traveled to the East and back again, without purse or scrip, and held Conferences through all the New England States, and exhorted and taught the people to go to Jackson County and purchase that land; and those men so prejudiced the mind of the First Presidency that two of the Twelve were suspended. But there were enough left to form a Quorum and do business.

Jared Carter, Dr. Cowdery, and others fell through taking that course. They tried to run in between the Twelve and Joseph, and they stepped between the bucklers of the Almighty. Had they a right to do it? No. Have I a right, although I am brother Brigham’s First Counselor, and have been ever since he was the President of the Twelve—have I a right to prejudice his mind against Daniel? No. I have sworn not to before God. Or have I a right to prejudice his mind against the Twelve? No. Because I am sworn not to, by the most sacred covenants that man can make.

Have the Twelve a right to step in and prejudice the First Presidency against the Seventies? No. If there is a difficulty, it is for the Twelve to settle it, and never tell it and destroy the head against the feet, nor the arm against the eye.

And here some men and women run from Dan to Beersheba breaking their covenants. If I could have my will, they never should step into the Endowment Room again and administer in sacred things, when they take this course. And some women, who think they know everything, go home and abuse their husbands and raise the devil in a man’s family.

I have no allusion to the righteous, the good, the wholesome, pure, and virtuous, but to those it belongs to. What are my feelings? They are—God bless the pure, the righteous, the salt that has not lost its savor.

I have not said anything about our enemies. I care nothing about them.

A single man or woman in this kingdom may do a great deal of harm, if they are so inclined. If you put up a barrel of good, sweet meat and a little piece of tainted meat, not larger than a peach, in the center of it, it will not be three months before the whole barrel of meat will be spoiled, if you do not clean out the lump of bad meat that has lost its saving prin– ciples. So wicked men and women in a Ward or in a Quorum can do much mischief. They inoculate death in the community.

Paul, in speaking of the tongue, says, “It sets on fire the whole course of nature.” It inoculates hell into the people. A sister comes into your house, and you think she is almost an angel, she can smile so sweetly. Do you not know that the Devil can smile just as well as a Saint? You cannot know persons only as they are proved.

God bless you and this whole people in the east, west, south, and north. My prayer is—God bless these valleys, and the mountains, and the fountains of life in them.

How good it is to reflect that the day has come in which we have declared our independence. This we have done because the Lord God has said it to his servant Brigham. We are independent of those troops and those poor, miserable, ungodly scoundrels that they call civil officers. What civility, to come here to preside over us with 2,000 troops! With them it is, “God damn the Mormons—God damn Brigham Young. We will kill him and Heber C. Kimball, and we will seduce and debauch every woman in the City of Salt Lake.” The Lord has said to brother Brigham, “Say to them, before all Israel, in my name, They cannot come in here.”

I am glad and can shout, Hallelujah! Praise be to the name of our God! And peace be to that man or woman that steps forward and sustains the weight in this operation. And that man or woman who revolts against the Priesthood of God and takes the opposite course, may God Almighty curse them, that they may go to hell, where they belong. These are my feelings.

I am thankful this is a goodly land. I never was in a better. I appreciate it, and I appreciate these mountains and valleys, and the red men of the forest. May God bless them, and, let the old Nephite Prophets and Patriarchs and servants of God stir them up and turn their hearts to the house of Israel in these Valleys, and he will do it; and the United States cannot buy them. God Almighty has got them by the bit. What? Israel? Yes. Although they are as a wild horse, he can lead them the same as you can a tame one.

We shall prosper; we shall prevail with all those who cleave to the Church and kingdom of God; only do as you are told, and you need not trouble. See how the Lord is watering the earth. It will be wet down three or four feet, and he will continue to do it, and it will be like a pool of living water; and he will cause the earth to produce, and we shall be blessed, and God will sustain us; and he will sustain those that sustain his people.

Instead of sending out two, three, or five thousand men, let us pick out a thousand, and they will stand against the United States. If God is with us, who can prevail against us? Why do not the women go to work and make up hats and caps for their husbands, and help them, and not suffer them to spend three dollars for a hat for a child three years’ old? Let us make our own knives and forks, and everything else that we use; and let every man be diligent at home or in his shop about his employment.

Brother Brigham says the soldiers cannot come here. Then we should say the same. He says they will be confused. Let us all pray that they may. Be kind to each other, and take good care of everything in your possession. Do not waste anything, nor abuse your horses. A man that is abusive to his animal is apt to be the same to his wife or child. There is nothing in the spirit of love that will kill or destroy unnecessarily— nothing that will lie or oppress, for that comes from the spirit of destruction.

The spirit of hypocrisy professes to be my friend today, and then tomorrow will go and speak against me. This should not be among us. Let us go to from this time henceforth and be one, and God will bless us. When you go visiting your neighbors, preach these things to them, and speak the truth continually, and lie not.

I go visiting sometimes. I was out on a visit yesterday. You invite me to visit and talk; but half the family will go to cooking the night before, and cook all day until suppertime, and then they are too full to talk or hear, and we start home before the rest of the family has anything to eat; and they cook up everything they have, or expect to have for a year to come, figuratively speaking. I would rather have a piece of bread and go into the canyon with one or two of the brethren and talk about the things of God.

Last Monday, the Congress of the United States commenced its session, and no doubt they will remember us. I want you should pray for them. Pray for the President of the United States; pray for the Senate and the House of Representatives; pray for the Speakers of each house, and pray for all men in authority, especially those who are opposed to Israel and who are planning for our destruction. I want you to pray good prayers for them, that they may fall into the dilemma they want to put us in. You need not pray anything more than that; for, I swear to you, they will get a bellyfull.

The members of the Legislature here will assemble tomorrow morning, at ten o’clock, with our Governor at our head. It is the best legislative body there is upon the face of the earth, because they hold the Priesthood, and there is no person there only those who hold it—the leading men of Israel. Pray for that Assembly. There are forty-nine men of us—the representatives of this whole Territory, to make laws for the government and protection of the people. But when those men have made a law, our Governor can veto it in a moment. He is the head of the department to make laws to protect, sustain, and uphold the kingdom of God in all the world. If a law is made to protect me, it equally protects you and your wife and children. Now, I want to know if there is a man or woman here who is not interested in that? I mention this that you may pray that they may make laws such as the Lord would approve, if he was here himself. Those who feel in favor that our Governor continue, and to uphold and sustain him, with the Legislature and everything else that is good, rise up on your feet.

[The whole congregation arose.]

God bless you, and bless our Governor, with everything connected to him. Amen.

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday Evening, November 29, 1857.

What we have heard from our President is most heavenly, and it is truth. We many times say it is “God’s truth.” I want to know if there ever was any truth that was not his? Now, just reflect and see if ever there was a truth that we received or heard, or if there ever will be, except what is God’s truth. No—there never was; for truth proceedeth from him.

Those ideas are according to my feelings—my desires, and they are according to the Spirit that has been given unto me. I have sought in my simplicity to produce the most simple things that I possibly could, to show this people the propriety of becoming one. You know I have brought up the apple tree, the peach tree, the grape and all the variety of vines, the cucumber, the watermelon, and every other simple thing, to show unto this people that we have to become like those vines and those various bodies which I have men– tioned—like unto the apple tree, for instance, which is a corporate and independent body, just as you and I are independent, inasmuch as we act in concert with the truth and with the personage that produced us.

Did God produce us? He did, and every son and daughter of Adam upon the face of this earth; and he produced us upon the same principle that we produce one another. And so it is with the fruit of creation.

The ideas advanced by brother Brigham about the manufacture and conducting of gas afford a good illustration of the operations of the Holy Ghost through the Priesthood. The place where the gas is manufactured may be called the fountainhead; then, by a power at headquarters, it is carried by pipes and propelled through every avenue, even to the extremity of the city.

When that gas is conveyed to a city, it gives light. It is so also with the Holy Spirit. There is sufficient of it to be conveyed to every man and woman according to their necessity; for Jesus says that every son and daughter that cometh into the world receiveth of his light, and it proceeds from headquarters.

I have spoken upon these things before, not using this figure in particular, but upon the same principle.

A Bishop has power to dictate and control his Ward, even as he is dictated by those over him. When a family or that portion of the city who receive their light from him, reject that pipe, or that authority, they reject the authority, or the pipe, that conveys the light to them. It is so with the Seventies and also with every Quorum in this Church.

There are seven Presidents of the Seventies; then there is one man that presides over the six. Are the six to be subject to the first of their number? They are; for he is the head of that limb; and if the six reject that man, they reject the authority or the pipe that conveys light to them.

If the Quorums of the Seventies reject their limbs or Presidents, who are, even to the seventieth Seventy, connected to the main limb of the Seventies, they also shut off the light which would flow to them. Whom are the Seventies amenable to? They are amenable to the men that preside over them; and it is so with every department of the Priesthood, from the authority of the Apostleship down to that of the Teacher.

“What a strange doctrine,” says one, “that we should be taught to be one!” I tell you there is no way for us to prosper and prevail in the last day only to learn to act in union.

As to the holy Priesthood and the government of this Church, I can say that we shall, as a people, prevail in the name and by the authority of Jesus. If we will take this course and be one, we shall rule the house of Israel, and everything on the earth will be subject to us. This is the doctrine that has been taught us all the time.

I will acknowledge that I am sometimes eccentric. There is no man who has not, at some periods, eccentric feelings. These feelings correspond with the feelings of this people; and I believe and know that they control me in my speaking, or else I should not say a great many things that I do. I have heard brother Brigham say a great many times, “Why, I have spoken thus and so, and I believe that the people feel as I have spoken.”

To be eccentric in speaking means to occasionally depart from the point of argument—to run off to the east and then come back—to run off to the north, to the south, to the west, and return again to the center. This feeling is in every man at times, and the Elders who speak from this stand have to speak so as to answer the queries and dispositions of the people, otherwise they would talk right in a beeline.

Am I afraid that we shall be overcome? No, I am not. I never have, to my knowledge, had a feeling in my heart, from the day that I came into this Church unto the present time, that this kingdom would be overcome; neither have I now. But there are people here; and a people will grow out of this people that will stand forever.

I never was more joyful in my life than I am now. I thanked my Father this morning, I thanked him last night, and I thank him every day of my life that the time has come when he has said to his servant the Prophet, “Shut down the gate, and never—no, never admit those men here who would take your life and the lives of the brethren, and seek to lead my people to destruction.” Am I not glad at this? I am; and that man or that woman who is not glad is not blest—is not a Saint. Those who do not rejoice at this time are not living their religion.

[President B. Young: “They are all glad.“]

Some say there is no tea in the stores, and that is verily true. There is no coffee, factory, calico, satins, silks, thread, needles, bonnets, nor any luxuries; and I am glad of it.

Have we needlemakers here? Yes; we have men here who can make the finest needles as well as the largest and the best, and every kind of cutlery, and every kind of satin, just as good as there is in the world.

Can we make linen? Yes. Why can we not make linen just as well as they can in England? I have seen some of the sisters now before me in the old countries, throwing the shuttle, weaving cotton, linen, silks, satins, ginghams, woolen plaids, &c., &c. You can do it here as well as you could there.

Can we make sugar here? Yes, just as good as ever was made in the Southern States. Can we raise hemp? Yes—just as good as ever grew.

Brother W. C. Staines raised some Chinese sugar cane on brother Brigham’s lot down here. There was about one of those Chicago wagon boxes full of stalks: I suppose one of them will hold 25 or 30 bushels. He sent that down to brother Hugh Moon’s, and he made 14 gallons of as good molasses as ever came from any portion of the world. Brother Brigham did not expect that it would make over three or four gallons.

If we can make molasses, by boiling it a little more, we can make good Muscovado sugar. I have got beet molasses by me now of last year’s make, and at the bottom of the keg it is good grained sugar.

It is like unto making maple sugar. I know how to make it; I know how to boil it, make it into molasses, and into sugar; and these men who are now sitting on the stand, and who have lived in the United States, all know how to make maple sugar. The boiling and cleansing is all the art there is in it. The sooner we go to work to produce these things the better, for we have got to go without tea, coffee, and tobacco until we raise them. I see no chance only for us to go to work as we have been instructed.

Years ago, in the days of Joseph, the Lord gave a revelation instructing this people to produce what they wanted for their own use by their own labor; and you have been taught it from that day to the present time, and the Lord has brought us into these mountains to bring to pass these very things, that we may become a free and independent people. To produce these things ourselves is necessary for our temporal and spiritual salvation.

You say you are going to work to cache up your grain, and so am I. I am going to work to raise a better crop next year than I have this, and I am going to work to make boxes to put it in; then I will dig holes and cache them, and the next year after that I will do likewise. And how long will it be before we shall have seven years’ provisions on hand, if you all do likewise?

A great many do not know the meaning of the word cache. Well, Cache Valley up here—almost the first company that passed through there, afraid of being overtaken by the wintry storms, cached some of their articles, and the mountaineers cached their furs; and from these circumstances, Cache Valley took its name; for they dug holes and buried their substance, and this is caching.

I am going to begin to collect all the wheat I can, flour it, and put it in good, dry boxes; and if it is well pressed down, I think it will keep longer than wheat: besides, the mice will not then be able to make such ravages upon it.

When we have done all this, shall we put it in the ground? No. Put it in your granaries, and have it ready for caching. We shall not cache our substance until it is considered necessary.

It is the duty of the Bishops to plan for the people in their Wards. Let every Bishop take a course to design for his people. This is the way for them to do, and this is their calling; and in so doing they will be blest, and this whole people will be sustained, and God will bless us and will hold our enemies; yes, he will hold them a great deal easier and far more secure than you can hold a horse with the Spanish bits. He is not going to let this people be overcome, if we do as we are told from time to time. Let us do as we have been told here today—lay aside our foolishness, our vanity, and bad habits, and I just know that all will be well.

Suppose I yield to the practice of drinking liquor, one draught gives me a greater thirst for another; my appetite increases as I nourish it, till by-and-by, I will want it regularly, and I am finally overcome. Let a man do an evil today, and the temptation will be stronger for him to do it tomorrow.

Brethren, let us take a course to keep the commandments of God, and do just as we are told from this time henceforth, and never cease our operations in everything that is good. Never let us cease our mechanical operations, and let us be diligent in cultivating the earth and accumulating everything we can think of that will be useful. If you will take this course, you will not be obliged to put for the mountains next year, nor the year after, and so on, if we will do exactly right.

I would prefer to go into the mountains, and see my family go there, and live on roots, wearing sheepskins, and goatskins, and dwelling in tents and caves, as the ancient Apostles did, rather than to see the troops of the United States come into this Valley, and to suffer, and see the sufferings of this people, as we have hitherto. [The congregation responded, Amen.] I have seen myself, with many of this people, broken up and driven five times, and robbed and plundered; and they have suffered in such a manner as I never want to see them suffer again.

I calculate, by the help of God, to do as I am told, to make preparations for peace and for war, for plenty, for hard times, and for every emergency—to arm myself and my sons with the armor of peace and righteousness, and then with the armor of death, and to carry the means of self-defense in one hand, and cultivate the earth with the other, and having the righteousness of Christ in my heart, and execute righteousness with the sword of the Spirit, temporally and spiritually.

Now, here is peace, here is prosperity, here is happiness, here is life, here is repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins, and the way to obtain eternal lives. Accept of it, if you please; and if you will not, you will suffer the consequences. I intend to take the right course, and to help to arm my boys and my brethren, and to do the best that I can for the welfare of the house of Israel.

You probably recollect what Jesus said to his disciples when Peter took up the sword and cut off the fellow’s ear: he designed to cut off his head, but missed it. Jesus said, “Those that take up the sword shall perish by the sword. If my kingdom was of this world, then my servants would fight.” Let me tell you, the kingdom that we are in is of this world and also of the world to come, and will stand forever; and we will fight, if our enemies come upon us to slay us—not only the men, but the women and the children.

Well, let us think of these things, and not get angry. I know that I am a stronger man when the Spirit of God is resting upon me than I am at ordinary times; and I know, when I get angry, that it makes me weak—it takes away my strength.

This is the way you feel; for that Spirit makes you mighty and powerful, and fear leaves you. Fear has torment, and torment makes a person weak, and vexes him, and perplexes him, because it is the principle of death.

Keep the Spirit of the Lord and learn to govern your tempers, just as a smith when he goes to work to make a knife or any other kind of edged tool. When he takes it from the fire, he almost always makes it harder than he wants it; and then he has to take the temper down again, until he gets it so that the edge will bend. It is better to bend than to break.

Let us make our passions bend, and become one with our head as every limb and branch pertaining to a tree becomes one with its head, and with the roots from which it springs. God bless you all! Amen.

A Sermon by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, November 22, 1857.

I can say for one, that that is a beautiful hymn which brother Dunbar has just sung: [”DESERET, dedicated to Governor Young by W. W. Phelps.“] And what has been said today by brothers Albert Carrington and George D. Grant is good, and their words, as far as I have heard, are salvation to all who hear and practice, because they are true.

You all the time hear me talking about truth. Truth is light, and light is life. If these principles are cultivated by us, with our families, what is there to hinder us from walking into the presence of God, or into the presence of those who stand between us and him? I do not believe that we can emerge right into the presence of God, although we may see him, not in the flesh, but we can in the Spirit, if he touches the eyes of our understanding; but we cannot see him with these bodies of flesh. Joseph always told us that we would have to pass by sentinels that are placed between us and our Father and God. Then, of course, we are conducted along from this probation to other probations, or from one dispensation to another, by those who conducted those dispensations.

If we are, as some are, guilty of doing wrong, and treasuring up and practicing principles that lead to death, we cannot attain to principles of exaltation. It is for me to do right and to do as I am told. Still, when brother Brigham tells me to do a thing, I may have that in me that would equivocate and say, “Will not such and such a thing do better?” I know he is interrupted in that way continually. Supposing I say, “Yes, that is true,” when he speaks, and every man in Israel says the same, what has the Devil to do with us then? As brother Brigham says, “The Devil can do no more than stand and grin at us.” For a man or woman to try to frustrate his purposes is not true philosophy, but it is the Devil in our camp. He says the enemies on our borders cannot come in here, and I say the same.

Good works produce good faith, and faith without works is dead. Do not tell me about your faith, when you have not a particle of works with it: it is all of no account. Our works must be good: they must be confined to truth and the knowledge of God; and how can you get that knowledge without good works? Such doctrine as this is according to the words which God has given to his servants, ancient and modern.

When the Lord spoke through Joseph Smith, it was “the word of the Lord to my servant Orson, to my servant W. W. Phelps, or to my servant Oliver: Go and do thus and so, and you shall see my glory.” If they do not go, they do not see his glory, nor obtain his favor, do they? Because their works did not correspond with the word of God.

You never will see glory and happiness, angels, nor anything else, except the angels from beneath, if your works do not correspond with your faith and with what you are told to do. No man will ever enjoy the presence of Angels, Prophets, Apostles, Patriarchs, Jesus, and the Father, and the sanctified who have passed beyond the veil, that does not live up to these principles.

It is well enough for me to throw out what light and knowledge I have upon any matter, and brother Brigham can judge as to its correctness or incorrectness; but it is not for me to equivocate, when he has given the word of decision. That is the course I have tried to learn; and if I am not right in this matter, I stand here ready to be corrected by any person who knows better. If we all were to take that course, our enemies never—no, never would have power over us.

It is the head that governs the body, the same as the helm guides the ship; and if the captain does not manage the helm in person, he puts a man there that will run the course that he dictates. Says he, “It is blowing a heavy gale: make calculations to steer to such a point of the compass, that you may have a little leeway.” The captain of the ship does not take the helm, but he directs the one who has hold of the helm the course to steer.

“And verily I say unto you, the rest of my servants, go ye forth as your circumstances shall permit, in your several callings, unto the great and notable cities and villages, reproving the world in righteousness of all their unrighteous and ungodly deeds, setting forth clearly and understandingly the desolation of abomination in the last days. For, with you saith the Lord Almighty, I will rend their kingdoms; I will not only shake the earth, but the starry heavens shall tremble. For I, the Lord, have put forth my hand to exert the powers of heaven; ye cannot see it now, yet a little while and ye shall see it, and know that I am, and that I will come and reign with my people. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Amen.” (Doc. and Cov., sec. iv., par. 24.)

With you, mine Elders, my servants, I will rend the kingdoms of this world, and with you I will provide for my Saints in the last days.

That may be a new idea to many of you. Is he going to take the world and by them provide for his Saints? No; but he will take his Elders. The righteous have got to provide for the righteous in the latter days, as Joseph in Egypt provided for his father’s house and those that believed on him, like a good father providing for a good family, for good wives, and good children.

When I have provided for my wives and children, that is my business, is it not, although I dictate them to do the work? I bring this up as a comparison. Says the Lord, “That is my business. When you have done all things according to my word, you need not further trouble yourselves.”

Now, the Elders of this Church have been forth and exhorted, invited, and persuaded the world to embrace the Gospel. I have traveled myself hundreds of thousands of miles, and others have traveled more than I have, and some of you have not traveled any, only from your native land to this, which is but a trifling journey. We are now a thousand miles away from our enemies in the United States, and the President of the United States is over three thousand from us, and at the same time he has his myrmidons over the mountains there. What are they sent here for? To destroy us—to kill your leaders—to kill the Prophets, Apostles, and Patriarchs, with every man and woman that will sustain those men.

I have seen the day when it was as much as our lives were worth to sustain Joseph Smith—the apostates were so thick around us, and persecution was so great. The day was when brother Brigham was the only Apostle on the earth, with the exception of Joseph, and Sidney, and Hyrum, that could say to brother Heber, Go, and you shall be blessed. I am reckoning brother Hyde with us, for he went with me on that mission to England. In connection with brother Joseph, brother Hyrum, and brother Sidney, brother Brigham said, “Go, brother Heber, and in the name of Israel’s God you shall be blessed, and it shall prove the salvation of thousands.”

John Boynton, one of the Twelve, came to me and said, “If you are such a damned fool as to listen to Joseph Smith, the fallen Prophet, and go to England under these perilous circumstances, if I knew you were shipwrecked on Van Dieman’s Land I would not assist you to get you from that land.”

I will speak to Lyman Johnson’s credit: I will give every man credit for the good he does. Lyman Johnson steps up and says, “Brother Heber, I do not feel so. I am sorry you are going, and consider you are foolish; but if you are determined to go, I will help you all that is in my power;” and he took from his shoulders a good, nice camlet cloak and put it onto mine; and that was the first cloak I ever had. This was in the month of June, 1837. [Voice: “He shall be blessed for that.”]

I was then destitute of the comforts of life, and that cloak I wore three times across the sea, and Parley P. Pratt wore it four times; and in all it crossed the sea seven times. It seemed as though it would never wear out.

Those circumstances were the most trying circumstances that ever I was brought into. Joseph had to flee from that land to save his body from being slain, and so had brother Brigham and every other man who would sustain the Prophet, the apostasy was so great; and they were most hellish in their wickedness.

I went and performed the mission according to the words of the Prophet of the living God, and was gone eleven months and two days from Kirtland, being on that land eight months and two days, in which time there were about two thousand souls added to the Church and kingdom of God, with the help of Elders Willard Richards, Orson Hyde, and Joseph Fielding.

When I came back from England there were but a few left in Kirtland. There was one little society of men that pretended to take the lead and oversight of the people, and they were guided by a peep stone.

God had blessed and prospered me exceedingly, and the words of Joseph, Hyrum, Sidney, and Brigham were all fulfilled to the letter, which you all know. I was poor and weak, and did not know but a little in regard to this work in the latter days. My knowledge was in proportion to my experience. At the same time, I knew enough, by the help of the Holy Ghost, to confound the wise and to bring to naught the foolish things of this world. God has taken just such weak instruments as myself to bring to pass his great purposes. And you need not find fault with them: if you do, you find fault with God, who sent them.

Now, I will tell you what I am going to do. I have heard my leader express himself, and I am going to do as near like him as possible. I am going to do what is right, whether you like it or not; for I would rather have the favor of my leader, and Joseph, and Peter, and Jesus, &c., than of all the world besides. I am going to flour up my wheat, put it into boxes and cache it, right straight, whether you do it or not. Now, you need not go to brother Brigham and ask him where he is going to put his, nor where I am going to put mine; for we shall not tell you.

There are tens of thousands in these valleys that would not touch or meddle with those things, if they knew where they were; and then again, there are others that would. There is now and then an individual that is dishonest. They made a practice of stealing in the Old and New World, where they came from, and they think it is no harm. If they go to work for a man and do a little job on his house, and he has fifty nails or screws, and there are twenty left, he will put them into his pocket and take them home, and kneel down and thank the Lord that he has got a few nails or screws, and thinks it is the providence of God that has thrown them in his way and that there were a few left. Such practices bring evil and destruction upon us. I was telling you what I should do—that I should flour my wheat and cache it, and perhaps I shall lay some of it by in the wheat; but I shall flour it chiefly; for if it comes a tight time, I shall cache some portions of my mill, and then I shall not have a mill to grind any. I will have it made into flour and put it where it will keep seven years. And I am also going to cultivate the earth more thoroughly and efficiently this present year to come than I ever did in my life, and so will every other man that does right. I told you I am going to do as brother Brigham did. Those who think it is not good philosophy, try the opposite. You will never get me to contend against him while I have my senses. I will cultivate my trees—my apple trees and plum trees, and set out currant and rose bushes, though I would rather put in a plum tree or some kind of tree that will yield something for the sustenance of the body. I will also repair and re-repair, and take care of what I have got. I mean to take my sons, from the oldest to those who are old enough, and I will qualify them to cultivate the soil, and will fit them out and put them into the mountains to watch for, and, if necessary, to fight for the interests of the house of Israel from this day forth, until the Lord God Almighty upsets their kingdoms. I never will put them to the plough again when they are required to stand against our foes. I will say, “Boys, take that team and plough, and that hoe, and put in the grain to provide for you while you are there;” and then, if they come home relieved by the manager, they can help to harvest it and take care of it. I will support my sons in the mountains to sustain this people, and in the vineyard, while I live, if it is necessary, as fast as they come to maturity, or to mechanism, cultivating the earth, &c., so as to know and understand all branches of business and be qualified to teach their children; and so will every other good man and woman who live their religion. For, says the Lord, with you, mine Elders, I will rend their kingdoms; with you I will provide for my Saints in the last days.

We have invited the nations to receive the truth, but they will not, nor let us go to them; and now God is going to compel them to come in by famine, war, and every kind of desolation; and they will come faster than we can provide for them. Then let us awake, and not lie down and sleep, and go home and act as though we had not heard anything.

I am telling what I am going to do: I have heard our leader talk so. Then I will do as he says. I would not give a dime for a man that would not. Get out of my way, you poor stinking curses that would pursue a course contrary to the word of the living God! I am at war with such spirits. I want to know how we can be one, unless we are one with the head? When the head speaks, let every man and woman listen and obey.

I do not care so much about the women obeying as I do the men. I am not talking about them, but you, Elders of Israel, that have the Priesthood. Women have not a particle of Priesthood, only what they hold in connection with their husbands; neither have the men, except that which they hold in connection with those who hold the keys of the kingdom at headquarters. Do not step out on one side and say you have Priesthood independent. You have not a particle in that way. I was ordained to be an Apostle under the hands of Oliver, and David, and Martin; and then it was confirmed by Joseph of the First Presidency. Now, I want to know what authority of Priesthood I have, only as I act in concert with those who gave it to me? They are God’s agents and had power to ordain me.

Brother Brigham is my head; therefore that power is all in him. I act in oneness with him in all things, and sanction his purposes; and in so doing I sanction the purposes of God, of angels, and all heavenly beings. But, let me turn away and be independent of him, and where is my Priesthood, or where is my authority?

What power has one of my wives to act independently of me? She has not a particle of power. She must act in connection with me, as I do with my head, or the limb acts in connection with the tree from which it springs. You see dead limbs on trees. Will they ever come to life again, after they are dead? No. They must be cut off and thrown back into the earth, to return back to their mother ele– ment, and become again quickened by the law they were ordained to keep; and if they are not quickened by that power, they will never be restored again to that tree. No more will you. You have got to keep that law pertaining to that tree, limb, or government, or you will never be restored again—never, no never, while the earth stands.

Will any man ever be redeemed upon any other principle than what we are redeemed upon? No. Men must abide the same law, or God Almighty will never redeem them. If they violate that law, they bring damnation upon themselves, and must suffer the consequences of it. Still, I believe the greater part of the inhabitants of the earth will be redeemed; yea, all will be finally redeemed, except those who have sinned against the Holy Ghost or shed innocent blood; and they never can be redeemed until that debt is paid. And I do not know any way for them to pay it, unless they are brought back again to a mortal existence, and pay the debt where they contracted it.

God will make every man pay off the debt he contracts; for a restoration must take place, which has been spoken of by the mouth of all the holy Prophets since the world began.

When a man breaks a law of God, he must pay that debt, unless God forgives him; and he has a right to do that, the same as I have. Still, my forgiving him does not pay the debt; for if he has stolen ten dollars from me, and he comes to me and asks my pardon for stealing the ten dollars, I forgive him. But does that restore the ten dollars of stolen money?

How does it look for a man holding the Priesthood to be dishonest? When a man is employed by me, he has no business to meddle with a thing, unless I tell him to. Still, he may do many good things I do not tell him to do. God says he is not pleased with a man that has to be commanded in all things.

I have had men work for me, who, if there was the least thing left after the job was done, would take it to themselves. This is done in the public works by some few individuals. I do not like such things. Brother Brigham has lost, from time to time, thousands of dollars’ worth of property in this valley. I have chastised men for taking things from him myself, when I have seen them do it—men old enough to be my father, and men of middle age, and those sweet delicate females. How do I look upon you? You rob me of the most precious gem when you rob me of the confidence I have in you. And I am that kind of a being, it seems, that it is very hard to have that confidence restored again.

Let me do a dishonest act towards brother Brigham, and it is a hard case for him to overlook that, or to regain the same confidence in me he formerly had. I am not a man that goes to him to prejudice his mind against any person; no, I never do such a thing. Still there are a great many things I could lay before him that would hurt his mind against some. I do not do it. No: I make you appear well before him. Others take the opposite course. Do I like it? No: I have no friendship for such; for, say I, “You would injure me, if you could, as well as any other man.”

I remember the teaching Joseph gave me. My policy is to be honest and virtuous; and the wives and children and property of the Elders of Israel are held as sacred in my bosom as I would wish them to hold mine; and that man who is not of that character is not a friend to the kingdom of God, and they cannot enter there; for the liar, hypocrite, whoremonger, and those that love to make lies, the sorcerer, and dishonest person are without the gate, according to the word of God. Such things have got to be done away.

I wish I could live the remaining portion of my life among a people where everything I had would be as safe as in my own possession; and when my wife goes into a neighbor’s house to visit, she may not come home with seven devils more than she took away with her. That gives the Devil and his emissaries power over us. You will see sorrow, if you do not stop this chin-music, and tattling, and speaking evil one of another. Here are troops over here: they want to come in; but it has been said from the beginning that they will not come in. And they will not, for we will not let them. We have sent our boys out there, and they are going to keep them back; and they will do it from this time forth, if you will do right. Now, supposing you go to cache your wheat, corn, flour, serviceberries, dried fruit, &c., and a little sugar made from the cane of our own raising, some may say this time is all lost, if our enemies are not coming in. Well, is it not all the better to spend our time digging holes and caching our stuff than to spend it in being in the mountains?

Brother Brigham says he does not intend to burn up the houses, and cut down our fruit trees, and push over our walls, and this thing and that, until we come to the last pinch; and then you will see a flame, such a one as you never saw in Salt Lake. I will burn up my houses, my barns, and granaries, should the Lord require it. You have heard me say, many a time, I would have more joy to see my family in the mountains—to see them in rags, in sheepskins, and goatskins, than to see them enjoying all the pleasure God ever gave to man and serving the Devil withal; and I would rather do it, if it is to be next year, than ever to succumb to the acts of such an ungodly, pusillanimous President, with his coadjutors, as those that govern our nation.

These are some of my views: you are welcome to them, and I charge you nothing for them. I received them from God, and they cost me nothing. And, as far as they are correct, receive them in your hearts, and they shall be unto you as a well of water springing up into everlasting life; and every man, woman, and child will grow and increase by observing them.

If you do not do these things, you will see sorrow. My heart says, “O Lord God, have mercy on this people, and help them to do thy will, and keep them in thy truth.” I pray and weep, lest the unrighteous among us lead away the righteous. Is it better for them to die? Yes; it is better for you to die according to your covenants a thousand times than to turn to wickedness and then lead away the righteous. But I doubt very much if you can lead away a people that are inclined to righteousness. You cannot lead away the elect; “For they will hear my voice, and strangers they will not follow.”

There will always be a majority of this people that will stand while all hell boils over, and they will overcome; and I bless them, in the name of Israel’s God, with the blessings of life and with the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob forever; and I bless all those that bless and protect Israel. Amen.