Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered at the Adjourned General Conference, held in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 7, 1874.

Those things which we have been listening to are of very great importance to the Latter-day Saints. Situated as we are, entertaining the views that we do, in possession of the light and intelligence that have been communicated unto us, we stand, in these respects, in an entirely different position from that of the world with which we are surrounded; and, as has already been stated, it is necessary that we begin to reflect a little upon that which has been revealed to us, that we may understand our position and relationship to each other, the duties and responsibilities that devolve upon us as fathers, as mothers, as children, as Elders of Israel, and in all the various relationships of life, and that we may comprehend the requirements made of us by our heavenly Father. Some of those things which have been presented before us are obvious to every reflecting mind, there is nothing strange, anomalous or peculiar about them; they are things which have been more or less advocated by different statesmen among the various nations of the earth, and, according to circumstances, they have been adopted, more or less, by a great many people, and we, the Latter-day Saints, have approached nearer to them than many of us seem to have any idea of. There would not be time, at present, to enter into an elaborate detail of the various plans, ideas and workings involved in the principles which have been presented before us this morning; but in taking a cursory view of our position, we shall find that it is very different from that of any other people. We have already carried out a great many of those things which have been referred to, that is, a great many of us have; not all. The position that we have occupied in this nation, in the States of Missouri and Illinois, and in the various countries of those States, and the history of this people has been a very peculiar one. It is true, as has been said that if we would give up our religion, and act and feel as others act and feel, we should be hail fellows well met with the world, and we could have the fellowship of the devil and all his imps. We could have this all the time if we would conform our ideas to theirs. But what are their ideas? Who can describe them? They are simply a babel of contrarieties, contradictions, confusion, ignorance, darkness, speculation, mystery, folly, vanity, crime, iniquity and every kind of evil that man can think of, and if we were willing to join in with this it would be all right, and we should be hail fellows well met. But we do not propose to do that. God has spoken from the heavens; the light and intelligence which exist in the eternal worlds have been communicated, the heavens have been opened and the revelations of God given to man, and we have participated in them in part, and the light thus received has enabled us to look at the world as it is; it has opened to our view the visions of eternity; it has made us acquainted with our God, with the principles of truth, and we would not barter that for all the world has to give us. We rejoice, therefore, and thank God for the light and intelligence that he has communicated to us, and so far we have measurably been one, and we could not have helped ourselves and prevented it, if we had desired to, for the world was determined to make us one, or make hypocrites of us, like themselves; one of the two. We had either got to be one, or deny the principles that God has implanted in every honest man’s soul, and we would not do that. No man will barter his independence, no man will barter his convictions, no man, who is intelligent and honorable, will barter his religion or his politics at the caprice of any other man. God has implanted certain principles in man, and as long as manhood is retained they cannot be obliterated, they are written there as in letters of living fire, and there they will remain so long as we retain our manhood and standing before God. What has been the result of this, so far as it has gone? Why, when the people in Missouri proposed that we should live among them in peace if we would leave our religion, did we do it? Not quite. What did we do? We clung to our religion. And what did those honest, generous, gentle, intelligent, Christian people do? Robbed us of nearly all we possessed, and with the balance we agreed to help one another to get to some place where men could worship God according to the dictates of their conscience, if such a place could be found in republican America. Well, we left. Did we unite? Yes, we did; and every man that had a team, a wagon, two, three or four horses, two, three, four, five or six yoke of cattle, or bread, money or clothing, distributed among his brethren, and we helped one another out until every man who wanted to leave had left. There might have been a few miserable “skeezeks,” such as we have among us here, a few miserable hounds left, but what of them? Why, nothing at all, they did not think anything of themselves, and nobody thought anything of them.

We commenced again in Illinois, just on the same principle. There we built a Temple, and performed the ordinances of God in his house; there we attended to our sacraments, entered into our covenants, and commenced anew to worship God according to the dictates of our own consciences, and there again we found a lot of Christians, just the same as in Missouri, who did not like our religion. Said they—“Gentlemen, we do not like your religion; but if you will be like us, you can live among us; if you do not believe and worship God as we do, you cannot stay here.” Well, we could not quite come it then, any more than we did before; and they killed Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith, burnt our houses, destroyed our property, and let loose mobs upon us, and deprived us of the rights of American citizens; and finally we had to leave the States and come out among the red men of the desert, that we might find that protection among the savages that Christendom denied us. How did we get here? We helped one another. In the Temple that we had erected, and dedicated to the Most High God, we lifted up our hands before God, and covenanted before him that we would help one another to leave that land, so long as there was one left in it who desired to leave. Did we keep this covenant? We did. Why? Because we felt an interest in the welfare of our brethren; we believed in our religion, in building up the kingdom of God, and in carrying out his purposes and designs. The Christians object to all this? Of course they do, but who cares about them? I do not, not one straw; we have had so much of their tender mercies, that they take no effect now upon us. Again, we pay our Tithing. Some may inquire—“Do not the Priest– hood rob you?” I do not know, I do not think we are robbed very much, or that we are very much injured. We do not do enough of it to be injured very much, we are something like what the boy said of his father. A man asked a boy—“Are you a Mormon?” “Yes.” “Is your father a Mormon?” Said the boy—“Yes, but he don’t potter much at it.” There are a great many of us who do not potter much at it, but still we make the attempt.

What have we done since we came here? Before the railroad was made we sent from here, year after year, as many as five hundred teams to help the poor who were unable to help themselves. Hence you see that a good deal of this unity of action has been carried out among us, but we have only pottered a little at it, we have not got right into the matter, only in part.

Our Ladies’ Relief and other societies and organizations have done a good deal of this kind of thing, and they are looking after the interests of the poor, the widow and the fatherless. What is the business of our Bishops? Why, to attend to these things. Do they do it? They do. And then, if there is any enterprise, or anything required, the people are ready to take hold and do it, independent, say, of these covenants we have heard spoken of. A short time ago, in St. George, they commenced to build a Temple. Men were called upon from different parts, some from this city, a great many from Sanpete County, and from the different settlements, to go and assist down in that locality in building the Temple. Did they do it? Yes. Was there much grunting about it? I have not heard that there was. I happened to be in a meeting a short time ago, and it was said they wanted a little means to help to clothe these men, and to furnish them certain things, and in a very little while there were some ten or twelve hundred dollars subscribed, without any grunting. There is a feeling of sympathy in the hearts of Latter-day Saints towards one another, and for the upbuilding and advancement of the kingdom of God. But yet some of us are a little startled when we hear about uniting our properties, &c. I am amused sometimes to see the manifestation of feeling by some on this subject. We have been praying a long while that we might go back to Jackson County, and build up the Center Stake of Zion; that we might enter into the United Order of God, and be one in both temporal and spiritual things, in fact in everything; yet when it comes along it startles us, we are confused and hardly know what to think of it. This reminds me of an anecdote, which I will relate to you. Among the passengers on a steamer crossing the Atlantic, was a very zealous minister who was all the time preaching to those on board about the glory and happiness of heaven, and how happy they would all be when they got there. During the voyage a very heavy storm arose, and the vessel was drifted from her course and was in great danger of striking on a reef of rocks. The captain went to examine his chart, and after a while returned with a very sorrowful face, and said—“Ladies and gentlemen, in twenty minutes from this time we shall all be in heaven.” “God forbid!” said the minister. Many of us are a good deal like this minister; for years we have been talking about a new order of things, about union and happiness, and about going back to Jackson County, but the moment it is presented to us we say—“God forbid.” But then on sober, second thought, another feeling seems to inspire us, and wherever we go a spirit seems to rest upon the people which leads them almost unanimously to embark in these things; and when we reflect, saying nothing about our religion, an extended system of cooperation seems to agree with every principle of good common sense. Is there anything extraordinary or new in the doctrine that it is well for a community to be self-sustaining? Why, the Whigs, you know, of this country, have contended on that principle from the time of the organization of the government, and they have sanctioned it and plead in its behalf before Congress, in political caucuses, and before the people up to the present time. There is nothing new in the doctrine of a people being self-sustaining. The first Napoleon introduced into France what is known as the “Continental system,” which encouraged the production of all necessary articles at home, and it is the results of this system which today gives stability to France, and has enabled her, after the severe trials of the late war, to pay off her indebtedness and stand independent among the nations.

Now, for instance, we require a great many things in connection with human existence. We need boots and shoes, stockings, pants, vests, coats, hats, handkerchiefs, shirts, we need cloth of various kinds, and dresses, shawls, bonnets, &c., and in every reflecting mind, the question naturally arises, Is it better for us to make these things ourselves at home, or to have somebody abroad make them for us? Is it better for each man to labor separately, as we do now, or to be organized so as to make the most of our labor? We have a large number of hides here in this Territory, what do we do with them generally? Send them to the States. We raise a large amount of wool here, what do we do with it? We export a great deal of it to the States. We have got a large amount of excellent timber here, what do we do for our furniture? We send to the States for a great deal of it. Where do we get our pails and our washtubs, and all our cooper ware from? We send to the States for it. Where do we get our brooms from? From the States; and so on all the way through the catalogue, and millions on millions of dollars are sent out of the Territory every year, for the purchase of articles, most of which we could manufacture and raise at home. This is certainly very poor economy, for we have thousands and thousands of men who are desirous to get some kind of employment, and they cannot get it. Why? Because other people are making our shoes, hats, clothing, bonnets, silks, artificial flowers, and many other things that we need. This may do very well for a while in an artificial state of society; but the moment any reverse comes that kind of thing is upset, and all our calculations are destroyed.

I believe in organizing the tanners and having the hides tanned at home. When the hides are tanned I believe in organizing the shoemakers, and manufacturing our own shoes and boots, I believe in keeping our wool at home, and in having it manufactured in our own factories, and we have got as good factories here as anywhere. They should work up all the wool in the country, and if there is not enough raised to keep them running, import more. Then I believe in organizing men to take care of our stock—our cattle and sheep, and increasing the clip of wool, that we may have enough to meet the demands of the whole community. Then, when our cloth is made, I believe in organizing tailors’ companies to manufacture that cloth into clothing—pants, coats, vests, and everything of the kind that we need. Then for our furniture, I believe in going into the mountains and cutting down the timber, framing it into proper shape, and then manufacturing the various articles of furniture that we need; if we require another kind of timber, import that, but make the furniture here. When we talk about cooperation, we have entered but very little into it, and it has been almost exclusively confined to the purchase of goods. There is not much in that. I wish we would learn how to produce them instead of purchasing them. I wish we could concentrate our energies, and organize all hands, old, middle-aged and young, male and female, and put them under proper directions, with proper materials to manufacture everything we need to wear and use. We have forgotten even how to make sorghum molasses, and our memories are getting short on other points. We can hardly make a hat or coat, or a pair of boots and shoes, but we have to send to the States and import these paper ones, which last a very short time and then drop to pieces, and you have your hands continually in your pockets to supply these wants, and by and by your pockets are empty. It is therefore necessary that we right about face, and begin to turn the other end to, and be self-sustaining.

The President said he would like the Elders to give both sides of the question; but there is only one side to this question, and that is union in all our operations, in everything we engage in. They started a little thing like this in Box Elder County some time ago, and I was very much pleased to see the way things went there. I have spoken about it once or twice in public. They have got their cooperative store, it is true; but that is only a small part of it. Sometime ago I asked them—“You have a factory here, haven’t you?” “Yes.” “Well, do you sell your wool, send it to the States to mix up with shoddy and get an inferior article, or do you make it up yourselves?” “We make it up ourselves.” “Then you don’t sell your wool, and keep your factory standing idle?” “No, we don’t, our factory has never stood idle a day for want of wool since it was organized.” Said I—“That looks right. What do you do with your hides? Do you send them off?” “No, we have got a very good tannery and we tan them, and make them into leather for shoes, and for harness and for other purposes.” “Oh, indeed!” “Yes, that is the way it is.” “Well, then, what next?” “Why, when we get our shoes made, we have a saddlers’ organization, and they make all the saddlery and harness we want.” “And what do you do with your cows? Do you let them run on the plains, and live or die, just as it happens, without making any cheese or butter?” “No, we have a cooperative dairy, and we have our cows in that, and we receive so much from them all the time regularly.” “Well,” said I, “that looks right. And are you all interested in this?” “Well, about two-thirds or three-fourths of us are all engaged in these matters.” “How about your store, does it run away with the best part of it?” “No.” “Does the factory get the cream of it?” “No.” “Does some keen financial man get his fingers in and grab it?” “No, we are all mutually interested in everything, the profits as well as the losses.” I have learned, since I was there, that they have made it a great success.

Now, then, if you can organize one little thing in that way, everything can be done in the same way. I was talking with President Lorenzo Snow, and he told me that they pay their men every Saturday night; they have a money of their own, and they pay their hands with it, and that is good for everything they require. And they make their arrangements unitedly, and they operate together for the general good. Said I—“How do they feel about this United Order?” “Oh,” I was told, “They are ready for anything that God may send along.” That is the feeling among the Saints, I believe, generally. I was, I think, at the biggest meeting I ever attended in Ogden City, along with some of the Presidency and Twelve and others, and I never saw more unanimity among the people on any question than on this one. That big Tabernacle was full, and the aisles were full, and everything was jammed to overflowing, and when a vote was called, nearly every hand went up. I thank God that his Spirit is operating upon the Latter-day Saints, and is leading them to a union in regard to these things.

May God help us, and lead us in the right path, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the Meetinghouse, at Nephi, Juab County, Sunday Morning April 19, 1874.

We have heard a good deal since we have assembled, in relation to what is called the Order of Enoch, the New Order, the United Order, or whatever name we may give to it. It is new and then it is old, for it is everlasting as I understand it. I am asked sometimes—“Do you understand it?” Yes, I do, no, I do not, yes I do, no, I don’t, and both are true; we know that such an order must be introduced, but are not informed in relation to the details, and I guess it is about the same with most of you. We have been talking about an order that is to be introduced and established among the Saints of God for the last forty-two years, but we have very little information given us concerning it, either in the Scriptures or in the Book of Mormon. The fullest detail that we have of it is in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and that is the case with almost everything pertaining to the kingdom of God on the earth; and hence I have said, and say now, that I believe that Joseph Smith revealed more in relation to the kingdom of God, and was a greater Prophet than perhaps any other man who ever lived except Jesus. I do not know how far Enoch and perhaps some others on this continent went; if we had further records from the Book of Mormon they might throw more light on subjects with which we are not at present very well acquainted.

We occupy a very remarkable position; we are living in a peculiar day and age of the world, in the dispensation of the fullness of times. When the President communicated with us a little before starting from the south, about this new order, I really did not know what shape it would assume or how it would be introduced, but it had got to come; and then, on the other hand, I do not know that we need have very much anxiety in relation to the matter, for if it be of God, it must be right, and its introduction is only a question of time. As to the modus operandi, that is another question. I have sometimes thought, to tell the truth, that we might have different orders, perhaps the patriarchal order, perhaps the order of Enoch, and perhaps an all-things-in-common order, all operating under one head; but I do not know anything definitely about it, and it is not my business. I have had reflections of that kind running through my mind, inasmuch as it is “the dispensation of the fullness of times when God will gather together all things in one.” The greatest embarrassment that we have to contend with at the present time is not in knowing what to do, but knowing how to do it, and the circumstances with which we are surrounded, not so much among our own people as outsiders, and then again among our own people, for we find all kinds of persons amongst us now, as we always have done. Some will start right into anything of this kind, perhaps with a determination to do right, or at least half right; but when they get started in the operation, something or other comes up and they back up, break the traces and play the devil generally. I expect there will be a good deal of the same kind of thing associated with this, as there has been with other things that have been started. I do not expect that every one that is loud-mouthed and seemingly very anxious that this thing should be introduced is going to stick by it forever and ever, any more than many others have done in other things. At the same time I think it is very proper that the servants of God should be brought under an influence which emanates from him, and that that influence should govern them in all things, temporal as well as spiritual. For my part, I cannot see why it is that men should be so much attached to the things of this world, and why they are so extremely desirous to have their own way in relation to them; that is a thing I never could understand. We like freedom, God has put it in our bosoms; and as I said to President George A., the other day, in talking about this matter, in organizing the Order of Enoch, as it may be called, we want on the one hand the most perfect union; and on the other hand the most extended personal liberty that it is possible for men to enjoy consonant with carrying out the principles of unity. Not the liberty to trample on other people’s rights; not the liberty to take from people that which belongs to them; not the liberty to infringe upon public interests or the public benefit, but personal liberty so far as we can enjoy it. These are my ideas and feelings in relation to these matters, based upon the principles of truth and, as it is said—“If the truth shall make you free, then shall you be free indeed, sons of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.”

In relation to religious matters I would not have a religion that I could not sustain, and that God would not sustain me in; I do not want it, nor to have anything to do with it. One thing I have always felt proud of, and that is, that the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ were so plain, clear, pointed, definite and incontrovertible that they defied the whole world, and so far as I have gone, and the servants of God around me, no man has ever been able to successfully gainsay one solitary principle connected with the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth, that is, in regard to what we term sometimes spiritual things. I want to see the same principle established in relation to our temporal matters, and I believe, from what little conversation I have had with the brethren, that that is their feeling. In relation to these matters I do not want to see one solitary principle that an honest, honorable man cannot sustain; but let everything be so that it can be dragged right forth to the daylight, and turned over and over and over and examined all sides up, and inside out, and see that it is true, good, honorable, upright and honest in every particular. That is the kind of thing we want, as honest men, and we want to get at things in that kind of a way; and if they will not bear investigation of that kind, I should have just the same opinion of them as I have about unsound religious matters, and I should not want anything to do with them. I do not want anything that cannot be sustained in the face of open day, and in the face of God, angels, men and devils.

It is asked—“Well, what is the Order?” We do not know exactly, we know it in part; it is just as Paul said in his day—“We see in part, and we prophesy in part” &c. But to begin with, unless some change does take place in relation to our temporal matters, our situation is anything but pleasant. The fact of the matter is, we are all of us on the highway to financial or temporal ruin. The world is going to the devil just as fast as it can go. Corruption, fraud, chicanery, deception, evil and iniquity of every kind prevail, so that you cannot trust a man in any place, you cannot rely upon his word, you cannot rely upon any instrument of writing that he gets up, and there is nothing you can rely upon. Every day’s news brings accounts of defalcations, frauds, infamies, rottenness and corruptions of every kind, enough to sink a nation from the presence of God and all honorable beings. And this is not only so in the United States, but other nations, in ours especially.

We, as a people, have come out from Babylon, but we have brought a great amount of these infernal principles with us, and we have been grabbing, grasping, pinching, squeezing, hauling, horning and hooking on every side, and it seems as though every man was for himself and the devil for us all. That is about the position we are in today. We want a change in these things. We have come to Zion. What to do? Why to do the will of God, to accomplish his purposes, to save ourselves, our progenitors and our posterity, and we have come because the Spirit of God led us here through the instrumentality of the holy Priesthood of God. Jesus says—“My sheep hear my voice, and they know me and they will follow me, and a stranger they will not follow, because they know not the voice of a stranger.” We who have gathered here have been going in a curious, crooked kind of a way, but we have nevertheless started to build up the kingdom of God and to establish correct principles upon the earth and to help to redeem it. Can we accomplish this by continuing in the course we have hitherto pursued? No, verily, no. But I will tell you how I have always felt, both in Joseph’s day and since then, whenever the Lord has wrought upon the man who stands at the head of his people to introduce anything for the welfare of his kingdom, it is time to look out, and to carry out the counsels that are given; and yesterday, after I arrived here, and had seen President Young, and conversed with him, and then heard him and others speak on these principles, I said to him, “The old fiddle is in tune, the sacred fire is glowing and burning;” and I think so still. The old fiddle is in tune, the right feeling, spirit and influence are operating, and we all feel them.

A great deal has been said about the evils that exist, and we might talk for days about the necessity of something being introduced for the welfare and happiness of the Saints of God here in Zion. I suppose, on a reasonable calculation, that there are ten thousand men out of employment in this Territory, perhaps for five months in a year. Now, if they were at work, and only got one dollar a day, there would be ten thousand dollars a day earned, which in five months would make a very large sum, one million three hundred thousand dollars I think. We are bringing in here all kinds of things that we ought to make ourselves. What are our broom makers and coopers doing? What are you doing with your molasses mills, and where do you get your cloth, shoes, hats, shirts and things of this kind from? It takes quite an amount to supply them, they must come from somewhere, and the question is, where do they all come from? At a Bishops’ meeting in Salt Lake City I said I wanted to get a well bucket, but I could not tell where to get it, and I wished some of them would tell me where; but they could not tell me, although there were a good many Bishops present. This is a pretty state of things. It is true that we have made some advances in some branches of manufacture. There is a big factory in Provo, some near Salt Lake City, one at Ogden, one at Box-Elder and one in the South. It has required great efforts on the part of President Young and others to establish these institutions, and when we get them we do not want the cloth. We do no not want our shoes made here—we would rather send off our hides, and get somebody east to make them, they can make shoes so much better there than here. Then we do not want leather shoes here, we must send off and get a lot of paper things, with heels high enough to put anybody’s ankles out of joint.

Well, my opinion is, that with home labor properly directed and applied, we shall have all the bread, butter, cheese, shoes, cloth, hats, bonnets, shawls and everything that we need, and I think, as the President has said, if we behave ourselves, we shall get pretty rich. That is all right enough, though riches are only a little thing, in comparison to the great principles of eternal lives and exaltation in the kingdom of God, the riches of eternity. But my time has expired and I must close. Amen.

Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the Fourteenth Ward Assembly Rooms, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Feb. 1, 1874.

I have had a note forwarded to me since I came here, by a party who is a stranger to me, requesting that I would speak on our leading doctrines. There are so many great principles developed in the eternal truths of God that we believe in, that it is a somewhat difficult task to attempt, in so short a time, any adequate exposition thereof, and if I touch upon any of these principles, it must be very lightly. The request reminds me of an anecdote which I read a short time ago. A lady met with a gentleman who had traveled very extensively over the world. He was a statesman, a philosopher, and quite a celebrity. He and the lady were going to take dinner together, and some ten or fifteen minutes before dinner was served, the lady said to him—“Mr.—, I am very happy to have the privilege of seeing and speaking with you, and now while they are preparing dinner, we shall have ten or fifteen minutes, will you please tell me all you know and ‘have seen in your travels?’”

In regard to our religion, I will say that it embraces every principle of truth and intelligence pertaining to us as moral, intellectual, mortal and immortal beings, pertaining to this world and the world that is to come. We are open to truth of every kind, no matter whence it comes, where it originates, or who believes in it. Truth, when preceded by the little word “all,” comprises everything that has ever existed or that ever will exist and be known by and among men in time and through the endless ages of eternity; and it is the duty of all intelligent beings who are responsible and amenable to God for their acts, to search after truth, and to permit it to influence them and their acts and general course in life, independent of all bias or preconceived notions, however specious and plausible they may be.

We, as Latter-day Saints, believe, first, in the Gospel, and that is a great deal to say, for the Gospel embraces principles that dive deeper, spread wider, and extend further than anything else that we can conceive. The Gospel teaches us in regard to the being and attributes of God; it also teaches us our relationship to that God and the various responsibilities we are under to him as his offspring; it teaches us the various duties and responsibilities that we are under to our families and friends, to the community, to the living and the dead; it unfolds to us principles pertaining to futurity; in fact, according to the saying of one of the old disciples, it “brings life and immortality to light,” brings us into relationship with God, and prepares us for an exaltation in the eternal world. There is something grand, profound and intellectual associated with the principles of the Gospel as it stands connected with the salvation and exaltation of man. A man in search of truth has no peculiar system to sustain, no peculiar dogma to defend or theory to uphold; he embraces all truth, and that truth, like the sun in the firmament, shines forth and spreads its effulgent rays over all creation, and if men will divest themselves of bias and prejudice, and prayerfully and conscientiously search after truth, they will find it wherever they turn their attention. But in regard to the leading principles of the Gospel, there are some distinctive features connected therewith, which, like all the laws of nature and of nature’s God, require implicit obedience and compliance therewith in order to insure a realization of the results which flow therefrom. The earth on which we live, the matter of which it is composed, the elements with which we are surrounded, as well as the planetary system, have certain inscrutable, eternal, unchangeable laws connected with them that cannot be departed from.

We talk sometimes about the great discoveries men have made connected with electricity, steam, light and its properties, and a variety of other principles that exist in nature; all those principles are governed by certain specific laws, which are immutable and unchangeable; and all of the great discoveries which men have made, have only developed certain properties that have always existed. They have not created anything, and their discoveries are nothing particularly worth boasting of. A child, in its infancy, possesses certain reasoning faculties, but they are only developed by a long course of training and experience. It possesses arms, legs, feet, a head and body, eyes, ears, nose, &c., but it is unconscious of this; by and by, when its reasoning faculties begin to be developed, it discovers that it has hands. It had them before, but it did not know it. It is a good deal so with us and the generations which have preceded us—we live, and have lived in a world in which from the beginning there have existed principles, organisms and systems—all that are now known or that ever will be discovered, but we have been ignorant of them, and only become aware of their existence by what is called the progress of science and the discoveries of scientific and ingenious men. And as earthly things are governed and controlled by unchanging laws, so it is with heavenly things. In optics certain lenses are needed for the reception and refraction of light; in chemistry a certain combination of elements is necessary to produce magnetism or electricity, and you may have these elements ever so perfect, and without the wire you cannot use them to convey intelligence; and you may have the wire without the necessary combination of chemical elements, and the result is the same. I have a watch; if I wind it up it will tell the time, if I neglect to do that it will stop. You have your steam engine, if you shut up the valve you turn off the steam, and it ceases to move. You have a water wheel possessing certain power, but turn off the water from that wheel and its power ceases. It is just so in regard to all the operations of nature—they are governed by certain laws which are understood by those who study them.

There are laws pertaining to eternal things—the things of God—that are just as immutable and unchangeable as those of which I have been speaking, and to realize the results they are calculated to produce, you must submit to and obey them. God has distinctly told us in his revelations that “no man knows the things of God but by the Spirit of God, even as no man knows the things of man but by the spirit of man that is within him,” then how can men obtain a knowledge of the things of God except they first take the course which he has pointed out? They cannot do it. If the laws which govern terrestrial things are immutable, the laws which govern celestial things are certainly not less so, and this brings me to the consideration of some of the first principles of the Gospel which we as a people believe in.

We believe that it is necessary for man to be placed in communication with God; that he should have revelation from Him, and that unless he is placed under the influence of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he can know nothing about the things of God. I do not care how learned a man may be, or how extensively he may have traveled; I do not care what his talent, intellect or genius may be, at what college he may have studied, how comprehensive his views or what his judgment may be on other matters, he cannot understand certain things without the Spirit of God, and that necessarily introduces the principle I before referred to—the necessity of revelation. Not revelation in former times, but present and immediate revelation, which shall lead and guide those who possess it in all the paths of life here, and to eternal life hereafter. A good many people, and those professing Christians, will sneer a good deal at the idea of present revelation. Whoever heard of true religion without communication with God? To me the thing is the most absurd that the human mind could conceive of. I do not wonder, when the people generally reject the principle of present revelation, that skepticism and infidelity prevail to such an alarming extent. I do not wonder that so many men treat religion with contempt, and regard it as something not worth the attention of intelligent beings, for without revelation religion is a mockery and a farce. If I cannot have a religion that will lead me to God, and place me en rapport with him, and unfold to my mind the principles of immortality and eternal life, I want nothing to do with it.

The principle of present revelation, then, is the very foundation of our religion. The Christian world reject that, and say the Bible is all-sufficient. I can remember in my younger days searching its contents very diligently. It is a glorious book to study, and I earnestly recommend it to the attention of our young men and young women, and of our old men and old women. “Search the Scriptures,” was the command of Jesus, “for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they that testify of me.” I would not only search the Scriptures that we now have, but I would search also every revelation that God has given, does give, or will give for the guidance and direction of his people, and then I would reverence the Giver, and those also whom he makes use of as his honored instruments to promulgate and make known those principles; and I would seek to be governed by the principles that are contained in that sacred word.

Now then let me look back a little, and examine things as they have existed. What kind of a Gospel was it that Jesus introduced? We are told that it was the Gospel; but what sort of an organization did his Church have? Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers and Evangelists—inspired men—men who had the ministering of angels, the spirit of prophecy, and the principle of revelation; men who had the heavens opened to them, so that they could contemplate the purposes of God as they should roll along throughout every subsequent period of time until the winding up scene. Whence did they obtain this knowledge? They obtained it through obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and hence it is very properly said that “life and immortality are brought to light by the Gospel.”

Well, who were the ancient Apostles? They were men chosen and selected by Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Who were these Prophets? Men who were in possession of the spirit of prophecy; and you show me a man who is called and inspired of God to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I will show you a Prophet, for we are told that “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy;” and if a man has not the spirit of prophecy and revelation he is not the man to teach the things of God, for that is the principle by which all God’s chosen and authorized ministers in every age have been inspired, and by which they have taught the things of eternal life to the children of men.

How was it with Jesus? He said that “he came not to do his own will; but the will of the father who sent him;” and said he—“The words that I speak I speak not of myself; but the Father which dwelleth in me, he doeth the work.” When the disciples went forth to preach the Gospel, Jesus told them to go without purse and scrip, trusting in him; and he told them that when they were brought before kings, rulers and governors, they were not to think beforehand what they should say, for it should be given to them in the selfsame hour that they needed it. Paul said that the Gospel that he preached “he received not of man, neither by man;” but he received it of God, and the words that he spake were not his own, for he told the people definitely and distinctly that their words came to them “not in word only, but in power and in the demonstration of the Spirit of God, and with much assurance.” They were under the inspiration of the Almighty.

And where did we get our Bible from? “No Scripture is of any private interpretation,” we are told, “but holy men of old spake as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost,” and while under that inspiration they uttered the word of God, and that word became the Scripture of truth, as we here find it. It was given by dreams, visions and revelations, and that which was thus communicated to man was written, and has become what we call the Bible.

When the inspired revelations which we call the Gospel were given to men there were Apostles and Prophets, pastors, teachers and evangelists; and how did Jesus tell his disciples to teach his Gospel? He told them to “go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature,” the promise being that “he that believed and was baptized should be saved.” And it was also said that certain signs should follow them that believed: they should cast out devils in the name of Jesus, “they should lay hands on the sick and they should recover,” &c., showing that there was a living, vital, energetic power associated with the Gospel that was enunciated by Jesus Christ and taught by his Apostles. It was not connected alone with the Apostles, as some suppose. It does not read “these signs shall follow the Apostles who believe, or the disciples who believe,” but the signs would follow them that believe wherever the Gospel was preached in all the world. The Gospel and its blessings were not restricted either to time, person or place; but were to be enjoyed in all the world by all who believed.

Paul tells us that Apostles, Prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers were placed in the Church, for what? For the establishing of Christianity? No, it does not read in that way. For the benefit of the Apostles and those immediately surrounding them? No. To convince the pagan Gentiles and unbelieving Jews? No, he tells us they were placed in the Church “for the perfecting of the Saints,” that they who believed in and obeyed the Gospel might go on from strength to strength and be enabled to endure faithful to the end. It was for the perfecting of such persons, that, as immortal beings, they might increase in light, intelligence and truth, and be prepared to dwell with the Gods and the sanctified hosts in the eternal worlds.

These officers were for the perfecting of the Saints then; were they for anything else? Yes, “for the work of the ministry and for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Why? “That they should be no more children, tossed about by divers winds of doctrine and the craft of cunning men whereby they lie in wait to deceive;” but that they might “be built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone:” that they might have a knowledge of the truth of the Gospel for themselves, glowing in characters of living fire written in their hearts, which no man, influence or power could obliterate; but that it might dwell there like a fire upon the altar eternally burning and from thence spread its radiant effulgence glowing, increasing and spreading. This is the kind of Gospel the ancients preached and believed in, and which we, the Latter-day Saints, preach and believe in.

But where is the necessity of a new revelation, some may inquire, to restore this Gospel, seeing that it is the same Gospel that is recorded in the Scriptures? The Catholics would tell us there is no need of it, for they obtained it from God in ancient times, and have retained it, and it has been handed down in regular succession to the present day. I am not going to investigate all these theories today, there would not be time, suffice it to say that they are mere fallacies, neither Catholics, Greeks, or Protestants have retained the Gospel and the power to administer it. When we come to the Protestant world there is a great deal of credit due to them for the course they have taken. But has the Gospel been continued among them in its purity from the time that Jesus lived on the earth? Is there any man who has the hardihood to say so? I do not think you can find one. Whence originated these notions, opinions, theories, principles and dogmas that exist among men in the religious world at the present day? Did they originate with God? We are told that “he is not the author of confusion, but of order.” Did he inspire men with all these various dogmas and theories? Certainly not. Who did; where did they come from? Why, men, in various ages, many of them very good men, have tried to stop the flood of evil, false doctrine, error and crime, and in doing so, unaided by inspiration, they have made very great blunders. When the pope, through the instrumentality of Loyola, was selling indulgences in a shameful and disgraceful manner, Martin Luther and other reformers rose up and denounced it as an evil, and they were right in that, for it was an evil, and a crime and an outrage upon society, for it was bartering that for money which God never intended or authorized. Inquires one—“Did not Jesus give to his disciples ‘the keys of the kingdom of heaven,’ and say that ‘Whose soever sins they remit should be remitted, and whose soever sins they retain should be retained?’” “Yes.” “Then why did not others have that power?” They did, if they obtained it legitimately; but not in that kind of a way. Peter never possessed power to sell forgiveness of sins. In the days of the Apostles there was a certain man who saw the power of God made manifest through their administrations, and he offered them money to confer the same power upon him, but he was told that, inasmuch as he had thought the gift of God could be purchased with money, his money should perish with him. “But did not Peter and the other disciples possess the power to forgive sins?” Yes. How did they exercise it? The Scriptures are very plain on that point. Read the account of Peter, on the day of Pentecost, addressing thousands of people who were assembled at Jerusalem on that occasion. They cried out to Peter and the rest of the Apostles—“Men and brethren, what shall we do to be saved? We believe your statement, we believe we are sinners, we believe we have consented to the death of the Son of God, now what shall we do?” Did he say—“I will forgive you your sins?” No, no such thing. Did he have the power? Yes. How did he exercise it? Said he—“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the Holy Ghost,” and they took them and led them down into the water, and baptized them, and their sins were forgiven. That is the way the Apostles forgave sins, it was not by selling indulgences.

Martin Luther introduced some good principles, but did he bring back the Gospel Jesus brought? No, verily no. Did Melancthon? No. Zwingler? No. John Knox? No. Did Calvin? No, none of them brought back the Gospel of Jesus. They went about teaching good principles of morality, and the Gospel as far as they knew it. But God did not impart to them the light of revelation which the ancient Saints enjoyed, and as each of those reformers had his peculiar views and ideas in regard to the Gospel, they were the originators of the multitudes of sects and parties now existing in the Christian world. Luther promulgated his views very extensively in Germany, Calvin, who differed from him in regard to the doctrine of free will, and was a believer in the doctrine of fate, election or reprobation, promulgated his views extensively, and so with others. If they had had the light of revelation this variation would not have existed, the Spirit of God would have led them into all truth and brought them to the unity of the faith, and they would have seen eye to eye, as the Scriptures say men will do “When God brings again Zion, and with their voice together will they sing.”

We will refer to some of these seceding churches, but first for a moment will notice the Greek church. This church seceded from the Latin church, or the Latin from the Greek. I do not care which way you take it. There was a schism between these two bodies, and each pursued its own peculiar course, and that course has been very erratic, foolish and far from the principles of truth. Then there is the Episcopal Church. How did it originate? Through Henry the Eighth. How was it that he started a church? History informs us that it was simply on this ground—he was desirous of having a divorce from his wife and the Pope would not grant it. Before this Henry had written a book or pamphlet in defense of popery and in opposition to the Reformation, for which the Pope styled him “Defender of the Faith;” but when the Pope would not consent to grant the English king this divorce he became angry, and determined to start a church of his own; and fortunately or unfortunately he had two pliant tools, ecclesiastics in the Catholic church, and to gratify their sovereign they lent themselves to him to assist in carrying out his plan, and together they started the Church of England, or the Episcopal Church as it is now called. When Henry had got a priesthood of his own he got the divorce he wanted, and went on his way rejoicing I suppose, at least in his way.

We will now come to some others among the reformers. There was John Knox, in Scotland a very zealous and very intolerant man, nothing very pleasant about him, some traits of his character I never admired, and I have read some things in his works that are not very pleasant, gentle or amiable; but he was no doubt a very sincere and zealous Christian in his way, and sought to do good. Then there was Calvin, another tolerably sincere man in my opinion, and judging from what history tells about him, he was desirous of stemming the torrent of evil and advancing good principles as far as he knew how. But who among them brought back the Gospel which Jesus taught? Not one. Leaving Calvin, Knox, Luther and the early reformers we come down to later times, and we find that in the Church of England there were some things which the conscientious portion of its members could not sustain, and a reformation was inaugurated by John and Charles Wesley, and a Mr. Fletcher. They taught many good principles; but they did not bring back the Gospel of Jesus Christ, although they were very zealous and very desirous of doing good, and I think there was something very creditable in their efforts to stem the current of evil and to resist and unmask the corruption that was creeping in under the name of religion and to unmask the hypocrisy that existed; but they did not restore the Gospel, and one of them, in singing said he looked forward to and hoped the time would come when—

“From chosen Abraham’s seed The new Apostles choose O’er isles and continents to spread The dead-reviving news.”

They did not have it, however he knew that, and although he was desirous of having such a state of things restored, he was not able to introduce it, for God had not called upon him to perform that work.

There have been various other isms besides those I have mentioned, in some instances arising more from personal pique, prejudice and contradictions and personal interests of men than for the glory of God and for the good of mankind, and I am afraid their originators cared more about preaching the Gospel according to certain men, rather than the Gospel according to Jesus Christ. In such a state of things what is to be done? We are living in a world in which the spirits who have dwelt in the bosom of God are coming into and leaving this state of existence at the rate of about a thousand millions in every thirty-three years; and here are thousands of so-called ministers of religion with an inefficient Gospel, that God never ordained, trying to ameliorate the condition of mankind, and sending what they call the Gospel to the heathen, and they are continually calling for the pecuniary aid of their fellow Christians to assist them in this enterprise. But if they have not the truth themselves how can they impart it to others? How can blind leaders lead people in the way of life and salvation? Was it not necessary, in view of the ignorance and blindness of the people everywhere, in regard to the principles of salvation, that something should be done to ameliorate the condition of a fallen world? The Christian world, by their unbelief, have made the heavens as brass, and wherever they go to declare what they call the Gospel they make confusion worse confounded; but who shall debar God from taking care of his own creation, and saving his creatures? Yet this is the position that many men have taken. But notwithstanding the unbelief so prevalent throughout Christen– dom, God restored his ancient Gospel to Joseph Smith, giving him revelation, opening the heavens to him, and making him acquainted with the plan of salvation and exaltation of the children of men. I was well acquainted with him, and have carefully examined the revelations given through him, and notwithstanding all the aspersions that have been cast upon him, I believe that, with the exception of Jesus Christ, there never was a greater Prophet upon this wide earth than he; and to the revelations he made known are we indebted for the glorious principles that God has communicated to the world in these last days. We were as much in the dark as other people were about the principles of salvation, and the relationship we hold to God and each other, until these things were made known to us by Joseph Smith. A great deal is said at the present time about the relation of husband and wife; but where is there a man outside of this Church who understands anything about this relationship, as well as that of parents to children? There is not one, and the Latter-day Saints knew nothing about it until it was revealed by Joseph Smith, through the Gospel. It is the Gospel that teaches a woman that she has a claim upon a man, and a man that he has a claim upon a woman in the resurrection; it is the Gospel that teaches them that, when they rise from the tombs in the resurrection, they will again clasp hands, be reunited, and again participate in that glory for which God designed them before the world was.

[To Be Continued On Page 1, Vol. 17.]

Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the Fourteenth Ward Assembly Rooms, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Feb. 1, 1874.

[Continued From Page 376, Vol. 16.] John the Revelator, when on the Isle of Patmos, wrapt in prophetic vision, said—“I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell upon the earth, to every nation, kindred, tongue and people, crying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come.’” He also saw a time when a certain power “would make war with the Saints, and prevail against them, and they should be given into his hand until a time, times and the dividing of a time.”

Well then, to come back, to accommodate my strange friend, whoever he may be, I will say that we, the Latter-day Saints, believe this Gospel just as Jesus taught it. We believe in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that we should reverence him as the Son of his heavenly Father and our Father. We believe in the ordinances that he introduced, and that were practiced by his disciples; we believe in the same Spirit and revelation that they believed in. I do not wish to argue these matters, or to go into details, for time would fail on the present occasion; but the Scriptures are before us, and I shall only attempt to touch upon some of the principles that Jesus enunciated, and which were taught by him and his disciples; and it is for believing in God and Jesus Christ, in prophecy and revelation, that we are continually arraigned before the world as impostors and deceivers. We believe in being honest to ourselves and with everybody, whether they are with us or not; we believe in men acting all the time as though they were in the presence of God and holy angels, and that for all their acts they will be brought to judgment, for we believe that God will bring men into judgment “for every word and every secret thought.” We believe a good deal as David says—Who is he that can dwell with devouring fire, and among everlasting burnings? That man who has feared God in his heart, and who has not lied in his heart, that man who will swear to his own hurt and change not, a pure, virtuous, holy man who regards the rights of others as he regards his own; a man who will concede to others all that he would ask for himself, and who seeks to promote the welfare of the human family.

The Elders of this Church have been called, as the disciples of Jesus were in former times, to go and preach the Gospel without purse and scrip. I have traveled hundreds and thousands of miles on this errand myself, and I see men all around me here who have done the same. What for? To benefit mankind, to tear away the veil of ignorance, to combat error, to reveal truth, to make known the Divine will, to tell to the human family that God has spoken, that angels have appeared, that the heavens have been opened, that light and intelligence have been communicated to man, that the everlasting Gospel has been restored, and that we, in this age, can enjoy the same blessings that the Saints enjoyed in former days, and to point out to them the way of life and salvation. We have received this commission from our God, and we have endeavored faithfully to fulfill it, so that our blood may be clear, and that when we come to stand before the Great Eloheim, when all nations shall be gathered together, we can say, “Oh God, we have finished the work which thou gavest us to do.”

What else? We are standing now rather in a political capacity. How is this? We cannot help ourselves, the Gospel told us to gather together. Do the Scriptures say anything about it? Yes; but if they did not, and God gave us that command, the silence of the Scriptures would make no difference at all. But they do, for the ancient Prophets had a view of the gathering of the Saints in the latter days; they saw them flocking to the mountains like doves to the windows; and through them the Lord declared that he would gather his people “from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.” It is said—“I will take them one of a city and two of a family and bring them to Zion, and give them pastors after my own heart, who will feed them with knowledge and understanding;” and in speaking of the calamities of the last days he says that “in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance.” But we gathered because the revelations given through our Prophet commanded us to do so, these revelations agreeing with those given on the same subject formerly.

Standing in this capacity, we form a large body of people. We have lived in different places, and as the believers in the Gospel in other ages were persecuted, so have we been; and having been persecuted and driven we have come here, as Geo. A. Smith said on a certain occasion, “because we could not help it.” We could not live in Nauvoo, yet we neither injured nor robbed anybody, neither did we interfere with anybody’s rights. They drove us from Missouri and from Illinois, and here we are, and what now? We were on Mexican territory when we arrived here, having been forced to flee from the United States because we could not have protection. Why was it? Who can tell why it was that people who strewed their garments and spread branches of palm trees in the path of Jesus, crying, “Hosanna, blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord,” should cry, a short time after—“Crucify him, crucify him?” Said Pilate, “I wash my hands of this just man’s blood;” and the people said, “let his blood be upon us and our children.” Terribly have they realized that invocation, for the avenging hand of the Almighty has been heavy upon them, and in every nation in which they have sojourned, they have been robbed, stripped, their property confiscated, and they have been deprived of all the rights of men. The time will come when God’s wrath will be satisfied towards them, and when they will again be his elect people and gathered to their own land, even to Jerusalem, where, as the Prophet says, “The measuring line shall go forth, and little boys and girls shall again play in the streets of that city;” and when the Son of God will descend and “set his feet on the Mount of Olives, and it will cleave in twain, and there will be a great valley, and they will flee from before him like as they fled in the days of Uzziah, King of Judah;” and “the Lord our God,” we are told, “will come and all his Saints with him,” and there will be “deliverance in Zion and in Jerusalem in the remnant whom the Lord our God shall call.”

Well, we are here in a political capacity, inhabiting a Territory, and forming an integral part of the United States. Whom do we interfere with? Nobody. Do we rob or pillage anybody, or interfere with the rights of any? No. Do we make incursions on the citizens of surrounding Territories? No, we interfere with the civil or religious rights of no persons in this or any other city or Territory; we never did, we do not now; but we cannot help being in the capacity that we occupy today. We form a body politic, and have necessarily become a Territory, and we could not help ourselves if we would. But we do not interfere with anybody, we observe all good and wholesome law. People will lie about us; but that makes no difference, they lied about Jesus. Our enemies say—“You are a bad people, and that is the reason we persecute you.” That is what the enemies of Jesus said about him; it was not because he was good; you never saw a religious persecution got up on that account, all such persecutions have been “because of the wickedness of the people.” The Scribes and Pharisees, after seeing Jesus heal the blind man, said—“Give God the glory, for we know this man is a sinner, it is true that he cast out devils, but he does it through Beelzebub, the prince of devils.” Well, if they persecuted the Lord of the house, they will persecute the members of his household; if they do these things in the green tree, what will they do in the dry? The fact is, there is, and always has been, and always will be, an antagonism between truth and error, light and darkness, between the servants of God and the servants of the adversary. The devil is called the father of lies, and he delights therein. What difference does that make to us, what do we care about it? Very little. But suppose we are oppressed. We have stood it before and we can stand it again. Suppose they should pass proscriptive laws against us. All right, if the nation can stand it we can. I will risk upholding and standing by correct principles which emanate from God. We will cleave to truth, honor, holi– ness, and to all the principles that God has revealed to us, and we will go on increasing in every good.

This nation and other nations will be overthrown, not because of their virtue, but because of their corruption and iniquity. The time will come, for the prophecies will be fulfilled, when kingdoms will be destroyed, thrones cast down and the powers of the earth shaken, and God’s wrath will be kindled against the nations of the earth, and it is for us to maintain correct principles, political, religious and social, and to feel towards all men as God feels. He makes the sun to shine on the just as well as on the unjust; and if he has enlightened our minds and put us in possession of more correct principles than others have, let us be thankful and adore the God of Israel. Let us thank our heavenly Father for his goodness towards us in making us ac– quainted with the principles of the everlasting Gospel, and let us go on from strength to strength, from purity to purity, from virtue to virtue, from intelligence to intelligence; and when the nations shall fall and crumble, Zion shall arise and shine, and the power of God shall be manifest among his people. No man can overturn or permanently hurt those who do right. They may kill some of our bodies, but that is all they can do. We shall live and shout among the assembled throng, in the eternal heavens, “Hosanna, blessed be the God of Israel,” and his kingdom shall grow and increase until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ, and he will rule and reign forever and ever.

May God help us to be faithful in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the Fourteenth Ward Assembly Rooms, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Nov. 16, 1873.

In rising to make a few remarks this afternoon I shall not attempt to take any text, or to confine myself to any particular subject. My impression about this is, that both speaker and hearer ought to be under the guidance and direction of the Almighty, for unless a man speaks by the dictation of the Spirit of the Lord, his discourse will be of very little benefit to those who hear; and unless those who hear also hear by the Spirit, and are prepared to receive correct instructions, no matter how eloquent the discourse may be, or how forcible and powerful the truths which are enunciated, it amounts to very little. It is not the hearer of the word, we are told, who is benefited, but he that doeth it. And Jesus says that many will say in that day, “Lord, have we not spoken in thy name, and prophesied in thy name, and in thy name done many wonderful works?” Yet he will say unto them—“Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity, for I never knew you;” or I suppose, in other words, “I never approved of you.”

There is one great principle by which, I think, we all of us ought to be actuated in our worship, above everything else that we are associated with in life, and that is honesty of purpose. The Scriptures say—“If the truth shall make you free, then shall you be free indeed, the sons of God without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.” We are told again that God requires truth in the inward parts. It is proper that men should be honest with themselves, that they should be honest with each other in all their words, dealings, intercourse, intercommunication, business arrangements and everything else; they ought to be governed by truthfulness, honesty and integrity, and that man is very foolish indeed who would not be true to himself, true to his convictions and feelings in regard to religious matters. We may deceive one another, and, in some circumstances, as counterfeit coin passes for that which is considered true and valuable among men. But God searches the hearts and tries the reins of the children of men. He knows our thoughts and comprehends our desires and feelings; he knows our acts and the motives which prompt us to perform them. He is acquainted with all the doings and operations of the human family, and all the secret thoughts and acts of the children of men are open and naked before him, and for them he will bring them to judgment. These ideas are believed in by men generally, who, with very few exceptions, whatever their general conduct or ideas on religious matters may be, believe in an All-seeing eye which penetrates and is enabled to weigh the actions and motives of the children of men. This is an idea that will not be disputed by any race of men now existing upon the earth, nor perhaps by any who have existed heretofore, for whatever may have been the theories or notions of men in former times, they have generally had a reverence for, and a belief in, an Allwise, Supreme, Omnipotent Being, who, they supposed, was greater than all of them, and who governed and controlled all their actions. A feeling of this kind is frequently made manifest in the Scriptures, and it is nothing new in our age to believe in a God of this character.

When Paul was preaching at Ephesus he said, among other things, that he saw an altar to an unknown God. Among the variety of gods which they worshiped there was an altar to an unknown God. “Him,” said he, “whom ye ignorantly worship declare I unto you, the God who made the heavens, the earth, the seas and the fountains of waters.” If we examine the pages, either of sacred or profane history, we find the same ideas prevailing to a greater or less extent in former times. Even Nebuchadnezzar, the ruler of the great empire of Babylon, had a knowledge, or an idea of a certain Being who ruled and governed the universe, who was superior to, and ruled over all other influences and powers; and was more intelligent than any of them; and when the magicians and the soothsayers, the astrologers and wise men were called upon to tell him the dream and its interpretation, they were unable to do so, and they told him that it was beyond their science, and that there was nothing connected with their systems that would unfold anything pertaining to such things as those referred to; but they said that if he would tell them the dream they had rules whereby they could interpret it. He insisted upon the interpretation. Said they—“that is unreasonable, O King—there is no being but that God whose dwelling is not with flesh, who can reveal those things that thou speakest of.” They had their gods which they worshiped, their deities in whom they had confidence; but they declared that there was no God but that Being whose dwelling was not with flesh, who could unravel those mysteries that he desired them to make known to him. Hence, in those days we find the same principle existing, and you can trace it out in various examples in holy writ, men had their theories and ideas about God, generally speaking; but very few of them understood anything about the true God whose dwelling was not with flesh.

Our Bible purports to be the account given us of him by men who were inspired by him, for we are told that, “holy men of old spake as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost.” It is related within the lids of this sacred volume that a great many of the ancients had dreams, visions, the ministering of angels and revelations; and the accounts of those visions, ministrations of angels and manifestations of the power of God, together with a little history, is what this sacred volume is composed of. Hence Jesus said to the people in his day—“Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me;” they are they which unfold many things concerning my mission, the circumstances with which I am surrounded, and events which will transpire in connection with my ministry. Holy men of God in former times had prophesied of him. Isaiah, for instance, had said—“Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted, is ‘God with us.’” It is said of him that he came to take away sin by the sacrifice of himself, and a great many things were said and written of him in the holy Scriptures, before he came, while he lived upon the earth and after he left it and ascended up to his Father in heaven.

There is very little difference among mankind in relation to many of these facts; men, generally, view these things alike—I mean in the Christian world—especially the nation in which we live, the British and French nations, the empire of Austria, Russia, Prussia, the inhabitants of Scandinavia and most of the European nations; and some of the Asiatic nations also have faith in what we term the word of God, and hold its truths in reverence, according to the ideas they entertain and the creeds they profess. There is little or no difference among the men of these various nations in regard to the existence of a Supreme Being, who rules and controls the destinies of nations, as well as of individuals; and there was no difference, in former times, between the magicians, and Daniel and those associated with him in his faith relative to the true God. They all be– lieved in him, no matter what deities of an inferior nature they might have. But there were very few who knew how to worship the true God; hence they made to themselves all sorts of gods, some of wood, stone, ivory, gold, silver, brass, iron, &c. They had deities of every imaginable kind, and through these various forms and mediums they wished or thought to propitiate the Deity, and to secure to themselves some kind of happiness in the life hereafter.

We, in this generation, are a good deal like them. We think we are very superior in intelligence and in religion. Men, everywhere, are egotistical, they always think they are the smartest and most intelligent that ever lived; and it must be confessed that in many respects the generation in which we live are very far in advance of many others, and in regard to the arts and sciences, and certain branches of literature and mechanism, but how vague and uncertain are the ideas entertained by men in general, about the Deity! Are we intellectual in this? I think not. We have our bodies of divinity, our schools of theology, our religious seminaries, and places where ministers are manufactured and prepared to perform certain work which they call preaching the Gospel, and these ministers, as well as the people, have different ideas about the Deity and the proper modes of worshiping him. Does the incongruity of this state of things ever strike the minds of reflecting men, men of science, who are accustomed to weigh the force of an argument and to solve knotty problems? When I was a little boy I used to wonder, if there was a God who created man, and who ruled and dictated the affairs of heaven and earth, why he had pointed out so many different modes of worship. I think so still. I know, and so do you, according to the principles of science, that the laws which govern the operations of universal Nature are true to themselves nine hundred and ninety-nine times, and then the thousandth time; they are always true in all the various phases of Nature’s works. This is so under the most severe tests which scientific criticism can apply; with every known principle in nature, whether we refer to light, heat, the gases, or any and all of the elements of which the earth is composed or by which we are surrounded. In their operations they are governed and controlled by eternal, unchangeable laws, and you cannot violate any one of those laws in any particular without producing the inevitable result of such violation. In the motions of the starry heavens, the sun, moon, earth, day and night, summer and winter, and the various seasons as they pass along, the wisdom, intelligence, prescience and power of a God are manifested; and the same is true of the organization and operations of all the myriads of organisms that exist upon the earth—symmetry, beauty, order and law pervade and control all their operations, all manifesting the wisdom, intelligence and power of God. You do not find one man differing from another, only in certain respects, a little in stature or strength. One is a little stronger than another, one has a more beautiful face, perhaps; may be more exquisitely formed than another; but all bear the same impress; all are governed by the same laws, all possess the same properties, powers and faculties to a certain extent, so far as the body is concerned, according to the strength or weakness of the individual. You do not find men with four arms, six eyes, ten heads, or fifteen feet or legs; they are alike, and there is a uniformity in relation to their general organism. So when you come to examine the properties of water, caloric or fire, earth, air, the different gases, electric fluid, or any substance or matter you please, you will find that they are governed by certain specific laws, and those laws are universal in their application; and furthermore that all the elements with which we are surrounded are controlled by certain eternal and unchangeable laws which cannot be departed from.

Now, what can God think of a people, placed here on the earth, the most intelligent of his creations, possessed of reasoning faculties, who, in many instances, have investigated and understand the laws of Nature, I say, what can he think of men who set up every form, notion and theory, every species of absurdity that can be imagined, and call it the worship of God? Suppose we were to put ourselves in his place for a little while, we should think there was something a little strange in relation to these matters. He might reasonably say, these men exhibit wisdom and intelligence in many respects. So far as discovering the operations of Nature, and examining and testing the laws thereof, they all agree, but in religious matters they exhibit imbecility and weakness, in that there is no union. A philosopher in America, France, Germany, England, Spain, Italy, Russia, Prussia, or any other nation, will arrive at the same conclusions, precisely, that all other men or scientists of all other nations do; that is, when they examine the laws of nature and operate in the actual sciences. No matter where they are, or in what language they may convey their ideas—for words are merely the signs of ideas—whenever correct ideas exist, and these ideas are properly explained, whenever submitted to scientific analysis and proper tests, they all arrive at the same conclusions, no matter what nation it is you are among or where you live.

This reasoning is correct, and in regard to nature and its laws, the world and the elements with which we are surrounded, and the laws operating in the world with which we are acquainted, all men arrive at the same conclusions, and there is no difference, unless we come to theorizing, and then there is always difficulty. Well, in regard to all these things we all think alike, because our thoughts are based on correct principles. But when we come to religious matters, we discover that, though men are naturally intelligent, they act like fools; they do not use their common judgment, reason or intelligence. “Well,” say they, “you know we are governed by the Bible.” Now that is exactly what we do not know, and therefore I doubt it. “But our divines tell us we are.” Oh, do they? Well, suppose somebody was to tell you the result of some scientific analysis, you would be very likely to say—“I believe you in part, but I would like to test it for myself; when I have done that I shall know it. Yet strange as it is, you are willing to take anybody’s ipse dixit in relation to religious matters, in relation to things of the most vital importance, things pertaining to the immortal part of man, we act like the veriest babies or consummate fools, while in regard to the affairs of this life we act intelligently.

Is there a way of arriving at a knowledge of the things which pertain to man’s eternal welfare? Why yes, we are inclined to think there is. God, we are told, “is no respecter of persons; but in every nation he that fears God and works righteousness shall be accepted of him.” Is that true? Yes. God “has made of one blood all the families of the earth,” we are told. There seemed to be an idea of this kind prevailing in ancient days, according to the sayings of some of the inspired men mentioned in the Scriptures. We are in the habit of going along like flocks of sheep—following our leader, no matter where he goes. I have seen sheep sometimes, and perhaps you have, running along a road, and one thought there was an obstacle—perhaps there was not anything—and it would make a leap, and when the others reached the same place they would all make the same leap; if one leaps they all leap. It is so apparently among men.

If we would examine Christianity there is something peculiar about that. We call ourselves Christians, that is, we Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Episcopalians and “Mormons,” we all call ourselves Christians. Well, perhaps we are, and then, perhaps we are not; it is a matter that would bear investigation, I think; and, then, I think, too, that it is very proper, as I said at the commencement, that we should be honest with ourselves about all things, and especially in religion and the service and worship of God. “Well, but my father was a Methodist, and I am one;” “my father was a Presbyterian, and I am one;” “my father was a ‘Jumper,’ and I am one;” “my father was a Muhammadan, and I am one;” “my father was a worshiper of Buddha, and I am one;” and among us Christians we are Episcopalians, Wesleyans, Presbyterians, and members of the various professional phases descended from that remarkable man, Martin Luther or Catholics or Greeks. Let us examine these things for a little while or, at least, try to go to the foundation. Believing in the Bible, we will not go at once into these outside systems, but examine our own for a little while, and see how it stands and how we stand in relation to it.

Jesus, we are told, “brought life and immortality to light by the Gospel.” There was something peculiar about it—it gave men who lived up to and honored its principles in their lives and actions, a knowledge of life and immortality. They were not dependent upon the sayings or doings of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Lot, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Malachi or any of the Prophets; but the Gospel brought a knowledge of life and immortality to all who obeyed it and lived according to its precepts. It informed all such that they were immortal beings; that they would exist after they had got through with time; if they died they should live again; if they were buried they should burst the barriers of the tomb and come forth to immortality.

Seeing, then, that man is both a mortal and an immortal being, having to do with eternity as well as time, it is proper that he should become acquainted with those principles that are so nearly concerned with his happiness and well-being in time and in eternity. We will let John Wesley, Luther, Calvin, Melancthon, Henry the Eighth, and any other organizer of religion go, and we will come to the Scriptures of truth and see what they say about it. Christ, we are told, brought life and immortality to light, and he did it through the medium of the Gospel. And what course did he pursue in doing this? The Scriptures inform us that when Jesus commenced to preach the Gospel he called men from the various avocations of life, among others from the occupation of fishing; he called twelve men, whom he ordained as Apostles. He inspired these men with the gift of revelation and with a knowledge of God; he placed them in communication with God, so that they had revelation from him and were enabled to teach the laws of life; he breathed upon them and said—“Receive ye the Holy Ghost;” and they received it, and that Holy Ghost took of the things of God and showed them unto them, it drew aside the curtains of futurity, whereby they were enabled to penetrate into the invisible world and comprehend the things of God. This was the position they occupied and the kind of Gospel they had.

Well, how did they operate with it? Jesus told them to go out and preach it; and he called seventy men and inspired them too; and told them to go out and heal the sick, cast out devils, and preach the Gospel, they were furthermore to go without purse and scrip, he saying unto them—“Freely ye have received, freely give.” They went out in this kind of a way, without purse and scrip, to preach the Gospel. By and by a number of them returned, and he asked them how they had fared. They told him they had been preaching, and healing the sick, and even devils were subject to them in his name. Said he—“Rejoice, not that devils are subject to you, but rather rejoice that your names are written in heaven,” that you are the Lord’s, that God is your friend; rejoice that you have been brought into communication with God, and that you have received the everlasting Gospel, which brings life and immortality to light. This was their position, and they listened to the teachings of Jesus, and we all—that is all these various parties of which I have spoken—believe that Jesus was the Son of God; we all believe that he was the Anointed, elect and sent of God. And speaking of himself he said—“I and the Father are one,” and “he who has seen me has seen the Father.” He taught them a great many things pertaining to their present happiness and future exaltation, and he spoke of a time that should come when the Saints should inherit the earth. When he was about to be crucified, to be offered as a sacrifice to do the will of his heavenly Father, and to open up the way of life and salvation, that man might attain to exaltation in the kingdom of God, he told his disciples that it behooved Christ to suffer, and to be raised from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations.

Now let us examine the position of those disciples. I believe a good deal in first principles. I want to examine things candidly and honestly, and to see what kind of a position they occupied in those days. When Jesus was about to leave his disciples he told them that it was necessary that he should go away; for said he, “If I go not away the Comforter will not come.” There was something remarkable about this expression. “If I go not away the Comforter will not come; but if I go away I will send you the Comforter.” What was that Comforter? It is important that we should understand this. That Comforter was the Spirit of Truth. What should it do to them? It should “bring things past to their remembrance, lead them into all truth and show them things to come;” in other words it should bring life and immortality to light; it should open the heavens to its possessors, enable them to understand the designs of God and lead them into all truth, not into one little truth or two little truths; but into all truth. What a privilege, what a blessing, what a rich legacy to impart unto his followers! Only think of men being in possession of a principle which should enable them, under all circumstances, to discriminate between truth and error, virtue and vice; between those principles which would ennoble and elevate, and those which would overthrow and destroy, and which should make them acquainted with God and the principles of eternal life.

I pause here, and ask, will this principle or spirit lead one man to be a Methodist, another to be a Presbyterian, another to be an Episcopalian, another to be a “Mormon,” another a Quaker, another something else, passing through all the various phases, notions, theories and ideas that prevail in the Christian world? Is this the spirit that Jesus promised to impart unto his people, or is it confusion and darkness? Scientifically it is not true, philosophically it is not true, religiously it is not true. The spirit that Jesus promised to impart to his disciples was to lead them into all truth, and to enable them to comprehend all correct principles; and it is said—“As many as are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God,” and says one, “Ye have not received the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye have received a spirit whereby you are enabled to cry, ‘Abba Father, or my Father, my Lord and my God.’” They had received a principle of that kind, and there was nothing uncertain, conflicting or evanescent about it; nothing tending to error, confusion or doubt, but everything tending to certainty, life, light and intelligence; to the blessing and happiness of the human family, and to a knowledge of all things necessary for their welfare in time, and in all eternity. Said he—“If I go away I will send you the Comforter, which is the Spirit of truth, and it shall bring things past to your remembrance, it shall lead you into all truth and show you things to come;” in other words—“You, man, who are made in the image of God, shall be brought into your proper relationship with him. That spirit of intelligence which dwells in you shall be associated with God—the God who dwells in eternity, communication shall be opened up between you and him, you shall be placed en rapport with him, and you shall realize and comprehend all things pertaining to your well-being. It shall bring things past to your remembrance, it shall lead you into all truth, and show you things to come. If there is anything behind the veil that is mysterious; if there is anything that the Prophets saw when the visions of eternity were unfolded to their view; if there are principles of life and salvation; if there is anything tending to exalt man in time and eternity, anything pertaining to eternal rewards and everlasting exaltation, you are now in possession of a principle which will unfold and develop these principles to your mind.”

That was the kind of Gospel they had then. And did they see, enjoy and possess these things? Yes, for says Paul—“Whether in the spirit or out of the spirit I do not know; but I was caught up into the third heavens, and I saw things that were unlawful to utter.” We read that John, while on the Isle of Patmos, banished for his faith in God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, was in the spirit on the Lord’s day and the visions of eternity were unfolded, he gazed upon all things as they existed then, and as they would exist in after ages, and until the final winding-up scene. He saw and comprehended the position of the various churches, and told them that unless they repented and did their first works over again and obeyed the behests of the Almighty, their candlestick would be removed out of its place. He saw that Great Mystery Babylon, who “made all the earth drunk with the wine of her fornication.” He saw her fall like a millstone that was cast into the sea and rise no more forever. He saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it, and from before whose face the heavens and the earth fled away; he saw the dead, small and great, arise and stand before him, brought to judgment; he saw a new Jerusalem, descending, as a bride adorned for her husband; he saw events that should transpire throughout every subsequent period of time until the final winding-up scene, and comprehended the whole matter. Why was this? He had the Gospel that brought life and immortality to light. He had received that Comforter that Jesus spoke of, which should bring things past to their remembrance, lead them into all truth and show them things to come.

Well, there was something interesting about that. It was not a kind of lullaby story that we hear now-a-days—“Hush-a-by-baby on the tree top, when the wind blows the cradle will rock.” It was nothing of that kind. There was something intellectual about it, something tangible, and satisfactory to the human mind, and calculated to meet the capacious desires thereof, and to make a man feel that he was an inheritor of eternal life. It implanted within him a hope blooming with immortality and eternal life. It produced a certainty in his mind and made him feel that everything else was as dung and dross in comparison with the life and light and power and intelligence which the Gospel imparted.

What kind of ordinances did they have? They were very simple and straightforward. We read that when the disciples were met together, on a certain occasion in an upper room, the Spirit of God descended upon them as a mighty rushing wind, and rested upon them as in cloven tongues of fire; and they began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit of God gave them utterance. There were people there from the surrounding nations who heard the Apostles speak, in their own tongues, the wonderful works of God. They did not know what it meant? Said they—“These men are drunk.” Peter answered—“Oh, no, that is a slight mistake you have made, they are not drunk, it is only nine o’clock, the third hour of the day—people do not get drunk so early.” “Well, what is it then?” Said Peter—“This is that which was spoken of by the Prophet Joel—’It shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh. Your old men shall dream dreams and your young men shall see visions, and upon my servants and handmaidens will I pour out, in those days, of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy;’” that is it shall place them in communion with God and enable them to have dreams and visions, to prophesy and see things to come; in other words, it will make them Prophets. This is the kind of religion they had in that day.

I sometimes reflect and wonder whether the same effects would follow if we had that religion today, or whether truth has turned into fiction, or has falsehood turned into truth. How is it, if that was the Gospel then, and God is the same yesterday, today and forever, and, as they say in the Church of England—“As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, worlds without end, amen?” If that is true, then we ought to expect the same things today as they had then, that is, if we profess the same Gospel. This is the way I reason, I cannot get at it any other way, I cannot arrive at any other conclusion. It is reasonable, rational and philosophical; it agrees with every principle of science, with every principle of intelligence that God has communicated to man.

Well having noticed a little of the results of the Gospel in ancient days, let us inquire into the principles taught in those days. We have a very remarkable account of affairs on the Day of Pentecost. The Apostles had been waiting at Jerusalem for the gift of the Holy Ghost. They had been promised it by Jesus and they expected it. Neither the Church nor the Apostles had had time, from the ascension of Jesus, to get corrupted, nor to introduce any false principles. They were the recipients of the favor of God, and his Spirit finally rested upon them as in cloven tongues of fire and when the people of the various nations assembled at Jerusalem heard them declare the wonderful works of God, many of them were pricked in their hearts, and they cried out—“Men and brethren, what shall we do? We believe the statement you have made; we believe that the Messiah, promised by our ancient Prophets, has been taken by wicked hands and crucified and slain; we believe what you say concerning his resurrection, and that although he was placed in the tomb he has burst its barriers and has ascended to the right hand of his Father; we believe all these things, now what shall we do?” Said Peter—“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive, the Holy Ghost.” Who were they whom he told to repent and be baptized? The Jews and the Gentiles, the Pharisees, doctors, lawyers, rabbis, and all men of every creed, profession and nation, “Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins.” “What, we doctors?” “Yes.” “We lawyers?” “Yes.” “We divines?” “Yes, all of you.” “What shall we receive if we do?” “The Holy Ghost.” “What is that?” “Just what you have seen here.” “Shall we all have it if we do this?” “Yes.” And they went forth and were baptized, and three thousand were added to the Church the same day. The Apostle did not tell them to come to any class meeting, mourning bench or anything of that kind. There was not anything of that sort in the program. They were not so well educated in sectarianism then as we are now, and had not invented so many systems of religion or bodies of divinity then as now. In those days they had to take things as God gave them, that was, to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins, and they should receive the Holy Ghost.

Will obedience to that Gospel do the same thing for us? Yes. Why? Peter said, “The promise is unto you and your children, and to all who are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” This thing was not confined to one, two, three, twelve or seventy individuals, but said Peter, “It extends to you”—the vast concourse then before him—“to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” If you can show me a people that the Lord our God does not call, I will show you a people to whom this promise does not apply.

Here are things that are very simple and straightforward. Why can’t we investigate them. The same cause will produce the same effect now as then. It is in vain for us to deny those things; we have no right to do so until we have complied with the requisitions made and applied the tests. If we were using any chemical tests, for scientific analysis, we should go strictly by the rules laid down; why should we not do the same with regard to the Gospel of life and salvation? Here is the law laid down, plain and straightforward, in the word of God, for it is in the Christian’s Bible that these things are contained. It is this very Jesus that they all believe in who talks about these things, and his twelve Apostles bear him out, and bear testimony to the same things. Here is a religious law plainly indicated, which we have no more right to ignore than we have any scientific formula in relation to earthly things.

But to proceed. We find his disciples baptizing; and after Jesus rose from the dead he appeared to them, and he told them to go forth and preach, not the theories and opinions of men, but the Gospel that brought life and immortality to light. Said he—“Go and preach the Gospel to every creature, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, he that believeth not shall be damned; and these signs shall follow them that believe, &c.” They went forth and proclaimed his word, in his name and by his authority, and whatever they did they did in his name and by his authority. Jesus said unto them, “Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Some may say, “That is Catholicism.” Well, then, so far, I am a Catholic, for I believe in everything contained in the Scriptures pertaining to these matters. “Don’t you think this is a great heresy?” I think it would be greater heresy to disbelieve it. I do not believe that everybody has this authority and power; but only those whom God calls and sets apart in the way here spoken of. They had power “to bind on earth and to bind in heaven—to loose on earth and to loose in heaven.” That is Catholicism, is it? Well, let us see a little further how it goes. “Peter, how did you forgive sins? Did you have power to forgive sins?” “Yes.” “How did you exercise it?” “I called upon the people to repent and to be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins, and promised them that they should receive the Holy Ghost. That is the way that I forgave sins. And then I laid on hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost; and when men received this Holy Ghost it took of the things of God and showed them unto them.”

These are some of the leading principles of the Gospel of Christ. I might talk for hours on the subject. These are the kind of things God has revealed to us. People say we are fanatics. Perhaps we are, but if we are, Peter, James, John and Paul were fanatics, for they believed in the very principles that I have been laying before you today; and when God restored this Gospel, he simply restored what is called “the everlasting Gospel.” John said, “I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth.” What do you mean by the everlasting Gospel? Why the Gospel that Adam had, the Gospel that Noah, Abraham and the Prophets had; the Gospel that Jesus brought—the everlasting Gospel, the Gospel that existed from eternity to eternity, the system or medium through which God saves the human family—the Gospel which brings life and immortality to light. Why, say some, “I thought nobody had the Gospel until Jesus came.” You thought very foolishly if you thought that, for Jesus, speaking of Abraham said—“Abraham saw my day and was glad.” He had communication with God and revelation from him. And how did he have it? Through the Gospel. How do you know it? Paul tells us so; your Paul, you know, that you believe in, he tells us so. What, that Abraham had the Gospel? Yes, he says, “God, foreseeing that he would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the Gospel unto Abraham.” Did he have it? Yes, it was through that medium that life and immortality were brought to light. And Moses, in the wilderness, had the Gospel, and preached it to the people. “What, Moses?” Yes. “Well, I thought there was no Gospel until Jesus came.” You thought, I say again, very foolishly. “We,” says the apostle, “have the Gospel preached unto us as well as they; but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it; wherefore the law was added, because of transgression.” Added to what? Why, to the Gospel which they had before. What was the law? The law of carnal commandments and ordinances which the Apostle says—“neither we nor our fathers were able to bear.” How long did the law continue? Until Christ came. Who was Christ? A priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Who was Melchizedek? A greater than Abraham, for he had the Gospel and blessed Abraham. All of those ancient worthies had a knowledge of the Gospel, and of life and immortality through the Gospel.

This is the same thing that is communicated unto us. It is our privilege, it is the privilege of all men who yield obedience to the Gospel. It is your privilege, you Latter-day Saints, to live in the enjoyment of this light and immortality. According to your faithfulness you have experienced more or less of this spirit of revelation, light and truth, and the power of God, and by living your religion you can go on from strength to strength, intelligence to intelligence, from revelation to revelation, until you can “see as you are seen, and know as you are known.” Having commenced in the principles of truth and obtained the Spirit of light and intelligence that flows from God through obedience to the Gospel, it is for us to “purify ourselves even as God is pure,” and purge from ourselves all corruption, iniquity, fraud, lying and evil of every kind, all adultery, fornication, seduction and lasciviousness; and everything that would corrupt and destroy the human family, and seek after everything that is high, noble, exciting and praiseworthy among men, and among the Gods, that when we get through with this world we may obtain an everlasting inheritance in the celestial kingdom.

Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Sept. 7, 1873.

I always take pleasure in speaking of things pertaining to the kingdom of God, and to the interest and happiness of my fellow men, if I think that I can be of service or advantage to those to whom I address myself. In meeting together, as we are met today, from time to time, we do so to reverence and worship, according to the intelligence and understanding we possess, Almighty God, the giver of our lives and the supporter of all things. A feeling of reverence and respect for Deity prevails in some form or other amongst all the human family. It assumes, it is true, a variety of forms, and there are many different ideas and opinions among men as to the proper mode of worshiping and rendering ourselves acceptable to our heavenly Father. All mankind believe, more or less, in a Being who rules and governs the universe, and controls the destinies of the human family; and whatever form of worship may be followed, it is accompanied by feelings of reverence and respect for God. There is something very singular about this, and it is different from anything else that exists on the face of the earth. We have our theories about science; we have principles and laws which govern mechanism; there are certain known laws which govern the ele– ments by which we are surrounded; there are certain sciences which men can master by studying the laws which govern them; but in regard to the worship of God, it seems to differ materially from anything else that we have cognizance of. He is a Being that mankind generally do not have a knowledge of, they do not have access to his presence, and unless he communicates it, there is no known law by which we can approach unto him.

The ideas of men seem to be vague and uncertain in relation to the worship of the Almighty, and they have always been more or less so. When Paul stood up in Athens, some eighteen hundred years ago, in speaking upon God, he says, “I saw an altar on which was inscribed—’To the unknown God.’” The Athenians had a variety of gods which they professed to know, or that represented certain ideas, theories and principles which obtained among them; but there was one whom they described as the “Unknown God.” Paul makes a most remarkable statement concerning this matter. He says—“Him, therefore, whom ye ignorantly worship, declare I unto you;” the God who made the heavens, the earth, the seas and the fountains of waters.

The idolaters who lived long prior to the time when Paul preached Christ and him crucified to the people of Athens, had some idea of the “unknown God.” We read that a dream was given to Nebuchadnezzar, unfolding to him certain things that were to take place in the future; and he called together the magicians, astrologers and soothsayers—the men of science of those days, and who professed to have a knowledge of the future, and he told them he wanted them to reveal unto him his dream, and then to give him the interpretation. They told him that his request was very unreasonable; it was beyond their power to comply with, and was a thing not commonly asked or required of men of their profession; but if he would give them the dream, they had rules and principles whereby they could interpret it. He still insisted upon the dream and the interpretation. They then told the king that no being but the “unknown God,” who dwelt in the heavens, was able to reveal such a secret as he demanded at their hands. We find that, among the Babylonians and Chaldeans, behind their ideas, theories and mythology, they had ideas of a Supreme Being who governed the universe who alone could reveal the secret acts of men, and who held their destinies in his hands; and unless there is some plan or law by which men can have access to him who, in Scriptures as well as by men at the present time, is termed the unknown God, we must remain ignorant of him, his attributes, designs and purposes, and of our relationship to him.

Paul also tells us that life and immortality are brought to light by the Gospel; hence it would seem that that is a principle whereby men can be brought into communication with God. There are other Scriptures that are rather remarkable on this point. The Apostle tells us—“Now are we the sons of God, but it does not yet appear what we shall be; but when he who is our life shall appear, then shall we be like unto him, for we shall see him as he is!”

It would seem from this, and other Scriptures of a similar kind, that man did once possess a knowledge of God and the future, and a certainty in relation to the mode of worshiping him. Paul says that life and immorality are brought to light by the Gospel. The question necessarily arises in our minds, how and by what means are these things accomplished? In what way are men to be put in possession of this light and this immortality? And then, men who have not been in the habit of reflecting, or if of reflecting, not of judging correctly, not being in possession of true principles, think, and their thoughts go back, and they say—“Well, what of those who lived before there was a Gospel?” For my part, I do not know of any such time, I do not read of any such time, and I am not in possession of any information in relation to any such time. I should as soon think of asking—What of the people who lived before there was a sun, moon, stars or earth, or before there was anything to eat or drink, or any other impossible thing that we could reflect upon. Thoughts and ideas of this kind cannot have foundation in fact; they never did exist. If life and immortality are brought to light by the Gospel, then, whenever and wherever men had a knowledge of life and immortality, whenever and wherever God revealed himself to the human family, he made known unto them his will, and drew aside the curtain of futurity, unfolded his purposes, and developed those principles which we find recorded in Sacred Writ. Wherever men had a knowledge of these things, they had a knowledge of the Gospel; hence it is called in Scripture, “the everlasting Gospel;” and hence John, while on the Isle of Patmos, wrapped in prophetic vision, beholding a succession of marvelous events that should transpire in after ages, declared, among other things—“I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation, kindred, tongue and people, crying with a loud voice, ‘fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come.’”

The Gospel, then, in its nature and in its principles, is everlasting; in other words, it is God’s method of saving the human family; and hence, Christ, of whom we hear and read so much in the Scriptures of divine truth, was “the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world.” He was believed in, long before he made his appearance, both on the Asiatic and American continent, and God gave unto his ancient Prophets many visions, manifestations and revelations of his coming to take away the sins of the world by the sacrifice of himself.

In speaking of the Gospel, Paul talks of it being known as far back as the days of Abraham, for he tells us that “God, foreseeing that he would justify the heathen through faith, preached before, the Gospel unto Abraham.” The same Apostle tells us concerning Moses and the children of Israel having the Gospel. Says he—“We have the Gospel preached unto us as well as they; but the word preached unto them did not profit, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it; wherefore the law was added because of transgression;” and when Jesus Christ came, he came to do away with the law and to re-instate the Gospel as it had heretofore existed; the everlasting Gospel; that Gospel which brings life and immortality to light, and wherever and whenever a knowledge of God was had among the human family, it was through the instrumentality of the Gospel.

When Jesus was upon the earth, he made this principle very plain to the people on the Asiatic continent; and, as recorded in the Book of Mormon, he made it plain to the people on the American continent, revealing to them the same principles, truth, light and intelligence; organized the churches in the same way; implanted his Spirit among them, and imparted to all who were obedient to his law a knowledge of God and of their own future destiny, and this result always followed a knowledge of the Gospel among men.

The reason there is so much confusion and disorder among men, today, in the Christian world is—“they have forsaken God, the fountain of living waters, they have hewn out to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that will hold no water.” There were certain principles laid down by Jesus and his disciples, and also by Moses, and by Nephi, Alma and others on this continent, in a very plain, clear and pointed manner, in fact, although a mystery to men of the world, to believers they are as the Scriptures say—so plain that a wayfaring man though a fool need not err therein; and they are strictly logical, and philosophical and easy of comprehension.

There are laws which govern nature, and the principles of matter with which we are surrounded, with which many of us are familiar. These laws are as unchangeable as the revolution of the earth upon its axis, or as the rising and setting of the sun. These laws are perfectly reliable; they cannot be disregarded with impunity, for if disregarded, the results desired will not follow. The truths of the Gospel, and the principles of the plan of salvation are as immutable as the laws of nature. Men of God in different ages have been in possession of certain philosophical truth in relation to God, the heavens, the past, the present and the future. This has been the case not only with men of God on the Asiatic continent; but also on this continent; and however men of the present day may affect to despise revelation, as many do, as visionary, wild and fanatical, it is to that we are indebted for all the knowledge we have of God, our own destiny, and of rewards and punishments, exaltations or degradations hereafter. Lay aside this revelation, do away with this principle, and the world today is a blank in regard to God, heaven and eternity; they know nothing about them.

I have heard some people say—“If God revealed himself to men in other days, why not reveal himself to us?” I say, why not, indeed, to us? Why should not men in this day be put in possession of the same light, truth and intelligence, and the same means of acquiring a knowledge of God as men in other ages and eras have enjoyed? Why should they not? Who can answer the question? Who can solve the problem? Who can tell why these things should not exist today, as much as in any other day? If God is God and men are men, if God has a design in relation to the earth on which we live, and in relation to the eternities that are to come; if men have had a knowledge of God in days past, why not in this day? What good reason is there why it should not be so? Say some—“Oh, we are so enlightened and intelligent now. In former ages, when the people were degraded and in darkness, it was necessary that he should communicate intelligence to the human family; but we live in the blaze of Gospel day, in an age of light and intelligence.” Perhaps we do; I rather doubt it. I have a great many misgivings about the intelligence that men boast so much of in this enlightened day. There were men in those dark ages who could commune with God, and who, by the power of faith, could draw aside the curtain of eternity and gaze upon the invisible world. There were men who could tell the destiny of the human family, and the events which would transpire throughout every subsequent period of time until the final winding-up scene. There were men who could gaze upon the face of God, have the ministering of angels, and unfold the future destinies of the world. If those were dark ages I pray God to give me a little darkness, and deliver me from the light and intelligence that prevail in our day; for as a rational, intelligent, immortal being who has to do with time and eternity, I consider it one of the greatest acquirements for men to become acquainted with their God and with their future destiny. These are my thoughts and reflections in relation to these matters.

Life and immortality, we are told, were brought to light by the Gospel. And how is that? Why, it is a very simple thing, a very simple thing indeed. When Jesus was upon the earth he, we are told, came to introduce the Gospel. He appeared on this continent as on the continent of Asia for that purpose; and in so doing he made known unto men certain principles pertaining to their being and origin, and their relationship to God; pertaining to the earth on which we live, and to the heavens with which we expect to be associated; pertaining to the beings who have existed and those who will exist; pertaining to the resurrection of the dead and the life and glory of the world to come. This is what the Gospel unfolds. It is not taught in any of our schools of philosophy, they do not comprehend it. It is a law and a principle laid down by the Almighty; and although a very simple one it is more subtle in its operations than any of the principles of nature with which we are acquainted; and many of them have, for generations, being unknown in their action and properties to the human family. It is not long since we became acquainted with the power of steam. That power has always existed, but why did not men make it available for useful purposes? Because they were unacquainted with its principles. It is not long since men became acquainted with the properties of gas. I can remember, in my young days, walking along the streets when they were lighted with oil lamps; and the light was so dim that it only made darkness visible. It is not long since the laws of electricity were discovered, and now they are made available for telegraphy and other purposes. These principles always existed; but they eluded the research and intelligence of men for ages; but finally they were made known. Doubtless there are thousands of other principles in Nature, with which we are unacquainted today, formed by the Great I Am, the Great Ruler and Governor of the universe, and placed under certain laws, just as much as the principles with which we have already been made acquainted by the operation of the Spirit of God on the spirit of man.

We read a good deal about the soul of man, and the body of man. Will anybody tell me where the body commences and where the spirit leaves off, and how they are united, and what forms the compact? Can anybody tell about the principle of life in man? We have had philosopher after philosopher in all the various European as well as American schools, trying to solve this problem. They cannot do it, it is yet a mystery. But because a thing is a mystery, are we to say that it does not exist? We see man, perfect in his form, in possession of his faculties and clothed with intelligence. One day he is walking around, and the next be lies a lifeless corpse; with the same body, the same bones, nerves and muscles and every faculty of his body, apparently, as complete as the day before, but he is dead, inanimate, inactive, without a spirit or soul, if you please. What brings about this change, or who possesses the power to resuscitate that man and implant in him again the principle of life? Where is the man, the intelligence or the science that can do it? We do not find it among mortals. If some of these things are mysteries why not others?

God says that no man knows the things of man, but by the spirit of man that is in him; so no man knows the things of God but by the Spirit of God. How is that Spirit imparted and to whom? Through what medium are we to get in possession of these principles? Will any of our savants answer? Will our philosophers tell us upon what principle these things can be communicated to man, so as to bring him into relationship to God, and to enable him to comprehend things which men in former times compre– hended? There are unquestionably certain laws and principles governing these matters, as legitimate as those governing any other branch of science or knowledge. If man knows the things of God only by the Spirit of God, how are we to obtain that Spirit? One of the old Apostles, in talking on this subject in former times, told the people to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins, and they should receive the Holy Ghost. What should that Spirit do? It should take of the things of God, and show them to those who received it. Says the Apostle—“Ye have received an unction from the Holy One, whereby ye are enabled to know all things; and ye need not that any man should teach you save the anointing that is within you, which is true and no lie. Ye are our witnesses, as also is the Holy Ghost, which bears witness of us.” Another one says—“Ye are in possession of a hope that has entered within the veil, whither Christ, our forerunner, has gone, and where he ever lives to make intercession for us.”

This light and intelligence was communicated to men in the dark ages. This treasure, says the Apostle, we have in earthen vessels. This was what Jesus referred to when he said to the woman of Samaria—“If thou hadst asked of me I would have given thee water which would have been in thee a well springing up to everlasting life.” There was a principle of that kind among men in those days, and it bloomed with immortality, and put its possessors in possession of certainty, intelligence, and knowledge, in relation to God, whereby they were enabled to cry—“Abba, Father,” and to approach him in the name of his Son, and receive from him the gift of the Holy Ghost, which Jesus said would impart a knowledge of God and his purposes, and whereby they eventually might be exalted in his celestial kingdom.

This is the kind of thing that they had in that day. This is the Gospel that we have to proclaim to you. Its laws are just, strict and equitable to those who embrace it. Those who do not, of course, they cannot understand it. Why? Jesus said to Nicodemus—“Except a man be born of water, he cannot see the kingdom of God; and except he be born of the water and of the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God,” that is, he cannot know anything about it unless he obeys its initiatory ordinances. Then, to the Saints, if they do not live their religion and keep their covenants, the light that is within them will become dark, and how great will be that darkness. This light, truth and intelligence can only be obtained, in the first place, by obedience to the laws of God; and, in the second place, it can only be retained, by continued faithfulness, purity, virtue and holiness.

I pray that God may, by his Spirit, lead us in the way of peace, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Remarks by Elder John Taylor, delivered at the Funeral Services of Elder Wm. Pitt, Delivered in the 14th Ward Assembly Rooms, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, February 23, 1873.

I have been very much interested in the remarks made by Elder Woodruff in regard to his mission to Herefordshire, and more particularly in regard to brother Pitt, whom I have always regarded as a high-minded, honorable man, one who feared God and worked righteousness, and a man from whom, in all my acquaintance with him, I never heard one remark that was inimical to his character or reputation as a man, as a Saint or in any capacity. We have often been very much delighted with the music that he made for us, both in this town and in other places where we have sojourned. Now he has gone, and has taken the same course as every person that ever lived, with the exception of two or three individuals. There is something peculiar about these things that always creates with me a solemnity of feeling. Not, as brother Woodruff said, that I mourn the loss of a good man when he has gone. I do not, I have not the slightest feeling of this kind; but when I reflect upon the position of the world that we live in, and of humanity in general, look back through the dark lapse of ages that have transpired and contemplate the millions upon millions, and hundreds of thousands of millions who have inhabited this earth, and that they have all of them gone, we see that there is no staying of these things, no arresting the course of destiny, no stopping the hand of fate, or the power of the destroyer. An eternal decree has gone forth, and it is appointed for all men once to die. It is impossible for us to evade this, and with the exception of the very few to whom I have before referred, all men have paid the great debt of Nature. The human body may be propped up through the ingenuity, nursing and care of man for some time, but like a sweeping flood, although you may dam up the water from its natural course and arrest it in its progress and keep it back, back, back, for a while, yet by and by it will rush over its barriers, seek its natural channel, pursue its own course and find its own resting place. So it is with the human family. We come into the world, we exist for a short time, then we are taken away, no matter what our feelings, ideas or faith may be, they have nothing to do with this great universal law which pervades all nature.

We are here to exhibit our sympathy and affection for our brother whom we respect and esteem, that is all we can do. Who is there that can stay the hand of death? What talent, what ingenuity, what philosophy, religion, science or power of any kind? Who possesses that power, individually in this assembly or combined to say to the great monster death, Stand back, thou shalt not take thy victims? There is no such person, there is no such power, no such influence, such a principal does not exist, and it never will exist until the last enemy is destroyed, which the Scriptures tell us is death. But death shall be destroyed, and all then, even all the human family, shall burst the barriers of the tomb and come forth—those who have done good to the resurrection of the just. Then and not till then will that influence, that fell tyrant be destroyed. There is something about that interesting to us, while the world of mankind are thoughtless and careless, and desire not to retain God in their knowledge, and wish to put away from them everything pertaining to him and eternity. We, as Latter-day Saints, if our hearts, feelings, affec– tions and desires are placed upon those things that pertain to the future, look back to our associations, as brother Woodruff looked back to his first associations with bro. Pitt when first the light of eternal truth beamed upon his mind. We look back to the feelings that influenced brother Woodruff when inspired by the Spirit of the living God to go to that place where those people had been calling upon the same God for light and truth, intelligence and revelation and a knowledge of his law and of his purposes, and while God was leading them forth, he was leading brother Woodruff by the same Spirit and power. We reflect upon these things with pleasure. It is satisfactory to know that the hand of God has been with us, that his power has been with this Priesthood, that the Spirit of the Lord God has been associated with them, and that the promises of God have been fulfilled to the Elders when he said he would send his Angels and Spirit before them. I have rejoiced thousands of times with brother Woodruff over these things, and I was talking with brother Pitt about them not long ago, and his countenance lighted up, his eye was bright and brilliant, and his soul seemed to rejoice at the recollection. It is pleasant to reflect upon these principles of the Gospel, and there is something in relation to the future that animates our feelings and desires.

We are gathered here, a peculiar people under the direction and Spirit of the living God; and our gathering has been effected by the revelations of the Lord. Some of us have been gathered in one way, some in another, operated upon and influenced in a variety of ways. And what is our idea in gathering? Is it simply to plant, sow, reap and to accumulate a little worldly goods around us and then lie down in the dust and occupy a small space of two feet by six? Is this the object of our gathering? Verily no. Something higher than this dwells in the bosoms of the Latter-day Saints; they are actuated by another spirit and influence. The Spirit of the living God has beamed upon their minds, drawn back the dark vista of the future and unfolded unto them principles of eternal lives, and they are looking forward to honor, immortality and eternal lives in the kingdom of God. These are the feelings and influences, and this the spirit by which we are actuated. We have obtained a knowledge of our Father who dwells in the heavens. We have partaken of the Spirit of the living God, which has flowed unto us through obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our minds have been, as it were, torn from the groveling things of time and sense, and we feel as though we are eternal beings, associated with an eternal religion, with everlasting principles, sustained by an eternal God who governs, controls and manages all the affairs of the human family on the face of the earth, and will in the world to come. Feeling thus we rejoice in the fullness of the blessings of the Gospel of peace. This is the Spirit that the living God has imparted unto us; and though the world are thoughtless, careless and forgetful, and sometimes in their ignorance seek to oppose us, we care nothing about that. Why, our life is hid with Christ in God. Do you know it? Do the world know it? No, they cannot perceive it, they know nothing about it, it is out of their ken. They cannot comprehend the principles, feelings, spirit, light, intelligence, visions and manifesta– tions of the Spirit of God that dwell in the hearts of men when they are under the influence of the Spirit of God. They neither know their peace nor the prospects which lie before them. They are like the brute beasts, which the Scriptures say are made to be taken and destroyed, just like the ox that you feed until he is fat—he does not know that the knife is going to pierce him by and by. But the Saints understand something about the future. They have begun to live forever. They have obtained the Spirit of life and truth and intelligence. They have a hope that blooms with immortality and eternal life. They know that if the earthly house of this tabernacle dissolves they have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Knowing this they feel that all is right. They feel just as Jesus said to his disciples—Don’t care anything about these fellows who can only kill the body, and when they have done that there is an end of their rope, the extent of their power, they can go no further, but like the other worms of the earth they have got to fall down, and crumble and be preyed upon by worms; but fear him who, after he has killed has power to cast into hell. “Yea,” said he, “I say unto you, fear him.” You Latter-day Saints, fear not any outside influences, fear no power or spirit that may be arrayed against you. Put your trust in the living God and all will be right in time and in eternity. God will take care of his people. He has commenced a work and he will roll that forth, and woe to the man that fights against Jehovah—he will move him out of the way. Like the grass or flowers of the field all such will pass away, but God’s kingdom and people will live and extend, grow and increase until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ. Then that man whose remains now lie before us, and millions of others, shall be heard to say, “Glory and honor and power, and might and majesty and dominion be ascribed to him that sits on the throne and unto the Lamb forever.”

God bless you. It is all right with brother Pitt. Is it right with us? Let us live our religion, keep the commandments of God, walk according to the light of truth, follow, as brother Woodruff said he did, the leadings of the Spirit of God, and that will lead us into all truth, and by and by, to thrones, principalities, and powers in the eternal worlds. May God help us to be faithful, in the name of Jesus: Amen.

Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the 13th Ward Assembly Rooms, Salt Lake City, Sunday Evening, Jan. 12, 1873.

It was announced this afternoon that I should speak here this evening. Brother George Q. Cannon is here, however, or will be I expect, and when he comes I would much sooner listen to him than speak myself, and I presume you would also; therefore when he comes I shall be pleased to give way that you may have the pleasure of listening to him. He is only here today and will be going away again; I am here frequently.

I always take pleasure in speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God to my fellow men, and especially to the Saints. I feel that my lot is identified with theirs, and I expect to be associated with them, not only in time but in eternity. The Gospel that we have received has unfolded unto us principles pertaining to eternal life that we were entirely ignorant of heretofore. It has put us in possession of certainty in relation to the future, and we always have confidence so long as we are keeping the commandments of God. We know for ourselves of the truth of the doctrines that we believe in, because, having obeyed the Gospel, the Spirit, which in Scripture is called the gift of the Holy Ghost, has been imparted unto us, and that Spirit does in the latter days just as it did in former days—it unfolds the things of God to those who receive it and reveals to them the relations they hold to each other and to God and his Church and kingdom, not only in this life but in that which is to come; for we have entered into eternal covenants. The covenants which men enter into generally are of a transitory nature, and pertain only to time, and when time ceases with them these obligations terminate. Our covenants, however, are of another character. We enter into eternal covenants with God to serve him faithfully here on the earth, and then we expect to be associated with him in the heavens. Having entered into covenants of this kind we feel that there are certain responsibilities and obligations resting upon us, which it is our bounden duty to perform. And then we consider that there are certain duties which God has laid upon us in relation to ourselves, to those who have existed before us and to those who shall come after us. Our religion is not something in which we alone are personally concerned, but the moment people are put in possession of the Spirit of God they begin to feel interested about the welfare of others.

It would be a very hard thing for many people in this day to do as the Apostles did in former days, that is to go without purse or scrip, trusting in God for their sustenance, to preach the principles of life to mankind. It has never been considered a hard thing by the Elders of this Church to pursue that course. Inspired by the Spirit of God they feel as God feels towards the human family—a desire to bless, comfort, and instruct and to lead them in the paths of life. God places this principle in the hearts of his servants—it emanates from him and is part of his nature; and inasmuch as the orders are dictated by this spirit in their acts insomuch do they resemble their heavenly Father, who is full of benevolence and “causes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and makes the rain to descend on the just and on the unjust;” and hence whenever we become acquainted with the principles of life ourselves we feel a desire to communicate the same unto others, and I see those all around me, here in this assembly, who, as well as myself, have traveled thousands of miles—I have traveled hundreds of thousands—on the same principle as the ancient disciples did, trusting in God for sustenance while proclaiming the principles of life to the people. Men do not always appreciate this; but that makes no difference, the principle is the same.

God is kind, benevolent and merciful to the human family. He feeds and clothes them as he does the lilies of the field, or the birds. He takes care of them, but they do not appreciate this. Thousands and millions of the human family seem hardly to comprehend that God has anything to do with them, or that they are under any responsibilities or obligations to him. Still as a father, full of kindness, benevolence and love, he feels after the human family and he seeks to promote their happiness and well-being, and he would save and exalt them in his kingdom, if they would be obedient unto his laws. We understand this principle, and therefore are governed and actuated by it, and no matter what the thoughts and feelings of others may be in relation to us, we know for ourselves that God has spoken. I know for myself, if nobody else does, that God lives, and I obtained this knowledge through obedience to the Gospel that he has revealed unto us in these last days. I know that it is the privilege of all men to have this knowledge if they will obey the Gospel and be governed by its principles; and hence when I and my brethren have gone out to preach the Gospel, we have told the people precisely the same things as were taught, in former times, by the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He told his disciples to preach the Gospel to every creature, the promise being that he that believed and was baptized should be saved, but he that believed not should be damned; and said he: “These signs shall follow them that believe: In my name they shall cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues, if they drink any deadly thing it shall not harm them, they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.” They, in other words, should receive the Holy Ghost, and that Spirit would take of the things of God, and show them unto them.

I have gone forth and I have told the people as the disciples did formerly. When they have asked me what to do to be saved, I have said, “Repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the Holy Ghost.” “What is that?” “It is the same that it was in former times, or it is nothing at all. It produces the same results as it did in the days when Jesus and his Apostles were upon the earth, or it is not the Holy Ghost. It is not a fantasy, or I am a false teacher.” That is the position that I have assumed always, wherever I have gone; there is no mincing this matter. I felt like Moses did when he was leading the children of Israel to the land of Canaan, as we heard Brother Pratt talking about this afternoon. The Lord said he would not go with Moses and the people because the people were rebellious and stiffnecked, but Moses plead with him, saying, “Oh God, if thou goest not with us, carry us not up hence;” and if I cannot have a religion that God will sustain with the Holy Ghost, I want nothing to do with it, and I will have nothing to do with it. Feeling these sentiments and principles, I have always had confidence in God. I know in whom I have believed; and understand that God is at the helm, leading, guiding, controlling and governing the affairs of his people.

What is it that has brought you Latter-day Saints here? It is the principles of the Gospel. You heard them perhaps in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany or some other parts of the earth; no matter where you heard them, when you did hear you believed them. You had the same teachings that I have spoken of today. And I have heard men praising God in these different languages for sending the Gospel unto them, and for communicating unto them the principles of eternal truth. They knew by the same principle that we knew it, that the Gospel which they had heard was true, and they could bear testimony to it. And it was in consequences of this that you Saints came here. You heard Brother Pratt talking today about the gathering, about the Lord taking one of a city and two of a family, and bringing them to Zion. Did you come here because you considered that this was a better land? No. Was it because you had friends and associations here? No, you left your friends and associations. Was it because there was something very desirable for you here? No, it was because God had dictated it, and because the Holy Ghost which you had received planted a desire in your bosoms to come and mingle with your brethren. As the Scripture says, “I will take them, one of a city and two of a family, and I will bring them to Zion, and I will give them pastors after my own heart that shall feed them with knowledge and understanding.” You hardly knew, in many instances, how or why on earth you struggled and toiled and obtained the means to come to this land. Your brethren, here, operated upon by the same spirit, sent forth their means to assist you; and before railroads were built here, as many as five hundred teams were sent year after year to the frontiers, to bring from there those who were desirous of coming. Those who were scattered did what they could, and those who were here did what they could, and the result of these united operations is that thousands of you are now here who would not have been had it not been for this.

The question then arises, What are we here for? “Oh,” say some, “we have a pretty good country here.” Yes, but what about the country? We did not come here after gold or silver; most of us came before that was discovered. I came to this city before it was known that there was any gold in California. We did not come here because it was a beautiful place, for when we arrived it was inhabited by Digger Indians, wolves, bears and coyotes—a desolate, arid plain, a howling wilderness. That was the position in which we found the country. And to get here we had to make the roads and build the bridges, and when we got here we did not have orchards and vineyards, and beautiful pleasant places ready for us, we had to make them. We had to roll up our sleeves and take our teams and go into the canyons and drag down the logs, and saw our boards by hand. I have sawed many a one by hand and George Q. Cannon has assisted me. “What,” say some, “do you ministers saw?” Yes, we ministers saw and we work, and I would be ashamed to be dependent upon anybody but myself for a living. I hope that God will ever preserve me from that, and I shall feel grateful to my Heavenly Father if he will always enable me to obtain my own. I remember being over in Tooele a number of years ago, and a party said to me, “Brother Taylor, I wish you would come here and preach.” “Well,” said I, “I am here, am I not?” “Yes, but we would like you to come again.” Said I, “Perhaps I will, when I get ready.” “Well, but if you will come here, we will make you up something, we will get you some chickens, a little flour and some pork,” and I do not now remember what else. Said I, “I am very much obliged to you, very much indeed, for your proffered kindness, but I always prefer to dig my own potatoes, and I would just as soon plant them as not, and then dig them.” These are my sentiments, and also those of my brethren. Here is Brother Woodruff; he has traveled hundreds and thousand of miles, as I have, and he generally digs his own potatoes and he knows how to plant them, and on these points, for diligent labor, I will set him against any man in this Territory.

We did not come here then, for anything of that kind. There were no houses here when Brother Woodruff and I first came here, and before we had any we had to make them. Before we had any gardens we had to make them; before there were any flowers we had to plant them, and we had to plant the seeds before any trees grew. I have got trees in my orchard now that grew from seeds planted by my first wife, which she brought from the East when I came here. People come here now, and many of them say, “You have a very beautiful city here.” Yes, our city is well enough. “And you have a very pleasant place, and nice streams of water.” Yes, but we had to make the ditches for them to run in, they did not run as they now do when we first came, we have had to do everything that has been done.

Well, what do you gather together for? What is your object? Just precisely what the Prophet told of thousands of years ago. You know that Brother Pratt was talking about fleeing “as doves to the windows,” and while I was listening to him I was very much interested, and thought we had been fulfilling the words of the Prophets. I think that some of our folks, both young and old, sometimes forget “the pit whence they were dug, and the rock whence they were hewn;” and I think they spend a great deal of their time in frivolity and nonsense. This is not the case generally, and I do not care, this evening, to make accusations; for I delight to see that many are engaged in Sunday Schools, and in acts of benevolence and kindness and many of our young brethren and sisters are engaged in labors of a similar kind. But a large number are thoughtless, forgetful, careless and indifferent in relation to the things of God, and to the duties and responsibilities devolving upon them, and I fear are forgetful in many instances of the object of their existence.

Many strangers are now amongst us, parties whom we term, “Gentiles.” They have their ideas, feelings, systems, and modes of worship, and we have ours. Do we wish to interfere with them? No, no, and I would protect, to the extent of my ability, any religious denomination in this Territory, and no man should interfere with them. What, the Episcopal church? Yes. The Methodist? Yes. The Presbyterians and the Catholics? Yes, no matter who or what they are, I will protect them. If God has a mind to bear with people, I will. Then, you would not persecute anybody for the sake of their religion? No, not at all, that is a matter between them and their God, and they have a perfect right to worship as they please, or not to worship at all, and they ought to be protected in all their rights to the fullest extent. No man ought to interfere with them, and no gentleman, no Latter-day Saint who understands himself would do so. They have a right to worship as they please, or not at all if it suits them. Then we have our rights, and one of them is to protect the people—everybody, socially, morally, religiously and politically—in every position, and to preserve a good, wholesome state of affairs in our midst, and not to be interfered with by anybody, outsiders or insiders. Ministers and editors preach and write and tell us that when the waves of “civilization” shall roll over Utah, things will be changed, and say they, “The people will become elevated and refined in their feelings and they will be like us.” Some of their waves are not very pleasant, they have brought a lot of scum with them, and it babbles and stews and froths and foams, and exhibits anything but that which is pleasant and enticing, or that is calculated to promote the happiness and well-being of man. We do not have any sympathy with gambling, drunkenness and prostitution, for instance, and these are among the waves they have brought. They find fault with us for having more wives and children than they, and for preserving purity and chastity in our midst, and they would introduce their infamies amongst us. Gentlemen, we hope you will keep your waves back, where they belong, put them in your own cesspools, keep them where they originated. No such things have been originated by us, we came here to get rid of them, and that we might fear God, and worship him in spirit and in truth, according to the principles that he has revealed. The Scriptures say, in speaking of the last days, that perilous times shall come—men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, trucebreakers, having a form of Godliness but denying the power thereof.” This is a very singular statement, but I do not think you would have to travel very far among our reformers—those who have come to reform and regenerate us—to find this pattern fully exemplified. Are they lovers of their own selves? There are a great many here who would not object to take our possessions, and give us nothing for them. Covetous, the Scriptures say. Why, at the time Buchanan commenced his raid upon us, they had it all planned, and had our possessions apportioned, and had agreed who should have this establishment, that and the other. But it did not exactly work, and they did not get them, but that did not alter the feeling or principle that existed. Covetous, boasters and proud! I am quoting from your own Bible—King James’ translation—and one of your own Prophets predicted these very things of you. Boasting! How much swaggering do we see around everywhere? No matter where you go you see little boys growing up full of pride, impudence and impertinence. They are called “Young America.” Beautiful specimens, and fine men they will make when they are full grown! Plenty of them come along here. We know all about them. What is the feeling abroad in the world in relation to disobedience to parents? Who the devil cares about father or mother? Say the young folks, “I am of age and I will do as I d—d please;” and off they go, and do as they please. The Prophets have testified that these things would be, and what we see and hear is only fulfilling their words.

What kind of people should these be? They should have a form of godliness, many of them be very pious, have long faces, and for a pretence make long prayers. Jesus in his day accused some of being men of this kind, and said he, “These shall receive the greater condemnation.” They shall be truce and covenant breakers. Have we any such now-a-days? Why if a man borrows five dollars he must give a mortgage on something, because the lender fears he will be cheated out of it. Men have no confidence in each other’s word. I would not give a straw for a man if I could not trust his word. There is nothing of him, no foundation, nothing to tie to. Yet these are the very people that the Prophet said should exist in the last days. They enter into covenant and never think of fulfilling it. Their word amounts to nothing, their integrity has no foundation.

I speak of these things for your information, for this is the condition of the world. And are we free from it? Not by a long way—I wish we were. I wish there were more honesty, virtue, integrity and truthfulness, and more of every principle among us that is calculated to exalt and ennoble humanity. I speak of these things as a shame to the human family; and if they exist among the Saints it is a crying, burning shame, and we all ought to be disgusted; for if anybody in the world ought to be men of integrity, truth and honesty, we should be, everywhere and under all circumstances. And if we say a thing it ought to be as worthy of belief as if we had sworn to it, and as if we were bound by ten thousand ties to accomplish it. But if a man has not the principle of integrity in his own self you cannot put it there. The Latter-day Saints should be ashamed to mix up with these things, and to prostitute the principles which God has revealed unto them. I speak of these things to warn you against them.

The Lord has brought us here, that we may be taught and instructed in correct principles and led in the paths of life. Did we gather here to get religion and to prepare to die? Nothing of the kind. I do not care one particle about death. I have had him grin at me numbers of times, but I care nothing about him, and I ask no odds of him. I know something beyond death. We are here to prepare to live, and to teach our children how to live after us; and to teach the world the same lesson if they will only receive it. We know that our spirits existed with the Father before we came here. We know that we are immortal as well as mortal beings, and that we have had to do with another world as well as this. We know that the world abounds with corruption; but it is our business to keep ourselves from it, and to progress in virtue, truth, integrity and holiness. We came here to be saviors. “What, saviors?” “Yes.” “Why, we thought there was only one Savior.” “Oh, yes, there are a great many. What do the Scriptures say about it?” One of the old Prophets, in speaking of these things, says that saviors shall come up upon Mount Zion. Saviors? Yes. Whom shall they save? In the first place themselves, then their families, then their neighbors, friends and associations, then their forefathers, then pour blessings on their posterity. Is that so? Yes. This reminds me of some remarks I heard a short time ago. There was a number of gentlemen, travelers, passing around the world, and on their way they stayed here awhile. They wanted to obtain some information from me upon certain subjects, and I took them around a little, and among other places I took them to see the Tabernacle and the foundation of the Temple. Said one, “When you get that Temple built you will have another place to meet and preach in.” “Oh no,” said I, “that is not for preaching.” All the idea that most men have about a Temple of the Lord is that it is for preaching. “ Well,” said these gentlemen, “what is it for if not to preach in?” I answered, “The Christian world have no knowledge of what Temples are for, but we build them for the same purpose as they were built for anciently—to perform ordinances in them.” “To perform ordinances?” “Yes, among others, baptism for the dead?” “Baptism for the dead?” “Yes, baptism for the dead, that those who have lived before us, and have not been in possession of the light that we have, may be placed in a position in which they can receive intelligence from God, and salvation at his hands; that all God’s creatures who have lived may have an opportunity to have the Gospel preached to them, and to participate in its blessings. As Paul says, ‘If the dead rise not at all, why, then, are ye baptized for the dead?’” Said I, “The Christian world know nothing about these things, but God has revealed them to us, hence we are baptized for our dead, that they may partake of the Gospel and have the opportunity of being exalted in the kingdom of God.” Hence, as the Scriptures say, “saviors shall come up on Mount Zion.”

There are a great many more reasons why we engage in these operations, which it is not necessary to talk about to you Saints; you understand them in part, but not much; but you will understand more when it is developed. Well then, we are desirous of blessing our posterity. We read of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, before they left the world, calling their families together, and under the inspiration of the spirit of prophecy and revelation, putting their hands upon their heads and pronouncing certain blessings upon them, which should rest upon their posterity through every subsequent period of time. We have the same Gospel and Priesthood, and the same light and intelligence, and we are after the salvation and exaltation of our families that shall come after us, as they were, and we are seeking for God’s blessings to be poured upon their heads as they were. And if our fathers have died in ignorance of the Gospel, not having had an opportunity to listen to it, we feel after them, and we go forth and are baptized for them, that they may be saved and exalted in the kingdom of God with us.

Is this the Gospel? Yes, the very Gospel that Jesus taught, and when he was put to death in the flesh, and was quickened by the Spirit, he went and preached it to the spirits in prison who sometimes were disobedient in the days of Noah. Did he preach to them that they should stop there? No, not at all. What did he come here for? To open the eyes of the blind, to unstop the ears of the deaf, to preach glad tidings to the poor, to open the prison doors to those that were bound, and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. That is what he came to do; and when he got through preaching to the living he went and preached to the spirits in prison, and “opened their prison doors,” as the Prophets said he would do, “to those that were bound.”

We are after these things. God has shed upon us the light of eternal truth, he has revealed to us the everlasting Gospel, and that Gospel brings life and immortality to light. We are seeking to walk in that light, to enjoy these privileges ourselves and to impart them to others, that others with us—the living and the dead, those who have been, those who are and those who are to come, may rejoice with us, that we and they may obtain exaltation in the celestial kingdom of God.

May God help us to be faithful, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the 13th Ward Assembly Rooms, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Jan. 5, 1873.

I take pleasure in meeting with the Saints. I like to break bread with them in commemoration of the broken body of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and also to partake of the cup in remembrance of his shed blood, and then to reflect upon the associations connected therewith: our relationship to God through our Lord Jesus Christ; our relationship to each other as members of the body of Christ, and our hopes concerning the future; the second appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, when, we are given to understand, he will gird himself and wait upon us, and we shall eat bread and drink wine with him in his Father’s kingdom. I like to reflect upon all these and a thousand other things connected with the salvation, happiness and exaltation of the Saints of God in this world, and in the world to come.

We have one day set apart in seven for the worship of God, and I think it a very great mercy we have, for we can thus draw aside from the world, its cares, perplexities and anxieties, and, as rational, intelligent, immortal beings, reflect upon something pertaining to the future. We are very much engaged, generally, in relation to things of time and sense. Our hearts, feelings and affections seem to be drawn out in this direc– tion, and these are the only things which a great many people have in view. Jesus, in speaking to his disciples, tells them not to take any thought about what they shall eat or drink, or wherewithal they shall be clothed, for, said he, after all these things the Gentiles seek. We, of course, must take this as being specifically addressed to his disciples under the circumstances in which they were then placed; the principle involved in his words is nevertheless true. Says he, “Consider the lilies of the field, they toil not, neither do they spin, and yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Again, he says, reflect upon the fowls of the air, they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father takes care of them, and will he not also take care of you, O ye of little faith?

There is something beautiful in reflecting upon many of these subjects, and something, very frequently, that is quite in harmony with our feelings when they are in accord with the Spirit of truth and the light of revelation. We feel, then, that we live in God, and as the Scriptures say, that in him we move and have our being. If we have life, or health, or possessions; if we have children, and friends, and homes; if we have the light of truth, the blessings of the everlasting Gospel, the revelations of God, the Holy Priesthood, with all its blessings and government and rule, all these and every true enjoyment that we possess come from God. We do not always realize this, but it is nevertheless true that to God we are indebted for every good and perfect gift. He organized our bodies as they exist in all their perfection, symmetry and beauty. He, as the poet has expressed it,

“Makes the grass the hills adorn, And clothes the smiling fields with corn, The beasts with food his hands supply, And the young ravens when they cry.”

He is merciful and kind and benevolent towards all his creatures, and it is well for us to reflect upon these things sometimes, for we thus realize our dependence upon the Almighty.

In speaking of the affairs of this world, it is often asked by many—“Why, should we not attend to them?” Of course we should. Do we not talk of building up Zion? Of course we do. Do we not talk of building cities and of making beautiful habitations, gardens and orchards, and placing ourselves in such a position that we and our families can enjoy the blessings of life? Of course we do. God has given us the land and all the necessary elements for this purpose, and he has given us intelligence to use them. But the great thing he has had in view is, that whilst we use the intelligence that he gives us for the accomplishment of the various objects that are desirable for our well-being and happiness, we should not forget him who is the source of all our blessings, whether pertaining to the present or the future. Mankind everywhere and in all ages have universally manifested a desire to obtain the things of this world—gold, silver, houses, lands, possessions, &c. This desire is inherent in man; it was planted in our bosoms by the Almighty, and is as correct as any other principle if we can only understand it, control it, and rightly appreciate the possessions and blessings we enjoy. The earth was made for our possession. The lands, waters, mountains, valleys, the trees, the minerals, vegetation of all kinds, plants, shrubs and flowers—all these things were made for the use of man, and it is for us to appropriate them to their proper use, to estimate them at their proper value, and as rational, intelligent, immortal beings, to comprehend the object of the creation of these things, as well as the object of our creation, and why and how, and under what circumstances we can enjoy them, and how long we can retain possession of them. In examining the human mind you will find many correct feelings and instincts planted there, if men would be governed by them. I do not know but it is this the Prophet has reference to when he says, “There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth it understanding.” Another Scripture says that “God has given to every man a portion of his Spirit to profit withal;” but then, many men do not profit by it; and although they have this light or intuition within themselves, they are not governed by it. There is a party of religionists in the world, called Quakers, so strongly impregnated with this idea, that they think that this inward monitor is sufficient to guide men in all their acts in life.

There are certain political principles (I am referring to the freedom of the human mind), that are very pertinent on this point. When the framers of the Declaration of Independence assembled on this continent, far away from other nations and peoples, in reflecting upon governments and man, the very first thing that they struck upon was this—“We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, and they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Almost simultaneously with them, or I believe a very little after, I will not be positive as to the date, a number of gentlemen got together in Paris, France, to lay the foundation of a government which they thought would be a government of the people, and they expressed themselves in almost similar words to those which were expressed here. And you will find, in examining the history of the world, that whenever mankind have been oppressed or bound down, there has generally been a reaction, a continual striving among the people to liberate themselves from their bondage, to gain freedom and the exercise of those inalienable rights of which I have spoken.

One great principle which has existed among men from the beginning of creation until now, is a desire, planted within them by the Almighty, to possess property—lands, houses, farms, &c., and in a national capacity, to possess territory, to increase their boundaries, and to extend their rule and dominion. As I said before, this principle is correct, only it wants controlling according to the revelations of God.

Our time on the earth is very short and transitory. No matter what we acquire it amounts to but very little, and we soon leave it. There is no great statesman, warrior, king, emperor or general, who has acquired extensive territory, but who has had to leave it soon. This is the universal history of mankind. You may go back to the old Assyrian empires, or examine the history of the kings of Babylon and Nineveh, and the mightiest among them have passed away after a brief exercise of power; no matter how extensive their possessions were. Read their history in the Bible and, although some affect to despise that book, it is the best history we have, and contains a hundred times more information in relation to those old nations than you can find anywhere else. When the Medes and Persians dispossessed the Assyrians, they had just the same ideas as the Assyrians had—they wanted to extend their territory, and they did it, but what did it amount to? Not very much when we speak of it as immortal beings; when we speak of it as mortal beings, as butterflies that flutter around for a short time, and then die, it might be a sort of transient, passing glory, like a sunbeam when the sun shines from behind a cloud—it appears very brilliant, but it soon passes away. So it was with their glory, and where is it now? Why you can scarcely find where their mightiest cities stood. People think they can, but there is nothing definite about it, and their glory, pomp and majesty have no more existence now than their cities. They had a correct principle planted in their bosoms, but, it was perverted and corrupted, and they sought by fraud, strategy, war, robbery and plunder to possess themselves of dominion, empire and authority, and when they got through, they had to lie down among the silent dead; and could neither move a hand, stir an arm, move a leg nor open an eye, but had to be devoured by worms.

That is the history also of the Grecian and Roman kingdoms. It was said of Alexander that after he had conquered the world he sat down and wept because there was nothing more for him to subdue, and I have heard it said frequently, in regard to individuals, that they wanted everything in their own grasp; and if they had had a world, it would not have been big enough, they would have wanted a little piece outside to make a garden patch. We see man here striving anxiously for the possession of lands, houses and so forth. That is all right enough, but it wants to be corrected. I will refer you to some Scripture about Abraham. We read that God took him upon a certain hill, and told him to lift up his eyes eastward, westward, northward and southward, and said to him, “To thee and to thy seed after thee will I give this land.” Here was a promise made by God. Of course Abraham ought to have felt interested in it. But was it pertaining to this world only? No, certainly not. I mean was the promise confined to Abraham’s lifetime? No, certainly not. Then what had it reference to? These are questions that demand our serious attention and consideration. We find also that there was a promise made to Joseph, that he should possess a land, rich and fruitful, abounding in the precious things of the earth, and the precious things of the mountains, and of the everlasting hills; that should abound in corn, wine and oil, and the rich blessings of life, and that he should become a multitude of nations in the midst of the earth. These blessings were spoken by men who were just, as it were, tottering on the brink of the grave, by Moses and Jacob, for instance, who put their hands on the heads of their descendants and blessed them previous to their departure. How was it in regard to the promise made to Abraham? Did he really possess that which was promised him? Certainly not. Yet God promised. Then why did not Abraham possess that which was promised? Because it was not ne– cessary at that time. Stephen, in talking about it, I suppose about eighteen hundred years after, says that “God promised these things to Abraham, but nevertheless he gave him none inheritance in it, no not so much as to set his foot on;” but, says he, he will give it to him and his seed. That is, they shall by and by inherit. This was the idea and feeling they had in relation to this matter. They did not consider the world at that time in a perfect state, and men who understand themselves do not consider it in a perfect state today. Abraham and his seed had that land given to them and they will possess it, redeemed and renewed, when it will be worth having. Well, then, how is it? A good deal as it was with the rich man that Jesus spoke of in his day. He had gathered around him a great quantity of property, and said he, “Soul, sit down and be at rest, do not trouble thyself any more, take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry, for thou hast much goods laid up for many years.” Jesus says, “Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee,” and then whose shall these things be which thou possessest? Would he have them? No. Who would? Perhaps his children and wife, perhaps not, just as it happened; there was no dependence then any more than now about such things. All that the rich man knew was that his soul would depart, and that his body would be placed in the ground to feed the worms. These things ought to lead us to reflection. As I said before, the principle or desire to acquire the goods of this world is in itself good, but it has been perverted by man; and when Gentiles and “Mormons” seek for nothing but what they shall eat and drink, and wherewithal they shall be clothed, they are both fools, for they do not know at what time their souls will be required of them.

If man were to live up to the privileges with which he is surrounded; if he followed the light of revelation and sought for and became acquainted with God, and correct principles in relation to the future, he would not want to lay up so much the treasures of the earth as the treasures of eternal life. But you are now talking of spiritual things? No, I am not, I am talking about temporal things, and I will go back, and examine some men who have lived here on the earth, Job, for instance. He said, “I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand in the latter day upon the earth, and that I shall see him; and though worms feed on my body, yet in my flesh I shall see God.” Job, when he was resurrected, expected to stand upon and to inherit the earth in the latter days, when the earth should be redeemed.

Another prophet, speaking of the same things, says, “I shall stand in my lot in the end of the days.” He also expected an inheritance upon the earth. And then, the ancient apostles, in talking about these things, said that the Saints should live and reign on the earth after the resurrection, when the earth should have become purified. Hence it is very natural for a feeling of this kind to be planted in the bosoms of men, that is, an attachment to the earth, for it is man’s eternal inheritance, but that feeling must be sanctified.

Who is it that will possess the earth? Is it those ancient monarchs who fought, conquered, subdued and slew their thousands, waded through seas of blood to gain empire? No, not at all. Is it the man, who, by fraud, deception, trickery, dishonesty and chicanery, took advantage of those around him, and so amassed large wealth and possessions? Verily no. Who will, then? Let Jesus speak. Says he, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” They are the ones who will rejoice before God in the possession of the blessings of earth, and not the kings and other characters to whom I have referred. One of the prophets saw the end of these kings and rulers, and he says, “They were gathered together, as prisoners are gathered together, into a pit, and they were shut up for many days, and after many days they will be visited.” They will have some chance of salvation and of an exaltation, but they have to remain in prison for many days, like the antediluvians had, before Jesus went to preach to the spirits in prison, who were sometimes disobedient in the days of Noah.

We have a great many principles innate in our natures that are correct, but they want sanctifying. God said to man, “Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the fowls of the air, and the creeping things that creep on the face of the earth.” Well, he has planted, in accordance with this, a natural desire in woman towards man, and in man towards woman, and a feeling of affection, regard and sympathy exists between the sexes. We bring it into the world with us, but that, like everything else, has to be sanctified. An unlawful gratification of these feelings and sympathies is wrong in the sight of God, and leads down to death, while a proper exercise of our functions leads to life, happiness and exaltation in this world and the world to come. And so it is in regard to a thousand other things.

We like enjoyment here. That is right. God designs that we should enjoy ourselves. I do not believe in a religion that makes people gloomy, melancholy, miserable and ascetic. I would not want to spend my life in a nunnery, if I were a woman, or in a monastery if I were a man; and I would not think it very exalting to be a hermit, and to live by myself in a poor miserable way. I should not think there was anything great or good associated with that, while everything around, the trees, birds, flowers and green fields, were so pleasing, the insects and bees buzzing and fluttering, the lambs frolicking and playing. While everything else enjoyed life, why should not we? But we want to do it correctly and not pervert any of these principles that God has planted in the human family. Why, there are some people who think that the fiddle, for instance, is an instrument of the devil and it is quite wrong to use it. I do not think so, I think it is a splendid thing to dance by. But some folks think that we should not dance. Yes, we should enjoy life in any way we can. Some people object to music. Why music prevails in the heavens, and among the birds! God has filled them with it. There is nothing more pleasing and delightful than it is to go into the woods or among the bushes early in the morning and listen to the warbling and rich melody of the birds, and it is strictly in accordance with the sympathies of our nature. We have no idea of the excellence of the music we shall have in heaven. It may be said of that, as one of the Apostles has said in relation to something else—“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive of those things which are prepared for those who love and fear God.” We have no idea of the excellency, beauty, harmony and symphony of the music in the heavens.

Our object is to get and cleave to everything that is good, and to reject everything that is bad. One reason why religious people in the world are opposed to music and theaters is because of the corruption that is mixed up with them. Wicked and corrupt men associate themselves with these things, and degrade them; but is this any reason that the Saints should not enjoy the gifts of God? Is that a correct principle? Certainly not. It is for them to grasp at everything that is good, and calculated to promote the happiness of the human family.

I remember the time very well, and many of you do, when we used to commence our theatrical amusements here by prayer. We do not do so much of it now. This practice is put to one side. I suppose one was right and the other is right. I merely speak of these things. All our acts should be sanctified to God. You know that we are in the habit of having parties occasionally. I will give you my ideas about some of them. I have attended one or two lately, and I think we are running rather wild, and that we do not act as much like gentlemen and ladies as we should, nor quite as much like Saints as we ought to do. I think there is a great deal of impudence and pertness, a great amount of interfering with other people’s rights in these places, and I think that we need correcting, that is, in our Ward. I do not know how it is here in yours. Perhaps you do better here. I am speaking of things as I see them. I think we ought to elevate everything of this kind to its proper standard. We ought not to intrude upon or take advantage of anybody, even in amusements. When this is not observed, I will tell you what it leads to: it leads to a separation in society, inducing men and women who desire to be polite, refined and courteous, to keep out of the company of those who do not take this course, and produces, if you please something like an aristocracy, which is very repugnant to the wishes of good feeling men and women. But they have either to do this or to be run over in many instances.

I speak of these things for your information. I do not know that you need any information of this kind here. I suppose I ought to have delivered this lecture in our Ward. In all our amusements we should see that things are conducted right, and we should never forget to act the part of ladies and gentlemen, and we should do away with frowardness and impudence, and treat everybody with kindness, courtesy and respect. I speak of these things because they strike my attention. But perhaps I have said enough on this subject.

We are here—a number of Saints. Well, you have outsiders among you. That is none of our business, they are not us. I am now talking to Saints. We have come here to fear God and keep his commandments. I do not expect to frame my religion, ideas or amusements to suit the feelings of any man under the heavens. I want to get my inspiration from God, and be led by him, and I want to honor him in all my acts. I do not care what this, that, or the other man does. Know ye not that God has called us from the world to plant among us the principles of eternal truth, to teach us correct principles, and to show us how to conduct ourselves towards one another, and towards all men? To show us also how to enjoy life, what course to pursue to elevate ourselves in the world, and to bring up others to our standard? We should never descend to others. That is my feeling, but I have seen some do it. Go out among the Indians here, and you will see traders among them who, instead of lifting up the Indians, go right down to them. I do not object, my– self, to have good, decent, respectable, honorable men associated with us more or less; but I do object to descending to the morality of the wicked and corrupt. I do not believe in drinking, or in the lasciviousness and dishonesty that are practiced by many who call themselves honorable men. I want nothing to do with them, and I say, “My soul, enter not thou into their secrets; and mine honor, with them be not thou united.”

We have come here for the purpose of elevating ourselves, and of elevating the people that we are among. We have come here to build up Zion, to be taught of the Lord, to establish righteousness, and to prepare a people for his coming. What is there in the world that we do not know? We knew their religion, philosophy and morality before we came here. We came here in order that we might prepare a people for the time when the bursting heavens shall reveal the Son of God, when creation shall feel his power and cease to groan, and when all people under the heavens shall say, “Blessing, glory, honor, power, might, majesty and dominion be ascribed to him that sits on the throne and the Lamb forever.” We came here to introduce principles in regard to our religion, morals, social status, the covenants that we make with God, and all things pertaining to this world and the world to come. And because of this, heavy responsibilities devolve upon us as parents, Elders in Israel, Bishops, Presidents, High Priests, Seventies, and in every office in the Priesthood and all the various avocations in life, that we may be able to say, finally, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith, I have done that which is right, I have been full of integrity, virtue, holiness and purity, and hence is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, shall give unto me, and not unto me only, but to all those who love the appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” These are some things we are after, the attainment of which ought to be the object of our existence.

Well, but is it not right for us to have lands? Certainly, we have come here for the purpose of building up a Zion, and we ought to use all diligence for its accomplishment. You Saints possess facilities here that people never possessed before. Do you realize this? Perhaps that is stretched a little. I expect that in the days of Enoch they had a splendid time and that they lived in a very happy manner. But we are living in the dispensation of the fullness of times, when God is gathering all things together in one, and he has brought us from different nations, countries, climes and peoples. What to do? To make fools of ourselves? Is our object to live as the wicked do—to be “covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, heady, highminded, despisers of those who are good, to have a form of godliness without the power?” No, we came here that we might learn the laws of the Almighty, and prepare ourselves and our posterity for thrones, principalities, powers and dominions in the celestial kingdom of our God. We talk sometimes about Zion that has got to be built up in Jackson County; also about a New Jerusalem that has to be built and prepared to meet a Jerusalem that shall descend from the heavens. How do our lives and actions compare with these things? Are our hearts, feelings and affections drawn out after them, or are we forgetful and our minds swallowed up with the affairs of time and sense? Are we preparing our children for this time, and spreading an influence around us wherever we go to lead people in the paths of life and lift them up to God? Or are we taking a downward course—come day, go day, just as it happens? I think we ought to wake up and be alive, and endeavor to pursue a course that will secure the smile and approbation of the Almighty. Everyone of us, as fathers, mothers and Elders of Israel, ought to cultivate the Holy Ghost in our hearts, and let it burn there like a living fire. We ought to draw near to God, and receive from him light and life and intelligence. We ought to seek for wisdom to manage our youth, that they may grow up in the fear of God. Well, we are doing this, more or less? Yes, very well indeed, in many respects, and in many respects very poorly. I feel led to talk of these things, and what I am led to refer to, I speak about. We ought to be preparing our youth to tread in our footsteps, if they are right, that they may be honorable members in society, that when we get through in this world and go into the other, we may leave behind those who are full of integrity, and who will keep the commandments of God. We ought to teach our children meekness and humility, integrity, virtue and the fear of God, that they may teach those principles to their children. No matter about many of these furbelows, or whether they can dance round dances or not; that is not of very great importance. No matter whether they are in the tiptop of fashion, or whether their feathers and ribbons are all right, only get the spirit, heart and feelings right. Let the heart be drawn out to God. Let there be an altar in every house, and let the sacred fire burn on that altar. Seek to implant in the hearts of your youth principles that will be calculated to make them honorable, highminded, intelligent, virtuous, modest, pure men and women, full of integrity and truth, who will represent you correctly, that is, if you walk correctly, and if not, that will represent, at any rate, the principles of truth which you profess to believe in, that they with you may have an inheritance in the kingdom of God, and inherit the earth, for Jesus says it is the meek that will inherit the earth.

There are many things that we may hear that we do not fully comprehend; and we perhaps see many things that are distasteful. But never mind the actions of men, especially the leaders of the Church and kingdom of God. You are not their judges. God is. You follow their counsel, and if they and you have the Spirit of God, you will see eye to eye. The Scripture says, “The watchmen will see eye to eye when God brings again Zion,” perfect in holiness. If you have committed sin, pray that God may forgive it. If your family has sinned, pray that God may forgive them, and lead them in the right path, and do not be too censorious about others. We are none of us perfect, we all need mercy, and if we exercise judgment without mercy, perhaps judgment without mercy may be meted to us. Let us be, merciful. Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Let us have our hearts right, our spirits pure and our affections sanctified, and let us seek to promote a love of those principles among our youth everywhere where we go, that we may be blessed of the Lord and our offspring with us. Then when Zion shall be redeemed and the purposes of God shall be accomplished, no matter whether we possess much or possess little, God will be with us, and he will bring us off victorious, and we shall join in singing, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and has risen again, to receive glory and honor, and power, and might and majesty and dominion;” and if we are faithful, we shall live and reign with Christ on the earth.

May God help us to be faithful the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered at the 42nd Semi-Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, October 7, 1872.

I am happy to have the privilege of meeting with and speaking to the Saints on the present occasion. If I were inclined to take a text I would repeat a passage made use of by Jesus, which is something like this—“Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart and you shall find rest to your souls.” Perhaps I may not have got it verbatim, however the principle is there, and you can correct it from the written word. The ideas contained in the saying of the Redeemer are rather peculiar. The yoke that is there referred to would seem to imply a degree of servitude of some kind or other, and men generally look upon such expressions in that point of view. The nations of the earth, generally, are under some kind of rule and government. The religious portion of mankind are also under a species of government and rule, and no matter where you go, you find an influence of this kind more or less prevailing among men. We stand here in rather an anomalous position. We have a church with its government or laws, and we have also a government and laws according to the organization of the United States. Hence our obligations are twofold, one as subjects of the United States, the other as subjects of the Church of God. And then, were we to go a little further, we might also add, of the kingdom of God. Now, in every government of men that exists anywhere on the face of the earth, there is a species of rule associated with and founded on authority voluntarily given by the people or usurped by the rulers, according to circumstances; but all mankind, everywhere, are under some form of dominion, government or rule. The same thing applies also to churches and the worship of God. There are various systems in existence on the earth, including Judaism, Mahomedanism, Pantheism, and heathenism of many kinds, as it has existed for generations in many parts of the earth; and there is Christianity with the multifarious ideas, rule, and authority of the Christian churches as they exist, scattered abroad in the earth, principally in Europe and America as well as in some parts of Africa and Asia. But whether we refer to the Pagan, Jewish, Christian, or any other form of religion, its followers are expected to submit to some kind of authority; to subscribe to certain articles of faith, and to submit to certain forms, laws and ordinances, according to their several theories.

The same thing precisely, exists among the nations; they have their various forms of rule, government and dominion, and they exact certain conditions from their subjects. No matter what kind of government, it requires a species of obedience from all persons living under it; for government, of course, necessarily implies rule, authority, dominion, governors and governed, or law and the execution of that law. All these principles exist in one form or another over all the face of the wide earth whereon we live. We cannot separate ourselves from that, go where we will. In a despotic government the power to dictate and control all its affairs is vested in the emperor, according to his own will and pleasure, sometimes, perhaps, modified by counsel, which he can receive or reject at pleasure. In other kinds of government, such as are called limited monarchies, the people hold a certain part of the power or authority in their own hands, and give a certain part to the government. The government of England belongs to this class. There they have a king or queen, as the case may be, at the head of the government, and two houses called the Lords and Commons, the latter are elected by and represent the people. It is what is called a popular government, the people having a voice, but at the same time they concede a certain amount of their power to their legislators, who manage their affairs according to their ideas of what would be most beneficial for the nation.

The government of the United States is what is called a republic. In a form of government of this kind the foundation of all law, power and authority is the voice or will of the people; that is the genius of the government. It is based upon a written constitution granting unto the legislature power to do thus and so, and to go no further; and while they who make and administer the laws confine themselves within the limits of that constitution, their acts are what is called constitutional. When they go beyond that, their acts are called unconstitutional, that is, they deprive the people of certain rights guaranteed to them by the written compact that they have entered into. I speak of these things simply to elucidate certain ideas that I wish to communicate.

But to proceed further. If we—the people in this Territory, or in other Territories or in the States, confer certain powers on the General Government, we no longer retain them, they are ceded away by us to others. If we give to our legislators certain authority, they hold that authority, and it is for us to submit to the laws which may be enacted by them. This is what is called republicanism, and it is also in agreement with the theory of a limited monarchy. Whenever a people give up certain rights they ought to honor the parties into whose hands they place them. The President of the United States ought to be sustained; so ought the ministers of the government of England, by the people over whom they preside, because they are acting for and on their behalf and according to their dictates. If you go to some other governments they ask no odds of the people. Say they, “We will be sustained, if we have to sustain ourselves by the sword.”

We come now to religious matters, and here in our own country are Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, and a host of others. I need not go to foreign countries and examine their religions. I wish to arrive at certain conclusions, and to do so I have no need to go beyond the confines of the United States. Here we have the Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, Quakers, Shakers and so forth. Very well, all these sects have their own peculiar ideas of church government. The Methodist has his Discipline—a system got up by the ministers of that church that all its members have to be governed by. They must come within the purview and be under the influence thereof. If you ask a Methodist to become a Latter-day Saint, he might say, and truly, “I have not the privilege of being Methodist and Latter-day Saint at the same time.” A man cannot be a Baptist and a Methodist at the same time, neither can he be a Methodist and a shaking Quaker. Why? Because he is bound by the articles of the Discipline of his church, and he must submit to that. So it is in regard to the Catholics. Many of you have no doubt read recently of Pere Hyacinthe, who, a short time ago, was very popular among the Roman Catholics. But he dissented from their views; and among other things he took to himself a wife, which was contrary to their ideas and creed, and probably his own views. The result was that they excommunicated him and they treated him as if he had been dead, and had a funeral, following him to his grave while he was yet living. This is according to their ideas, and he, being a Catholic, had no right to expect anything else. A Catholic priest must submit to the laws of the priesthood, and they have excommunicated him for departing therefrom, and he had no cause to complain. We may have our own peculiar ideas about the propriety of this, that and the other religious faith, ceremonies and forms of worship, but I am now speaking of law, and of governments, and of the arrangements that peoples, nations, churches, and the members of churches bind themselves to be governed by.

The same thing applies to any of the various sects that exist in Christendom. The Baptist commences a church, and he believes in baptism by immersion, but he could not be a Latter-day Saint. Why? Because he can be baptized by anybody not having authority from God, and he does not believe that baptism is for the remission of sins. According to his ideas he must have his sins forgiven first, and then be baptized after a while. He could not be a Latter-day Saint, because his ideas and ours are at variance. If a man is a Baptist, as long as he remains so, he must submit to their law. If he is a Methodist, and remains so, he must submit to their discipline, be it right or wrong, the question of their laws being Scriptural or not has to be decided in and of itself. It is the same way with a nation. If I were in Russia, and did not like the government, I might, if they would allow me, go to England, come to the United States, or go to one of the Southern republics, and become a citizen thereof, but I could not be a republican in Russia. If I went to England, I should have to be subject to the laws of England, and the same if I came to the United States, hence the principle that I mentioned before is applicable all the way through, no matter which way you look at it. I am not saying at present which of these governments, whether religious or political, is right, I am merely trying to elucidate a principle that exists among and is acknowledged by men. If I go to live in any country on the face of the earth, I have to be subject to its laws, and if I am a reasonable, intelligent man, I acknowledge the propriety of my being so. If I join the Methodist church, I have a right to be a good Methodist, and to submit to their discipline. If I join the Baptist church I have a right to be a good Baptist, and to submit to their discipline, creed, laws and so on, for I join them knowing that I ought to submit to them, and as an honorable man I do so or leave it.

Well, we stand here in a peculiar position, as before stated. We are here in a religious capacity, and we are here in a political capacity. As religionists our faith is that God has spoken, and that angels have ministered to men; that the everlasting Gospel has been restored in its fullness, simplicity and purity, as it existed in Jesus’s day. We believe in Apostles and Prophets, and in the principle of revelation—in God communicating with the human family. These things were taught to us before we became members of this Church, and we received them as part and parcel of our faith, and having faith in this system we obeyed it. We believed in being baptized for the remission of sins, and having hands laid upon us for the reception of the Holy Ghost. That is our faith, it has been communicated to us by revelation, by the opening heavens, by the voice of God, by the ministering of holy angels, and by the testimony of God’s servants, as they have gone forth through the world.

We also believe in having a Priesthood—a ruling power to regulate and dictate, under the guidance of the Almighty, the affairs of his Church and kingdom upon the earth. That is our faith, and it was taught to us when we first listened to “Mormonism.” Before we were baptized into this Church we believed the men whom we heard proclaim its principles were inspired by the Almighty, and we pray to God for them daily now, that the revelations of Heaven may be unfolded to their view, and that the purposes of God may be made plain to their understanding, that they may be able to instruct the people and lead them in the way of life. This is our faith, and when we talk about these things we do so understandingly, there is no halfway business about it.

We meet here today in Conference, believing in these principles. When we talk about paying our tithing, we believe that it is the duty of all who ever obeyed the Gospel of Jesus Christ to contribute one-tenth of their increase to the Lord. As Latter-day Saints we subscribe to this, and we believe it is right to be honest, and to show integrity in this as in everything else. We believe in being truthful, virtuous, pure and holy, and we believe in keeping the commandments of God in all things. This is part and parcel of our religious faith and belief, and we have, from time to time, of our own free will, subscribed to these very principles of which I have spoken; and we have held up our hands time and time again to sustain the authorities of the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth. Having said so much in regard to these things, I desire, very briefly, to compare the position that we occupy with that which others occupy.

I have already told you that there exists a variety of governments on the earth, and that all men are expected to be in subjection to the laws and usages of the governments under which they live. I have told you that in England they have a limited monarchy. At the present time a queen presides over their destinies. How did she come to that office? She was born of royalty, and inherited it by lineal descent. The people had no choice in the matter. She has been, I believe, a very good, virtuous, exemplary woman, and has ruled with mildness, generosity and kindness among her people; but if she had done otherwise, she was still their queen. Now I want to talk about what people call equal rights, and to examine a certain principle in relation to these things. What say had the people of England in regard to their queen? None at all. The President of the United States is elected by the people, therefore he is what may be termed the people’s candidate. How often do they elect a President of the United States? Once every four years, and consequently there is great excitement now on account of the coming Presidential election. The people are ranging themselves into parties, and each party using all the influence they possess to elect their own special and peculiar favorites. Besides the President, there are Legislators and Governors. Governors generally hold their office for four years; Senators of the United States from four to six years, according to circumstances; members of the House of Representatives for two years. In many of the States and Territories the Legislators are elected for two years, and hence, during the time for which they are elected, they have a perfect right to use their own judgment in enacting laws for the benefit of the people, being sworn not to transcend certain bounds laid down as their guide. If they should be ever so bad during their term of office, and should enact oppressive laws, the people have no right to change them until their time expires, unless, from some flagrant violation of their trust, they should be impeached.

How is it in the churches? With the Catholics it is once a priest always a priest, except in such cases as that of Pere Hyacinthe, and then they bury them. In some churches the bishops and other authorities hold office during good behavior, or for lifetime; in some churches they are voted for by a certain conclave according to circumstances and their own peculiar notions and dogmas, and in very many instances these officers hold their offices for life without any counteraction whatever, unless they violate their own constitutions, laws or discipline, when they are liable to be dealt with according to the laws and regulations of their several churches. Now nobody thinks they are very badly oppressed in all this. They enter these churches voluntarily, they are not bound to stay in them, and they leave them when they like.

Now let us contrast our position with that of other people in these respects. We hear a good deal about one man power. I want to examine that power a little, and see how it exists, and how far it extends. We believe in two principles—one is the voice of God, the other is the voice of the people. For instance, we believe that nobody but God could set the religious world right, we believe that none but God could have given any man correct information in regard to doctrine and ordinances. We believe that God did instruct Joseph Smith in relation to both, and also pertaining to the government of his people here on the earth. How are this people selected and set apart? Joseph Smith was selected by the Lord, and set apart, and ordained by holy angels. How with the others? By the authority which God conferred on Joseph he selected, set apart, and ordained others to the various orders and organizations of the Priesthood. We know that the Lord, in former times, called some men who did not magnify their call– ing, and who were set aside as unfit for the Master’s use. Jesus, for instance, called Judas to be one of the Twelve, and Judas betrayed him, and he was cut off from the Twelve. We have had many instances in our Church of a similar nature, men have been found unfaithful, and they have been cut off. By whom? By the authority of that Priesthood of which they formed a part. That Priesthood has the same power now that it had formerly—to bind on earth and it is bound in heaven, to loose on earth and it is loosed in heaven. How does this Priesthood stand in relation to the people? It is not thrust upon them as the queens of England, the kings of France, the emperor of Austria, or as the former king, but now emperor of Prussia, are; no, it is not thrust upon the people in any such way. It is precisely in the same way that the Israelites were organized in former times—God gave them certain laws, and all the people said “Amen,” then the laws became binding upon Israel. The position we occupy is this: the Holy Ghost, which has been given to all who have obeyed the Gospel, and have lived faithful to its precepts, takes of the things of God, and shows them forth through a living Priesthood to a people enlightened and instructed by the Spirit of revelation from God, and the people thus enlightened, instructed and blessed by the spirit of light, voluntarily and gladly sustain the Priesthood who minister unto them. When Joseph Smith was upon the earth, he did not force himself upon the people as these kings and emperors do, but he presented himself before them every six months, at the Annual or Semi-Annual Conference, and the people had a chance to lift up their hands to receive or reject him. That was the position occupied by Joseph Smith, and those associated with him, in guiding the affairs of the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth, and it is precisely so with President Young. He stands here as the representative of God to the people, as the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is, or ought to be, full of light, life, revelation and the power of God, and he is, and bears testimony to it. He ought to be able to lead the people in the paths of life, and he is. He is the choice of God, and what more? He is the choice of the people of God. Has he a right to say, “I am chosen, I am elected, I am President, and I will do as I darned please, and help yourselves?” No, he presents himself before you, and if there is any man who has aught against him, he has the privilege of holding up his hand to signify the same. That is the position of our President—he is brought to a test every six months, as it rolls around, before the assembled Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the same with the Twelve, the President of the Stake, the High Council, the Presidents of Seventies, and with all the leading officers of the Church—they are all put to this test twice a year, and the people have the privilege of voting for or against them, just as they please.

Here then, on the one hand, there is the voice of God. Shall we object to it? Who made us? Who organized us, and the elements with which we are surrounded and that we inhale? Who organized the planetary system that we see around us? Who provides breakfast, dinner and supper for the millions that dwell on the face of the earth? Who clothes them, as he does the lilies of the field? Who imparts unto man his breath, life, health, his powers of locomotion, thought, and all the godlike attributes with which he is endowed? Where did they come from? Who has controlled and managed the affairs of the world from its creation until the present time? The Great I Am, the Great Eloheim, the Great God who is our Father. We bow before him. Is it a hardship to reverence the Lord our God? Is it a hardship to have him for our instructor? And shall we follow the notions, theories, ideas and folly of men, who seek to supersede the wisdom, light and paternal care of God our heavenly Father? No, we will not. God is our God, “the Lord is our God, the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our King, and he shall rule over us.” We do not object to bow the knee to God and say, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven:” and we pray that it may be hastened. We acknowledge, we bow before, we reverence the name of our heavenly Father. That is one thing that we do for God, who causes seedtime and harvest, summer and winter, day and night, the God who has watched over us and all the myriads of the inhabitants of the earth from the time of creation until the present time; the God in whose hands are the destinies of the human family pertaining to this world and the worlds to come. If God will deign to teach, lead and dictate us, we bow with reverence before him, and say, “It is the Lord, let him do as seems him good.” We ask the guidance of the Almighty, we reverentially present ourselves before him and we submit to his authority; for his yoke is easy and his burden is light.

What next? Then comes the freedom of man. On the one hand the guidance of God, on the other the freedom of man. We ask God to dictate us and he does. He has given us a President, Apostles, Prophets, Bishops; he has organized his Church in the most perfect and harmonious manner. We see these things before us. I need not talk about the country that we inhabit, nor about the blessings that have been shed abroad among us, rich in comparison with those enjoyed by others by whom we are surrounded. These things are patent to all intelligent men, and surprise is frequently expressed at our improvements and at the wisdom and intelligence that have governed, managed and controlled our affairs; they do not know where they came from. We do—they come from God through the medium of his servants.

What next? God having given us a President inspired by his Holy Spirit, we are required to vote for him—will we have him or will we reject him? We lift up our hands and say, “Yes, we will receive him.” The world say this is despotism, being governed by one man. Is it despotism for every man and every woman to have a voice in the selection of those who rule over them? Is that despotism, tyranny or oppression? If it is I do not know what the terms mean. There are no people on the face of the earth today who have to undergo so severe a criticism as the President and Priesthood of this Church before the people, and why is it that the people vote unanimously for them? “Well,” say the world, “there is a kind of influence, we hardly know what, we wish it did not exist, for we do not like this one man power.” I know you do not, for it is one thousand men, ten thousand men power, it is the power of the kingdom of God on the earth, and the power of God united with it, that is what it is. As I have already said, it is not only the President of the Church who has to undergo this test, but the Twelve, the Seventies, and all the presiding officers of the Church have to go through the same ordeal.

I will now go back to my text. I have been a long way from it, but you know it is usual to preach from the text. I have been from mine awhile, now I am coming back to it. Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart, and you shall find rest to your souls.” What was the yoke placed upon the followers of Jesus? Precisely the same as that placed upon you. What did he tell his disciples to do? To go forth and baptize the people in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and it was promised that certain signs should follow them that believed. In his name they should cast out devils, speak with new tongues, if they drank any deadly thing it should not hurt them, and if they laid hands on the sick they should recover. The word was—“Go forth in my name and with my authority, and my Spirit shall accompany you.” And it did, and the people became one in faith, doctrine and principle, just as the Scriptures say. “Take my yoke upon you.” What was it? Said he, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth; blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God; blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” This was the kind of yoke Jesus put upon them, and this is the kind that is put upon you—to love righteousness, keep the commands of God, live your religion and obey the principles of truth, is this a hard yoke? This is what is required of Latter-day Saints. “Take my yoke upon you and learn of me!” And how did he do it? He obeyed the will of his Father, and then he expected his disciples to obey his will. Said he, “Father, I pray for them, that they may be one”—a good deal of this one-man power there, was there not? “I pray for them, that they may be one, even as the Father and I are one, that they may be one in us;” and in his mind, looking to the universal expansion of this heavenly principle, said he, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for all them that shall believe on me through their word, that they all may be one, even as I and the Father are one, that the world may know that thou hast sent me.” This was the kind of principle the Savior taught to his followers, and this is the kind that is taught to us.

Now let me ask is it right for a Methodist to obey the Methodist discipline? Yes, or else leave them, he has the privilege to do which he pleases. Is it right for a Presbyterian to obey the Presbyterian doctrine and principles? Yes, or leave them. Is it right for a Roman Catholic to obey their principles? Yes, or leave them. Is it right for a Latter-day Saint to obey their principles? Yes, or leave them, one of the two. Do not try to drag in something else, do not make Methodists of us for instance, nor Presbyterians. Do not try to make Catholics of us, if you do not like “Mormonism” leave it. That is honest, straightforward and upright, and good doctrine, and according to the principles which are acknowledged to be correct everywhere. “Well,” says one, “I think that things could be improved a little.” Well then, go out somewhere and make your improvements, here is a big continent, go north or south, or where you please. Get as many to follow you as you can, and teach them what principles you please, and if you can build up a better system than ours all right, but do not start it here. This is the kind of faith that Paul spoke of when he said, “If thou hast faith have it to thyself.” If you do not have it to yourselves take as many with you as you can get. That is right, the world is open, plenty of room in every direction, go and try your hand and see how you will succeed.

The same principle is true in relation to other things as well as to religion. I might apply it to things political. Some people say, “You folks always vote together,” we would be poor coots if we did not, and just as bad as the rest of you. Some folks here, a short time ago, got up a little political operation, and tried how it would answer to run one against another; but it did not work well and they had to quit. We believe in oneness, and our outside friends say, “We do not.” Yes you do, y-e-s y-o-u d-o. Now all you gentlemen who go in for General Grant would you not like to elect him? Yes you would, and you will use all the influence that you have to do so, and if he is not elected it will be because you cannot do it, because you have not influence enough to elect him. On the other hand, you who are in favor of Horace Greeley, how you would like to have him elected, would you not? Yes, you would. And will you not get all to vote for him that you possibly can? Yes, and if all do not vote for him it will not be your fault. Well, if the people do not vote as we want them it will not be our fault, and the only difference, in this respect, between you and President Young is, that he has a little more influence than you, therefore do not grunt about it, these things are fair and straightforward. When men talk about oppression they talk about what they do not understand, and the same when they talk about the one-man power and the bondage of the people. Is it not horrible bondage for the whole people to have the privilege of voting for whom they please? Terrible, let us get out of it, shall we not, and go somewhere where they will not let us do as we please, and have some of that liberty that would put shackles upon us, and bind us down? But we Latter-day Saints do not want that, we want to be delivered from that, and to walk according to the light of truth. Well, let us take the yoke of Christ upon us, and learn of him, and keep the commandments of God. And if we vote for a Bishop somewhere over yonder, let us sustain him as long as he is in office, and if he does not do what is right we will vote him out. And if we have Presidents or Apostles or anybody that we do not like, let us vote them out, and be free men, and cultivate and cherish in our bosoms the principles of liberty. But let us be careful that we do not grieve the Spirit of the Lord, and while we are looking at these things let us look at our own eternal interests, and lean upon God for wisdom and instruction, that his Spirit may lead us in the paths of life, that we may comprehend true principles, and be one as Jesus was and is one with the Father.

May God help us to be faithful, in the name of Jesus. Amen.