Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered at Hooperville, Monday, June 27, 1881.

It is a very great privilege to be Saints of the most high God, and it is of much more importance than many of us sometimes comprehend. It is a great privilege to have God for our father and friend. And then while we have God for our father and friend, on the other hand, we ought to be the friends of God. It is said of Abraham, that he was the friend of God, and we, the Latter-day Saints, ought to be the friends of God, and to take pleasure and delight in doing his will; for we are indebted to him for every blessing which we enjoy, whether pertaining to this earth or to the heavens, to the life that now is or to the life that is to come. Many of these truths are not known in the world, for the simple reason that they have not been taught, nor are there any people outside of the Priesthood of this Church who are capable of teaching men the principles of life, the principles of salvation, the principles of exaltation and eternal lives. And the reason why they are not capable of teaching them is, because they do not understand them themselves. And no man can teach correctly principles which he does not himself comprehend. It was upon this ground that Jesus in his day said: “If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” Also quoting the words of the Apostle: “The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” And if we do not find out, we Latter-day Saints, how to approach God, as has been referred to by a previous speaker, and how to call upon him acceptably and to approach him as our Father, and to feel that we are his children, and to take pleasure in calling upon him, and to cultivate His Holy Spirit; if we do not do this, nor comprehend these principles, we have indeed made slow progress in the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

God has restored the Gospel for the purpose of bringing life and immortality to light; and without the knowledge of the Gospel there is no knowledge of life and immortality; for men cannot comprehend these principles only as they are made known unto them, and they cannot be revealed only through the medium of the Gospel, and through obedience to the laws of salvation associated therewith. And hence as the Gospel emanates from God, and as that is the great medium of salvation, through the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, God said in former times to his former-day Apostles, and also in latter days to his latter-day Apostles, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” He sent them with a message that was fraught with greater blessings than anything that could be conferred upon mortals. And hence when the heavens were opened and the Father and Son appeared and revealed unto Joseph the principles of the Gospel, and when the holy Priesthood was restored and the Church and kingdom of God established upon the earth, there were the greatest blessings bestowed upon this generation which it was possible for man to receive. If they could comprehend it, it was the greatest blessing which God could confer upon humanity. Then he sent his servants forth to proclaim this Gospel to the nations of the earth, and he is now sending them forth to preach the Gospel of the Son of God, to deliver the testimony that he has given unto us. And, speaking for the Priesthood, have we done it? We have, and we have done it in the name of Israel’s God; and he has been with us and I know it. And with regard to praying, if we had not known how to pray we should have been in a bad position many a time, regarding both temporal and spiritual things. But we learned to call upon him, and he has heard us and has come to our help in time of need. Is it not a great privilege and blessing to have a Father of this kind to approach. Let us look at it. Jesus tried in his day to get the people to comprehend one thing—to ask and receive. It is a simple thing. Seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. For he that asketh receiveth, etc. Do you believe it? If you do, go and try it, and see whether God lives or not, and you will know for yourselves. It was said in former times, “We know that God lives.” How do you know? Because we received the things which we asked at his hands. In one place the people are told. You receive not because you ask not; and our Heavenly Father upbraids them for not asking. The Lord declares, I have plenty; I own all things, the gold and the silver are mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills are mine. Now if you are prepared to use them properly, he is prepared to give them to you. He enquires, If a son ask for bread, would you give him a stone? The little child when it is hungry, asks its mother for a piece of bread and butter; the mother would not think of picking up a stone and handing it to the child; but she gives the little one something to eat to satisfy its hunger. And when the child is hungry it will come again and ask for more. After this kind of reasoning the Savior then said to those around him, if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father in heaven give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him. Let us try then to have confidence in God, as our children have confidence in us. They will come to us and say, Papa, can I have a new hat? Mamma, can I have some new shoes? Papa, please give me five cents to buy candy. If you can you like to gratify their little wants. Our Father feels just the same towards us. But suppose they were to ask you for a razor? “That would be dangerous,” you would say. “Why, child, I don’t want to give you that.” And then when you want things of no use to you, and your Father knows that it would not be good for you—although he does not tell you so, he does not give them to you because they would be injurious.

There is nothing of more value to me than the principles of eternal truth; than the principles of eternal lives; eternal salvation, and eternal exaltations in the kingdom of God; but then it is for us to comprehend it, for if we do not comprehend it, no matter how great the truths, they cannot benefit us. We frequently think a little more of a nice span of horses, or a nice wagon, or a favorite cow, and such things, than we do of God’s work, as our boys sometimes get attached to a few marbles, thinking that they are everything, and they do not like to leave their marbles to obey father or mother; and God finds us about the same. We get a few dollars, or a farm, and a little stock, and a few other things; and we cannot afford to neglect these; we cannot afford to take time to pray, nor to listen to the voice of Father, we are so busy playing marbles. And occasionally when we play marbles among the dollars, we try to cheat one another, as boys sometimes do at marbles, and try to take advantage one of another. I never like to see boys cheat, and never like to see men cheat at their kind of marbles. Our feelings and affections get placed on wrong things. We are here to build up Zion, and to establish the kingdom of God. The kingdom of what? The kingdom of God. Then if it is the kingdom of God, it is not the kingdom of man, originating or belonging to man. It came not of man nor from man, it came from God, and we are indebted to him for it; and we are indebted to him for all the light and all the intelligence we have. For the life we have, for the pure air we breathe, for the use of our bodies and our reason, for the food and raiment we eat and wear, and in fact, for everything we have and enjoy, both of a temporal and spiritual nature. All these things God gave us. We did not have them; we did not grow them. You may have planted the corn and plowed it; but I think the Scripture tells us that Paul may plant and Apollos may water, but it is God that gives the increase. It is so in our farming or anything else. If we have good crops, it is through the blessings of the Almighty that we receive them, and if he did not give them to us, then we should go without. He could send an army of crickets or grasshoppers, or a great hailstorm, sweeping away the fruits of our labors, and in that event, whose would they be? I think it very foolish to quarrel over marbles; I think it foolishness in men to seek after the things of this world and place their affections on them. I see men, and I have seen a great many men in my time, grasping after the world, and they sometimes will succeed in gathering considerable together; and when they have gathered it, they would fold their arms and say, “Soul take thine ease; eat, drink and be merry, for I have much good laid up in store; I am not dependent on any man, soul, take thine ease.” That man hears a little whisper; the finger of God is laid upon him, and this whisper says, Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee; and then, whose shall these things be that thou possessest? Who shall have them then! O, I will leave them to my children! But somebody may cheat them out of it. It is a very difficult thing for people to leave things for their children, and have things done just as they wish, there being so many people to interrupt and grasp after this world’s goods righteously or unrighteously. What a fool to gather large possessions, and now to only occupy a few feet of mother earth. And that brain once so busy, is now slumbering, decaying in the tomb, and worms are reveling within its chambers. And those limbs that were active and energetic and full of life, are now helpless and powerless. And what of these things? I have sometimes, in speaking on matters of this kind, related my own experience when a boy. I have dreamed, for instance, of being very rich, but I would say in my dream, I am afraid I am dreaming; I am afraid when I awake I shall not find my treasures; but I’ll try to hide them and make them secure. In the morning I would hunt for my treasure, but never could find it. You will find, every one of you, that, naked you came into the world, and naked you will return; you can take nothing pertaining to this world with you, not if you were to possess the whole earth. If you possess any portion of this earth by right or title or authority, you will have to get it from God, and you will have to get it when the earth shall be renewed. Abraham had great promises of lands, so had Isaac and Jacob. And what did Abraham have? We are told by Stephen, who lived many generations after him, that God had promised Abraham that he should have this land; but nevertheless he gave him no inheritance in it, not so much as to set his foot on. Notwithstanding the promise of the Lord to him respecting his possessing that land, he had to buy a place in which to bury his wife, and in which he himself should be buried. And yet, did God’s promise fail? No, he will yet possess that land and his seed with him, and the promise be literally fulfilled. While it is proper for us to seek after everything that is right and honorable, on the other hand it is quite as right and very proper that we should set God before us all the time and render obedience to his law, so that we may acquire an eternal inheritance in the kingdom of God. God is now establishing his kingdom upon the earth. If it is the kingdom of God, and he is establishing it, he expects us to be subject to his law, and to be governed by it, and to keep his commandments.

What then shall we do? We will do everything which God requires at our hands. Have we families? We will try to train them up in the fear of God. Have we wives? We will treat them as we would angels of God, and be their protectors and guardians and make them comfortable and happy. And then, as was remarked, we will dedicate our houses and lands to God, and ourselves to God, and our wives and children and everything we have, and feel that we are the children of God and our offspring with us. Again, if I was a woman, I would try to treat my husband right and to make a heaven of my home, and would try to make everything pleasant around me. You husbands now and then quarrel with your wives, and you wives quarrel with your husbands, and you wives sometimes quarrel with one another; I will say cease such folly, and have another kind of feeling; and treat everybody not as they always treat us, for that would not always be right; but let us do unto all men as we would have them do unto us. A man came to Jesus on one occasion, and asked him, which was the greatest commandment. The Savior answered him: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Can we do that? It is sometimes hard work, is it not? We too frequently feel we would rather put two dollars in our own pocket than one in our neighbor’s, do we not? We would rather have two or three cows than that our neighbor should have one? Is not this the kind of feeling? “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” The law—some of us talk about law sometimes; we cannot get enough of it in the Church, therefore we want to go outside for it. I have known, for instance, men to go to law over water difficulties, and they would fee the lawyers liberally, and then, of course, the streams would flow in rich abundance, and there would be plenty of water for everybody. [Laughter]. I remember when a little boy, seeing a somewhat curious picture. Two farmers were quarreling over or disputing the ownership of a cow; and one had her by the horns, the other had her by the tail. In order to settle the difficulty they secured the services of one of these peacemakers of the law, and his love for his fellow man was so great that while they pulled at either end of the cow, he sat between them quietly milking her. [Laughter]. In case of difficulty, for difficulties will arise sometimes, would it not be better for us to attend to the milking of the cow ourselves; and go to the Lord for His guidance and manifest feelings of liberality and kindness towards our fellow men, towards all men? What, would you do so with Gentiles? Yes; it would be a pity if we could not do that. Why, we are told that the Lord “maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Let us try to be like him. We do not want much association with them; we do not want to take counsel at their hands; we do not want to be influenced by them; we do not want them to teach our children while they are seeking to destroy us and to induce legislation against us, and are doing everything they can to injure us. We will say, Father, these are thy children as well as we are; we ask thee to put a hook in their jaws, so that they cannot go any further than thou shalt permit them; and the balance of their conduct we will strive to endure. Make us worthy to be acceptable in thy sight; and if thou seest fit to let them stir up any commotion, we will try to bear it, because we believe it will be overruled for our good and for the advancement of thy cause in the earth. Would I hurt them? No, if I were to see one of them hungry, I would feed him; if I were to see them naked, I would clothe them; but I would not give them my daughters to wife, neither would I let them teach my children to lead them down to death. I want those to teach my children and the children of this people who will lead them in the paths of life. But treat everybody well, and do what is right to everybody, and cultivate the spirit of kindness towards all. And when you see somebody’s cattle in somebody’s grain, feel sufficient interest in his welfare to go and drive them out; and try to promote the welfare of your neighbors and make them feel as comfortable as you can, and God will bless us, and we will bless one another.

And we will build our Temples; and what will we do with them? Administer in them. And then we will spread the Gospel to the nations, and teach our children the principles of intelligence and set before them good examples. And let every father of a family feel that he would not want his wife or wives or children to see him perform an act that he would not have them do; and thus be prepared to say: Follow me as I follow Christ. Let us live together in peace and union and cultivate the Spirit of God, and sustain those who are placed to preside over us. You have a President of the Stake, pray for him that he may comprehend correct principles and draw near to God, and bring down his blessings upon him. Pray for Brother Richards, and pray for us. Here is Brother Woodruff, a faithful man; so are the balance of us; so are many of you, good, faithful men. Well, sustain all honorable people. We need praying for; we are all alike: we are all of that class of whom the old lady was talking when she said: “We are all poor, miserable, independent sinners.” We all need assistance, and we should bear with one another. And while we are seeking to do right in many instances, let us be kind and charitable and long-suffering in the Spirit of Christ, which is the Spirit of the Gospel.

Brethren, God bless you; Sisters, God bless you and God bless your institutions. Be diligent and faithful in observing the laws of God, and the peace and blessing of God will be with you. I pray my heavenly Father to bless this people, and to bless these lands, and all that pertains to you, that your habitations may be habitations of peace, that your children may grow up full of light and truth, and become no– table men and women in Israel, whose names shall be known among the honorable of the earth. Zion is onward; let us progress along with her, and the men who at present affect to despise us because we are so small, will by and by dread us because of our unity and power. While the finger may be pointed in scorn at a “Mormon” today, by and by it will be said that such and such a man was born in Zion, for we are men and women of integrity and fidelity; that will be the case with our posterity, who will rise up and call us blessed. And they will esteem it the greatest honor that could be conferred upon them, so far as the honor of this world is concerned, to have been born in Zion; because we purpose living in such a way, that while the world generally will grow worse and worse, our conduct will be of that nature that we shall command the admiration of honorable men as well as the favor of our Heavenly Father. God bless you. Amen.

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered at Bountiful, Sunday, A. M., June 26, 1881.

We have not come my brethren and sisters to preach great discourses, but to talk to you in a friendly way about some of the things in which we are all interested. When I am instructing others I feel instructed myself, and the advice I give others, in a general way, fits me also. The best of us are not too good; we all of us might be better, and do better and enjoy life better, having more of the Spirit of the Lord in our own homes and in our own hearts, and do more to promote the welfare of all who come within our reach and influence. To serve the Lord, is one of the great objects of our existence; and I appreciate as a great privilege the opportunity we enjoy of worshipping God on the Sabbath day. And when we do meet to worship God, I like to see us worship him with all our hearts. I think it altogether out of place on such occasions to hear people talk about secular things; these are times, above all others perhaps, when our feelings and affections should be drawn out towards God. If we sing praises to God, let us do it in the proper spirit; if we pray, let every soul be engaged in prayer, doing it with all our hearts, that through our union our spirits may be blended in one, that our prayers and our worship may be available with God, whose Spirit permeates all things, and is always present in the assemblies of good and faithful Saints.

I will tell you how I feel on a Sab– bath morning. I realize this is a day set apart to worship Almighty God: now I ought to worship God myself, and I ought to look after my family and discover whether they are engaged in the same thing or not. For we are commanded to keep holy the Sabbath day and to rest from all our labors, as God did when he created the earth upon which we dwell. He has given us six days to attend to the various labors and duties of life, and if we pretend to keep the Sabbath, let us do it acceptably to God our Father, dedicating ourselves to him at least, for that day, and placing our feelings and affections upon him. And then, the Elders of Israel, throughout the broad earth are engaged this day in trying to teach the principles of salvation, and I feel like praying for them, and also for our missionaries who are going abroad among the Saints in this land, as well those who speak, as those who dictate in the assemblies of the Saints in this land and in all other lands, that as this is a day set apart for the worship of God, all Israel everywhere may be under the influence and guidance of the Spirit of the living God, and that those especially who speak may be under the divine influence of the Holy Ghost, and present to the various congregations the words of eternal life. God has conferred upon us very many great and precious blessings, and I sometimes think it is difficult for us to appreciate them as we should.

We are here in the land that is emphatically called, the land of Zion. I think when I hear these words, that they have some significance. What is meant by Zion, or the people of Zion? As I understand it, in fact, as the Lord has told us, it means, the pure in heart. That would hardly apply to all of us, but it would in part. We would like to be pure in heart, but we can hardly reach it yet. There are a great many things which we admire in others, and there are a great many principles which we admire in the abstract, and there are a great many things which we wish we could do, but which we do not do. Still we are aiming in a great measure to do what is right; and if there are any people upon the earth that are doing this, I believe the Latter-day Saints are that people. And, yet, we do not do it, do we? If I were to ask you individually, the answer would generally be, “No, I do not perform my duties as I should, but I would like to do so, but sometimes I yield to improper influences, and while I know that in doing this, I am not performing my duty, yet I realize in some instances that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” But I think we are improving, and that is encouraging. We are the professed people of God, and being so, we ought, at least, to observe all of the leading principles of the Gospel, not to hear them only but to do them. We profess to be under the government of the United States, and being citizens we want to be good citizens, better than any other citizens, and I believe we are. I firmly believe that we are more loyal and more patriotic to our national government than any other citizens belonging to it. That is my opinion. And I think that we can well afford to observe all of the principles instituted among men by any proper government, we can well afford to observe all the prominent principles thereof, and I do not know of any law that as a people, we violate, excepting one, and that has been made on purpose to make us either break the command of God, or violate the law of the land. I wish that our legislators would not make such laws; I wish they would adhere strictly to the Constitution, and to the spirit and genius of our institutions, and not depart from them. For while we are desirous of obeying all of the laws of our country, we cannot violate the law of God. We say, O Lord, teach me thy will and help me to do it. The law expects that one man shall not infringe on the rights of another. That is right; all would agree to that. It expects us to contribute our proper proportion to maintain the existence and responsibilities of the government, both in times of internal trouble and outward aggression. That is proper and we do not wish to have any other feelings than that. They make laws that men should be honest; that is all right. If a man steal, he should be delivered over to the laws of the land. That is part of our religion as well as part of our politics. Our governors sometimes act foolishly, but we cannot help that. The office they hold is a part of our institutions, and because they act illiberally and dishonestly toward us, shall we condescend to berate them? No; it would be bad enough to tell the truth about some of them without resorting to falsehood. We will respect every man in his position, whether he respects himself or not, and respect all laws and all proper authority everywhere. What, would you pray for the Government of the United States? Yes, certainly; and when it shall depart from correct principles and violate the laws of God, and incur his displeasure, I shall feel very sorry for it. Before our late war broke out I knew it, for God had revealed it to me; and when it did come, the trouble and distress that would overtake the people I knew of, and my heart wept over them be– cause of it. But it had to come, and no man could prevent it. When wrong is committed, or an unwise course is taken, it bears with it its own punishment. And as far as we are concerned, so long as we keep the commandments and are true to the trust that God has reposed in us, we need not fear the consequences, for he has said, it is his business to take care of his Saints. It is our duty to cultivate and cherish the spirit of the Lord. And what is the fruit of that Spirit? In former days it was—“love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance.” What is the fruit of the spirit of evil? Envy, malice, hatred, evil-speaking, lying and slandering one another and towards other people. This was the fruit of evil anciently; it is so today. Principles that were good eighteen hundred years ago are good today. And if men, by taking a wrong course, act imprudently and seek to injure us, shall we seek to injure them? No, we will try to do them all the good we can. “But that is not natural.” But then we ought to be changed from nature to grace. Jesus stated, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you,” etc. When you have done all that and met all the requirements of the law, what more can be asked of you? Nothing. Some say we violate their laws. What law? The law that was introduced to make us violate the revelations of heaven; but though men seek to trammel us, yet in the name of God we will perform all our religious duties and responsibilities, and let all Israel say amen. [Amen from the congregation]. And yet, will we be subject to law? Yes. Here is Brother George Reynolds, who is present, he was subject to the law. Did he fulfil the law? Yes, he did. Did he meet all its demands? Yes. And having met them, what more remains? If a law is made, and because we are conscientious before God, seeking to fulfil his law unto us, we violate such a law, and we are deprived of our liberty, by the help of God, his power and grace being with us to sustain us, we will bear the consequence. What can be asked then? We think we can fulfil the law of God and the law of man as near as they will let us; and if they wish to punish us for keeping the commandments of God, let them do it, and let them abide the consequence. And when we get through we will say, you Judge and Jury, who passed upon certain men, we have met your requirements, we now go to the Lord and say, Father, we have also met thy requirements; we could not barter away thy laws; we could not violate thy commandments, but, O God, we have been true to thee, and we have been true to our national obligations. And having done our best to promote peace, and having fulfilled the law of both God and man, we feel that we shall be justified by the Lord, and by all honorable, highminded, just and patriotic men. We are not the first who have been put to the test—Daniel and the three Hebrew children had to pass through this ordeal, they met the consequences, as we propose doing. This was under a despotic government, but under our republican form of government, and with our free institutions, with a Constitution guaranteeing human liberty and the free exercise of religious faith, we have a right to ex– pect a different action. But should this nation persist in violating their Constitutional guarantees, tear away the bulwarks of liberty, and trample upon the principles of freedom and human rights, that are sacred to all men, and by which all men should be governed, by and by the whole fabric will fall, and who will sustain it? We will, in the name of Israel’s God. Of this the Prophet Joseph Smith prophesied long, long ago. This is the position we stand in. And if the Government of the United States can afford to oppress us, we can afford to suffer and grow strong.

Let us go to the law of God. We are here to build up Zion; and how ought we to feel? We want to make as good houses as we can. That is all right provided we come by them honestly. We want to lay a foundation for our children if we can. That’s all right. But do not let our hearts and affections be placed upon these things, for there are other things we have to do. We have to pay our tithes and offerings, as we have been commanded. We have to build Temples. And that is all right. I was going to say, if we do that; I need not put the if in, for we are doing it, we are building three Temples today, and I feel to give credit to the Saints for their liberality and zeal in the work. So far that is all right.

But do we want to speculate out of our brethren and get something from them to build us up? That is not right. We want to build one another up as well as ourselves. Do we object to a man making money and means? O, no; but I should very much dislike to see him accumulate it from his brethren by taking advantage of their circumstances. That is not right. We should be governed by the principles of law and equity. The Scriptures say, speaking of the Lord, “judgment and justice are the habitation of thy throne.” But “who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoreth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money at usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.” Let us seek to promote one another’s welfare, and feel that we are brethren, that we are the representatives of God upon the earth. Our Heavenly Father is desirous to promote the happiness and welfare of the whole of the human family; and if we, any of us, hold any Priesthood, it is simply for that same purpose, and not for our personal aggrandizement, or for our own honor, or pomp, or position; but we hold it in the interest of God and for the salvation of the people, that through it we may promote their happiness, blessing and prosperity, temporal and spiritual, both here and in the world to come. That is why the Priesthood is conferred upon us, and if we do not use it in this way, then there is a malfeasance in office; then we violate our obligations before God, and render ourselves unworthy of the high calling that the Lord has conferred upon us. The Priesthood always was given for the blessing of the human family. People talk about it as though it was for the special benefit of individuals. What was said of Abraham? “In thee and in thy seed”—what? I will confer blessings upon thee. O, that is all right so far as it goes. But “in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” Let us act in the capacity of benefactors, and if we are descended of Abraham, let us walk in his footsteps and make ourselves worthy of the promises, let us extend our feelings wide as eternity, and seek to bless and benefit, lift up and ennoble all around us; that we may all rejoice together and be exalted by the same principles which have been revealed for the benefit of all men. That is the way I look at these important matters, and such is the position we all should occupy.

People talk sometimes—they have a particular case to be adjudicated, and they would like to get hold of a High Councilor and warp his judgment, and make him dishonor himself and his calling. Tell such men when they approach you, to desist; that you are after justice, equity and mercy among men; and then let everything else go, yielding individual feeling, relations and all else to justice and equity, and God will sustain you. While speaking of justice, I do not believe in seizing a man by the throat and crowding him down; but do justice between man and man when placed in that position. We do not wish to destroy men, nor to use any vindictive or oppressive measures. It is said of the Savior: “The Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” That is the way I read these things. And while we deal justly, let us deal mercifully. While we act in righteousness, let us do it with judgment. We all need the Spirit of the Lord; and we all need to humble ourselves before him and seek for his guidance. Were I a President of a Stake, I would feel like saying, O God, help me to control and manage things according to thy will, for I do not want my way or to carry out my own feelings; I want to do thy will; show it to me, O Lord, and help me to do it. If I were a Bishop—I do not know what I would do, but I know what I should do. I should feel like saying, Father, thou hast committed a number of souls to my care; help me to look after their temporal interests and also to promote their spiritual welfare, and see that they are properly instructed in the laws of life; help me also to teach the teachers that go among the people, that they may go full of the Holy Spirit to bless and benefit the people, that with the aid of my brethren I may be a Savior among them. That is the way I ought to feel and to do if I were a Bishop; and that is the way you Bishops ought to feel and to act, and do it humbly with a desire to do good. And then, if I were a Priest, Teacher or Deacon, and was going around as an instructor among the people, I would want to watch over their welfare. And if I knew of difficulty between two neighbors, I should try to hunt it out, and seek after the Spirit of God to guide me, that I might do everything that is right and be under its influence. And if I was not a Teacher, but was the head of a family, I would want to teach my family right and teach them the principles of virtue, holiness, purity, honor and integrity, that they might be worthy citizens, and that they might be able to stand before God, that when they and I get through this world, we might be worthy to meet the elect of God (those whom he has selected from the nations of the earth), and the Gods in the eternal world. Therefore, every morning, as head of my family, I should dedicate myself and my family to God; and if there be trouble existing between me and anybody else, I would meet them half-way, yes, I would meet them three-quarters or even all of the way. I would feel like yielding; I would say, I do not want to quarrel, I want to be a Saint. I have set out for purity, virtue, brotherhood, and for obedience to the laws of God on earth, and for thrones and principalities and dominions in the eternal worlds, and I will not allow such paltry affairs to interfere with my prospects. I am for life, eternal lives and eternal exaltations in the kingdom of God. If we obey the law of God, and then obey the holy Priesthood over us and respect them, and, instead of falling out with them, pray for them, it would not hurt us, would it? We must learn to do good for evil. It is a most delightful principle. David prayed that his enemies might go to hell quickly; but Jesus prayed, saying, Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. I like the sentiment and feeling of the latter better than that of the former, because it is calculated to cement people together in their interests and feelings, in their desires and sympathies. Let us try to make a heaven on earth. God bless you, and lead you in the paths of life, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, January 9th, 1881.

I made some remarks yesterday afternoon, in answer to certain questions which have been put to me in relation to the principle of Tithing, and I thought this morning that I would make a few additional remarks on the same subject, and perhaps touch upon some other matters.

I read over yesterday certain questions which have been asked me pertaining to this matter; and I thought I would take the liberty of answering these questions to this Conference. Perhaps there may be some here today who were not here yesterday, and there may be some here today who do not read the Doctrine and Covenants, and who are not acquainted with some of the principles relating to this subject. Therefore I will read again that which was read yesterday afternoon, which will be found on the 418th page of the Doctrine and Covenants, new edition. There may be some who have not this edition, and I will say therefore that the same revelation will be found in section 107 of the old edition.

“Revelation given at Far West Missouri, July 8th, 1838, in answer to the question, O Lord, show unto thy servants how much thou requirest of the properties of the people for a tithing.

“Verily, thus saith the Lord, I require all their surplus property to be put into the hands of the bishop of my church of Zion, For the building of mine house, and for the laying the foundation of Zion and for the priesthood, and for the debts of the Presidency of my Church. And this shall be the beginning of the tithing of my people. And after that, those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord.

“Verily I say unto you, it shall come to pass that all those who gather unto the land of Zion shall be tithed of their surplus properties, and shall observe this law, or they shall not be found worthy to abide among you.

“And I say unto you, if my people observe not this law, to keep it holy, and by this law sanctify the land of Zion unto me, that my statutes and my judgments may be kept thereon, that it may be most holy, behold, verily I say unto you, it shall not be a land of Zion unto you. And this shall be an example unto all the stakes of Zion. Even so. Amen.”

The scriptures say that we shall receive line upon line and precept upon precept; and therefore it is necessary sometimes, to carry out these ideas in order that, where a people have been misinformed or have not judged or heard correctly, they may be put right in relation to all general leading principles. A feeling has more or less prevailed among the people that Tithing is a matter to be decided on exclusively by the individual paying it, and that if he pays it, all right; if he does not pay his Tithing, it is not quite so right, but it makes not so much difference. A good Saint perhaps, may be honorable and upright and honest in dealing; may be a tolerably good neighbor; he may be zealous to a certain extent, according to his ideas and notions in regard to the propagation of the word of truth; he may be active and energetic in many things, but if he does right in the main, Tithing is a matter of very little importance; it is only a temporary idea, it does not concern us much, it is only meant to meet the financial affairs associated with the Church—and that is a matter of very little importance.

Now it is proper that we should be correctly informed in relation to these matters, and as I stated yesterday, there is a great diversity of opinion existing among men, and even men in authority in the Church, say, Bishops and probably Presidents of Stakes and others, in relation to the principle of Tithing. Now, it is proper that we should have a correct view and a proper understanding of this principle. We are here to carry out the purposes and designs of God, and as I under– stand it we have been gathered together according to certain revelations which have been given for the establishment of His Church upon the earth, and that we, as a people, profess to be the Lord’s people, and under His guidance and direction. Each one, if he is living his religion, is supposed to have the spirit of light, of truth and intelligence within himself, the spirit of revelation, the Holy Ghost given unto him by the laying on of hands which, if he follows in all its guidings and dictates will lead him into all truth. Each man and each woman is placed in the position that they can draw nigh unto God through Jesus Christ: to have the light and intelligence of the Spirit of God imparted unto them; but because of the weakness of man, because of our many infirmities, and because of the powers of darkness and of the many influences that have been at work from the commencement of the world until the present time seeking to destroy, to uproot and to overturn the principles of eternal truth, and to lead men into error, darkness, confusion, and death, and because it is the way and order of God, He has ordained a holy Priesthood for the guidance, for the direction, and for the instruction of His people.

We are told that in ancient days God placed “in the church first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers;” and again, “He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.” For what? “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up unto him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.” That was the teaching of one of the old Apostles. Furthermore, the Lord has instituted in the Church in these last days the same Priesthood that formerly existed, and for the same purpose. We have, say, a First Presidency; then we have the Twelve; then we have High Priests; then we have Seventies; then we have High Councils, and Bishops and their Counselors; then we have Presidents of Stakes, each Stake in its form a compact body, with a President and his two Counselors, and Bishops operating in their place and presiding over their various Wards, and the High Councils operating in their place, with the Priests, Teachers and Deacons operating in theirs, all working and operating together. Then we have Relief Societies, and Mutual Improvement Societies, and our Sunday Schools, and Primary Associations, and all the various organizations and institutions which are organized for the instruction of the rising generation, male and female. Thus we have the various officers in the Church performing their several duties with honor, integrity and truthfulness before God, looking after the interest, the welfare and the happiness of those that are associated with and that are under their jurisdiction. Then these various Stakes, in their organizations, with their Presidents, are subject to the presiding authorities, and the Presidents thereof have to render an account to the Presidency of the Church; and the Presidency of the Church ought to be able at all times to render an account to their Heavenly Father.

This is an order, as I understand it, that is introduced by the Almighty, and by Him alone. It is not of man, nor did it proceed from man, neither can it progress nor be perfected by man without the direction of the Almighty. In fact, with all these helps, with all these organizations, with all these principles, owing to the weakness and infirmities of man, we find it difficult to preserve in purity those sacred institutions that God has given unto us, and we continually need the greatest care, humility, self-denial, perseverance, watchfulness and reliance upon God. We talk sometimes about free will; is that a correct principle? Yes; and it is a principle that has always existed, and proceeded from God, our Heavenly Father. When God revealed Himself to Joseph Smith it was optional whether he obeyed His counsel or not; I suppose, however, looking at things as they exist, and as they are in truth, God understood that he would do it, he having been selected for that purpose a long, long time ago; and that the Lord knew that he would adhere to those principles and would carry out the designs of Heaven as they should be communicated unto and required of him. We received the Gospel; was anyone forced to obey it? Was there any coercion in any possible way manifested toward us? Not that I know of. Was Oliver Cowdery, who was the second Elder in the Church, obliged to receive this Gospel? No, he was not. Was Hyrum Smith obliged to receive it? No, he was not. Were any of the witnesses to the Book of Mormon—the Whitmers and others? No. And after they did identify themselves with this Church, were they com– pelled to stay in it? No. Have any of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve, the Seventies, the High Priests, or the members of the High Councils, or the Presidents of the Seventies, or any class of men in this Church, been compelled to occupy the position to which they have been called? I do not know of any, do you? I know there was no coercion used with me further than the force of truth recommending itself to my mind, neither was there with you further than the power of truth operating upon your minds. And after you received the Gospel were you compelled to leave your homes to come here? No, you were not. In fact, it was your desire to come here, and you could not be kept back from coming, because you were impelled by the spirit which the Latter-day Gospel inspires to come to the land of Zion. If this is called compulsion, it is not the compulsion of man, but the operation of the Spirit of God, which you received through obedience to the Gospel.

We may here ask, in acting under the dominion or control of the Priesthood are any of you forced to do anything you do not want to? If you think you are in any possible way, I absolve you from it today, every one of you. These are my ideas about the rights of men. It is “all free grace and all free will,” as the poet has it. We have not been coerced to come into the Church, we are not coerced to remain in it. But we have taken upon ourselves a profession of faith in God, and as Latter-day Saints we believe that God has spoken, that the heavens have been opened, that the everlasting Gospel has been restored to man, and we believe that God has organized His Church by revelation, through his servant, Joseph Smith, in the form that we now have it. This is our faith. We cannot help that faith. I cannot help my faith, neither can you help yours. There was from the first, scriptural evidence adduced and a certain kind of reasoning used to enlighten our minds. We believed, after hearing the preaching of the Gospel, that it was our duty to be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of our sins, and to have hands laid upon our heads for the reception of the Holy Ghost. And when we received that Holy Ghost, which takes of the things of God, it showed them unto us; and then we were placed upon another footing from what we were before; and that Spirit has enlightened our minds in regard to those things of which I have spoken, as well as in regard to many others. If God has revealed unto us certain things can we help our faith in them, and can we help knowing this to be the Church and Kingdom of God? No. Can I? No. Can you? No. What would men have to do to deprive me of this faith? They would have to cut off my head, or in some other way to kill me; and then they could not change my faith, that would be impossible. If a man knows a thing, he knows it, and he cannot unknow it. There is one way whereby we can unknow these things, and that is by giving way to evil influences, to the powers of darkness, and by departing from the light of God; and then the light within us becomes darkness, and then “how great is that darkness.” But when you talk about controlling a man’s faith, it cannot be done; and I would say to people who are bent upon having me change my faith, all you have to do is to cut off my head, and even that would not do it, because I would still be myself entertaining the same faith in the next world. And there– fore, all that men could do toward accomplishing this object would be to destroy the body, but that principle which God has implanted in our hearts it would be impossible to destroy; hence says Jesus, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Now, speaking again of the organization which I have referred to, connected with it are laws which are calculated to lead us on from strength to strength, from knowledge to knowledge, and from intelligence to intelligence, until we shall all see as we are seen and know as we are known. And hence God has given for this purpose the various offices that exist in the Church and Kingdom of God. I would further ask, What is this Priesthood given us for? That we may be enabled to build up the Zion of our God. What for? To put down wrong and corruption, lasciviousness, lying, thieving, dishonesty and covetousness, with every kind of evil, and also to encourage faith, meekness, charity, purity, brotherly kindness, truthfulness, integrity, honesty, and everything that is calculated to exalt and ennoble mankind, that we may be the true and proper representatives of God our Father here upon the earth, that we may learn to know His will and do it; that His will may be done on earth as in heaven. And hence, Zion is spoken of as being the pure in heart.

When the disciples of our Lord asked Him to teach them how to pray, what did He say? “When you pray say, “Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come: Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we for– give our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.” Besides other things they were taught to pray that God’s kingdom might come. Why? That the earth might be delivered from oppression, cruelty, tyranny, from corruptions, infamy, licentiousness, debauchery, and all the evils that afflict humanity, and which have been introduced by the powers of darkness for the overthrow and destruction of the human family. Jesus stands forth as the great propitiator between God and man. He came here as the representative of His heavenly Father, He is our great High Priest, and he lives to intercede for us before the throne of God, who is also our Father, Jesus being our elder brother.

Now, then, God has gathered us together for a purpose, and that purpose is to build up Zion and to establish His kingdom on the earth and He could not do it in any other way that I know of than the way in which He is doing it; He may however have some other way, but if He has I am not acquainted with it. It is sufficient for us to know that He has chosen this way. Very well. We are taking hold and are doing a great many good things. I feel very much interested in the labors which are being performed. My heart is drawn out in many instances to many peoples and organizations that are engaged in trying to teach the people the ways of life. When I see the Twelve thus engaged, traveling about from place to place teaching the pure principles of the Gospel of peace, I feel like saying in my heart, God bless you, and God sustain you; and all Israel ought to have the same feeling. Then when I see our missionaries doing the same thing not only in our midst but elsewhere, seeking to promote the benefit of men, to introduce correct principles and to expose error, and to lead men to the truth and to gather them to Zion, I feel to say, God bless you in all your operations, and may the Spirit and blessing and power of God be with you; and all Israel ought to sustain such men who are engaged in such beneficial labors. Then when I see our Sunday Schools in operation, with our young men and women, and in many instances the aged men and aged women taking an interest in our youth and trying to train up the rising generations in the paths of life, I say to all such, God bless you and may His peace and blessing be upon all who are interested in the welfare of Israel. And again when I see our young men and young women associating themselves together for mutual instruction and edification, learning to comprehend correct principles and educating themselves to become efficient laborers in the work, the great, the important, the eternal work of God which He has committed to us—when I see our young men and women engaged in that way, I say to such, God bless you, and may the peace and the blessing of God be with you. And when I see our juveniles who are organized as Primary Associations, brought together and taught to sing the praises of God, and to comprehend the principles of the Gospel—and in many instances their parents scarcely sense the responsibility God placed upon them when He placed these precious jewels in their care, making them the fathers and mothers of lives—when I see our brethren and sisters engaged teaching these children to lisp the praises of God, and to honor and obey their parents and to do that which is right, I say God bless them. And when I see our Bishops engaged in doing the will of God, and exerting themselves to promote the welfare of His people over whom they preside, and seeking counsel from God and other sources, and doing all they can to build up Zion unselfishly, with pure hearts and clean hands, I say, God bless you and may the spirit and power of your office rest upon you, that you may magnify it and honor your God. And when I see the Seventies and Elders go among the nations of the earth, as many have done before, trying to benefit mankind, trying to snatch them from the fearful calamity that is near at hand, but people do not know it, when I see men going forth to accomplish the purposes of God and gather out His elect, I say to such, God bless you; and I feel desirous and hopeful that these men may be able to present the eternal truths of heaven in such a way that the honest in heart may see and admire them, and participate in the blessings resulting from obedience thereto.

We are here, then, to build up Zion. We have a temple going up here, and we have others in course of erection in other places. Now, while we have no disrespect for the world, no disrespect for the nations in which we live, or for the authorities thereof, if they act wisely, well; if they do not act wisely it is not so well. No matter about that; we can trust them in the hands of God. We are the friends of all men, and are the friends of this nation; we are the friends and supporters of the Constitution of this nation, we are the friends of right, of freedom and of good administration and good men everywhere, and that on the principle of which I spoke a while ago—on the principle of freedom, liberty, believe, and let believe, worship, and let others worship, worship as you please according to the dictates of conscience, and let others do the same. It is for us to be governed by correct principles, and as far as it lies in our power to extend to all men this right, and then maintain, on correct principles, our own rights, the rights of others and the rights of God. These are my feelings in relation to this matter. But the world do not comprehend our principles; they cannot. But we can afford to teach them the Gospel even if we are abused for doing it; we can deal justly with them, and then suffer their abuse. No matter. We can do all this and a good deal more, and also advocate the rights of men, look after our own interests and welfare, and the interest of the community we are associated with and sustain all just laws and correct principles. And then we can leave those men who violate correct principles in the hands of God. But they cannot comprehend these things, they do not possess that spirit which alone enables men to fulfil those principles, which are given by the Almighty for the benefit of the human family. We do understand them, I mean, those who are faithful to their profession, as Latter-day Saints; but some of us possess the spirit by which they are actuated, and I am sorry when I see it. But as a people we are not of the spirit of the world; we are here not to pattern after the follies of the world, but to build up Zion, the Church and Kingdom of God upon the earth; and God has given unto us a portion of His Spirit, that we may seek after Him, and seek to carry out His will, and He will continue to enlighten our mind, and we shall grow and increase, and our path will be as that of the just, growing brighter and brighter unto the perfect day. Do the world understand anything of the religion we have received? No. It is nothing new to say this; this was understood long, long ago.

“The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither indeed can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned;” and when they do not possess the spirit of truth, the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, by which alone they are understood, how can they comprehend them? Well, having said so much, let me come back to the question of Tithing.

The people were anxious at the time the revelation was given in Far West, to know what the Lord required as a Tithing from His Saints. I was there at the time; it was in 1838—quite a little time to look back to. Some time, however, before this revelation was given, God had revealed the principle of the United Order, which, as you know, the people could not abide; and when we come to think about it, it could hardly be expected that they could do so, they having been in the Church but a short time, taken out of the world, with all the prejudices and weaknesses that you and I have. But the time will come when we will obey these things as they are given by the revelations of God, and it will not be a hardship either; it will be a pleasure to those who are under the influence of the Lord. But like all other things, it will be “free will and free grace.”

Now, then, we come to this. Here is a command given; who to? Not to outsiders, not to men of the world, not to people who do not believe in God nor in His laws; but it is given directly to us who profess to have faith in Him, in His laws, and in His Priesthood. The question then is, what is our duty, as we have not obeyed the other law? I will remark here, incidentally, that when this law of Tithing was given, a great many people were gathering up to Far West and to that district of country, as we are to this country; but it would apply more to our early settlements than at the present time. This people thus gathering to Far West, were told that it was required of them to give their surplus property—I will read it.

“I require all their surplus property to be put into the hands of the bishop of my church of Zion, For the building of mine house, and for the laying the foundation of Zion, and for the priesthood, and for the debts of the Presidency of my Church. And this shall be the beginning of the tithing of my people.” What then? “And those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually, and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord.”

Now, here is a people, of whom we form a part, who met together to ask the Prophet of the Lord to inquire for them the will of the Lord concerning this matter of Tithing; and He gives it in these words:

“And this shall be a standing law unto them forever.”

I will ask, has the Lord ever annulled this? No. Then it stands in full force today to this people. Then again:

“Verily I say unto you, it shall come to pass that all those who gather unto the land of Zion shall be tithed of their surplus properties, and shall observe this law, or they shall not be found worthy to abide among you.”

That is very plain talk. Is there any compulsion about it? No; but if they do not do it they shall not be considered worthy to abide among you. What are we to make of it? As I said yesterday, I did not make it; President Young did not make it, neither did Joseph Smith make it; but by the request of the people he asked the Lord what His will was, and this was the answer; and this was given in 1838. And does it not seem strange that we do not comprehend it? I think it does sometimes. Here we have had the Doctrine and Covenants in our hands, which contain this revelation, since the year 1838; that is nearly forty-two years ago. We have had forty-two years to study this doctrine, and it is as plain as you can make it, and yet it would seem that we cannot understand it. Do we want to understand the laws of God? If we do, and will read these things under the influence of that spirit which I have referred to, I think that we will understand our duties without much trouble.

Now then, if Zion—we were talking about building up Zion—I am not going to enter into the whys and wherefores of these things, but will say it is a test to the people of God, or for us who profess to be, that we may know whether people will observe a certain specific law given by the Almighty or not, and thus have a proof of their fidelity and obedience. Now, if we abide this, all well and good; if not, it is written, “They shall not be found worthy to abide among you.” What will you do with them? I often think that there are a great many people who are not worthy to abide among us; don’t you? And then if God were to put judgment to the line, and righteousness to the plummet, most of us would be in a very poor fix. I will tell you what I think should be done, and that is why I am treating upon this subject today. I think the people ought to be instructed in these things, and then if they do not live up to them you will not then be held responsible to the authorities that preside over you. The Lord tells us that they shall not be worthy of a place among us. Do we want to alter that? Not one iota. Would I wish to be harsh to men that are ignorant? No, I would not; I would bear with them, and teach them and instruct them. And if I were a Bishop I should instruct my Teachers to do it; and then by and by, after they were fully informed, and had every opportunity to become acquainted with things, we might take final action in relation to their standing. I would not wish to enforce that law at present, until men were thoroughly informed. For instance, the case I referred to yesterday. There were two men; one paid $100 in tithing, the other paid $25 in tithing. Both of them owned about the same amount of property; but the first paid his tithing, the other did not. The second, however, paid some $75 in donations; but he did not pay his tithing, he only paid a quarter of it. That now may have arisen from ignorance with regard to the law. The last paid out as much money as the first; and he may have been wrongly taught. Some of the Bishops do not understand these things, and yet we have had this doctrine given unto us for forty-two years. Has a man a right to turn and change things as he pleases? I have not, and I do not believe any other man has. And if any Bishop or a President of a Stake or anybody else tells you that you can do as you please about the disposition you make of the means you pay, as long as you pay a certain amount, or you may pay it on Tithing or not, as you please, I tell you that he teaches false doctrine. But should we be hard with such people? No. If they have been under influences of this nature and been wrongly taught, I will say, as a certain party said to me who had been doing these things, “I will switch off and pay my Tithing according to the law.” You, Bishops and Presidents of Stakes, switch off and get the people to do things right. There is no commandment about donations, but there is about Tithing; and I am not at liberty to change this, neither any other man.

I will follow this subject a little further. We are talking about building up Zion. Here is where the thing applies itself with great force to me as well as to you, when you comprehend it as it exists and see it by the light of the Spirit of Truth. For it is written: “And I say unto you, if my people observe not this law, to keep it holy, and by this law sanctify the land of Zion unto me, that my statutes and my judgments may be kept thereon, that it may be most holy, behold, verily I say unto you, it shall not be a land of Zion unto you.” Well, we are talking about building up the land of Zion, which is one of the things we are here for. And God has said that if we do not obey this law, it shall not be a land of Zion unto us. Does this apply to us? I will read a little further: “And this shall be an ensample unto all the stakes of Zion.” Now, I speak these things for your information. I will go a little farther upon the subject. A person wrote me a letter, stating that a young man had applied to a certain Bishop for a recommend to get married. He asked him if he had paid his Tithing. He answered, No. “Well,” said the Bishop, “We are instructed not to give recommends to those who do not pay their Tithing.” “But,” said the young man, my father I suppose paid my Tithing for me.” If this was so, that would be very proper, especially in farming districts, where the grown sons assist in cultivating the farm, and the daughters, perhaps, assist in making the butter and cheese, etc. When the Tithing on the whole is paid, that is all straight enough, because what is made is the proceeds of the united labor of the family, and the family are all, of course, represented until they come to age. And then what? Why then comes another state of things. “Have you paid your Tithing since you left your father?” the young man was asked. No. Why? I have been careless and indifferent and I have not done what was right. Well, if you haven’t paid your Tithing, and you seem to have forgotten God, why is it that you want to get married according to the laws of God? Why not get married in some other way, seeing that you observe not the laws of God? Well, in the first place, my father and mother wish me to be married according to the laws of God; and then my intended wife’s father and mother want us to be married in that way; and again, the girl has told me that she will not have me unless we get married in that way. I will here remark, I think this very sensible and creditable on the part of the young lady; I think she acted very wisely, and I wish all our young sisters felt the same, and they ought to on a matter of such importance to them. Says the young man further: “I have a desire to keep the laws of God, for I was born in the Church, and I have grown up with such feelings, but I was not man enough to practice them. But if you give me the recommend I will try and do it in the future.” But the question is, under these circumstances, should the recommend be given? I could not do it, unless there was some visible manifestation on his part to mend his ways and to make up the thing he had been deficient in. “Why,” it may be asked, “Is it not better to have our sons married in the right way and be kind to them, than to see them go elsewhere to be married.” As I said yesterday, as I say today, if it were a son of mine I could not give him the recommend; and other men’s sons under the same circumstances are no better than mine. It is principle we are to be governed by. I am not here, you are not here to carry out our own designs, and feelings, and purposes. Why, Jesus himself did not come to do that. According to His own words, He came not to do his own will, but the will of his Father who sent Him. And we are here not to do our own will, but the will of the Father who also sent us, and who has called us to our holy and exalted calling. And what shall be done? Unless this young man could convince me, if I were a Bishop, that he was sincere in his heart and made some satisfactory attempt at fulfilling this law, I would not give him a recommend. What? Would Elders of Israel take men into the House of God, would you, because God has revealed some of the greatest blessings that can be conferred upon humanity, blessings which thousands and tens of thousands of good men sang about and prayed about and longed to receive, but who died without enjoying them, should we take a man, a man whom this Book says, shall not be worthy to abide amongst you, should we, I say, take him through the House of the Lord and confer and seal upon him blessings and lives eternal, and thrones and principalities and powers and dominions, and introduce him into the society of the highest intelligences that exist in the eternal worlds? I forbid you to do it in the name of the Lord. We cannot do it, we are not at liberty to do it, neither are we at liberty to use our judgment in regard to it either. If we bear with men in their weakness and infirmity and are obliged to carry a lot of men like so many automatons, the time will come and it must come when they will be shut out, they will not be found worthy to abide among you; they are not worthy now. But we have to bear with them until they are better informed; but until then they must do the best they can, for they cannot go into the House of the Lord, they cannot be sealed up to eternal lives, they cannot have part in the blessings which God has conferred upon us until they bring forth fruits meet for repentance.

I will take it in another point of view. We pay our Tithing and we pay Temple donations, we attend to the duties of the House of the Lord; we go forth and proclaim the Gospel of peace to the nations of the earth; we convert people, under the blessing of God, and they come to a knowledge of the principles of the Gospel, and we continue our labors to build up Zion; looking at it in this light, would it be just, after we have laid out our means, would it be in accordance with the principles of equity to grant this privilege to such men, a privilege which we have earned and, in a certain sense, paid for? It is generally the case that they are the first to rush forward and want certain blessings without earning them. Jesus said in His day that the “kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” These are some of that class who crowd in where they are not worthy to tread. These temporal matters they assume are of very little importance, they are of very little importance judging from the way that many of us labor; but they are of very great importance when weighed in the balances of truth, the principles of eternal life which God has revealed are of the utmost importance to the Saints, both to the living and the dead, to the myriads of men that have lived and that may live, these things are of vast importance.

I thought I would talk a little upon this subject this morning. I will now offer a few remarks upon another subject. We talk sometimes about justice; and I have noticed the spirit manifested among us sometimes, “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” This is something that really does not belong to us. We are full of infirmities. We pray to the Father to forgive our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us. How often do we sin against God? Many times, and ask His forgiveness. How often should I forgive my brother? I hear people say, “here is such and such a man, he has wronged me, and I cannot forgive him.” Then you have not the true spirit of the Gospel. “But he has acted so meanly towards me, he has injured my reputation, and he sought to do it.” Bless your soul, he cannot injure your reputation if it is good; on the contrary, by taking a correct course, according to the spirit of the Gospel, he that has traduced you will respect you and will be the sufferer, not you. It is our duty to forgive our brother seven times, yes, seventy times seven, when he turns to you and seeks your forgiveness; and we should forgive men in our hearts whether they ask our forgiveness or not. And what about our enemies? What shall we do with them? Offer them peace and forgive them the first time. And what then? Go again the second time and forgive them? Yes, if they ask forgiveness. And the third time? Yes; but the fourth time the Lord says thine enemy is in thine hand, do with him as seemeth thee good. You have then fulfilled the law; and even then, if you are merciful, it is said it shall be accounted to you for righteousness. This is the law of the Gospel.

I am desirous to see the people observe this law of Tithing, because it is a plain and direct command to us. Not that I care anything personally whether people pay their Tithing or not, and I do not think the Lord cares much himself. The gold and the silver are His, and so are the cattle upon a thousand hills; and to Him belongs power to command all things. And what we do possess of this world’s goods is given unto us to make a wise use of, because we cannot take them with us when we shall be called hence. It is for us, as Saints of the Most High, to be honest and upright and take a correct course, to be full of integrity and maintain correct principles everywhere and at all times. If our enemies cannot afford to treat us aright, we can afford to treat them aright. But we will not barter away our rights, but leave ourselves in the hands of God, and seek to Him for His guidance; and if we keep His commandments, God’s blessing will rest upon us. Therefore, in regard to this, it is not a matter of pecuniary interest that prompts me to speak to you; it is a test of faith which God has given unto us, and which affects us all and that for some reason known to God. But speaking of ourselves, it is positively stated, as before referred to, that those who do not observe this law shall not be considered worthy to abide among us; and further, that this shall be a standing law unto all the Stakes of Zion. Again, the Lord says: “If my people observe not this law, etc., it shall not be a land of Zion unto them.”

We have to build up Zion, and make it the praise of the whole earth; but to do this acceptably to God, we must be governed by the principles of purity and honesty; truthfulness and integrity and all the sterling virtues which God has pointed out for man to be governed by. And when the Saints arrive at this state of perfection, thus fulfilling this scripture with regard to the greatness and splendor of Zion, God will make His people not only the richest of all people in spiritual things, but also in temporal things.

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

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Sunday Afternoon, Jan. 2nd, 1881.

I am pleased to have another opportunity of meeting with you on this the first Sabbath of the New Year; and I will add to all the faithful, ten thousand more of them. For we, as Latter-day Saints, do not consider that our existence ends with time, as we generally term it, but that it reaches into eternity. And that while we are here in a state of probation to fulfil the various duties devolving upon us, as Saints of the living God; while we come into the world and exist in it for a time and then leave it, we have hopes and aspirations beyond the grave, and anticipate that, as ages and cycles shall pass along and generation succeeds generation, if we are true to our trust and live our religion, keeping the commandments of God and fulfilling the various covenants devolving upon us to attend to, that we shall associate with the just in the eternities to come! Therefore we are living, and hoping, and expecting, and planning, and contriving and operating, for the accomplishment of this object. We do not look upon the affairs of this life as those alone in which humanity is interested. We have been taught differently by those who have had communication with the Lord, and to whom he has revealed his will. We have been taught differently by the holy priesthood that we have in our midst; we have been taught differently by the Holy Spirit which we have received in God’s appointed way, according to his law; which spirit has enlightened our minds and given unto us an evidence and a testimony similar to that which we heard Brother Smith speak of that he knew this work to be of God. How did he know it? Through obedience to the law of God, by the reception of the Holy Ghost and through the union and communion that exists between God and his children upon the earth. This is a principle of certainty and testimony, and an evidence that we all have the privilege of enjoying for ourselves, and of knowing that God lives; of knowing that this is the Church of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God; and of knowing also that God lives and that he is our Father, and that we are his children; and of further knowing that, “when this earthly house of our tabernacle is dissolved,” we can feel like one of old, that “we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens,” waiting for us, and not for us only but for all who love the appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Were it not for this hope, were it not for this spirit, were it not for this intelligence that has been communicated unto us by the light of revelation and by the manifestation of the Spirit of God, through the revelations of God to man in these the last days, by the opening of the heavens, by the administration of holy angels, and by the revelations of the will of God to man; were it not for this we should not have been here today, this congregation would not have been assembled here as they are; the Latter-day Saints would not have been in this territory; nor would they have been anywhere else; for it is because God has seen fit in the fullness of times, according to the testimony given by the holy prophets, who have prophesied since the world was, according to the designs and eternal purposes of God pertaining to the inhabitants of the earth—those who now live, those who have lived and those who will live; were it not for the purposes of God pertaining to these things, and the communications of his will to us, we could not be, as I before stated, in the position we now occupy. But God having designed to accomplish his work in the interests of the people of the world, in this day and age, in the interest of the myriads who have passed out of the world, in the interest of the living and the dead, he has commenced his work for the salvation, for the redemption and for the exaltation of the human family, and hence things are as we see them among us today.

When we talk about the theories of men, they are matters of very little importance; when we reflect upon their ideas or views, they are really unimportant, but when we talk about the law of God, the plates of Jehovah and his designs pertaining to the world in which we live and its inhabitants, and to the inhabitants that have lived, and to all humanity, then we touch upon a subject that is grand, noble and sublime; one that enters into the recesses of the heart and that touches every fiber, and that causes our hopes and aspirations to reach within the veil, where Christ our forerunner has gone, and we feel convinced that there is an eternal fitness in all the laws, in all the truths, in all the ordinances, and in everything that God has revealed for the salvation and exaltation of the human family. We are here, and how did we come here? What was it that brought us here? Some hardly know; and then there are a great many who do understand this thing very well. We are here because we listened to the eternal truths of the gospel, and that gospel could not have been known unless it had been revealed. For no men nor any set of men, today, understand those principles which are calculated to exalt men in the celestial kingdom of God, nor could they comprehend them unless God had revealed them. And when we hear of the folly, the raving and ranting of ignorant men who know not God nor his laws, who would presume to dictate to Jehovah, who would teach something that they know nothing about; but being without revelation, are fitly represented in the Scriptures as “Knowing nothing but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed.” For instance, we have our cattle, our sheep and other animals which we raise and provide food for and feed and fatten them. What for? For the knife. How could we do it if they knew what we were doing it for? I do not think they would get very fat. Still, one of the old prophets, in speaking of these men who are without revelation says, “They know nothing but what they know naturally as brute beasts.” We certainly do not wish such men for our instructors.

Many men at the present day will tell us that they will believe nothing but what they can see with their eyes, handle with their hands and comprehend with their judgments. And what are they prepared for? I might here ask, What does man in reality know of God and of his laws, or of the proper fitness of things what does he know about that vitality that he himself is in possession of, or that which any other animal is in possession of? He knows nothing pertaining to it, nor can he impart it. When we talk about the wisdom of man, how far does it go? We learn a few of the laws of nature. Who gave these laws? Who originated or organized them? Who placed these eternal laws in nature? Who made the solar system, for instance, to move with that accuracy and punctuality according to exact rules and laws who made any portion of that system, gave it its original force or sustains it in its motion? Who planted in matter its exact and various laws? Can any of the learned and the wise of this day and age make anything of that kind or anything approaching to it? Who gives life and vitality to man? Does man give it? We are told that “there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth it understanding,” but without that what are we, although our organization may be complete in all its parts, yet without the spirit the body is lifeless, motionless and inanimate. What are we? At best but little specks in motion moving about in the world? Puffed up, in many instances, with things we profess to know, when really we know nothing only as God communicates it, and can understand nothing only as he makes it manifest. Can all the philosophers of today make a grain of wheat and give vitality to it, much less a world? Or can they make a simple blade of grass? It is not a big thing to ask a wise man to do, especially those who desire to ignore God in his works, but can the wisest of our philosophers do it? No, nor can they discover the secrets of life, nor the impulses which act upon all nature in all the varied operations. Who governs the planetary system? The great God, the same who causes our earth as well as other systems to revolve upon their axes, and provides for them, and has measured and given them their times and seasons, and their laws. Who is it that causes the blood to flow through our veins? He that has given and does give intelligence to man. Can anybody point out any of those vital principles and show that they originated independently of God? No, they cannot. And so it is through all creation, no matter what you touch pertaining to nature. When man discovers a law of nature either in the mineral, the animal, the vegetable or any other kingdom, he will find that it is governed by strict eternal and unchangeable and undeviating laws. And when men discover that, what do they find out? Something which God has placed there, something that has always existed. We talk sometimes about the great discoveries we have made. We will refer to gas, for instance; some of us can remember very well when there was no such thing known among us as gas for lighting purposes. Who originated the ele– ments of which it is composed? The great God; and that principle always existed. We speak about electricity and the uses to which it can be applied. Who originated that principle? “O, it was found out a few years ago and we found it very useful in communicating one with another; through its use we can send a message today from one part of the world to another, and can be in communication really with the world.” Well, we think we have done something very remarkable, in discovering something of that kind, and it really is a great discovery; but then that principle always existed, ever since the world was framed; the only thing that we can boast of is that we have discovered a certain principle which we did not know of before; and there are ten thousand other principles beyond, which we have not yet discovered; but when we do discover them we shall find them to be the same eternal laws of God. I am reminded sometimes of a little infant. You look at the body; it comes into the world; it has its common faculties. By and by it makes a discovery, it finds out that it has a hand, and it looks at it as much as to say, It is a very curious thing, and it is a remarkable discovery that I have made. Why, it always had a hand, but the baby did not always know it.

It has been remarked here by Bro. Penrose that all things are governed by law. This is so whether in the material world, or whether—I was going to say—in the immaterial world, but we do not know of such a thing; I will say therefore, the spiritual world, if you please. We are very singularly constituted, forming a combination of body and spirit. We learn a little about the bodies of men, but do we know about the spirits? We know from history of some things which have taken place in the past, but what do we know about things pertaining to the future? Who can comprehend God or his ways? One of old in speaking upon this subject says, “It is high as heaven; what canst thou do? Deeper than hell; what canst thou understand?” There are some prominent features which God has revealed to us; and there are ten thousands of principles which he has not revealed. Those principles that he has revealed to us, like everything else pertaining to the works and the designs of God, bring a degree of certainty, assurance, intelligence and satisfaction that nothing earthly can impart. The Saints themselves, do not, in many instances, understand the “whys” and the “wherefores” pertaining to these matters. We are taught to obey certain laws; we are taught to repent of our sins, and to have hands laid upon our heads for the reception of the Holy Ghost. Here is a law that God has appointed, just the same as he has regulated these other systems of which I speak, and with which we are more or less familiar. We have electricity floating around us in every direction. In order to make it subserve our desires we have to use it according to certain laws. At present we have to string up wire properly connecting it and use a battery and a machine made for the purpose, in order to convey our thoughts to others at a distance; and without first paying due regard to these or other appliances that perhaps might be substituted, we could not communicate. When you comply with the law governing this matter, that is, when you erect the poles, string the wire, make your battery and have the machine and the circuit complete, you may then convey your thoughts correctly over the wire by the means of electricity to others at a distance. You know they have been correctly sent because you can receive your answer back; and if necessary, have the message you sent repeated. Now the same principle is true in regard to the other things. And do the persons who operate the telegraph machine always understand all about the philosophy of it? No, but very few of them comparatively. Yet they learn to operate while somebody else does the thinking and prepares the machine and appliances for them for the purpose of introducing this mode of communicating. Now then, look at the principle that looks to many very simple associated with that way which God has ordained and appointed for man to become acquainted with him, and to be introduced to him and to his laws. How is it? Why the elder goes forth to preach, and what is he told to preach? Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost. Now these look to many as being very simple things, very simple; yet they are things which God has ordained, they are his laws, they were in former times, they are in this time. We cannot violate these and receive the blessings, and no other people can; I do not care who they are, they cannot do it. Let us go back to our experience. There are hundreds of you present who have received the spirit of the living God; how did you receive it? You say, an elder came along, and we heard him preach; he told me to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and to repent of my sins, and that he was authorized to baptize me for the remission of my sins, and he told me that if I did this that hands should then be laid upon my head and I should receive the Holy Ghost. This is the doctrine you heard. Then you had faith in God; you repented of your sins, your follies and wickedness, and you covenanted to fear God and keep his commandments, and to observe his laws. The elder then went forth and led you into the water, and he said, “Being commissioned of Jesus Christ I baptize you for the remission of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.” He then buried you in the water and raised and brought you out of it. After he did this, he laid his hands upon your head, and by the same authority he confirmed you a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and said, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.”

Now that is a very peculiar operation when you come to think upon it. Why is it thus? A man goes forth who has authority given him of Jesus Christ, he baptized you for the remission of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. There is something very peculiar about it. It looks very simple; but if that man had no such authority, then he was an impostor; and if the man or men who ordained that elder conferring on him this priesthood, had not the authority to do so, then he or they were impostors; and if God had not given revelation instructing Joseph Smith in relation to these things, how they were to be done, then Joseph Smith himself was an impostor, as well as the apostles and all men professing authority. These are self-evident facts. We as a people do not profess to have received any authority from any other source, from any man or set of men, or any church or any organization existing; and if God has not revealed it, then the whole thing is a falsehood and fiction, and there is nothing to it. Here is a picture [pointing to the ceiling] of the angel Moroni appearing unto Joseph Smith, revealing to him among other things the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated. We have another here [pointing to John the Baptist conferring upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery the Aaronic priesthood], and still another, representing Peter, James and John conferring upon Joseph Smith the Melchizedek priesthood. Very well. Are these things true? There are thousands of Latter-day Saints who will tell you they know it. We will come to these things by and by. But if these things were not so, then our faith is in vain, then we are dark and benighted as others are, then the things we believe in are a phantom and can avail us nothing, either pertaining to this world or the world to come; then the building of these temples amounts to nothing, if these things are a fiction, and everything we have done and are engaged in amounts to nothing. But if they are true, then there is nothing of so great importance to the world of mankind and to us, as the revelation of these truths to man in these last days, and pertaining also to our association therewith.

Now, when an elder lays his hands upon a man and confirms upon him the Holy Ghost, he tells him to receive it by virtue of the authority conferred upon him. What authority? Why God restored the authority of the holy priesthood by those who held the keys of that priesthood and who administer in time and in eternity, who hold that priesthood upon the earth, and who now hold it in the heavens. They came here to impart it to men, and did restore it to men. Very well, that being the case, man was again placed in communion with his God; not left any longer to guess and suppose and surmise and to think, but to know. For instance, I have myself been thousands of miles and hundreds of thousands to preach this Gospel; would I have gone if I had not known it to be true? No, I would not. There is nothing very pleasing in going forth to an unbelieving world to meet the errors and the prejudices of ages, and to oppose the false theories of men, to introduce the principles that are opposed and repudiated by the carnal mind, and by the corrupt everywhere; there is nothing very pleasant or inviting to be traduced and to have your name cast out as evil, no matter how honorable you may be, this has been the lot of the elders of this Church and is their lot today, by men who know not of what they speak, by men who are bigoted, superstitious and ignorant; men who comprehend not God nor his laws; but we know it, and I know the truths of which I speak, and bear testimony to it before you. If others do not know it, I cannot help it; I have obeyed the method appointed to receive these things, as you have had to do, to be initiated into the Church and kingdom, according to the laws which God has ordained. What I have done, then, all others in this Church have done; and the elders of Israel have been actuated by the same impulses, have obeyed the same doctrines and ordinances, and have administered the same ordinances to others. They are influenced by the same spirit, and they realized and knew for themselves of the things which they promulgated and taught. Is this con– fined to elders alone? No. To the apostles and presidents? No. To the seventies or high priests or elders, bishops, priests, teachers or deacons? No. This is a thing which pertains to all; all who are Latter-day Saints, all who have complied with the requirements and who have thus placed themselves in the condition to receive this knowledge; and you men who are before and around me today are witnesses of the truth of that which I say, because you yourselves did receive the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God which imparted to you a knowledge of the principles of the Gospel and placed you in communion with God your heavenly Father. And this Spirit has borne witness to our spirits as it has been said by one of old, “that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ.” We sometimes treat these things rather lightly, scarcely comprehending what we are doing; and I often think that our elders themselves hardly realize the significance of the situation they occupy when they say to him that believes, repents and is baptized, “Receive thou the Holy Ghost.” Is there a thing of more importance that we can think of anywhere than this which so many of us treat so lightly. The idea of a man, human and fallible, pronouncing the reception of the Holy Ghost upon his fellow man, and his fellow receiving that heavenly treasure, is one of the greatest manifestations of the faithfulness of God, in sanctioning the acts of his elders that it is possible for us to conceive of. He has said that through these ordinances he would confer the Holy Ghost; he has also fulfilled it, as the thousands who hear me today can bear record. Here is the thing that operated upon you and which was the means of bringing you here to this place, from many of the nations of the earth.

Some people find fault with us about these things. I have said frequently to men that I cannot help my faith and I am sure you cannot help it; no man living can control my faith, for I have received a portion of the Spirit of the Lord and I know it; and if you have received a portion of that same Spirit you know it, and you cannot unknow it—it is impossible, you cannot unknow it, unless you sin against God and, as the apostle said, grieve the Spirit, by which you were sealed; then it withdraws from you, then you will not know much about it, no more than some do who take this course against us. The apostle said, “Grieve not the Spirit of God, by which you are sealed to the day of redemption;” do not grieve it, do not sin against God, do not violate his laws, do not corrupt yourselves; do not corrupt your bodies, for are they not, as one has said, “the temples of the living God?” Do not allow your spirits to be contaminated and led astray from correct principles, but cleave unto God in all humility, fidelity, faithfulness; observing his laws and keeping his commandments. Why, then, let me ask, are you here? You are here because the elders of Israel visited the place where you lived in this nation, or in nations afar off, preaching the principles of the everlasting Gospel which had been restored; and you believed their testimony, and obeyed the Gospel, and received a knowledge of its divinity, and because of this you came here; and hence the elders, the apostles, the presidents, and all the various peoples and members being touched by the spark of that fire that dwells in the bosom of God, being enlight– ened by that Holy Spirit which is promised to those who obey his law, you left your homes, your friends, your associations, and came here to mingle with the Saints of the Most High, to unite with them and to assist in carrying out those purposes that God designs pertaining to the human family. Now in all this Joseph Smith and those associated with him—Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, Hyrum Smith, Sidney Rigdon and others—understood these principles; they commenced this work not of their own free will, and, yes, of their own free will, too; but they did not originate them. God originated them and they were instrumental in his hands in introducing them. These men having been ordained themselves, ordained others who went forth to proclaim that word of truth which they had received. And why did you come here? Because you received that testimony and believed it and obeyed it and received the Holy Ghost, and associated with those who believed the same principles. There was something that propelled you forward, you hardly knew why or how, but you were desirous to come to Zion. Why? Because you are living in the dispensation of the fulness of times, when God will gather together all things in one, and the keys of the gathering dispensation had been introduced; and because you had received of that spirit, and you never felt easy until you got here. Well, how was that? What operated upon you? The Spirit of God. Was it a something that was craving after wealth and position and power and aggrandizement, to have a great and honorable name? No, it was as you first were taught and as you afterwards comprehended, it was how to learn to save yourselves, to save your progenitors, to save your posterity; it was that you might obtain a knowledge of the laws of life, fulfil the measure of your creation, and that while you felt as a man among men upon the earth, you might, by and by, through obedience to pure principles, stand among the Gods as a God, in the eternal worlds, and be exalted through the power of the Gospel. This is why you came here, and are coming here, and being here, we brought our bodies with us. We have to eat and drink, we need clothing. The curse has not been removed from the earth yet, therefore we have “to eat our bread by the sweat of our brow.” We have to do in regard to these matters as others do; and being here, what then? Why a number of people make what may be termed a community. We are living on land, and that land, in a territorial capacity is part and parcel of the United States, and as a territory of the United States, we necessarily form an integral part of the United States; being men, and having bodies as other men, independent of our general feelings, thoughts, actions and sentiments, we have to live and move, to eat, to drink, to occupy farms, houses, cities, and lands; and to perform all the varied duties of citizens, associated with the body politic. What next? We have our religious duties to perform, and that is to fear God and to observe his laws.

What else? We build temples. What for? To administer the ordinances of God. What ordinances? Those that God has revealed, and those that the world know nothing about; and if they had the temples already built for them today they would not know any more what to do with them than that pitcher does; nor would we unless God had revealed it. Now we are going on quietly to attend to our duties, building our temples and administering in them. Here is Brother John L. Smith—how long Brother Smith have you been administering in the Temple at St. George? [Brother Smith: Four years, sir.] And for whom? For himself? Yes, a little, not much however, principally for others. For the welfare of whom? The living. Who else? Of the dead; that we may fulfil certain duties that God has called us to perform, to help in the accomplishment of his designs and purposes. And that as God has been pleased to restore to the earth the keys which Elijah held, who conferred his power upon others to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, that the fathers who existed upon the earth in generations gone past, and we who are now in existence and our children that are following after us, might be cemented and united together by eternal bonds which God has pointed out. That there might be an alliance and cooperation between those in the heavens and those on the earth; that there might be a welding, uniting, cementing principle; in which the priesthood in the heavens and on the earth are united, to carry out the great designs of our heavenly Father in the salvation and redemption of the living and the dead, and that we might operate for them on the earth while they are operating for us in the heavens. For it is written, that “They without us cannot be made perfect,” neither can we become perfect without them. We, then, are operating in our part and they in theirs; we on the earth, they in the heavens; and with God they are operating, and with Jesus Christ, who is the mediator of the new covenant, and with the ancient prophets and apostles of God, who lived before, who administered in time and in eternity, holding the everlasting priesthood, and who are all interested in the welfare of the world and the exaltation of man.

Well, now, what shall we do? Shall we go on with it? We will try to, the Lord being our helper. Some people say we are very wicked. Well, I do not think we are as good as we ought to be by a long way, but I do think we are very much better than they are. This is my opinion, with all our follies and all our weaknesses, and all our infirmities. And—well, I would not like to say what I know about them. God knows it. We will let that go. The Lord will judge men by their acts, and he will judge us and all others by our acts.

Now, we have a territorial form of government. I will come to that again. What shall we do? Observe the laws of men? I think that is a very easy thing to do. There is nothing very hard about that; if they will not interfere with us in religious matters, there is nothing very hard about keeping the laws of the land. Will we pay taxes? Yes. Will be loyal to the government? Yes. Will we sustain all good, honorable men that are rulers? Yes, and pray God to inspire them with wisdom, that they may be led in the right path. Will we fight with them and quarrel with them, and say hard words about them and misrepresent them as they do us? No, we will not. It would try me very much sometimes to have to tell the plain and unpalatable truth about them, of things which, without falsehood, I can say, I know for myself. Still, will they try to interfere with us? Yes. Who? All kinds of foolish people, ignorant; narrow-minded, degraded, wallowing in iniquity and besmeared with corruption of every kind; and yet they talk to us about our impurities. They have reason to talk a little, but not much. We are not what we should be by a long way; we ought to be a great deal better than we are. I pray that God may enable us to be so.

Well, we do not interfere with them. Whose religion do we interfere with? Nobody’s. I hope you do not, I know I do not; if they are satisfied with it, I am satisfied that they should have it. I believe in every man using the free exercise of his judgment and conscience, leaving the balance with God. I will tell people the truth; if they obey it, all right, if not, certainly I will not prosecute them or persecute them because of their views. But on the contrary, if anybody were to interfere in any way with the religious faith of anyone, I care not how foolish it might be, I would be among the first to stand forth in the defense of him whose rights were assailed; not because I believed in his religion at all; but because my sense of justice and equal rights would impel me to this action; for if I claim those rights myself I ought to respect them in others, holding as I do that it is the right of all men to believe in and worship as they please. And while there are thousands of highminded honorable men in this great nation who believe in and sustain the principles of freedom and equal rights, there are very many foolish, inconsiderate men who would recklessly tear down the temple of freedom erected by the fathers of this nation, and ruthlessly proscribe, prosecute and persecute all who cannot subscribe to their narrow erratic, unsupported ideas. But will you not conform to their ideas? No, I will not, the Lord being my helper, and then the people will not God being their helper. The Lord has revealed unto us the truth, and we know it, and we will stand by it and maintain it from this time forth, God being our helper; and all who believe in that say aye [the congregation said aye]. That is the feeling of the Latter-day Saints I know. But will we interfere with anybody? No! No! We will not. With their politics? Not much. For while we are interested in the welfare of the nation, we care very little about the present political issues. We think that a great and magnanimous nation, however, could well afford to let us alone, and would feel like endorsing General Grant’s axiom, “Let us have peace.” But then if people will interfere with us while we are pursuing the even tenor of our way, we will defend and protect ourselves from their assaults as best we may, and then we will commit them to God. We have not started this work, God commenced it, not us, and we are simply endeavoring to carry out his will and law. Will we do it? With the Lord’s help we will. Will we fight against authority? No. Will we oppose the principles of this government? No. We will sustain them. But if people will act foolishly we cannot help it. If this nation can stand the results of the violation of constitutional principles, we can. If they tear down the bulwarks of freedom and with impunity trample under foot the rights of men we cannot help it. If it is our turn, today, to suffer wrong, it will be somebody else’s tomorrow, national retrogressions are not often arrested. It behooves statesmen to pause in their career. The floodgates once opened who shall stay the torrent? We of all men would save the ship of state and would say to these national patricides avaunt! But if they will act foolishly and continue to do so until they subvert the principles of liberty, and thus destroy one of the best governments ever instituted on earth, then if forsaken by all else, the elders of this Church will rally round the Constitution, lift up the standard of freedom, which is being trodden under foot and bedrabbled by demagogues, and proclaim liberty to the world; equal rights, liberty and equality; freedom of conscience and of worship to all men everywhere. That is not a prophecy of mine; it is a prophecy of Joseph Smith’s, and I believe it very strongly. Will we oppose them? No. Let them go on in their own way and we will pray to God to turn the designs of wicked men, and if they will not repent and turn from their evil deeds, pray to him that they may be taken in their own trap, be caught in their own snare, and fall into the pit which they dig for us. Can you pray with a good conscience that this may befall them? Certainly. If men dig a pit for others they should not find fault if they fall into it themselves. And as sure as God lives they will do it, if they persevere in their iniquity, and as sure as we stand faithful to the principles of truth, God will stand by us, and the wrath of man will be made to praise him, and the remainder he will restrain; and they cannot help themselves. For both they and we are in the hands of God, and they can go no further than he permits them, neither can we. And we will try, as the friends of this nation and of humanity, to do right, and to sustain all correct principles, in the maintenance of justice and equal rights to all; cultivating peace, respecting law, sustaining our institutions, and praying that right, justice and equity may prevail throughout the land; and that the hands of all honorable men may be strengthened to preserve inviolable the God-given institutions of this great nation. Let us also try to fulfil all of our duties as fathers, and our duties as mothers, our duties as children and our duties as citizens of the United States, our duties as Presidents, our duties as Apostles, our duties as High Priests, our duties as Seventies, our duties as Elders and our duties as Priests, Teachers and Deacons, and our duties as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Let us humble ourselves before the Lord, live in the light of the Spirit of God, that the Holy Spirit which we have received may be in us “as a light that shines brighter and brighter until the perfect day.” And if we are faithful, God will stand by Israel; he will preserve his elect; he will listen to our prayers: and we will go to work by his help to build up Zion and establish the Kingdom of God upon the earth; and we and our posterity will never cease doing it until the “kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ; and he shall rule forever and forever;” and then throughout the endless ages of eternity among the Gods in the eternal worlds we will join in singing, “Blessing, and glory, and honor, and power, and might, and majesty, and dominion, be ascribed to him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever.” Even so. Amen.

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered in the General Conference, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Oct. 10th, 1880.

I will make a few remarks while the Sacrament is being administered. It is gratifying to me to be able to state that now all the various organizations of the Church are provided for. For some time the Twelve have been operating in the capacity of a First Presidency, and it was very proper that they should have acted in that capacity. As you heard Brother Pratt state this morning, in referring to this subject, this was the course adopted at the time when the Prophet Joseph Smith left us. The Twelve then stepped forward into the position of the First Presidency, and operated for about three years in that capacity. And when President Young left us it was thought proper that the same course should be pursued. The Twelve, I believe, have in this respect magnified their calling and taken a course that is approved by the Lord, and I think also by the brethren, judging from the vote given here today.

Had it not been our duty to have the Church organized fully and completely in all its departments, I should have much preferred to have continued with the brethren of the Twelve, speaking of it merely as a matter of personal feeling. But there are questions arising in regard to these matters that are not for us to say how they shall be, or what course shall be pursued. When God has given us an order and has appointed an organization in his Church, with the various quorums of Priesthood as presented to us by revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith, I do not think that either the First Presidency, the Twelve, the High Priests, the Seventies, the Bishops, or anybody else, have a right to change or alter that plan which the Lord has introduced and established. And as you heard Brother Pratt state this morning, one duty devolving upon the Twelve is to see that the churches are organized correctly. And I think they are now thus organized throughout the land of Zion. The Churches generally are organized with Presidents of Stakes and their Counselors, with High Councils, with Bishops and their Counselors, and with the Lesser Priesthood, according to the order that is given us.

Then we have the High Priests, Seventies and Elders occupying their places according to their Priesthood, position, and standing in the Church. And the First Presidency seemed to be the only quorum that was deficient. And it is impossible for men acquainted with the order of the Holy Priesthood to ignore this quorum, as it is one of the principal councils of the Church. While the Twelve stand as a bulwark ready to protect, defend and maintain, to step forward and carry out the order of God’s Kingdom in times of necessity, such as above referred to, yet when everything is adjusted and matters assume their normal condition, then it is proper that the Quorum of the First Presidency, as well as all other quorums, should occupy the place assigned it by the Almighty.

These were the suggestions of the Spirit of the Lord to me. I expressed my feelings to the Twelve, who coincided with me, and, indeed, several of them had had the same feelings as those with which I was actuated. It is not with us, or ought not to be, a matter of place, position, or honor, although it is a great honor to be a servant of God; it is a great honor to hold the Priesthood of God; but while it is an honor to be God’s servants, holding His Priesthood, it is not honorable for any man or any set of men to seek for position in the Holy Priesthood. Jesus said, Ye have not called me, but I have called you. And as I said before, had I consulted my own personal feelings, I would have said, things are going on very pleasantly, smoothly and agreeably; and I have a number of good associates whom I respect and esteem, as my brethren, and I rejoice in their counsels. Let things remain as they are. But it is not for me to say, it is not for you to say, what we would individually prefer, but it is for us holding the Holy Priesthood; to see that all the organizations of that Priesthood are pre– served intact, and that everything in the Church and kingdom of God is organized according to the plan which He has revealed; therefore we have taken the course which you have been called upon to sanction by your votes today.

I would further remark that I have examined very carefully for some time past some of those principles you heard read over in the Priesthood meeting, and which were referred to in part, by Brother Pratt, this morning. And there are other principles associated with the Priesthood that we wish and hope to have thoroughly defined; so that every man will know his true position and the nature of the calling and responsibility and Priesthood with which he is endowed. It is very proper and very important that we should comprehend these things; every man in his place, and every woman in her place; but I more particularly refer to the Holy Priesthood, that every man may feel and realize the duties and responsibilities which rest upon him.

It is gratifying to me, and it is no doubt satisfactory to you, to see the unanimity and oneness of feeling and the united sentiment which have been manifested in our votes. Those votes being taken first in their quorum capacity, each quorum having voted affirmatively, then by the vote of the Presidents of the several quorums united, and afterwards by the vote of the quorums and people combined, men and women, among the many thousands assembled who have participated in this vote, having a full and free opportunity, uncontrolled by any influence other than the Spirit of God, to express their wishes and desires, there has not been, from all that we could discover, one dissenting vote.

You could not find the same unanimity anywhere upon the earth. Union is a principle that exists in the heavens, and so far as we manifest this feeling in all sincerity, so far do we exhibit our faith in God, in His Priesthood, and in His law as revealed to us. For our religion, our Priesthood and all the blessings and ordinances that we possess were not given us by any man or any combination of men; it was the Lord who revealed all of these things or we could not have been in possession of them. We have had an example here today of the unanimity which characterizes those possessed of the Spirit of the Gospel, and it ought to be a pattern for us in all of our affairs.

And now let me refer with pride to my brethren of the Twelve here, which I do by saying that while they as a quorum held the right by the vote of the people to act in the capacity of the First Presidency, yet when they found, as Brother Pratt expressed it this morning, that they had performed their work, they were willing to withdraw from that Presidency, and put it in the position that God had directed, and fall back into the place that they have always held, as the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I say it is with pride that I refer to this action and the feeling that prompted it. I very much question whether you could find the same personal exhibition of disinterested motives and self-abnegation, and the like readiness to renounce place and position in deference to principle, among the same number of men in any other place. They saw the necessity of this action; a motion was made in that Council; and the vote was unanimously adopted that the First Presidency be reorganized, and after– wards the brethren to fill this quorum, were selected. The next step was to present the matter to the Church, and it was laid before the Priesthood at a meeting, when there were present a representation of all the important authorities of the Church in the different Stakes in Zion. After having done that, lest some difficulty might exist somewhere, it was thought proper to pursue the course taken today—that each organization of the Priesthood, embracing all the quorums, should be seated in a quorum capacity by themselves, and separately have the opportunity of voting freely and fully without control of any kind, and of expressing their feelings, and finally, that the whole congregation should have the same opportunity. This is emphatically the voice of God, and the voice of the people; and this is the order that the Lord has instituted in Zion, as it was in former times among Israel. God gave his commandments; they were delivered by His Prophet to the people and submitted to them, and all Israel said, Amen. You have all done this by your votes; which vote, so far as we can learn, has been without a dissenting voice either among the separate quorums, or in the vote of the combined quorums and people. Now, continue to be united in everything as you are in this thing, and God will stand by you from this time henceforth and forever. And any man who opposes principles of this kind is an enemy of God, an enemy of the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth, an enemy to the people of God, and an enemy to the freedom and rights of man. The Lord has selected a Priesthood that He might among all Israel make known His mind and will through them, and that they might be His representatives upon the earth. And while He does this He does not wish men to be coerced or forced to do things contrary to their will. But where the Spirit of God is, there is union, harmony and liberty, and where it is not there is strife, confusion and bondage. Let us then seek to be one, honor our God, honor our religion, and keep the commandments of God, and seek to know His will, and then to do it.

I do not know but that I have spoken as long as I ought to. God bless you; God bless the Twelve; and God bless the Presidents of Stakes and their associates, and the Seventies and the High Priests, and the Elders, and the Bishops, and the Lesser Priesthood. And God bless the Relief Societies, and the Young People’s Mutual Improvement Associations, and all who love and fear God and keep his commandments. And may God bless the Sunday Schools and the Primary Associations and the educational interests, and all interested in the welfare of Zion, as well as all the good and virtuous, the honorable and high-minded everywhere, who are seeking to promote purity, holiness, and virtue on the earth. And God bless our singers and all who make music for us; and may the peace and blessing of God rest upon all Israel. And when you go to your homes, carry out the principles you have voted for, and God will bless you and your generations after you; and you shall be blessed in time, and through all eternity. And I bless you by virtue of the holy Priesthood, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Discourse by President John Taylor and Elder Erastus Snow, delivered at Paris, Bear Lake, Sunday Morning, August 8th, 1880.

[It will be perceived that it is a long time since this discourse was delivered, and at a time when the Twelve Apostles were acting as First Presidency of the Church.]

I arise this morning to make a few remarks to you as I may be led and dictated by the Spirit of God. I am sorry that we have not more time to spend with you, but having a conference to attend at Manti, Sanpete, on next Saturday and Sunday, which is quite a long way from here, and in the meantime having business to attend to at home, we shall be obliged, in order to make connections with the train at Logan, to leave this place at the close of this meeting. I should, and so would my brethren with me, have been very much pleased to have visited you at your several settlements, but owing to these circumstances it will be impracticable to do so.

There are a few items to which I wish to call your attention. Yesterday we heard a very interesting discourse from Brother Snow in which he compared the climate, etc., of your valley with that of Southern Utah; and the remarks made will doubtless have the effect to dispel a good deal of the restlessness which I understand many have manifested because of the severity of your winters. And I would further remark in relation to these matters, that this is the Zion of our God; that we are gathered here not for the purpose of seeking to do our own wills or to carry out our own designs, our own ideas or theories; but to be subject to the law of God, to the order of God and to the priesthood of God; and that our greatest safety and happiness, under all circumstances, is in rendering strict obedience to His law, and to the counsels that may be given from time to time through the Holy priesthood. We are today a kingdom of priests holding to a very great extent the holy priesthood; and it is essential that we submit ourselves to the laws of that priesthood and be governed by them in all of our actions. The Seventies, for instance—that is, those who understand themselves—expect to be on hand at any time to go to all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. That would be no more than their duty, which is in keeping with the command of God to them. And as to whether they live in hot or cold countries is really a matter of very little importance to them, their calling being to preach the Gospel to every creature the world over. Then the High Priests have certain duties to perform, and if they are in an organized condition, as the people of this Stake are, for instance, their duties are to prepare themselves for certain events that may transpire and to be learning to preside. For the duties of the Melchizedek or High Priesthood have been in all ages of the world to preside. So says the Doctrine and Covenants, extracts from which I may read to you. But it is not because a man is a High Priest that he should necessarily preside until he is called to fulfil some of the duties and responsibilities devolving upon that Priesthood. And it is the duty of a President of the High Priests to get the members of his quorum under him together and to instruct them as to the duties of the presidency, so that in the event of any being called, say, to occupy the office of one of the Twelve Apostles who are High Priests, they would be prepared to enter upon such duty; or that in case they should be called to preside over a Stake, they would be prepared to enter upon the duties of that office; or if they should be called to be Counselors to the President of the Stake, they could act wisely and efficiently in that position; or if they should be called upon to be High Councilors, they would know how to act righteously and equitably in all cases, that they might be called upon to adjudicate. And then if they should be called to be Bishops or Bishop’s Counselors, as the case may be, they should be prepared to occupy these or any other offices that they might be called to officiate in. High Priests have those duties devolving upon them just as much as it devolves upon the Seventies to go to the nations to preach, and there is no such thing in the program as sitting and “singing ourselves away to everlasting bliss.” Or, if we are called to fill an office we should not feel at liberty to neglect its responsibilities and sit down and do nothing. The idea is that we are to magnify our office and calling, no matter what its duties may be.

Then, there are certain duties devolving upon the Bishops, and also upon the Presidents of Stakes. And, then, the Twelve, wherever they may be located, have also their particular duties, and especially is this the case in the present organization of the Church; the Twelve occupying the position of the First Presidency. I wish, for your information, to offer some few ideas on some of these leading points that you may understand something of the nature of the duties and responsibilities that devolve upon us to attend to.

It is not correct, to suppose that the whole duty of carrying this kingdom devolves upon the Twelve or the First Presidency, as the case may be, or upon the Presidents of the Stakes, or upon the High Priests, or upon the Seventies, or upon the Bishops, or upon any other officer in the Church and Kingdom of God; that to the contrary, all of us have our several duties to perform. And I may go farther in regard to the duties of men, and also in regard to those of women, all have their duties to perform before God. The organization of this Church and Kingdom is for the express purpose of putting every man in his place, and it is then expected that every man in that place will magnify his office and calling. For through the ordinances of the Gospel and the operations of the priesthood the blessings of God are manifested, and without the ordinances we cannot enjoy the fulness of these blessings among us, Latter-day Saints, nor could the Saints in any age of the world among any people that ever existed.

We are of the household of faith, the children of God. We are gathered together for the express purpose of being taught in the laws of life, so that we may comprehend the position that we occupy, and the duties and responsibilities which devolve upon us. And as I have before stated, we are not here simply to carry out our own designs or to suit our own feelings or wishes, or to aggrandize ourselves. Beyond this earth as it now is, beyond time, in the eternities that are to come we have a work to perform and we have to prepare in part for it while we are upon this earth; and God has called us together for this purpose. The whole world is wallowing in iniquity, corruption, wickedness and evil; and it is for us, in the first place, to rid ourselves of everything of that kind, and to feel that we are the children of God, that He is our Father, and that we are under His law, and that we have to be subject to His commands; and that He has ordained and organized and set apart a Priesthood for this purpose. And what is that Priesthood? It is the rule and government of God; whether on the earth or in the heavens; and is the means by which God has operated in all the ages of the world. There is an order in this, every man in his place, the First Presidency, or Twelve, as the case may be, in their place, the Presidents of Stakes in their places, the High Council in their places, the High Priesthood in their place, the Seventies in their place, the Elders in their place, the Presiding Bishop, with his Counselors, in his place, and the other Bishops in their place, and the Priests, Teachers and Deacons in their place, and every one feeling that they are the servants of the living God, and that they are clothed upon with the Holy Priesthood, and that they have a duty to perform in His kingdom—that they stand ready, at all times, to carry out anything that God may dictate through His regularly constituted authority in regard to themselves, their families, their neighborhoods wherein they live, or in the Church or the world, that their duty is to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth, to gather the people, to build temples, and to accomplish anything and everything that God requires, and that when we have built temples it is our duty to administer in them, that we may be the children of God, saviors upon Mount Zion, and be the blessed of the Lord of Hosts and our offspring with us. This is the position we occupy here upon the earth.

Now, I will read to you from the Doctrine and Covenants. In speaking of Priesthood we are told that, “There remain hereafter, in the due time of the Lord, other bishops to be set apart unto the church, to minister even according to the first; Wherefore they shall be high priests who are worthy, and they shall be appointed by the First Presidency of the Melchizedek Priesthood, except they be literal descendants of Aaron. And if they be the literal descendants of Aaron they have a legal right to the bishopric, if they are the firstborn among the sons of Aaron; For the firstborn holds the right of the presidency over this priesthood, and the keys and the authority of the same.

“No man has a legal right to this office, to hold the keys of this priesthood, except he be a literal descendant and the firstborn of Aaron.

“But, as a high priest of the Melchizedek Priesthood has authority to officiate in all the lesser offices he may officiate in the office of bishop when no literal descendant of Aaron can be found, provided he is called and set apart and ordained unto this power, under the hands of the First Presidency of the Melchizedek Priesthood.

“And a literal descendant of Aaron, also, must be designated by this Presidency, and found worthy, and anointed, and ordained under the hands of this Presidency, otherwise they are not legally authorized to officiate in their priesthood.”

“But, by virtue of the decree concerning their right to the priesthood descending from father to son, they may claim their anointing if at any time they can prove their lineage, or do ascertain it by revelation from the Lord under the hands of the above named Presidency.”

This is speaking more particularly in regard to the Bishops. I have not time, today, to enter into many details pertaining to this; but will simply draw your attention to one point, which is this: If we had among us a literal descendant of Aaron, who was the firstborn, he would have a right to the keys, or presiding authority of the Bishopric. But then he would have to be set apart and directed by the First Presidency, no matter what his or their claims might be, or how clear their proofs. The same would have to be acknowledged by the First Presidency. These claims of descent from Aaron would have to be acknowledged by the First Presidency, and, further, the claimant would have to be set apart to his Bishopric by them, the same as in the case of a High Priest of the Melchizedek Priesthood called to fill the same office. Thus, in either case, as a literal descendant of Aaron, or as a High Priest, the right to officiate is held first by authority of the Priesthood, and by appointment and ordination as above stated.

And, then, here is another thing I desire briefly to mention. A Bishop of this kind, holding the keys of this Priesthood, must be set apart by the First Presidency, and, should occasion arise, must also be tried by the First Presidency. This, however, does not apply to all Bishops, for there are a variety of Bishops, as for instance Bishop Partridge, who presided over the Land of Zion, and whose duty was to purchase land and divide it among the people, as their inheritances, and to take charge of the temporal affairs of the Church, not only in Zion but throughout all the western country, and also to sit as a common judge in Israel, and to preside in the capacity of Bishop, not to act as President over a district of country that was then called Zion, but as a general Bishop. George Miller was afterward appointed to the same Bishopric. Newel K. Whitney was appointed also as a general Bishop, and presided over Kirtland and all the churches in the eastern country. The calling of these men, you will perceive, was very different from that of a Bishop over one of the Wards of a Stake, for he can only preside over his own Ward; outside of that he has no jurisdiction. While the calling of the former was general, that of the latter is local. And there were Bishops’ agents appointed formerly. There was Sidney Gilbert; he was a Bishop’s agent appointed to assist Bishop Partridge in his duties; and Bishop Whitney also had his assistants or agents to assist him in his administrations, the one presiding as Bishop over the affairs of the Church in the west, the other presiding over the affairs of the Church in the east. But neither of them was presiding Bishop of the Church at that time. But you will find that afterwards George Miller was appointed to the same Bishopric that Edward Partridge held; and that Vinson Knight was appointed to the Presidency over the Bishopric, with Samuel H. Smith and Shadrach Roundy as his counselors.

I speak of these things to throw out some general ideas; and you will have to examine the Doctrine and Covenants for yourselves, and this will give to you the key how to arrive at the truth in relation to these principles.

Now, these general Bishops had to be appointed by the First Presidency; they had to be tried by the First Presidency as well as the Presiding Bishop, because they were general Bishops, and were appointed by the First Presidency. But Stake Bishops stand in another capacity. They have a presidency over them, and although it is proper for them (the Stake Presidency) to consult with the First Presidency of the Church, yet they preside over them, as well as over the affairs of their Stake. There is one thing associated with this matter that I will mention here, which is this. While you have a High Council in your Stake, and a presidency of your Stake, you also have Brother Charles C. Rich residing here, who is one of the First Council of the Church. And if I were a President of this Stake I should always confer with him about any matters of importance pertaining to the interests of the Church in the Stake over which I presided. Because the Twelve now hold the right of Presidency; and as he is one of the Twelve, it would be proper, and, indeed, I should consider it quite a privilege, if I was a president here, to apply to him for council in all matters pertaining to the interests of the Stake.

Now, I speak of this for your information, and by so doing you will avoid a great deal of trouble that you might otherwise fall into. Because Brother Rich is not only an Apostle, but you, in connection with the other Stakes, have voted for him as one of the First Presidency, and therefore he would be the proper person to counsel in any matters of that kind. And, then, if there should be anything not exactly clear to him, it would be his privilege to apply to his quorum to obtain their mind in regard to it; and when this course is adopted everything moves on harmoniously. Now, for instance, here is Brother Erastus Snow, he and Brother Brigham Young, under the counsel and direction of the First Presidency, will shortly take a mission into the southern portions of the Church, in Colorado and Arizona, and, perhaps, in New Mexico, to look after the interests of the community there. Over the settlements throughout those regions of country there are Presidents, and these Presidents preside over Stakes where Stakes are organized. Brother Snorer informs me there are two Stakes. He and Brother Brigham go clothed upon with the authority of the First Presidency to regulate, to set in order, and counsel in all matters pertaining to the interests of that people. Wherever they may go, no matter who presides, we should expect them to regard their counsel, and to be governed by them in all of their acts. Because the Twelve cannot go everywhere as a body, and the interests of the Church are being extended, and we are growing larger all the time; and Zion will continue to grow until the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ, and that as a matter of course means that if this is the kingdom of God and the Priesthood is the representation of that kingdom, the proper authorities of the holy Priesthood, wherever they go to represent the Priesthood, must be respected in their position; and as these brethren represent the First Presidency where they are going, they must be respected and their counsels adhered to as such.

Now if that would be proper for Brother Snow and Brother Brigham, it would also be proper for Brother Rich, for they all hold the same authority; and we expect them to represent to us things as they are, that we may be enabled to counsel and direct—and they always do counsel with us, and are glad to get our counsel. On the other hand, for instance, I am President of the Twelve Apostles, and by that means President of the Church at present. Well, say that Brother Rich or any member of the Quorum of the Twelve comes along, having something to offer or lay before the Council, I would say, such a man is an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I have a right to listen to his counsel or to whatever he has got to say, and at the same time pay due deference to it. For I am glad to have the counsel of my brethren, and they are always pleased to receive mine. That is the kind of feeling existing among us, and this same feeling should exist everywhere throughout the whole Church. It is not for a member of the High Council to say, “I am one of the prominent men, and I am going to show you how things are done here; and furthermore, I have my own ideas about things, and am going to try to carry them out.” It will not do for a president to say that; but it would be more in accordance with our calling for us to say, “O God, thou art our Father, and we are thy children. We are engaged in thy service; wilt thou, O Lord, show unto us thy will, that we may do it?” Not our own will; we do not want to do our will nor carry out our purposes, nor do anything for our personal aggrandizement, nor for that of our friends or anybody else; but to do that which is right and just and equitable before God and the holy angels and all honorable men. And then when we have done that, we do not ask any odds of the turbulent or dissatisfied, who are crying, good Lord and good devil, not knowing whose hands they may fall into. We do not care about their ideas; but we do care about having the smiles and approbation of our Heavenly Father and of all good men, so that when we get through and are called upon for an account of our stewardship, we may say, O God, we have done, so far as thou hast given us ability, the work thou hast placed in our hands. And then every member of the priesthood ought to feel just the same; not like some of our unruly horses when they get the bits in their mouths and run off, because they make a good deal of trouble for themselves and other people too. We should ever seek to operate together and be one according to the laws of the Holy Priesthood.

I now want to show something about this Priesthood, and will again read: “As a high priest of the Melchizedek Priesthood has authority to officiate in all the lesser offices he may officiate in the office of bishop where no literal descendant of Aaron can be found, provided he is called and set apart and ordained unto this power, under the hands of the First Presidency of the Melchizedek Priesthood.” There is where it comes in, and this applies primarily to the presiding Bishop; but I would say that it applies in a more extended view to High Priests who are ordained and set apart as Bishops, in the several Stakes of Zion, and who thus come under the supervision of those presidents of Stakes, and stand in the same relationship to them that the First Bishops did to the First Presidency of the Church. The First Presidency at that time presided over the Stake in Kirtland, over the High Council, over the Bishops and over all the organizations of the Stake, and were really the presidents of that Stake. But it will be seen that while they were presidents of the Stake and occupied the same position that presidents now do over the Stakes, they were at the same time presidents of the Church in all the world, whilst the authority of our present presidents of Stakes is confined to the limits of their several Stakes. And thus there is perfect order in all these things in relation to these matters.

I again quote: “There are, in the church, two priesthoods, namely, the Melchizedek and Aaronic, including the Levitical Priesthood.” Now I will make a statement or two about this. What is the Levitical Priesthood? There were in the days of Moses a tribe of the children of Israel set apart to officiate in some of the lesser duties of the Aaronic Priesthood, and their office was called the Levitical Priesthood. You High Priests, you Seventies and Bishops can examine these things from your Bible, and what the Bible does not tell you the Book of Covenants will, and you ought to be ac– quainted with this matter, it is your duty to investigate these things, to search in the records, to examine the revelations of God and make yourselves acquainted with principle, and laws, and governments, and all things calculated to promote the welfare of humanity.

“The office of an elder comes under the priesthood of Melchizedek. The Melchizedek Priesthood holds the right of presidency, and has power and authority over all the offices in the church in all ages of the world, to administer in spiritual things.”

“Well,” say you, “I thought that; that has been my idea, the Bishops should have all the temporal things to attend to.” We will read a little further. It is by taking up little old texts that mistakes are often made and incorrect ideas conveyed. We must take the whole thing to ascertain what is intended, and rightly divine the word of truth.

“The Presidency of the High Priesthood, after the order of Melchizedek, have a right to officiate in all the offices in the Church.”

Now, will you show me an office, or calling, or duty, or responsibility, temporal or spiritual, that does not come under this statement? From this I think this Presidency have something to do with the Bishops and temporal things as well as with the Melchizedek Priesthood and spiritual things, and with all things pertaining to the interests and welfare of Zion. That is the way I understand these matters. I could enter very elaborately into these questions, but I do not purpose to do so, there not being time. But this is the position they occupy.

“High priests after the order of the Melchizedek Priesthood have a right to officiate in their own stand– ing, under the direction of the presidency, in administering spiritual things, and also in the office of an elder, priest (of the Levitical order), teacher, deacon and member,” etc.

This shows really, in as few words as the matter could be conveyed to your understanding, the way that God has appointed for the governing of those affairs in His Church and Kingdom, without entering elaborately into detail.

When we have a Stake organization, as you have here, the Presidency of the Stake presides over all Bishops, High Councils, and all authorities of the Stake. The several Bishops preside over their respective wards and manage their affairs, under the direction of the Stake Presidency, who in their office and calling are responsible to the First Presidency of the Church. The Bishops are also under the direction of presiding Bishop Hunter in all affairs connected with the temporal interests of the Church. And Bishop Hunter is under the direction of the First Presidency, the Aaronic Priesthood being an appendage to the Melchizedek Priesthood. It is however, the special duty of the Aaronic Priesthood to attend to temporal matters; but then the First Presidency presides over all Bishops, all Presidents, all authorities, and lastly God presides over all.

Now we are sometimes fond, that is, some of us are, of talking about our authority. It is a thing I care very little about. I tell you what I want to do if I can. I want to know the will of God so that I may do it; and I do not want to dictate or domineer or exercise arbitrary control. Then again, all men ought to be under proper control to the Presidency and Priesthood presiding over them. If I were a Bishop I should want to know what the President of my Stake desired, and I should confer with him; and if there was anything in which Bishop Hunter was interested, I should want to know his mind.

I will read a little further with regard to this subject of priesthood:

“How long can rolling waters remain impure? What power shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints. Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen? Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men.”

Now, I wish you to take particular notice of this, you Elders, you High Priests, you Seventies, and you Priests, Teachers and Deacons, and all men holding the Priesthood; “That they do not learn this one lesson—That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness;” and not upon any other principle. And when anybody steps aside from that and acts upon a principle of unrighteousness, the result will be as is stated in the context, namely: “That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.” That is the result of wrongdoing; that is the result of perverting the authority that God has conferred upon us to our personal ends and to gratify our own ambition. “Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks, to persecute the saints, and to fight against God.” Can they thwart the purposes of God? No. They are as harmless as babies. He that sits in the heavens laughs at them, and all men holding the Priesthood of the Son of God, care nothing about their fulminations and the efforts they make to hinder the progress of truth in the earth, for all they can do, we know, will be overruled for our good. They are going the downward road that leads to death, and by and by they will have their reward. We would like to see it otherwise, but we cannot, that is one of the things they have to see to themselves; it belongs to us to be true to God and to our Priesthood, and all will be well with us.

Again, we quote, “We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion. Hence many are called, but few are chosen. No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth after– wards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy; That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death. Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the piesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven. The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.”

What a beautiful state of things God presents to us! Shall we try to live it? or shall we take our own way and pursue our own course? These things are beautiful when we reflect upon them. We all know they are true, and they are principles which recommend themselves to our hearts. Let us try then and live them.

There are other orders of the Priesthood; we have Elders, and they have their duties to perform, which I do not propose to talk about now. And we have our Priests, Teachers and Deacons, all of whom hold important positions, and all should seek to magnify their calling. And what should they do? I will tell you a circumstance that took place with me upwards of forty years ago. I was living in Canada at the time, and was a traveling Elder. I presided over a number of the churches in that district of country. A difficulty existed in a branch of the church, and steps were taken to have the matter brought before me for settlement. I thought very seriously about it, and thought it a very insignificant affair. Because we ought to soar above such things, and walk on a higher plane, for we are the children of God and should be willing to suffer wrong rather than do wrong; to yield a good deal to our brethren for the sake of peace and quietness, and to secure and promote good feelings among the Saints. At that time I did not have the experience I now have, and yet I do not know that I could do anything better than I did then. Before going to the trial I bowed before the Lord, and sought wisdom from him to conduct the affair aright, for I had the welfare of the people at heart. When we had assembled, I opened the meeting with prayer, and then called upon a number of those present to pray; they did so, and the Spirit of God rested upon us. I could perceive that a good feeling existed in the hearts of those who had come to present their grievances, and I told them to bring forward their case. But they said they had not anything to bring forward. The feelings and spirit they had been in possession of had left them, the Spirit of God had obliterated these feelings out of their hearts, and they knew it was right for them to forgive one another.

You Priests, Teachers and Deacons, seek unto the Lord, and he will bless you. And you, my brethren, when the Teachers visit you, do not think that you are High Priests and that they are only Teachers hardly worthy of your attention. They are your Teachers, and you should reverence them. And if you expect to be honored in your calling, you must honor them in theirs. When the Teachers come to visit me I am pleased to see them; and I call together the members of my family that may be in the house at the time, to hear what they have to say to us. And I tell them to talk freely and plainly to us, to myself, my wives and children; in other words, to do their duty as Teachers, and then I will help them to carry out their instructions. This is how I feel towards our Teachers. The eye cannot say to the ear, we have no need of thee; neither the head to the feet, I have no need of thee, for if one of the members suffer all the other members suffer with it; and if one member rejoice, all the other members partake of the same feeling. Consequently I feel in duty bound to attend to these things.

We have here our Relief Societies, and they have done a good work. And people are desirous to know something of these organizations. I was in Nauvoo at the time the Relief Society was organized by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and I was present on the occasion. At a late meeting of the Society held in Salt Lake City I was present, and I read from a record called the Book of the Law of the Lord, the minutes of that meeting. At that meeting the Prophet called Sister Emma to be an elect lady. That means that she was called to a certain work; and that was in fulfillment of a certain revelation concerning her. She was elected to preside over the Relief Society, and she was ordained to expound the Scriptures. In compliance with Brother Joseph’s request I set her apart, and also ordained Sister Whitney, wife of Bishop Newel K. Whitney, and Sister Cleveland, wife of Judge Cleveland, to be her counselors. Some of the sisters have thought that these sisters mentioned were, in this ordination, ordained to the priesthood. And for the information of all interested in this subject I will say, it is not the calling of these sisters to hold the Priesthood, only in connection with their husbands, they being one with their husbands. Sister Emma was elected to expound the Scriptures, and to preside over the Relief Society; then Sisters Whitney and Cleveland were ordained to the same office, and I think Sister Eliza R. Snow to be secretary. A short time ago I attended a meeting in Salt Lake City, where Sister Snow and Sister Whitney were set apart. I happened to be the only member of the Twelve in town at the time, the other members of the Quorum being unavoidably absent. I went to this meeting and set apart Sister Whitney and Sister Snow who were two of those I set apart some forty years ago, in Nauvoo. And after I had done so, they reminded me of the coincidence. At this meeting, however, Sister Snow was set apart to preside over the Relief Societies in the land of Zion, and Sister Whitney her counselor, with Sister Zina D. Young, her other counselor. I speak of this for the information of the Sisters, although I presume they may have read of it in their paper, the Exponent.

With regard to those Societies, I will say, they have done a good work and are a great assistance to our Bishops, as well as being peculiarly adapted to console, bless, and encourage those of their sisters who need their care, and also to visit the sick, as well as to counsel and instruct the younger women in the things pertaining to their calling as children and Saints of the Most High. I am happy to say that we have a great many honorable and noble women engaged in these labors of love, and the Lord blesses them in their labors, and I bless them in the name of the Lord. And I say to our sisters, continue to be diligent and faithful in seeking the well-being and happiness of your sex, instruct and train your own daughters in the fear of God, and teach your sisters to do likewise, that we may be the blessed of the Lord and our offspring with us.

Our young people’s Improvement Associations are very creditable institutions, and the fruits of the labors of those engaged in this work are already manifesting themselves. I feel in my heart to say, God bless the young men and young women of Israel; let it be the desire of your hearts to imitate the virtues of your parents and of all good men and women, keeping your bodies and spirits pure before God and man.

Then, we have our Sunday Schools; and many of our brethren and sisters in this direction are doing a good work. I would advise the superintendents of Sunday Schools to endeavor to collect the best talent they can to teach and instruct our children. What greater or more honorable work can we be engaged in than in teaching the children the principles of salvation? You that are diligent and that give your hearts to these things God will bless, and the day will come when the youth of Israel will rise up and call you blessed.

Then with regard to our common schools, let us try to instruct our youth as best we can, and get the best of teachers, men and women of intelligence and education who are not only moral, but good Latter-day Saints; men and women who are not only capable of imparting to our children the rudiments of education, but who are also capable of teaching them the laws of God as he has revealed them for our guidance. And when you get good teachers you should appreciate them, and you should cooperate with them in their endeavors to teach our youth; and then see that they are properly remunerated for their services.

Some people talk about the great ignorance of the “Mormons.” In regard to education we are the peers of the United States. We, it is true, do not possess such notable academies and universities as may be found in the great centers of our nation, but official figures show our educational status to be above that of the average of the United States. And I may add, that our grade of literacy is higher than that of the nation. When we take into consideration the fact that we have not received one penny from any outside source, while the leading institutions of learning have realized millions, yes scores of millions of dollars to enable them to educate their youth. This is something that we have a right to be proud of. Then let us continue to encourage education; and let our trustees be alive to supply the schoolhouses with all the necessary charts and books; let them not feel niggardly in regard to these things. And above all, let everything we do conspire to advance the interests of the Church and Kingdom of God upon the earth.

I feel like saying, God bless you, my brethren and sisters. And God bless Brother Budge, who is doing a good work in England, and who, by the way, will be back among you very shortly. And God bless Brother Hart and Brother Osmond, and the High Council, and the Bishops and their counselors, and may God bless the Elders and the Seventies, and the High Priests, together with the Relief Societies and Mutual Improvement Associations; and may God bless all men who love Israel and who are desirous to keep the commandments of God; and the Lord help us to be true to our religion, and true to our God, and true to our integrity, that we may be saved ultimately in the Celestial Kingdom of God. I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Elder Erastus Snow Then made the following Remarks: I feel that we have had a feast of fat things this morning; that the remarks made by President Taylor have been replete with genuine truths, and full of instruction and counsel, and that blessing will abide with all those who permit these instructions to find place in their hearts and understandings.

While President Taylor was treating upon the order of the Priesthood, the history of which has been given in the Bible through Moses, and also in certain revelations given unto this Church through the Prophet Joseph Smith, he awakened a train of reflection that carried the mind back from the time of Moses to that of Abraham, Noah, Enoch and Adam. Adam was the first man appointed of God as the ruler of the earth; to him it was said, thou shalt have dominion over the earth and over the things therein. And as he began to multiply and replenish the earth, and as his children and their families increased in the land, there was a right of dominion given; it was called the birthright, and it belongs to the firstborn of the sons. And this seems to have been an order existing in the heavens even before Adam. For it is written of Jesus, the Lamb of God; that he was the firstborn of many brethren. Moreover, his rights of dominion as the firstborn continued with him because he loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore was he anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows. But notwithstanding his birthright, had he not loved righteousness and hated iniquity, and exercised his rights and his dominion in connection with the powers of heaven and the principles of righteousness, he would not have been chosen nor have received this anointing with the oil of gladness above his fellows. But because he did exercise it rightly and pleased his Father, he was chosen, as was his right to have been, or, I will say, his privilege rather, because he honored his birthright, and, therefore, he was anointed above his fellows, and became the Chief Apostle, the High Priest of our profession, the Son, the mediator between us and the Father.

The same principle fell upon Adam’s children; and hence Cain, being the firstborn of his father’s family, according to the Bible account, might have been the head of this Priesthood, under his father, holding the right by birth; but instead of exercising his birthright on the principles of righteousness, and in accord with the powers of heaven, he was befogged and understood not his true position; and his offering was not accepted. But Abel, his younger brother, who was meek and lowly of heart, and who sought the inspiration of the Spirit, was led to bring as his offering the firstlings of his flock, which were a true representation of the Lamb of God; and besides, the offering was made in the true spirit of his ministry and priesthood, therefore it pleased the Father, and he accepted it. Then when Cain found that his offering was not accepted, and his brother, Abel’s was accepted, Satan tempted him, and entered into him and led him into the way of all apostates—he became possessed with the spirit of murder. I mention it as the first apostasy of which we have record after the fall of man, through it Cain lost his privilege as firstborn, and the blessing fell on one more worthy, and the rights of the priesthood passed to the next son of Adam, which according to Bible record was Seth, who magnified the Priesthood, honored his birthright, and held the blessing of the Priesthood, which was sealed upon him by his father; and from him it descended upon the righteous of his posterity.

There are many instances, from that time forward, of which the scriptures speak of this birthright continuing among the descendants of Seth, until it came to Noah and his sons, of which sons Shem received the blessings pertaining to the priesthood. Abraham came through Shem, and the Savior came through this lineage; and through this blessing of Noah upon Shem, the Priesthood continued through his seed; while the offspring of Ham inherited a curse, and it was because, as a revelation teaches, some of the blood of Cain became mingled with that of Ham’s family, and hence they inherited that curse.

Now we will pass by the places in the Bible which speak of this birthright until we come to Isaac, the son of Abraham, and to Jacob, the son of Isaac, who bought the birthright of his brother Esau. From the story that is told of Rebekah helping her son Jacob to get the first blessing from his father Isaac, on purpose to secure the birthright from his brother Esau, really would be inclined to think that deceit, dishonesty and unrighteous means were employed to secure it, and they perhaps wonder why it should be so. This was really not the case; it is only made to appear so in the eyes of those who do not understand the dealings of God with man, and the workings of the Holy Spirit to bring about His purposes. There was neither unrighteousness in Rebekah nor in Jacob in this matter; but on the contrary, there was the wisdom of the Almighty, showing forth his providences in guiding them in such a manner as to bring about his purposes, in influencing Esau to transfer his birthright to Jacob, that He might ratify and confirm it upon the head of Jacob; knowing as He did that Jacob and his seed were, and would be, more deserving of the birthright, and would magnify it in its true spirit. While Esau did not sense nor appreciate his condition and birthright; he did not respect it as he should have done, neither did be hearken to the counsels of his father and mother. On the contrary, he went his own way with a stubborn will, and followed his own passions and inclinations and took to wife one of the daughters of the Canaanites whom the Lord had not blessed; and he therefore rendered himself unacceptable to God and to his father and mother. He gave himself to wild pursuits—to hunting, and to following the ways of the Canaanites, and displeased the Lord and his parents, and was not worthy of this right of seniority. The Lord therefore saw fit to take it from him, and the mother was moved upon to help the younger son to bring about the purpose of the Lord, in securing to himself the blessing through the legitimate channel of the Priesthood. And as you know, his father was induced to bless him and confirm this blessing upon him.

Now, whilst all these instances in Scripture recognize the right called the birthright, that has descended from the beginning, the same principle is exhibited in all those instances set forth in the revelation read by President Taylor—that none can hold these rights of the Priest– hood except in connection with the powers of heaven, and cannot be exercised only on the principles of righteousness; and all who fail to exercise these rights on the principles of righteousness and in connection with the powers of heaven subject to its counsels and directions and laws, forfeit their birthright, and the right passes to another.

We have another instance of this kind in Reuben, the eldest of the twelve sons of Jacob. We find that the birthright passed from him. He committed a transgression which offended the Lord and offended his father, and it was of such a character that it could not be passed over with impunity; and the birthright was taken from him and given to the sons of Joseph. We find it explained in Chronicles, that because Reuben defiled his father’s bed, the birthright was taken from him and given to the sons of Joseph; and the Priesthood was reckoned after that lineage, though Judah prevailed above his brethren to this extent, that through him came the Chief Ruler of Israel, while unto Ephraim, the son of Joseph, was given the keys of the Priesthood—or those rights that apply to the birthright. Of the two sons of Joseph—Ephraim and Manassah, the Lord said, Manassah shall be great, but Ephraim shall be greater than he; and he shall become a multitude in the earth. And when the patriarch was blessing Joseph’s two sons, though he was blind, he was careful to cross his hands in blessing the boys. Joseph observing what his father was doing, informed him that he was putting his right hand on the head of the younger boy, but the old man replied, I know it, my son. The Spirit of the Lord prompted him to do as he did—to confer the greater blessing upon Ephraim, the younger brother. It was for this reason that God spake through the mouth of Jeremiah concerning the gathering of Israel: “I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.” That is according to his purposes. He acknowledged and re-confirmed this birthright upon Ephraim the younger of the two sons of Joseph, when he referred to the dispensation of the fullness of times and the ushering in of its great work—when the Lord should set his hand to gather His people, and be a father to Israel, even to Ephraim His firstborn.

Now, the Levitical Priesthood referred to was not a new Priesthood. We do not understand it to be an order of the Priesthood instituted at the time Israel was in the wilderness of Sinai, but that it had been from the beginning a part of the Holy Priesthood, an appendage, or a subdivision, or branch of the same Priesthood. The rights of this descended from father to son, among the firstborn, unless the firstborn failed to appreciate it and exercise it in righteousness. In that event it passed to one of the others.

We see the same principle set forth when the Lord commanded Moses to take the tribe of Levi and set them apart to be Priests. He told them the reason. Now, said He, I have claimed the firstborn of all the families of Israel as my own. When I sent forth my angel to smite the firstborn of the sons of Egypt, I caused mine angel to pass by the families of Israel, that he smite not their firstborn. In remembrance of this He instituted the ordinance called the Passover, to preserve in the minds of the Israelites, the occasion when the Lord passed over their firstborn, while the firstborn of the sons of Egypt He caused to be slain. For this rea– son, He said, I have consecrated the firstborn as mine own; and now, said He to Moses, I will take from the tribes of Israel the house of Levi, and you shall consecrate them to officiate, etc. This principle has continued from the beginning. We see it exemplified in the calling of the Lamb of God, who was the firstborn among many brethren, and was in all things obedient to his Father; who loved righteousness and hated iniquity, and was therefore chosen and anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows. So in after years, those who in like manner exercised their birthright in connection with the powers of heaven, and on the principles of virtue, integrity and righteousness had these rights confirmed upon him. But in no case, when acting unrighteously, were they chosen to receive the confirmation of the ordinances of the Priesthood. In the days of Eli, who permitted his sons, who were heirs of the Priesthood, to set bad examples and work iniquities in Israel, God held the father responsible for their course, and He destroyed both Eli and his sons, and raised up another in his place.

The article read in your hearing from the Doctrine and Covenants, shows most clearly that the rights and blessings and keys of this Priesthood can only be held and exercised in connection with the powers of heaven and on the principles of righteousness. It is most beautiful to contemplate. It is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.

And that God may enable us to preserve these things in our hearts, and that we may attain to all that He has prepared for us, is my earnest prayer, in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered in The Tabernacle, Ogden City, Sunday Morning, July 18, 1880.

I am pleased this morning to have the opportunity of meeting with the Saints in this place. If you will try to be still, I will endeavor to lay before you a few principles on the subject, concerning which your President enquired of me a few days ago. It seems that there have been, somewhere in this Stake, difficulties existing between the Bishop of a Ward and certain members of his Ward. Failing to arrive at an amicable settlement, the parties appealed, against the Bishop, to the High Council. President Peery sent a telegram desiring my answer to the question—“Whether a High Council had authority to try a Bishop.” I could have answered yes, and I could have answered no, to that question; but it was a matter that would require some explanation, and on which the brethren, in many instances, are not very well informed. I knew it would be almost useless to give an answer of that kind, without making some little explanation thereto, because there are some things with which more than one truth is connected.

If you were to ask me whether I am dressed in woolen clothes or cotton, I could not give you an answer, in the simple words yes or no, because part of them are woolen, part of them cotton, and part of them linen; and I should need time to explain.

There are many questions pertaining to the Priesthood, which cannot be answered categorically without further explanation, and as this is a conference, I wish to make a few remarks concerning some of them; but I do not propose to enter into all the details of these matters; there would not be time, nor half time, nor a quarter time. I simply propose to make a few remarks in regard to the question which was asked me by your President.

I will here read on this subject a passage which people take up sometimes, without understanding it, and, consequently, when they do so, they are apt to make quite a number of mistakes. The passage to which I will refer you, is the 22nd verse of the 68th section, in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. After reading it, you would think you had got the whole answer, but then you might not have it, although you might think you had.

“And again, no bishop or high priest who shall be set apart for this ministry shall be tried or condemned for any crime, save it be before the First Presidency of the church.”

Now, does not that look very plain? It does, when apart from the context, and if we do not exam– ine the other parts associated therewith. I will further read some more pertaining to this matter, which will be found in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, page 249, section 68.

“Ver. 14. There remain hereafter, in the due time of the Lord, other bishops to be set apart unto the church, to minister even according to the first;

“15. Wherefore they shall be high priests who are worthy, and they shall be appointed by the First Presidency of the Melchizedek Priesthood, except they be literal descendants of Aaron.

“16. And if they be literal descendants of Aaron, they have a legal right to the bishopric, if they are the firstborn among the sons of Aaron;

“17. For the firstborn holds the right of the presidency over this priesthood, and the keys or authority of the same.”

Now, I desire to draw your attention to one thing very distinctly, that you may comprehend—“For the firstborn holds the right of presidency over this Priesthood.” Over what Priesthood? The Bishopric. There is a Presidency in that Priesthood; and this firstborn of the literal descendants of Aaron would have a legal right to that Presidency. No man has a legal right to this office, to hold the keys of this Priesthood, except he be a literal descendant of Aaron, and the firstborn among his sons. Then, he would have a legal right to it. I could tell you the reason why, but it would take too long a time; and these things will be spoken of hereafter more fully. But I wish to speak of one or two leading principles pertaining to this subject; and as a High Priest of the Melchizedek Priesthood has authority to officiate in all the lesser offi– ces, he may officiate in the office of Bishop, when no literal descendant of Aaron can be found, and it is stated, “And they shall be set apart under the hands of the First Presidency of the Melchizedek Priesthood.” To what authority? To what power? To what calling? To what Bishopric? To the Presiding Bishopric. This is what is here referred to:

“Ver. 20. And a literal descendant of Aaron, also, must be designated by this Presidency, and found worthy, and anointed, and ordained under the hands of this Presidency, otherwise they are not legally authorized to officiate in their Priesthood.

“21. But, by virtue of the decree concerning their right of the priesthood descending from father to son, they may claim their anointing if at any time they can prove their lineage, or do ascertain it by revelation from the Lord under the hands of the above named Presidency.”

Without that the Presiding Bishop could not be set apart, because there is where the authority is placed.

“22. And again, no bishop or high priest who shall be set apart for this ministry shall be tried or condemned for any crime, save it be before the First Presidency of the church;”

In regard to what ministry? Why the Presidency of the Aaronic Priesthood. That is what is here spoken of.

“23. And inasmuch as he is found guilty before this Presidency, by testimony which cannot be impeached, he shall be condemned;

“24. And if he repent he shall be forgiven, according to the covenants and commandments of the church.”

Now, then, I will read you something more on the same subject, which will be found in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, page 383, section 107.

“Verse 1. There are, in the church, two priesthoods, namely, the Melchizedek and Aaronic, including the Levitical Priesthood.

“2. Why the first is called the Melchizedek Priesthood is because Melchizedek was such a great High Priest.

“3. Before his day it was called the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God.

“4. But out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they, the church, in ancient days, called that priesthood after Melchizedek, or the Melchizedek Priesthood.

“5. All other authorities or offices in the church are appendages to this priesthood.

“6. But there are two divisions or grand heads—one is the Melchizedek Priesthood, and the other is the Aaronic or Levitical Priesthood.

“7. The office of an elder comes under the priesthood of Melchizedek.

“8. The Melchizedek Priesthood holds the right of presidency, and has power and authority over all the offices in the church in all ages of the world, to administer in spiritual things.”

Now here is a principle developed that I wish to call your attention to, and that is, that it is the especial prerogative of the Melchizedek Priesthood, and has been “in all ages of the world, to administer in spiritual things,” and to have the right of presidency in those things.

But then, here is another distinction that I wish to call your attention to, at the same time, which is found in the next verse:

“9. The Presidency of the High Priesthood, after the order of Melchizedek, have a right to officiate in all the offices in the Church”—spiritual or temporal.

But there is a difference between the general authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood and the one that is designated, which presides over them all: and that which presides over the whole has the right to administer in all things. The Aaronic Priesthood is an appendage unto the Melchizedek Priesthood, and is under its direction

I mention these things that you Bishops, and you Seventies, and you High Priests, and you Elders, and you High Councilors, and you Presidents of Stakes and Councilors, may comprehend the position of things, as here indicated; and, as was said formerly, I think it was by Paul, “that you may be able to rightly divide the word of truth, and give to every man his portion in due season.” These principles are written here, and are very plain, if they are understood, but if not understood, then they are mysterious, and it is required of us to make ourselves acquainted with the principles inculcated and herein developed. The things which I have mentioned are plain to the minds of all intelligent Latter-day Saints, who have studied the Doctrine and Covenants on these points.

“Verse 10. High priests after the order of the Melchizedek Priesthood have a right to officiate in their own standing, under the direction of the presidency, in administering spiritual things, and also in the office of an elder, priest (of the Levitical order), teacher, deacon, and member.”

That is the reason why, as soon as they possess this Priesthood and right, if they are appointed to any particular office in the Church, they have a right to administer in that office.

I will now speak a little upon the High Priesthood. This High Priesthood, we are told, has held the right of Presidency in all ages of the world. But there is a difference between the general powers of the Priesthood, and the particular office and calling to which men are set apart; and you, when I tell you, will understand it very easily. For instance the Presidency of the Priesthood, or the Presidency of the Church, are High Priests. The Twelve are High Priests. The Presidents of Stakes and their Counselors, the High Council of a Stake, and of all the Stakes, are High Priests. The Bishops are ordained and set apart through the High Priesthood, and stand in the same capacity; and thus Bishops and their Counselors are High Priests. Now, these things you all know. There is nothing mysterious about them.

There is another question associated with this matter. Because a man is a High Priest, is he an Apostle? No. Because a man is a High Priest, is he the President of a Stake, or the Counselor to the President of a Stake? No. Because he is a High Priest, is he a Bishop? No, not by any means. And so on, in all the various offices. The High Priesthood holds the authority to administer in those ordinances, offices, and places, when they are appointed by the proper authorities, and at no other time; and while they are sustained also by the people. Now these are the distinctions which I wish to draw, simply to classify them. And when there is anything said about a High Priest, you say, “I am High Priest, and if such a man has authority, I have it!” You have if you have been appointed to it, or you have not if you have not. You have it if you are appointed to fill the office, and are properly called and set apart to that office; but unless you are, you have not got that office, but still you are a High Priest; and “High Priests after the order of the Melchizedek Priesthood have a right to officiate in their own standing under the direction of the Presidency, in administering spiritual things;” but they must be under that direction or Presidency. Now here is where the question comes in. Is it not plain when you look at it? To me it is very distinct and pointed, and it is to you who are intelligent and have studied these things. It is not because a man holds a certain class of Priesthood that he is to administer in all the offices of that Priesthood. He administers in them only as he is called and set apart for that purpose. Hence, as you are organized here, you have a Presidency. They were presented here for you to vote upon, and after that they were set apart to administer in that office. But supporting Brother Peery and his counselors had not been called and set apart, would they have a right to administer in the office of the Presidency? No, they would not; and you can all see it when you reflect upon it.

Now, then, as we have read, a High Priest, after the order of the Melchizedek Priesthood, has the right to administer under the direction of the Presidency, in all spiritual things, and also in the office of an Elder, Priest, Teacher, Deacon, and member. And in the following verses we read that:

“11. An elder has a right to officiate in his stead when the high priest is not present.

“12. The high priest and elder are to administer in spiritual things, agreeable to the covenants and com– mandments of the church; and they have a right to officiate in all these offices of the church when there are no higher authorities present.

“13. The second priesthood is called the Priesthood of Aaron, because it was conferred upon Aaron and his seed, throughout all their generations.

“14. Why it is called the lesser priesthood is because it is an appendage to the greater, or the Melchizedek Priesthood, and has power in administering outward ordinances.

“15. The bishopric is the presidency of this priesthood, and holds the keys or authority of the same.” We will read a little further:

“16. No man has a legal right to this office, to hold the keys of this priesthood, except he be a literal descendant of Aaron.”

That is, he has no legal right; but in regard to certain conditions pertaining to this right, I do not propose to enter into an investigation this morning.

“Verse 17. But as a high priest of the Melchizedek Priesthood has authority to officiate in all the lesser offices, he may officiate in the office of bishop when no literal descendant of Aaron can be found, provided he is called and set apart and ordained unto this power by the hands of the Presidency of the Melchizedek Priesthood.”

To what power? To hold the keys of this Priesthood, and to preside over the Aaronic Priesthood.

“Verse 18. The power and authority of the higher, or Melchizedek Priesthood, is to hold the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the church—

“19. To have the privilege of receiving the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, to have the heavens opened unto them, to commune with the general assembly and church of the Firstborn, and to enjoy the communion and presence of God the Father, and Jesus the mediator of the new covenant.

“20. The power and authority of the lesser, or Aaronic Priesthood, is to hold the keys of the ministering of angels, and to administer in outward ordinances, the letter of the gospel, the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, agreeable to the covenants and commandments.

“21. Of necessity there are presidents, or presiding officers growing out of, or appointed of or from among those who are ordained to the several offices in these two priesthoods.

“22. Of the Melchizedek Priesthood, three Presiding High Priests, chosen by the body, appointed and ordained to that office, and upheld by the confidence, faith, and prayer of the church, form a quorum of the Presidency of the Church.

“23. The twelve traveling councilors are called to be the Twelve Apostles, or special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world— thus differing from other officers in the church in the duties of their calling.

“24. And they form a quorum, equal in authority and power to the three presidents previously mentioned.

“25. The Seventy are also called to preach the gospel, and to be especial witnesses unto the Gentiles and in all the world—thus differing from other officers in the church in the duties of their calling.

“26. And they form a quorum equal in authority to that of the Twelve special witnesses or Apostles just named.

“27. And every decision made by either of these quorums, must be by the unanimous voice of the same; that is, every member in each quorum must be agreed to its decisions, in order to make their decisions of the same power or validity one with the other—

“28. A majority may form a quorum when circumstances render it impossible to be otherwise—

“29. Unless this is the case, their decisions are not entitled to the same blessings which the decisions of a quorum of three presidents were anciently, who were ordained after the order of Melchizedek, and were righteous and holy men.

“30. The decisions of these quorums, or either of them, are to be made in all righteousness, in holiness, and lowliness of heart, meekness and long suffering, and in faith, and virtue, and knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity;

“31. Because the promise is, if these things abound in them they shall not be unfruitful in the knowledge of the Lord.”

Again, we read in the same section, page 389:

“Verse 60. Verily, I say unto you, saith the Lord of Hosts, there must needs be presiding elders to preside over those who are of the office of an elder;

“61. And also priests to preside over those who are of the office of a priest;

“62. And also teachers to preside over those who are of the office of a teacher, in like manner, and also the deacons—

“63. Wherefore, from deacon to teacher, and from teacher to priest, and from priest to elder, severally as they are appointed, according to the covenants and commandments of the church.

“64. Then comes the High Priesthood, which is the greatest of all.

“65. Wherefore, it must needs be that one be appointed of the High Priesthood to preside over the priesthood, and he shall be called President of the High Priesthood of the Church;

“66. Or, in other words, the Presiding High Priest over the High Priesthood of the Church.

“67. From the same comes the administering of ordinances and blessings upon the church, by the laying on of the hands.

“68. Wherefore, the office of a bishop is not equal unto it; for the office of a bishop is in administering all temporal things;

“69. Nevertheless a bishop must be chosen from the High Priesthood, unless he is a literal descendant of Aaron;

“70. For unless he is a literal descendant of Aaron he cannot hold the keys of that priesthood.”

You see the keys of this Priesthood are specifically mentioned whenever the Presidency is mentioned; and whenever the rights of the literal descendants of Aaron are mentioned, it is to hold the keys of this Priesthood.

“Ver. 71. Nevertheless, a high priest, that is, after the order of Melchizedek, may be set apart unto the ministering of temporal things, having a knowledge of them by the Spirit of truth;

“72. And also to be a judge in Israel, to do the business of the church, to sit in judgment upon transgressors upon testimony as it shall be laid before him according to the laws, by the assistance of his counselors, whom he has chosen or will choose among the elders of the church.

“73. This is the duty of a bishop who is not a literal descendant of Aaron, but has been ordained to the High Priesthood after the order of Melchizedek.

“74. Thus shall he be a judge, even a common judge among the inhabitants of Zion, or in a stake of Zion, or in any branch of the church where he shall be set apart unto this ministry, until the borders of Zion are enlarged and it becomes necessary to have other bishops or judges in Zion or elsewhere.

“75. And inasmuch as there are other bishops appointed they shall act in the same office.

“76. But a literal descendant of Aaron has a legal right to the presidency of this priesthood, to the keys of this ministry, to act in the office of bishop independently, without counselors, except in a case where a President of the High Priesthood, after the order of Melchizedek is tried, to sit as a judge in Israel.

“77. And the decision of either of these councils, agreeable to the commandment, which says:

“78. Again, verily, I say unto you, the most important business of the church, and the most difficult cases of the church, inasmuch as there is not satisfaction upon the decision of the bishop or judges, it shall be handed over and carried up unto the council of the church, before the Presidency of the High Priesthood.”

“79. And the Presidency of the council of the High Priesthood shall have power to call other high priests, even twelve, to assist as counselors; and thus the Presidency of the High Priesthood and its counselors shall have power to decide upon testimony according to the laws of the church.”

“80. And after this decision it shall be had in remembrance no more before the Lord; for this is the highest council of the church of God, and a final decision upon controversies in spiritual matters.”

“81. There is not any person belonging to the church who is exempt from this council of the church.”

“82. And inasmuch as a President of the High Priesthood shall transgress, he shall be had in remembrance before the common council of the church, who shall be assisted by twelve counselors of the High Priesthood;

“83. And their decision upon his head shall be an end of controversy concerning him.”

“84. Thus, none shall be exempted from the justice and the laws of God, that all things may be done in order and in solemnity before him, according to truth and righteousness.”

I will read you a little more on this subject:

(Doctrine and Covenants, sec. 124, page 431.)

“Ver. 20. And again, verily I say unto you, my servant George Miller is without guile; he may be trusted because of the integrity of his heart; and for the love which he has to my testimony I, the Lord, love him.

“21. I therefore say unto you, I seal upon his head the office of a bishopric, like unto my servant Edward Partridge, that he may receive the consecrations of mine house, that he may administer blessings upon the heads of the poor of my people, saith the Lord. Let no man despise my servant George, for he shall honor me.”

I would remark here that Edward Partridge was the first Bishop of the Church, and that he was appointed at an early day to go to the land of Zion, and to preside over the Bishopric in that district of country. He was to purchase lands for the people that should gather there; he was to receive the consecrations of the people when they should present themselves to him; he was to divide up the inheritances for the people, and to sit as a common judge in Israel and hence he held charge, not as the Bishops do here, over a particular Ward, but over the whole of that district of country in the land of Zion. I would remark, again, that Bishop Whitney was chosen and set apart as a Bishop, to manage the affairs in Kirtland, Geauga County, Ohio, and not only there, but to preside over all affairs associated with that Bishopric in all of that country, and occupied the position of a general Bishop, presiding over a large district of country, the same as Edward Partridge did in Zion. But these are not what we call presiding Bishops. In the same revelation that George Miller was called to occupy the place of Edward Partridge, and to hold the same kind of Bishopric that he held, we find that there was a Presiding Bishopric appointed.

“141. And again, I say unto you, I give unto you Vinson Knight, Samuel H. Smith, and Shadrach Roundy, if he will receive it, to preside over the bishopric.”

Now, I have briefly laid before you some ideas pertaining to these matters. I will explain them a little further. I will say that the Bishopric is a good deal like the High Priesthood in the position that it occupies. There have been men who, under the Bishopric, have been appointed to fill various offices in the Church, and at different times. I have told you, already, the nature of the office which Bishop Partridge held, the nature of the office which Bishop Whitney held; and then there were other men who did not hold the same kind of Bish– opric that they did. For instance, there was Bishop Alanson Ripley, whom many of you know, who lived back in Nauvoo; and other Bishops were appointed in some Stakes that were then organized. And as it requires the direction of the Presidency of the Church to regulate these general Bishoprics, such as Brother Partridge held, and such as Brother Whitney held, and also being appointed by the Presidency, they have a right to be tried and have a hearing before them. But that does not apply to all Bishops, or to all men who may be placed under different circumstances. For instance, you have here in this Stake of Zion, quite a number of Bishops. How far does their authority extend? It extends to the boundary of each of their respective Bishoprics. No further. You all know that—over their Wards where they preside, and not over somebody else’s, unless they are appointed to it, which would be another thing. But without some special appointment, they are simply appointed to preside over their several Wards, and no one else’s. That is the extent of their authority in the Bishopric. But a person holding a general Bishopric, the same as Bishop Whitney did, is different. He had that appointed unto him by revelation, and under the direction of the Presidency of the Church; and the appointment that Bishop Partridge held—that was under the direction of the First Presidency of the Church; and these Bishops would have the right to be tried by the same power that appointed them and set them apart. Still, how is it with other Bishops in Stakes; are they under the same direction? To a certain extent all are under the direction of the First Presidency; but unless the First Presidency shall otherwise decide, there is authority held by the Presidency in those several Stakes, to try those Bishops who are under their jurisdiction in their Stakes and for the High Council, with the Presidency of the Stake presiding, to call them before them to have a hearing, and adjudicate those matters. Thus the presidency of Stakes occupy the same position to their Stakes as Joseph Smith did to the Stake in Kirtland, the difference being in this, that Joseph Smith, while he presided over that Stake in a Stake capacity, presided also over all Stakes and Churches throughout the world, while the Presidents of Stakes only preside over their several Stakes, and their jurisdiction does not extend to any others. But if the First Presidency should see it necessary to interfere, and say, in a case of that kind, that the case was of such a nature as to require another tribunal; they have a right to dictate, and manage those matters. But if Presidents of Stakes and their Counselors and the Bishops fulfil their duties, and all act in harmony with the First Presidency, then everything goes on smoothly, and all men can be judged according to the principles laid down here in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants.

And there are some few things pertaining to these matters that I will now speak about; and as this is a conference, it is as good a time to talk about these doctrinal matters as we shall have. There are a great many things mixed up with these subjects. Suffice it, however, to say, that it requires the Presidency of the Church to seek after God in all of their administrations. Then it behooves the Presidents of Stakes and their Counselors to be feeling after God, and after the First Presidency, and be in harmony with them, and to feel that there is union and harmony and the principles of peace and order prevailing everywhere. And where these things are carried out on correct principles, there is harmony throughout all Israel. If these things are departed from, then come disorders, difficulty and hard feeling. Now we ought not to allow our feeling to have any place in these matters. No man has a right to use his priesthood to carry on his own peculiar ideas, or to set himself up as a standard, with the exception of the First Presidency, and they have no right to do it unless God be with them, and sustain them, and they are upheld by the people. And then it is for Presidents of Stakes to follow after their spirit, and carry that out just as they would follow after God, and seek for and obtain light and the spirit of revelation from Him, and thus be prepared to bless the High Priests, the Bishops, and all men under their charge.

What is the High Priesthood? Why are you organized as a High Priesthood? Read the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. What does it say? It says (Sec. 124, verse 134) “Which ordinance is instituted for the purpose of qualifying those who shall be appointed standing presidents or servants over different stakes scattered abroad.” It is a kind of normal school, where they may be taught lessons in the Presidency, and be prepared to judge and act in the various places which they may be called to. Do the Priesthood fulfil their calling? No, they do not. When the Stakes were being organized, we had to call upon Seventies and Elders, and all classes of men to hold positions which High Priests should have held. But there are some who talk about being great big High Priests, who, when they should have been called upon to be Bishops, or Bishops’ Counselors, were found to be incompetent because they had not prepared themselves to occupy these offices associated with their calling, and been dabbling with the world and had been led by its influence, instead of being wide awake and full of the life and power and revelations of God. If they had magnified their Priesthood, then God would have been with them, and they would have been selected, until all those places would have been filled. Then, how is it in regard to the Seventies? Just the same. According to your statistical report, which has been read, you have in this Stake 360 Seventies; and how many of them, if they were called today, are prepared to go to the nations of the earth to preach the Gospel? You are not prepared to do it any more than the High Priests were prepared to magnify their calling. The Twelve are commanded first to call upon the Seventies, but when they do so they frequently find they with one consent begin to make excuses. I know it is so, if you do not. Very well, what then? As there are other appendages to the Melchizedek Priesthood, the Twelve are obliged to call upon the Elders, and High Priests, and others, to go and perform duties which should be performed by the Seventies, but which they neglect to do. I speak of this, shall I say to your shame? I do not like to use hard words, they do not do any good. I would rather say five hundred pleasant things than one harsh one; but I want to state truths as they exist, so that you can comprehend. Now, notwithstanding this being the case, the work of God cannot stand still. The nations must be warned. The word of God must go forth, or the Twelve would be held responsible, if these things were not done; and we have to keep doing it, doing it!

Now, as a sample of the excuses that men make who are called to go on missions, I will tell you what people tell me. One man says, “I have been building a house, and have not got the roof on it.” Another comes, and says, “I have just been entering some land, and I am afraid I shall be placed in difficulty, if I go; I pray you have me excused.” And one man said he was so engaged in merchandising, and he was so much interested in the people’s welfare, that he was afraid they would suffer very materially in their temporal interests, if he ceased to keep store that it would not be well to take him away. Another has bought five yokes of oxen, and is proving them, and prays to be excused. And another has married a wife and he cannot go. I will tell you what I once had to say to President Joseph Young. He had been calling upon a number of people to go forth on missions. He being the presiding officer over the First Presidents of Seventies was the party for us to apply to; but in selecting missionaries they had employed a system of what might be properly called machine work, as you would go to work and pick out horses or cattle by their teeth. They had selected them generally according to age, etc., without inquiring as to their qualifications, circumstances, etc. Now, we want the spirit and power attending all of these matters, that we may find out the true position of things before we can call men. After he had received a great number of names from the said presidents, there came in a perfect, stream of excuses to me. They wanted to be excused; and Joseph himself came to me and said, “how are you getting along with the Seventies?” I said, “If you don’t hurry up and get the balance in, they will all be gone. You had better hurry up.” Well, it is rather a lamentable story to tell. Yet, while we hold this important Priesthood, it is a sorry way of treating it.

Now, it is for us to look after these things; and they are beginning to work up into a little order—to do a great deal better; and men are beginning to realize the importance of their office and calling, and express a greater desire to magnify it; thus things are beginning to look a little brighter on that score, as the Twelve have been attending to these things.

Now, the idea is not that one or a dozen men have to bear off this kingdom. For what is the Priesthood conferred upon you? Is it to follow the “devices and desires of your own hearts,” as I used to hear them say in the Church of England when I was a boy? Is it to do that? I think not. Or were we enlisted to God for time and eternity? I think we were; and we want to wake up to the responsibilities which devolve upon us, and honor our calling and magnify our Priesthood. There are a great many more things which I could talk about in this connection, but this may suffice at present.

We have a variety of institutions. We have the sisters’ societies. I attended a meeting of one of these a short time before I came here, and set apart Sisters Eliza R. Snow, Zina D. Young, and Elizabeth Ann Whitney. We set some of these same sisters apart in Nauvoo, under the direction of the Prophet Joseph Smith, about forty years ago; and they are doing a good work, and it is for them and their associates to continue to do right and pursue a proper and correct course. We want the Relief Societies and the Young Mens’ Mutual Improvement Societies to take hold with a hearty good will. I was pleased to hear the remarks which were made in relation to the course they are pursuing in trying to keep the Word of Wisdom. Now, I am not very strenuous about urging any particular point, but that is a good thing for them to attend to. We must try to live our religion. We are on the eve of important events. There are troublous times in advance of us and the world—such times as the world has not taken it into their hearts to conceive of. And we need to be united and to operate together in all of our affairs. Be united as one; and, “if you are not one you are not mine,” saith the Lord. Men who are influenced by Gentiles, and every corruption that prevails, are not fit to be the Saints of God. You want to pay your tithing honestly and squarely, or you will find yourselves outside of the pale of the Church of the Living God. We have to lay aside our covetousness and our pride, and our ideas which are wrong, and be united in our political affairs, in our temporal affairs, under the direction of the Holy Priesthood, and act as a mighty phalanx under God, in carrying out His purposes here upon the earth. And all Israel ought to do the same. And then we have our Cooperative Institutions, and other useful institutions among us. Well, what shall we do? Sustain them? Yes; and fulfil our covenants with them as we expect them to fulfil their covenants with us; and let us be one and act together upon correct principles. Whoever violate their contracts before God and the Priesthood have to be dealt with for that, no matter who they are, nor what position they occupy. We have to act under the direction of the Almighty. I know it is not popular to serve God, But God has called us to be one; and he expects us to be one and carry out his purposes, and be obedient to the laws of Heaven.

May God bless you, and lead you in the paths of life. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Remarks by President John Taylor, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon June 27, 1880.

I am pleased to have the opportunity of listening to our brethren who have just returned. It is always interesting to hear from those who have been absent, with whom we have been acquainted for years. It is pleasing to listen to their views and ideas pertaining to us as a peo– ple, as contrasted with those of others. In regard to the opinions of men, I would say, however, although we are desirous of pursuing a proper and correct course—it is to us a matter of very little moment what their opinions may be concerning us. The truths of God in every age of the world have been opposed by a certain class of men. That they should be so at the present time is nothing remarkable or strange. And furthermore our trust is not in man but in the Lord. It is to Him that we are indebted for any light, any truth, any intelligence that has been communicated unto us. We have not received our religion, the doctrines that we profess, the ordinances that we administer in, nor any knowledge that we have of God, or the things of God, from the world, neither from its divines, its scientists, its philosophers, nor from any class of men in existence. We have received them not of man, nor by man, but through the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ, and consequently we are dependent upon Him for our guidance and direction; and while we wish to treat all men with respect, all authorities and all men holding positions under government, at the same time we feel that our strength, our power, our might, and our sustenance does not exist with them, but the Lord, and that we are dependent upon Him alone.

In speaking of our Priesthood, we knew nothing about it till God revealed it. In speaking of our doctrines we knew nothing about them till God revealed them. And furthermore, in speaking of the ordinances we administer in, whether for the living or the dead, we knew nothing about them till God revealed them; nor did the world, nor do they today. Concerning our temples, what do the world know about them? Nothing. If they had them built today for them they do not know how to administer in them, nor what they are for. The world generally is in darkness. God has revealed the Gospel to enlighten the world, and He has sent us forth not to be taught of the world, but to be their teachers and to show them the paths of light and life, and for this purpose He has organized His Church, His kingdom and His Priesthood; for this purpose He has stretched out His hand to protect us in the valleys of the mountains.

In regard to the position in which we are situated here, what have the world had to do with it? What have those people had to do with it that are so very much interested in our welfare as Brother Cannon has remarked? If they think they can benefit the world, it is very wise that they should go and try as we have done, show the same zeal, interest and welfare for mankind that we have done, travel the thousands and hundreds of thousands of miles without purse or scrip for the benefit of mankind that we have done, and then we will believe them a little quicker. But there are a great many men who think it much easier to tear down than to build up; much easier to oppose good principles than it is to establish and maintain them. All this, however, makes very little difference to us. We care very little about such things. We are engaged in a work in which God has set his hand, and we shall continue to do it, and another thing, there are no persons on this side of heaven or hell that can prevent it. They have tried and they will try, but will be frustrated, for God has set his hand to accomplish a certain work, and that work will be done, and by the help of the Lord, we will try and help Him to do it. The main thing we have to attend to is ourselves, to our morals, to our religion, to the training of our children, to the cultivation of our lots, to making our homes pleasant and agreeable, to promoting the welfare of the human family, that is, all that will permit us to do so. Whom do we interfere with? Whom do we calumniate? Whose religious rights are interfered with by us? They have their churches here. They are not molested; I hope not; I do not hear of it; I hope they are not, for our opinion is that we ought to treat all men aright, believing that matters of religion are matters of conscience. Our opinion is that we ought to treat our government aright, and be loyal, patriotic, just, honorable and law-abiding, honoring all good principles, sustaining all honorable men, and thus endeavor to promote peace, union, and happiness among mankind. Our motto is, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace and good will to– ward men.” If people do not offer us that, we cannot help it. It is because they do not know any better. In the meantime, however, we will pursue the even tenor of our way. Let us be virtuous, honest, true and faithful. Let us treat one another aright, and God will bless us. We will serve the Lord and obey his laws, and Zion will roll forth, the kingdom of God will progress and no power can stop it. The things that have been spoken of by the Prophets will all be fulfilled. The knowledge of God will grow and increase, while the wicked will be rooted out, until “the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever,” when liars, hypocrites, deceivers and corrupt men will be destroyed and swept away as with a besom of destruction.

May God help us to be faithful and true to our trust, that we may be saved in His kingdom, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered at Ogden Tabernacle, on Sunday, March 21st, 1880.

It affords me pleasure to have the opportunity of being with the Saints of this place today. I came here to attend your Primary meeting of the juveniles; and as I was here, I thought I would stay over Sunday and talk to the fathers and mothers a little. And I would state, as is generally understood by you all, that we do not have our discourses arranged for us, or marked out particularly. Our ideas are to present ourselves before the people, and to seek for the influence of the Spirit of the Lord, that such things may be communicated as may be advantageous and interesting to those who hear. And, therefore, when we meet together in an assembly like this we ought all of us, both speaker and hearer, to feel that we are in the hands of our Heavenly Father, and to seek for the aid of his Holy Spirit, that the speaker may speak correctly and understandingly, and in a manner that shall be calculated to promote the welfare of the people, and that the people themselves may also be prepared to receive such things as may be communicated.

We occupy a peculiar position on the earth at the present time, per– haps a little different from that of any other people that have existed on the earth—our thoughts, our ideas our principles, our organization, our doctrines, our ordinances, and everything connected with our religious matters are different from those of other people; and it is our opinion, and not only our opinion, but a certainty—in fact, it amounts to knowledge among a great many of the Latter-day Saints, that the influences and principles that we have received have been communicated to us by the Almighty. We were not the originators of the principles we believe in; neither was Joseph nor Hyrum Smith, nor President Brigham Young, nor the Twelve; neither was any individual nor any people associated with the priesthood or the organization of the Church at the present time. We believe that these things have been communicated to us by the Lord; that they are in strict harmony with principles that have existed heretofore, to a certain extent, with this difference however, that in the various dispensations that have existed upon the earth since its formation, each one has had its peculiar role to fulfil, with certain duties devolving upon those operating to attend to. We are living in the dispensation which is emphatically called the dispensation of the fulness of times, which we are informed from the scriptures has been “spoken of by all the holy prophets since the world was;” and this being the case, the dispensation in which we live embraces necessarily all that was contained in any and all of the other dispensations that have existed in all the ages preceding ours; and that consequently whatever organizations, manifestations, revelations or communications that have ever come from God to the human family in their times and dispensations, we may consistently expect to be embodied in this one. And, therefore, in some respects, as I stated before, the dispensation or time in which we live differs in many particulars from those in which God has communicated to man.

We have, for instance, what is called the patriarchal dispensation, which existed before and after the flood. And those patriarchs and men of God that lived in those remote ages had communications with the Almighty, and they also had the Gospel. And they not only received revelations pertaining to their own day and age, but also in regard to the future. And hence we are told that Adam, three years before his death, gathered together a great many of his people and the prominent authorities of the holy priesthood, and he blessed them, and being filled with the Holy Ghost, predicted whatsoever should befall his posterity unto the latest dispensation, including all the leading events that should transpire in the different ages of time, even until the winding up scene, associated with this our earth; embracing those things that have been and are to be brought forth in this the present dispensation. And, in fact, this dispensation, we are told, has been “spoken of by all the holy prophets since the world was.” And, therefore, it must of necessity have been associated with the teachings of Adam, of Seth, of Enoch, of Methuselah, and of Noah, Abraham, Moses and many other prominent characters that held communication with the Lord, and who had revealed unto them his purposes and designs in the days in which they lived. Many people listened to the principles of truth in their day. Enoch was a remarkable man and had a special mission to the people in his day, and he was full of the spirit of prophecy and revelation; he also had a Church organization as we have to a certain extent, and he preached to the people and forewarned them of certain events that should transpire upon the earth. And the wicked were angry with them, as they are sometimes with us; they did not like their teachings and operations, and they conspired against them, and great numbers of their enemies assembled for the purpose of destroying them. And Enoch was clothed upon by the power and spirit and revelation of God. And whilst under the inspiration of the Almighty he uttered his prophecies, and his enemies and the people generally trembled at the power of his words; and the earth shook, and the people fled from his presence afar off, and were not able to injure him; for God was with him. And Enoch, with the united labors of the elders of his day, gathered the people together who hearkened to his words and believed the message sent to them, in the same manner as you have been gathered together. They built up a city which was called Zion; and the people who inhabited it were under the inspira– tion of the Lord for a great number of years; receiving instruction, guidance and direction from him. And finally, as wickedness grew and increased, and as the testimony went forth among them, the good, the virtuous, the honorable, the pure and those who desired to fear God and work righteousness assembled themselves together, constituting the city of Zion; and the others became more corrupt. And Enoch and his brethren prophesied unto the people about the calamities that should overtake them, that the world was to be destroyed by a flood; and there were provisions made for the continuance of the human family, and it was made known to Methuselah that his seed should be the medium through which should be perpetuated the human family upon the earth. And Methuselah was so very desirous to have this thing fulfilled that Noah, his grandson, who was the son of Lamech, was ordained by Methuselah when he was ten years old.

The people, we learn, grew to be so corrupt that “the imaginations of the thoughts of their hearts were only evil, and that continually;” and we are told that it even repented the Lord that he had made man. But the servants of God went forth preaching the Gospel of life and salvation to this wicked people, and warned them of the destruction that was coming upon the earth. Before this great calamity took place Enoch and his city were translated.

The power of translation was a principle that existed in the Church in that dispensation. There is something very peculiar in these things. Some people, who are not in the Church, might ask me where I got my evidence from. To the Latter-day Saints I would say, we get it by revelation. We do not believe that, say some. That we cannot help. I am speaking now to those who do believe so, to those who are believers in God, and who are believers in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and who believe in the revelations which the Lord has given and in those he continues to communicate. It is to those people I am speaking today on these points.

The Bible does not give us a very extensive history of these matters; in fact, it is very, very brief. Referring to that great man, Enoch, it tells us that he was not for God took him; and that is all. This is a very short history for so important a subject.

After that the flood came, which was a terrible calamity, to overtake the inhabitants of the earth; and they were swept away according to the prophecy—cut off from the earth, deprived of life and existence, and shut up in prison.

After some thousands of years Jesus came, associated with another dispensation. And when he appeared on the earth and had got through with his ministry, and had suffered in the flesh and was quickened by the spirit, “he went and preached to the spirits in prison” who were, as stated, “sometime disobedient in the days of Noah.” And hence thousands of people that had suffered the wrath of God for so long a time had the opportunity of listening to the principles of the Gospel in another dispensation that Jesus came to proclaim. And when he had got through with his mission on the earth to those who lived, he went then to preach to those who had been dead, and I might properly say were damned for so many years. And what was the special mission he had to proclaim? He came “to preach the gospel to the poor, to open the eyes of the blind, to set at liberty those that were bound, and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God.” That was part of his mission; the whole of his mission, however, has not yet been fulfilled. But he came to liberate the prisoners, which he did in the spirit, when he got through with his mission on the earth.

On the back of that Noah steps forward in a prominent position, and he had his work to perform, which he did perform, and began to raise up another seed; and they lived also in what may be termed a patriarchal dispensation. And among them were many of his leading posterity. There was Melchizedek, for instance, who was called the King of Salem and the Prince of Peace, of whom Paul makes some curious remarks, among which was that Christ was a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. If he was, then of course Melchizedek was a priest after the order of Christ. And as Christ introduced the Gospel, so Melchizedek had the Gospel, and had and held and administered in the same priesthood that Jesus did. And we read too, according to some men’s ideas, a very singular thing concerning him, that “he was without father and mother, and without beginning of days or end of years, and abideth a priest continually.” He must be, indeed, a very singular man, to be without father and without mother and without descent, and yet that he should be a priest forever. Well, how is it? You generally understand it; but I will inform those who do not that the Apostle Paul referred to the priesthood that Melchizedek held, and that they had what was termed the Aaronic or Levitical priesthood in their day, that is, the day in which Saul lived; and that a man to be a priest had to be a literal descendant of Aaron and of the tribe of Levi; and he had to be able to prove his lineage, tracing his descent back to the time when this priesthood was given by Moses in the wilderness. But the Melchizedek priesthood was different from that, it had nothing to do particularly with either father or mother, it being without descent, and, therefore, people holding it were not altogether dependent upon their father or mother or descent for this authority; but that priesthood is an everlasting priesthood, administering in time and in eternity. And this is what Paul referred to by way of contradistinction to the Aaronic priesthood which then existed.

Associated with this priesthood there were certain powers and privileges. These Abraham possessed and enjoyed. Some people think that he was a kind of a shepherd with very few more ideas than a mushroom; that he lived in the dark ages and did not comprehend much; that he was not intelligent and had a species of what we term nowadays “old fogyism.” But if we examine into his character and the position he occupied, and if we understand something about the principles he promulgated, we shall find that he was another character entirely. In giving his history he tells us that “He sought for the blessings of the Father and the right whereunto he should be ordained to administer the same.” He further says—“Having been myself a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a great follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge, and to be a father of many nations, a prince of peace; and desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God I became a rightful heir; a high priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers; it was conferred upon me from the fathers; it came down from the fathers, from the beginning of time. Yea, even from the beginning, or before the foundations of the earth, to the present time, even the right of the firstborn, on the first man, who was Adam, or first father, through the fathers unto me.” Times and Seasons, vol. iii, p. 704. His father, however, was an idolater; but had probably possessed a record of his genealogy, for Abraham in his record continues—“I shall endeavor hereafter to delineate the chronology, running back from myself to the beginning of the creation, for the records have come into my hands, which I hold until the present time.” And having found out that he had a right to the priesthood, he, therefore, sought an ordination, and he was ordained by Melchizedek to the Melchizedek priesthood. And the Lord gave unto him certain privileges and powers that were very great; not only did he have an ordination in the way I refer to, but he sought more information from the Lord. And the Lord communicated with him and gave him a Urim and Thummim by which he was enabled to interpret, to read and comprehend the mind and will and the laws and purposes of God. And, furthermore, I would state that he went still further. He asked God for certain blessings and privileges and powers which belonged to him and which he considered were within his reach, and which were his privilege to obtain. And the Lord revealed himself to him and communicated unto him certain eternal principles—that no man can comprehend unless God does reveal them—and many other things—the motion of the planets, and the planetary system of the earth on which we live, and the sun and the moon and the stars and the various bodies that compose our solar system; and then of other suns, and other heavenly bodies and the laws governing them. Abraham wrote those things, and was well versed in those great principles; and some men affirm today that he was the founder of certain abstruse principles which they allege are discovered in what is called the Great Pyramid of Egypt—principles that not only pertain to the planetary systems but to events yet to transpire on the earth. I am not going to say anything about the truth or the untruth of these latter statements, as I have not investigated them sufficiently to comprehend them; but I merely give the opinion of a great many men respecting him and the intelligence he possessed. But suffice it to say, that the Lord himself instructed Abraham in things pertaining to this and other worlds, and that he in his day possessed more light and intelligence on the principles alluded to than all the combined wisdom of the world of today.

Now, this was the kind of a man that Abraham was. And his heart and feelings and affections were drawn out after God. And God blessed him and said unto him, “That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thee and thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven,” &c. And further the Lord told him, “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my word.” And hence he occupied a very important position. And, as I before said, being a patriarch he had the gospel and the priesthood belonging to it, namely, the Melchizedek priesthood.

I do not propose today to show how these things have all been literally fulfilled that are here spoken of; that I will leave for you to hunt up for yourselves. But the promises made to that man of God have been literally fulfilled, even to the present day to the coming forth of this work with which we are associated.

Now, that was a peculiar dispensation; it was under the dispensation that was introduced, say by Noah, or the one that he was, I was going to say, founder of; he was not the founder of it, but he was the one preserved by the Almighty from the wreck of the world, in which he had lived for upwards of 600 years to introduce it. And Abraham was one of the prominent actors in operating and carrying out the purposes of God in that dispensation, and there were a great many others too that were in possession of the same kind of intelligence; but he was one of the most prominent, therefore I have referred more particularly to him.

Then, there was another dispensation followed, called the Mosaic dispensation. Moses was made use of as an instrument to deliver the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage. It had been predicted that the descendants of Israel should go into bondage and be confined there for 400 years, and that they should be delivered by the power of God. And Moses was the man chosen of the Lord to perform that work; and he was indebted to the Lord for the instruction and the intelligence he received. We read in the Bible that on a certain occasion he saw a burning bush, and the bush, we learn, was not consumed; and on going towards it he heard the voice of the Lord speaking unto him, telling him to take his shoes from off his feet, for the place whereon he stood was holy ground. He did as he was commanded. The Lord then told him that he had a work for him to perform, which was that he should go down to Egypt where he had been reared from his youth, and where he had been taught according to the learning of the Egyptians to deliver this people Israel out of their bondage. You that are acquainted with your Bible know the history of it. The account is lengthy and I shall not attempt to enter into it. Suffice it to say, he succeeded in delivering the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage. He had the power, when his people reached the Red Sea, to smite the sea and cause the waters to divide, thereby making a way of escape from their pursuers, the Egyptians. He led them into the wilderness where they had to depend entirely upon the mercies of God for their sustenance. But having been in bondage for so long a time it was difficult for them to comprehend many things that were communicated to them; and, we are told, they began to long for the leeks and the onions. We, in our day, would think that their taste was not so very delicate; but that was their desire, many of them feeling that they would rather go back to Egypt than to suffer the trials that seemed to await them. And the Lord manifested himself to them in many marvelous ways, and Moses who was their leader and who had been especially appointed by the Lord, went up to the mount, and the Lord gave unto him certain commandments which he wrote with his own finger, upon tables of stone which were prepared for that purpose, Moses was away from the people for some time conversing with and receiving communications from the Almighty, and when he came down he found that the people whom he had led out of Egypt and to whom the manifestations of the Lord had been shown, had made a golden calf and were worshipping it—about the same as we do sometimes, and we profess to be a much more enlightened people than they were—and they said, “These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt.” On seeing this wickedness on the part of his people he became angry, and he threw the tables of stone to the ground and broke them. Afterwards other stones were prepared and the same laws written on them. And the Lord was desirous that they as a people should be faithful in the observance of his laws, that they should be governed by the principles of the Gospel which Moses taught them. This is a singular idea to some people; they think there was no Gospel until Jesus came. Well, we cannot help that, but Paul understood it better. He tells us that Moses preached the Gospel to them in the wilderness, but the word preached did not profit them, etc., wherefore the law was added because of transgression. Added to what? To the Gospel. Paul understood this if men in this age do not. And Moses did himself get into the presence of God, and he also led seventy elders who were so instructed and prepared that they could go into the presence of God to communicate with him; but the people were afraid of God, and when the Lord appeared to them on Mount Sinai, when they heard the thunders and saw the lightning and felt the mountain quake, they said to Moses, do not let the Lord speak to us any more lest we his people die; but do thou speak to us and be mouthpiece. They were not prepared to come into the presence of the Lord; they were not sufficiently pure, neither did they understand the laws and principles which God had communicated. But they murmured and murmured and that continually—the same as we do, we see something of the same spirit, we are found sometimes murmuring against God, or at least against some of the revelations he has given unto us, or against the priesthood, and in many instances without cause. And what had God done for them? He brought them out from the midst of Egypt, from a state of servitude and vassalage, and delivered them from the hands of their oppressors, and when the Egyptians pursued them, he opened the waters of the Red Sea and let them pass through in safety; but swallowed up their enemies who pursued them. Then when they were short of food he supplied them with angel’s food, manna. That was all the harm he had done to them—just about as much as many others who murmur. They murmured against God for bringing them away, and against Moses for being the instrument in doing it. Whereas God was trying to fulfill the promises he had made with Abraham, their father; and he was making use of Moses as his instrument to deliver the people from that bondage with which they had been oppressed for so long a time; but because of their transgressions, their wickedness and their rebelliousness, the law was added or given unto them, which was a law of carnal commandments and ordinances, of which a later writer in speaking of it says, “neither we nor our fathers were able to bear.”

Well, he placed them in another position, and gave unto them the Gospel, but as they could not endure the greater light he gave them a lesser light in the form of a law of carnal commandments and ordinances. Hence that dispensation is therefore called the Mosaic dispensation; and Moses was the instrument made use of by the Almighty to introduce it, and it was revealed to him upon the mountain. And that law of carnal commandments and ordinances seemed to suit them a little better than the Gospel; they loved these carnal commandments better than the light, the truth, the revelation and spirit that was associated with the Gospel. And they could not come into the presence of God. If you remember, certain men at one time went running to Moses to complain of certain other men whom they said were prophesying; and Moses said to them, would to God that all the Lord’s people were prophets; would to God that all could be inspired with that spirit of revelation that flows from him. Says the Prophet Joel, in speaking of the glory of the latter-day, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And upon the servants and the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit,” etc. Now, they had a dispensation then called the Mosaic dispensation; and associated with that was a sprinkling of the Gospel. Once in a while the light of the day star would dawn upon the people, foretelling some things in which they and their children were interested; and that was manifest through certain men among them who were peculiarly inspired by God. But they did not have then a regularly ordained organization of the Melchizedek Priesthood as we have it. If a man received these things in those days he received it from God. A young man came to me to ask me some questions on this subject, and I will here mention one thing I told him. These prophets had the Melchizedek Priesthood, but they did not have it in the regular organized form as we have it. Hence when Elijah was about to be translated—for that spirit and power was yet with him; it had not left the earth after Enoch’s day, for many were translated besides him and his city—there were certain prophets scattered up and down among Israel, and as Elijah and Elisha were traveling together, Elijah said to Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee, for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel. But Elisha said as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they went on together. And at Bethel the sons of the prophets at that place came forth unto Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. At this place Elijah wanted Elisha to tarry, saying that the Lord had sent him to a place called Jericho; but Elisha made the same answer. Elijah at this place made the same request of his companion, saying the Lord had sent him on to Jordan; but Elisha would not be separated from his master. And they went on to Jordan together; and when they came to that stream, Elijah took off his mantle, wrapped it together and smote the water which divided, so that they went over on dry ground. And when they had passed over, Elijah asked Elisha what he could do for him before he should be taken away. Elisha, knowing that he had something to do and that he was about to be left alone, and that he might be the better prepared to perform the work before him, requested Elijah to let a double portion of his spirit rest upon him. But could Elijah grant his request? No, he could not. What answer did Elijah make him? He said, thou hast asked a hard thing; nevertheless, if thou seest me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not it shall not be so. How did Elijah know that? Because he knew that the Melchizedek Priesthood holds the keys of the mysteries and the revelations of God; and that if he could see him as he ascended, it would be an evidence to him that the Lord had granted his request, although he himself had not power to grant it, Elisha would then know that his prayer was heard. Those other prophets, who knew that Elijah was to be translated, went and stood to view the event afar off; I do not suppose that they saw anything of Elijah as he was being taken up into heaven. But he was taken up, and Elisha saw the manner in which he went, and cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof.” And how did he see them? God had conferred upon him that priesthood by which he was enabled to see them. Elijah threw down his mantle as he ascended, which Elisha took up and started off alone, his “head” having been translated. But he had received the answer to his prayer; and approaching the banks of the Jordan, with the mantle that had been left him he smote the waters saying, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” And when he did so they parted as they had done at the command of Elijah, and Elisha passed over. And God was with him, manifesting his power through him, as he had done through his predecessor. I speak of this as a certain principle and I speak of it now for the information of you elders, that they did not have then an organized Melchizedek Priesthood, but that if it was conferred upon individuals, they did not have the power to confer it upon others, unless through special command of the Lord. And Elijah knew that if Elisha could see him when he was ascending, that his prayer would be answered. Why? Because the Melchizedek Priesthood holds the keys of the mysteries and the revelations of God.

This is a principle on that point; and it may be of use to you elders, that you may comprehend the position, that they occupied. That was associated in part with the Mosaic dispensation, but only in part. But when Jesus came he introduced the Melchizedek priesthood in an organized form, and restored the Gospel. But those men did not restore the Gospel. But let me show you that are acquainted with the history of the Book of Mormon, they had a great many more revelations in regard to these things upon this continent than they had upon the continent of Asia. And they had the Gospel and administered in the ordinances and talked about the coming of Christ, still they administered in the laws of Moses until the coming of Christ; and yet at the same time they did have the Gospel and an organization of that Gospel in part and ordinances among them different from what they had on the other continent before Christ came. You that are acquainted with the Book of Mormon will find these things in it; and if you have not found them, hunt them up, and you will find what I say in relation to this matter is true.

Very well. When Jesus came he had been looked forward to by all the prophets since the world was, and it had been prophesied about him that he would come to redeem the world and offer himself as a sacrifice, as an atonement for the sins of the world, of which there were many shadows and types. I will refer back again to Moses, and then I will refer to the sacrament. Moses, as I stated, had the Gospel when he went among the children of Israel. There were many signs and wonders poured out among them and many calamities overtook the Egyptians. And Moses went from time to time into the presence of Pharaoh telling him what should take place, and among the rest he said that if they did not let Israel go, the firstborn of the Egyptians should be slain. And he told the people that dwelt in the land Goshen—the children of Israel—that they were to kill a lamb and sprinkle the blood of the lamb upon their door posts, and that when the destroying angels passed through, their children should escape death. And it happened precisely as had been told them—while the firstborn of the Egyptians was destroyed, the children of the Hebrews were preserved. Now, that was called the Passover among the children of Israel, and it was continued among them year after year, and the day on which it was kept was called the day of the Passover.

When Jesus was upon the earth he sent his disciples to go and prepare a place that they might hold the passover together. “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” What was it they were doing? It was partaking of the passover of the sprinkling of that blood which was typical of the shedding of the blood of the Lamb of God upon Calvary. And the breaking of that bread was typical of his broken body. And they offered in former times the blood of bullocks and of rams, goats, etc., as sacrifices. And all this, as Paul says, had reference unto the shedding of the blood of Christ; and was typical of that of which he was the great ante-type when he came to fulfil all these things. Very well, what was that? Did they have the passover then? Yes. They looked forward from that passover to the time when Christ should come and shed his blood to atone for the sins of the world. And we look back to the time when he did it, and we partake of this sacrament—this bread and water, which we use instead of wine—in commemoration, in token of what he has done for us. And we are told by the apostles, that as often as we eat and drink of this, we show forth the Lord’s death until he come again. And let me say to you Latter-day Saints, while we are doing this, there is something very important connected with it, and we ought to be careful that we do not partake of these emblems to our condemnation. Do you ever quarrel with your brethren, or act in such a way as to get up feelings, and perhaps speak harsh words one about another, and in other ways do that which is wrong, and then meet together in solemn mockery before God and eat and drink condemnation to your souls? We want to be careful about these things; and hence we should understand that when we bring our gift to the altar, and there remember that we have ought against our brother, we should first go and be reconciled to him and then come and offer our gift. Not come in any kind of hypocrisy, but come with clean hands and pure hearts and feel to say “O God search me and try me and prove me, and if there is any way of wickedness in me, let it depart, and let me be thy true representative upon the earth and let me partake of the spirit that dwelleth in Christ, and live in the enjoyment of that upon the earth; that when he comes again I, with my brethren, may meet him with clean hands and pure hearts.” And I would say to the teachers who go around to visit their brethren, when you find ill feeling of any kind, it is your duty to root it out, and to see that there is no hardness and no contention or strife among the people who come to participate in this sacred ordinance.

Well, so far as the gospel is concerned, that dispensation was introduced to the world first by John the Baptist, who was the forerunner of Jesus. And when the Savior came John knew it, and on seeing him he exclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.” And when people were flocking to John to be baptized of him, Jesus came also as a candidate for baptism. But John told him that he (John) had need to be baptized of him. But the Savior told him to suffer it to be so, then “to fulfil all righteousness.” And he was baptized of him. Well, that dispensation continued for a long while after, and it began to decline and disappear; but there were a great many men in different parts who listened to the principles of the Gospel of the Son of God. But by and by it began to fade away, both upon the Asiatic continent and upon this continent. It was prophesied that it would, and that there should a certain power arise who should seek to make war with the Saints of God and that it should overcome them; and this power should seek to change times and seasons and things, and they should be given into his hands until a time and times and the dividing of a time. These things were fulfilled—the Church of God fell into darkness and the priesthood was taken from them, and they had instead something in the form of a bogus priesthood and a bogus creed instead of the true principles which Jesus introduced among men. That was on the continent of Asia. On this continent they seemed the same pretty much; but they had an unparalleled scene of prosperity and joy in the Gospel of the Son of God after he came; and it grew and spread and prevailed throughout the land. And as it was in their love for one another that no one said that ought he possessed was his own; but, they had all things common among them. We are told of these things more elaborately in some other places which might be introduced, but which I do not wish to enter into now. On this continent they remained in this condition for two hundred years; and they dealt justly one with another, and dwelt together in peace. I wish we could do that always. By and by they fell into darkness, and the result was, as recorded in the Book of Mormon, to which I again refer you to read and investigate.

Then what next? Were things to go on in that way forever? No; the dispensation of the fullness of times has got to be restored to introduce all that has been spoken of by all the holy prophets since the world was. The Apostle John, when banished to the Isle of Patmos says that he saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people. What do you mean? The same Gospel that Adam had, the same Gospel that Seth had, the same Gospel that Enoch had, the same Gospel that Noah had, the same Gospel that Abraham had, the same Gospel that Jesus had; the Gospel that brings life and immortality to light, and that places men in communion with their Heavenly Father—the everlasting Gospel. And who introduced it? God himself came to earth with his son Jesus and manifested himself to the prophet Joseph, and, pointing to his Son, said, “This is My Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, Hear Him!” Jesus from that hour was to be his instructor. What then? Then came Moroni, who had charge of the records of the people on this continent, who came and delivered them to Joseph Smith. What next? Then came John the Baptist and laid his hands upon his head and upon the head of Oliver Cowdery, and said, Upon you my fellow servants, I lay my hands and confer upon you the Aaronic priesthood, which shall never be removed again from the earth until the sons of Levi shall offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord. Why did John come? Because he held the keys of that priesthood and was the last that held them in that dispensation. And then Peter, James and John came and laid their hands upon his head and ordained him to the office of the Melchizedek priesthood. Why? Because they had held that priesthood themselves and they were the ones that held the keys of that priesthood; and when they left, the keys of that priesthood were taken with them and they came having it in their charge to confer it upon Joseph Smith. What else? Then Elijah appeared in the Temple at Kirtland and conferred upon them the blessings that were spoken of pertaining to him. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the com– ing of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” The prophet conferred upon him those keys; and hence we try to do these things. And people wonder why we are building our temples. It is that the hearts of the fathers may be turned to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers. And if Jesus saw it necessary after being put to death in the flesh to go and preach to the spirits in prison that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, it was also necessary that provisions should be made for men who had died without the Gospel, without a knowledge of the principles of eternal truth, that we might be baptized for them, as the Scriptures say, according to the flesh, that they may live according to God in the spirit. Why is it you are so willing to build temples? You would squeeze your dollar in many other things, but when it comes to that you say, “I want to do it.” And it is so throughout Israel. I suppose we have as many as five hundred men engaged in this work. And the brethren feel willing to do it. Why? Because you want to secure certain blessings for yourselves; and, then, you want to look after your friends, that the hearts of the fathers may be turned to the children, etc. We are operating upon the earth because we have the power; and they are operating in the heavens because they have the power; and as the Scripture says, they without us cannot be made perfect, neither we without them. And neither they nor we could operate in these things unless those keys had been restored and things put in the position they are today. Then we will build our temples, won’t we? I think we will, and then administer in them. Were we to talk to the world about a great many of the things I have referred to today, we would have to bring up evidence to prove the truth of them. I am talking to Latter-day Saints, however, today; and you ought to know of them, if you do not; and if you are not acquainted with them “search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life,” and you will find all these things I have mentioned.

Now, then, all of these dispensations had to be restored. Then comes Moses. Why? because he held the keys of the gathering dispensation: And he conferred upon Joseph Smith the power to gather Israel from the four quarters of the earth, and also the ten tribes. But the latter have not come yet; but people are hunting them up, and they will be found by and by; when the time comes, and the mountains will flow down at their presence, and a highway will be cast up, and they will come to a knowledge of the people. But they could not come without the restoration of the keys I have referred to.

Now, here are all these different dispensations, and there is one I have not mentioned. We are told to build up Zion, shall we do it? I tell you in the name of Israel’s God we will do it with the help of the Almighty; we cannot do it without, but with his help we will do it. We will build up the Zion of our God, and help to roll on the work which God has commenced. And those children you saw here the other day, [referring to a general conference meeting of the children of Weber Stake] many of them will live to participate in these things. And we will endeavor to train them in the fear of God that their tender hearts may be rooted in the principles of truth; and they be led to acknowledge the God of their fathers. Having said so much I will pass on to something else.

Here we are. We are organized under the direction of the Almighty; and as I before said, not according to our ideas and notions, but according to the word and will and revelations and law of God. And none of us can do anything only as God permits us. What are we going to do? We are going to build up Zion. What then? When Zion is built up—and it is not built up yet; but it will be built up; and when that is done Jerusalem that is spoken of shall be built—and we are a long way from that—but when that is built up and the glory of God shall rest upon it, upon every dwelling of Mount Zion as it did in former times—then we will build up our Zion after the pattern that God will show us, and we will be governed by his law and submit to his authority and be governed by the holy priesthood and by the word and will of God. And then when the time comes that these calamities we read of shall overtake the earth, those that are prepared will have the power of translation, as they had in former times, and the city will be translated. And Zion that is on the earth will rise, and the Zion above will descend, as we are told, and we will meet and fall on each other’s necks and embrace and kiss each other. And thus the purposes of God to a certain extent will then be fulfilled. But there are a great many things to be brought about before that time. And we are here in an organized capacity trying to prepare ourselves for all the providences of the Almighty. We are trying to instill into the hearts of the people the principles of honesty, truth and integrity, and remove covetousness and iniquity of every kind. Never mind the world nor what they can say or do, for they can only do what the Lord permits them. We will then continue to do as we have done only a great deal more abundantly. We will send out the Gospel to them, and continue to advocate the principles of truth, and to organize ourselves according to the order of God, and seek to be one—for if we are not one we are not the Lord’s and never can be, worlds without end. Hear it, you Latter-day Saints! And do not be figuring for yourselves and for your own aggrandizement; but feel to say in your hearts, “What can I do to help to build up Zion. I am here, and everything that I have got is upon the altar, and I am prepared to do the will of God no matter what it may be, or where it sends me, to the ends of the earth or not.” But we are not doing that yet; we are too much after our own affairs and drinking into the spirit of the world, and yielding and catering to that feeling and influence. Now, while we wish the world well and would desire to promote their happiness, we cannot be governed by their practices nor be under their influences. God is the Lord our God; he is to be our king and lawgiver, and he must rule over us. We must not permit ourselves to conform to the ideas, notions, dogmas, theories nor the wickedness that exists in the world, and of which there is too much already among us. But to the contrary, battle against these evils, continuing the warfare until we purge them from us, and call upon the Lord to assist us, and to lead us in the paths of life, and to enable us to comprehend to some degree the position we occupy to him, and the magnitude of that priesthood that has been conferred upon us.

What will you do with the world? I was talking with a gentleman lately who thought because of certain inimical legislation that had been manifested towards us, that we should feel at enmity against our government. I told him that he was laboring under a very great mistake; that there was not a more loyal, patriotic feeling people in the United States than the Latter-day Saints are. But have they not done so and so to you? Yes, but the Lord has guided us, and we can put our trust in him and wait his time. We are not in a hurry; he will bring things about in his own way, and will abundantly fulfil the words of the Psalmist—“Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee, the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.” Some men seem to think that we are going to be swallowed up; but we are not very much alarmed about it. We have been “swallowed up” a great many times, but they have generally managed to vomit us up again. [Laughter.] Among the legislators of our nation and throughout the land, there are many high-minded, honorable men, who desire to see all men protected in their rights, but because there are a great many who are not and who feel otherwise, and who do not understand us, should we entertain feelings of enmity? What was the message that Jesus came to perform? “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature; he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved,” etc. What have we been told to do? To go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature; he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved he that believeth not shall be damned. We go and offer the message of life and salvation. How many of these greyheaded men whom I see around me today that have traveled thousands of miles in order to promote the welfare of the human family. I have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles myself. And did he ever forsake me? Never; he was always true to his word. And when you elders have gone forth he has been true to you. And when people have believed, repented and obeyed the message you bore to them, and you laid your hands upon them to confirm them members in this Church, and said, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost;” they received it. Is not that proof that God has been with you? Yes, it is. Will he not be with us to the end? Yes. What is our message to the people? Peace on earth and good will to man, and seek to promote the welfare and happiness of the human family, in every possible way that we can. And we ought to feel to endure as Jesus did the contumely of sinners until the Lord shall say: “Stop, it is enough.” They will have hard enough times of it. Do we need to seek or injure anybody? No. Is that our mission? No; but to seek to promote the welfare of all men.

Well, we are here in a political capacity as well. We are an integral part of the United States—a very small part. What shall we do? Why live so that no man can bring any reproach against us; treat all men right, deal honestly with one another, and with all men, and be true to God and your religion. If we do this then we have a claim upon God; then we shall be blessed of the Lord and our offspring with us; then the Almighty will smile upon us, and then we shall advance from wisdom to wisdom, from intelligence to intelligence and knowledge to knowledge, until we shall see as we are seen and know as we are known. And we will go on performing the work God has placed upon us; and we will continue to teach and instruct and educate and elevate our children; and also teach all men who will be taught by us, the principles of life; and by and by God will work with us in a more powerful manner than he has done yet; and thousands upon thousands will flock to the standard of Zion, and many will come and say, “we do not know much about your religion, but you are an honorable people and execute justice and we want to be governed by those principles and be under their influence; and if we cannot endorse your religious views, we seek your protection and want to be one with you.” You will find hundreds and thousands of people will yet come in this way, and many are pretty near it now. But we are not prepared; we sometimes pull and haul, and talk and get hard feelings and seek to tear in pieces and destroy, and carry out our own ideas and will. I have no will of my own; I do not want a will of my own; I want to know the will of God, and then do it. Don’t you? We ought to do it; and let our own feelings and judgment be emerged in the will of God, and seek to carry out his purposes. As seventies go forth and be ready to go to the ends of the earth at the drop of the hat, when required to fulfil any mission that may devolve upon you, or that you may be called to, and consider this your mission of life, you seventies, do you hear it? I tell you that this is the will of God concerning you, and not to consider how you can fix yourselves and make yourselves comfortable; but attend to the other first, and be on hand to do that, and then it will be all right.

May God help us to do right and keep his commandments, that we may have his spirit to be with us and live in the enjoyment of the same, and be saved in his kingdom, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered at Kaysville, on Sunday Afternoon, March 1st, 1880.

We have been voting for our officers and for those holding places in the Church and kingdom of God in this stake of Zion. And it is well for us sometimes to understand what we do in relation to these matters. We hold up our right hand when voting in token before God that we will sustain those for whom we vote; and if we cannot feel to sustain them we ought not to hold up our hands, because to do this, would be to act the part of hypocrites. And the question naturally arises, how far shall we sustain them? Or in other words, how far are we at liberty to depart from this covenant which we make before each other and before our God? For when we lift up our hands in this way, it is in token to God that we are sincere in what we do, and that we will sustain the parties we vote for. This is the way I look at these things. How far then should we sustain them, and how far should we not? This is a matter of serious importance to us; if we agree to do a thing and do not do it, we become covenant breakers and violators of our obligations, which are, perhaps, as solemn and binding as anything we can enter into.

We frequently pass by many of those important things which we have engaged to abide by, and sometimes begin to whisper by way of complaining or finding fault one with another after we have entered into solemn obligations that we will not do it. What is meant by sustaining a person? Do we understand it? It is a very simple thing to me; I do not know how it is with you. For instance, if a man be a teacher, and I vote that I will sustain him in his position, when he visits me in an official capacity I will welcome him and treat him with consideration, kindness and respect, and if I need counsel I will ask it at his hand, and I will do everything I can to sustain him. That would be proper and a principle of righteousness, and I would not say anything derogatory to his character. If that is not correct I have it yet to learn. And then if anybody in my presence were to whisper something about him disparaging to his reputation, I would say, Look here! are you a Saint? Yes. Did you not hold up your hand to sustain him? Yes. Then why do you not do it? Now, I would call an action of that kind sustaining him. If any man make an attack upon his reputation—for all men’s reputations are of importance to them—I would defend him in some such way. When we vote for men in the solemn way in which we do, shall we abide by our covenants? Or shall we violate them? If we violate them we become covenant breakers. We break our faith before God and our brethren, in regard to the acts of men whom we have covenanted to sustain. But supposing he should do something wrong, supposing he should be found lying or cheating, or defrauding somebody; or stealing or anything else, or even become impure in his habits, would you still sustain him? It would be my duty then to talk with him as I would with anybody else, and tell him that I had understood that things were thus and so, and that under these circumstances I could not sustain him; and if I found that I had been misinformed I would withdraw the charge; but if not it would then be my duty to see that justice was administered to him, that he was brought before the proper tribunal to answer for the things he had done; and in the absence of that I would have no business to talk about him.

It is well for us to get at some of these little things; they are matters, however, of a good deal of importance. What I have said with regard to a teacher, would apply to the priest and the deacon.

Then, again, we have bishops. We vote for them; and they hold a portion of the priesthood which renders their duties many times very unpleasant; that is naturally they would be unpleasant; but no duty ought to be unpleasant to the servants of God. Now, supposing the bishop should do something that is wrong, what would be our duty? It would be to go to him and say, “Bishop, I have reason to believe that things are thus and so, evidence having been presented to me, and it is of such a character that I am inclined to think that you have been taking a wrong course, and therefore I have come to talk to you, yourself, about the matter.” Who ought to do this? Anybody. What, would not his position deprive us of that right of approaching him? No. Supposing you had been injured by him, or somebody else had been injured by him, or something had occurred that caused you to entertain feelings against him it would be much better to probe the thing to the bottom and have it straightened out than to foster it and allow it to corrode and interfere with your peace and happiness, because you have covenanted to sustain him; on the other hand, we cannot sustain anything that is unrighteous, impure or unholy. We go to him and say, Bishop so and so, I have come to see you on unpleasant business—you may be polite about it or you may not—but people can always afford to be polite; I have learned thus and so; I hope I am misinformed, can you explain that to me? If the matter could be explained to your satisfaction you would be glad of it; but whether it could be or not you would have the satisfaction of knowing that you had performed your duty. If not, however, and the matter be of such a character as to call for an investigation, it would be proper that it be inquired into by the proper authorities. Then you are free, and you have not violated any covenant. If any covenants have been violated, it is he that is guilty, and it is for him to account for his acts to the Lord and his brethren; and if no wrong shall be found in him, there is no good man but what would be pleased to see such a man acquitted. But while we seek equity and justice on the one hand, on the other we must not interfere with the rights of anybody; no matter who it is that indulges in iniquity, their iniquity will find them out sooner or later. And it is better for us instead of talking to this one and the other, if wrong exists, to go direct to the persons themselves and have it adjusted, then bring it up according to the rules laid down governing such matters. Then the doer of the wrong is accountable for the wrong, not somebody else. Then when he is dealt with by the Church, whether he be a teacher, priest, deacon, bishop or anybody else, you are free from all responsibility afterwards of sustaining that man. And until the proper course has been taken with such a person, we should be very careful what course we pursue in relation to this kind of thing, so that we do not violate our covenants.

There is an uneasy feeling existing among some people: they can see plenty of wrong all around if they have a mind to; and some will apostatize because somebody else has done wrong. What a foolish course that is to pursue! If we follow God’s plan we can bring the sin right home to the man who has done the wrong; and if he did not repent of it, he would have to be cut off. But the devil would say, “I would not stop in a church where there were such folks.” He would first influence a number of the people to do wrong, and then he would try to get the others to leave the Church because some of the members were doing wrong. That however would be foolish, and contrary to the order of God.

The Lord has placed in his Church Apostles and Prophets, High Priests, Seventies, Elders, etc., what for? For the perfecting of the Saints. Are we all perfect to begin with? No. These various officers are for perfecting of the Saints. What else? For the work of the ministry; that men might be qualified and informed and be full of intelligence, wisdom and light, and learn to proclaim the principles of eternal truth and to bring out from the treasury of God things new and old, things calculated to promote the welfare of the people. Now, then, these offices having been placed in the Church, every man ought to be respected in his office. I know some of you think we can respect some, and some we cannot respect; we can respect some of the prominent authorities—I do not know who they are, do you? You remember when Jesus was upon the earth, some of his followers were contending, as to who was the greatest: and he took a little child and placed it in their midst, he said, “he that can be most like this little child, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” And I will tell you more than that, that the teacher, or deacon that fulfills his duties is a great deal more honorable than a president or any of the twelve that does not. And there are duties and responsibilities devolving on all of us pertaining to these matters; and we ought to be very careful in all our acts that we do not transgress the laws of God.

In a few remarks yesterday I referred to the various officers of the Church, and to some of the leading duties that devolve upon them to attend to. There are duties devolving upon all of us which we cannot ignore. Duties as Apostles, duties as presidents of stakes, duties as bishops, duties as high councilors, duties pertaining to all the various officers in the Church. Well, can any man that has received the holy priesthood, and who comprehends the position he occupies before God—which very few of us can do—can he afford to neglect any of those duties? I think not. We call this organization that we are associated with, the church and kingdom of God. Is it the Church of God? Yes. Then it is God’s church is it not? Yes. Who is at the head of it? The Lord ought to be, and we ought to be subject to him. Who? Why every one of us; myself, say, and all the Twelve, the presidents of stakes, the bishops, the high priests, the elders, the seventies, the high councilors, and all men in the Church ought to feel that we are the church of God, in the Church of God and subject to the law of God. We talk about a priesthood; who are the Priesthood, and what is it? As I understand it, it is the rule and the government of God, whether it exists in the heavens or on the earth; whether we refer to the things of time or to the things of eternity; whether we refer to spiritual things or to temporal things, they are, or ought to be, under the guidance and dominion of God. How and from whom did we receive our authority? Let us go back for a while, and who could we find anywhere upon the earth that had authority even to proclaim the Gospel, or to administer in the ordinances of the Gospel? Could we find anybody? No, we could not. I could not in my younger days—and I sought diligently for it, but I could not find anybody who possessed it. What, not among the religious professors of the world? Nowhere among the learned, the intelligent, the scientific? No, nowhere. Very well, how did we come at a know– ledge of this? God revealed it to his servant Joseph Smith. And when he did so, he did not say much about it himself. The first thing he did when he appeared to Joseph was to introduce his Son; pointing unto him, he said: “This is My Beloved Son, Hear Him!” And what did the Son say? We have his teachings in the Gospel, in his communications with the Nephites and others. Then there were others who held the priesthood with him; who held it on the earth and who now hold it in eternity, and who held the keys of this priesthood; and those several parties came and conferred the keys which they held upon him, but not until the Lord had come and given them permission to do so. Hence we got our Aaronic priesthood through that means, and we got our Melchizedek priesthood through that means, and any office or ordinance that any of you have received, you received it through that medium, or you have received none at all. Very well, what does it lead us to? To those whom we call sons of God. Just as it was said on former occasions, “Now are we sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” Very well, we are the sons of God then, the chosen of God, the elect of God, called by him, set apart by him, through the medium of this holy priesthood of which I have spoken. And if we have received any office, or calling, or authority, or any power to administer in any of the ordinances, we have received that from the hand of God, and we can only perform these ordinances according to the priesthood we are permitted to possess. For instance, an elder cannot perform the labor of an apostle; a bishop cannot perform the labor of an apostle; and a bishop, as a bishop, outside of other things, has not authority to lay on hands to impart the gift of the Holy Ghost; whatever he may do in that capacity it is through the Melchizedek priesthood which he holds, and he could not do it without. Can a priest lay hands upon people and say “Receive ye the Holy Ghost?” No, it does not belong to him to do it. Well, then, men are necessarily confined to operate within the limits and authority of the various offices of the priesthood to which they are called and ordained—an elder to perform the office of an elder, a priest to perform the office of a priest. In early days it was quite common for a priest to go out and preach the Gospel and baptize people for the remission of sins, and then call upon an elder to lay hands upon them to confirm them members of the Church, for the priest did not have the power to do it. And while the priest could baptize, a teacher or a deacon could not, not having the authority to do it; if they were to do it, it would not amount to anything. There is strict order about these things associated with the Church and kingdom of God. Well, then, on the other hand, if we perform our duties, each one of us in our proper position, God gives us power to accomplish the object we have in view, no matter what it is, or what priesthood we hold; no matter whether it is the president of the Church, or the president of the stake, a bishop, a high councilor, a high priest, a seventy, or an elder, priest, teacher or deacon; no matter what, if they perform duties with an eye single to the glory of God, he will sustain them in their operations and administrations.

Now, I will refer to a principle which is perhaps one of the greatest manifestations of the power and goodness of God that exists in this Church, and at the same time one that is as little noticed; but one wherein God does manifest himself in a most remarkable manner in the view of all reflecting, intelligent men. For instance, the elders go forth to preach the Gospel; they call upon people to repent and to be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of their sins. Did you ever think what the name meant? If a man go in the name of another person, he goes by the authority of that person. If an agent, say of Z. C. M. I., or any other firm, go in the name of this firm, it is expected that he has credentials from the firm he represents. Or, if a governor comes here, he is first appointed by the proper authorities—nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate of the United States, and he comes with proper credentials to act as governor of this Territory; he comes in the name or by the authority of the United States; and the government of the United States feels itself bound to back up his acts, the same as a mercantile firm would feel obligated to acknowledge the acts of its agents.

Now, then, the Lord has commenced his Church here upon the earth. He has conferred upon men his holy Melchizedek priesthood; he has told them to go forth and preach and call upon the people to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus, for the remission of sins, and they should receive the Holy Ghost. You all know about these things, it is not necessary to talk much about them.

Very well; now, then, this elder goes forth in the name of God, does he not? That is the way I understand it—by the authority of the Lord, and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, he preaches this doctrine to the people. “Now,” says he, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the Holy Ghost.” A priest could not say, You shall receive the Holy Ghost; a teacher or a deacon could not say it, neither could a bishop say it by virtue of his bishopric, but he could by virtue of the high priesthood he holds. Now, then, let any of these men go to work and lay hands on anybody for the gift of the Holy Ghost; and they might as well do anything else, it would not amount to anything. But an elder, or anyone holding the proper authority, comes along, and takes the candidate for baptism and, after baptizing him, he lays his hands upon his head and says: “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by virtue of the holy priesthood conferred upon me, I lay my hands upon your head and confirm you a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and I say unto you, receive ye the Holy Ghost.” Did you ever think of that? It is quite a significant thing, is it not? And you do it in the name of Jesus Christ and by authority which God has given you. You lay your hands upon the individual who has been baptized for the remission of sins, and say, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost,” and he receives it. If that is not so, tell me, will you, you that have had hands laid upon your heads by the elders of this Church. You know what I say is true. Now, I propose to show a certain principle, namely, that God is true to the covenants which he makes with us, and that there is no violation of the law or promises on his part. God will bless a teacher of this Church when he goes forth in the performance of his duties among the people; he will bless a bishop in his administration, and others in the discharge of their several duties, no matter what their priesthood may be. But here is an important item: there are some of these things which I have referred to that some cannot do—they cannot lay hands upon them to impart unto them the Holy Ghost. If an elder can, he does it by and through the authority of Jesus Christ, through the medium of the holy priesthood conferred upon him by those holding authority. And when he performs this act, the recipients having complied with the requirements—faith, repentance and baptism—when he lays his hands upon their heads, God sanctions his action by imparting the Holy Ghost. Thus proving that God is true to his agreement; and through that means we become the sons of God and belong to the household of faith, and to us properly belong the covenants and blessings associated therewith. These are the initiatory steps. And we have a witness within ourselves, each one of us, in regard to those great principles that God has revealed to the human family. Now, then, are we the sons of God? Is he our Father? Yes. Have we received his Spirit, whereby we are enabled to cry, “Abba, Father,” or “my Father?” Yes. What have we done since we received it? We do not like to look at some of our acts when we think of these things; we would rather we could blot them out from our memories, but we cannot; they are there. And when we reflect upon our follies, our imperfections and our iniquities of various kinds, how do we feel? We do not feel pleasant about it. God has conferred upon us the greatest treasure and the greatest boon he could bestow upon the human family, but we have received the treasure in earthen vessels. We often do things we ought not to do, and leave undone things we ought to do; and how often have we grieved the Spirit of God within us! He has done more for us than this. He has placed us here in his Church and kingdom; he has gathered us together; he has organized us according to the laws and order of the holy priesthood. He has united us to our wives, and our wives to their husbands, with an everlasting covenant that cannot be broken. But we break it sometimes, don’t we? He has shown us how and in what way our wives may be united with us in the eternities to come, and how we may have our children sealed to us and be one with us in time and in eternity, and has poured blessings upon many of our heads that will exist while time shall last and eternity endure. It was said of Jesus, that to his government and dominion there should be no end. And the same has been said of a great many more; and yet we will allow little things to separate us from our God, and from our brethren, and from our wives and then our wives from their husbands, and break up, and rant and rear and destroy, until we hardly know whether it is us or somebody else. Sometimes we hardly know whether we are in the Church and kingdom of God or not, until in many instances the light within us becomes darkness, and then, oh, how great is that darkness! It is necessary that we should study well and watch well the path of our feet. We are here laying the foundation for eternity, and for no other purpose. We are here that we may receive bodies, that in our bodies and spirits, and through them and through the powers of the priesthood and the everlasting Gospel, we may gain a position by and by, among the Gods in the eternal worlds, and with them possess a glory and dominion and authority, power and exaltation that has hardly entered into our hearts to conceive of. And yet, we will fritter away our privileges, treat lightly the things of God, disregard the counsels of God and the priesthood of God, and wander in by and forbidden paths, and lose sight of these great and glorious principles that God has revealed for the salvation of the human family.

Referring to the principle of union, we ought to be one. We have things come up quite frequently, say, in a legislative capacity and otherwise, and our legislators and others enter into certain measures, but the people will not be sufficiently united to carry them out. And there seems to be a spirit, more or less among the people like this: some will brusquely and thoughtlessly say, “I will be damned if I don’t have my own way.” All right. I will tell you another thing: you will be damned if you do, unless your way is the way that God will sanction.

Let me speak of some other things associated with this. If we had perfect union, what is there we could not accomplish? And yet God has done a great deal for us. We have for instance, one man in Congress to represent our interests; only one man, and he has not a vote at that. And in a great many instances the combined powers of the United States have been plotting against us, and it is today seeking our overthrow. And why? Because we dare believe in God, and because we dare keep his commandments, miserably as we do it, and the little we do of it. We do not do much, but the little we do, produces this kind of feeling; because this world is opposed to God and to his laws and to his church and kingdom. And what have they done hitherto? You could not get a man anywhere in the United States that knows anything of the workings of government or affairs brought in operation against us, but what believed that we would have been destroyed and swept off the earth long ago. But we are still here. Why? Not because you and I had fulfilled all our covenants and observed the laws of God; but it is because God knows and remembers that we are but flesh, but weak, fallen humanity; he remembers we are but dust; it is because he feels kindly and graciously toward us, and has said that it is his business to take care of his Saints, and to fight our battles for us. It is not because of what we have done, for we have not done much. And if God had not sustained us and turned away and restrained the wrath of man, we would not have been here today. Now, this is a fact. Well, God is kind to us; do not let us treat him so thoughtlessly; do not let us treat his ordinances lightly; but rather let us reverence and esteem those men upon whom God has placed his holy priesthood, and let us try by our faith and prayers and by our acts, to sustain them in all particulars as we agreed to do when we held up our hands. And then I ask no odds of the combined powers of the whole world, for God is on our side, and as long as we maintain our position before him, I will risk the balance. He holds the nations in his hands, and he will say to them, as he did to the waves of the mighty ocean—“Hitherto shalt thou go and no farther, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed.” And they cannot help themselves. We are in the hands of God, and they are. And I am afraid sometimes, when I see the follies of my brethren; I tremble for the result; but God is gracious and kind. Do not let us be ungrateful, but let us try to remember the blessing with which we are surrounded, the benefits he confers upon us—the light of the holy Gospel, our present and eternal associations; and remember that we are placed here as representatives of God upon the earth, to operate with prophets and apostles and men of God who lived and died and are now behind the veil, to operate with them in the accomplishment of the purposes of God, pertaining to the earth whereon we stand. We are living in an eventful time, in the dispensation of the fullness of times, the period in which God has said he would gather together all things in one, whether they be things in heaven or things on the earth; and therefore, he has organized us as we are.

When Jesus was here he felt the importance of the things I am now speaking of; and when he was about to leave his disciples he knew what the powers of darkness were, for he battled with them; and, indeed he was able to do so, having been anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows. But notwithstanding this and the fact of his being the Only Begotten of the Father, yet, when he came to wrestle with the difficulties he had to cope with, he sweat great drops of blood, and said, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; I shrink to encounter the things I have to cope with, but nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.” Now, we have to pass through a variety of things; many of us are tried and tempted, and we get harsh and hard feelings against one another. And it reminds me of your teams when going down hill with a heavy load. When the load begins to crowd on to the horses, you will frequently see one snap at his mate, and the other will prick up his ears and snap back again. And why? A little while before, perhaps, and they were playing with each other. Because the load crowds on them. Well, when the load begins to crowd, do not snap at your brethren, but let them feel that you are their friends, and pull together. Says Jesus, with reference to his disciples, “Father, I pray that these may be one, I in them and thou in me; that that spirit, O God that dwells in thee and that thou hast imparted unto me, might also dwell in them, and that their hearts may be united together by the bonds of eternal life and fellowship and priesthood; that they may feel after one another’s welfare and seek to promote one another’s happiness, we having drunk of that river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of our God;” that it may arise and flow and bubble in our hearts, and that its vivifying streams may be felt wherever we go, and that the influence and light and power and spirit and intelligence of God may be with us, that we may be one, according to the prayer of our Lord, “as I Father, am in thee, and thou in me, that the world may know that thou hast sent me,” These principles are as eternal as the heavens. Do they exist in heaven? Yes. You read the first chapter of Genesis pertaining to these matters; and how is it?

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

He had nobody around him to rise up and say, had you not better put it off for a little while, or otherwise change things, or to intimate that they were not prepared for what was done. No, they knew better. I suppose it would be more correct to render it, “And the Gods said, Let there be light, etc.” But to us you know there is only one God; and he said, let there be light, and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good. It was made according to eternal principles, according to the strictest principles of intelligence and philosophy; and when it was made, it was declared good.

In the councils of the Gods in the eternal worlds there was no confusion—I rather think there were no politicians there, no one to get up any feelings of animosity. Things were agreed upon, and when this was done they were carried out. When agreed upon God would say, let so and so be done, and it was done. Now, we see that there was perfect unanimity; but there was not always unanimity in heaven even. What, not in heaven? No, not until one-third part was cast out; and I do not think that it was for doing any good. Sometimes I think we will have to cast out quite a number too, in order to get things in the right shape. Satan was cast out, and those that adhered to him who rebelled against God in the eternal worlds. Well, everything has not been altogether pure in heaven; but they straightened them out as well as they could, as we do here sometimes, and as we do not do here very often.

And when we talk about the heavens, there will be a new heaven as well as a new earth. You know, we read that there will be a new heaven and a new earth, wherein righteous– ness will dwell.

Well, we are here struggling and trying to introduce correct principles, and to advance not only the interests of the Church of God, but the kingdom of God, for God will have a kingdom. I hope you will not tell it to anybody if I tell you something—God will have a kingdom, and he will have rule and dominion, for this earth belongs to him and he will possess it, and his Saints will inherit it at last. We did not use to be afraid of talking about these things. In former times they told us that the Saints of the Most High should finally take the kingdom and the greatness of the kingdom, which should be given to the Saints of the Most High God. Do you believe it? I happen to be one who believes it. And I prophesy that it will be fulfilled. But we are a sorry lot of people to do a thing of that kind, are we not? We have not made much progress yet in the race; we are only preparing for it, many of us cannot do what Brother Joseph F. Smith was talking about yesterday, that is making a sacrifice and feel that we are for God and his kingdom. But we can hardly get out of it. I tell you how some of us feel—“God bless me and my wife, my son John and his wife, us four and no more, Amen.” That feeling is a long way from the other. God feels interested in the welfare of the whole human family. What, of the Saints? Yes, and the others too. But the others do not have the priesthood. The others, if they ever obtain a celestial glory, will have to obtain it through the Latter-day Saints. What manner of people ought we to be? A little different from what we are. We think it troublesome sometimes to pay our tithing; we think it troublesome sometimes to pray in our families; we think it troublesome sometimes to feed the poor and take care of the destitute. Well, suppose we were to change places a little while with them, how would you feel then? You would feel that it was much better to give than to receive. We want our feelings and sympathies drawn out. And God has placed us where we are, in order that we may be preserved to receive instructions from his hands. We have in our school operations what we call our normal schools, to prepare teachers to teach others. Now, the Lord has a normal school in Utah. He is preparing us in a variety of ways—sometimes we have not enough snow in the winter season, and consequently a scarcity of water in the summer; sometimes too much rain, and at other times not enough; we have some wise and some unwise, and we have some rich and some poor. Yes, we have some who are poor among us, and why? We would not know what it was to see persons in those circumstances if we did not have some among us, and then, the opportunity is afforded us to show our kindness, and to develop within us that fellow feeling we sometimes talk about. But we do not want to call them poor, for some of them are just as good as we are, and some perhaps a little better than many of us. If good people are suffering for the common necessaries of life, the scriptures say, “If a man having this world’s goods see his brother in need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” And in regard to those matters, we ought to look to the wants of everybody; that, however, more particularly devolves upon the bishops and the brethren of the Aaronic priesthood. Do not let us make paupers of them; but let us treat them as brethren and sisters, as good, honorable men and women; let us see that they are provided for. I have seen some people who would get down upon their knees and pray most heartily for God to feed the poor and clothe the naked. Now, I would never ask the Lord to do a thing that I would not do. If we have them among us, suppose we go at it and relieve them. I do not think we have much of that to do here; but, enough, perhaps, to draw forth your good feelings and sympathies. And if people sustain misfortune of any kind, look after them and bestow upon them those things necessary for their welfare and happiness. And God will bless us in so doing. I would a great deal rather that you would take, say a sack of flour, some beef, a hundred of sugar, some butter and cheese, and clothing and fuel, and such comforts and conveniences of life, and thus try to make people feel happy than all the prayers you could offer up to the Lord about it; and he would rather see it too; that is the proper way to do things. In receiving blessings ourselves, try to distribute them, and God will bless and guide us in the ways of peace.

Perhaps I am occupying too much time. I do not care much about making a big discourse; I am talking in a plain, easy way, and I think you understand it. And if there is a widow, or an orphan, or any destitute persons, or anyone who has to struggle hard, look after them, and do not try to make paupers of them; but what you do for them, do it in a kind, good feeling, making them to feel and realize that you are their friends. And then, let us try to do away with all our little difficulties—husbands with their wives. Why will you complain about your wives? Because they will get cross. Are you not cross? “Yes; but my wife is not as kind as she used to be.” Well, try to get along with her, and treat her kindly; and be kind to one another. If you live in this way while here in the flesh, you will be glad to meet one another in the eternal worlds. Cultivate every good principle, and live in his fear day by day, and he will take care of us, and he will bless and multiply our flocks and herds, our lands and everything we have.

I will tell you a secret. If we could only prepare ourselves to do the will of God and keep his commandments and live our religion so that God could trust us with more means than we have, he would so order things, and that too by natural ways, that our desires in that direction would be fully gratified. But we are not prepared for it; it would only destroy us, and lead us to the devil; and the Lord knows it. At the same time we cannot complain in this regard; the Lord has treated us very well. I do not know of a people anywhere that are better off as a whole than we are. It is true we do not have the amount of wealth among us that may be found in older countries; but then we do not have the poverty, the suffering and distress that may be found elsewhere. It is for us to introduce principles that will obviate all these difficulties, and that will prepare us to receive blessings from God, and to administer the same wisely.

Another thing. We are building temples. Are we doing pretty well? Yes. Do you find fault? No. I have nothing to say about it; I think the people are doing very well especially in some districts in the north and south, indeed, I think more than they are able to do. But they could not do what they have already done and what they are doing without the assistance and blessing of the Almighty. They are building two beautiful edifices. What for? Is it a matter of speculation? Yes, one of the greatest speculations ever conceived of. It is for the salvation of the human family; it is for the redemption of the living and salvation of the dead. It is for the accomplishment of the purposes of God pertaining to the inhabitants of the earth, our forefathers, and then, all we can attain to after that. In those things we are doing very, very well; and I feel to bless the people because of their liberality in relation to those matters, especially those of the districts I have referred to.

Well, now, I do not know that I should detain you much longer. What shall we do? Keep our covenants, sustain Brother Smith; and let Brother Smith act in a way that will be worthy of being sustained. And then sustain your bishops, and let them also so act as to be worthy of your esteem. And sustain their counselors, and hearken to their counsels and advice. They are seeking to do you good; and to build up your interests. And then sustain your teachers, and your deacons and your priests, and do all you can to lift them up that they may be enabled to do a good work in their day and generation, and benefit you and your generations after you. And then there are others. You have your Relief Societies, and I am glad always to speak a word in behalf of them. Our sisters are one with us; and we are operating together in trying to build up the kingdom of God. I would say to the sisters I would watch after the youth and after the interests of the sisters, and try to introduce everything good and praiseworthy, and try to do all you can to promote the welfare of your sons and daughters; and God will bless you as he has done, and more abundantly. I was pleased to hear a compliment that was made to our Young people’s Mutual Improvement Associations. It is gratifying to parents and to all who have the interests of Zion at heart, to hear of, and to see our young men and women grow up in the fear of God. Some, as is the case everywhere, are inclined to be a little rude and thoughtless. It is our privilege, and the privilege of the youth, to improve, and to cultivate our morals and manners so that if it should ever be our pleasure to mingle with the angels, we should find the most happy and enjoyable society. Let us learn to treat one another with kindness and courtesy, and let the young cultivate the fear of God. I tell you what I used to do when quite a young boy. I made it a practice to go and call upon the Lord; it was before there was any “Mormonism.” And many scores of times have I gone into fields behind the bushes, and also into hay lofts to call upon God to guide me and keep me from evil and to lead me in the paths of righteousness. Did I feel happy? Yes, for I had a portion of the Spirit of God with me. How much better in this respect it is for our youth. I had parents who feared God, but they, any more than anyone else, did not know anything at all about the true plan of salvation, for it had not been revealed. I used to go to the Church of England; and many of you present used to go too; and we used to say that we were all “miserable sinners.” We also confessed every Sunday that we had “done the things we ought not to have done, and left undone the things which we ought to have done.” This was all very true. The teach– ers themselves did not know any better, neither did we. But I used to take pleasure in calling upon the Lord to lead me in the right way. I did not have the helps that you have. You have the benefit of your Mutual Improvement Societies. Attend them, and seek to cultivate intelligence of every kind; and above all, reverence and respect your parents, they who have watched over you and taken care of you, they who have educated you and fed and clothed you and felt an interest in your welfare.

And in regard to all of our opera– tions, brethren and sisters, let us ever try to do right, and let us try to invent something whereby we can be self sustaining; let us purchase from our own people, and above all let us try to make our own goods and supply our own wants and necessities. Let us try and carry these principles out, for they are true and correct. And if there is anything good and praiseworthy, let us seek after it; and shun everything that tends to misery, degradation and death.

God bless you, and lead you in the paths of life. Amen.