Remarks by Elder Orson Hyde, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 22, 1860.

Brethren and sisters, having been called upon by brother Spencer to make a few remarks, I cheerfully comply.

We have been listening to many good and wholesome remarks from Bishop Edwin D. Woolley. He has given much good counsel and timely instruction this afternoon. In the morning we had good advice given to us by brother Woodruff, and I do think that we are a highly favored people.

We have the privilege of assembling here in peace and quietness, without anything to disturb our happiness; and we can listen to the words of life that are given unto us, store up the truth, and adopt in our lives those principles that we learn from this stand. Considering our privileges, I think we cannot too highly appreciate them.

For my own part, I see nothing in our way—nothing that will prevent our progress in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I see no obstacle that should obstruct us in our career of working righteousness and building up the kingdom of God.

In his goodness and mercy, our Heavenly Father has graciously moistened the earth with rain from heaven, and prepared it to send forth its fruits, and has admirably adapted it for the use and benefit of man the present season; and if we labor faithfully, we shall reap an abundant harvest.

I feel to acknowledge his hand for temporal as well as for spiritual blessings; for if we were to have the one without the other, we could not get along in this life so well as we do. The body needs to be supported as well as the spirit, in order that we may fill the measure of our creation, and return to our Father with the fruits of welldoing, prepared to enter into his kingdom.

I thank the Lord for his goodness unto me, for I know that his general providences are marked with favor to them that fear his name and live up to the law that he has given, magnifying the high callings whereunto they have been called.

For my own part, I never experience any feelings of trouble concerning the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the arrangement of her officers, and the course they pursue. I say, I have no feelings other than those that are good. It is all right with me. I have neither secret nor public sentiments, only those that are correct and that are in strict accordance with the sentiments and views of my brethren.

I believe—yes, I am satisfied that many who turn away from the faith previously become cold and indif– ferent; they indulge in secret feelings against some of the regulations in the Church. The apostasy of many might be traced to them allowing their secret prejudices to be aroused against the heads of the Church, and in their feelings they have murmured, but probably did not let out immediately what was in them, simply because it was not popular. Still those feelings are written in the heart; they are encouraged to remain there; and what do they do? They corrode and canker the finest feelings of that heart that was once unsullied, they weaken the strength of the resolution that was once possessed, and they so far corrupt the mind that all such persons are obliged to speak out and to act out those very feelings that have been suffered to corrode the mind and to dwell in the heart for many months. The safer plan is to throw off that influence when it first presents itself to our minds.

If we should be tempted, then let us go to work in faith, nothing doubting, and ask God our Heavenly Father to pour the spirit of wisdom, soundness of judgment, integrity, and righteousness upon us.

When we take this course, what shall we care who else may murmur? We can do our duty; we can give good advice to others, and that, too, without contaminating or affecting our own hearts; we can do that and be justified before God, and prevail with the heavens. Then when the answer comes to our petitions, it is a balm to our own souls; it is a blessing to all for whom it is intended.

These are safe grounds to tread upon, and are well calculated to lead us from the snares of the Adversary, and to preserve us in the way of life. Perhaps I should not say wrong if I were to say that there are many who will meet the authorities of the Church with a friendly and a brotherly smile, while they are indulging in feelings which they are ashamed to make manifest. If we carry about with us such views and feelings relative to our brethren, we subject ourselves to become the Devil’s packhorses, and our backs will become sore, and we shall faint and fall under the load that he will place upon our shoulders. It is for us to trust in the living God, that his blessings may be upon our Elders, upon the people, and upon all they take in hand, that they may have wherewithal to sustain themselves.

What do we live for? To get dollars and cents? Those are very useful; the comforts of life are very agreeable; it is very convenient to have money to purchase what we need; and even if we sacrifice the comforts of this life to secure the blessings of that which is to come, we have then gained our point; we have gained everything. And remember that he and she and all who do the will of our Father who is in heaven will reap the reward of the faithful, for Jesus says, “Whosoever doeth the will of my Father in heaven, the same is my mother, my sister, my brother.”

Again: There is another scripture which says something like this—“He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.” Hence, all that the Father hath promised unto the obedient shall be given unto him. Now, if all that the Father hath promised shall be given unto him that is faithful—to him that receives the kingdom as a little child, do you not see that by our unwavering steadfastness we gain the victory, we win the prize, we lay hold on eternal life, and enter into the celestial mansions of our Father?

This is the great object we have in view; and what, I ask, is left for those that do not receive the testimony of Jesus, if all is given to them that receive and obey it? Brethren, there is too much at stake for us to allow ourselves to have one unjust feeling, one uncharitable thought, or to indulge in that which might prevent us from becoming substantial heirs to the promised kingdom. If there were only dimes at stake, it would not matter so much; but as it is, we have everything to lose or gain.

Now, brethren and sisters, I always take the liberty of testifying to the truth when I feel the most of the Spirit of the Lord in my heart, for it is then that I feel the best towards my brethren who preside over me; and if all in this house were to speak their sentiments, they would speak the same thing. When we have the Spirit of the Lord, and give utterance to the convictions of our minds, and manifest that which we feel in our hearts, we all say the same thing.

If the Spirit of the Lord justifies, who is he that can condemn? We have nothing to fear. Let us all work to the line that is marked out for us, keep ourselves free from a murmuring and complaining spirit, be like little children that have no guile, no animosity, no hatred, and pray the Lord to give us all that we need to aid us in building up his kingdom, that we may fulfil our missions here, and be received into the bosom of our Father; which may God grant, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

A Discourse by Elder Orson Hyde, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, March 25, 1860.

Brethren and sisters, it has fallen to my lot to make a few remarks to you this morning. Were my own feelings gratified, I should be a hearer on this occasion, and not a speaker; but I am willing to contribute my mite to increase, if possible, the current of intelligence, and to increase the comfort and happiness of the Saints of God.

We, brethren and sisters, are occupying a very important position. Perhaps we do not all realize it; and I may also add that very likely I do not realize the importance of the position that I occupy as an individual identified with the body of the people.

There were some few reflections passing through my mind this morning, while contemplating the scenes that are before us. There are two things that are for us to consider—the truth and certainty that God has verily spoken to us from on high, or that he has not. One or the other of these statements is certainly true. We profess that he has spoken to us from heaven, and revealed unto us his mind and will touching our duties and the course of life that we should pursue in order to build up his kingdom and spread the light of truth throughout the world.

Now, if he really has spoken to us—if he really has given to us the holy Priesthood, which is the power that rules in heaven, and the prayers of all Christendom are, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven”—if these prayers be heard and answered, the same power that rules in the heavens must eventually rule on earth. Then, if the Priesthood has been given to us, as we claim it has, we are occupying a very important position in the world. What is this Priesthood? What is this power that is conferred upon us in the holy Priesthood? What particular power do you give when you send a man to some other land to transact business in your name? You give him a power of attorney, authorizing him to transact in your name the business that you wish to be performed; and in that letter of appointment would be conveyed all your power, your authority, and ability to transact that business, even as effectually as if you yourself were present to perform it with your own hand.

It is an agency, then, though it may be said that the Priesthood, which is authority from God to act in his name, differs from that authority which is given to man to transact business for his fellows. I am willing to admit that there is a difference so far as the business for which they are delegated is concerned; for one is temporal, the other is spiritual; the one is earthly, the other heavenly. But let me ask, Where is the man who is authorized to go forth and act in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? If I obey my own will—my inclination or burning desire to go and preach what I believe to be the Gospel, that does not authorize me to go in the name of the Lord. If I, by my own act and deed, have authorized my friend to go in my name, to give receipts and acquittances, to sign conveyances for me or in my behalf, and under my own signature he has received that authority, he then has authority in himself; that is, the authority in me is transferred to him to go and transact business in my name. Am I then bound by what he does? Yes, to all intents and purposes. Am I bound by the act of any individual authorized by another person, yet not authorized by me? No, I am not. Is the transaction of any other than my legally appointed attorney valid to me in law? No, it is not: it is worth nothing.

Well, then, if this people have the holy Priesthood—if it has been conferred upon us, and we actually do exercise under that Priesthood, and according to the instructions that are given us from on high, is or is not the Almighty bound to respond to and to own our deeds and acts? Is he not bound upon the principles of law, even that are common among men and well known to us? Most certainly he is. Did you ever know a gentleman or agent delegated by an individual to go forth to do business in the name of that person, and yet deny that he had any line of communication with the principal or party for whom he was agent? That would be a contradiction of the position he occupied. If he claims to have authority and power to transact business, the inference is legitimate and conclusive that he has had a correspondence with the principal by whom he is employed. But what do the world at large tell us? Why, that God has not spoken from the heavens—that he has given no revelation—that he has not made known his will to man for the last seventeen or eighteen centuries. Admitting the truth of this statement, where, then, is their authority to act in that name? Their denial of any correspondence—of any communication between the King of kings, is clear and conclusive that they themselves testify, by these statements, that they have no such authority as they pretend to exercise.

To act in the name of another, then, without having the requisite authority, what does it amount to in law? Does it amount to forgery to use a name without authority? Yes, even the name of any man in business transactions.

If it is not forgery, what else would you call it? What would you lawyers term it? And if it be forgery, what is the penalty? Is it not a fine? Is it not imprisonment? And does it not deprive a man of citizenship and liberty? Most assuredly it does. Well, then, to commit forgery against man is but a trifling offense to the committing of forgery against the King of kings and Lord of lords, by the use of his name when we are not authorized. Hence we are told that no man shall take the name of the Lord his God in vain, “for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”

If I am not legally appointed to act as a minister of Jesus, am I not taking his name in vain? Judge ye what I say. It is my opinion that when the veil is rent, there will be a page disclosed that will astonish the world; for the holy Priesthood has been given unto us—that is, authority to act in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ; and a voice from heaven has declared that at that name every knee shall bow and every tongue confess. If we are authorized by that personage, and he has given us a right to use his name, then our heavenly Father is bound to fulfil and to honor our acts and doings, when we proceed according to the letter of instructions that he has given to us. Judge ye. My declaration, however, may not be sufficient; therefore I will refer you to the declaration of the Son of God, which bears directly on the point at issue. What is it? “Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matt. xviii. 18.) Hear it, ye people! Hear it, ye that mock at the authority of God, and remember that I have declared and borne testimony that the kingdom of God has come nigh unto you.

Again: If this Priesthood has been committed unto us, and I will take the responsibility of saying, in the name that I have named before you that this authority has been conferred and placed upon us by messengers from the courts of glory; and this is as strong a testimony as I am capable of bearing on this point. I know it, and I am an eyewitness before you, and so are my brethren who surround me on this Stand; and it is written that the testimony of two or three is good, and by it shall every word be established. The testimony of two in a court of justice will hang a man, or take away his liberty.

Now, we, in the sacredness of that name, bear testimony unto you that the Priesthood has been given to man, and we do it with the assurance that God will respond to the deeds done in his name, and by the authority of that Priesthood which he has given; and remember that he has said unto his servants who are clothed with his power, as he said unto those whom he called when his Son ministered amongst men, “Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

The Priesthood that does not possess this power I would give no more for than I would for a power issued and given from any irresponsible source. There is no power in it to back it up or to respond to its petitions. We do not ask for such a Priesthood—one that would lead us to commit forgery and to use that name in vain of which I have been speaking; I say we do not ask for any information or power from such a source. Such a Priesthood would subject me to a penalty that I would not like to incur; neither would any man that has any knowledge, or that knows his right hand from his left. But, O the ignorance and blindness of this generation! They know not the right hand from the left in the things of God, with all their boasted wis– dom and skill, and all their inventions. They are wise in many things that pertain to this world, and they possess some knowledge of the sciences; but when they come to the policy of the King of kings and Lord of lords, they know little or nothing about it.

We say, again, that we are occupying an important position. Take it on the other hand, and let us see how we stand. If God has spoken to us and given to us the holy Priesthood, then this is the only door by which men and women can enter and be saved in the kingdom of God; this is the only door that enters into the celestial kingdom, that entitles us to dominions, principalities, and powers: it is the only door and key by which mankind can obtain an entrance into life everlasting.

The world is arrayed against us. They have long sought an action against the people of God, and what are they doing? Now, says the Almighty, I have given unto you power to save all mankind that believe and repent. Oh, but says the world, that is blasphemy! That is taking the laurels of the Savior and twining them around your own brow! Do you assume such responsibility as that? It is the very height of folly and wretchedness. This is what our accusers say: but let us look at this matter a little. Did not the Savior say, when speaking to the Jews, “If the salt has lost its savor, then it has no power to save, and is good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men?” and, says the Prophet—“Saviors shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.” Did not our Savior say, “He that heareth you heareth me?” Then if we have this authority, this Priesthood, this agency to act in that name—the name and power and Priesthood of the Savior, are we not entitled to a fulfillment of the promise—“Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world?” What more can you ask? What more can you desire?

This is the virtue of that Priesthood that the Savior has conferred upon us by the powers that are centered on high, and this I know to be true. Although it is bestowed upon a people that is everywhere spoken against, yet I feel to say in my heart, God be thanked that he has conferred this honor upon us! We ought to be willing to endure the hardness of the world as good soldiers.

Don’t you know that the world are seeking to ensnare and kill their only saviors? If they kill us, they are damned. Hear it! Ensnare us, and you shall be ensnared. Throw stumblingblocks in our way, and stumblingblocks shall be thrown in yours. I speak by authority. I know the source whence the authority came.

I am here reminded of a little anecdote—a little circumstance that will serve to illustrate what I would wish to say. I do not know that I shall get it exactly right, but I shall be able to get the principle. Once, in Nauvoo, brother Joseph Smith had a dream. It was about the time of his troubles, just before his martyrdom. He dreamed that certain characters had dug a pit and bound his arms with a view of pushing him into it. Well, there he was, with his hands bound fast and all ready for being pushed into the pit. But when his enemies made a stride at him, they happened to miss him and fell in themselves. Then, when they could not get out themselves, they cried to Joseph, saying, “Help us out of the pit!” But he said, “I cannot do it, for you have bound me.”

That is the position of the world. They desire to destroy their only real benefactors; and when they get into trouble, so that they cannot save themselves, they will cry to the servants of God for deliverance; but the reply will be—“You have bound us, you have crushed us, and have rendered it impossible for us to save you.” Then the cries of the wicked will ascend up to heaven; and finally, when they are brought before the judgment seat it will be said unto them, “Depart from me, ye cursed; for I was an hungered, and ye fed me not; I was naked, and ye clothed me not; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink.”

Well, then, inasmuch as the salvation of the world is to a great extent dependent upon our integrity and the faithful performance of our duties in this Priesthood, do you not see that we are required to work not only for our own salvation, but for the welfare and salvation of others? Now, if we respect mankind, we will not waste any of our valuable time, but go right forward; and although men may meet us with their rifles, with their cannon, and engines of death, yet the day will come when they will thank God that there was integrity in us and a disposition to save, because they will find that their salvation has depended upon us. And were we to turn back and fly from the track, they would curse us for having done so; for they will see that if they gain any favor at all, it will be owing to our faithful adherence to the cause with which we have been entrusted.

Brethren and sisters, there are many things that pass through my mind when I reflect upon the magnitude of the work in which we are engaged; but I feel as though I had said just about enough at this time.

[Blessed the sacrament cup.]

Brother Young says he wishes me to go ahead and speak as I feel led by the Spirit. But when I arose I did not anticipate speaking but a few minutes; and hence, I keyed my voice too high for a lengthy speech. Though willing to speak, I have to confess that I feel my voice giving way. In my remarks so far, I have not touched on the thing that was in my mind when I commenced to address you; therefore these are only preliminaries. Still I felt that I wanted to apprise the Saints and all concerned of the authority under which the servants of God act.

Among the Jews, the Scribes and Pharisees would teach the people in this way—“Now, if this is to be, then the inference is so-and-so; and if this proposition be true, then the conclusion is certain.” But when Jesus spoke to the people and taught them, he made no vain propositions and drew no milk-and-water conclusions: but he spoke and it was done; and the contrast was so great between the teachings of the Jewish Rabbis and the teachings of the Savior, that they could not but notice it. “Why,” said they, “he speaks as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” He, having this Priesthood, and having communion with God, our heavenly Father, manifested the wisdom of the heavens; and this difference is manifested and felt in this generation when the servants of God proclaim to the inhabitants of the earth that God has spoken, and that he again reveals his will to man.

I am not now speaking of those who may have this Priesthood in form only, and who go and get drunk, as some have done: I am not speaking of those who have committed whoredom in the land; for they will all go to hell together, if they repent not. I want to draw the line of distinction between them and those who call upon God day and night for instruction to mark out their course. They are the ones who have the favor of Heaven, who are filled with his Spirit, and whose words are quick and powerful, and whose testimony causes the wicked to fear and tremble.

We speak that which we do know, and testify to that which we have seen. “What do you know?” says the inquirer. I know that the Gospel which we have received is the truth of God, and I know that it will rule the world, and I know that every man, kingdom, and people that opposes it will be broken to shivers. I do not care whether the opposition arises in the Church or out of it, I know that he that raises his puny arm against this work will be broken of his power and finally destroyed, if he does not cease his hostilities. I care not whether it be the judge upon the bench, or commanders of armies, the consequence will be as I have told you.

God has spoken, and I know it, because I have heard his voice, and know the voice of the Good Shepherd, and am thankful that I have felt his power. Do I know that he has given this authority to use his name? Yes, gentlemen, I know it; and not only so, but I know that there are heavenly messengers that are now near me, as near as brothers Watt and Long, who are taking notes as faithfully as they are, and more so. The natural eye cannot see them, but they are here, and by our acts and our words shall we be judged. Yes, and these messengers transmit our words and our acts up on high, which are registered there in books; and by-and-by, when the dead, small and great, shall stand before God, these are the books that will be opened, and the dead will be judged out of the things that are written in the books. Then let us be careful what we do and what we say. The sacred writings on earth contain the law, but the records above contain the facts.

There is no corner so remote, no place so secret, none so secluded or dark that the angel of God is not there taking notes. What does the poet say? “Angels above us are silent notes taking.” And I suppose they are daily transcribed and posted; and when they get through with their labor pertaining to us, their notes will all appear in the great ledger, in which the accounts and balance sheet will be fully shown up; and by our keeping a faithful watch, it is hoped there may be a favorable record kept there.

There was a text of Scripture occurred to my mind after I came here this morning, but I do not know whether I can preach anything about it or not. When I arose to address you, my mind was led off in another direction. The text is this—“He that liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” This is a peculiar saying, especially when we take it in connection with the words used in the morn of creation—“Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return.” This is a pretty hard saying, especially for those who do not believe. Let us come at it by an approach more gentle and moderate, and not come abruptly all at once; for it appears too strong language for us to receive without modification.

It is said that all things are possible with God. Now, we will come down a little nearer to the point. The Scriptures say, “All things are possible to them that believe.” If all things are possible, don’t you see that there is a great deal depending upon our faith? Whether we can really get over the saying, “He that liveth and believeth in me shall never die,” without stretching it out and putting any other interpretation upon it, may be difficult; but I do not feel it safe to put any different interpretation upon the Scriptures than that which is manifest upon the face of them. Abraham and the Prophets are dead, or at least some of them: I cannot say that they all were when Jesus uttered this language; but now, said Jesus to the Jews, “Before Abraham was, I am.” “Why,” said they, “you are not yet fifty years old.” No; he was only about thirty-one or thirty-two. “How is this shown?” says one. If I could really discover the principle that I could escape death, that would carry me over the gulf without dying, I should rejoice, for I hate to die; I hate to be laid in the ground to wither and perish.

Well, there is a principle of life. The Gospel is life, and the Savior is life; for says he, “I am the light and the life of the world.” It is now as it was of old—the people keep putting off every good thing: they of old put them off just as we now put off things to the future. “Why,” said Martha, speaking of her brother, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” But said Jesus unto her, “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”

Here is another thing with regard to the judgment. I know that a great many are postponing it, and thinking that the day of judgment is a long way off, and that it will not come in our day; but what says the Savior? “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.” Then you need not look away off through the dark vista of unborn generations; for whom the servants of God shall judge, or, in other words, what they shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. Then the wicked are at once bound up, and the judgment is truly gone forth; but the secrets thereof shall not be known until the books are opened and a fair balance sheet is exhibited. “Yes,” said Martha, “I know he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” But, said Jesus, “Did I not tell you that if you would believe, you should see the glory of God, and that he that liveth and believeth in me shall never die?” This is an encouraging promise. “But,” says one, “Do you mean to say, by this, that this mortal tabernacle that is at present the tabernacle of the spirit shall not go to dust?” I do not say that. But I do not know that I can explain it any better than to say, I am clothed with my garments; but, suppose I should go into the other room and lay off some of them, should I not be the same creature that passed off into that room? Did I die in making the transition? No. And if you were to look into the other apartment, you would see Orson Hyde all alive, but his old clothes left and abandoned.

Brother Taylor said, the other day, that it was right to gather truth from every source. If the Devil has got truth, then it is right to secure it. [President Brigham Young: “What truth he has he has stolen.”] We have a right to gather up truth just on the same principle that the United States gather up property that is marked U. S. You know when they go through the land and find anything with U. S. on it, they take it. So likewise, when we find any truth with U, S, US on, we claim it as our own. It belongs to US. [Laughter.]

With regard to the operation of death, I do not know that I will exactly endorse the principle, but I will take up what Andrew Jackson Davis says. It is rather singular, and I don’t think it is very far from the truth. When the article I alluded to was first published, it took such hold upon me that I immediately published it in the Guardian. It was something like this: He stood by and saw a person depart this life; and as the spirit was leaving the body (you know death is nothing more than a separation of the body and spirit)—and while this was going on, Mr. Davis was in a state of clairvoyance, watching this individual depart. As the pulses became weakened and ceased to beat, he saw the spirit gradually emerging from the body; and as it drew itself out, the tabernacle became more deathly, until finally the perfect image of the man arose from the ashes of mortality, and there was nothing left but a lifeless corpse. But there was the living form born from that old body standing apparently free and untrammeled.

This is from a Spiritualist. I do not know that I have ever spoken of it before; but it came to my mind, and I thought I would present it; for I am in a good place now to be corrected, if wrong.

If that live image did come out as he represented, that is the part that shall never die; and whether it passes out in that particular form, matters not; we know that it does escape and lives forever. Here, then, you see it passes from a mortal tenement, from the carcass, or flesh and bones, something similar, perhaps, to the butterfly being born from its coarser tenement—not that I wished to advocate anything like transmigration; but as the butterfly sallies out of the cocoon, leaving it to be manufactured into fabrics, and free-and-easy she moves in another element, basking among the flowers of earth, so the spirit emerges from the body, to regale itself in a more congenial clime.

Many of you are accustomed to put corn into the earth, and perhaps those who do not plant corn, sow wheat; and you know there is a germ in every perfect kernel; and when it shoots out, or sprouts, we call that good, because it has the power of life. It continues to grow, and forms a new stock; but if you take one kernel that has not the living germ within it, it dries up and dies, just like that poor ungodly sinner that has not the germ of eternal life within him. He dies, body and spirit; but that man’s spirit, who has the principle of life abounding in him, passes out of the body at the time appointed, just as I would pass out of this room, leaving my old clothes behind me. I am not prepared to say that this is the perfection of the principle; but I know there is some way for the spirit to emerge from the body and enter into an advanced sphere of action.

I believe I have said enough. I only wish to add, Let us live our religion; and if we cannot comprehend all that we wish, and financier our way all through, let us trust in Christ. God bless you! Amen.

Remarks by Elder Orson Hyde, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, February 12, 1860.

I did not anticipate speaking to you this morning, brethren and sisters, but expected to be a hearer only. Since my return to the city, I have been so busily engaged that I have not had time [humorously] to prepare a sermon for this morning; and if I had had ever so much time for that purpose, I should, probably, be no better prepared to address you than I am at this moment.

Jesus said to his disciples, “Take no thought beforehand what ye shall say or what ye shall speak, for it shall be given you in the same hour what ye ought to say.” In this doctrine I repose implicit confidence; and being requested to speak to you at this time, I readily comply, and proceed at once to the work before me.

The current of life is made up of small springs, streams, and rivulets, or rather of little incidents which in the aggregate constitute the character of man here on earth. So small a thing as a kind word timely spoken to the sorrowful and afflicted often results in great good, and secures the esteem and gratitude of those to whom it may be addressed, while an ill word may do much harm. My discourse this morning may be made up of small items or incidents.

I want to say a little about the government of God—of the manner and spirit of its administration when infinite wisdom guides its policy. I know no better way to illustrate the administration of this government than to refer you to the government of parents over their children, and to the manner of their teaching and character of their instruction to them. When your child first begins to talk, do you attempt to teach it grammar, algebra, astronomy, or anything else wholly beyond its comprehension or understanding? No. But you adapt your teachings to the capacity of the child, using words and phrases of the very simplest kind to teach and amuse it. By-and-by, when he runs about pretty dexterously and begins to handle things, he attempts, for instance, to take up a bucket of water. You say to it, “Don’t do that; it is too heavy for you; but take the hammer, the doll, the rattlebox, or the toy.” Your words are thus adapted to the ability of the child and to his appreciation of the things that he handles. As his mental powers become developed, you combine a little intelligence in your sayings to him; and then, when his age and strength will allow him, you tell him to bring a bucket of water from the spring or brook. Thus you require him to do the very thing which you once forbade him to attempt. Now, if anyone should charge you with falsehood, because your instructions to your child were not uniform under all circumstances, you would consider the charge very ill-founded. I speak thus to show you that what is suitable to the child at one time may not at all suit it at another.

Many persons who have joined the Latter-day Saints have run well for a season; but, understanding not that the Gospel is a progressive work with those who honor it, they have turned away from the faith—charged the Saints with inconsistency, but yet claim to believe in what they call “ancient Mormonism.” The garment that is made for a child just born must be worn by a man when thirty years of age, is the doctrine of those stereotyped “Mormons.” The Church is now nearly thirty years old; yet this kind of “Mormons” want us now to wear our bibs and diapers, and to be fed on milk and pap as in the days of Joseph. Paul, however, tells us that when he was a child, he spake as a child, he understood as a child; but when he became a man, he put away childish things.

Were I to invite you into my garden at a proper season and show a plant just sprung up out of the ground, you might ask me its name, if you were unacquainted with it. I tell you it is corn. In the course of two months’ time, you see it again when the silk and tassel appear. You then ask me what it is. I tell you that it is corn. You may say that I was mistaken in the first or last instance, as the two are by no means alike. Some two months later you come along and see a basket full of golden ears. You ask me what it is. I tell you that it is corn. But say you, “I do not believe it, for it is unlike either of the others that you told me was corn. You have now contradicted yourself three times, and I will not believe that any of them is corn; I will not believe you at all.” To such conclusions many persons arrive in relation to “Mormonism,” from very similar premises. How very necessary that we increase in intelligence in a ratio equal to the growth or increase of the kingdom of God! If we do not, we fall in the rear, and our eyes become blinded by the god of this world. When we become stereotyped in our feelings, there is an end to corrections, enlargements, and improvements.

To what shall we look as our guide in this our earthly pilgrimage? Shall we look to the Bible, the Book of Mormon, or to the Book of Covenants? Answer: To none of them. These sacred and holy records contain the history, teachings, and results in part of the travels of the ancient and modern people of God. They are true, but are not designed to lead the people. Remember that the “letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” We do not want to be killed; but we want life. God has set in his Church, first, Apostles; secondly, Prophets; thirdly, Teachers, &c., to guide his people—the oracles (or in other words, the Holy Ghost), not on paper, bound in calf, sheep, or any other manufactured article, but in the hearts of his chosen servants. Paul says—“We have this treasure (not in a book, but) in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”

I will produce an example where the spirit gave life when the letter would have killed. There was, in the days of Christ, a woman taken in the very act of adultery. The self-righteous Jews, by the letter of the law, arrested her and brought her before the Savior; and they said unto him, “Master, Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?” Jesus said unto them, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” But they, being convicted in their own conscience, went out, leaving the woman alone with Jesus. He asked her if no man had condemned her. She said, “No man, Lord.” Said he to her, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” The letter of the law would have killed that woman then and there. But the Spirit of God, in the person of his Son, the living oracle, opened her way unto life. It is the living oracles that lead the people of God. In them there is life; but in the letter of the law there is death.

The early commandments of God to his Church and the manner in which we were led at that time will not fit our case in all respects now. We must have teachings and revelations adapted to our present circumstances and condition. Were we never to advance, but remain stationary eternally, then the same code of laws and commandments might with more propriety answer. But in this world of change, where we are required to make advancement, we must have an increase of intelligence to satisfy the craving development of our own mental powers. There is no stopping place for a man of God.

I do not know but that I will now take my text. My sermon, however, will be short. Jesus says—“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.”

You know that when we want to examine anything very closely—particularly you marksmen and hunters, who are in the habit of using arms, when you want to take deliberate aim, and make sure of the object you desire to hit, you close one eye, and with the other look along the barrel of the gun until the lead rests upon the object. Now, says the Savior, “If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.”

This had reference not only to the natural eye, but to the whole moral powers of man as well. Set it down as granted that if thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. Now, let me ask, do we not indulge the hope, if faithful in this life, of being rulers over kingdoms and peoples, and nations, and tongues? Jesus says—“He that is faithful over a few things shall be made ruler over many things.”

Let me ask you how it is with you when you go to prayer. Have you that control and dominion over your own minds that they cannot be caught away by anything that is foreign to the purpose or object that engages your attention? For instance, while we call upon the Lord for his blessings, is it not sometimes the case that we think the old ox may be in the stackyard? Do we not sometimes think we shall be cheated here, and lose that amount of money there? If you have never been aware of this, when you go home and pray again, see if you have power to control your mind and keep it from wandering on something else. Until we discipline our minds, and have the complete control of them, we cannot make that advancement that we ought.

If we cannot discipline and control our own minds, how can we discipline and control kingdoms, nations, tongues, and people?

Suppose any of you mechanics erect a mill, and the stream is a small one—though, if properly and economically applied, it would be quite sufficient to drive the machinery you wish it to; but instead of the water being properly confined to exert the greatest amount of power, it is spread all over the face of the land—has it that amount of force to drive the machinery that it otherwise would have? No. But conduct the water through a narrow channel, and apply it properly on the wheel, then your machinery rolls. It is just so with our minds: when they are scattered on different objects, when we are calling upon the name of the Lord, there is no power in that mind. Why? Because the eye is not single. “If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” Again: The agent steam possesses great power when confined and properly applied to shafts and wheels. But let the boiler explode and the steam pass into the atmosphere, what power is there then in that agent? None. Confine it, and it is as it were an almighty power, or it is a portion of almighty power drawn out of the elements that surround us. So it is with the mind: let it be concentrated and applied to any subject, and it has great power. “If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” I have wondered a great many times what our Savior could mean when he said, “If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you might say unto this sycamore tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.” Again, he says, “For verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you.” What does this mean? I have exercised all the faith, seemingly, that is in my power, and could hardly heal the sick, let alone remove a mountain, or pluck up a sycamore tree, or any other tree. What does it mean? I begin to discover that the Devil comes along when I get my mind set, and throws some object in view to divert it from the thing before me.

“If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” I have an idea that the Devil comes and catches away the word that is sown in our hearts, to defeat the designs the Lord has in sowing it. Whereas, if we could control our minds, and not allow them to be caught away, then our eye would be single, and the whole body would be full of light.

Again: When Moses was leading the children of Israel out of Egypt, they murmured because they had no water to drink. He was grieved with them, but he had power to concentrate his mind. And what power was there in that mind? He smote the rock, and out gushed the water. Did his rod have power to split the rock? No; but the concentration of his mind on that rock did. There was a power in it to split the rock and bring out water to the thirsty thousands. The mind is armed with almighty power; and if we could concentrate its powers, and overcome the power of the Devil, we could remove that mountain as easily as to heal a sick person. It requires only faith as a grain of mustard seed, or a concentrated effort of mind. Solomon was once applied to by two women claiming one child, for his decision in the case. Said Solomon, “Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.” To divide that child would have destroyed it, just like dividing the mind: it destroys its power and efficacy. Let the mind be concentrated, and it possesses almighty power. It is the agent of the Almighty clothed with mortal tabernacles, and we must learn to discipline it, and bring it to bear on one point, and not allow the Devil to interfere and confuse it, nor divert it from the great object we have in view.

It is a good deal of work to preside over our own families and keep all things right side up there. But set a man alone, and it is just as much as he can do to govern his own mind. He has great need to watch and pray; and while he is watching, he must mind and not see any other object but that he is praying for. What could we not do, if our minds were properly disciplined? “For if thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” If thine eye were single, thou mightest sometimes see through the veil. We read something about the veil of the covering that is cast over all people being removed.

Sometimes you see the sun covered with a thin fleecy cloud; yet you can see that luminary all the time through that veil. Then again comes up a dark thundercloud, and overcasts the whole sky, so that we cannot see where the sun is. So, if our eye be not single, we do not see clearly; but the veil becomes thick, and we are in darkness; we cannot see the sun of righteousness; we cannot tell the place where he is. But if thine eye be single, although there may be a thin fleecy veil over the sun, we can see it. If we cannot see clearly, we may be able to “see men as trees walking,” at least. The fact is, if our eye be single, and we train it to that, I do not know why mortal man here in earthly tabernacles may not look through the veil, and see as he is seen, and know as he is known.

We have got to learn to discipline our minds. Sometimes, because our children do not do as we want them, when out of our sight, we feel grieved at it; but here we have our own minds to ourselves. Now, the question is, Are they not as bad to control and govern as our children, who are running here and there? If we could control our own minds, we could control our children and our families and the kingdom of God, and see that everything went right, and with much more ease than we can now.

Let it be, then, the labor of our minds to train them when at home, and when we bow down in our families, or in private.

I recollect being once on shipboard; the wind was on her side, and the ship was going very nicely. The captain looked at the compass, and he ripped out something that is not uncommon with seamen, saying to the man at the wheel, “Why do you let her round off? Keep her up.” Do not let the mind run off, but keep it up to the point; then we shall make the port: but if you let it run off the course, it will be found drifting on the lee shore somewhere. We have got to keep it up, and not let it swing off. We must not let the mind depart, but keep it on the true course. “If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.”

May God grant it, for Christ’s sake! Amen.

Remarks by President Orson Hyde, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1859.

As liberty was extended this morning to confess our faults and speak our feelings and our experience, I now avail myself of the privilege granted.

For some length of time I do not know that I have committed any very grievous sins or serious iniquities. At the same time, I feel that the light of heaven in me reproves me for many things; and I seek to receive the admonitions of the Spirit, and profit continually by them.

I am sensible that I am subject to weaknesses, to many foibles and failings; yet, as I before said, I am not conscious of having committed any very grievous sin—at least, since the reformation. My desires are to keep the commandments of God, and to retain in my own bosom his good Spirit. That Spirit was particularly manifested here this morning; and while it was upon me, I endeavored to look at myself, and it seemed as though a live coal was in my heart, that caused it to burn with joy and gladness, with thanksgiving and praise to our God. Had I given vent to my feelings, without restraint, I might have made more noise than would have been acceptable to this congregation. But “the spirit of the prophets is subject to the prophets, and wisdom is justified of her children.”

The counsel we received this morning commends itself to every man’s conscience. The good which we feel, and with which we are often exercised, may be freely dispensed to others; but the bad feelings which we sometimes possess should not often be suffered to burden others, but should be buried—smothered, until they die out. The good which we possess we may reveal to our friends for their edification and comfort, but withhold from them our griefs and sorrows, and reveal them unto God, who bears our sorrows willingly, without endangering himself.

If we never sow gloomy, desponding, or evil principles, we shall not be likely to reap them. If we sow cheerful, lively, and good principles, we shall most likely reap an abundant harvest of the same; for, according to that which a man soweth, that also shall he reap. Let us learn to restrain every evil feeling; for if we give them birth, there is no telling the amount of evil they may create, and when or where they will end their work of death.

The Son of Man sowed good seed in his field; and while men slept, the enemy came and sowed tares: consequently, there was a mixed crop. Let us sow pure seed, as did the Son of Man, and watch, lest the enemy sow bad seed, and cause a great amount of trouble thereby.

A few thoughts have suggested themselves to my mind in connection with some remarks I made last Sunday in the afternoon. It is not my province always to say that things are so-and-so; yet, under some circumstances, it is. But I will now do as I did last Sabbath. I will suppose a case.

We all acknowledge that we had an existence before we were born into this world. How long before we took our departure from the realms of bliss to find tabernacles in flesh is unknown to us. Suffice it to say that we were sent here. We came willingly: the requirement of our heavenly Father and our anxiety to take bodies brought us here. We might be sent on a mission to some foreign country, and feel under obligation to go, not only from respect to the moral condition of the people to whom we are sent, but also out of respect to the authority which required the service at our hands. But if we were to consult our own feelings, and be allowed our choice to go or stay with equal approval, we might prefer to remain at home. But we understood things better there than we do in this lower world. Here, in this world, Paul says, “For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope [of return]. The creature itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption and brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God.”

Then, if it be true that we entered into a covenant with the powers celestial, before we left our former homes, that we would come here and obey the voice of the Lord, through whomsoever he might speak, these powers are witnesses of the covenant into which we entered; and it is not impossible that we signed the articles thereof with our own hands—which articles may be retained in the archives above, to be presented to us when we rise from the dead, and be judged out of our own mouths, according to that which is written in the books.

We are situated here in various relations, not only to the servants of God that are given us to guide our energies, but we also stand in various relations to one another, as husband and wife, parent and child—which relations are branches of that everlasting covenant, because they are legitimate and ordained of God. Did we covenant and agree that we would be subject to the authorities of heaven placed over us? What do you think about it? Do you think we plighted our faith and came here with that view and under that covenant? And, in this respect, is the whole world on the same footing? Yes, verily: “He that receiveth you receiveth me.”

The veil is thick between us and the country whence we came. We cannot see clearly—we cannot clearly comprehend—we have forgotten! For instance, when we leave our homes on earth for a long time, and roam abroad in foreign lands, we forget many of the little incidents of our nativity, barely recollecting and being impressed that we have a home in some far-off country, while in others the thought is entirely obliterated from their memory, and is to them as though such things had never existed. But our forgetfulness cannot alter the facts.

Did we covenant to be subject to the authority of God in all the different relations of life—that we would be loyal to the legitimate powers that emanate from God? I have been led to think that such is the truth. Something whispers these things to me in this light. Again, for instance, the husband and wife unite their destinies under the seal of this everlast– ing covenant, for this covenant covers all the just transactions of the legitimate authorities and powers that be on earth. We therefore regard marriage as a branch of the everlasting covenant.

What did we agree to before we came here? If to anything, I suppose the very same things we agreed to since we did come here, that are legitimate and proper. The husband agreed to be a faithful servant of God, to do his duty to all that were placed under his charge. The wife, on her part, covenants that she will be a faithful and devoted wife, and will obey her husband in the Lord in all things. If this were so, it is all right; for it is just as we are taught on the earth.

But the question is, Did we subscribe to any such doctrine as this on the start? I will not say that we did; yet I have had such thoughts, and they whisper strongly in my heart.

Children agreed to obey their parents, as parents agreed to obey their superiors in the kingdom of God; and parents were brought under obligation to train their children in the way they should go. This is written in the Bible, if nowhere else. How many of us look upon the rearing and training of our children, and the correction of their wrongs, as about the least duty that is enjoined upon us? There are too many that look upon it in this point of view. Do you ask what evidence I have of that fact? When I go among the children of the city, and hear them use profane and unbecoming language, there we have the evidence not only of their parents’ neglect, but of their shame and dishonor. It is said, “Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” What is it to honor thy father? Is it to say, “Oh, father, how I love you!” or, “Oh, how I love you, mother! How glad I am to see you! I really feel glad and happy to be with you!”

As far as these go, they are all very well. But suppose the child would never lie—would never curse and swear, but observe the rules of propriety; do you not see that he honors his parent? And the observer comes to the conclusion that the fountain is pure. The tree is known by its fruit. The children are our fruit, and the character of the children is an index, more or less, to the quality of the tree that bore them. It appears so to me.

I find that after covenants have been entered into among the Saints, as, for instance, between husband and wife, there are sometimes divorces called for, and the covenant is broken. When we go back whence we came, to give an account of our stewardship, what apology can we plead before the King of kings and Lord of lords? If either party have been guilty of adultery, then divorce may be justifiable; but upon what other ground? I await the answer. Will the plea of the hardness of hearts meet with favor at the final bar?

Look, for instance, at the person who renounces his faith, and goes again to the spirit and practices of the world. He has broken the terms of the everlasting covenant, and is gone whoring after other gods, and is consequently divorced. What kind of an account can he render, if he repent not? How is he going to meet it in a coming day, when the veil shall be rent asunder, and he shall see his own handwriting subscribing to the everlasting covenant produced against him. Is it not written in the beautiful song sung by brother McAllister this morning, that “Angels above us are silent notes taking?” and was not that song inspired by the Spirit of God, and just as true as any line in the Bible, and just as faithful?

Well, then, it stands us in hand, brethren and sisters, to look well to ourselves, and be sure that neither the husband nor the wife is the transgressor; for the one that is really in the fault, when weighed in the balance, will be found wanting; and I fear for such.

It is well for us to look at these things, and make ourselves fully acquainted with the obligations we are under one to another, to discharge them in the fear of God; and I know not how we can discharge them, unless we have the Spirit of the true and living God; for that is what gives life—what gives energy and animation, and should inspire us in all our ways.

In relation to the wickedness that is alleged to exist among the Saints, I will tell you what conclusion I have come to. When I have seen persons that I thought were out of the way, if a convenient opportunity offered, and I have felt it was wisdom, I would reprove them. At the same time I say, Let me take that as an admonition to regulate my own conduct, and see that I do not go astray, that I may not be swamped in the spirit of evil—in the spirit and pride of this world. Let me take care of number one, and keep him clear of all iniquity, free from a spirit of murmuring or faultfinding.

Some suppose that because men in higher authority than themselves do so-and-so, they can do so-and-so with less impunity. It is immaterial to us what So-and-so does; it gives no license to us to do wrong; and we may plead that argument before God and angels, but it will avail us nothing. Our own improprieties and unwise course will be so plain in our minds that we shall never think of giving utterance to any such argument.

If we have good, let us distribute it as we have heard this morning. Let us sow good. It is immaterial what others do, so far as we are concerned. If we sow good, we shall reap good.

I do not feel to prolong my remarks. There is one word more I want to say, however; and that is, I feel that there is good near at hand for this people; and I have felt so for a number of weeks and months.

Now, for heaven’s sake, let us go to and regulate ourselves, and prepare for it, lest, peradventure, by postponing to do this, our dish may be bottom-side up when it comes. I tell you, Good is coming to those whose dish is right side up. May God bless the faithful! Amen.

Opening Address by Elder Orson Hyde, Delivered before his Class at the Social Hall, G. S. L. City, on Tuesday evening, December 14, 1858.

Brethren and Sisters—Allow me to congratulate you upon this occasion of assembling yourselves together for the laudable and praiseworthy object of engaging in a course of studies in the science of the English language. I cannot withhold an expression of my feelings of gratitude to our Father in heaven that we are blest with peace, tranquility, and health, and also with the staple necessaries and comforts of life, I humbly hope that we are all exercised with that gratitude to our Supreme Ruler which his manifold favors extended to us so richly and fully demand.

In consequence of the troubles which you and your parents have undergone in years that are past, some, and perhaps I may say, many of you, have not met with an earlier convenient opportunity to acquire the kind of knowledge you now seek. Late, however, as the hour is, there yet remains sufficient time, if well improved, to remove the embarrassments under which you may have labored, and to embellish your minds with jewels that will render you distinguished, whether destined to move in the humble or more elevated walks of life.

A thorough knowledge of our own mother tongue is an important key to that wide field of usefulness which in this day more especially invites the energies and enterprise of the rising generation than at any former period in the history of the world. By some, the inspiration of God is considered to supersede the necessity of this and every other science. On this erroneous principle some of you may act, and require me to impart to you a knowledge of our language without any mental labor on your part. This I would not do, if I could; for I do not want this class dishonored with one drone in the hive. I intend to do my duty, and shall expect you to do yours. Although I thus speak, I do not believe that anyone of you entertains any such opinion. Persons of this faith will not come here for the object that has called you out. It is true that God generally calls upon the illiterate or unlearned to bear his name and testimony to the world. In this, the policy of our Heavenly Father differs materially from that of the world. Under his policy, none can say that the important truths which the servant of God is required to declare are the result of his great or superior learning. But the question with me is, Must the servant of God always remain an unpolished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty? I answer, No. The Spirit of God directs improvement in everything that is good and useful. If any doubt this, consider what our leading men were when called, and then consider what they now are! The inspiration of God sometimes furnishes the words, but more generally the thoughts only. Then a flow of correct language is highly useful to convey those thoughts clearly and distinctly to others. City Creek is a gracious bounty and gift of Heaven to this community; yet it requires no small amount of manual labor to conduct it in suitable portions to every citizen’s door. The candle of the Lord was never lighted up in any man’s heart to be put under a bushel. It will bring him into public notoriety, and he must of necessity communicate with others. If he understand not his own language correctly, he is often put to the trouble of applying to another to correct his sayings, and sometimes under circumstances that are mortifying and humiliating, or suffer an exposure that might be still more unpleasant and annoying to his feelings. A few months of diligent application to the study of grammar will carry you beyond the reach of all these little perplexities and embarrassments, and place you upon the summit of this science, from whence you may view at a glance the wisdom of those who are with you, and the folly of them beneath you, without a second person to explain the one or point out the other.

There are persons who profess a knowledge of grammar, and yet they pretend to say that there are no correct rules of language. Were I to attempt to pass off upon anyone of you a base or counterfeit dollar, and, being detected in my dishonesty, should attempt to justify myself by saying, “All dollars contain more or less alloy, and my bogus dollar is just as good as any other”—would my apology be satisfactory to you? No. You would naturally conclude my self-justification to be an index to a heart not wholly fortified by correct principles.

I am free to admit that, since the original language was confounded at the Tower of Babel, no perfect system of communications has existed on earth to my knowledge; and con– sequently, a perfect set of rules could not apply to an imperfect language. But is this a sufficient reason why we should condemn all the rules of syntax, which are the result of the combined wisdom and labor of ages, adapted in the best possible way to the construction and use of speech? Such sweeping declarations may generally be regarded more as an effort on the part of the delinquent to hide some radical violations of just laws than the display of any real wisdom or merit. We might just as well say that men are of no account or worth, because they are imperfect, and hence go to heaven and deal with them there as they were before they came to earth and made flesh their tabernacle. Even then, such rabid opposers to anything that has the scent of imperfection might find themselves disappointed and disgusted, even in the presence of the Holy One; for we read that “He chargeth his angels with folly.”

There are some, also, who affect to place more confidence in their own literary acquirements than many others can conscientiously do. They often resort to the Greek and Latin languages to justify any aberrations of theirs from the known and established rules of the English language. There are just as many imperfections in those languages as there are in the English—all languages inheriting similar effects from the great confusion. Hence, if you show the “cloven foot” in the English language, you cannot hide it under the folds of the Greek or Latin.

Some of you, my friends, may have a limited knowledge of Hebrew, Greek, and Latin—some a pretty fair knowledge of German, French, and Spanish: but permit me here to suggest one important rule or caution to be observed by all who wish to be thought correctly educated. Never volunteer the introduction of a foreign language in conversation with the unlearned. If you do, you may be regarded as novices, and, in the light of “Holy Writ,” as heathens and barbarians. Moreover, such pedantic or ostentatious claims to superior knowledge are palpable breaches of good manners. He that is at war with the rules of the English language cannot fail to give unwelcome evidences of the fact in his speech and writings.

We are bound, my friends, to deal with men as we find them, perfect or imperfect; and we are also bound to use their language as we find it and as they use it, if we put ourselves in communication with them, with the hope and expectation of doing them good and of guiding their actions. We are met for the purpose, my brethren and sisters, of acquiring this very kind of knowledge; and I trust that you are all sufficiently impressed with the importance of this branch of learning to stimulate you to that diligence, patience, and perseverance in applying yourselves to its acquisition that cannot fail to secure to you the object of your pursuit.

Permit me here to speak to you in much plainness. To become thorough grammarians requires much mental labor. The lazy and inactive mind cannot penetrate far into the intricacies of language. You must give to this branch your undivided attention, if you expect to progress with the rapidity that you desire. It is worthy of all the attention you can give it. How often have I heard men say—“I would give a thousand dollars to understand the rules of language, and their proper application to practical use.” Consider, now, that in the short space of fifteen weeks (a season of the year in which you can do little else to profit), you may be led by the hand of your teacher gently forward in the pursuit of this study; and at the ex– piration of the term you may continue your progress alone without an instructor to take you by the hand. Suffer no sloth, inactivity, or ordinary business to prevent your attendance at every lesson. If you will all be diligent between lessons, and labor for yourselves as faithful as I intend to labor for you, you will be able, at the close of this school, to march boldly forward, without further aid, to the most elevated heights of grammatical science.

I cannot flatter you with the expectation that you will know it all at the close of this term, lest your disappointment should so far react upon your minds as to induce you to cease your efforts to learn. There is no end to the path of science and improvement. Learn all you can in this world that is good and true, and it will only form the basis or grammar of that higher order of education that awaits you among the classified millions that have gone up to celestial institutions through the rugged and thorny way that has been sanctified and honored by the footsteps of Him who “taught as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”

I am pleased to see you all apparently cheerful and lighthearted, buoyant with hope and expectation, indicating feelings good and true, warm and kindly. Virtue and integrity, with due respect for others according to station and circumstances, will secure to you a continuation of that glow of charity and goodwill which now animates your breasts. And when you shall bid adieu to earth, may your garments be clean and white, thoroughly washed in the blood of the Lamb, and meet with a kindly welcome in your Father’s house! I will try to be with you there. Heaven bless the pure in heart, henceforth and for ever!

A Discourse by Elder Orson Hyde, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, January 3, 1858.

Brethren and sisters, it has fallen to my lot this morning to speak unto you a short time as I may be led by the Spirit of the Lord our God. It is very natural for me, when I arise to address a congregation, to speak pretty energetically and pretty loudly also. This you all know that are acquainted with me and that have heard me speak. I like to hear an energetic speaker; but one who speaks very loud is apt to injure himself. When I have spoken too loudly, I have done injustice to myself and probably to the congregation. I shall endeavor, the Lord being my helper, to modulate my voice according to the Spirit of God that I may have when speaking, and not go beyond it, neither fall short. At the same time, I do not want my mind so trammeled as brother Parley P. Pratt’s once was, when dancing was first introduced into Nauvoo among the Saints. I observed brother Parley standing in the figure, and he was making no motion particularly, only up and down. Says I, “Brother Parley, why don’t you move forward?” Says he, “When I think which way I am going, I forget the step; and when I think of the step, I forget which way to go.”

I desire that I may watch myself, that while I may be thinking what to say, I may not allow my voice to range unchecked or uncontrolled; and while I may seek to govern my voice, I hope not to be forgetful of matter for your edification.

The principle of government among the Saints is the most important principle that there is for us to understand. If we apply it to individual capacity, it is the most important to us as individuals, not only in the government of the hand and arm, which are greater members than the tongue, but in the government of the tongue also. The tongue, though a very small member, is of all importance, which we readily concede. And if we can govern the tongue, we may be considered qualified to rule; for the tongue, though a small member, sets on fire the course of nature, and is too often set on fire of hell.

It is the tongue that causes the evils that exist in the world; it is the tongue that sets nations at war; it is the tongue that causes broils in the domestic circle; it is the tongue that causes the fire of animosity and ill-will to burn in our midst. If we can succeed in governing the tongue according to the mind and will of God, we have got peace in our families, peace in our neighborhoods, peace in our community, and, what is more than all, we have peace with our God; for he that offendeth not in word, the same is a perfect man. Show me a perfect man that does not have peace with his God, and you will show me something I never saw or heard of. If we can govern the tongue, we are prepared then to enter upon the government of other matters; but I think we shall have plenty to do, at least for the present, to govern our tongues, even the best that are under the sound of my voice; for there is no person but that sometimes speaks unadvisedly with his lips—but that sometimes lets off an improper word; for the tongue or mouth is merely the valve of the heart—the place where the sentiments are discharged that have been confined in the heart, and that is the true index to the real inner man. Hence, “By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by them thou shalt be condemned.” Who of us this morning can say that we have not offended in word, even this morning? Can we say that we have not offended in word since the new year of 1858 began? 1857 is gone by; 1858 is now before us. Have we offended in word since this year began?—for I am sure that you all prayed that, with the close of the year, your sins might be canceled and swept away into the gulf of forgetfulness, that they be brought against you no more. Then I trust that you have entered upon the new year with a clean page—turned over a new leaf. Is there a spot or blemish upon that new page thus far until now? Have none of us offended in word? If we have not, so far we are perfect, and able also to bridle the whole body. This will do then, perhaps, for the regulation and control of the tongue.

There are other matters that I may be led to speak upon in relation to the government of the Saints as a body. By what law shall we be governed? By what rule are we to be controlled and managed? By the laws and powers of this world, or by the laws and powers of the world to come? We form a very important link in the chain of existence. We are occupying a very important place at the present time, and we are called upon to set an example. We are called upon to be the pioneers of a work that shall be everlasting. To be sure, we are but weak and feeble; yet we are the strongest of all people on the earth, if we have the God of heaven to be our helper; and we have him, if we offend not in word—if we can govern the tongue.

It is said there are a great many imperfections among us as a people. Grant it. At the same time, it is said we are the best people on earth, and the only friends God has. Admit this to be so. We may not be so pure friends as he might desire, but we are the best there are; and if he suffers us to be cut off, he will have none left of any kind. This is verily so.

We know that if we want a certain work done, we select the most proper individual for that job. If he is not so good as we could wish, we take the best we have and use that individual. So the Almighty, if he cannot have a people exactly to his liking, I do not know but that he will take the best there is, and manage and get along with them according to the wisdom he possesses.

Now, in relation to the Constitution of the United States, I want to speak a few words. There is a great deal of sacredness attached to the Constitution of the United States by this people: that is all right and good. The Constitution is well enough, and so is anything that serves the purpose for which it was created, provided that purpose be a good one. It was designed and created with a good intention. If it serves the purpose and end of its creation, it is good; and when it has served the end of its creation, the purpose and design of the Almighty are accomplished, and I do not know that he has any more particular use for it. He may then lay it aside as a relic to be respected and honored for the good it has done, for aught I know.

It is said that brother Joseph in his lifetime declared that the Elders of this Church should step forth at a particular time when the Constitution should be in danger, and rescue it, and save it. This may be so; but I do not recollect that he said exactly so. I believe he said something like this—that the time would come when the Constitution and the country would be in danger of an overthrow; and said he, If the Constitution be saved at all, it will be by the Elders of this Church. I believe this is about the language, as nearly as I can recollect it.

The question is whether it will be saved at all, or not. I do not know that it matters to us whether it is or not: the Lord will provide for and take care of his people, if we do every duty, and fear and honor him, and keep his commandments; and he will not leave us without a Constitution. There is none of you will dispute that the Temple of Solomon was built by the inspiration of the Almighty, and it was built to answer a certain purpose and design: it was built by the skill, wisdom, ingenuity, and strength of man, aided by the inspiration of the Almighty. It was a beautiful structure, and excited the admiration of all people. Even the Queen of the South came to behold the wondrous works of Solomon and his wisdom, and declared that the half had not been told her.

The edifice stood for centuries, though it had become somewhat like the boy’s jack-knife, which had had three new blades and two new handles. In the days of our Savior, the disciples were very anxious to show him the magnificence of that building. “Master,” said they, “see what stones! Look at the grandeur, sublimity, strength, and skill displayed in the erection of this building!” I see it all; but I tell you one thing, and it is near at hand, when there shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. “You come out against this temple!” The Jews thought the Savior was a blasphemer when he said he would destroy this temple, and in three days he would raise it up again. “What! Are you going to destroy this sacred place that was built by the inspiration of the Almighty?” They supposed he referred to the temple built by Solomon; but instead of that, he referred to the temple of his own body.

This shows how the Jews viewed their temple, and the importance they attached to it. They considered it as a most sacred place, and this is why they misunderstood the Savior and considered him a blasphemer for presuming to speak against the temple. You discover that the Savior says, There shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.

Why must this temple be razed to the foundation? Because it has answered the purpose of its erection; and another thing it has been so grossly polluted that it has incurred the displeasure of the Almighty, and he will not see so noble a structure defiled and remain in the midst of the Jews to be used as a den of thieves, instead of a house of prayer. The Lord went to work to purify it, and took a whip of small cords, and went in and cast out them that bought and sold, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and made quite an uproar in the midst of the Jews. Still they would resort there. There was the place where they would buy and sell, despite the reproof the Savior had given them. Then said he, There shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. It is useless to endeavor to purify and cleanse it, because it has been made the theater of so much corruption and hypocrisy. I will sweep it out of existence, and utterly destroy it.

Just so with the Constitution of the United States. It was framed by the inspiration of the Almighty, we readily grant. It has served a certain purpose—been a partial shield to the Church in its infancy, or it has been a check upon mobocracy that otherwise would have risen against it. It has not been a protection exactly, but a check; and the Almighty saw fit to bring forth his work under this Constitution. It has served and fulfilled its purpose. Now, look at the disgraceful roguery practiced under that Constitution. There cannot be an election of a President without bribery, betraying, and buying and selling votes. Under the Constitution there are all kinds of trade, traffic, and commerce carried on in a political view. The Constitution now serves but little purpose other than a cloak for political gamblers, merchants, and hucksters.

The Almighty looks down from heaven and sees it impossible to save the Constitution, to perpetuate it, and cleanse and purify it; for the wickedness of the people is determined to sweep it out of the way. Although it was framed by his wisdom and skill, and his power and goodness, yet with as much cheerfulness will it be overthrown as it was ever erected or framed. I presume that Titus, the Roman Emperor, when he entered Jerusalem, when he overthrew the temple and the city, was inspired by the Devil as much to do it, as perhaps, Solomon was by the Lord to build it, or those that did build it, because it had fulfilled its day and its work, and had become corrupted and impure, and was the place in which corruption was practiced; and he would sweep it away. It is sometimes the case that in a city where a house of ill fame is kept, the people will turn out and demolish the house. It is not because they have an antipathy against the house, but because it was the cover in which abominations were practiced, and they will not bear it, and they turn out once in a while and tear down the house. We do not suppose the Almighty had anything against the temple; but it was a place of resort for corrupt characters, and he was determined to dispense with them by destroying their haunts of iniquity. We do not suppose the Almighty has anything against the Constitution; but it serves as a kind of cover under which corrupt characters hide themselves and attempt to carry on all kinds of barter and traffic in relation to politics; and the Almighty is determined to uncover and expose them.

What Constitution shall we be governed by, when unprincipled men have destroyed the Constitution of our Union? I will tell you what we shall have: while we walk in the favor of God, we shall have a Constitution. The Constitution written in the Bible? No. In the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, or Book of Mormon? No. What kind shall we have, then? The Constitution that God will give us. Do you suppose that Joseph Smith was permitted to be killed because the Almighty had anything against him? No. But he wanted the ungodly that rejected his testimony to fill up the cup of their iniquity; and hence they were permitted to take away his life, after he had accomplished the work he came to accomplish, and not before; they could not touch him before he had done the work he was sent to do—before he had laid the foundation of this kingdom. And when that was completed, he might be taken from the troubles of this world, that the ungodly might have the opportunity of filling up the cup of their iniquity. The blood of Joseph and Hyrum was shed—mingled too with the blood of brother Taylor, who survived, and who is here a living witness to the facts that occurred in connection with their death. Has the nation atoned for that blood? No. Have they offered to do it? They never have. But if one poor scamp should happen to be killed in this country, in this region, the whole of the United States are ready to fly to arms to avenge the blood of that individual, that never was worth the powder and lead to kill him. But the Prophets of God that are inspired of the Almighty to do a work for the benefit of the human family can be killed, and no man lay it to heart. Oh, it is all very well: to be sure, it was an outrageous deed to murder them when they were in the hands of the law—when they were held as prisoners; it was a horrid act: at the same time, we are glad it is done. That is the feeling, and the universal feeling almost throughout the United States. There was hardly a man, woman, or child that did not assent to the death of Joseph and Hyrum, but objected to the way in which it was done. “It is not exactly honorable or pleasing, but we are glad of it anyhow.” That is the sentiment of the nation, and by that very sentiment they have drawn upon themselves the anger of God; and that blood has to be atoned for, and it has to be atoned for upon all those that have said, We are glad of it!—that have secretly said so and cherished that idea. It will extend to them all who have consented to the death of the Prophet of God.

Now, says the Lord, “To him that overcometh, will I give power over the nations.” Did Joseph Smith overcome, even unto death? Yes. Was God with him? Yes, he was. When they were about to cut off his head, behold, the power of the Almighty came down, and the men stood as it were like marble statues: they could not move, but stood there like Lot’s wife—not pillars of salt, but pillars of petrified corruption. The power of the Almighty came down with the vivid glare of lightning’s flash, and they had no power to take his head off. Was God with him? Yes. Was his death glorious? Yes. What was his glory? One portion of it is—“To him that overcometh, will I give power over the nations.” A portion of his honor and glory will be to enforce his word and see it take effect among the people and nation that have said, We are glad that he is killed! They cannot avoid it by going through death. They will have to be arraigned under the government and jurisdiction of their murdered victims.

When we pass a law in the Legislature, and say that it is the law by our acts, we also say that all laws and parts of laws conflicting herewith are repealed from this time henceforth. When Joseph takes his position, all laws and parts of laws that shall conflict at all with him are hereby repealed, and his word and his law will be the end of strifes. There is no dodging it, and I feel thankful for it. Well, brethren and sisters, let it be our happy lot and our ambition so to live before our God and our superiors that have gone before us, that they may take pleasure in saying to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things.” I tell you, Joseph holds the keys, and none of us can get into the celestial kingdom without passing by him. We have not got rid of him, but he stands there as the sentinel, holding the keys of the kingdom of God; and there are many of them beside him. I tell you, if we get past those who have mingled with us, and know us best, and have a right to know us best, probably we can pass all other sen– tinels as far as it is necessary, or as far as we may desire. But I tell you, the pinch will be with those that have mingled with us, stood next to us, weighed our spirits, tried us, and proven us: there will be a pinch, in my view, to get past them. The others, perhaps, will say, If brother Joseph is satisfied with you, you may pass. If it is all right with him, it is all right with me. Then if Joseph shall say to a man, or if brother Brigham say to a man, I forgive you your sins, “Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them;” if you who have suffered and felt the weight of transgression—if you have generosity enough to forgive the sinner, I will forgive him: you cannot have more generosity than I have. I have given you power to forgive sins, and when the Lord gives a gift, he does not take it back again. When he bestows a power, he does not diminish it, unless it is through transgression in the individual to whom this authority is given; but if he increases in righteousness, the Lord will add to it, instead of taking away. We see the position that brother Joseph stands in; we see that he has overcome, and that he has power over the nation. Now, brethren and sisters, don’t you think that brother Joseph feels for this people—feels an interest for us? Has he overcome, or has he not? We all say yes, he has, by the word of the Lord, by the truth of heaven, and by the word of his testimony. He has laid down his life for his brethren; and greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. He has overcome? Yes. Then has he power over the nation? Yes. Then he loves this people, does he? Yes. Does he love that people that killed him? No: he feels towards them as the Lord does, who is angry with the wicked every day, yet he does not sin. What shall he do with them? Break them to pieces as a potter’s vessel. Then the love that he has for this people and the anger that he feels towards the ungodly will be seen and felt by all classes; and if he has power over the nation, will he not exert it? He is armed with this power, which is reason sufficient why he should exert it in favor of his friends. Then we have no reason to fear.

When a man overcomes, he has power over the nation. I tell you we have no reason to fear, if we are friends to that individual.

They thought, if they could kill Joseph and Hyrum, they would get the ascendancy, and that it would be an end of “Mormonism.”

Do you not see that every means they devised for their own safety is so many steps towards their overthrow? They could not have struck a more fatal blow for themselves than when they murdered Joseph and Hyrum, because it made them rulers over their enemies; and by this bloody act they sealed, nailed, and clenched their own doom, and there is now no possible chance of deliverance.

It is just so with our enemies at this time: if they let us alone, we will prosper; and if they don’t, we will prosper the faster and bring them under subjection the sooner. That is just the way our heavenly Father will overrule it, if we live to his honor and glory.

Now, we have the living law. The voice of brother Brigham is heard from day to day and from time to time, and also the voices of his Counselors, who are to him as Aaron and Hur were to Moses, lifting up his hands in the midst of the congregation, and sustaining and upholding him while his voice pours out the mind and will of God unto us. That is the law by which we are governed; and if we abide it, we have no need to transcend our Constitutional rights. In that we are safe, if we will honor and abide by it; and it is the only safe law and protecting power that will shield and screen us in the day of adversity and trial.

As Joseph stood to the people in his day, so do brother Brigham and his Counselors stand to the people in our day. Now, then, provided we can secure the favor, friendship, and goodwill of them that hold the keys of the kingdom in our day, it will be all right. Suppose some of us did really sin and transgress in the days of Joseph, in our darkness and ignorance, in our stupidity and blindness, and grieve the Holy Spirit and the spirit of Joseph: he is dead and we are living; and by-and-by brother Brigham comes up before Joseph. “Well,” says Joseph, “How did those ones get along in your day? Have they improved any? Have they done right even in your day, and secured your confidence and goodwill?” “Oh, yes,” says brother Brigham; “they have done well in my day. We have had no trouble with them: they have kept my word.” Says Joseph, “If you can speak in their favor, I will not interpose any objections.”

It is for us, brethren and sisters, to secure the goodwill of those that hold the keys of the kingdom here. We do not care what they think outside of us. We ask no odds of them: they may think what they please. If we can only get the goodwill, faith, and love of our brethren that preside over us, we shall not need the encomiums of the ungodly.

If we can get the goodwill of them that preside over us in our day, they will speak a good word for us. If you, Bishops, have a man in your Wards that has been refractory and is put under your jurisdiction, the President calls upon you and asks, “How does that man get along?” “First-rate: he is easily governed and controlled.” Says the President, “I am glad to hear it; I am glad he is getting along so well, and hope and trust he will continue to do so: he has my goodwill.” If we can secure the friendship, goodwill, and confidence of those who preside over us, and merit it (mark you, and we shall not get it without we do), the fact is, it will be their pleasure to speak a good word to Joseph for us, and also to others that have gone before. Is there a Bishop under the sound of my voice now that would not esteem it a pleasure to bear testimony in favor of a man for his good conduct, if he had been rebellious and had reformed under his administration? No. Let us remember these things, brethren.

The men that God has placed in our midst let us sustain like the two counselors of Moses, Aaron and Hur, who held up the hand of Moses. Let us honor that word that comes from the Prophet of God. He holds the keys of the kingdom. He is the true successor of Joseph, and he will have power over the nation, either in life or in death: it is immaterial to him. When brother Brigham goes and joins with Joseph, it will be said, “Oh, we are one, just as we always were; and here come his Counselors: they are one, and they increase the strength and power of the Priesthood beyond the veil.” It is for us to uphold these men in every condition.

Do we ever eat a meal of victuals without asking God to bless it? We do not, if we do right; for we ought to have grateful hearts all the time, and ask God to bless every gift he bestows upon us, and thank him for it. And when we pray, can we pray without remembering the power that bears us up? If I were going to climb upon a scaffold, and I thought it weak, I would strengthen it before I ventured upon it. I do not want to venture upon it unless I know it is strong. If I put forth my powers in behalf of it and strengthen it, then I know it is strong. If I never pray for that power, and feel no interest in it, I will never venture upon it. But if I have an interest there, I will strengthen that power; and when I do, I can venture on it.

The Presidency are like an arch with a keystone in the top of it. The greater weight you put upon it, the stronger it is. It is sometimes the case that the arch falls, but it is when no weight is upon it; but when you put a hundred thousand pounds of weight upon it, it is better bound together and stands the more firmly. So, if we sustain that power by our prayers and faith, we may put everything on it—not everything for them to do, we do not mean, but the weight of responsibility in dictating the affairs of the kingdom. We may trust them with safety and confidence, because we have contributed to make the butments permanent and strong, and now we may venture with assurance.

The grand secret we shall find to be, when we get through, that these are gods unto us, and there are millions of them beside; but they have but little to do with us. It is the power that is next to us that we have to do with more particularly—the power under whose jurisdiction we are immediately brought.

Some think they can run by their Bishops and disrespect their authority. They may think, “Only let me make it fair with the President, and it will be all right; I have the sanction of the highest authority.” You might have the sanction of the head; but if the head had no feet to stand on, that sanction would not be of much worth.

Just so, we should seek to have the sanction of those that are immediately over us by our upright conduct. How can we love those whom we do not see once a month, or once in six months, if we love not our Bishop whom we see daily.

Some men think, if they can have a good name abroad and with the Presidency, all is well. But at home, in our own houses, in our Wards, and with our immediate neighbors are the places to establish our reputation. I tell you, if there is not a good influence in our own neighborhood, among our own Ward people in our favor, there is not a good influence anywhere for us, except with the reprobate. When you find a man or woman that has a good influence in their own Ward with their own Bishop—a good name with their own neighbors, they have a good name everywhere.

When the rays of light come from the sun, we say they are glorious, just as far as those rays extend. It is the same glory and the same influence, and it is the same power. Just so it is if all is right at home; if we have the respect and confidence of our own domestic fireside friends, we have the respect and confidence of all whose respect is worth possessing.

Some may think, if they can only keep fair weather with their Bishop and neighbors, it is no matter how they live at home, whether they neglect their affairs and quarrel like cats and dogs or not, if they can only pull the wool over the Bishop’s eyes.

If we have a little hell in our own houses, that little hell will be sure to break out. We close the sepulchre, and roll a stone there, and seal it with the seal of State, and confine it just as closely as we please; but the contents will escape. Even so with any family: their conduct will be known, and they cannot suppress it, nor confine it to their own domiciles. Let us have no kind of jars at all: let us make everything right at home, at the real seat of government, to begin with.

If they should have a little difficulty among the troops out here in Utah, so far from the seat of Government in Washington, it would have but little effect at headquarters. But when contention, strife, and war break out in the halls of Congress, it then becomes something; and such kind of difficulty I pray God, in the name of Jesus, to let them have right at home, at the seat of empire, because they have sought to destroy the kingdom of God; and it is the same spirit that moved Herod to slay the infant children. God grant they may be smitten with worms, as was Herod, or anything else that seemeth him good, and defeat their intentions and designs.

If we can make it all right in our families, there is the place of government. Govern the tongue right in our own families. I know it is sometimes the case that a person will see a chance to slip in a word that will cut like a razor. “Oh, that is too good a chance to let slip; therefore I will let fly a word,” and it sets all hell on fire. I speak particularly in relation to some women; but I do not know that it is any more in relation to them than to the men. The woman sees a chance to give the man a keen word that will make him feel; but she sours her own dish by so doing. She turns the sweet into gall, and then is compelled to eat it.

What is the better way? If she sees a chance to inflict a wound by a word that will cut, and she thinks her husband really deserves it, which is the sure way to get a victory? Never say that word! Say the women, “If we can have no protection, shall we say nothing at all?” Let it pass, I tell you; take it mildly; and, by-and-by, says the husband, “I grieved my wife, and gave her just cause of offense. I am sorry for it; she has taken it so meekly, and never has harassed my feelings. Now, this cuts me ten times worse than if she had said something to balance the matter: then I should not have had this sting in my heart. But to see her take it so mildly without offering one reproach, O my God, how can I forgive myself?”

When you get a victory in that way, it is worth something. It is like getting a victory over our enemies by not firing a gun nor molesting them, only praying for them all the time. By-and-by they will come under conviction, and see all these things, and say, “O my God, can I ever forgive myself? We are whipt, and they have never done a thing.”

You may get a victory over your husbands all the time by praying for them, not exactly as we pray for our friends out yonder; but pray for them, and never do a thing to harm them, and by-and-by you will gain the victory; and I tell you that will count. Try this plan and see.

I do not feel like occupying more of your time. You have my best feelings and prayers, night and day, that God may bless you, and the land for our sake, and that he will clear our coast of enemies, and place a flaming sword to guard the way of the tree of life, that the tree of life in the valley may grow, being watered by the streams from the mountains until it becomes a great tree. This is what I desire and pray for.

May God bless you and our leaders and give us favor in their eyes, that we may grow up under their fostering care, that we may be prepared to act in every place where Providence may guide us, or they in their wisdom place us, and be ready to act well our part from this time henceforth and forever. Amen.

A Sermon by Elder Orson Hyde, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, November 15, 1857.

A question arises in the minds of some few, and perhaps in the minds of a great many—“How will our present difficulties terminate? I would like to know the sequel. We have been kept in suspense for a length of time, and I would like to know the final issue.”

In my opinion, there is no person that can know the final result of the present movements until it is seen. We have faith in relation to it, and the assurance of the Almighty that all will be well; but the exact how and manner in which it will be brought about we cannot tell; for it is by faith that we move, and not by sight. But in the course of some remarks which I may make, you may, perhaps, be led to a satisfactory conclusion as to what the final issue may be, and not only the final issue, for we are already satisfied about that, but with regard to the progressive stages leading to it.

It is said in the good Book that “Not many wise, not many mighty, not many learned are called; but God hath chosen the poor of this world and rich in faith to be the heirs of his kingdom.” We are furthermore told that he has “chosen the weak things of this world, and things that are not, to bring to naught the things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence.” Now I will quote from a modern writer— “Say first of God above, then man below, How can we reason but from what we know?”

I will go back to the days of the commencement of this Church, when a young man of no particular literary qualifications was called upon to bring to light truths that have been hid for ages—truths in themselves grand and sublime; yet, when brought forth, they were clothed in language not so eloquent as might please the ears of many of the learned. They were not dressed up in the style of modern oratory; and because of this, they were rejected by the fashionable and religious world. The religious world had been taught and completely molded after the fashion and learning of this world, so that a man could not be considered a qualified orthodox preacher, unless he had been through college and acquired the learning of the age.

Here, then, an illiterate youth rises up with a system of true religion, that lays the axe at the root of every other system in Christendom. Look at the odds that were apparently against this young man, even Joseph Smith, the martyr, the Prophet of the Most High—without learning—without resources or friends to back him up—with the whole tide of popular sentiment arrayed against him, backed up by all the learning of the world. If we look at him through a worldly eye, the odds were materially against him.

You are acquainted with the history of the Church, and well know how matters went on. You know the many trials to which Joseph the Prophet and his friends were subjected, and the difficulties with which they had to contend. But was there ever an instance when the enemy gained an advantage over the truth of heaven or thwarted the purposes of this illiterate young man? No. Did they not call to their aid all the learning and craftiness of the world in proportion as the cause he advocated increased? And did they succeed any better? When the cause became more extensive among men, did opposition succeed any better than at the commencement? Not at all.

In process of time, the Elders went forth preaching this Gospel; and remember, there were not many learned—not many mighty that were called, and I may say, none at all. With the limited abilities they possessed, they went forth to proclaim a system of truth that laid the axe at the root of the false religions and false philosophy of the world; while the learning, popularity, and resources of the world were arrayed against us, which we had to meet; poor and limited in abilities, in learning, and worldly qualifications, we were despised and regarded as a set of outcasts.

With all the powerful odds against us, the truth greatly gained ground. Let me appeal to the experience of all present, while I ask you if you have ever known an instance where a faithful Elder, who has kept his garments clean and unspotted from the world, has ever been confounded while administering the word of life as proclaimed through that illiterate young man, Joseph Smith? To be sure, a few who may have got the “big head,” or been puffed up in their own imaginations, have been foiled, or those who have been in transgression. God despises a victory gained by such characters. He will not acknowledge or own a victory gained in this cause by a corrupt and wicked member of his Church. I do not know positively how that is, however, and I will not stop to investigate it. Suffice it to say, it is the pure in heart that God delights to work with. Just like any good mechanic, when he wishes to make a nice piece of work, he wants tools that are sharp and clean to do it with. He will not work with dull and rusty tools to execute a nice job of work.

So it is with our heavenly Father: although he may use seemingly awkward instruments, yet they are polished after his mind and will; and he, being the master builder, knows what pleases him best.

Has the greatest champion against “Mormonism” ever been confident enough in his own success and triumph in any debate with the Elders of this Church to publish his own arguments with those of his opponent? I do not know but there have been such instances, but not one now occurs to my mind; while, on the other hand, our faithful Elders have not been afraid or ashamed to publish both sides of the question for all eyes to look upon.

Often we have seen pieces in public journals, and also books published against us in burning zeal, and flaming with vengeance against us, and seemingly calculated to overthrow us, exposing what they called the wickedness of the “Mormons,” beguiling and duping their hearers with cunningly devised falsehoods. Very many cases of this kind we have seen, and have also seen their end. The Almighty has put his hand over them, and they have sunk so low that the strongest prejudiced hand against us will not now reach down to bring them up. Their power has become weakness, and their influence is blasted forever by the breath of the Almighty.

Does the everlasting Gospel lose its influence with the good and pure of mankind? Upon those who are not disposed to work righteousness alone is its influence lost—upon those who shout, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians;” but with the honest, simple-hearted sons of men it is just as sweet now as ever it was; and to them its charms increase, notwithstanding all the trials and difficulties they endure for its sake.

“This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come.” Was it the Gospel of the kingdom that was preached in ancient days—in the days of the Apostles, that went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world? It was the Gospel, but I conclude that it was not the Gospel of the kingdom; for that was to be revealed at the time when the kingdom of God should be established on the earth, to stand forever. “And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached as a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come.”

Where has this Gospel been preached? Through the United States of America, in Europe, Asia, and Africa. I do not say that it has been sounded distinctly in the ears of everybody living; but I do say that the sound has gone into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.

I recollect a certain saying in a revelation that was given to the Saints in the early days of this Church. The Lord said, through Joseph Smith, that it became every man, after being warned, to warn his neighbor, that all may be without excuse. If all the people who have heard the word had been as faithful in warning their neighbors as the few Elders who are now under the sound of my voice have been in warning those with whom they have been associated, and to whom they have been sent, and among whom they have labored, would not the whole world have been fully warned at this time? Yes.

In another revelation to the first Elders of this Church, who had been forth preaching in their weakness (being called in at Kirtland, Ohio), the Lord told them to wash their feet in testimony that they were clean from the blood of this generation, and goes on to say, “Let those who are not of the first Elders of my Church remain in the vineyard, for their garments are not yet clean.” Those first Elders had labored but a short time in the vineyard—perhaps one or two years, when it was said, “Your garments are clean.”

There are Elders who have labored from sea to sea, from island to island, from country to country, and have spent the vigor and strength of their days in the work of proclaiming the Gospel. May we not say, upon the same principle, that their garments are clean from the blood of this generation? If so, what does it imply? That we shall not be held under condemnation if we never preach to them again. And there is another thing implied in this: If this generation shall rise against you to slay you for your religion, and because you are righteous, your garments being clear of their blood, and you slay them, their blood is upon their own heads. This is what I understand by being clear from the blood of this generation. It is an important saying. In my opinion, it means more than a casual observer would attach to it. It is a deep saying. If you have warned them—have called upon them to repent—offered them the blessing of eternal life through the Gospel, and they thrust it from them, let what will happen to them, your garments are clean from their blood.

Now we see that the Gospel has gone into all nations, countries, and kingdoms; for the man that has been warned should have warned his neighbor, and the nation that has been warned should have warned its neighboring nation, &c.; so they are without excuse before God, whatever excuse they may plead before man.

We can see the unabating success of the Gospel from the time Joseph got the plates until now, and the defeat and downfall of every opponent that has risen up to oppose its progress. If there had been any purpose in God that this work should be overthrown, would he not have suffered it to be done before this? For all means that could possibly be invented by the powers of earth and hell have been brought to bear against it, and every man who has risen up against it has gone down, and his published works have become a stink in the nostrils of even this wicked generation, to say nothing of the Saints. The wicked themselves are even ashamed of their sayings and of their writings against the cause of truth. Their expositions of “Mormonism,” as they call them, are hardly cold from the press until they are dead, their influence killed, and there is no sale for their books. The words of the Apocalypse very appropriately apply to their case—“No man buyeth their merchandise any more.”

I will venture to say that no publication has ever been issued against this work, only for the purpose of getting gain. Men have not been inspired to oppose it for the sake of the souls of men, but to save their craft, their salary, their party, their honor, and their credit in the sight of men.

The system of truth revealed through Joseph Smith is not clothed in language so eloquent as this literary generation would desire. As a general thing, you know, a real polished scoundrel wears the finest cloth—the most fashionable garb, that he may be looked upon as an honest man by those who judge from outward appear– ances and not righteous judgment. The truth is not always clothed in the nicest style, or according to the ideas of this world; but the Lord sends it forth in the shape of a stone of stumbling and rock of offense. He is not pleased to conform to the views of this generation. They have got to take salvation just as he offers it to them, or else take damnation: they can have their choice. It is not for them to serve up the dish they shall eat; but it is for the Almighty to dress it as suits himself; and if the sinner take it, it will heal him.

The patient does not prescribe nor tell the doctor what he wants of him—that is, supposing the doctor to be what he ought to be. He examines the patient, knows the nature of the disease, and prescribes accordingly. The patient takes the medicine, and asks no questions for conscience sake.

So it is with our heavenly Father. The world is diseased, and he has prepared a remedy, and served it up as suits himself, not consulting the vitiated appetites of this consumptive generation to whom he administers it. It is like a root out of dry ground: it is without form or comeliness, without beauty, that men should not desire it. Awkward and unclothed as it is with worldly wisdom, behold, the illiterate Elders of Israel are sent with it, and they have marched through the colleges and literary institutions of the learned world, and have defeated those who dared to come out to oppose and put them to flight; and all their learning, iniquity, cunning, and worldly wisdom were turned into foolishness.

A little boy, filled with the Spirit of the living God throws out an idea that completely knocks in “pie” all their calculations. A simple sentence from the mouth of an uneducated youth often dissipates their profound wisdom into folly and nonsense. They know not what to do. They attempt to grasp a thing without form or comeliness. They know not where to get hold of it; and when they think they have hold of it, it slips through their hands. Such has been the great success of the preaching of the word.

Now, then, if they resort to force of arms or to brute force to overpower us, may we not safely calculate that the results will be similar to those in the mental contest? “Say first of God above, then man below, How can we reason but from what we know?”

So far, we do actually know and understand. It is demonstrated by our experience, and we are prepared to say that it is truly so. Behold, the wicked are unwilling to be converted by the gentle means the Lord God of Israel has introduced. They are satisfied that they cannot prevail against us by argument; and even polygamy, in all the glaring forms they may please to give it, offers obstacles too formidable for them to encounter by argument, Scripture, philosophy, or truth. But “overcome it must be,” say the enemy; and “we will not rest until we have resorted to the last extremity. We will try the force of arms!” “Very well, if that is your mode of warfare,” says the Almighty, “I do not desire it; but I will show you that I am not only a man of reason, Scripture, and truth, but a man of war too. If force of arms is your plan and mode of attack, you will find me ready to meet you in that and in every method you may adopt.”

Behold, they rise up in war against the Saints. The Saints heretofore, when attacked on moral and Scripture principles, have stood up to oppose the enemy. If they had not done this, the enemy would have overpowered us. We have always met him with the truth and the simple arguments which God has furnished us with, and have always been successful; and perhaps, had we stood up to oppose him with force of arms, we might have been equally successful: but I cannot say how that is. The time, probably, had not come for us to take that position; and consequently, when it came to force of arms, the enemy must needs be made the aggressor. He was permitted to prevail against us for the time being; and whether that was not the very means of putting us in a position whereby we could successfully oppose him in that way, when the time did come, we can easily judge. I guess it is all right and has worked for our good; and herein we can discern that our heavenly Father has exemplified a glorious truth to us, that all things shall work together for good to them that love God and are the called according to his purpose.

If we had taken this position in Missouri or in Nauvoo, before breakfast they could have ordered their affairs and come upon us, and it would have required a standing army of the angels of God to defend us. But the time had not yet come; therefore the Lord suffered them to prevail until he should get us where he wanted us: “And then shall the prophecies of my servants be fulfilled in the scenes that shall transpire with you.” It never could have been said, “The mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the tops of the mountains,” if we had remained in the valley of the Mississippi.

The Lord considered it necessary that we should be removed into the chambers of the Almighty, or to some place prepared to receive us, where he might display his power, and get for himself a name and honor that shall never be forgotten. Sometimes a defeat is equal to a victory. I recollect of reading an account, the saying of a celebrated General, after he had gained a victory and lost a great portion of his men. One of his officers congratulated him on his victory. “Ah!” said he, “Another such victory would entirely ruin me.”

Sometimes victory is worse than defeat. I consider that the defeat the Saints have suffered is tantamount to victory, and better than victory, because we have come to a place which the Lord wanted us to occupy.

We say, against all the learning, science, skill, talent, &c., of this world, which were arrayed against us, making the odds almost enough to discourage any people but the Latter-day Saints, We have prevailed; and when they come to force of arms, this must also be overcome. They will use the force of arms; for, say they, “The ‘Mormons’ must be overcome, or they will take away our place and nation, and we shall be overthrown, and there will be no stopping these people, if we let them go on any further.” And some think it has gone so far now that they cannot stop it. I endorse the sentiment. They have let it go too long for their purpose.

I believe, when the Almighty conceives a work to do, he will carry it through in some way or shape. Behold, we are here, a little people collected together in the mountains, and are short of the munitions of war, while on the other hand the whole world is full of them. We are short of clothing, but tolerably plenty of food. And then look at the terrible odds that is arrayed against us. See their thousands of well-trained troops and the millions of money at their command. They can bring any sized army into the field, all armed and equipped with a splendid outfit. This is a powerful odds against us.

The science of war has been studied by them from the beginning. They have kept a school at West Point, in which they have trained and qualified their officers to take command, and they are schooled in all the tactics of modern warfare, except ours.

At the call of the President of the United States, there are thousands who will enroll as volunteers, and will be all armed and equipped, with money in their pockets and grub in their sacks, and no end to it either.

Are all these any worse for us to overcome, in our present condition, than it was to overcome the learning, strength, and moral influence and power that were arrayed against us when we were but a handful, and called to go and preach the welcome message of the Gospel? Is the odds any greater? I say not. The God who taught and sustained us in proclaiming this Gospel in its simplicity will also sustain us in whatever opposition may arise against us, provided we have the Spirit of God in our hearts. When we went to preach the Gospel, and had the Spirit of God in our hearts, and were not in transgression, we could handle them without mittens, because the Lord was with us.

Just so sure as we as a people are pure and undefiled before God our heavenly Father, there is no power that can prevail against us. I do not care if they have all the paraphernalia of war the world can produce, the Almighty has got weapons of warfare they never thought of, and means of defense for his people, and he delights to throw his shield over those who serve him and keep his commandments. The odds may appear against us in the eyes of the world; but when we contemplate that God is for us, and that all the holy angels in heaven are enlisted in our behalf, and we have purity, and sincerity, and truth in our hearts, these are bulwarks which they cannot scale. God grant that we may be shielded with this kind of armor!

I want now to speak in relation to a few things that pertain more particularly to individuals. You know, to be honest, when there is no temptation to be otherwise, is no particular credit to us. For me to have a chance to put forth my hand and steal my neighbor’s food, when I have plenty, and I do not do it, is no particular credit to me for being honest. Suppose I am clad with all the clothing I desire, and my family also is well provided for in this article, for me to go and steal clothing would be outrageous in the extreme, and there would be no credit due to me for refraining from such an act. The time to test our real merit and integrity is when we are pinched with hunger and thinly clad: then is the time to test us. I do not say that a person going to steal under those circumstances would be any more justified. For a person to be forced to steal food, to save his life, is a circumstance that very rarely occurs with a just and righteous man. Should a good man, however, be reduced to such extremes, there is generally, among the Saints, provision made against such emergencies, rendering stealing unnecessary under any circumstances. We have heard of some instances where garments have been washed and hung out, and have been taken by some person in the daytime, and shirts and other articles not necessary to mention.

Brethren and sisters, I wish merely to say, Let our hands be clean, and try to the utmost of our power to get what we really need, and get it in an honorable and lawful way. We do not want to spoil the victory that lies right before us by dabbling in things that are not our own, neither convenient. If I were to apologize for such acts upon the principle of scarcity and want, it would be a license for everybody to “pitch in” that had a disposition to do so, and nobody would be safe. Let us be on the watch—watch ourselves, and suffer not any unlawful act of ours to tarnish the glorious victory that awaits us. Let us hold on and do the best we can, and let our neighbor’s things alone, unless we can persuade him to sell them to us, or give them to us. Do not let us weaken our own confidence before God. But we need to march, shoulder to shoulder, upon the principles of purity and integrity; and as we have stood shoulder to shoulder heretofore, and carried this Gospel to the nations of the earth, and been pure in heart before God, have we ever failed in accomplishing the purposes of Heaven? No. And I tell you, inasmuch as our hearts are pure as a people, full of integrity and the Holy Ghost, no power shall ever prevail against us from this time henceforth and forever. I feel in my soul and pray God to bless the pure in heart, who seek to do his will, live their religion, and honor their God; and we shall yet see the desire of our souls and be satisfied.

The priests of Christendom now say, “We cannot stand before this man,” and they warn their flocks to keep away from the Latter-day Saints. “Are you reading that ‘Voice of Warning?’ Lay it out of your hands and put it out of your houses, for it is a dangerous book. Put away from you their tracts and books, for they are dangerous; and keep away, keep away from those dangerous men that are turning the world upside down.” That is the cry throughout the world. What will be the cry when they come up against us and try the force of arms? It will be—“Let us not go up against Zion, for the people thereof are terrible: keep away, keep away.” The one cry follows in the wake of the other. What makes the people of Zion terrible? Answer: Strict honesty and integrity before God. That is what will bring the cloud by day and the shining of a flame of fire by night; and upon all the glory there shall be a defense. God will surround the people of Zion as it were with a wall of fire, and he will make bare his arm in the eyes of the nation that wars against her, and she will be like a beacon light to seafaring men; and men will come and bring their clothing and their treasures, and we shall have an abundant supply of such things. Let us take care of what we have, keep it clean and patch it up, take care of our sheep and raise all the flax and wool we can, and the Lord will make up the balance; and if we do right we shall find that we have an overflowing treasury of every good thing; which may God grant, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

Remarks by Elder Orson Hyde, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, November 1, 1857.

Dear brethren and sisters—I arise to address you for a short time this day. I shall be as brief as possible and detain you but a very short time.

The last Eastern mail, I think, brought me a pamphlet or tract written by Elder Orson Pratt, of Liverpool, England. Subject—“Gathering of the Saints and building up the kingdom of God.” The whole matter is handled in a masterly way, free from blind obscurity, unchecked and unrestrained by fear, and untrammaled by the religious or political dogmas of the age. It is the product of a clear head, of a strong heart, and of an unflinching hand. In short, it is Heaven’s eternal truth. I do exceedingly regret having mislaid it, for I would like to send it to Senator Douglas, with a request that he read it faithfully before he applies the knife to “cut out the loathsome ulcer.” Having read it, then, if he shall be disposed and able to cut, cut away and carve up to suit his own peculiar appetite and that also of his friends. Will some person having said tract or pamphlet be kind enough to mail it to Honorable Stephen A. Douglas, Washington City, D.C.?

But, let all men, however, know, that if what the honorable gentleman calls the “loathsome ulcer” be cut out according to his views and suggestions, the United States will be cut off from being a nation, and her star of empire set, and set in blood!

The “Mormons” can hardly be made to believe that the United States intend to set in good faith towards them until they hang the murderers of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, and punish the murderous incendiaries that killed our men and burned our grain and houses on Green Plains, Illinois. Nor yet, until they punish Missouri and cause the wrongs of the Saints in that State to be redressed. Whenever the United States Government shall begin its work of justice, at that end of the “Mormon” question it will find it not so vexed nor yet so knotty as many complain of its being. And moreover, such a course pursued by the Government would tend to convert the “Mormons” to the belief that sincerity, good faith, and evenhanded justice towards them were the paramount considerations and rules of action of the Federal Government.

A few officials, so notoriously corrupt that they became frightened at their own shadow, ran away, having greatly feared that what they justly merited might come upon them. An army is raised at their instigation to force them back upon us again, or some others, not the men of our choice, and to aid them to punish us for alleged crimes which they have trumped up. But it will be hard for the “Mormons” to bring their feelings to accept any federal officers at the point of the bayonet or at the cannon’s mouth, nor yet while troops are about them or on their borders. The contest appears very unequal, it is true; yet a wasp may worry a bear; and God, by his providences, has sometimes overthrown the strong by the agency of the weak. In that God do we hope for succor and trust for strength and deliverance.

When we were driven from Missouri and Illinois, leaving all our property, except what little we could take in the hurry, there was no army sent to reinstate us, neither to punish our persecutors. Then thousands of our men, women, and children were forced away from their homes at the point of the bayonet, at midday and at midnight, in the burning rays of a scorching sun, and in the gloomy shades of a wintry night. Our judges, magistrates, and civil and military officers were all forced to go, and no army was sent to reinstate them or to punish the persecutor and the oppressor. Oh, ye rulers of the land, look at your injustice! When the innocent cried to you for help—when the persecuted for conscience sake implored your fatherly interference, and, with tears of blood, said to you, “Help us, lest we perish,” you then said that our cause was just, but you had no power. But now that the wicked and guilty profligate cries to you to protect him in his corruption and force him upon us contrary to our wishes, you find yourselves invested with all the power necessary to urge an unhallowed warfare against the very people whom you refused to protect. O Lord God Almighty, in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, I ask thee to let the arm and sword of thy justice interpose, and decide this matter according to thy righteousness, and get to thyself honor and a name that shall never be forgotten.

It may be said that sovereign, independent States are different from a dependent Territory. This is a door through which many specious technicalities are sought to be introduced in justification of the present action and former neglect of the General Government. But “Mormons” care nothing about such technicalities. They hold the Government responsible, and so also does the God of nations and of armies. Therefore, however strongly it may be urged that the General Government’s intentions are good towards us, this singular people will not believe a word of it until said Government shall redress their wrongs in Missouri and Illinois. Whatever explanation may be given to the present movement of troops for Utah is immaterial. It will stick to the present Administration, in its true light and character, like the mark of Cain, Nero, and Herod—a religious persecution against an innocent patriotic people who know their rights and dare assert them! Though every “Mormon” in America should be slain, it will only add to the enormity of the present Administration.

As well might we be made to believe that the student could solve every problem of Euclid, who had never learned simple addition, as to believe the Government our impartial friends while they decline to redress our wrong. The conduct of the “unjust judge” towards the “poor widow” might raise the blush of shame upon our national cheek, if the nation possessed as fine sensibilities and as much discernment as that “unjust judge.” He saw that his own peace, ease, and happiness depended upon his avenging the “poor widow.” And if the peace, ease, and happiness of these United States, in future, do not depend upon their redressing “Mormon” wrongs (though they may not fear God, neither regard man), then the Lord does not speak by me. The nation will soon find out whether “wrath and indignation come upon the people in the shape of earthquakes, thunderings, and lightnings, tempests—the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds; and all things being in commotion, while fear comes upon all people.” The nations may have occasion to consider the treasures of hail and snow reserved for the last days—even the day of battle for the contro– versy of Zion. They may yet learn that the nation and kingdom that will not serve Zion shall perish; yea, that such nations shall be utterly wasted.

The prophetic glass before the eyes of the ancient Seers brings the rays of Jehovah’s power to a focus on this earth, in these our days. For kings and rulers to manage their responsibilities in these critical times is an affair which no servant of God, truly enlightened, covets or desires. It will soon be known who are guilty of treason and rebellion against the only true Sovereign of earth and heaven. It may be necessary for the alien enemies to establish a precedent in relation to treason. Then the judgment with which they judge may be dealt out to them in equal measure, pressed down, &c. Woe unto the world because of offenses! They must come to try the Saints and to establish a rule by which the Saints, in turn, may judge the ungodly.

The kingdom and government of God are the only legitimate jurisdiction that ever did exist. And other kingdoms and jurisdictions stand before God in the same light that many divorces stood in the days of Moses, “For the hardness of your hearts, Moses wrote you this precept; but from the beginning it was not so.” For the hardness of men’s hearts, God has suffered them to exercise temporary jurisdiction. But does this temporary jurisdiction authorize them to oppose him when he begins to take to himself his great power and to reign? No. The little stone cut out of the mountain without hands will roll and fill the whole earth, while the great image will be broken and fall, and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our God. Now, therefore, O ye kingdoms of this world, resist the decree of Jehovah, if you can and if you will. Fall upon this little stone cut out of the mountain without hands, and be broken, if you wish. But know ye that the way of the transgressor is hard, and his final cup is bitter. God bless the meek and pure! Amen.

A Discourse by Elder Orson Hyde, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, October 25, 1857.

I arise to make a few remarks to you, and I do it with a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction.

I feel, in the first place, to express my gratitude to God for the privileges that we enjoy, that we are permitted to meet together and hear instructions from time to time, by which our minds may be fortified against evil, that we may receive strength to resist the powers of darkness and every evil principle that may suggest itself to our minds. I trust that our hearts have become so softened by the power of truth and so opened by its blessed influence, that we are prepared to receive any impression which the truth may be calculated to make upon us, that it may affect us to the glory of our Heavenly Father.

I feel thankful that we are blessed with gifts and qualifications in our midst that can set right and give a proper tone to all things that go forth from us, so that we are not left to spell out our own course by the limited light and intelligence that we possess. We have not only the Spirit of God in our own hearts to guide us in the path of duty, of principle, and of doctrine, if we live our religion; but we have the Spirit of God also in our President to set us right when wrong. I feel thankful that we are looked after with such an anxious and watchful eye—with an eye to our happiness and well-being and to our future exaltation.

I hope that we shall appreciate these gifts while we have them—that we shall profit by them, and do all in our power to preserve them unimpaired in our midst, that we may long derive benefit from such sources. To be sure, it is a day of trial to the Saints; and yet it is a matter of gratification to see that the Saints, as a general thing, take their trials so calmly, and to see that they are willing to pass through the fiery ordeal; for we know that the final issue will be glorious, and we shall see the desire of our souls and be satisfied.

This proves that we are satisfied with our lot and that we are living our religion in a goodly degree; and I hope and trust that the good Spirit that seems to prevail in our midst will be cultivated and its dictates carried out, that we may do nothing to grieve it away from us, but be ready to follow its suggestions—to fulfil its requirements and the requirements of those that preside over us. It is a day of trial to us; but our trials are light, and the test that we are subjected to is but light, compared with the final test to which we shall be subjected when the Son of Man shall be revealed from heaven, taking vengeance upon them that know not God and obey not the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I have mentioned once or twice concerning the trials that await the Saints at that time. We look forward to the day when the Son of Man shall come in his glory as the greatest event and most sublime display of power and glory that were ever beheld by mortal eye; and it is requisite that we should be prepared for that scene. We shall be prepared, if we listen to the Spirit of the Lord as it is manifesting itself, and so continue to do during our probation here; for the Son of Man shall be revealed in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the Gospel. The Prophet asks the question, “Who can dwell with devouring fire or with everlasting burnings?” He answers and says, He that has clean hands and a pure heart; he can dwell with devouring fire.

We are to be operated upon by the Holy Ghost, and undergo such a material change by its power that we can abide the day of burning in which the Son of God will be revealed with the same comfort that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did in the fiery furnace. They were cast into that devouring element and moved as pleasantly and as agreeably as the fish moves in the sea, its native element. When that day comes, it will be made to appear who is pure; for it will bear upon every individual; and those who are not right and pure will be devoured and destroyed. If we are faithful, we can abide that day and feel that we are wrapped in nothing more than in a blaze of glory, because we shall be prepared for it. But if we do not live our religion, we shall be consumed in that day; and it will be a day that no creature can dodge. Hypocrisy and deceit will then be no shield. Pure and unadulterated goodness alone will enable us to stand in that day. We shall then know who possesses the qualifications of Saints, and who does not; and we shall have to be tested, and that strongly, compared with that to which we are now subjected. The two will be so different, so widely apart from each other, that we cannot now imagine the difference.

But I do not know that it is profitable to go on so far ahead and picture out the tests or trials that we may be subjected to; yet still it may be necessary to show what we shall have to possess and guard against, that we may be ready for the day of exaltation.

At that time, we are informed that the wicked will call for the rocks to fall on them and hide them from the presence of him that sitteth upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. Why will they do this? If the flaming fire has the same effect as we may suppose it will have, it will be very natural for them to call upon the rocks to hide them from the face of the Lord. They will prefer this to standing the test. This will be the cry, “Fall upon us, ye rocks, and hide us from this terrible test.” But the rocks and mountains hear them not! The ungodly must be consumed by the devouring fire. There are steppingstones to this test; and when we get to that point, that will be no greater trial than the present is now. It will not be any greater stumblingblock to us; it will be no more terrible than our present trial, if we live our religion; for we shall be prepared.

Brethren and sisters, we not only have the evidence that I spoke of this forenoon, but we have more. I desired, in my remarks this morning, to point out to the sinner and to the ungodly, if you please, or to those that do not belong to the Church; I wanted to show that they possess evidence in themselves—that they have it in their own hearts and in their own feelings, that this is the work of God; I wished to convince them that God had given them a testimony, that they might know for themselves. He has so ordered things that hypocrites and false-hearted individuals might know for themselves that this is the work of God and that he would accomplish it in his own way. For this reason he said that “sinners in Zion should be afraid, and fearfulness surprise the hypocrite,” and that they should go away; they should leave because they are afraid for their own persons; they are afraid for their property; they are afraid because the atmosphere that surrounds the servants of God is not congenial with their unhallowed natures, and they are fearful. This evidence is in their own hearts, and when they go, they carry the lighted candle of evidence with them.

There are some who have been acquainted with the Church from place to place and from time to time. There are some that have followed all the time, and they can neither take hold of it nor throw it away. Have they not had testimony that this is the work of God—that this is the truth of heaven? Has not the Holy Spirit raised convictions in their minds that this is the truth of God? Have they not been convicted of its truth? I will venture to say that they have been pungently convicted, and they have had all the lies that the Devil could put them in possession of and help them to, in order to resist the force of truth. Why have they not yielded obedience to the laws of the kingdom of God and taken upon them the yoke of Christ? It does seem to me that persons holding that position are ready to turn to the enemy or to any other quarter as may best suit their interests and circumstances. They are on the top of the fence, and rather leaning over to our enemies’ side. “He that is not for us is against us.”

It does sometimes appear that unwise persons not guided by the Spirit of God should take a course, with some such hangers-on, to make them take sides, one way or the other—to compel them to take to their own convictions before God, or else go away.

We find that God will overrule all actions that are performed, even injudiciously, to the best good and to the perfection of his people who trust in him, and to the best good of those also who would hang on, yet neither enter themselves nor let anybody else enter. Now, there are individuals that will not come into the Church themselves; and if they can lay a stumblingblock in the way of their friends, they will do it. They will say to a Gentile, or to a person who may be favorably impressed with the truth, “We have never joined the Church, and there is no particular need of it. We may appear friendly to the society, but not join it. Then we are under no rules or restrictions, and may do as we please.”

We read a man’s character and feelings by his actions. You have been acquainted so long, and the truth has made so small an impression that it shows there is no real love there for it. Such individuals are even ready to talk to those who come in here and to bias their minds, and then they come to the conclusion that this is not the work of God; for they conclude that those persons who have talked to them, having had such opportunities, must know.

If such individuals should have a jog that would knock their sensibilities into them, I do not know but God would work it for their good. I believe it is said that all things shall work together for good to those that love God and keep his commandments. We have convictions of those things; we are confident that all shall work for our good, not only in our hearts, but when we can see wisdom manifested that is evidently manifested by the hand of a superior being; but we cannot but acknowledge the hand of God. We have the testimony in our hearts of the truth, and what we feel and see all the time should stimulate us to cling to the Lord with all our hearts, might, mind, and strength.

The Saints in former days had a great deal to overcome; they had not only their weaknesses, but they had armies to overcome; and we find they put to flight the armies of the aliens. They had many trials. They were clad in sheepskins, and goatskins. Inasmuch as we believe that the cattle upon a thousand hills belong to the Lord, I do not know but that their very hides may be dressed, and we wear them instead of broadcloth. Well, now, those skins properly dressed, as I have seen some specimens in this town, may be our clothing when we get into the hills, and they will last some time to go through the mountains. Necessity, we say, is the mother of invention. The sisters may ask what they shall do for petticoats? I can tell you. (Voice: Let the women wear pantaloons.) Necessity being the mother of invention, we will seek them out something suitable; we have got common sense, and a good deal more too, if we will live our religion. Our father went to work and made coats of skins; and I suppose that mother Eve had a coat of skins as well as father Adam. But whether hers was a petticoat, we are not told.

We have been talking about the ancient order being restored; and if we live to return to that order, we shall live to be dressed in the skins of animals. I do not know how these things may be, but yet we judge, if we are driven to such necessity, we may have to adopt that style.

Let us prepare our minds for all things and to live where and when others may perish and die. We have got to learn that when the day of burning comes to be ready to live upon the barren rocks, where others would starve to death. If we get wisdom to live where they would perish, then we shall be the more completely independent. Thank God, we are beyond their reach. The Almighty God in his wisdom and kindness has given us understanding, and I have every reason to believe that he will deliver us and provide for us, if we live our religion and cleave unto him; for I tell you that some of the most simple things will be for our deliverance, and at the same time for the destruction of our enemies; and we can do all that is required, by his hand helping us. We are nothing of ourselves; but when we are inspired by the Almighty and take such a course as will give us confidence in God, we cannot perish. Then we have reason to rejoice and be glad.

Here is the evidence that this is the work of God. I remarked to brother Hardy, today, that last winter we preached some strong things in his ward (12th ward). Myself, brother Hardy, the Bishop, and brother Joseph A. Young doubled teams; and I then said, Where will these things lead us? I did not stop long to reflect; but, said I, we have the Spirit of God, and it will be all right; and I feel more satisfied now that his arm will bear us off triumphant. At that time fearfulness began to take hold upon the hypocrite, and we saw that sinners began to tremble and fearfulness to surprise the hypocrite. I tell you, perfect love casteth out all fear, if fear has no place in us; for our love for the truth casteth out all fear.

“Fear not, little flock,” says Jesus, “for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” I believe it is said in one revelation, “Unto you the kingdom has been given, and power to overcome all things that are not ordained of God.” I believe it is said so, in so many words, that you shall have power to overcome all that has not been ordained of God. What more can we ask for? Power has been given us, that that power may be in us, that it may be as a flaming fire; and I tell you the Almighty will be in us by his Spirit; he will go before us and clear the track. He does not require us to do anything without his first clearing the track, preparing the way for us to accomplish it.

That Zion is free is a satisfaction to the sons of light and causes joy in their hearts. In fact, we have lived so long under the Priesthood, that I, for one, do not want to live under any other government. If it is necessary, however, to take some other along, as the man did who made the stone soup, by putting in everything necessary to make the soup rich, palatable, and nutritious, before he put in the stone, concluding that the stone might give a favorite name to the soup, without imparting to it any injurious flavor or quality, I shall not object.

However, I will tell you that the government of God is the only legitimate government upon the earth; and when he reckons with nations, rulers, and privates, he will pronounce all guilty of “high treason” who have opposed his kingdom, fought against his Saints, or in any manner interrupted them in the execution of his mandates. Then let us contend for the rights of our Sovereign, the God of heaven and earth, and for the rights of his kingdom. And may God in his mercy shield us by his all-powerful arm, and may we live so that his angels won’t be far off; but that we may have their aid and their cooperation!

Brethren and sisters, may God bless you! And I feel in my soul to bless you and to bless all that bless Zion. But let the wrath of God be upon the Mother of Harlots, and upon all that wish evil to Zion; and may the Lord God be round about his Saints, and his wisdom be manifested conspicuously in all their movements, is my prayer. Amen.

A Discourse by Elder Orson Hyde, Delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday morning, October 4, 1857.

Brethren and Sisters—I feel to occupy a portion of the time allotted to us this morning, in calling your attention to some matters which I hope and trust may be for our benefit, for our security, and for our prosperity.

We are all aware, or should be, of the condition that we are in and the circumstances by which we are surrounded. We have duly considered them, for we have had time for reflection: we have had time to weigh the matter in our own minds; and it is now for us to be fixed and firm in our purpose, that we deviate not in our actions, neither in our feelings from the path that is marked out for us, but cheerfully, resolutely, and patiently pursue that track. There is no doubt at all but that we shall have trials to pass through—all, perhaps, that we are able to bear; for all strength that is given to us will be tested, and will be tried, and will be proven.

It is now for us to avoid one fatal rock, I may say, upon which the Israelites of old wrecked to a certain extent; and that is, that when they were gloriously delivered by the hand of our God and brought into the wilderness by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm, they murmured against Moses and they murmured against God because they could not enjoy the luxuries—the good things of Egypt, such as they were wont to enjoy while in bondage.

How soon did they forget the mighty miracles that were wrought for their deliverance! There was a time that the Israelites could do nothing. They had come to the shores of the Red Sea: they could not advance; their enemies were in their rear, and they could not advance. When they looked forward, it seemed impossible for them to pass onward; and when they looked back, destruction awaited them; and in the midst of this they exclaimed, perhaps, “What shall we do?”

It appears that there was nothing to be done, and hence the word was to them to stand still and see the salvation of God. In due time Moses was directed to smite the waters of the Red Sea: the waters were divided and Israel bade to go forward.

It appears that the Lord will open the way wherever he requires his Saints to go, however dark and hedged up it may seem. Yet, when the time comes for us to take one step, the way will open; and it is not likely that we can see the final issue or the result of our journey at first. If we could see the end, there would be no trial of our faith; but all the time we must walk by faith, and not by sight.

It is a good deal in this respect as it was with the disciples of old: it was required that they should take no thought what they should eat, what they should drink, or wherewithal they should be clothed.

It was also required that they should take no thought what they should say, for they were told it should be given unto them in the very hour what they should speak; and so it will be given to the faithful and pure before the Lord in this age of the world in the very hour that it is required and in the very time that it is needed.

They will see how to take one step and where to place one foot; and if they cannot see where to put the second, they must wait till they can see where to put it.

This was the case with the children of Israel when they were bade to go through the Red Sea; for whether they could see the track open all the way across is very questionable with me; but as they saw where to take one step, so they were required to advance all the way through that mighty deep, and they went through dry-shod; and the very means ordained for their salvation were the very means for the destruction of their enemies.

But after the children of Israel had such a glorious triumph and sang the songs of deliverance, how soon they murmured against the authority of God and the Holy One who was appointed to lead them. They wanted the flesh, the leeks, and onions of Egypt; and the Lord was forced to come out of his hiding place and cut them off from the face of the earth; and there fell in one day three-and-twenty thousand. This is written for our example, that we through faith and patience of the Scriptures might have comfort.

It is written, “A prophet shall the Lord our God raise up like unto me:” that is Moses speaking: “And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people.” I am not going to say who that Prophet is; but I am going to present some few things for your consideration, and you may draw your own conclusions. Did Jesus Christ ever lead forth the people of God like unto Moses? Did he not say, “How often would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not?” Did he lead them with an outstretched arm? He wrought miracles and did all the good he could; but I cannot see that Jesus ever led the people as did Moses. He performed his work and fulfilled his mission: but a Prophet was to be raised up like unto Moses; and hence I draw the conclusion that this is the only Prophet or the only dynasty of Prophets through whom the Lord would speak.

I know that some think the Lord is going to establish his kingdom through other prophets than those amongst us. Well, if the law is to be given through others, why is the responsibility placed upon us to go and preach the Gospel to all nations? If it is not to proceed from this Priesthood wholly, why should the Twelve Apostles be required to open the Gospel to all the nations of the earth, if there were other channels through which the Gospel might be preached? By this I come to the conclusion that whosoever will not hear this Prophet will be destroyed from among the people.

This is the only people who profess to have Prophets of this character, even like unto Moses; and the word is that whosoever will not hear that Prophet shall be destroyed from among the people. A Prophet shall be at the head to lead, as it was with Israel when Moses led them. Did he not say, “I will take and lead you as in days of old?” Well, then, the ministration and signs of Moses are to be enacted again. Joel shows us how they are to be. Read the 2nd chapter of Joel all the way through, and that will show you how things are to be.

“Why,” says the Lord, “I sent my angel before my people hitherto; but I have said that in the last days I will go myself before my people.” He has declared that he will utter his voice before his army, for his camp is very great.

We shall be led into straitened places—into tried places; and now it is for us to prepare ourselves, to fortify our hearts, to fortify our spirits, that we never murmur against God nor against the Moses that he has given us; for I tell you that the man that God has raised up is no more responsible than we are; and I have thought not so much.

Can he make one erroneous move? If our prayers are offered up to the Lord in his behalf—if our hearts are set upon doing that which we know to be right, then we are right; but if not, we are wrong. If he is wrong, our prayers are not heard.

Well, then, you see, the weight of responsibility reaches back upon our shoulders; and we are the ones to take that responsibility and to have faith in the words and in the prayers which we utter before the Lord.

Brethren and sisters, be agreed in this respect, and be sure that when you ask for a thing you do not doubt it; but hold on to it and believe that you receive the things you ask for, and you shall have them. What mind of spirit is it that comes and says, “Now, I will go and ask for this or that; I do not know whether I will get it; it is a question whether my prayers are heard; but I will pray because it is my duty?”

Now, a double-minded man is not a man of faith. We should consider what we want and what is the mind and will of God to grant us. Say, “So and so is the mind of God,” and satisfy yourself that the prayer you are about to offer is really the mind and will of your Father in heaven; then bow down and ask for that thing or for those very things. And when we have asked for any blessing, never let a doubt arise in our minds as to whether we shall receive the blessing, but believe that our prayers are heard, and then they will be answered.

Let me say, brethren and sisters, do not pray for too many things at once. What would you think if your son were to come and say, “Father, I want a yoke of oxen, I want a cow, I want a horse, I want some money, I want this, and I want that?”

“Why,” says the father, “you ask for so many things that I cannot give you anything at all.” That son is covetous; he reaches for everything, and I cannot give them to him; and hence the father concludes that he won’t give him anything; when, if the son had come and said, “Father, if you can let me have a cow, I shall be glad,” and then stop at that, the father would say, “Yes, I will give you a cow;” and he is pleased to do it. The son takes care of her, and by-and-by he comes and says, “Father, won’t you give me a horse ?” “Yes,” says the father. And so, you see, he gets all that he wants, but not all at once.

Our Father in heaven says, “Where two or three of you agree as touching one thing, and ask in the name of the Son, it shall be given. “Our Savior had his eye upon this when he said, “If thy eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light; but if thy eye be evil (some say double), thy whole body shall be full of darkness.”

If your affections are divided, can you love two individuals or two objects alike? Water, when its power is concentrated, turns machinery; but when you divide it and apply its force upon many wheels at the same time, it accomplishes little; whereas its condensed force upon one wheel will effect the desired object.

This is true in relation to prayer; but is it true in relation to the plurality of wives? Can a man really love more than one wife at the same time? I may answer this question in the negative or in the affirmative, and either may be considered correct according to circumstances.

It was the prayer of Christ that his disciples, though many, might be one—that is, to have no mind or will of their own, but all partake of his spirit and his mind; and thus, they being one in him, he could easily love them all. But if one set up a will of his own—rebelled in his feelings against a union with each other and with his legitimate head also, he might pity the folly of that rebellious one, but could not love him as those who rebelled not.

If a man have forty wives, and they all receive his mind and spirit, and are thus one in him, he can as easily love them all (because they are one), as a father can love a half-score of children who copy his mind and spirit. But if a woman rebel in her feelings against a good man, and yield to the temptations of the Devil, she may know that her husband may pity, but cannot love her, because she has ceased to be one with him and to partake of his mind and spirit. If, therefore, your husband be a good man, and you copy his mind and his spirit, he cannot help loving you, though he have forty other wives in the same situation.

Now, you wives, partake of the spirit of your husbands, and you will be loved; but you set up a standard and a spirit aside from his, and he never will love you; no, he never will. I speak to the knowledge and experience of some: yes, too many know that this is true.

And ye husbands, drink into the Spirit of your God and of your superiors in the Priesthood on earth; and if your wives are good women, they will love you; but if you do not, they will not love you; they won’t have confidence in you.

You husbands, go to work by your own spirit and set up a standard independent of the Holy Ghost, and will God love you? No, he won’t. If you do not drink into the spirit of your superiors, will they love you? Will they have confidence in you? No, they won’t.

Well, you see it is all flowing in our legitimate channel. If God has ten thousand children, or a million, or ten millions, and all partake of one spirit, and they are one, does he not love them all? Yes, he does. But if one steps aside from the path marked out, will he love him? No, he won’t. But if the ignorant sin and go astray, he may send a messenger after them and get them back. He may rejoice over them and pity them when they are away, and rejoice over them when they come back.

Now, brethren and sisters, consider these principles: weigh them well in your minds; for the greatest evil that I know of in this people is the little bickerings in families. I am happy to say that even this evil is diminishing; yet there should be none at all.

The spirits of men and women should ever be guided and tempered by the Holy Ghost; and I believe that the desire and intention of a large majority of the people are to keep the spirit of their superiors and of their God—to drink it and live by it.

Would to God that all the women that are adopted into families would partake of the spirit of their husbands, if they are upright men. They have no right to an independent standard, anymore than I have a right to a standard independent of the Holy Ghost. I should have an independence to turn away from all sin; for that is the Spirit of God, and that is the right kind of independence, and that is the only kind that is justifiable.

I feel, brethren and sisters, that I should not go amiss—that I should not go astray from the path of duty, were I to call upon families to repent of their sins in this respect. I have laid before you, this morning, some of the greatest evils there are in families—an unwillingness of the members of those families to keep the spirit of their head. Some of them are unwilling to do it: it is too much the case. I only direct these remarks where they are applicable; and therefore those to whom they do not apply will not take them: and perhaps there will be some to whom they are applicable that will say, I do not believe that doctrine. To such I would say, You are the very one; you are the very character to repent and submit yourself to the proper government of God.

In relation to murmuring against God, brethren and sisters, do you not know that the Israelites were reproved and that they were slain because they murmured against their God? Well, now, in the same light do families stand who murmur against their head and partake not of the spirit of their head; for, say the Scriptures, “Whoso will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.” Remember that it is by patient continuance in welldoing that we seek for honor, happiness, and eternal life—by patient continuance all the time, and not when we come into trying places to turn aside; but to abide in the covenants and be patient, seeking for honor, immortality, and eternal life.

Well, now, you brethren, do not you go home and say that just suits me—that is my doctrine, and take liberty thereby to tyrannize over your families. If it just suits you, and if it is your doctrine, all right. But one thing let me tell you—Seek the spirit of your head; and if you will do that, you will never take advantage of the remarks of the servants of God to mistreat your women. But, at the same time, the principle must be laid open before you, so that you can understand it. No doubt you all know it and understand it perfectly well; but it is necessary once in a while to “stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance.” Do not murmur against God, against Moses, nor against your legitimate head: no, do not do it; for “Whoever will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people.”

Well, now, brethren and sisters, these are about the remarks that I wanted to make. There are a great many things in which we have improved; and in respect to the things of which I have spoken, there is no doubt but you have greatly improved; but I tell you there is room for a mighty stride of improvement in this respect. This is the way I feel about it.

I do not wish to divide your attention upon a thousand things, but I wish to call your attention to this thing and say, Repent of all your deviations from the path of duty; and I believe that you know this is a true doctrine—that you are satisfied that it is true. Cast away from you every feeling of rebellion and of murmuring that will lead you to oppose your legitimate head, and drink down the spirit of your superiors, and abide by it; and then you are one: and when you are one, God can love you all at the same time. Why, when I love a person, I not only love the head, but I love the face, the hands, the feet, and all the members of that body. Well, then, if we are all members of the body, does not God love us all? Certainly he does. Then away with the idea that a man cannot love but one object at a time: away with this, I say, and let us all be one. Then if any part of us is loved, we are all loved. I believe that I have said all that I wanted to say. May God bless you and save us all in his kingdom! Amen.

There is one word more that I want to say, and it is right in connection with what I have said. I won’t turn your minds away from what has been spoken; but I want to tell you that brother Brigham, brother Heber, and brother Daniel’s responsibilities laid upon them make them feel more than any other men can feel. They are enough to burst iron hearts, aside from their family responsibilities. Pray, therefore, that their strength may be equal to their day; and while you pray for them, work to your prayer. And if you ask, “How shall I work to it?” I will tell you. If you get some little difficulty on your mind, you Bishops, you Elders, you members, do not run to brother Brigham, to brother Heber, nor to brother Daniel. You have prayed to God that their burdens may be lightened; then do not throw your troubles upon them, but pray to God to nerve their bodies and their spirits, and to give them power and strength sufficient for their day.

You would not say to the mule or jackass that is bending beneath his burden, “Oh! Poor animal!” And then jump on to him yourself: you would not do that. Then, when you see the Presidency of our Church—our leaders—when you see them bowed down, if you cannot go to do them any good, do not go to them with any of your petty troubles and difficulties. We want all these miserable petty cases put away or settled between parties and their Bishop, and mercifully relieve our head from unnecessary, petty, and vexatious troubles.

God bless us and enable us all to do so, through Jesus Christ! Amen.